I will never forget my sixth birthday. That morning, I discovered an oblong-shaped, intricately wrapped package on the dining room table. I knew immediately what it was. I tore away the brightly-colored paper to reveal a sparkling skateboard. It was blue, with a cartoon image of a man bungee jumping off a bridge. The trucks were plastic, the griptape was slippery, and the wheels barely spun. I suspect my parents purchased it from a sporting goods store. Despite it not being the fanciest, it was perfect because it was my first board. I was finally a skateboarder. 

I remember learning how to ride like it was yesterday. At that time, way back in 1996, I had no knowledge of skateboard videos or magazines. I did not know where to start, yet I felt confident enough that I could figure it out. After practicing for weeks, and falling off too many times to count, I taught myself how to push and roll along the flat surface of the sidewalk in front of my house. 

Despite me enjoying that initial experience, after several months I became less interested in skateboarding. The board sat unused, collecting dust, in a corner of the garage. My skateboard was merely a toy that I had once liked playing with. I eventually found more interest in team sports, such as the AYSO soccer and YMCA basketball leagues.

Fast forward three years, I found myself in fourth grade. That year, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater came out for Playstation, and I received it as a Christmas present. Skateboarding was exploding in popularity. Out of the fifteen boys in my class that year, only about three or four were not skating. That same Christmas I got my first professional-grade board, from Rip City Skateshop in Santa Monica. I had also discovered skateboarding magazines at the local supermarket, and I would buy the newest copy each month. Unlike the first time I picked up a board three years earlier, I knew that this time I was hooked.

-Coach Elliott

*Stay tuned for Part 2 of Elliott’s skateboarding journey…