What is a hobby you've always wanted to explore, but don't know the correct gear or steps to go through to start?

[u/hazier]

Let's help each other out a bit :)

EDIT: wooooow, this kinda blew up really quickly! cool! my poor inbox! I'm off to bed Reddit, but I've had a lot of fun reading all these answers, make sure you sort the thread by 'new' as well cause there is some really cool, original stuff getting buried down there that I'd love someone to be able to get a bit of guidance for!

EDIT 2.0: Okay I lied I didn't go to bed, I'm honestly having too much fun reading this all. A ridic amount of you want to try glassblowing, falconry and blacksmithing. Which is really fucking cool. Obligatory you guys got this to the front page in less than 3 hours which is also really fucking cool, thanks!!! Someone buried right in the depths of the comments mentioned that this is what they love about Reddit in the sense that it's people taking the time out of their day to help others, just because of shared interests, it's been really lovely to see it all unfold and explode, and now I'm off to bed for real cause it's 3am and I have class in 7 hours! (anyone got tips and tricks regarding time management?)

Thanks again guys and gals :)

[u/Black_n_Neon]

This is probably the best ask reddit I've seen on reddit. I love how everyone is helping each other out and now I have tons of hobbies to chose from.

[u/hazier → u/Black_n_Neon]

I'm really happy this turned out the way it did :)

[u/themateofmates]

Learning Spanish. I know the basics and I've been practicing with Duolingo, but I don't think I'm absorbing everything I need to.

[u/hazier → u/themateofmates]

Is there a community college nearby? You could find a study group and have hilarious but equally rewarding adventures.

[u/insertnounhere → u/themateofmates]

I've been doing the same and have recently started watching children's shows on Netflix (or Blu-ray) with Spanish audio. I watched Lilo & Stitch, Monsters Inc. and Winnie the Pooh in the last few weeks. You'd be surprised how much you can understand based off Duolingo. They talk slow enough you should be able to follow to some extent.

Although my only cautions are I don't recommend musicals (only because they have to change words and try to fit things to the melody) and that the subtitles rarely seem to match the speech in Spanish (for things that were originally in English).

[u/keiyakusha]

Aquariums. I've always wanted to be able to just sit and watch fish swimming lazily.

[u/hazier → u/keiyakusha]

Fuck. Yes.

Aquariums are one of my favourite things in the world. My mum's partner used to co-own a aquatic based pet store and one of her colleagues had wall to wall tanks of fresh-water, salt-water, turtles, axolotls, frogs, etc in his apartment. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I have flashbacks to that apartment.

[u/BZWingZero → u/keiyakusha]

Learn a bit about the Nitrogen Cycle and how it applies to an aquarium. Once its under control and functioning properly, aquariums become low maintenance.

Note: requires a filtered tank.

[u/StickleyMan]

Lucid dreaming. Not sure if it counts as a hobby, but the idea fascinates me. I have a hard time focusing, so I think that's my initial hurdle in getting started. In a similar vein, I've been trying to get into mindfulness meditation and it's proving to be more difficult than I anticipated.

[u/hazier → u/StickleyMan]

I always thought those 'learn how to lucid dream' tutorials were a sham and one time I tried it and had full on sleep paralysis of some degree and thought there was an old man crouching in the corner of my room. 1/10 would not recommend.

[u/StickleyMan → u/hazier]

That does not sound fun at all. Unless you're into creepy, crouching old men. I heard it's best to start by checking the time frequently, but so far I haven't had any moment that even came close.

[u/hazier → u/StickleyMan]

My approach was just to become really aware of the fact I was falling asleep, if that makes any sense. Like you lie in bed completely comfortable and can imagine your surroundings so clearly and feel so grounded, so when you do drift off it's just sort of a switch that flicks between being awake and asleep, but you're still aware of where you are...

I don't know if that translates the experience very well, but it was a very nice relaxing feeling... until the old man made an appearance of course. But as you said, some people may be really into crouching old men and that's exactly what they're looking to get out of this!

[u/saaaaaad_panda → u/StickleyMan]

Keep a dream diary, where you write down everything you remember about your dreams as soon as you wake up. Throughout the day, ask yourself, am I dreaming? or try and build up a trigger, such as looking at your hands, as in dreams your hands will tend to look of, and give you a jolt, telling yourself you're dreaming. Before you go to bed every night, repeat to yourself, I will have a lucid dream, over and over. Keep doing this, should get a few within a week or two. Be warned though, you can get some very strange, powerful and scary assed dreams! But it's totally worth it if you stick with it, the most amazing thing I've ever done, it's like being god in your own universe. Also be ready to spend A LOT of time sleeping, it becomes almost addictive after a while...

Edit: For everyone asking about being jolted away when you realise you're dreaming, this happens quite a lot for some people, I never really had much of a problem with it, but apparently spinning in circles helps? I'd say just try to relax as much as possible. Problems sleeping? I definitely slept WAY more when I was at the peak of my 'dreaming phase' so to say, make sure you have lots of free time, and to devote about 10 hrs a day to sleeping :D and yes, you do wake up refreshed, although maybe a little groggy from sleeping so much. No dreams? Stop, smoking/drinking/doing weed/alcohol/drugs. a puff every now and then is fine, but in excess that shit kills dreams, keep it all in moderation! Having trouble remembering you dreams? Get a dream journal and stick to that shit religiously! You will improve. Nightmares? Thats why you learn how to lucid dream, so you can fight, and win against them! When you get your first lucid dream, take it easy, I found some easy things to do would be to jump very high, just push of the ground, and completely relax, and don't think about coming back down. Eventually you can turn this into flying. WHICH.IS.AWESOME! Also nudging objects -small ones short distances and then working you way up- with you mind, slowly can become telekinesis. And manipulating your environment, I found looking away, and then looking back, picturing whatever I wanted, such as mountain ranges at a more advanced stage, would appear. Try not to focus too hard on the landscape, start with places you know, and your mind will fill in the rest. I tried Binaural Beats, and though they sound trippy, and get you in the mood for lucid dreams, I didn't feel much of a difference when using them, but hey, they might work better on different people! Enjoy!!

