How's it going Steemers?
I would like to share my thoughts on my self progression, through my years of rollerblading.
Disaster to royal to gap
I have learnt many things from playing on these kids toys called rollerbades like,
- How to over come my fears
- Determination to land a trick no matter how hard you fall
- Creativity and to look at my surroundings in a different way
- Proving self confidence
- And how to switch your mind off and just focus on living in the moment (which we call "being in the zone" )
I got my first pair of skates on my 12th birthday and who would have thought these toys would change my life forever!
25 years later and I havent stopped rolling 😁
Now when I first started rollerblading I had no idea what I was doing. I would spend every afternoon practicing in the car park across the road from my house. And I would meet up on weekends to skate at schools with my friends and we all learnt how to roll down stairs backwards. This was before grinding handrails was even a thing.
As the years passed and my trick vocabulary grew I lived everyday for the feeling of freedom while rolling. We would explore our city every weekend trying to find a new spot to do tricks on like handrails, ledges and gaps to jump.
Back side royal to gap
Now the first thing I had to learn very fast was how to fall properly. Because to learn all these tricks you are going to fall ALOT!! This is a lesson that I have taken into everyday life. No matter how many times you fail never give up.
Being a street skater, we will always explore the city and look at architecture with a different eye than the normal person. We find ourselves in back alley ways looking for things to skate. Not only city exploration but the people we run into as well while we are out skating. In the heart of my city was a row of awesome ledges that we would always skate. And at the same spot a lot of homless people slept there so we got to know these people and would always have a chat and hear their stories. Every now and then I would bring some extra food with me to hook these guys up. Man some of their stories were funny, some scary but it was always good to have a chat and laugh with them.
Pen stall
Once I had learned the basics of doing tricks the rest is a constant mind game. Because the fact is if you can do the trick on a small rail, there is no reason you can't do the exact same trick on a rail with a 15 foot drop on one side. Its all in your head. Block out the fear and just focus on the trick and you will land it.
Back side unity
Sometimes the fears wins. If you get to a spot and dont attempt the trick in the first 3 run ups, it plays with your mind too much. So it's best to walk away and come back to the spot with a clear head, so you dont get hurt. Just like difficult decisions in life, they are always better to make the right decision with a clear mind.
360
Growing up being a rollerblader kept me out of alot of trouble because I had something to focus my time on. A lot of other friends got into drugs and petty crime to pass their time but I preferred to spend my time at the skatepark. Where I made life long friends.
Being a rollerblader, it is an individual sport not a team sport so you dont have to rely on anyone else to progress, and to win competitions. But in saying that it is always better to skate with your mates to push each other to progress and get you hyped to land the trick.
Royal
This is a couple of thoughts I wanted to share with you Steemers, I hope you can relate 🍺🍺
Thanks for stopping by and an upvote or resteem would be much appreciated!
Keep shredding and happy landings.
Peace
G