Olympic Day 2023: World's best skateboarders on why more people should try the sport: "Don't be scared, just do it"

Invincible willpower, the creativity of an artist, the zen of a monk, and a dash of eternal youth.

These attributes may sound like the contents of the “Drink Me” bottle from Alice in Wonderland, but you don’t need any magic potion to capture them. Only a skateboard.

Aside from being fun, skateboarders exalt their sport as a school of life like no other.

“You don't have to be the best skateboarder in the world to feel the love of skateboarding,” Puerto Rico’s Manny Santiago told Olympics.com. “Skateboarding keeps you so young and, in a way, present. It keeps you moving, and it keeps you motivated by this love and passion of family.”

Whatever aspect of life you’d like to kickflip to the next level, skateboarding could be the solution. On Olympic Day 2023, Olympics.com spoke to seven of the world’s best skateboarders to find out how.

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Skate tricks and the willpower of an Olympian

Make no mistake about it, skateboarding is tough. It might take several weeks and countless bruises to learn one trick.

“But once you land it, everything's worth it,” USA skateboarder Secret Lynn told Olympics.com.

Whether mastering the extremely technical laser flip or working on basic ollies, skateboarders develop great willpower through continuous repetiton. This helps them not only in the skatepark but also in everyday life.

“Tricks don't come easily, so you've got to practise every day and work really hard to actually get good. You don't just get good doing nothing,” Lynn said. “It definitely teaches you how to be patient.”

And while learning tricks is hard, there is good news too. As USA’s Nyjah Huston said, getting comfortable with just a couple of tricks is enough to start having fun on a skateboard.

“Mentally it makes you very tough. It teaches you a lot of discipline and dedication to learning a trick," Huston told Olympics.com. "Trying it for hours and then landing it, that can go for someone like myself trying a crazy, new trick, or that can also go to a kid or a grown-up that’s learning how to kickflip or do a grind. I always tell people that as long as you can do a couple of tricks and you can grind some rails or whatnot, that’s all you need to have fun with skateboarding. It’s fun for everyone.”

Skateparks and streets: A blank canvas for an artist

Performing high-flying tricks and pumping throughout hours of training is an intense physical workout as well.

"You can get exercise out of it. It’s great fun - all the time," Australia's Chloe Covell told Olympics.com. "It’s a great sport and you can exercise."

A 2021 study by Harvard Medical School found that skateboarding burns an average of 370 calories per hour. This is equivalent to calories burned during white-water kayaking and brisk walking, and more than calories burned playing badminton, softball, and volleyball.

But unlike the other cardio-intensive sports, there is an additional quality that draws people to skateboarding: creativity.

USA boarder Chris Jolin sees his sport as a way to express himself and experience the world from a different perspective.

“Driving down the street, most people just see red lights and green lights and people and cars. And when I drive down the street, I see stairs and rails and things to skate,” Jolin told Olympics.com. “It's basically like an artist painting a picture at that point. It's like it's a blank canvas in the world and we get to go and paint our pictures on the world.”

Skate the stress away

With the level of skateboarding rising every year, top performers have to keep growing their skillset to remain competitive.

But the sport is not always about performance. Sometimes skateboarders, including Olympians and Olympic hopefuls, go to the skatepark simply to unwind.

“Skateboarding helps me with everything,” Brazil’s Gabriela Mazetto told Olympics.com. “It helps to de-stress, it makes me happy. It also stresses me out sometimes, but it's my life. I skate to have fun and forget all my problems."

USA's Lynn also picks up her skateboard whenever she needs to shake off some stress.

“It gives you a really good distraction," she said. "The whole skate culture and all the people that skate are super supportive and nice to you so they also make it better.”

This social aspect is a big part of skateboarding culture. For the riders, skateparks are not only sports venues but also hang-out spots where they find a sense of community.

“Say you just moved to a new town and you just love to skate, but maybe you're not pursuing it,” Manny Santiago said. “You get to the park or the local street spot and then you're like, ‘Hey, what's up?’ Like, boom, you're skating. People are like, 'Oh, you got wax or you got a tool?' Or, 'Hey, where are you from?' And then all of a sudden now you have a family that you never had.

"Now you have a reason for belonging or being or living. The love, maybe you don't get it at home, but you get it from your friends. And it's this type of energy that I haven't seen anywhere else.”

Skateboarding: Forever young

Skate culture is at the essence of the sport. From the instantly recognisable clothes, to the booming music and night-time jam sessions in flood-lit skateparks, skaters are part of a community that is vibrant, and whatever the age of its practicioners - young.

“It has this youth that I swear people can understand it,” Santiago said. “They're like, how or why? It's like we don't want to just barbecue and drink. We don't want to just go camping and drinking. We don't want to just play poker. We're trying to get clips, we're trying to be in the streets, we're trying to just vibe. And that's an energy that's a very translucent."

Still have doubts whether skateboarding is the sport for you?

“Don't be scared. Just do it,” Czechia’s Vilem Jakes told Olympics.com. “Do it. Don't be scared and have fun. Go to the streets and skate parks. There are so many skaters in (them) and you can find new friends, interesting friends.”