1. Baker Skateboards - These boards are very durable. They are very hard to snap and have good pop. These decks can probably last forever if you treat it well.
2. Sorrow Skateboards - This is an upcoming company that most of you probably never heard of but they have some great quality decks. I purchased one myself six months ago. This deck is like a Baker skateboard. Durable, good pop, and also very light. The designs for their board graphics are outstanding.
3. Plan B - This company has been around for a long time and still make awesome decks to this very day. Good pop but can be very heavy for some decks.

There they are, my top three skateboard decks. All three have magnificent decks so it's practically impossible for me to put them into order. I hope this provided you with some knowledge and for those of you who are looking to buy your first skateboard take these companies into consideration.

1. It's Indoors - The game is played in a controlled environment. 75.735° Fahrenheit... oh you like that temperature... me too. Playing basketball outside is a drag sometimes too. I could put up this beautiful three-ball on those crappy double rimmed hoops at the park that is only going to go in if I swoosh it, except a gust of wind comes up and sends it into the nearby baseball practice. I'm afraid of little kids with bats - for the record. Finishing up, no weather or temperature issues... It's nice.
2. The Ball - The ball is a very comfortable size at 29.5" for men and 28.5" for women. It's also a very nice puke brown color which is very appetizing I think. Also it's not so irregular shaped that players are not kicking it all around the place trying to pick it up - you know you've seen this on the sport's biggest follies.
3. The Shoes - The American population or at least the teenage American
   population have taken a liking to the basketball styled shoe. Very few sports can you go from leisure to action without changing shoes. Having said that - it gives basketball an advantage and why I call it the best sport to play or watch.
4. Athleticism - I am a firm believer that basketball requires the best athletes. Not only does a player have to be fast and strong and what not. They also have to be coordinated and the ability to jump many feet in the air is greatly admired. There are many other things that are necessary to be a great basketball player but it's the combination of all those things that gives basketball an edge over all other sports.
5. The Light Show - If you were privy to attend a professional basketball game or sometimes you get a glimpse of it on TV but there's the smoke and the lights and the everything awesome that you wouldn't get at any other sports event.
6. Equipment - Basketball has a complete lack of equipment, which makes everything lovely from a player's standpoint. Some sports have so much equipment that it limits player mobility. Not having pads or things of that sort made basketball the cheapest sport to play growing up.
7. Mascots - At least at the professional level the mascots are the most entertaining of the bunch. It's just fun to watch some person dressed up as a bear or some random animal riding down the stadium staircase on a bike or jumping through a ring of fire... then having trouble putting it out an delaying that game for 30 minutes but that's beside the point. It basically a circus that comes free with a ticket to the ball game.
8. Playoffs - Playoffs in every sport are very exciting I admit however basketball is the king. At the professional level there are series instead of individual games and the playoffs last for a couple months allowing viewers to catch plenty of basketball games. At the collegiate level March Madness is an entire month full of high intensity playoff games and games are nearly every day.
9. Courtside - Ok so most of this stuff is as the professional level but even below that the intimacy between the fans and the athletes is very high in basketball. Most people, however, can't afford seats that are courtside but it is entertaining to see your most disliked celebrity get squashed by some of the games bigger athletes.
10. Scoring - The amount of scoring in a game dictates a lot of things such as pace and momentum. Basketball has very high scoring at very small intervals which can lead to so much chaos for both players and fans except I think that's what makes it fun. Some sports the momentum shift is very slow and gradual and so momentum shifts only a few times in a game. Basketball could have dozens of shifts in the course of a game. A minutes worth of momentum could yield over ten points on some occasions. This gives the game that X factor, because you never know who's going to win even down those final couple minutes.

Outrageous... yes, logical... sometime but you have to admit they all make sense. At least in my head they do. I guess that leads the question of whether I am sane or not. Meh who cares!

