The 'Deathracers' key to staying young? Skateboarding into your 60s and beyond

Chad Rivera gingerly makes his mode to the borderline of what looks similar an emptied retired swimming pool, a lime-green skateboard successful 1 hand, a achromatic cane successful the other. At 58, he’s legally blind, but he’s been skateboarding since helium was 5, truthful what’s astir to hap is portion musculus memory, portion “trust fall.”

Deathracer Chad Rivera is 58 and blind, but says he’ll ne'er springiness up skateboarding.

Dozens of different skateboarders — mostly men successful their 50s and 60s decked retired successful skating cogwheel — rotation on the periphery, watching on, astatine Encinitas Skate Park adjacent San Diego. It’s not yet 11 a.m., but punk euphony blasts from the speakers, punctuated by the rumbling and clanking of skateboard wheels connected concrete.

Standing astatine the heavy end, Rivera considers the excavation bowl’s nine-foot factual walls. He sets down his achromatic cane and secures the process of his committee connected the pool’s rim with 1 foot, the remainder of the committee hanging successful the air, similar a mini diving board. He past steps onto the beforehand of the committee with his different ft and throws his assemblage value forward, “dropping in.”

He races down and astir the sides of the walls earlier flipping astir and landing backmost up connected the excavation deck.

It’s a frightening determination to watch, but Rivera present beams, triumphant, eyes shining.

“Woo! Feel it and termination it,” says Rivera, a retired grape grower who’s suffered from a uncommon optic nervus illness since helium was 22. “It ever feels good, truthful I support doing it. I’ll ne'er stop, nary substance however aged I get.”

Rivera is simply a subordinate of Deathracer413, a radical of older skateboarders who judge that skateboarding is their cardinal to longevity. They grew up amid the ’70s and ’80s skate country and are arsenic passionate astir the athletics arsenic erstwhile they were teens. Many of them are present retired and the joyousness they get from skateboarding, the consciousness of assemblage and the wellness benefits, specified arsenic halfway spot and balance, support them young, they say. The inherent information gives them an adrenaline unreserved that, they argue, keeps their brains sharp.

“Our slogan is: Keep dropping successful oregon you’ll beryllium dropping out,” says the group’s founder, Doug Marker, a erstwhile nonrecreational skateboarder and retired operation idiosyncratic who’s lived successful San Diego his full life. Marker, who besides surfs, plays guitar and rides motorcycles, is 63 going connected 16, with metallic hairsbreadth and a skate-park suntan. On this Saturday morning, he’s wearing baggy shorts, Vans sneakers and a graphic T-shirt featuring “Death Racer” successful dense metallic band-like typography.

“Knowing you tin get wounded keeps you ultra-focused,” Marker says. “And trusting that you tin bash it — believing successful yourself — is hugely empowering. I support dropping in, I support going. It’s enactment maine into a bubble wherever I ne'er consciousness similar I’m getting older.”

Deathracer413 founder, Doug Marker.

(Alex Papke / For The Times)

Marker founded Deathracer413 successful 2011 to gully like-minded radical who are “living beingness to the fullest,” helium says. The sanction Deathracer reminded him of a motorcycle nine and 413 are his initials, numerically. It was conscionable a escaped societal affiliation astatine first, but successful 2020 Marker launched the Deathracer413 Road Show, an invitation to articulation him successful skating a antithetic skate parkland each Saturday.

Deathracer413 present includes erstwhile and existent pro skateboarders doing tricks alongside mean enthusiasts and late-life skating newbies. There are a fistful of women successful the radical arsenic good arsenic a fewer children honing their skills with the masters.

Marker estimates determination are astir 1,300 members of the radical internationally, though typically lone astir 20-30 locals be connected immoderate fixed Saturday. He welcomes anyone into the nine and mails them a “welcome letter” and customized Deathracer413 spot that helium designed. Hundreds of recipients stay members from afar, kindred spirits who stock a “full throttle” outlook connected beingness and enactment via societal media. Others person trekked from Australia, Germany, Belgium and the UK to skate with Deathracer413.

“’Cause present everybody’s retired and tin travel,” Marker says. “They’re uncovering destinations to travel and skateboard and San Diego’s a apical one. So they come.”

‘I’ll halt erstwhile my assemblage tells maine to stop’

The deathracers drawback up with 1 another, fist bumping and drinking beers, arsenic 1 of them drops into the excavation bowl.

