Seeing the world in a skateboarder’s eyes - This is an interesting article, regardless of whether you’re a skater or not. I used to skate back in the day… way back in the day. I started when I was around 10, up until around 15 or 16. I didn’t skate for too long, but 90% of my days consisted of skating, thinking about skating, dreaming about skating, and looking up skating videos; yeah, if you’re a skater, you understand what I’m talking about. Now that I’m in college, I only skate to get around campus, and occasionally to grocery stores, etc. But what is it like seeing the world in a skater’s perspective? And yes, I’m referring to those skaters who do tricks; you know, those cool flips you see them doing that non-skaters always wonder how in the world they do them.

I decided to list 10 things to help you understand was it’s like to see the world as a skateboarder.

1. Truck unloading zones: Have you ever seen those unloading zones around your town/city? You probably haven’t even noticed them, but that’s a skater’s dream spot. We look at them as potential spots to show what we really got. Being able to ollie or do any flip trick off a ledge like that makes you the badass in town. Being able to capture it on video probably feels the same as graduating with a bachelor’s in biochemistry and molecular biology at Harvard; yeah, it’s that serious.
2. Stairs: I probably can’t stress enough how beautiful a set of stairs looks to a skater. We could probably sit there for 20 minutes (depending on the stairs) and dream about how we can get sponsored doing tricks off these set of stairs. Being able to even ollie off 3 or 5 stairs is a dream come true.
3. Gaps: By gaps, I mean any gaps. It can be the gap between two sidewalks, a hole in the middle of the street, a patch of grass or dirt in between the middle of a road, two tables separated by a gap, etc. We see them as potential sponsoring material, or places that will either be a success of leave us with an injury, but injuries don’t worry us, not being able to clear a gap is what we’re more concerned about.
4. Cones: Those orange cones you see on the road… yeah, we want to clear them. We prepare ourselves all out lives to master this. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a cone. It can be a brick, another skateboard, a sidewalk; anything that is high enough for you to ollie over it.
5. Waxed Pavement: You’ve probably wondered what the hell those black marks are on a handrail, a high enough sidewalk or concrete chair, etc. You have probably wondered why it looks so ugly; yeah, it’s a skater’s footprint. If you’re a skater and have ever encountered one of these, you know it’s probably safe to skate there. Plus, you don’t really have to wax it as much anymore. Saves you wax!
6. Boardwalk: Any long stretch of smooth cement that is meant for you to walk on is a skater’s goal to skate on. The number one thing that comes in mind is doing a manual for as long as possible (or what’s known as a willy) on the boardwalk. Any long stretch of pavement, really, is a skating spot.
7. Hills: This one is obvious, but it doesn’t have to be cemented. Sometimes, skaters will take off their wheels and trucks to ride down a grassy or snowy hill only using their decks.
8. Halfpipe: This one is also obvious, but not everybody knows how to ride a halfpipe. I think being able to ride one of these makes you an expert at skating.
9. Walls: Very important for architects and engineers when it comes to building: important to keep people out, but absolutely important for skaters. Any wall can be ridden on by skaters (wall rides) and then sticker slapped by them. Have you ever seen stickers on unreachable places? Well, that was probably a skater saying “it’s reachable for me :)”
10. BBSF: Barcelona (the mecca), Berlin, San Francisco. The three places that every skater dreams to go. These big cities have some of the best spots for you to skate in. Other cities like Los Angeles, San Diego (Tony Hawk’s home), Brasilia, Moscow, et al. are important places to go to if you’re a skater. We may seem them as getaway places, but many skaters train their asses off to face the real obstacles in these cities. From stairs, walls, ledges, halfpipe, and gaps, all these cities have great spots for skaters to skate on and make their “Sponsor Me” videos.

There are many other ways skaters see the world. This may also apply, so shout out to all the bikers out there too! A huge struggle that many skaters face is getting chased by the police, principals, homeowners, possibly the city, and other pedestrians. We don’t intend to hurt anybody; we’re just looking for a cool place to skate. Don’t get upset with us, we’re just here to skate. Let us amaze you with our talents. Instead of chasing us around, give us a chance. We know what we’re risking. If it’s dangerous, it’s on us. But if you DO see major danger ahead of us, let us know; you may be more familiar with the place.