From Old School skater to E-Boader

Recently I bought an eBoard and I am loving it. As the the subject of this blog says, I am an old school skater. I started skating when I was around 6. Naturally, I transitioned into other things like rollerblading, surfing , skimming boarding, snowboarding and even street lugeing for a short time but I would say skating and roller blading were my thing. Admittedly, I skated through a portion of the late 80s and  was more of a blader for much of the 90s, and transitioned back to skating in the early 2000s til about 2009-2010 where I finally had to hang up my boards due to medic issues and weight gain due to those issues and medications. After selling or giving most of my boards away,.except one, my Powell board, I figured my skating days were done. I mean, I would still take my board out and cruise from time to time but prolonged periods pushing off and standing on it would eventually hurt my hips and back and knees and also my physical shape and stamina had obviously declined as well. , So fast forward. 2020, the pandemic hit. People are quarantine and one is left with nothing more then thoughts and memories. While rewatching one of my favorite movies, Gleaming the Cube, old feelings...the itch began to stir. I remembered digging out my Powell that had been packed away for quite a few years. It was like finding an old friend. Only to be heartbroken. When I stepped on it for the first time in years, instantly there was a notably bend, excessive flex due to my weight gain. I quickly stepped off and stared at myself in the mirror infront of me. And that is when something snapped or clicked. I was a year out from turning 40. I was severely over weight and I knew due to medical conditions I would never be able to skate at my apex like back in the day but, I could still at least cruise. But first, I had to lose the weight. I worked from 2021 to 2022. A year of eating healthy. Getting active again. Doing whatever excercise my broken body could handle. In the background, checking out and getting caught back up on years, over a decade of skateboarding and new skaters I missed out on. Looking at the newest decks. Shoes. Trucks, bushings, wheels, bearings, all of it. That is how I discovered Braille Skating fronted by Aaron Kyro and it was through the Braille YouTube channel I discovered Electric Cruiser Longboards and skateboards. After a series of videos, the eBoard scene had bitten me. Not only was this way back into skating that would not put a lot of strain on my body but it look so fun. New. Again, at 40 there was no way I would be able to skate like back in my prime, I just wanted to be able to cruise. Get back some of that feeling of just being on a board doing a little carving. Just something. Gripped with excitement I tore there every website I could find selling eBoard. Watched hundreds of hours of YouTube videos. Read reviews. Learned everything I could only to have my hopes bashed. You see, most or all boards have a weight limit depending on how many layers the deck is made out of , even the type of wood. Most skaters want some flex to their decks for sending tricks. Grinds, flips and whatever right? Not so much for a longboard or cruiser and especially when you have a big frame like mine on it. At the time, I could find for the highest weight capacity was like, 250. Talk about bummed. I had two choice's, except defeat and just think back of the rad memories I had or keep trying my damnedest to lose the weight. Well, I kept at it losing weight. Pound after slowly,. very slowly, extremely slowly melting pound. After a year, I had lost almost 50 pounds. Great! But not not great. Losing the weight was great for my health and body but I was still way to big and heavy for every eboard i came across. Another three months go by and happen stance I come across an eBoard that could hold 330 pounds. Now, for a fleeting moment, I got excited only to get bummed, cause at that time I had not weighed myself in some time. It had been months. I had started a new job. I was super active and constantly moving. Walking a tonne. Lifting . I saved the board on my Amazon wish list and moved on. Days later, I just happened to remember to weight in , I was curious where I was at and let's just say going from 394 pounds to 301 was such an awesome feeling. Seeing that number pop up was amazing and that is when it hit me. That eBoard I found on Amazon, I could ride it. It would hold with room spare. Needless to, I ordered that morning in with two days, I was testing it out in my apartments car park. Loving every minute of it. Feeling 15 years old again. I even broke out an oooooold pair of Airwalks I still keep clean and in decent shape I got back in like 7-8th grade. Because of ebaording, I get to feel that feeling of being on a board again. Am I a skater again, maybe not in the technical sense anymore but I am more then happier 5o take up the mantle of boarder or eBoarder. The way I see it, it is the younger skaters turn to rip and shred. Carve the concrete waves. Full send down a 15 set. Stuff I can not do anymore anyways. I am more then happy to watch the new generation do what I did. Skate or die. Me, I was a blader, a surfer, a snowboarder, an  idiot on anything with wheel and somethings without. I was a skater and now I am happy being an eBoarder and free again.