Times where skateboarding wasn't an integral part of your life

[weaselhead]

My last year of high school. I still skated often but it was not as big a priority as just spending time with all my friends (some still skated and some didn't at that point). Strangely, those were some of the best times in my life. Has anyone else had times where they enjoyed life more without skating?

[DISTANT RUMOURS]

Well this one kinda sucks, but to hell with it.

Skateboarding has ALWAYS been a huge part of my life.  When my mom was having me, she had kidney cancer, the cancer spread to my eyes. And I was born with a form of eyecancer. They had to remove tumors so they had to remove parts of my left eye... which took away the eyesight from left eye right away. it was kinda stable for a while but came back when I was around 17...

In total I've had around 22 operations...

And in between those operations there was no way I could skate, if I did,  there would be a huge risk that I'd rip everything open.
I also had an eye reconstruction at 18 and those parts could literally fall out...

I've lost some years of school, because I couldn't see anyway... which really sucked.
Those were the times when I knew who my best friends were... there were just 3 of them.
1 chick, and 2 guys.

I still suck at skating, but I'm VERY thankful I can still draw, work-out and skate.

All that cancer shit does suck. But I have a cousin, my age, who had a very bad accident 4 years ago.
The dude was in a coma for months, has brain damage and he can barely speak and walk right now.

All this stuff reminds of the fact that I have absolutely  no right to complain.

PMA will get you places.





 

[GAY]

Well this one kinda sucks, but to hell with it.

Skateboarding has ALWAYS been a huge part of my life.  When my mom was having me, she had kidney cancer, the cancer spread to my eyes. And I was born with a form of eyecancer. They had to remove tumors so they had to remove parts of my left eye... which took away the eyesight from left eye right away. it was kinda stable for a while but came back when I was around 17...

In total I've had around 22 operations...

And in between those operations there was no way I could skate, if I did,  there would be a huge risk that I'd rip everything open.
I also had an eye reconstruction at 18 and those parts could literally fall out...

I've lost some years of school, because I couldn't see anyway... which really sucked.
Those were the times when I knew who my best friends were... there were just 3 of them.
1 chick, and 2 guys.

I still suck at skating, but I'm VERY thankful I can still draw, work-out and skate.

All that cancer shit does suck. But I have a cousin, my age, who had a very bad accident 4 years ago.
The dude was in a coma for months, has brain damage and he can barely speak and walk right now.

All this stuff reminds of the fact that I have absolutely  no right to complain.

PMA will get you places.





 

I wish we could go skating right now.

[georgethecat]

I started in '88 and went pretty strong until 2003.  I started school at 23, a girl got pregnant on me (without my help) and I piled out for about a year or so.  Also, I skated a lot when I was in the military but when I got stationed in the butthole of Louisiana in 2007 and deployed to Iraq in 2008, became a drunk pile (but still skated) in 2009 when I was going through a divorce and Afghanistan in 2010 I didn't skate that much (and obviously not during the deployment periods.)  I started skating about 3-4 times a week in 2010 and then again when I came back from Afghanistan in 2011 until now.  I'm as back in the swing as I can be with two jobs and school and dealing with injuries, but I still get out around 3-4 times a week.  It's nice how it's always waiting on me.  

Whoa.  Shit has happened to you.

[SodaJerk]

Well this one kinda sucks, but to hell with it.

Skateboarding has ALWAYS been a huge part of my life.  When my mom was having me, she had kidney cancer, the cancer spread to my eyes. And I was born with a form of eyecancer. They had to remove tumors so they had to remove parts of my left eye... which took away the eyesight from left eye right away. it was kinda stable for a while but came back when I was around 17...

In total I've had around 22 operations...

And in between those operations there was no way I could skate, if I did,  there would be a huge risk that I'd rip everything open.
I also had an eye reconstruction at 18 and those parts could literally fall out...

I've lost some years of school, because I couldn't see anyway... which really sucked.
Those were the times when I knew who my best friends were... there were just 3 of them.
1 chick, and 2 guys.

I still suck at skating, but I'm VERY thankful I can still draw, work-out and skate.

All that cancer shit does suck. But I have a cousin, my age, who had a very bad accident 4 years ago.
The dude was in a coma for months, has brain damage and he can barely speak and walk right now.

All this stuff reminds of the fact that I have absolutely  no right to complain.

