Illogical Skate Superstitions

[Masshole]

Another thing - front truck always gets 3 bolts, with one of the front two missing, started after losing a nut a few years ago  but now i need that little hole to see the ground through

[boi-cuzudo]

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If someone says "last try" it has to be the last try. No "one more". I've had that fuck me up, and have seen some of my friends get worked on that one. Personally I will never skate with a new board and new shoes in the same session. Did it once and fucked up my ankle real bad, so never again/

[close]

mother of god man, who says this and continues to skate? terrifying...

never...and i mean never leave the warning sticker on the board under the grip....i feel anxiety just saying that out loud.

line in grip always has to be in the front, behind the front bolts, never...and i mean never in the back, in front of the back bolts...i won't even step on a board gripped like that.

all wheels with plain side out, except the front right one--graphics out on the front right one, then...and only then are we ready to rip...

not removing the warning sign = bad luck

[TheLurper]

why did we start put the graphics on wheels inwards? why is it uncool to have the picture facing out?

[Mr. Stinky]

why did we start put the graphics on wheels inwards? why is it uncool to have the picture facing out?

My homies who started skating before me just rationalized it by saying it looked cleaner from the start that way.  They always said the graphic looks shitty once it starts getting chipped away and there's no point in even putting the graphic facing out because it starts flaking off so fast. Makes sense to me, provided you want your setup looking fresh right after you put some new wheels on it. 

[Dwyck]

I do the skier "two more runs" thing when I'm over trying something scary. I'll tell myself I'm trying something a couple more times even though it's only once. "One more try" is mad scary

[goeatsomefriedbread]

why did we start put the graphics on wheels inwards? why is it uncool to have the picture facing out?

I do this and I can't remember why haha

Not so much a superstition but sometimes when I'm skating I have an intrusive thought of something really graphic, like breaking my leg really bad, or smashing my face and knocking my teeth out, no idea why, I suppose you just have to drown it out by fist bumping people and shouting YEEEEE

[camel filters]

I don't wear my carhartt pants with my dickies coach jacket. Feels off and something akin to ppl who wear nike socks with vans or something like that.

[Gab]

It’s funny that a lot of mine are the exact opposite of the norm. I don’t know that I’d call them superstitions though.

-wheel graphic always faced outward.
-no white socks, only black, grey, brown, etc.
-no shorts/tanktops no matter how hot it is outside, usually wear all black or dark colors anyway.
-new board/trucks: after each grind or slide I have to check the marks it made on said deck or trucks until it’s sufficiently thrashed.
-If I have intrusive thoughts (getting hurt, losing focus) I don’t try, go back to the starting point and clear my mind. Too many injuries when I was unfocused/spooked but went for it anyway.
-if I’m skating a spot on a busy street and cars stop at a red light, I always wait for it to turn green before I can go too.
-if someone yells do a kickflip I usually don’t acquiesce, but I have started to if they seem genuine about it and not like they’re trying to take the piss. People actually get really stoked when you do it.
-if I accidentally snake someone, I turn off and say sorry and don’t go for my trick, I feel it’s bad karma even if it was an accident.
-always leave on a make, no matter the difficulty.

That’s about it I think...

[Boog]

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The red top thread made me think about my own skating superstitions and I was curious what other weird tics other skaters have.

For me, I have to do a kickflip before I do an ollie when starting a session. I’ve kept the streak for over 20 years without fail. This includes if I’m just going to cruise to the store. If I want to ollie up a curb I will have to have kickflipped first. I stopped skating for 3 years and when I started skating again I still had to do a kickflip before I would let my self ollie. I even broke my ankle so bad I had to do physical rehab for 6 months before I could skate again and sure enough I did a kickflip before an ollie. I’m extremely logical in my everyday life and believe in no other superstitions but this is one I for some reason can’t let go.

Am I alone in this? Does anyone else have an inexplicable superstition they need to keep and if so how long is the streak? Will I get 7 years of bad skating luck if I were to drop the streak?

[close]

That's amazing
I try to finish every session with a flatground kickflip, got that from og skate buddies, but no real streak

I do the same thing bro. I have to kickflip after every session or I think I'll lose them lmao. It's weird.

[HeadInLionsMouth]

I didn't realize this until very recently, but I bookend every session, meaning whatever the first trick I did was, that's the last trick I do as well

and of course, always end on a make

[ok boomer]

I can't have mud spots on grip or I will fixate on it and fuck up foot placement. Also to warm up: Ollie, fs 180, switch from 180 then kick flip. Or just go home because it's bad luck

[Xen]

why did we start put the graphics on wheels inwards? why is it uncool to have the picture facing out?

