Middle-aged and depressed? It’s time to get skateboarding
YOU may think of skateboarding as a pursuit exclusive to scruffy-haired teenagers in baggy clothes.
But middle-age skateboarders are getting serious about the sport too – to great effect.
A study has found that it provides a real boost to their wellbeing and happiness, helping them deal with depression and bond with their children.
Some described the ‘spiritual meaning’ of the hobby as they struggled with events such as relationship breakdowns.
Dr Paul O’Connor, from the University of Exeter, carried out 30 interviews with middle-aged skateboarders in Hong Kong and the UK, joining in the activity with communities of enthusiasts.
He said: ‘Skateboarding provides a serious emotional outlet for people who have experienced personal trials in the collapse of long-term relationships, career challenges, parenthood, and substance abuse.’ Many of the middle-aged skateboarders had children who had either ignited or rekindled their parents’ passion for the hobby.
Dr O’Connor said: ‘For those I spoke to, skateboarding was more than about looking after physical health.
‘Indeed, the notion of sport was regarded with caution. To them, skateboarding seemed to mean more. On at least two occasions when I asked informants to try to explain what skateboarding meant to them, I was confronted with grown men fighting back tears, literally lost for words in grasping to communicate the importance and gravitas of their pastime.’
A group of mothers who took up skateboarding in Cornwall 16 months ago described feeling ‘stoked’ at their skills in interviews separate to the study.
The women, from St Agnes, were initially unable to even stand on a skateboard but can now do tricks, skate backwards and use ramps.
Lisa Woodruff, 50, said she asked for lessons from her children’s instructor after watching one of their workshops.
‘It is great fun, when you learn something new, we’re all buzzing for each other,’ Miss Woodruff said.
‘It’s very addictive. My kids are also very proud and think it’s very “cool” that I keep my skateboard in the back of my car.’
Her coach, Zain Ishmael, said: ‘Skateboarding can be for anybody, any age or gender. The older women here are pushing it just as much as the younger lot.’
Skateboarding has risen in popularity in recent years, and was boosted further after Britain’s Sky Brown, 13, won a bronze Olympic medal in Tokyo.
Dr O’Connor’s study was published in the book Lifestyle Sports and Identities.
‘Provides a serious emotional outlet’