I was sitting in the car, just watching. Captivated. Amazed. Inspired.
Whenever I arrive at a skate park, I never just immediately start skating, especially if other people are there, even if it’s just one other person. First, I always just watch a bit…to figure out what the vibe/energy of the session is. Sometimes it’s energy I want to jump-in on. Sometimes it’s energy I don’t want to be around. Most significant, and rare, is energy I don’t want to disturb. These are the really special moments…the ones where I just sit in the car watching. Today was one of those rare, and amazing, experiences.
When I arrived today, there was one, single, guy at the park. A guy I’ve never seen before. I had to do double-take when I first saw him. This guy physically looked, and dressed, like my friend Bob from Texas. Moreover, he sort of skated like Bob. It was clear this guy used to skate, and had prolly stopped for some time, and was picking it up again. But he understood style. Mixed through-out his attempts to re-learn some basic tricks were just some beautiful carves across a bank, flat-land 360s, and space walks. It was during these moments that I could see a bit of Bob in him, and it was awesome. Some people can just move in certain ways before, during, and after a trick that just makes everything look fluid, beautiful, and stylish. It’s a gift they have, whereas if (most) other people do it (myself included), it’s like, “Dude, what are you doing? Stop.” Tommy G. has that gift. Blender has it. Bob has it. This random guy at the park, he did to. It’s a rare thing to see, but always special when you do.
He was also doing some other really off-the-wall stuff. Things I’ve never seen before. Things I suspect he wouldn’t be doing if someone else was in the park with him, as he clearly seemed to be in a “skate-like-no-one-is-watching” mode.* And this, this, is why I didn’t want to get out of the car. What he was doing was so…pure, so genuine, and authentic, that I was afraid if I rolled into the park, he would alter the way he was skating, stop, or leave (often what happens when someone who is starting-up again is suddenly joined by more experienced skaters). Moreover, I was just so captivated and enamored by what I was seeing, that I didn’t want it to stop; it was energy I want to feed off, to learn from, and be inspired by.
Then it got even better.
The park is next to somewhat busy two-way street. This guy eventually picked-up his board and walked out of the park. I thought he was leaving/done skating. I was wrong. He then did something that utterly surprised me, and stoked me out beyond belief. Since there is not a proper curb IN the park, this guy went out started skating the curb in the street, dodging traffic, and waiting for cars to go by—basically something only a kid would do. It was so…perfect, and reminded me of why I even started skting in the first place. He was doing simple stuff on the curb. Boneless to tail. Rock n rolls. Trying to do ollie to axle stalls. But it was all so…pure. I’ve been coming to this park for over five years now, and I’ve never seen anyone skate the curb out front—and here he was doing it. I was in awe. After a few minutes, he put his board in his car and left. I remained sitting in my car for a while, trying to process everything I had just seen. I had been texting with my friend Joe during all of this (and about it), and one of the texts I sent him read, “Ok. He left. Wow. That so awesome to watch. Literally the entire thing was the most stoke-inspiring thing I’ve seen in months.”
Why was all of this so…inspiring? All I can do is quote Dr. Strangelove. Purity of Essence. It’s amusing to think that this guy skated, and then left the park, with no idea that someone was watching him, that someone was utterly mesmerized by what he was doing, that someone was inspired enough by him to be blogging about his session…and of course, this reminds me of how much we can affect and impact other people, without ever knowing a thing about it. I hope I see this guy again someday. If I do, I will tell him (in some appropriate manner) how I watched him skate one day…and really appreciated his…energy.
*A few things I saw him do:
-Rolled up a wedge ramp onto the platform of a mini ramp platform…grabbed the level guardrail (along back of the mini ramp platform)…and then did a super slow 180 nose pivot (while holding on to rail with both hands)…and then rolled back down platform/ wedge ramp. And he made it look so awesome.
-Rolled up to a cement bench, took front foot off, placed it on bench, went into a deep knee bend (rear foot still on board), and then slowly pushed off bench with front foot, and rolled away fakie.
-Placed board into axle stall on bench, then jumped up onto it, and turned out (as is if coming out of f/s 50/50 grind).
-Ride on board, jump off, run alongside of it for a bit, then jump back on.
