# skateboarding is the BEST cross-training...



## john doe (Nov 6, 2009)

I'm a rollerblader. I was doing that for 10 years before trying snowboarding. Because of that I had none of the newb moments most have when starting in the terrain park. Whats also nice is that both have fed into each other. From snowboarding I'm skating faster and more confident then I ever have. Come boarding time again that speed and confidence feeds back into snowboarding.


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## miplatt88 (May 13, 2013)

I would love to be able to skateboard. I am pretty freakin bad though. Heck, I cant even do an ollie.


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

I don't know if it's the best cross training, but it's definitely great for your overall balance and feel in the park.

In particular, how you move your body for a lot of rail tricks is very similar and 'pumping' on transition is a skill that directly translates to places like halfpipe riding.

One of my friends is part of the ex-Voleurz crew in Whistler and he actually mentions that he cheats because he skateboards goofy but snowboards regular, so it makes him feel a lot more comfortable doing a lot of switch tricks on his snowboard.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

john doe said:


> I'm a rollerblader. I was doing that for 10 years before trying snowboarding. Because of that I had none of the newb moments most have when starting in the terrain park. Whats also nice is that both have fed into each other. From snowboarding I'm skating faster and more confident then I ever have. Come boarding time again that speed and confidence feeds back into snowboarding.


talk about outing yourself


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## john doe (Nov 6, 2009)

snowklinger said:


> talk about outing yourself


What do you mean?


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## tony10 (Jun 15, 2013)

john doe said:


> What do you mean?


you cant be serious


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

snowklinger said:


> talk about outing yourself


Qft.........


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

snowklinger said:


> talk about outing yourself





tony10 said:


> you cant be serious





john doe said:


> What do you mean?


Lol!!! (Said in my best Foghorn Leghorn voice...). "They're sayin' rollerblades are Queer,.. I say, _Queer_ Son" 

(..._seems it's not considered a "manly" activity in these parts!_)  :laugh:


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## rwspear (Mar 26, 2012)

chomps1211 said:


> Lol!!! (Said in my best Foghorn Leghorn voice...). "They're sayin' rollerblades are Queer,.. I say, _Queer_ Son"
> 
> (..._seems it's not considered a "manly" activity in these parts!_)  :laugh:


parks kids call them fruit boots

(their words not mine!)


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

rwspear said:


> parks kids call them fruit boots
> 
> (their words not mine!)


:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Honestly tho, I'm surprised! With the number of "Hot Chicks" I see rollerblading, you would think that there would be a much greater general acceptance of the activity around here! :dunno: meh, go figure! :icon_scratch:


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

There's a bunch of guys (and one girl) who play "road hockey" in the tennis court enclosure up the street, all in rollerblades. Feel free, go tell them they're all guay! :laugh:


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## ItchEtrigR (Jan 1, 2012)

rwspear said:


> parks kids call them fruit boots
> 
> (their words not mine!)


The truth is no one in the park cares how many wheels you show up with as long as you take your turn like everyone else and bring your own candle.


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## Deacon (Mar 2, 2013)

"what's the hardest part about rollerblading?"

"telling your parents you're gay."

Funny joke. I didn't write it though, don't yell at ME. :laugh:


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## P3 Mammoth (Dec 3, 2011)

ItchEtrigR said:


> The truth is no one in the park cares how many wheels you show up with as long as you take your turn like everyone else and bring your own candle.


No blades at our park in Mammoth, please. We *do* care how many wheels you show up with to the Brother's Skatepark. Four wheels only. No bikes, scooters, soap shoes, heelies, rollerblades, demonwheels or snakeboards allowed.


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## rwspear (Mar 26, 2012)

ItchEtrigR said:


> The truth is no one in the park cares how many wheels you show up with as long as you take your turn like everyone else and bring your own candle.


this. a kook is a kook, regardless of wheels. at the park the bikers/skaters/rollerbladers all definitely casually give each other a hard time... but were all super stoked to see that rollerblader land his first switch-7 in the vert just the same. 

respect and courtesy earn respect and courtesy... just like in the terrain park. actually, thats another solid life-lesson taught by snowboarding.


