I was 16 when I got into skating. I worked a farm job where I had an accident lifting a heavy object, and the accident happened a week after I learned how to kickflip. Fast forward three and a half years of being bed ridden, 3 herniated disks, 2 more herniating at year two, multiple tests, physical therapy and chiropractic treatment, I just finally bought a new fresh skateboard. Started to skate again, just rolling up and down my street but its done wonderous things for my mental health. Thank you skateboarding, and also this advice really helps so thank you Joa and Ben. Baker 4 life baby
Same boat! I've been skating and snowboarding for 20 years. 4 years ago I bent down to put on my shoes and my back gave out. I ruptured my disk and couldn't stand up any longer. I got a microdiscotomany 6 months after the accident and 4 years later I'm back skateboarding after spine surgery. Health is everything. Skateborading is everything. Be careful out there. It could be done in a second.
@@sh1elds Fuck yeah man! Glad to hear you got back on the board. Hope you stay in good health. Its also nice to hear a story similar to mine, thanks for sharing.
Holy crap, that's crazy. I broke my wrist in my mid 20s and it was enough for me to stop. While I still ride my board to the cafe a few times a week I haven't attempted a real trick in over a decade. Luckily I've found other ways to get my adrenaline rush and keep my spirits lifted, but if that's what does it for you, keep doing it. Burgers, fries and no complies
As kooky as Andy Anderson is he is the epitome of anti boredom skateboarding. He literally skates every single discipline because that’s how he has the most fun. Sure I hate his style but anytime I see a clip of him skating a park he just effortlessly rides around doing everything from tech, to transition, to freestyle and you can tell he’s having fun the entire time
I really like his dork flow. It's so genuine and it's clear that he's got everything so dialed in that he can just pull out some rad shit on reaction. I also don't really care about switch tricks like... at all.
I'm 28 and I've fallen in and out of skating multiple times. Usually dependent on how rigorous my work is. My workload is light these days so I skate probably four times a week. It's awesome
You guys touch on this with the going pro/how to make a career in skateboarding segment but it's really a shame how common it is to succumb to the pressure of monetizing your hobby. Do you like playing video games? Stream on Twitch and maybe you'll get enough subs to make some extra bucks. Do you like baking? Start a food blog and maybe it can grow into a full-blown lifestyle brand. Do you like hanging out with your friends and chatting? Start a podcast! I know this phenomenon is a byproduct of a system without proper safety nets, that people need to find alternative revenue streams to survive, ideally for something they actually enjoy versus a job that's sucking their soul away. But it's healthy to just do something for fun. To not have any career ambitions attached to it. To use it as an escape from the pressures of late-stage capitalism.
just like you said it's a double edged sword. Both GH and Ben live in some of the most expensive cities in the world (L.A and Vancouver), they need that extra income anyway they can earn it, and it's better than working on something soul crushing. I am happy for them on one hand, but on the other it's sad that it's seemingly necessary for people to try and monetize all their interests.
Ben Degro spot on in that last part about working in the trades and avoiding debt and staying physical which will keep you skating forever. Great stuff guys really enjoyed this episode
I stayed motivated by learning tricks, skating different places and now as I’m getting old (33) I set up fun cruiser decks with Indy 215s and do different types of tricks on transition n curbs whatever, sometimes just don’t skate and do other stuff then come back fresher
@@tydaboi I gave up jumping down big rails and stuff years ago, I’ve had my gnarly fun now it’s about pure fun and cardio because I’m getting a bit rounder😂
This is great, GH. I wish seeking advice and transparency were normalized when i was a young bull. Like so many others, I was lost when I came out of my teens into my 20's. It's great that you guys are having these conversations.
Seriously Ben’s tip for trying 10 times on a trick you want to learn is the most incredible piece of advice I’ve ever heard. I have finally figured out tres after 15 years
Tres took me years too man it’s on up there with the slightly more advanced tricks. I honestly forgot how hard they were untill relearning to skate these last years.
I’m a mechanic by trade and the segment on job vs hobby is true. I started out because of love for cars but now that’s all I do everyday and I hate cars. Making your hobby into a career is tricky waters
Im 37 and have been skating consistently since 18. Definitely not sponsored level but I get by. I have almost lost skating due to partying and lack of focus on my body. Recently I became sober and have a newfound passion for the board. Feeling like a kid again and now have new energy and focus. You don't have to smoke weed and drink beer all day people.
as a working musician i really connected with the convo about how working in skateboarding affects your passion for the hobby, as it feels the same with music.
I took a loooong hiatus from skating. I really regret it. Skated from 00-05 and then quit up until 2020 which COVID pushed me to get out and do something active due to the lockdown. Then had a back injury from September 2020 and just picked my board up last month. Now I am motivated to lose weight and take care of my body so I can continue to skate. Also teach my two kids how to skate as well!
I'm an old guy who skated street, who is now trying to get the time to learn more transition (small transition). It is just as exciting as it was when I was a young teen. Even having the daydreams about it. 🤘🏼
What was said about being in the trades was a great point. Started in non union electrical, now in the dyrwall lathers union as a metal stud framer & welder. Loving (almost) every minute of it
I had such a similar experience to Ben that I find his RUclips really compelling. Obsessed with skating 11-18. Not gonna go pro, need a career, skate occasionally: 18-32. Established career, more free time, no expectation for skating beyond surprising myself: 32 onward. Now I'm skating frequently, progressing (slowly), and having the most fun ever. Enjoying skating really is about your attitude toward it rather than how good you are compared to pros.
It’s really hard to “progress” in skating after you hit 30, nearly impossible after 35. Unless you’re skating transition. As for street skating, just look at how awful top pros look on their skateboards after 40. Reynolds is really the outlier. Fucking Koston looks like he’s spasmodic doing kick flips nowadays. All this to say: just enjoy yourself. I have more fun now in my late 30s than I did in my teens when I was “good” at skating. Just cruising, popping little manuals, doing nose bonk nollie thingies off of cracks, slappy noseslides; I’m having a great time and could not care less about “getting good”.