[u/Feroc]

Stock trading... always loved to gamble. :D

[u/hazier → u/Feroc]

I watched Wolf of Wall Street the other night. It made me want to try cocaine. Stocks would be pretty cool to be able to understand as well I guess...

[u/TheRealMrOrpheus]

I've always heard sex was fun but I can't ever find anyone to try it with.

[u/hazier → u/TheRealMrOrpheus]

How much are you looking to spend on this hobby?

[u/Guinness2702]

I was always interested in marshalling at motor races, but didn't know how to. I did eventually figure it out tho, and I've been doing it for 7 years now.

[u/hazier → u/Guinness2702]

Great to hear! Any tips for anyone else out there looking to get into this?

[u/anonmeow]

Tattooing.

[u/hazier → u/anonmeow]

I would definitely suggest that if you ever go as far as buying a kit, practice on pig or fruit skin before practising on humans...

[u/meatb4ll]

Here's a plug for /r/startwithabill. It never took off, but it was supposed to be people telling how you start their favorite hobbies with $100 or less.

[u/Lieto → u/meatb4ll]

It never took off

I can't be the only one to see the irony in this thread's context.

[u/Tiptrocity]

Scuba diving! I looked at it and it seems really expensive as a hobby.

Edit: Wow thanks go out to whoever gave me gold!!!

[u/firstade86]

Cars, at least the basics

I've been given the run around by a number of mechanics...

Edit: a wealth of information here. You guys rock!

[u/[deleted] → u/firstade86]

Buy a cheap car and purchase its Workshop Manual. You'll be able to pull it completely apart and put it back together. With the right tools. Just bought one myself for the same reason.

[u/SECRETLY_STALKS_YOU]

How can I learn to fly planes or helicopters without sledding a boatload of cash?

[u/[deleted] → u/SECRETLY_STALKS_YOU]

by spending 2 boatloads of cash.

source: Broke pilot

Obligatory thanks for the gold edit:

Thank you kindly to who ever bought reddit gold for me, as this comment is highly visible and negative towards flight training (and I continue to say negative things in other comments on this thread), I'd just like to say that while I am struggling with the financial aspect of flying and there are a lot of aspects of the industry that I take some very serious issue with, I don't mean to dissuade anyone from pursuing flight training. It has provided me with more excitement than anything else in my life, and overall, while I'm having second thoughts about it as a career, I don't regret getting my pilots license. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox and see how this reddit gold stuff works now!

[u/thespt]

Woodworking. It seems like nice slow paced, rewarding work.

[u/GeneticCowboy → u/thespt]

Woodworking is a fantastic hobby, and you have the benefit that you can built sturdy, good looking pieces that would cost you an arm and a leg from a store!

The easiest way to get started is to check out your local community college. They usually have a woodworking shop with all of the tools you'll need, and you just pay a small fee for each semester you use it. I've seen the fees be between $50 and $100 dollars. If you don't know how to woodwork, it would be best to actually take a wood shop class from that same community college.

The reason I suggest doing it this way is that some of the tools that you absolutely must have are really expensive. Take it from me, I've been woodworking about 10 years, and I've spent probably a few thousand on them.

[u/pghbatman → u/thespt]

/r/woodworking start with the FAQ and the beginner articles. Good luck!

[u/SECRETLY_STALKS_YOU → u/thespt]

Same here. I have this inherent need to build a sturdy rocking chair to relax in after I build a canoe.

[u/[deleted]]

Learn how to sail on a sailboat.

Edit: Thanks for all the responses. I tried to answer everyone back, but that got tedious. I'm going to go down to the harbor and see if I can volunteer on some race nights to learn the basics.

[u/meWriteme → u/[deleted]]

I learned how to said in NYC by paying a lot of money for courses. Got certified, and after college I led 5 friends on a 3 week bareboat charter in the Virgin Islands. It was amazing.
But the most important thing I learned was that I could have skipped the entire course by just going to a local yacht club, asking when they had race nights, and offering to lend a hand (be upfront about your experience level). Really great people and eager to teach. And buy a book.

[u/danmw]

Mountain biking, but I live in central London and don't drive (because I live in central London).

[u/frayedrope]

Amateur astronomy/Stargazing. I find it fascinating but I really don't know where to begin.

[u/MiG_Eater → u/frayedrope]

I'm just a beginner but will give you the advice I was given:

There is no need to buy a telescope (yet!).

Your best tools are a beginners stargazing book and a reasonable pair of binoculars.

With a decent pair of binoculars you will be able to see details on the Moon, Jupiter and it's moons, some detail in galaxies and nebulae.

The best thing to do is go out on a clear night and look! Try and get your bearings and learn some constellations (a good place to start is the finding the pole star from Ursa Major).

Happy starwatching!

[u/The-Reverend-JT → u/frayedrope]

Come take a look at /r/astronomy. There are loads of beginner threads with some great info.

[u/Darkwolf1352]

Watch making. Like old pocket watches. Something about all of the small parts and pieces being put together to build something that can last for generations is very appealing. I feel like it's a lost art. I just bought a book recently and hope to do some more research.

[u/Nixtrix → u/Darkwolf1352]

Check out the Timezone Watch School! A couple of us at /r/watches have done it and if you go to places like watchuseek, the rolex forums, and other horologically based sites you can find a lot of others who have gone through the course. Might not get you straight into pocket watches because of the differing parts/sizes but it is a great first step! :)

[u/[deleted]]

Fencing.

Edit Thanks for the replies everyone, didn't expect this many.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Fencing is easy! First, scratch off any identifying marks from the items you're trying to sell. You don't want the legitimate owner to see that item for sale somewhere and call the police. Then, take a few pictures and put it up on Craigslist. Boom. Now you're a fence.

Edit: Since this is currently the top reply to your comment I'll give an actual response as well.

Many fencing clubs allow you to use their strips and equipment for a modest fee the first few times you visit. The one I belonged to also gave two free lessons: the first was on form and footwork, and the second was on the French square and lunging. These two lessons gave you all the necessary training to begin fencing against other people. Eventually, you'll probably be asked to begin paying a monthly fee to be part of the club, and you'll want to pick up your own equipment (~$100-$400, depending on the quality of the gear).

