I’m not saying follow my example okay disclaimer please do not get arrested and say deja told me to come here and and do this hello my loves the time has come I’m going to show you how to find great places to roller skate and I’m going to
Share some safety tips that are going to help you out along the way one of the questions that I get most often is deja you find these great places to roller skate to which my response is and always will be keep them on you okay keep your
Skates on you I’m not even kidding some of my favorite places that I’ve been able to skate I’ve only actually been able to skate them once or twice and it was because I had skates in my car or on my person and honestly I feel like that made the experience that much better
There’s this song that I love by John craigy and he says the perfect song is the one that you only got to sing once and why is that true for skate spots as well some spots I will never be able to touch again but you know what I got it
At least one time and it’s mine I captured that and it’s like a Pokémon like it’s mine forever and no one can take it away even if I’m not allowed to skate there anymore it still belongs to me some of these places I only got once
And it was just because I was out and about and I had my skates on my person which leads me to my next tip explore you’re going to have to explore baby you’re going to have to get out the car and you’re going to have to
Move around because one of the best ways to discover good skate spots is by driving around looking at surfaces and searching online like I’m talking be looking at a surface and being like can I skate this is this skateable that is how you do it honestly I manifested a
Beautiful roller skate spot you’ve seen it in all of my videos the only way that I found that was I was actually biking I was riding a bike somewhere just exploring my city and I stumbled upon it so don’t be afraid to explore if your door the Explorer backpack is a little
Bit out of practice don’t even trip dog start by searching local par Parks bike paths Greenways things like that most of the time these offer pretty smooth surfaces they offer designated areas specifically for roller skating also make sure to check out your local Park and Recreation website you’d be so
Surprised at what you can find you can also use things like trail apps I use all Trails pretty frequently make sure you just drill it down specifically for paved roads and it’ll show you paved roads that are in your area that are going to be perfect for you to go Trail
Skating on don’t be afraid to look up forums like our skating on Reddit where you’ll be able to find specific recommendations for new skaters you can even type a message and say hey I’m from this part of town and I roller state sorry I don’t know I’ve been in this out too
Long look up on Reddit for a recommendation from fellow roller skaters get it straight from the horse’s mouth ooh also don’t sleep on your local community centers either a lot of them will actually allow you to skate on like their basketball courts and a lot of those basketball courts are inside so
You don’t even need to be worried about the weather there were a couple community centers that I went to back in Nashville that actually had a designated day for skating which was great because it was like Wednesday at 1 so only all the old heads were in there and you have
Like the entire skate floor to yourself if they don’t have a designated skate night ask a clothed mouth does not get fed maybe you know practice practice those speaking skills and ask if you can start a skate night at that specific location you would be surprised at how many doors will open
For you next tip make sure you’re not overlooking any of the hidden in plain sight gyms so things like tennis courts basketball courts parking garages are a huge favorite of mine if you live in America and you’re not in a rural area chances are there are large empty parking lots
Especially during off peak hours that are just waiting for you they are waiting for you to come and lay your eight wheels on them and they provide ample enough space and time and opportunity to fully practice your skills you just want to make sure that they’re going to be free of traffic that
You’re not becoming an obstacle or there’s no obstacles that you would be afraid of running into any cars or anything like that and just make sure you have a smooth service and you’re good to go anywhere you can get practicing get it in if you’re a little
Bit iffy on if you’re allowed to skate somewhere I’m not saying follow my example okay disclaimer please do not get arrested and say deja told me to come here and and do this I’m not saying follow my example but I usually take the approach of just going for it and then
Just asking for forgiveness later some people might think that this approach is entitled but I’m very respectful and I will never go out of my way to damage anybody’s property or anything like that people think like oh the wheels will damage this no they won’t it’s no I used
To get that a lot when I was roller skating in Nashville like people would complain and be like and not even the people who were on the tennis courts by the way just people on the internet would be like oh that’s destroying the tennis court and it’d be like bro so
This is Nashville okay this tennis court has as many potholes as the freeway I promise you I promise you that my gummy ass outdoor wheels are not doing any damage have several seats and straight up y’all believe me believe me when I say this I have been able to skate in
Some beautiful places because I wasn’t looking around for someone to ask so they could just tell me no I’m like tearing up right now because I’ve skated in gorgeous places that are like what like gorgeous places in my experience if you’re polite you can get into some
Pretty cool spots if someone asks you to leave then kindly pack up and leave don’t act entitled don’t act like you were here first or nobody’s taking the somebody says leave this space that you didn’t know if you were supposed to be in in the first place that’s okay smile
