Let’s face it, I’m in my 40s and I’m starting to creak a little bit. I know I need to eat a bit better, and I know I need to get some more exercise, but the excuse of “I’m busy” was always too easy. My job doesn’t help – 50 hours a week sat a desk with little opportunity to get active other than to wander into the kitchen to grab another biscuit. But again, this felt like a bit of an excuse.
Having noticed my weight steadily on the increase (I’m not 106kg / 233lb and only 5’7″) and with a persistent cough and some terrible snoring, it was time to see a doctor, even though I had an idea of what they were going to tell me. I got a full once over from the doctor and, as expected, he determined all of my symptoms to be linked and most likely curable if I can start to bring my weight down.
I’m not a big fan of exercise – I’m tired in the morning before work, and I’m tired in the evening as soon as I’m finished. I’ve tried walking, jogging, even taking an hour out to use the elliptical machine out in the summer house, but I hate it. I’m just not one of those people that get enjoyment from physical exercise, and the fact that I’ve never once seen any positive effect from exercise or diet, just makes the whole thing miserable.
In fact, the only exercise I’ve ever truly enjoyed is skateboarding.
Back in my teens in the mid 90s (brilliantly portrayed in Jonah Hill’s film Mid 90s by the way) I was an enthusiastic, but amateur, skater – cruising around Northampton town centre, living out dreams of being in our favourite VHS videos on the steps and banks of the old Barclaycard building, and then regular trips up to Radlands when it was based in a warehouse on a trading estate.
Then, after university as the e-commerce bubble burst and all the tech jobs vanished, I found myself working in a Free Spirit store in the middle of York, which is now the Ivy on St Helen’s Square. We were a bit “highstreet” and made most of our money on Quiksilver, Mambo, and other surf/fashion brands, but tucked away at the back was a small stack of decks and a cabinet with a few dusty trucks and wheels. I convinced the manager to let me take it on, put in a modest order with the supplier and, over about 6 months, turned that small cabinet into an exciting department where we’d often have a queue of kids waiting for us to build their boards up.
With that success came some nice staff discount and I once again got into the hobby – cruising around York, trying to make the Argos steps without your board heading into the Ouse, and hitting the gravelly skate spot at Rowntree’s park.
Then life happened – I moved to an office job in tech like I’d always wanted, I got married, we had kids and before we knew it we were 20 years down the road and I’m talking to a doctor about my weight!
Skateboarding