As Deathracer413 celebrates its 200th skating session, the vibe is affectionate and rambunctious, jovial retiree backyard barbecue meets heavy tattooed skater meetup. More than 50 members — galore with bushy grey beards, paunchy bellies and caps speechmaking “The Goonies: Never Say Die” oregon “Independent” — mingle connected the excavation deck, cracking unfastened beers, fist-bumping 1 different and catching up connected beingness arsenic the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” fades into Bikini Kill’s “Rebel Girl” connected the dependable system.

The skaters driblet into the excavation 1 aft different — swirling and swooshing around, “carving” and “grinding,” earlier popping backmost up — successful specified choky succession it feels choreographed. It’s arsenic if we’re wrong a pinball machine, with tiny objects orbiting astir 1 different maniacally, wheels spinning, helmets twisting, boards whizzing by oregon flying into the aerial earlier crashing backmost down. Every truthful often idiosyncratic wipes out, sliding crossed the excavation bottom, sparking cheers of encouragement.

“I consciousness similar the older I get the much I interest astir getting wounded — due to the fact that it lasts longer,” admits skateboarding fable Steve Caballero, 60. “If you deliberation astir it, it’s benignant of a scary sport. You tin get truly hurt.”

Caballero has been a pro skateboarder since helium was 15 and fearfulness doesn’t halt him contiguous — “I’ll halt erstwhile my assemblage tells maine to stop,” helium says. He performs 1 of his signature moves, sliding on the rim of the excavation connected the skateboard motortruck alternatively of the wheels. No tiny feat for a assemblage that’s endured much than 45 years of utmost athletics. A documentary astir his life, “Steve Caballero: The Legend of the Dragon,” debuts this November.

Legendary skateboarder and deathracer Steve Caballero, 60, has been pro since helium was 15.

“It decidedly keeps maine successful shape,” helium says. “It keeps maine youthful-thinking, staying originative and being challenged. I deliberation erstwhile radical get older they discontinue doing these things due to the fact that they consciousness similar they should. I’m trying to amusement people, hey, adjacent successful your older property you tin inactive person amusive and situation yourself.”

The feeling of freedom, the thrill of sailing done the air, is worthy the hazard to Barry Blumenthal, 60, a retired stockbroker.

“I’m much disquieted astir crashing my car. I mean, I deterioration cogwheel successful here,” Blumenthal says. “Skating is conscionable utmost amusive wherever you can’t assistance but grin. It’s kid-like. It’s a fountain of younker experience. You’re chasing stoke.”

Pushing the boundaries of skating

Wiping retired is portion of the process, the Deathracers say. It’s inactive “kid-like” fun, “a fountain of younker experience.”

No uncertainty “dropping in” and “chasing stoke” for eternity would beryllium “rad.” But is determination immoderate validity to Deathracer413’s claims that skateboarding promotes wellness and longevity?

“I’d interest astir fractures,” says Dr. Jeremy Swisher, a UCLA sports medicine physician. “As you get older, it takes the assemblage longer to heal. But it comes down to a risk-benefit analysis. The endorphins, the adrenaline — the joyousness of it — arsenic good arsenic the caller challenges that accent the caput successful a bully mode would beryllium precise mentally stimulating. You’re forming caller neural pathways arsenic you’re trying caller moves. It would assistance support the encephalon young and fresh.”

“I contention cars for a hobby, and I cognize what that does for my aging,” adds Dr. Eric Verdin, president and main enforcement of the Buck Institute for Research connected Aging successful Northern California. “Finding a happening that you’re passionate about, having a consciousness of community, not to notation the equilibrium and centrifugal coordination — skateboarding is highly carnal — each of that is portion of steadfast aging.”

Deathracer413 besides has an important spot successful the trajectory of skateboarding.

Skateboarding has been astir successful California since the 1950s — a mode to recreate surfing, but connected adust land. “Vertical skateboarding,” which the Deathracers partake in, grew retired of SoCal kids commandeering emptied backyard swimming pools. It was particularly prevalent during the 1976-77 drought, erstwhile residents had to drain their pools and kids began performing elaborate airborne tricks. Skate parks emerged and “vert skating,” arsenic it was dubbed, became a phenomenon.

Doug Marker, laminitis of Deathracer413, shows disconnected the ringing and spot helium designed, bearing the group’s name.

The archetypal parkland successful California opened successful Carlsbad successful 1976 and the San Diego country is inactive considered a cardinal hub for the sport. So contiguous there’s a captious wide of ’70s and ’80s-era skateboarding devotees who inactive unrecorded nearby. That’s wherefore Deathracer413 — the lone nine of its benignant successful the area, Marker says — has truthful galore progressive members.

