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Learning how to skateboard

The biggest barrier to learning how to skateboard is getting the right equipment for you & setting it up correctly.

Follow these steps to:

  • decide what style you want to learn
  • understand how skateboards work
  • know how to get a skateboard that is fit for purpose
  • know how to get the right size

when you’ve done this, you can think about what skateboarding skills to practice, and, when you learn to carve you will need to know:

  • how to adjust the trucks on your skateboard

If you come to one of our skateboard lessons you can skip most of these steps. But if you can’t get along, here is a step by step guide to learning how to skateboard.

1. Before how, decide what style skateboarding you want to learn..

There are different styles of riding a skateboard which require different types of skateboards. e.g.

  • Shortboards
  • Cruisers
  • Longboards
  • Surf Skates
  • Penny boards

The first step is to decide what style you want to try.

Help me decide what style to learn
surf skate

2. Get a skateboard

There are two key steps to get a skateboard

Find a fit-for-purpose skateboard

Sounds obvious, but getting a decent skateboard is not easy. Unfortunately the average retailer doesn’t have the expertise to identify a functional skateboard.

Watch our video on how skateboards work, so you can go, armed with this essential knowledge to find your first skateboard.

See our beginner skateboard buying guide or try one of ours at our group lessons

Get the right size for you

We always suggest trying a skateboard at our group classes because it is an inexpensively way to try out the right size board and we adjust the trucks for you. You can use this information to buy a skateboard.

If you can’t get along to our lessons, please see our buying and sizing guide.

Book Group Lessons

3. Adjust your skateboard trucks

Whilst you may have bought the right size board for you, your skateboard is not setup out of the box for you.

In some circumstances you may need to change the bushings in the trucks. Learn how to adjust your trucks.

Adjust your Trucks
skateboard trucks

4. Get some safety pads and a helmet

You should get good quality safety gear to protect yourself from injury, and also allow yourself to take calculated risks, and learn quicker.

Buying pads and a helmet

5. Find somewhere to learn to skateboard

The skatepark may not be the best place to learn to skateboard for a beginner skateboarder.

Read about the different places you can practice and why you should or shouldn’t go there. 

Where to learn to skateboard
victoria park skatepark bowl

6. What should I learn on my skateboard?

Finally if you’ve completed all the previous steps you will be able to start learning.

What skills should you practice first? Our beginner programme details what skills you should learn, in what order, to build your confidence on your skateboard.

What to learn on your skateboard?

7. How to use the skatepark

You’ve learnt The Push, and the basic beginner skills. Next you will want to go to the skatepark to learn some more advanced skills.

This might be scary. Read about the top 3 rules for the skatepark..

The top 3 rules of the skatepark
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