The most Epic Longboard race in the last 3000 years will begin in the Bronx on Friday, July 23, 2010. Inspired by the cult classic Warriors film (1979), this grueling 27 mile skate from Van Cortlandt Park to the beaches of Coney Island is the first urban longboard marathon. Teams of three, each rolling as a gang from the film will have to navigate through at least three boroughs and cross at least 3 bridges. Every member of the team must finish together, so pacing, route, and strategy are huge factors in this sheer battle of speed and endurance.
Finding a way to get safe group skitches could prove to be the deciding factor. Furthermore, each gang will be given bags and a few tasks to complete along the way. The route is entirely up to each individual crew, and to think about the best route and grade from the top to the bottom, I would highly recommend this awesome mapping site by the USATF, way better than that Google shit. Also check some routes I have pre-made on the MAPs section of the Brooklyn Barbarosa. having lived in and skated the shit out of Inwood and Wash Heights all the way down is where I first learned and made my turf. I would also make sure someone on your team knows how to make molotov cocktails.
This month has been good for skating, and good for debuting slick video clips. I have come across some amazingly creative longboarding videos, and an awesome skateboarding video. Each video has excellent music, and capture the joy of innovating on a longboard.
Before my swift departure to the other side of the sphere to a place I like to call Dingoville, I scooped a stylin’ Bustin Cigar from the shop in BK. This served as my trusty steed as I skated/hitchhiked from Sydney to Brisbane. After returning a few months back, I quickly felt the itch to experiment. “I must modify and optimize both the form and function of my longboard, so that it becomes a unique extension of my body,” insists the Mad Scientist, and I humbly comply.
I had a new idea about a shape, setup, and design. The first step was reshaping the nose and tail. Smooth wheel wells would allow for maximum carving, and its new silhouette would resemble a zodiac zephyr. I wanted to try and use a sander to make my shape rather than a jigsaw as I have used in the past, as an attempt to eliminate the possibility of stress fractures. It definitely takes a little more time, but it looks and feels great. Make sure to wear a dusk mask or you will come down with a nasty case of the Black Lung.
The next step was to elaborate on the abstract design on the deck (one of many you can choose from on the Bustin customizing website). I loved the green and black, and picked up some black Randal 180s and Lime 75mm Retro ZigZags wheels to compliment my modifications of the art. I used simple $5 Paint Pens called Painters by Elmer’s. I wish I had found a fine tipped black, but the blue and black colors ended up looking great. The art was inspired by both mechanical and aboriginal themes from my escapades in the rain forests of Australia, and my return to New York City.
I also added a pinstripe to the recognizable Bustin grip tape and took the blue from a stripe to the edges of the longboard. Then I added a few pieces of grip tape on the logo where I like to keep my front foot.
What was once a Bustin Cigar has been gutted, infused with the finest Hayes, and reborn as a Blunt. With its new shape and bold coloring resembling a bird of prey (or perhaps a platypus), this board is wild. The Randals/Limes combo flow into the new curves for incredibly responsive handling. Basically the Blue Blunt carves like a freakin pumpkin, and bombs like Clash of the Titans. Riding from Washington Heights to Central Park for a Spin Jam session has never been more fun. There is still work to be done- plans for a bumper, headlight, and retractable wings are still in the works.
Everyone is unique, and I love how a longboard can reflect that. The longboard is not a toy, it is a tool. To want to customize your longboard to fit your style and body and aesthetic to excel is natural and essential in NYC. See you on the streets.
When describing the New York style of longboarding, one word comes to mind- Push. NYC is the best place in the world to skate because it offers opportunities to skate in every discipline- downhill, slalom, dancing, traffic surfing, sliding- all on your commute to work every day. The landscape is as diverse as the people, and the longboarders here find their board is an essential extension of their legs, and we rarely leave home without it. Because of the size of the city, and the often frantic pace of traffic, pushing hard as fuck is at the core of the Empire State of Mind.
