It seems like people who don’t skate, know absolutely nothing about skateboarding.
Now you may be thinking, “Well duh, if they don’t skate, why should they?” but when you think about almost any other activity, people at least know the basics.
You don’t have to play baseball to know there’s a bat and a ball, you don’t need to be a basketball player to know there’s a ball and two hoops, and you don’t need to be a cheerleader to know it’s not a real sport.
Okay, that’s just a joke if there are any cheerleaders out there don’t please come at me.
The point is, people who don’t skate are absolutely oblivious to what skateboarding is and how it works, and because the general public doesn’t know anything about skateboarding, skateboarders tend to hear the same few things over and over, which eventually gets kind of annoying.
In this post, we’re going to go over a few things you should never say to a skateboarder, or at least things that most skateboarders are probably tired of hearing.
“You’re going to get hurt”
Something you should never ever tell a skateboarder is that they’re going to get hurt skating whatever it is they’re trying to skate.
Half of skateboarding is really just overcoming that mental battle to land something, and the last thing any skateboarder wants on their mind is one of the millions of possibilities there is of them falling and getting hurt.
This is probably one of the most annoying things you can say to a skater, because you’re bringing attention to a very real possibility they’re not only well aware of, but consciously trying to avoid thinking about.
It’s almost like having a friend who’s nervous to go talk to a girl, and right before he walks over to her you say hey man, you’re probably going to blow it. He’s most likely already aware of that possibility, and you bringing it to his attention isn’t going to help the situation.
Also, by telling someone they’re going to get hurt, you’re stating it like a fact, and it’s almost like you’re hoping it’s going to happen.
Skateboarding is naturally dangerous, and everyone is well aware of that, so it’s probably better not to point out the worst-case scenario as if it’s guaranteed, because thinking about the possibility doesn’t really help anyone.
“I used to skate.“
Next on the list is people who walk up to skaters and tell them the classic “I used to skate” line.
For some reason, it seems like every person who doesn’t skate, but has previously stepped foot on a skateboard, feels obligated to let you know about it.
This isn’t as bad as some of the other things people say to skateboarders, but it is something that skateboarders hear all the time.
Sometimes this phrase is coming from a good place, and the person just wants to find some common ground with you, but other times it’s almost like a weird brag, and there’s not a lot you can say in response to it.
I mean imagine if someone just walked up to a baseball field where some people were playing and was like, “Hey, I use to play baseball.”
What are you supposed to say to that? Do you invite them to play with you? Are you supposed to congratulate them? There’s no clear answer.
Even though this is something skateboarders hear all the time, and a lot of skaters are probably tired of it, it can be good to give people a little encouragement to start back, because some people do feel like it’s too late to start skating, and they really shouldn’t.
Also, there is the rare situation where the person in question actually was a real skateboarder and has some cool stories, but it’s usually just someone who had a longboard in college that they used to get to class.
When it comes down to it though, a lot of people are just telling you they used to skate because they saw your skateboard, and they think it’s cool, and they don’t really know what else to say.
It’s not coming from a bad place, but it is a cliche thing that people who don’t skate always say to skateboarders.
“Can I see your board?“
A lot of times after someone assures you that they used to skate, they’ll follow it up by asking to try out your board.
Having a random person ask to skate your board can happen when they’re by their self, but it’s especially common when they’re with a group of people. For some reason people who don’t skate absolutely love to show off their minimal skateboarding skills to their friends as if it’s some novelty thing.
If they can actually skate, it’s not quite as bad, and sometimes it can even be kind of cool depending on the person, but usually their performance consists some beginner flatground trick, where they have a super low crouch, and maybe even a hand touch on the ground.
Regardless of the trick they try to attempt, it’s usually a pretty underwhelming display, and you’re kind of forced to just stand there and watch.
Sometimes it can be fun to watch someone who has no idea what they’re doing try their hand at skating, but it’s also an easy way to end up with your board getting cracked, chipped or sometimes, even shot out into the street.
Unfortunately, if someone asks and you say no, somehow you come off as the rude one, but if you say yes, you can easily end up spending 20 minutes waiting for someone to land what’s probably their first kickflip in well over 10 years.
So really, if you think about it, it’s kind of a lose-lose.
“Do a kickflip!“
By far one of the most repeated things people say to skateboarders is telling them to do a kickflip.
This is probably the most common phrase that skateboarders hear from nonskateboarders, and if you skate long enough there’s a 100% chance you’re going to hear it eventually. Honestly, you might even hear it if you aren’t a skateboarder.
This one is so common, that it’s essentially transcended into meme territory, and The Berrics even has a series on it.
The funny thing about it is that usually, you never even see the person who says it. Instead, it’s typically yelled out of a car window, so before you can even see where it came from the person is already long gone.
There are a variety of reasons why people say this. Sometimes they’re just saying it mockingly, sometimes they want to show off the fact that they know the name of a skateboarding trick, and sometimes, it’s just because they want to see a kickflip.
The reason why it’s annoying to hear is that they’re kind of treating you like a circus monkey by shouting out tricks to do, but at the same time, it’s become so common that you can’t even get mad at it anymore. At this point, I don’t think most people even expect you to do it, it’s almost like they’re just obligated to say it when they see a skateboarder.
The phrase “do a kickflip” is basically the equivalent to someone yelling “play free bird” at a concert, and at this point we basically just have to deal with it.
“How do you do that?“
Another thing that nonskateboarders say to skaters all the time is to teach them how to skate.
Usually, they either ask you to teach them how to ollie, or teach them how to kickflip, or some variation of the sort, but it’s all basically the same thing.
Now if someone is actually trying to learn how to skate, there’s no problem at all with them asking. Getting help from someone who knows what they’re doing is probably one of the best ways to get better. That’s not what we’re talking about here.
The only time it’s a little annoying is when the person asking clearly doesn’t skate at all, and has no real intention of actually learning. It’s almost like they expect you to teach them within a few minutes as if it’s some card trick anyone can learn right away.
Think about if someone said this to people doing literally any other activity.
Could you imagine skating up to some tennis players in the middle of a match and telling them to teach you how to play. Chances are, they don’t want to stop what they’re doing to give lessons someone they don’t know.
On the other hand, if you actually did want to learn, and you showed up with your own racket and everything, they probably wouldn’t mind helping you out.
The same concept should apply to skateboarding, but for some reason people don’t see it that way, and they still expect you to be their personal skate coach.
“Do you know (insert famous skateboarder)“
Another annoying question people ask skateboarders is if they know Tony Hawk, or Rob Dyrdek, or whatever other pro skater comes to their mind.
This one isn’t as common as some of the other questions that skateboarders get, but it’s one that every skateboarder will probably hear eventually.
Honestly, there are so many things wrong with this question that it’s kind of crazy someone would even ask it.
I mean, do people really assume that just because two people skate, they automatically know each other?
Even if the skateboarder in this scenario did know whatever pro was named, what does that really change? It just seems like a dumb question so it’s kind of weird for people to ask it. Where does the conversation go from there?
Someone would never go up to a random kid playing basketball and ask if they knew Michal Jordan, so it doesn’t make sense that they’d go up to a skateboarder and ask them if they knew Tony Hawk.
Summary
Even though people who don’t skate make it abundantly clear that they know absolutely nothing about skateboarding, usually their questions come from a good place, so it’s good to try to be patient with them.
With that said, if by some chance you don’t skate and you’re watching this, try to refrain from fulfilling the stereotype, and if you do skate, well hearing the same things over and over is just something you’re going to have to deal with.