• Podcast Name: Keep Pushing

• Host: Brandon DesJarlais

• Schedule: Weekly

• Format: Half solo episodes, half interviews

• Topics: Personal growth, perseverance, courage, mindset, community, purpose

• Available On: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts

Keep Pushing Is Officially Live

After sitting on this idea for far too long, I’m really excited to finally say it:

Keep Pushing is officially live.

This podcast has been on my heart for a long time.

For months, I kept feeling the pull to create it, but perfectionism kept slowing me down. I wanted the branding dialed. The format clear. The launch plan better. The first few episodes stronger.

But at a certain point, waiting becomes its own form of fear.

And this podcast is, in many ways, a stand against that.

Keep Pushing is a weekly podcast where I’ll be sharing both solo episodes and interviews centered around perseverance, personal growth, courage, mindset, community, and the experiences that shape who we become.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, uncertain, afraid to start, or like life is asking more from you than you feel ready to give, this podcast is for you.

What Is Keep Pushing?

Keep Pushing is a podcast about what it really takes to keep moving forward when life feels messy, uncomfortable, uncertain, or hard.

Some episodes will be solo. In those, I’ll be sharing stories, lessons, reflections, and mindset shifts from my own life.

Some episodes will be interviews. Those conversations will feature people I admire who have faced adversity, grown through challenge, built something meaningful, reinvented themselves, or chosen courage when it would have been easier to stay small.

This is not a podcast about fake hype or surface-level motivation.

It’s about real growth.

Real fear.

Real perspective.

Real stories.

And the deeper lessons that help us keep going.

Why I Started This Podcast

At the core of my life, whether through longboarding, speaking, community building, or Beyond the Board, there has always been one theme that keeps showing up:

Growth usually asks something from us before it gives anything back.

• It asks for courage before clarity.

• It asks for faith before proof.

• It asks us to keep going when things are messy, uncertain, or uncomfortable.

That is what Keep Pushing is about.

I created this podcast because I wanted a space to explore the ideas, stories, and lessons that help us move through fear, challenge, and uncertainty with more intention.

I wanted a place for honest conversations about personal growth, resilience, purpose, mindset, and what it really takes to become who we’re capable of becoming.

My hope is simple:

I want this show to help people feel more brave, more grounded, and more ready to move toward the life they know they’re meant for.

What This Podcast Means to Me

This is more than just another piece of content.

It feels like a deeper extension of everything I’ve cared about for years.

Longboarding taught me that growth happens at the edge of discomfort. Community taught me that people heal, grow, and come alive faster when they feel seen and supported. Life has taught me again and again that some of the most important breakthroughs happen right after the moment when most people would quit.

That idea has shaped so much of my story.

It shaped me when I was a kid trying to find confidence.

It shaped me when I committed becoming a professional skater.

It shaped me when I started Beyond the Board and hosted our first tours.

And it’s shaping me now as I step into this next chapter.

Keep Pushing is a place for all of that.

• Not polished perfection.

• Not fake motivation.

• Not surface-level talk.

Just real stories, meaningful conversations, and ideas that help us move forward.

Who This Podcast Is For

This podcast is for people who are:

• navigating fear, uncertainty, or transition

• trying to grow through discomfort instead of avoiding it

• building something meaningful

• craving deeper, more honest conversations

• looking for courage, perspective, and purpose

• committed to becoming more of who they really are

Whether you’re a skater, creator, leader, entrepreneur, athlete, or just someone trying to live with more intention, I think you’ll find something here.

What You Can Expect Each Week

Keep Pushing will be a weekly podcast.

The format will be split roughly like this:

• Half solo episodes where I share stories, lessons, mindset shifts, and reflections from my own life and journey

• Half interview episodes with guests whose stories, wisdom, and experiences can challenge and inspire all of us

That rhythm matters to me.

The solo episodes will let me speak more directly about the lessons I’m living and learning in real time.

The interview episodes will expand the conversation and bring in new perspectives from people who have walked through powerful, difficult, and transformative experiences of their own.

So whether you’re here for personal growth, perseverance, community, courage, purpose, or simply hearing real conversations that make you think deeper, that’s what this show is being built around.

Meet the Host

My name is Brandon DesJarlais, and I’m a professional longboarder, speaker, content creator, photographer, and community builder based in Los Angeles.

Over the years, longboarding has taken me around the world and taught me some of the biggest lessons of my life about fear, resilience, commitment, and growth. That journey also led me to found Beyond the Board, a nonprofit focused on using longboarding to empower people with confidence and build real community.

A lot of what I care most about lives at the intersection of courage, movement, healing, and belonging.

This podcast is an extension of that.

The Bigger Vision

I don’t want this podcast to just be something people consume.

I want it to be something that genuinely helps people.

I want these episodes to spark better conversations. Better questions. Better decisions. More honesty. More courage. More action.

If an episode helps someone take the leap they’ve been postponing, have the hard conversation they’ve been avoiding, trust themselves more deeply, or keep going when they were close to quitting, then this podcast is doing its job.

That’s what matters to me.

Where to Watch and Listen

You can follow Keep Pushing here:

Watch on YouTube

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts

FAQ

What is the Keep Pushing podcast about?

Keep Pushing is a weekly podcast about perseverance, personal growth, courage, mindset, community, and the experiences that shape us.

How often does Keep Pushing release new episodes?

New episodes will be released weekly.

What kind of episodes can I expect?

The podcast will feature a mix of solo episodes and interviews. Roughly half will be solo reflections and lessons, and half will be conversations with inspiring guests.

Where can I listen to Keep Pushing?

You can watch and listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Who hosts Keep Pushing?

Keep Pushing is hosted by Brandon DesJarlais, a professional longboarder, speaker, content creator, and founder of Beyond the Board.

SPOILER ALERT: Longboards are often considered the better choice for beginners due to their greater stability and ease of use. 

Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of skateboard to assist you in making this choice.

Longboards

PROS

Let's start by looking at the advantages of longboarding. Longboards are distinguished from typical skateboards by their longer deck length, which can range from 33 inches to 60 inches, and their larger, softer wheels, which offer a smoother ride and better stability. Longboards are a wonderful option for novices because of these characteristics, making them more forgiving and simple to ride than standard skateboards. Because of their larger size and softer wheels, longboards are also a fantastic option for skateboarders who want to use their board mostly for cruising and transporting.

CONS

Longboarding, however, has certain drawbacks as well. Longboards often lack the agility and responsiveness of standard skateboards, which can make them more challenging to manage and less ideal for learning longboard tricks. This is one of the greatest disadvantages of longboards. Longboards might also be a disadvantage for people who need to carry their skateboard around with them because they are typically heavier and more difficult to store and transport than standard skateboards.

I recommend the Magneto Bamboo Longboards as the best affordable option for beginner longboarders.

Skateboards

Pros

Let's now examine the benefits of traditional skateboarding. Traditional skateboards often have decks that are between 28 and 33 inches long and are more compact. They have trucks that are narrower and feature smaller, tougher wheels. Due to its superior agility and responsiveness compared to longboards, traditional skateboards are a wonderful option for riders interested in mastering tricks and feats. Because of its smaller size and tougher wheels, traditional skateboards are a particularly appropriate option for riders who want to utilize their skateboard for street skating or in a skatepark.

CONS

The disadvantage of classic skateboards is that, due to their smaller size and harder wheels, they are more challenging for beginners to ride around on. These characteristics make getting from point A to point B slow and challenging. In comparison to longboards, they are also typically less stable and practical for transit and cruising long distances.

I recommend the Magneto SUV Skateboard as the best affordable option for beginner skateboarders.

What is the Best Type of Skateboard for Beginners?

So, which type of skateboard is actually better for beginners - longboards or skateboards? In general, longboards are often considered the better choice for beginners due to their greater stability and ease of use. While traditional skateboards may be better suited for learning tricks, they can be more challenging for beginners to learn. This is due to their huge disadvantage for casual riding due to their smaller size and harder wheels. In the beginning, longboards can make novices feel more comfortable and confident because they are typically more forgiving and simple to ride.

Whether you choose a longboard or a traditional skateboard, the most important thing is to have fun and stay safe while skating. Remember to always wear protective gear, such as a helmet and knee pads, and to follow all local laws and regulations. With the right skateboard and the proper precautions, you can enjoy this exciting and dynamic activity for years to come. So, go out there and start skating!

For those on the hunt for a solid shred squad, I’ve curated a long, but epic list of longboard crews around the world so you can join your own cruise community in your hometown or wherever your travels take you. 

From downhill racing and casual cruising to longboard dancing and freestyle, you’re bound to find the perfect longboard group that fits your preferences and skill level. And if a crew doesn’t already exist in your area, create one!

This list is categorized alphabetically. All states in the U.S. are featured first followed by all countries grouped by continent in alphabetical order.

Looking for a crew outside of the U.S.?

