The Gym Mentality Is Ruining Skateboarding

At some point in the last ten years, skating got infected by the same brain rot that ruined everything else: grindset culture.

You know what we’re talking about. The "skate every day no matter what" logic. The idea that if you're not filming every trick, you're wasting your time. If you’re not dripping sweat and holding back rage-tears at the end of a session, you’re not doing it right. Rest days? That’s for the weak. Get your reps in.

Where the hell did that come from?

Skating was never supposed to be a training program. It wasn’t designed to be linear, optimized, or productive. And yet, more and more skaters (especially post-Olympics, post-Instagram takeover) are treating it like some kind of athletic self-improvement pipeline. The result? Burnout. Plateauing. And worst of all — not having fun.

Look, there’s nothing wrong with pushing yourself. But skating seven days a week because you think it’ll make you “better” isn’t just physically unsustainable — it’s mentally exhausting. You’ll end up resenting your board. You’ll keep landing the same half-decent tricks over and over. You’ll film mid clips you don’t even want to post. And maybe, if you’re really unlucky, you’ll get hurt — and then what?

Skating isn’t the gym. You don’t "grind for gains." You mess around. You film with your friends. You eat gas station candy and fall on your ass. Some days it clicks. Most days it doesn’t. But that randomness? That’s the magic.

Progress isn’t a straight line, and it doesn’t happen on a schedule. Sometimes skipping a session is the most productive thing you can do. Rest days are where your style grows, where your stoke builds back up. They’re what keep skating fun — and fun is what makes you better.

So next time your brain starts whispering “you have to skate today or you’ll fall behind,” tell it to shut the hell up. Go chill. Watch a skate video. Eat a pizza. You’re not training for war — you’re just trying to land a clean back tail.

And that’s more than enough.