Old guy syndrome

[Heather Chandler]

Part of being over 40 crowd and still trying to skate, is learning to live by the wisdom of Marsellus Wallace.  You only live once, fuck it.

[shredder sequel]

I’m 40. Started messing around on skateboards when I was 5. I had to stop skating between 15 and 22 because of health issues—I was paralyzed on and off, muscle atrophy, etc.

During that time I did all my adolescent growing. So, when I started back it was with a brand new body that never functions at 100%. I lost every trick I ever had and am still trying to get things back today.

I skate with my daughter and the kids—10 year olds to 20-somethings—at the skatepark pretty much every day. I continue to learn new stuff, but it’s a long-haul. I’m glad I never learned some tricks when I was a kid because I get a chance to start fresh now. Learning something I’ve never learned before is easier than trying to relearn things. However, Nothing comes easy.

I get super stoked when the skatepark kids give me props for a trick.

[Burton Ernie]

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Most of my friends still skate but only 4-5 times a year haha. I would say at 30 I'm better than I was at 18....... untill I slam or 30 minutes passes. Which ever comes first. Injuries are far more frequent and nothing is better than explaining to your 40 year old, normal co-workers how you hurt your knee skateboarding. As an adult.

[close]

explaining to your co workers you skateboard is never going to get any easier...

I'm mostly grey at this point and work in corporate IT, how right you are.

[m477]

Skateboarding as a fun hobby isn’t for everyone, skateboarding as a lifestyle is for very very few.

Hobby vs lifestyle is a good point. I stopped the skate ‘lifestyle’ probably at 20yrs old. I’m 37 now and in that time since, logging solid skate hours varies significantly! There’s been periods where I skate 2-3 times a week and sometimes it’s barely once every 2 months. I never quit, it’s always on the back burner, I’m always thinking about it. I just live life first and when a prime opportunity arises to skate with the boys, I jump on it! For me it’s always best somewhat spur of the moment. I don’t do a skate regimen to practice/train x number of days a week, I’ve tried but it sucks haha. I’ve been skating since about 1st grade so my muscle memory is pretty good, sometimes I feel rusty, sometimes I feel young, still trying to figure it all out.

One important thing I’ve learned to keeping it fun (and coincidentally relates to the description of the original post) is that I’ve reigned in my ego/expectations. Sure itd be swell to have all my tricks back from my ‘prime’ and shred as hard as the young bucks but that’s not realistic. I think I finally learned that the hard way in my mid 20s with a bunch of annoying injuries, trying too hard while being rusty. No need to quit, just adapt(STILL EVOLVING)

Or, instead...quit your job! leave your wife, kids and live the dream out of your trunk

[HyenaChaser]

There's definitely something to the responsibilities of adulthood and the irresponsibilities of managing those in the early 20s that threaten anybody's commitment to skating. I'm in my late 20s now and after reading through some of these I'm wondering if because I never had any homies who skated anyway, it was easier for me to motivate to go out and do it more because I never had a "it's just not the same" kind of moment to dissuade me. Anyway, this one's called Wonderwall…

[HugeBodBoyle]

One thing that does pop up in sessions for me is that sometimes I get sort of angry when I can't pull something and my friends will be all, "chill out man, just enjoy that you're out here!"

But the anger sort of gets me focused and I can make it work. That never changed from 18 to now.

I'm not screaming or throwing my board or anything. Just sort of a seething rage and some self deprecation.

[TheLurper]

One important thing I’ve learned to keeping it fun (and coincidentally relates to the description of the original post) is that I’ve reigned in my ego/expectations. Sure itd be swell to have all my tricks back from my ‘prime’ and shred as hard as the young bucks but that’s not realistic. I think I finally learned that the hard way in my mid 20s with a bunch of annoying injuries, trying too hard while being rusty. No need to quit, just adapt(STILL EVOLVING)

I remember interviewing one of the "older" dudes in skateboarding whose career was winding down and we were discussing getting older and he said something along the lines of, "Yea, but when you think about how 'good' you were it is easy to remember the days when you were at your best. We have to remember these days weren't the norm."

