Nearly 60 years ago in California skateboarding or “sidewalk surfing” surfaced. Now this craze is popular throughout kids has rolled into PLHS and taken some students by storm. This select group of students from PLHS have invested hundreds of dollars on boards and equipment in order to fill the void in their need for an adrenaline rush.  

To get started in skateboarding it does not have to break the bank on a board, shoes, and protective gear.  

“I have only bought one board so far and it was a cheap one to get started with,” junior Nathan Heldt said, “it was only 70 dollars.”  

As a young kid many have dreams of being like the pros in the X-Games and skateboarding like them. They wish for a skateboard as gifts for Christmas and their birthdays. This is just the start as they begin to learn tricks, watch YouTube videos for hours on end and grind down the edges of their shoes trying to ollie. This is what fuels their addiction. 

“My cousin did it and when I was little, I wanted to do it too and I was like that’s cool,” junior Dayton Conley said. 

Although teenagers may like skateboarding the feeling is not mutual for most of the community. Skateboarders get a poor representation even if they are not the people normal citizens see them as. To most they look like reckless teenagers making trouble, destroying things, and wasting their time skateboarding when they could have jobs or be doing schoolwork.  

“Because [skateboarders] are seen as hooligans and people don’t understand us, and they go off of stereotypes,” Conley said. 

People would think that a state in the middle of the country supposedly full of farmers and corn would not have skateboarding. Surprisingly the skateboarding community in Nebraska is bigger than most would think. Teens from all around go to different skateparks around the area such as Seymour Smith Park, Roberts Skatepark, and the Bay in Lincoln.  

“[The skating community in Nebraska is] very friendly and very nice,” Conley said. Everyone wants you to improve and everyone wants to help. 

Some students would be scared to get into skating because the other skaters are intimidating. Although they might look mean, as soon as they meet someone they will help with tricks and are just overall friendly people. 

“The skating community in Nebraska is very caring and actually tried to help out anyone trying it for the first time,” Heldt said. 

Skaters are not just these cold blooded adrenaline junkies they are a group of caring and fun people who are open to welcome anyone into their sport and hobby.