‘You just have to go for it’
Skateboarding is now an Olympic sport and it’s not just for teenagers. Lisa Monger, 44, from Leigh-on-sea, Essex, has found it a great physical and mental release.
Doing something just for the joy of it often falls to the bottom of our to-do list. And throwing yourself into something that others could label ‘silly’, such as skateboarding, might stop many people from giving it a go.
I first tried it at the start of 2020, when my student daughter Niamh, 21, who enjoys it, encouraged me to have a go. She said it was a bit like snowboarding, which we’ve done together. I let her pull me along at the local skate park as I tried desperately to stay on the board. I was fit and strong, but skateboarding took a different level of balance and skill.
Difficult as it was, I loved it from the start. My husband, Scott, 42, tried it as well. He enjoyed it so much, in fact, that he bought us each a board and, at the start of the first lockdown, he and Niamh built a skate ramp in our garden.
That simple but sturdy wooden frame with its curved plywood ramp was a real life-saver during those dark days last year. I’m asthmatic, so was very aware of catching Covid, and barely left home.
After working hard all day at my computer as a health and life coach, getting on the board in the late afternoon sunshine was the perfect way to switch my mind to something else.
CHALLENGING MYSELF
Learning to skate, I had to overcome a lot of obstacles in my head. At first I thought, ‘It’s not for someone like me,’ a 44-year-old woman with grown-up children, but then I thought, ‘Why not?’ I tell my clients to carve out time for themselves and push themselves to try something new, so I decided to practise what I preach.
Skating itself is a case of mind over matter. I know if I’m timid and scared I’m more likely to get hurt, so I just have to go for it. Wearing pads and a helmet makes me feel more secure. Falling, though, isn’t failing – it’s how you learn. No matter how good you are, you’re still going to take a tumble.
When we were able to, the three of us started going to the local skate park. We
Falling isn’t failing
tended to go early in the morning before it got too busy – more because I was worried about running over small children than I was about people laughing at me! I’ve actually found others are really helpful and supportive, and they want me to ‘get it’ as much as I do.
I love the challenge of learning something different; the sense of achievement when you pick up a new skill is incredible. When you fall over, you get back up and keep trying, which is a great lesson for life. It’s taught me to be more tenacious and determined.
When Niamh went back to university in September 2020, Scott and I joined a skateboarding club for adults. If one of the group takes a bad fall, we all feel their pain and check they’re okay, and we all celebrate when one of us manages something new. Whether I’m in my garden or at the class, I find it a real mental release. You can’t worry about work or anything else when you have to hurl yourself down a ramp! Skateboarding has bonded us as a couple and a family. It gave some much needed light relief during a difficult time and I’m grateful for the special memories we’ve made through doing it together.