Click here to skip down to the international section to peruse groups from all over the world. Or click one of the continent specific links below:

• North American Longboard Crews

• South American Longboard Crews

• European Longboard Crews

• Asian Longboard Crews

• African Longboard Crews

Longboard Groups in the United States of America

You may be surprised to find just how many groups of longboarders there are across the U.S—not only hailing from sunny Southern California, but adventure-seekers skating their way through the Midwest, East Coast, and Southern states (who knew you could board through a watering hole?)

Up until the last decade, downhill longboarding and sliding dominated the longboarding scene, but in recent years, longboard dancing and freestyle have exploded in popularity, and you’ll find a large number of longboarding groups in the states who love to move and groove. But, there really is something for everyone—from pump tracks to parking garages, there’s an infinite amount of places to skate…with groups and gatherings of every skill, age, and style.

Arizona

SUN SESH

A longboarding and skateboarding group based in the Phoenix/Tempe area of all skill levels that meets every Sunday at sunset at the Sun Devil Stadium.

Arkansas

BOARDER PATROL

An inclusive group of skaters in Searcy, Arkansas.

California

BAY AREA LONGBOARDERS

A group of longboarders, of all skill levels, in the San Francisco Bay Area building a community around longboard dancing, cruising, and vibing. From curious beginners to avid pros, make friends and learn how to longboard!

BAY SESSIONS 2

We are a bunch of San Francisco Bay Area skaters and longboarders. We host weekly sessions in SF on Thursdays and on various hills in the Bay area on weekends. All skill levels and styles of skating are welcome! We focus mainly on downhill and happily teach new skaters how to slide to a stop safely and get their confidence up. We also host events on occasion. Reach out if you are in the area we like hosting skaters from all over and showing them how to skate our spots and open roads safely!

BONZING

A big skating family in San Francisco/Oakland made up of skateboarders and longboarders, with various riding styles and ages. They sell and shape skateboards to be timeless, savage and durable and exclusively support skateboarders for our art and design. A portion of every sale goes back to the shaper and artist who created the skateboard and all manufacturing is done in North America reducing environmental costs.

CALIFORNIA LONGBOARDING CLUB

A group of skaters, also interested in producing media content, that host monthly longboard gatherings and ride sessions all over the Central Valley and Coast.

CHILL SQUAD

A group of longboarders and skaters in Bakersfield, California that focus on downhill and racing.

DOCK SESSION Los Angeles

A group of mostly longboard dancers in West Los Angeles. They meet every Sunday at sunset in Santa Monica at the parking lot near 10 Bicknell Avenue. The sunsets are always such an epic view, especially in the winter. DockSession LA hosts longboard events several times per year in Los Angeles.

LONGBOARD DANCING Los Angeles

A dedicated group of longboard dancers in Los Angeles. They organize structured lessons, board rentals and community events. They host bi-weekly longboard events for women to connect in a safe space.

LONGBOARD DANCING Orange County

A group in Orange County focused on radical inclusivity in longboard dancing. They organize free structured lessons, board rentals and community events. This is the expansion of the original Longboard Dancing LA.

SOUTH BAY SKATE

Connecting the South Bay of Los Angeles through weekly skate meetups every Friday from cruises on the strand to meetups in a lot. We welcome all wheels and all skill levels. No judgement just a place of good vibes where we can learn, connect and grow.

VIBE RIDe LA

A casual longboarding group in Santa Monica/Venice, California. They host a weekly sunset cruises to share vibes mindfully on and off the board. Cruising for wellness. Deeper connection and expression.

YEA LETS SKATE

A group in Long Beach, CA that aims to bring people of all levels of skateboarding and longboarding together to ride and learn new skills.

Florida

LONGBOARDERS BR

A group striving to bring together the longboarders and skateboarders of Boca Raton to grow the skate community. Welcoming of all genders, ages, and skill levels.

LONGBOARD TAMPA

Small crew that gets together regularly to skate downtown Tampa.

MIAMI LONGBOARDING CREW

A community of longboarders in Miami, FL that host weekly skates and parking garage sessions around Miami.

SK8PAK MIAMI

The SK8PAK meets every Thursday at 7pm on the Miami Beach, Beach Walk at 5th and Ocean. We usually skate down to South Pointe, hit The Hill, then skate back up north along the Beach Walk, finish up at the Bass Museum, and then go out together to grab something to eat. All levels and all wheels are welcome! If your friends don't skate they can rent a Citi-bike at the Meet-up spot or roll with us on a mode of transportation of their choosing. If you're a beginner, no problem! We make frequent pit-stops to socialize so you can catch up! We also host longboarding lessons twice a week at SkateBird, host events and go out to local events together. Message us on IG: @sk8pak and we'll add you to our WhatsApp group where you can stay updated on what we're doing, where we are (location drop pins), and our hilarious chat banter (GIFs and Memes to be expected). Hope to hear from you soon!

Georgia

DOCKSESSION ATLANTA

Our goal is to expand the longboarding community in Atlanta and is open to everyone of all shapes, sizes, ages, genders, and skill levels. All types of longboarding styles are welcomed as well as all wheels. We meet up every Sunday at 2pm !

Hawaii

DHSBSI

The homebase for Hawaii’s downhill longboarding scene!

Idaho

SHRED BOISE

A crew of shredders in Treasure Island who practice inclusivity. Welcoming and growing community with all types of skateboarding, ages, and weather! Good times and progression is the name of the game.

Illinois

AFLOW SKATE

A longboard group in Chicago dedicated to creating a longboard dancing community. Everybody’s Welcome! Let’s skate and learn together! We host monthly meetups from May-October.

Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS LONGBOARDING

A longboard group based out of Indianapolis, Indiana focused on growing the sport of longboarding. They believe that longboarding is a great sport for any age, skill level, and gender. Longboarding is a good activity to stay healthy and have fun!

Indianapolis longboarders ride in and for the community. They plan and organize group rides, meet and greets, events and activities, and keeps the local longboard community informed.

LONGBOARD CREW

We're just a group of teenagers who love to chill and are always willing to teach new skaters tricks and how to skate. We started just from a group of friends and built from there. Cruising downtown is our favorite thing to do.

PURDUE UNIVERSITY LONGBOARDING CLUB

A club of longboarders at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. They host longboard meet-ups and events for all styles of skating.

Michigan

CAPITOL CITY SKATE SESH

A group in Lansing, MI that brings new skaters to a world of possibility and potential! Flat ground freestyle skating community where all are welcome.

LOT SESSIONS

A freestyle, dancing, and flat ground longboard community in Metro Detroit.

Missouri

Kansas city longboard community

A longboarding community aiming to spread high fives and positive vibes, while showing pavement surfing to the world.

Nebraska

PROBLEMATIC BACHELORS

A group of high school and college age longboarders who love to skate and adventure as a community.

New Jersey

JERSEY SHORE LONGBOARDING

A fun group of longboarders in all age ranges that host free weekly lessons and open skate sessions Sundays 5-7pm in the Gold Street Parking Lot in Red Bank.

SK8PAK SOMERVILLE

Longboard skate community in Central NJ. They host weekly group rides to have fun and make friends.

New York

DOCKSESSION NYC

A group of longboarders of all skills who host skate meetups every Saturday in NYC.

FLOW CREW NYC

All wheels welcome but mostly longboard dance/freestyle riders. Host weekly sessions. We aim to be an inclusive group and shed light on skaters of all skill levels and backgrounds.

GHOSTSKATE

The NYC chapter of one of the largest skateboarding meetup groups.

NYC LONGBOARD ASSOCIATION

A longboarding community in the NYC area that exists to build a community. You’ll find longboarders of all styles (dancing, downhill, racing, etc) and ages.

NYC LONGBOARD VIBES

Easily one of the fastest growing longboard communities in the world. It’s a collaboration between @indigoriderz & @purelongboarding to bring together longboarders of all skill levels in New York City. They host weekly meetups in Manhattan and are mostly focused on longboard dancing and freestyle.

ONEONTA LONGBOARD CLUB

Longboarding club based in Oneonta, New York. While their main emphasis is downhill and freeride longboarding, they welcome all skill levels and are happy to do anything involving a board underneath our feet. From cruising the local campus, doing grass bombs, popping off curbs, and sliding around corners, they are just looking to have fun and grow the sport. They host weekly sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but are always open to meeting up and riding more.

SOCIAL PUSH NYC

A LDP (Long Distance Push) group that meets up every Tuesday 7pm at Columbus circle and do a different route every week, we have check points where we wait for everyone

North Carolina

919 DOWNHILL

A group of longboarders and skaters of different skill levels from Wake County, NC.

ASHEVILLE PASTRYBOYS

A group of longboarders in Asheville, NC that focus on downhill skating. They send it, hard.

KRUSTY F*CKIN CREW

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, this longboard crew focuses on good times and good times only! They’re dedicated to providing a fun environment where skaters can make new friends.

Ohio

CINCINNATI LONGBOARD CREW

A group for Cincinnati longboarders of all levels to skate, make friends, and build a community. Super inclusive, stoked about all kinds of skating and skaters, sessions almost every day!

