To kinesiology sophomore Elliot Thomas and agricultural industries sophomore Mitchell Furstenau, a skateboard is not just a transportation tool used to get to classes at MSU.

For them, it’s a lifestyle.

Thomas and Furstenau started skating at an early age, but as time went on they both encountered obstacles that put a temporary halt on their skating.

“When I was 11, I moved and I didn’t know anyone that skated, so I stopped for many years,” Thomas said.

Injuries held Furstenau back from skating.

“I had some back issues,” Furstenau said. “It kind of scared me going back on the rails again.”

Thomas decided to pick up skating again this past February, and Furstenau started doing skateboarding tricks again this semester. They both practice their tricks with other skaters at the Ranney Skate Park in Lansing.

“My main hobby is skateboarding,” Thomas said. “It creates a huge common ground for people to get to know each other. It’s not as much of a sport as people think as it is an art form.”