SurfSkate skateboard uses 360-degree rotating trucks for more natural flow
While skateboards have their own merits, fixed trucks and hard pavement don’t exactly mimic the free-flowing, natural experience that surfers and snowboarders enjoy. Skateboard designers have tried to fix this shortcoming with all kinds of tricks. SurfSkate uses rotating trucks to attempt to fix skating’s shortcomings.
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For years – decades, probably – skateboard designers have worked to make a more flowy, natural board similar to a surfboard or snowboard. If you can think of a solution, it’s probably been tried. There’s been boards with more than a dozen wheels, boards with conical shaped wheels, and more established designs like caster boards and longboards. Not all that surprisingly, we have another competitor in the field: SurfSkate.
SurfSkate looks a lot like a mini-surfboard or powder snowboard, with its pointed tip and split tail. It pairs a wide, fixed back truck with a smaller front truck that rotates 360 degrees. Based on the video we’ve seen of it, the SurfSkate definitely seems to deliver a looser, more playful ride than the average skateboard. It also turns with more agility.
The company that builds it says that it allows you to pump and carve similar to wave riding. Whether or not the ride is really “surfing on land” or “snowboarding on pavement” is surely a matter of rider opinion, but it looks worth a test spin if that’s the type of ride you’re in the market for.
SurfSkate makes two models: the original Premiere and The Stunner, a shorter board designed for park riding. The Premiere costs US$259 and The Stunner $239. Check out more at SurfSkate.com.
You can’t fully comprehend a piece of gear like this without seeing it in action, so here’s some straight riding footage.
Article source: http://www.gizmag.com/surfskate-360-degree-rotating-trucks/21253/
6 year old skateboarder Asher Bradshaw at Venice Beach Skatepark
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER! www.twitter.com www.kickstarter.com to see Asher’s new Movie Trailer! “SHReD: The Story of Asher Bradshaw. Support the campaign for the documentary about this amazing 6 year old skateboarding phenom who you may have seen at Venice skatepark in Venice beach California and spread the word! Asher skating on any given day in Venice. Email at peanutdad2002@yahoo.com. www.twitter.com
Skateboarding Alternatives
?Skateboarding Alternatives
Skateboards may come in one design structure only, but there have been other variations that made skateboarding something a bit ordinary, yet the results are still the same. Remembering the TV shopping ad called the Snakeboard, which is a skateboard with pivoting joints that allow the rider to freely go in motion as if slithering to move forward.
This is one of the inventions that have captured the spark of other companies when it comes to designing other ways to make a skateboard, and sometimes when the design is meant to do more than one thing only.
Longboards have been around even before the skateboard that is known today. Heavier and longer, these skateboards are meant for long cruising, where its larger size and wheels makes for a more stable ride than ordinary skateboards. It would be hard to perform tricks on a longboard, but it’s the next best thing to emulate riding the waves of the ocean.
Mountain Boards (known as dirtboards for others) is another unusual invention meant for downhill shredding. As if trying to emulate the feel of downhill mountain biking, mountain boards are designed that way with much larger, threaded wheels and foot straps. Of course it would be dangerous to actually skateboard down a very steep hill, but more like getting the feel of surfing the hills in a more rugged terrain.
Freebord (spelled that way) is another skateboard alternative that has the same designs of a snowboard, only with wider trucks and wheels. It’s designed to give the rider a more controlled carving (or shredding) sensation as the wider trucks and an extra wheel on each that makes it possible. Perfect for those who wants to get the feel of snowboarding, if one hates being cold even for a short time. Performing tricks would be impossible given to the weight, but just enough to shred asphalt or pavement. Snowdecks have a similar feature, only this time it emphasizes in actually sliding on roads, and it can be a bit difficult.
One other skateboard, if they could call it as that, just emulates the feel of skateboarding without the deck itself. It’s mainly just a pair of wheels that can be attached under the shoes like a pair of inline skates, but the effects are not the same without a counterbalance.
Unusual designs, shapes, even some with dual purposes. Manufactures would go through certain leaps and bounds to give skateboarding a much different feel than the one that skateboarders are used to.
Super Strong Skateboard by Colonial Brand Skateboards Set to Hit the Market
Imagine a skateboard that can power lift more than you. That’s essentially what Colonial Brand Skateboards of Las Vegas, Nevada, has created with its latest invention. The company claims to have manufactured the world’s strongest skateboard but what I really want to know is, “can you ollie with it?” That’s a question that remains unanswered for now. Here are the details:
About the Skateboard
Colonial Brand Skateboards is a fairly new business that was formed by a trio of entrepreneurs including long time skaters Clinton Anderson and Ross Graham. Together the men have come up with a skate deck that can withstand the weight of a large automobile without breaking or losing its shape. The skate deck is made like some of the other decks currently on the market, with layers of maple veneer and carbon fiber, only allegedly stronger. The company has released a few photos and a YouTube video taken during its clinical trials. You can watch the car tire roll onto the skateboard, which bends but does not break. Once the car tire is removed the skate deck pops back into its original shape. The company is hoping to distribute the skateboards nationally through independent skate shops. The decks are estimated to retail for $65 to $85 each. No word was released on what a complete set-up is expected to cost.
