Maybe Soul Searching is a little bit dramatic a term, but I’ve been thinking a lot about how I approach freestyle skateboarding this week, and about taking my own advice about always skating like one’s self.
It was percolating (I almost wrote “gestating”) just under my surface thoughts for a while, and I think yesterday’s Alva post really brought it to the conscious mind. In particular, skating my own way at Paderborn this summer, rather than emulating someone else. Truth is we can’t help but skate our own way, and when we try not to, well, the results are horrible. I have this long list of tricks I “want” to learn. They are mostly tricks that lots of other people do. Not original. A list of check-box stuff that will frustrate the hell out of me and not really make me very happy. They will be removed from the list. Going to work on my own stuff. My own ideas. That must be good enough. It is. It is more than good enough.
Yes, I probably spend a little too much time thinking about things.
Kondo Method of Skating? If the trick does not give you joy, don’t do it. I like this,
I still have heroes. At 54. Yes. Tony Gale, Terry Synnott. My two badass friends. I love the way they skate. But I can’t be either of them. It’s so easy to fall into the attempted-emulation trap.
I’ve always said/thought you have a more flowy style than a static bouncey one. The Alva nose wheelie/g turn thing has your name all over it…but even that’s not you. Do you…just don’t do you near any sort of parks or elementary schools, people frown on that.
Skate like Bob. Do some bunny hops. Those are fun.