Any complete wussies get pretty good at skateboarding?

[Uncle Jeffrey]

Good skaters always seemed to be the guys who wanted to jump off shit, go fast on shit, and otherwise get adrenaline pumping.

That's not me. When we bombed hills on makeshift carts, I got on the brakes (shoes on pavement) before the rest. When we mountain biked I went around anything resembling a jump. If we jumped off a big rope swing into water I generally did it once so I could say I did it, and then not again because it didn't stoke me out.

I picked up skateboarding in my 30s after following it since I was a kid. And even just learning to cruise and pop little gimped ollies helped my confidence a bunch. But I feel I won't progress because I let sketchy shit get to me.

I don't care about dropping into big vert or learning a million flip tricks at high speed, or grinding big features. But I'd love to be able to competently cruise and ollie obstacles at speed, slap the shit out of curbs, and competently do a little bowl carving or mini ramp riding.

Just looking for input from maybe some guys similar to me who have become at least partially competent on a board, who otherwise didn't seek out big adrenaline bursts. If you exist.

[Mantracker]

Yeah we skate ledges, lines and manny pads

Come hang out sometime!

[Mean salto]

I definatly wasn't a big wussie when I was young. But now I'm old and broken i can put myself into that category on most days of the year.
Unpopular opinion sure but I watch creature videos or that grindline video and it actually annoys me a little bit that those giant transition parks even exist.
But yeah as stated there's plenty of low risk/high enjoyment things to skate like ledges and Manny's I'd also count things like pole jams and wallies being pretty safe. You're also probably not going to get hurt trying tricks up a 3 stair.
As far as myself being competent I would say in my prime I was definatly ok to good (as far as an average not sponsored guy is concerned) but not so much now.

[exlurker]

Easy does it, baby

[in love w/ fs shuvs]

I'm pretty happy with my progression. I'm not crazy good but i have a small bag of tricks that I can take to most spots that I can probably get in a session.

You're only as good your equipment imo. Skating's like lifting weights, you gotta work up. If your park has only gnarly transition and u wanna be able to blast airs find a park with a half pipe or build one (this is much harder) and get really good at the basics then take it to big spots.

Video parts are really important as a source of inspiration too. Get on that nik stain/alex olson wave; you don't need a lot of tricks as long as u got a stylish bag.

If you don't have any spots try to find fresh asphalt and skate flat, mini gaps, ollie over ledges, small stairs, wallies, manuals. I recommend fresh parking lots. Bring a speaker and water. "Being good at flat is the foundation to being a good skater." - Dill

[iKobrakai]

I'm pretty happy with my progression. I'm not crazy good but i have a small bag of tricks that I can take to most spots that I can probably get in a session.

You're only as good your equipment imo. Skating's like lifting weights, you gotta work up. If your park has only gnarly transition and u wanna be able to blast airs find a park with a half pipe or build one (this is much harder) and get really good at the basics then take it to big spots.

Video parts are really important as a source of inspiration too. Get on that nik stain/alex olson wave; you don't need a lot of tricks as long as u got a stylish bag Daddy's connections
 
If you don't have any spots try to find fresh asphalt and skate flat, mini gaps, ollie over ledges, small stairs, wallies, manuals. I recommend fresh parking lots. Bring a speaker and water. "Being good at flat is the foundation to being a good skater." - Dill

I'm a bitch too, we don't get good at anything, my dude.

[S.]

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I'm pretty happy with my progression. I'm not crazy good but i have a small bag of tricks that I can take to most spots that I can probably get in a session.

You're only as good your equipment imo. Skating's like lifting weights, you gotta work up. If your park has only gnarly transition and u wanna be able to blast airs find a park with a half pipe or build one (this is much harder) and get really good at the basics then take it to big spots.