Pat yourself on the back a little bit because at the end of the day that place still belongs to you it belong to you for however long even if it was 10 minutes it was yours for those 10 minutes you’d be grateful never be entitled always leave a space better
Than you found it if there’s trash on the floor pick it up on your way out and in the 2 years that I have been skating I have never had one nasty interaction on my skates and again I’ve skated in some pretty incredible places and people will say oh it’s pretty privilege it’s
Polite privilege okay you get so much more with honey than you do vinegar okay I promise you next skate spot indoor roller rinks indoor roller rinks are a fantastic option they give you a controlled environment you’re going to run into skaters from all skill levels so if you’re getting really beat up on
Yourself about your current level of skills go to the roller skating rink immerse yourself with the beginners so when you feel comfortable and you understand that everybody’s going to go through this process I’m so sorry baby you are special but you’re not that special to where you don’t have to
Struggle at first anything worth doing is worth doing badly don’t even trip dog go to the indoor skating rink they have adult skating nights and you know what we love an early morning roller skate rank session we love an early bird special I’m trying to be in there in the
We hours one of my mantras is you can have anything you want if you’re willing to wake up early enough for it okay if you’re worried about all those people get up early go to the rink when there’s not going to be that many people go they
Have those times go pull it up research your local roller rink check out their schedules and I’m pretty sure you’re going to find something either early bird or maybe even like family hour I know that adult night at the rink can be intimidating okay your girl skates alone
Majority of the time and whenever I go it’s just I know that it’s so much fun I know that it’s so much fun but what I find is skating is really meditative for me and when I’m having to like Dodge people or you know oh skate this way
Skate that way it’s just too much for me it’s too much for me but if I go to a new city and I can’t find places to skate some cities are like lowkey UNS skat I’m not no cap there’s some cities that are rough to find spots in but you
Can almost always rely on having an indoor roller skating rink which is a great way to skate regardless of weather conditions don’t be afraid to get creative don’t be afraid to explore don’t be afraid to ask fellow roller skaters where are some good places but then more importantly like I would just
Keep them in your car and start driving around like ooh is that skat can I skate that if you’re skating outside and you’ve got a good pair of outdoor Wheels you are pretty much Unstoppable if anything I guess I would double tap that is if you are going to be skating
Outside looking for outdoor spots make sure you have a good pair of outdoor Wheels because it will change the entire game for you or it can make it absolutely miserable depending on what you’re wearing additional tip don’t be afraid to like DIY some stuff together if you’re really really having a tough
Time finding a skate spot don’t be afraid to like make your own skate floor when I first started skating I had no problem spending you know 30 bucks at Home Depot get some flooring and piece something together I’ll drop that video in the description if you want some
Additional guidance on how to do that and maybe I’ll make a little longer video for it but when I first started started skating I spent my time in three places the most an abandoned airport in Nashville which was actually pretty cool there was a tennis court around the
Corner from my house and I must have put so many hours on that tennis court and then the third was in my house straight up in my kitchen I had like this little small teeny tiny space to practice Crazy Legs and that was it okay so don’t think
That you need to have you know a smooth concrete Palace to learn how to skate maybe you will get lucky or you’ll manifest some like that and it’ll pop into your life and it’ll be amazing but in the meantime baby don’t be afraid to just pop into your kitchen don’t be
Afraid to pop onto your porch and learn how to Roller skape so now that we got some ideas about how to find these locations let’s focus on safety so whether you’re a beginner or you’ve got some time in you should always make safety one of your priorities if you haven’t checked out my
Video on Skate safety that includes how to fall and the gear that you are probably going to need or that you definitely want to have as a brand new beginner skater go ahead and check it out this section in particular is going to be focused on safety but more
Specifically being mindful of your surroundings when I say being mindful of your surroundings I think it’s super important for you to start skating in controlled environments so rinks tennis courts things like that so that you can eventually gradually progress to more challenging terrains and then other
Obstacles that will be coming at you so things like pedestrians or bikes and cars all of these things can become obstacles when you’re on skates like they’re obstacles when you’re off skates but they’re really obstacles when you’re on skates so you want to make sure that you’re trying to find empty spaces
Whenever possible to make life just that much easier for you if you’re constantly worried about if I’m going to dodge a child or a bike or a car one is going to prevent you from getting into a flow state but two it’s just you’re just going to be anxious you’re just going to
Be anxious and you’re probably going to be checking more for those external obstacles than you are with paying attention to your body if you’re not tired of hearing me say this yet you will eventually be skating is all about being mindful of your body and what is