“There hasn’t ever been 60-year-plus [vert skaters] before,” Marker says. “The sport’s not that old. So that’s benignant of our happening — we’re conscionable gonna support pushing the bar.”

In that sense, Deathracer413 is much than a subcultural vestige — its members contiguous a sports medicine survey of sorts, says Michael Burnett, exertion successful main of “Thrasher Magazine,” a longtime skateboarding publication.

“A batch of radical present are older than me,” says John Preston Brooks, 56.

“There were a fewer old-guy outliers, but this is the archetypal procreation of older skaters,” Burnett says. “We’re present witnessing however agelong idiosyncratic tin physically skateboard for — this is the test. It’s uncharted territory.”

Still, galore of the Deathracers person modifed their skating techniques arsenic they’ve aged. Marker says helium present skates wrong 80-85% of his quality scope to beryllium safe. Others admit that the inevitable — decease — is connected their minds.

“As an older adult, you tin get into your caput about, oh, however overmuch clip bash I person left?” says John Preston Brooks, 56. “But a batch of radical present are older than maine and it conscionable makes maine recognize I got a batch much clip to bash the things I emotion and marque the champion of life.”

David Skinner, 60, a retired schoolhouse teacher, says he’s realistic astir his carnal limits.

“A batch of america person wellness issues,” helium says. “We’re not needfully trying to cheat death, but we’re decidedly trying to enactment ahead. We cognize it’s coming, but we wanna support dropping successful and having fun, and this gives america a venue to bash it.

A brotherhood, adjacent if you nary longer skate

As the time grinds on, the skate league morphs into an existent barbecue. Marker fires up the grill, tossing connected an assortment of meat: burgers, bratwursts, blistery dogs. Plumes of aromatic fume interval implicit the excavation bowl, which is inactive getting immoderate action.

Lance Smith, 74, stands disconnected to the broadside of the bowl, a Coors Light successful 1 hand, a Nikon camera successful the other. With his acheronian sunglasses, psyche spot of facial hairsbreadth supra his chin and trucker chapeau that reads “Old Bro,” helium appears similar someone’s chill great-uncle. He can’t skate anymore owed to 3 replacements — 2 hip, 1 genu — aft years of skateboarding injuries. (“I wouldn’t commercialized it for anything,” helium says.) But Smith, who documented the SoCal skateboarding country successful the ’70s and photograph edited the publication “Tracker: Forty Years of Skateboard History,” inactive attends Deathracer413 events astir each Saturday. He photographs nine members successful action.

Doug Marker mans the grill arsenic the day skate league morphs into a barbecue.

“It’s the community,” Smith says, stretching retired his limb and snapping a passing skater. “I get enjoyment retired of shooting pictures and seeing my friends skateboard. And, yeah, drinking a Coors Light.”

Deathracer413 is some a brotherhood and a sisterhood, says Tuli Lam, 31, a carnal therapy pupil and 1 of the lone women skaters successful attendance today. “When I’m here, I’m conscionable 1 of the guys. We’re bonded by skating.”

That camaraderie is evident erstwhile the radical presents Marker with a acquisition of thanks.

“OK, stitchery round! Bring it in!” yells Lansing Pope, 58.

The skaters assemblage around, stretching their necks to spot what’s successful the wrapped container Marker is tearing open.

“It’s a genu brace!” idiosyncratic yells.

“It’s a crutch!” says another.

“Something for his prostate?” jokes a third.

“Whoa, ace dope,” Marker says. (It’s a leather Deathracer413 bedroll for his motorcycle.) “I’m ace stoked.”

The skateboarders presented Doug Marker with a gift, a customized Deathracer413 bedroll for his motorcycle.

“Till your wheels autumn off!” respective guys shriek successful unison, fists successful the air.

Then, arsenic if connected cue, the skaters disperse astir the excavation bowl, streaming successful and retired of it, the dependable of rattling wheels and screeching metallic connected factual filling the space.

Tye Donnelly, 54, surveys the country from a adjacent picnic table, an electrical guitar connected his lap. He noodles connected it, playing a premix of Black Sabbath and reggae.

“When I was 18, I ne'er thought I’d beryllium the aged property of 20 and inactive skateboarding,” helium says. “At 54, I thought I’d person a chapeau on, a suit, with a newspaper. But it turns retired you tin skateboard your full life. And I’m thankful for this radical — due to the fact that it wasn’t similar this backmost successful the day.”

Caballero sums up elder skateboarding best: “This is the caller bingo.”