The skate world was completely unknown to me till a year ago, when in Tenerife I started to go more often to the skate park with friends and discovered this magical world.
At that time, I had a small cruiser handmade by some friends from my hometown A.C. longboarding. I bought this little gem to move around the city instead of walking. So small that I could fit it in my hand baggage, very stable and cool to bring around. We had so much fun together on the streets of Puerto Rico, Bogota, Milan, and other cities. I still have it and it makes me smile every time I see it because of all the travel we did together.
In Tenerife, I would go to the skatepark with my little cruiser and I could see all the other skaters having fun with so many different types of skates and styles.
So I started to try some: I tried the freestyle skate and was terrified every time I tried something as I could easily picture myself with a broken leg or arm. Then, I tried longboarding for downhill and when I started to go fast… well let’s just say that I would get a bit paralyzed by the speed, which is absolutely the opposite of what you want, because that’s when you fall eheheheh. Then, I tried longboarding walking on the board, some people use it for dancing and it feels pretty amazing but I knew something was missing. And one day, like a lighting falling from the sky, I discovered the existence of surfskate and everything clicked. Even though, all the other styles are super cool, I knew immediately that surfskate was what I was searching for.
I remember it like it was yesterday when I saw this video and I said: I WANT THIS.
I’m a dreamer, but also a very practical person, so, when I saw that I could put together fun and also work on my carves and slides, I immediately knew that it was a win-win situation. I imagined it would improve my kitesurfing performances on the waves and who knows… maybe one day it’ll improve my surfing too.
What’s a surfskate?
Let’s take a step back… what exactly is a surfskate? The surfskate is a board that allows you to repeat the surfing movements and gives you a similar sensation to surfing. With the surfskate, you can simulate being on a wave but on the concrete. WARNING: after you buy a surfskate you won’t see the streets in the same way anymore and you’ll start to search for your next concrete wave everywhere!
Where was it born?
The first hint of surfskate came when David Colley and Brad Gerlach, two Californian surfers and snowboarders, were missing practicing their movements on a board during no-wave days. But only in 1996 the surfskate got real thanks to Neil Carver and Greg Falk in Venice (California) as they invented a revolutionary axis, patented it, and founded the first surfskate brand called: Carverskateboards.
So why a kitesurfer should buy a surfskate?
BALANCE
The first reason (this actually applies to all board lovers, not only to kitesurfers) is the fact that all the time you spend on top of a moving board is a precious time during which your body gets more and more used to be balanced, responsive and learns to adapt to movement. Therefore, it will help you, no matter, whether you are a snowboarder, wakeboarder, surfer or kitesurfer.
PRACTICE
Let’s be honest, how many waves can you catch in an hour of kitesurfing? Maybe it’s a day where there are plenty of kiters out there or it’s a day where the wind is MEH or it’s a day where the waves are not nice, in general, your time on a wave is limited. That’s why once you are in the water and when you get on that wave you want to be ready! With the surfskate, you can work on your bottom turns and your carves every time you want and as often as you like because, on a surfskate, you aren’t dependent on the wind, the tides, the swells, or even other people.
REPETITION
Being able to replicate the movements every time you want brings me to the next big benefit of surfskating which is REPETITION! They say that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at something. Surfskating gives you the chance to replicate and repeat the same movements over and over again. In this way, you can work on your muscle memory and make the movements yours. The next time you’re kitesurfing you’ll feel your body moving automatically on the wave without having to think about all the details (where to look, the back leg, the front leg, the weight, the torso etc.).
NEW MOVES
Once you can practice every time you want, over and over again, you can also experiment with different types and styles of surfing tricks, discover new moves which you’ll be able to try during your next kitesurfing session.
STYLE
Once you repeat a lot the same movement and you make it yours, do you know what happens? Well, you start to work on your style! Oh, yeah! Because once you got the movement registered in your head and body that’s when you can add some style and be flawless.
FUN
Finally, it’s a lot of fun… do you need more details on this point?!
Are you convinced?
What are your next steps?
1. Buy a surfskate!
2. There are several good surfskate brands. My choice is @flying_wheels_skateboards I’ve got a Mummy 32 and a Kauai 31 and both feel incredible!
2. Get a class when you start with surfskating!
I decided to take classes because I only used a cruiser to move from A to B and had absolutely no clue on how the surfskate worked. And trust me… that thing is evil and unforgiving unless you know how to tame it.
To be completely honest, I’m 34 and I break easily, I’m not a kid that is extremely agile and made of rubber so I thought it might be better to avoid the most basic errors and learn the technique from the beginning. Also, being a kite instructor I know that once you learn something the wrong way and you pick up bad habits, it’s very difficult to fix the mistakes and to correct whatever you’re doing wrong in the future.
3. Bonus point: protections
I bought a helmet and wrists, elbows, and knees protection. The Micheline man is nothing compared to me eheheheh
I have to say that it took me a lot to get the flow, and I’m not sure I got it completely. On top of that, going on a surfskate without knowing how to surf it’s quite “interesting” as you need to move your body in a way that you’ve never done it before. But once you get the flow it feels super nice! I also saw lots of improvements while going back to the water kitesurfing, so I’m completely hooked!
Need inspiration?
There a few Instagram accounts that I follow and I love their flow:
Marta
She’s made me fall in love and Marta is simply too stylish and flawless
Loski Sessions
Love him as he shows you nicely all the moves and have developed a training method on how to learn the moves properly.
Charliesurfskate
He’s just … madness and flawless defeating any law of gravity whatsoever!
Cairam
Love her style and vibe!
Do you wanna feel the real vibe vibing?
I want to end this post with the movie that got me to click on the flow and style part I’m sure it’s going to give you the extra push to start surfskatinG!
And if you have any questions don’t hesitate to drop me a message on Instagram @lagiokite or leave a comment here!
This post was powered by Flying Wheels Website check out their Instagram account!
Ciao ciao
La Gio
Just kitesurf 