Fakies, nollies and kickflips. Skateboard tricks and the lifestyles of the kids who practice them could be a key to fitness into adulthood.
A recent study by Johns Hopkins University researchers said regularly skating, Rollerblading and biking increase children's chances of fighting the flab as they grow. The odds were better than for those who played baseball and other organized, and often seasonal, sports. And better than for those in daily gym class, though those activities also helped kids keep slim.
The study, published in January's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, was one more among the many seeking solutions to the nation's growing obesity epidemic. But it's one researchers believe will fuel the push for more school and after-school activities. And skaters and their parents say it could help the unindoctrinated appreciate the benefits of some ramps and an outlaw spirit.
Media attention to skating usually only comes from events such as Mountain Dew's extreme sports tour at Camden Yards and, this month, from a YouTube video of a city police officer berating and manhandling a skateboarder in Baltimore's Inner Harbor; skateboarding is illegal there.
"Skateboarding is not a sport; it's a way of life, a culture," said Jason Chapman, a longtime skater and the 34-year-old
owner of Charm City Skatepark in Canton. "You don't go out and play one game and go home. You skate all the time and every day. I still skate every day, and I'd hate to see what I'd look like if I didn't."
His park, inside a warehouse abutting an increasingly gentrified neighborhood, was filled on a recent midafternoon with several skateboarders and a few Rollerbladers and bike riders. Most everyone knew everyone's name.
Jimi Hulson, who turns 12 tomorrow, and 12-year-old Jeff Hatfield come regularly to the park. But they also skate in their eastern Baltimore County neighborhoods and the city. "I'll always skate, even if I don't get to go pro," said Jeff.
And they challenged anyone to say skating is not a hard workout. "You've gotta push, use your legs," said Jimi.
Jimi's father, also named Jimi Hulson, said his son picked up a board several years ago and never stopped riding, though he scaled back to play soccer.
The senior Hulson is a lifelong athlete and said he likes skateboarding because he believes it is a good cardiovascular workout, builds muscle strength and confidence, and comes with a community that provides encouragement.