Happening and if you are so focused on your surroundings baby you can’t focus with what’s going on right here right here focusing on empty spaces it’s also going to make you less anxious of people watching you if if that’s something that makes you uncomfortable but I’m telling
You right now okay I’m telling you right now that if you stick with your girl and you watch my videos on how to learn how to roller skate one you’re going to be fire okay okay you’re going to be fire which means that people are going to watch you skate all
Right I’m going just give you that caveat right now so I don’t know how you feel about it but if you keep watching my stuff you’re going to be fire on skates which means that people are going to watch you skate you’re going to come
And flow into a room and people going to be like oh my God who who is this dazzling dazzling light that is just rolling around on eight wheels oh my God I I want want this Joy I want to see this Joy I want to be a part of this Joy
I’m telling you that this is what’s going to happen I need you to trust me if that’s not something you want stop watching my videos cuz it’s infectious watching someone enjoy themselves on a pair of quad skates it does something to people don’t take my word for it just
Know that it will definitely happen Okay it like scrambles people’s brains or something like like seeing a dog walk on its H leg like that is what’s going to happen if you’re not in a space where it’s going to be empty people are going to be watching you skate so I skate
Alone I would say 98% of the time I skate alone and skating alone definitely has its risk I cannot stress how important it is for you to be aware of your surroundings especially if you wear over the- ear headphones like I do it can get really dangerous really quickly
Having Eight wheeel strapped to your feet and then not having the ability to hear what is going on a lot of times you guys will see police officers in my videos I have no problem with the police officers being in my videos because that means that I can just like turn my brain
Off and chill like we have a reciprocal relationship to where it’s like honestly having your own personal security guards I’m okay with that because I had a stalker at one point in time that made my life a living hell not everybody’s going to be comfortable with that but when it comes
To the lesser of two evils I’m going go I’m going go with them cuz I already know what’s what’s popping over here so be very very mindful of your surroundings if I’m in a place that has more people than I’m used to or it’s kind of like Shifty I won’t use my over
Ear headphones I’ll either use earbuds and take one out pull one ear off or I have these really cute Rayband glasses these are really neat because they play music but they also allow me to still kind of hear the ambient noise around me so I don’t feel incapacitated or
Anything like that you want to definitely want to be able to get into a flow but you also want to be aware okay we live in a society I have a rule that if someone in my immediate vicinity is breaking the rules of society I will
Leave okay I’m out for me a rule of society is anything that we have agreed upon as a society as being socially acceptable so if someone is screaming at the top of their lungs and they’re swinging a crowbar while walking down the street and that my friends is roller skating
101 sometimes you see people that looks crazy D this guy’s being a weirdo I’m going to get in my car and it’s time to go I’m out do not pass gold do not collect $200 doesn’t matter if I just put my skate on doesn’t matter if I was
There first I’m out okay no questions asked I’ll find a new Escape spot and so that might be the biggest thing that I will tell you when it comes to being aware of your surroundings is do not hesitate to bounce if you do not feel good energy yes it might be an
Inconvenience taking off your skates after you just put them on but death is way more inconvenient so okay sorry sorry we had to go dark there but it’s very very important that we are aware of our surroundings finally the last last tip that I’m going to
Leave you with for safety is because I think it’s so easy to forget this is roller skating is exercise okay it’s so easy to forget it CU it’s so fun and you’re dancing and you’re you know it’s exercise so you need to stay fueled and you need to stay hydrated take breaks
Whenever you need to listen to your body I cannot stress this enough stretch hydrate fuel yourself listen to your body understand that your body needs fuel it needs gas to do the things that you want it to do so eating properly is making sure that you have gas skating
Is legitimately exercise and it is physically demanding I’ve seen people pass out in the heat while skating because they forgot that they were working out they weren’t drinking any water they were so excited to skate they ran out of the house without eating any food is the same is running out of the
House without gas in your car I’m guilty of this myself there have definitely been a couple times where I have not properly fueled throughout the day and I’m still pushing my body as if I had and what usually happens is when I get out onto that skate floor I’m falling a
Lot more way more I fall way more when I’m not properly fueled and when I’m not properly hydrated So to avoid having to stop or slow down when you don’t want to I am asking you with all of the loving kindness that I can muster to prioritize
Your self-care that’s it my friends This Is Where I Leave You hopefully you have some good ideas about how to find some great skate spots and you have some important things to be aware of or be mindful of when it comes to being aware of your surroundings and other safety
Measures that will help make your skate experience as enjoyable as possible and I will see you in the next one
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