Skateboarding is thought of as a teens’ sport for good reason. It started as an alternative to surfing among Los Angeles kids who had few wide-open fields in which to play traditional sports. It quickly spread to urban areas all over the world as a way for kids to make use of the little-used concrete landscapes so abundant in modern cities. Skating can be done practically anywhere at any time, which makes it perfect for whiling away those long summer vacations and after-school hours.

So much of skateboarding is centered around the types of tricks that take hours upon hours of repetitive practice to master, and they also require a good deal of physical limberness. Most adults just don’t have the time or the physical capacity to be any good at this type of skating.

On top of these issues, there’s also the fact that skateboarding is a relatively young sport. Although it started in the mid-20th century, it didn’t become widespread until the 1990s, which means that the first major wave of skateboarders are only now entering their 30s and 40s. For example, Tony Hawk, perhaps skateboarding’s most famous figure, is just 42 this year.

For better or worse, many skateboarders give up their hobby when faced with the time-hogging responsibilities of work and family. But this doesn’t mean that adults can’t skate. All it takes to return to form is dedication and enough time to get back into the swing of things. Of course, it probably can’t hurt to also shed a few of those extra pounds that so many (although of course not all) of us can’t help but gain during the daily grind of adulthood. Regular skateboarding can help with that.

Plus, there’s the fact that skateboarding is widely becoming a more legitimate recreational activity as far as municipalities and the public at large are concerned. This is thanks in large part to the generation of early skaters who are now at the age to get involved in their communities and make things happen. As a result, there are more and more safe places to skate, even for adults. In places as widespread as Brooklyn, San Francisco, and Sydney, Australia, adults are opening up safe facilities for grownups to practice their tricks and get a little pool time.

Thanks to these developments, we can now expect to see adult skateboarding continue to grow in popularity over the coming years. You no longer have to feel silly taking out your old board.