Blading when you get older
I am not going to lie, this shit gets harder, both physically and mentally, as you get older.
I remember when I first started rolling I could take a slam like it was nothing and just keep on going. No morning after pain, no muscle pulls, and no stretching or Advil needed.
Fast forward almost a decade later, and it isn’t like that anymore. I am a bag of shit. My knees are bad, my legs are all scarred up and have nerve damage, and I am questioning my ability to reproduce from the numerous times I racked myself (which is good in some situations).
As I continue to grow older and rollerblade I have learned one valuable lesson, I can’t treat my body like it is still fifteen. [...]
The physical pain and the mental second guessing isn’t as much as a problem as the responsibilities that come with being older and trying to rollerblade. [...]
Sure it gets harder to blade as you get older, but it doesn’t mean you quit, you just learn to adapt. [...]
July 1st, 2009 at 10:08 am
hi, i don´t know about you but i´m 27 and i´ve been skating for over 12 years now.. my girl (28) skating for 5.. i skate for skateland (indoor park) and a small store rollerwave, but even without i would still roll as much as possible. what comes down to almost every day becouse of my ´not working more than 5 hours a week´, and i just love it!!! so keep rolling bitches especially those mother fu.kers who are good, but are lazy 2… don´t commit to a full time job if you want to roll and have fun!! thats what the lifestyle is about remember? having no worries and just skate your ass off litteraly..
iff you want to do that in holland mail me…
peace
July 1st, 2009 at 10:08 am
oh i forgot to say big! up to rob g (from everywhere) for showing us how it´s done when people say we are to old… come stay in my crib and skate with us please? insert puppy eyes here…
July 1st, 2009 at 10:37 am
So true, I’m 29 and have been skating for 17 years. My knees are shot my wrists are still broken. I just find myself taking more time between skates to make sure my body has healed from the last one. Would I ever give it up? Never.
July 1st, 2009 at 10:56 am
yeah i agree with all that your saying here. Im quite lucky myself as at 26 years of age my life now revolves around rollerblading as im working as a qualified instructor and running a roller disco (two of my seven part time jobs!haha((i love all of them though))
my body is screwed, and up until a couple of years ago i disrespected it with a lack of streching.
KIDS: you should stretch…yoyu may consider it gay, but when your as inflexible as me when your my age and you feel like 50 not 26 then you will question why you didnt.
i also work as a P.T and have learned so much about my nutrition and correct stretching technique that i have battled all those aches out of my system. I have a plate and seven screws in myankle, a mashed spine cartlidge damage in my knees and my wrists have been fractured about 10 times over my career!
but its all good, cause i love what i do and im taking great pleasure passing it down to the youf! (spelt purposly with an f!)
so props for that article, alot of it rang true to me.
If you can turn something you love into a business, id say go with that too!
leo oppenheim
http://www.flowskate.co.uk
July 1st, 2009 at 12:28 pm
haha im just 23, but i have been skating for 14 yrs and i feel the same as you oldies, really bad knees and elbows and all that, but i dont care because this sport has gave me so much that bad knees is nothing to compare with all the good times ive had! cheers!
July 1st, 2009 at 12:59 pm
I’m 34 and have been blading for about 11 years (used to skateboard before that – yeah I know, I’m a sinner.). I’ve come to a point where learning new tricks is harder and harder, but I still get the “hi” from nailing some old ones. My ligaments cry on Unity, but the satisfaction of landing it makes me happy for days. The magic of blading doesn’t fade away when you grow older, you just have to learn to enjoy the little thing. And it’s sort of fun to be the “veteran” of the park. Younger ones give me respect even when I slam. Thanks for that!
July 1st, 2009 at 1:12 pm
if you was skater, you will be a skater for a life. IFyou never put a skate and go ride, you still be a skater,
respect fort the bladers
they still in their streets:-)
July 1st, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Im only 25 and i dont see this as bein old. Skated since i was 7 however i didnt start doin agressive til i was about 12. I still hit up rails even better than before. In a way i just use the pain as a motivation to get the trick nailed! fuck the pain and get it done. Never stop rolling!
July 1st, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I’m 31 and you can definitely still lace tricks as long as you take care of yourself… I think the OG’s have a mental advantage too because we’ve been doing of so long… -B
July 1st, 2009 at 2:00 pm
that’s true…
anyway one name:DANTE MUSE.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Very nice article…
July 1st, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I have seen that it does get harder. The older you get the worse those falls hurt. I’m seventeen and I’ve already started taking care of my body though. I stretch before every session even if it’s a practice rail session.