PMA will get you places.





 

Fuck dude, that puts a lot of the shit we talk on here in perspective. Glad you're doing your thing and think your PMA is rad.

[stevedave]

much respect to DISTANT RUMORS for telling his story.  It's good to see that even though you weren't able to do it, you were still able to have skateboarding be a part of your life in some way.  It's not always the case.  I had a great friend (i consider him family) who got hit by a car while we were on our annual Thanksgiving skate road trip, and wasn't able to skate ever again.  It was his life.  Since he was a kid, it was all he knew, and all he did.  When it was taken from him, he was never quite the same.  It hurt to see him live life without the one thing that he knew.  He piled out hard and eventually his body couldn't take the booze and he passed on.  RIP Jeremiah Brooks. Never Forget.....and roll for those who can't. 

[georgethecat]

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I started in '88 and went pretty strong until 2003.  I started school at 23, a girl got pregnant on me (without my help) and I piled out for about a year or so.  Also, I skated a lot when I was in the military but when I got stationed in the butthole of Louisiana in 2007 and deployed to Iraq in 2008, became a drunk pile (but still skated) in 2009 when I was going through a divorce and Afghanistan in 2010 I didn't skate that much (and obviously not during the deployment periods.)  I started skating about 3-4 times a week in 2010 and then again when I came back from Afghanistan in 2011 until now.  I'm as back in the swing as I can be with two jobs and school and dealing with injuries, but I still get out around 3-4 times a week.  It's nice how it's always waiting on me.  

[close]

Whoa.  Shit has happened to you.

[close]

Honestly, that's just some every day life shit lots of people are going through.  I should've done the right thing and skated more when my life was awful (as long as I wasn't deployed, obviously.) It could be so much worse, as DISTANT RUMORS just mentioned.  I just had ups and downs, he lost sight.

This is true. Props to everyone in this thread for their positivity.

[Jared]

When I played keys/guitar in a band for a while. Skateboarding kind of took a backseat until I started skipping out on band practice to go skate. Some days I really miss the creative dynamic of playing in a band with like minded individuals, but I'm glad I made the decision to bring skateboarding back into my life.

[JBones]

Well this one kinda sucks, but to hell with it.

Skateboarding has ALWAYS been a huge part of my life.  When my mom was having me, she had kidney cancer, the cancer spread to my eyes. And I was born with a form of eyecancer. They had to remove tumors so they had to remove parts of my left eye... which took away the eyesight from left eye right away. it was kinda stable for a while but came back when I was around 17...

In total I've had around 22 operations...

And in between those operations there was no way I could skate, if I did,  there would be a huge risk that I'd rip everything open.
I also had an eye reconstruction at 18 and those parts could literally fall out...

I've lost some years of school, because I couldn't see anyway... which really sucked.
Those were the times when I knew who my best friends were... there were just 3 of them.
1 chick, and 2 guys.

I still suck at skating, but I'm VERY thankful I can still draw, work-out and skate.

All that cancer shit does suck. But I have a cousin, my age, who had a very bad accident 4 years ago.
The dude was in a coma for months, has brain damage and he can barely speak and walk right now.

All this stuff reminds of the fact that I have absolutely  no right to complain.

PMA will get you places.
 

Props dude, u keep going out there and getting at it bro!
Skating heals the soul!

[beazlocal]

turning 38, started skating at 11 or 12, no breaks, skateboarding has been an integral part of nearly my entire life, it introduced me to the greatest friends a person can have, introduced and shaped so much about the music I listen to and like to play, the whole sub-culture and lifestyle, mentality of it shaped who I am today, and how I think and how I view the world, it's been huge, not a fad for me.

Cheers

[OldieButFrenchie]

as for me, well skating took a backseat to music a few times, which seems to be a common theme in this thread!

I'm also on a long break right now, as I had to have ankle surgery in september and I don't think I will really start skating again before they take out the plate. so in total that will be around 15 months without "real" skating, anything more than cruising. But I know I'll be back at some point!

Distant Rumours: PMA all the way.