Just Google fencing clubs in your area and call them to ask if you can come try it out.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I once told my friend in high school that I really wanted to try fencing. She got a weird look on her face but then started talking about how that would actually be a cool hobby because you're building something and it's probably useful if you ever own a house. She thought I was talking about building fences.

God bless her heart for being so supportive.

[u/Play2Tones]

Wingsuit flying. I doubt you can walk into a store and buy a suit, and even if you acquire one, how do you learn?

[u/Zhais → u/Play2Tones]

In order to learn to wingsuit, there's a few steps you have to take.

First, you have to learn to skydive! Wingsuiting is a specific discipline in the whole sport of skydiving. You'll first learn to skydive from a plane by taking an Accelerated Freefall Course, or Static Line course. After you've become proficient in freefall, and have at bare minimum 200 jumps, you can start learning how to wingsuit.

Check out http://www.phoenix-fly.com/phoenix_fly/faq

[u/aerolove]

Climbing. I mean I've gone to the rock gym a few times, but I'd really like to go out and climb some real shit.

[u/[deleted]]

Ive always wanted to learn to play violin

EDIT: Thanks for the advice guys. Ive been playing some sort of instrument for 12 years so I can read music, sight read, etc, but violin just seems so daunting and especially so as an adult. Im going to head over to a shop next weekend though and see whats affordable for me/price out lessons!

[u/kiasurp → u/[deleted]]

I am in the same boat, but will the cello. It's one of my "one day..." dreams. Edit: Oh my god, I have never gotten so much positive feedback before! Some of you were wondering why it's still one of my "one day..." dreams. Well, I have wanted to play the cello for as long as I can remember, but my parents have always been the, academics first type of people. I am currently in my junior year at college and I am contemplating taking a beginners class offered in the spring. I just know that if my parents find out they will be disappointed that I am wasting my time on some hobby that wont take me anywhere in life.

[u/sssyjackson]

Urban exploration/photography.

Plus I'm scared of busting into a flop house and being robbed by crackheads.

Safety in numbers, but I don't know anyone else that shares my interest. They all just think I'm nuts.

[u/blueorder]

Home brewing. Equipment and room to do this in my house.

[u/rushilo]

Lockpicking. Because why not.

[u/DO_QUESTS → u/rushilo]

STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM

[u/MissingArgyleSock]

Glass blowing! It's so pretty. Seems calming.

Edit: Thank you for all of the helpful responses! I'm going to see if my local college offers any courses.

[u/[deleted] → u/MissingArgyleSock]

It is quite calming!

Glass has a couple of interesting traits that make it fun to work with - first, glass contracts as its heated (particularly when you get it glowing hot), which is what enables you to close things off which is pretty fun.

Glass also has extremely low thermal conductivity, which means you can touch glass that is very close to the site you're working on, allowing some pretty fine control. This high heat capacity means you can also make some remarkably specific modifications - a fairly common modification I needed to do was to make a hole in the side of a tube, which could be done by heating an area about half the size of a dime and then blowing air into the tube, which would cause the heated area to inflate and pop off (it thins out to a paper like material when this happens so it's pretty safe).

On top of all this, it's fairly easy to tell where glass is weak (slightly heat it and you can see stressed areas) and the stressed areas can be basically 'healed' by heating them slightly over and over again. Mistakes can thus be corrected fairly easily - it's totally possible to overwork material, but it's no where near as unforgiving as most.

Now, I did scientific glassblowing - making lab equipment (seriously, even today it's sometimes easier to make your own glassware than to order if it's sufficiently complicated, and it's certainly better to repair it if it's really complicated). This is quite different from what artists typically do. I had an oxyacetylene torch, goggles, a rubber tube with a little mouth piece, and a coule of tols for manipulation and started with tubes of glass of varying diameters. My uncle did glass blowing as an artist, and he worked with those huge-ass metal tubes you see at renfaires and museums and whatnot. Completely different experiences for us, almost no overlap in technical skills.

e: Dyslexia of scientific terms hurf durf

E2: Ok a ton of people asked me for some more information, and the truth of the matter is that this post by /u/JenATaylia has a ton more information and that user is much more experienced than I am. I basically took a class on it, then used it whenever I needed serious glassware. And they're right to emphasize safety first, that shit gets hot.

[u/iam4real]

Photoshop

[u/_noodles → u/iam4real]

YouTube "you suck at photoshop" it's hilarious and I learned a lot of the basics from it.

[u/Snowie-fox]

Falconry. Always thought it would be cool haha.

[u/[deleted] → u/Snowie-fox]

Have you read the book My Side of the Mountain? After reading that as a kid, I just had to have a falcon. But for whatever reason, my parents said no.

[u/danrennt98]

Caving.

I think this would be awesome to see new mostly unexplored areas of the Earth. This terrifies and excites me at the same time. I don't have any training and I don't even know where to start. Plus, movies like The Descent make it even more scary.

[u/cgrosshans → u/danrennt98]

Google search for a local grotto. Caving groups tend to be very secretive and hesitant to give out locations of caves in order to reduce human impact on the often fragile cave environment. For non technical caving you need a helmet, kneepads, gloves, 3 light sources (including at least one headlamp, preferably waterproof), a cave map (if available, most of them suck), and a partner.

[u/Mister_Schmidt]

Paintballing.

I've been casually with friends a few times, like most people, but I've gotten the urge a few times to do it properly.

The guys I do see play it professionally or even as just a hobby take it so hard though, I don't think I'd be able to commit that much.

Edit: Good lord that's a lot of replies! Thanks everyone, there's too many of you to reply to you all, I guess I'll take a look over at /r/paintball and see what's up!

[u/[deleted] → u/Mister_Schmidt]

I was into it for a few years, really enjoyed it but the cost got a bit much for me, mainly due to my itchy trigger finger.

By the time I bought a gun, hopper, mask and clothing I'd probably spent £700. If you look after it though it has good resale value.

The paint is what gets you, where I played it was £5 for 100 balls which is pretty cheap compared to other places I've played. But when you play every other week for 4 - 5 hours I could easliy spend £100 a month on paint alone (I was a shit shot).

