The idea of an adventurous trip using either a skateboard or a longboard across the country sounds like an amazing experience. However, this adventurous and thrilling escapade can turn into a nightmare in a matter of seconds. 

Anas Hajas, a 31-year-old skating enthusiast from Kerala, died while ‘longboarding,’ raising serious concerns about dangerous solo skateboarding trips. Hajas was on his way to completing a 3,500-kilometre longboard journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. On August 2, he was riding his long skateboard near Pinjore, Haryana, when he was hit by a truck’s wheels.

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Hajas was a computer science graduate who quit his job in IT to pursue his passion for skateboarding. He had organised the expedition in order to raise awareness about skating. Hajas began his journey in Kanyakumari on May 29 and arrived in Panchkula on July 30. Hajas travelled up to 100 kilometres per day in the early days of his journey. Later, on the advice of friends, he reduced his daily distance to 40 or 50 km.

Longboarding experts called the incident unfortunate and advised young skaters to follow certain rules when skating. 

This is the reason why being properly educated about the sport is very important for any upcoming skaters.

What is Longboarding?

A longboard is pretty similar to a skateboard, and is essentially a long plank or board made of wood, plastic, or even heavier materials that is balanced on top of small wheels. Players frequently perform impressive stunts and move downhill from a height on the boards, performing difficult manoeuvres even while suspended in mid-air. Skateboarding began in the United States around the 1950s, and for the first time, it was included as a competitive category in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A longboard is naturally longer but flatter than a skateboard, which typically has upward-curving ends. Other technical differences can be seen in the wheel sizes and wheel spacing. Longboards are thought to be more durable and better suited for longer rides.

Longboarding is one of several sports that fall into the category of Roller Sports. Other popular examples include park skateboarding, street skateboarding, longboarding (downhill), and freestyle skateboarding. Anas Hajas’s skating style falls under the category of Freestyle Skateboarding.

Longboarding also has different disciplines to it through which the board can be used to travel in different ways such as –

• Cruising, which consists of a simple commute
• Freeriding, which is used to turn and slide through the paths mostly and has a different freeride board setup
• Downhill, which is pretty easy to understand by its name and consists of people racing to the bottom of the hill as fast as they can. The riders do so with all the protective gear on in order to prevent injuries.
• Slalom, which is another creative way to manoeuvre yourself through cones with some speed.