Want to take a walk without walking? Go for a spin while standing still?

Check out the two-wheeled, self-balancing, motorized boards that have been appearing around the island recently. The battery-operated boards are the latest, greatest mode of personal transportation.

These slick, sick sticks are commonly called hoverboards. That’s undoubtedly a reference to the gravity-defying skateboard that Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) rode in the film “Back to the Future II,” but hovering is also an apt description for the gliding, effortless vibe enjoyed by riders.

“It’s very, very cool technology,” said Reyn Aubrey, a 17-year-old senior at Mililani High School and founder of Hoverboard Hawaii, an online business he created this past summer to sell hoverboards. Aubrey has been a hoverboard enthusiast for less than a year.

The hoverboard does not actually hover in the air. Accidents — and joyriding — notwithstanding, its two wheels should be firmly on the ground, driven and controlled by motors and gyroscopes contained in the hourglass-shaped panel that connects the wheels.

“They’re basically like how a Segway works, only they’re smaller and cooler,” Aubrey said, referring to the larger self-balancing transportation device. “There’s two panels where your feet go, and each of those has an individual motor. So when you lean forward, both wheels are activated and you go forward, and when you lean backward, both motors are activated and you go backward.”

It was easy to learn to ride a hoverboard, although it was helpful to have Aubrey standing nearby to provide support, like a parent would for a child learning to ride a bike. Just stand behind the board and place your dominant foot on the appropriate footrest. Keep that foot as flat as possible, since the board reacts to heel or toe pressure and might move if your foot is at an angle.

Once the board is under control, step onto the other footrest with your other foot and stand upright. The board might move slightly, but it will steady as you get your balance. It’s like stepping onto a creaky footstool.

The first few runs will be a bit wobbly, as you learn how your balance affects your speed and direction. Objects in your path loom large at first, but if you simply lean away, the hoverboard will turn. It takes about 20 minutes to become a proficient rider, Aubrey said.

Beginners tend to think they need to work at maintaining their balance on the board because of its similarity to a skateboard, he said, “but a lot of time it’s just relaxing into the board. The board will keep you upright (when it’s) flat. It’s not going to go forward unless you lean forward.”

There are several manufacturers of hoverboards, which sell from about $350 to well over $1,000. Aubrey’s price is $449 for a board that goes up to 12 mph and has batteries that last about four fours. They’re manufactured by the same company that made boards for celebrities, including Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon and Jamie Foxx, and pro athletes.

Aubrey himself has a customer of note in Matthew Lynch, sustainability coordinator for the University of Hawaii system, who rides his at school.

“I was so impressed by this young man’s entrepreneurial drive (and how fun the thing is to ride) that I bought a hoverboard to get around campus quickly,” Lynch said in an email.

For Aubrey the hoverboard has become an extension of himself. For fun he’ll take his board to an open space and do sweeping arcs and tight spins — the board has a zero-degree turning radius — but it has practical applications for him as well. He’ll ride it in his house, to the grocery store, to school, or take it on the bus and then ride it to his final destination.

It’s an attention-getter, too.

“It’s just one of those things where you just stand out with it, and it’s very easy to meet interesting people and talk about it,” he said.