Do you remember Tech Deck ? Plastic skateboards that retract to a size you can roll with your fingers? A fingerboard is a miniature skateboard that is "rided" with the fingers instead of the feet.
Of course you can. If you didn't play or own one in high school, you at least know someone who did. Andrew Hook (@miniskatespot) got his first tech deck in seventh grade. In class, during lunch, or on school holidays, he and his friends collected textbooks, built miniature ladders, and tried ollies or kicks at a makeshift skate park. Hook took a ten-year hiatus from fingerboarding, but now at 36, he's back three years later and says he'll never stop.
There is a big difference between skateboarders and fingerboarders, which is understandable because it's the same concept no matter which body part you use: foot or toe. Ultimately, the fingerboarding community is like skateboarding culture—a culture that thrives on acceptance, freedom, creativity, and risk taking.
Photo by Julia Wondrill
It may seem shocking if you've lost your tech deck over time or don't know anyone who still plays a fingerboard, but fingerboarding is a fast-paced sport that has made impressive strides over the past few years, and the Denver community lives on. Fine.
Though fingerboarders don't use tech decks anymore these days.
They use decks made from the same materials as traditional skateboards: wood, metal bearings, and polyurethane for the mini wheels. This provides better performance, ease of use, and a more realistic feel when doing sideline tricks,” says Avery Davidson, sideline player (@fbspliff) and co-founder of TH!S FB. Some of these products are even sold for the same price as original skateboard parts.
There are not only boards made of real materials, but often parks. Hooks still make parkas , but no longer look like school textbooks. After a keyboard break, it's small parks, small functions, bridge supports, and more. inspired to create.
Eventually her creativity took over her bedroom in her house, which turned into a workspace where she made and sold lattice items on Etsy.
To match reality as closely as possible, Hook works with a variety of materials and techniques to best mimic a real skatepark: 3D printing, CNC laser cutting, concrete, wood, paint, tile and marble.
For every detail needed to build a park or promenade, there is someone who spent the time and effort to create it. Most likely, they will promote their products on Instagram and sell them on e-commerce sites.
Davidson said Instagram was the catalyst for a big push for the fingerboarding renaissance. Many skaters have separate Instagram accounts to post their tips, clips and products. Instagram's underground online community has become a place for skateboarders to meet other skaters, trade tricks and make real friends.
TH!S is an art, print and design studio officially opened in Lakewood in 2012. These are t-shirts, stickers, banners, etc. They work with small businesses, local musicians and artists to create designs and prints such as TH!S FB (The Fingerboard Shop) founded a few years ago when TH!S owner Mike Sherrill aka Cube (@ cube_co.fb) asked Davidson to help open and run the company's vulture branch (@this_fb) . .
“[It] really started out as a social media page and got out of control from there,” Cube said in an email. "I don't think we ever planned to open a word bar, but we ended up doing it (it's really cool)."
Davidson sold keys at a kiosk in Park Meadows . However, since the closing of this booth and the focus on TH! S FB, the store has become a fingerboarding hub in Denver and across the country, Davidson said, because "there are several physical stores where you can physically go" to buy groceries and destroy parks.
“ A lot of people do this in their home office , so it’s definitely counterintuitive for us to promote this physical space, but it works really well and we have a really strong community here,” Davidson said. “We are very grateful to Cube for sharing typography with us and giving us this place to meet new people, exchange ideas and have a little party.”
Photo by Julia Wondrill
TH!S FB regularly organizes meetings or events. 10 to 30 or more people participate, and people aged 5 to 50 can hang out together, try new tricks, play skateboards, win prizes from sponsors, and more.
“Fingerboarding is very easy. This is not only a great way to relieve stress, but also the ability to disconnect from the phone. It brings artists and creatives together in one place where they can connect with each other,” Davidson said. “When I go there on a Friday night, people are crowding, crowding, just talking. They play along with the keyboards, but they seem to be having fun. We talk to each other, we get to know each other and exchange ideas."
Last month, TH!S FB, one of his community members, Ebert Bedia (@eibisi_studios), moved from Peru for security purposes in the hope of improving his life. Through "For the Cause," Denver's griefer community was able to come together and raise funds to help Bediya raise money for her community to fight political unrest.
Photo by Julia Wondrill
TH!S also hosts an annual event called FB Throwdown .
Bars from all over the state and country come to join.
“A lot of people come from Colorado for this and, of course, from other nearby states and other parts of the country,” Cube said. "That's when Colorado really comes together for a full touch."
Hook found TH!S FB for their second annual photoshoot.
“I went there and had fun all day and all these guys were great. The whole atmosphere in the fingerboarding community, everyone is full of kindness and love,” Hook said. “It really sent me something. I thought, “Wow, this is so much fun. I'm definitely going to do it."
While many skaters ride on the bandwagon, they are not mutually exclusive. The bar is not for everyone who skates, or vice versa, this is a good choice for those who want to skate but may run into limitations.
"We have a boy who has already served in the army. His leg was amputated, and he really wanted to continue skating, but continued to do fingerboarding," she said. Not because they have children and families.
Fingerboarding has evolved into something more subtle, though it all started with plastic skateboards, distractions at school, or playing with toys. The development of the park boards and components is amazing and it is thanks to the enthusiasm of the manufacturers, the riders and the support of the community.
Getting a new tech or building a new feature sounds great, but it seems like it's part of what really inspires the grill scene: the "open gun community," the non-judgmental zone. It's about growth, progress, art, creativity and fun, but also about the heart.
All photographs by Julia Wondrill.
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