6. May 2010 by ZachPlay.

The most important factor in learning how to skateboard like a pro is to have drive. Professionals didn’t get sponsored by their couches or from Tony Hawk video game scores. Truly passionate skaters are out there on a daily basis, no exceptions. They’re not just comfortable with the standard ollies and popshuvits; they’re always pushing the boundaries to learn new tricks and try more impressive feats. Usually they bring a friend, who is willing to take turns filming, so they can learn more. Not everyone can become sponsored, but having that winning spirit is the first step for anyone serious about skateboarding.

Naturally, if you want to skateboard like a professional, you’ll need to learn all the basic skills and tricks. There are a number of website resources out there to help you with skateboard trick tips. The most reliable places to find professional information is in a well-established and trusted skateboarding magazine like Transworld Skateboarding (www.skateboarding.transworld.net), Thrasher (www.thrashermagazine.com) or Skateboarder Magazine (www.skateboardermag.com). On these awesome sites, you’ll be able to read skateboarding articles, check out amazing skateboarding photos and tutorials, not to mention watch instructional skateboarding videos. Transworld has a particularly helpful “How To” section, which shows you step-by-step pictures of professionals doing nollie backside nosegrind reverts, fakie bigspins, 360 flip noseslides, varial heels, frontside smith grinds, switch ollies and more.

Once you’ve done your reading, it’s up to you to skateboard like a pro by adhering to a grueling schedule. If you were to ask any sponsored skater out there what they do in their spare time, they’ll tell you that their skateboard deck never leaves their side. You may have to give up some of your other hobbies and invest more time outdoors, but the more you practice, the better you’ll become. It’s important that you find a mentor or two who are better than you and will encourage your competitive spirit. This will help you push yourself, learn quicker and find new places to skate. Don’t be content with a roll around the neighborhood: seek new terrain, new parks, new rails, new territory. The more you watch, the more new people you ride with and the more you’re exposed to, the more you will learn.

Once you learn to skateboard like a pro, you’ll need to get noticed to pick up a sponsorship. Some kids make videos to send out as demos to all their favorite skate companies. Using another approach, other kids may try entering as many skate competitions as they can to turn heads. “Just go out there and have fun and do what you normally do and someone will notice you,” advises pro skateboarder Ryan Sheckler. “I guarantee they will notice you and recognize what kind of skills you have. If you go out there and your main purpose is to get a sponsor, then it’s not gonna work. Just go out there and have fun. That’s how I got sponsored.”

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6. May 2010 by ZachPlay.

“The most important part of a board is the shape and the dimensions. If the shape looks good, and the wheelbase and tail are right, the board will be sweet no matter what the concave is like,” says pro skater Brian Lotti. When choosing skateboard decks, you’ll need to look at a few technical considerations — like length and width to make sure your board is right for your stature and your desired use. You’ll also need to test it out by feel to see if the wood of the skateboard’s deck feels sturdy and the concave is the proper responsiveness. Lastly, you’ll want to make sure it’s a deck you like aesthetically; one that speaks something about your character and personal taste.

Length is one of the most basic considerations in choosing skateboard decks. This will depend entirely on your height, your use and your comfort level. Generally, there are two length classifications: traditional/street boards, which are under 33 inches and longboard skateboards, which are over 35 inches. Usually people ride versatile traditional decks that measure 28 - 32 inches for general transit, ramp riding and basic tricks. Longboards are popular in California with riders who prefer a surfy/snowboard type feel. Generally speaking, if you are a short rider, you’ll naturally want a shorter board for better control and tall riders may want a little more length to match their stance.

Professional skateboarding legends will tell you that they care most about their deck’s shape and concave. Most decks, besides longboards, have a slightly raised nose, tail and sides, which dramatically affects the response of the skateboard. Generally, the deeper the concave, the more aggressive tricks a skater can pull off. The shallower the concave, the easier it is for new skaters to learn. “The nose and tail got to have good pop,” adds Skateboarder Magazine star Adam Dyet, “and it’s gotta be a light board.” For pro skater Eric Koston, “The board has to have mellow concave. I hate steep noses and tails. They make me feel like I have to work harder to do tricks.” Pro Jeremy Wray is riding his new “Featherlight” Element skateboard that was designed with a thinner board with a steeper concave and a mellow tail. “I don’t really like flat boards,” Steve Berra tells Transworld Skateboarding Magazine. “I like a good nose and a good tail — not too steep, but not flat.” Brian Anderson agrees that a mellow concave is the way to go. “I can’t ride a super steep concave,” he says. “A lot of the stuff that’s out right now — you can’t flip your board right.” On the other hand, old-school rider Ed Templeton still prefers a relatively flat board. “I don’t know what this whole concave fad is all about,” he explains. “The board is much better just mellow and not concave.”

Appearance tends to be what attracts many people to certain skateboard decks over others. As the years progress, skateboard designs seem to be getting more and more elaborate. The Zero skateboarding team loves these boards for their gritty images of skulls and bones. Skaters like Jamie Thomas, Elissa Steamer and Chris Cole love these rides. On the flip side, Habitat and Element boards have more earthy, eco-friendly designs. The latest Habitat boards ridden by Kerry Getz and Danny Garcia feature some iconic pop-art style designs, while the newer Elements ridden by Bucky Lasek and Bam Marguera have more colorful cartoons. Plan B decks feature wild patterns with a lot of geometric shapes and entice an all-star lineup of Danny Way, Colin McKay, Ryan Sheckler and Jereme Rogers. Other popular brands to consider include: Powell, Birdhouse, Blind, Baker, Girl, Toy Machine, Alien Workshop and Mentality skateboards.

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6. May 2010 by ZachPlay.