KEEP HER WILD - WOMENS LONGBOARDING CREW

A collective that empowers women through board riding and sisterhood, teaching women to skateboard, longboard and surf concrete in a fun and supportive environment.

NORTHEAST OHIO LONGBOARDING CREW

A group of skateboarders and longboarders in Cleveland dedicated to progression and community building. With various riding styles from longboarding dancing to racing, there’s something for everyone. This group loves to throw multi-day events that you can look for on Instagram.

OSU LONGBOARD CLUB

Ohio State University student club based in Columbus Ohio that meets weekly and skates around campus. Beginner through advanced riders welcome.

Oregon

DOCKSESSION EUGENE

A community of skaters at Skinners Butte/University for dancing and freeriding.

DOCKSESSION PORTLAND

A weekly meetup of flatland longboarders in Portland.

PDX BUTTHOLE SURFERS

A group of Portland metro area skaters that organize group rides and slide jams.

SlideMaxs

A group of longboarders in Corvallis, Oregon. They're mostly a bunch of college kids doing all types of skating and learning together with the goal of growing the local skate scene. Connect with them in their Discord.

Pensylvannia

Philly Longboard Vibes

A local longboard crew in Philadelphia that meets weekly, mostly focusing on dancing, free ride, and freestyle. In collaboration with @nyclongboardvibes, @indigoriderz, and @purelongboarding, riders of all skills levels are welcome to join!

Rhode Island

THE SKATE CLUB

The Skate Club slogan is "Learn. Explore. Unwind". They are an inclusive university club at the Rhode Island School of Design(RISD) and Brown University. They are open to anyone interested in skating, whether you are skating on a longboard, skateboard, penny board, or rollerblade. They welcome anyone from beginner to advanced. Together, we learn from each other and explore Rhode Island. They usually go skating every weekend depending on the weather and also host stationary skate sessions and offer skating 101 workshops, with boards to borrow.

Tennessee

BOARD FOR THE LORD

A gathering of longboarders in Chattanooga who connect for their love of the sport and their love for God.

DISCOSKATERS

Inclusive skate club from Nashville, TN with a focus in Longboard Dance.

Music City Downhill

A group of downhill longboarders in Nashville, Tennessee. #MCDH #AskYourGirlfriend

NASHGIRL SK8

A Nashville-based all girls skate crew created for girls to skate, feel welcome, encouraged and have a good time, always open to new skaters! A percentage of their merch proceeds will be donated to Thistle Farms, a charity based here Nashville that helps women survivors recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking, and addiction by providing them a safe home, meaningful job, and a sisterhood of support.

SKATE UT

The official Skate Club of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville! Downhill & More.

Texas

DOCKSESSION TEXAS

A group of skaters in Houston, TX welcoming all skill levels.

Houston Longboard Community

An all welcoming longboarding community for riders of all skill and background. They host consistent rides in the local parking garages.

RGV Longboarders

A group of longboarders in the Rio Grande Valley. Their goal is to build a rad community of like-minded riders to share the stoke and passion for longboard skating together. They aren’t gatekeepers, rather they want their community to be a gateway into this sport. They enjoy all styles of skate including: dance, freestyle, freeride, downhill, street and park.

SIDEWALK SURFING

A group of longboarders and skateboarders of all skill levels in Houston, TX.

TEAM NOBULL

A group dedicated to promoting downhill skating and spreading the stoke.

TX LONGBOARDERS

A group of skaters in Dallas, TX who enjoy long distance, downhill, and freeride skating, sometimes to local watering holes.

Utah

SALT LAKE CITY LONGBOARDERS

A group that gathers to long board dance in fun places, parking garages, and hit pump tracks.

Washington

DOCKSESSION SEATTLE

A group of longboarders supported by Seattle Longboarding Dancing Squad and MotionBoardShop that meet every Thursday at 6pm in Seattle.

SEATTLE LONGBOARDERS

Longboarders of all ages, riding styles, skill levels, lifestyles that enjoy cruising places like Greenlake, Alki, and the nearby trails, as well as downhill skating,

SKATE THE RAINBOW SQUAD

A group of longboarding women and members of the LQBTQIA+ community in Seattle making a safe and accessible place for people of all dancing and freestyling skill levels.

Washington DC

DC LONGBOARDING

An all inclusive longboard crew in the nation's capital! Made up of mostly dancers, they strive to foster an open community and promote longboarding! They meet the first Sunday of every month at Jones Point Park, VA. Follow the pinned post on their group telegram for the most up to date info.
You'll frequently see them dancing across the Lincoln Memorial - drawing the attention and cameras of tourists, visitors, and passing crowds! Everyone is welcome - regardless of skill level or type of riding. They meet most weekends when the weather is nice!

LWG

A group of skaters and longboarders in the DC area who love to make content together.

Don’t see your crew? Click here to add yours!

International Longboard Crews on Every Continent - Boarding Knows No Borders

Apart from Antarctica, you can pretty much find a rad group to kick it with anywhere in the world. Whether you’re on the lookout for a longboard community near you, traveling abroad, looking for a longboarding event or meet-up, you’ll find there’s a crew of cool people on every corner of the globe. Beer, boarding, and bratwurst in Germany (name a better combo, I’ll wait), cruising through Amsterdam, freestylin’ in Indonesia, or scootin’ with the legendary Lotfi Lamaali through the streets of Paris—adventure is everywhere. Who will you hang with?

North American Longboard Crews

CANADA

780 LONGBOARDING

Longboard crew in Edmonton, Canada that hosts weekly downhill slide sessions on Tuesday evenings!

ABBY SKATE SCHOOL

A longboarding community focused on downhill skating, with sessions for all levels, in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

DOCKSESSION MONTREAL

A longboarding community in Montreal focusing on all types of longboarding. Join them on Saturday’s at Jean Drapeau!

DOCKSESSION OTTAWA-GATINEAU

A group of longboarders in Ottawa, Canada that meet in the U-Ottawa Courtyard every Friday at 7pm from around April - November. (otherwise there’s snow lol)

DOCKSESSION TORONTO

A group of longboarders that meet weekly and encourage skaters to bring their friends, try new tricks, and most importantly, have fun!

DOCKSESSION VANCOUVER

A community of longboarders in Vancouver, British Columbia that encourage all levels to longboard dance and freestyle.

DOWNHILL_ALIENS

I started downhill skateboard last year and I fell in love with it since the first time. In Montreal we didn’t have a crew or sessions so I started to host sessions and find new members for the crew. With a friend that shares my passion for downhill we created this group Downhill_aliens with the hope the grow the community and hopefully host events here in Montreal. Everyone is welcome and we have many riders ready to help and give tips!

EDMONTON SKATES

A longboarding group based in Edmonton, Alberta with the intention making a board sport community for new and experienced riders to learn and ride together! They host free sessions and love to help beginners get to shredding!

HOWWEROLLWNP

A group of longboarders in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada looking to grow the community and sport of longboarding,

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW CANADA

A longboard community that promotes a safe place where girls can hangout, cruise, share events, advice, free-ride, and wipeout stories around Canada.

Montreal Skates

A group dedicated to making everyone to feel the therapy and joys of skating. They welcome all levels from beginner to advanced with the goal of progressing together and growing as a community, while also offering coaching to help that progression!

THE HOMIES SKATE

A group of badass downhill and freeride longboarders in the Vancouver, Canada area.

UBC LONGBOARDING CLUB

The University of British Columbia Longboarding Club is an on-campus skate community that organizes weekly sessions and events for all skill levels. They post weekly meetups on the Facebook group, typically held on Wednesdays!

University of Toronto SKATE CLUB

They are a group of students and non-students who love skateboards/longboards/freelines/rollarskates; just anything with a wheel on it! They are here to promote all kinds of skating in Toronto, and organize large scale events that can bring skaters together regardless of what board they ride.

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA LONGBOARDING CLUB

A group organized by the University of Victoria that encourages students, non-students, and riders of all skill levels looking to get more engaged in the longboarding scene in Victoria, British Columbia.

COSTA RICA

LONGBOARD DANCING COSTA RICA

This San Jose based group is the first longboard dancing crew in Costa Rica. They want to grow this discipline in the country and creating an inclusive and safe community.

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW COSTA RICA

A longboarding crew for anyone who wants to skate and learn new skills. They provide a safe and inclusive space for anyone to skate without discrimination or disrespect. They started with a focus in longboarding, but have since expanded their crew to skateboarders and balance boards as well.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Longboard Dancing & Freestyle R.D.

We saw longboard crews in other countries and decided to create one for our country, Dominican Republic. Every month we organize meetings for people who want to learn dancing or freestyle, anyone can come and join us. You can make good friends and have a great time.

EL SALVADOR

RIDER GIRLS

A group of longboarders in San Salvador, supported by Longboard Girls Crew. They encourage riders of all skill levels to have fun and learn to skate!

MEXICO

DOCKSESSION MEXICO CITY

A longboarding community in Mexico City dedicated to promoting freestyle skating and dancing.

South American Longboard Crews

BRAZIL

DOCKSESSION RIO

A community of longboarders in Rio looking to spread the love of longboarding.