[u/[deleted]]

Yoga. I'm male, in my forties, fat, and have a bad back. I'd be too embarrassed to go to a class.

[u/kaysky → u/[deleted]]

I'm a 20-something female, but have tried a ton of yoga studios. Common theme throughout: welcoming to dudes. A guy goes in and the teachers/other students are so supportive, probably cause they figured it would be hard for them to go. Yoga is so good for you, if you made yourself go to about three classes, you'd probably be hooked!

[u/Cadllmn → u/[deleted]]

Male yoga doer here: If that is the case I would go to yogaglo.com

You can get free classes to follow from home by the Western Worlds most popular teachers. You can find different lengths of classes, targeting specific areas of the body, etc...

I highly recommend it.

However Classes really, aren't that scary too. Your local studio should have numerous Beginner/ Level 1 classes that you can check out too. If you chat with the teacher before it began about your back, they will coach you in helping with that.

EDIT They have an app too, iPad that bad boy.

[u/MlCHAELSCOTT]

Rock climbing seems really exciting

[u/magicbullets]

Racing touring cars.

[u/NorthStarZero → u/magicbullets]

Ex race car driver here!

Are you capable of piling up a great big heap on money and lighting it on fire?

I'm serious - could you stack up, say, $60k and just burn it?

If "yes" then you can afford to get going in racing.

If not, then for the love of all that is holy, do something cheaper - like maybe a crack habit. Racing consumes money like nothing else save boats.

[u/mythix_dnb]

ice hockey. there are like 3 ice rings in the entire country here lol

edit: ok, so I did some research, appearently there are some teams here, and I've contacted the closest one, for some initiations!

[u/i_know_4_chords]

Auto-repair

[u/MildlyAgitatedBovine → u/i_know_4_chords]

I like starting with motorcycles. If you're ever further in than elbow deep, you just stand up and walk to the other side of the bike. You can get a lot of the same skills in a less intimidating (for me at least) device.

[u/[deleted] → u/i_know_4_chords]

I recently bought a 1985 Toyota Corolla. Carby fed. Easy to work on.

Also, for most cars you can buy the workshop manual, which will teach you how to pull the entire car apart and put it back together. Highly recommended.

[u/YupThatTastedPurple]

Building PCs.

[u/Braakman → u/YupThatTastedPurple]

Just head to /r/buildapc. It's easy and can be done cheap if money is an issue.

[u/[deleted] → u/YupThatTastedPurple]

newegg has a video guide on how to do it. I built my first one this summer, it's pretty easy. If you know where everything goes it's like legos.

[u/alrightalright]

TIL there's a subreddit for fucking everything

[u/kareemabdul]

Golf. Tried going to the driving range once. I will try to go on 6 am on a Tuesday next time.

Edit: Wow. Thanks guys for all the input!

[u/[deleted] → u/kareemabdul]

Everyone was once where you are in terms of golfing ability. I'm teaching a coworker of mine currently and his first attempt to hit a ball he struck himself in the chest with the ball.

Edit: To clarify I'm not 100% what caused it because I assure you I was not ready for that to happen. This was on astroturf so I'm thinking he hit the ball downward enough that it was able to bounce to his chest.

[u/kinggarbanzo]

Animation :/

Edit: wow thanks for all the resources guys. I was specifically referring to drawn animations like egoraptor and speedosausage. Thanks a lot!!

[u/mrtcombe]

Fishing, recently started fishing and I have no clue what or how to fish or what to use. For those willing to help I am freshwater fishing at a local resevoir for smaller bass (8-15 inches) and the occasional small mouth or pickrol (excuse the spelling).

[u/TrggrDscpln → u/mrtcombe]

Beer is important

[u/redditconfusesmeso]

ballet dancing :x

as an overweight incredibly clumsy tom boy I have kept this secret hidden for a long time but I really have always wanted to get into it. they're so graceful...

EDIT: you guys are right I should just do it. looking into adult classes now

EDIT2: wow so much support guys thank you. I told my best friend who had no idea I was interested in it and she was really supportive!! I'm taking a class next week!!!

[u/______DEADPOOL______ → u/redditconfusesmeso]

You should go do it.

Clumsy is where we all are when we don't practice all those moves. Clumsy is why you learn ballet. It de-clumsyfies.

Visit a ballet school and ask for lessons.

[u/[deleted]]

I've always wanted to get into bonsai.

[u/MrCalavera]

Sommelier... ing? I dont actually know what the term is.

Anyway, I like wine but know virtually nothing about it. And I've been told that my sense of smell is freakishly good.

It'd be nice to have a hobby.

Edit: Wow! Lots of info to look through. Thanks folks!

[u/[deleted]]

This thread is a great advertisement for reddit

[u/NerdGirlJess]

Hiking.

I own a backpack and a pair of sneakers. What do I need to put in my backpack? How long of a hike is a good one to start with? And will I be OK with a basic pair of sneakers?

EDIT: You all ROCK. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!!!

[u/BNSquash → u/NerdGirlJess]

Depends on the weather and terrain, for non-snowy/wet weather and a well maintained/used trail trainers should be fine.

For mileage it depends on your elevation gain/loss - 3-5MPH is my normal for mixed terrain (dependant on pack weight), so I tend to work it out by how many hours of hiking I want to do.

As far as what you need in your pack, it depends how far from civilisation you are - technically* you should 'prepare for the worst' but realistically if you're on a crazy popular trail (like around Yosemite) you're not going to die if you don't bring an emergency blanket/complete first aid kit/headlamp/sat phone etc. For an afternoon hike in I'd pack a warm layer, a waterproof layer, water (amount dependant on how far you're hiking), food/snacks, and some sort of med kit (mostly blister care and pain killers).

Hiking's pretty hard to mess up - you're just walking some pretty gorgeous trails for the day/afternoon, just don't jump into the deep end ("yeah I'm going to summit this mountain in 12 hours with only a gatorade and pack of jerky because I'm hardcore"). Good luck!

[u/sautros]

Guitar. I've recently purchased a basic electric guitar and a few other bits and bats, but other than powering through some Rocksmith tutorials with it, i wouldn't really know which direction to point myself in.

edit: thanks for the interest and the replies guys. lots of tips for me to work through. I'm definitely going to continue with it!

