GET THE TRICK!

If you skate, then you probably know the feeling that I'm referring to. It's that feeling that you get when you KNOW that you can land a trick, and you repeatedly get close to landing it, but you're forced to give up on it before you're able to land it. It eats away at you mentally and emotionally until you get the trick. The feeling may last days, weeks, months, or even years. As a matter of fact, I'm still kicking myself for not landing a trick at a spot that has since been demolished, leaving me with no chance of ever getting it and curing myself of the wretched feeling. As time goes by the feeling gets less extreme, but it's always there. Haunting you. In the back of your mind.

Last weekend I got a chance to skate with some guys that a lot of my readers, viewers, and followers look up to. It's been quite some time since I really stepped up on my board and skated as hard as I did when I was younger. A lot of this is due to the injury that I sustained, but mostly it's because I don't have to step up to be on par with the kids that I skate with now. They haven't been skating for as long as I have, and while I enjoy skating with them, I always end up skating little stuff because they aren't willing to step outside of their comfort zone often, and when they are, I'm not. Skating with the guys from Metro Skateshop, and Chris McNugget inspired me to stop babying my injured leg, and step outside of my own comfort zone once in a while. Within an hour of meeting these guys I was jumping over a gap that was something that I considered to be large BEFORE I broke my leg, and I haven't really touched it since then. Not only was I jumping down it, but I was skating hard enough, and putting enough sweat and blood into my skating, that I was actually getting shocked looks and cheers from guys that film amazing skateboarding regularly.

I rarely skate with a filmer or a photographer, but sometimes it feels good to showcase your skills. Sometimes it feels nice to show off all of the hard work that you've put in to your hobby. This day was one of those days. I stepped up, and I tested myself, only to find that I was right on the cusp of landing a trick that I've dreamed of for much of my skateboarding life. Since I first laid my eyes on this spot I knew that this trick must be done down it, and it must be recorded. A simple photograph will not do. I refuse to say the name of the trick until I've landed it on camera, but when I do, I assure you; it will be posted on my Youtube channel. Sunday is the day that I go for broke, and if I don't get my trick, I'll just have to come home, lick my wounds, and spend another week mentally torturing myself as I wait for the soreness to leave my body and give me another chance to achieve my goal.