DOCKSESSION SAO PAULO

A community of longboarders in São Paulo, Brazil.

CHILE

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW CHILE

A longboarding group in Santiago, Chile full of love and fellowship! They aim to empower women to feel part of the skating community, while providing a safe space to learn.

COLOMBIA

DOCKSESSION BOGOTA

Longboarders in Bogota who meet at the Council of Bogota at noon every Sunday.

ECUADOR

LONGBOARDING QUITO

A very welcoming community that loves to teach and learn from everyone. All riders, all levels are welcome. They ride every Thursday evening, including downhill, dancing, freestyle and sometimes just cruising.

DOWNHILL ZONA 593 CREW

A group of family that focuses on downhill riding. Their mission is to motivate, inspire, and progress, while growing the longboarding community and encouraging the youth to explore the world and feel alive!

European Longboard Crews

AUSTRIA

BANANA LONGBOARDING

Vienna, Austria longboard crew mainly into Downhill skating. We organize cruise tours sometimes and we can hook you up with the local dance scene. Sadly very stoked riders are rare and a lot of the old ones quit. Would be cool to meet you :)

LONGBOARDING IN VIENNA

A group formed in 2021, they describe themselves as “a couple of nerds dancing around Austria.”

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW AUSTRIA

A group of girls that meets throughout Austria to skate, help each other with new skills and repairs, and have fun.

SKATE DOWN HILLS

A new organization based in Innsbruck, Austria founded by downhill skateboarder Pearce D’Arcy with the goal of unifying the global downhill skateboarding community.

BELGIUM

LONGBOARD GENT

A group of longboarders, of all skill levels, in Ghent (Dok Noord, -3) building a community around longboard dancing, freestyle, surfing and vibing. From curious beginners to avid pros, make friends and learn how to longboard!

LONGBOARD DANCING FACILITY (LDF)

LDF is an indoor longboarding spot and community in Antwerp. We focus on dance x freestyle longboarding and organize courses for beginners, while more experienced riders can benefit from the location as well. We try our best to make people from all walks of life feel comfortable on a board. Send us a message and join us for a session! We'd be glad to have you help grow the Belgian longboarding scene in the city of Antwerp.

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW BELGIUM

A welcoming group of girls based in Ghent who longboard dance, freestyle and surf skate together.

LRBX

LRBX is a Brussels based longboard collective dedicated to sharing their knowledge and experience to beginners as well as bringing the community together by promoting longboarding and organizing activities for riders of all levels.

PALM TREE WHEELS

A community in Puurs bringing together longboarders of all ages, who love carving, cruising, dancing, and freestyle.

BULGARIA

LONGDAYBOARDING

A community of longboarders in Sofia, Bulgaria who love to skate and learn from each other.

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW BULGARIA

A group of women in Sofia, Bulgaria that come together to practice longboarding freestyle and dancing. Their goal is to provide a safe space for women of all ages and skill levels.

FRANCE

Association de Longboardeurs Toulousains (ALT)

Une communauté de Riders passionnés, ouverte à tous ! DH, Freeride, Cruising, LDP... rejoignez-nous pour des sessions en ville et à la montagne !

BOURBON LONGSKATE

The only longboard crew on Reunion, Island!

Docksession Paris

The original DockSession longboard crew founded by Lotfi Lamaali in Paris April 2014. The DockSession is a weekly longboard meetup that has expanded to other countries around the world to become a worldwide longboard connection. Their main focus is longboard dancing and freestyle.

The main intentions of the DockSessions are to help grow the longboard community and showcase skilled riders. Most importantly, it's there to create a link between all longboard communities around the world, help meet new people, have fun and spread the stoke!

DOCKSESSION NICE

A DockSession community dedicated to longboarding in Nice, France.

LA BONNE RIDE

A positive and inclusive longboarding community in Marseille, France that welcomes all levels.

LONGBOARD LYON CREW

A group of longboard dancers in Lyon, France.

ORIGIN SQUARE

Their crew exists to share and promote longboarding in the city of Bordeaux. They do everything we can to ensure that riders have fun, progress and never ride alone again.

LONGBOARD SAINT NAZAIRE

A crew that practices longboarding dancing together and strives to expand longboarding in the community.

PARIS LONGBOARDING SHOP

Paris only longboarding shop!

SALTY CLAN

A friendly crew of longboard dancing and freestyle riders based in Nantes. We do weekly free longboard courses, local cruising and other events. We like to share our passion for longboard and enjoy meeting new people.

WAVES ON WHEELS

Everyone is welcome, this is an inclusive group of riders! They host weekly sessions and their goal is to meet each other, promote longboard dancing and help the beginners!

GERMANY

0711DanceNow

A longboarding community in Stuttgart, Germany encouraging all skill levels, ages, and genders to come longboard dance and freestyle.

BOARD-ING

A group in Bavaria that has been been sharing the stoke and passion for skating, longboards, and surfskates for 10 years. They welcome all ages and are always open to help others improve and have fun.

DOCKSESSION BERLIN

A community in Berlin, Germany who longboard every Sunday.

DRAFT TRAIN MEDIA

Downhill Longboarding enthusiasts in Berlin and Hamburg. We're always more than happy to meet new people to skate with!

Longboard & Bratwurst

“A bunch of old guys rolling to the doctor and back home again." Just Fun, Beer and Bratwurst.

Longboard Chemnitz

An upcoming community of longboarders of all ages and skill levels in Chemnitz. They practice mostly dancing and freestyle and believe the best way to learn and succeed is as a community! Everyone is welcome to share good vibes!

LONGBOARD COLOGNE

An inclusive community of longboarders in Cologne that focus on dancing and freestyle.

Longboarding Düsseldorf

A community of longboarders of all ages and skill levels in Düsseldorf, Germany.

LONGBOARD _JENA

A group of longboarders in Jena, Germany that like to gather everyone who is interested in longboarding, cruising around to make friends, freestyle, and dancing.

Longboard Ruhrgebiet

A community of longboarders in Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, Düsseldorf, and Oberhausen Germany who describe themselves as a big skate family.

LONGBOARDING HAMBURG

The entry point into longboarding in Hamburg! A longboarding community of all skills that learn and teach together. Everyone who wants to share some good times is welcome!

TEAM HECKMECK

A group of friends that like making videos and all kinds of skateboarding, mostly going down hills!

HUNGARY

Arrabona Crew

Based in Gyor, the Arrabona crew is the first and friendliest longboard community in Hungary. They have three principles: respect, devotion, and perseverance.

SOPIANAE CREW

A friendly local crew of longboarders!

IRELAND

DUBLIN LONGBOARD CREW

Dublin Longboard Crew (or DLC as commonly know among members) is a community of longboarders based in Dublin, but is closely tied to the entire Irish longboarding scene. Everyone, all ages and skill levels, are encouraged to come out and be part of the community!

LONGBOARDERS CORK

We do weekly events that cover a variety of longboarding disciplines (cruising, downhill, dancing, surfskate) and is open to all levels.

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW BELFAST

A group for women and non-binary to meet up and build a skate community in Northern Ireland.

THE SKATE OFFICE

Weekly longboard and cruise sessions in Dublin, Ireland.

ITALY

GIRLS ON WHEELS

They are an open female community of skateboarders, longboarders, surf skaters, and roller skaters based in Milan. They encourage every girl to come out and be part of their tribe. They host events open to all wheels lovers, all ages and all skills levels. They are a community and love to help each other, because they believe skateboarding is for everyone and want as many girls as possible to get closer to the sport!

LEGALIZE LONGBOARDING

A friendly longboard crew of people from Vicenza and surroundings. Guys, girls, kids, adults everyone is welcomed in the Legalize Longboarding crew! Longboard dancing and downhill are our specialties but we are open to everything you wanna join us with..as far as it has wheels! We host sessions and events joining our friends from Venice or Milan, we organize amateur competitions and who knows what else in the future.. The crew was born a few years ago from a small group of friends that wanted to share their passion for longboarding. Skating is for us a way to make new friends, sharing something we love, go on adventures together, travel, have a break from the stressful routine, spread good vibes, have fun, excitement and adrenaline, constantly challenge ourselves and improve day by day. If you wanna meet your friendly neighbors from Italy contact us!

LONGBOARD CREW ITALIA

A longboard crew in Turin, Italy that promote skating, friendship and fun.

LONGBOARD CREW TORINO

A group founded in 2012 to allow all Turin longboarders to skate, give advice, and share the passion of longboarding.

LONGBOARD VENICE

Founded in 2019 in Venice, this group of skaters is focused on building the longboarding community. They practice dancing and freestyle in one of the largest parks in Europe. The most important thing to this group is skating and learning from eachother, encouraging others around the city to try longboarding.

PIZZA&FLEX

Formed in 2020, this Milan based longboarding crew exists to spend time together skating and having fun, treating everyone like part of the family. They have riders of all ages and skill levels, that love to freestyle, dance, and skate the streets.