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## john doe (Nov 6, 2009)

I really do have to marvel at the marketing machine that skateboarding was. When they saw their audience dwindling to a competitor instead of excepting and and becoming one like skiing companies did with boarding they set about making the other uncool. And they were wildly successful. Here we are over 10 years after blading has left the Xgames and simply mentioning rollerblading throws a good, legitimate thread off course. No mountain should be for skiers only and no public park should be for boarders only. We're all the same. We're all just selfish idiots dicking around with toys while other people starve. You don't have to segregate others to make your self feel better about the group you picked.


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## duh (Sep 7, 2011)

Brothers in Mammoth is skateboarding only for a few reasons. The local skateboard/snowboard community raised the funds for the park in honor of our fallen friend. That same group of people raise money to cover the cost of the upkeep. Skaters raised the money for a park for skaters. 

Bikes were allowed in the park for about a minute a few years back. Unfortunately they couldn't play nice with others and after a few incidents they were cut. 

Rollerblades have never actually been brought up since no-one rollerblades. 

The biggest factor though is insurance. It costs a lot more to insure a concrete park for "anything." This is California after all.


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## CheesemonkE (Nov 29, 2010)

john doe said:


> We're all just selfish idiots dicking around with toys while other people starve.


Amen brother. But referring back to the title of this thread I too have long figured skateboarding would be great cross-training for riding. Or if nothing else give me a sliding on a piece of wood fix! I just got my first deck so I'm excited to test this theory out.


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## john doe (Nov 6, 2009)

The whole concept of built by boarders so only for boarders is funny to my. A tiny tiny percentage of boarders do the work and every boarder gets excepted. Some spoiled rich kid could show up with unscratched board and shoes and be accepted yet I show up with blades and get dirty looks. Never mind the fact that I've been at this for 14 years, have friends that board, have helped build the YMCA park and the indoor park for free, have donated to the burnside type park in my city, donated to the local BMX trails, and have helped new skateboarders at parks that were struggling when they were ignore by everyone else.

In the end though it doesn't really matter. In 14 years I've only had one instance where boarders were being bitches to me and my friends. They weren't local and I never saw them again. At my local parks I get props from boarders and I give props to the boarders because boarding is sick. It's not for me, as my dislocated wrist will attest, but I respect it to no end. Same goes to BMX and even scooters. Shit I have a T-shirt from 12 years ago signed by Rune Glifberg, Geoff Rowley, Brian Shima, and Jon Elliot. Google the last two.


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## tony10 (Jun 15, 2013)

im not saying if you roller blade youre gay, AND i have no qualms with gay people. i will say however, that rollerblading has never been considered cool by kids for as long as i have been alive. so if youre gonna do it and youre gonna talk publicly about doing it, you gotta expect at least some people poking fun at you.


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## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

I spent years skating. Its an absolute technical skill, it teaches you how to modify the movement of your body to what your brain is asking of it. I have much respect for anyone who can skate well. 

here are a couple of pics of myself from back in the day
frontside boardslide









switch frontside flip off flat ground


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

*Dual Boards r the answer.*



P3 Mammoth said:


> No blades at our park in Mammoth, please. We *do* care how many wheels you show up with to the Brother's Skatepark. Four wheels only. No bikes, scooters, soap shoes, heelies, rollerblades, demonwheels or snakeboards allowed.


seriously.

rollerblades.

guess what skateboarding did not have to spend a single dime in marketing to make rollerblading look un-cool. Rollerbladers rollerblading do that for free. Of course guy riding the wierd equipment says "who cares what ur riding". Skiblades are funny too.

TBH I think playing hockey in them things would be cool as hell. Freestyle rollerblading? Sorry but the WNBA preseason just started I'm busy.

This is not a personal attack, I'm revisiting the thread for the first time - LOL guyz.

Rollerblading is for people who can't skate like boogie boarding is for people who can't surf. Sorry. Skateboarding is actually difficult, like alot. Rollerskaters should stick to couples skate when the lights get turned down.


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## BoardWalk (Mar 22, 2011)

Maybe it's a stereotype but when I hear roller blades I think fanny packs and bandannas.


