Have you heard of our Lord and Savior Vesc!
Because you Flux bro!!!
I guess technically? I started out on an analog skate.
When I was in high school, I knew that I wanted to get into esk8. Not sure exactly why/how this was the case, It just was. I had barely ever stood on a skateboard.
Coming from fpv drones, I definitely wanted to build my own vs COTS. So I bought a longboard deck/trucks/thanes, and taught myself how to skateboard over about a week or so.
Once I confirmed that enjoyed it, I followed through and purchased the rest of the electronics to make it electric.
Still have that build in my living room, and itās one of the sketchiest boards yāall will ever see. Rode that thing nonstop for 5 years.
This thread reminded me of my first battery powered board.
Back in the early 80s my Dad got one of the first battery powered drills.
I had some soft kryptonics wheels, into which a wide socket would fit tightly and grip solidly. I attached the socket to the drill, and one rainy weekend when left alone, I made an interior racetrack on the hardwood and linoleum floors, sitting on the board, a drill in right hand powering the wheel under right butt cheek. Had pretty good torque. The trick was to be able to slam it from low to high gear, having to reach over with left hand for the straightaway.
I dont recall if I stripped the drills gearbox or just destroyed the nicad battery, or got a good enough yelling at for destroying the drill, that it ended my first venture into electric propulsion.
When boards got small and symmetrical and popsicle stick like, and wheels got super small and hard, I quit skating as i had no interest in kick flips, sucked at ollies, and realized how hard street skating was on my knees, and as transportation, bikes ruled, and were not illegal.
In '94 I got my first longboard, a flexy Gravity board with B52 trucks.
Still have those trucks. The hangers pivots are heavily worn and grooved. Went through a couple purchased Gravity decks, then got some baltic birch and started making my own when I got into woodworking.
A few months ago I added 700watts of 83mm hub motor to the latest baltic birch deck, originally made in 2003, and put 8" pneumatics up front, and it is the most fun Iāve ever had on a skateboard, so far.
Ackchyually yes but not before the original controller dies.
Almost 7k km and still going strong.
I have a 4209 XR so Iām good lol.
Itās almost the only original part left apart from the wiring.
The older I get, the better I was haha
With that in mind here is a little video of me skating from year 1999/2000ā¦
Ps the cover photo is a mate of mine who was an awesome skater (Iāve got the shit dreads lol).
At the very least, enjoy the old music. The video is quite repetitive as i only had a handful of tricks. Had to learn from skate videos back then, no youtube tutorials haha
As a kid, I started on a sol skate and a ripstick. My friend eventually upgraded to a skateboard, and I eventually followed suite. We didnāt have too much money growing up, but i was able to convince my mom to get me one for my 10th bday. Until then, I was made fun of for still riding a ripstick lmao. We never really got into tricks, just rode around, chased speed, and my friend got his dad to take us to the skatepark once or twice. This lasted a couple years before we both moved and I eventually stopped. Thatās was until I was 18 and got a new board on a whim. My older brother decided to follow suit (never skated before). At that point, weād basically hit up the skatepark twice a month for a year or two with another buddy/family. I always sucked, but liked trying to learn some freestyle tricks. The best thing I ever did for my balance was get decent at riding switch. I thought my balance was pretty good beforehand but was surprised how much it helped. Anyways, that lasted until I moved and transferred into a university. I built a cruiser on a popsicle deck for getting around. Eventually, I found out there was a decent sized esk8 club on campus. I must have been living under a rock because I didnāt realize esk8ās existed yet other then āsomeoneās janky diyā.
Anyways, I didnāt have much money and passed on getting into it for a while. Until, I regretfully (didnāt do my research) and bought an underpowered hobbywing diy from eBay. It wasnāt terrible, just janky and overpriced compared to the pre builds I could of got at the time. I knew I wanted to get into DIY, so figured Iād start with something someone already built. I very much enjoy the hobby and had similar ones before starting. Anyways, from there Iāve gone more in debt, but have much more awesome skateboards. Iāve been working for a couple years now, just struggling to find more people that live within 30 minutes to ride with. Most of the people I could ride with are 2+ hours away. Most of the ones Iāve met around me are flakes or just have a boosted they take out twice a year.
I havenāt been riding acoustics much lately (longboard, cruiser, popsicle, etc.). Not since I got out of school. And, I have gotten fatter then Iāve ever been. Anyways, itās time to take out the push boards more lol.
So much of thisā¦
I started skating pretty young. Loved dragging my mom to the skatepark to noodle around on the slopes. At age 10 I broke my arm pretty good trying to go through a snake run, damn near destroying my confidence on a popsicle deck in the process.
Eventually we moved into a hilly neighbors in the countryside with buttery smooth streets so I picked up longboarding and grew comfortable on larger decks.
Itās been esk8 all day since I finally saved up the $ for parts 3-4 years ago. However, I am proud to share that I finally taught myself how to ollie yesterday after 15 years skating!
feels like magic.
It really does. That moment when it clicks, the board levels out and you hear that signature sound of all 4 wheels landing at once.
priceless
It still just wonāt click for me. Iām pathetic.
Nah dude, itās ridiculous how much you have to get right just for a little hop.
slowing downā¦ will reach the verified 100% accurate data level of 100? ā¦hmm.
I did a lot of casual cruisingbefore moving to esk8
I can still analog, but donāt reallt do that much any more
With the way you like to thrash your boards, Iām surprised you have not make an acoustic MTB and taken it to the skate park. I would love to see what you get up to.
honestlyyyyyy,
might be a good idea! good practice for air time confidence, and learning new stuff
Come visit again. I have 2 analogs ready to roll and we can bring electrix as a backup to hit the woods. Jumping on analog is wild after having so much weight strapped to you. You feel like Vegeta fresh out of the hyperbolic time chamber.