DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Skateboarding has always been different.
"I think it just really takes an outside the box mentality," says lifelong skater Shane Thompson. "Skateboarders look at downtowns differently than people look at downtowns when they just drive through it."
The best athletes merge sports with art.
"You see ledges and rails and stairs and things to skate," Thompson said. "You look at it almost like a canvas or something to use. It's your medium."
In 40 years, Thompson has gone from skater to shop owner to mentor for the next generation.
"My son skates a lot so I roll around with him every once in a while," he said with a laugh. "I don't have the stamina or...I don't bounce back up so quick."
In those years, he's seen the sport evolve from an underground pastime to being broadcast around the world. But the sport's next evolution is taking it to the Tokyo Olympics.
"I think it will be good for the industry all together, just to make it a little more legit," Thompson said.
The U.S. sent 12 skateboarders to Tokyo. They will compete in one of two categories: park or street. Park features a hollowed out course and complicated curves. Street is a more angular course with rails, benches and walls.
"I love to see it," said Decatur skateboarder Allen Massey. "Growing up, it would've been great to think I could've been in the Olympics when I was out here practicing every day."
Massey and Thompson agree skateboarding is a fun sport to try — as long as new skaters understand there's a lot of falling involved initially.
"It definitely weeds people out who don't like to fall," Thompson said through a laugh. "You just keep getting back up and doing it again."