ROBERT DOWNHILL JUNIOR CREW

A downhill longboarding crew in Vicenza that looks to spread weirdness and positivity through the alps!

NETHERLANDS

Dutch Downhill Division

A downhill longboarding group for everyone that wants to participate! From beginners to traveling abroad with the core group to attend events.

Groningen on board

The nicest skate crew from the north of the Netherlands! Sessions are hosted every Sunday at Euroborg, but you can find someone there most days! Everyone is welcome to join the group and be the best version of themselves!

Longboarding Amsterdam

A community of longboarders based in Amsterdam, mostly interested in dancing/freestyle, but always up for a cruise session. We're all about creating a welcoming, inviting and friendly vibe for everyone, no matter your level or style.

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW NETHERLANDS

An inclusive group of women, girls, and non-binary skaters breaking stereotypes and providing an inclusive, welcoming community in Amsterdam. They welcome riders of all levels, encouraging everyone to build a community and grow skills together.

ZWOLLE ROLL

A crazy bunch of skaters who describe themselves as a big family. They started ten years ago at a skate store called “The Boardfather,” which is now sadly closed, but the group still gets together every Wednesday night.

POLAND

DOCKSESSION POLAND

A longboarding community in Sobota, Poland that encourages skaters to come try new tricks and make new friends.

DOCKSESSION LISBON

A community in Lisbon, Portugal dedicated to promoting longboard dancing.

LONGBOARD CRUISERS PT

Longboard Cruise community based in Oeiras, Portugal. All ages, all levels, and all types of wheels are welcomed. Monthly free meetings to skate. Try lots of different longboards and learn to skate with us for free, no matter your age, we have members from 6 to 60 years old. Our meetings are children and family friendly.

SIDEWALK AF

We're a unique tribe of people. We're about going out the comfort zone, treasuring moments of joy together, meet like minded people and new emotional connections, and of course, we never forget to (longboard) dance! We're also welcome of other people (who don't specifically have a longboard dancer) to join in our hangouts, it doesn't really matter what kind of deck you ride or your skills on it, the attitude each person has is unique, and as long as they bring it to us, they're welcome!

ROMANIA

LONGBOARD DANCING BUCHAREST

A longboard dancing crew in Bucharest. They encourage riders of all skill levels and ages to come out and bring the good vibes!

SERBIA

BELGRADE LONGBOARDING CREW

A group of riders who love to longboard around Belgrade, Serbia.

SPAIN

DOCKSESSION BARCELONA

A longboarding group that hosts weekly Sunday meetups for all types of boards, styles and levels.

LONGBOARD MADRID

A skate family from all around Madrid, they have a couple of meetings and one event per month. Looking for create a big family, and support the local scene. They exist because they believe their sport is a community and they are looking to build on that community!

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW SPAIN

The Spanish crew of women and girls, that welcomes all ages and skill levels. They host various events that look to empower woman, break stereotypes, and provide a safe place to skate!

SWITZERLAND

DOCKSESSION LAUSANNE

A longboarding community in Lausanne that meet every Sunday at 1 pm at Port de Vidy.

LONGBOARD GIRLS Crew SWITZERLAND

The Swiss skate and longboard community for girls and women. Together they are empowering women, breaking stereotypes and building a community. They aim to host events where women of all ages can learn and progress their longboarding skills together.

LUCERNE DOWNHILL DIVISION

Small group of downhill and freeride skaters in Lucerne Switzerland. Get in touch if you're in the area. We're always open for a skate session with new people.

SWISS LONGBOARD DANCE

An association for longboarding dancing and freestyle located in Zürich, Switzerland. They host meetups, workshops, and hope to host contests in the future.

SWEDEN

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW SWEDEN

A group of women in Stockholm focused on empowering female skaters and building community. They help provide a safe space where women can practice and learn from eachother.

UNITED KINGDOM

BRISTOL GIRLS LONGBOARD

A welcoming group of girls who longboard dance, freestyle and downhill skate together in Bristol.

Bristol Longboard Crew

A friendly sized community In Bristol that meets up for longboard dance, freestyle, and downhill sessions. Their sessions have a laid back vibe usually ending at a pub so it's a great place to learn new skills on your board and make new friends in the area.

CORNWALL LONGBOARD LADIES

A crew who welcomes anyone and everyone to come join us, to share good times, teaching each other and learning from one another.

DOCKSESSION BRISTOL

A group of freestyle and longboard dancers in Bristol, UK.

DOCKSESSION UK

A group of freestyle and longboard dancers in London and Brighton, UK. They meet weekly at 1pm near 18 Olympian Way in London.

LONGBURDS

A happy, chilled out group that loves to skate together and adventure through Glasgow! They invite riders of all styles and skill levels to come out and create a great community!

NEWQUAY LONGBOARD

A mixed group of skaters of all abilities with many different types of boards and styles. All are welcome!

UKRAINE

KHDH UKRAINE

A longboarding team that was made about 5 years ago to help grow the community in Ukraine. Their goal is to prove that longboarding is way more than a marginal hobby and to popularize this sport in hopes of attracting new riders.

XLINE LONGBOARDS

XLine is a online magazine about Ukrainian downhill skateboarding. They make content about longboarding and riders in our country. We also organize longboard tours to the Ukrainian mountains and teach people to ride on the board!

Asian Longboard Crews

CHINA

DOCKSESSION CHINA

A longboarding community in China.

DOCKSESSION HONG KONG

Longboarders in Hong Kong, China.

INDONESIA

DOCKSESSION BALI

A group organizing longboard dancing and freestyle sessions in Bali, Indonesia.

JAPAN

DOCKSESSION JAPAN

A group of longboarders in Osaka and Yokohama, Japan.

PHILLIPPINES

CEBU LONGBOARDERS GROUP

A group of longboarders in Cebu, Philippines looking to grow their community with new riders of all skill levels.

DOCKSESSION PHILIPPINES

A community of longboarders promoting dancing and freestyle.

DOCKSESSION SANTIAGO

A longboard dancing and freestyle community in Santiago, Philippines.

DUMAGUETE LONGBGOARDING SAGPA SQUAD

We are a longboarding crew and community in Dumaguete City, Philippines. We are just having fun when it comes to skate or longboarding. We accept new skaters as long as you love to play with us and have some fun.

TALISAY LONGBOARD SESH

A group of skaters in Talisay that started with just one longboarder, interested in growing his community. They are focused on expanding!

SINGAPORE

DOCKSESSION SINGAPORE

A group that is focused on growing the longboarding community of Singapore and spreading the stoke, one trick at a time.

Chill Vibes Only Singapore

A welcoming longboarding community in Singapore that encourages skaters of all levels to come dance and freestyle, aiming to grow the community and encourage positive, chill vibes, all day, everyday.

ELEVENDERS ASIA

We host skate sessions, clinics, events and skate trips. We do downhill and freeride in our lovely country Singapore! We want to inspire new generations to pick up the sport and most of all spread the stoke!

TURKEY

Lbdancingistanbul

Longboard dance involved skating together with the crew of ours.

SOUTH KOREA

Seoul Skating

A group of longboarders in Seoul, South Korea that love to cruise along the river.

Looking for a map of places to skate around Seoul? Open this in kakao/daum maps.

Connect with them in their Kakao chat room.

OP CREW

OP crew is an inclusive skating crew of skateboards, longboards, and every length in between in Seoul, Korea. All they ask is you bring your passion for skating.

THAILAND

LONG DO LONGBOARD CREW

A group of longboarders in Bangkok encouraging new skaters to fall in love with the sport.

THAILAND LONGBOARD FREESTYLE DANCING

The group of riders who are passionate about longboard freestyle dancing. This group was established to bring longboarding to the communities of Thailand. All riders are willing to give, share their experiences, tips and tricks to those who are interested. Dance, Freestyle and Smile!

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

DUBAI ON WHEELS

A group of rollerskaters, skateboarders, longboarders, and cyclists exploring Dubai.

Australia

Get That Skate

A clothing brand, but deep in the crew of all Australian downhill skateboarding scenes from different states. Their goal is to grow downhill skateboarding worldwide and keep skaters well dressed with their clothing. Check out their shop at this link.

FEMALE LONGBOARDING SKATE CREW

A high vibrational, female longboard cruising, carving, and dancing crew in Noosa. They stand for freedom, movements, connection and high vibes!

Longboard Horizons

Inclusive, passionate about sharing longboarding skills and supporting your journey!

Longboarders of Sydney

Sydney's only longboard dance community. They hold freestyle and dance sessions every weekend with free board rental and lessons for absolute beginners. A inclusive community to make great friends even if you don't skate :)

SUNSET SKATE SESSIONS

Melbournes most recognized skate community, they focus on group growth, diversity, freestyle and dance sessions held every Sunday.

New Zealand

GARDEN CITY SESSIONS

Based in Christchurch, the garden city of New Zealand, they do longboarding of all forms - downhill, freeride, dance, freestyle, pump tracks, and more. Connect with the crew to meet fellow skaters and maybe learn some new skills. All ages and abilities are welcome.

