Vol. 9 No. 5 Spring 2011

HOW TO SLIDE BETTER

FREESTYLE LONGBOARDING

Vol.9 No.5

NYC TRADE SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

Worldwide Agreement Number 1.61803399

SPRING 2011

$4.95

FREESTYLE LONGBOARDING

HOW TO SLIDE BETTER

Vol.9 No.5

NYC TRADE SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

Worldwide Agreement Number 1.61803399

SPRING 2011

$4.95

CONTENTS >> 24

EDITORIAL

20

LETTERS

34

NOTEWORTHY

42

THE ‘FISH REPORT

44

FRANKIE HILL – RIDER PROFILE

46

SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT

44

READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS

50

ASK BIKER

52

STREET VS. LONGBOARDING

54

PORTFOLIO: DUNCAN WRIGHT

62

IN MEMORIAM

64

WHERE ARE WE HEADED?

70

HELMET SAFETY AWARENESS

74

FREESTYLE LONGBOARDING

80

HOW TO PERFECT THAT POWERSLIDE

82

LONGBOARD TRADE SHOW IN NYC

84

SLALOM REPORT

86

SPEEDBOARDER OF THE YEAR

Rider: Dillon Stephens Photo: Nate Lang

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TM

Vol. 9 No. 5 SPRING 2011

PUBLISHER/EDITOR SENIOR EDITOR ART DIRECTOR

Michael Brooke | mbrooke@interlog.com Blair Watson Mark Tzerelshtein | MarkintoshDesign.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Buddy Carr

DOWNHILL EDITOR

Jon Caften

PHOTO EDITORS

Jon Huey | Dan Bourqui

IGSA WORLD CUP EDITOR

Marcus Rietema

SLALOM/FREESTYLE EDITORS

Richy and Maria Carrasco

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS CORRESPONDENTS AUSTRALIA I.T. DEPT. HEAD COPY EDITOR PROBLEM SOLVER HEAD OFFICE

SKATESHOP DISTRIBUTION

Erik Basil Malakai Kingston Jim Kuiack David Pang | William Fonseca | Nick Sable Rick Tetz of CalStreets.com Jonathan Harms Bud Stratford | budstratford@aol.com 1136-3 Center Street Suite 293 Thornhill, Ontario L4J 3M8 ph: 905.738.0804 Indaba Group PO Box 1895, Carlsbad, CA 92018 tailtapinfo@yahoo.com ph: 760.722.4111

CONTRIBUTORS (In order of appearance): Neil Carver, Jen Wolf, Christopher Vanderyajt, Nate Lang, Justin Rouleau, Aria Pramesi, Judy Edmondson, Frankie Hill, Jonathan Napel, Will Jolly, Oasis Skateboard Factory Students, Duncan Wright, Keith Butterfield, Gary Holl, Jani Söderhäll, Isabelle Fried, Patti McGee, Mitch Caudle, Bri Burkett, Allan Perlas, Annie Sullivan, Tim Rafferty, Mitchell “NOBI” Moshenberg, Brian Bishop, Paul Kent, Adam Colton, Will Edgecombe, Ron “Fatboy” Barbagallo, Steve Pederson, Jason Innes and Chris Chaput.

concretewavemagazine.com Concrete Wave is published by North of La Jolla Inc. Subscriptions (5 issues) are US$26 FIRST CLASS or CAN$26 (US$44 outside North America). Address change? Mag not arriving? Email us... don’t go postal. We can sort it out. mbrooke@interlog.com. We will notify you when your subscription expires. Publisher’s permission is required before reproducing any part of this magazine. The views and opinions expressed in Concrete Wave are not necessarily those of the publisher. We happily accept articles and photos. Please contact the publisher directly at mbrooke@interlog.com before you submit anything. We are looking for a variety of stories and images as long as they are skate related.

COVER 1: Pushman by Neil Carver and Jen Wolf COVER 2: Brian Bishop takes flight. Photo Christopher Vanderyajt OPENING SPREAD: Ian Joe Dutch. Photo: Jay Cagney Distributed by ph: 416.754.3900 f: 416.754.4900 ISSN 1708-3338 Canada Post Publication. Agreement number 40671108 WELCOME TO THE FINE PRINT: Talk about discoveries: Approximately 10 minutes from my house there are now not one, but TWO skateparks. These parks were built late last year in new neighborhoods. For the last few years I have pleaded with the city of Vaughan to build a huge skatepark. I worked on a committee, I gave presentations and, flustered by the politics and glacial pace of the entire ordeal, I moved on. I was also bummed that no one would even return a damn phone call telling me whom I should contact. You can imagine my surprise when a local skater contacted me with his desire to host a skate event. About five minutes into our conversation, he told me about the new parks. I was floored. We promptly left my house and 10 minutes later I was skating in a brand new park. The park features a nice concrete wave and butterysmooth surfaces. Sure, it’s small, but it exists, and I had no idea that it was built. There’s even an asphalt track surrounding the park that is perfect for a mini bomb. The other park is around the corner and is a complete waste of money. It’s teeny tiny and nowhere near functional – but it is indeed a skatepark. It sure is surprising what you can find in your own back yard. Makes me wonder what else is out there.

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Photo: Kimathi Smith

TRACKER FASTRACKS Available in sizes 150 mm & 180 mm

polished or black

EDITORIAL >>

I

t’s funny how many of us get so caught up in the details of life that we sometimes overlook the big picture. Don’t get me wrong — details are important, but there are times when you need to take a step back and see things from a distance.

For the past decade and a half, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most creative and passionate people you could ever wish to meet. Most of them came to the world of longboarding with an idea or a spark of an idea. They worked diligently and pursued their goals. Some have achieved great success and some are well on their way. The one thing that ties

24 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

all these people together is that they’ve never lost sight of the big picture. They KNEW instinctively that longboarding would grow. Despite the occasional setback and general craziness that can rear its head in this industry, these folks kept their eyes on the prize; they knew that longboarding would eventually take root.

So, now we find ourselves entering the second quarter of 2011. The seeds that were planted those many years ago are now sprouting above the surface. Longboarding is starting to take off and gain a huge amount of exposure.

The difficulty lies in predicting where things might go. This is a problem that confounds even the shrewdest of bean counters. They know that there will be enormous growth this year with longboarding; they’re just not sure if this growth will wind up taking their companies to precipitous levels. The history of skateboarding does in fact follow a wave, and as we enter this remarkable period of growth, it’s important to remember that things do eventually crest and fall.

This is why, in these tumultuous times, I encourage folks to take a step back and look at the big picture. When you take a moment to reflect on what’s been accomplished over the past few years, you’ll realize just how fortunate we are to be a part of this incredible movement.

Enjoy the issue!

Michael Brooke, Publisher

Colorado y Vonesh, au Rider: Ja in st Roule Photo: Ju

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LETTERS >> FULLY IMMERSED

PERPETUAL MOTION

I started skating about a year ago when I was 16 and since then it has changed my life. Back then I didn’t have a hobby or any interest in anything, but I wanted one because it seemed like everyone else did, whether it be music, cars, photography, etc. Then one day I came across longboarding and I knew I had found something great. It seemed so chill and relaxed unlike other sports or even like regular skateboarding. Before I knew it I was immersed in “Push Culture.” It changed pretty much every aspect in my life: the music I listen to; how I spend my free time (ripping); what I read (CW); how I dress; and the list goes on. I now have a hobby and interest that I can share with other people; I have even converted a few friends. I now feel like I’m part of something, something bigger than me, something I can really get involved in. You could say I even have something to live for now. I love longboarding and would choose it over any other activity any day.

About a year ago my boyfriend introduced me to longboarding and I fell in love with it. About half a year after I discovered this amazing new sport, I moved out of a small town and into a city where it rains 80% of the time. This winter, the other 20% seems to be snow lately.

By the time I moved, longboarding had become something that I needed to do often or else I would start feeling trapped, especially in a city surrounded by cars and people and noise all the time. I began taking long rides down a very flat bike path because it was one of the few ways that I could get enough time on my board to feel better about the world, without getting run over. Ever since winter kicked in, with the snow or the rain almost every day, I haven’t been able to get back on my board very often. But you know what has kept me going?

Concrete Wave. I discovered it among the stacks of magazines and Alex Newton contemplates the results of his first was immediately stoked about this magazine’s approach to skatetattoo — March 11th, New York City Longboard Show. boarding. I have read many other skateboarding magazines before, Photo: Michael Brooke and this one brings me to a whole new level when I read it. I don’t just flip through it and think, “Oh… that’s cool.” I read every page and get stoked about longboarding all over again, and even though it is raining out, I start planning my sessions in the future, where I will go and what board I will buy next. I start researching the things that I don’t know a lot about. So I want to thank you guys for really devoting yourself to push culture and spreading the stoke, and making my winter so much more bearable. I will keep reading and keep skating — and you guys, keep skating, and just keep being awesome.

Much love, Lillian Terry-Welsh

Pat Finkle P.S. Thank you guys so much! It’s the dead of winter and you guys are the only thing tiding me over until the summer.

Letter of the Month

JACKED UP

LONG AND (REALLY) SHORT BOARDS

I’m a recent addition to the push culture and have been looking around for inspiration and information from my friends and online media. I went and visited a skate shop in town that is owned by a guy who started skating in the ’70s and stopped and has recently picked it back up. He is an inspiration to me and my friends and even sets up groups of kids in the area to go longboarding in parking lots on Sunday mornings (because in North Dakota there is a law prohibiting retail stores from opening before noon on Sundays).

I went in to talk with him and just joke around, and he showed me your magazine and all the stuff you guys cover in it. Your magazine is awesome! It makes me so stoked to finally get out to longboard once it dries out up here. I like the articles highlighting the work many companies in North America do to further the push movement and also all they do for the community. Concrete Wave jacks me up to go longboarding and spread my love for the sport to my friends and anyone who will listen. Thanks for doing what you do.

Can’t wait to read more.

Scott Nash

I am 23 years old, and have arthritis in both my knees. Pain is basically a constant in my life. I began skateboarding when I was about 14, and quit when I was about 17 because of my knees. This summer I began longboarding with my girlfriend, as a relaxed way to cruise around and be able to skate without absolutely wrecking my knees, and to have fun with her. Now, all I want to do is go faster. It is so much fun, and somehow, relaxing for me and my body. I feel as though I loosen up when I get to skate.

Not being able to skate as much as I’d like because of pain, I have looked to other venues of “skate fulfillment.” I stumbled into fingerboarding. High-end fingerboards are normally around five plies of wood, with kicks and concave. You could spend as much on a fingerboard as you could on the real thing. Most of the “pros” seem to be about 11 years old, but can sure shred a mini ramp. I guess in coping with my “addiction” of longboarding, I stumbled onto something that I can sit and do to relax when it hurts too much to really skate.

So go ahead, pretend a little.

Shredding the gnar gently, Kyle Deline

KINGS OF SERVICE There are many great reasons to join CW. But the final straw that pushed me over the edge was Maria at Sk8Kings. She provides TREMENDOUS service! When following up on a question, she let me know that the new board I was interested in would be featured in their new ad in an upcoming issue of the CW Buyer’s Guide.

Thanks for your time.

I look forward to reading your magazine, Brent

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CARVING ON MIXED MEDIA Thanks for such a fantastic publication that focuses on the life and lifestyle of skateboarding and more specifically longboard skating. This athletic art and culture helps enrich lives in many ways. Sliding with grace comes with practice and everyone sure appreciates dynamic risk management. I enjoy the fund raising causes that the push culture focus on and how DIY goes a long with with green practices, healthy exercise, as well as enriching lives with fun and play and honoring our collective diversity.

My 2011 New Years present was to go to Maui. I longboard surfed for the first time at 38 years of age. I also got some longboard skating in and found the natives to be quite hospitable. That same month I dropped in at the famous Burnside skatepark in Portland, Oregon on a Brad Edwards Gangster, Gravity longboard. I am so fortunate to live out such fantastic waves. What a blast! Besides carving on a longboard, I most recently started carving wood blocks prints. My first wood block carving I did was from an image of me carving on a longboard in Maui, Hawaii. How freakin artsy is that? If you'd like to use it in the magazine, you have permission to reprint it. My girlfriend has done prints for a long time (carolezoom.com) and suggested I design some linoleum carvings as to be able to apply them to skateboard decks. I'd like to give you some of my first wood block carving prints and look forward to my next issue of Concrete Wave magazine. Smooth pavement, clear roads, and with Godspeed, David Hirsch Austin, TX

Letter of the month receives a prize pack from Original Skateboards

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NOTEWORTHY >> PRODUCTS, PEOPLE, EVENTS GREEN BANANA The Green Banana Skateboard Company is a small skater-owned and operated company based out of the N.J./Philadelphia area. They are proud to offer the first and only 100% post-consumer recycled plastic skateboard that is made in the U.S.A. Waterproof, durable and eco-friendly. greenbananaskateboards.com

thane, which they came upon while testing wheels but that had slide characteristics that were a bit, hmmm... premature? Too eager for a wheel, but just excitable enough to squeeze between your washers. orangatangwheels.com RONIN

ROTULE

The Desert Eagle is the second precision board from Rotule. Like the Speed Karrot, the Eagle has very tight radiuses and a complex free-form shape. What you have here is a symmetrical racing topmount with freeride abilities. It features a shape-integrated gas pedal, a tuck pocket, a small radial drop and a comfortable “w” concave. Also, for premium foot locking, they’ve put very sharp edges and a sweet spot located just before the drop, which is the designed to fit your foot and lock it on 360 degrees. rotulelongboards.com

What good is a truck if it looks “precise” but is far from functioning in any precise manner? Ronin Trucks feature a Support Pin that locks down the motion of the hanger to a simple pivot without the slop around the kingpin standard trucks are plagued with. These trucks give a direct feel without delay and improve traction. Not just for racing, they are an amazing freeride truck too! Made in the USA. ronintrucks.com GRANDPA

ORANGATANG

Orangatang is erect with anticipation to release their very own line of Nipple bushings, starting with a double barrel combination in an orange 80A durometer. Stuff these chubby puppies into your trucks and get ready to bounce out of every carve with tons of energy and rebound.

Poured with their new Randy Ure-

34 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

Grandpa Longboards presents two new carving/freestyle options to welcome in the spring skating season. The GPA 40” Drop Thru and the Spaceman 30” are originally designed for the street cruiser and the downhill carver. The concave camber Drop Thru is built tough yet flexible in order to provide high carving response while taking speed with style. The Spaceman, with kicktail, is our longboard mini, designed for downhill slalom, park and cruising. grandpalongboards.com

JOURNEY Cruiserboards

by Journey are boards of art and performance in high quality. Cooperation with independent traditional woodworking families makes each of our boards unique. All Journey products are made and designed by experience from the islands of Bali, Indonesia.

Their vision is to develop eco-friendly and innovative products for openminded people who love their sport and take care of the environment around it. journey-boards.com

HAWGS

NEVER SUMMER Three new models are fresh off the press from the Never Summer factory in Denver, Colo.

The Heist V2 is designed to give you the same flex-deck performance you have come to expect from Never Summer but with a new shape and functional nose and tail. Grab a new V2 and let them know what you would like to see next. Not to be outdone by the Heist, the Descent is also available as a V2 for 2011.

The Descent V2 is everything you have come to love in the Descent but with a redesigned shape and the addition of kicks at the nose and tail. The progression of longboarding has created the Descent V2. Finally, there is the Revolt. Freeriding isn’t the future, it’s the present. If you prefer to just cruise, hit some banks or slide the steepest switchback in town – this deck does it all! The Revolt’s twin shape and rocker profile create the ultimate deck for any style of riding you desire. neversummer.com

DAN DENGLER

Hawgs are back! Landyachtz has expanded the Hawg lineup for 2011, offering a wide range of wheels and colors. Check out the Zombies, which are available in five duros/colors and range from 78A all the way up to 88A. For cruising around town, check out the eight new duros and colors of Mini Monsters. These guys come in both a clear grippy urethane formula as well as a high-rebound race formula. Put them under your feet and feel the performance. landyachtz.com

Dan Dengler Longboards is still making solid hardwood boards beyond your imagination straight from trees! – all from recycled and salvaged wood.

“Hole Power” cruiser shapes, minis, natural edge and 6-foot pintails are the current favorites. Custom orders are most popular. Locust is the favorite wood type. Prices have been drastically reduced since Dan is getting faster and more efficient at the milling and finishing of these one-of-a-kind decks. dandengler.com or (970) 401-0412.