@@tomgann9383 i have a mixed reaction to this. On the one hand, I agree that progression is hard since there’s less time and your body heals more slowly. On the other hand, if you never reached your athletic limits when you were younger, then the infinite number of tricks allows for a ton of learning. To me, that’s progression. I learn new tricks all the time by virtue of simply not having tried them before. Ben touched on this describing slappies: not necessarily hard but progression for him. I think pros are a special case because they found their absolute limit and of course have since been capped by their athletic decline.
I think it all depends on your mindset and how well you have taken care of your body through out your life I know plenty of people 35 and older who progress after they stopped skating in there teens. Now if you tell your self I can never get any better or I’m too old to try tricks then that’s all your going to be able to do. Skateboarding has a lot to do with how much time you put in is what you will get out. I think what holds older skaters back is they are afraid of getting hurt so they only stick to trany, the reason you see older pros not pushing themselves like they use to is they have already put there work in and are basically just chilling and teaching younger kids on the team. But Reynolds’s is like 45 and he still rips better then dudes half his age. TL:DR: don’t limit yourself to your age not getting better in skateboarding skate for fun and you will progress
As a 27 year old, who loves skateboarding and hated like all jobs he did until now, I really would appreciate you guys talking more about jobs in skateboarding/ related to skateboarding for like a whole video. I think Ben says a lot true stuff in these few minutes, but I think you could easily fill a whole video about this topic, there are way more "meaningful" jobs we could think about I guess and hope :D Maybe you also could talk a bit more about jobs you think skateboarders fit in
Went from skating being about me progressing and always improving to being more about having fun and enjoying fresh air and exercise, camaraderie at the skatepark, and just enjoying being part of the culture
i'd love to hear Ben talk more about working in the trades and that aspect of his life and how it has worked alongside his skating hobby, I'm in my late 20s and getting to the point where I could be running my own construction business but i sometimes feel my obsession with skateboarding hinders my motivation to take work more seriously.
I agree with Ben, I'm in my teen years and any extra time I get is devoted to skating, my heart is just in it. But, I know I'm not as good as the top level pros so I have to find another job that's reliable in my adult years. Still researching.
I've been skating since '85 (and may possibly have the oldest semi-active skate channel on here, albeit a very micro sized account). Sponsorship just wasn't a mindset most of us had when I was coming up. I picked up a number of sponsors along the years, but never actually sought any out. No tapes, just being visible and doing different things in my local skate community. Hell, when I did product reviews on here I was getting so much free gear (outside of my sponsors) for review, I had the whole neighborhood hooked up. Now, not too far from being 50, I'm a DLX Known Associate and promote Deluxe brands just by being the old head of my skate family and making sure my locals have fresh gear (when I hit the park or the spots and see someone w/busted gear, Deluxe has given me the ability to open my car up and set the homie's up right (for free, obviously). Take skating seriously enough so that you can always say you "just skated the other day." Skating owes us nothing. We literally juggle planks on wheels with our feet for fun. The gifted heads will get discovered one way or the other, but don't go into skating with a career mindset... you're setting yourself up to fail. Pay those dues, and have a shit ton of fun. Roll forever.
Tip for a fs crook is to just imagine doing a nosegrind and at the last second tweak it.. you'll be over the ledge like a nosegrind so you can lock in alot easier.. key is to have your toes and center of gravity over your pinched wheel.
7:42 36/m/usa - I started skating at 11 and skated consistently until mid 20s - got full time job/started playing in bands. Bands started to get serious, was able to quit job and do music/bands full time and ended up breaking my wrist skating at a local park while fucking around. Couldn't play guitar for 2-3 months - missed out on shows so I effectively stopped skating. It's been over ten years since I've actually gone to a park or street spot and done tricks, but during covid I bought a Zip Zinger and started rolling around again. Now I ride it down to the cafe a few times a week instead of walking. I don't know if I'll ever get back to where I was at my prime but it's still fun to just get out there and push and carve down the street.
All good advice..im 50 years old.. I have zero reasons to call myself a skater..but I do have a 30 some odd year fascination with being on 4 wheels bolted to maple..probably if i were to describe myself however, within the first few details, would be I skate..I love it, and that’s really it. I have had pro friends, and knowing early on, I was not the same level as them actually freed me up to just go, be there, and enjoy the view, no pressure to go work on my sponsor me vid, no cameras, and a lot of the time just by myself..often I would go back to a spot we visited with these next level ninjas, and do what Ben mentioned..15 20 try’s just to see if my ability could be stepped up a little..but i fully respected what you were saying about your own expectations and being honest about what’s realistic, what are you doing it for and is it worth it to put yourself into that kind of dance with your health and your reason for being on a plank to begin with. Ive said it before here, its refreshing to see the sport understood by the younger guys like yourselves. This is good for the little future rippers to understand. There are two ways to become a real skater, either be that good and show us all and that will be how people identify with you..or at least while you are viable..Or be good to yourself, skate always to have fun without all the posturing and pressure and learn to be comfortable doing it for nobody else but you. And learn to impossible before front ones
So I got in a bad bmx accident and obliterated my knee and took me 3 years to heal and then loose weight, bmxing was my side thing skating was my main thing, I would ride my bike to street spots and sometimes I’d ride my bike at the spot! But anyways the point is after three years away from the board and now coming back to it at 25 I’m better than I was right away!!!! I landed all my tricks and learned dolphin flips and hard flips first week back
I stopped skating for 10 years because I developed a form of arthritis in my legs, I'm lucky enough to have almost complete remission but it definitely limits my mobility. I totally suck at skating now compared to when I was 14 (I'm 29 now) but I still find pleasure in learning new tricks and even re-learning old ones
I remember hating helmets as a kid so I get it, but as an adult whose biggest investment in life was in my brain (at university) it just doesn’t make sense to take the risk of throwing that away because of a preventable head injury. Doesn’t matter how good you are, shit can happen.
