Written by Axel Massin.
I already hear how this is gonna make me sound close-minded and agist, but when I started longboard dancing in 2014 at the age of 22, there were a couple guys in their late 30’s in our community, and I thought 'how cool that people can still practice at that age!'. While I hope that this naive comment did not scare your enthusiasm to read this article away, I cannot believe how my perception of age in longboarding has changed over the years.
The first person I met who broke that stereotype in a million pieces was Andreas Haas, in 2018 at the longboard camp, who decided to start longboarding at the age of 59.
In skateboarding, I have the idea that people usually start practicing as kids or teenagers, might keep this hobby in their twenties, and those who carry it past their 30’s are often stamped with a Peter Pan syndrome. But this stereotype seems to be changing, particularly in longboard dancing - at least that is the subject that I’ll stick to. As a matter of fact, since we started doing camps in 2018, I have seen the average age of participants grow considerably.
Back then, most of the group was in their twenties or thirties, with sometimes a couple of people over 40. Although I don’t have exact numbers over the years, I know that, last year, out of the 239 people who attended the Longboard Camp, the average age of the participants was 37 years old!
Throughout these years, I have met countless people who amazed me, inspired me, and made me reconsider everything I thought I knew about age and sports. From starting to skate to have a common hobby with your young kid, to reconnecting with your inner child at the age of 63, the stories of these men and women fascinate me and I wanted to use this platform to share them with you. I reached out to a few former camp participants who started longboarding between 38 and 63 and asked them the same questions. First of all, let’s meet our heroes of the day.
⎟Why the fudge?
Looking at our dream team, you must be wondering what the fudge went through their mind when they decided to get into longboard dancing in their 40’s, 50’s or 60’s? Some of them, like Monika or Robert, saw a video of someone dancing on board and felt a little spark inside that made them want to reconnect to their inner child and fulfil a long lost wish. Others, like Cécile, Caroline or Bryan, wanted to share a hobby with their kid :
« I wanted to learn with her instead of waiting for her, sitting on the side of the road, holding her bag. I really wanted to go cruising with her. Being with her was allowing me to learn new things without feeling too self-aware because I was her “plus-one”. » (Cécile)
« When Otis decided he wanted to skateboard, for some reason it lit a fire in me, and I decided to give it a go too. I realised right there that I didn’t want to be on the sidelines watching while my kids had fun. » (Caroline)
But sometimes, life just happens without needing a seed to grow over time or a family project, like Moa, who was offered a hobby instead of a romance : « I was 41, recently a single mum and on my first date with a new guy. It was summer, we met up in a park and my date brought some beers and a longboard. I was hooked - on the longboard - from that moment. »
It is interesting to note that out of our 7 friends over here, the only 2 who had a bit of experience on a board in their childhood are the only two man (Robert & Bryan), even though the hobby did not stick : « Our skateboard was short, skinny, had steel wheels, was almost impossible to turn and was NOT fun to ride. I got on once or twice, didn’t like it, and forgot about it for 50+ years. » (Robert)
If this article’s goal is to understand why and how these people got into longboarding later in life than one might expect, and not the reasons they did not do it sooner, I think it’s important to mention that, for women, getting into it earlier was not always an option : « I had never tried nor think about it before, even though as a young girl I used to dress as a skater girl, the sport itself felt that it was not something accessible to us. » (Cécile)
⎟The fear of falling
Getting back to the subject at hand, there was for all them, at some point, a desire that was sparked. And if you are reading this article, this desire might have sparked inside you, and was immediately followed by the fear of what would happen if you went ahead and satisfied that desire. Well, rest assured, it was also the case for all of them. And even if that fear was originally paralysing for some of them, as you can imagine they eventually came with strategies to overcome that fear. Robert « wore all possible protective gear » and made sure someone else was there, « so that if I did fall, there would be someone there to help me up or drive me to the hospital ».
Cécile, who had a life changing horse riding accident at 17 and stopped practicing sports for 20 years, was petrified so she could just stand on the board if she held on to her husband’s arm while « laughing uncontrollably ».
