Helmet and pads on big transition is the key - also in my mid 30s and I honestly don’t care what anyone thinks anymore I’m out to have fun and progress and the knee pads and helmet help so much to get those tricks you always wanted but would never try without them
I’m 45 and will wear all the pads I can. Those who would give you looks aren’t going to help me in and out of the car or pay the bills due to a big slam. You can’t worry about them.
If you can run out of anything ok, good for you, but you won't be able to do it forever and you're going to wish you could have just knee slid instead of getting a broken limb or concussion.
even tho im in my 20s and learning I'm wearing pads. The days of pads being seen as lame is dying out as i personally have noticed. Wearing pads with baggy clothes in my opinion honestly looks pretty sick and having a helmet to personalize just adds character to your style and gives you something fun to work on.
Totally key. I skate in the early mornings and in my area, the schools start late on Wednesdays so Wednesday mornings my local is full of groms who CRUSH transition and they literally all wear pads already, and besides just being kids which means you learn everything fast AF, it's one of the reasons they are able to progress so fast, because they can try stuff and bail without fear of dying on impact.
Hey Zack, big transition skater here. A tip i wish i knew when i first bought the 187 pros is putting a little shoe goo on the stitching of the pads, helps extend the lifespan. Love your uploads keep doing your thing g
I suffered a pretty gnarly injury in September (metal rod in my whole leg bad) and I'm using pads in transition now. They've helped me so much with gaining confidence back and they add so much style 💪🔥💪 I'm having fun and I don't care what others think 💪💪
The full Cut Helmet and the Pads look actually sick when riding big transition. Can‘t wait to see you progress this year. Keep it up and greetings from Switzerland🤙
The step / push before going to the knees is crucial. I learned the hard way by dropping to my knees trying to air a spine and the impact stretched ligaments in my knee. Super painful for weeks, movement limiting for months and it’ll probably be a full year by the time it’s 100% good. Small transition and curbs in the meantime though, still stoked!
I tried to run down the wall of a bowl and got a knee sprain at around age 45 trying to learn transition without knowing the first thing about what I was doing. Thank you so much Zack for providing this information it is really helpful for old dudes like me that grew up street skating before skate parks existed and are trying to learn it past middle age.
Started skating at 31. Ride fully padded. Got most confidence boost out of hip pads - just bought snowboarding ones with built in d3o pads. Now I know that no matter how I fall I will most probably not get a serious injury.
Thanks for the suggestions . When skating pools in the 80s when I was 14 & 15 I never trained myself to land on knee pads so I would twist body to land on hips . Hippers were my most common painful injuries . Constant bruising on top of bruises with abrasions & cuts . I then cut pieces of camping mats used for sleeping on & shoved them in my shorts & tied a rope around them to stay in place . It helped alot . A football girdle with hip & tailbone pads would work to .
Zack, thank you so much you’re transition videos help me tremendously! No offense but your style and trick selection to me is “old guy friendly”, which is why I use your videos, because I feel I can realistically do the tricks you are teaching! I’m a former street sponsored amateur (when I was 13), a year ago (at 47) I’m diving in head first into skating transition. I’m currently on hold for progressing as I await knee scope surgery, but I still skate every day and only do stuff that doesn’t hurt,. I’m still learning carving, got backside down pretty good still working on maintaining speed front side. Keep doing what you are doing because as I heal I look forward to seeing you progress in learning inverts. KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Mash!
you're the man Zack. been following you since typical culture, then you were one of the nicest people to me at WSVT and hyped me up when i was a van barney
I mean, i saw a video of Mark Gonzales doing kneeslides on his TH-cam channel, if Mark Gonzales is doing kneeslides at his age, they sure must be important if you want your skating to have longevity!
Good for you bro! I quit for 10years, but every once in awhile I get my self all hyped up from watching video parts enough to try again , but then when I get to the spot I'm like oh yeah I have to relearn everything bc I'm 37 now! You're doing great man!
I live in that slower process, the battle is half the fun. sick video mate! Working on my transition lately and definitely feeling the need to get some pads for the bigger transitions. Feeling some knee slide practise in my future.
