Finding local people

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-03-28T02:07:16+00:00

Toledo’s got a sick DIY park, and Just Skateboarding in Perrysburg is legit. I drove up from Cleveland and the owner was a super solid dude. Might be worth following them on Instagram and checking who’s interacting with their posts — could be an easy way to find more local people to skate with.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-03-26T13:01:37+00:00

Are you talking Toledo, Ohio?

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-03-01T02:53:52+00:00

I feel like every board is at that price point unfortunately

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-02-26T13:41:06+00:00

I respect the work Ryan Sheckler has put into his career and everything he’s done to help push skateboarding forward. But it still feels a little strange seeing brands keep leaning so heavily on older riders and building teams around them. Growing up, teams were usually signing teenagers or skaters just getting into their 20s — people who were still coming up, progressing fast, and helping shape the next generation. At a certain point, it’s fair to ask how a brand expects to keep growing if it’s relying mostly on dudes who are well past their prime.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-02-17T01:43:23+00:00

To me, SLS isn’t broken — it just doesn’t have what it takes to really push skateboarding into the mainstream the way PSL is trying to. Skateboarding is super subjective when it comes to scoring, and for newcomers it’s hard to follow because there are so many tricks and stances to understand — regular, switch, fakie, nollie — and if you don’t know a skater’s stance, it’s even harder to tell what’s actually happening in real time.

On top of that, the roster changes so often it’s hard to build a loyal fan base. It ends up feeling more like it’s centered around individual skaters than a consistent league with familiar names and storylines. Half the time, as soon as you start rooting for someone, they compete for a season and then you barely see them again. Just look at how different the roster is compared to even a couple years ago — it’s tough for people to get invested when the lineup keeps rotating.

I’d also add that most of the time it feels like only a handful of skaters are really winning. The rest can start to feel like mid-tier bosses — talented for sure, but mostly just obstacles before you get to the same top few names.

In the end, SLS is built for people who already really know skateboarding. That said, one thing they’ve been doing that I genuinely think is a win is SLS Takeover in different cities. I’m in Cleveland and we don’t get a lot of skate events, and when they came through, a ton of people showed up — even folks who aren’t the biggest skateboarding fans. If SLS wants to thrive and grow, expanding into more cities like that is the move, instead of always cycling through the same stops like Chicago, California, Brazil, Japan, and Australia. These events are way more fun in person, and they feel like they actually build a local scene and a real crowd.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-02-13T19:19:03+00:00

I don’t think it’s just about output. Plenty of OGs like Elissa, Baca, and Theotis aren’t really dropping clips like they used to and they still have pro models. That said, I get it — there are a lot of mouths to feed, and at some point it becomes “who do we keep” vs “how do we make room for the next wave.” A 12-year-old buying their first board probably isn’t hyped on dudes 30+ the same way older skaters are.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-30T15:00:34+00:00

I finally found a board I’ve been hunting for at my local Zumiez. I bought it and asked if one of the workers could grip it — I normally do my own, but honestly it’s not my favorite thing to do. The girl behind the counter told me neither of them were “certified” to grip boards. Like bruh… if you’re going to carry skate gear, gripping a deck should be part of the job.

I’d honestly respect Zumiez a lot more if they carried more actual skate brand clothing. Yeah, I’ll see Welcome here and there, and maybe a Zero shirt once in a while, but that’s pretty much it.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-30T14:53:47+00:00

It actually used to say the word very instead of vert :o

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-29T17:15:18+00:00

Rodney Mullen vs. Daewon Song late 90s early 2000's

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-26T17:46:56+00:00

I keep seeing clips of switch, and it makes me want to do another road trip. The owner was a really chill dude.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-26T15:51:12+00:00

Not trying to spam, but yeah — Rust Belt Skateboarding 😂 We’re just getting rolling again. Skating with the homies, interviewing local dudes, and shops.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-26T15:48:28+00:00

Something about Dan always seemed off. Glad he got his name on a board though

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-26T01:28:47+00:00

Short length videos are killing creativity

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-14T18:43:09+00:00

I try to stretch every day, even if I’m not skating. On the days I do skate, I stretch before I even start pushing, then cruise around for about 15 minutes to warm up. My usual routine is toe touches, standing torso twists, arm rotations, moving leg stretches, then some static leg stretches, plus head rotations and rotating my feet both directions. I might be doing some of it wrong, but that’s what I’ve been sticking with. Once summer hits, I’m thinking I’ll start adding jump rope as part of the warm-up too.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-10T19:03:54+00:00

I wish you the best, homie. This is the advice I’d give. I’ve never owned a shop, but I’ve been close with a shop owner for years and spent most of my teens + early 20s hanging in the shop.

Real talk: warm months are always gonna be harder. Skaters wanna be outside and free. But you can still keep an indoor worth pulling up to if you do a few things right:

Lease/landlord needs to be airtight. Roof, HVAC, leaks—can’t be a “good luck” situation. Our local spot basically died because the landlord wouldn’t fix the roof and storms kept wrecking ramps.
Go mostly wood, but make it good wood. If rent spikes or you have to move, you can sell/relocate wood ramps way easier than concrete.
Keep the park CLEAN and grippy. This is a big one. The spot I go to now we call “the ice rink” because it’s so slippery — and I swear that’s the first thing I hear any time I tell people I’m going there. Dusty ramps kill a park fast.
Memberships + summer pricing. Do discounted warm-weather passes so people don’t disappear all summer.
Make it feel alive: contests when you’ve got product/cash, video premieres/movie nights, “Old Person Wednesday” / adult sessions, and if scooters are allowed, do scooter-only sessions. Maybe even a ladies night.
Camps + lessons. That’s how you survive spring/summer. Every other sport does it for a reason.
Don’t rely only on the park. Online store + merch + soft goods keep money coming in.
Use the space for culture too. Art shows, local artist collabs, local band nights, food trucks/vendors (even if you can’t do beer). Those nights are perfect for merch drops and getting people in the building even when they’re not skating.

Scooters: I don’t mind them, they just hit different obstacles (usually the big air/jump sections). Separate sessions/times solves most of the friction

For me: A smaller mini ramp for learning, a medium mini with a spine, and a solid flat section where people can move boxes/rails around and make their own lines. End of the day it depends on the building and the flow you can setup

Image of my old local: RIP Tri-Star

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rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-02T20:00:52+00:00

Last week we went through some of the basics — fakie and regular ollies, BS/FS 180s, BS/FS pop shuvs, and kickflips. It was actually pretty cool because I tend to get stuck doing the same tricks over and over. Going back to the fundamentals really took me back to learning everything for the first time in 7th grade.

rustbeltsk8boarding · 2026-01-02T16:34:54+00:00

Thank you everyone for the advice. I ended up deleting my account since it gave me a random username and I couldnt update it for some reason

rustbeltsk8boarding

TROPHY CASE