I’ve heard strange tales of people walking up hills and then skating down them. I ask, why walk when you could skate? A big hill just means its time to push harder. What skates up must skate down. This is the mindset in which I understood to be the Way, and a uniquely urban phenomenon. NYC board companies like Bustin’ Boards and Earthwing have worked to create a community that embodies the Push Culture, one that doesn’t think twice about skating from Brooklyn to Jersey. I was stoked to see this interview with Canadian Push fiend Paul Kent of Rayne Longboards, who goes on extreme 24 hour Push odysseys. This interview clip below lets the world know that Canada is down with the Push. Hope to see Paul and others from all over the world at the 2010 Broadway Bomb (the most intense urban Push race in the world) next October. Until then, keep Pushing.
Its true Loaded Boards are some of the most expensive longboards on the market (excluding the limited line of diamond encrusted plutonium boards), but you definitely get what you pay for. Their bamboo boards are nearly indestructible, which is important if you skate in a city infested with ignorant taxi cab drivers like New York. A rider can select which level of flex is ideal for their style and weight, and be prepared to dominate whether downhilling, cruising or freestylin. Even the winner of the 2009 Broadway Bomb (the biggest, longest and most dangerous skateboard race in the world) rode a Loaded Dervish.
Their latest board called the Tan Tiem looks slightly smaller than a Dervish but equally vicious. The tan tien is the center from which all martial artists move when they perform, and could also be considered the source of Zen to which all longboarders skate from. The team riders in the video below are absurd, with footwork so fancy my toes began to cry.
As an artist and longboarder from Brooklyn, the connection between the art of painting and the art of skating seemed clear to me. Your board should be an extension of your personality, your style, and your needs and desires. There is one longboard company that understands this concept- Toronto based Longboard Living is the ideal fusion of art longboarding, and I recently sat down with owner and founder Ryan Rubin to answer a few questions…..
J.- What makes Longboard Living different from other comapnies?
Longboard Living offers the market extreme customization as we carve our niche as the largest supplier of hand painted longboards. Our boards are designed for the city and the art reflects the environment we ride in. When people see what we are up to, they get it. When a new rider wants a board, they can choose from the ongoing collection of hand-painted one-off decks by their favorite artist or choose a Longboard Living artist to design something custom for them. We offer a service and an experience.
J.- What kind of boards do you offer?
Our boards are designed for an easy push and a sweet carve and are improving constantly. Decks are purchased in small batches, made to specifications by Independent board builders in Ontario, Canada. We are supporting the growing number of Roarockit builders who are using the locally designed Thin Air Press. From there, blanks are distributed to our expanding network of artists, designated for signature artist series or remain available for a custom commission.
LL has a 35” and 42” drop through decks in stock, will soon be launching a W-Concave freeride board as a collab with Ambitious boards and a line dancer’s via DKLB. Since the gallery launched we have been approached by many emerging builders with something new for the market, let the collaborations continue!
J.-Can people request certain themes or colors for a personalized board?
Yes, we help the rider come up with a concept. Asking them about themes, symbols, concepts and colors and go from there. We find the artist most appropriate for the job and connect the client with them to take design to the next stage. It is a very hands-on process and memorable experience for the client. Below is a photo of a board designed for one of our first clients, Samantha Rosen. Her request was for mountains and angel wings. The artist, Dov Gray took the design to the next level by turning the wings into bird feathers with the mountain sunset inside, a sun and a moon (in glow and the dark paint) that double as owl eyeballs and finished with owl eyebrows and a beak. The design flows with the shape of the board designed by Charlie Dunnham. It is always fun to see how the design evolves from the riders’ original idea, through the artists creativity and into a final product.
J.– Is the artwork protected with some kind of varnish?
We apply a coat to protect the art and another exterior gloss clear coat to protect from the urban elements. Some varnish will cause the ink or paint to run, but it is a process we have now mastered.
J.- What is the relationship between art and skating?