This is a great video man. I bought a pair years ago and ended up running out almost every time then put them in the closet. This video has me dusting them off to try this step into waterfall knee slide technique. You got those inverts in no time!
Thanks to u and Google for feeding your videos up in my list. I am in 40 and can’t believe I used to ride a board. It is so scary and painful when I fall. BTW, can u teach a gardening too? I can’t take my eyes off your garden.
Go for it Zack, we'll look forward to your invert progress video. I do have safety gear but I'll keep the pro knee's in mind. Nice song selection, and the quiet outro shows how early your at the park, up before the bird's.
Thanks for making this video, as a 45 year old street skater from San Francisco. Moved to South Orange County and have been wanting to skate more transition at all the parks. I skate a 8.5 board currently and that seems so wide to me, but the boards I rode in the 80s were much wider. I am interested to see the wider board set up and if it works better. Cheers
Btw man you got skills my man. The grinds are sick. I can barely make it the top of the mini. I can’t yet but I’m getting there. My left knee hurts and my dr. Says I need to work it so I figure pumping on Trang’s will help 🙏
dude hell yea!!! this video is awesome!!! well said about getting used to them and fighting your reflexes to run out even when you have them on. I have those same pads but its so hard to get used to them. Im definitely gonna try to learn to use them more. For sure they make more since on bigger transition and if your used to small transition its hard to get used to them but my ultimate goal is to skate bigger transition soooo yeaaaaa! keep going man! youll get those inverts fs!
Great video as always !Killer Pro’s all the way with BurlyCaps replacement caps (burly are way better than the 187’s they last longer and slide better) 👍🏻 people say they are uncomfortable and hard to get used but it really doesn’t take long . As a 43 year old transition skater My knees are very precious to me. With knee slides you definitely do burn through toecaps and laces on your shoes especially on concrete so I always look for shoes with good toe protection. Definitely using one light step before hitting your knees is the way to break the fall and slide into the transition, you have to avoid the urge to jump away from your board too much so you don’t land in the flat but just enough so you don’t land on your board. I also use triple 8 knee gaskets which help the pads grip your legs better and also provide extra padding, I always skate in shorts too. You are so right about being inside the transition rather than on top, speed wobbles are definitely a thing too so tighter trucks really help! Great to see you on big transition 👍🏻mash😜👊🏼
@@ZackDowdy 👊🏼 you’ll wear through the 187’s soon enough. When you do get some burly 😜 SoCal Skateshop usually have them if buying direct is out of stock .
I'm in my mid-30s and I got back into skating this year after ~13 years off. Never wore pads as a kid, but now I don't skate without them. I don't look "cool," but I'm a chubby dude in my 30s relearning something I was only kind of good at as a teenager, so that ship has sailed lol. Anything that allows me to do this thing I love longer, easier, and more safely I'm all about.
I love skating big transition. As soon as I started wearing knee pads and a helmet I progressed waaaaay faster. It makes me go for stuff I normally wouldnt try because of a tough run out. Also, Im hardly ever sore now vs running out all the time. The 187 pads are forsure the ones to go with but definitely switch out the caps with burly caps because theyre a lot stronger and last longer.
I'm in my 30s and wear only knee pads. In my experience the elastic around the Velcro on the butterfly straps will rip well before the plastic caps wear out.
I’ve got frontside flips over coping And it’s mainly due to skating lots of banks growing up As I started hitting quarter pipes I learned the motion of them pretty good I’ve landed a couple I’ll say your video is inspiring as hell Especially for stepping it up to bigger transitions I live in Tampa I’ve got plenty to get down on Ty for taking your time to make these I love it man 💯
Agreed that they become a bit of a safety net that can break you into a bad habit of bailing. That being said I will not skate vert without them. I would love to progress on big transition like you have, the height really scares me so it's 1 step forward 2 steps back if i'm not on it consistently.
Question Regarding sizes Unfortunately no near shop to try them on, my knee cup size is 15” and i am wonderi g what size should i go for, M or L? What size do you have and what size of your knee is?