I had the same trajectory as ben. 100%, then drugs, then trades, but throw in 5 years of surfcasting. Now I'm starting to get good again. I'm enjoying it. The goal is to be able to skate with my boys who are babies at this point. If I can keep this up through my 40s it will be possible.
this is a great video, i like this format and think it’s a great eye into your community and getting a better sense of what’s going on! great video, thank you gifted 🙏
this is actually a really thoughtful and interesting conversation you have here. you have a talent for interviewing/conversational content, and actually provide good advice when you're being genuine. i appreciate it. fires memes btw, the image at 6:20 is making me hard as hell
I've been off the board here and there for months, sometimes years and I'm always drawn back in. I've been back on the board for a couple years now and I plan to keep it that way
I like to switch it up , like literally learn to ride switch and do switch tricks . That helps trigger that “ first time skating “ dopamine rush , plus yes trying different set ups helps a lot to revive
Oh wow I never knew this dudes story but it’s so so similar to mine. It was even Paul Rodrigues that I remember watching and thinking he’s younger than me and allready just so so much better. Drugs took over and I lost my drive for skating now after being sober for almost 3 years I’m obsessed with skating and I skater every night. I mean every night I’ve made so much progress and I’m so excited for the future.
Yeah I kinda enjoy how I’m not very naturally gifted with skating so the progression I have made is always super exciting, I had skated when I was younger but not much more than Ollies over pool noodles and fakie shuvs then pumping and kick turns but during the first lock down I got a refund from a festival ticket and was only aloud to leave to exercise so I got a new board and I’ve been back into since now I’m learning bs and fs nose slides/ ollies down 6 stairs, axle stalls and I’m enjoying skating everything from manny pads to vert and trying new tricks and new lines through the park with my friends, I’m 23 and the past 3 years have been made amazing by skateboarding
I think I started a yera before you (now 22) I have had a similar experience with being very shit for ages and making some pretty good progression regardless. Skate board is great epic win w I still cant really flip my board but skating is still le epic. also I have artheritis no cap in my left foot. but skating has helped with easing up tension in my ankle. my old man body is getting younger evday
been skating 14 years 3 years if back pain and no skating in between that its nice to take skating more serious again always go hardest in ur young teens to get good
I think a great way to get a job in the industry also is to try and get in with a local skate shop, it likely won’t be much money, but you can support your local scene and work in the skate industry.
the comments about learning how to ride your board before you try more advanced tricks totally makes sense but at the same time I feel some peeps get stuck on learning certain things that never allows them to explore other types of tricks that might work for them better. For example; Ben Harper who is randomly friends with Rodney Mullen wanted to get into skating and was struggling with the basics. Rodney told him if he wanted more fun out of it don't focus so hard on things like that. He might enjoy it more if he goes straight for 360 flips. Ben Harper obviously thought he was crazy for telling him to try something like that when he couldn't even come close to a kickflip but if you think about it that makes sense too. Trying a different trick when you're stuck on something might open the doors to other ideas and muscle movements to the point where when you do come back to the basics you might have a better understanding to how those tricks would work. By all means learn to ride a skateboard to where you can push and fall in ways where you have control but don't let trivial ish take the fun out of it.
As a 90s skater when he talks about being obsessed with skating, until about 16, 17, then getting into drugs, is spot on. That was the grunge era too, and that gen x generation of kids got heavy into drugs in the 90s. I didn't really even do drugs but all my friends who skated didn't want to as much because of drugs and girls. I remember realizing it too when I would want to go skate and people didn't want to because they were more interested in drugs and girls and eventually everyone I knew who skated stopped, so I had no one to go with.
I skated for decades without a helmet . . until. . . I fractured my skull at 41yo from my forehead all the way over the top to the back. . . yeah, seven full weeks of recovery and ZERO memory before the accident and post accident for 3 full days. I wear a helmet now because the pain and recovery isn't worth it. I was lucky to have a full recovery with no issues after my injury.
Bro I wore a helmet my whole childhood. Every time I skated, I just had it on. Even if I was just skating flat in my garage, I had a helmet. Didn't matter when I was 19 and not wearing a helmet and cracked my skull on a 13 stair. All those times wearing it didn't matter. They had to do brain surgery to stop my internal bleeding and put me in a medical coma for 5 days but I'm lucky to be alive and well now. Sucks though to worry sometimes that there is something wrong with my head that I maybe just can't see. Got a little psychological trauma from it, but when I focus on how lucky I am and fortunate to have recovered the way I did, that makes me feel better. I still skate. I got back into it months after my injury and wear a helmet again now. I'm better now than I have ever been, age 27 now. Low-key, I think the injury may have created a complex in my mind that makes me want to be really good at skating to... "make up" for it somehow..? Lol
@@brendancourage it's weird how things happen. Over all the years of skating ramps, bowls, pools, whatever. . . I never ever hit my head and never wore a helmet unless made to by the owner. . and I've taken some crazy slams. I honestly think I got cut off by a car and in the process bounced my head of the side of the car. my head impact was in the front but my back was all dirty. but no memory of any of it so it's just an educated guess. I almost needed surgery but after a week my internal swelling went down enough they released me from the hospital.
@@brendancourage i will say. . I totally have the same feeling about. . I'm I ok? I'm I normal? did something change? . . I've asked people that in all seriousness because I would have no clue after a head injury. . it for sure worried me for a while until I felt secure enough with the responses I received that , , Yup. . I'm good and as "normal" as I was before.
I remember people (and myself) seeing Josh Kasper at one of our local parks and he couldn’t skate any of the transition. Did it make him a shitty skater? Hell no. Yet, it seemed a detriment. Dude was hopping down 20 stairs and killing it. There was a dude called Punker Matt where I lived in Southern Oregon. He was one of the first pros for Baker (crazy right?). Pretty sure he was in the first two Baker videos and he told me he was one of the first Piss Drunx, getting his tattoo with Andrew Reynolds. We would talk and one day I asked him if he wanted to skate. Dude literally told me he only skates pools. Cool, but I love skateboarding and I’ll go do any of it. Kind of bummed me out.
