Free Event for girls who love skateboarding and want to learn from some amazing pro females. Get to this event, support the ladies – it will be worth it!
Date: October 31st, 2009
Time: 12pm to 4pm
Location: Park Slope, Brooklyn @ Washington Park – 5th Ave and 5th St.
Cost: Nada, zero, zilch
After event: The Halloween Parade in the Villiage..
Skate Like A Girl will be holding their very first event in New York
City: Tricks4Treats, a fun day of skateboarding on Halloween and we want you to join us!
The event includes free instructional skateboard clinics taught by
Skate Like A Girl ambassadors Nancy Chang, Susannah Young, and Lanna Apisukh with boards kindly provided by Girls Riders Organization and demos performed by the super talented Skirtboaders.com of Montreal. We’ll also be judging participants for the best costume and skate tricks which will be awarded with “treats” and even a cash prize sponsored by Play.me!
We’re really excited about this event and would like to encourage as many girls of all ages and all abilities to come out and skate with us. So bring your friends, your board (if you have one), and a Halloween costume and be prepared to SK8!!
Dress up and come skate Brooklyn with us and Skirtboarders, GRO, and girls from all over. This event is FREE thanks to cool new music site Play.me! We will have some $50 cash prizes (courtesy of Play.me) to award participants in the game of s.k.a.t.e., and best trick in costume!
We will leave to go to the Village Parade and sk8!
Skate Jams and Skate Camps are a great way for local kids to meet other kids to skate with at some of the city’s coolest skate parks. This year Uptown will be conducting Skate Camp at Hudson skate park on the water.
Thank you to Tatsuma Kasama, from NY Japion for coming out with reader Ryo, 27, who says "I was skateboading for a couple of years when I was a little kid, and I started snowboarding about 8 years ago," to a skateboarding lesson.
Here is the Translation:
Let’s take a lesson!
Asked about his stance, Ryo quickly replies "I’m regular." Yes, he enjoys snowboarding, so should know it. Is he going to apply his snowboarding skills to skateboarding?
First, he practiced to get on the board released from his right hand following "one, two, three," like throwing a bowling ball. The movement of the instructor Jennifer looks very smooth, but Ryo seems to be thinking "Should I step right foot first? Or left foot first?" Though his movement still looks a bit awkward, the next lesson "Push" follows. In both "Push" and "Stop", he needs to lower his body as he pushes the ground and brake with his one foot. His body might be a little too high. Then Jennifer advises "Like sit on an invisible chair!" Following her advice and 15-minute practice, Ryo seems to feel more comfortable than earlier.
Then he practices "Kickturn," which the skater floats the nose for a moment to move right and left, and "Tail stop", which the skater brakes by using the rear part of the board. So far, so good. Then other instructor David suggests, "Let’s try ‘Manual!’" "Manual" is like wheelie. "It usually takes years to master this. Don’t worry," says Jennifer to Ryo, who shouts "Balancing on this is so difficult!"
"I wanna learn other flashy trick," Ryo says, and tries "Ollie."
This technique can be applied to so many different tricks. Indeed, it’s no surprise that Ryo can’t make it in one-hour lesson, but he became better as the instructors say, "Almost!," "Yes, like that!"
After the lesson…
"Oh, I fell down couple of times," says Ryo. "Everyone, even pros, falls down when practicing, then they become better skaters," Jennifer says. By the way, did he successfully apply his snowboarding skills to skateboarding? "I was kind of surprised to know they are totally different. I couldn’t apply snowboarding skills, but I got great instructions today. I’m gonna skateboard-debut on streets!" He headed for a skateshop to debut on the street after the lesson.
Uptown Skate School (info)
Four instructors started last year. $65 for one hour private lesson (add $35 for an additional student). $120 for two lessons, $225 for four lessons. Lessons are usually in Central Park, but other places are also OK.
TEL: 646-852-6367 www.uptownskateschool.com
Where to buy a Longboard in New York City? Where to take your kids shopping in Manhattan? Want to Check out some of the local New York City Skate Shops?
Well this should help you out. We made it easy to plan and it’s a win/win, because there’s tons of shopping in the area for the whole family and tons of great restaurants too. Little Italy & Chinatown are also close by. Check out some of the coolest stores for teenagers in New York City.
Start downtown and work your way up to Broadway. Check out the itinerary below for the easiest way:
SoHo Shopping Itinerary
Need an Itinerary so that you can take your kids to all of the coolest stores that they like and not have to waste time?