Don't feel self-conscious, I'm relearning as a youngster after knowing since middle school. Having to put on pads for the first time was a bit embarrassing but I realized no one really cared since we're at the park for fun :)
Hey Zack, really dig your videos. Especially the diy stuff. It reminds me of skating back in the 90s. Do you know of any other local parks that open early? I just started skating again after close to 18 years off a board. I've been going to some parks that say they are open at dawn, but according to the cities website, most of the parks seem to open at 9-10am. Gonna check out Carmel Valley this weekend, but even their site says 9am. If I could find some good parks that open early I can start going before work.
It's a bit of a challenge, I don't think the Escondido park has a gate yet, could have changed - but I've gone into the skateparks before open and typically the parks & rec person opening doesn't get mad.
@@ZackDowdy yeah there are a couple around with gates that are left open that I've been going too also. I don't mind riding with others, but my daughter is just learning and she's still in the embarrassed phase. Thanks for the reply
Dude I’m 49 and Iv been riding pools and minis again. It’s taken me at least 3 days to just get my balance back again but it is coming. If it was t I would just stop. I think I will invest in pads instead of trying to be cool. Also the parks these days here I. Atlanta are so awesome I’m building my leg strength up and I’m getting there. No near as good as you but I’m going to keep trying If I can just grind and drop in I’ll be happy. I don’t need to do anything crazy. The rush of going around these pools is such a rush it reminds me of the old days.
You will learn it if you commit yourself to it. you need to see it as a puzzle, not a wrestling game. The key is obviously to step down quick with your front foot, but you also need to go straight down and bend the knees so you don't end up rotating forwards too much.
Got the same knee pads just in cool 80s blue and red. Best investment i made to be able to keep skating without destroying my 41 year old knees. Did make the dumbass mistake of dropping to knees out of habit when warming up without them on. I don’t recommend that!
Zack, thank you so much you’re transition videos help me tremendously! No offense but your style and trick selection to me is “old guy friendly”, which is why I use your videos, because I feel I can realistically do the tricks you are teaching! I’m a former street sponsored amateur (when I was 13), a year ago (at 47) I’m diving in head first into skating transition. I’m currently on hold for progressing as I await knee scope surgery, but I still skate every day and only do stuff that doesn’t hurt,. I’m still learning carving, got backside down pretty good still working on maintaining speed front side. Keep doing what you are doing because as I heal I look forward to seeing you progress in learning inverts. KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Mash!
If you tap the like button under the video I'll learn inverts! Do you have any hacks besides this for progressing at skateboarding?
Helmet and pads on big transition is the key - also in my mid 30s and I honestly don’t care what anyone thinks anymore I’m out to have fun and progress and the knee pads and helmet help so much to get those tricks you always wanted but would never try without them
I’m 45 and will wear all the pads I can. Those who would give you looks aren’t going to help me in and out of the car or pay the bills due to a big slam. You can’t worry about them.
If you can run out of anything ok, good for you, but you won't be able to do it forever and you're going to wish you could have just knee slid instead of getting a broken limb or concussion.
even tho im in my 20s and learning I'm wearing pads. The days of pads being seen as lame is dying out as i personally have noticed. Wearing pads with baggy clothes in my opinion honestly looks pretty sick and having a helmet to personalize just adds character to your style and gives you something fun to work on.
Totally key. I skate in the early mornings and in my area, the schools start late on Wednesdays so Wednesday mornings my local is full of groms who CRUSH transition and they literally all wear pads already, and besides just being kids which means you learn everything fast AF, it's one of the reasons they are able to progress so fast, because they can try stuff and bail without fear of dying on impact.
yes I want to make it to work in the morning .
55+ just returned skating after 35 years! Now all padded up + helmet!
Hell yeah brother. Practice safe and carve on!
