Five Reasons You Should Own a Longboard

Sometimes it is nice to take a break from skateboarding and try longboarding. If you don’t know what a longboard is, its basically a long skateboard with big trucks and wheels. It is primarily used for cruising and is generally regarded as a smoother ride than skateboarding for long distances. I have been longboarding since I was in middle school, and it is still one of my favorite modes of transportation.

  1. Efficient mode of transportation

Longboarding is such an efficient mode of transportation. You can ride longboards on most street and road conditions. They are fast, require limited energy to use, and they are easy to carry around.

2. Good exercise

Longboarding is a great way to exercise. It requires you to keep your balance, and you need to push the board to get it to move. You are developing certain leg muscles that wouldn’t be developed with other forms of exercise. I’ve noticed my core becomes stronger if I longboard often.

3. Moderately priced

Longboards are some of the cheapest forms of transportation. On average a complete longboard can cost you around $100. This is a lot cheaper compared to cars, mopeds, or even some bicycles. It is a cheap way to get around and is especially useful for city folks.

4. Environmentally friendly

Longboards are an eco-friendly way to travel long distances. If you live in a small town or even a big city using a longboard helps the environment. If you have to travel short distances to say the market, gym, or even a friend’s house taking a longboard is an eco-friendly way to go. Longboards are fast, safe, and more portable than a car, with the added benefit of being eco-friendly.

5. You can meet new people

One of the most overlooked reasons for buying a longboard is it allows you to meet new people. Often times when I longboard around my town I always see others either longboarding or riding a bike. It is always nice to connect to other skaters, and people around the skate community. Longboarding is a fun hobby and chances are if you run into another longboarder you two will start a conversation.

As you can see longboarding is a great alternative to skateboarding and other forms of transportation. It has its own unique benefits and is definitely a fun way to get around.

Skater Spotlight: Chris Roberts Aka Crob

Gif- By Me

One of my favorite skaters of all time is Chris Roberts. Many of you may have never heard of Chris Roberts, but this guy is one hell of a skater. I like Chris Roberts for his unique skating style primarily relying on the manual which is depicted in the gif above. He is well known in the skate community but is not well known outside of the community.

Chris Roberts is a pro skater from Inglewood California. He grew up skating and was involved with the southern California skate scene from an early age. He is a very humble person and really cares about the future of skateboarding.

Chris Roberts turned pro in 2007 for Chocolate Skateboards, the company he rides for to this day. He has been featured in many Chocolate films, and video parts. He is known for doing manuals, grinding, flips into manuals, and all-around street skating.

Beyond just skating, Chris Roberts founded The Nine Club in 2016. It is a podcast for skaters and its tagline is “the show that has skaters talking”. On The Nine Club Chris interviews many skaters old and new, and the show now has over 200 episodes. This show has become very popular and is one of Chris Roberts more well-known projects out there.

Over the years I have watched many skaters, and have seen some really talented people. I know Chris Roberts might not be the most technical skater, but his style is unbeatable. He has a swagger about him that you can’t help but admire. Below will be some links to my favorite Chris Roberts video parts.

Videos:

My Favorite Skate Shoes

Photo Credit: éS https://www.esskateboarding.com/us/

When it comes to buying skate shoes you can find yourself with many options to choose from. Sometimes this can be overwhelming, but I am here to help. This week is all about skate shoes, which brands to buy from, my favorite shoes, and a pros and cons list to help you choose a skate shoe that’s right for you. When I buy a new pair of shoes I go for two brands DC, éS.

DC- Court Graffik’s

The first skate shoe I ever had was made by DC, and the one thing I remember about it was it was one of the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever had. DC’s are reliable, well made, sturdy skate shoes. DC offers a wide variety of skate shoes, some are large a cushiony, while others are light and made out of a canvas-type of material. The photo above closely resembles the first DC shoe that I had, and they are called Court Graffik’s. They are a classic shoe, very comfortable, and it has padding around the ankles which helps protect them while you skate.

Pros: Comfortable, inexpensive, easy to find

Cons: Limited color selection

éS ACCEL OG – brown/gum

eS Skate shoes are some of the best you can buy. They have a stellar reputation in the skate community. These shoes above are Accel OG’s and they are my favorite skate shoe of all time. They are very comfortable, have lots of padding, and I love the simple brown colorway. Some people may find this shoe ugly, but I think it looks amazing. eS like DC makes a wide variety of styles, not only fat skate shoes. They now offer a much smaller version of the Accel for those who like smaller profile skate shoes.

Pros: Unique colorways, maximum ankle protection, comfortable

Cons: Constantly sold out, expensive

Starting a Skate Brand

Since I was a senior in high school I have been trying to create a skate brand with one of my best friends and business partner Nick. We have had so many ideas for brand names, logo designs, clothing designs, and skateboard deck graphics. However, the biggest obstacle in our way is funding and having ample time to develop our products.

As time goes on I see our opportunity increases for making this brand a reality. Now that COVID-19 has put my life on hold, I have found more time to work on my business idea. I have come up with a few names, new fresh logo designs, and a few ideas for branded T-shirts and stickers. My business partner Nick has also contributed to this idea synthesis, and we are close to narrowing down a name.

I never thought that our dream to start a skate brand would come to fruition, but its really starting to look like this can be my new reality. I realized that now I have more free time than ever before, and this is a prime opportunity to have my vision become reality. If there is a silver lining for this pandemic, its the time it’s given me to pursue my dreams and goals. If you have an idea for a product, business, or service then right now is a golden opportunity to bring that idea into the real world.

It is important for us to have dreams and ideas. They propel us forward and drives us to succeed. As the week’s progress, I’ll have more information on this new brand, and Ill formally announce it in a blog post. And if you have a business idea now is the time to pursue it, because we may never get an opportunity like this again.