Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

General footbag-related topics that don't fit elsewhere go in here.
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F[uns]tylin' Eclectic
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Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by F[uns]tylin' Eclectic » 14 Feb 2015 19:47

Going to start posting here more often, since Modified is close to a revival, I feel. So, if you used to skateboard, post here. It seems like a lot of footbag players started with skating.

I skated for around 9 years.
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by Tjuggles » 14 Feb 2015 22:44

I started both footbag and skating at about the same time, skated for maybe 7 years, then stopped. They used to have sipa-sipa style bags at the skate shop, possibly the reason I was exposed to them...
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by MetZelRio » 15 Feb 2015 02:22

I skated for about 17 years. I was hipster kitty. I skated before it was cool. Probably will be the story with footbag as well. You see, it's insane to me that pro skaters now win hundreds of thousands of dollars per contest win. It's insane to me that in MY hometown, there's three or four skate parks and possibly hundreds of skaters. I'm tooting my own horn, I know, but I was an innovator in skateboarding in my town. I was the first person doing 360 flips, switch hard flips, finding skate spots, getting kicked out of spots, I was hated for being a "skater-fag" until in my senior year in high school... suddenly I was the guy so many people looked up to and I was popular out of nowhere. Since the tables have turned, it seems like everybody is/was a skater. I suppose everybody was/is a Hacky sack player, but could you imagine if suddenly freestyle footbag took that drastic turn toward mass recognition and utilization? Would it be great? Would many of us be hipster kitty and and lose interest because we did it before it was mainstream? Probably both. And when that does happen, I hope some of you guys who deserve it and want to do so, make great careers out of freestyle footbag and are compensated well for your dedication.

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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by Kylescook » 15 Feb 2015 08:11

I started skateboarding when I was 10-12, something like that. I skated for several years switching between that and BMX. I had a hard time staying committed to skateboarding when I didn't have friends that also skated. My best season of skateboarding was my last season the summer of 2012, I skated with dudes that never quit skating and were loads better than me. I would always lose out in skate because I cant 360 flip or push switch. So I trained heelflips since nobody I skated with did those. I spent basically the whole summer getting consistent with heelflips, doubleheelfips, varial heelflips, came close to landing a few fakie 360 heelflips and big flips(heelflip style Rick flip maybe). The next season I was too afraid of injury to make any kind of progression, So I just pumped around bowls and quarters carving out new lines and avoided coping and flip tricks. Anybody else switch between bmx and skateboarding?
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by F[uns]tylin' Eclectic » 15 Feb 2015 12:09

Nah, I was pure skate or die. I thought about bmx after I played that Matt Hoffmans pro bmx game, but ultimately, skateboarding was just too fun. If it was footbag, I would have a very developed strong side, but a huge hole in my flipside... Strong side being flip tricks/flat land, flipside being stairs/gaps/rails. Really cool you did a bunch of heel flip stuff, Kyle. I could heel flip and fakie heel, but double seems crazy... And Paul, that's sick you were a pioneer. Hard flips were not my thing. Never learned those... My things were Big Flips (3flips with 180 body varial), Fakie Big Flips, obviously 3flips, and double kick flips. I was always really afraid to get hurt, so I avoided anything bigger than a 5 stair. That's the most I've ollied. KIckflipped 4.. Never did a hand real.. Loved owning a pair of testicles too much for that.

This is cool. Pretty fun reminiscing about my skate days. Thanks for sharing, guys.
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by boyle » 22 Feb 2015 05:02

I was more into inline in my youth, but skated a bit during that time. I've recently been getting back into both quite a bit. They have a lot of good skateparks in this city.

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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by Allan » 22 Feb 2015 11:52

I got my first setup when I was 9, in 1985. Lived and breathed it for a few years, but my folks made me quit when I was 13 cause I wouldn't wear a helmet and they hated the culture. When I was 16 and started driving, I started up again and it was my primary cultural identity for 10 years or so. For my time I was relatively good. I couldn't really do a lot of flip tricks, but I could olley shopping carts and did big stair sets.

In 2011 I was rolling along on my way to shred and hit a crack in the pavement. I broke both my arms; right wrist, left elbow. That and a couple of other factors led to the worst year of my life so far.

It changed something about skating for me deep inside and I've not really skated since then. I've got a brand new setup sitting in my closet if I ever get inspired again, but I think I might be done with it. It will always be a big part of who I am though, as it has informed so many other aspects of my life and style.

Skateboard is awesome.
Last edited by Allan on 23 Feb 2015 13:00, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Bad math; I was 9 in '85 not '89...

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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by F[uns]tylin' Eclectic » 22 Feb 2015 23:03

Cool stuff everyone. I agree, Allan, skating shaped me to be who I am. I still think about it all the time. I have the blood of a skateboarder, always will. I just don't to donate that blood to the cement anymore...
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by Derek » 23 Feb 2015 12:26

Mainly skated whilst in middle-school (~4 years), my boards kept getting stolen so I never pursued it further once a few of them were jacked. Highlight of my "career" was hitting Impossibles fairly easy, favorite skateboard trick, hands down. Fakie shizz and Heels were flowin' too. Was a big fan of Pogo stuff, till the tail snapped and my board violated me. Too big of a weenie for gaps, stairs, or rails. Where my Casper Flip fans at?

Paul, you're such a hipster ;)
Dayum, Kyle, double Heels!? And, I know the curse of not knowing the 360 Flips.
Fakie Big Flips, Nick? My man.
My word, Allan, that's quite the Ollie! Think I maxed out on like 3 ft. What was the biggest set of stairs you cleared?

