Skate or Melt: A Summer Survival Guide for Skaters Who Refuse to Chill

Let’s be honest — skating in summer is like skating inside a toaster. The ledge is too hot to sit on, your griptape smells like a gym sock left in a microwave, and someone in your crew is always “cooling off” by lying shirtless under a tree like they just crossed a desert.

But quitting? Not an option.
If anything, the heat just separates the posers from the psychos.

So whether you’re pushing through 37°C pavement in Berlin, melting in Madrid, or just trying not to die on the walk to the park — here’s a survival guide for those of us too stubborn to take a break.

1. Hydrate Like You're Sponsored by Water

Yes, water. Not Club-Mate. Not a lukewarm beer from someone’s tote bag.
Real water.
You’re basically sweating out your will to live, so don’t act surprised when you start seeing double after your third slam. Fill up a bottle. Freeze it if you’re feeling elite. Bonus points if it doesn’t leak on your grip.

2. Dress for the Session, Not the Drip

That grey Thrasher hoodie is not your friend today.
Go light, go loose, and maybe embrace the fact that your armpits will look like a wet Rorschach test. Some say tank tops are cursed — but when it’s pushing 40°C, the curse is heatstroke.

Socks optional. Deodorant? Highly encouraged.

3. Watch the Griptape

You ever step on your board and it squishes? Congrats, your grip is now officially a hot yoga mat.
Try to avoid leaving your board in direct sun unless you want it to warp into a potato chip. And if your shoes start to melt mid-tre flip — well, that’s just character.

4. Find the Shade, Worship the Shade

Unless you’re skating the Death Valley of skate plazas, there’s always a little patch of mercy somewhere. Trees, overpasses, abandoned buildings — they’re your new home base.

Pro tip: If there’s a breeze, don’t question it. Just go wherever it’s blowing and pray the spot follows.

5. Night Missions Are Elite

You’re not 12 anymore. You don’t have to skate at noon.
Wait until golden hour, or better yet, start the session at 10pm. The ground’s cooler, the streets are quieter, and the whole vibe shifts.
It’s less “sunburn and sweat rash” and more “cinematic VX clip that never makes it into the edit.”

6. Ice Cream Counts as Recovery Food

You’ve earned it. You’re out here risking heat exhaustion to film a no-comply shove on a crusty bank. Get that ice cream. Eat it in the shade. Let it drip on your shirt. You’re disgusting anyway — might as well lean into it.

Final Word: Embrace the Suffering

Summer skating isn’t clean. It’s not cute. It’s sweat-soaked socks, cracked lips, and someone passing around a bottle that was once cold and is now just… vibes.

But this is the stuff you’ll remember. The loud sessions, the long shadows, the feeling of landing a trick right before the sun disappears behind the buildings. The stuff that makes you say, “That day sucked… but it kinda ruled.”

So yeah. Skate or melt.
Because chilling is for people who don’t know how good it feels to land something while your face is actively on fire.