Here’s the best route for the Flagship and clothing stores:
Volcom Flagship Store – (446 Broadway & Grand)
Yellow Rat Bastartd – (480 Broadway- North from Volcom )
Quicksilver Flagship Store – Corner of Broadway and Spring
The DC Store – (Across the street) Broadway and Spring
Burton Flagship Store – 106 Spring (A block away)
New York City Skate Shops and Clothing Retailers
Uptown Skate School’s map of clothing stores, skate shopes, longboard shops, and famous skate spots in Manhattan.
Whether you just want to try it out a longboard to see if you like or if you already have a longboard and want to breeze through the basics, Contact Us and we’ll get rolling in no time. By the end of the first lesson you’ll be surprised how confident you’ll feel.
Try out a Bustin Board before you buy one.
Longboarding is a form of skateboarding that uses a longer, flexible board and bigger wheels to let the rider "surf" on concrete. It is a smooth ride compared to a trick deck and much easier to learn how to ride. Snowboarders and surfers would get a great deal of off season training and just plain cruisin in.
bustinboards.com is one the only local brand that specializes in affordable incredibly high quality customizable cruiser skateboards and longboards.
Who can longboard?
Almost Anybody. Learning how to longboard is generally a much easier then learning how to skateboard.If you’ve just bought a longboard or are even just considering buying one then consider taking a couple lessons too. We know all the tricks to learning fast and before you know it you’ll have found the next love of your life.
Am I too old to start longboarding?
No. Absolutely not. Never.
Especially if you are parents who have kids that want to skateboard because the great thing about longboarding is that it is a smooth flowy ride. Unlike your typical trick deck, longboards usually have bigger softer wheels that cruise over rough asphalt and sidewalk cracks, and carve easily into turns, making smooth Control and turning is an easy.Contact Uptown Skate School for more information
On the Manhattan side, accross from 1 Police Plaza under the Brooklyn Bridge is a small spot known to the entire skateboarding community as the Brooklyn Banks. It is a far safer place now then it was when it first became the mecca that it is.
I encourage everybody who’s interested in skateboarding and even parents of skaters to participate in this event. The Banks are an important landmark to kids in the community. It signifies generations of skaters who never had really a place to call their own, except here. If you wander around your neighborhood sometime, ask yourself; "Where can kids go to skateboard?" There are not very many locations. Often where they do skate they get harassed.
In some neighborhoods the tiny parks are so packed with people that they push the skaters out. How is it that uptown we have two hockey rinks and an enormous soccer field within 10 blocks of each other and not one decent skate able flat space or skate park within miles? People argue that the few skate parks scattered throughout the city should be enough. Really? They are so far away from residential neighborhoods! Most parents would be reluctant to have their kids go alone and they are so far out of the way that parents are often too busy to trek all the way out there. The flat spaces in residential neighborhoods are crowded with ball throwing, etc.
At our favorite local flat land spot on 86th, Carl Shcurz Park, the local kids brought out obstacles to skate, a rail and a small box that they made. They stored them behind the wall where the hockey nets are kept. The cops who play hockey there, threw them out. They also gave them a hard time about skating there. These are kids! This is a park! Really?
15 Things You Didn’t Know About The Brooklyn Banks
1. Built in the mid-’60s under the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Brooklyn Banks has been a hub for the New York skate scene since the early-’80s. The spot has banks of varying sizes, wallride pillars, ledges and rails. O.G. Banks local and original Zoo York crew member, Eli Gesner remembers skating at the Banks when the bricks were still so new powerslides were impossible on the grippy surface.
2. According to Gesner, the earliest contest held at the Banks was an event in 1985 put on by Shut Skates founder, Bruno Musso. Fiveboro’s Steve Rodriguez remembers that at one of the early contests, a scuffle broke out and someone was shot, a contest first.
3. The foundation of the Brooklyn Bridge that faces the Banks is historically known as the Anchorage. The structure has rooms inside but today all entrances are sealed. Homeless squatters lived in these rooms in the ’80s and early-’90s. The Anchorage dwellers, who stole electricity for their encampment by hotwiring the streetlamp atop the small banks, developed a friendly relationship with the skaters, allowing them to use the electricity to run their PA systems for contests.
4. According to Steve Rodriguez, some of the squatters used to run a chop shop inside the Anchorage. It took years for the police to uncover the operation happening right under their noses. The Police Plaza of the First Precinct is directly across the street from the Banks.
5. Fights used to be a regular occurrence at the Banks as hoodlums from the nearby projects would storm the spot to rob skaters. Gesner remembers an epic battle on Halloween in 1987. “At the time there were only like 30 skaters in New York and we were all skating the Banks when these kids from those projects ran out,” he explains. “They all had goalie masks on and bats and it turned into a huge brawl.” At least no one got shot.