@@ronniecreager2585 also, this isn’t the first time we’ve chatted. The skateboards in my house hang from red, black, and white Etc. hangers. Also have the ankle brace. You’re a legend.
I mean, most profesional athletes are super specialized. Look at hockey for example. Every person on the team plays a specific position, i doubt you would see a centerman padding up to play goalie. Even in practice.
I skated from 13 till 22, everyday or at least 4 days a week, some were less but as an overall. After that I got back on a board if there was one around from time to time but the interest had mostly gone and i would just have a quick push around. I stopped due to a few factors, the biggest being my first child was born and in this time i was trying to juggle being a dad at 22years of age, hold on to my job as i was the soul provider and keep skating in the mix. What broke the camels back was i had a collision at a skate park as i was coming back down off the quarter and the collision with this other dude snapped a big chunk of my nose off, which was weird and it still baffles me. I couldn't replace my board due to my fatherly/bill paying duties. Skating had died. Lost interest, didn't watch another skate part, neither did skate related words leave my mouth. Even with my friends who skate i just wouldn't entertain the notion of it. I left it behind. Until the pandemic hit and for some reason i started to think about skating and all these memories came flooding back, i got excited. I watched some old skate vids that i grew up with it and over the course of a few days to a week or so i was catching up on everything i had missed, new skaters ect. Naturally with the juices flowing i bought a new set up two years ago at 35. Sure it was hard at first, learning how to skate again and that muscle memory back and sure i can't pop as high anymore and things don't look as clean as they used to but at 37 I'm having fun, and thats all that matters now. So moral of the story if you love something its not dead forever, love lasts forever.
love when you and your dad do videos together 🤙🏼🛹 for real though this might be my favorite sh!t you uploaded I relate so much having taken a looong time off the board and coming back to it after all these years
Dude drugs took skating from me from 17 till just recently at 33 hoped back on a board again… I suck but going at it again for almost a year Ive seen my progression slowly but surely… hope my boys start soon watching their dad at it…. I’m extremely happy now tho just skating flat bars curbs and little ledges at the park
When you buy bolts any skateboarding bolts a good way to avoid stripping them is by turning the nut & holding the screw stationary with whatever tool you use be that a philips head or alan key I've been running the same set of shorty's 7/8th's alan key hardware for almost 5 years
I only startet in my early twenties skating so for me hearing people talking about loosing interest in skating when they get older is kinda odd to me. Cause I found interest in skating when I’m older.
I'm 20 years old and I'm still terrified of doing the Ollie so I'm gonna challenge myself to learn how to Ollie even though I'm terrified of doing a Ollie
sweet of joa to post this conversation between him and his dad!
That's my dad, get your shit right!!
that can't be his real name
Excellent dynamic that balances them both out
@@wasnt_it have mutual acquaintances with him and i can assure you that's his real name
I thought it was Robin Thicke
thanks for the unrelated meme slideshow taking up more than half of the screen joa! you actually tricked me into enjoying this video!
Yeah Ben’s rambling is no good
@@graxjpg it is very good
@@graxjpg leave Daddy alone
@@graxjpg L take
@@graxjpg we have a very different definition of “rambling”
I was 16 when I got into skating. I worked a farm job where I had an accident lifting a heavy object, and the accident happened a week after I learned how to kickflip. Fast forward three and a half years of being bed ridden, 3 herniated disks, 2 more herniating at year two, multiple tests, physical therapy and chiropractic treatment, I just finally bought a new fresh skateboard. Started to skate again, just rolling up and down my street but its done wonderous things for my mental health. Thank you skateboarding, and also this advice really helps so thank you Joa and Ben. Baker 4 life baby
Same boat! I've been skating and snowboarding for 20 years. 4 years ago I bent down to put on my shoes and my back gave out. I ruptured my disk and couldn't stand up any longer. I got a microdiscotomany 6 months after the accident and 4 years later I'm back skateboarding after spine surgery. Health is everything. Skateborading is everything. Be careful out there. It could be done in a second.
Tough break. Glad you are back on the board.
@@sh1elds Fuck yeah man! Glad to hear you got back on the board. Hope you stay in good health. Its also nice to hear a story similar to mine, thanks for sharing.
@@jasonruggen1511 thanks man!
Holy crap, that's crazy. I broke my wrist in my mid 20s and it was enough for me to stop. While I still ride my board to the cafe a few times a week I haven't attempted a real trick in over a decade. Luckily I've found other ways to get my adrenaline rush and keep my spirits lifted, but if that's what does it for you, keep doing it. Burgers, fries and no complies
As kooky as Andy Anderson is he is the epitome of anti boredom skateboarding. He literally skates every single discipline because that’s how he has the most fun. Sure I hate his style but anytime I see a clip of him skating a park he just effortlessly rides around doing everything from tech, to transition, to freestyle and you can tell he’s having fun the entire time
I saw him do a front shuv down a lil 3 block with no helmet on and that shit was steez as hell but other than that u right
Yes this is facts
I really like his dork flow. It's so genuine and it's clear that he's got everything so dialed in that he can just pull out some rad shit on reaction. I also don't really care about switch tricks like... at all.
@@billclinton3010yep, and his style is growing on me it’s not that bad it’s weird for sure tho
@@Donkeypuncherello88 same, can’t just write him off. But I always hate the freestyle skating. That shit just looks so bad
realizing that I was not good enough to be sponsored from an early age was great for my enjoyment of skateboarding.
@@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777 what sponsor did you have
I'm 28 and I've fallen in and out of skating multiple times. Usually dependent on how rigorous my work is. My workload is light these days so I skate probably four times a week. It's awesome
I don't care
I care
cool story bro
It doesn't sound awesome, sounds like you're working harder and not smarter.
@@559 y’all can’t read, he said nowadays his workload is lihhter
You guys touch on this with the going pro/how to make a career in skateboarding segment but it's really a shame how common it is to succumb to the pressure of monetizing your hobby. Do you like playing video games? Stream on Twitch and maybe you'll get enough subs to make some extra bucks. Do you like baking? Start a food blog and maybe it can grow into a full-blown lifestyle brand. Do you like hanging out with your friends and chatting? Start a podcast!
