Impactful moments that made you fall in love with skating

[Dooky-shoes]

Started skating in the early 90’s when shit was progressing daily. Hadnt seen any current vids so I had no idea what was happening.

I remember when a buddies older brother did a rick flip and impossible. He had them on lock. 
I had no idea tricks like that existed and it blew my mind, he could’ve invented them on the spot for all I knew. Probably the most impactful moment in skating.

Another one was being at cbad gap when Jeremy wray frontside flipped it. (I’m one of the kids that freaks out in the background) It was like seeing a skate video in person.

[frontsideNECKTIE]

There's basically two instances that cemented my love for the wooden toy.

1. I about 13yo at the local skatepark with my Dick's Sporting Goods Kryptonics complete and this "older" skater (guy was probably 17) showed me rudimentary stuff like FS Boards, 5-0 grinds, kickflips, etc. and that really started a fire under me to try and "get good".

2. Once I was really into it, my dad bought me the Thrasher Skate & Destroy 25 year anniversary book*, and I read and studied those articles and photos religiously. From the 80's backyard vert ramp days, through BPSW, and into the 2000s tech-gnar, I absorbed it all. Lived it, breathed it, internalized it.

*Wish I still had that book, it was one of the sickest gifts I've ever gotten, but I lose shit so damn easy.... Amazon has it listed for ~100$*

[ChuckRamone]

Seeing the older guys doing really long and fast boardslides on the DMV curb. I thought it looked so cool.

[adam22savage]

seen some kid bombing a hill in traffic right down the yellow line by my grandparents' house.
another time, maybe 8AM and it's a gang of skaters bombing this hill by the bagel place. probably 5 minutes between the first and last one, was it a race? where were they going? was there a secret miniramp in an abandoned factory? were they headed downtown to skate launch ramps? was there a party in a tree full of dogs? most likely the latter.
i was an outsider to both but damn, looked cool that i remember still.
in videos, i thought Jamie's WTH was glorious and victorious. Ricky, PJ, there have been a few that went so well with the song it made you proud to be a human being of skate.

[Easy Slider]

When I was a kid in the late 80s we all had those walmart boards and dorked around on them, on the knees, ass, etc.

Then in 91 some cool kids got real boards and did ollies and stuff. I was blown away immediately and pestered my mum until she got us (me and my brother) one Maui complete (we had to share it). We got kooked because it had a lot of plastic stuff on it but soon enough we had saved enough money to get (identical) G&S Mike Taylor decks with G&S trucks and then we were accepted in the crew, which grew rapidly.

The along came BPSW and the rest is history.

[Shrinedescender]

Discovering these brought me back from a few month hiatus:

[PatrickSkateman]

The first time I skated Love Park in ‘94.

The World/101/Menace demo at Valley Forge, summer ‘95.

Every time I had to run from bike cops and undercovers at Love.

Seeing Henry Sanchez the first time I skated Pier 7.

Skating Barcelona for the first time.

Skating Stalin Plaza.

[Yakusoku2]

At the beginning of the summer of '99, I was in the car with my parents on our way to the beach when we passed what looked like a mini-ramp or halfpipe. Just then, a guy did an air above the copying and I thought, what the hell is that? A few days later, a friend and I were in the street trying to skate with some skateboards with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse on them that he had at home since he was little. We spent the summer learning to feel comfortable on a skateboard while riding. In September, another friend showed me a video game magazine where they announced the release of Tony Hawk Pro Skater and showed several skateboarding scenes. When it came out, I bought it and when I saw the introduction video, I understood for the first time in my life the possibilities for doing tricks on a skateboard. That summer, my life changed forever. My attitude, my friendships, my favorite music, my way of understanding the environment, multiculturalism... everything.

[PancakeBones]

Watching Tony Hawk do the 900 live on TV, it transcended being just skateboarding to a level that even my dad ( who I have no common ground with) felt like he was part of witnessing something truly special , it felt like we all landed it .

Looking back he was totally outside the time limit and Collin McKay should have won

[Mean salto]

I briefly kinda got over skateboarding early on but then randomly a girl from school gave me this on DVD and I just realised I was doing it wrong

[Terminal]

Nothing really. Just got better at it and realised it was for me.

[Esquivel]

When the Daggers threw nails in the pool during Corey's run.

[IpathCats]

Playing THPS

Seeing the big guys rip the park while I had my world industries flameboy helmet on.

[Sleazy]

[douchenozzle]

Watching Tony Hawk do the 900 live on TV, it transcended being just skateboarding to a level that even my dad ( who I have no common ground with) felt like he was part of witnessing something truly special , it felt like we all landed it .