[JBones]

The balance between the creative side of your brain fighting over music and skating is an insane struggle.
Myself, I've never been able to fully crack it and as I got older it only got harder. Once I go into music mode, everything takes a backseat...life, love, family - skating, whatever - everything.
Skating is a bit more open minded w/ what can be done while in skate mode, just as long as it ain't musical. 
It's a hard balance that I wish I had the Game Genie code to. It's also especially hard when you AREN'T making 3 chord punk rock and are actually making big pieces of music w/ alot of thought and production.
This could be a thread unto itself. - "The struggle between being the musician and being the skater".

[Merked]

Every winter in NY.  Fuck me.

[Lenny the Fatface]

Kinda going through it now...grad school has been time consuming as fuck.  The worst feeling is having to design a prototype when the birds are chirping and the weather is perfect.

[D.B. Cooper]

I stopped for a while after I got outed to my dad and he kicked me out of the house/family...it was like at that point I was just "all in" with the gay thing and I didn't think skateboarding would have me any more. I came back to it once I got comfortable with myself and realized none of my friends who I skated with cared about who I put my penis into. Now I am terrible but I still love skating and ollieing up and down curbs.

I've always been confused about that part, do you stick the balls in too?

When I was a twinkle in my Daddy's eye I didn't care much for skateboarding.  

[rideforJJ]

When I bought a fixed gear and got too into bike culture to think anything for myself with 2 and half years sober. I relapsed around 4years of sobriety and started skating and going to house shows every night again and that was a blast for a year; until I had to drink in the morning to not get the shakes and was too drunk by 2pm to do anything but bike to a liquor store for another fifth and couple slices of pizza.

I sobered back up and moved about a year ago to a college town area where a bunch of young people my age are sober and we now have a crew spanning all levels of skating. Before winter hit we were taking several little trips a week to random spots and hitting meetings in those areas at night and I actually feel alive and hyped on life again.

[ThugWaffle]

Fuck, I think the longest for me has been 6 months back when I was like 12 years old, recently the longest has been a week.

[Monkey_Mcpott]

When I bought a fixed gear and got too into bike culture to think anything for myself with 2 and half years sober. I relapsed around 4years of sobriety and started skating and going to house shows every night again and that was a blast for a year; until I had to drink in the morning to not get the shakes and was too drunk by 2pm to do anything but bike to a liquor store for another fifth and couple slices of pizza.

I sobered back up and moved about a year ago to a college town area where a bunch of young people my age are sober and we now have a crew spanning all levels of skating. Before winter hit we were taking several little trips a week to random spots and hitting meetings in those areas at night and I actually feel alive and hyped on life again.

Man i cant even begin to tell you how many skate friends i lost to this fad.

Started skating less once i had my first kid at the age of 22. Had to grow up get a job and move out , Now i got a nice paying office job where i spend a good majority of my day in and out on slap and thrasher where i sometimes would be late to conference meeting to finish my post or watch a skate video . Now i got presentations and all these office projects i have to do on a regular basis but whenever Im in the subject of skateboarding i suddenly feel like that annoying 12 year old skate rat i was back then and its awesome.  I still skate to this day but nowhere near as much because i do put my family i n front of everything but skateboarding is a very close second.

[QUIT SINNIN]

Early twenties art music partying girlfriends phase. I'm back baby!

[QUIT SINNIN]

I straight up did not touch a skateboard from ages 16-23. 8 fucking years. Got really into music and smoking weed. Started a band. Got a girlfriend. Enjoyed having sex. Got more girlfriends. Went to college. Got really into drinking beer and film school. Met future fiancee. Calmed down on partying. Graduated college. Moved to Nashville. Started working full time. Picked up a board again. Got really into music. Moved to Colorado. Got less into music. Got realllly into skateboarding. Here I am.

In many ways I regret every single day that my golden years of youth and risk and doing big crazy shit are gone forever. However, I'm very glad I got the partying and girls shit over with at an early age. Now I skate 5 times a week and don't see any end in sight. I'm engaged, and have very few distractions in my life.

It's all uphill from here.

[jam bra]

when I was younger it seemed like there was always an older family member saying something like, "you'll quit that when you get a girl" or "you won't wanna do that anymore when you get a car".

I'm 34. still skating.

when I look back it's pretty amazing how much skating has helped me deal with everything over the years. dad died when I was 10. mom died when I was 16.

maybe its corny but skating has always been there for me.

[Yu Dum]

Well this one kinda sucks, but to hell with it.

