The first time I skateboarded, I stood in my parents' kitchen for four hours and tried to persuade my dad that I didn't need to have a helmet on me. I wonder how I can persuade my own ninja when she or he grows up, to wear a helmet, to come home on time and to not mess up her life with too much drinking or drugs.
The second time I went skateboarding I fell down into a thicket and cut my hands and elbows bloody. I wore a black hoody when I came home so that mom and dad wouldn't see. I held the helmet under my arm. As if I had used it.
The twenty-seventh time I went skateboarding, I ignored the red light on the Avenue and rushed past Jonsborg, Konsum, Systembolaget and Valand. The imaginary police cars close behind. Two feet of air between the skateboard wheels and the tarmac.
The two hundred and ninth time I went skateboarding was a few days ago. I tried to make an ollie after six years of abstinence. I managed to get off the board and for a millisecond my shoes were glued to the wood, which pressed me up in the air. The feeling of freedom was where I had left it. Between the left clavicle and the navel.
Bonus: A good skateboard or skateboard movie clip is always a good warm-up before you go out. Are you completely new, there is a (perhaps) detailed description of an ollie above. Please listen to NOFX, Misfits, or Millencollin before you go for the best feeling.
Required time:
Start with half an hour if you've never been on a board before or if you haven't done it in a while. Let it sink in and try another half-hour day.
Cost:
You can get a fairly simple board with wheels and a design for around €100. If you want something a bit better so it will of course be more expensive. Helmets and knee pads, to each his own.
Cons:
You could fall off and hurt yourself. You can get a skateboard straight on the lower legs and the pain is one of the most disturbing ones there is since the itch somehow enters under the skin.
Pros:
It's a perfect spring and summer activity. You can take the board to work, school or anywhere.
