Hi Jamie,

I recently got sidelined from both skating and snowboarding via a fractured wrist. Overall I think I’ve been dealing pretty well, but there are times when I’m going out of my mind and I’m incredibly tempted to say “Fuck it, I’m going to skate!” Have you ever had an injury like this, and what did you end up doing to deal with the boredom?

-Marika

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Hey Marika,

Sorry to hear you’re broke off! That is probably the only part of skateboarding that I do not like. It’s pretty much assumed though that you’ll get some scrapes and bruises when skating, but having an injury severe enough that doctors tell you that you cannot skate until you’re healed is a major bummer. I’ve had to sit-out on some sessions due to injury and health issues, and it’s not my favorite thing to do. I haven’t really broken anything, but I have struggled with depression for a lot of my life and sometimes that makes it difficult to leave the house or even my bed. I’ve found some ways to substitute other activities for skateboarding when I’ve been unable to actually go skateboard.

My favorite thing to do when I’m not skating (that still fills the need to have skateboarding in my life), is editing videos. You can have a blast with whatever basic video editing program your computer comes with, and whatever footage of your friends you can gather. Usually I end up filming because I’m too bodily hurt to skateboard, or I’m just not feeling it on that day. I used to carry around a GoPro for that, but eventually the iPhone’s camera’s filming quality became on par with the GoPro’s, so I usually just use that. That being said, I’m usually sitting on a few hours of footage to go through, stacked away in a folder on my computer for a rainy day, or a bummy day. That’s when I sit down in my room and watch my friends (and myself) skating, and find ways to set the clips together to some music. If you don’t have friends around that you can film, you can always bother your friends to send you clips! Putting together skate videos is very time consuming and mentally stimulating, maybe that can get you through the healing time for your injury.

If editing videos isn’t your thing, there are so many skate videos on YouTube to watch. You can very well get lost in a YouTube hole viewing whatever kind of skating you want, for hours—possibly days. My favorite skater on YouTube is Dylan Jones, his channel is called Dylan J. Definitely check it out, there’s a lot of oddball skateboarders out there who can keep you entertained, and distract you from the injury that keeps you from getting out there yourself.

Yes, I have gone out there when I knew I shouldn’t. I got into a car accident last year and messed up my ankle pretty bad. I was supposed to stay off of it for a few weeks, but within a few days, I bought an ankle brace, and went out to skate with my friends. Feeding myself innumerable ibuprofen to get through a skate session wasn’t exactly good for me or my liver, and my ankle never completely healed. My take on it is, if you know you shouldn’t be skating, don’t go skate. Hope you heal up soon!

- Jamie (the fiend formerly known as Ed)

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