Skateboarders tend to share a lot of the same experiences.
No matter where you’re from or who your family is, if you’re a skateboarder, there are certain things that you’ll just naturally relate to.
Things like going on skate trips or watching skate videos with your friends are universal things that most skateboarders do, regardless of their background.
With that said, growing up as a poor skateboarder specifically definitely comes with its own set of unique experiences that not all skaters have dealt with.
I grew up as a poor skateboarder myself, so these are all things that I’ve experienced firsthand. I’m sure there are plenty of other things that broke skaters deal with, but in my experience, these are some of the most annoying.
1. Not having a ride to the skatepark
So first on the list is not having a ride to the skatepark.
This is definitely one of the most frustrating things about being a poor skateboarder.
Even though some of the other problems can be annoying, most of them don’t prevent you from skating altogether.
It’s always really bummy when all of your friends are going to the skatepark, and you’d love to be able to go as well, but the only reason why you can’t is because you don’t have a ride.
A lot of people from lower-income families don’t have a steady source of transportation like more well-off families, and if they happen to live in a rural area, then public transportation isn’t really an option either.
When I was a kid, I lived about 25 minutes from the nearest skatepark, and my parents usually worked pretty late, so finding a ride during the week was almost impossible.
I had to beg distant family members for a ride or try to convince one of my friend’s parents for a ride, but for the most part, until I got my license, I pretty much never got to skate during the week.
Also, I literally lived on a dirt road about 15 minutes from the nearest town, so it’s not like I could even skate around my neighborhood.
I basically had to find whatever patch of concrete I could to skate flat ground, which was definitely better than nothing, but it was still really annoying to deal with.
If you happen to have a friend who doesn’t have a ride to the skatepark, always try to look out and give them a ride if possible, because for some people, finding rides can be pretty tough.
2. Skating razor tail / chipped board
For number 2 we have skating a beat-up board.
Skateboards naturally take a lot of damage just from normal everyday use, but when you grow up as a poor skater, you almost always have the worst board at the park.
Other skaters might have normal scuffs on the bottom of their board, and maybe a chip if they’ve been skating it for a while, but a poor skater’s board is on a completely different level.
These boards always have razer tail, the grip tape looks absolutely disgusting, sometimes they’re a little waterlogged, and there is guaranteed to be multiple chips on the nose and tail.
When you’re a skateboarder without a ton of money, you have to really try to make boards last for as long as possible.
This means your boards get way more worn out, but you just make do with what you have.
Spending $50 on a board was a big deal as a kid, and you’d be lucky if you could afford a new one every few months, so skating a beat-up board was kind of the norm.
3. Not being able to afford Camp Woodward / skate trips
Number 3 on the list is not being able to afford Camp Woodward.
For those who don’t know, Camp Woodward is basically the dream summer camp for skateboarders.
It has around 20 different skateparks that are extremely well built, they constantly have pros visiting the parks, and they also have normal summer camp activities as well.
Essentially every kid who skates would love to go to Camp Woodward, but unfortunately, most kids just can’t afford it.
As of now, it costs around $1600 to go for a week, not including travel expenses.
If you were a broke skateboarder growing up, spending that much money on summer camp wasn’t even something your parents would consider.
4. Repairing shoes constantly
Moving on we have skating terrible shoes.
Skateboarders in general are known for having some pretty beat-up shoes, but when you grow up as a poor skater, your shoes get so bad that they’re almost unrecognizable.
Shoe goo and tape become standard, because you really have to get as much life out of your shoes as you can.
This means constantly repairing your shoes, and doing whatever you can to keep them going for as long as possible.
In some cases, I’ve seen people with skate shoes that had more shoe goo than actual shoe material.
Having messed-up shoes might seem like something that applies to all skaters in general, but any truly broke skater will tell you that there are definitely levels to it.
5. Having an old / broken phone
Next on the list is having a bad phone.
When it comes to skateboarding, the type of phone you have doesn’t really matter for the most part.
People at the skatepark aren’t going to care what kind of phone you have, so as long as you like it, that’s all that really matters.
The one time it can be a problem though is when it comes to filming clips.
Most of these newer phones have a crazy 8k camera with 4 different lenses built-in and tons of different filming modes, but if you grow up as a broke skater, then you probably have the most basic phone possible.
If filming wasn’t such a big part of skateboarding, this wouldn’t be a problem at all. However, when want to get clips and you have a phone that films worse than a calculator, it’s definitely annoying to deal with.
Usually you end up having to borrow one of your friend’s newer phones, that way you can get a clip that doesn’t look like it was filmed on an actual potato.
