How to Be a Skateboarder

You may already be learning how to skateboard, but there's more to being a skateboarder than knowing a few tricks. Skateboarding can be considered both a lifestyle and a subculture, so here's how to be considered part of it.

1. Learn how to skateboard. This should be obvious but it's worth emphasizing. You'll never be accepted as a skater in the long run if you can't back up your behavior with your skills. To learn how to skateboard, just ride as much as possible. To learn what a trick is, it might help to play skateboarding games. The Tony Hawk video game series is good, but only the MoCap games. American Wasteland, Project 8 and Proving Ground are the best, because real pro skateboarders motion captured it just for the game. EA Skate also helps, but it's a bit more complex. Just go out and skate!
2. Dress Like a Skater. Dress however you feel comfortable. skate brands are an obvious choice, but remember, just because you dress like a skater, doesn't mean you are. If you only ever wear DC or Adio, you'll probably get called a poser. Don't be afraid to be different. I wear skate clothes AND stuff like Gap and Old Navy. Wear whatever your style is, skateboarding is all about being different, rebelling from the normal, and having fun.
3. Talk Like a Skater. Every subculture has its own lingo. So do skateboarders. Become familiar with skateboarding vocabulary, hang out at the local skateshop or skatepark and see what the kids are saying. Don't overdo it, though. Posers might say it, but skateboarders NEVER say "hang-ten, dude!". "Dude" is a normal word in skateboarding lingo, and you'll probably hear it among skaters as often as "like" and "the".
4. Be Yourself. Skateboarding is all about having fun while being a rebel. But don't say dude in every sentence just because Dude Skater did. Skateboarding is huge. There are punk skaters, rocker skaters, hip-hop skaters, emo skaters, normal skaters and more. Don't be afraid to hop over sub-sub-cultures. I'm a punk/semi-emo/norm skaters. Wear YOUR clothes. Listen to YOUR music. Be YOURself.