Do you hide your adult skateboarding activities from other adults?

[switchfrontshuv]

I don't hide it, but I definitely don't talk about it with co-workers. They are all 20-30 years older than me and don't "get it." I broke my ankle at the end of 2019 which is why I ended up disclosing the information since I couldn't show up to a meeting on a scooter in a cast without an explanation.  I've tried explaining to them the nuances of the culture but its like talking to a brick wall (e.g., why wearing a helmet is not necessary all the time). One of my co-workers outright told me she didn't want me skating in the future and genuinely looked concerned. A hearty "el oh el" was had.

Submitting that letter of resignation is going to feel real damn good when the time comes.



These days, the older I get, I find that I try to give the bare minimum amount of information at work. No one really cares about me anyway. I save mental energy by treating co-workers like NPCs in a video game. Just give 'em the ol' stock phrases and run out the clock until the meeting is done.

at that point man I would do the same shit youredoing im already getting to that point ngl

[rocklobster]

I don't hide it, but I definitely don't talk about it with co-workers. They are all 20-30 years older than me and don't "get it." I broke my ankle at the end of 2019 which is why I ended up disclosing the information since I couldn't show up to a meeting on a scooter in a cast without an explanation.  I've tried explaining to them the nuances of the culture but its like talking to a brick wall (e.g., why wearing a helmet is not necessary all the time). One of my co-workers outright told me she didn't want me skating in the future and genuinely looked concerned. A hearty "el oh el" was had.

Submitting that letter of resignation is going to feel real damn good when the time comes.



These days, the older I get, I find that I try to give the bare minimum amount of information at work. No one really cares about me anyway. I save mental energy by treating co-workers like NPCs in a video game. Just give 'em the ol' stock phrases and run out the clock until the meeting is done.

Same, discussing skateboarding openly with co-workers puts the conversation in a weird place. The general population does not know how to relate to skateboard as opposed to traditional sports / activities, so they will view it from the lens of X-Games, video games, teenage delinquents. I don't have patience to talk them through why skateboarding is the best thing in the world, neither do I want to subject them to my TED Talk.

In the working world adult make the implicit agreement to only given enough fucks about a co-workers life as is necessary. I won't ask you about golf or cycling, so please don't ask me about skateboarding.

[ok boomer]

My best friends wife thinks I’m ridiculous for still skating so I make sure to bring it up as much as possible

[Tom Pearl]

i could care less what anybody thinks of me, as long as im skating and having fun thats all that matters

[kookdusoleil]

“I ride a skateboard” cringes me out as much as “I’m in a band”

With that being said, I ride a skateboard and I’m in a band

[Mean salto]

Seems to be two different way people have interpreted the question but the end result is mostly the same across responses.
 I'll ask tho for all the "fuck what anyone else thinks" people if you're in a situation say at work or some kind of party where you barely know anyone do you actually just bring up then go on and on about skateboarding to people you don't know?

[apport]

i’m so far into an esoteric realm of skating that i can’t even talk about skateboarding with other skaters, let alone the normies!!

[RossDailey]

I wake up every Monday and send clips of park bangers to everyone on my work Microsoft Teams.

After this I drink some limited edition NADC coffee brewed by Neen himself as I do shoulder flys with my Caliber Trucks.

Once I arrive at the office, I show of my new New Balance Numerics (and I show them that NB has a skate line, how forward thinking!)

I ensue that my actual skate shoes are worn on casual friday so they know I got that flick. I make sure to pair these with my Polar Big Boys so they know im hip.

On my lunchbreak I watch Epicly Latered videos on my phone  in the cafeteria with no headphones so they can learn Ed Templetons adolescence.

My mousepad is a footprint insole and I keep a small bowling ball to show off the technology to my coworkers.

I may be a project manager but I do keep a shoelace belt on my Brooks Brother's Chinos so keep things quirky.

When they show me pictures of Brayden playing Soccer, I show clips of Trae the Tank and show them my goals for my offspring (once I find a lady who likes FA and Hockey Aesthetics of course)

Then I make sure to make a cute Board Meeting joke every quarter.

Doing all of this is helping to normalize skateboarding in the millennial Corporate world.

I have actually sent a clip via MS Teams... thanks for the laugh

[IpathCats]

I don't hide it.

I tell every adult I meet so they know I'm not a poseur

[lemonchicken91]

I don't hide it.