6. The wall on the lower side of the Banks was once only a small barricade until a car careened down the off-ramp and crashed right through it. A thicker wall was built, and Christian Hosoi became the first to ollie over the soon to be famous obstacle.
7. After Hosoi’s groundbreaking ollie, a laundry list of tricks were thrown over the wall. But when someone ollied it without looking for traffic, a long, black limo slammed on its brakes, stopping inches short of crushing the skater. The limo was carrying none other than former New York mayor, Rudolph Giuliani. Within a week, a large spiked fence was erected atop the wall to stop the skaters. Within days Mike Vallely ollied over the new obstacle.
8. In the late-’80s, shops in New York were few and far between, but a small operation called Benji’s was run out of an apartment in the projects adjacent to the Banks. Keith Hufnagel remembers, “Benji used to have a skateshop on the 11th floor. You’d have to go into the building and knock on his door and some kid would lead you to a back room. We used to go there ’cause you could get boards for cheap. If my parents knew I was going to the projects into some random dude’s apartment, they’d have been like, ‘Hell no.’”
9. The Brooklyn Banks were first showcased in Powell Peralta’s Future Primative where Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain, Christian Hosoi and Dave Hackett are featured hoisting bonelesses and slappying the brick curbs. Robert Russler also made the scene. He went on to portray Tommy Hook, leader of the infamous Daggers in the movie Thrashin’. One sequence in Future Primative shows Lance rolling over a dead rat with his board. “It offended tons of people,” Lance remembers. “For some reason, people were bummed that we ran over a dead rat.”
10. Mark Gonzales was the first person to boardslide the nine-stair rail adjacent to the smaller banks. Saro Tegrarian was the first to hit up the 13-stair rail with a frontside 50-50 and Jamie Thomas was the first to skate both rails in one line in his breakout part in Toy Machine’s Welcome to Hell.
11. In the mid-’90s, the handrail that went down the Banks’ nine-stair disappeared. Rumor has it the rail was stolen by a pro rollerblader who kept it at his house so that only he could ride it. A replacement railing was built by Vinnie Raffa and his crew for a contest and anchored into place in the middle of the night. That replacement railing lasted several years until a police car accidently backed into it.
12. After the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the NYPD became concerned that a terrorist could drive a bomb into the parking garage under Police Plaza. Deciding it would be safer if all vehicles were parked outdoors, the Banks became the unofficial parking lot of the NYPD. Skating at the banks became nearly impossible for several years. The weight of the vehicles and their oil leaks wore down the surface of the bricks and the Banks began to show their age.
13. When controversial photographer and film director Larry Clark set out to cast characters in his 1995 film Kids, he used skateboarders he’d met at the Brooklyn Banks in both starring and supporting roles. Clark, an avid skateboarder at the time, is by far one of the oldest Banks locals. He was still skating the Banks at 52.
14. Every so often someone builds homes for cats down at the Banks. These feline sanctuaries are 3 ft. by 3 ft. styrofoam boxes filled with hay, labeled, “Cat Shelter: Do Not Move.” Still, the only cat Steve Rodriguez has ever seen down at the Banks was one that had been set ablaze and left to burn inside of a flaming tire in the late-’80s.
15. After the smaller banks were remodeled and deemed unskateable, Rodriguez and other mindful skaters contacted Capital Projects Manager Robert Redmond, who was receptive to their plight to save the spot. The larger banks were preserved and even improved upon by taking existing granite planters and making skateable benches out of them. Unfortunately, a miscommunication among city employees led to the ledges being removed again the next day. Luckily for New York skaters, Spitfire and Fiveboro pooled money to hire City contractors to replace the benches. The Brooklyn Banks is a true success story. Unlike Pier 7 or EMB the Banks have become one of the only original influencial skatespots still standing.
Skateboarding Class at New York School Empowers Teen Girls
By Sahar Sarshar New York City 04 March 2009
Girls skateboarding
It’s been more than half a century since some California surfers who couldn’t find a wave slapped a wooden board onto a set of skate wheels and took off down the pavement. Since then, skateboarding has become a hugely popular pastime and competitive sport for millions of young people across the United States and the world over.
It’s a sport that has long been dominated by young men. But at East Side Community High School in New York City, young women, too, are learning to experience the thrills and spills of skateboarding and the empowering bond of skater culture throught a one-of-a-kind class.
"Well, since, we got skateboarding in school, before I didn’t really know how to skateboard or anything, so when I came here I learned a lot," says student Jade Fellows. "And I started thinking about it outside of school, so I got a skateboard."
Billy Rohan, a professional skateboarder by trade, teaches the class.
