Dublin Skate Parks

                               Dublin Skate Parks

     There arnt very many skate parks in Dublin. The few there are, are Bushy park, Monkstown skate park, The skate park of dublin, Lucan Skatepark, Swords Skatepark, Blanchardstown skatepark. For a full list vist http://www.wreckless.ie/stuff.html


Bushy Park

 
This is the skate park I skate at. It has a large bowl in the middle, with things like ramps and rails around it. It is usually packed with bmx's so it is not ideal if you want to skate the bowl. I go to this park dues to it being the only one close to me.

Monkstown skate park

People say this is the best skatepark in Dublin. You have to pay an entry fee and it is a mostly skateboarder park. It has many ramps aswell as rails, perfect for any skater.

SOFD

This is an indoor park, also with a entrance fee. It has many different things to skate, so again is perfect for all skaters. It is usually very packed due to it being one of the few indoor parks.

Skate Brands

                                       Brands

There are many different brands in skateboarding, in this post I will talk about pro brands. Examples of these are Element, DC, Etnies ect.


Element

Element is an american brand. It was set up in 1992 by Johnny Schillereff. It was oringinally called "Underworld Element Skateboarding" the "Underwood" section of the name was later dropped. It does everything from clothes and footwear to wheels and decks.  

DC

DC Shoes is an American company that specializes in footwear for sports including skateboarding and snowboarding. The company also manufactures apparel, bags and accessories.

The company was founded in 1993 by Ken Block and Damon Way, and is based in Huntington Beach, California, United States .DC originally stood for "Droors Clothing", DC no longer has ties to Droors and is simply DC Shoes.

                                           

Etnies

Etnies is an American footwear brand based in Lake Forest, California. Etnies is primarily a maker of footwear designed for skateboarding, but in more recent years they have also created shoes and clothing for snowboarders, BMX and motocross riders, as well as surfers. Started in France in 1986, the brand's original name was Etnics.
                                    

Plan B

In 1991, skateboarding was entering a new era. Some of the best new pros wanted to start something that was different than the majority of skateboard companies and reflected their personal attitudes and views. That company was called Plan B. Plan B features top of the line, authentic products and one of the best all around skateboard teams in history.

                                                   

Tricks

                                     Skate Tricks

There are many different types of skateboard tricks. Skateboarding tricks may vary greatly in difficulty.

Ollie: Is jumping with the board with the front wheels leaving the ground first. This motion is attained with a snap of the tail (from the backfoot) and sliding your front-foot forward to level it out. A lot of technical tricks
are made from this basic trick, such as kickflips, heelflips, varial kickflips..ect. A nollie is when the back wheels leave the ground first or in skateboard terms it's a switch-stance ollie riding fakie.

Grabs: Involve floating in the air while using a hand to hold the board your feet or by not keeping constant and careful pressure on the board with the feet to keep it from floating away. In the1970s and has expanded to include the bulk of skateboarding tricks to this day, including the ollie and all of its variations.

Grinds and Slides: These invlove traveling along a rail, ledge or on some coping on your trucks or deck. Grinds involve using the trucks of the board and can be done in very differenet ways, using one truck using both or even angling the truck. Slides involve the deck, they can be done on the tail, middle or nose of the deck.

Flip tricks: These are a subset of tricks which are all based on the Ollie. An example is the kickflip, the most widely known and performed flip trick. You can spin the board around many different ways, and even combine several spins in to one trick. These tricks are the most popular among street skateboarding, although skaters with other styles perform them as well. Combining spins and flips is extremely popular

today. A common trick at today's competitions is called a treflip. A treflip is the combination of a skateboard spinning 360 degrees and a kickflip.

Skateboards Parts

     Parts of a skateboard:

 A skateboard has many different parts to it. There is parts are made of wood, metal and plastic and they range in price.


The Deck:

The deck is the wooden part of the skateboard, which you stand on. A layer of sandpaper called grip tape is placed on top of this, this grips your shoes to the top of the deck. The grip tape also allows you to trick on the skateboard. The deck can be the most expensive part of a skateboard setup, and can break the quickest due to being made from wood. Generally decks are made of 8 layers of maple wood.

 

The Trucks:

These are the part that connects the wheels to the deck. The trucks are connected to the bottom of the deck, by leaning on the deck you push down on the trucks, turning the skateboard. You have 2 of these on a skateboard. These will last a long time due to being made of metal. Grind tricks are done on this part of the skateboard.

Extras in the trucks:

In the trucks you have the hanger, bushings the kingpin and the baseplate, shown in the diagram below.



The Wheels:

This part is very self-explanatory, skate wheels are very small and fit onto the end of the trucks. They are made from different types of plastic and can last for a long time.

The Bearings:

The bearings are placed into the wheels, two bearings go into each wheel. The bearings rotate around the axle of the truck. These can be a cheap part and are very important.



The Hardware:

The hardware is the cheapest but most important part, it holds the trucks to the deck completing your skateboard setup.

Skateboarding Pro's

                                     Skateboarding Pro's

      

          My favourite skateboards are Chirs Cole ->

<-Paul Rodriguez,

<-Rob Dyrdek and Tom Schaar -> 

                                                                                                                                                             

           Chris Cole:

His main sponsers are DC, Zero and Thunder. He turned pro in 2000, he has earned awards such as Skater of the Year" in both 2005 and 2009. He has his own skate brand called Omit. He has won may skate contests, like Dew Tour, Maloof Money Cup.

          Paul Rodriguez:

Also know as P-rod. He main sponsors are  Nike Skateboarding, Plan B Skateboards, Mountain Dew, and Venture Trucks. He turned pro in 1999. He has won a total of six medals at the X Games, four of them gold.

        

         Rob Dyrdek:

His main sponsors are DC Shoes, Alien Workshop, silver trucks, and Monster Energy. He turned pro in 1990. He is now more famous for his TV shows and competitions then his skateboarding. He made up the skateboarding contest "Street Legue" which is a contest many pros enter in. Dyrdek made a movie "Street Dreams" which he also stared in.

       

        Tom Schaar:

Tom is one of the youngest pro skaterboarders. Unlike the other pro's I have writen about he is a vert skateboarder. In March 2012, at the age of 12, he landed the first 1080 on a skateboard. He is sponsored by element skateboards. He won X-games Asia in 2012.

Skateboarding

                                   Skateboarding Basics

    Skateboarding is a sport that originated from surfing. It used to be a basic plank of wood with roller skate wheels, but now they are much more advanced involving many different parts. Today skateboarding is completely different from what is was. Skateboarding is all about tricks, all of these tricks come from the "Ollie" which is the first trick a skateboarder will learn. Other tricks can range from the skateboard flipping 360 degrees under you, to you grabbing it in a certain way.