This has helped me remember that some of my best tricks weren't normal and I shouldn't compare myself to these outlying performances when I'm just trying to have fun. As much as I want to think "Man, I used to be able to do x trick on x obstacle." In reality, I did that shit once. I nearly broke my leg trying it and during the roll away I was amazed that I was somehow still standing on my board.

[themeangreen]

Great thread!

I skated a lot from when I was 5 until early 20's. When I was young I was a hardcore skate rat in a small town next to Philly with tons of friends who would go into the city almost everyday in highschool and stay on the weekends.  Eventually moved to Philly for a restaurant gig.  When I was younger it was ok, almost funny to get hurt and be out of work for a few weeks or find a new job because they couldn't have me anymore. In the first few years it was really funny to lose jobs due to being hurt or just being hungover. After getting a special lady friend for a while my energy shifted and I realized skating wasn't gonna happen as an occupation. I ended up working in restaurants full time and quit for a number of years due to not wanting to get hurt and being fed up with my limits. I moved to NYC for about 3 years for work and decided to get after it again. I went skating at all the spots I saw growing up and had been to on trips but wasn't as good so gave up again.

I'm almost 30 now and restarted skating again 3 months ago. It has been really fucking hard knowing in my mind what I can do but being a little heavier and slower really sucks. The one thing that brought me to this site and back on the board is how fucking rad it is to just be out there, chatting with the homies. Even getting burnt on a flatground 3 flip is fun. I'm never going to huck down something again but it's cool to see people at 9th and Poplar who are older, ripping. After all these years it's amazing to know nothing in this world feels as good as snapping an ollie no matter how high that shit is.

[nopes]

one of the cruelest thing about being an older skater is the combination of not having a lot of time and taking forever to get warmed up.

im fortunate for a 40+ skater in that i dont have a lot of time constraints and i can skate every day if i wanted to. it takes me forever to warm up though and often that alone kills my session. so often after like 30+ minutes of skating i still feel like shit and over half the time i end up bagging it and going home. however, almost every time, if i stick it out for another 30 minutes or so everything turns around. the problem is skating solo is brutal for stretches over an hour so its hard as hell to stick it out.

[VHS ERA]

I've noticed a pattern in a lot of my friends who have quit skating in their early 20's then tried to start again  To their dismay skateboarding at 27 is a lot more difficult then 18 or 19. They are surprised they can't kickflip front board first try. Soon after realizing they weren't as good as they once were they quit skating for good soon there after. Anyone else notice a similar patter with people who quit skating ?

The bolded is me. The rest isn’t because I didn’t get bummed by being rusty and old. I was so hyped to be back doing my favorite thing I just busted my ass and relearned shit and started learning new shit. Became obsessed with filming clips that are better than my teenage footy. A different kind of old man syndrome; trying to prove you still got it. I kinda succeeded though. Low impact now of course.

Also I only quit because doctors told me to after my 3rd ACL. Then I accidentally started skating again in 2015 woops. Fuck it.

Muscle memory was def there for me. I was pretty self-conscious and not ok with people seeing me suck the first year back though, I skated solo most of the time.

[Not Local]

skateboarding since age 9. 43 now and never quit but took time off here and there (never more than 6 to 9 months). my mid 20s  were a real low point for my skateboarding. i think i pressured myself to be good and got stuck in a rut. my mental/ emotional game was fucked and it slowed my skateboarding down. then I was reinspired in my 30s. Started not pressuring myself and got a 2nd wind in my mid 30s and started learning new tricks. I don't skate every day but I skate a fair bit and choose my battles. If something's not happening within a few tries, I let it go and move onto what's working. And then I'll do it and do it and do it. I probably piss some friends off as I'm happy to milk the shit out of a trick if its working for me in a session. The only downside is injuries take awhile to heal up... Right now I have a sprained big toe that's still not allowing me to skate as hard as I want after a couple of months...

I ride bikes and surf and that seems to keep me on my game when I can't skate.

Got to learn Back smiths before I'm done.

[RossDailey]

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Most of my friends still skate but only 4-5 times a year haha. I would say at 30 I'm better than I was at 18....... untill I slam or 30 minutes passes. Which ever comes first. Injuries are far more frequent and nothing is better than explaining to your 40 year old, normal co-workers how you hurt your knee skateboarding. As an adult.

[close]

explaining to your co workers you skateboard is never going to get any easier...