LAND OF THE LONG WIDE BOARD

Land of the Long Wide Board (pun on the Maori name for NZ - Aotearoa, which means land of the long white cloud) is mostly downhill/freeride focused, but open to all sorts of skating. They are based all throughout New Zealand.

LONGBOARD GIRLS CREW NZ

A group dedicated to uniting longboarding ladies in across New Zealand.

African Longboard Crews

MOROCCO

DOCKSESSION MOROCCO

A community of longboarders in Morocco who skate every Sunday.

NIGERIA

KaI neko

A group of longboarders in Ikoyi, Lagos striving to grow their community while learning new skills.

SOUTH AFRICA

Gravity Dogz

A group of downhill longboarders in Cape Town. “Cape Town's most notorious BOMB squad.”

Promenade Mondays

Community driven longboard skaters in Cape Town with the goal of raising the awareness for inclusivity of diversity in skateboarding. From October to April they skate every Monday from 6pm along the scenic Sea Point Promenade as one big happy fam.

WOLFPACK LONGBOARDERS

Mixture of downhill, dancing and freebie skaters based in multiple provinces/states across South Africa. We aim to grow the longboarding community through showcasing our skills on social media, local skate events and teaching the youth from disadvantaged backgrounds how to longboard with the aim creating awareness for the sport.

There you have it! Now it’s time to grab your board and have some fun with some new friends. My goal with this list is to build a foundation for Amp Skate. Amp Skate is a new platform my team and I have been developing that allows longboarders like you to find and share rider-approved skate spots all across the world, connect with other groups, find sessions and events happening in your area, and learn new tricks/track your progress. Feel free to share ideas and leave feedback by dropping a comment down below.

Is your local longboarding group not on this list?

Throughout my 12 years of riding and teaching others how to longboard, I've found the single most de-motivating aspect for new riders is a lack of confidence and fear of getting hurt. This is partly due to a lack of structure in progression leaving longboarders with questions like: “What longboard tricks should I work on first?”, “Can I do tricks on my drop-through longboard?”, and “What longboard tricks should I learn next?”.

Besides the few beginner guides out there that teach you just a handful of longboard tricks and skills, many riders are simply unaware of which easy longboard tricks to work on next. I've spent the past 6+ months making basic longboard tutorials and compiling them into the most comprehensive longboard dancing and freestyle trick list on the internet – so you don't have to!

This guide is a collection of the most popular longboarding tricks (and tutorials) from all different styles of riding: longboard dancing, freestyle, sliding and more. Whether you’re looking for inspiration on a new trick to learn, or simply want to start with your first easy longboard trick – you’ve come to the right place! This list includes beginner-advanced longboard tricks as well as tricks you can do on any longboard.

I just made learning new longboard tricks even easier - Amp Skate

Recently I released a new longboarding website called Amp Skate with the intention of making learning longboard tricks easy and intuitive. With Amp you’re able to filter by difficulty, skating style, and other attributes as well as search specific tricks directly.

Create an account today and you’ll be able to bookmark your favorite tricks by pro longboarders Jeff Corsi, Mirko Paoloni, Jarrid Lopez, and many more.

BTW, all the trick links in bold below will take you to their respective pages on ampskate.com/tricks.

#TrickTipTuesday

Many of the links you’ll click on below are from #TrickTipTuesday – a weekly Instagram and TikTok series where I break down longboard tricks into quick and easy to understand tutorials. Available for regular AND goofy riders (on most posts if you swipe over).

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A post shared by Brandon DesJarlais (@desgnarlais) on May 5, 2020 at 10:07am PDT

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A post shared by Brandon DesJarlais (@desgnarlais) on Oct 13, 2020 at 12:04pm PDT

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A post shared by Brandon DesJarlais (@desgnarlais) on Jun 30, 2020 at 12:41pm PDT

Beginner Longboard Tricks

Are these longboard tricks easy for everyone? Well, that depends on your skill level. These are the first freestyle longboard tricks to learn on your longboard and will provide you with the Foundation for Flow. The best part about this section is that you should be able to do all these on any board.

The key to minimizing injury and maximizing progress is to master these beginner longboard tricks before moving on to more difficult ones. Even if some of these seem like an easy longboard trick that you already know, it’s worth watching the tutorial again to make sure your form and style is dialed.

1. Frontside Body Varial

2. Backside Body Varial

3. Tail Manual

4. Nose Manual

5. Frontside Pivot

6. Backside Pivot

7. Hippie Jump

8. Early Grab

9. Apple Sauce

10. Look Back

11. Nollie Frontside Shove-It

12. Nollie Backside Shove-It

13. Frontside Boneless 180

14. Ghostride Kickflip

15. Frontside No-Comply 180

16. No-Comply Pirouette

17. Frontside Tiger Claw

18. Backside Tiger Claw w/ Natalie Pluto

19. No-Comply Pop Shuvit

20. Road Runner

Breaking down the 5 Easiest Longboard Tricks with Stoked Ride Shop on their new YouTube tutorial series, “Stoked School”.

Longboard Dancing Tricks

Learning how to longboard dance is fun and expressive. It’s all about the flow and learning how to be as smooth as possible while combining different steps. BTW, longboard dance “tricks” are often called “steps” because you step around on the board.

The best part about longboard dancing is that you don’t need any specific board to do these maneuvers. The most important thing is to have something big enough that you can comfortably move around on. A board length above 40” is ideal for most longboard dancers because this gives you more space to step around on.

1. 180 Step

2. Cross Step

3. Peter Pan

4. Chop the Wood

5. Cross Step Over

6. Reverse Cross Step

7. Chop the Pan

8. Sidewinder

9. Bop It

10. Lazy Susan

11. Twist Step

Learn how to longboard dance in 2020 with these 3 beginner longboard dance steps.

Intermediate Longboard Tricks

This list of intermediate longboarding tricks is best for those with more experience. Many of these tricks will require (or at least be significantly easier) with a board designed for longboard freestyle and tricks. The Moonshine Elixir and Eclipse are both great boards for this.

1. G-Turn

2. Frontside Pirouette

3. Fakie No-Comply Big Spin

4. Old-School Kickflip w/ Nick Jones

5. Pop Shuvit

6. Frontside No-Comply Fingerflip

7. Half Moon

8. Backside No-Comply Shuvit Slide

9. 540 Frontside Pivot

10. Nollie Frontside Big Spin

11. Spin Big

12. Aero Grab

13. Aero Slam

14. Kickflip

15. Frontside No-Comply 180 to Pivot

16. Frontside Ollie 180 to Pivot

17. Ollie

18. Double Rainbow w/ Achel Machin

19. Frontside Ollie 180

Longboard Slides

Learning how to slide a longboard isn’t easy, but the right gear can make a big difference. In the world of longboard tricks, longboard slides are arguably the most dangerous. Please wear a helmet and gloves when attempting any of these slides.

1. Heelside 180 Slide

2. Frontside 180 Powerslide

3. Backside 180 Powerslide

Advanced Longboard Tricks

These tricks are some of the most difficult tricks and should only be attempted by proficient longboarders. If you rush into these too quick you run the risk of damaging yourself or your board with limited progress. Many of these tricks are combinations of different freestyle longboard tricks. For example, the Varial Kickflip is a combination of a longboard kickflip and the pop shuvit. It’s essential to master these tricks before putting them together.

1. No-Comply Wheel Flip

2. Full Cab

3. Fakie No-Comply Bigger Spin

4. Circus Flip

5. Kickflip Body Varial

6. Varial Kickflip

7. Double Kickflip

8. Big Flip

9. Handstand

Longboard Tricks for Drop-Through Boards

Many people buy drop-through longboards as their first board because they’re lower to the ground making them easier to commute on. Drop-through longboards are usually a bit cheaper, have shorter tails, and a small platform which makes longboard tricks more difficult. Although, that doesn’t mean they are impossible!

Below is a list of longboard tricks you can do with no tails. If you complete all these and are still interested in learning more, I recommend upgrading to a freeride longboard like the Moonshine Elixir.

1. Frontside Body Varial

2. Backside Body Varial

3. Frontside Pivot

4. Backside Pivot

5. Hippie Jump

6. Nollie Frontside Shuvit

7. Ghostride Kickflip

8. Look Back

Longboard Grab Tricks

This is a collection of longboard tricks which require the use of your hands. They’re popular to use in longboard dancing lines because they add a bit of flare and excitement.

1. Frontside Boneless 180

2. Frontside Tiger Claw

3. Backside Tiger Claw w/ Natalie Pluto

4. Aero Grab

5. Aero Slam

6. Half Moon

Stuck on a longboard trick and don’t know what to do?

Ready to take your longboarding to the next level? Register for early access to my Pure Longboarding online course and join 150+ other riders around the world.

The longboard community is truly beautiful. It’s full of fun and inspiring people from all around the world who push themselves and have a great time while doing it. I’ve been thinking about the people that I currently look up to in the scene and why I respect them, and thought I’d share some of them with you (in no particular order). These riders are definitely worth the follow!

