After 20 Years of Skating, I Finally WANT to Wear A Helmet
Going into middle school as a new skater, I felt like I was the only one who’s parents made him wear a helmet. Now looking back on it, what were those other parents thinking?
I had no issues wearing one snowboarding, but it was always an area of tension when it comes to skating.
Pick One: look cool or wear a helmet
Often I found a terrible mix to meet in the middle and wear it unbuckled. As soon as I wiped out and hit the ground, off goes the helmet.
By the time I rolled into high school, I slid under the radar of slowly not wearing my helmet. My parents seem to give up on the issue and I never looked back.
Why I started wearing a helmet after skateboarding for 20 years
Good steward in the sport
As a skilled skateboarder that peers and young skaters look up to, I want to put my best foot forward. I have an impact on the reputation that skateboarding has, even if it just impacts the immediate circle around me. I respect the risks the sport brings and want to help educate others to make safer choices.
Role Model
As an uncle to impressionable kids and a future skate dad, I want them to always wear a helmet. The best way is to lead by example. If I want them to wear a helmet while riding a bike, scooter, or skateboard, then I should too.
Injuries Happen to the Best of Us
Injuries and mistakes can happen on even the most basic tricks. From warming up on tricks I can do 9/10 times, to just riding around on flat ground, anytime can happen.
I learned that lesson the hard way in 2016 when I dislocated my knee doing a simple front nose slide 10 minutes into a warm-up session. Luckily after surgery and a few years of recovery, I’m back at 100%.
If that were my head, I might not have been so lucky.
Horror Stories I’ve Heard
There have been several notable stories in the news from skilled skaters who took the wrong fall and got serious brain injuries. The kind where you can speak or think at the same level ever again.
That is terrifying!
I want to skate for as long as I can. I want to have a sharp mind for way longer than that. Skating with protective gear will help me do both.
Help parents out battling their kids to wear theirs
As a kid, I had nobody to look up to at the local parks who cared about safety. Maybe I would’ve thought differently about hating on helmets if there was.
I want to be that role model.
The more examples that new skaters have to look up to that wear a helmet, the easier it will be for parents to point to. A line parents have heard for decades is, “No one wears a helmet!” Now that’s finally changing.
Make helmets mainstream in skateboarding culture
If all the other kids wanted to jump off a bridge stair set, at least protect your head if you’re going to do it too.
This is a systemic issue that needs big names in the sport to help push the message. It also has to start small with people like me at the local park wearing one.
Snowboarding normalized helmets!
It’s not an impossible feat. If you go to a terrain park, you’ll see the ski and snowboard culture has embraced helmets. It’s now unusually not to wear one.
I want to have an impact in the skateboarding world to share the love it has given me. Helmets feel like a great place to start.
I Challenge You To Join The #HelmetGang Too!
Do you skate, scoot, bmx, longboard, or roller skate? I challenge you to wear your helmet every time you ride. It’s really easy to do and could literally save your life.