Oof, yeah. Sorry about that post title. Normally this is the kind of thing I would be practically tripping over myself to make fun of, but for a certain segment of the population, this makes a lot of sense. This is Ookkie, “The World’s First Learner Skateboard.” Is this product necessary? No. But if you think about all the brightly colored push and ride toys out there for toddlers, why not make it a skateboard? You can use it with the “adult” handle for control, with just the kid handle once they are more comfortable, and without the handle at all before they move on to a real skateboard, if they do at all. No, these guys did not pay me for product placement. Yes, this is at odds with my own opinion that skateboarding in the Olympics is silly. I am going to call bullshit on the advertised “specially designed trucks” that are lightweight and turn easy. What they meant to say was “cheaply produced since the baseplate is part of the plastic deck.” Who makes this? You’ll be slightly surprised.
What is an Ookkie? Google Translate says it’s Afrikaans for “Little Eye,” but the website makes it look like it’s based in North America, although maybe they’ve got some geolocating behind the scenes on the content delivery. A little bit of digging turns up the name Absolute Board Co. Pty Ltd, which is based in Australia, and is the same company that brought you Penny Skateboards. You’ve got to hand it to Penny, they re-popularized the 70’s banana board, so much so that the name has come to define the actual item in popular language much like Kleenex and Xerox did.
The product and marketing are well thought out. They offer helmets color coordinated with the skateboards, as well as tiny little pad sets. It’s pretty basic idea. Get tiny kids comfortable on a skateboard. It’s fun for them. When I had a kid I bought a ridiculously expensive tricycle with a built in handle that you could use to push them if you were out on a walk and they were tired or didnt feel like cooperating. We got a lot of use out of that. I’m not sure I would have bought one of these though, I would have liked the idea, but as skateboarder I would have balked at the $139.99 price. You can buy a plastic skateboard in bulk, wholesale for about $15 a piece, less if you go through China directly, so this thing is at most worth half what they are charging. I imagine they have a graph that maximizes their profit over time until these become popular enough that you start seeing copies.
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