Skateboarding has been around since the 1940s. When some California surfers didn’t have any waves to ride, they put some roller skate wheels on a box and away they went. In my hometown, it went more along the lines of…snowboarders wanting something to ride when the snow melted.
Me doing an
I learned to skate (no true skater really says “skateboard”) with my big brother when I was about 10. We learned on our street on ramps we built out of wood and others we propped up with metal sheets on cinder blocks. We learned from the other kids in town and by pouring over the pages of Transworld Skateboarding.
It was a bit frustrating at first, but rewarding in the end. Although other sports and distractions intruded on my life, I’ll always have a soft spot for the sport. When I got a Nintendo 64, Tony Hawk‘s Pro Skater was my favorite game. Whenever I see skating on TV or in a video, I am always in awe of their control of the board.
So, go ahead, give it a whirl. To my fellow Austinites, get your board and shoes–and pads and a helmet–at No Comply on 12th and West, and get your skate on at the new mini-ramp in Patterson Park.
For now, because I love to laugh and I hope you do too, just check out my little “how to ollie” video:
For some more cool skate tricks, check out these videos at 5 Min Extreme.
144 Things to Do...According to the Millennials 
Kristin I loved this video – you did such a good job! And any girl who can do an ollie is kick-ass in my book.
GREAT video – I’ve always wanted to learn how to skate. My younger brother had a board that I tried to learn on, but I’m always so afraid of falling. This has been my problem with every single kind of skating there is. Sad day. Maybe I’ll get up the guts to give it another try, now that you’ve taught us the trick of it!
I’m with Caitlin! I was always too afraid I’d fall, so the furthest I got on a skateboard was sitting down rolling down my friend’s driveway when I was little! Hahahaha
Kristin!!! You rock!! I love the whole outfit and attitude, and the way you slowed down the video when you were doing the trick hahaha I haven’t seen many skateboarders around campus but I’ve seen a few downtown, do you skateboard here in general?
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