Ever overheard a group of youngsters in your neighbourhood huddling and talking about Ollies and wondered what those are? The Ollie is the most fundamental skateboarding trick, where the rider and board leap into the air, without the use of the rider’s hands. With June 21 being the Go Skateboarding Day, enthusiasts from the city, as young as eight-year-olds, are gearing up to celebrate the day in all fanfare.
Talking about the same, Aaron Savio Johnson, student of class III, says, “I took interest in it after watching YouTube videos and pestered my father to get me a skateboard. I started training professionally three weeks back but the experience is thrilling.” Further adding, Savio’s father says, “It’s really difficult to see him falling while training but I try to stay strong and get accustomed to it. It’s been few days that he is into it, but his determination is commendable.” Another student of class III, Agasthi Chandrashekhar, who’s into the sport, says, “I have been into roller skating since I was four years old and now with skateboarding, I find it really good. I am going to focus on it now.”
In love at first leap: Aaron Savio Johnson finds skating thrilling.
It’s not just kids who are into skateboarding, but many youngsters from the city who are into this sport, are coming up with an event at WallRide Park. But the way they all fell in love with the sport is almost similar — through YouTube videos. Sushant Kumar, after completing BBA, is into fulltime skateboarding. “I learned the basics from those videos and started practising three years back,” he says, adding, “It was love at first leap. Now, whenever I get time I take part in competitions — not to win, but to learn tricks from other experts.” He also adds, “People generally think that it’s so much fun, but skateboarding is about maintaining balance while trying out new tricks.”
A member of Skateboarding in Hyderabad group, Adnan Jafar, shares his plan for the day. “We will be gathering at the WallRide Park to participate in competitions. It’s very rare that we get a chance to be together and we can’t miss this opportunity to try out new tricks at the new venue only dedicated for skateboarding,” he explains. Adnan has been skateboarding for the past six years and thinks it is just right time for people to explore more of it.
