Over the course of many years, the variety of extreme sports has grown, providing more options to those who used to have very few options in urban environments. These options are most commonly skateboarding, rollerblading, and scootering. The Chicagoland area lacks mountain ranges, river rapids, and high alpine exploration, so some daredevil athletes turned to scootering, one of them being Patrick Shell ‘24. 

“The first time I picked up a scooter was five years ago, when all I had was a Razor scooter and knee pads,” Shell said. “I was motivated to start because of the satisfaction of accomplishing new stunts and tricks.”

Progressing through the years, Shell was able to make connections with others who shared a similar passion for the sport at local skateparks.

“The awesome community of friends also inspired me to ride, especially locally at Westmont skatepark,” Shell said. “Most of my friends at the skatepark teach each other new tricks such as buttercups and tail whips, which also teaches you how to push yourself to learn new tricks.”

Buttercups and tail whips are just a few of the possible tricks, requiring spatial awareness in the air and simultaneously rotating the bottom of the scooter around the rider’s back. 

Skating alongside Shell is Will MacEntee ‘25 who also picked up the sport four and a half years ago.

“When my friends got scooters, I saw them riding and doing tricks and it looked fun,” MacEntee said. “Watching them made me want to get one as well. The most important part is pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to progress and become the best you can.”

With both MacEntee and Shell’s years of experience riding scooters,they witnessed first hand the growth in popularity, in person and online.

“When it comes to sports, more specifically riding scooters, social media is impactful because taking cool videos and pictures is key to getting more recognition and making stunts look more interesting,” Shell said. “Scootering is starting to get very popular especially since 2019 when the first International Scooter Association [ISA] competition took place in Barcelona. The world’s greatest scooter riders came from all over the world to compete and help the sport get more attention and popularity.”

Shell regularly scooters at Westmont’s skatepark and competed at the Lake in the Hills competition in September 2021, placing third overall.

“I definitely see this sport becoming more popular and mainstream,” Shell said. “There are so many brands and companies of scooters starting to improve the sport and culture around it.”

Both Shell and MacEntee showcase their tricks through their instagram accounts, @will._scoots and @its_pshell, which allow them to engage with their audience with ease as well as show their progression in the sport.