EASTSIDE

Eastside is proud to announce the new version of their DropKick model. It features a special new resin and a blend of

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carbon fiber and wood. The deck is now even more durable, slightly lighter, with the same specs as the older all-maple version. This classic Eastside model was first released in 2006 and has made its way to the top as one of the most unique boards out today. Featuring a rare dropthrough design with a useful kicktail. Team rider Robin McGuirk has proven its reliability to conquer a mixed style of downhill and pushing with his many top finishes at various endurance races around the country. eastsidelongboards.com

ATOBE Just in! Jeff Vyain’s new wheels. The Atobe Wigglers are fresh out of the post-cured CNC aluminum molds and gleaming in a powerful purple translucent tint. Jeff designed his wheels to be the top contenders for LDP and LDS boarders worldwide. atobewheels.com RIVIERA

SMOKIN MAD LOVE

Be a part of the biggest year yet for the Murder Mitten’s #1 Homegrown Renegade Longboard Company. Check out the Original Pie-Eyed Rocker technology and cheese wedge mounting system, and of course their squirrel-friendly ground walnut grip. These kind boards are sure to spark up your quiver while you continue to push push pass… Opening in April, the Midwest’s first custom exclusive longboard shop, in planning for two years. smokinmadlove.com SK8KINGS

Announcing the Joe McLaren World Champion Racing Model. At 17 years old with one of the greatest seasons in slalom racing history to his credit – 13 pro wins in a row culminating with an Overall World Championship – Joe’s pro model is here and honors his Scottish heritage with the Clan McLaren Crest graphic. Sk8Kings is also introducing the Blaster – 41 inches of super-reactive construction brings the energy to accelerate through the miles and the first Axe-like kicktail (for bonus traction) to the long-distance disciplines.

The added wheelbase before the kick gives you setup options for charging your favorite ditch or skatepark. Skid plates optional. sk8kings.com

Riviera Longboards wants you to know they’ve just given birth to a new series of boards built for all of your cosmic riding needs and featuring artwork from Marco Almera. Skate down to your local Riviera retailer and add one to your quiver. They’ve been tweaking out in The Cave over at headquarters working on a retrofit of their website…They’re opening a porthole in cyberspace to share all of their new videos, photos and general Riviera banter with you and your cohorts. Keep them on heavy rotation at rivieralongboards.com.

BURN

Burn Longboard Company offers premium handmade longboards. Their vertically laminated, heat-tempered bamboo decks allow for organic flex and a ride that is unmatched. Exclusive features include Dual Hybrid Concave (DHC), torque dampening spines and urethane-reinforced nose and tail. The Metropolitan’s drop-through deck design is available in Flexy or Firm ($240). burnlongboards.com

RAYNE

The 2011 Nemesis comes top-mounted with a deep tub concave and a 1” dropped platform large enough to feel comfortable no matter what the occasion – perfect for quick, aggressive maneuvering. Lighter and shorter than the Demonseed, this deck offers all the stability and comfort in a tighter, smaller package ready to thrash tighter turns. The variable wheelbase at 32” and 33”allows riders to customize their setup, while the taller ride height of the topmount allows them to leverage their turning while still maintaining a low center of gravity. The Nemesis is ideal for freeriding and downhill racing.

HONEY The Chameleon has gone through extensive testing to come to its current form. At 9.625” x 38” it’s got an aggressive concave to give you a positive foothold, and double kicktails with a wider nose and tail to assist in technical maneuvers. The Chameleon will adapt to any situation you can throw at it; whether it’s freeriding, sliding, carving, pumping, the Chameleon will not disappoint. The Chameleon has the perfectly matched top and bottom veneers that Honey Skateboards are known for. Available as a complete or deck at honeyskateboards.com.

FIVE MILE

Also updated is the 2011 Hellcat. It has an ergonomically designed foot space and Pleasure Dome built into an already inspiring deep tub concave. The Pleasure Dome makes it easy to master the road by helping you find your footing blind and then lock in for all kinds of drifts, slides and turns. The Hellcat is ideal for freeriding and downhill racing. raynelongboards.com

Five Mile was established in 2007 by Cody Shea, and Dan Kasmar became a partner shortly after. Since that time five innovative models have been released, and the reviews have spoken for themselves. 100% handmade in Washington State, Five Mile’s decks are sure to do exactly what they are designed to do. fivemilelongboards.com

BLOOD ORANGE Blood Orange Bushings are the latest product from Caliber Truck Co. They combine high rebound and unique lean to provide the most responsive feel possible.

Whether you’re making deep carves or racing at top speed, these bushings will allow you to stay in total control. They are American made from premium formulas of urethane that went through strenuous testing before release.

Blood Orange is available in five different durometers: extra hard, hard, medium, soft and extra soft. calibertruckco.com/bloodorange

MADRID Madrid Downhill is excited to announce the new Mark Golter guest model. Mark is a Laguna Beach native and was a champion downhill racer in the EDI/Gravity Games era. He continues to be involved in skateboarding through mentorship of local groms and has been a key opponent of the proposed ban on downhill skateboarding in Laguna. His board is 10.625” wide and 40” long, with a 30.75” wheelbase, 8-ply maple with Formica on the top and the bottom. madridskateboards.com

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NOTEWORTHY >> PRODUCTS, PEOPLE, EVENTS GARNIER These are highquality, customized skateboarding leather suits for men and women. We don’t do motorcycle gear, we focus exclusively on longboard suits – ergonomic, flexible, safe designs – and we offer direct feedback with the designers so you get exactly what you want. Our style connects more to board sports like surf, and we offer 100% cutting-edge Argentine design that you won’t find elsewhere. Contact us at dhskatecrew@hotmail.com or on Facebook: Downhill Skateboarding Suits.

MINDLESS

The guys at Mindless have been busy since their relaunch back in March 2010. Having added no fewer than eight completely new boards to their extensive range, 2011 could be a good year for the Mindless team. There’s something for everyone no matter what your style, from downhill to freeride, to cruising the boardwalk or smashing up bowls – but they’re not stopping there, with plenty more in the pipeline! mindlesslongboards.com DREGS The Titus Grom pro board from Dregs Skateboards is not your price-point, entry-level toy skateboard. This is a legitimate ripping park board for the grom who wants to skate like the big boys – a six-ply 7.5” x 27” Canadian maple board produced at Watson Laminates, with Gullwing Mission trucks and

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56 mm 81A Lil Mutha soy wheels from Luv Yo Mutha. The graphics on this board were done by young Titus Sherlock, who wants to follow in his father’s footsteps. The Titus Grom pro model makes Titus the youngest pro skater ever, along with Cheyne Magnusson (Tony Mag’s son). As we went to press Dregs also announced it added Canadian female downhill phenom Charlie Daigneault to there racing team for 2011. Charlie will also be riding for Luv Yo Mutha Soy Wheels along with David Price.dregsskateboards.com

POWA Four different personalities, one spirit in common.

Downhill machine CNC, a Freeride drop-through, a topmount speedboard and a 1200mm board for freeride and dancing. Adjustable CNC trucks in 205, 215 and 235mm widths. dapowa.com CADILLAC Cadillac’s new 74mm 80A Cruiser wheels are poured in a grippy offset slalom shape and are available in a wide variety of colors. Get one set and cruise around in style or, better yet, buy ‘em all and color-coordinate your shoes and your skate for 73% more steeze. fullcircledistribution.com

IDLE HANDS These reinforced leather gloves are made to fit tight, flex in the knuckles and wrists and overall perform to freeride-minded

ORANGATANG

criteria. Pucks are catch-free, longlasting and designed to offer minimum obstruction with optimal protection. raynelongboards.com.

DAGGERS & S-ONE Dave Duncan and Eddie Reategui stopped by the S-One warehouse a few months ago. Eddie has been wearing an S-One for the last few years, and he and Dave knew S-One was known for quality, fit and protection, so they wanted to work together to make a Daggers helmet. We were honored to do so. The S-One X Daggers helmet is super lightweight and is constructed with EPS foam so it protects your head against the heaviest slams.

CPSC Certified. Deep Fit design. S-One quality. Daggers Legacy. s-one.com

ULTRA SKATE Ultra endurance skateboarders will take over Seattle’s Greenlake Park for a 24-Hour Ultraskate between four of the world’s 200+ mile record-holders, and anyone else who’s down for the challenge. Besides Paul Kent, James Peters and Conan Isaac Gay in the Northwest, Jesse Beau and his crew will also throw down in Holland. Post your own course map and schedule up on the pavedwave.org LDP forum if you’re ready by June 17!

Orangatang is proud to introduce their new freeride lineup. After much anticipation (and gratuitous flatulence), Orangatang is now releasing their stoneground freeride wheel lineup in a cush orange 80A urethane. For those that revel in the buttery, predictable drift of a soft wheel with lots of speed control, here’s your chance to break lots of wind. orangatangwheels.com

EARTHWING The new Earthwing Hightailer could probably be called the “what is it?” It seems like these days new products need new labels to designate the purpose, otherwise customers may get confused.

This could be a high-speed dancer, topmount freerider, double-kick speedboard, DH freestyle, park longboard or some other inventive label. Put simply, this is literally just a giant skateboard made for giant riding. It features ample wheel wells with multiple mounts.

Earthwing is honored to feature the graffiti artist [RIPO]. earthwingskates.com KHIRO In response to skaters requesting a dropthrough shock pad in various thicknesses, Khiro will be coming out Rider: Robin McGuirk with .062”, 1/8”, 3/16”, 1/4” and 3/8” pads within the next 30 days.

Check with your local skate shop for availability. khiroskateboardproducts.com SK8POLE This lightweight, adjustable-length aluminum pole with a shock-absorbing flex tip is the ultimate commuter pole. Skate for miles without ever touching the ground. The combination of kicking, pumping and sk8poling will give you a workout and cover distances faster than you ever imagined. The adjustable length makes it convenient to strap it to your backpack or carry into school or work. sk8pole.com

Heidi Lemmon presents the Unsung Hero Award in honor of Bob Staton in Carlsbad, California on March 12, 2011.

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NOTEWORTHY >> PRODUCTS, PEOPLE, EVENTS PRO-TEC Building off of Pro-tec and Spitfire’s deep roots in skateboarding, the company took their Classic all-black lid and stamped it with Spitfire’s notorious red and white flame graphic. Featuring a high-impact shell, EPS foam liner and 11 open vents, this timeless helmet is available in five sizes and also comes in a soft two-stage foam. A special sticker pack and a custom slider box complete the package. pro-tec.net VERMONT Longboarding in the Green Mountain State has just gotten better with the addition of two killer models from the “riders and jibbers” at Vermont Skateboards in Stratton Mountain. The graphic is a take-off from the Vermont State Police logo. The Metro 30” is the ideal mode of transportation for the guy or girl riding between classes at the local university, while the Super Trooper 40” is ready to cruise the streets of Burlington, Boston or New York. vtskateboards.com SECTOR 9 Sector 9 Skateboards would like to welcome Scott “Scoot” Smith to the Sector 9 team. Hailing from British Columbia, Canada, Scoot is a true downhill skateboarder constantly looking for new hills and challenges to raise the level of riding. Keep your eyes peeled for a yellow and green streak flying past you at your next event. sector9.com

38 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

BUY A BRICK, BUILD A DREAM

The San Luis Obispo Parks and Recreation Department and the SLO skateboarding community continue to work toward the building of a first-class, in-ground concrete skatepark. With $900K from the city and almost $50K raised, the project needs an additional $450K to meet the need. The “Buy a Brick, Build a Dream” campaign is underway and “I❤SLO Skatepark” shirts are also being sold. sloskatepark.com LUCID GRIP Whether you need to patch up a bare spot on your board or grip an entire deck, Lucid Grip will work on ALL styles of skateboard decks. Lucid Grip also works over black grip tape. lucidgrip.com SKATELUSH What happens when one of the most respected names in the longboard industry turns its eye to the art world? You get Skatelush, the new brainchild of Carver Skateboards.

This creative new brand will feature the work of both established and emerging artists, like Jason Adams, so it’s not just a brand graphic, but an expression of individual creativity, like your skating.

Each board will also come with a retrospective booklet, featuring the artist’s work and bio. New works coming summer 2011! skatelush.com BUSTIN Fresh out of the Bustin Brooklyn labs comes an entirely new line of boards aimed toward hillriding, freeriding and

freestyle. All of the new boards have full concave along the length of the board, designed to lock your feet in, and come equipped with Bustin’s Slide Rail Technology, a groove cut along the edge of the deck to increase grip during sliding.

The Ibach is the first to be released and is a topmount, 1” drop board designed for big speed. It is currently available in a mellow concave 9-ply and 10-ply and a race formula flat-cave 11-ply. The Robot is a 36” and 41” drop-through, full concave freeride/DH beast. Both Robot sizes are available in maple and a lighter, stiffer carbon version. bustinboards.com

think this is a mockumentary, “Highway Gospel” is a humorous and at times heartbreaking multi-character documentary that strikes an intricate balance between boisterous and perceptive.

“Highway Gospel” will be making its way around the film festival circuit over the coming months and is premiering at the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto on April 30, 2011 and will then head west to the DOXA Film Festival for a screening on May 13. highwaygospel.com RANDAL

LONGBOARD LOFT

Bustin Boards is set to open the new location of their Longboard Loft NYC store in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The new store will be an expanded take on their “full on, full service” longboard store concept where they will be selling products from all the best companies in the industry. The new 1,200-square-foot store is located at 132 Allen Street in Manhattan and will be open every day from noon to 8 p.m. longboardloftnyc.com

Available in April, these special edition Randal “Relief Trucks” are something truly remarkable. Proceeds from the sale of the Japanese Earthquake Relief truck will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross. 180 mm with 50-degree baseplate. randal.com DROP VIDEO

HIGHWAY GOSPEL

Bricin Lyons

“Highway Gospel” is a new feature documentary film that explores longboarding and slalom through the stories of three extraordinary individuals. The project began in 2007, and over the course of four months the documentary team traveled more than 10,000 miles. Over the next three years, filmmakers Craig Jackson and Jaret Belliveau would intermittently show up at events and capture footage to add to the story lines the film follows.

Using archival stock footage and shot in a cinema vérité style with intimate and candid moments that may lead people to

“DROP” combines documentary, action sports and cinematic elements into one amazing HD film experience. One moment you feel like a bird, soaring and flowing along with the riders as they negotiate hairpin turns and steep mountain passes. The next, you’re drawing freeride lines with the world’s best riders and hearing firsthand what makes them tick. DROP also introduces you to the IGSA family, taking you into the amazing world of downhill skateboard racing. orangefiist.com WHEELBASE Wheelbase is the new rider-owned and operated longboard-skateboard magazine. The focus is on in-depth content and up-to-the-minute news.

They’re here to produce and highlight the best content from across the longboarding world. wheelbasemag.com

CONCRETEWAVEMAGAZINE.COM

NOTEWORTHY >> PRODUCTS, PEOPLE, EVENTS KARL’S KAUSES

Professional skateboarder Karl Watson has developed a nonprofit organization called Karl’s Kauses Inc. in San Francisco. Karl’s Kauses Inc. is a comprehensive nonprofit supplemental education and youth development organization that targets youths in surrounding communities developing their intellectual curiosity, academic ability, social values and personal empowerment through skateboarding.

Karl’s Kauses Inc. identifies youths from all ages and supports them until graduation with programming centered on skateboarding. On July 23, 2011, through his company Organika, Karl will launch 10 handcrafted longboards in association with the Hood Games being held in San Francisco.

Founded by Keith Williams, Hood Games is a grassroots-level community event started in 2005 in East Oakland. The events serve as a bridge between urban communities and skate lifestyle while incorporating art, music, film and dance performances. Hood Games collaborates with local schools, youth centers, city governments, local authorities, the skate community and city parks to make a memorable experience for the kids and families. Visit creativeedgepublicrelations.com or call (646) 575-2967.

SEISMIC COLD FUSION SIZZLER The Seismic Cold Fusion Sizzler slalom race took place on March 26-27 near Houston, Texas. Pictured are Steve Pederson and John Stryker battling it out in the dual slalomcross race.

Photo: Aria Pramesi.

SLALOMCROSS RESULTS: 1. Joe McLaren 2. Domink Kowalski 3. David Pirnack 4. Jonathan Harms

40 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

GIANT SLALOM RESULTS: 1. Joe McLaren 2. Dominik Kowalski 3. Chris Barker 4. Richy Carrasco CATHLAMET DOWNHILL CORRAL

By Judy Edmondson Photos: Jon Huey The state of Washington is home to the Maryhill Festival of Speed, longboard mecca for North America. If the Festival of Speed is a delicious apple, the Cathlamet Downhill Corral is the fruit salad.

