I've known for a while that Xiaohu stacked quite a few clips during the adidas Hainan tour. I caught up with him at the adidas year-end event late last month and chatted with him about his experience on his first-ever pure skateboarding tour.
很早就听说小虎在 adidas 海南 tour 中拍到了不少动作，上月底在 adidas 年末活动上见到了他，特意找他聊了聊他的第一次纯滑板 tour 的体验。
We were also fortunate enough to meet Xiaohu’s mother, Yang Fan, at the event and chatted with her about Xiaohu’s journey in skateboarding:
活动上我们也有幸见到了小虎的妈妈杨帆，跟她聊了聊小虎的滑板成长经历：
Q: How did Xiaohu first get into skateboarding?
A: It was during the pandemic, about five years ago. He saw a classmate skating on the street and wanted to give it a try. We didn't know anything about it at first, so we just spent 50 RMB on a second-hand toy board. After he’d been skating on the street for a while, he felt like the speed and turning weren't enough for him. We happened to run into an old-school skater on the street—he was in his 40s and was friends with guys like Xiaoyao and Chen Long. When he saw Xiaohu, he said the kid had a natural feel for it and suggested we find a place for him to learn properly, so he wouldn't pick up bad habits skating on the street alone. He recommended "Original Force Street," so we signed him up for 30 lessons, one hour every weekend.
Q：小虎是怎么开始玩上滑板的？
A： 是在疫情期间，大概五年前吧。当时看到同学在街上玩，他也想试一试。起初我们也不懂，就花 50 块钱买了一块二手的玩具板。他在街上玩了一段时间后，觉得速度和转弯都满足不了他。刚好我们在街上碰到了一个以前玩滑板的人，大概 40 多岁，是逍遥、陈龙他们的朋友。他看到小虎后说这孩子有点灵性，建议我们找个地方学一学，别自己在街上把这种感觉跑偏了。他推荐了“原力街头”，我们就去报了 30 节课，每个周末上一个小时。
Q: Was he a natural talent from the very beginning, or was it something he gradually developed through practice?
A: For the first ten months or so, he went to a lesson once every weekend. He’d usually go early and stay late, practicing for two or three hours in between. Later, his original coach resigned, and Xiao Yao took over. At that time, Xiaohu was preparing for the Cambridge English exams on behalf of his school and took two months off to cram for tests. Xiao Yao told us that if he wanted to study under him, he couldn't take such long breaks, nor could he only show up once a week. So, after about a year with Xiao Yao, we started going almost every day, and it became a very consistent routine.
Q：一开始就是很有天赋那种吗？还是慢慢练出来的？
A： 最开始大概十个月的时间，每个周末去上一次课，可能会早去晚走，中间练两三个小时。后来最开始的教练辞职了，逍遥接手了。当时小虎还在代表学校准备考英国剑桥英语，请了两个月假刷题。肖遥就说，如果要跟他学，就不能请这么长时间假，也不能一周只来一次。所以跟了肖遥大概一年以后，我们就开始几乎每天都去滑，变得很规律。
Q: How long had he been skating before you felt he was making real progress or getting results?
A: That was when the Beijing Team was established. Xiao Yao was the head coach, and we joined the team. After joining, he started representing Beijing in competitions; he won city championships and began making the finals in national-level events. He was about 10 or 11 years old at the time. That’s how we gradually started practicing with a more focused approach.
Q：滑了多久开始感觉有起色、出成绩了？
A： 当时北京队成立，肖遥是总教练，我们也进了北京队。进队后开始代表北京参加一些比赛，拿了市里的冠军，参加全国性比赛也能进决赛圈。那时候大概是 10 岁、11 岁左右。我们就这样慢慢有侧重点地练起来了。
Q: How did the opportunity to join adidas come about?
A: Actually, several brands had approached us before, such as Vans. In the beginning, Xiaohu wore Vans, but later he found Nike to be more comfortable, so he wore Nike for a few years. At that time, Nike hadn't yet launched a specific sponsorship program for kids and asked us to wait a bit. That’s when adidas reached out and asked if he’d be willing to give them a try. After testing them out, Xiaohu felt that adidas was a great fit and very comfortable, so that’s how he joined the team.
