The Importance of Persistence in Skateboarding

The Persistence of Jim Greco
Jim Greco, a team-rider for Baker skateboards is documented in interviews talking about the number of tries and run-ups he does before landing a trick. He had video documents with several hard tricks he has attempted to land with at least 130-180 tries prior to landing it. Greco accounts his persistence to his success but also the vision he holds in his mind of himself landing that trick.

Greco’s Persistence Starts at 00:33

One More Try…
Speaking about persistence, this remind me of a story about a California Gold Miner. This man bought a plot of land to mine gold. After several weeks, he was disappointed by that he was no longer finding gold. He dug a little further and still found nothing. He proclaimed to his friends the land was a waste and disappointed by that he was no longer finding gold. He dug a little further and still found nothing. He proclaimed to his friends the land was a waste and had no more gold in it. Eventually, he gave up! The miner sold his equipment to a junkman for only $2000 (much less than the actual value).

The junkman had no idea about gold so he hired a specialist to tell him about gold before ditching the equipment. The specialist told him the gold runs in veins and that the miner poked through a vein. The specialist explained, “If you go back and dig three feet from where the miner dug, you will find gold.”

Persist and You Will Get it
Sure enough, the junkman found gold, lots of it! He found millions of dollars of gold and become one of the richest men in California! The purpose is this story is the importance of not giving up. Don’t give up on the 129^th try. You may be three feet from gold… Seek the advice of a professional and strike it rich!

Skateboarding is just like that.

Slams, Falls, Gets Muddy, and then Lands it!

See another great example of not letting fear overcome you. Keep your mind and focus on rolling away. Play out the entire trick in your head first. Envision what you need to in order to land. Keep a clear picture in your mind. Do not get discouraged.