A variation on the canvas and rubber shoe is the high top tennis shoe. Converse Rubber Shoe Company, headquartered in Malden, Massachusetts, introduced canvas high top shoes in 1917. Foreshadowing the later close connection between sports heroes and athletic shoe marketing, Converse classic high tops were made famous by Chuck Taylor. Taylor was a former basketball player for the Akron Firestones who joined Converse as a player endorser in 1921. For thirty-five years he led basketball clinics across the country wearing Converse high top basketball shoes. In 1931 Converse started stitching the Chuck Taylor name on its canvas high top basketball shoe and renamed them the All Star. At this time, the celebrity athletic shoe era was in its infancy, where it remained for nearly fifty years.

During World War II, Converse manufactured shoes and apparel for the troops. Soldiers were outfitted in Converse Chuck Taylor All Star shoes for basic training. After the war, Converse All Stars remained the standard government issue athletic shoes for military and physical training. In the 1950s Hollywood icon James Dean wore “Chucks,” as these shoes came to be called. Along with James Dean, Converse high tops became a symbol of counterculture. A white T-shirt, blue jeans, black leather jacket, and high tops became the uniform of youth rebellion. In the 1970s punk rock became the symbol of counterculture. Early punk bands, such as the Ramones, wore Chucks at their performances in New York City and in the United Kingdom at Roundhouse in London. Converse continued to produce the shoes and athletes on the U.S. male basketball team won gold at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles wearing Converse basketball shoes.

Athletic shoes are built for high performance and are considered part of an athlete's gear along with clothing and equipment. Athletic shoes provide sports-specific levels of cushioning, flexibility, stability, traction, and durability.

• Cushioning minimizes the force of impact. Cushioning systems are designed to protect the knee and ankle from impact and provide rebound, spring, or lift to the foot and leg muscles.
• Flexibility is the ability to yield and bend. It is maximized or minimized in a shoe, depending on the sport. For example, runners need flexible outsoles and walkers require stiff, inflexible outsoles.
• Stability is the capacity to resist forces which cause a rapid change of motion and possible injury. High top shoes provide extra ankle support to prevent sprains.
• Traction is friction between the sole and the surface that helps the shoe to grip. Traction needs vary. Court shoes should not grab the surface and stop so suddenly that ankles are sprained.
• Durability is important. Athletic shoes should endure and continue to perform over time while maintaining cushioning, flexibility, stability, and traction.

An athletic shoe has four basic components. The layers are, from top to bottom, called the upper, insert, midsole, and outsole. Each component has a purpose. Sports-specific shoes vary the components for different functions.

The upper layer is the material-generally canvas or leather-that covers the top of the foot. Some contain nylon or mesh inserts for ventilation. The upper encloses the foot to snug the soles to the bottom of the feet. The shoe insert supports the bottom of the foot. The insert positions the arch support, which is ideally suited to the wearer's arch type.

The midsole contains the cushioning system that not only distributes impact force to prevent the full transfer of that force to the ankle and knee but also provides a rebound or lift to foot and leg muscles. Known as the heart of the shoe because it performs so many functions, the midsole also contains stabilizing features like a stiff rear heel cup for added support. The outsole provides traction and reduces wear on the midsole to increase durability. Typically made of carbon rubber or blown rubber, outsoles have a grade or slope from heel to toe. Manufacturers invest significantly in the technology of athletic shoes. In order to help the athlete run faster, jump higher, and endure longer, designs for athletic shoes consider specific movements involved with different sports. Some of these movements are sprinting, pivoting, jumping, rapid starts and stops, and side-to-side shuffling. Athletic shoes are designed as sporting equipment that helps improve performance.

Categories of Athletic Shoes. The May 2007 issue of Clinical Reference Systems defined five major athletic shoe categories.

