There is a wheeled craze on campus, and it has taken many guys by force, no matter how hard they fall.
The phenomena of skateboarding, longboarding, penny boarding — the whole gamut — exploded across campus this semester.
Junior Whittaker Dunn, the veteran boarder that many newer skateboarders credit as their inspiration to start boarding, claims that skateboarding has a unique draw.
“It is so strangely appealing. It’s a herd mentality,” he said. “I started skateboarding my freshman year and four seniors talked to me and then bought longboards. When guys see other guys longboarding they just want to go do that.”
Senior Nick O’Donnell, who has skateboarded since last spring break when some friends from home got him hooked, agreed that longboarding and penny boarding has spread across campus. He credits Dunn and himself.
“It has super exploded. I think it is because of Whittaker Dunn and me. We just kind of tantalized each other and our close friends got into it. It is really organic and so evidently fun. It is so relaxed and chill,” O’Donnell said.
Dunn said that much of the appeal is based on the fun of a rebellious image.
“It’s so much fun. When you get a gang of guys together just bombing down a hill, it’s still the ultimate form of rebelling. Cars hate us, cyclists hate us, most pedestrians hate us — really for no good reason, because we are really respectful. It’s just this mentality. People are just designed to mistrust skateboarders and there is something great about that,” Dunn said.
Many students enjoy skateboarding because it offers the perfect study break.
“I’m an English major, and I read a ton, and I am sitting a lot, so its a great way to blow off a little steam and the truth is, if you skateboard a lot at one time, it’s actually a little bit of a workout,” junior Ethan Gehrke said.
“I’ll go get Ben Strickland and he’ll get on his longboard and I’ll get on my [penny board] and we’ll just fly around for a while. It’s a chill day for me if I have my penny board.”
Junior Garrett Holt longboards — not to be confused with skateboarding or what he calls “a throwback to middle school emo kid” — as a way of celebrating a finished project.
“[Peter Thistleton] and I have a tradition that every time after we have a big paper or test that day we will literally go out for like three hours from midnight to three in the morning. No one is outside and you can go wherever,” he said.
Holt decided to avoid penny boards and bought a longboard this summer, claiming that they are “terrifying.”
“It’s scary enough going 30 mph on a longboard, but [on a penny board] it’s just freaky,” he said. “I like to have security underneath me.”
Gehrke agreed, but decided to embrace the inevitable crashes.
“A penny board does not want you to be on it. It is a 22-inch board of plastic, and it’s really fast. If you hit a bump going really fast on a penny board then you are going to bite the pavement. But if you move to a longboard, you will be really, really good. ”
They all have had their glorious crashes; Holt’s was on the hill beside the amphitheater, Gerhke wiped out on Manning Street, and Dunn got a concussion last semester in addition to the healing wounds on the palms of his hands and the scabs on his knees peaking out from his torn jeans.
Sophomore Andy Reuss has tried skateboarding, but safety and style have convinced him to scooter instead.
“Scooters are better than skateboards objectively because they are much safer, easier to control, family friendly, and there is a quick learning process. Also, they are more aesthetically pleasing,” Reuss said. “Take for example my pink Hello Kitty scooter: anyone can enjoy pink handlebars.”
Dunn, however, says that skateboarding just takes patience and practice.
“You have to fall about 60 times before you get really proficient. You have to deal with it. Every time I get on the skateboard, I have to test how far I can push it. But I don’t think that is the goal for everyone. You can decide to avoid falling,” he said.
