Want to Go Pro?
For some people skateboarding is just a fun, exciting hobby. Other individuals may have goals of going further and becoming a professional skateboarder. With available competitions and sporting events like the X-Games, the possibility of becoming a professional is indeed a real one. However, the decision to aim for professional status is not one that should be made lightly. It will take a great deal of commitment, time, money and practice. Ask yourself?Is it in me?
Time: Becoming a professional will take a great deal of time. You will need to spend many hours practicing, competing and traveling. This may be ok if you are 18 or 19 and still living at home. However, if you are very young, or are an adult who is married and/or has kids, finding the time and opportunity to commit to skateboarding full time may be hard to come by.
Commitment: You will need to be committed. There will be times that you do not feel like practicing, traveling and competing but you will need to so in order to make skateboarding a profession.
Money: Serious skateboarding takes money. You will need to be able to support yourself while you are training. You will also need money to purchase equipment, travel to and enter competitions.
Responsibility: To become a professional, you will have to balance responsibilities. If you have a family, kids or are in school, you will need to find a way to do handle all of your responsibilities while traveling and competing.
If you are very young or are a bit older and have a job, you may want to hold off on skateboarding full time. Instead, find time to practice before and after school or work.
To be sure that skateboarding is a good career choice for you, you will want to research current pros. Read their biographies and find out what their work schedules are like. Also, find out what it took for them to be successful and then emulate them when and where you can.
Remember, the decision to become a professional skateboarder will be a tough call to make in many cases. You will have to determine if you are willing to make the commitment to practice even when you don?t fee like it, to travel to competitions and to risk failure. You also have to make sure that you have enough money. You will need to not only support yourself while training and competing but you will also need to pay for the necessary equipment. You will also need to find adequate time. To be a professional anything takes lots of time. You have to be willing to practice when other people do not want to. This is what will set you apart from everyone else.
The timing is right to become a professional in sports that aren?t exactly considered mainstream. People are much more accepting and interested in sports besides baseball, basketball and football. Skateboarding, skiing and extreme sports have become more and more popular. Therefore, if you are serious about your dream of becoming a professional skateboarding, treat it seriously and do the things necessary to put you in a position to achieve your dreams.

SKATEBOARDING/Want-to-Go-Pro.txt