The Philosophy of Longboarding

I got a message from Chris Rempel a while back. He included an essay about "The Philosophy of Longboarding" that I think is spot on from my perspective as well. 
Enjoy!

~Matt


THE PHILOSOPHY OF LONGBOARDING
By Chris Rempel

Longboarding is not about ollies and kickflips; the only real trick involved in longboarding is being able to enjoy riding no matter what your ability is or what the conditions are like. Longboarding is not about trying to be something you're not - it’s about being who you are. Longboarding is not about sponsorships, contracts or stopwatches; your sponsor is the road, and the only contract you sign is with yourself. It's about simplicity. Longboarding transforms a trip to the grocery store from a monotonous annoyance into an adventure. It’s about remembering that there's more to life than money and schedules as you feel gravity locking your feet into the board on a tight carve. It's about having more fun walking up the hill with friends than carving down by yourself. Longboarding is more than a fancy piece of wood with wheels on it; it’s an attitude. It's about enjoying a ride on broken pavement 400miles from the nearest ocean just as much as a perfect barrel ride in ten foot surf.

Don't just ride; enjoy the ride.

(As seen at http://www.crlongboards.com/phil.htm)

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The Carve board

It freakin' Mezmerizing!!
Check out the video here: CarveBoard USA

This is a whole other animal. Surfers love them. They're heavy, have adjustable air pneumatic tires, and the deck tilts off springs so you can carve insanely tight angles. I use one with tires deflated to about 10 lbs. pressure to be able to skate a steep local hill that I can't handle on any other board.

43" Carveboard
$450
Available from Carve USA

Jammin'

The Kahuna Big Stick is a lightweight wooden shaft with fixed rubber wheels that allows a skater to push and pull while keeping balanced with both feet as opposed to pumping with one foot. On the level, it is way superior to foot-pumping. Even on uphills, I've found if I do a few foot pumps, then follow with a few paddles, it's faster and smoother. On slight downslopes, I can now get a lot more speed by not having to foot pump. It's got me skating a two-block section in town that used to be too slow. Plus, it adds an upper body workout to a sport that, traditionally, challenges your legs mostly. Surfers see me with it and invariably break into a grin; they instantly get it and are charmed. It really is incredible. The day I got my 5' 6" Big Stick, I tried it out in a parking lot while getting gas. Boy! After about five tentative strokes, I started reaching out as far as I could, zooming around. Later that night I decided to skate in the streets (no cars). I got in a bunch of half-mile downhills in an hour. It is insane fun. One disadvantage: you're carrying this stick rather than free skating down hills.

-- Lloyd Kahn

Kahuna Big Stick
$ 90+
(5' - 6')
Available from Kahuna Creations