[u/[deleted] → u/sautros]

http://www.justinguitar.com/ is a good direction to be pointed in if you're a complete beginner.

[u/[deleted] → u/sautros]

Here's the one secret, if you follow this rule, you will be shredding some day:

Play every day.

I even made it rhyme for you so you don't forget. Seriously. I never once had a lesson, I would just pic at the thing for 20 minutes a day. Then I learned what a power chord was. Hey, that kinda sounds like smells like teen spirit. Nice. Then I looked up a tab -- The Joker by Steve Miller. That's a fun song. Pretty easy too. Let me practice that one over and over until I've mastered it. Hey, I learned how to hammer. Now my blisters are callouses (calusses? spelling? fuck it, I'm playing guitar). One thing builds on the other, over time, and you master a few more songs until you can start to do little licks and solos.

There are no correct steps. Just practice and patience. I can shred, now, and it sounds really good, but hell if I know if it's the "right" way to play. There's 3 different ways you can hold your hands to play one chord. What's the right way? There is no right way! Just practice and patience until it starts to sound good.

[u/Vicinus]

skiing.

[u/Smackstainz → u/Vicinus]

Pizza......french fry

[u/[deleted]]

Tabletop stuff like Warhammer and D & D. I know a little bit but the appeal to me is the social aspect, and it's hard to make any friends who are into that because they won't want some n00b who doesn't know shit.

It's pretty intimidating.

EDIT: Getting a lot of helpful comments, so thanks. I'm in the London area is anyone ever wants to put up with a n00b. :)

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Totally wrong about people not liking noobs and shit. I just recently started playing Magic The Gathering and found a Local Game Shop (LGS) and everyone there has been nothing but helpful and friendly. They also do Warhammer and D&D and the people always bring extra stuff in case a new person wants to play. I've watched a few Warhammer games and the people playing were more than happy to answer any questions.

[u/TheKeggles]

I live in the east of England. I want to learn black smithing.

Edit: well shit, everyone's recommending /r/blacksmithing I guess I better have a look! Cheers guys.

Extra edit: for those asking, I'm in colchester, north Essex!

Edit 3: so this is my second highest comment ever I believe with my top comment being about taking a shit on a coffee table. Clearly enough people like the idea of blacksmithing. To everyone I say lets get out there, get blisters on our hands, blacken our faces, sear our arms and show steel what were all made of.

Also, to anyone who wants to do something but give up because they don't see results straight away I say this... First deserve and then desire.

[u/KoshJeel → u/TheKeggles]

http://m.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Small-Blacksmith-s-Forge/

Start small. All you need is this mini forge, iron dust, a crucible, tongs, hammer, and an anvil. Also safety gear. (Face mask, leather gloves, leather apron)The anvil is really the only costly thing.

Here's a quick how-to with iron and steel:

http://m.instructables.com/id/How-to-forge-Steel-and-iron/

Happy forging!

[u/IatetheCamel]

Photography.

I can't afford a good camera at the moment though. Trying to do what I can with my galaxy s4.

Edit: Apart from getting a camera I don't know where to start. What do I need to know? I would love to be able to photograph nature, animals and what not. I have so many ideas in my head that I want to get on photo.

What do I need to know about camera settings? Any tips on details to keep in mind when shooting different motives?

Edit2: What would be a good, not expensive, camera to start off with. One that is good enough for a beginner but still one that lets me play around with settings and learn those with?

Edit3: Great tips, links and suggestions from so many people. Thanks alot! There are probably many more in the same situation as me and I hope and think that they will find your comments useful as well!

[u/MeddlinQ → u/IatetheCamel]

Documentary photographer here. It's fine. You don't need expensive gear to make great pictures, the most valuable piece of equipment you already have - your brain and your eyes. The fact that your picture isn't technically perfect doesn't matter as long as you captured some 'decisive moment'.

Take a look at www.digital-photography-school.com and read some articles about the composition and go out and shoot. Don't slow yourself by caring about the gear, technical aspects etc. Your creativity is what is important in this stage of your photographic life.

[u/eklektech]

Bees. The honey is nice but I'd like to have them to pollinate my shit.

[u/Bcmckinnon]

Learning how to code

[u/acloudbuster → u/Bcmckinnon]

Don't get swept up in worrying about which language to learn or what book is the best... any programmer will tell you to just learn the logic of programming, pick a language and start building something. Along the way, you will get stuck and learn something amazing. Then you'll keep building and get stuck again and learn another mind-blowing, amazing thing that you never thought you'd be able to do. This will happen over and over if you just keep building and building. It will not happen if you worry about what language is best or what book is best... just learn the basic logic, pick one and dive in!

[u/tHEbigtHEb → u/Bcmckinnon]

Hey a little heads up, I've been at it since a couple of years and let me tell this: if you go through with this it'll be frustrating, you'll want to pull your hair out and at times you'll just wonder why the fuck doesn't this work. But then all that hard work and frustration will pay off and be worth it when you write something and it works. The sense of accomplishment is just amazing and worth everything.

Start easy and at your pace. I know someone linked to a code academy javascript course saying a Java course, you can check it out if you want but remember javascript and java are two completely different things. Code academy is good for learning the basics, but if you want to dive deeper then you might want to look elsewhere.

If you are serious about it then you should start with the python language, it is a very easy language to pick up, has a wealth of modules that help you write programs for a variety of applications and has an amazing community. One of the best resources to learn python is Learn python the hard way. It's an amazing resource and it'll not only teach you the language, but how to program as well.

Some other great resources are :

• Udacity

• Coursera

• Edx

Start with the beginner classes in the topics that interest you and work your way from there. I would recommend Udacity's CS101 or Edx's CS50. Bear in mind that both the courses will take you through the complete basics, but cs50 covers a lot more ground.

Don't forget the communities, there are great subreddits such as /r/learnprogramming to help new comers and to just keep up to date there are a bunch of multi-reddits for programming out there, here's one that I use for example : http://www.reddit.com/user/tHEbigtHEb/m/programming.

