WARNING! This blog is written by a French native. Oddly structured sentences may occur!!
This is the year 2015, January, I’m Aldric and I’ll be turning 35 in a couple months. I’m just starting this blog, after having thought about doing it for a long time.
This is my skateboard’s story:
As far as I can remember, I always loved Skateboarding. I was asking my mom to buy me a skateboard and at first she didn’t want to let me have one because she thought it was too dangerous. I finally got one around age 7-8, from Auchan, the french version of Walmart.
This was during the 80’s when boards were wider and before the introduction of the double tail deck. I remember my board’s design was a skull with wings. The trucks were in plastic even though the axles were in metal and it had orange plastic wheels, rails, a nose guard and a big bumpy plastic brake under the tail!
It looked a little bit like these photos: (click to enlarge)
Photos from: skateandannoy.com, skatenoize.com.
I remember going down the hill in my neighborhood with that board, on my belly like “super man”!
Photo from: pickycovers.com
I later got an upgraded skateboard that looked more like a “real” skateboard, but still from the same kind of supermarket. The wood looked good, 7-ply, with curved edge that didn’t break splinter like my previous deck. It had a decent grip, not the rough grip that gets old so fast like my first board, polyurethane wheels with good bearings. My trucks were steel and came plastic protectors that I removed. The BIG thing was that it was concave and the nose was tilted upward. This was during the late 80’s, or early 90’s and this was new.
Photo from: skatenoize.com
Shortly there after, I began to save money to buy Powell Peralta Bones wheels and Bearings. I immediately tried to put them on my trucks but, I remember it took me a long time as I was struggling to fit the bearings in the wheels. Once on, my board began looking more legit and these Swiss Bearings were damn amazing and so fast!
Photos from: stores.ebay.com/7plyskateshop/, cardinalskate.com/
I was buying “Anyway” magazine every month. This was the main and perhaps only french skateboard magazine sold in France at this time. I remember I wanted a real skateboard, that we kids used to call “competition skateboards” 🙂 back in the days.
Photo from: skate1992goldenyears.mk.blogspot.com
I already had the wheels, and finally managed to get a deck for a good price at a store shutting down. It was a “double tail” even if the nose was not as big as the tail. It was still the era of large boards, with big wheels.
Photo from: skateandannoy.com
Then, I went through a phase that lasted a couple of years, in which I was less interested in skateboarding, as seemed to be the common sentiment worldwide, being that skateboarding was less popular during this time period as well. Instead, I took up in-line skating that was introduced to me during my high school gym class (I know that sounds weird for you Americans 😉 ). The brand of my skates was Trex. In-line skating was very new in France, so I thought I was so cool back then! I also got heavily into video games. I had a Sega Megadrive (Sega Genesis in the US).
Photos from: olx.com.pk, rfgeneration.com, gametrog.com
Anyhow, one day I was walking next to the city Hall of my little town and I saw 2 guys, older than me skateboarding with narrow(er) skateboards that had little wheels and they were doing cool tricks and flips. I remember thinking that it was as if they were dancing with their skateboard and it looked so fluid. This rekindled my excitement for skateboarding and I needed to get a new skateboard!
Photos from: en.wikipedia.org, blog.obbconline.com
Shortly after I went with one of my best buddy and his mum to our local skateshop “Surf Panic” and we both got complete blank skateboards. Mine was burgundy with a slick, it came with Sure Grip Invader trucks (Invader S/G) and blank burgundy wheels. It was not the best wood ever and after some time the plys of the nose and tail started to get unglued and it finally broke after the ollie of a friend of mine who was trying my board.
At this time it was not an option to get a new deck so I used my imagination, took my old and wide deck back, place my new (broken) board on top of it as a model and draw on the shape on the older board. Then, I went to my neighbor who was a carpenter and he chopped it for me. I had to sand the edges though. Hey, it worked for a while! After saving for a bit I bought a nice creature deck. I was back in the game and skateboarding was my lifestyle!
Photos from: skateandannoy.com, skately.com
I was skateboarding everyday (or almost). Only bad weather and injuries could stopped me, even if I was doing flip in the garage when it was raining!
I even managed to have an amateur sponsorship at the local skateshop “Surf Panic” for a couple years until I got injured and hurt my knee. I had huge discounts store wide, used to have a couple boards for free, could borrow all the videotapes. It was when 411VM was huge!
