‘It’s just blew my mind that the community was not aware of these amazing things you can do to solve all these problems quite easily’
SKATEBOARD STRENGTH
Dan Bardallo
April 2025
You started skating at the tender age of 35. What triggered it?
Man, so it was a weird mix of things. I had just finished playing ice hockey which I had started 10 years earlier as a way to transition out of my youthful days of partying. I used it as something to put my energy towards and I figured out that I love to solve complex puzzles with my body. Adjustment of speed, timing, consequences etc. I was looking for something to fill that void and they were building a skate park down the rd from me. This was covid times so all we could do was go out on walks so I would just walk past this thing every day. I have always been around skate culture and loved the dog town boys and their story and always wondered what it would be like to carve a bowl. So, when the park finally opened, I bought myself a complete for my bday and went and tried it. I would rock up at 6:30am so no one would be around and I could get a turn in the bowl. After my first sesh I was hooked.
In March 2021 you published your first post on IG about your Skateboard Strength mission. 3 years and 112k followers later you literally hit a nerve with your project. Does it feel surreal or were you expecting this response?
No way! I was in no way expecting it to have gotten this much momentum and response. I already had a separate IG account for my personal training, so I started SS as a side thing to help the community out. I just kept running into so many skaters at the park that had either quite due to injuries and were watching their kids, or others that were constantly in pain. It’s just blew my mind that the community was not aware of these amazing things you can do to solve all these problems quite easily, so I thought I’d post some up.
Are there any skate-related injuries where you don’t have an answer yet?
Not necessarily as the injury prevention, recovery/rehabilitation game has been around for such a long time. Skating won’t really expose a “new” sort of injury that hasn’t already been treated. So, it’s more about practically applying the skill set of injury recovery and strength and conditioning to skating. What has been a big investment of time is working out what are the common issues skaters face and coming up with solutions to treat and prevent these issues. Because that will be unique to skating and skating def leaves a blueprint on your body injury wise.
Which skate-related injury was the most challenging to address and why?
Tendon based injuries are always going to be the hardest. Not because we don’t know how to fix them but because they can be so temperamental. You really need the skater to buy in and at time’s stop skating (which they never want to do) and learn to manage the pain response process. A lot goes in to it and understanding the recovery so they can just be a pain in the ass.
‘Tendon based injuries are always going to be the hardest.’
If you had to pick one exercise with the biggest overall impact for skateboarders, what would it be and why?
(Laughing) The classic. The question that can’t be answered. I get this a lot and is truly impossible to answer because there is never going to be one single exercise that will ever have that much impact. Not only that, one exercise that can give someone the biggest impact could completely flare up another skater’s injury etc. What we want to do is think about the best system to service skaters. One that allows us to fuse in all the quality’s they need in order to perform. Mixtures of mobility exercises, strength and plyometrics. They all need to work together in a synergistic environment to give the best result. One single loan exercise or modality just isn’t going to have much impact.
What are some of the memorable experiences you had with clients/followers?
It’s hard to pin point single one’s but these come all the time but I would say it’s getting hit with messages from skaters telling me of the impact the training has had on not just their skating but also their lives. Always such a cool thing and what keeps you motivated. I’d say that or when the skaters I train face to face send me clips of what they got on the weekend for their upcoming parts all hyped (laughing). That’s so sick. Sunday night clips are the best!
Have you gotten any hate for the services you are offering?
Oh yeah, all the time (laughing). But that’s ok. It’s not for everyone. At times I have wanted to retaliate and bite back but I chose a long time ago to respect the culture entirely and sometimes that means dealing with certain mindsets that have not moved on from a certain era in skating. You never know what they may have gone through in the earlier days when skating was not so widely accepted and it’s those times that perhaps have them abusing people that are trying to help today. Is what it is.
‘At times I have wanted to retaliate and bite back’
Any pros or skate teams that seeked your services?
Yeah, I have consulted and wrote programs for a few pro’s now. I never know whether to put it out there because so many people still aren’t as open to sharing how they train etc. So, I want to be respectful that they maybe don’t share that side of things as much for fear of how other skaters will react etc. It’s all good though you got to respect the skaters.
Can you make a living from what you are doing or is this just a passionate side hustle?
(Laughing) We will see. Still too early to tell if I am honest. The response has been amazing and overwhelming with IG but it’s a whole different thing to get skaters to actually commit to using this stuff to really effect the change their after. I’m hoping to continue fighting the good fight and maybe one day with the right message and enough people experiencing the benefits the tide will change and I can have my passion be my life. Only time will tell.
Last question. If you could interview one person, who would it be and why?
Got to go with Saint Rogies AKA Joe Rogan (laughing). Dude is just so prolific and by all accounts he also doesn’t disappoint like most of these highly regarded people do when you meet them. Would be cool to hang out with him and talk comedy and back in the day stories of making it.