While Mary has three miles of sweeping, relatively easy turns, Cathlamet is .7 miles with only one successful line.

Throw in some ramps on the course, and whoa doggie!

Cathlamet is also different in that it is many more events than a downhill

race. Our first year, 2009, combined a push race, a tight slalom race and the downhill. Last year we added the slide competition and the “Mystery Slalom,” a timed event incorporating cones, curbs, ramps and jumps. This year we have six events. The slide competition on Friday night will run concurrently with the tight slalom. Saturday morning push race, Saturday afternoon the Sidewalk Showdown (previously the Mystery Slalom), followed by a new event brought to us by the Maryhill Ratz. Think skate boardercross, but four-man heats and timed.

Billy Meiners organizes the downhill race and the slide competition, Skip Marcotte organizes both slalom events, and Rob McKendry III announces.

Sunday is the downhill race, where we shut down a highway to run the race right through the middle of town.

Last year saw the introduction of ramps in a downhill race for the first time. Some racers weren’t happy, but no one chose not to race. The EMTs’ panic level eventually led us to create a “Lane of Shame” mid-race for people to bypass the ramps. This year, we’ll have ramps again; however, they will be longer, narrower and with a smoother transition.

The “Lane of Shame” will be there again, in the slower line, so anyone can choose that route, but the slower line effectively handicaps any advantage the racer may see in going that way. This year the downhill race will pay out prize money to the top eight finishers.

Cathlamet is incredibly welcoming to the longboarders, considering it makes Goldendale look like a metropolis in comparison. We are a huge disruption to their lives, but they love to see us! They break out the PUD truck for us to get aerial pictures and footage, and lots of the local folks help out with the race. They have graciously given us use of two campsites.

One is at the marina right in town where everything is within walking distance (yes, walking, not skating – skating would be further away) for the folks willing to be quiet for the fishermen who get up early.

The other is at the county fairgrounds a few miles away, where there is plenty of room to spread out and few people to disturb. If you care to swim in the Columbia, it’s just a short walk across the highway from that campsite.

Check out our website, cathlametcorral.com for videos of past races. Registration starts June 18 on our website. There’s something for everyone, competitor or spectator, so come join us August 26- 28!

CORRECTIONS • In Vol. 9 No. 4 in the Noteworthy section on page 30, the Daddies Boardshop article, the photo of Alex Tongue was taken by Keith Smith.

James Kelly early-grabs the ramp during the Long Air at Cathlamet in 2010.

Cathlamet 2010 podium (L to R): 2nd Alex Tongue, 1st James Kelly, 3rd Casey Morrow, 4th Robin McGuirk

• The Caliber Standard Truck was incorrectly identified in the Buyer’s Guide.

This truck is available with 7” or 8” hanger. calibertruckco.com • We inadvertently forgot to place the Ontario Longboarding Forum (OLF) in our list of Web resources in the Buyer’s Guide. The OLF is dedicating to spreading the longboard stoke, and their site has gained a worldwide following. ontariolongboarding.com

CONCRETEWAVEMAGAZINE.COM

SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 41

IS BE GOOD! Yeah, so that rant we gave you last issue was really just almost a transcript of the kinda talk we’ve got going on at the table where we build up or wrench on our boards, and we sure got a lot of response over it.

Cranky, jaded, insightful? It is what it is. What it is for this issue is one hell of a spring. We’ve got news to report about Uncommon’s video contest on the ‘Fish, killer news about the long-distance racing scene, and let’s take a second right here and now to give a call-out to all the Silverfish skaters who’ve taken a moment to send a donation to the Red Cross for help with the ongoing disaster in Japan.

You’ve sent thousands of dollars in donations and every penny helps.

Long-distance skateboard racing has officially hit the big time! One of the nuggets in our last ‘Fish Report was about sponsorship we saw headin’ for you and your lifestyle of stoke and skate and it’s freakin’ here: the 2011 ADRENALINA SKATEBOARD MARATHON WORLD TOUR. This is just the first of the newer, larger events that are going to start happening now that you sandal-wearing, cargo-shorted brohan are on the popular radar, and this comes to four cities with major-money purses like we saw at last year’s Florida event. We’re gonna bring you a longboarding expo at each one of them, too. You can come skate and race for big money on the podium or just for fun and the thrill of rolling with a thousand other longboarders, and then jam to live music, check out the latest gear from skateboard companies, test-ride the stuff and buy it if you like it. Expect to see the newest gear out there and some killer places to skate.

So, check out the forums on the ‘Fish for info on the Adrenalina series races:

July 30-31, New York City August 28th, San Juan, Puerto Rico October 2011, Plano, Texas November 2011, South Florida Racers, get ready! The courses are great and the news is out: there’s fun to be had and money to be made for pushing, pumping and skating your brains out.

Want some more stoke? Check out “DeceLaxBrah”s winning vid from the Uncommon Boards video contest!

It’s one of two winners and a dozen killers vids in the contest thread to be found in our Videos and Photos forum.

DeceLaxBrah scored himself a custom-built Provoker deck with Surf-Rodz trucks for putting that vid together.

You can check it and all the others out on the ‘Fish and you should – nothing like seein’ a good one to get the skate stoke flowing. This season, we’ll have more contests like that, interviews with skaters you want to know more about, coverage of local events by the local skaters and a special product release or two.

It’s skateboarding and it is what it is. Go Skate!

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RIDER PROFILE >>

RETURN OF THE WOUNDED SOLDIER FRANKIE HILL SHARES HIS TALE OF PAIN, PERSEVERANCE AND PASSION

M

y name is Frankie Hill. I’ve been skating for 25 years. I started skating when I was 14 years old, and always enjoyed the fun and adventure that skating brings with it.

I was lucky enough to have skated with the world’s best skaters. I traveled the world twice, and have had many unforgettable adventures. But in a life with amazing highs, there were very difficult and devastating lows as well.

INJURY • SURGERY

In 1993, I was shooting a TransWorld Skateboarding poster out on the UCSB campus in Isla Vista, Calif. I ollied over eight stairs and a wall to the right. My front truck clipped the wall and my front (left) leg landed on the ground completely extended. I screamed as the leg gave way from the weight of my body, tearing tendons and dislocating the cartilage from the outside of my knee. In one moment who I was disappeared.

Problems with my insurance kept me from having a much needed $30,000 knee surgery. The next six years I limped around not being able to walk correctly. My mom, frustrated at my situation, contacted a worker’s compensation lawyer. This case was successfully won in a short period of time. I got the surgery I needed, and ended up with 15 staples in my left knee.

In the fall I had torn the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and completely torn out the anterior cartilage. The surgeon cut a portion of my collateral ligament away from the outside of my left knee, drilled a hole through the top of the tibia and attached the ligament to the femur. The ligament is held in place by a screw at each end. One screw is attached to the front of the tibia, while the other is screwed into the femur. The cartilage was dug out and had an excessive amount of scar tissue at the base of my knee, due to the amount of time it took to get the surgery. The doctor was able to put the cartilage back in place but told me it was not going to be very effective due to the condition it was in.

When I woke up after surgery I found myself being wheeled out of the hospital with a box of morphine around my neck. A tube ran from the morphine with a direct line into my stomach. After one day with this torture device attached to me, I went back into the hospital to have it removed. They said I would be in serious pain and I needed to have it, but I told them to remove it anyway. There was a slight pain in my knee, which I did not mind; I was just happy to be able to talk again. Morphine is for losers.

The next six weeks I was lying in bed, and once a day I would use my crutches to go outside and let the sun hit my face. When the six weeks were up I went back into the doctor’s office, where they removed the staples. It wasn’t too bad, except for one staple that was buried in my tibia, but after a little effort it gave way.

44 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

Photos: JONATHAN NAPEL

PHYSICAL THERAPY • RE-EDUCATION • BACK IN SANTA BARBARA

The physical therapy was an interesting experience. I believe I have a high threshold for pain, but the physical therapy was painful. My knee was very swollen and they would bend the knee to continue the therapy on the range of motion. After 30 minutes of serious pain, they would put an ice pack on my knee and leave me alone. Looking back on it now I find it very interesting that having a knee that swollen can be worked over like it was. Do not fear the surgery, fear the physical therapist. I was in physical therapy for about three months, going twice a week. I improved over time and was able to walk again.

Part of my worker’s compensation claim was that I was to be re-educated. I decided to follow in my stepfather’s footsteps and learn to make prosthetic teeth for dentists. I went to Pasadena City College and took the Dental Laboratory Program, which lasted two years. I would stay in a hotel room during the week and would commute back to Santa Barbara on the weekends. I went to the program with a childhood friend, Jonathan Napel.

I had not been to school in a number of years and actually failed the first test.

This was a very easy test, and I ended up having a meeting with the teacher after class. The teacher thought I was possibly a little slow, to put it nicely. But I worked very hard for the next two years, and at the end of the program I graduated with a 4.0 grade point average, the best grade in the class. I also received a special award, the CDLA (California Dental Laboratory Association award), given out to the best student in the class.

Through my life I have not been the smartest, or the most athletic, but nothing beats hard work, determination and perseverance.

I came back to Santa Barbara and started working in the office of Dr. John C. Allen, a great dentist. I would work for him from 8:00 in the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon. When I got off work I would go play disc golf with my old friend Tom Estes. I was never very good at disc golf, but I didn’t care; it was more about getting outside and strengthening my body. I would walk through the park and it worked out well because it had a very low impact on the knees, while strengthening the muscles around the knees.

I did this for about three years, when one day I got that old feeling again to go skate. I tried to skate, but the knee would buckle on easy tricks, and I felt that skating again was going to be a lifelong challenge.

KIT’S GIFT • BACK ON THE BOARD • THE CONCLUSION

In 1999, I got a call from my [former pro skater] Kit Erickson’s dad; he said he had something he wanted me to have. Kit and I were best friends growing up, before he passed away. Kit’s father wanted me to have Kit’s last board he was riding when he passed away.

I placed the board in the corner of my room where I could see it. It was there for about a year, and one day I was sitting in my room thinking of my memories with Kit, when I had a feeling that Kit would have wanted me to skate that board.

I grabbed the board and went outside. It was a blue Foundation board, with golden Gullwing trucks. I skated down the street and did a kickflip, and my knee did not buckle or hurt. I did not know how this could be possible, because the doctor had determined I had permanently lost 30 percent of the use of my left knee. I will always believe Kit is looking down on me with his priceless smile, giving me a gift that only he could. I skated that board until it fell apart, and then I rode the trucks until they fell apart. I’ll keep the board and trucks forever.

I don’t skate the same way I did before the injury. I go out on the weekends and skate small planter boxes, curbs and small picnic tables. I try to keep the impact on my knees to a minimum. I have been skating like this for about a year now, and this technique is working well. I have found myself getting more involved in skating again, which is very satisfying for me. I never wanted to be sidelined for 15 years, but that is how long it has taken for me to be able to skate again.

My new involvement in skating has brought interest from some companies. I skate for Legion Skateboards, Tracker Trucks, Skate Crank Wax Co., Loyal To Your Soil Clothes and Easy Studio Costume Clothes. I enjoy being involved in skating and I’m having a lot of fun. I know at age 39 I need to continue to strengthening my knee with low-impact exercises, and to stay away from the huge gap ollies and the 30-stair handrails, but I don’t need that to have fun. I now know how it feels not to be able to skate at all, and having had 15 years to think about it, I will be taking it slower.

I have never been the smartest or the most athletic, but nothing beats hard work, determination and perseverance — and sometimes a little help from above. CW

SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 45

kateboarding is hard. Depending on where you live, it can be a lot harder than average. For every city that has a skatepark or a good hill, there are 20 more where the skaters have to drive a hundred or more miles to get their grind/slide/tuck on. These places might not be the cutting edge of skating, and their contributions are easily overlooked; but they truly embody the heart and soul of skateboarding.

More than likely, your favorite skater’s favorite skater came from a place just like that. A lot of these guys aren’t “famous” or in the limelight, and that’s fine by them. That’s not why they skate, and that’s not why they continued to skate when everyone said, “Skateboarding is dead” or “Vert is dead” or “Downhill is dead,” etc. They continued to skate because it was part of them and

S

46 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

by WILL JOLLY nothing was going to get in their way of riding that plank of wood, with a couple of trucks and some wheels bolted to it, any way they wanted to ride it.

And that brings me to my major gripe for this article: QUITTERS. It’s the guys that gave up on skateboarding when times got tough. The same guys that came running back when it became cool and hip to skate again. They come back and think skateboarding owes it to them to be all cushy and soft and acceptable.

They want other skaters to be safe and law-abiding, to make their life easier.

They think their opinion matters because they skated for a few years, a few decades ago. Well, it doesn’t. The skaters that continued to skate when it wasn’t cool, or in places where it was

never cool, couldn’t care less about what anyone, much less quitters, think about them, and for good reason. They were never about what skateboarding could do for them, or how they could change skateboarding. They just skated, and never turned their back on what they truly loved.

My childhood dreams of being a sponsored skateboarder faded by the time I was 14-15 years old, not because I didn’t want it, but because I realized that I was always going to be a skateboarder, no matter what, and that’s what really matters in the end. Amazingly, my dreams came true a decade later, simply because I never gave up and didn’t quit when it was hard. Skateboarding gave me the experiences of a

lifetime, and continues to do so. Moving to California and meeting the movers and shakers of the industry, and skating with some of the best skaters in the world, was hardly even imaginable a little over five years ago. After that, it took me a few years to figure out just what I owed skateboarding for this privilege. It wasn’t to change skateboarding, it was simply to continue skating and never give up, give in or succumb to the pressures of society when just being a skater got difficult again.

The best things in life aren’t easy, and those that think they should be have no real appreciation of what those things truly are.

Always get up, overcome, and never quit what you love, no matter what anyone says or does. The best thing anyone could ever do for skateboarding is to simply keep skating, no matter what. CW

CONCRETEWAVEMAGAZINE.COM

SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 47

UPDATED

AXS GEAR DIRECTORY

CONCRETE WAVE READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS

2011

Almost 3,000 people cast their votes this year. As you will see, a number of companies are listed here. Congratulations to all of them on achieving this level of recognition from riders around the world. Many thanks to our readers who took the time to fill out the survey.