You dudes Goofy, Regs, or both?
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by Kylescook » 23 Feb 2015 13:40

yeah Allan that is a gnarly ollie. I maxed around 3ft like Derek. I think 6 stairs is the biggest i've ever done. 4's and ledges were my favorite for busting 180's and grabs down. I'm a goofy footed skater. Never learned switch.
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by F[uns]tylin' Eclectic » 23 Feb 2015 19:52

Sick, I like how we have this little mini community inside an already mini community haha I had no idea you skated, Derek, that's awesome. I was bad at Impossibles. Kyle, 6 is Hella respectable. Stairs weren't my thing. I ollied 5, kickflipped 4. Oh yeah, and I skated Mongo lol. My friends' other name for Mongo was "Shit Foot". I was a Shit Foot. That's one thing that held me back in skating..

And Allan, I can definitely understand why you were good at high ollies. lol Shopping carts, though... That's huge.
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by christisgodlike » 25 Feb 2015 17:34

I was definitely a hybrid freestyler/street skater. I did do stair sets for a while, but only when my tricks were feeling on and nothing huge. I made the mistake when I was young to try to hit tricks off of things before I had them on lock (frontside flip a 6 set, broken metatarsal).

I was probably at my best when I was 19/20 and surprisingly I was skating in old reebok basketball shoes that I never wore from highschool. I didn't have money for new shoes so I learned all my tricks with these hi tops. Best shoes I have ever skated with hands down. It was funny cause I would roll up to spots with these shoes and everyone would look at me like 'what a noob.' Then I would show them some double underflip tricks and they would usually pipe down haha.

So one time I rolled up to a skate spot and went on a 32 trick run. I landed like 6 new moves in this run. Nothing crazy just like nosegrind 180 out both ways or nose grind kick flip/heel flip out. I was feeling my noseblunts and blunts so I decided to kickflip out of one. I landed the blunt kickflip but then hyperextended my ankle and bad news. I tried to skate for the next 4 years but my ankle has definitely hindered me. And I have never felt completely safe on a board since.

I would love it if I will able to get back on a board full force someday. Nothing feels better than just pushing and hitting something then keep on pushing. Its pretty much what defined me for 16 years. I think I am trying to use footbag as a replacement ha.

Favorite tricks to land - Smith grind, Nose grind,( shuv-it backfooted double under varialflip), heelflip varials, 360 ollies/kickflips.

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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by christisgodlike » 25 Feb 2015 17:39

O and I also love tailslides

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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by christisgodlike » 25 Feb 2015 17:55

https://instagram.com/p/zhjHGzi8OO/?modal=true

this instagram pic was from when I used to skate. My friend was pretty big into photography so he would come out every now and then. Nose grind the shorter side of the picnic table. (This was a particularly large picnic table for me at the time)

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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by Steve Lanza » 19 Apr 2015 18:39

huh, just stumbled on this now, i think ill post an old video or somethin

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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by F[uns]tylin' Eclectic » 20 Apr 2015 18:04

I just started skating again. After I quit skating, it's always felt like I was missing an arm or something. It's a part of me, just like footbag is a part of me. I don't plan on doing big gaps and stair sets and risking my bones anymore, but flip tricks/flat ground/riding is still fun. I bought my friend's old board from him last night for 20 bucks, which was really really cheap. I might post a picture later. It's an oldschool zig-zag.

Steve, I'd love to see some old footage.

Everyone here can relate to this, I think... When you're sitting in your house and you hear someone's wheels rolling on the cement... I always get a flashback when I hear that.
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by Kylescook » 29 May 2015 18:17

I went to the skatepark under the bridge down in the city today. They're tearing it down soon to rebuild the bridge so me and a few friends from high school drank some beers and skated for a while. It was a surprisingly good session. Hit double heelflip a few times, half cab heelflip, 360 shove-it, full cab, and some fakie 540, 720, and 900 manual spins or whatever you call them. I also hit some good footbag combos while I was there but i'll put those over in my footblog
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by C-Fan » 05 Jun 2015 11:59

Steve Lanza wrote:huh, just stumbled on this now, i think ill post an old video or somethin
Yeah, old (or new!) footage of footbaggers skating would be cool.

I bought my first skateboard this year, at the tender age of 35. I'm waiting for USO and Worlds to be over before I try it out at all, but for a new skater who has no experience whatsoever, do you guys have any tips on how to learn or what to try?

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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by Kylescook » 05 Jun 2015 12:15

Ken,
I would say the basic kicks equivalent to skateboarding would be learning to push, roll, turn, stop, ollie(toe stall equivalent), and just generally becoming comfortable with the new space. From there typical begining tiltless tricks would be kickflip, heelflip, frontside and backside 180, nollie, shove-it, manual, nose manual. First google search actually provided a fairly descriptive video of beginner concepts
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Re: Footbaggers Who Used to Skateboard

Post by F[uns]tylin' Eclectic » 05 Jun 2015 15:30

I read that, Ken haha That's cool though, I think that's what got me wanting to skate again.

And Ken, as far as tips to get started, riding is pretty easy right away, but learning to Ollie is tough.. Best advice is to stand in front of a tennis court fence and hold on while making several hundred attempts at Ollies.

Also remembered that at PSU jam III, Zach Jahner and I were doing 3 flips together at the shred site haha that was pretty cool.
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