At 35, it's an utterly awkward conversation in a corporate environment.

[j....soy.....]

I've noticed a pattern in a lot of my friends who have quit skating in their early 20's then tried to start again  To their dismay skateboarding at 27 is a lot more difficult then 18 or 19. They are surprised they can't kickflip front board first try. Soon after realizing they weren't as good as they once were they quit skating for good soon there after. Anyone else notice a similar patter with people who quit skating ?

There's already an old dudes thread but.....leave it to a bunch of middle aged guys to hijack a thread too....

yes....all your friends quit....good news is, it's skateboarding...there's a ton of other skaters out there....go meet em...

[slop]

Never heard that before, but my first thought was a line from a willie nelson song
"I can still jump as high I just can't stay that high that long"

[NORTHBYMIDWEST]

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Most of my friends still skate but only 4-5 times a year haha. I would say at 30 I'm better than I was at 18....... untill I slam or 30 minutes passes. Which ever comes first. Injuries are far more frequent and nothing is better than explaining to your 40 year old, normal co-workers how you hurt your knee skateboarding. As an adult.

[close]

explaining to your co workers you skateboard is never going to get any easier...

[close]

 

I'm mostly grey at this point and work in corporate IT, how right you are.

I'm about 1/3 grey at this point and I'm a cosmetic chemist. Most of us in this field are kinda weird to begin with so skateboarding is by no means threatening my career but I always find it funny that something I've spent my life obsessing over is considered by most something you don't do past age 15.

[givecigstosurfgroms]

  U can't  slam at 32?  Fuk, wait till you try slamming at 42.  Gonz still slams.  I never quit or slowed down but slamming sucks now.  -Old Ness.

[jstankalwara]

Yeah quit for a year and a half got back into it when I was 27 and honestly having more fun now than ever but damn still can’t tre flip every try like back in the day that sucks but apart from that still much more fun at 31 than 25

[99Pancakes]

The questions remains... how do you keep them interested after they realize its a sharply up-hill battle? It's hard to imagine how to be content in a situation like that.

[jorge]

Its weird how some tricks now feel like they take soooo much energy (frontside flips are one) while others (frontside halfcab flips) are still sorta easy and feel fluid.  I also hate not being able to get up on ledges that used to be easy for me.  Shoulda learned tranny more when I was younger I guess.

[finecojeffe]

360 flips are still consistent, but they cost more the next day than they used to.

[ChuckRamone]

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Most of my friends still skate but only 4-5 times a year haha. I would say at 30 I'm better than I was at 18....... untill I slam or 30 minutes passes. Which ever comes first. Injuries are far more frequent and nothing is better than explaining to your 40 year old, normal co-workers how you hurt your knee skateboarding. As an adult.

[close]

explaining to your co workers you skateboard is never going to get any easier...

[close]

 

I'm mostly grey at this point and work in corporate IT, how right you are.

[close]

I'm about 1/3 grey at this point and I'm a cosmetic chemist. Most of us in this field are kinda weird to begin with so skateboarding is by no means threatening my career but I always find it funny that something I've spent my life obsessing over is considered by most something you don't do past age 15.

most never could do it, even before the age of 15, much less in middle age, so they like to impose this limitation on others. but it’s okay to idolize pro sports athletes who play what are essentially children’s games for a living because it’s normal and people live vicariously through them when they root for their teams and scream at the television.

[GAY]

  U can't  slam at 32?  Fuk, wait till you try slamming at 42.  Gonz still slams.  I never quit or slowed down but slamming sucks now.  -Old Ness.

Other than riding a skateboard, there's nothing about Gonz that I'd ever want to emulate.

[j....soy.....]

The questions remains... how do you keep them interested after they realize its a sharply up-hill battle? It's hard to imagine how to be content in a situation like that.

There's always something to chip away at....

If all you can do is warm up...then enjoy your warm up....

My point is let the past be the past and recognize the present.  There's tons of rad shit skateboarding still has to offer. 

[backinaction]

I quit skating for about 20 years - from about 20 until 40.  During that time I was racing bikes - mountain, road and cyclocross - and had a lot of fun.   When I had kids I could no longer race at the level that I was accustomed to and I started skating again.

