Skate in 15.

This is the story of me buying a skateboard. But also this story is about a lot more than me buying a skateboard. Well at least I think that it is. I guess that will be for you to decide. But anyways that’s not important. What is important is that I bought a skateboard this week.

When you’re a kid, skating is the ultimate cool kid thing. People who skate have cool clothes and cool hair they smoke cigs, which is also cool. Every kid wants to be able to skate, or at the very least be able to give the impression that they skate, because as I mentioned before that meant that you were cool. But when I was a kid I sucked at skating. And to be completely honest with you I still suck at skating. I like to tell myself that it is because I am tall, my center of gravity is too high and it is much harder for me to keep my balance on a skateboard or whatever, but the much more likely reality is that I just really fucking suck at skating. Which also means that I am not cool. Damn.

Two weeks ago a group of Dem Boyz had a vision to build a halfpipe. The dream of every person who grew up watching Rocket Power was to have a halfpipe in their backyard, and watching my friends come together and make it happen was badass. Just a bunch of shirtless dudes drinking Lonestar making dreams come true. Over the past couple of weeks our group text has been populated with endless pictures and videos of some of my best friends dropping in and wiping out and, most importantly, hanging with each other while skating. So I bought a skateboard.

And so here is the important thing: just buy a skateboard. The day Amazon dropped that bad boy off on my porch I came home pulled it out of the box walked out to the street and pushed off riding. I was awkward and goofy and wobbly, but none of that mattered cause I was cruising down the street on a skateboard. It was freeing and cool and rewarding to challenge myself to begin learning a thing that I’m not naturally skilled in. Skating connected my experience riding down the street in Houston with their experience dropping into the halfpipe in Austin. I felt connected to my friends in a new and unique way, and it didn’t matter that I can’t do a kickflip because that’s not really the point. The point of things like skating is to bring life and meaning to our days that more often get filled with emails and choosing health insurance and paying $742 to fix your truck so you can get to work. And to look cool as hell. So I’m looking forward to many days hanging around the halfpipe and drinking and talking and laughing about failed ollie attempts in the driveway.

I am very thankful for that.

I am very thankful for Dem Boyz.

Skate in 15.