Finger Skateboarder
A finger skateboarder is someone who is pulling off tricks with a finger skateboard, also known as finger board. This is a miniature version of a skateboard with moving wheel, graphics and trucks.
Finger skateboarding was first developed in the late 1970. It started as a hobby by Lance Mountain, which eventually lead to an article about how to make a fingerboard in the 1985 edition of TransWorld’s SKATEboarding magazine. It has been a novelty ever since, but the world didn’t see much of finger skateboarders till several years later. Only in the 1990s did manufacturers realize the potential of the product, and fingerboards became a collectible toy. Today, these collectables range from cheap and simple, to expensive models including high-end accessories that resemble real-size skateboards closely.
But there’s more to a finger skateboard than just being a collectible. They are also used by to visualize and understand real-size tricks. Therefore, most tricks a finger skateboarder performs are the same as regular skateboard tricks. Popular tricks include shove it, ollie, slides and grinds. Once a finger skateboarder has mastered those, there’s more challenging moves like the 1080 tailgrab and a backflip to attempt. To add to the excitement, scale models of features as handrails, benches and stairs can also be constructed or purchased. It is possible to construct an entire skatepark, including as objects as trick boxes, vert ramps and half-pipes.
Perhaps the most fun is documenting your efforts on video and sharing it with the world. After mastering one of the more complex tricks, boasting this achievement in a video is well worth it. Other finger skateboarders will appreciate a slow-motion showing how to pull off the trick. Video’s are also a great way to share newly invented fingerboard, or real-size skateboard tricks.
Both experienced skateboarders and novices looking for some fun can enjoy this miniature sport. You can choose to buy a finger skateboard, or make one yourself if you are handy enough. Either way, I hope you’re as excited to become a finger skateboarder as I am being one.
Muhammad Aqib