FAVORITE CARVING/CRUISING DECK 1. Loaded 2. Bustin 3. Earthwing 4. Sector 9 5. Original 6. Rayne 7. Landyachtz 8. Gravity 9. LongBoardLarry 10. Clutch/Soda Factory 11. Arbor 12. Holesom 13. Never Summer 14. Comet 15. Fullbag

FAVORITE FREERIDING DECK 1. Rayne 2. Loaded 3. Landyachtz 4. Earthwing 5. Bustin 6. Clutch/Soda Factory 7. Comet 8. Original 9. Sector 9 10. Fullbag 11. Jati 12. BC Longboards 13. Kebbek 14. LongBoardLarry 15. Gravity

FAVORITE DOWNHILL DECK 1. Rayne 2. Landyachtz 3. Earthwing 4. Comet 5. Clutch/Soda Factory 6. Fullbag 7. Bustin 8. Sector 9 9. Loaded 10. Madrid 11. Kebbek 12. Bombsquad 13. Jati 14. Five Mile 15. 313

FAVORITE LONG DISTANCE DECK 1. Rayne 2. Bustin 3. Loaded 4. LongBoardLarry 5. Landyachtz 6. Subsonic 7. Earthwing 8. Sector 9 9. Rolls Rolls 10. Clutch/Soda Factory 11. Kebbek 12. Original 13. Comet 14. Fullbag 15. BC Longboards

FAVORITE SLIDING DECK 1. Earthwing 2. Rayne 3. Loaded 4. Landyachtz 5. Bustin 6. Comet 7. Gravity 8. Clutch/Soda Factory 9. Original 10. Sector 9 11. Five Mile 12. La Chica de Curva 13. Fibretec 14. Jati 15. Madrid

FAVORITE SLALOM DECK 1. Fullbag 2. Loaded 3. Pavel 4. Sk8Kings 5. Bustin 6. Rayne 7. Subsonic 8. Original 9. Sector 9 10. Landyachtz 11. Earthwing 12. Roe 13. Airflow 14. LongBoardLarry 15. Gravity

48 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

FAVORITE VERT/TRANSITION DECK 1. Powell 2. Creature 3. Santa Cruz 4. Element 5. Skull Skates/Deckcrafters (tie) FAVORITE FREESTYLE DECK 1. Fullbag 2. Loaded 3. Pavel 4. Sk8Kings 5. Rayne FAVORITE CARVING/CRUISING TRUCKS 1. Paris 2. Randal 3. Independent 4. Bear 5. Original 6. Gullwing 7. Surf-Rodz 8. Holey 9. Bennett 10. Sabre FAVORITE DOWNHILL TRUCKS 1. Randal 2. Bear 3. Paris 4. Surf-Rodz 5. Aera 6. Munkae 7. Kahalani 8. GOG 9. Independent 10. Sabre FAVORITE SLALOM TRUCKS 1. Bennett 2. Paris 3. Tracker 4. Radikal 5. Randal 6. Independent 7. Seismic 8. Gullwing 9. Original 10. Surf-Rodz

CONCRETEWAVEMAGAZINE.COM

FAVORITE POOL/VERT TRUCKS 1. Independent 2. Paris 3. Randal 4. Tracker 5. Bennett FAVORITE CARVING/CRUISING WHEELS 1. Orangatang 2. Abec 11 3. Sector 9 4. Retro 5. 3dm 6. Bustin 7. Earthwing 8. Cult 9. Hawgs 10. Venom FAVORITE VERT/TRANSITION WHEELS 1. Abec 11 2. Orangatang 3. Bones 4. Earthwing 5. Spitfire 6. Rainskates 7. Retro 8. Ricta 9. Venom 10. Sector 9 FAVORITE LONG DISTANCE WHEELS 1. Abec 11 2. Orangatang 3. Seismic 4. Retro 5. Sector 9 6. Bustin 7. Venom 8. Hawgs 9. Earthwing 10. Nersh

FAVORITE BEARINGS 1. Bones 2. Biltin 3. Mile High Skates 4. RocknRon’s 5. VXB 6. Sector 9 FAVORITE BUSHINGS 1. Venom 2. Khiro 3. Reflex 4. Sabre 5. Bones 6. Divine FAVORITE SAFETY GEAR 1. The 187 2. Triple 8 3. Pro-tec 4. Pro Designed 5. TSG 6. Bern FAVORITE HELMET COMPANY 1. Triple 8 2. Protec 3. Bern 4. Bell 5. S-One BEST VIDEOS 1. Loaded/Orangatang 2. Original 3. Skate House Media 4. Landyachtz 5. Sector 9 6. Bustin

FAVORITE FREERIDE WHEELS 1. Orangatang 2. Abec 11 3. Hawgs 4. Cult 5. Sector 9

BEST ADVERTISING IN CONCRETE WAVE 1. Loaded 2. Paris 3. Abec 11 4. Landyachtz 5. Original

FAVORITE DOWNHILL WHEELS 1. Abec 11 2. Orangatang 3. Sector 9 4. Cult 5. Seismic

BEST OVERALL ADVERTISING/MARKETING 1. Loaded 2. Original 3. Sector 9 4. Orangatang 5. Landyachtz

FAVORITE SLIDING WHEELS 1. Orangatang 2. Abec 11 3. Earthwing 4. Sector 9 5. Cult

MOST ADMIRED COMPANY 1. Loaded 2. Rayne 3. Landyachtz 4. Earthwing 5. Bustin

FAVORITE LONGBOARD WEBSITE 1. Silverfish 2. Skate House Media 3. Loaded 4. Bustin 5. Skate Slate MOST UNDERRATED COMPANY 1. Earthwing 2. Bustin 3. Sector 9 4. Comet 5. Original FAVORITE INDIE SKATE SHOP 1. Longboard Loft 2. Motion Boardshop 3. Hopkin/Rip City (tie) 4. Concrete Wave Cologne 5. Free For All FAVORITE ONLINE SKATE SHOP 1. Longboard Skater 2. Daddies 3. Muir 4. Motion 5. Switchback 6. MileHighSkates.com 7. Hopkin 8. Stoked 9. Bustin 10. East Coast Core Skates/ SoCal Skate Shop (tie) MOST IMPROVED COMPANY 1. Sector 9 2. Bustin 3. Original 4. Rayne 5. Loaded IF YOU COULD WORK AT ANY SKATE COMPANY, WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CHOOSE? 1. Loaded 2. Rayne 3. Landyachtz 4. Bustin 5. Sector 9 IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE TO SKATE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? 1. Hawaii 2. Canada 3. Vancouver 4. Switzerland 5. Europe 6. Maryhill, WA 7. Colorado 8. New Zealand 9. New York City 10. Spain

SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 49

Ask Biker

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I got a question of concern from Frank, 38, who lives in Calgary, Canada. He writes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

My 12-year-old son is getting into downhill skateboarding and he thinks it is not dangerous. I would like to know what you think. Also, what kind of protective gear should he be wearing?

I would like to start off by saying, I love my life, and I do not have a death wish.

That being said, my passions are big-wave surfing (tow-in), riding dirt bikes, snowboarding, racing off-road trucks and, of course, skateboarding. Downhill skateboarding is as dangerous as any of these passions of mine, and in some cases much more dangerous. Let’s face it – downhill skateboarding is the most dangerous thing you can do on a skateboard. And I skate all disciplines – vert, pools, street and downhill. (Oh, but I don t dance!) Riding downhill on open roads is gnarly; traffic, driveways and potholes are just some of the things we have to deal with. These days, I always wear a full-face helmet, a motorcycle jacket that is padded all over, knee pads and slider gloves. This is the only way, short of full leathers, that anyone should be riding downhill. There was one time that a lot of you are aware of when I was being pulled by a car and was wearing no gear. I’d like to take a moment to explain what that situation was. One of the other ways I make money is doing stunt work for movies. Me and my buddies, who were stuntmen, were hired by Scion, which is owned by Toyota, to do this stunt for them, where I was being pulled by a Scion car. Like I said, all of us were trained professionals on a closed road, and it was performed with the most care possible.

Toyota’s legal department saw the footage and did not want to use it, so they released it to me. We put it up on YouTube and did not explain the situation, and I know a lot of people were upset about that. I’m taking this opportunity to explain the situation so nobody thinks were just out there being irresponsible.

I do not condone longboarding without a helmet. Anyone who rides downhill without full protection is out of their mind. I’m sure that you are a good parent who monitors what his 12- year-old is doing, and you have a lot of reason to do so. As this sport progresses and becomes more popular, there will be more injuries. Please do not ride without protection, and don’t ride a hill that you haven’t scoped out first. I’m sure my comments will surprise some people because of my history, but I now have a son that rides and I am all over him.

But what do I know… CW Editor’s Note: When Biker did 90.5 mph behind a motorcycle on the History Channel’s “Stunt Junkies,” he was wearing full protection, including leathers.

Check it on You Tube.

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STREET VS. LONGBOARDING

Students Speak Up debate that’s been What’s better, street decks or longboards? Is a Students at Oasis d. starte y Factor board Skate Oasis ongoing since answer is neithe that fact the to d just can’t seem to come aroun ent from only argum the see ts studen Some that. as simple ther, whereas ride, they board of type the y usuall one side, which is in class is ride and others can see it from both sides. What we do are the world’s first make both kinds of skateboards; after all, we Studio Technician OSF n, Drago — l. skateboard design high schoo

Riding in Style The deciding factor for those who say one type over the other is the preferred style and taste of that rider, whether they ride street or longboards. For the street riders, it’s about the technical fact of doing tricks like kickflips and pop shove-its. Longboarders can do some tricks, but it’s not that common with our students. It’s easier to do tricks on street decks. For the longboard riders in Toronto, it’s about mobility and getting around the city. — Dragon Street skating is just more fun because it lets you do a huge variety of tricks that honestly feel like they defy physics and gravity sometimes. Personally, I enjoy the rush of flying through the air or landing a trick perfectly. There is a huge satisfaction in this success for me, and that’s why I think it’s awesome and fun and better than longboarding. — Nick As a resident of a big city, I can skate in multiple places that aren’t always close together, so sometimes I need to ride transit to get from spot to spot. Carrying your board at some point during the day is a given, so having a small, light board will come in handy. With a longboard you can ride longer distances, but when you do have to carry one, it’s really awkward and heavy. — Alex D. Street skating is all about tricks; that’s what it’s about. As I am riding down the street I can choose to just ride alone through the city the same as a longboarder, but if I decide I want to have some fun I can just start using what’s around me. For example, imagine you’re riding down the street and you get up to a set of lights and there are cars lining up due to traffic. Now do you want to just stop and get off your board? No, you want to keep going… On a street board you can just ollie up the curb and keep going and overall, just have a good ride. — Thomas When you are exhausted and want to take a break from skating, a street deck is no problem to hold while you walk. Longboards, on the other hand, are much bigger and heavier than street decks and would be a pain to carry around. — Anthony You can put your whole life into street skating and still go out the next day and learn a new trick; that’s what makes it so addictive. With longboarding, after you learn to push and balance with two feet on your board you’ve pretty much got it down. People who enjoy being challenged like street skating. — Tristan

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But...

Getting around is mu ch easier on a longb oard when you have big squishy wheels that absorb all the shock from the rou city streets. The low gh ered or drop-deck boards are more en efficient because you ergy ’re not as high off the ground, so you don’t have to push as ha rd. The bearings on longboards are smoother, so you wil l be taken further wit h every push and go faster than a stree t deck. — Eli The reason I prefer longboarding over skateboarding is the that you can surf thr fact ough streets witho ut stopping. It’s a lot more fluid, more fun . This is called carvi ng . It’s like surfing, bu on pavement. You t have a lot of grip on the road, being able lean and touch the to street while you flo w like a river — it’s a very peaceful experience . — Prince

Hold on a se cond…

have been in the program for a wh ile and experienc boarding and sk ed longateboarding. Ther e is a huge deba better, and in m te on which is y opinion, I like th em such as…Skateb both for a lot of re oarding has a lar asons ger variety of trick of the skateboar s. The shape d is designed for flipping, spinning grinding and is lig , grabbing and ht enough to get air off tricks and longboards, they ramps. As for can’t do these typ es of tricks beca is just too big, bu use the board t they do have th eir own style of tri boards are great cks. Longfor going downhil l because they ar and big with room e comfortable to rest your feet.

They’re flexible, shapes for spee with unique d down the hills, and also have wi for grip on tight de, soft wheels curves. Skatebo ards can also go downhill, just not as well as lon gboards. — Zach L.

sines$ u B & t r A

yle rds are in st ct, longboa e’s pe er as th s t es bu n , the busi reet deck st a gan n th lo Looking at g ey in r more mon ding, involved in mak are ds and sell fo n ar sa bo r as such since ou more work, le. As rtant factor at’s an impo h 100% Canadian map more boards. Th it w w lo s al as s cl rd in , longboa handmade art platform community partner, er rg la a h and our well, wit to sell e graphics their shop room for th us space in n s ve gi g, in go Liv rds. — Dra Longboard our longboa et to start stre e affordable ing tricks, you or m is it , ner perform For a begin t better at sis. A longt as you ge bu regular ba a g, in on at ds sk ar last a lot bo g ill n w ki brea t the deck bu t, ing as may begin ar st ot to from n do s more board cost r less stress de n u ’s it . se D u . — Alex longer beca many tricks

SK8 Community There is a real feeling of community between people who street skate. Back when I used to skate every day, I’d meet my group of friends at the same set of stairs at 4:20 every day. Some of my favourite memories are from being at that same set of stairs, just chilling or playing SKATE. — Woody

But...

I believe it’s better to longboard in Toronto because there are paved streets, which are a lot of fun to cruise and flow through with your friends. It’s easy to get places fast, and it’s fun carving. With skateboarding you can’t get places fast. That’s why I believe longboarding is better than skateboarding. — Prince

In the end… …it’s really up to the person’s preference, attitude and how they ride that will determine which they think is better. It’s not the size of the boat, it’s the motion of the ocean ;) but always remember to be safe! — Wolf The main question we ask a new student in our class is “What kind of board are you making?” which sometimes leads to conversations about which type of board is better. They’re equally dope, just for separate reasons. — Gozi

Illustrations by Alex G. *This article was the culminating project for our “Power of Persuasion” English, Craig Morrison, Teacher & Darren Van Dyk, Guest Editor.

The average length of a long board is around 40”; therefore you have much more space to create new and vibrant ideas! I love personally defacing my boards, but I never have enough room for all my pictures. The longer the board, the more memories can be created through this medium. This is also true for full board graphics; the larger the board, the larger the canvas for the artist.

The design of the longboard doesn’t have to end with the graphics. The word “longboard” is a very undefined thing. Custom boards make great gifts with hundreds, maybe even thousands of different shapes you could make your board into. — Eli For the design process I like longboards more because you have more surface to create your artwork on.

Another cool thing about longboarding is you can make a custom shape, unlike a street deck, which has a standard design in order for skaters to be able to perform tricks on it. One of my favourite parts of a deck is the art, so why do all that work on a street deck only to have the graphics scraped off anyway? — Patrick Longboarding is a cheap investment in transportation.

So as long as you live in a place with good roads, longboarding could easily take the place of that bike you hardly ride — you know the one, it’s sitting in your garage or basement collecting dust. — Gozi From my perspective, I love riding street decks for the technical tricks, but I love making longboards for the simple fact that they sell for more money, and as a teen with no job, that’s a big help! — Dragon

Go Skate!

dicated to offering all t School Board fully de tric Dis to on Tor the in sis Skateboard Factory As the first school site street art focus, the Oa d an n sig de d oar teb justice and communitysubjects with a ska dits by running a social cre ol cho h-s oards, hig n ear nds-on to build skateb helps students ess where they learn ha sin bu ers, al rtn uri pa ne y nit pre mu tre en com focused h local artists and wit rk wo , ics . ph ium gra eive an honorar design original custom ve the opportunity to rec ha d an rk wo ir the y market and displa

Check us out at: blogspot.com oasisskateboardfactory.

SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 53

Ian McGlynn

DUNCAN WRIGHT PORTFOLIO With my work I try to think outside the square. Having a background in downhill skateboarding and skateboarding in general has been a great advantage, as it helps my thought process when I am thinking about the image I want to convey.

I will usually contact the skateboarder(s) and mention a spot to go skate. I’ll then start imagining that location and start thinking about the area and try to distinguish certain landmarks so I can think up a rough copy of the photo in my mind.

From then I imagine, What colors will be predominant? What will the lighting be like? Do I want to show the action through blur or freeze the moment as a shirt is billowing in the draft?

I try to use some basic photographic elements such as leading lines, the rule of thirds and repetition to make the images visually appealing. Sometimes, especially with the close-up fisheye shots, I will try to take the image as if it were a portrait of the rider so the viewer can get a sense of what the rider is feeling. I want the viewer looking at my images to feel as if they were there watching or even on the board. duncanwright.com.au

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Raine Kent and Ian McGlynn

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Jack Kent follows Ian McGlynn.

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Ian McGlynn

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Ian McGlynn

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Craig Bond

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IN MEMORIAM >>

BOB STATON: In His Own Words Born in Los Angeles on July 16, 1943.

1955 to 1958 — Playing around with various skate craft such as a skate scooter, skate cars and skate planks.

1958 to 1962 — This was the classic steel-wheel era, imitating surfing, bombing big hills and skating with friends. In 1960 I made my first real freestyle board. It was an 18” x 6” cedar deck.

1962 to 1965 — This was the beginning of the claywheel era, and I abandoned the steel-wheel 2 x 4 for the faster, more maneuverable skateboards.

1965 — Drafted into the army and served in El Paso, Texas at Ft. Bliss as an illustrator. I met some surferskaters at UTEP and skated with them on weekends.

BOB STATON 1943-2011 I first met Bob in 1982. At that time we skated together a few times in Northern California and did a few demos together. He was always extremely interested in freestyle skateboarding and very friendly. It was a real pleasure to see him so involved with the sport when I came back to the sport after 24 years away. Bob's extraordinary dedication to freestyle skateboarding over four decades shows a true love, an extreme passion for such a pure art form. It has been my pleasure to know Bob and call him my friend. — Keith Butterfield

When I think of Bob here is what comes to mind...

