Thanks, y'all!!

Ooh backwards crossovers on both sides. Props to you, Jay!! I have found it really challenging to get comfortable with picking my feet up when I skate backwards.

@Paula Pride Solid advice, thank you!!

Un-learning the "skate really hard, really fast" mentality in order to learn footwork has been a fun challenge so far. I try to do a simple downtown and I travel 20 feet for some reason 😂😂

@Janelle Kathryn Welcome! And whoa, Venice Beach!! What an iconic place to be learning to skate.

@Aleeta Powe It's pretty fun, I'm doing one in my pfp actually! I think it originates from figure skating. While rolling, crouch ALL the way down, extend one leg in front of you, grab your foot and lift it off the floor. The extended leg doesn't have to go super high, usually it stays parallel to the floor, and you can kinda steer yourself with it like a boat rudder. All your weight is on your other leg, which stays underneath you in that crouched position. There are a couple variations of the trick but that's the gist of it. Lots of fun, but you definitely want to stretch off-skates and loosen up first. If my hamstrings are too tight for me to comfortably fold forward and touch my toes, or grab my feet while seated on the floor in an L shape, then this trick will be uncomfortable for me.

@Aleeta Powe oh whoops didnt see this comment before I replied, sorry for the info dump haha! Have fun out there.

@Erin McCronich That is quite a long haul! If it were me I might make a fun day trip of it. Get fitted by a pro and try on some skates, have lunch somewhere new, maybe hit a rink etc etc. But I'm out on the west coast and can't say whether the retailers up there are worth the trek you'd be making. Hopefully they are! Doing some research, I'm seeing similar suggestions online as what Marisa offered. People say some Riedell and Moxi boots run slim. Might be worth a try, hard to go wrong with Riedell!!

@Erin McCronich Now, it was hard to find because they don't advertise well, but I see Wicked Skatewear opened a location in Pittsburgh: 4618 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA wickedskatewear.com (412) 579-0522 If interested, they recommend calling ahead for their current hours and what they have in stock since they are a small business. This is a CRAZY coincidence, their first location is in SoCal and I actually used to buy gear from them + skated with some of the people who worked there. Had no idea they opened another location. Small business but if the team is anything like it was 12 years ago, they know their stuff.