My Thoughts
Being the skate geek that I am, I have previously looked into what gives a skateboard pop, what decks have the most pop and what skate decks are the strongest. Keep in mind that pop comes from several factors, including the type of wood, inserts and wood adhesive used. Based on what I found, there are multiple skate decks on the market that are constructed with carbon fiber layers for strength and still have pop. Some of those brands are Flip, Darkstar, Element, Plan B and Zero. Unfortunately, there are also brands that have inserts that make the decks strong but heavy and weak on pop. In addition, some skate decks have pop in the beginning sustained use starts to take its toll and the deck loses its pop. At this point, I don’t know how heavy the Colonial Brand Skateboard is or how long the deck’s viscoelasticity will last. If it does do all the company claims, there is a good chance that it will take the market by storm. Skaters will just have to wait until the skate deck is released onto the market to know for sure.
My children are skaters and I have a history of following the sport.
More from this contributor:
Choosing a Skateboard for Heavy Weights
Ocean City Politicians Give Ultimatum to Summer Dew Tour Organizers: A Fan’s Reaction
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Article source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/sports/rss//SIG=11mvvu3n9/*http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ycn-10897509
Woman attacked with skateboard in La Jolla
LA JOLLA ? A pedestrian was attacked and robbed in La Jolla early Saturday by two men who hit her on the head with a skateboard.
The woman had just been at a 7-Eleven and was walking on Girard Avenue near Pearl Street about 2:30 a.m. when the men approached, San Diego police said.
They took her purse, cash and phone and left her bloody and battered, police said.
She went to the home of a friend who reported the crime to police.
The attackers were described as Latino and about 18-years-old. One was about 6 feet tall and heavy and the other was described as tall and skinny, police said.
Article source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/28/woman-attacked-skateboard-la-jolla/
It's billed as the 'world's strongest skateboard,' and it's being made in Las Vegas
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Steve Marcus
Ross Graham, left, and Clinton Anderson pose as a car rests on one of their skateboards at the Colonial Brand skateboard company manufacturing facility in Las Vegas Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. The start-up company is planning to market their hand-made skateboards as the world’s strongest.
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012 | 2 a.m.
World’s Strongest Skateboard
Launch slideshow »
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In the lot of a nearly empty office park in the southwest valley, a blue sedan sits parked with one of its tires on top of a skateboard. The skateboard’s deck has been severely bowed by the weight of the vehicle but has not broken.
When the car is moved after about 20 minutes, the deck snaps back to look the same as it did before undergoing the impromptu pressure test.
“You just can’t do that with many skateboards,” says the car’s owner, Clinton Anderson.
Anderson, 32, is one of three partners in a new, Las Vegas-based venture that has created what it calls “the world’s strongest skateboard” — one with a deck made of wood strengthened with layers of carbon fiber.
Anderson and his partners say they have perfected their design and are now speeding up manufacturing as they prepare to begin selling their products — marketed as Colonial Brand Skateboards — in the next few months.
The idea for the new board was born out of necessity, said partner Ross Graham. While technologies in other sports like skiing, snowboarding and bicycling have all advanced over the past decades, a skateboard you buy today is much the same as one you would have bought in the 1980s, Graham, 35, said.
As more and more skateboards are manufactured at plants outside the United States, Graham and Anderson said the build quality has suffered.
“They just don’t make them like they used to,” Graham said. “There are only five skateboard brands that still manufacture in the United States.”
Graham and Anderson, childhood friends who grew up skateboarding around Las Vegas, decided to try to fill the perceived gap in the market with a high-quality, American-made product, and in April formed Colonial Brand Skateboards with their third partner, Jim Wursthorn.
Around the company’s warehouse near Jones Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road, buckets of glue, discarded wood and skateboards in various stages of construction illustrate the trial-and-error method that led Anderson and Graham to their final design.
“We have broken more boards than you can imagine,” Anderson said. “We’ve tried about every imaginable way to break them.”
Each Colonial skateboard is handmade with high-quality maple wood that is layered in several thin strips that are then glued and pressed together. After a week spent drying, the boards are formed into shape using bandsaws and sanders.
The secret to the board’s durability is a carbon fiber fabric, which is strategically layered into the wood to provide extra strength down the board’s axis and near its trucks.
The finished product is branded with Colonial’s logo and comes in a variety of colors.
Graham, who fabricates most of the company’s skateboards, said the goal was to provide the strongest, most durable product possible while still keeping the board lightweight and cost competitive with other brands.
“I’m trying to make these not as toys, but as equipment you can use,” he said. “Our goal is to make it as close to an everyday skateboard as possible, but to reinforce the areas that are prone to breakage.”
The skateboard deck, without wheels or grip tape, will retail for between $65 and $85, depending on the model, Anderson said. Colonial plans to sell the boards through its website, www.colonialbrand.com, which is set to launch within the next few weeks, and by partnering with independent skate shops around the country.
The company already has its sights set on expanding, with plans to begin hiring new employees. Anderson said the company also plans to reach out and get involved more with the Las Vegas skate community.
