For some reason I decided to Google the street outside my nan’s house where I first ever rode a skateboard. Looks like I remember, maybe not quite as steep!
This street is the first I ever bum-boarded down and started me off on 35 years and counting of skateboarding.
Same outside my grans up the scheme in Greenock, my uncle bought me a toy board one of those 80s jobbies with the plastic skid bubble on the tail. It was a yellow board with a blue condor on it yellow trucks and blue wheels.
Spent A couple hours faling about and learning to tick tack, this would have been 89/90.
My first proper session was was a day or two later at Glasgow Central on the main concourse. The family were having to wait 3 hours or so for a train to Lancaster. It must have been a Sunday because it was dead so what began with rolling back and forth between the seating area lead to me knee boarding in huge circles as fast as I could around the whole station, the floor was probably the smoothest I’ve ever ridden, even with plastic wheels. Pretty much fell in love with skating. Good times, a burger meal from Casey Jones and comic book adaption of the teenage mutant ninja turtles movie.
They started off soft but after a while they became really hard I think there were similar conversations in my hood, I’m sure my wheels were referred to as stone crushers by more than one person. Loved that board. Ended up leaving it in the backyard one night and rained, I found it a day ir two later and the whole board had delammed and looked like itwas melting Dali style.
Saw someone on a skateboard in Saundersfoot (shitty beachside town in Pembs) and it blew my fucking mind.
Whilst I waited for my mum to buy me a skateboard I put down my snooker balls on the tiny path outside by house and put a plank of wood on it and would run along and roll for like a foot.
Spent my first few years skating the path around the edge of that house. It’s all I had.
Did my first backtail on an old microwave and did my first legit ollie in my grandparents working cowshed (full of shit and soaking wet).
If anyone wants to share the link like I did if you click the three dots top left on Google Street View it gives you a ‘Share or embed image’ option and the ‘Link to share’ link embeds the spot when you paste it here.
Outside my house in Dublin. This was the actual morning I started skating, June 28th 1987 (my eight birthday). I’m standing goofy on the board but ended up regular.
On my drive! Next door had a narrow fibreglass board just bunged outside behind their garage so I inherited that and learnt on my drive. First step on I fell and winded myself lol. Then that skateboard and the one that followed after, were used exclusively for travelling around to friends houses. Much Better than walking!
I saw my first ever Skateboarder at Southport Pleasure Beach ‘Slippery Slopes’ on an old 'Crete snake run, probably around '83. Vivid - pads, narrow board with those old Skool Walkman headphones on, carving down the run.
Then probably ‘85 I visited my aunty in Bath, and some older boys were going down the hill
Outside her house. Thought it was awesome. Still do! It was probably later that year that I got the skateboard from next door.
My mate who plays inter-county asked if I still had the helmet… apparently there’s a market for the retro ones? Unfortunately it’s lost to the mists of time. I probably used it more on my board than the field. I had no interest in team sports.