Newest Man Fad: Skateboarding To Work

Fred Mahe, a 36-year-old software salesman, twists his tie into a neat knot while riding his skateboard up Madison Avenue from his home in the Financial District to his office at 42nd Street and 3rd Avenue. "It's like a magic carpet," he said of his trusty transport. "You just kind of stand on it and it goes."

Mr. Mahe doesn't ride to work every day ("Some days it's all you can do to find your way to the train," he said), but he has joined a contingent of late-20-something and 30-year-old skateboarders who are riding the concrete waves of New York and Brooklyn on planks of wood atop polyurethane wheels.

These aren't the young skate punks of Union Square, grinding on railings and clattering down concrete steps at bone-breaking speed. These are guys with mortgages, iPhone bills and maybe wives and children, who find time to skateboard to and from work or cruise through Central Park on the weekends. They're indulging in nostalgia for a childhood pastime (Hello, Peter Pan? It's Wendy calling!) while convincing themselves it counts as cardio.

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