"This program came about through a group called Open Road of New York. It’s a nonprofit organization that I work for," Rohan explains. "We started an after-school program here at the park. And the school saw the amount of kids that were here and wanted to expand the program to possibly doing a class in the high school."
Skateboarding camps are great places learn about skateboarding and interact with other kids who are learning. This list, recommended by Steve Cave from About.com, should help you find the place for you!
Overnight skateboard and inline skate camps for beginners and intermediate athletes in Vermont. Zero Gravity Rollersport Camps daily training starts each morning with a full stretching and flexibility session. There is a warm up period or "open skate" followed by an instruction time where everyone learns new skills and techniques and campers are encouraged to try new tricks.
Camp Woodward has locations in California, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Camp Woodward is all about action sports, with camps focused in skateboarding, BMX, inline, snowboarding and skiing. Woodward is a huge camp, with lessons June through August, vert lessons, and the ability to stay for long periods if you want to. Continue reading Skateboarding Camps on the East Coast
The NIH is not alone in its judgment that in order to improve children’s health we need to change the way PE classes are structured. Across the country, educators and researchers are experimenting with ways to make physical education more relevant to students’ lives, so that students learn that exercise can be an enjoyable and satisfying part of life.
Remembering how difficult it was for me to master the ever elusive ollie, I was a skeptic, I’ll admit it. I owned a set of rubber trucks but they were so annoying to put on, that I had to dedicate a deck to it, then when I did, I never used it. I actually found it harder to pop with the thick rubber trucks then with wheels and eventually abandoned the setup.
The Wheelbone is a simple skateboard accessory that straps over you’re the wheels of your board to prevent motion so that you can practice ollies and tricks without worrying about the board getting away from you. It’s design gives you a lot of extra pop. So even if you know how to ollie, it’s the perfect way to work on your tricks. I swear it works!
Hey Parents! Another great benefit:
The thick urethane practically puts the mute button on clacking wheels! So if your kids want to practice in the garage or basement, the racket won’t echo off the walls and make your head spin.
Our first experience:
It was snowing outside. My brother and I were anxiously stir crazy and arguing in our apartment when the bell rang and the delivery guy gave us a surprisingly small flat package. It was like a gift from the heavens! Well the UK. When we ripped it open, I threw my very strict “no skateboarding in the apartment – not even if you are just standing on it” rule right out the window.
"It even looks bouncy." my brother says.
The Wheelbone was not easy to get on.We did have to work together. It would have my mother proud. It didn’t take us long to figure it out either. It came with really good illutrated directions.
Me first me first!
I’m older and I pay the bills, so I won the, who goes first, argument. I always do. That and "shot gun".
My brother called me a "baby"…
I was nervous about the floor rattling, so I ollied it pretty softly. I didn’t even expect it to get off the ground honestly, but it did. I was genuinely surprised by the pop it got!I barely even tried.
My brother was next and now I was really worried. He’s not a little guy. He ollied it higher by a long shot.It was super quiet.
We spent about an hour between the two of us, then the neighbor downstairs finally had enough, trekked upstairs and kindly asked us to stop. So I moved it to the stair well.
Advice on getting past the beginner stage, without being too lame.
It’s not about the image, it’s about skateboarding!
There is no such thing as "halfass" in skateboarding, well there is, but trust me it’s the painful way to go. You are either in it because you love it, or you are posing. Pick the side of the line you really want to be in on and don’t hate. The world needs posers to prove that you can’t always buy an image.. In skateboarding, you might just have to bleed for it.
People who "tell it like it is" usually don’t have a clue what they are talking about.
They are out there, those punks who say the "tell it like it is" and that you are nothing if you can’t ollie. Then when you can ollie they’ll tell you you’re nothing if you can’t kick flip. THEN when you learn to kickflip, they will tell you that your nothing if you can’t tre flip – SCREW WHAT THEY THINK!!!!!!!!!!!! Learn at your own pace. If you love it and obsess over it, there’s nobody who can ever tell you that you aren’t a skater.
Block everything out and FOCUS
Get yourself an MP3 player to tune out the jerks. And a hat with a brim, so you focus solely on what’s in front of you.
Step 1 – Get a decent skateboard!
It doesn’t have to be new, it doesn’t have to cost a ton of money, you can order it online, use your brothers hand-me-downs, ask some skaters if they have some extra parts, (ASK ME FOR EXTRA USED PARTS) but it shouldn’t be a toy board. NEVER NEVER NEVER Buy a Toy Board
Toy boards are:
Cheaply made Sell outs with lousy quality particle board wood, crappy trucks, and bearing that don’t move.
A dead give away that you are a beginner and a guarantee that some jerk is going to make fun of you.
