I'm adicted to skateboarding since about 2 years, but only been skateboarding more about some months, almost one year...
I love it, all the things in it: friendship it makes, listening to complaints, being more time on the streets, practicing, getting hurt, talking about it, reading magazines about it, filming it, taking photos of it...
It's a sport that to many people it's rubbish: that's why they aren't in "our" position... They don't know the adrenaline it makes and having like your "local group" and sometimes a "local hero", going around the city to find a new spot, building a career, sending videos to sponsors, going to contests (which isn't that good though, lol), spending a day on this simple piece of board which metal attachements makes many people happy enough for a week.
Next I'll post some links if you like to visit and learn more about skateboarding (these are the finest brands around):
http://www.zeroskateboards.com/
http://www.adiofootwear.com/
http://www.almostawebsite.com/
http://www.foskco.com/
http://www.volcom.com/
http://www.bakerskateboards.com/
Next, some vids on youtube...
For who's portuguese I seriously sugest this amazing site http://www.skatebyte.com/