Q：后来加入 adidas 是什么样的契机？
A： 其实之前有好几个品牌找过我们，比如 Vans。小虎最开始穿 Vans，后来觉得 Nike 更舒服些，那几年一直穿 Nike。当时 Nike 还没有开启定向赞助小朋友的计划，让我们等一等。这时 adidas 找到我们，问愿不愿意尝试。小虎试了以后觉得 adidas 也很适合、很舒服，就这样加入了。
Q: I noticed Xiaohu has been going on tours with the adidas team lately, like to Hainan and Guangzhou. How has that experience been?
A: Yes, in the past, he joined in when adidas held events at Sanlitun in Beijing, but this Hainan trip was really his first time spending two full weeks out on the road with other skaters; Guangzhou and Foshan was another week. He thought it was a blast, and so different from just skating at a park. The variety of outdoor terrain is very challenging. Skating street spots requires much more versatility and solid fundamentals, which helped him identify his weaknesses and make progress. For instance, in Hainan, he brought back a trick he had practiced but hadn't used in three years, and he also cleared a spot with a massive drop.
Q：我看最近小虎也跟着 adidas 团队出去 Tour，比如去海南、广州，感觉怎么样？
A： 对，以前 adidas 来北京三里屯搞活动，也一起滑过，但这次去海南应该是他第一次完全跟着滑手出去待了两周，广州佛山是一周。他觉得很好玩，跟平时在场地里不一样。外面的地形各种各样，很有挑战性。在野外地形玩，对技术的全面性和基本功要求更高，这让他找到了不足，也有进步。比如在海南，他把一个练过但三年没用的动作找回来了，还完成了一个很大落差的动作。
Q: With frequent competitions and tours, many parents worry about injuries. Is that a concern for you?
A: To be honest, yes. Street terrain especially has more unexpected variables and risks compared to a controlled park environment. But I believe that as a skater, if you skate the streets often, you develop the experience to react and anticipate those situations. So far, so good—we haven't had any major injury incidents.
Q：经常参加比赛或者出去 Tour，很多家长会担心受伤，你们有这种担心吗？
A： 其实是有的，尤其是街头地形会有突发情况，比场地里风险多。但我觉得作为一个滑手，如果经常在街上滑，会有应对经验和预判性。目前还好，没有出过什么大的受伤事件。
Q: What is Xiaohu’s typical training and daily routine like?
A: His current routine goes like this: after waking up and eating breakfast, he does some simple, targeted physical conditioning before heading to the skatepark to warm up. He trains for about three hours in the morning, takes an hour break for lunch, and then trains for another three hours or so in the afternoon. After dinner, to keep his skateboarding schedule flexible, I’ve enrolled him in some offline, one-on-one tutoring sessions, covering subjects he’s interested in as well as languages like English and Japanese. His evenings are mostly spent in class or doing homework. The teachers at these outside agencies are extremely competitive—they assign even more homework than his regular school, sometimes giving three days' worth of work in a single day.
Q：小虎平时的训练和作息是怎样的？
A： 他现在日常是这样：早上睡醒吃完饭，做一些简单的针对性体能训练，然后去滑板场热身。上午大概有三个多小时训练，中午吃饭休息一小时，下午再训练三个小时左右。晚饭后，为了让滑板时间更灵活，我给他报了一些线下的、一对一的补习班，包括他感兴趣的学科和语言（如英语、日语）。晚上基本上就是上课、写作业。外面的机构老师都很“卷”，作业留得比学校还多，有时候一天留三天的量。
Q: At such a young age, how does he balance his studies with training?
A: Children in school will always have subjects they are better at or prefer over others. Since you can't choose the curriculum at school, tutoring offers that flexibility. I focus his time on the subjects he actually enjoys, which makes things much more efficient and keeps him motivated to learn. This way, we can be more targeted with his education, and his time is used more effectively.
