New Faces of the Old School

I’m one, and if your reading this, you probably are too. We are the re-emergence of old school skaters and much to the astonishment of the new school, we are coming back in numbers and are here to stay. We, us, you are the 40-year-old plus skaters of yore who have decided for various reasons to return to the sport of our youth. The various reasons being many such as: my kid skates, so I thought I would take it up again; my kids are grown, and I have a bunch of free time; I just got away from it somehow; and for some possibly a midlife crisis; I.E. better get back into it before I just get older and it just gets harder and harder. Any of these are more than valid and I hear new ones everyday.
Mine is an old sob story which goes like this ...

Having put aside skateboarding for surfing in California back in my early thirties, I used to live ten minutes from the waves and could surf everyday there was swell. Back then, there weren't skateparks in every city and you were more likely to have a local ditch than any man made park. Now in my fifties and living in Portland, I live two hours from the surf and with grown-up obligations, I just can’t get out as much as I used to due to the drive and fickle surfing conditions. I never of course totally gave up skating, but put it on the back burner as I loved the fact that I could do all the things surfing that I could do skating, but rarely paid the price of major injury when things went bad. Soft water to greet me after every fall was a delight after taking numerous pit dives skating which often resulted in rolled ankles, broken wrists, elbow spurs, skull smackers and at the very least – bumps, bruises and road rash. When I first moved to Portland I lived right by Pier Park Skatepark. A couple of times a month I would take the old board down and go for a few runs. After a few years of missing the surf, the tables were turned by a ripper I met at my new job who is years younger and helped me to re-ignite the old flame. One day he talked me into meeting him at a "baby" park before work to just kinda get back into things. Well the combination of the two events struck some cords deep down inside and suddenly, "it was on."

The skating bug flowed back into my veins again after years of dormancy. It all happened in a flash. After another couple epic morning seshes, boom, I was back in the saddle. After a couple of weeks I moved on to my local park and started hitting the bowl hard. Becoming so fun, it began dominating my thoughts. However, it wasn’t all PDX roses, I paid the price right off the bat. Tail bone crack trying to drop in, rolled ankle and broken foot after a collision in the bowl, both wrists crackly and sore and the worst really, a knee smacker which resulted in a bone bruise that hurt for weeks. Since the knee, I wear full pads and a helmet for every session regardless of the uncool factor. New schoolers may not have been down injury road yet, but I have. I still have a protrusion on the back of my skull from a double head smack on the bottom of a pool from longer ago than most new schoolers are old. However, the more I go, the less I fall and the better I get. Watching and studying rippers at the park like I used to do with surf videos helps greatly as well. 

Soon however, I was at a new crossroads. Not being able to get enough speed in the bowl was hurting my progress. Thus, time for me to re-evaluate my equipment. Skating old Dead Bolts (still can't remember where the hell these came from) with outdated geometry and a twenty-five-year-old board that albeit has a great shape but has become a stiff plank just wasn't working. As well, my wheels had become harder than rocks because of age. So, I decided to build a new board from scratch to suit my style. We’ll get to the board build at the end.

First is my summer surf and skate trip through Oregon and California. I thought what could be a better way to get back into it than to do a skate park tour starting with one of the oldest parks on the west coast, Derby in Santa Cruz. Going from city to city and park to park I learned quite a few things, one bad, mostly all good. First, the bad news, I was pretty much a kook. Having never really learned to ollie, fakie, or skate street style I found I was sorely lacking the basic skills needed to do any tricks. At my peak I could skate the quarter pipe front and backside, lay down huge slides and drop off ledges. This was the extent of my skill level before surfing sent skating to the cellar. The good news was nearly every person I met at the parks no matter what their age was accepting of me and encouraged me in very honest ways. Skating the old Alva original board I have had since the 1990s didn’t hurt either, it attracted attention from park to park and state to state. As well, almost every time I went I would meet another “older dude” who like me was just getting back into skating. Some were better, some were worse. Nonetheless, it made me feel like I belonged and allowed me to hang instead of shying away due to the embarrassment regarding my lack of contemporary skills.

Also fun and nostalgic was building my new board in an effort to find the perfect setup. After trying various decks, trucks and wheels I really got into it. Every time I fell into a quagmire about which durometer this, or what size that, my buddy at work would just roll his eyes and say, “man, time to just skate, none of that will help you learn to ollie.” Nevertheless, I have always been a firm believer in getting the right equipment first, and then proceed to ripping so you don’t have to look back, only forward. In either surfing or skating your board should never be an excuse for you.

One of the biggest draws for me to get back into skating of course is its similarity to surfing. It fulfills that need to drop in, fly down the line and then lay down a big carve on the wall. The defiance of gravity once felt instantly becomes an obsession. It soon becomes an addiction that cannot be denied. Skating is so close to surfing, you can see why they call it surfing the cement wave. As well, it gives one that taste of youth that can get lost as you get older. You forget that you gave it up, it didn’t give you up, but remember it is still there for the taking.
There are no real explanations, just excuses. If Slater and Hawk can rip into their golden years, why can’t the rest of us! 

Now several years into my comeback I feel confident trying new tricks and am back up to speed with my bowl riding. Short-term goals: dropping in as well as grinding the cope from higher and higher, no grab air out of the bowl, axle grind, rock n roll, acid drop and throw in some sweet Bertlemann slides and then I will feel as legitimate skating as I do surfing.

Moral of the story is its never too late to get back to what you love. Remember, the only thing stopping you is excuses. Revel in today for tomorrow might not be for the taking. Wardy

Now the board. After going through several deck, truck and wheel sizes as well as endless bushing switch-outs I finally settled on a setup. After riding it just once, I felt right away to be at another level of speed, control and maneuverability. There have definitely been subtle but important technology advancements in skateboarding over the years most notably of course double noses, but also the lightness, concave and even the flex have improved. 

DECK: Lipstick old school/new school hybrid board with square tail. 9"x32.25" with mounting holes for 14.5" or 15" wheelbase.
(I am six feet so I like a little longer deck and wheelbase.)

TRUCKS: Independent hollow axle/kingpin 159s with Indy aftermarket 92a double conical bushings.

WHEELS: Bones Tiles SPF 56mm 81b’s specifically designed for bowl riding fitted with Bronson G2s.

ACCESSORIES: 1/8" hard risers.