Ask
the
Doctor
BASIC KNEEDS
I'm 11 years old and want to skate a six-
foot high halfpipe. My friends say if I wear
kneepads, everyone will laugh at me. My
mom says if I want to skate halfpipes, I must
wear my pads. What should I do?
Quinn Werley
Allentown, PA
Dude, kneepads are cool. Don't let
anyone tell you otherwise. It's better to
wear pads because you want to, not
because you've ruined your knees so
many times that you have to. Once you're
good enough you'll know when and
where to use pads. On a ramp or pool,
definitely. Skating to the store, maybe. If
in doubt, wear them.
MY GOODNESS
How do you know if you are a good skater
and if so, how long should it take to get very
good at it?
I Love Your Mag
Address Unknown
Well, the way I figure it, if you can get
around on your board without falling
more than five times every two feet and
you enjoy it, you're a good skater. If
you're having fun, you're a good skater.
Now, if you mean, are you good enough
to become pro, I think if you were good
Dr. Blackhart checking into the orifice at 10 o'clock. Photo by Bryce Kanights.
enough to pull off every trick in the book,
you would know how good you really
were. These days just knowing what
every trick in the book is called requires
constant attention to the hottest prosin
the world on a daily basis. So be satisfied
with enjoying your skate and if you want
to practice day and night to become pro,
go for it.
SHAPE OF THE FUTURE
It seems that every time I buy a board with
a rad cut it breaks in half. I can't help it if
I happen to buy a board with a strange cut.
I'm an artistic skater; I like to be different.
Sometimes I'll buy a board that has the
usual skateboard shape, but I just don't feel
like myself riding it. Why is this? And what
should I do?
Travis Jackson
Houston, TX
If you don't like the shape, change it.
Buy a board that's bigger than what
you'd normally ride. Get yourself a jigsaw
and some sand paper. Ta-da. You're a
skateboard designer. You want a shovel
nose, you got it. Just take the board of
your choice, draw your desired shape on
the bottom and cut it out with the jigsaw.
Finish it off with sandpaper and give it
a wild paint job. I'm actually shaping my
own board as I write this. It only takes
about two or three hours from idea to
completion and it'll be one of a kind. For
those of you without the ways and means
to pull off this operation, there are hun-
dreds of boards out there. I'm sure you'll
find one that feels good and doesn't
break right away.
UNCLUED DUDE
I am 11 years old and I have been skating
for two years. I was wondering one thing,
do you skate? If so, what do you skate (ramp,
street, freestyle)?
Juice Beaudrie
Michigan
This is hilarious. I guess this is what
you call full circle. Do I skate? Dude, I was
skating professionally before you were
born. Before you write a letter to so-
meone, I suggest you know who it is
you're talking to. It might take a while, but
soon you'll realize that once you're a
skater, you're always a skater. That's the
difference between real skaters and
poseurs. If I didn't skate, how could I
write this column and still sleep at night?
I wouldn't, I couldn't, I do. So stick with
it, bro. Maybe someday you'll realize that
once skating is in your blood, it's there
for life.
Some
timez
Devilz
can
Be
Angelz
too
ГОСЕКО
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