Lessons and Insights
-
Rodney Mullen, Tony Hawk, and Andy Anderson: Making good choices, avoiding bad ones, and the right motivations.
Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis sit down with Andy Anderson and Rodney Mullen and ask them “What it Takes to Become a Great Skateboarder.” Andy kicks things off. Andy Anderson: “Feed the good wolf.” I think this comes from a Native American fable that each of us has two wolves–a good wolf and a bad Continue reading
-
It’s fun because it’s hard.
A friend of mine recently described a realization he had about skateboarding. The feeling he gets from learning a new trick or landing a difficult one is probably the same one that Tony Hawk experienced when he landed the first 900 (while admitting that his trick was by no measure equal in difficulty or significance Continue reading
-
Lessons from Skateboarding: Ryan Sheckler on Failure, Perseverance, and the Importance of Finding Community.
On Hawk vs. Wolf Episode 113, Ryan Sheckler discusses his experiences growing up in skateboarding and overcoming massive challenges on and off the board with Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis. Ryan’s experiences are rich with insights about managing failure, the courage to persevere, and the importance of building a community. Check out the full episode Continue reading
-
What looks easy is merely the result of consistent focus.
I met a young skateboarder who really impressed me with the technical difficulty his tricks and the consistency with which he executed those tricks. When I asked when he’d learned those tricks, and if he’d learned them recently, his answer surprised me. “I’ve been doing these tricks since I was 12 years old.” He had Continue reading
-
Not all time in life is equal.
This is especially true in skateboarding. The time in your teens and 20’s are prime years with fewer responsibilities and better health (a gift of youth), making this time in life unlike any other that follows when it comes to skateboarding opportunities. Aging, family life, and work responsibilities become increasingly significant barriers to investing time Continue reading
-
Avoid comparison with anyone except yourself.
No matter how long you’ve been skateboarding or how good you become, there will inevitably be someone better than you. Even if for a point in time you can become the best, eventually someone better will come along. We all must contend with this. So, how do you deal with the self-inflicted judgment and criticism Continue reading
-
Exploration before optimization.
Once you understand the basics, it will be very tempting to focus in on some complicated trick. In my own case, I spent years focusing in on a few technical tricks. Even after a few years, those tricks are still difficult for me and, some days, it feels like I haven’t made progress on them. Continue reading
-
Focus first on mastering the basics.
I’ve started to notice now how often new skateboarders want to jump right to a more technical trick. Barely getting the basics, someone quickly decides to move on to the more complicated thing, usually before they can understand what it is they’re trying to do. And it’s a waste. They’ll land a boardslide once or Continue reading
-
Once, or first?
I sat watching and filming a friend who was trying a trick down a six-stair handrail. Attempt after attempt, it didn’t seem like he was getting the hang of it. Occasionally, he would get lucky and stick the trick. This fueled his drive to try again. But after another 45 minutes or so of getting Continue reading
-
Failing, not breaking.
If failure is an essential part of getting better, then how do you do it well? How do you get better at failing? When I was a younger skateboarder, I believed in the mantra, “Go big or go home.” I thought if something wasn’t all or nothing on any attempt, then it wasn’t worth doing. Continue reading
the Practical Skateboarder 