Skate Lingo
Blog by Ed Bread
In this months blog I'm going to teach you some phrases and saying that get thrown around the skate world. Some might be seen as uncool, but they all still get used (some a lot less than others). Don’t take this as a way to try sound like you know what you're talking about at the skate park. If you try use to many phrases in a short amount of time, you will end up sounding like a cheesy 80's teen show about surfers in California and nobody wants to sound like that, it wasn't cool then and it isn’t cool now. Use this more as a way to understand people who are already using them. So here it goes here's your introduction to skate lingo...Snake
Example: ”Stop being a snake.” Definition: A snake is somebody who will cut in front of other people at the skate park, or keep going when it isn’t their turn. Kids on scooters are the best examples of this is mainly due to the high volume of them, but anybody can be a snake, make sure it isn’t you because nobody likes snakes.Sketchy
Example: ”You landed that trick so sketchy.” ”That flat-bank is so sketchy.” Definition: Basically it means not very good, similar to if you were drawing something you would do a sketch before you did the final neatened up version, same goes here. It could be a wobbly landing, your feet only just landing on the board, or the skate park could be badly made.Clean
Example: ”That nose slide was really clean.” Definition: Not much to say on this one, it’s the opposite of sketchy, so if somebody says you landed a trick clean its a compliment, don’t worry.ABD and NBD
Example: ”Kevin did and NBD at the skate park yesterday.” Definition: They are both acronyms. ABD stands for already been done, so if you do a new trick over a gap and your friend says ABD it means that somebody else has done that trick on that gap. NBD is an acronym for never been done, so using the same example of a new trick over a gap, if you were the first person to do it that's an NBD.Powerslide
Example: ”Just powerslide to slow down.” Definition: Its basically a skid, so its a way to slow your speed down by turning the board ninety degrees, as well as slowing you down, it looks good and is super fun. Just beware of flatspots (don’t worry if you don’t know what a flatspot is just keep reading and you’ll find out).Stop Stone
Example: ”I hit a stop stone right after landing that trick.” Definition: Skateboarder krypronite is the best way I can think to describe it, it doesn’t get more frustrating than cruising along and hitting one. All it is is a small rock the perfect size (around 1 cm or smaller) that when your wheel tries to roll over it, it will wedge in stop your wheel spinning and abruptly cause your board to stop and you to fly off face first into the floor. You never see them coming and they usually happen in front of large crowds of people.
Flatspot
Example: ”His board sounds like a tractor because of his flatspot” Definition: A flatspot is exactly what it sounds like, its a flat spot on your wheel which results in a horrible noise which gets worse the faster you go. Flatspots can be gained through powerslides, or by hitting a small stone that stops your board with a small skid.Catch/Caught
Example: ”You caught that kickflip perfectly.” Definition: When doing a flip trick and you catch the board with your feet before it hits the floor. If you want to see good examples of this watch Andrew Reynolds frontside flip a set of stairs.Steeze/Steezy
Example: ”Johnny’s got a really steezy tre flip." Definition: It's just joining style with ease. So, do something that's stylish and make it look easy = steezy. For a good example of this, get on YouTube and watch Tom Penny skate.Bail
Example: ”That bail looked like it hurt.” Definition: A bail is when you fall off the board while trying to land a trick, it doesn't matter if it hurt or not its still a bail.Focus
Example: ”Why did you focus your board?”
