Safety Longboarding tips for Beginners

So when you arrive at a new spot and you are new to the sport, stoked as hell, you probably just roll down the hill with reckless abandon. Well, you may think that this is rad, but safety is your number one priority, not only your own, but for others too. There are

Fashion Skatement (Statement)

I know, I know, looking good while skating is such a big issue for you guys. Who would want to look like crap on a photo or video while doing a 100-foot standie? Style is not only applicable to the way you skate it is also relevant in the way you look. Ditch those lame old straight cut jeans and oversized shirts, because making a statement through your skills is good, but add a statement through fashion and you should be killing those photos and video edits.

King of the Hill III

The annual King of the Hill, in its third year will be underway this coming May 30 to June 1, 2014 at Don Salvador Benedicto, Negros Occidental (It's a 3-day event that will feature the best riders on the country and also one of the gnarliest spots in the Philippines. The event is through a joint cooperation by the Local Government Unit and the Bacolod Longboarding Community. 

Stretch before you Shred

This is a very important, yet often an overlooked and forgotten routine by skaters. Most amateur longboarders, like me, often take stretching for granted and go on skating without doing it, not knowing that we are adding more risk of injuring ourselves to an already risky sport.I learned the importance of stretching and warm-up exercises the hard way. Last November, I tore my ACL while playing ultimate Frisbee. Although my injury was not caused directly by longboarding

Top 10: Sexy-looking boards

Disclaimer: This is not an accurate ranking; it is based on a poll and some of my personal opinion.

10.) Omen Airship

Don’t be fooled by the name. Contrary to actual airships, which are huge, bulging, and slow, this airship is fast, rigid and compact. It sports a one-directional shape with the Accelerated Rocker design that gives it the distinct dropped look and feel. The shape on the tail end gives it an aerodynamic vibe.

Dimensions

Length: 36.5"
Width: 9.5"
Wheelbase: 24.5"-28.5"

Concave: 3D radial concave

Flex: Stiff

Disciplines: Downhill, Freeride, Slide

City Skate for Better Days…and Nights

For others, city skating is probably boring. Yeah I admit I got bored of it at some point but there is just something about city skating that makes me want me to do it again and again. Since I got injured, I have been craving to get back on a board and go city skate, but that can wait if I don’t want to go through that hellish 4 months of early recovery period.

Local vs. Foreign: No bias, real talk

So the debate goes on, local or foreign products? We bring in longboards and other related stuff in to the frying pan. First let’s look at the pros of each product. Mainstream foreign products are very reliable and have an excellent construction and design build. The foreign manufacturers have easy access to the latest trends and techniques in longboard construction like shaping machines, hydraulic presses and new construction materials other than the usual bamboo and maple construction such as carbon fibre, aluminium and fibre glass to name a few. They also collaborate with different professional skaters to create customized pro models

Them Sweet Graphics

This may not be an essential feature for some, at least in terms of functionality, but it defines the character of the board. Aside from the shape, the graphics give the board a visual temperament and most of the time the graphics reflects the riders personality and style. Let me share a story, when my parents finally agreed to buy me a longboard as a birthday present last October 2012. I was having a hard time choosing my first board. After a long arduous task of searching for board specifications on the net, I have laid out a shortlist of the boards that I have favoured. This list included the Landyachtz Wolfshark 2012, Rayne Babykiller, Comet Grease Hammer, Landyachtz Switchblade 36 and the Rayne Vandal. Among the 5 boards one stood out, the Babykiller with its killer (no pun intended) graphics depicting a god, who I thought was Zeus at first but I think it was Poseidon because he is holding a harpoon or trident thing, demolishing a metropolitan with sheer anger.

My Babykiller back in its hey days

Longboarding: Society a One-sided Judge

Most people nowadays pretty much cling on what the majority of the people in our society think and they don’t bother asking why. They only look on the negative side of things, ride on with the bandwagon and abolish whatever that does not fit in the norms, instead of looking in the positive side and finding a way to make things work out. They jump to conclusions rather than hearing our side of the story. We skaters, especially here in our small community in Dumaguete, are misunderstood, misconceived, outcasts, persona non grata, at least for most of the people.

Slide-Show

Crazy stalefish grab sit down slide.

Sliding, a technique used by skaters that is initiated by breaking wheel traction and at the same time maintaining control over the board then re-initiating traction to efficiently reduce speed when entering tight corners or for emergency braking. Well, others do it for maximum style and steez depending on the situation.