1 - Achel Machin (@achelmachin)

Achel is best know for his effortless flow and beautiful longboard films. Coming from a more traditional career a few years back, Achel decided to drop everything and become a full-time content creator and I really respect him for this. Besides practicing on his own, he works closely with Valeriya Gogunskaya (see below) and her longboarding camps in Portugal to teach new riders the basics in a truly epic environment.

2 - Josh Neuman (@joshneuman)

Josh is one of the few core longboarders to really break into the mainstream with his epic YouTube videos. In 2018, he spent the summer road tripping around Europe where he filmed his first full length video series - Alpine Descents. From raw runs in the alps to FPV drone videos for GoPro, his content is on another level. He’s currently on a road trip across the USA and had a bad fall in Yosemite. Regardless, he still spent the remainder of the trip stacking dope clips. Get stoked for what’s to come!

3 - Jeff Corsi (@jeff__corsi)

Quite possibly the fastest longboard dancer in the game, Jeff brings a unique class and style to the community that I really enjoy. His monthly 4 Steps longboard dancing tutorials helped me a lot when I first started getting into this type of riding a couple years ago.

4 - Cole Trotta (@coletrotta)

Known for his mad style and epic downhill runs, Cole is quite possibly the steeziest rider in the game. He works hard and sends it harder. He’s actually so popular that he’s amassed a cult following on his community-run fan page. @cole_trotta_fanpage.

5 - Lotfi Lamaali (@lotfiwoodwalker)

To many, Lotfi is the ultimate sensei. Not only is he one of the most talented longboard dancers in the world, but his passion for longboarding has ignited strong and welcoming communities all over the world. In 2014, Lotfi founded Docksession (originally a single weekly session in Paris) as was to connect all longboard communities around the world, help meet new people, have fun, and spread the stoke! There are currently chapters in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Morocco, and more.

6 - Natalie Pluto (@nataliepluto)

From her 750k followers on TikTok to a growing YouTube channel, Natalie is a fashionable sense of inspiration for many new and aspiring riders. Her technical tricks and flowy style put her in a class of her own.

7 - Antoine Carlotti (@carlotti_longboard)

Antoine “CarloSTEEZ” is an all-around longboard rider from Paris. He’s be training HARD the past couple years since I first met him and just won the KnK “No Paws Down” event a couple weeks ago! Whether it be downhill, tricks, or just plain chillin’ and having a good time, you want Carlotti around.

8 - Hans Wouters (@woutershans)

With nearly 15 million views on his YouTube channel, Hans is known for his trick tips, informative videos, and HUGE POP. His dedication to sharing longboarding with others was an inspiration for me starting my #TrickTipTuesday series.

9 - Nick Broms (@nick_broms)

Hailing from the gorgeous slopes of San Diego, Nick has been surrounded by epic hills ever since he started longboarding. In recent years he focused in on becoming one of the best racers in the world – and succeeded! With 2 IDF Junior World Champion titles and several wins at world-class events (like Tame the Taipan in Australia) under his belt, this young gun is set to sweep the downhill scene over the coming years.

He recently started an apparel brand called Pairadice made with fully sustainable threads and a mission to help prevent the exploitation of our planet.

10 - Valeriya Gogunskaya (@valeriya_gogunskaya)

Originally from Russia, Valeriya is one of the most kind and friendly people I know. She moved to Portugal a few years ago with the hopes of joining a larger group of longboard dancers, but soon realized there wasn’t much going on. Soon after she founded Longboarding Days & Nights to share her passion, reveal the beauty of longboard dancing and build a stronger community. She currently hosts several all-inclusive longboard camps in Santa Cruz, Portugal and beyond. I’d highly recommend checking out her camps if you desire an unforgettable longboard experience.

Who inspires you?

Comment below with someone that inspires you and why. I’d love to learn more about some of the epic people in this community. I’m sure this list could be much, much longer.

Over the past few months I’ve been getting anywhere from 30-50+ message requests per day on my Instagram from people wanting to learn how to longboard and I LOVE answering them. Although, I quickly noticed I spent hours answering the same questions and sending the same links to different people over and over. This quick guide is here to answer some of the most common questions that I’ve been receiving about longboarding in significantly more detail than I can through direct message.

Click through the 6 most frequently asked questions that slid into my DMs the past few weeks. Number 6 will shock you 🥵

1. “What longboard should I buy?”

2. “How do I start longboarding and what should I learn first?”

3. “What are the first longboarding tricks for beginners?”

4. “How do I not hurt myself while longboarding?”

5. “How do you slow down or stop a longboard?”

6. “Is there a place I can go to learn longboarding?”

Please don’t hesitate to write a comment below, DM me on Instagram, or shoot me an email if you ever have any specific questions. I’m always game to help out! <3

1 - “What longboard should I buy?”

This is by far the most asked longboarding question and depends a lot on what type of riding interests you most and your budget. When choosing your first longboard, there are 4 main categories: cruise, dance/freestyle, free ride, and downhill.

Types of Longboards

Cruisers

Cruiser boards are typically cheaper and smaller than boards in the other categories making them accessible and easy to bring with you. They’re made for riders that want something simple and affordable to get from point A to B.

Dance and Freestyle boards

Boards for longboard dancing and freestyle are big, stable, and are the best type of longboard for tricks. They often have a bit of flex to cushion the ride. I almost always recommend these types of boards to new riders because they’re simply the most enjoyable to ride. The bigger platform feels much more comfortable to ride than cruisers and the possibility for tricks is endless. If you want something to vibe around on and learn some tricks, dance and freestyle boards are the move.

Freeride boards

Longboard freeriding was my favorite discipline over the past 10 years. It combines elements from downhill longboarding, longboard sliding, and longboard dancing in a unique and diverse style. Freeride boards are often mid-sized and have tails. These types of long boards are the most versatile of any category and make a great longboard for tricks of all styles.

Downhill boards

Downhill can be a lot of fun but is definitely the most dangerous style of longboarding. High speeds on open roads is probably not a good idea, and your parents probably won’t approve of it, but yolo. These boards are very stiff and very stable to help give you confidence when going fast, but don’t feel great at slow speeds and tricks can be pretty limited.

More info about different types of boards, trucks, wheels, bearings

Learn more about all the different parts of a longboard from Stoked Ride Shop. They really really went all out on these guides!

• Ultimate Longboard Deck Guide

• Ultimate Longboard Truck Guide

• Ultimate Longboard Wheel Guide

• Ultimate Longboard Bearing Guide

2 - “How do I start longboarding and what should I learn first?”

This video from Hans Wouters is the best place to start longboarding. He talks about the basics of pushing, position, and general longboard terminology. Besides this video, Hans has an entire YouTube playlist of videos for beginners specifically entitled “Learn How To Longboard”.

Good Foot Position = stability

The number one thing I recommend people start out with is proper foot position. Unlike a bicycle, longboards and skateboards don’t have specific places for your feet, hands, etc. This makes it difficult to know how to properly position yourself for maximum comfort and stability. Your basic riding position should be with your feet balanced on the center line of the board with your heels and toes touching each rail. In general, you should ride with your feet pointed forward slightly to make sure you’re steering from the front.

One common problem I see is that people ride with their back foot too far off the toe-side and their front foot too far off the heel-side edge. This creates a huge imbalance in weight distribution and will make it much more difficult to get comfortable with any speed or tricks.

Think you can’t progress if you’re the only one that longboards in your area? Click here to check out my buddy Matvey Klimov’s story on how he went from skating alone in a small town to becoming a sponsored longboarder.

3 - “What are the first longboarding tricks for beginners?”

10 Beginner Longboarding Tricks List

1. 180 Step

2. Hippie Jump

3. Frontside Body Varial

4. Backside Body Varial

5. Cross Step

6. Tail Manual

7. Nose Manual

8. Frontside Pivot

9. Backside Pivot

10. Early Grab

I made a list of the first 10 longboard tricks for beginners that you should learn. I recommend trying them in this order because the skills you gain from the first tricks will likely help with the later ones. Although, feel free to experiment and give all of them a try before getting stuck on one for too long.

Amp Skate

Recently, I released a new longboarding website called Amp Skate with the intention of making learning longboard tricks easy and intuitive. With Amp, you’re able to filter by difficulty, skating style, and other attributes, as well as search for specific tricks directly.

4 - “How do I not hurt myself while longboarding?”

The biggest advice I can give to new riders is to wear as much safety gear as you can get your hands on. Helmet, knee pads, slide gloves/wrist guards, etc. Sure you might look a little goofy, but protective gear gives you the added confidence to try new things and progress faster without the fear of getting injured.

Here is a video from longboard dancing Guru and Docksession founder, Lotfi Lamaali, on getting started with safety and learning how to fall.

5 - “How do you slow down or stop a longboard?”

It’s important to never go faster than you can comfortably stop. In the beginning, jumping off your board definitely counts as a way to stop! You might feel fine riding at 30mph, but you never know when some car is going to pull out of a driveway or run through a stop sign. It happens more often than you think – trust me!