I know this phenomenon is a byproduct of a system without proper safety nets, that people need to find alternative revenue streams to survive, ideally for something they actually enjoy versus a job that's sucking their soul away. But it's healthy to just do something for fun. To not have any career ambitions attached to it. To use it as an escape from the pressures of late-stage capitalism.
Excellent comment worth reading in full. Cheers.
just like you said it's a double edged sword. Both GH and Ben live in some of the most expensive cities in the world (L.A and Vancouver), they need that extra income anyway they can earn it, and it's better than working on something soul crushing. I am happy for them on one hand, but on the other it's sad that it's seemingly necessary for people to try and monetize all their interests.
Hustle culture is a fucking joke
Ben Degro spot on in that last part about working in the trades and avoiding debt and staying physical which will keep you skating forever. Great stuff guys really enjoyed this episode
Damn, I’m a rep from Jessup grip looking to flow you. But…. Nvm
BABE WAKE UP GIFTED POSTED
WOOOOO
LETS GOOO
IM UP IM UP 😩😩😩
Perfect start to tha mornin!!!
*Says to anime pillow
I stayed motivated by learning tricks, skating different places and now as I’m getting old (33) I set up fun cruiser decks with Indy 215s and do different types of tricks on transition n curbs whatever, sometimes just don’t skate and do other stuff then come back fresher
Yeah man switching it up as you get older has brought a whole new joy to skating for me
@@esaiaswalker8944 exactly, setting up cruisers is fun and the ride is completely different
I’m 33, still trying to skate like I always have. Just at a slower and less frequent pace lol
@@tydaboi yeah I try to skate flat at least 15 minutes a day as a workout. Still trying to learn new tricks.
@@tydaboi I gave up jumping down big rails and stuff years ago, I’ve had my gnarly fun now it’s about pure fun and cardio because I’m getting a bit rounder😂
feels like watching a subway surfer tiktok with the meme reel taking up half of the screen
people do tre flip feebles for ig so at this point everyone needs to just have fun with skating and have a life outside of skating
This is great, GH. I wish seeking advice and transparency were normalized when i was a young bull. Like so many others, I was lost when I came out of my teens into my 20's. It's great that you guys are having these conversations.
We got some dawgs in the house?
@@enjoiandrew4 old dawgs?
Seriously Ben’s tip for trying 10 times on a trick you want to learn is the most incredible piece of advice I’ve ever heard. I have finally figured out tres after 15 years
Tres took me years too man it’s on up there with the slightly more advanced tricks. I honestly forgot how hard they were untill relearning to skate these last years.
I’m a mechanic by trade and the segment on job vs hobby is true. I started out because of love for cars but now that’s all I do everyday and I hate cars. Making your hobby into a career is tricky waters
do u think there’s a way to avoid that
@@odeswarms gotta have other outlets. I know I do.
Im 37 and have been skating consistently since 18. Definitely not sponsored level but I get by. I have almost lost skating due to partying and lack of focus on my body. Recently I became sober and have a newfound passion for the board. Feeling like a kid again and now have new energy and focus. You don't have to smoke weed and drink beer all day people.
Idk how everybody smokes and skates. I recently started skating n had two puffs of a joint and then ended up in hospital with a concussion lmao.
Need to see a gifted hater soccer highlight reel immediately
I think he's got those pings from 30 yards out
as a working musician i really connected with the convo about how working in skateboarding affects your passion for the hobby, as it feels the same with music.
I took a loooong hiatus from skating. I really regret it. Skated from 00-05 and then quit up until 2020 which COVID pushed me to get out and do something active due to the lockdown. Then had a back injury from September 2020 and just picked my board up last month. Now I am motivated to lose weight and take care of my body so I can continue to skate. Also teach my two kids how to skate as well!
I'm an old guy who skated street, who is now trying to get the time to learn more transition (small transition). It is just as exciting as it was when I was a young teen. Even having the daydreams about it. 🤘🏼
What a great father son bonding experience!
What was said about being in the trades was a great point. Started in non union electrical, now in the dyrwall lathers union as a metal stud framer & welder. Loving (almost) every minute of it
@@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777 yea bud i’m into the whole self sustainability trip too😅 go figure🤣
got into growing and learning about organics/natural farming
Saw you in the wild a couple weeks ago. Was going to say whats up but I felt like you’d appreciate it more if I didnt. Keep growing King
I had such a similar experience to Ben that I find his RUclips really compelling. Obsessed with skating 11-18. Not gonna go pro, need a career, skate occasionally: 18-32. Established career, more free time, no expectation for skating beyond surprising myself: 32 onward. Now I'm skating frequently, progressing (slowly), and having the most fun ever. Enjoying skating really is about your attitude toward it rather than how good you are compared to pros.
It’s really hard to “progress” in skating after you hit 30, nearly impossible after 35. Unless you’re skating transition. As for street skating, just look at how awful top pros look on their skateboards after 40. Reynolds is really the outlier. Fucking Koston looks like he’s spasmodic doing kick flips nowadays. All this to say: just enjoy yourself. I have more fun now in my late 30s than I did in my teens when I was “good” at skating. Just cruising, popping little manuals, doing nose bonk nollie thingies off of cracks, slappy noseslides; I’m having a great time and could not care less about “getting good”.
@@tomgann9383 i have a mixed reaction to this. On the one hand, I agree that progression is hard since there’s less time and your body heals more slowly. On the other hand, if you never reached your athletic limits when you were younger, then the infinite number of tricks allows for a ton of learning. To me, that’s progression. I learn new tricks all the time by virtue of simply not having tried them before. Ben touched on this describing slappies: not necessarily hard but progression for him. I think pros are a special case because they found their absolute limit and of course have since been capped by their athletic decline.