Caroline found an instructor nearby, which helped her fear « because the instructor recognised I was nervous, and just gave me simple things to try ». Monika and Patricia went in the same direction and waited to be at The Longboard Camp to make their first steps on the board. Monika even used her therapist background to deal with that emotion : « Every time before I stood on the board I put my hand on my emotional heart and said to young Monika: we trust! »
Bryan relied upon his childhood skateboarding experience and looked up some tutorials on the internet to get into longboard dancing on his own, and overcame the fear by taking his time : « Luckily, I was not in a rush. »
The fear of falling is, I believe, inherent to all board sports (especially the ones on concrete), and usually grows exponentially as we age. It is quite rational as falling hurts and we learn to be afraid of pain. And we must speak about the elephant in the room : falling does happen. Thankfully, however, it’s usually not as bad as we think :
« The first time I was falling I was surprised, how quick it goes and thought: Oh, now it happened. I was only a little bit hurt, stood up and went on the longboard quickly again. » (Monika)
Very often the falls are quite minor : « I had all the padding on and when I did fall, it was no big deal » (Robert). Sometimes, they do hurt but we learn the accept that this is part of the process and make them a living proof of our efforts : « I came to see the bruises as badges of honour ! » (Caroline). It is true that, as we age, our bodies are not as resilient, but it can be can be a matter of perspective : « I know that falling at the age that I am now would be worse than if I was 20… But since I’m not gonna give this sport up, I'm still younger now than in 10 years. » (Moa).
I have personally taught many new comers and I was very surprised to see some people in their 20’s get injured with a minor fall, while seeing others in their 50’s or 60’s, like Bryan and Patricia, fall countless times in a lesson, making my heart skip a beat every time, and always getting up with nothing more than a smile. But injuries do happen, whether your 5 or 50 years old. For some, it will mark the end of that hobby, but for most, it’s just an annoying part of a beautiful journey. Cécile, for example, started on her own and had a bad fall early on, but that did not stop her : « For some reason, that feeling (before the fall) was so lovely, I was not ready to give up. I decided to put the board in the middle of my living-room, facing me, as a reminder of a dream for which I needed to get back on my feet quickly ». And that leads me to my next point : longboarding is fun.
⎟The joy of riding
As soon as our beloved members of this group got on the board, they were overwhelmed with a lot of different feelings : « a big joy in my whole body to realise that our dream came true », « lots of fun and silliness », « a way to express myself and get out of my confort zone », « it’s the one time I get not to think about anything else », « I was surprised to see how “easy” it was just to get on the board and start rolling ».
Longboard dancing gives us the opportunity to feel things that humans are seeking in their life, regardless of our age. First of all, the fact that dancing on a rolling piece of wood is way out of our comfort zone, learning it requires your full attention and that has the amazing consequence of bringing your back to the present and putting you in a state of flow : « It takes a delicate balance of working on something that is challenging enough to require total focus but not so far beyond current abilities as to be merely frustrating » (Bryan).
Switching of the mind and its racing thoughts, and reconnecting to the body, is something that many of us desperately need, especially when our adult lives are filled with responsibilities. It also comes with a feeling of accomplishment, but also opens the door to playing and creating, which I believe to be two very powerful sources of joy. The most beautiful thing about it, is that this is the case regardless of talent or level, because this feelings were felt from the very beginning.
In the end, it is about balancing pros and cons : « To take a certain risk to fall is included if I want to make some progress and feel a certain challenge on the longboard. This mix goes together with joy, liveliness and the present flow » (Patricia).
Moa
⎟Other people's look
If the fear of falling is expected to be felt by people starting longboarding after 40, I discovered with surprise another fear that can become an obstacle in the longboard journey.
« The biggest challenge with regard to fear was the look of others. I was scared to look like THAT mum desperately trying to look young and cool by owning a board without managing to ride it correctly. » (Cécile)
I have been giving Cécile private classes during which she shared her discomfort of taking space in the public area. While she felt like she was doing something she was not supposed to because of her age and gender, the group of construction workers working on the side where looking at her elegance with admiration. And she is not the only one to experience this struggle : « First I was ashamed to go on my one on the streets or places. I experienced, that most of the people where pleased to see me and laughed. Now as I can do a few steps I can’t wait to go on places and do longboard dancing and show my joy. » (Monika).
As we are reminded by Monika’s words, joy is contagious and I think it is beautiful how somebody who is self-consciously trying to do something new can have such an impact on someone else’s life : « I realised that the only people that were commenting on me riding a longboard were people willing to try without allowing themselves to. (…) You have no idea how many late 30’s - early 40’s mum I got on my board to try their very first lesson before heading to the shop to buy a board! » (Cécile).
