As one who have a deep thirst to understand, know, and explore its own values I often engaged in thought experiments why skateboarding was and is so important to me. What lead me to start with it by the age of thirteen and soon become the most important thing to me and shaped the years to follow?
At various times I had various theories. It was my outlet. It was what I need as survival skill. It was what is needed to express myself. All of these I guess is true. But there is one more theory that came just recently.
This one has a connection I had before; it was around 1994 when I was 11 years old. Back then as a boy growing up in a small town in lower Austria I occasionally visited Vienna and my mother allowed me to do things on my own. So I went to the skatespots, Donauinsel and Prater, looked out for the skateboarders, sat down and watched them. Donauinsel was an iconic streetspot and there where often many skaters, 50 or 100. Some are in the crowd but there was one boy practiced on his own. I associated myself into how it would be. Trying Ollies, Shuvits, and Flips. Having something to do like this. Where you could put all your energy in.
That was close to my essence. You have a thing where you could focus your energy. You have a tool - the skateboard, you have an agenda which are certain tricks and you have self-determination. The autonomy to master something where no one dictate you what to do – certainly no adult, no teacher, or family member. Yes, the skateboard is a retreat. You are with yourself, your body and mind are one system, you are fully there, you work hard to develop a flow state and access it in the way you skate. That's how you get something in life done.
The fact that skateboarding comes with a lifestyle plays even a supportive role as it gives you an 'out of the box' model for what cloth to wear, what language to use, etc. You subscribe to that and limit options. You reduce over-stimulation.
This is pretty much how it was and how it felt. With some modifications: as much as I enjoyed watching this boy skating street I craved for something bigger and faster. Vert was welcome. I decided to wear pads, do my own thing, and orientate to the older Skaters, guys who where around in the 80s. That gave me even more direction, maturity, freedom to be myself even though it took massive energy for the boy from rural Austria to become one of extremely rare breed of young, European Vert Skaters in the late 90s.