Floating, Onewheeling, riding the Onewheel… what is the best phrase to describe riding a Onewheel? The Onewheel is too amazing to not share and that is why I blog and YouTube about my Onewheel experiences.
During the short time that I have had my Onewheel blog, www.oneRADwheel.com and my YouTube Channel Freshly Charged, I have run into a conundrum: what is the best way to call the act of riding a Onewheel?
There are many folks in the Onewheel community who refer to the act of riding a Onewheel as “Floating” because the sensation you have while riding a Onewheel is very similar to floating. A Onewheel centered accessory company called The Float Life even adopted the term for their name and branding.
Unfortunately, unless you are communicating with other Onewheel enthusiasts, the word “float” often does not immediately invoke images of the Onewheel.
“Who wants to go for a float?”
“I’m going to float to the store to pick up some drinks.”
“Dude! It’s a perfect day to go floating!”
“Check out this video of our group float!”
When I use the term “float” to those unfamiliar with the Onewheel, my audience is often left confused. The word conjures images of someone in an innertube drifting down a lazy river more than it does the act of riding a Onewheel.
In addition, what do you call someone who rides a Onewheel? If riding a Onewheel is called floating, then is someone who floats on a Onewheel called a floater? To me, the words float, floating, and floaters make me think of lake and river activities or something my kids annoyingly leave in my drink when we share beverages.
While the term “float” may become more associated and accepted usage with the Onewheel as the device gains more popularity, I am currently looking for the best way to describe the act of riding a Onewheel. So what is the best option?
I can easily use the term “ride the Onewheel” just as I have during this entire article. I often do this in my blog posts or in my YouTube videos. But in today’s instant gratification society, texting the words “Who wants to go ride the Onewheel” is both cumbersome and boring.
When someone rides a surfboard, skateboard or snowboard each act can be referred to as a verb.
“The powder is amazing! Let’s go snowboarding!”
“The waves are gnarly! Let’s go surfing!”
“The skatepark is empty! Let’s go skateboarding!”
By using the word Onewheel as a verb, even those vaguely familiar with the Onewheel can understand what you will be doing.
“The weather is beautiful! Let’s go Onewheeling!”
Or for those with ADHD you can drop the -ing and just say
“The weather is beautiful! Let’s go Onewheel!”
What do you prefer saying when describing the act of riding the Onewheel? Do you prefer float vs using the word Onewheel as a verb or do you use some other verbage?
What do you call someone who is riding a Onewheel?
I would love to know. Until I get a consensus, I will just Madlib my way through my blog posts and YouTube videos using a combination of the terms.
Float on my friends!
Onewheel on my friends!
Ride the Onewheel on my friends!