Photos from: surf-panic.fr, skately.com
During the shooting of a “sponsor me tape”(yes Tape not YouTube), I hurt my knee while jumping down stairs using a 90° angle to access it. My ligaments didn’t like to land all torned. I had a difficult year following that event, 6 months limping, going through Doctors and Chiropractors until I found one that managed to help me getting back on my feet. I also met a surgeon who told me after going through an MRI, that my ligaments were too damaged to be great but not enough to absolutely require a surgery, and that I should continue to do same until I totally break them!…But he said that he could made the surgery right away but didn’t think it was a good idea…Anyhow, I decided not to do it, and with the help of the last chiropractor and 6 months to re-exercise and getting my knee muscled again I could skate again! However, stairs were not an option anymore.
Photos from: 33mag.com/en, slappyskate.wordpress.com, deprostaatkliniek.nl
1 year later I managed to be back on my A-Game and even better and I was just loving it! I was not into the “getting a sponsor” anymore and was just enjoying skateboarding.
At the same time, I begun college and was working supposedly part-time to pay for it, but in reality it was a full-time and I was studying after work, missing a LOT of classes. I was in sales and was driven by commissions and results but I loved it. I had little or no time to skateboard anymore, even if I managed to skate a little at the beginning.
Fun fact: I landed my first job thanks to skateboarding in a way. I met one of my current best friend in High School because we were both skateboarders, I went a couple times skateboarding with him and his big brother, who recommended me for my first job :).
Photos from: degeneve.fr, clipartpanda.com
I also begun to go out to bars and clubs a lot, so you could easily understand that time for skateboarding progressively disappeared. During the next 12 years, I was focused on work, travelling, moving abroad (San Diego, CA), graduating with a second degree, working again, and skateboarding was not much in my life even if I still had it on my mind.
Photos from: macumba.net, murmures.info, nyulocal.com, mint.com, cutcaster.com
In 2013, I moved from San Diego to Downtown Los Angeles for a work project. My place was only 3 blocks away. One day, I decided that I’d use my skateboard to go faster to work and that it would definitely be more fun than walking with zombies and the other creatures that crawl around. My skateboard became again my #1 mean of transportation and I have to say that it’s so convenient when you live in the city. In addition, if any s**t happens, a**holes are welcome to test the iron of my trucks! 😉
Photos from: brainfarmcinema.com, poundgetsome.com, lobodemon.co.uk
1 weekend, I decided to hit a park and I went to the Lafayette Skatepark that Rob Dyrdek opened in 2008. Man, it was hard! Just a flip and a grind felt like a switch dolphin flip or a nollie BS nose blunt!
Photos from: xgames.espn.go.com, article.wn.com
I let 1 year pass along before returning to the park. I went to a closer park from my house that I enjoyed way more, and it became my new turf; Hollenbeck Skatepark. It’s been maybe 6 months now that I regularly hit this park, from once to 3 times a week and I’m slowly getting back to my game. So enjoyable, when I don’t fell! Being older, bigger (not too much though), “not skateboard trained” and not used to fall anymore is pretty challenging. I have to add as well that it was first intimidating not only for the previous reasons but as well as that kids are now SO freaking good!
Photos from: flickr.com, californiaskateparks.com
The level has increased insanely, some of these kids I skate around could have easily been pro 12 years ago! I don’t know if it’s the fact to grow up with video games such as the Tony Hawk and Skate Series that made them think that it was “real skate life” or if there was a mutation of the human race with superior aliens but man, I just have no words! ‘Or it’s maybe just the food? lol)
Photos from: en-wikipedia.org, gamefaqs.com, tvtropes.org
I’m not even talking about current pros who may just be son of gods!
All of that to say that I’m fully back to the game, skateboard has always been my passion and will always be. I wanted to share this experience and lifestyle with you and hope that you will find interest in this blog if you are a passionate just like me. If you read as far as this paragraph I guess you might be one ;). Peace!
To close this section, David Crockett said “You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas” but on my end I say:
“You may all go to hell and I will go skateboarding!” “You guys keep on your BS, I’ll just keep pushing!” Aldric A.
Skater: Ricky Oyola
Original photo from: xgames.espn.go.com, modified/Photoshopped by me/Skate1daySkate4EVR
Skate1DaySkate4EVR 