Hi checked out some vids you guys made and love the flow... I've been surfing for some years now never really got into the skating just because if you do wipe out it's gonna be a hard one... But I kinda wanna give it a try I'm not that young anymore (34) but was looking for some advise on what protective gear to buy (cause I don't wanna crack my nut) and what would be a nice board to get started with ) like not a shitty one so I have to buy another after I got the kicks just give me a pretty good one and if you have a 2nd hand or else know a shop where I can buy one let me know!!!

Right now ken@outdoorjapan.com is selling a Motion Nicotino. It is a very nice plywood board with solid concave, Randal trucks and Krypto Wheels. It would be a great score to pick that up off of him and would serve you well into the foreseeable future. Originally he bought is from OJ on OJ Marketplace so you can still see that board there and read about it.

As for protective gear - except for commuting and cruizing around I basically skate with a helmet, elbow and knee pads, and sliding gloves anytime I am going out for serious flow. It is more fun to push the envelop when the consequences of falling aren't so severe.

Your approach seems similar to my own, buy good stuff. Use that with the pads as well. The helmet is more about fit. You can get a cheap 2000yen helmet and be fine. Cheap pads are useless though, as they just slide around as soon as they hit pavement. If you have to prioritize buy good knee pads.