Why 40 somethings like to skate

The first wave of skateboarding hit the Uk in 1975. Skateboarding was, simply, an on-land version of surfing, and it's appeal was the same as surfing: the freedom of expression, the physical dexterity, the coolness, and most importantly for young urban Brits stuck in the grim mid-seventies, the glamour of sunny California.

The trick was to emulate surfing on dry land, so we carved up and down hills, created ramps and downhill runs, and after a few years there were parks, real concrete parks like the ones we saw in the magazines available to us. The rise of skating also coincided with a couple of long hot summers, so it was easy for us 10-year olds to pretend we were in California.

But then it all went away, suddenly and completely. If you're a young skater reading this, you will have no comprehension of what I mean. Over night, skateboarding was gone. the parks shut down, the magazines folded, the shops stopped stocking boards. All your friends stopped skating and bought BMX or rollerblades or got into computers. We were left high and dry. I carried on into the early eighties, and I'd travel 15 miles to my nearest park, and I would be the ONLY skater there - everyone else was on roller skates or bikes.

This wouldn't happen today. The internet keeps cults alive. If skating takes a tumble, you will still be able to find forums online and skate websites shipping products all over the world. But if you were an eleven year old boy living in the West of England in 1980 these options didn't exist. It was like being chucked by a girlfriend you still loved. I'm guessing that's why skateboarding is so precious to people of my generation - we can reignite the old flame. We never wanted to leave skateboarding. It left us.