A veteran skateboarder will assemble all his favorite parts — the deck, the trucks, the bearings, the bushings, the griptape and the wheels — and piece together his dream board. However, if you’re just getting started, you will probably just be looking for an inexpensive complete skateboard that already has everything in order. After all, accidents can happen if you don’t put together the parts in the right way. Later on, you will likely wear your board out and be willing to invest in a custom skateboard design. In this article, you’ll learn about a few of the best complete packages you can buy.

Alien Workshop is a reputable brand name of complete skateboards. The company was formed in 1990 by Christ Carter and Mike Hill, who formed partnerships with DNA Distribution, Burton, Habitat boards and Reflex Bearings. These high-quality, professional-grade skateboards have a noteworthy roster of fans, including Rob Dyrdek, Steve Berra, Anthony Van Engelen and Arto Saari. The cool thing about Alien Workshop is that their headquarters are based out of Dayton, Ohio, which is a departure from the normal California-centric production. Also, they take a unique approach to skateboard design, using all colorful alien logos. Complete skateboards from them sell for $60 - $100.

Another great series of complete skateboards to check out is Irvine, California-based Element. Exceptional riders like Bucky Lasek, Chad Muska, Bam Marguera, Mike Vallely, Ray Barbee, Levi Brown and Jeremy Wray are all sponsored by this manufacturer. This company’s “power to the planet” initiative hopes to raise concern for environmental issues, which makes this brand stand out from the competition. Of all the skateboarding logos, Element has one of the most recognizable with their signature tree inside a circle. In addition to finding these boards online and at skate shops around town, there are also several U.S. flagship stores in New York City, Honolulu and Orlando. A complete skateboard setup from them will cost around $55 - $100, depending on the design.

Once you’ve purchased your first complete skateboard, you can begin to learn how to skateboard. As you grow and mature in the sport, try riding your friends’ boards from time to time to learn more about how each skateboard differs. Some are flat, while others have a noticeable concave, for instance, which may affect how your board pops and tricks. If you get really into grinding and vert ramp work, you may want to choose your own trucks that hold up better under rigorous rail work. You may decide that you want softer or harder wheels, depending on whether you’re using your board primarily for transportation or for speed to gear up for technical street work. There are many variations you can make later on. The best thing you can do in the beginning is choose a safe, quality, fully assembled board that you can learn on.

Rene Lacape can help you with all your insurance needs. May it be personal or corporate accounts he can answer all your deepest questions with clarity. All you have to do is get a hold of his contact information and start the deal with him. You will be satisfied for sure.

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6. May 2010 by ZachPlay.

Skateboarding tricks are what drive skaters to keep their motivation and become so obsessed with the sport. While it’s fun to cruise down the street on four wheels, there’s no thrill greater than sailing through the air over a trash can or grabbing onto your board, balancing on one arm at the top of a half-pipe. It may seem like a long way to go for beginners just learning skateboard trick tips, but if they diligently practice each day, they’ll notice big improvements and progress in no time at all.

Skateboarders can do their tricks on the street or at a skate park. All skaters begin learning with baby steps. They may want to hit the ground running and get that kickflip down right away, but in reality, the most successful skaters are the ones who learn the basics of where to put their feet, how to transfer balance and weight around, how to pop the nose or tail to manipulate the board, how to change from switch back to regular stance, how to balance on different parts of the board and who know how to skateboard on the street very well before they learn tricks. The very first trick any skateboarder learns is the “ollie,” which is basically just jumping up in the air with the board. Once this jump motion is perfected, skaters will then plausibly be able to leap over obstacles, hop up onto rails or curbs, and perform a great variety of other technical tricks.

There are five basic types of tricks that skateboarders do. With “freestyle” tricks (like 50/50s, ollies and shove-its), the technical street skateboarder flips and manipulates the board in some way, while balancing on two wheels, one wheel, the tail or the edges of the board. “Aerials” (like 180s, 360s and 900s) may be done on the street or on ramps and involve floating in the air, while using a hand to hold onto the board. Similarly, “flip” tricks (like nollies, bigspins and kickflips) involve spinning the board around in different rotations while in the air. Rail skaters are famous for “boardslides” or “grinds” (like nosegrinds, crooked grinds or 5-0 grinds), which require the rider to get the board or trucks up onto a railing, ledge, curb or handrail. “Lip” tricks (like axle stalls, blunt-to-fakies and frontside inverts) are done along the rim of an in-ground swimming pool or skate ramp and require balancing along the edge of the highest skate surface.

Many avid skaters wonder where some of these popular skateboarding tricks came from. Jay Adams, one of the original Z-Boys, was the first to pull off a lip trick. Some of the most distinguished aerial skaters include Steve Caballero (who has his own trick called a “Caballerial”), Tony Hawk (who was the first to perform a 900 at the X-Games and invented the varial), Jeff Phillips (one of the first skaters to land a 360 backwards), Mike McGill (who invented the “McTwist”), Rob Sluggo Boyce (the first to do a backflip), Duane Peters (who invented the indy) and Lance Mountain (famous for his 720s). Some of the most legendary freestyle skateboarder icons include Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams, members of the Zephyr Team, who were interviewed in the documentary “Dogtown & Z-Boys.”

There are many different skateboarding tricks to learn and many ways to learn them. Most kids begin by going out every day and getting a feel for their boards, the road and the different surfaces. They read skateboarding magazines full of skateboarding photos that can show each step of a certain trick. Transworld has some of the best photo montages for beginners and advanced learners. Some kids will even attend a labor-intensive skateboard camp, where a trained skateboard coach can show him or her exactly how to complete different series of tricks. The more skaters learn, the more they will be inspired by things like skate videos and competitions featuring the pros.

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