New here from SF Bay Area and had an idea
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Join Date: Feb 2017
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New here from SF Bay Area and had an idea
Skating To Sobriety
I'm from the SF Bay Area and am a recovering addict and earlier today I was thinking about how temptations associated with old hobbies or past-times cause people in recovery to stop doing things they loved to do even before their addictions. For myself that hobby is skateboarding which has been something I've done for 10 years starting at about 13 years old. Almost 24 now and knowing that because of my disease, I can't do something that can be considered to be my first way to cope with my feelings like aggression, depression, inadequacy by having an outlet that wasn't harmful to anyone and was happy doing it every single day. No substance I've tried has given me the same result but as I got older I combined my addictions with skateboarding so now without some kind of support, temptation would overpower me so I stopped almost completely. Today I came up with a possible way to create a support community for skateboarders that could also display to younger generations that they can get support even from the most tempting places:
Main reason I don't go to skateparks anymore is because the temptation to drink/smoke/etc. is too high since that's like all a lot of people do there,I know I used too.
Creating a way for skateboarders in recovery to connect and act as support to each other's sobriety around temptation like when at a skatepark.
There's nothing really like that(atleast that I could find) in the Bay area either. And not being able to do something as big as skating is/was in my life because of temptation from a "disease" that people unfortunately judge addicts for having, is pretty depressing
I'm from the SF Bay Area and am a recovering addict and earlier today I was thinking about how temptations associated with old hobbies or past-times cause people in recovery to stop doing things they loved to do even before their addictions. For myself that hobby is skateboarding which has been something I've done for 10 years starting at about 13 years old. Almost 24 now and knowing that because of my disease, I can't do something that can be considered to be my first way to cope with my feelings like aggression, depression, inadequacy by having an outlet that wasn't harmful to anyone and was happy doing it every single day. No substance I've tried has given me the same result but as I got older I combined my addictions with skateboarding so now without some kind of support, temptation would overpower me so I stopped almost completely. Today I came up with a possible way to create a support community for skateboarders that could also display to younger generations that they can get support even from the most tempting places:
Main reason I don't go to skateparks anymore is because the temptation to drink/smoke/etc. is too high since that's like all a lot of people do there,I know I used too.
Creating a way for skateboarders in recovery to connect and act as support to each other's sobriety around temptation like when at a skatepark.
There's nothing really like that(atleast that I could find) in the Bay area either. And not being able to do something as big as skating is/was in my life because of temptation from a "disease" that people unfortunately judge addicts for having, is pretty depressing
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,367
I'm not a skater but there's this movement called straight edge you might be interested in
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_edge
D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_edge
D
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Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 2,412
Two thoughts come to mind....
1. Maybe this is your calling! Maybe it's something you can make happen. Sounds like a great venue for recovery. I'm sure you are not alone.
2. I liked working with wood. My garage was full of cool tools. The problem was I used my shop as a place to drink and pop pills.
When I quit, I couldn't go in my shop. In fact, I lost all interest in it. I just didn't see myself ever being able to do that as a hobby again. So, I sold everything for pennies on the dollar.
There came a point, however, where my sobriety became rock solid. There was nothing that would make me pick up a bottle again. Parties, stress, boredom... Didn't matter. No thanks... I'm good.
Now I miss working with wood. I have yet to find a sustainable hobby. And to think that wood working would be an awesome place for me to escape mentally for a while.
One of my quit brothers in April 15 group was a song writer and musician. He stopped writing music and sold off all his equipment shortly after quitting.
Today, he's back to writing and playing! In fact, he recently got his band back together and played some live venues. Sober! Not only that, he had a great time and said he played better than ever.
So you never know. I wouldn't make any harsh decisions early in sobriety. For many, there comes a point where nothing will make you want to use again.
Sure...for some, there's always the risk. Some are white knuckling sobriety and would be considered a dry drunk too. But If you continously work on growing emotionally, you'll put yourself in a place where you'll never want to look back. You'll protect that growth no matter what.
It's probably easier to do that if you hit bottom like I did. I understand if there's a huge gap between how we felt as a drunk vs a few months sober, that the likely hood of relapse is smaller.
So I guess the name of the game is to shoot for the stars. Keep growing and keep pushing the outer limits. Make the spread between being a drunk and seeing sober greater and greater!
1. Maybe this is your calling! Maybe it's something you can make happen. Sounds like a great venue for recovery. I'm sure you are not alone.
2. I liked working with wood. My garage was full of cool tools. The problem was I used my shop as a place to drink and pop pills.
When I quit, I couldn't go in my shop. In fact, I lost all interest in it. I just didn't see myself ever being able to do that as a hobby again. So, I sold everything for pennies on the dollar.
There came a point, however, where my sobriety became rock solid. There was nothing that would make me pick up a bottle again. Parties, stress, boredom... Didn't matter. No thanks... I'm good.
Now I miss working with wood. I have yet to find a sustainable hobby. And to think that wood working would be an awesome place for me to escape mentally for a while.
One of my quit brothers in April 15 group was a song writer and musician. He stopped writing music and sold off all his equipment shortly after quitting.
Today, he's back to writing and playing! In fact, he recently got his band back together and played some live venues. Sober! Not only that, he had a great time and said he played better than ever.
So you never know. I wouldn't make any harsh decisions early in sobriety. For many, there comes a point where nothing will make you want to use again.
Sure...for some, there's always the risk. Some are white knuckling sobriety and would be considered a dry drunk too. But If you continously work on growing emotionally, you'll put yourself in a place where you'll never want to look back. You'll protect that growth no matter what.
It's probably easier to do that if you hit bottom like I did. I understand if there's a huge gap between how we felt as a drunk vs a few months sober, that the likely hood of relapse is smaller.
So I guess the name of the game is to shoot for the stars. Keep growing and keep pushing the outer limits. Make the spread between being a drunk and seeing sober greater and greater!
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Originally Posted by Acsullivan993 
Skating To Sobriety
Creating a way for skateboarders in recovery to connect and act as support to each other's sobriety around temptation like when at a skatepark.
There's nothing really like that(atleast that I could find) in the Bay area either. And not being able to do something as big as skating is/was in my life because of temptation from a "disease" that people unfortunately judge addicts for having, is pretty depressing
Creating a way for skateboarders in recovery to connect and act as support to each other's sobriety around temptation like when at a skatepark.
There's nothing really like that(atleast that I could find) in the Bay area either. And not being able to do something as big as skating is/was in my life because of temptation from a "disease" that people unfortunately judge addicts for having, is pretty depressing
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Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,950
I know how it feels to be put off from things you used to love, because there's alcohol about. I used to go salsa dancing all the time, and it was almost always in bars, so it was too easy to get wrapped up in the party, drink and hookup scene. The "serious" dancers were pretty straight edge, but you were a snob if you could even break in to that clique. It's been several years since I've gone and I am afraid I will be out of place and.. honestly, I would just leave to alleviate the awkwardness, so it wouldn't be worth the hour drive each way.
So the best way to do it and not get caught up in that would be to take lessons and classes and join a performance team or find a partner to perform/compete. But that's a lot of work.
So the best way to do it and not get caught up in that would be to take lessons and classes and join a performance team or find a partner to perform/compete. But that's a lot of work.
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