I think it all depends on your mindset and how well you have taken care of your body through out your life I know plenty of people 35 and older who progress after they stopped skating in there teens. Now if you tell your self I can never get any better or I’m too old to try tricks then that’s all your going to be able to do. Skateboarding has a lot to do with how much time you put in is what you will get out. I think what holds older skaters back is they are afraid of getting hurt so they only stick to trany, the reason you see older pros not pushing themselves like they use to is they have already put there work in and are basically just chilling and teaching younger kids on the team. But Reynolds’s is like 45 and he still rips better then dudes half his age. TL:DR: don’t limit yourself to your age not getting better in skateboarding skate for fun and you will progress
As a 27 year old, who loves skateboarding and hated like all jobs he did until now, I really would appreciate you guys talking more about jobs in skateboarding/ related to skateboarding for like a whole video. I think Ben says a lot true stuff in these few minutes, but I think you could easily fill a whole video about this topic, there are way more "meaningful" jobs we could think about I guess and hope :D Maybe you also could talk a bit more about jobs you think skateboarders fit in
Do this again
@@billclinton3010 what do you mean?
@@SchwappSchwopp what ya said
Went from skating being about me progressing and always improving to being more about having fun and enjoying fresh air and exercise, camaraderie at the skatepark, and just enjoying being part of the culture
i'd love to hear Ben talk more about working in the trades and that aspect of his life and how it has worked alongside his skating hobby, I'm in my late 20s and getting to the point where I could be running my own construction business but i sometimes feel my obsession with skateboarding hinders my motivation to take work more seriously.
The weed too
Bro I’m 16 and really want to become handy and work in the trades was it challenging for you in the beginning to get the hang of construction?
I agree with Ben, I'm in my teen years and any extra time I get is devoted to skating, my heart is just in it. But, I know I'm not as good as the top level pros so I have to find another job that's reliable in my adult years. Still researching.
Open up a small skate shop when you get older bro. Start saving now. Live the dream I never got to lol
@@rickyjames1659 I will try, can't promise!
This really defeated my erectile dysfunction
AYOOOO
I love learning that someone I admire is sober. Good vid mane
Love how there’s multiple sides to these videos, as in skateboarding different styles different types of people. This shits sick.
I've been skating since '85 (and may possibly have the oldest semi-active skate channel on here, albeit a very micro sized account).
Sponsorship just wasn't a mindset most of us had when I was coming up. I picked up a number of sponsors along the years, but never actually sought any out. No tapes, just being visible and doing different things in my local skate community.
Hell, when I did product reviews on here I was getting so much free gear (outside of my sponsors) for review, I had the whole neighborhood hooked up. Now, not too far from being 50, I'm a DLX Known Associate and promote Deluxe brands just by being the old head of my skate family and making sure my locals have fresh gear (when I hit the park or the spots and see someone w/busted gear, Deluxe has given me the ability to open my car up and set the homie's up right (for free, obviously).
Take skating seriously enough so that you can always say you "just skated the other day."
Skating owes us nothing. We literally juggle planks on wheels with our feet for fun.
The gifted heads will get discovered one way or the other, but don't go into skating with a career mindset... you're setting yourself up to fail.
Pay those dues, and have a shit ton of fun. Roll forever.
I’m also 48 and run a Skateshop(menial skate industry job) and skate 5-6 days a week. It can be done and not be burnt out.
Tip for a fs crook is to just imagine doing a nosegrind and at the last second tweak it.. you'll be over the ledge like a nosegrind so you can lock in alot easier.. key is to have your toes and center of gravity over your pinched wheel.
7:42 36/m/usa - I started skating at 11 and skated consistently until mid 20s - got full time job/started playing in bands. Bands started to get serious, was able to quit job and do music/bands full time and ended up breaking my wrist skating at a local park while fucking around. Couldn't play guitar for 2-3 months - missed out on shows so I effectively stopped skating. It's been over ten years since I've actually gone to a park or street spot and done tricks, but during covid I bought a Zip Zinger and started rolling around again. Now I ride it down to the cafe a few times a week instead of walking. I don't know if I'll ever get back to where I was at my prime but it's still fun to just get out there and push and carve down the street.
Joa must spend a couple hours a week looking at these furry art pictures
All good advice..im 50 years old.. I have zero reasons to call myself a skater..but I do have a 30 some odd year fascination with being on 4 wheels bolted to maple..probably if i were to describe myself however, within the first few details, would be I skate..I love it, and that’s really it. I have had pro friends, and knowing early on, I was not the same level as them actually freed me up to just go, be there, and enjoy the view, no pressure to go work on my sponsor me vid, no cameras, and a lot of the time just by myself..often I would go back to a spot we visited with these next level ninjas, and do what Ben mentioned..15 20 try’s just to see if my ability could be stepped up a little..but i fully respected what you were saying about your own expectations and being honest about what’s realistic, what are you doing it for and is it worth it to put yourself into that kind of dance with your health and your reason for being on a plank to begin with. Ive said it before here, its refreshing to see the sport understood by the younger guys like yourselves. This is good for the little future rippers to understand. There are two ways to become a real skater, either be that good and show us all and that will be how people identify with you..or at least while you are viable..Or be good to yourself, skate always to have fun without all the posturing and pressure and learn to be comfortable doing it for nobody else but you. And learn to impossible before front ones
So I got in a bad bmx accident and obliterated my knee and took me 3 years to heal and then loose weight, bmxing was my side thing skating was my main thing, I would ride my bike to street spots and sometimes I’d ride my bike at the spot! But anyways the point is after three years away from the board and now coming back to it at 25 I’m better than I was right away!!!! I landed all my tricks and learned dolphin flips and hard flips first week back
I stopped skating for 10 years because I developed a form of arthritis in my legs, I'm lucky enough to have almost complete remission but it definitely limits my mobility. I totally suck at skating now compared to when I was 14 (I'm 29 now) but I still find pleasure in learning new tricks and even re-learning old ones
Nothing like a Ben X Joa banger to get you hyped enough to want to kill your own ego wearing dad shorts and hair dye.
