When most people hear the term “skater,” they picture baggy jeans, a rebellious attitude, and hanging out in graffitied skateparks. But for junior Gavin Warrington, skateboarding was never about fitting into a stereotype, it was instead a way to escape boredom during quarantine.

“I was in sixth grade, and I had some friends that started it, and it was just watching them that made me realize I wanted to start too,” Warrington said. “It was also during the start of the pandemic, and I wanted to have stuff to do so I wasn’t just at home all day.”

In the beginning, skating did not come easily for Warrington. Just the basics, such as kicking off, balancing and landing tricks, took months of scraped knees and frustration to refine. But what initially felt impossible eventually became second nature through hours of practice.

“It was really hard getting the basic tricks down at first, but once you practice enough and finally learn to do stuff like kickflips, it just all comes a lot faster,” Warrington said. “It’s like once you get that first trick down without falling, all of the other ones just come a lot more naturally.”

Now, entering his fifth year skating, basic skateboarding tricks come naturally to Warrington. Whether ollies, the act of stomping the tail of the skateboard off the ground to make the board vertical and evening it out midair, kickflips, in which the board is rotated 360-degrees in the air but straightens before landing, or manuals, where the rider balances on just the back two wheels of the skateboard, Warrington has practiced enough to comfortably pull them off.

Despite his confidence in rudimentary skills, others prove more of a challenge to pull off, often leading to injuries. More challenging tricks, such as ones that involve sliding down ramps, rotating the board multiple times midair or dropping into pools, can take years to perfect.

“I can definitely do all the basic ones, ollies, shove-its, ones like that I can do without messing up, but the harder ones that take more practice like grinds or ramp tricks, I just can’t do them that well,” Warrington said. “They’re all pretty hard, and I always get hurt doing them, so after a while I stopped caring so much about what I could and couldn’t do.”

But Warrington’s drive for skateboarding does not come from the thrill and adrenaline that many people associate with the hobby. Instead, it comes from the sense of calm that comes along with skating, spending most of his time skating around parks and community areas rather than skateparks.

“Now that I know more of [skating], and am comfortable being on my skateboard for a long time, I definitely do a lot less tricks now, and instead just ride around on it. It’s so relaxing, just to be able to skate around listening to music, not worrying about anything,” Warrington said.

Despite his differing preferences when it comes to choosing how to spend time skating, one thing Warrington can agree with other skaters on is the importance of the skateboard itself.

“Boards definitely play a big role in skateboarding,” Warrington said. “There’s definitely some really bad boards out there that I’ve seen, so everyone wants to make sure they have a good board that matches up with their personality or aesthetic. I like the board I have now, but I want to get one that looks even cooler and would fit how I look more.”

Physical skateboards play a large role in the skateboarding community, acting as a way to convey freedom, self-expression and uniqueness. Custom skateboards are common among skaters, some going so far as to only start with the deck, or oval shaped part that is ridden on, and attach their own wheels, griptape and hardwear.

For Warrington, the look of the board is just as important as what he can do with it—it is both a piece of equipment, and a reflection of who he is.

“[Custom boards] are pricey. I’ve seen some that are like $100 just to get a custom picture of the grip, so it’s a goal for the future, but it’s also something to look forward to.”

In the future, Warrington hopes to continue skating regularly, as well as learning new tricks.

“It’s just the best pastime for me,” Warrington said. “No matter how long I’ve done it, how many times I’ve fallen down, you just have to know you’re gonna get hurt a lot, but you gotta just ignore that and get up again. It’s always worth it.”