I grew up watching the X Games, watching Tony Hawk nail these amazing tricks 15 feet in the air. I still remember when he pulled off a 900 (two and a half rotations). The guy was a legend.
That was when I was in my early teens. I never got much into street skating, and never had a place to learn or practice vert, but decades later, I’d get back into skating through longboarding, finding a better way to get to work. There was a lot of me that wondered, am I too old for this? Was it too much of a guy’s thing? I was worried about what people would think of the then 29-year-old woman getting into skating.
But you know what? Tony Hawk’s at it again, being an inspiration still. The man is 51, and, as you can tell from the video above, he’s still shredding. In fact, just three years ago, he recorded himself doing a very clean 900.
It wasn’t easy for him to make his latest video, as he talks about in a video that came out a day before the skate video. It wasn’t just his age, he just doesn’t do street skating as much as vert. This isn’t his area of expertise, strictly speaking. But he said something in that video that really shook me. Check it out here.
“I’m still limber, I can still bounce back a little bit. But I feel like in the next few years, that’s going to end and I won’t be able to try the stuff that’s scary and dangerous. So I guess that’s it. Why? Because I can now, and I probably won’t be able to soon.”
– Tony Hawk
Memento Mori: Remember Death
When I first started, I didn’t have the balance to stay on my board very long. Pushing was tricky, and skating was more work than running. Now it’s smooth sailing, my balance is incredible, and I’m tougher than ever.
What Tony said was kind of my line of thinking. Why should I let society’s views on women or nearly 30-year-olds hold me back? Why should I let anyone tell me I’m too old for something, when my body is telling me it’s not? I’ve got maybe 20 more years of my life where this is still going to be easy. Do I really want to avoid doing something for 20 years of my life, just because someone said it wasn’t ladylike, or that I was too old?
Do I want to then spend the rest of my life knowing I gave up a chance to do something fun?
“Don’t use your age as a crutch.” – Tara Jepson, 44-year-old skater
No. Frankly, I’ve got one life to live, and it’s definitely too short to spend it following someone else’s rules. People always talk about dying with regrets, but the truth is, you have to live with regrets long before you die with them.
So whether you’re 7 or 47, 15 or 51, male, female, or non-binary, don’t let age, or gender, or someone else’s expectations for your behavior hold you back. Do what makes you happy.
In this case, get out and skate.
I found what ended up being an incredible stress reliever, mood enhancer, anxiety-reducer, health improving activity that I can honestly say I love. It all came from an impulse buy on a website (though I recommend shopping local).
Don’t let fear hold you back, and don’t let anyone define your limitations. Go skate.