Top kek, lads.
I remember hating helmets as a kid so I get it, but as an adult whose biggest investment in life was in my brain (at university) it just doesn’t make sense to take the risk of throwing that away because of a preventable head injury. Doesn’t matter how good you are, shit can happen.
I had the same trajectory as ben. 100%, then drugs, then trades, but throw in 5 years of surfcasting. Now I'm starting to get good again. I'm enjoying it. The goal is to be able to skate with my boys who are babies at this point. If I can keep this up through my 40s it will be possible.
watched this video baked and holding a silver skate tool. Love you Steve
Ben is like a guidance councillor for lost boys
Yes, very disingenuous and creepy
LOLLLL.
this is a great video, i like this format and think it’s a great eye into your community and getting a better sense of what’s going on! great video, thank you gifted 🙏
you need to be angry and lonely to be motivated to skate
thats why its so tricky got to have your set up ready with the spot before you get annoyed enuf to skate
If you wanna talk about stuff outside of skating, that’s cool. I think we all just like your content💜😳
A good skatepark, inspiration and motivation is all you need.
This was a great video helped me with a lot of issues that I have been going through, thank you for making content joa.
this is actually a really thoughtful and interesting conversation you have here. you have a talent for interviewing/conversational content, and actually provide good advice when you're being genuine. i appreciate it. fires memes btw, the image at 6:20 is making me hard as hell
Is it just me or is Ben damned handsome?
he's a total babe
I've been off the board here and there for months, sometimes years and I'm always drawn back in. I've been back on the board for a couple years now and I plan to keep it that way
I like to switch it up , like literally learn to ride switch and do switch tricks . That helps trigger that “ first time skating “ dopamine rush , plus yes trying different set ups helps a lot to revive
Oh wow I never knew this dudes story but it’s so so similar to mine. It was even Paul Rodrigues that I remember watching and thinking he’s younger than me and allready just so so much better. Drugs took over and I lost my drive for skating now after being sober for almost 3 years I’m obsessed with skating and I skater every night. I mean every night I’ve made so much progress and I’m so excited for the future.
37 mins of company time gone
Yeah I kinda enjoy how I’m not very naturally gifted with skating so the progression I have made is always super exciting, I had skated when I was younger but not much more than Ollies over pool noodles and fakie shuvs then pumping and kick turns but during the first lock down I got a refund from a festival ticket and was only aloud to leave to exercise so I got a new board and I’ve been back into since now I’m learning bs and fs nose slides/ ollies down 6 stairs, axle stalls and I’m enjoying skating everything from manny pads to vert and trying new tricks and new lines through the park with my friends, I’m 23 and the past 3 years have been made amazing by skateboarding
I think I started a yera before you (now 22) I have had a similar experience with being very shit for ages and making some pretty good progression regardless. Skate board is great epic win w
I still cant really flip my board but skating is still le epic. also I have artheritis no cap in my left foot. but skating has helped with easing up tension in my ankle. my old man body is getting younger evday
been skating 14 years
3 years if back pain and no skating in between that
its nice to take skating more serious again
always go hardest in ur young teens to get good
The way I whipped it out so fast 😳
AYOOOOOO
the way it slipped into my hand and lubricated itself
@@someinternetloser PAUSE!!!!
This video will help me experience skateboarding nirvana
Why is 99% of the comment section whole notebooks
I think a great way to get a job in the industry also is to try and get in with a local skate shop, it likely won’t be much money, but you can support your local scene and work in the skate industry.
Currently on the bathroom floor puking from food poisoning thanks for the entertainment while I'm here man
the comments about learning how to ride your board before you try more advanced tricks totally makes sense but at the same time I feel some peeps get stuck on learning certain things that never allows them to explore other types of tricks that might work for them better. For example; Ben Harper who is randomly friends with Rodney Mullen wanted to get into skating and was struggling with the basics. Rodney told him if he wanted more fun out of it don't focus so hard on things like that. He might enjoy it more if he goes straight for 360 flips. Ben Harper obviously thought he was crazy for telling him to try something like that when he couldn't even come close to a kickflip but if you think about it that makes sense too. Trying a different trick when you're stuck on something might open the doors to other ideas and muscle movements to the point where when you do come back to the basics you might have a better understanding to how those tricks would work. By all means learn to ride a skateboard to where you can push and fall in ways where you have control but don't let trivial ish take the fun out of it.
As a 90s skater when he talks about being obsessed with skating, until about 16, 17, then getting into drugs, is spot on. That was the grunge era too, and that gen x generation of kids got heavy into drugs in the 90s. I didn't really even do drugs but all my friends who skated didn't want to as much because of drugs and girls. I remember realizing it too when I would want to go skate and people didn't want to because they were more interested in drugs and girls and eventually everyone I knew who skated stopped, so I had no one to go with.
The drake back tail pic fucking killed me
Appreciate the advice, thank you good sir ❤️🔥
I skated for decades without a helmet . . until. . . I fractured my skull at 41yo from my forehead all the way over the top to the back. . . yeah, seven full weeks of recovery and ZERO memory before the accident and post accident for 3 full days. I wear a helmet now because the pain and recovery isn't worth it. I was lucky to have a full recovery with no issues after my injury.
Bro I wore a helmet my whole childhood. Every time I skated, I just had it on. Even if I was just skating flat in my garage, I had a helmet. Didn't matter when I was 19 and not wearing a helmet and cracked my skull on a 13 stair. All those times wearing it didn't matter. They had to do brain surgery to stop my internal bleeding and put me in a medical coma for 5 days but I'm lucky to be alive and well now. Sucks though to worry sometimes that there is something wrong with my head that I maybe just can't see. Got a little psychological trauma from it, but when I focus on how lucky I am and fortunate to have recovered the way I did, that makes me feel better.