When the idea for Longboard Living was born in 2008, the idea was to be a provider of longboards to help build the culture in Toronto. My summer was spent skating and observing what was going on around town. One thing was clear, there was a surplus of artists that love to paint. So I turned to the street artists, the festival vendors and the students, who were familiar with painting Toronto themes and had a visibly recognizable style. I began providing artists a “Mobile Canvas” building collaborative relationships and a roster of Longboard Living artists.
As many riders know, there is a personal connection to their board. Longboard Living is multiplying that connection exponentially through our custom art services. We are also custom painting existing longboards, helmets.
J.– What new projects are you working on?
We recently opened a gallery to showcase our hand-painted completes. It has been a lot of fun bringing this project to life, it beginning to take LL to new heights. A ton of signature artist collections are lined up for the next 6 months. We are taking it one day at a time and the time has been flying by. Super stoked for Summer 2010.
LL has been working closely with BOZ Boards and begun a joint sponsor ship with New York Rider Steven Sanchez and will soon be sponsoring Natheniel Cohen as well. BOZ Boards are available in the Bustin Boards shop and we look forward to having a larger presence in the NYC longboard market.
Another project with is about to wrap up with Matthew Napier, a master carbon fiber board builder. He is building a DH drop deck out of an extremely rare carbon fiber that is used to line the inside of Rolls Royse Jet Engines. “Napes” is making the board for a collab with Longboard Living artist Jimmy Chiale who will paint an abstract design through the carbon. Some might call it unpractical but it is only an example of how we want to push art and board design in the longboard industry while building strong relations with other Toronto builders.
Other projects include collaborations with University art classes and ad agency Art Directors. We are taking the no limit mentality and our end goal is to have artists (and builders) with a style for every unique rider.
J.- What is the skating vibe/aesthetic in Toronto?
Toronto has a strong set of freeride / downhill riders. Push culture has some growth to do, and that is the purpose of Longboard Living. The Toronto Board Meeting (every September) has been bringing out 350+ riders to this one-day event over the last few years. It is a good way to gauge who is riding in this city. We are stoked to be part of the Push Culture movement, striving to create one rider at a time, Longboard Living will be leading city rides from the new Gallery every Wednesday.
Introducing some crazy shit. I suppose it was only logical that one day military transport and skateboards would come together to make an unstoppable tank board. Luckily we managed to invent it before the machines did. We need to master and improve the tankboard, so when Google becomes self-aware in 2012 and begins to build its army of war-bots, we will be prepared.
I had been speaking about such a device earlier this week and then searched out these videos. I like the off-roading capabilities and the sweet double tank treads of the Scarpar, but it needs a wireless remote possibly controlled by your thoughts. I can envision gangs of these tank warriors battling over a fresh water hole in the post-nuclear wasteland in the not so distant future.
Don’t give up on the Push just yet, but be ready to upgrade to the tank board come 2012.
After returning from a two month skateabout in Australia, I realized how much I miss the concrete comforts of New York. I did some great longboarding all over the East Coast of Dingoville, but nothing in the world compares to the feeling I get skating NYC.
I never stepped foot on a skateboard until I was 26 years old. When I was a kid I rode a bike, and then I grew up and got a longboard. I learned to skate on First Ave in the East Village, my skate legs forged in the fire of merciless traffic. Without the intensity of a hundred cabs and buses barreling down on you, the smell of steam and pizza wafting through the air, and am army of delivery dudes on bikes cruising along- without all of this skating just seems bland.
In the two days I got to skate in Brooklyn before the Snowpacalypse, I was able to connect with that part of the city I didn’t realize I had missed so much. There is a special relationship that a longboarder develops with New York. This bond is cultivated over time, and is essential to ones survival, while skating or otherwise. This covenant with the streets is based on trust, respect, determination and love. Skating here is more than being prepared for anything at anytime- it is about a kinship and harmony with the flow of traffic, people, nature and chaos. I will see you real soon NYC…….
Watching the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics has been highly entertaining thus far. The games remind us of the true meaning of sportsmanship and friendly competition. Last night, I almost got in a knife fight with an elderly Canadian woman talking trash aboot the American curling team’s lack of form. USA! USA! USA! All of these winter evens full of adrenaline junkies, speed freaks and fearless masochists made me realize how perfect longboarding would be as an Olympic sport.
