#trythings

When I was 9 years old. I got a skateboard (an amazing Teen Wolf Themed skateboard from the J.C. Penney Christmas Catalogue - haha). I rode it. Dug it. It was good fun. However, I didn't grow up in a "skate scene"... no skater friends, no skaters in the family, so I didn't really know that there was more than just rolling (or riding).

Flash forward 5 to 6 years, and I'm more aware of what a REAL skateboarder can do. (Mind you, this is pre-internet....no google, no YouTube, just Thrasher mags and other skate magz). So, I get a new skateboard that is shaped differently (a Popsicle vs the 10" "Pig" shape from the late 80's) and I start skating again. Still.... I'm just a "coaster". I push around and make turns and just carve parking lots.

Regardless, it was such a great feeling. So righteous.

A few months after I got that new board, I decide - I'm gonna learn to atleast ollie. "I gotta do that! That's the most basic trick!"

Success?

Not really?... I could ollie (barely) when the board wasn't rolling, but when I approached the object I wanted to ollie over (typically a stick) my mind got twisted in nervous-knots and I always failed.

That was when I was 15 to 17 years old.

... (Super Flash Forward) ...

Now I'm 40 and my kids have showed an interest in skateboarding which has re-ignited my own passion from my youth. This is the time to try again, before I get "too" old (honestly though, I don't think there is ever a "too" old - but, you know what I mean).

My adventure back into learning to skateboard, and to hopefully successfully ollie over thin objects has begun! AND!... I'm stepping it up a notch.... I'm learning to skate vert as well on a quarter pipe.

And.. I am stoked for the journey.

... ... ... ... ... ...

Questions many of you who are in your late-30's and beyond may be asking?

1. Why?

Because. Because there is a fire in my heart that has rekindled and my interest is here for the moment. That's why. This is a new adventure for me which brings me joy, so why should you care anyways? To quote Jimi Hendrix, "I got my own life to live. I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die. So let me live my life the way I want to." (Song: "If 6 Was 9", Album: "Electric Ladyland")

2. Am I scared or anxious?

Um...yeah. Kinda.

It's scary to fall. There is definitely anxieties about how my body and bones have aged. But why should that stop me? I'm wearing full protective gear (helmet, wrist guards, elbow and knee pads). And if I don't do it now.... if I don't try again now, will the negative feeling of regret be stronger than if I didn't try to skateboard again before I'm older? Probably.

3. Is this your mid-life crisis?

No. But... maybe. And... who cares? It's a healthier mid-life crisis than a gambling addiction or buying an over-priced sports vehicle. And, I get to spend time with my kids and make righteous epic-fall videos!

4. How long will this new hobby last?

Who knows. But, it's a door I'm opening to new adventures in my life and, as far as I know/believe, we only live once. So I'm following my heart and opening the door and we'll see what happens.

I'm just going to live in the moment and enjoy it. :-)

- Zerp.

P.S. Stay tuned for more updates. (If you "follow" my Tumblr you'll be updated of future posts.)

Cheers my friends!