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

P3 Mammoth said:


> No blades at our park in Mammoth, please. We *do* care how many wheels you show up with to the Brother's Skatepark. Four wheels only. No bikes, scooters, soap shoes, heelies, rollerblades, demonwheels or snakeboards allowed.


This makes no sense to me. I grew up skateboarding in local skateboard parks and it was always mixed with skateboarders, bmxers, rollerbladers, scooters etc. etc.

Yeah we poked fun at each other, especially the rollerbladers, but outside of joking around no one cared what anyone else was riding as long as they didn't snake people and waited their turn.

We had one guy from our local park who went on to become a BMX dew tour champion (Cameron White) and we were always stoked to watch him ride even though we weren't part of the same sport.


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

tony10 said:


> im not saying if you roller blade youre gay, AND i have no qualms with gay people. i will say however, that rollerblading has never been considered cool by kids for as long as i have been alive. so if youre gonna do it and youre gonna talk publicly about doing it, you gotta expect at least some people poking fun at you.


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## binarypie (Nov 29, 2009)

I grew up doing all of the alternative sports.

I raced mountain bikes. I skateboard. I had soap shoes. I did aggressive inline for 1 summer. I tried my hand at speed climbing. I even got into bmx for a little bit. 

I think all sports, even traditional ones, help for snowboarding. 

Sports in general require a certain level of physical fitness that I think a lot of people overlook when it comes to winter sports. Since gravity helps a lot with just getting started.

Honestly if you didn't want to skateboard you could hit the gym to work on strength training and balance / jumping exercises on your off day. If you go 5 days a week you will be in a similar or possible better position come winter than if you spent the same time skateboarding. 

The only thing that is hard to reproduce outside of skateboarding is the feeling of sliding on a box or rail. 

tl;dr go to the gym during the week and skateboard on the weekends.


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## Alkasquawlik (Jul 13, 2010)

Jed said:


> This makes no sense to me. I grew up skateboarding in local skateboard parks and it was always mixed with skateboarders, bmxers, rollerbladers, scooters etc. etc.


Your local skatepark =/= Brother's

If you've never been, you wouldn't understand.


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

Alkasquawlik said:


> Your local skatepark =/= Brother's
> 
> If you've never been, you wouldn't understand.


What's the deal with that anyhow?

Tried googling it but it just gave me a whole bunch of random reasons that didn't make much sense. Just ended up with the impression that skateboarders just didn't want the park more crowded by having bmxers there as well.

Is there more backstory to this? Was the park funded as a skateboard only park or something and that's why they don't want bmxers in the park as well?


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

"hey man, what time is it?"

"um...8:15"

"No, it's time to quit rollerblading and get a skateboard"

" "

........................................................................................................

i see skating a boarding as complimentary, not one being training for the other...skating pools is imo the best cardio thing possible, i'm sure it is right up there with swimming for cardio health...and balance no doubt...plus its so *damn fun*


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## Alkasquawlik (Jul 13, 2010)

Jed said:


> What's the deal with that anyhow?
> 
> Tried googling it but it just gave me a whole bunch of random reasons that didn't make much sense. Just ended up with the impression that skateboarders just didn't want the park more crowded by having bmxers there as well.
> 
> Is there more backstory to this? Was the park funded as a skateboard only park or something and that's why they don't want bmxers in the park as well?


Pretty sure Volcom funded it, or at least the vast majority of the park. It's also a memorial to JLA and Mammoth has a pretty steep history of snowboarders/skateboarders. It's just a different culture and vibe there than at your local skatepark.


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

Alkasquawlik said:


> Pretty sure Volcom funded it, or at least the vast majority of the park. It's also a memorial to JLA and Mammoth has a pretty steep history of snowboarders/skateboarders. It's just a different culture and vibe there than at your local skatepark.


Ah well that makes sense then.


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## freshy (Nov 18, 2009)

There is nothing wrong with roller blading if your doing it to train for hockey or tightening your buttocks, or trying to take any style out of your tricks. It just doesn't translate well, it's like do a jump and grab your boot, slide a rail while grabbing your boot. I can appreciate a blader for going big and stuff, but they just can't make anything look cool.


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