July 1st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
hell yeah. im 31 now and feell the same. But QUITTING IS NOT AN OPTION!
July 1st, 2009 at 7:18 pm
At nearly 28 years old with responsibilities of a mortgage, a family, and working as a business owner, database marketing manager and a marketing consultant I can relate to a lot of what you said. Despite the added responsibilities and increased susceptibility to injuries that we are cursed with as we age, I’ve continued to be passionate about rollerblading for 14+ years. It’s all about making the time to do what you love and making sure you take care of yourself well enough to continue doing it.
Whether people who I have grown up with or once admired quit skating due to whatever their reasons might be does not bother me though. For me skating is personal, I do it for my own enjoyment and as my escape from the everyday stress and responsibilities that come with life on life’s terms. Ironically, despite the danger involved and damage it has done to my body, rollerblading has been my fountain of youth and I know will always be able to find a new friend in anyone who shares these feelings.
Last night I decided to go out to skate because a good friend of mine is helping me make a new section and we almost have enough footage to start editing. Despite being extremely sore from a full day of skating and filming over the weekend I forced myself to go out to try to get some more clips because I have been overly anxious to see the final product. Of course I should have listened to my sore body because as soon as I put my skates on I fell which resulted in a couple staples in my head. I took my skates off a little while later and decided to call it a night. While driving home I told myself that I need to do a better job of listening to my body when it’s telling me not to go skating if I want to continue doing this in the future. Besides being frustrated from waiting at the clinic until 2:00am and being a little embarrassed coming into work this morning with some messy, blood-soaked, greasy looking hair, I am grateful to be ok and hopeful that with a little luck nothing will ever stop me from doing what I love.
Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you for the article. Hopefully I’ll be skating again next week and should have a new section online in the next couple weeks. I am proud to say this new section will be one of my biggest personal accomplishments and I can’t wait to share it with everyone who loves rollerblading as much as I do.
July 1st, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Im almost 28 now and I have been skating for 14 years and couldn’t agree with this article any more. You young kids out there will soon realize that skating does in fact get harder the older you get. That is definitely no reason to complain and quit though. Much respect to everyone out there who have been though the ups and downs and continues to still rollerblade. I will be right there with ya’ll….rolling by the handrail to hit that lil ledge. haha
July 1st, 2009 at 10:28 pm
im 28 this year and been rolling for 13 years. gotta stretch. lots of stretching. taking the 30 minutes to warm up and then bust tricks. stretch afterwards. take vitamins and drink lots of water. lots of water. eat right. you can still bang some shit out. sure you dont heal in 4 days after bashing your shin. it takes like 2 weeks now. but one thing us older guys got…control.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:39 pm
23.
just folded my arm backwards.
it’s coming.
i can feel it.
too many tricks.
too much lifestyle.
all takes its toll.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 am
I am 43 and I have been skating for 6 years. The bad knees and such are myths. Strech and condition your body to do this sport. Skate smarter not harder I was told. Yes I am a gromit at 40 something but I still lace shit and make it sexy.
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:34 am
Interesting points Nick. I agree with you in some respects. But I don’t think getting enraged or bitter over someone dropping out of the blade scene is the right stance. I think you have to be in that situation to truly understand it. I myself fell out of love with rollerblading for almost a year, surfing became my new bed buddy. It didn’t hurt to fall, I was getting in better shape, and staying healthy, yet still getting that satisfaction that rollerblading/snowboarding gave me. Skating stopped being fun, I was reminded of how much better I “used” to be, and honestly who wants to continue something if it stops being fun? It felt like more of an obligation (to rollerblading as a whole) to skate than something I really wanted to be doing. It wasn’t a matter of making excuses, it was plain and simple, it stopped being enjoyable, and just became frustrating.
Now a year later I have fallen back in love, gotten my game back, gained new tricks, and it’s fun all over again. I’m sure people said the same thing about me “he’s a bitch, good thanks for quitting!” like a bitter ex girlfriend you’ve cheated on. So instead of getting bitter about someone who quit, take it with a grain of salt, maybe it just stopped being enjoyable, maybe they fell out of love, maybe it’s just a stage and they will eventually come back. Everyone has their reasons, and if you don’t enjoy it anymore, you shouldn’t be doing it, I don’t think that constitutes someone being a bitch, that’s them accepting what has happened and taking a step back to reevaluate themselves. Just my opinion from the other side.
July 2nd, 2009 at 4:49 am
I posted my response to everyone on my website, but i figure more people will see it here.
