What is surfskating and how you can pick up the sport in Singapore

In Singapore, Charles & Keith, Orchard Health and a few other brands have also included skateboarding and skaters in their campaigns, notes Goh. However, she emphasises that skating imagery is not a new trend in campaigns – what’s new is surf skating being featured.

For example, local label Beyond The Vines’ recent Micro Dumpling collection campaign has made surf skating the key focus. More and more artists are contributing to surf skate designs too. These include painter Mercedes Bellido (@mercedesbellido), illustrator Sickfaces (@sickfaces) and tattoo and visual artist (@or_kantor). Well-known surfboard shapers like Christenson and Pyzel have also made regular contributions to surf skate shapes.

As Goh notes, surf skating is the cousin of street skating, and part of the big ‘umbrella’ of skating. “There are two essential types of skating: the traditional skateboards that require you to kick and push to generate speed, and the new wave of boards which you can ‘pump’ to generate speed,” she says.

Traditional skateboards and trick decks (skateboards used for tricks at skate parks) are considered ‘kick and push’. The more you push the ground with your feet, the faster you go. “For ‘pump’ boards, you have surf skates and speciality longboards that allow you to pump long distances,” says Goh.

In surf skating, one’s feet don’t touch the ground, with speed generated by turning and pumping. This is a more elegant and beautiful form of movement that makes a surf skater look graceful, according to Goh.

Goh notes that surf skating is easy enough to start on one’s own. One can practice it almost anywhere, and still have fun with it even in small spaces.

She suggests empty urban spaces such as parks and pathways, with popular spots being East Coast, MBS Promenade and Sports Hub. “The Ride Side typically guides newcomers when they come to demo boards at our shop, and they can start moving on their own right away,” says Goh.

“From there, most opt to go through our lesson programme which accelerates their learning and helps them find the most efficient way to move.” Lessons are split into four levels. First-timers start out at level 0, which teaches the fundamentals of skating such as pushing off, gliding and stopping. These are key skills required for any form of skating.

Level 1 lessons are for beginner surf skaters learning to pump on a surf skate. This requires learning about rotational movements − a key part of a surfer’s movement and speed generation.

Learners then progress to level 2, which introduces surf-inspired movements such as frontside and backside combinations and tricks.

Level 3 is for advanced riders, with the teaching of more technical movements and tricks that require control and power. Whilst many have the impression that surf skating is reserved for the young, Goh counters that the sport is for almost anyone.

“We have students in our programme that don’t fit the typical image of a skater, such as mums, dads and people in their late 30s and 40s,” she says. “Surf skating appeals to a wide cross-section of society, and we are impressed with the diverse nature of our surf skate community.”

This article was first published in FEMALE. 

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