Video parts are really important as a source of inspiration too. Get on that nik stain/alex olson wave; you don't need a lot of tricks as long as u got a stylish bag Daddy's connections
 
If you don't have any spots try to find fresh asphalt and skate flat, mini gaps, ollie over ledges, small stairs, wallies, manuals. I recommend fresh parking lots. Bring a speaker and water. "Being good at flat is the foundation to being a good skater." - Dill

[close]

I'm a bitch too, we don't get good at anything, my dude.

I dunno. Ever since I turned thirty I have become a lot more careful due to various injuries. It has definitely helped my skating. It takes way longer to learn tricks, but I am a lot more consistent with what I do. I also just recently learned backside tailslides at 37 years old!

[rawbertson.]

we are all scared bro it is just about conquering the fear

courage is not lack of fear it is understanding that you are afraid but knowing you need to do it anyway

but to answer your question, i would say yes, i was pretty mcuh a complete wussy and i am pretty good at skateboarding. not hooked up level, but i have my lane   

[ok boomer]

I did dirt jump tracks on BMX before skating. I also grew up with motorcycles, guns, dune buggy, 4 wheelers, etc. I would say, to X degree, I had "No Fear"™ but.. when handrails started getting bigger, I definitely started feeling it. I would think "handrails aren't fun" but also "man if I get broke off, I won't be able to skate". So... unironically... a handrail (at 32 years old) is the thing that brought out the fear in me and took away my "No Fear"™.

Long story medium... there was a horizontal rail in between cement posts that was kind of low. I thought it would look cool to 50-50 from one side and pop off to the other, a transfer, if you will. I did it a few times, but wanted to film it. Got on the rail and the board banana peeled out from under me so all my momentum went forward full speed and started going down on my face. I snuck my hands in between my face and ground (I had just got my teeth fixed a week before this). On film.. I got up and laughed, because the pain hadn't hit me yet. He cuts the cam, and then this searing pain shot up both my wrists (jammed both straight into the ground). I still have 3 pops in my left wrist and 1 pop in my right, from this one fall. Confidence on rails shot instantly. I only KINDA skate my Zero flat bar sometimes, but I hate rails. I still hate this moment, because I knew within a week that "the fear" had gotten me and I would never return to my previous self (please read this in a "Wonder Years" narrative voice).

[L33Tg33k]

I've dealt with a high level of wussitude my whole life. There are whole avenues of skating that are closed to me because I'm too scared to commit. I'm scared of ramps, I'm scared of rails, I'm scared of gaps, I'm scared of stairs. That leaves me with flat ground and ledges. Now even ledges have become a struggle.
There are obstacles I used to skate when I was younger that I wasn't afraid of at the time. I used to be able to do basic lip tricks on small tranny, 50 and 5-0 and nose grind whole flatbars, skate off small drops, bomb hills, etc., but I never really could keep up with my friends who seemed to have no sense of self preservation or aversion to pain. I noticed that in the best of them they seemed to not have a sense of consequences for their actions. They would deal with the results as they came.
As I got older and less practiced my skills waned and my fears peaked. Now I get a rush of adrenaline when I'm skating down the street and I have to ollie up a curb backside. I still do it but I'd be more comfortable if the curb were straight on or frontside. Shit, I still feel it in the most ideal of situations. I can still get around and do a very limited set of tricks, and in my heart of hearts, I still consider myself a skateboarder despite my general disgust at myself. And that's just the skateboarding aspect of my life!
Life as a coward has been extremely difficult. I won't get into here but I'm sure due to my public airing of life's grievances, a few you can imagine some of the setbacks my disposition has caused me. I'm always fighting to do and be better, though. You should too.

Drugs help

[IUTSM]

There were certain things in was terrified of as a kid or whatever, or rather, didn't have the confidence in myself to try them- handrails and stairs- I saw myself as not very good and that attitude limited me. Looking back though, I skated some fairly gnarly shit that I wouldn't know what to do with at this point- hill bombs, deep ends of pools, gaps, general crust-

But now, after an 8-10 year break, started skating again at 35 and have been at it for a year or so, I'm all about it. I think that aside from any burly shit, as long as I don't get hurt, I will be an all around better skateboarder than I was at my "peak" years of regular skating. Sure, stamina isn't as high, but I've got most of the old tricks back (not too many to begin with) and a handful of new ones. I want to figure out handrails. Just to board slide some small, 5-6 stair rails.