I tell every adult I meet so they know I'm not a poseur

respek da stoke

It is a really funny topic because when I discuss surfing most people are more impressed and have all kinds of questions. With skateboarding I feel like people range from "hell yeah I skated back in the day" to confusion or disdain

But things are pretty monoculture now, I feel that the rise of longboarding along with the amount of old dudes at bowls has gotten it more infused into dad culture. could just ben Gen X aging.

[Pastasash]

The average corporate 9-5, American job has a lot of corny people in it. I definitely don't bring it up to co-workers to save myself from the cringe shit they would prob say, or try to bring up around me, but some that are around my age have noticed from the local popular skate shop stuff that I worn on casual days and think its cool. But the older colleagues, and my boss especially, I wouldn't bring it up around.

But I won't give a shit if it comes up in a social setting to other adult strangers

[rocklobster]

The average corporate 9-5, American job has a lot of corny people in it. I definitely don't bring it up to co-workers to save myself from the cringe shit they would prob say, or try to bring up around me, but some that are around my age have noticed from the local popular skate shop stuff that I worn on casual days and think its cool. But the older colleagues, and my boss especially, I wouldn't bring it up around.

But I won't give a shit if it comes up in a social setting to other adult strangers

"Tony Hawk decided to join the Casual Friday Teams Session!"
"You know I used to skate when I was a teenager, did it for 2 whole week before I moved on to inline skating."
"Can you teach my kid to skate?"
"Hey have you seen the video of this kid Andy Anderson? He's amazing on his board, I don't skate but I've watched his video so many times. And the other guy Richie Jackson, he's great too!"

[skunty]

i’m so far into an esoteric realm of skating that i can’t even talk about skateboarding with other skaters, let alone the normies!!

everyone having their own media feeds presenting us with a lil fraction of the fire hose of skate content that comes from every far flung tentacle of the culture, it's a miracle any of us can discuss anything.

also its funny when people who ride motorcycles are like "youre gonna get yourself killed on that thing" to a skateboarder

[cooterkisser]

I don't hide it... but it is hilarious when people see me outside work in my skate clothes 

[rawbertson.]

its funny cause i feel like i have kinda come full circle. when i was like 15-16, if you didnt skate, i pretty much didnt want anything to do with you. nowadays i feel pretty similar. i just dont fuck around with small talk. i dont mind if its silent , if i dont have anytihng important to say i try not to say anything at all and thats fine.

[Fongstarr.]

When I first started working my corporate gig back in 2008 in San Francisco, it was so damn taboo to bring up anything that wasn't say March Madness, Fantasy Football, golf, etc. Skateboarding is just not something that a lot of people know if they went to college to become a cubical dork. I was even one of those guys that had a hard time wearing dress shoes so I like wore some old Ipaths to work but got flack for it. Fast forward now, it is a little more acceptable to be a skater at the type of work (insurance) I am in now. No one really cares what you do as long as you do your job.

Ironically I am older now and moved to a "nice" area to raise my kids and find myself in the same situation that I did when I first started work. 

[SatanicPanic]

Man i fuckin regret telling my academic advisor that i skate without a helmet this fucker goes

"so youre paying for all that education to store in your brain, but you wont wear a helmet to protect it?"

motherfucker I pay rent and keep all my shit in my apartment if i burn it down by accident that was my choice?? i skate ledges and flat anyway mf think im doing 20 stair rails

The helmet scolds are ridiculous. Do you wear a helmet when you go for a run? We’re going the same fucking speed. I skate curbs man, what is going to happen?

[rawbertson.]

some parents think it is cool , some i can tell think its goofy. doesnt matter to me really , i think they are goofy for liking hockey. i dont need to fuck with them.

[manysnakes]

motherfucker I pay rent and keep all my shit in my apartment if i burn it down by accident that was my choice?? i skate ledges and flat anyway mf think im doing 20 stair rails

The thing is that most people cannot imagine standing on a skateboard, and merely rolling down the sidewalk would put them at greater danger than even the old, sucky Pals of Slap trying to ollie a ten stair.

[manysnakes]

Expand Quote

The average corporate 9-5, American job has a lot of corny people in it. I definitely don't bring it up to co-workers to save myself from the cringe shit they would prob say, or try to bring up around me, but some that are around my age have noticed from the local popular skate shop stuff that I worn on casual days and think its cool. But the older colleagues, and my boss especially, I wouldn't bring it up around.

