Great video man. One other thing you can do to make friends at the park is to offer your board for a spin when somebody makes a comment about those crazy turns/trucks. You never know who may get hooked!
I always do this!! Pretty much every time I'm in a park, someone will ask "how does that work?" "is that a surfskate?" "you're braver than I am" "what kind of truck is that?" - whatever it is, they get a try 🙂 Most people offer a ride on their board in return - but I find I can't ride a regular skate now - as soon as I think about turning, it keeps going straight and I fall off!
Learn First Aid and be prepared to get ice quickly. I had to treat a few kids who got hurt. The skate park is next to the netball courts I practice on.
I have limited experience at skate parks. My local one is always very crowded with older high school kids (or a bit older) during evenings and lots of grandparents with pre-school kids during the day. The few times I had the skatepark to myself were the few evenings when police chased underage drinkers out of the park. I was happy during those days. Now that lock down has been over for over 9 months - I have been riding in netball courts doing basic surf training. I have been busy with work, etc since lockdown ended. My surf skate was the perfect lockdown activity.
Great video. I'm kinda like lucky. The local skatepark in our town was vacant the 2 mornings I went; and despite the park being built by Team Pain, it could use more visitors.
Good stuff, Mark! Took me almost 10 months before any of the regulars gave me a board tap. I’ve maybe gotten 3 total now 😂. Another thing that goes a long way, whether with young or old, novice or pro (we get a few pass though from time to time) is a wave/nod with a smile.
It would be nice to see basic etiquette posted on signs at parks, especially for parents who might have no background or understanding of this activity to teach their youngsters.
I’m not sure about the effectiveness of signs, but some way to reach parents would be great. Like some kind of automatic notification to “get free wifi if you watch this 3 minute video on skatepark etiquette for your kids before they hurt someone”.
Awesome video Mark! When visiting a new or unfamiliar park I always take plenty of time to observe what others are doing before I start to skate. As a surfskater I like longer lines and that can be unpredictable to other skaters who aren't used to that. Something you might add is the difference in how different skaters skate. I find street skaters usually have lines that are short and straight while bowl and transition skaters are more carvey. Scooters are always unpredictable but if you watch them sometimes you can get a sense of what they're going to do or which part of the park they like. Keep up the good work.
Great points! The more time you spend at the park the better you get at recognizing different user types, some who you might never cross paths with and others who you’ll know to watch closely and be aware of when doing a surfskate line.
Yeah, I have noticed that scooters 🛴 normally take a straight line and end up jumping out of the bowl to do their spinning tricks. That spot is not a good place to stand and watch 😂
Great stuff Mark! Also - smile and say hi when you arrive, and when other people arrive - often people don't talk much cos they're working on something, but then they'll go out of their way to say bye at the end just cos you said hi. Definitely look out anyone working repeatedly on the same thing, and give them a shout or a board tap when they get it. And if it's a park/bowl that only works for one person at a time, keep an eye on what order people are going in, and make sure everyone gets their turn - if there's someone less confident, encourage them when it's their turn so they don't miss it. Everyone in the park knows how much practice it takes to learn something new, even when we're aiming for completely different things - some of the best sessions are when everyone is encouraging each other whatever the discipline - and you can often start this atmosphere with a single word of encouragement to someone 🙂🙂
So glad you raised the informal turns thing. I had that one and cut it out for time, but it is such an important one. Need to be polite and orderly, but if you aren't a little assertive you'll miss your turn not realizing that the others are only going to leave a 3 second window or so before moving on.
You make such great videos! I started with pump tracks, it is a little easier, as everyone has to follow the same line. You still have to get your timing right and better to go in front of kids with bikes or scooters as they can stop, unlike us! My first time in the big skate pool was intimidating indeed. Luckily there were two three other surfskaters, so we took turns. In the beginning it is annoying when you lose speed too quickly and have to climb out of the bowl before the pro skaters drop in 😂 Where is your screaming 😱🤚🏻 hand board? 😉 Keep it up Mark! Yew! 😁🤙🏻