Like someone else wrote, slowing down has made me skate better. I used to just go as fast as I could. That don't work anymore.

[BallparkFrank]

Yup, I’m full of fear. I started skating too late in life and got some yucky injuries right away and now I’ll suck at skating forever. I still have fun doing it, it’s just that nobody has fun watching me do it.

[Mean salto]

This kinda seems relevant to how I (and sounds like others) feel now.

[KoRnholio8]

2021 was the year of my fist head banger and the "leg on a board split", so this ear I am going to buy a fucking helmet and not skate in the winter ever again. I'm not good at skateboarding, but some tricks have made me feel so for a brief moment

[Hyliannightmare]

Yeah we skate ledges, lines and manny pads

Come hang out sometime!

This. I'll hit the same 2 tricks on low/medium hubba and outledges, going half the speed of the rest of my crew

[hustleknocker]

I picked up skateboarding in my 30s after following it since I was a kid. And even just learning to cruise and pop little gimped ollies helped my confidence a bunch. But I feel I won't progress because I let sketchy shit get to me.

the good guys started when they were 10. you won't progress because you're in your 30s and your brain has become a wooden block. your body is no good anymore either. give it up 

But I'd love to be able to competently cruise and ollie obstacles at speed, slap the shit out of curbs, and competently do a little bowl carving or mini ramp riding.

reasonable

[Skatebeard]

It's all about finding your groove within your own comfort level.

I've been skating over 20 years on and off, but i was never into big sets or handrails, and i lacked the commitment to do anything sizeable, have also always been very wary of transition over 2 or 3 ft high.

So consequently I always skated flatground, and have gotten reasonably competant at it for a 36 year old. I still eat shit, and usually on the simplest of tricks.

The more you skate the more your confidence will grow, you just have to manage and channel that so that you can stay within that sweet spot of progressing without high consequence risk.

15 years of snowboarding helped my confidence on a skateboard a lot, you're going a lot faster, the risks are much higher, and you absolutely have to commit, especially on rails and jumps. I have semi retired from snowboarding due to injuries, but i've found my little niche back in skating, just doing flatground gives me a lot of satisfaction and it's far less scary than riding into a 30-40ft jump at 20-30mph on a snowboard.

[Easy Slider]

I don't consider myself a wuss, but I still suck so there is no relation between wussitude and compentence, if that is of any help to OP.

[Prinzy]

nah i just became the filmer

[in love w/ fs shuvs]

nah i just became the filmer

Lol. Some filmers are actually nice with it tho.

[cky enthusiast]

i watch snelling footage and realize you can live through anything

[Brguy]

I was kind of a wuss when I was a kid but it just led me to bail a lot instead of actually not trying. If I'm honest I think the only way to do the stuff you want is to learn to appreciate the fear a bit. Like your goals are basically go moderately fast and pop a decent ollie, both of things you can learn pretty quickly, but you can't escape the fear because it's inherent to progress in skateboarding, if you want to ride comfortably you'll have a first time where it's not comfortable.
My tip is to learn powerslides, bomb some hills and practice a lot of flatground going fast-ish(you can raise the speed progressively, just go a bit more fast than you're used to from time to time), you'll be happy with your skating in no time.

[goingapelikenigo]

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I'm pretty happy with my progression. I'm not crazy good but i have a small bag of tricks that I can take to most spots that I can probably get in a session.

You're only as good your equipment imo. Skating's like lifting weights, you gotta work up. If your park has only gnarly transition and u wanna be able to blast airs find a park with a half pipe or build one (this is much harder) and get really good at the basics then take it to big spots.

