Skateboarding for Heavier People with a Midlife Crisis

Am I having a midlife crisis? Maybe. Am I very nostalgic? Definitely. Am I parted with my money easily? It’s a given. I recently bought my daughter a skateboard and became smitten with the idea of myself skateboarding again.

I used to do a bit of skateboarding when I was younger but was never really that great at it. Now I’m a 45-year-old, 250lb man with considerably bigger feet and less agility so an off the rack board wasn’t going to be an option. I set out to see what kind of setup I’d need. I did the usual pillage of YouTube videos on the subject and some research on other related blog posts. The following is what I came up for myself. I also invested in a pair of wristguards for the money makers.

Deck and Griptape

I went with a blue Santa Cruz Classic Dot Skateboard Deck because the design here appealed to me and Santa Cruz have been around for an age. I decided on an 8.25″ deck with some black Jessup Original 9″ Griptape.

Image of three items: a blue skateboard deck with a red and yellow "Santa Cruz" logo, a black grip tape with red trucks visible from the bottom, and a red circular "Santa Cruz" logo with yellow text. All items are on a white background.

Wheel Setup

From my research on heavier people skateboarding, I heard a bigger diameter wheel faires better in the long run. I went with Orangatang Centerset Skiff 62mm Longboard Wheels combined with Bones Reds Bearings 8‑Pack.

The image shows two yellow skateboard wheels with a design featuring palm trees and the word "orangatang." Next to them is a box labeled "Bones Reds Precision Skate Bearings," with four bearings displayed in front of the box.

Trucks

Technically I don’t know a lot about trucks themselves but went with the Tensor Aluminium Skateboard Truck Set. I needed some 1⁄2″ Risers to deal with the extra-large wheels so they wouldn’t bite on the board and some Bones Hardcore Bushings (91A). These are all tied together with Independent Phillips Bolts (1.5″ to deal with risers)

A collection of skateboard hardware including a metal truck, two rectangular riser pads with a circular pattern, four black and yellow bushings, eight nuts, eight screws, and two washers arranged on a white background.