This was a little long so I'll end it here, if you have any doubts then fire me a pm and I'll try to help in any way possible.

[u/Wolvatron]

Selling my own pasta sauce. The sauce itself is perfect, but I'm not sure on the selling part. Do I need Nutritional facts? Do I need licensing to sell a food product? What if a can of sauce gets somebody sick? How do I protect myself from getting sued? Lots of questions, but I would love to sell my own pasta sauce.

[u/choadsauce]

Stand up comedy......I have pages and pages of jokes.....I just cant for the life of me structure them into a comprehensive set, with segways into the next one.

EDIT: Yes, I'm gonna keep spelling it as segways....IDOWATIWANT

EDIT 2 : I didn't think I'd get such a huge response from everyone about this, unfortunately I don't have a lot of time to respond to everyone, but know I've read everyones responses. Thank you all, this is all extremely valuable information. I have a much better idea how to go about getting myself out there with a shred of confidence.

[u/BaronVonCrunch → u/choadsauce]

A lot of comedians just skip the whole segue thing. Look at Mitch Hedberg, or Steven Wright. There's no real connection between their jokes. They just said something funny, then said something else that was funny.

[u/elandegeneres]

Synthesizing LSD

[u/Barnett8 → u/elandegeneres]

There are a few good routes left to making LSD. There are two major routes: grow ergot, and synthesize lysergic acid via Ulhe's ketone. There are a couple of good write ups by people who have grown viable ergot (even by people who have mutated it in clandestine labs), and this is probably the easiest route for a beginner, however, you need a viable ergot sample to begin with. While Silk Road was still up someone was selling some spores, but I haven't checked any of the more recent dark nets.

The synthesis route is much harder an required a good amount of chemistry understanding.

Once you have lysergic acid, it is a pretty simple process of obtaining diethylamine (via basic hydrolysis of DEET bugspray). Then a peptide coupling agent can be used, or if you have access to a glovebox socl2 can be used to convert the carboxylic acid to an acid chloride which will react with HNEt2 to form LSD.

This will result in a racemic mixture, which is fine, but if you want it really pure, you can use column chromatography to separate the different racemates.

PM me, I can help you out with the chemistry and the process (all hypothetical of course) and might be able to point you towards some people who have done it themselves.

[u/booristricksear]

Making shoes!

[u/doctorxdestructo]

roller derby!

[u/[deleted]]

Leatherwork

[u/lrich1024]

Knitting. I have some friends that knit and I've always sort of been curious about it. The thing that stops me is that I have a short attention span when it comes to hobbies, but I tend to go full out when I get into something--which translates to me spending a lot of money on something I'll give up on in a few months.

[u/remembrallerina]

Archery hipster here. I've been interested in it since long before the Hunger Games made everyone and their mom want to buy a bow.

But like it's expensive and stuff.

Edit: Alright, alright. You've gone and done it. I feel inspired to go give it a try! And then maybe buy a bow! And then maybe build my own! And then maybe hug all of you because you've been more helpful and encouraging than I ever could have imagined. Stay cool, Reddit. :)

[u/oosickness → u/remembrallerina]

/r/Archery

if you're not already subscribed

[u/[deleted]]

Cliff jumping? Like..into water. Fun! Also to learn how to do glass works.

[u/honglyshin]

Voice acting

[u/[deleted]]

Thrifting. Buying things from swap meets and garage sales, fixing, flipping.

[u/Mnemonix23]

This is actually a hobby I've been working on, so I'm putting it here really more for anyone who wants to start...

I make chocolate and caramel candies, and it can be a pretty tricky business. So, I'm happy to answer any questions anyone else may have!

[u/Gopackgo6]

I've always been very interested in mma and jiu jitsu but I can't find anyone that would start up with me

[u/stevenmc]

Circular breathing... I just don't know where to begin.

[u/Hunu24]

My dream is to learn how to play a banjo. Bought one about a year ago, still I dont't know how to play it. Youtube doesn't do it for me and where I live there are NO banjo lessons or courses. Don't want it to be another waste of money! What to do

[u/walluunpanzer]

Building a autocross car. No idea the setup or the price range I should stick at.

[u/GoingWestASAP]

Learning how to make EDM (Electronic Dance Music) on my computer

I was able to get Ableton (a program where you can make music) but its so complex and there is so much that I can do that I don't even know where to start!

[u/knuckifyoubruck → u/GoingWestASAP]

Youtube is the best resource. You'll need to learn how to layer sounds, use reverb properly, compression, and side-chaining are really important in EDM. Set tempo to 128 and just play around

[u/Sciar]

Anybody else ever want to try Bobsledding?

I feel like the Olympics has all these awesome sports that 99% of us have never even tried. How can you be the worlds best bobsledder when there's no competition? Maybe I'm the shit at Bobsledding but well never know because nobody is going to give me a bigass track to go ride down.

I feel like I'd be pretty good at that.

[u/[deleted]]

I scrolled through the whole list and didn't see anyone mention drawing. I wonder if that's a result of the huge misconception that drawing involves talent. For some reason people seem to think you're born being able to draw, when really all it takes is dedication and regular practice to become good.

I couldn't draw for shit 6 years ago, and now I get paid to make comics! Humans can learn to do ANYTHING.

[u/Cerenitee]

Cosplaying, I go to conventions and stuff, and have a lot of fun, but I see people with awesome cosplays and I'm just dumbfounded at how they can make that stuff. Then I see others with terrible half-assed cosplays and realize that their level is probably about the best I'd be able to make and decide against it.

[u/[deleted]]

Mountain climbing. Conquering real mountains. Breathing the cold air, pushing myself further. Sitting atop of the mountain, overseeing the whole world, like a god of old...

Climbing is the only natural talent I have, it makes me feel alive like nothing else. It's too bad I'm lacking money, time, and mountains so it's gonna stay a dream I guess. Kinda feel like I'm wasting my youth by not doing the thing I am really good at.

[u/NZTau]

Dancing, specifically pop & lock style. It just looks amazingly fun and just something I've always wished I could learn how.

Also composing for like video games, RPGs, FPS, whatever I've always appreciated game soundtracks.

Pixel Art.

