My neighbor’s daughter Emma decided she wanted to learn skateboarding last summer. She is fourteen, super determined once she sets her mind to something. Her dad had never touched a skateboard in his life, knew absolutely bugger all about it.
He went online, saw boards ranging from fifty bucks up to three hundred, and had no bloody clue what the difference was. Nearly bought the cheapest one, figuring she might lose interest in a month anyway, as she did with tennis. Thankfully, he asked me first before wasting his money.
I took them both down to a proper skate shop. Emma walked out with a quality setup that actually suited her properly. Six months later, she is still skating almost every day, progressing really well, and her board is still going strong.
Never buy a complete set from a department store
This is honestly the biggest mistake parents make. They see a skateboard at some big box store or even the bloody supermarket for forty bucks and reckon they are getting a bargain. You are not getting a bargain. You are buying complete garbage that will make learning skateboarding way harder than it ever needs to be.
Department store boards use the absolute cheapest possible components they can source. The bearings barely even spin properly. The wheels are made from horrible plastic that does not grip anything. The trucks are stupidly heavy and do not turn right. The deck itself often has basically no pop to it whatsoever.
These boards are designed purely to look like skateboards while sitting on a shelf collecting dust. They are not actually designed to be properly skated on regularly. They fall apart ridiculously quickly, perform absolutely terribly, and honestly make skateboarding feel way less fun than it actually is when done properly.
Emma’s friend bought one of these cheap pieces of rubbish. She completely gave up after maybe three weeks because she reckoned skateboarding was just too hard for her. Turns out her board was just absolute garbage. She tried Emma’s proper board one afternoon and genuinely could not believe the massive difference. Bought herself a real setup the next week, and now she is totally hooked on skating.
If your budget is genuinely tight, buy a quality secondhand complete from a skate shop instead. Most shops sell used boards that are still in perfectly decent condition. Way better to get a used quality board than a brand new terrible one that will break immediately.
Get the right size deck for your actual body
Deck width genuinely matters way more than most people realize when starting out. Too narrow and you will feel really unstable and wobbly. Too wide and you will struggle to flip the board at all. Getting the right width makes learning so much easier and way more comfortable.
The general rule is that it depends heavily on your shoe size and what style of skating you actually want to do. Smaller shoe sizes typically suit narrower decks better. Bigger feet definitely need wider decks for proper stability under you. Street skating usually uses narrower boards for flipping tricks. Park and bowl skating often uses wider ones for stability.
For kids and smaller riders, decks around 7.5 to 8 inches wide work pretty well. Average-sized teens and adults usually go somewhere between 8 and 8.5 inches. Larger riders or people mainly skating bowls might want 8.5 inches or even wider for stability.
At Skate Warehouse, the staff can literally watch you stand on several different widths and immediately tell you what will work best for your body. Emma tried standing on three different widths properly. The 7.75-inch felt absolutely perfect for her shoe size and the street skating she wanted to learn first.
Do not just randomly grab whatever graphic looks coolest to you. Actually, stand on it first properly. Make sure it genuinely feels comfortable and stable under your actual feet. The right-sized deck makes an absolutely massive difference to how quickly you will progress learning tricks.
Actually invest in quality wheels and bearings
Wheels and bearings are literally what make your board actually roll along. Cheap ones make skateboarding feel really sluggish and difficult for no reason. Quality ones make absolutely everything feel smoother and way more enjoyable to ride.
Wheel hardness gets measured in durometer numbers. Lower numbers mean softer wheels, higher numbers mean harder wheels. Softer wheels grip surfaces better and roll way smoother over rough, cracked pavement. Harder wheels are faster on smooth surfaces but you feel every single crack and pebble.
For beginners skating rough suburban streets or learning basics in parks, something around 92a to 95a durometer works great as a starting point. Not too hard, not too soft either. Good balance between grip and speed. As you get better and know what you actually prefer, you can experiment more.
Bearings get rated by ABEC numbers, but honestly, that whole rating system does not really tell you much about actual skating performance. Quality skateboard-specific bearings from proper respected brands matter way more than whatever ABEC rating is stamped on them.
