“Are Freebords Hard to ride?”

Freebords can look deceivingly easy to ride, in fact, I experienced this firsthand back in 2005.

It was the summer after graduating from high school, and I had asked for a Freebord on my birthday. Armed with my mother’s credit card, I pressed “Confirm Order” on Freebord’s website and dazed off into fantastic reveries about shredding the steepest hills in my neighborhood; it was wonderful.

A week later my Freebord arrived, and I headed to my neighborhood hill for the inaugural ride with my brother-in-law, Eric. I had been envisioning this day all week, and I was going to destroy this hill.

My first attempt was a disaster, but I just shrugged it off as unlucky; it wasn’t until about ten or so awkward spills later, I began to realize I might not be so good at this.

It’s a perfect example of how some people are able to pick it up with ease and others (yours truly) take longer. It eventually took me around a week to get to Eric’s level and after that, I progressed quickly.

After one particularly good thrashing, I took a break from the beating and stopped to examine my battle wounds.

Meanwhile, Eric, who had been doubled over laughing the entire time, decided to give it a shot. As I was removing gravel from my knee, I hear urethane start slashing against the pavement and look up to see him effortlessly linking slides right past me. He glides to the bottom effortlessly, jumps off, and does an idiotic victory dance; I’m not amused

He runs back up, giggling, quicker than he went down, but this time, he’s headed for the top of the hill. His second ride down is better than his first. As he returns, I snatch the board away from him thinking it should now magically work for me; it does not and I end up with a pretty nice size swellbow. I did not learn to Freebord that day.

Looking back, it always makes me laugh. It’s a perfect example of how some people are able to pick it up with ease and others (yours truly) take longer. It eventually took me around a week to get to Eric’s level and after that, I progressed quickly.

Remember: everyone is a beginner at some point, and for today’s Throwback Thursday, I’ve included a video with an actual clip that shows my first week of learning to ride a Freebord. If you are out there struggling to learn, don’t give up there is hope.

I Can Handle It I Can't Handle It

The following footage has never been seen before, so have a laugh on me and enjoy.