This is a bit of a first-world problem because even if you’re a poor skater with a 5-year-old smartphone, you’re still doing far better than a lot of other people, but then again, you could say the same thing about pretty much everything on this list.
6. Skating hand me down gear
Next, we have skating hand-me-down gear.
In skateboarding culture, giving old gear to other skaters is a common occurrence.
One of the things that makes the skateboarding community so great is that people are always down to help each other out, and hooking your friends up with your old gear once you get some new stuff is somewhat the standard.
Skating hand-me-down gear isn’t exclusive to just broke skaters, but, broke skaters definitely rely on it a lot more than other people.
A normal skater might try out a set of used wheels their friend gives them, so they can decide if they want to buy their own set.
A broke skater on the other hand will literally have 7 different bearings in their wheels, along with a hand-me-down deck, and maybe even some partially used shoes that their friend gave them, simply because they can’t afford anything else.
Since low-income skaters can’t afford new products that often, getting hand-me-down gear is one of the only ways they get new stuff.
I can’t speak for all skateparks, but at my local park growing up, there was almost a product assembly line.
When one person got a new board, their old board would go to another person, and that person’s old board would go to another person.
Again, skating hand-me-down gear is something all skaters do at some point, but when you grow up poor, you definitely rely on it a lot more.
I will say that if you’re a broke skater watching this now, I definitely recommend getting a side hustle, because you’d be surprised at how much you can make.
Whether you’re mowing lawns, shoveling snow, or washing cars, if you put in some effort to earn extra money, people around you will take notice, and they’ll be willing to pay good money to help.
Either that or accept you’re going to skate hand me down gear forever.
7. Making DIY ramps
Next on the list we have making DIY ramps.
When you’re a broke skater who just wants something to skate, you gotta make things happen by any means necessary.
If you don’t have much money, going online and buying a $3,000 mini ramp isn’t an option, so you have to get little creative.
Typically this means finding bits and pieces of scrap wood that you can use to build an obstacle that’s at least somewhat skateable.
Sure you might not be able to build some polished mini ramp, or a perfect flat bar for your driveway, but skaters are really resourceful, and an obstacle doesn’t have to be perfect to be fun.
Growing up as a broke skater there were plenty of annoying things I hated dealing with, but building DIY ramps was actually pretty fun.
Looking back they definitely weren’t that great, but we always had a fun time building and skating them, and I think learning how to skate on bad obstacles just makes you that much better when you finally skate on good ones.
8. Buying cheap gear
Up next we have buying the cheapest gear possible.
The average skater might not buy new gear all the time, but when they do, they at least buy whatever they want based on their own preference or style.
When it comes to broke skaters, shopping for the best brands usually isn’t a thing, and you normally end up buying the cheapest option possible.
This means buying whatever decks are on sale, the least expensive products trucks and wheels you can afford, and normally some cheap off-brand bearings.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with skating cheaper brands, and it’s not like other skaters are going to pick on you just because you have bearings made by some random company, but a lot of off-brand gear does break easier, it also doesn’t work as well.
9. Re-wearing the same skate clothes
Next up we have re-wearing the same skate clothes.
Some skaters re-wear the same fit because they like it, and some skaters do it because they’re too lazy to do laundry, but broke skaters usually do it because that’s the only option they have.
A lot of broke skaters might only have one or two pairs of skate pants, and a handful of tee shirts, so mixing up their fit every day for a new Instagram edit isn’t exactly possible.
In the past few years, people have started thrift shopping more, which is great for any skaters out there who are broke, but even then, a lot of them still only have a handful of outfits.
This isn’t the worst downside to being a broke skater, but it is something that a lot of broke skaters can relate to.
10. Eating cheap food
Next is always eating the cheapest food you can find.
When you’re a broke skater and you’re out with your friends, you have to find a way to buy food as cheap as possible.
Sometimes this means buying gas station food, sticking to the dollar menu, or just buying some cheap food on the street.
For example, I found a way to hack the quarter game at Taco Bell, and I basically used that as a way to get a free burrito every time I went.
There’s also some ethically questionable stuff my friends and I would do to get food which I don’t recommend, but the point is, when you’re a broke skater, you’re always trying to find some food for cheap.
Being A Broke Skater
Growing up as a broke skater comes with ton of challenges that other skaters don’t always realize.
There are a lot of parallels between normal skaters and broke skaters, but when you don’t have money, you definitely have to be a lot more resourceful and creative.
These are just a few of the things I dealt with firsthand as a broke skater, but I’m sure there’s plenty more that weren’t mentioned.
If you’re currently a broke skater, just know that there’s always a way to make things work, and a good side hustle can really come in handy.