A small manual full of advice on how to start skateboarding and a place to discover everything there is to know about skateboard culture.

To become a skateboarder you need courage and imagination, legs and balance. And, maybe, you also need a little patience. Skateboarding, in exchange, offers freedom and fun and a new way of being in the world. Because slateboarding resembles a sport, but it’s much more: it’s a community, a philosophy of life, an excuse to spend time together. Ivan Federico, the first and only Italian to win the gold medal at the X Games, accompanies us on a journey of discovery of the stories and myths of the famous board. The story starts in California on a waveless day and finishes in Tokyo 2021, the first year skateboarding entered the Olympic disciplines. In between, Ivan’s journey and his history as a pro skater: his first steps and the meetings with the champions who changed his life, the competitions he won and those he lost. But this book is also a manual of skateboarding advice and knowledge about skateboarding culture, from music to clothing, the magazines to read and the films to watch.

• Skateboarding is a way of rethinking the idea we have of sport. A sport that isn’t based on competition, but on spending time together and building alternative lifestyles.