Skateboarding has ALWAYS been a huge part of my life.  When my mom was having me, she had kidney cancer, the cancer spread to my eyes. And I was born with a form of eyecancer. They had to remove tumors so they had to remove parts of my left eye... which took away the eyesight from left eye right away. it was kinda stable for a while but came back when I was around 17...

In total I've had around 22 operations...

And in between those operations there was no way I could skate, if I did,  there would be a huge risk that I'd rip everything open.
I also had an eye reconstruction at 18 and those parts could literally fall out...

I've lost some years of school, because I couldn't see anyway... which really sucked.
Those were the times when I knew who my best friends were... there were just 3 of them.
1 chick, and 2 guys.

I still suck at skating, but I'm VERY thankful I can still draw, work-out and skate.

All that cancer shit does suck. But I have a cousin, my age, who had a very bad accident 4 years ago.
The dude was in a coma for months, has brain damage and he can barely speak and walk right now.

All this stuff reminds of the fact that I have absolutely  no right to complain.

PMA will get you places.





 

I'd love to skate with you, dude. You seem like an awesome person to be around. Stay positive.

As for me, being young, I haven't spent much time away from skating. The only times I spent extended amounts away from it were when I was injured. The longest I went was a year after tearing my ACL & meniscus and having surgery to repair that. Recently, I've had bouts of injuries as well. Broken ankle twice and broke foot since 2013 started. I have no room to complain though. A lot of you have had it worse off than me. But the fact that you guys have stayed positive throughout and came out on top, for the most part, makes me stoked.

[cretard]

Well this one kinda sucks, but to hell with it.

Skateboarding has ALWAYS been a huge part of my life.  When my mom was having me, she had kidney cancer, the cancer spread to my eyes. And I was born with a form of eyecancer. They had to remove tumors so they had to remove parts of my left eye... which took away the eyesight from left eye right away. it was kinda stable for a while but came back when I was around 17...

In total I've had around 22 operations...

And in between those operations there was no way I could skate, if I did,  there would be a huge risk that I'd rip everything open.
I also had an eye reconstruction at 18 and those parts could literally fall out...

I've lost some years of school, because I couldn't see anyway... which really sucked.
Those were the times when I knew who my best friends were... there were just 3 of them.
1 chick, and 2 guys.

I still suck at skating, but I'm VERY thankful I can still draw, work-out and skate.

All that cancer shit does suck. But I have a cousin, my age, who had a very bad accident 4 years ago.
The dude was in a coma for months, has brain damage and he can barely speak and walk right now.

All this stuff reminds of the fact that I have absolutely  no right to complain.

PMA will get you places.





 

this post made me get out of bed and go skate by myself at 3 am. Keep it up dude!

[matter of fact]

about a year ago til recently i had bad anxiety about being in college and not knowing what i wanted to do, so i drank all day every day. could skate through it sometimes but then the fear of falling became overwhelming and i just completely stopped enjoying it, skating at a much lower level than i had been for years. quit the booze and my confidence is coming back. snow's melting over the weekend so i can go learn nollie back big heels yeeeeaaaa. time to get off this fucking plateau

[Commercial D]

Now. Getting on a road bike and climbing 5000' at an average 5% gradient without stopping even once and then descending back at 60kph is a lot gnarlier than anything I ever did in 22 years of skateboarding.

[Tufty]

 When i was 15 i broke my leg after skating for 1 year. I was really bummed. I was fully healed in 3 months but after that i was kinda afraid to skate again and my parents gave me heavy shit, they even talked to the doctor to tell me i'd better not skate again, even though my injury was 100% curable.  Two years after that, during my last high school year, i was really into pressure from the exams and one day i took my board out from the attic that my parents hid it and went for a downhill. Then i got psyched again and met some new cool people (my skate buddy quit for life after seeing my broken leg hanging.) and started skating again.

 The last 2 years i am kind of struggling with the university and i was always off board during exams period and sometime before them. Now i am almost finished with school and i have a lot of free time just doing my thesis and i am psyched with my program, skating in the morning and doing science work at night. After going for a small trip in Barcelona 2 months ago, i got even more motivated to skate more, i wanna be a better skater and film something good on many Cool spots i went to there. I hope i have enough money to get there in this spring. On top of that a new skatepark got built in a nearby city where many friends live. Good skateparks here are very rare and this one is very good.