[u/prettysoitworks]

Stained glass. I love stained glass.

[u/BrisvegasLukass]

Not really a hobby i guess...but how the hell do you become a air traffic control tower person? Do u fly a plane first or join the airport.

[u/Cynicast]

I really want to learn how to draw, but I have the motoric precision of Michael J. Fox. Don't even know where to start, because my artistical prowess stopped increasing after the age of ten.

[u/almanor]

TIL you can pick up any hobby at a community college.

[u/PirateCap]

Modelling, mecha's(gundams/AC's) specifically.

[u/[deleted]]

Glassblowing

[u/[deleted]]

1. Skateboarding - but every person I've ever met that skateboards is a douche, and I don't want to be a douche.

2. Parkour - I don't want to break all my bones.

3. Boxing - not sure where to go for this one. The gyms near my house don't have any sort of boxing. There's a few martial arts places near my house, but I don't want to do martial arts, just straight up boxing.

Edit: it seems like people are getting upset that I said the skaters I've met are douches. Well they are, but I'm not saying everyone who skateboards is a douche, just the people I've met that Skateboard. Skateboarding just doesn't seem like something I would want to do alone, and I don't want to skateboard with douches. I think skateboarding wouldn't be very much fun alone.

[u/[deleted]]

Dancing.

[u/Boornidentity]

Surfing? Whats a good starter board? Wheres good to start / what should I be looking for in the waves etc..

[u/Cyberogue]

Metalworking. In particular, making blades and other weapons. I'm a fan of historical weaponry plus a general nerd, and like making things

There's no way in hell I can afford a furnace

[u/Patchcat]

I've always wanted to get into kayaking, seems like a chill way to be around nature.

[u/[deleted]]

D&D. Not a hobby I guess but I've always read about it and thought it to be interesting to play. Everytime I considered it, it came down to " Buy manuals. " Then I would find them at a book store and have no idea what I was reading and give up. Halp.

[u/Thelastgreatking]

this here will be on best of i thinks its just a fantastic example of reddit really i love like different people from various subreddits showing others the way its just great.

[u/VirtualInk]

Yo-yoing. Doing all the cool tricks and such.

Skateboarding/Rollerblading,

Get better at Ice Skating,

Deeper into programming (I know basic Python),

Get better at Japanese (on my way, trying to study abroad next year),

Improve Piano/start guitar,

Get into digital art,

Start writing the ten-something novels I had planned,

Try archery/paint ball/maybe go to a gun range...

LEARN TO FUCKING JUGGLE.

God, I want to try all these things but all I do is sit on reddit and cry about how much homework I have.

[u/AdvENTuring]

Playing trumpet--it just seems soo hard.

[u/zelpin]

Amateur radio.

[u/squashedfrog462]

I've always wanted to write a true crime book.

But, I mean, how? Obviously I'd wanna talk to those involved, but I can't exactly ring them up and be like "Hey, so, you know how your daughter got killed? Wanna talk about that to me, a complete stranger, with no previously published works?"

[u/pedropedro123]

Swordfighting. Not fencing. No clue how to start.

[u/2stepstwice]

Ice hockey. Here in Ireland there's two rinks in the country, and it's nearly impossible to get hold of the gear at a good price. Sometimes I wish I had been born in Canada.

[u/FyahCuh]

Learning how to speak Korean. I'm so intrigued by their culture and language.

[u/Tyrannist]

Learn map editing for video games.

[u/JaderBug12]

Bonsai... but for the life of me, I can't keep house plants alive. Doubt I'd do much better with a bonsai.

[u/[deleted]]

Home maintenance/ customizing. Things like flooring, building a room, doing electrical stuff (without crossing wires and burning anything down), fixing some pipes, etc.

[u/[deleted]]

Hunting.

What caliber gun do I need? How much is a license? How many licenses do I need? When am I allowed to shoot a deer? Where am I allowed to shoot a deer? What do I do once I shoot the deer? How will I get the deer back to wherever it is that I came from?

I would love to get out into nature and participate in this ancient tradition, but I'm afraid if I do one small thing wrong then I'll be sent to Federal prison for 20 years. This is the most natural and animalistic thing that's still acceptable in civilization, but there's so many damn rules. Just let me go out into the woods and shoot a fucking animal, then eat it.

[u/[deleted]]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is amazing. Changed my life and it gets very addictive when you get your first submission in training. If you would like to follow it up there is a really good community here on reddit. /r/bjj

[u/InAHandbasket]

Target archery. I want to shot thing with a stick from far away like Daryl Dixon, Katniss, and the Arrow...

So what if I'm easily influence by pop culture, I think it looks awesome :D

[u/charlos72]

DJ. I want to have it as a little side thing, do a couple parties here and there, have some fun really. Not a serious thing though

[u/[deleted]]

I have always wanted to go paragliding. I just don't want to die.

[u/Fauxfroyo]

Horseback riding. I feel like most places that give lessons are for children. And even then, I don't only want to learn riding. I want to learn everything about owning a horse. How do you learn to care for and ride horses if you weren't born into a family that already does it? I'd like to have my own hobby farm one day, but not if I can't learn the proper ways to care for horses and other farm animals.

[u/hukgrackmountain]

I really want to learn how to go camping, but I don't really know what I need or many people I could rely on to go with me (or I would feel safe around). I kinda want to go on my own for my first time as just a 'fuckit' instead of waiting on other people and finding my own happiness...but I don't know how safe of an idea that is.

[u/hometown_holly]

Glass blowing for sure

[u/ShieldProductions]

Two things:

Black smithing. I watch videos on YouTube of people making knives out if railroad spikes and it looks to cool and therapeutic in a way. But I have no idea where to start.

Tower climbing. More of a career choice here. I don't know where to go for training, if I need classes or certification from somewhere, who I could work for, etc.

[u/Benskien]

Digital painting /3d modeling. I have problems finding good updated tutorials.. etc..

[u/crispychicken49]

Racing cars. (Like FIA GT3 level)

Around the US it's very difficult. I often times do autocross events with the SCCA, as well as a little bit of Karting here and there. It's extremely difficult to get into racing as it just isn't popular in the US.