So how does a sport become an Olympic event? Up until 1992, there would be demonstrations of potential Olympic Sports to gauge public interest. This is how ice shuffleboard aka curling became official. A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines that it is widely practiced around the world. That is, the number of countries that compete in a given sport is the indicator of the sport’s prevalence. However, to have countries competing n a sport prior to Olympic consideration, they need to have an international governing body, namely an International Federation. This sports governing body creates a common set of rules for the sports disciplines, organizes international competitions, and appeals to the IOC for acceptance.
There are a number of sports the IOC recognizes, which is an important step to becoming Olympic. Most of these recognized sports compete in the World Games. Neither skateboarding nor longboarding are part of these games. However, the IOC does recognize the International Roller Sports Federation. The FIRS includes inline hockey, speed skating, artistic roller skating, and the “emerging sports” inline downhill and freestyle skateboarding.
There are so many things wrong with this, I hardly know where to begin. Firstly, having any kind of skateboarding considered a “roller sport” and represented by the same group that promotes men dressed like matadors dancing on roller skates to “Who’s that Lady” is offensive. There is a time and place for that, and its Saturdays at noon in Central Park at 72nd street. And secondly, that these morons consider a sport that has 20 million and rising participants short and longboarding religiously “emerging” is absurd.
The first step is the creation of an International Longboard Federation. There is already hundreds of regional and national organizations set-up waiting to be a part of competition on the world stage. The Australian Skateboard Racing Association is renowned for their downhill, luge, slalom and freestyle tournaments. And we all know New York has developed the fine art of outlaw street racing, which along with sliding would make five excellent disciplines of longboarding that are highly entertaining for both spectators and participants alike.
With sports such as surfing and wakeboarding competing in the World Games, and BMX and snowboarding as Olympic events, longboarding is ready to explode onto the international scene. After Shaun White’s electrifying near perfect Gold medal performance in Vancouver, its time to make longboarding a Summer Olympic event. Longboarding is aggressive, fast, smooth, intense, and pretty damn fun. It’s time to rally the troops, and show the world how we roll (on a really long skateboard).
I had been meaning to post some of these skate films for quite some time. Carved is a series of longboard and shortboard music videos (created by Sergi Ferrer) that portrays the unique aesthetic of the New York City Push Culture. The series is now up to forty videos, all with eclectic funky soundtracks, and features some of the best skaters in NYC. Here are just two of my favorites.
Embedded video error. Check out second video by clicking youtube link below
I spent a few days in Brisbane, Australia, and got to do some serious skating. There is substantial terrain, with a good variety of hills, an assload of bridges, nice bike paths along the river, and even a few nice skate parks. I bombed Logan Road and then cruised around town until I met a local longboarder who showed me a few nice spots in the West End. I then went to see Avataar in 3D, which was pretty entertaining, despite the hype. I also stumbled upon some very nice artwork and grafitti. Heading towards the beach and hope to meet up with a crew on the Gold Coast for a rip. Stay warm NYC.
Unfortunatly I was unable to attend this years Santa Skate through the mean streets of NYC. I spent my Christmas with my legs danging over the edge of Minyon Falls (Nightcap National Park, Australia) relaxing with a fat spliff of bushbud. Sure, it was amazing, but I really wanted to take my gorilla suit and white beard out and join the NYC crew as they skated in full Santa regalia. Enjoy the video footage and prepare for next years merrymaking, courtesy of Unlce Funky’s Longboards.
While wandering throiugh the Outback, I came across this sign, and was admittedly confused. So i headed to the right and found myself at a lakeside village called Brooklyn, oddly devoid of bearded hesidics and converse clad hipsters. Also, there were no Bustin longboard shops, obnoxiously loud reggae music or hot Polish chicks, so I got the hell out of there as quickly as possible and continued North, into the jungle. Meanwhile, back home in snowy NYC, a longboarding video caught my attention.
