Become a Professional Electric Skateboarder?
It is true though that it’s much easier to get a hang of an electric skateboard than a traditional push board.
For those who’s never gotten on a skateboard in their life before, we do have some tips and advice for the beginners.
Safety
Because the demand of the consumers, electric skateboards have evolved to be faster over time. Wearing the proper equipment in the event of an accident should always be followed. You should always invest in a quality helmet that you know will help defend your head just in case you take a spill. Knee, elbow, or shoulder pads are also highly recommended to avoid scraping or further injuring those areas. Make sure you’re also wearing the proper footwear. If you need to dismount your board, do so carefully; don’t jump off of a moving board with sandals.
Stance
Goofy, goofy stance or goofy foot all refer to a skateboarder, snowboarder, surfer, or wakeboarder riding with his or her left foot in back, toward the tail of the board. Goofy stance gets this name because most people put their left foot forward, which is called a regular stance.
There are several ways to test whether you ride goofy or regular, one of the easiest way is to see which foot you step up with first when you walk up stairs.
The next thing you need to figure out is how you should position yourself. Many like to have their front foot behind the 2nd row of bolts of the front truck.
For the back foot, it doesn’t really matter where it is, as long as it is in front or on the 1st row of bolts of the back truck. Never behind! If it is behind, it could cause the board to tip backward or it can cause wobbles.
For a beginner, we recommend you put your back foot as far away from the back bolts as you are comfortable. This will focus all the turning of the board on the front truck, making it more stable as it picks up speed.
The guy in the video who gets speed wobbles because he is standing too far form the front truck and is kind of leaning back when the wobbles start. He is trying to keep balanced and stay on the board but leaning back makes it worse. If he started to lean forward he would probably be ok!
Acceleration
When accelerating you want to lean forward so that more weight is placed on your front foot. As you accelerate your weight will be forced to your back foot. Once you have overcome the initial inertia you will feel comfortable shifting your weight around on the electric skateboard. It’s a good idea to lower your center of gravity too by crouching down slightly. Bending your front knee a little makes the weight shift more natural.
Braking
You want to do the opposite of accelerating. Shift weight to your back foot and prepare for your weight to be shifted forwards when braking. Try to avoid sharp braking because the strong braking force might throw you off the board. Always pay close attention to what’s in front of you and take precautions when you need to brake so that you can pull the trigger down gradually for a safe and smooth braking.
Carving
Once you get a hang of the basics, it’s now time to have fun! Carving or turning is controlled by shifting your weight from side to side just like a normal skateboard or longboard. The trucks turn opposite ways and allow you to turn, plus you can adjust the tightness of the bolt on the trucks which affect how swift or tight your turning is. Carving can be done easily by beginners but controlling the angle and speed in different circumstances is a skill that improves over time.
We hope that you find this blog post useful and have lots of fun on your electric skateboard!