Looking back he was totally outside the time limit and Collin McKay should have won

The 900 is something I tell people that don’t skate was the moment of skateboardings acceptance in society. Shit when I saw it happen live, my mom who was watching it with me acted like our local football team won the superbowl.
This plus learning something new, being around friends spot hunting, etc. I started 30 something years ago, and never looked back.

[Fast_Freddie]

The moment I understood that skate culture is the same no matter where you go...

I was in the Navy, on deployment in 1999, and we ported in Spain.  A few homies from the ship that skated took a train to Barcelona and as soon as we go to the train station, as we walked out the rear, we were in heaven... Javier Sarmiento was there absolutely destroying the plaza, and no matter the language barrier, everyone there was accepting, and we had a great time skating the city and chilling for the day... take a gander at some clips from there back in the day https://theboardr.com/videos/8q59LxnuBXg

Second time to Barcelona, again on deployment, this time in 2002, we took the subway to Paral lel and we run up on the entire Alien/DC team... Dill, Ave, Dyrdek etc... all filming for The DC Video was another great time in BCN

[Trilogy]

I am 40 years old, so I started skating in the mid 90´s in Europe.

one thing I loved about skateboarding was the atitude, the fashion and it was a counter culture movement\sport. Its not like that anymore, but oh well, everything changes in this World, even me.

Also Plan B´s Questionable Video.

[JM]

I was nine or something, and I saw a 3 or 4 skaters near the Food Lion, and one of them did a street plant.

The other was when I was 11 or 12 and I looked out the window of a group of about 6 skaters all ollie up a curb in a group as they were skating down the street.

The third was when the post office with granite (Marble?) steps and ledges was FULL of skaters (about 15 or 20 guessing) doing tricks.  I was about 12, then...   didn't get my own board till the next year, and I didn't know anyone that skated so it just sat for a few years until Sophmore year of high school when I had a car and met some dudes at school who I could drive to and skate with.  That was 1998.   

[TheDraught]

Picking up a random magazine for teenagers in a shop when I was like 10 or something.

They had an article about skateboarding and a few pics of people skating banks, just carving LA schoolbanks, maybe a layback or early grab air over a hip.

Somehow I was absolutely mesmerized. Bought my first board soon after with Kryptonic Slammers 85A and was hooked ever since.

[Loopy]

When the Daggers threw nails JACKS in the pool during Corey's run.

[SneakySecrets]

First time going out street skating.  Rolling around with a little pack looking for spots in between other spots.  Scratched an itch I didn’t know I had.

[funeral_tuxedo]

I saw this on Nickelodeon at my friend’s house in middle school:

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

Magazines for the culture and learning tricks by myself….

[Chavo]

A year into skating, me and some friends went to skate some ditches the next town over. We followed one miles away to an unskateable full pipe and eventually to a nicely shaped concrete bump at the end and wound up about 12 miles from home. This was probably the first experience, other than learning new tricks, of what skateboarding was about.

[JM]

A year into skating, me and some friends went to skate some ditches the next town over. We followed one miles away to an unskateable full pipe and eventually to a nicely shaped concrete bump at the end and wound up about 12 miles from home. This was probably the first experience, other than learning new tricks, of what skateboarding was about.

That’s the best story ever 😭

[Gab]

I’ve been in love with skating ever since I found it. Shortly after I started skating a friends dad crooked grinded a piece of rusty railroad track first try and sparks shot out. From that moment on it was on…

[Ricky Vaughn]

Marty McFly gettin’ his skate on in 1985

[rocklobster]

I loved it when I skating everyday and improving every session, but that next level of love came when I started skating with guy who was from the 1st / 2nd generation of street skaters locally. He was burnt out from the cliques and everyone recognizing him at the park, so he really enjoyed skating with our little crew with our DIY ledge and rail.

He was a true elder skatesman - helping us correct our fundamentals, always hyped for us learning tricks, teaching us how to street skate (looking out for cops, escape routes) and how to appreciate skate videos beyond Zero's big rails / gaps. Going to a skate park as a beginner can be intimidating, and having someone senior encourage you to ignore the feelings of inadequacy and just have fun had a massive impact on me.

He had a bad motorcycle accident years ago that meant he couldn't skate anymore, and we fell out of contact. But I'll always look up to him as a mentor and share those same values with the guys I skate with or newbies to skateboarding.

[Logic]

Bombing hills is how I got into it and fell in love with it. Didn't leave near a skatepark or spots and didn't even think of that sort of skating at the time, would just go to the top of the hill on my street and skate down it.

[eSK3]

Was relatively new to skating when welcome to hell came out. First time watching I was stoked but once I saw Jamie ollie up and ride the car hood I knew this was what I wanted to do forever.