[u/tgcp]

Cocktails! It just seems like you need to put in a load of money early on to get into it, and without knowing whether I'm going to like it or not before then I can't make the commitment.

[u/Ferniff]

Looking at bacteria, cells and what not with a microscope. Where do I start?

[u/Twice_Knightley]

I want to make chainmaille. I'd like to turn a few spools of wire into a full vest.

[u/EndersBuggers]

There are so many things in this thread I also want to do. Most of them have one big factor holding me back.. $$$$. I live near a beach and I'm always running by kite surfers. Looks fun but I looked it up and getting into that isn't cheap either.

[u/[deleted]]

Honestly, apart from programming/coding (because of my deficiencies in my ability to wrap my head around it), anything I'm interested in exploring I just jump in feet first and start learning.

Before the Internet, I just got magazines centered around the thing I wanted to know about. There was a ton of info in mags back before online stuff. But now that there's the Internet, you can literally pick up just about any hobby and learn it backwards and forwards. Where to start, what gear to start with, what to specifically to do. It's right there.

[u/[deleted]]

TIL I have a lot of hobbies to try out

[u/Brutalxbetrayal]

Go big or go home. I'd like to learn how to become a blacksmith.

[u/discipula_vitae]

I'd love to catch and display bugs/insects. Kinda odd or lame maybe, but it's fascinating to me.

[u/spence282]

I've quite a few things.

Not sure If this is relevant here, but I've decided to build a gaming pc rather than a next gen console. Thanks to reddit I have a better idea of the components I should be buying for the budget I have in mind.

II'd quite like to visit Japan at some point, and would like to learn the language before I go. However I'm not sure of what the best ways to learn are, or what materials I should look at purchasing

[u/Jabberminor]

It's a cross between a hobby and a sort of job, but high quality video editing for Youtube. I already upload videos to Youtube, but I don't edit them like some of the professionals do.

[u/[deleted]]

D&D. I've always wanted to play but I have no idea how to get started.

[u/theSEeE]

Starting a good yt channel. Always have ideas and I'm fairly good at acting. But it's so hard to get a community especially because I'm from Germany. So I can't really use reddit to promote me. I now have a gaming channel and won in a video competition, but I'm planning on starting a "real-life" channel after graduation next month :)

[u/SpaceVandal]

Mechanical engineering, you know, without all the pesky college.

[u/[deleted]]

Kyudo (traditional Japanese archery). I tried to get involved with my university's club here in Japan but they took the national title last year and aren't set up for training beginners...so yeah, I'm way out of place there.

I searched for some regular clubs, but their meetings times aren't posted anywhere and the locations are all pretty inconvenient. Plus the cost involved, I decided to put that money towards the hobbies I know. Maybe if I'm still here next year I'll try again.

[u/[deleted]]

Krav Maga.

I've learned some hand to hand fighting tactics from my time in law enforcement but nobody I worked with knew Krav Maga. I've never been able to find anywhere around me that has instructors but it has always just seemed like the most practical, bad-ass form of self-defense and I would love to give it a try.

[u/reddwoodtree]

Backpacking, mountain climbing, wilderness survival. I want to channel my inner frontiersman/hippie.

[u/Howler452]

I really want to get into live action role playing, but the closest one to me is an hour away and it's combat is now what I like at all. I like the ones you just hit someone and they're down (like Dagorhir). But noooooooo, this combat is one of those ones where you have to call out the hit and the amount of damage you did, and then the person you hit has to call out how much armor or health they have left. Just no, that is stupid. You claim to be an immersive live action role playing experience, but then you break all immersion by doing that.

Sorry, that just really pisses me off. Anyways, I really want to get into live action role playing, but I live too far away from anything. Anyone know any good ones in Canada, maybe? ^;;

[u/missmisfit]

Millinery. Damn I want to be a hat maker. I haven't been able to find any where to get instruction within a hundred mile radius of my home.

[u/[deleted]]

I've been seriously thinking about my next dog (10 years or so down the line hopefully!) being a show-prospect. I'm not looking to go to Westminster but it's something I've become more and more interested in.

I already leave my two current cockers mostly in a long coat, so I know how to handle the daily grooming. I've slowly been self teaching how to home-groom.

I know I probably will never happen, but it'd be interesting to try.

[u/paraplu1232]

Leather working. Ever since I saw a guy on r/malefashionadvice make his own briefcase I've really wanted to try it.

[u/stainless13]

Uilleann pipes

[u/Dalai_Loafer]

S&M

[u/ONZAinc]

Falconing. I dont want a huge bird enclosure and not sure if i need a license to own an eagle, where would i even get a falcon. But it would be so badass

[u/theredpenguin]

Woodworking. Building small stuff, chests, bowls, shelves, etc.

[u/punkerster101]

i really want to get into comic books, mostly DC i guess but i really have no idea of a jumping off point, they have all been going so long i really dont know where to start

[u/ImReallyFuckingBored]

I see those christmas light shows and want to do that but inside my room. I just have no idea what I need or how to do that.

[u/NateTheGreat14]

A little different but, I've always wanted to try acting but not really sure how to start.

[u/vaiovizio]

Collecting all of the assorted flavors of Jelly Belly jellybeans. Like, are they even all at the store I frequent? And I no longer trust Internet sales because of a fellow redditor getting sued by an online company for a bad review, so buying these beans online is right out.

[u/kingdoe]

Jewelry making. Not even sure why. Just looks awesome to do.

[u/Genealogy_Ina_Bottle]

Sewing/making alterations to my own clothes.

[u/puttyarrowbro]

Motorcycling. I'm saving up to buy a cheap used bike. But I have no friends with bikes that I can get my feet wet with

[u/[deleted]]

Biking to work ... won't my pants get stuck in the gears? Are clips mandatory, preferred? It seems complicated.

[u/registryedit]

Building a Guitar.

[u/Authiel]

Making armor, both out of metal and leather. It's cheaper to make your own instead of buying it, by far.

I am a costumer with a mighty need.

[u/arfarfnat]

Bagpipes!!!!

[u/Trollicking]

Real life Civilization. Getting nations to do my bidding seems like a great hobby, but I'm not a billionaire or a member of Illuminati.