To all those he believe I was a little to militant, I must say, I totally agree. I took a harsh stance, but I think that is because I love rolling so much and have seen far too many people come and go. Having said that, I understand where everyone is coming from. Like most of you I have other hobbies, it is just that rollerblading has been my main for for quite some time now.
I do think people who quit and tell me “I used to rollerblade” are still bitches though. There is no reason to drop it completely. I don’t necessarily think you have to rollerblade, but like “andy” pointed out he still participated be either staying involved, buying merchandise etc etc…
I think Oli Bennet and Garret raise good points, which makes sense because I respect both of them very much. I remember Garret’s surfing and it brought him a lot of joy, which I agree with. However, I don’t think you ever stopped loving blading. For Oli, I totally understand where you are coming from. You may be right, I may still be in a bitter stage where watching people drop out of rollerblading still annoys me, and chances are I will move passed this phase, but for right now I am just writing down my feelings for people to read.
What I do love is the discussion that this whole article brought along. The different points of view, the different stories. Everything. It was all great to read in the comments section. I value everyone that posted something up, especially people who offered valid counter points to my argument. Looking at things from a different perspective always helps to bring clarity.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:56 am
im 27.
interesting article and responses.
they are something all us older rollers who’ve been at it for a while can relate to.
im in that stage at the moment,i love to roll but daren’t push myself,if im injured and cant work then my life will be screwed.
if i cant push myself,then it sort of loses something vital. i still come out every now and then to keep my old tricks at a skatepark and maybe the occassional semi-hammer if im feeling complacent. but its not like the last 13yrs,its no longer a priority..and for good reason.
iam sore and physically limited due to years of skating injuries, it doesnt stop me but makes me CAREFUL. i dont want to be near crippled when my kids are growing up.
if any younger crew are reading this,you are not invincible,listen to your body,make sure its respected.if it hurts,there’s a reason..let it heal..
AND WEAR WRISTGUARDS!!!! YOUR HANDS AND WRISTS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT TOOLS YOU’LL EVER HAVE.
thanks for the inspiring article nick, but i hope you understand why many of us “fall off”.
(p.s:i havnt quit though!)
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:02 pm
part of its in your head, part of its knowing how to fall part of its how bad u get hurt when your young… bottom line if you truly love this sport, you’ll get it done no matter what age, or physique…. now i just strech for 20 minutes beforehand instead of throwing 10’s for warm up
July 4th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Thought provoking, inspiring and instigating of far right thinking I’d say!
I very much side with Oli Benet on this one, the hatred disqualifying has no room in adulthood, but I understand resentment and have gone through similar feelings many times.
Still, despite I mainly agree with most that has been said, I feel that most people do not acknowledge the “rabbit hole factor”; the psychological side of our subculture has much pollution from the leisure industry propaganda, and is in a sense a big fake. Nonetheless, this is ignored in the rollerblading community and all the rest of the action sports niches. (Ref. the apple series)
I feel it is one of the most important aspects of the curve that the average rollerblader has go through, when balancing normal life with rollerblading and the latter slowly goes on to one side. We, the ones that got really implicated, are a greatly marginalized group among society and need to readapt. I am always astonished about how there is such little thinking on these issues, when they represent the very root of the problem. The leisure industry does not take responsibilities for bombarding youth with ideas that aren’t exactly appropriate for them, but how would they, the whole world is irresponsible for their actions. Then you get a whole generation trying to work out what the hell happened with that lifestyle we were sold like it happened from 1999 onwards…
What is key to understand in these subjects is that we have been sold an image for an activity, and that image has to evolve within us because they (industry leaders) won’t market a saner image of it; as profit is their religion. As for us, it simply can’t stay in the trick after trick porn, “have a quickie and get rid of the tissue” format. It needs to attend to the intellectual and spiritual needs of the individual.
This activity must remain giving the individual positive aspects and a sane mind frame, and when it does not, it simply must be adapted without treason threats from the environment or the community.
These ideas are so contemporary they are actually becoming common in rollerblading trends now (bear with them) “quitters never loose”, and stygma ties for you office lovers.
May sarcasm start replacing hatred?
Never too late!
Azur, 29 in few days.
July 4th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
31 and still killing it.
13 years down and I got another 13 to go until I can pass the reigns to my son.
Find something that will keep you going and for god sakes get a p-rail if you can.
It makes the 30 minute sessions a possibility. Juggling adult responsibilities and skate sessions I agree is the hardest part.
The physical challenges arent as great if you dont fall!
Julio is my idol….30 is the new 20 bitches!