I distinctly remember the first time a skateboarder whooshed past me and left me in awe. It was the ’90s – the era of grunge, flannel and Clueless. My first film star crush was Brittany Murphy’s skater admirer, so no wonder seeing one in real life left such an impression on me. I begged and begged and begged my parents to buy me a skateboard, but they wouldn’t give in – apparently I was too young and they were scared I’d get hurt.
But just when I got old enough to have my first skateboard, the trend was already dying and that Avril Lavigne song just put a nail in the coffin. But that’s the thing with trends – they come and go and you can’t do nothing about it. But if a trend is really popular, it’s bound to make a comeback eventually. Well, now I can happily announce that the era of skateboards is officially back! Yay!
I don’t know whether it’s because it was a huge part of my childhood, but when I saw kids on my street pulling tricks with their skateboards, I got the urge to take out my own out of the garage. At first I wanted to polish it and make it look brand new, but then I figured that skateboards should have that worn out look, and I should leave it as it was. However, the years of usage had taken their toll on its mechanical composition.
So the only thing I actually did, was check its parts. And thank God I did so, because a very important safety feature needed a replacement – my ceramic skateboard bearings. Many people don’t test the condition of their bearings, and that’s a big mistake. These structures are important for keeping the wheels in place. If there’s anything wrong with them, a wheel might fall off and you’d lose control of where you’re going, which is the last thing you want to happen when skating.
Apparently, ceramic skate board bearings are dominating the market now. The last time I bought new bearings they were mostly made of metal, however, the new ceramic ones are extremely smooth, don’t expand in the heat and make very little friction. I managed to find just the right ceramic skateboard bearings I needed from the wide choice on the Australian market. I hope the high quality ones I bought will last to serve my children when skateboarding makes a comeback again.
The next thing I set out to do was to remove all that teenage symbols. School still sux I know, but I can’t be the personification of irony riding around with that phrase slapped over my board while working on a master’s thesis. After my board got somewhat of a decent look, I went out on the street to practice my moves. Oh, the fun I had! The first couple of times I lost balance and fell off, but I got the hang of it quickly. Skating is such a trend that even many celebrities practice it. I felt like a part of the cool kids.
And what about you? Are you ready to unleash your inner sk8er boi or gurl? Don’t worry if you think you’re too old. Skateboarding knows no age, well, except if your body can’t handle it. But if you’re in good physical shape, there really is no excuse. And don’t even start with all that “it’s dangerous” nonsense. If you are careful, well-protected, don’t literally go over your head with the board, and check its condition regularly, you have nothing to worry about. So, go wipe the dust off your old skateboard, or if you skipped that part of your childhood, just buy a brand new one – it’s never too late to start!
After all things said, I can say that I think skateboarding will be more than just a passing trend. The fact that it was made an official Olympic sport is very promising. Exactly 3 and a half years from now, you’ll turn on the TV to cheer your country’s Olympic representative in skateboarding. And who knows, we might be lucky enough to see some of Shane O’Neill’s distinctive moves on the Tokyo streets. Australian skateboarding fans, rejoice!