Video parts are really important as a source of inspiration too. Get on that nik stain/alex olson wave; you don't need a lot of tricks as long as u got a stylish bag Daddy's connections
 
If you don't have any spots try to find fresh asphalt and skate flat, mini gaps, ollie over ledges, small stairs, wallies, manuals. I recommend fresh parking lots. Bring a speaker and water. "Being good at flat is the foundation to being a good skater." - Dill

[close]

I'm a bitch too, we don't get good at anything, my dude.

[close]

I dunno. Ever since I turned thirty I have become a lot more careful due to various injuries. It has definitely helped my skating. It takes way longer to learn tricks, but I am a lot more consistent with what I do. I also just recently learned backside tailslides at 37 years old!

thats so cool, congrats!!!!

[pizzafliptofakie]

Yeah we skate ledges, lines and manny pads

Come hang out sometime!

See this is funny cuz I find ledges to be more scary than decently sized transitions, but I'm aging and trying!

[manysnakes]

I picked up skateboarding in my 30s after following it since I was a kid. And even just learning to cruise and pop little gimped ollies helped my confidence a bunch. But I feel I won't progress because I let sketchy shit get to me.

There's a niche for people who don't want to go big, but the bigger issue you're going to find is that, unless you grew up snowboarding, surfing, or doing some other board sport, you probably never developed the wiring to skate truly well when your brain was at its most plastic.

I wouldn't go nuts worrying that you're not hill bombing at 35. Learn how to ollie up a curb, do some manuals, and maybe eventually master a slappy and enjoy yourself.

[Paul_Glider Skateboards]

In a similar situation. Turning 33 this year, and I just don't want to hurt myself. Don't want to deal with hospital or responsibilities when injured.

I stick to parking lots, flatground, manny pads, and the like

[Mark Renton]

Just skate within your limits man. Try not to force it too much. Try to think worst case scenario before trying a trick down something. Learn how to kick the board away or escape shitty mid air situations.

You will still get fucked anyways tho. I tried to rationalise it like even if you’d play only Tuesday night five a side or Sunday league or any kind of sport there’s a chance you’ll get smoked.

Something I realised it’s good to do that I wasn’t doing when younger is just give up on a trick if it’s not working and move on to another. Saves tons of meltdowns and energy.

Thing I noticed its that skating is subtle. You get fucked on stupid stuff you won’t expect.
I was out for 3 months for a missed nosegrind on a ledge. My mate just jacked his ankle on a flat ground heelflip. We both have those tricks on lock it’s weird. Go figure.

[Deputy Wendell]

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Yeah we skate ledges, lines and manny pads

Come hang out sometime!

[close]

See this is funny cuz I find ledges to be more scary than decently sized transitions, but I'm aging and trying!

it's often odd to agree with you on things pizza, but this is spot on

getting up on to and locking in to things on legit ledges on street--especially cement, concrete, etc.--requires the kind of speed, pop, and confidence that are the first things to start to go with age and injuries

[rawbertson.]

i have gotten bodied on a lot of fs / bs 5-0 slipping out so i treat that siht with respect i wamr up with lot of 5050s. i know what i am getting into. a lot of people who do ledge game do kind of bs tricks they can get out of easily its same as maybe the way some ppl hit quarter pipes they just do 5050s not really trying anything they can get too bodied on for most of the sesh. it really dpeends who you are talking to both definintely have thier level of respect

[manysnakes]

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Yeah we skate ledges, lines and manny pads

Come hang out sometime!

[close]

See this is funny cuz I find ledges to be more scary than decently sized transitions, but I'm aging and trying!

[close]

it's often odd to agree with you on things pizza, but this is spot on

getting up on to and locking in to things on legit ledges on street--especially cement, concrete, etc.--requires the kind of speed, pop, and confidence that are the first things to start to go with age and injuries

Same thing. I’m 41 and I’ll skate the deep end of the biggest pools padless, but I’m too scared to ollie into a 2 foot high ledge because I can picture myself getting a heavy shinner.