⎟Longboarding and family life
Another common denominator to our mighty 7 is that they are all parents, and they all found creative ways to combine longboarding with their family life. Robert’s wife, for example does not skate, but when they go for a walk together, he brings his board along, they start the walk together, then he goes for a detour on his board, and meets her again to finish together. Bryan, Moa, Cécile and Caroline share this hobby with their kids, and besides sharing the joy of riding together, it also comes with very practical advantages : « I can see a lot of mums, running after their kids on scooters or bicycles, struggling to follow them, when I am going everywhere with my daughter on my board » (Cécile). And, when time allows it, they also love to ride on their own to nourish themselves.
« I think it’s essential to do things that bring you joy to handle the busifness and stress that comes with having young kids. For me that’s skating (and other board sports) and I find a way to prioritise it. Our life is manic, so it shows it’s doable for anyone! » (Caroline).
When it comes to finding time, it is about becoming creative, like Bryan who, after driving his kids to their sport practice, skates in the parking lot while waiting for them.
⎟Final wisdom & inspiration
All in all, I would love to tell you, dear reader of this article, who might be wondering if you are too old to get into longboarding, that no, you are not. But I understand how me being only 33 years old, childless, and having started board sports at an early age does not make me very legitimate to do so. So I asked our dear 7 heroes of the day to do it instead, and will leave you with their wisdom and inspiration.
« Well I started a whole business designed to inspire and enable women to embrace board sports in mid life and beyond - so I’d say just go for it! We speak to people all the time on the podcast who show that it is entirely possible to take up these sports later in life. Have a listen, find a community or a friend and just go! Get a lesson, get some pads, book a retreat to really get into it, and dive in. »
Podcast is board women on Spotify / Apple
« Oh gosh, I don’t think you can ever be too old for this. If you can walk and go up and down stairs, you can learn how to skate. I’ll admit, it looks scary if you’ve never tried it. But so does crossing a busy street. Then you learn how and it isn’t that hard. Start off slow, get some help, wear protective gear, go at your own pace and persevere. If you do that, you can learn. You may say to yourself, “I am not coordinated. I can’t do that.” Not so! I am not gifted with great coordination. I’ve literally been tripping over things my entire life. If I can do it, you can too. Don’t worry about what you look like, just give it a try and take your time. Some things you might learn quickly. Some things might take you longer than someone else to learn. As the kids say “it’s all good”. You are never too old to learn something new! »
« Behind the feeling to be to old there are may other feelings too. Maybe the fear of getting injured, fear of not being good enough, shame, not enough power and strength in the body etc. Take your feelings seriously and if your heart is telling you to do it, look for a friend and do it together. And look for someone who shows you the first steps or join a camp. There are lot of nice people with similar feelings and fears and also joy and good vibes. »
« Would you think you are too old to learn tennis or golf? Longboarding is a lot easier than you would expect, I absolutely love seeing people at the Longboard Camp on their first day, when their expectation is to be able to do a push by the end of the week and they actually manage to push, turn, stop and get a little bit of speed by the end of the first lesson. This is what “limited belief” makes to people, restricting themselves in fear of not being capable. All you must think about is that every walk starts with a step, and that first step can be on a board. You do not need to do amazing tricks, you can just start by cruising, discovering your area in a totally different way, going to work or the bakery on your board. No pressure, just fun. I would say that people don’t give two monkeys about you riding a longboard, but to be fair it is not true, most of the time they are quite impressed and happy for you, and you’ll start receiving EVERY single video of longboard dancing they’ll see on their feed, because you know what? They have a friend that is a longboarder too, and that friend is you. »
« I would encourage anyone in relatively good health to try it out. Wrist and elbow protectors are probably most important for the novice older boarder. But likelihood of serious injury is really low. Like most things, it is safer than driving on the DC Beltway. Just take it slow. Bend your knees. »
« If I can do it, you can, too! Also representation, seeing other older skaters, even beginners, in social media, I think is pushing others to dare, taking away mental obstacles.»
« It is never too late to explore new tings, especially longboarding together with people from all over the world is really exciting. »
I hope you were as inspired as I was by these 7 beautiful souls, and if you still wanna hear more, here are their full interviews. Until next time, may the flow be with you,
Axel
This article was so inspiring! Being a mother as well, I can relate to Cecile, and I am encouraged by her words to keep on longboarding.