EXTREMELY freaking DANGEROUS – I’m not kidding
Talk to the guys at your local skateshop (not usually at a mall, but go with what you have)
I usually recommend a bigger board to begin with, with softer wheels for beginners.
Step 2 – Wear appropriate clothing and shoes.
Skateboarding and traditional girl’s fashion do not mix well. Reconsider your priorities!
**Safety Gear – You are not a poser if you wear safety gear! It actually helps you to not be afraid of trying things!
Skirts, shorts, and leggings are not a good idea (just plain stupid) when you are learning. Wear jeans or pants that can take a beating. not to tight either or stretchy.. you need to be able to bend down and reach your board with your hands.
SHOES – I see girls wearing these silly little ballerina shoes and open toe sandals and I want to scream. It’s silly and stupid. BUY BOYS SHOES!!!!!! They are so much better then the cheap garbage they market to wannabe skater girls. I have to order my Size 5 Lakais online! Remember: Girls sizes are about 1.5 – 2 sizes smaller then boys. (I wear a 6.5 – 7 girls and have to look for Size 5 boys kicks.) You don’t have to buy kicks right away!!! Just wear flat bottom sneakers with decent grip. Canvas shoes aren’t bad, but they will fall apart quickly.
Step 3 – Be modest.
Don’t act cool. Don’t act anything. Admit to yourself and the world alike that you are a beginner. You are going to be awkward and fall, that’s cool, this is skateboarding YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO FALL. Don’t make a big deal about it and try to get back up right away. Skaters appreciate tenacity
Be honest and humble about your abilities and other skaters will respond better to it.
Ask questions! The best advice comes from those who have been there before. When you get good, remember where you came from. Don’t be a punk.
Step 4 – Skate Parks!
Some guys will say, don’t go to a skate park right away, that people will think you are a poser. Screw them.
Try out a Skate park when it’s quiet. - If you spend a couple hours alone in a skate park you can try things that you can’t try anywhere else.
Just remember that there is Skate Park Courtesy*.
Learn how to roll in – Bend your knees, keep your shoulders parallel to the board, and roll down a transition. Remember, if you get scared: Go with it – skate it out, you’ll be ok.
Learn how to pump on transition – Remember to bend your knees as you get to the ramp transition, as well as when you are about to change directions. That’s twice on both sides of a mini ramp of halfpipe.
Dropping in – The scariest beginner thing to get over.
Step 5 – The ollie
The ollie is something that you will try from the beginning and it will frustrate the ever living life out of you, until you get it.
There’s not much more that I can say about that, for now. Except that you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself if it doesn’t come right away.
Step 6 – Don’t pay too much attention to boys.
I get it. I’m a girl. I like boys. But this is not a social hour!!! Skaters are there to skate. If you pay too much attention to them, then you’ll forget what you are there for and they won’t take you seriously. Boys will always be there and trust me, they’ll pay attention.
Try really hard to learn something new and make the most out of the time you get to skate and they will see you as a skater and not a wannabe.
Step 7 – LEARN about skateboarding.
Read online about different pros and skateboarding in general. Here a couple of places to start
The Berrics:
Only the goto place of all things really freaking cool about skateboarding. You should check out myberrics if you want to make skater friends, share experiences, etc.
My boy Steve Cave has TONS of advice on just about everything.
Check him out.
Skater Time: The time period when skaters generally skate (2:00PM-??????), as well as the idea that skaters are completely unreliable when it comes to being on time or starting an event on time or even showing up at all.
Here’s a cool diagram to check out that shows the most common types of skateboarding injuries. I don’t know.. I feel like I’ve done them all, except the super critical stuff.
So we just arrived here in Orlando. It’s approximately 11:15am and we just got to the rental car place. And you’ll never guess what happened…it started pouring the moment we got our rental car. Luckily the rental place had an overhang so none of us got wet. Now we’re on our way to meet up with our friend Adam, once we meet up with him our Skatetastic Voyage will be fully started
So we just arrived here in Orlando. It’s approximately 11:15am and we just got to the rental car place. And you’ll never guess what happened…it started pouring the moment we got our rental car. Luckily the rental place had an overhang so none of us got wet. Now we’re on our way to meet up with our friend Adam, once we meet up with him our Skatetastic Voyage will be fully started
Congratulations on the new gear! Just remember, water is not your skateboard’s friend. Puddles, snow, and all the other things that the winter weather brings us can warp your board and rust your bearings. That means you end up with a board that doesn’t snap and bearings that slow you down. So be kind to your skateboard. If you’re going to skate this winter, make sure it’s somewhere dry. Take care shredders.
SoHo Shopping Itinerary