I still skate. I got back into it months after my injury and wear a helmet again now. I'm better now than I have ever been, age 27 now. Low-key, I think the injury may have created a complex in my mind that makes me want to be really good at skating to... "make up" for it somehow..? Lol
@@brendancourage it's weird how things happen. Over all the years of skating ramps, bowls, pools, whatever. . . I never ever hit my head and never wore a helmet unless made to by the owner. . and I've taken some crazy slams. I honestly think I got cut off by a car and in the process bounced my head of the side of the car. my head impact was in the front but my back was all dirty. but no memory of any of it so it's just an educated guess. I almost needed surgery but after a week my internal swelling went down enough they released me from the hospital.
@@brendancourage i will say. . I totally have the same feeling about. . I'm I ok? I'm I normal? did something change? . . I've asked people that in all seriousness because I would have no clue after a head injury. . it for sure worried me for a while until I felt secure enough with the responses I received that , , Yup. . I'm good and as "normal" as I was before.
Hey kids, all of this advice can be translated into just about any career path btw
the only 2 watchable skate ytbers collabing is nice
some good balance of opinions from these two lovely boys
if you want to work in skateboarding get ready to be moving to california and not be paid enough to make rent.
I remember people (and myself) seeing Josh Kasper at one of our local parks and he couldn’t skate any of the transition. Did it make him a shitty skater? Hell no. Yet, it seemed a detriment. Dude was hopping down 20 stairs and killing it.
There was a dude called Punker Matt where I lived in Southern Oregon. He was one of the first pros for Baker (crazy right?). Pretty sure he was in the first two Baker videos and he told me he was one of the first Piss Drunx, getting his tattoo with Andrew Reynolds. We would talk and one day I asked him if he wanted to skate. Dude literally told me he only skates pools.
Cool, but I love skateboarding and I’ll go do any of it.
Kind of bummed me out.
But imagine not skating that stuff and that’s all there is? Talk about a bummer. Do what you love to do! Whatever it is
@@ronniecreager2585 oh, of course. Do whatever you love to do.
@@ronniecreager2585 also, this isn’t the first time we’ve chatted. The skateboards in my house hang from red, black, and white Etc. hangers. Also have the ankle brace.
You’re a legend.
I mean, most profesional athletes are super specialized. Look at hockey for example. Every person on the team plays a specific position, i doubt you would see a centerman padding up to play goalie. Even in practice.
@@KyleBGanger I was only bummed because it meant we never got to skate together. There really wasn’t any pools around.
I skated from 13 till 22, everyday or at least 4 days a week, some were less but as an overall. After that I got back on a board if there was one around from time to time but the interest had mostly gone and i would just have a quick push around. I stopped due to a few factors, the biggest being my first child was born and in this time i was trying to juggle being a dad at 22years of age, hold on to my job as i was the soul provider and keep skating in the mix. What broke the camels back was i had a collision at a skate park as i was coming back down off the quarter and the collision with this other dude snapped a big chunk of my nose off, which was weird and it still baffles me. I couldn't replace my board due to my fatherly/bill paying duties. Skating had died. Lost interest, didn't watch another skate part, neither did skate related words leave my mouth. Even with my friends who skate i just wouldn't entertain the notion of it. I left it behind. Until the pandemic hit and for some reason i started to think about skating and all these memories came flooding back, i got excited. I watched some old skate vids that i grew up with it and over the course of a few days to a week or so i was catching up on everything i had missed, new skaters ect. Naturally with the juices flowing i bought a new set up two years ago at 35. Sure it was hard at first, learning how to skate again and that muscle memory back and sure i can't pop as high anymore and things don't look as clean as they used to but at 37 I'm having fun, and thats all that matters now. So moral of the story if you love something its not dead forever, love lasts forever.
Gifted Hater is actually just another Ben Degros side channel
Been watchin Ben for a while. He seems like a great dude
And definitely a lot of tradesman skater quite a lot in hospitality as well
This was 🔥 more more advice videos🙏
love when you and your dad do videos together 🤙🏼🛹
for real though this might be my favorite sh!t you uploaded I relate so much having taken a looong time off the board and coming back to it after all these years
That Metallica Xbox live message tho 😂
natural born ledge skaters is my fave film
My favorite Ben degros is when he is waking up going to work. He showed us how to put the plaster stuff on a wall.
I snatched some hilarious pictures of this gifted hater dude that is dairy Queen job
Dude drugs took skating from me from 17 till just recently at 33 hoped back on a board again… I suck but going at it again for almost a year Ive seen my progression slowly but surely… hope my boys start soon watching their dad at it…. I’m extremely happy now tho just skating flat bars curbs and little ledges at the park
22:45 man I literally called that. You really have to sleep on it. Same with learning a new song on guitar or a new language etc. Love this upload.
Good vid thanks. Love the Trancemaster wallpaper!
god damn Ben your Wainscoting is so nice!! impeccable job.
Great vid hopefully emote tier list is in the works!
When you buy bolts any skateboarding bolts a good way to avoid stripping them is by turning the nut & holding the screw stationary with whatever tool you use be that a philips head or alan key
I've been running the same set of shorty's 7/8th's alan key hardware for almost 5 years
Enjoy these vids with Ben. He looks like a youth pastor though
yeeeeeah best guest ever. love when Ben is on!
Ben and joa irl skate sesh plz
it was either this or '4 minutes of Leticia Bufoni destroying the Berrics' i hope i made the right choice here.
4 mins of the berrics destroying leticia bufoni
@@marcelomorales4271 Fuck I wish my name was the berrics
After 2 weeks this is what i needed, my mind enlightened by mr degros and gifted hater
Good video! (Pardon me for any inaccurate grammar as English is not my first language)
Love the Ben collabs!
I only startet in my early twenties skating so for me hearing people talking about loosing interest in skating when they get older is kinda odd to me. Cause I found interest in skating when I’m older.
I'm 20 years old and I'm still terrified of doing the Ollie so I'm gonna challenge myself to learn how to Ollie even though I'm terrified of doing a Ollie
This dude looks like the corporate friendly version of feedback ts
some day im gonna fix the holes ive made in my drywall. when i do im gonna watch this guys shit.
Got me a cup of coffee and a new GH vid. Life is good.