Bob was instrumental in the rebirth of freestyle skateboarding. He was constantly reaching out to various people trying to set up jams and small contests. Back in 2003 and 2004 he was reaching out to old freestylers. He would work with them to plant seeds that would ultimately bring old freestylers out of retirement and get new younger kids interested. He tirelessly drove up and down California setting up gatherings and small contests. While I never quit skateboarding, I had pretty much stopped freestyle riding back in the early ’90s, so when I heard there was a freestyle gathering in my town in late 2003 I was somewhat interested. I attended and realized that I had pretty much lost most of the tricks I knew. In 2004 I decided to spend a little more time freestyling and less time at the skatepark. Bob was instrumental in not only getting me back into freestyle but getting many people to jump back into it. Over the next five years Bob was always creating fliers for jams and posting them on every site. His passion for freestyle is larger than most people’s, and his willingness to get an event going was greater than almost anyone’s. — Gary Holl

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Photo: Denis Sopovic

1965 to 1972 — Skateboarding took a back seat to college, marriage, babies and career. However, I did regularly skate my Black Knight on the big concrete slab in front of the Joslyn Center, where I worked in Torrance, California from 1970-1980.

1972 to 1974 — The garage-board era when many dads like me made boards for their kids and their friends. In 1973 I started a skateboard company called Avalanche and made shop boards for E.T., Val Surf, Kanoa and Con surf shop. Demand for boards from local surf shops and from shops around the world was so high that it maxed out my garage production capabilities. I had no money and no business sense and did not really want to be a carpenter, so I sold Avalanche to Excalibur. I graduated from CSULB [California State University, Long Beach] in 1972 with a degree in Art. I airbrushed surf scenes on some of the shop decks for a price. I am, as far as anyone knows, the first artist to sell hand-painted skateboards commercially.

1975 to 1977 — This was a period of skateboard deck design experimentation. My goal was to develop betterfunctioning decks that did not look like mini surfboards.

I was encouraged to go back into business with my new design concepts.

1977 to 1979 — Started Staton Skateboards in 1977.

The most memorable product was the freestyle deck.

This design was the first straight-rail deck ever produced. Within several years a few top freestylers had model boards nearly identical to the Staton freestyle deck. I had an Am team and a skate shop. We entered contests and did well, especially in freestyle and slalom.

I won a national Am title in a 20-and-over division. In 1979 I trained at the Hermosa Pier with Steve Rocco, Per Welinder and Per Holknekt. We occasionally skated for tips at Venice Beach. I managed Mitch’s (Tunnel Wheels) Skate Shop in Garden Grove and then Pro Am Skate Shop in Redondo Beach.

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1980 to 1984 — Moved to Santa Barbara in 1980. I met only one other freestyler, John Dettman. I got into skating C.A.S.L. contests. Eventually I was judging local contests and spent 2½ years on the board of directors.

I became more interested in the nonprofit side of skateboarding than the retail side.

1984 to 1991 — Continued to skate contests. Moved to Santa Cruz for several months and did a demo with Keith Butterfield and Michelle Kolar. Won a C.A.S.L. street contest on a 38” 2 x 4 with steel wheels. Founded the Santa Barbara Skateboard Association, designed a funstyle deck as a hybrid between current street and freestyle decks. The Funstyle deck was produced by Badd Boys and Barfoot. It was the best-selling deck I ever designed. I also designed a standard freestyle deck for Badd Boys that was an exact copy of my 1977 Staton freestyle deck. I was active in skatepark development in various cities. I entered groups of skateboarders in several parades. I assisted and mentored young skaters such as George Nagai and Frankie Hill. I appeared in a Thrasher article on Santa Barbara.

1992 to 2000 — Continued to be active in skatepark development. Skated freestyle by myself during those years when there were no freestyle contests in the USA. I became active online when I discovered the INFFS (International Network of Flatland Freestyle Skateboarders) forum founded by Stefan “Lillis” Åkesson in 1996. In 2000, freestyle pro and activist Dr. Bill Robertson produced the first world freestyle championship in a decade. I placed 4th in the Am division out of a field of 4.

2000 to 2010 — In 2001 I co-founded the World Freestyle Skateboard Association (WFSA) along with Dan Gesmer and Stefan “Lillis” Åkesson. From that point on almost all of my skateboarding activity was related to the WFSA. From 2001 to 2009 I secured a host for the World Freestyle Championship and various other contests. In 2003 I produced 17 Jams around California, one with Gary Holl in Mt. View, one with Darryl Grogan in Los Angeles and one with the Carrascos in Huntington Beach that became the Sk8Kings Jam Series. In 2004 I partnered with Heidi Lemmon of SPAUSA to produce grassroots events in the inner-city communities. We produced the Inglewood Games that ran for four years, the Glendale “Spot On” contest that ran for two years as well as contests in Lynwood, Huntington Park, Venice Beach and Heidi’s ramp complex in Venice. The 2009 Inglewood Games had 235 entrants, making it one of the largest urban contests in the world.

In 2008 I co-founded the Armed Forces Skateboarding Association with Bryan Cooper and produced a contest on Coronado Island. AFSA sponsored an active military division in several contests. I secured nonprofit booth space at several ASR expos and San Diego County Fairs. In 2010 Heidi and I produced the Embarcadero Marina Park Flatland Freestyle Contest. I organized the concept for the 2010 Venice Beach Freestyle Contest produced by Ben Farquhar. I am co-developer of the Freestyle Skateboarding Hall of Fame and co-developer of the WFSA ranking system. CW

GINTS GAILITIS 1964-2011

By Jani Söderhäll It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Latvian slalom pioneer Gints Gailitis on the morning of February 9, 2011.

Gints was a tireless and truly international supporter of slalom racing ever since his first reports to Slalom! magazine back in the 1980s, when almost nobody knew where the country of Latvia was. Readers discovered that behind the former iron wall there were plenty of skateboarders, and in particular plenty of slalomers! With a foot in journalism and an interest in photography, Gints reported results, photos and stories to Slalom! on a regular basis.

With the revival of slalom skateboarding, Gints once again returned to promote slalom in Latvia and elsewhere, putting on races both local and international, always with the same ease and perfection.

Gints helped spread the stoke of slalom in Latvia, Europe and elsewhere by making sure Latvian slalomers made it to events all across the world, creating racing stars such as world champions Lienite Skaraine and Janis Kuzmins.

With his solid interest in racing, and despite never reaching the highest level for himself, Gints participated in more races than most of us and eventually managed to pass the bug on to his children, who we hope will carry the torch onward. R.I.P.

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THE BIRTH, REBIRTH AND TODAY’S FEMALE SKATER:

Patti McGee – one of the first women in the world to do a kickturn.

WHERE ARE WE HEADED?

THE BIRTH Patti McGee

By ISABELLE FRIED

P

op-singer icon Cyndi Lauper really had it right: Girls do just wanna have fun. Girls want to hang out with their friends. It’s been the fun and camaraderie that have kept female skateboarders stoked, but the average female does not see herself as skateboarder potential. Few girls are not put off by learning to skateboard with guys or solo. Girls don’t want scrapes, bruises or sprains, but proper equipment, instruction and safety can make skateboarding more accessible.

In the 1950s surfers skated when the ocean was unsurfable. Today’s skateboarders are no different. The rebirth of catching concrete waves — the roots of skateboarding — the search for the endless summer has exploded. Just like in surfing, longer skateboards are simpler to ride. The current trend toward longer boards and softer wheels with an emphasis on safety is putting the gender balance back to the ’60s and ’70s levels. Cruising is just that much fun.

In 1965, Patti McGee brought skateboarding into the American living room by gracing the cover of Life magazine with her signature handstand. She has been a female pioneer in skateboarding for almost 50 years. She was the first female professional skateboarder, and in 2010 she became the first woman inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame. She challenged the imagination of a nation and the world.

We may come from different eras, but we can surf concrete waves for the same reasons. Females need to see other females’ passion and healthful lifestyles. We can become friends through skateboarding while celebrating our good health and well-being. Our community spirit can forge friendships through clinics, contests and clubs. Cyndi Lauper’s noxious bubblegum refrain sings true: Sisters, aunties, girlfriends, moms and daughters should celebrate fun because it simply makes nicer people, and that creates a better universe… four wheels at a time.

I started surfing in 1959 in Ocean Beach, California on an old round-top balsa board. I started skateboarding in 1963. It was my first step on a board; I remember my brother yelling at me from the front yard to “get out here and try this!” We nailed one of our clamp-on roller skates to a piece of 2x4 sideways, sat on it with our feet sticking forward and bombed down the sidewalk. It was just what we surfers did when the afternoon wind blew out the surf.

My first real deck was a Cooley “Bun Buster” in 1964. My brother and I practiced 180s, 360s, wheelies and jumping over the limbo stick for hours. The handstand became my signature trick; I practiced every day at the Moonlight Roller Rink for hours until I could go all the way around it without coming down.

As a pro in the ’60s, I got to travel coast to coast. I was being paid a regular paycheck, not just getting free stuff. I was on a plane every week. After the Life magazine article I got a TV commercial and an Easter Week show in Chicago with “Dick Clark’s World Teen Fair.”

After 1966, I drifted out of skating. In 2000, my daughter started interviewing me for a communications class. Working with Barb Odanaka at skatemoms.com and Jamie [Parker] and Matt [Gaudio] at Silly Girl Skate Posse has really inspired me. My daughter has inspired me to get to the park more often. Now, I’m up and out every weekend bright and early. I roll. I could be wimpy and use my age for an excuse, but I’m out there having fun, and that’s what counts. Like...”What’s your grandmother doing this weekend?!”

I feel such a positive influence NOW! I am so grateful and honored to have been inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame!! I have made thousands of friends due to the popularity of MySpace and Facebook. I really need to say something for the camaraderie. These girls are interested in being in a group and forming friendships and more! Girls write to me about how happy they are that I paved the way. This is all and has been a thrill of a lifetime and also it holds a responsibility to be a good role model — so Always Wear Your Helmet!

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THE REBIRTH Isabelle Fried

In 1997 I literally fell into skateboarding’s rebirth — straight down a 3’ mini ramp onto my hip. My kids had invited me to Parents’ Day at skate camp. I brought my dusty old board I had used in college to find out parents were invited to watch. Embarrassment was not a deterrent, and despite my barely being able to walk the next day, I was hooked. When the surf was flat, my kids and I skated. Riding my longboard alone to check the surf, hitting imaginary waves before getting the real ones, was a new rush. On days where life just weighed me down, skating made me feel free and happy past the quick 15-minute snatch of time.

I have met so many people skating, and the smallness of our world is dumbfounding. When I first skated with my kids that day, if anyone had suggested that I’d eventually skate 13’ vert ramps and 30’ ditches, I’d have laughed at that absurdity. But time, and an impulse to take our skateboards on vacation, led to a mini ramp, which later led to nighttime downhill sessions with the Supaflex crew and then the bowls of Marseille during the day with my kids. Skateboarders around the world are kind and generous. I found that one Brazilian friend quickly leads to 15. I claimed I like speed and, poof, next thing I knew I was bombing downhill with Sergio Yuppie at almost 50 mph — my kids watching from the van spotting behind us.

Girls on board were rare back in the 2000s. Annie Sullivan was a grom at local skatepark when my kids and I met her, so we became instant friends. Not seeing many girls at skateparks did not make sense to me as a mom with a daughter, let alone as a stoked skater. Getting girls back into living room with the Disney TV skate commercial we did was another positive step in promoting females skating. In 2005 CNN aired a Downhill Divas clinic I taught. Actually seeing the footage of the ladies’ smiles, laughter and camaraderie fueled my passion to continue teaching basics and safety.

The Internet has connected the continents past leisurely vacations or quick contests. I wanted to connect girls in my community like the Mighty Mamas connected Patti McGee and me. By the way, Annie rips the terrain with more grace, strength and smooth flow lines than most guys. The future of females skating is NOW.

Annie Sullivan makes her (over vert) mark at the Upland skatepark.

Isabelle Fried: "The future of females skating is NOW." Photo: Mitch Caudle

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From generation to generation: Annie, Isabelle and Patti.

Photo: Allan Perlas

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Photo: Mitch Caudle

Patti McGee: "I'm out there having fun, and that's what counts."

Photo: Allan Perlas

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Pro surfer Jen Smith (left) with Annie.

Photo: Bri Burkett

Photos: Mitch Caudle

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TODAY’S FEMALE Annie Sullivan

My first setup was a Nash board with neon pink plastic wheels. It didn’t roll well, but I was stoked. We bombed a little hill in the park near my house when I was really young and getting my first adrenaline rush… from that day on, I was hooked.

Since I was so small, I thought the hill was huge… now whenever I see that hill it makes me laugh. I move from skateboards to surfboards, wakeboards and snowboards. I like experimenting and keeping it fresh.

Whenever I want to I can just grab my board and cruise some hills or go to a skatepark. It’s easy to make friends with someone you already have a common bond with… that’s one of the coolest aspects of skateboarding. It is a “relief from reality” activity rather than something I train for or need to compete in.

My favorite skating experience was skating the New York City Broadway Bomb race last year with more than 500 skaters, mobbing through red lights, running into cabs. My most life-changing trip was to Australia with a bunch of girls. We were in Melbourne for the Globe World Cup contest and then cruised around the Gold Coast for a couple of weeks surfing and skating. Cool people, fun skate spots.

The X Games was a huge accomplishment for me. My dad and I watched X Games Three in 1997. I saw a vert ramp for the first time and was completely blown away… it looked so fun. I will never forget that moment, and thinking back on it now, after competing in the X Games twice, definitely stokes me out.

I have always loved sharing my passion for skating with young kids. There were some older guys that taught me new tricks and mentored me when I was younger, so it is rewarding to do the same. I live by the saying: “Don’t wait to see what you get, get what you want!” I work hard, play harder, and will never stop shredding life! CW

“It’s easy to make friends with someone you already have a common bond with… that’s one of the coolest aspects of skateboarding.”

Annie Sullivan: “Don’t wait to see what you get, get what you want!”

Photo: Bri Burkett

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HELMET SAFETY

AWARENESS: THE TRAGEDY AND

THE REALITY

By TIM RAFFERTY, CONNLONGBOARDER

Part I: — The Tragedy

Well, I finally agreed to put something down and share my story. Not sure what to say or how to say it, but friends and family have been telling me it is something I should do. I don’t even really know where to start. It has only been several months, and…well…I just don’t even know where to begin…

My loving husband of 17 years was a really great guy. He was my true love, my soul mate, and one of the funnest, best fathers in the world. He had a passion for longboarding, and seemed to spend as much of his free time skating as he could. I guess I never really “got it.” Most guys his age were wrapped up in daily household chores, doing projects around the house, working on their dream car or whatever. Not mine — he went skating.

One of his favorite places to skate was a parking garage about 10 minutes up the road from our house. He would usually only be away for an hour or two, but this last time he went, well...he just seemed gone longer than usual.

The night it all happened is still something of a blur. I am not really sure how the conversation all went down — I was pretty hysterical that night.

It was probably after 11 p.m. when the doorbell rang. I was asleep in bed and was not sure who would be at the door at this late hour. I dragged myself from sleep, and headed down to answer the door.

Two state troopers greeted me, and asked they could speak with me. I remember asking them what this was about, and they asked if my husband had lived at this address. I told them he did.

I remember them telling me about a horrible accident at the parking garage. There was a skateboarder there who fell pretty bad, and well…they said it was a pretty bad scene, and that I needed to take a ride with them to identify the body.

All the events, the conversation and the aftermath that took place after this is all quite a blur.

I sort of remember asking them if my husband was dead. They just told me again there was a horrible accident and I needed to take a ride to the hospital.

I could not believe what was happening. I believe I told my children that I had to take a ride and see what happened to Daddy, and for them to just stay home while I took a ride with the policemen.

I remember them asking me if Daddy was all right, I just don’t remember what my answer was.

Oh, my God, what happened? I asked as I sat in the back seat of the cruiser on the way to the hospital. I could barely breathe and just tried to focus on what was actually happening.

Apparently there were some skateboarders riding in the parking garage that night, and one of them had a bad fall. They said something about running into a concrete pillar, and there was a lot of blood on the scene when they arrived. The skaters that were there were a bit freaked out; they did not really have any answers, only to say that there was a good-sized group of them and they had been riding for the past hour or so. They said one of the guys did not make it to the bottom level of the garage, and when they went to see where he was, they found him on the ground, all banged up, and lots of blood all around. Most of the skaters fled the scene right then and there, but a few remained, called an ambulance and stuck around to try to tell us what happened.

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I’m quite sure my hysterics were pretty bad in the back of the car by now. Like I said, it is all a blur, but I do remember riding up with them, and going into the morgue at the hospital to identify the body.

