We take it to the streets. A pro and a rookie on the skateboard court.

The month of street culture is in full swing at adidas BASEMOSCOW in Gorky Park, which means that you don’t have much time left to get confident on your board, master the ramp, take part in your first (or not first) dance jam and rhyme a few lines at the rap battle. Today we went to the skate-pad to talk to the rider of adidas Skateboarding team David Gaziev and ask him the top questions that worry the beginner who wants to get on the board. All the details in our material.

Who is taught to ride

David Gaziev, rider of the adidas Skateboarding team, coach: “Training sessions are held for people with different levels of training: for guys who have never stood on a skateboard before, and for riders who are already progressing, but with the aim not to teach, but to raise their level. For example, if they have problems with some tricks, we can help with advice.”

BS-360 performed by David Gaziyev:

How the training goes

It all depends on the level: when beginners ride, we give certain exercises and they practice them, in the future, if a person already knows some tricks, he rides freely, but at any moment he can ask to look at his technique or teach a particular trick.

How to get up on the board on your own

It is best to turn to professionals, now in Moscow this direction is progressing, new skate schools and sites are opening. There are people who are open to communication and are ready to share their experience, it is foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity.

“It’s not some kind of trick, of course. This is how the guys in the yard did it, they thought it was beautiful. I think this thing doesn’t even have a name. But in general, the idea is this: start just skateboarding, just stand on the skateboard, just push off, just drive into the figures. And then make it harder, don’t make up anything from the beginning. Your first and most important goal is to learn the base.”

Where to start learning

There are two directions here. The first is to go to a section or a coach, and the second is to learn to skate in the company of like-minded people and friends who are already skateboarding.

If you don’t have a skate school in your town

Again there is the Internet, where there is a lot of useful information, videos, tutorials on YouTube. If you want, you can always start even with this, well, and continue too. Skate videos allow you to be inspired and learn.

Mistakes to avoid

Mostly it’s the wrong foot placement on a skateboard, because the basis of learning is always just skating. You can’t come and start doing tricks right away, first you have to skate, skate and skate again, learn to feel the board. If you ride with the wrong foot placement, there will be a lot of difficulties in learning tricks later on.

“Start by trying to just ride up the ramp (see the gif). Ask friends or a coach to back you up and take your time. Tip: Don’t put all the weight on your front foot once you hit the spot.”

The main choice: how to pick a board

Here I would definitely advise you to consult professionals and generally buy a board from a specialized store. A skate shop will pick a board for you according to your requirements. If you just want to ride around the city, it’s one skateboard, if your goal is to do tricks, ride in the ramp, it’s another skateboard.

For city riding, the wheels are mostly used wide, soft and with a large diameter. This is in order to compensate for the unevenness of the road surface. For tricks, the wheels on the board are a little smaller and a little firmer.

The width of the board, for example, depends on the size of the foot. But again, professionals choose a skateboard for themselves and sometimes do not take this parameter into account. Boards come in different shapes, different lengths, different widths. The same story with wheels, they come in different stiffness.

FS-blunt slide performed by David Gaziev:

You can still sign up for training and master your first spot. Details at the link.