When I was younger I was pretty decent. It was in the era of ugly flip tricks and I had a lot of them - things like  triple kickflips and shove it late kickflips that had zero style.  I skated a lot of mini and spine ramps and stairs as well.

I've been skating for almost 5 years this time around. I can kickflip and land an occasional impossible or variable flip.  Luckily, I don't judge my skating on my flatground.   I skate more pools - which I never had access to before. I got ever-so-slight air out of a vert section for the first time.  I dropped into a 12 foot vert ramp - which I never did as a teen.  We have a pretty interesting flow park that keeps me busy finding new lines.  My mini ramp game came back a lot easier than flatground.

I'm probably never going to land a tre again. I'm never going to do an 8 stair again.

I get to skate and it makes me happy.   That's enough.

[Sick Duck]

I skated an excessive amount from 10-15 so i think i built up pretty good muscle memory for basic skate movements but if i get hurt it’s hard for me to get back into it mentally and not be a lil bitch. I have had a cpl really bad injuries so I think I get a little traumatized on just minor ankle sprains. I definitely don’t push myself at 30 like I did in my teens though

[se7en3two]

one of the cruelest thing about being an older skater is the combination of not having a lot of time and taking forever to get warmed up.

im fortunate for a 40+ skater in that i dont have a lot of time constraints and i can skate every day if i wanted to. it takes me forever to warm up though and often that alone kills my session. so often after like 30+ minutes of skating i still feel like shit and over half the time i end up bagging it and going home. however, almost every time, if i stick it out for another 30 minutes or so everything turns around. the problem is skating solo is brutal for stretches over an hour so its hard as hell to stick it out.

Great way to describe part of my struggles as well.

These are also things I'm just numb too at this point and I turn 42 in Jan.

Warming up sucks
Injuries over 40 also suck- big time. This year alone I've lost about 6 months (broken fibula, badly sprained ankle & jacked lower back)
Basically roll the dice to find out what tricks I've lost during that particular session. Tricks just seem to come and go- without warning.
How much time do I waste getting comfortable on flat, before I hit obstacles.
Finding free time, with a family and working full time
Northeast weather

[144p]

If all you can do is warm up...then enjoy your warm up....

My point is let the past be the past and recognize the present.  There's tons of rad shit skateboarding still has to offer.

Well said.
It's your life and time, do with it as you please.
Most of my old friends are out of shape and jump on their board and expect it all to come right back without repercussions.
I work hard to skate 5-6 days a week at 44. Use an eliptical almost every morning, extended stretching and yoga, strength training 1-3 days a week. I mostly eat whole foods, I don't know. Not sure what else to do with my time.
My skill level is probably below average these days but it keeps me semi sane.
I also don't have kids and am not in debt. I also don't really drink, maybe a beer or two every so often.
Skating curbs helped keep me feeling like I can progress, I never was very good when I was younger though.
But waiting around for someone to call you to hit the park or bomb around downtown isn't for me.
I'm out skating alone often.

[Buck Russell]

i think weight gain is one of the biggestfactors. your body learned how to do tricks good at like 140lbs or whatever the average skaterat weighs. most people get quite a bit heavier as they age, especially if they stop being active (by not skating for exampl) and you're trying to do shit the same way but with the equivalent of a six year old on your back. totally changes the mechanics.

[backinaction]

But waiting around for someone to call you to hit the park or bomb around downtown isn't for me.
I'm out skating alone often.

I skate alone 95% of the time.  There is a good crew of old guys around my parts, but I have a super tight schedule so I'm not available most of the times the other guys skate.  I try to take a long lunch a couple days a week and a 7am session on the weekends.  Most people don't have any interest in that.  The only reason I do is because I don't skate if I don't.

[whale]

The questions remains... how do you keep them interested after they realize its a sharply up-hill battle? It's hard to imagine how to be content in a situation like that.

Ego and expectations as stated above, my man.
I got a few buddies who dissappeared for different reason from
skateboarding years ago. The other made a comeback this summer, told me it took
years to understand what to expect from himself, and even how long it takes to meet those expectations.
The other just claims he’s just not ”feelin” it anymore, but when (drunkenly) pressed, admits it’s because he can’t skate like he used to.

It takes a certain type to push through the hard times.