“Hey! There’s Pam with her banana!” I heard that statement almost daily when I was a child. Zooming around the neighborhood on my trusty skateboard, which did look like an oversized banana, I was the envy of those less skilled than me. I spent hours practicing jumps and tricky maneuvers. As I got older, I had less time to use my board and finally stopped skateboarding altogether. I kept my love for skateboarding, passing the “banana” down to my daughter.
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| Here’s the selection before I found the Shaun White display. |
During a recent doctor visit for my son, the doctor suggested I encourage more physical activity. I wracked my brain trying to think of activities we could do as a family. My husband suggested a weekly six mile hike over a mountain trail to go along with our daily exercise walks. I agreed but wanted something else. I remembered my love of skateboarding and had an “aha!” moment. Why not let my son choose his own skateboard from the selection at Walmart?
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| The three types of skateboards available. |
At first I was slightly disappointed. I only found three skateboards on display. Then I rounded a corner to find an entire display of skateboards for kids from the Shaun White Supply Co. Shaun White is a two time Olympic Gold Medalist and skateboard champion who wanted to share his love of the sport with others. Each of his boards are rigorously tested and retested until they meet his personal standards. The boards are available in three types: The Thrash, The Amp, and The Core. Although they cost a little more than the basic skateboards offered at Walmart, the board we chose was made of 7 ply maple and had 97A wheels for increased durability.I had a tiny, narrow skateboard and I’m loving the wide base. It makes it so much easier to balance.
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| The graphics are pretty awesome. |
Did I mention the cool graphics? While Skulls and Vultures might not be my cup of tea, these designs are bright, vivid and eye catching. The artwork is impressive, with attention being paid to every small detail from the gleam in the vulture’s eye to the teeth in his skull necklace. My son chose his favorite board and we headed for home.
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| He chose the Vulture pattern from the Thrash series. |
Family time is important to us and I couldn’t wait to try the new skateboard with our entire family. We tried skating on my Mother In Law’s driveway first. It was tricky at first being back on a board but, a short time later, I remembered why I had enjoyed the sport so much. Although we are still in the beginning stage, I plan to take the Thrash to the local park where we can practice without worrying about traffic.
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| The 9 year old showing off his “mad” skills. |
While I doubt we will ever go pro, we’ll have a lot of fun with our attempts to learn (or relearn) how to skateboard.
Looks like you guys had fun! We love skateboarding although aren’t that great at it.
I love all the cool board designs! I’ve not seen the skateboard collections at Walmart before so I appreciate the heads up 🙂 The green and blue design was my favorite. I should swing my son by and see what he thinks!
My boys have mini skateboards but would love to get their hands on one of those. I haven’t seen any at our local walmart, but I’ll keep my eyes open!
Love the pics – he looks like he is about to have FUN!
The man-child loves his skateboard…or should I make that plural. I can’t take him anywhere without him eyeing a new one. Looks like Shawn White has more eye candy for him
My son would love this although we live by a really busy road. We could go to the park maybe..Love the pic of your son using his skateboard. They have a lot of awesome designs now.
My son always had a skate board and competed in our area. It is a fun sport and one that requires more coordination then I’ll ever have. Love the new designs
Those do look pretty cool. I had a Tony Hawk skateboard back in the late 80’s and I sure wish that I had kept it.
I can not picture you skateboarding. I want to see pics of Mom testing the skate board!! I’m playing. My son has been asking for a new skateboard for, forever. I think I will pick one up for Christmas this year. Walmart seems to have a great selection
those look like a lot of fun!
What a fun activity for the family! I wish we had more access to skateboarding by us, but it’s rather difficult on gravel roads. Our town is, however, building a little skate park, will have to keep these boards in mind- my son’s would love ’em!