More great footage from the nicest skate documentary team in New york City, Fabrika Production out of Astoria Queens. This years race was epic, and I cannot wait for next year. Anyone not from NYC, make plans now to come through the city next october and join in the mnayhem.
I took an absurdly long train ride and arrived late Monday evening in Byron Bay. This small town is known for surfing, and the immense number of backpackers that infest its streets. All the reasonably priced hostels were booked, so I got drunk, and slept on the beach. The next day I was planning on taking Jim’s Alternative bus Tour to a hippie haven called Nimbin and a few parks, but Jim was all booked, leaving me with an entire day to kill.
So i dropped my bags off at the Cape Byron Hostel, and made my way to the Mojo Surf School. Outside the school I met two of my instructors, both with skateboards. Chris rocked a Sector 9 board (seems to be the most popular down under) and Chungy rocked a vintage torpedo board about 14 inches long. Both were barefoot skaters, as many Aussies seem to be, and were pretty damn good, especially on that mini-board. They tried my Bustin Cigar and liked how much it felt like surfing- awesome.
Instead of surfing concrete, today I would try some serious Pacific Ocean waves. For a mere $60 I got a four hour lesson, which consisted of about two and a half hours in the water. I managed to stand up on my third attempt, and proceeded to ride a good number of waves. Although I did take some rather comical falls, I also had three really amazing waves I caught and rode like a champ. Waiting for and catching the right wave is the hardest part. I expected to be carving and tearing up and down the wave on my first time out, but that proved to be somehwat more challenging than I expected.
After a physicaly taxing surf sesh, I met up witha few longboarders and skated the small town, constantly forgetting about the whoile driving on the left side of the road thing, and pissing off quite a few drivers not used to an aggresive skater dominating the streets. I am about to catch a bus to Nimbin, and then spend a week at a communal farm called Jasper Hall. I plan on renting a surfboard again sometime soon and going for round two. See you suckas in 2010!
I passed through Newcastle on my way to the country to do some carpentry gigs on this 100 year old japanese style homestead. This place was amazing. Apparently renowned for two things- surf champions, and the hometown of Daniel Johns, the lead singer of Silverchair. I took my board out for a skate to the beach and a peninsula that juts into the bay where the ocean and river meet called the Nobbys. I then skated down to the beach, and did some wicked body surfing, in which i accidentally elbowed a little kid in the face. That was a good deal of fun, and I realized my train left in ten minutes, so I pushed through the forieng streets in the general direction of the train, and skated onto the platform literally thirty seconds before the train left. Awesome.
Heading out to Byron Bay to spend X-mas and the New Years baking on the beach with some dirty hippies. I also plan on learning how to surf, and skating my balls off in town and through some tropical rain forests in the adjacent National Park. Stay warm in that blizzard NYC. I recommend taking off your trucks and heading uptown to snowboard Ft. Tryon and the Heights.
As I flew out of JFK in a slughy blizzard, in a matter of minutes (775 to be exact) I found myself in the captial of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. Sadly, I got bumped from business class on the plane, but Etihad Airways had such an amazing media center, i was so entertained and drunk the entire time that I hardly noticed. I was only in Abu Dhabi for the night, and since my luggae was still checked, didnt have a chance to go for a desert skate. However, i did meet someone in the airport who shamefully admitted a longboarder had overtaken him on the scenic beach path the other day while cycling to work. Bikers, when will they learn to respect the speed of the longboarder?
The next day I winged my way into Sydney, checked myself into a graffiti covered hostel called Asylum, and went for a skate. I wasnt able to meet the other Aussies for a rip, but instead decided to explore all of Sydney solo. I started skating through a large waterfront park similar to Central Park called the Domain. This was scenic and smooth, and leads right up to the space ship known as the Opera House.
I then continued around the bay towards the bridge. I decided while there, i might as well give it a skate, and found it simlar to the GW bridge in length and grade. I found a huge series of hills on Upper Fort Rd near the observatory, a great series of ramps to assist bikers up the stairs, and then began my descent into downtwon Sydney.