Rumor has it pros with a wheel sponsor would ride the competition and turn the wheels so the graphics faced inwards to hide the brands.

Personally, I just grab the wheels and pop in bearings, whichever side faces in or out is the way it's gonna be until I rotate them or swap them.

Leave on a make. No matter what the trick.

[jaysouthbay]

for me to not lose a trick i have to land it 6 times each session. doesnt need to be in a row just do it 6 times.. this came from when i was learning the basics, i would write down what i landed and i always set a goal for 5, and then when id do the 5th and final one, id do the "one more for good measure" and land it so id write down "pop shuv 5+1" so then it just became 6.. 6 fs 180, 6 bs 180 and so on.. haha maybe when im better ill let this go but it does seem so weird now that ive explained it

[TD]

"one more" is a curse for me every time I'm trying a trick. If I say "one more", I immediately know I've fucked up. It's weird, because even if I'm aware of it and try to control it, I subconsciously revert to bailing out of it. Non-committal shit 

[loftie.1]

Every hour I'm not skateboarding, my skill, confidence regresses slowly, and this stirs up some kind of anxiety in my soul. It's like fear of losing a power. This is obviously not true....or is it?

[Ayanami]

I keep praying into my hat but have yet to land anything. Any tips on how to get this to work?

[rocklobster]

"one more" is a curse for me every time I'm trying a trick. If I say "one more", I immediately know I've fucked up. It's weird, because even if I'm aware of it and try to control it, I subconsciously revert to bailing out of it. Non-committal shit

I need to tell myself this especially when wrapping up the session. If I land the trick sloppy I will take what I can get and get don't get upset. If not I end up spending another 20 minutes battling it out to squeeze a marginally better one out, 99% of the time the juice isn't work the squeeze.

[Paul Cicero]

I don't wear my carhartt pants with my dickies coach jacket. Feels off and something akin to ppl who wear nike socks with vans or something like that.

I feel you on the mixed branding!

[mcdonaldsfrenchfry]

I never talk about injuries out loud. I consider it to be bad luck to an extreme extent.

[radcunt]

If I’m getting close to finishing and think ‘one more try’ for anything I’ll just stop the session right there. Never do one more try.

[PatrickSkateman]

I only ride Swiss bearings and I always pop the shields off.

I also only cut griptape from the bottom, never from the top.

[cilantro]

Always white wheels, any other color is bad luck

Last try is okay, saying ‘three more tries’ almost always guarantees a slam on the third try
 
If I slam and make a big deal about it and complain, expect more slams. As long as i’m physically okay then I have to shrug it off and laugh

[radcunt]

If I’m getting close to finishing and think ‘one more try’ for anything I’ll just stop the session right there. Never do one more try.

Posting this made me think ‘don’t be silly’ so I had the one last try then I’ll go and shrugged it off. Then on my roll up I promptly hit a rock as going in for a slappy Krook and flew like a heap into the curb.

Lesson learned

[D10S]

being superstitious is bad luck.

[Lloyd Braun]

I never say I got your back, or this is it this try or anything to that degree. I broke my leg backing up a friend, so I'm a bit superstitious. The board I was riding was a bit soggy too, so as soon as I feel my board flexing, I set up a new one.

[TastyBurrito]

Does anyone switch out a board they've hurt themselves on? Like the board is still good, but I've rolled my ankle twice skating it – haven't rolled my ankle with any other set up before.

[dannyprovolone]

smoke weed everyday

[flippy lippy]

Wheel graphics in

Wearing all white is bad luck

[StillTryin]

Always end on a make.

If I'm going out on a cruise I usually do the same route every time and I ollie pretty much non stop until I turn right at the boulevard so I'm warmed up for curbs when the real cruise starts. That's because the last leg of my cruise has a really long, super nice sidewalk and I love to pump down and ollie off the transitions.

If the initial ollies feel fucked, I turn around, go back home and do it again until they work right, and THEN I turn the corner and get cruising. I NEVER turn on the boulevard if the ollies aren't locked in. Sure I could just keep going and lock them in on the boulevard but fuck that shit. The boulevard rolls so nice I want to fully enjoy it.

[bob george]

i feel yuck when i stand on a skateboard with phillips hardware, i don't think i could skate the same if they were on my board