By Fran Lu
An 11-month-old baby in southwestern China has been skateboarding independently for two months, earning viral fame for his confident posture in videos shared by his parents.
The baby, affectionately nicknamed Juanjuan, is not yet a year old but already exhibits impressive skill on the skateboard, all before mastering the art of walking. The family lives in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
Juanjuan鈥檚 father, Liu Daolong, is a former snowboarding athlete and a member of the Chinese national snowboard team. Even after retirement, he continues to embrace his passion for boardsports.
When Juanjuan was about five months old, Liu introduced him to skateboarding at a local skate park.
His mother described the experience as a thrilling 鈥渇ree roller coaster ride,鈥 highlighting how much Juanjuan enjoyed his first outing.
She mentioned that by the time he could stand, he was already practising balancing on a snowboard at home.
At six months, he could stand with support, demonstrating advanced development for his age.
By eight months, Juanjuan was able to balance himself on a snowboard for over a minute, prompting Liu to begin his training on the skateboard.
Juanjuan initially practised at home, and when he turned nine months old, he ventured outdoors for his first skateboarding experience in their residential complex.
He started rolling short distances, and now, at 11 months old, he can skateboard independently for several hundred metres in the bustling downtown area.
His mother manages a social media account for him, showcasing videos of her son skateboarding while wearing protective headgear and nappies.
As Juanjuan glides on the board, Liu runs alongside him at the same pace, extending his arms for protection.
Occasionally, Liu offers him guidance, like shifting his weight onto his back foot, to which Juanjuan responds with understanding.
He has clearly mastered the art of balancing while rolling, controlling his speed and manoeuvring over bumps effortlessly.
Often, he giggles during his skateboarding sessions, clearly relishing the activity.
Juanjuan鈥檚 mother noted that he has not yet learned to walk.
She shared that their energetic boy is always on the move when awake, seeking out activities to 鈥渂urn his calories鈥.
Remarkably, he can now perform a dead hang on his baby climber for up to half a minute.
鈥淢y 11-month-old baby: sleeping all day long; other people鈥檚 11-month-old baby: skateboarding better than an adult,鈥 one online observer expressed with envy.
鈥淏abies shouldn鈥檛 start skateboarding so early in life; it might hurt adults鈥 egos,鈥 another joked.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible how fearless he is. He is clearly destined to be a skateboarder,鈥 a third comment praised.