It was like something out of a TV show to enter this place and have them pull the cover off his body. I went weak in the knees when I saw his banged-up face. His head had a huge gash in it, his nose looked kind of smashed in and his chin was indented. But of course it was him...and the remaining moments of that day all just disappeared. I just seemed to lose it right then and there. Again, I am not sure what really happened after that. I just remember crying hysterically and informing the officers that it was him, indeed it was.

It was the worst thing I have ever had to say to my children in my life. I told them their father was dead. We wept and sobbed for hours. They had SO many questions about why…and I only had one answer: I don’t know.

I know that many close friends and my family really came to my aid and showed me their support. I remember everyone came out to show their respects at the wake and funeral. So many faces from all sides of the family showed.

It is a living nightmare that is constantly in my head. I live forever in a state of disarray and despair. It is only the will to help my children overcome this tragedy that gets me out of bed each and every day.

The changes in our my children since the accident are something that saddens me at every level. Gone are the family dinners filled with laughter and conversation.

We usually sit silently and force-feed ourselves to get through the moment.

Their interest in their activities has diminished greatly. Dance classes are few and far between. Ten years of acting classes are over, as is the enthusiasm to try out for a play.

Honor students have been deduced to average, and maintaining grades to “get by” is the goal of each school year.

Our therapist tells me this is all normal, and not to get so caught up in how their lives used to be. As long as they are not getting into trouble, going to school every day and maintaining friendships, they will eventually come into their own, and once again be productive members of their community.

I long for that day to come.

My only hope is that one of your readers will take this story and comprehend how incredibly dangerous skateboarding can be.

The loss of life I feel is unbearable on some days, but I know my will to make some sense of this tragedy will keep me going, and help me make it to the next day.

Part II: The Reality Every year someone dies from a simple skateboard accident. Fate and luck intertwine the wrong place at the right time. It’s done. Over.

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The percentage of fatalities from this industry is increasing annually. As the number of riders increases, so does the number of injuries and tragedies.

The reality of the situation is this: Although the above incident you just read about occurred — a rider crashing, police coming to his home, his wife dashing to the hospital late at night — the final outcome of that night’s events is vastly different.

How so? One reason.

The rider in the real story was wearing a helmet. The tragic tale of loss and grief you just read about is purely a fantasy, not reality.

Granted, it is a dark fantasy, and a morbid one too. It’s a classic case of somehow coming up with a way to try to answer the almighty question: “What if…?”

What if I hit the cement pillar at 20-plus mph, and was not wearing a helmet or pads? What would the outcome be? I believe you just learned what I thought it might possibly be like. I apologize for the deception, but I felt the need to take a little literary license to help make my point.

So what really happened?

The above event DID take place. I am the man who went on a longboard garage bomb one summer evening.

I have been skating a certain garage for almost a decade now. I do solo runs, or ride with small groups of friends, a couple of us here and there, and once in a while we get a real big group together and have an allout bomb. That night was one of them.

I usually pick up a good amount of speed from level 6 down to level 2. It is at this point that I cross over in a middle section of the garage. This part flattens out, which allows me to reduce my speed and safely glide to the basement of the garage.

On this particular night, a fellow skater came around the corner of level 2 really tight on the inside. The path of the rider prohibited me from crossing over, and I watched in horror as I screamed down the garage from level 2 to level 1, not knowing how to handle the corner and slow down.

Sliding is not an easy practice on the surface of this cement floor. Its coarse texture makes it difficult for the wheels to remain gripped, and a roll out is usually the result. I decided (within a matter of about two nanoseconds) to try to make the corner, and not slide it out. If I did a roll out, I was going to smack into a parked car. It might be head-on or backwards. Either would result in serious bodily harm.

My chances at making the corner were 50-50. I knew it would be tight, but it was the choice I made. I buckled down, hit the corner and prayed to God! I almost made it, but was shy by about two feet. This led me head-on to a concrete pillar and KA-BLAM! A flash of bright white and I was pushed back midair and landed on my back about three feet away.

I stood up trembling, looked down and did a body check. I lifted each leg and felt no pain or discomfort. Next I looked at

both arms, and instantly knew my right wrist was broken. It was completely numb, and looked rather funky. Not horrid — no bones showing or anything — just every amount of muscle and tissue surrounding my wrist was tight and 100% constricted.

Damn...wrist is broken for sure, I thought.

Part of the concrete is permanently etched into the front of my helmet as well.

At this point my fellow skaters approached and asked if I was OK. I replied that I was fine, but my wrist was broken. As they looked down and saw it, I could see the change in their expressions.

“Oh, my God!” they all said. “You have to get yourself to a hospital.”

Each and every skater approached and offered any amount of help they could. No one fled the scene; instead they stuck with me, offered encouraging words and made sure I was able to get myself out of there and off to the hospital.

The details revealed a pretty bad break in the wrist. The break did not have to be set, but rather needed surgery to align the broken bone, and a metal plate to keep it in place.

As much as all of this really sucked, I could not help but think what the result would have been had I not been wearing my helmet. I constantly reminded myself that I am alive and well, healing in a cast, enjoying the summer in my backyard — watching the smiles on my children’s faces, hearing their laughter, and totally embracing the fact that this minor setback is nothing compared to how bad it could have been.

Want to know what is like to smack into a concrete pillar on a skateboard going 20plus miles per hour?

Let’s start with something I learned in a Safety Driving course I took as an elective in college. It is a fact that going 10 mph and hitting something head on is equal to jumping out of a first-story window. Going 20 mph is like jumping from the second story, 30 mph the third story, etc. That is a reality.

So, fellow riders, please do me, yourself and your loved ones this following favor. The next time you are on the second floor of a building or house, try this: Open the nearest window, stick your head out and look down.

No, not stand there and look out the window and see the ground below. Open the window, stick your head out and look straight down; there IS a difference.

With me?

Imagine a concrete telephone pole starting at the base of the building, lying on the ground and extending out from the structure. Now, imagine yourself climbing out the window, standing and doing a belly-flop freefall straight to the ground.

Just before impact, move your arm across your chest and slam into the pole. KABLAM! That’s the equivalent of what happened to me.

The helmet I was wearing protected my face from impact. Had I not had it on,

Vincent Pacetti (R), owner and founder of 187 Killer Pads, with the local groms at the Encinitas YMCA skatepark.

Photo: Mitchell "NOBI" Moshenberg

imagine the forehead skull being split wide open, my nose pushed back to the back of my head. Teeth smashed in, chin splattered. Having my arm across my chest snapped the bone right at the wrist joint. It could easily have been a smashed-in knee or knees as well.

Now imagine the overall outcome of such a fall or crash. Grievous Bodily Harm for sure...and possibly death. And if not, serious time spent in a hospital recovering. Probably brain trauma, and possibly physical ailments for the rest of my life. The list could go on and on.

How do you think you would fare in the above scenario with no protective equipment on? Can you please seriously stick your head out that window and imagine the above? Try it — I dare you.

I am SO thankful that I was able to walk away with only a broken wrist. The surgery, physical therapy, dealing with a cast, etc.; all minor issues, nothing to sweat over at all — relatively speaking.

I’ve spent my recovery time considering all the ways this could have been worse, and counting my blessings each and every day. However, that is not the case for many families. Take the Coffey family, for example.

In the summer of 2009, 20-year-old Tyler Coffey had recently received his Surf-Rodz Thresher longboard. He went out for an evening of hill bombing and never came home. Apparently the news-

paper delivery woman found him on the side of the road in the early morning hours. He was dead. While hill bombing, late at night, with no helmet, he must have taken a spill somehow.

Twenty years old. Life gone. From riding a skateboard. How on earth can these things happen?

I can barely imagine the grief this family has gone through. I would venture to guess they have asked the “What if...?” question many, many times. What IF Tyler had had a helmet on?

Immediately after hearing of Tyler’s death, I told my friend Wayne of Surf-Rodz we must do something to honor this young man. Wayne had told me how incredibly stoked Tyler was to receive his new board. He was SO thrilled and generally excited, just pumped beyond words.

Upon hearing this I could totally relate — I own and ride a Surf-Rodz Thresher myself. I told Wayne I knew exactly how psyched this kid was — I too felt the exact same way the day I got my board.

I felt compelled to do something, anything, to help this family try to make some sense out of this senselessness.

If you go back and look at the title of this article — you will see the letters TY capitalized in the word safety. That is for Tyler (Ty) Coffey. I worked with Tyler’s family and friends and helped launch the Helmet SafeTY Awareness Campaign (pronounced safe-“tie”).

There is a Facebook page for the campaign; PLEASE look it up, and click “Like.” There is also a flyer I created that lives on the FB page — check the Photos section. I implore each and every one of you to print out the flyer, and hang it on your fridge. Send it to a friend, put it up in your favorite hangout spot — wherever.

Just please help spread the word.

Tyler’s family has worked with helmet companies and local events to pass out free helmets to kids.

I know many readers may actually already posses a sticker for this campaign. I personally handed a stack to Richy Carrasco at the Slalom on the Farm race in New York this past summer.

I gave a stack to the Fullbag crew as well.

Then later that summer, Joe Iacovelli passed out massive amounts of stickers at the Antrim Can/Am Slalom Championship race in New Hampshire, Tyler’s home state. Wayne from Surf-Rodz was shipping them out with his packages every day too, all over the globe. I also handed out massive amounts at the Concrete Wave booth at the Hartford, Conn. stop of the Vans Warped Tour.

So if you do have one, and never knew why TY was capitalized, now you do.

The reality of what our industry will experience is there will be more Tyler Coffeys and Ian Tilmanns — riders gone from this world far too soon — and more families like theirs, starting their own

foundations to honor their loved ones who perished innocently. Let’s hope and pray this is the part of the exploding longboarding scene that grows the very slowest.

You are well aware of how advanced the technology is that goes into making a skateboard in this day and age. I hope you realize that exact technology goes into making helmets and safety equipment as well. They are light and comfortable, not obtrusive or bulky at all.

Helmet and safety-equipment companies rarely get any credit for saving the lives and halting serious injuries to us riders. So I say “Thank you” to ALL the companies out there. Your equipment IS making a difference.

Many of you reading this are safety advocates. You wear helmets and safety gear regularly. Kudos to you. You love your sport (and yourself) enough to know you want to stick around on this planet pushing the forces of gravity for MANY years to come.

I sincerely hope to reach the nonhelmet-wearing community with this article. My goal of this story is to offer some insight and awareness to how lifealtering your simple decisions about safety equipment can be. It is my greatest hope that the next time you go skating, you will seriously consider how wearing a helmet can change your life. After all, wearing one certainly saved mine. CW

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LONGBOARDING

FREESTYLE

74 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

Passion m eets Progression

By BRIAN BISHOP Photos: CHRISTOPHER VANDERYAJT

T

eaching your feet a trick that someone else has already stomped is one thing, but it’s entirely different to progress into the realm of the seemingly unobtainable. Longboarding has been breaking boundaries since most of us were groms, but lately freestyle has gripped onto the side of a progressive train, and isn’t letting go.

Like most of us, I was intrigued by longboarding when I first set my eyes on one. Little did I know how much of an impact it would have on my life. There’s really something magnificent about seeing a kid eat it, get up, dust himself off and run back up the hill. I was that kind of guy, and I guess I still am. I’ve had worn-out shoes, ripped jeans, scabs, scars and swollen elbows for the past seven years.

During that time, longboarding has become much more than just an escape like it used to be. Longboarding has become a constant progressive juggernaut. I wish to get longboarding into the eyes, and under the feet, of those who are skeptical, those who ask “What’s the point?” just like I did at first. I’m trying to showcase the progression of longboarding in its purest form by spending as much time as I can thinking of new ways to push longboarding in a new direction.

Freestyle, to me, means freedom. It is the ability to take what you’ve learned and twist it, torque it and skew it in your own way to create personal style. It’s adding your personality onto the longboarding community. It’s changing what most people outside of the community see as a hobby and blowing their minds with the intricacy and technical points behind longboarding. It’s turning heads at the skatepark when they see me stomp a trick they’ve never seen before, on a board twice the size of theirs. It’s landing an old-school 360 flip for the first time. It’s the feeling of being part of a revolution that I know will make a huge impact on the heart of skateboarding history.

Where freestyle longboarding came from and where it’s going seem to coincide with the creativity and innovation of the longboard industry. >>

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"One of th e best th ings about freestyle to m e is its accessibility. All you need is a parking lot, a longboard and an imagination." — Brian Bish op 76 CONCRETE WAVE SPRING 2011

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When I first started skating in northern Massachusetts with my buddies Dane Webber, Sam Weaver and many others, we never really worried about doing the longest soft-wheel standup slide, nor did we care about the craziest trick we could think of, like a shuvit lateflip or anything like that. But when freestyle hit me, it was like somebody lit the bottoms of my pants on fire and everything kicked into high gear. I think freestyle had a big impact on the longboard industry as well.

The production of longboards reflects the progression of the skating. Take, for example the Original Apex 37, which is built with quad-axial fiberglass, interlaced with layers of maple, and a carbon fiber bar to help prolong its shape and to help support high-impact tricks. Everybody is raising the bar. All of these developments were made just to match the consumer’s demand, and it has been insanely beneficial for the sport.

One of the best things about freestyle to me is its accessibility.

You don’t need a perfectly paved gorgeous mountain road in California or Switzerland or whatever. You don’t need a $90 lift ticket and an overpriced hot dog. All you need is a parking lot, a longboard and an imagination. The basics of freestyle all come back to skating flatland, which everybody has access to.

The majority of longboarders don’t have magnificent skating hills, but everybody has at least a place to work on freestyle.

That is, in my opinion, where the future of the sport begins, and what it will always be tied to.

And once you master the flatland, you can take it to much bigger and crazier obstacles. As it turned out, these “obstacles” ended up launching me into the air. While studying architecture at Wentworth in Boston, I started designing a scaled-down mega-ramp. I even met with Bob Burnquist very briefly about it at a local event, but didn’t receive much advice from him other than “that sounds cool, man.” (We shall meet again. Bobby.) After discussing it with Original, we decided that the project was worthy of the investment and the risks involved. I was stoked that they were enthusiastic to take longboarding in the direction I was hoping for. I spent my spare time outside of my classes sketching, computer modeling and conceptualizing the ramp. On my last day at Wentworth before I took a year (or two) off to longboard professionally, I printed out the plans, sections and elevations for the ramp. Construction took place down in New Jersey in a warehouse at the Original headquarters. It was mainly me building it, with occasional help from other skaters and friends — people as stoked as I was.

What I wanted to do with the mega-ramp was show people something they haven’t seen before. Sure, people have seen skaters go off jumps much bigger than the one I was building, but nobody had seen them do it on a longboard, especially one without any nose or kicktails. The biggest goal for me was to blow the minds of those who do early grabs off of curbs, little makeshift kickers and things of that sort. I wanted to push the sport in a new direction. I wanted to progress. >>

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The ramp started getting bigger and eventually barely fit inside the warehouse I was building it in. The kicker was 8’ wide, 14’ long and 6’ high, while the landing was 12’ wide, 18’ long and 4’ high. We compacted the monstrosity into a 30’ U-Haul truck and had one session out in the brutal 90-degree heat of July, filming shots for our upcoming “Go Longboard 2010” video. It was an insane day — tons of stoke, tons of water, my eyeballs eventually shrank into my head due to dehydration — and all in all it was an awesome day. But when the final cut was finally made, only one shot made it into the video. So we moved the ramp into a newly purchased, much bigger warehouse.

We built a new kicker, transformed the old one into a roll-in and kept pushing it.

Things kept evolving. I started landing things I had only dreamt about on that first session in July. It started off with basic jumps: early grab straight air, Indy frontside 180, melon backside 180, and then it happened — early grab backside 360 melon grab. A trick that took a lot of hard work, lots of swollen elbows, cracked hangers, and has more adjectives than a drink from Starbucks. That pretty much convinced me that anything can be done on a longboard with enough practice. I started working on one-footed airs, and ended up stomping backside 180 judos on the Apex 37. I’m still working on the 360 judo, along with inverts and 540s. It’s really incredible how much is possible when you are pursuing the unattained.

I truly believe that over the next few years, freestyle longboarding will gain the respect it deserves from the shortboard industry, and do it with steeze. Our situation is similar to rolling up with a longboard to a skate spot that is clearly taken over by the shortboard scene; while filming in Boston, this happened one time in particular. These guys were skating an empty fountain doing the normal kickflip up 180 out, nosegrind to fakie, tailslide to faceplant, etc. I rolled up with a 37-inch board and they gave the judgmental glances and skeptic faces as usual. But once I got warmed up and busted an old-school tre flip down the fountain, I got some tail slaps and a hoot or two. One dude even came up and said that he thought I was going to stink up the spot by rolling around on a longboard. But by the end of the session he was really stoked by my skating. It’s times like those that give me faith in the future of freestyle.

