My nephew visited last weekend and he and my son, Ben, are into skateboarding.
As I looked at their boards and asked them some questions, I found myself reminiscing back to the 1970’s when I was in my formative years.
I was big-time into skateboarding, but could never afford anything more than cheap, plastic, dime store skateboards. The cool kids were riding the hottest skateboard at the time, the Tony Alva skateboard. Those boards looked so cool with the color graphic, almost 100% coverage with grip tape on the deck, wide trucks, speed bearings and grippy wheels that were next-level at the time. (If you don’t know who Tony Alva is then look him up. He revolutionized the sport of skateboarding.)
As I explained to my son, Ben, and my nephew, Clay, who Tony Alva was and how cool that original skateboard was, they starting blipping around on their smartphones and I thought they were off somewhere else already, possibly on the next hashtag or tiktok craze thinking in their minds, “OK Boomer.”
10 seconds later Clay tells me, “Uncle Dave, you know they have a re-issue version of that board, right?”
I had no idea.
So I bought one immediately.
I got one of those childhood toys I always wanted but never could afford.
It is still amazing some 45 years later.
I guess I was learning about balance and edges at a very early age and I look forward to zipping around on a skateboard again…and quite possibly injuring myself…but with a huge smile on my face.
Teach yourself balance and it will make you a better kayaker.
Never stop looking outside the box to see what other disciplines may be integrated or combined to accomplish an objective.
And don’t ever stop playing. You don’t stop playing because you get old, you get old because you stop playing.
And yes, you might be picking up on a vibe of respect and reverence of those legends in our sports who truly defined what a sport could be and who inspired a generation.
Dave The Kayaker | The new home of West Side Boat Shop kayaks 