Hey Zack, big transition skater here. A tip i wish i knew when i first bought the 187 pros is putting a little shoe goo on the stitching of the pads, helps extend the lifespan. Love your uploads keep doing your thing g
I suffered a pretty gnarly injury in September (metal rod in my whole leg bad) and I'm using pads in transition now. They've helped me so much with gaining confidence back and they add so much style 💪🔥💪
I'm having fun and I don't care what others think 💪💪
The full Cut Helmet and the Pads look actually sick when riding big transition. Can‘t wait to see you progress this year. Keep it up and greetings from Switzerland🤙
The step / push before going to the knees is crucial. I learned the hard way by dropping to my knees trying to air a spine and the impact stretched ligaments in my knee. Super painful for weeks, movement limiting for months and it’ll probably be a full year by the time it’s 100% good.
Small transition and curbs in the meantime though, still stoked!
I tried to run down the wall of a bowl and got a knee sprain at around age 45 trying to learn transition without knowing the first thing about what I was doing. Thank you so much Zack for providing this information it is really helpful for old dudes like me that grew up street skating before skate parks existed and are trying to learn it past middle age.
Started skating at 31. Ride fully padded. Got most confidence boost out of hip pads - just bought snowboarding ones with built in d3o pads. Now I know that no matter how I fall I will most probably not get a serious injury.
Thanks for the suggestions . When skating pools in the 80s when I was 14 & 15 I never trained myself to land on knee pads so I would twist body to land on hips . Hippers were my most common painful injuries . Constant bruising on top of bruises with abrasions & cuts . I then cut pieces of camping mats used for sleeping on & shoved them in my shorts & tied a rope around them to stay in place . It helped alot . A football girdle with hip & tailbone pads would work to .
Zack, thank you so much you’re transition videos help me tremendously! No offense but your style and trick selection to me is “old guy friendly”, which is why I use your videos, because I feel I can realistically do the tricks you are teaching! I’m a former street sponsored amateur (when I was 13), a year ago (at 47) I’m diving in head first into skating transition. I’m currently on hold for progressing as I await knee scope surgery, but I still skate every day and only do stuff that doesn’t hurt,. I’m still learning carving, got backside down pretty good still working on maintaining speed front side. Keep doing what you are doing because as I heal I look forward to seeing you progress in learning inverts. KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Mash!
you're the man Zack. been following you since typical culture, then you were one of the nicest people to me at WSVT and hyped me up when i was a van barney
Nice video!!!! Love Hanger 94… I use to ride for them years ago.
I mean, i saw a video of Mark Gonzales doing kneeslides on his TH-cam channel, if Mark Gonzales is doing kneeslides at his age, they sure must be important if you want your skating to have longevity!
Good for you bro! I quit for 10years, but every once in awhile I get my self all hyped up from watching video parts enough to try again , but then when I get to the spot I'm like oh yeah I have to relearn everything bc I'm 37 now! You're doing great man!
Just purchased some today, thanks! Can't wait to practice this and progress.
I live in that slower process, the battle is half the fun.
sick video mate! Working on my transition lately and definitely feeling the need to get some pads for the bigger transitions. Feeling some knee slide practise in my future.
That song is killer man, thanks for turning me onto it. (Great skating too, perfect pairing.)
This is a great video man. I bought a pair years ago and ended up running out almost every time then put them in the closet. This video has me dusting them off to try this step into waterfall knee slide technique. You got those inverts in no time!
dig the honesty..cool n simple
that music is so awesome!
Thanks to u and Google for feeding your videos up in my list. I am in 40 and can’t believe I used to ride a board. It is so scary and painful when I fall. BTW, can u teach a gardening too? I can’t take my eyes off your garden.
Go for it Zack, we'll look forward to your invert progress video. I do have safety gear but I'll keep the pro knee's in mind. Nice song selection, and the quiet outro shows how early your at the park, up before the bird's.
The helmet and pads are a huge confidence boost! I won’t skate bowls without them anymore
First timer at 58 and literally just upgraded to the 187 Killer Pro knee pads.......they are great.
second knee slide, tore my meniscus ahhh! sucks being old. my fault tho, didnt warm up. warm ups an absolute must!
