I've been skateboarding since I was thirteen years of age and though I busted my knee, I still do it 11 years later.

_{360 flip to fakie}

Gift that keeps on giving

When I moved to Australia and started at a new high school I met my friend Tim. We hit it off because we lived close to each other and he noticed me walking his way. He introduced himself during a PE lesson and we've been friends ever since.

Time introduced me to skateboarding. I came back to his house one day to hang out with him and Callum, another old acquaintance. They spent the afternoon using one of his ramps to practice airs, and I was immediately enthralled.

I had received a skateboard once when I was younger for christmas but my cousin broke it the same day. When I watching Tim and Callum roll around, I realized what I had been missing on ever since.

I kept asking for turns and immediately starting learning how to Ollie - The trick of all tricks.

Tim told me about another classmate, Steven, who had an old board Tim had given him and that we could retrieve it. Steven didn't use it so why not. My mother didn't have money to buy me any gear so I had to find a skateboard of my own somehow.

A few days later, maybe a week or so, I got a hold of Steven and picked it up. That same day I went back to Tims so he could show me how to set up it properly - tighten the nuts and bolts - he gave me the run down and I spent the rest of the day practicing.

Tim lived on the hill above me, and where I lived was at the bottom of that hill. On my way home from Tims' that afternoon, Callum and I decided to bomb the hill; go down it from top to bottom. Callum went down effortlessly. He'd been taking this route home from Tims for a while and made it look easy. I followed suit.

I immediately lost control, began wobbling like a pair of tits on a roller coaster, and about half way down I went flying head first. I ended up another quarter of the way down the hill, sliding down on my face and shoulder, skinning myself like a fish. The next day I went to school looking like a burn victim.

Let the lessons begin

You'd think that anyone would quit after that. Not me. I loved it. The thrill was insane. The rush I got before falling off was something I had never experienced before. I'd played sports in the past but nothing came close to the intensity that I had just experienced. I found out too that we hadn't tighten the nut on my trucks (the axle) and made it almost impossible to control at my newbie level.

I tightened up those trucks, and within a few weeks later I was taking every opportunity I got to bomb that hill. That's the true beauty of skateboarding, not just for me but for everyone that does it. It teaches us how to fall and get back up again.

Skateboarding helped me to build friendships in a new country. It helped me to relate to people not only my own age, but older skaters that ruled the skatepark. It taught me respect for letting others go first. It taught me that anything can be achieved with hard work.

A couple years after first getting on the board, I had become so obsessed that I would no longer go to school and would skip classes just to get in more practice. My friends would sometimes find me in the afternoon at the skatepark and ask, "have you been here all day?", the answer was always yes. I once ran away from home and the skatepark was the first place I went. It was my home away from home.

Unfortunately, when you do too much of anything it never turns out good. I skated myself to breaking point. One day after a long day of skateboarding about I tried to boardslide a ledge and came off in a bad way. My knee bent awkwardly ripping my Medial Patella Ligament and put me into shock. My friend Jamie's dad had to come from work and take me to the ER. That was it for my dreams of becoming a pro.

I could've rehabilitated myself properly, but my mental health suffered. I spent months in bed and started abusing pain killers that the doctors gave me, so much so that I busted my knee again when trying to go to the toilet. Drugs are bad kids.

Skateboarding is dope. Skateboarders on Steemit

Of course I took up skateboardng again once I had recovered but it was never the same. I had fallen behind. I had to relearn how to do tricks and it was a depressing thing to do. I still enjoyed skating but I no longer had any aspirations to be the best, it was now purely for fun, like when I first started.

I've skateboarded ever since and although I rarely find time for it, I make time. It's the one thing that helps me to let go of stress. When I'm skateboarding I'm having a good time and no one can take the pleasure away from me.

If you're reading this and you skateboard then I suggest you chuck your stuff on here. You may be new to blogging, or maybe not, but it's a great place to make a couple extra cents. One thing I know when it comes to extreme sports is that your equipment always gets fucked up and you're continuously buying new stuff. It gets expensive.

Steemit pays you for blogging so it may be a good way for some of you guys and gals to pay for new decks just by posting your footage or photos. I know I'll enjoy seeing that stuff pop up in my news feed!

If you don't skateboard, think about getting your kids involved. Christmas is just around the corner and it's the perfect gift. Like I said, it's taught me invaluable lessons that will stay with me forever. If your children already skate then get involved, encourage them to keep at it, and show that you care.

If you're reading and think you're too old to do it yourself, you're wrong! I've seen a lot of skateboarders start in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. They may not be doing extreme tricks but they love rolling around with the community. It keeps you young

Skateboarding is full of positive vibrations and anyone can do it. If you do, chuck your stuff on here and flick me the link. I'd love to see your bangers!

Here's one of my favorite skateboarding videos from back in the day: Cheese and Crackers - Chris Haslam & Daewon Song.

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Thomas Te Aroha Kohi
_{Owner/Producer, Thirsty Records | Hip Hop Artist | Entrepreneur
Born in New Zealand and resides in Australia, Thomas writes about many different subjects, mostly about those that affect him at the time. He likes to philosophize about each subject and does the same in his music. Addicted to knowledge though no scholar, Thomas tries to be original & true in his quest to better himself.}
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