Ollie involves quite simple steps. [1] X Research source But you need to practice a lot to become good at it. [2] X Research source You should practice timing, watch slow motion videos, and look at the details to learn Ollie. Other basic skateboard terms to listen for: slappy, fakie, kickflip, vert, tweak, stall, shifty, kickturn and mob. [3] X Research source You could try asking something like, “So, have you mastered a kickflip on a vert ramp yet?” or “Have you seen Robert do kickflips? He has huge pop. " Also listen to how they refer to the anatomy of their board. You should hear words like deck, nose, trucks, rail, grip tape and wheelbase. Try asking, “So, do you hold your board by the trucks or deck? Do you think it matters?”
Say, “I strictly ride regular. Do you ride goofyfoot?” Regular is the most common stance when riding a skateboard – with your left foot forward, towards the nose, and your right foot near the tail. Goofy is the opposite of regular – your right foot is forward, near the nose, and your left foot is back near the tail.
Ask questions like, “What material is your deck made out of?” and “Did you have to tighten or loosen your trucks when you got your board?” and “What kind of art do you have on your deck?” Often, seasoned skateboarders will choose to assemble their own boards with custom parts so that it’s absolutely perfect for them. Even if they’ve never done it, a real skater will be excited to talk about aspects of custom building a board.
When they tell you which pros and skate brands they like (or dislike), ask them why they feel that way. A real skater can easily give you details at length about their opinions, likes and dislikes.
There is a lot of controversy about whether or not the “mall grab” truly indicates you’re a poser, since a lot of skaters these days hold their boards like that. The mall grab only indicates you’re a poser when combined with a lot of the other red flags mentioned here. Definitely inspect how they hold their board, but you also should see if they ever actually ride the board that they carry around with them. Some posers will actually buy and carry a board around with them just to look cool, like a fashion accessory. That’s bad enough, but then they won’t even carry it correctly!
Real skaters will spend most of their time skating and practicing tricks when they’re at the skate park. Real skaters pay little to no attention to the social gathering going on around them at the skate park.
You could say, “Hey Paul, show me your ollie!” or ask, “Can you show me your frontside and backside moves? I’ve been working on my frontside and wouldn’t mind seeing how you do it. " Posers will use do everything they can to worm their way out of actually skating, since they don’t know how. If they don’t have a board on them when you ask, invite them to come skate with you at the park or even offer them your board.
Real skaters are always learning new tricks, and that means falling and getting a little banged up. [9] X Research source Real skaters learn how to fall “correctly” to minimize severe injuries, but the little scrapes and bruises are always going to happen.
Posers often purchase inexpensive, low quality boards from chain department stores like Walmart. These boards are terrible to ride - which doesn’t affect them, since they don’t ride anyway. Real skaters save up for a good quality setup because they will actually use it. They need a strong board that rolls smooth and those aren’t cheap. [10] X Research source
Unless they’re falling apart on their feet, chances are a real skater won’t care that their shoes are ragged. A poser, on the other hand, will buy new shoes very frequently. Look for signs that they’ve distressed their shoes on purpose. Some posers want to look authentic so much that they’ll strategically damage their shoes. This is usually pretty easy to spot because the body of the shoe will have rips and slashes but the actual material won’t be faded, beat up or frayed at all.