• Running Shoes. Running shoes are lightweight and flexible. They are designed for anterior (forward) and vertical (up and down) motion. Running shoes have cushioning to absorb the impact of each stride, plus extra shock absorption in the heel.
• Walking Shoes. Walking shoes are rigid and are designed to roll on a smooth tread from heel to toe. Walking shoes have extra cushioning at the ball of the foot. The rigid outsole rocks to encourage the natural foot rolling motion.
• Basketball Shoes. Basketball shoes have a thick stiff sole, and are designed to support the ankle for side-to-side shuffling and to provide for sudden starts and stops. Basketball shoes are subject to heavy abuse.
• Tennis and other Racquet Sport Shoes. Court shoes have heavy traction to assist in rapid starts and stops. Posterior (backward) motion is more common in court sports.
• Field Sport Shoes. These usually have cleats, spikes, or studs and include shoes for track and field, golf, bicycling, soccer, and baseball. While spike and stud formations differs widely, they can be replaced or detached.

High performance sports-specific athletic shoes have become high fashion. Nike, Inc. is generally credited with blurring the line between performance and fashion. The classic example is the Air Force 1. A limited edition shoe rolled out by Nike in 1982 on the National Basketball Association courts that became so popular that Nike reissued the $89.95 white-on-white original and began to introduce colorful limited-edition versions. Enthusiasm for Air Force 1s spread.

Nike does not deserve sole credit. The Zeitgeist of the 1980s facilitated the popularity of high-fashion, high-priced athletic shoes. The 1980s were the era of hip hop. Early rappers, Run-D.M.C., had the first rap single played on MTV, and the first rap album to go gold. Run-D.M.C. established urban fashion trends by performing in leather pants, leather jackets, adidas sneakers-always with the shoelaces removed-and fedora hats. They performed at Live Aid in 1985. They were the first rappers on the cover of Rolling Stone. They wore athletic shoes designed by adidas and even had a hit song called “My adidas.”

Nike and adidas were not operating in a vacuum, however. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) takes credit for the development of high-tech athletic shoes. After NASA developed a process called blow rubber molding to produce helmets, a former NASA engineer pitched Nike the idea to use the new molding process to create hollow athletic shoe soles designed to be filled with cushioning materials. Nike developed cushioning consisting of interconnected air cells. In 1987 Nike Air shoes were released. Athletes and non-athletes bought them for the benefit of high-tech cushioning. In the shoe industry trends constantly change and new models are rolled out up to four times each year. Yet some styles, such as the Air Force 1, remain popular. The Air Force 1 Web site chronologically showcases all 929 models including the still popular black-on-black model rolled out in 1993. Air Force 1s for women are often a fashion statement. For men, Air Force 1s often function as dress shoes that complete the outfit. Athletic shoes are no longer worn only for fitness and sports; they are also a fashion statement. This expands the pool of potential customers eager to pay for the look even if they never go near a basketball court or grassy soccer pitch. The design of high-tech, high-performance athletic shoes has permeated the artistic community as well. In 2000 the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art presented “Design Afoot: Athletic Shoes 1995-2000.” The exhibit featured more than 150 shoes from companies such as adidas, Converse, and Nike. The exhibit highlighted the evolution of athletic footwear design and demonstrated the blurred line that exists between fashion footwear and high performance athletic shoes.

Athletic shoes are considered nondurable consumer goods, which are goods that are purchased for immediate or almost immediate consumption and have a life span ranging from minutes to three years. For active people, athletic shoes last barely a year. For instance, running and walking shoes last for 300 to 500 miles. Basketball shoes take a lot of abuse; it is estimated that they last six months if the wearer plays twice a week for one hour. Because nondurable goods are destroyed by their use, consumers need to replenish their supply repeatedly. Generally, this equates to a large variety of style and price choices in the marketplace.

Next thing you look at is the sole; it should not be too many layers of rubber because these will fall apart a lot easier. Try to find one with rubber coming over the toe of the shoe as this will be a way for your toes to grip and act as a small shock absorbent. For the overall grip just try to rub them across the floor and see how much they catch against the floor.

The final step (in the way of parkour) is the size. You want them slightly loose as if they are too loose most of the grip that you just found will be lost as their will be far too much space between them. However if you have them too tight you may find that the grip might be a lot better but your feet will be aching after just a light session of parkour. Try to find something in between

The last step is merely cosmetic, if you're worried about this try to cut down on some of the above if you are worried about the cosmetic issues.