Longboarding is timeless. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are; the heart of a longboarder remains the same. The desire to innovate, progress and dedicate your time to get to the next level of stoke never changes. That’s why I get so inspired by teaching somebody to nose manual and seeing them look up afterward and say “Did you see how long that was?!” They’ve got it; they’ve caught the train. That stokes me up more than anything.

It doesn’t take a lot to show somebody something new; you just have to do it at the right time. And the first step is just grabbing your board and trying it. This is the time for freestyle longboarding to take those necessary steps, get warmed up and throw down.

Here’s to the future.

Thanks to Original Skateboards, Bern Unlimited and Roots Lifestyles for all their contributions to my skating. CW

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“I truly believe that o ver th e next few years, freestyle longboarding will gain th e respect it deser ves from th e sh ortboard industry, and do it with steeze.” — Brian Bish op

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SKATE TIPS >>

THAT

HOW TO

PERFECT

By PAUL KENT

Rider: Kyle Chin Photo: Adam Colton

powerslide, also known as a “heelside standup speed check,” is a great slide to have in your repertoire. It comes in handy when you’re jamming your favorite corners, when you want to drop a touch of speed, and of course during displays of swagger toward your preferred sex.

Most of you already understand the basics that go into this technique. In fact, many of you have likely been powersliding for quite some time now. But don’t turn this page too hastily. This is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to powersliding; rather I am going to highlight five specific points to help perfect your technique. Not only are these points the most common mistakes I encounter when teaching new riders, but some are also frequently left out in the most common tutorials on the subject.

A

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If your balance is right you can get away without preloading your powerslide, but things are just so much easier and more stylish with it. Proper preload helps reduce the weight that is bearing down on the board during the slide. This means you won’t have to battle the grip from your wheels as much and you’ll be better aligned to lock into your slide. Drop into a crouch, then explode forcefully out and up slightly into your slide position. If you are just beginning to learn how to slide, maybe try a quick yet slight turn toward your toeside before the transition into the slide. And ensure 80% of your weight is over your front foot during the slide. It may also help to slide to the side of the road. Once again, the key here is to be explosive!

BACK ARM BACK Having your rear arm directly behind you serves as a counter balance to your rear leg. It allows much greater control of your overall balance, allowing you to stay centered, even as your slide slows you down. You want to throw your rear arm out directly behind you at the exact same time as you force your rear leg forward into the slide. If you are having some trouble getting your arm into place, try turning your palm up toward the sky as you swing your arm back. It is also a good idea to keep your front arm directly ahead during the slide. I see lots of people, even great riders, leading into the slide with their rear shoulder. It does work great if you intend on exiting your slide into a switch stance, or even if you are carving into a bit of a drift. But ultimately it equates to less power and precision when exiting the slide.

WEIGHT ON YOUR HEELS Dig those heels in, although not so much as to lift your toes off the deck completely. You want to feel as if your weight is primarily situated on your heels. I see lots of people standing on their toes through these slides and they exit too tall and with less control — that is, if they can hold on long enough without having their boards stop without them or even flip out from under their feet.

Finally, if your trucks have enough turn, you will notice less flatspotting.

SIT BACK It’s extremely common for people to stand fairly tall when doing standup slides. But once again, when you are ready to start pushing for speed and distance, you can lose a lot of control and stability by not being low enough. Imagine you’re sitting in a chair (eating chips!). It is also important to have a fairly upright torso. Keeping low increases stability. Also, having the right amount of bend in the knees allows you to push the board

away or bring it closer, depending on changing pavement quality or during a rapid decrease in velocity. If you are standing too tall you’ll be tippy, and thus more likely to flop onto your toes, and you’ll lose some of your return forward when you’re finished.

PUSH THE NOSE OUT In my experience this is the best way to wrap your head around the exit technique when you want things smoothly rolling downhill again. You want to force the nose of the board forward as you let your body sink into the deck. Also don’t forget to unwind your arms to aid in wrenching the front of your board back into place. Bringing the tail back does work, but you’re more likely to catch an edge and it’s harder to grasp the concept. Pushing the nose is a great way to think about the exit, and it naturally yields the correct type of balance.

Armed with these techniques, you’re ready to crank up the style, speed and control of this move.

Don’t forget to wear your headcase, and be quick to administer gratuitous high fives to all onlookers!

Check back next issue to learn how to deal with those pesky curbs.

PUSHING BACKSIDE For the most part, this slide is the same as the heelside, but left is right and front is back.

There are a few special things I would keep in mind before throwing yourself into one of these at speed.

Keep your rear knee facing forward — just like you would in a tuck. More accurately, have your legs in the same place they would be in a proper toeside turn. Also, just as when cornering toeside, there is nothing wrong with lifting the heel on your back foot — in fact, I recommend it for maximum extension of the slide. Just keep the heel down on the forefoot.

Always ensure your chest is facing the fall line (your general direction). This is to say, as you slide your board 90 degrees one way, your upper body should twist 90 degrees in the opposite direction and you should fix your eyes in the direction you are headed.

Finally, really exaggerate the preload and unload of the slide. You should really crouch down before the slide, then jump up fast, reducing the weight on the board to allow you to push it out in front. When the time comes to finish the slide, you must drop into a deep crouch to unweight the board as you push the nose out and unwind your body. Ensure you are rising and dropping. CW * For you newbs, heelside is one and the same as frontside. Logically, this would mean that toeside is equal to backside.

UK sliding guru Mark Short.

Photos: Will Edgecombe

PRELOAD

LONGBOARD TRADE SHOW IN NYC THE WORLD’S FIRST LONGBOARD TRADE SHOW took place in Manhattan on March 11, 2011. The show was originally going to be held at the Longboard Loft in Brooklyn, but as interest in the show grew, it became apparent the space was too small. Fortunately, the shop was in the process of moving locations to the Lower East Side to 132 Allen Street.

The show was jam-packed from the time the doors opened at noon. Both skate shops and the general public had a blast viewing all the gear on display. Concrete Wave was proud to work with so many incredible sponsors and vendors. People flew in from around North America to attend the event. Krijn Moens from Surf 2 Go even came from The Netherlands to be there.

ThisIsPushCulture.com and their crew worked tirelessly to prepare a live broadcast that featured pre-taped interviews. You can see this at their website. The eight-hour trade show was followed by the AXS Gear/Concrete Wave Readers’ Choice Awards.

A huge thanks to the 35-plus companies and people that supported the event and the following sponsors: AXS Gear, Rat Rod Studios, Butternuts Beer & Ale, Bustin Boards, Freshpaved magazine and Longboard Loft. Next year, we promise a bigger location. CW

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Ryan Verkerk and Nate Cohen of Toronto’s Roarockit.* Sarah Vincent of Abec 11.* Georgia and Chad Hall of Fireball Wheels.* Tommy Watson of Nersh Wheels.* Brian Petrie and Jonathan Tea of Earthwing.* The hardest-working man on the racing circuit – Marcus Rietema of the IGSA. Matt Kleman of Arbor Skateboards.* Alex Sharpe of Wank Skateboards.* The friendly Danish DJ Rasmus Kjaerbo.* EG Fratantaro of Sector 9.** The Cindrich decks were out of this world!** The official Longboard Expo graphic.

Ryan Daughtridge of Bustin hangs with Graham Buksa of Rayne Longboards.* The gang from Original Skateboards outside Lucky Jack’s bar.* All the way from NorCal, it’s the team from California Bonzing.* The crew from Bliss.* AJ Kohn proudly shows off a one-of-a-kind Maker longboard. ** Brian Davenport of thisispushculture.com.** Seth Levy hangs out near the superb mural painted by Jessica Baker.** Ray Young of Bliss Longboards gives Alex Newton of Soda Factory his first tattoo.** Nelson Oliver of Fepic displays one of the trade show T-shirts he created.** Thanks to Theseus Williams of Rat Rod Studios, we had working space!** Mitchell “NOBI” Moshenberg with Eric Childs of Kombucha Brooklyn.* Justin Rimbert (beard), Jeff Dworkin and Bobby Oppenenheim of Triple 8 collect their Favorite Helmet Award.** Ken Knauf of Skanunu witnesses the birth of the longboard/folding chair combo.** Dan Briggs and Pablo Castro of Loaded during the awards ceremony.** Founder of the Broadway Bomb, Ian Nichols.** Ehren Bienert (R) explains his sculpture.**

* photos: Michael Brooke ** photos: Mitchell Moshenberg

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SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 83

ISSA SLALOM REPORT >>

By RON “FATBOY” BARBAGALLO

HELLO! BONJOUR! ¡HOLA! SVEIKI! HEJ! CIAO! ALOHA! ZDRAVSTVUITE! BOM DIA! GUTEN TAG! KONNICHIWA! GREETINGS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SLALOM SKATEBOARDING ASSOCIATION.

DOMINIK KOWALSKI is from Cologne, Germany and rides for Pavel Skates and Cult Wheels. In 2010 he finished third in the world in Pro Slalom. He travels all over the world to race slalom, but is equally at home riding downhill as well as street and bowl. “The Dominator” is a fierce competitor on the course, and a personable guy off.

Interview by Steve Pederson STEVE PEDERSON: How many years have you been slalom racing?

DOMINIK KOWALSKI: For about six years now.

SP: Why do you race?

DK: Because I haven’t found anything better than that.

SP: Do you train?

DK: I just skate…don’t really call it training.

SP: Do you practice?

DK: Yes. SP: What do you do for training?

DK: I skate.

SP: Is strength important in racing?

DK: Sure…gotta keep it all together...otherwise, you snap! You lose!

SP: What mental preparations do you employ?

DK: I just keep myself cool. Not to worry about too many things...

SP: What do you think of before a run at a race?

DK: May his screws and nuts fall all apart…ha ha!

Dominik Kowalski will be hungry for victories again in 2011. Photo: Jason Innes

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SP: What is your favorite type of course - tight, hybrid/special, giant, other?

DK: I like hybrid and giant courses…the steeper the faster the longer the better.

SP: How did you arrive at your style/technique?

DK: I looked at the top five racers at the time I started and let all of them melt into my style.

SP: What is it about your style/technique that works for you?

DK: Keep it low and don’t waste energy by unnecessary movements.

SP: How do you generate speed?

DK: By pushing hard into the board and waving my hands crazy through the air.

SP: How does your style/technique change for different courses?

DK: Well…as it gets tighter…my style/and technique gets tighter.

SP: Do you push hard physically or stay relaxed?

DK: Depends…on the course, on your opponent, on my mood and physical ability to push hard.

SP: How do you get a fast start?

DK: I try to start as fast as I can.

SP: How important is equipment?

DK: It’s half and half. You are the one putting the work into the tool, but as the tool can only reflect what you [are] doing, it needs to be capable of what you do with it.

SP: What do you look for in a deck design?

DK: It needs to be unique and it has to look bad-ass.

SP: What wheelbase length do you like?

DK: Don’t know. Long! Like 22 inch? I really can’t give advice for that. Everyone should ride what works for them. It surely works for me not knowing.

SP: Is your wheelbase different for tight, hybrid/special, giant?

DK: Nope! One wheelbase for all! I just change the angles, and with GOG [trucks], no problem.

SP: What do you look for in a wheel design?

DK: It needs to have convexed sides, lips, and a super horrotical urethane! You know what wheel I am talking about, right?

SP: What sizes and durometers do you use? How do you choose the size and durometer?

DK: I go from soft to hard, and from small to big…Start with small and soft, and most of the time end with big and hard!

SP: What do you look for in a truck design?

DK: That it’s functional and adjustable.

SP: Why don’t some racers go as fast?

DK: ’Cause I am faster. In that case.

SP: What kind of improvements would you like to see in the present competition system?

DK: More prize money and more exciting courses!

Faster and steeper! We need to turn people’s heads! I am dreaming about a big snake run down the hill with crazy fast turns.

SP: What advice can you give to slalom racers who are working at getting better?

DK: Get better!

SP: What other forms of skateboarding are you into?

DK: I am into skateboarding – no matter in which form. I skate everything. I am a 100% skateboarder.

SP: What music do you like?

DK: All kinds of music! I like oldies, rock music anything that makes me feel.

CONCRETEWAVEMAGAZINE.COM

2010 FINAL SLALOM STANDINGS PRO

JOE MCLAREN

completely dominated slalom racing in 2010, winning every event he entered except one (which he was leading when he fell). Just before this issue went to press, we received word that Joe had won all five (!) events at the Seismic Cold Fusion Sizzler. The kid is on fire!

Photo: Aria Pramesi

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Joe McLaren, USA Janis Kuzmins, LAT Dominik Kowalski, GER Christoph Baumann, GER Robert Thiele, GER Adam Schwippert, USA Richy Carrasco, USA Michel Dupont, FRA Josef Stefka, CZE Louis Ricard, CAN Paul Price, GBR Mikael Hadestrand, SWE Gustavs Gailitis, LAT Jonathan Harms, USA Viking Hadestrand, SWE Zdenek Mach, CZE Tomás Fiala, CZE Ramón Königshausen, SUI Dalibor Danhel, CZE George Pappas, USA

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2011 ISSA RACE SCHEDULE March 26-27 May 6-8 May 28-29 June 18-19 June 25-26 July 1-3 July 1-2 July 9-10 July 23-24 August 6-7 August 6-7 August 19-21 September 16-18 November 11-12

Seismic Cold Fusion Sizzler (USA) The Dutch Championships (NL) Slalom St. Louis (USA) German Open (GER) Sao Bernardo (BRA) DésaXé World Ride European Championships (FRA) Major 8th Annual Dovercourt Open (CAN) Baltic Championship (LAT) La Costa Boys Open (USA British Open Slalom Championships (GBR) Santana do Parnaiba (Alphaville) (BRA) World Championships of Slalom (CAN) Antrim Can/Am International (USA) European Indoor Hall Championship (CZE)

Main Main Main Main Main Main Main Main Main Major Main Main

For everything you need to know about slalom skateboarding – current points standings and archives, scheduled races from all over the world, and a forum specializing in gear and technique advice – check out slalomskateboarder.com. CW

Thiago Gardenal, BRA Steve Pederson, USA Louis Selby, GBR Christopher Dupont, FRA Sebastien Leger, CAN Sam Gordon, GBR Chris Schütz, GER Petr Janousek, CZE Petr Novotny, CZE Ernst-Jan de Boom, NL Brian Parsons, USA Miguel Marco, CAN Pascal Jean, CAN Ainars Jermacenko, LAT Pascal Weber, SUI Danilo Percich, CAN Jeroen Steggink, NL Ferdinand Lindner, SUI Chris Pappas, USA Daniel Vogt, GER Jaroslav Smerek, CZE Lynn Kramer, USA Ron Ashby, GBR Bart Brunninkhuis, NL Kyle McLaren, USA

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Lynn Kramer, USA Kathrin Sehl, GER Lienite Skaraine, LAT Cat Young, USA Ella Roggero Reiss, GBR Joy Spearing, SUI Sandrine Saint-Criq, FRA Renata Skrabalova, CZE Eva Jedlickova, CZE Ana Vackova, CZE Julie Boulanger, CAN Trisha Erickson, USA Emilie Gascon, CAN Judi Oyama, USA Nikola Dozova, CZE

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SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 85

Speedboarder of the Year:

By JON CAFTEN

T

here was very little debate this year about who my choice for Speedboarder of the Year should be.

Kevin Reimer simply dominated the race scene and threw down some memorable freeriding video parts on a bunch of luscious roadways all over the world. Kevin has actually been shortlisted for this title for the last four years. He has the best record in history in points accumulation for the IGSA, and it would be shorter to list the events around the world he hasn’t won at least once. His sponsors are actually garnering genuine sales because they carry the K-Rimes hype.

Normally I write really lengthy intros, but as you can see from this interview, it’s not necessary; Kevin is a very articulate speaker who answers quite clearly what is often my job to summarize for you. He consistently engages himself in public dialogue over the Internet forums, often with the attempt to help others grow into the scene, learn technique and to understand the brotherhood and the camaraderie that is starting to wane as so many more of you jump onto a speedboard.

