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skateboard and the external agents armando santos   I  armando santos When you are debating on what activity you wish to carry out, it's important that you know what external agents may influence the same. If you want to surf, questions like the what state the sea is in, the strength and direction of the wind or the lie of the beach must be considered. If, on the other hand, you'd prefer to go snowboarding, what you have to find out is how much snow there is, if it's sunny or windy and what the ski station is like. But, let us get to the point of this article: the external agents when skateboarding. "This species is abundant at entrances to flashy buildings, the tube, large shopping centres, etc..."

As in the cases already mentioned, we'd have to consider the whims of nature, such as rain or geographical accidents. This, however, is the less anecdotic side of the whole affair. Skateboarding is an urban beast and, therefore, victim of an innumerable amount of external agents. As many as the different things that can happen in the streets of a city. If you want to go to a skate park, all you have to do is have a quick glance outside to see if it's raining. That's if the skate park is outdoor (the norm).
But, if you want to go skateboarding in the street, where skateboarding was born and grew up, you had better be ready for just about anything. In the concrete jungle, a skater moves and crosses paths with millions of pedestrians, buses, cars, bicycles and motorbikes. A skater never knows what new danger awaits him. It could be an old biddy who steps out in front of him, a hidden puddle, a small pebble or the sudden opening of a car door. And all of this has to be faced before you reach the spot where you want to skate.
(Spot: a good place to the skateboarding)
If you manage to get there safe and sound, there are still several possible problems to be surmounted. One very usual problem is that the place you want to skate in is private property. This means that you have to carry out the activity without the owner finding you out. This is because owners, due to their ignorance, tend to mistrust skaters and can be conflictive. The truth is that there is very rarely any damage caused by skaters. What are usually damaged, although it may seem like a paradox, are the bodies of the skaters. You just can't win. There are also problems to be encountered at spots located in public places. Squares are strictly out of bounds at times when schools or residencies open and close for the day's business. This is because a hoard of children or old folks are ell capable of destroying the best of skating sessions. Those who don't stick to any set timetable are the police. They are on the go night and day. You are never totally safe from an ambush by a couple of cops on the beat. They rapidly come to the conclusion that it's their duty to clean the area of skaters. Peace and order must be maintained. Another very frequent external agent is the private security guard. They're like a private version of the police. This species is abundant at entrances to flashy buildings, the tube, large shopping centres, etc...
There is no limit to the amount of external agents that might spring up in any given street. There have been reports (less habitual) of robbery, intimidation, threats and actual attacks. All you have to do to avoid this is not be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes, the skater, enraptured by the perfection of a spot, will stray into enemy turf, far away from any form of protection. Sometimes a very high price indeed is paid. It is advisable not to get involved in tussles with groups who regard the area you're skating as their own. Not on their turf at least.
All of these circunstances make the skater a quick and instinctive creature when faced with a problem. It doesn't look like it's going to get any easier in the near future either. Construction work is constantly modifying streets and buildings and the skater's radar will never cease to function.
It's something innate that searches high and low for somewhere to skate, surfaces to slide down and amaze. The desire that makes people do what they want to do is the strength that will people carry on doing just that, come hell or high water.
Not everything about skateboarding is a disadvantage, however. At the end of the day, living on a skateboard means you live that little bit faster and your always 10cm off the ground.