Q：这么小的年纪，学习和训练是怎么平衡的？
A： 孩子在学校总会有偏科，会有喜欢和不喜欢的。既然学校的课程不可选，补习班是可以选的。我就把时间充分利用在他喜欢的学科上，这样更有效率，他也更愿意学。这样既能有的放矢，时间利用率也高。
Q: I’ve noticed you often take him abroad for training. Which places have you visited?
A: For skateboarding, primarily Japan and the United States. If we’re talking about general travel, the list is much longer—including South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, and European countries like France, Germany, and Denmark. Since he was little, I’ve always believed in the saying, "Travel ten thousand miles rather than read ten thousand books." I want him to see as much of the world as possible while he's young so that in the future, he can choose a city he truly loves. We used to pick a city during winter or summer breaks to live in for a month or two to really experience it; now, we’ve simply shifted that travel focus toward skateboarding.
Q：我看你也经常带他出国训练，都去过哪里？
A： 滑板的话主要是日本和美国。如果是旅游，去过的就多了，包括韩国、泰国、马来西亚、澳大利亚，还有欧洲的法国、德国、丹麦等等。我从小就信奉“读万卷书，行万里路”，希望他在未成年时多走走看看，将来能选择自己喜欢的城市。以前我们是寒暑假找一个城市定居一两个月“深耕”，现在就是把旅游改成了滑板。
Q: This requires a massive investment of both money and energy. Do you have any specific plans for Xiaohu moving forward? Do you want him to pursue competitive sports professionally?
A: To be honest, we don't have a concrete plan, just as we never expected to reach this point when he first started learning. We take it one step at a time. As long as he loves it and stays on the right track, I will support him. We haven't made a specific roadmap saying he must go pro or win championships. If he’s feeling good and wants to hit the streets to film a solid part, or if he wants to stay in the park and refine his skills, either is fine with us.
Q：这对金钱和精力的投入都很大。接下来对小虎有什么打算吗？是想让他往竞技体育方向走吗？
A： 说实话没有具体的打算，就像最初学滑板也没想到会走到今天。我们是走一步看一步。只要他喜欢，大方向没问题，我就支持他。没有特别规划说一定要走竞技、拿冠军。如果他觉得状态好，想去街上拍个好片子，或者想在场地里沉淀一下，都 OK。
Q: Many parents are currently putting their children into skateboarding lessons. What advice do you have for them?
A: Although Xiaohu has only been skating for five and a half years, we’ve seen so many kids come and go like a revolving door. This actually has everything to do with the parents. The kids who stick with it are definitely the ones who have a genuine passion for it. If parents push their children for the sake of athlete rankings, academic credits, or even to make money off them, the kids will naturally quit once they are old enough to resist. If the child loves it, support them; but if the parents have utilitarian motives, they likely won't last more than a few years.
Q：现在很多家长送孩子学滑板，你对这些家长有什么建议？
A： 虽然小虎只滑了五年半，但我们也看到周围孩子走马灯似的出现又消失。这其实跟家长有直接关系。现在留下的孩子，一定是自身热爱的。如果家长抱着运动员等级、学历、甚至拿孩子赚钱的目的去逼迫，等孩子心智成熟逼不动了，自然就消失了。如果孩子喜欢就支持，如果家长抱有功利性目的，可能坚持不了几年。
Q: Do you have any plans to travel anywhere else this year?
A: This year, if his condition stays good, we might head back to the U.S. He didn't go last year because he spent six months recovering from an injury and was intermittently working on getting his tricks back. But I feel that if there are opportunities for international competitions, we should go every year to refresh his experience.
Q：今年还有计划去哪里再走一走吗？
A： 今年的话，如果看他状态还好，有可能还是会去美国。去年因为他受伤了，养了半年伤，断断续续在捡动作，所以没去。但我觉得国外的一些比赛如果有机会的话，每年都是要去刷新一下体验的。
Johnny Tang is putting in overtime to finish editing the latest adidas Hainan/Guangdong tour video. Stay tuned and follow us so you don't miss the release!
Johnny Tang 正在加班剪辑 adidas 最新的海南/广东之行滑板片，关注我们，不要错过最新发布时间！
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