What Is Flow in Skateboarding?

Flow has two distinct meanings in skateboarding. Extreme sports like surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding are mostly driven through their affiliations with brand names. Flow sometimes simply refers to riding up and down hills in skate parks or on the street but, in most cases, when skateboarders talk about flow, they're referring to what every skateboarder hopes to achieve: sponsorship.

  1. Riding

    • Many skaters enjoy a ride through the skatepark. Some of the best parks will not only have ramps and railings to perform tricks on, they'll also have slopes and hills of various sizes. These slopes are called flow and refer to the rhythmic riding that a skater must have to successfully ride over even the smallest one.

    How to Ride Flow

    • To avoid losing control of your board while riding flow, remember to always keep your weight on your front foot as you're going down a slope. To practice riding flow, ride up the slope until you've almost reached the top, turn your feet backwards so your back foot is now your front foot, put your weight on your front foot and ride down without pushing off. This is called riding fakie and it'll help you develop your flow riding skills. Also, always remember to keep your knees bent and your body relaxed; just let your body go with the flow.

    Sponsorship

    • If you're a serious skateboarder, it's essential to get on flow. Flow in this scenario refers to a skate company or distributor sponsoring a rider to either skate with their brand of skateboard (and other equipment) or wear their skating gear (shoes, clothes, hats, etc.). By agreeing to use the company's merchandise, the skater will be sponsored to ride in skating competitions that will propel him into a career in skateboarding. The company that does the sponsoring also benefits. By having a talented skater using its stuff, it's promoting and endorsing the brand to other skaters.

    What to Expect from Flow

    • In the beginning, the perks won't be that great, but everyone has to start somewhere. The best way to get on flow is to get a good word of mouth going amongst skating groups about your skills. Shooting videos and taking pictures and then circulating them around the internet also helps to get you noticed. When you do get on flow, you'll be paid by the company in skating gear and merchandise on a semi-regular basis. Flow is basically a stepping stone to greater skateboarding opportunities and sponsors that will actually pay you money for your talent. As you win competitions and garner more respect, you may be offered endorsement deals with other companies -- especially if their sales go up after you've skated with their gear.