Thanks for reading, if there are any questions then don't be afraid to ask.

Don't buy shoes based on price

While you shouldn't need to take out a bank loan to finance your running hobby, you will not benefit by becoming Ebenezer Scrooge once you enter your local running store. In other words, don't sacrifice a good fit for saving a few pennies with a less comfortable or less forgiving shoe. If you find your perfect match, don't be afraid to shell out a few extra bucks to satisfy your feet. Chances are the long term benefits and increased use you get out the shoes will more than pay for itself.

Throw fashion out the door

Do not buy a pair of shoes because it matches your favorite running shorts, outfit, visor etc. Ladies, this means you. If you are truly worried about fashion take up tennis. Chances are the first rainy day that comes around will spell an end to your perfect fashion match anyways. Better to have something that feels right, than looks perfect.

Know yourself and your surroundings

Will you be running on trails or pavement? Racing or just running for recreation? Will you be running on icy streets in the winter, or using a treadmill? These are questions you need to answer before running out and buying a pair of shoes. Certain shoes will be more suited for specific types of terrain, and a recreational runner may not prefer a lighter shoe a racer may benefit from.

Get Fitted from a professional (or someone who knows what they're doing)

If you have never bought a pair of running shoes or have had lower leg injuries in the past (either from running or other activities), I would highly recommend getting some professional advice about what type of shoe is best for you. If your local running store doesn't offer any advice-or simply is not instilling confidence through their recommendation-seek out a sports doctor or chiropractor to get a professional opinion. Seeking advice early on could save you from getting injured and from buying a pair of shoes you can't run in for more than a block.

Don't be afraid of change

If something isn't working for you, try something different. If your shoes are giving you blisters don't keep running in them until you are walking on the sides of your feet all day to avoid popping them. If the shoe fits, wear it, if it doesn't get rid of it, get some better advice, and try something new. New shoes can also be a great motivator. A new look can add motivation for you to get out the door and try that new feel.

Are you just down right tired of buying new shoes, when you could use the money on a new board or, some food and something to drink while you skate? I sure am. I was so frustrated every time that I had to buy new 50 dollar skate shoes. I tried skating without a grip tape, and the skating was hard, and it sounded like a basketball game each time I land or position my feet. So I just thought of a way so save my shoes and keep my money. The idea just hit me. My solution reduced the wear out of shoes and still keeps the same skate the same.

So what you do is you take scraps or extra grip tape or sand paper, and you sand down you grip tape on you board. What this does is it softens the grip tape so it won’t be as rough. You should sand it down well enough so that it is soft but still has the roughness, so that you can still flip and stay on the board. Just make sure you do not over sand your board or there will be no purpose in sanding your grip tape. When done sanding down the grip tape, the grip tape should feel softer but still sort of rough. When skating it will be as you never sanded it at all. You’ll notice that your shoes last much longer and you still skate the same that you use to.

So there you have it, an easy way on how to reduce the wear and tear of shoes when you skate. If you can’t find extra grip tap just find some sand paper, or when you get a new board just ask for the scraps. Now you have longer lasting skates shoes and your parents won’t be mad at you, or you won’t have to spend 50 dollars every 2 months.

Without farther ado we present how to Ollie!!!

In order to Ollie you need a skateboard but once you got that place your leading foot right in the middle of the board.

You do that so you have room to slide you foot. Pop your back foot (on the back of the board) slide your front foot out and lift you back foot a little get back down on the ground ,and

Ride away looking cool.

Getting your Ollies better

In order to get your Ollies better you should do these two things. Get skate shoes I recommend vans, etines, nikes, airwalk, DVS, element,DC and many more that I can't remember...

Getting your ollies better

You should get a good skateboard that is real, like mine has blind deck, reds bearings, Indy trucks, and bullet proof wheels (not really bullet proof just a name) that is a good skateboard. When you Ollie you could bring your feet up towards your body so you get higher.