The city is not very hospitable to bikers or skaters, with no bike lanes to speak of and frantic traffic, but I jumped in and did my best to dodge trolleys, monorails, and gorgeous asian women. The sun is brutal here (thanks to the massive hole in the ozone layer directly above) , and although it was overcast most of the day, i still managed to get a wicked sunburn. Although i wanted to stay a bit longer, I am leaving today for Dungog (about three hours north on the east coast) to work on a farm for a week. I will keep traveling north until it gets too hot or I find something better, before coming back south. I still need to return to Sydney to go for a skate, and get a new passport ( i was detained by Australian immigration as my water damaged passport was suspected to be a not so clever forgery). Looking forward to some country mountain skates in the rolling hills of theHunter Valley, so stay tuned….
As the icy fingers of Winter tighten their grasp on the denizens of New York City, most people head to the stores to buy hats, scarves and pea coats with comiclly oversized buttons. Instead of buying a winter jacket, I decided to go to Australia for three months and avoid the bullshit altogether.
At first the trip was just an idea, a fantasy full of dingos and shrimps roasting on the barby. However, with the acquisition of a free plane ticket, a new Bustin Board, and a 1940’s Swedish Army backpack, I was fresh out of excuses not to go.
Australia is known as a continetnt full of criminals and platypi, and I intend on exploring as much of the country as possible. Part of my trip will be spent Wwoofing (willing workers on Organic Farms), part hostel and couch surfing, and a big part skating with the locals. I reached out to some Aussies on the Australian Skateboard Racing Associations forums, and got hooked up with a place to stay and sessions with local crews in every major city. I plan on skating the country (or bush as they like to call it) and city scenes alike. I am ecstatic to bring the New York City Push Culture to the other side of the planet on my brand new Bustin Cigar. I will be learning about and documenting the different styles and aesthetics of the Australian longboard scene, and updating the blog as much as possible.
When i arrive in Sydney, I plan on hooking up with the Sydney City Bomb Squad for some rips around town, and then slowly move north along the East Coast. But before I even arrive, my first stop on the epic 26 hour journey is Dubai. I fly into Abu Dhabi and will be stuck in the Middle East for 16 hours. So I plan on grabbing my board, and stretching out my legs as I skate through Dubai and try to avoid getting sold into sexual slavery. This trip is shaping up to be an epic adventure with infinite possibilites, so stay tuned to the Brooklyn Barbarosa for constant updates as I skate the deserts of the Middle East and brave the harsh summer Down Under…..
Due to technical difficulties, I temporarily lost these great photos from the Broadway bomb. Taken by renowned sports photo journalist El Nelson at 32nd Street, these pic reflect the excitement and thrill of skating with 250 friends in the most intense outlaw race in North America. Enjoy!
This past Friday was the grand opening of the newest longboard depot in Brooklyn. Bustin Boards has opened a new store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Grand Street, a two minutes skate from the Bedford L stop). The shop is impressive and fuly loaded. It carries boards by Bustin, Earthwing, Longboard Living, and more. It features a wall of wheels, complete decks ready to go, t-shirts, a computer workstation, and behind a thick pane of bulletproof glass- a fully functional shop where boards are built all day long. The new store has a great location, and a unique set-up designed to embrace the concept of growing the longboard community. The grand opening featured a keg of delicious beer, copious amounts of wine, a design your own board contest, and the video debut of Fabrika Productions latest longboard documentary. Whether you need bearings, grip tape, helmets or a fresh new NYC deck customized to your precise specifications, this is the best spot in New York to get hooked up and ready to rip.
October was a great month to skate in the city. Check out this hot new trailer from the infamous Fabrika Productions featuring the Thursday Push rip in Central Park, and clips of the absurdly fun Halloween R.I.P. This video trailer is just one of many projects by Fabrika Pro, documenting the life and times of the NYC Push culture (and always features a slamming soundtrack). Start shopping for your X-mas costumes now, December 12th and the holiday skate is only a few weeks away….somehow i suspect the gorilla may make yet another appearance.
Brooklyn Barbarosa 
