Category Archives: skateboarding

Longboarding Podcast

A couple of years ago my friend David Thornton and I started a longboarding podcast called Frontside 360. The podcast is still there at frontside360.libsyn.com.

We both had a lot of fun with it, but eventually  we felt kind of constrained by the world “longboarding” in the tagline. Then we both got busy, and a pandemic hit, and I have lots of other projects, etc, etc.

Well, I just got a comment on the previous post from a reader who enjoyed that podcast. He is not the first who has contacted me. I’m not sure, but it seems like that podcast was filling a niche with some listeners.

We started that show because both of us missed the days when people rode boards in the 40″+ length range all over — skateparks, ramps, ditches, etc. These days it is hard to find, for example, a board that is 42″ long but shaped like a normal board — just stretched out.

These days, longboarding has become synonymous to some extent with two forms: the so-called “longboard dancing” and downhill. Now, downhill skateboarding is really its own monster. The boards maybe be longer than a typical board, but I would consider those to be downhill boards first and foremost, and longboards second. The Dancing style and the boards associated with it came about in the early 2000s, when Adam Colton made a series of influential videos on homemade longboards, and coined the term “dancing.” Soon Longboard Larry started making a board called the Oldschool Dancer for Adam, and then Adam hooked up with Loaded Boards and put the on the map, and the dancing thing took off. It has evolved to include staggeringly good cross-step footwork and whatnot. Essentially freestyle on a longboard, but including some ghastly step off your board and twirl the board in your hands and jump back on stuff. Obviously that stuff is not my thing. My point, however, is that longboarding is, in general, not the kind of thing you saw in the old Gravity or Sector 9 videos anymore. Not to the great unwashed hoards, anyway.

I was looking at longboard stuff on the interwebs last night. Checking out the “team” from Paris Trucks. No doubt they are all really good, but also they are just a different kind of skater than those from 2001. I am getting older, and they are young, and I have to admit between the age gap and general stylistic differences, I have a hard time relating.

Anyway, for what it’s worth, David and I are recording tonight. New episode on the way.

 

BoomBox Fun

In 2013 or so I bought this board, the Bustin Boards “Boombox”. Don’t bother looking. Discontinued long ago. It is a unique board. The mid section is dropped slightly and has some rocker. It has concave. It has a nose and tail, enough to go down a curb without feeling like you’re going to kill yourself. It is a thick, heavy board. I wish I’d gotten the lighter version with some fiberglass in it, but I didn’t. At any rate, heavy as it is, it is great board.

It’s hard for me to believe It’s been 7 years since I got it. Time is passing way too quickly.

The trucks were sent to me by Michael Bream, who then owned Randal trucks. They were a breast cancer fundraiser/awareness special edition of the great Randal-II 180mm truck. Michael just sent them to me, and I appreciated it. Now I appreciate those pink trucks even more. A lot more.

As noted in a previous post, I’ve got the bug to get my longboard flow going, which is why I’m posting this stuff.

Here are a couple of videos. First one is from 2014. I was just out riding around the public library building. The first part is at my normal freestyle spot, which is really too small to ride a 42″ board, but I did it anyway. I was just getting a feel for the setup, which had different wheels at the time. The second scene is in the parking lot out beside the library, which is a better spot. You can go fast, turn, carve, and not run out of space. I had a good time that evening, and will do so again.

I’ve got a lot of ideas for new lines appropriate to this and other longboards.

The second video is from 2013. Some test shots. Riding around the library, and carving a brick bank along the sidewalk on one side of the building.

And finally, a video I made toward the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Looking at it, I had already let myself get quite fat from staying too sedentary, eating cinnamon rolls, and drinking root beer. Comfort food.  I’ve lost the fat now, and am back to fighting weight.  I enjoyed the rolls and root beer a lot.

Oh, here’s another I made, just talking about this board.

Kinda missing this…

I’ve had a good time riding in Pandemic Parking lot the last 19 months (or whatever). Just relaxing, “feeling the flow” as they say. I was looking at my seldom-looked-at Flickr account this morning. Yes, I still keep my “Pro” account there.  I have a lot of good images stored there.

Anyway, looking at some of my longboarding pics today, I was thinking of my friend Eric Sanders, who is all about the flow. Eric, it is so good, isn’t it?

Here’s a picture of me just riding my longboard. Frontside carve. Is there any better feeling in skateboarding? The pure simplicity. But man, if you really dig into this feeling, it is deep. Soul-level deep. I think I need to do this a lot more.

longboard carve

Carving around on a longboard. Click for full size.

Skateboarding Goals for End of 2021 and for 2022

Here they are:

  • Consistent 5 two-footed nose 360s
  • Consistent 10 360s
  • Consistent 5 or 6 one-footed tail 360s
  • Continue footwork exploration
  • Continue incorporating more nice rolling arcs into my lines, doing tricks in the middle of them

EDIT: just realized these are like goals from 1978. Which is fine.