“The sky’s the limit on this,” Anderson said. “You won’t see a skateboard like this anywhere else.”
Article source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/jan/28/its-billed-worlds-strongest-skateboard-and-its-bei/
Skateboard wax graffiti hard to remove
Washington Township officials are trying to figure out how to remove graffiti at Dunlap Family Skatepark at Pine Hill Recreation Area.
Green skateboard wax was used in the vandalism at the park between 3:40 p.m. Tuesday and 8:15 p.m. Wednesday.
“We want to make sure we don’t ruin the elements during the cleanup process,” said Mike Christopher, township manager, who added, “It is so unfortunate that people decide to do bad things to public property.”
Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call Washington Township police at 762-1447.
Article source: http://www.therecordherald.com/news/x1605024332/Skateboard-wax-graffiti-hard-to-remove
Hollywood star Uggie hangs up his skateboard
The Jack Russell terrier, who was propelled to fame by his critically-acclaimed role in The Artist, is therefore to hang up his collar and withdraw from show-business. Friends say he has grown weary of the physical demands of life in front of camera.
“I’m retiring him,” was how owner Omar Von Muller announced the sad news this week. “He may do a couple of little things here and there because he enjoys them, but I don’t want to put him through long hours anymore. He’s getting tired.”
It has certainly been a long, hard road. After being abandoned as a puppy by owners who thought him “too wild,” and adopted by Von Muller, a professional trainer, Uggie spent his early life earning a crust in a touring canine talent show.
He later won roles in a string of TV adverts, before moving into film. But early projects such as the TV movie Life is Ruff and the 2005 comedy Wassup Rockers failed to ignite. Box-office success didn’t come until last year, when he joined Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon in Water for Elephants.
It was Uggie’s touching performance as the faithful companion of fading silent film star George Valentin in The Artist that propelled him to celebrity, though. And the dog’s stunt double in the film, a brother called Dash, will now become the family’s chief breadwinner
“I think he (Uggie) will be fine with Dash stepping in,” Von Muller told Life Style magazine. “Uggie is 10-years-old and has done a lot of work, so he wants to relax at home. If somebody wants to do a movie with Uggie, they’ll just have to deal with Dash.”
A noisy online campaign to have Uggie nominated for an Oscar has failed, since Academy rules only sanction awards for humans. However Von Muller hopes the dog will nonetheless be invited to next month’s ceremony, where his co-stars are nominated in ten categories. “They should give him an envelope to bring to [host] Billy Crystal,” he added.
Article source: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/hollywood-star-uggie-hangs-up-his-skateboard-6295755.html
Skateboarding – Really as bad as it seems
?Skateboarding – Really as bad as it seems?
Skateboarding has always suffered from the generally bad image the public gives
them. Many people categorise skateboarders in the same breath as illegal
graffiti artists, vandals and mainly juvenile crowds with nothing to make out
of their life.
Well, maybe not all are that bad these days but people still view skateboarding
that way. This is probably due to the fact that it gained popularity during the
same era punk music kicked off and considering much of the public was not that
fond of that genre those days, it is no surprise that this is causing people to
wrongly assume skateboarders as a negative part of the society. This is a huge
misconception towards skateboarders and the truth is, skateboarding is only
bad, just like any other activity can turn dark, if it is let to develop itself
into a form of bad influence.
As a matter of fact, the society of skateboarding has produced a number of
individuals who deserve a whole lot of admiration and respect for their social
position and contributions to the society. The world’s greatest skateboarder and only one known to pull the 900 is an excellent
family man who contributes much of his money to charity. Kickflip inventor
Rodney Mullen has a Masters degree and is known to be an exceptionally friendly
and humble person. Bob Burnquist uses his celebrity status to promote
environmental-friendliness and inspires people with his life story about the
time he overcame asthma to skateboard. Jereme Rogers, being the heavily
tattooed man he is may be the type of individual people think of when
negatively perceiving skateboarders but a closer look at his tattoos shows you
an image full of devotion to love and religion as he is outspoken for the fact
that he believes that God is the reason behind his capabilities on a skateboard
and the success he has achieved from his talent.
These people are actual role models not only to children, but people on the
streets looking to make something out of their lives. Parents who look into
skateboarding in a negative manner should pay closer attention to the existence
of these people and their influences in the skateboarding society. When they
do, I doubt anyone would still go against it full heartedly.
Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that there are bad influences from more
negative characters in skateboarding but don’t all sports and games have their same share of this group of people? Athletes
are known to take drugs and sports officials do get involved in bribery; that
is to name a few. The only reason why the society is tougher is simply because
of how they look and how their attitude is generally known to be really rough
There should not be any concerns of kids getting interested in skateboarding
but if any issue still bugs you, licensed skateboarding clubs and organisations
exist. There are even churches which accommodate and approve youngsters’need for skateboarding these days. Parents should just take it purely as an
essence of growing up; having fun. Doubts and worries only introduce more
trouble and who knows, mothers and fathers could be seen giving their shot at
skateparks if they stopped worrying so much about their child’s desire to skateboard. After all, it isn’t really bad.
