I got my first skateboard when was totally new in skateboarding.  I just walked into to the skateshop in Paris where was staying at the time and explained I would like to buy  a board. My first try of skateboarding took place in Helsinki, Finland (that’s where I come from)  with the board that was nicknamed as a ‘shopping bag’ of the skateboarder who owned it, cause it had soft wide wheels, and was meant more for cruising  (or going to grocery shop) than for doing tricks. As a beginner that felt safer for me than a ‘proper’ skateboard, so in skateshop I explained, I’d like to have a skateboard with cruiser set-up, and that’s what I got. You can see it in my header image – the Girl-board with Skid Row sticker.

Of course I fell love with it, because I fell in love with skateboarding. Soft wheels indeed made me feel safer whilst doing my first skate attempts on my own at a parking lot near of my flat in Brussels (that’s where I moved and at the moment am). The minus side of those wheels is that they don’t encourage me to learn to push or pump speed, as they wheel so easily anyway. I am also convinced I would learn better to do kick-turns and other things with the harder wheels, but I am aware that is just an excuse 🙂

No space for those excuses anymore, as you saw already: I have a lovely unique cat skateboard now. It started when I got kitten trucks (I wanted to have them for long!) as a present. Then the dude, who’s anyway helping me a LOT with skating (heh you didn’t think it was me doing the hard work of getting rid of the old griptape), gave one of his old boards, as well as wheels, to get pimped (as cheaply as possible) to be my new board. The board is (well, was) very masculine Chris Cole Zero P2 board with pic of gun and blood and something stupid – if you’ll ask me. After sandpapering, spraycanning, getting and gluing some stickers & griptape on it, I got the perfect board for me. So terrible it is terrific!

I made a first try with it on the other evening and despite of my fear of ‘it will take ages to learn to skate with different board’, it went well. I do need to adapt to it, as it always is with new things, but I already was more aware of how to use my body – that I need to use it more to get things done. Skateboarding definitely isn’t just wheels taking you somewhere.

And yes skateboarding also is not about the graphics on your board. Still I am sure it psychologically helps to have a board that just generally makes you feel good. It’s good to be silly.