Old Newbie

Hi all,

Just want to say that I’ve really enjoyed reading this forum. I’m from Singapore and have recently taken interest in skateboarding with my son. Thing is I’m just trying to skate and it seems that skaters are mainly younger and I’m already 43 years old…that would make me either the oldest skater trying to skate or the youngest old man trying

Hey Ivan, and welcome to Boardworld!

Thats great that you are starting to skate.

I have lots of mates that are in their 30s and 40s who skate. Keep at it and just enjoy!

Guy Mariano, 38, just release one of the sickest video parts of the year! age is no limit to how much fun you can have!

Watch this

Hi Ivan

I’m just getting back into skating and I’m turning 41 next year. You are never too old to learn. One thing I appreciate now that I’m older is being able to drive to the skate park on the other side of town therefore saving all my energy for skating it .

Hahaha. Thanks all for your encouragement

A question for the experts. I was thinking of customizing my board. The skate shop i went to suggested that i get a generic truck instead of one of the branded ones as he felt that as a beginner, I shouldn’t spend that much for something that i wouldn’t be able to appreciate. While I do appreciate his kind thoughts, I’m not sure if that should be the route i should take or should I just go ahead and get a better sets so that I can “future proof” my board and get to “enjoy” more. What would you suggest?

Welcome to Boardworld, Ivankoh3.

I agree with your thoughts on this. There’s no point getting a crappy set of generic trucks. A decent set really shouldn’t cost that much, and you will be much better off now and in the future. Look at something like Thunder Raws (raw being the colour) — awesome trucks and cheaper because they are just the raw metal, not painted.

Yep, get better quality. You may not appreciate it now, but Trucks dont wear down that quickly (unless you grind every rough edge every day), so you will appreciate it in the near future. They will turn better and smoother, making it easier to learn. Dont buy shit hardwear.
Thunders, or Independent

Thanks again for the reply. I am looking at a set of independent trucks. Will start with maybe a blank deck (cheaper that way), Indy trucks, bones red bearings and a set of spitfire.

Perfect set up for starting mate. Good choices

Yay…got my board today..felt like a kid again

Nice one, man. Super solid setup. You can’t go wrong, really…

Enjoy and let us know how you go!

Had a blast today trying my new board. I’m still new to skating and tried going down the ramps in the park. Had some falls but nothing serious but still a blast of a time. Might have to slow it down a bit though as I still need time to get used to the board. I still can’t push off and gain enough speed. So need to work on it.

That’s awesome. I’m stoked you’re enjoying your setup. Keep at it.

Have you watched any of our trick tip videos? They are a bit hidden at the moment but if you go to: https://www.boardworld.com.au/skateboarding — click on the “GUIDES & TUTORIALS” tab on the right side of the page, and you will find out complete list of trick tips.

I did. In fact, that’s how I found this forum as I was searching the net on how to skate. I was trying to ollie but far from getting it at the moment. Maybe i should just focus on riding along first to get really confident and comfortable with my board. I can do the normal kick turn and tic tac but when i was going down a long slope yesterday, I started to get speed wobble. So guess i need to gain better control of my board. What other suggestions would you experts have for me to improve?

Yep, tic tacs even though are not a proper trick they will help you develop some board control.

Just work on pushing at different speeds, big and small turns at different speeds, and different surfaces. pushing and carving are the biggest fundamentals before you even ollie.

Speed wobbles become less of an issue once your muscles get used to the board moving underneath you. Wobbles basically happen because you over correct a movement and it causes a chain reaction of wobbles getting worse and worse.

A lot of people believe its because of loose trucks. I actually find i get less wobbles with looser trucks. But thats because my muscle memory is trained and I can control the finer movements.
Its just practice. It will get better.

Really? I actually tighten my trucks because I thought that caused the wobble. I do prefer the feel of the looser trucks as it made turning alot easier but was told to start off with a tighter trucks to gain control