Im starting to skate back after two years always wanted to skate the big bowl but I was too scared. I will try to pad up and go for it🔥
Thanks for making this video, as a 45 year old street skater from San Francisco. Moved to South Orange County and have been wanting to skate more transition at all the parks. I skate a 8.5 board currently and that seems so wide to me, but the boards I rode in the 80s were much wider. I am interested to see the wider board set up and if it works better. Cheers
thankyou for this video Zack this really inspires people to keep progressing
Btw man you got skills my man. The grinds are sick. I can barely make it the top of the mini. I can’t yet but I’m getting there. My left knee hurts and my dr. Says I need to work it so I figure pumping on Trang’s will help 🙏
Great vid mate!
awesome video man
dude hell yea!!! this video is awesome!!! well said about getting used to them and fighting your reflexes to run out even when you have them on. I have those same pads but its so hard to get used to them. Im definitely gonna try to learn to use them more. For sure they make more since on bigger transition and if your used to small transition its hard to get used to them but my ultimate goal is to skate bigger transition soooo yeaaaaa! keep going man! youll get those inverts fs!
Motivating me to give transition airs a go
loving the crail!
Love it Zack, something I want to get into too.
Great video as always !Killer Pro’s all the way with BurlyCaps replacement caps (burly are way better than the 187’s they last longer and slide better) 👍🏻 people say they are uncomfortable and hard to get used but it really doesn’t take long . As a 43 year old transition skater My knees are very precious to me.
With knee slides you definitely do burn through toecaps and laces on your shoes especially on concrete so I always look for shoes with good toe protection. Definitely using one light step before hitting your knees is the way to break the fall and slide into the transition, you have to avoid the urge to jump away from your board too much so you don’t land in the flat but just enough so you don’t land on your board. I also use triple 8 knee gaskets which help the pads grip your legs better and also provide extra padding, I always skate in shorts too.
You are so right about being inside the transition rather than on top, speed wobbles are definitely a thing too so tighter trucks really help! Great to see you on big transition 👍🏻mash😜👊🏼
Never heard about BurlyCaps, just looked them up. Thank you!
@@ZackDowdy 👊🏼 you’ll wear through the 187’s soon enough. When you do get some burly 😜 SoCal Skateshop usually have them if buying direct is out of stock .
I'm in my mid-30s and I got back into skating this year after ~13 years off. Never wore pads as a kid, but now I don't skate without them. I don't look "cool," but I'm a chubby dude in my 30s relearning something I was only kind of good at as a teenager, so that ship has sailed lol. Anything that allows me to do this thing I love longer, easier, and more safely I'm all about.
I have the same knee pads, really good things 🔥🔥🔥
I love skating big transition. As soon as I started wearing knee pads and a helmet I progressed waaaaay faster. It makes me go for stuff I normally wouldnt try because of a tough run out. Also, Im hardly ever sore now vs running out all the time. The 187 pads are forsure the ones to go with but definitely switch out the caps with burly caps because theyre a lot stronger and last longer.
I'm in my 30s and wear only knee pads. In my experience the elastic around the Velcro on the butterfly straps will rip well before the plastic caps wear out.
I’ve got frontside flips over coping
And it’s mainly due to skating lots of banks growing up
As I started hitting quarter pipes I learned the motion of them pretty good
I’ve landed a couple
I’ll say your video is inspiring as hell
Especially for stepping it up to bigger transitions
I live in Tampa I’ve got plenty to get down on
Ty for taking your time to make these I love it man 💯
That's so rad, always wished I could do Frontside Flips
Agreed that they become a bit of a safety net that can break you into a bad habit of bailing. That being said I will not skate vert without them. I would love to progress on big transition like you have, the height really scares me so it's 1 step forward 2 steps back if i'm not on it consistently.
One thing that really helps me with bigger transition is trying to think of it as slow motion.
Thanks
Makes sense
i run the 187 padded knee gaskets. they still hurt when you slam, nice increment.
I've got the 187 killer pros, they rock for transition; bit overkill for street though :P
Question
Regarding sizes
Unfortunately no near shop to try them on, my knee cup size is 15” and i am wonderi g what size should i go for, M or L? What size do you have and what size of your knee is?
Don't feel self-conscious, I'm relearning as a youngster after knowing since middle school. Having to put on pads for the first time was a bit embarrassing but I realized no one really cared since we're at the park for fun :)
Hey Zack, really dig your videos. Especially the diy stuff. It reminds me of skating back in the 90s.