But I won't give a shit if it comes up in a social setting to other adult strangers

[close]

"Tony Hawk decided to join the Casual Friday Teams Session!"
"You know I used to skate when I was a teenager, did it for 2 whole week before I moved on to inline skating."
"Can you teach my kid to skate?"
"Hey have you seen the video of this kid Andy Anderson? He's amazing on his board, I don't skate but I've watched his video so many times. And the other guy Richie Jackson, he's great too!"

When I did the Zoom interviewing with the company for which I now work, the boss was like "Is that a Ray Barbee deck on your wall?" and I knew I was going to get the job.

[Deputy Wendell]

i was going to switch heel a ten stair yesterday, but i had to go to work

[Síota]

I had a safety training today and the dude doing it asked me if I skate, was wearing black label*vans hoodie...dude tells me he long boards... Yeah good luck with that.

[backside_frontside]

I have a wall board on full display in my work office.

Everyone knows that I skate.

[Abyss1]

When I first started working my corporate gig back in 2008 in San Francisco, it was so damn taboo to bring up anything that wasn't say March Madness, Fantasy Football, golf, etc. Skateboarding is just not something that a lot of people know if they went to college to become a cubical dork. I was even one of those guys that had a hard time wearing dress shoes so I like wore some old Ipaths to work but got flack for it. Fast forward now, it is a little more acceptable to be a skater at the type of work (insurance) I am in now. No one really cares what you do as long as you do your job.

Ironically I am older now and moved to a "nice" area to raise my kids and find myself in the same situation that I did when I first started work.

I got a job in SF around 2008 too for some tech startup, I had to get from caltrains stations to downtown SF near the Fed building skate spot everyday, skated and would try to hid my skate as soon as I got to the office. People in the office were mostly not from Cali and hearing them talk how much they hated how skaters would skate around SF in and out of crowds and traffic was kind of hilarious.  My main coworker always saw me leave work with my skate and would ask me about tricks we'd see people doing sometimes and that always cracked me up.

Around 2014 i got a job in oakland working for PGE and would over hear people talking about taking their kids to skateparks...made me not want to share that I did that same shit lol

[Fongstarr.]

Around 2014 i got a job in oakland working for PGE and would over hear people talking about taking their kids to skateparks...made me not want to share that I did that same shit lol

It is weird how there is a Peter Pan syndrome attached to skating. You can play basketball or even snowboard at an old age and it is fine but for skateboarding, you would like be classified as immature.

I had a safety training today and the dude doing it asked me if I skate, was wearing black label*vans hoodie...dude tells me he long boards... Yeah good luck with that.

My buddy who is a skater works in an ad agency where he is the video editor. He had to call in someone to help with something electrical in his office and the guy that came in asked if he skated cause of a board on his wall.......and it was Ben Sanchez. 

[modern life is war]

I've had this experience a few times where I'll be at a skatepark and there'll be a kid there with his or her parents. If I see the kid struggling to land a trick I'll sometimes offer some helpful advice or if I see them so something which I know is difficult to do for the first time, like dropping in to a ramp, I'll usually give them some props to feed the skateboard stoke. Anyway I feel like if I talk to a kid at the skatepark I should probably acknowledge their parents too so sometimes I'll just roll past and say hello or something and they'll sometimes be really awkward and I assume it's them not knowing how to react to seeing a grown man doing a sport that they think is for children.

[ok boomer]

"Do I hear grinding down there?" - adults
"just whackin' it to pornhub, bro. definitely not skateboarding, ew, gr0ss, trix r 4 kids. " - me

much more acceptable

[SneakySecrets]

Expand Quote

motherfucker I pay rent and keep all my shit in my apartment if i burn it down by accident that was my choice?? i skate ledges and flat anyway mf think im doing 20 stair rails

[close]

The thing is that most people cannot imagine standing on a skateboard, and merely rolling down the sidewalk would put them at greater danger than even the old, sucky Pals of Slap trying to ollie a ten stair.

Daddy don’t do double digits

[igrindtwinkies]

I don't hide it unless it's one of those job interview questions asking what you like to do in your free time.  Then I usually mention cycling or chess or something.

[cucktard]

Never. I hide my adult life from my skateboarding.