Rider of the Month: Nick
This month we are sharing the story of Nick, a daily Elos rider who didn’t learn to skateboard until his mid-30s.
Hi Nick! Could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello! My name is Nick and I’m an American entrepreneur living in Taiwan. I currently run a consultancy that teaches presentation & communication strategy to startups raising venture capital funding.
So how did your Elos journey begin?
I met the founder’s Tom and Spring while coaching at a government program for startups about 3 years ago. They were by far the most interesting team in the program with the most traction. I saw a lot of potential in them and the product, so I remained in touch with them even when they were living back in the USA. During their v2.0 Elos Kickstarter campaign, I backed my first board and have been riding ever since.
How often and how do you use Elos?
I use my board every day. My office is in downtown Taipei and like all good metropolitan cities, the parking situation is atrocious. So I end up parking about one kilometer away each day. So Elos is a lifesaver in getting to the office. I also haul it around the MRT to get to clients’ offices for meetings.
Elos was my first skateboarding experience at age 35. It took me less than an hour to learn. At first, I was always skeptical of going over bumps or curves until I learned to trust the board design. My only crashes so far are self-inflicted for over-confidently tackling curbs and drops because it looked fun.
I actually own 2 boards (Maroon Red & Ocean Green) and my wife has Maple board. I intend to complete my collection of each color eventually.
Any tips or tricks for other riders out there?
Don’t look down when learning to ride. After teaching perhaps a dozen colleagues and family members to ride Elos, the number one mistake people make is looking down while pushing the board. When looking down your body-weight is further forward than your leg and you are likely to face-plant when doing so.
Just look forward and trust your own balance. Doing this you’ll be flying down the street in no time!
