CHANGE IN PACE

Canadian Mark, 47, decided to return to skating after twenty years. 

He left a career in law to move to Bali with his family and son, and soon he was back on skateboarding. 

He found riding on the board an exhilarating experience that gave him freedom and exhilaration. It also allowed him to connect to diverse communities in Bali. 

It was also an opportunity for him to have fun with his kids.

Many skateboarders were parents who saw their children as skateboarders and had a change in their relationships with skateboarding.

NOSTALGIC JOY 

Chris (41), a father from the US said that skateboarding allowed him to be with his son in ways he had never experienced with his dad. 

As a teenager, it had provided him with solace and identity. It also gave him an outlet during his time as a Marine. He was able to access skateboarding scenes all over the world including Japan.

He used the following terms to describe skateboarding: joy, serenity, happiness, feeling, and being happy.

Chris spoke of the private space skateboarding afforded him. It was a way to escape the stress of family life and pay the bills. 

DEPRESSION  

Skateboarding helped two men in America, the other in Britain, who were on antidepressants.

Charles was 37 years old when he reflected upon his joblessness, failing health and the need to find a creative outlet. 

He stated that skateboarding was “basically everything” to him. Skateboarding is a vital part of my life. 

Skateboarding, said he, was able to stop him doing stupid things in his life and find a different way of partying.

Debbie, a 51-year-old Canadian woman shared this theme. Debbie, 51 years old from Canada spoke about a dark period in her life. She was devastated by the loss of her long-term partner and had to pay high rent on her own. 

At that time, skateboarding which she had stopped doing for more than a decade became a source joy and salvation. 

Debbie made T-shirts for herself and friends with the slogan ‘skateboarding saved my life’.

She said the community and activity of skateboarding provided a time and space where she knew she was ‘going to be happy.’ 

She reflects that because of her mental state ‘I could have turned to drugs or drinking’, but instead skateboarding filled her with happiness and provided a space where she felt unconditional acceptance.

Peter was a 45 year-old artist who received a diagnosis of depression and anxiety.

To him, skateboarding is a “big tool for mental well-being” as it provides a release of endorphins that he can use to build self-confidence. 

He skateboards for his health and well-being.

SPIRITUALITY 

Several informants made allusions to religion or spirituality in some form, highlighting that skateboarding provided an outlet and source of communication to connect to ‘bigger issues.’ 

Matt in Kansas talked about skateboarding being his religion. While most of his congregation was at church Sunday mornings he was skateboarding and visiting local parks. 

A skateboarder said that skateboarding was somewhat like religion. 

According to him, skateboarding was a way of worshiping the Gods and offering a calm state of concentration that he called mediation. 

This was an insecure state, and he knew that it would be dangerous to ignore. 

Further comparing the two, he said that skateboarding was an integral part of religion and that religious communities are also important. 

He linked skateboarding with the human need to transcend, to search and push for more, and to aspire to leave the earth and reach for the heavens.