This might border on the age old art/sport skate cliche, but it's always seemed to me that in terms of learning how to skateboard, it's a lot like language in that people who learn it before or early in puberty end being more fluent with a more natural handle on it. You can still learn it later on, but you can sort of tell just by seeing it that they picked it up later on. I guess that's sort of obvious, like yeah if you start earlier you'll be better later, but I've got some friends who won't skate for a year and a half, then they'll step on a board and look like they've never taken a break from it in 20 years. It's maddening.