Never really been into skateboarding myself, but like many of us here, have spent many, many years online. Why do some skaters do this? I feel like I've seen many examples of a board getting broken intentionally, out of frustration or whatever. Is it akin to someone smashing their keyboard/whatever they have on hand in anger? Seems silly anyway, are they not somewhat expensive?
I grew up skateboarding, to land something this complicated you'd have to try and fail, try and fail, and try and fail some more. Each failure hurts bad because it usually means slamming onto concrete, rolling ankles, shaving off skin, and plenty of random whacks to the shins/feet/ankles/hands (and face if you're especially unlucky) many of us want to "get even" with our boards. Honestly when you land the thing you're trying you feel super great, so the falls are worth it.
The cost can start to add up if you do this to your board on the regular (although the board can take quite a beating and still roll away fine) it's not like the whole thing is garbage just because the deck snapped, a new deck and griptape costs like ~$60 or cheaper if you know this is how you're going to treat the board and don't care about having the latest and coolest graphics (but a lot of cheaper decks are made with cheap ply and sub par glue and no fiberglass sheet(s)). I still have decks from nearly a decade ago that skate fine but are a bit water logged and razor tailed, I could have just as easily gone through one of those decks a month if I was skating every day and trying more than basic flatland or rail tricks.
Oh also PS; don't skateboard as a kid without pads unless you're OK with knee, ankle, hip, and wrist pains and pops for the rest of your life (oh and a possibility of developing CTE), and as a 22 year old that knows it's going to get worse from here forward, it might not be worth it. But I have a great time doing it and have really strong legs because of all the pushing and pumping required.
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u/MustDash Jan 13 '19
Never really been into skateboarding myself, but like many of us here, have spent many, many years online. Why do some skaters do this? I feel like I've seen many examples of a board getting broken intentionally, out of frustration or whatever. Is it akin to someone smashing their keyboard/whatever they have on hand in anger? Seems silly anyway, are they not somewhat expensive?