Do you know of any other local parks that open early? I just started skating again after close to 18 years off a board. I've been going to some parks that say they are open at dawn, but according to the cities website, most of the parks seem to open at 9-10am.
Gonna check out Carmel Valley this weekend, but even their site says 9am.
If I could find some good parks that open early I can start going before work.
It's a bit of a challenge, I don't think the Escondido park has a gate yet, could have changed - but I've gone into the skateparks before open and typically the parks & rec person opening doesn't get mad.
@@ZackDowdy yeah there are a couple around with gates that are left open that I've been going too also.
I don't mind riding with others, but my daughter is just learning and she's still in the embarrassed phase.
Thanks for the reply
How old is Zack? I'm 38 and have huge probs with my right leg
Bro nice! Hey I don't want to be the only one wearing pads.
Are knee pads just as important learning mini ramps? Im 27 and never learned to drop in lol
Dude I’m 49 and Iv been riding pools and minis again. It’s taken me at least 3 days to just get my balance back again but it is coming. If it was t I would just stop.
I think I will invest in pads instead of trying to be cool.
Also the parks these days here I. Atlanta are so awesome I’m building my leg strength up and I’m getting there. No near as good as you but I’m going to keep trying
If I can just grind and drop in I’ll be happy. I don’t need to do anything crazy.
The rush of going around these pools is such a rush it reminds me of the old days.
Your mug looked like it had a chip on the lip. Did you grind it?
Haha!! Good eye, old mug for sure
Whatup Zack bro 🛹 🤟🔥🐐
Happy Friday brotha!
Just dont get the killer pad wrist guards. Mine fell apart after only three skate sessions. Got robbed since theyre so expensive too
You mentioned skate park opens at 6am. Do skate parks in the US close at night?
Yeah unfortunately they’re locked up & you can get a trespassing ticket.
@@ZackDowdy Too bad. If you ever get a chance come down for a trip to New Zealand. Skateparks open 24/7
What’s your first invert gonna be?
Layback airs?
I think backside invert feels best so far
Hey! I’m starting to skate more transition and I’m 5’0 ft (my foot is 6.5 mens) what board size would you recommend?
between 7.75 and 8
Longer wheelbase…
I’m 36 and started to skate again
You look like the lead singer of Switch foot 👣
🔥
I like it
i don’t think i’ll ever get over the fear of dropping in it’s been eating away at me for month’s
Try to find something small enough to build up your confidence, it took me a long time.
You will learn it if you commit yourself to it. you need to see it as a puzzle, not a wrestling game. The key is obviously to step down quick with your front foot, but you also need to go straight down and bend the knees so you don't end up rotating forwards too much.
North of 40 and I'm at the point where LANDING tricks now requires recovery time.
is that san pedro cactus in your yard?
Yesir
Got the same knee pads just in cool 80s blue and red. Best investment i made to be able to keep skating without destroying my 41 year old knees. Did make the dumbass mistake of dropping to knees out of habit when warming up without them on. I don’t recommend that!
I have yet to get the good knee pads but that’s a thought I had for when I would not wear them, I might forget and knee slide un-padded. 😬
How about in your mid 50s, after 20 years and I was pretty terrible back then lol
Pads helmet
9 inches? Just big enough for a singles tennis match.
30’s ain’t sh!7. Wait till you hit 40.
if your afraid of getting hurt dont skate :p
Going to be honest, this is basically a long ass video about buying replaceable knee pad caps
Zack, thank you so much you’re transition videos help me tremendously! No offense but your style and trick selection to me is “old guy friendly”, which is why I use your videos, because I feel I can realistically do the tricks you are teaching! I’m a former street sponsored amateur (when I was 13), a year ago (at 47) I’m diving in head first into skating transition. I’m currently on hold for progressing as I await knee scope surgery, but I still skate every day and only do stuff that doesn’t hurt,. I’m still learning carving, got backside down pretty good still working on maintaining speed front side. Keep doing what you are doing because as I heal I look forward to seeing you progress in learning inverts. KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Mash!