Just a mere hundred years ago you could not be a measure of a man until you cleared your land for a decade, planted your seeds and grew the food you needed to feed yourself and your family. We live in an age where 45 seconds of repeated airplay on MTV makes you important and everyone is trying to be something without putting in that much effort. Instant millionaires, rock stars, fashion models, movie celebrities, having the most friends on Facebook… there are tons of plastic dreams out there that can be achieved by chance, and the rest of us think that these people somehow have substance. Kevin has been on our radar for a long time; he has been busting his ass for years now and has never given up the goal of becoming the best. You know what? Right now he is. I’d actually go as far as to say Kevin Reimer has been the Speedboarder of the Decade. Just don’t let it go to your head, Kevin; the kids still want you to give them honest advice in a humble voice.

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JON CAFTEN: Is there really a debate about racing versus freeriding? What are your thoughts?

KEVIN REIMER: A debate about freeriding/racing? I’m not sure. I’ve never debated about the two in my head...

Freeriding is super fun and it’s what I really love to do, and the way I approach it is somewhat similar to the way I race. I like consistency, high-speed slides and having fun.

Racing is a very driven portion of skateboarding, where you are supposed to do the absolute best you can.

Freeriding is the same way in my eyes, but no one is watching you, and no one is expecting you do something particular. It’s all up to you, and there are no limits, hence, it is FREE riding. Both are downhill skateboarding; that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

JC: Are you starting to genuinely feel like you have something to perform in the eyes of onlookers or other skaters and their expectations of you? You also made a very concerted effort at one point to stop people from taking you or anyone else out from behind as the growth of the sport brings in more newbies. You ever get the sensation they are gunning for K-Rimes specifically?

KR: As far as having something to perform in front of the world… I don’t think so. It’s a bit odd, but I’ve always enjoyed showing off for bystanders on the roads or downtown or whatnot. I feel like if you’ve got a cool skill that for you is just playing around, you should bust it out. I feel like whenever I show up, people are expecting something, but I’m not going to play for THEM, I’m going to play for me and if they happen to get impressed, that’s just dandy. I just love having fun, and if that is “impressive” somehow, then that’s cool too. Definitely I made a push for people to stop taking others out. It sucked for awhile! There were some really “fast” people who just didn’t have the experience. They thought it necessary to take that inside line when it really wasn’t going to work...

I’ve saved people’s asses by giving them my grip, holding them up from crashing into me and crashing out themselves. It’s pretty lame, but that’s what you need to do when it comes down to the wire. I’d rather stay standing and have them go by than have us all careen into the hay.

I feel like people are definitely gunning for me at certain races. It’s all good, though – I’m always willing to share my secrets and help other people out. Then it’s up to them to come and get me.

JC: A few years back you publicly called out your Vancouver skate community to deal with the rift amongst the riders in that town. Since then, how have things gotten?

KR: I’ve called people out a few times over Coast [Longboarding] for different things. When I called out a bunch of people a few years ago, there was a particularly large rift between the two sides – we will call them L and R. R was out all the time having fun, and there was never a feeling that someone couldn’t come and skate. L, on the other

hand, was having their team refer to their skate sessions as “soccer practice” so as not to have anyone drop in.

People were running sessions that were for ______ group only and it just wasn’t cool anymore. I wanted to skate with my friends, regardless of what board they were on!

Things have improved significantly since then. We are regularly having sessions of 30 people on the gnarliest hills in Vancouver. When you get numbers that big, that’s pretty much every decent downhiller showing up to ONE session, so of course people are going to be on all kinds of wood or product. It’s awesome. I love the Vancouver skate scene with all my heart and I hope it never changes!

JC: How much competiveness is there in a day-to-day session? How do you keep it chill when so many people are around?

KR: Day-to-day sessions being competitive?! Noooooo, never. Ha ha ha. I won’t go into it too deeply, but we’re always pushing each other’s limits, and that is making it so much more fun than ever before. We are jamming. I do my best to keep it chill, but I love to be right in the mix, and I can be there so I’ll be doing my best to keep up. I have a continuous drive to be out in front so that people aren’t going to do something stupid in front of me that could end up in me crashing into them. That’s how I ride.

JC: There are some pretty interesting misconceptions out there about you and the entire downhill scene. Care to comment?

KR: I was called out once for being a “rich kid” who didn’t need to work. People don’t really take into account that I do have to work, and have worked hard in the past to get where I am now. When I first started racing, I was working a job at a high-end resto-bar in downtown Vancouver and it SUCKED. I remember having to ask for time off for races, not get it, and go anyway and feel the wrath when I returned. I really didn’t fit in down there, but I did what I had to do to make it to the Sully or the next race on the roster. When it came right down to it, I made skateboarding work for me, and didn’t want to work for skateboarding, and this is where I am now. Owning Aera Trucks may seem AWESOME (it really is), but it’s quite a bit of work on its own for very little reward (other than riding my favorite skateboard trucks in the world).

Designing boards and figuring out what will work best for skateboard products is not easy either. You need to have an acute understanding of what works and what doesn’t AND have the design gene in your blood. On top of that, you need a healthy understanding of the market those products exist within. I am ULTRA lucky to do what I do and I am thankful every day, but I wouldn’t be here without the help of my family, my sponsors and the help of the world of skateboarding. As much as I may wish I really was a “rich kid” who had all this handed to me, I really am not.

Kevin Reimer Photo courtesy of Rayne Longboards SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 87

“I stuck with downhill for many reasons. It is truly a limitless sport.”

Photo sequence: Chris Chaput

JC: Have you ever cheated at anything? How about DH racing?

KR: Cheated on anything... Good question. I wouldn’t say I’m that good at cheating.

When I was younger in school, there were some opportunities to get some better marks a little “too easily,” and of course the whole class was in on it. No one complained, and we followed up with ordering pizza to the window. I haven’t knowingly “cheated” in downhill racing. I’ve never grabbed and pulled off of someone, or thought to myself, “I’m going to cut this guy off so he can’t get past.” My being nice has cost me some races here and there. If I’d shut the door like everyone else did, I probably would have been in the finals of Maryhill 2008. If I had pushed James [Kelly] into the inner hay bales of Danger Bay in 2009 when he took an inside line that wasn’t going to work I would’ve stood a chance in the finals there. There are a ton of these situations I think back on and wonder, “what if,” but I’m stoked to be where I am, racing clean and riding fast. It’s important to be a good sportsman.

Sometimes I’ve let my emotions get to me. Maryhill 2008 was one of the hardest

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ones to swallow. I was so sure that I was going to be in the finals, and to not be there was heartbreaking. I really didn’t want to go up for the consolation round.

Luckily, Mike Benda convinced me to eat it up and just go and have fun. I really started caring less about winning after that race, and it was an important lesson: Don’t think you have ANY race in the bag before it’s over.

JC: How many hours per day did you spend on Silverfish in the beginning? How many do you spend on there now? Have you ever felt like you’ve had an addiction to skateboarding forums? Do you have any other Internet addictions?

KR: How many hours did I spend on Silverfish and Coast...? Yikes. Quite a few when I was younger and learning. Those sites were at one point filled with genuinely stoked people who were all in it just to link up and figure things out with some minor banter on the side. It’s quite different from then, now. I would check the site a few times a day and would try to read anything topical I could. I learned quite a bit

from the site and I would say it’s been invaluable, even now. With Silverfish now, I’m able to watch the market and see what people are up to and interested in. An addiction to skateboarding forums? Sometimes I feel like I spend a bit too much time on them, but that’s how forums work. You’re supposed to be so interested in the content that you want to be the first one to read and to comment. It’s addicting by nature, and that’s how these sites thrive and survive.

JC: I actually only learned about you in the beginning from Silverfish. I remember you having over a thousand posts way back when, and your name was never in the top 10 at race results… but you seemed to know A LOT. Maybe some of it was hogwash, but you were definitely all about the scene. You came up slowly.

Most kids move on to new things as teenagers if they aren’t instantaneous winners. What made you stick with it?

KR: It definitely takes time to become the best at anything. Downhill skateboarding

takes time to become skilled at, too. I stuck with downhill for many reasons. It is truly a limitless sport. No one can ever always be the best, and you will never be on the forefront of everything, but you can always think of something new. Truly inventing something new for a sport is so damn cool. I remember when I started getting air off of driveway cuts and little bumps in West Vancouver; it was natural progression that I didn’t really see anyone else doing. Now everyone is flying off of cool stuff. Mike McGoldrick came out and was blasting these standup 180s and switch slides at high speeds, and that was totally new to us. Seeing that progression right in front of my eyes, how could I leave? I love all the people in downhill skateboarding. I feel like I’ve met the coolest people in the world by being involved in this amazing sport. I love the challenge of racing; you won’t always win, and that’s SICK. I love how varied the terrain is, and all the amazingly beautiful places I get to visit now. Downhill is just cool. No other way around it or other words for it.

Cool people, cool places, cool slides, cool progression... Radical. CW

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SKATEBOARD SHOPS LIST ARIZONA Sidewalk Surfer 2602 N. Scottsdale Road Scottsdale 480.994.1017 admin@sidewalksurfer.com • www.sidewalksurfer.com CALIFORNIA IFYI Inc 1083 Bedmar Street Carson Board Gallery 3333 Newport Boulevard Newport Beach 714.902.3769 Cellular Skate 6787 Carnelian Street Alta Loma 909.941.1004 Mike McGills Skate Shop 335 First Street Suite #S Encinitas 760.943.7730 Ollie Angel 235 Palm Avenue, Imperial Beach 619.575.7357 Mike’s Bike Shop 5507 West Pico Blvd. Los Angeles 323.935.4338 Viva Skateboards 1709 Howard Road Madera 559.664.8997 Bill’s Wheels Skateshop 1240 Soquel Avenue Santa Cruz 831.469.0904 Purple Skunk Purpleskunk.com 5820 Geary Blvd. San Francisco 415.668.7905 CCMF/Toyland 1260 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 805-801-6653 ccmfjay@yahoo.com The Trading Post 622 Upham Street San Luis Obispo 805.801.6653 ccmfjay@yahoo.com Sonoma Old School Skate and Surf 1001 Broadway Sonoma 707.938.5500 skatesos.com Cellular Skate 287 Mountain Ave Upland Tel: 909.981.8856 cellskate@verizon.net Maui and Sons 1415 Ocean Front Walk Venice Beach mauiandsons.com COLORADO All Board Sports 1750 30th Street Boulder 303.415.1600 Diabolical Boardshop 4255 S.Broadway, Englewood CONNECTICUT Skate Pusher 57 McIntosh Drive Bristol 860.593.4550 Skate Valencia 68 Leonard Street, Bristol 203.524.4675 GEORGIA Feral 190 Park Avenue, Athens 706.369.1084 Skate Madness 13800 Hwy. 9 N., Ste. D 145 Alpharetta 770.410.3456 skatemadness.com Woody’s Halfpipe 6135 Peachtree Parkway Suite # 603 Norcross LOUSIANA Board Lords Mall of Louisiana, 6401 Bluebonnet Blvd.

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MINNESOTA Old School Skaters 1119 NW 2nd Street Faribault 612.578.3326 www.oldschoolskaters.net MISSOURI Genesis Skateboarding 13 NW Barry Rd. #147 Kansas City 816.456.1307 genesisskateboarding.com MONTANA Wheaton’s 214 1st Avenue West Kalispell 406.257.5808 wheatonscycle.com BlackTop Surfshop 176 5th Avenue West North Kalispell 406-752-6006 NEW JERSEY Black Diamond Skatepark 400 Route 38 Unit 1610 Moorestown NEW MEXICO Koa Nalu Surf Shop 8254 Menaul Blvd NE Albuquerque 505-332-SURF koanalu.com Timeship Raicing 825 Early Street Suite H Sante Fe 505.474.0074 timeshipracing.com NORTH CAROLINA Soul Ride Skatepark 6049 Victory Lane Concord 704.454.7433 soulrideskates.com We’re Board Inc Skatepark and Shop 1423 North Church Street, Ste 104 Burlington NC 27217 OHIO Old Skool Skateboards 19E College Avenue, Westerville roxtar55@hotmail.com OREGON The Uprise 1110 NW Van Buren Ave, Corvallis 541.754.4257 541.480.4254 thelongboardstore.com The Longboard Store 1238 SW Wheeler Place Bend 541.480.4254 thelongboardstore.com Daddies Board Shop 7126 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland 503.281.5123 daddiesboardshop.com Gorge Performance 7400 Southwest Macadam Avenue Portland 503.246.6646 The Mountain Shop 628 NE Broadway Portland Rip City Skate 1510 NE 37th Ave. Portland PENNSYLVANIA Rayzor Tattoos 4 South Front Street Steeltown RHODE ISLAND Seven.Ply 3 Canal Street Westerly 401.348.0656 TENNESSEE Planet Sk8 7024 East Church Street Suite 2 Brentwood 615.377.1947 Sk8sations Skate Shop 3032 N.John B.Dennis Hwy. Kingsport 423.245.0994 tbec@charter.net VIRGINIA EastCoast Boardco. 10358 Fairfax Blvd. Fairfax 703.352.4600 x:8 213 25th Street Va Beach Black Cat Skateshop 1325 A West Main Street, Charlottesville 434.244.0014

WASHINGTON Gravity Sports 126 Rainier Ave South Renton 425.255.1874 Mountain Goat Outfitters 12 W. Sprague Avenue Spokane Motion Boardshop 17230 Bothell Way NE Lake Forest Park 206.372.5268 motionboardshop.com ALBERTA Avenue Skateparks 9030.118 Avenue NW Edmonton 780.477.2149 Easy Rider 4211.106 St., #153 Edmonton 780.413.4554 Pipeline Surf Co 780.421.1575 Comasports 10B-200 Barclay Parade SW 403.233.8841 powerinmotion.ca BRITISH COLUMBIA Area 51 191 Station Street Duncan 250.746.8869 a51.ca Raven Skate Shop 411 Campbell Street Tofino 250.725.1280 ravenskateshop.ca Salton Rides Saltholidays Island, BC 250.537.4984 saltonskate@canada.com Switchback Longboards 4385B Boban Dr. Nanaimo 250.751. 7625 ONTARIO Hammer Skate Shop 2225 Queen Street East Toronto, 416.698.0005 Hogtown 401 King Street West, Toronto 416.598.4192 McPhails 98 King Street North, Waterloo 519.886.4340 QUEBEC DLX/Deluxe 2480, chemin Ste.Foy Ste.Foy 418.653.0783 dlxdeluxe.com OVERSEAS AUSTRALIA Boardshop Australia — boardshop.com.au 04 15883371 — friendlyfolks@boardshop.com.au Cre8ive Sk8 — 5/244 Ross River Road Aitkenvale — Queensland 4814 Australia BRAZIL Ultra Series Skate Shop Tel.:55(41)3023-2480 — ultraseriesskate.blogspot.com FRANCE hawaiisurf.com GERMANY seasondistribution.com, concretewave.de Hackbrett Longskates Im Wechselfeld — 12 St. Peter hack@customlongskates.com longboarders.de — Gustavstrasse 49 90762 Furth kontakt@longboarders.de — Tel: 0911 9772500 JAPAN Y & T Fussa Fussa — 2348 Fussa Fussa City — Tokyo — 1970011 Clover Skateboard Shop — 1-21-3-1201 Befu Jyounan Fukuoka 8140104 — Japan

NETHERLANDS Sickboards Marcelisstraat 80b 2586RX Scheveningen The Netherlands 31-70-7533548 Sickboards.nl NEW ZEALAND Serenity Island Surf & Skate Café 202a Wainui Road — Gisborne — serenityisland.com Ultimate Boards 3/1043 Great North Road Point — Chevalier — Auckland 1022 New Zealand — ultimateboards.co.nz UK octanesport.com skateboardsofchoice.co.uk Bath, United Kingdom — Tel: + 44 1249 715811 Sk8s Go — General Juan Cano 40 — Colony San Miguel Chapultepec — Mexico, D.F 52-55-58132448 Soul dh Alameda Picaflores — 245 San Borja — Lima 41 — Peru Skate of the Nation — Unit 6 GYY Building # 1 Tomas Morato 1100 — Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines Indiana Sports GmbH — Elbestrasse 14 — Wald, 8636 Switzerland — Contact: Christof Peller ON.LINE RETAILERS allboardsports.com blackholeboards.com covertskates.com coldwarskateboards.com daddiesboardshop.com denverskateshop.com ffashop.com genesisskateboarding.com longboardskater.com longboardshop.de longboardstore.com longboardskater.com milehighskates.com motionboardshop.com oldschoolskates.net pressuredroplongboards.com sidewalksurfer.com sk8supply.com socalskateshop.com tactissk8.com tailtap.com vslboardshop.com

SPRING 2011 CONCRETE WAVE 97