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.
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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.
Brooklyn Barbarosa 