Emma’s dad nearly skimped on wheels and bearings, trying to save some money on the overall setup. I properly convinced him not to cheap out there. Those specific components make such a massive difference to how skateboarding actually feels when riding. Emma’s board rolls really smoothly, maintains speed well over distance, and feels properly responsive when turning. Absolutely worth every extra dollar spent.
Never forget proper safety gear
Skateboarding definitely involves falling sometimes. That is just genuinely part of learning anything on a board. You will fall. Literally everyone does when learning. Proper safety gear simply means those inevitable falls do not turn into expensive hospital visits or broken bones.
At the absolute bare minimum, get a properly fitted helmet that actually fits right. Not a bike helmet either. An actual proper skate helmet specifically designed for handling multiple impacts safely. Make absolutely sure it fits really snugly and sits level on the head, not stupidly tilted back looking dumb.
Wrist guards are hugely important too for beginners, especially. When people fall off skateboards, their natural instinct is immediately put their hands out to catch themselves. Wrist guards prevent broken wrists, which are incredibly common injuries for beginner skaters learning.
Knee pads and elbow pads are genuinely smart additions, too, especially when learning in bowls or on ramps. They let you fall way more confidently, knowing you are properly protected. That confidence actually helps you progress faster because you are not constantly scared of trying new things.
Emma wears full pads every single session without fail. Her friends sometimes give her a bit of grief about it, looking uncool. She genuinely does not care at all. She has taken some solid slams that would have hurt really badly without pads protecting her. Instead, she just gets straight back up and keeps skating.
Safety gear does not make you look uncool,l honestly. Hospital visits and broken bones are way less cool than just wearing some pads while learning.
Start with just the basics before buying extras
When you first start out, you genuinely do not need every single piece of gear and every fancy accessory available. Just start with the actual essentials. A complete board, proper safety gear, and decent skate shoes. That is literally it for now.
Do not immediately buy rails, wax, tools, spare parts, multiple backup decks, or fancy accessories yet. Learn the absolute basics first properly. Figure out what kind of skating you actually enjoy doing most. Then buy additional stuff only as you genuinely need it for real.
Skate shoes definitely matter, though, from day one. Do not try learning properly in running shoes or casual sneakers at all. Proper skate shoes have flat, grippy soles that grip the board way better. They are reinforced in specific areas that wear out fastest from skating. They provide much better board feel and control overall.
Emma’s dad wanted to immediately buy her absolutely all sorts of extras straight away. I told him to properly wait instead. Let her learn basics, see what she genuinely needs, then get those specific things. Saved them heaps of money and meant she only bought stuff she genuinely uses regularly.
As you actually progress, you will naturally figure out what extras make sense for your specific skating. Maybe you want softer wheels for cruising around smoothly. Maybe you need harder wheels for the skate park specifically. Maybe you want a second deck so you always have a backup ready. Buy those things only when you genuinely need them, not beforehand.
Getting started the right way
Emma is still skating constantly six months later because she started with proper gear that made learning genuinely enjoyable rather than frustrating and difficult. Her board works properly, fits her correctly, and lets her focus on actually learning to skate rather than constantly fighting terrible equipment.
That initial investment in quality gear genuinely pays off long term. The board lasts way longer, performs significantly better, and makes skateboarding way more fun overall. Emma progressed faster, stayed properly motivated, and built real skills instead of giving up frustrated after a few weeks.
If you or someone you know wants to start skateboarding, just do it properly from the very beginning. Go to an actual proper skate shop. Talk to people who genuinely skate regularly. Get gear that fits correctly and works properly. Start with the essentials and proper safety equipment only.
Skateboarding is genuinely amazing once you push past the initial learning curve. Starting with the right gear makes that learning curve so much easier to actually handle. Set yourself up properly for success rather than making it way harder than it ever needs to be.
Disclaimer
This article is for general informational purposes only and reflects personal experience and opinion. Skateboarding involves inherent risks, including the possibility of injury. The tips provided here are not a substitute for professional instruction, medical advice, or guidance from certified skateboarding coaches. Always consult knowledgeable professionals at reputable skate shops when purchasing equipment, and ensure proper supervision for minors. Use appropriate safety gear at all times and skate within your skill level. The author is not responsible for injuries, damages, or losses that may occur as a result of following the information in this article.