There are 3 main ways you can learn to slow down on your longboard: foot braking, carving, and sliding.

Watch this video from Spencer Smith of DB Longboards to learn the basics of getting started with all 3 ways to stop and slow down on your longboard.

6 - “Is there a place I can go to learn longboarding?”

Yes! Camp Woodwings in France is the ultimate place to learn how to longboard. Last year I worked as the head instructor for 5 weeks coaching riders, ages 14-46, from all over the world. It was an amazing experience. They offer 4 different week-long longboard camps throughout the summer. Some sessions are more focused on the basics, others on downhill and racing. Whatever type of longboarding you’re most interested in, you’re sure to level up your skills, make new friends, and leave with unforgettable memories.

Below is a video from Gregoire of Échappées Urbaines from last year.

Still have questions? Private longboard lessons may be for you!

I offer private longboard lessons for all skill levels in person and remotely via Zoom. Click below for more info and to schedule a session.

This first video is all about dialing in the best longboard bushings for your set-up. Being that longboard dancing is all about flow, bushings have a huge influence on your overall style and ride. During this video I spent nearly 8 hours testing different shapes, durometers, and formulas of RipTide bushings in my Paris Truck Co 180mm 50º V3s. I learned a lot about what works for me and what might work for you as well.

Check out the video below on bushings for longboard dancing and let me know what you think!

CLICK HERE to subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more longboarding videos and more.

All proceeds will directly be funding my next longboard adventure to “So You Can Longboard Dance” the world championships of longboard dancing in the Netherlands, April 11-12.

All items sold on this run are pre-order. Please allow up to 2 weeks for processing.

What inspired me to do this?

Ever since my first time on a longboard in 2009 I was hooked! Out of nowhere this seemingly innocent hobby began to consume my life, and in the best way possible. It has introduced me to the vast majority of my incredible and supportive friends - many of which are scattered across the globe. It's taken me quite a few years to really figure this out, but the people I've met and the experiences I've shared with them have by far been the most fulfilling part of my journey.

The essence of this project is to create something we can all vibe with together. I've always been a fan of simplistic design and wanted to make something I could resonate with instead of giving my money to the likes of fast fashion brands with cheap quality, questionable global practices, and no soul. 

I'm stoked to finally bring this exclusive project to life.

Thanks so much for all your continued love and support! <3

Whether it's getting to work, around campus or just up the street, having an electric bike or skateboard is a fun and healthy transportation method. 

Each one comes with pros and cons, so choosing the best option for you requires research. If you're deciding between the two, consider the following aspects.

Safety

Safety is always a priority. While turning and weaving in and out of tight spaces might be better suited for a skateboard, bikes offer more protection and predictability - especially for beginner skateboarders.

It's important that, regardless of which option you go with, you also invest in the proper safety equipment.

Speed

The speed you can travel at may be something to consider when choosing between an electric bike or skateboard. 

Generally, electric skateboards have a maximum speed of 25 mph, while bikes tend to have a bit less than that, at around 22 mph. This extra speed is popular on some campuses, where some use longboard skateboards to get around.

Something else to consider is travel time. If you need to get somewhere faster, electric skateboards might be the right choice for you. Going more of a distance (over 5-10 miles) might require a bike.

Portability

Some places, like commercial or residential buildings, have certain rules regarding bikes. For instance, some businesses don't allow them in their elevators, which can be an issue if you work on a higher floor. Typically, skateboards don't have as many rules and are easily stored in backpacks and bags. 

Putting a skateboard in a backpack or keeping it by your side when getting coffee with friends is easy. However, if the store doesn't have anywhere to secure your bike, it can be an issue.

Durability

Experts generally agree that bikes offer a more durable ride. Electric skateboards can sometimes get caught on cracks, grates or rocks that could throw the rider off. Bikes tend to go right over those obstacles.

Although, be careful of grates or crevices where thin bike wheels can get stuck in.

Bikes will handle terrain better, but either can last years with proper use and care. 

Price

For many, cost is a determining factor in their decision. The prices of electric bikes and skateboards do tend to fluctuate.

However, the more affordable electric skateboards start around $300 while most bikes start around $1,000.

Bikes are larger and have more parts, requiring a higher cost, whereas skateboards are more compact with fewer parts. Plus, prices will increase as you add more features. Since bikes can be more customizable, you'll want to consider some features and aspects before buying, like the level of pedal-assist you'd prefer.

Final Decision

The final decision will ultimately come down to what suits your needs best. Since both the bike and skateboard have various pros and cons, it's important to figure out which elements you'll benefit from the most.

If you have a long commute or prefer a more intuitive ride, maybe the bike would be best. If you're looking for something portable with power, the electric skateboard is the way to go.

All photos taken by me. You can check out more of my photography at this link.

Background

I’ve always had an unrelinquishable urge to go somewhere. A pursuit of always moving forward to discover who I am, what I love, and what I stand for - All while pushing my boundaries in longboarding, photography, and my other passions.

RETROGRADE, the title, simply means “directed or moving backwards”.

This documentary focuses on my introspection during long solo drives and my use of longboarding to clear my mind and give me a North Star to always work towards. I’m consistently taking a step back to bring in the realization of where I’m at and where I want to continue going.

I’ve found that looking back is a crucial part of my process in going forward. Changing your mind shouldn’t be seen as a weakness. The ability to reconsider your perspective with new data in an ever evolving world is a strength.

If you’re interested in checking out the full podcast, click the button below:

Over the years I’ve learned that hard work and positive intent play a huge role in serendipity. Some of the most impactful experiences and relationships in my life have come from living by this mantra.

Our lives aren’t linear. They’re full of unexpected chutes and ladders constantly building us up and tearing us down. Statistically speaking, there’s infinite ways to get from point A to point B (in space AND time). We often focus too much of our energy on the destination and building a concrete path to it that we blind ourselves from seeing all the potential “ladders” in our peripherals.

Anyways, what I’ve come to realize is that the real destination is not a singular point, but the journey itself. Be nice to others, assume positive intent, and know that whatever happens there’s an abundance of hidden opportunities waiting to be discovered - all you have to do is look for them.

Aera K5s are built for downhill and stability

These trucks are “simply better”

The Aera K3 and K4 precision trucks set the stage for the development of the K5, which is the continuation of their design ethos - "simply better". Adding complexity, extra parts, or changing up how skateboard trucks work isn't necessary when you optimize geometry, structural design, bushings, pivot cups and materials. Skateboard trucks have been relatively the same for decades, and for good reason. They simply work well for what we do.

Skating should be simple. Grab your board, and GO. You should be able to enjoy your trucks in all varieties of skating, and Kevin has optimized the K5s to do so. With the addition of a significantly larger pivot nose and refined geometry, these trucks were designed to blend comfort, liveliness, and stability at a wide range of speeds. From 20km/h - 120km/h, Aeras just feel great!

My experience with the Aera K5

I got my first set of K5s February 2017 from Kevin Reimer at Guajataca Downhill in Puerto Rico when I joined the Aera team. They were 168mm and 46°. Before then, I was riding the Liquid Trucks “Fyre” in 160mm 45°/30°. The Fyre truck was interesting because it had a support system to help give a more direct and responsive turn. They raced well and felt solid on courses with smooth pavement, but felt super rough and robotic for ANYTHING else. Moving to the Aera K5s was like day and night. My set-up instantly came to life! Since my first set I’ve experimented with all sorts of bushing set-ups and splits.

For the majority of 2017 I rode the 46°/42° K5s on my Moonshine Outlaw. This set-up was quite surfy and felt super fun for basically any hill I took it down. As soon as I left for racing eurotour I changed to a 30° baseplate in back and threw these trucks on my Moonshine Pro Tucker to add more stability to my ride. This definitely made for a more racey set-up but overall felt less enjoyable for general freeriding. At Transylvania Downhill Vulcan in Romania I decided to test out 42°/30° plates due to the courses insanely fast top speed of 70+mph. I’m glad I did! This is one of those roads where every bit of stability is a needed to survive. Below is a video from a “chill” stand-up run I took at this event on some super slippery wheels:

Nowadays I have my 168mm Aera K5s mounted on my Moonshine Proscrito at 46°/42° and love it! After 2.5 years of experimenting, I find this combination to be the ultimate balance between stability and liveliness for downhill descents.

Aera RF-1s are made for the riding we do most

Precision quality at half the price

With the emergence of forged longboard trucks, you can now have precision-like quality and strength at half the price.

The RF-1 truck was designed with several ideas in mind, but the most important was making an Aera Truck that was more accessible in price. They were specifically optimized for the type of skating that we do most - freeride, and skating around town. The RF-1 is truly one of the most fluid trucks I've ever skated at slower speeds. By utilizing a new pivot cup design that fully encapsulates the ball pivot and adds surface area, you can steer deeper since it doesn't bind. This is critical for locking in slides and deep snappy carves.

My experience with the Aera RF-1

I tested my first set of Aera RF-1 prototypes in May 2017. From the first time stepping on them I was surprised by how lively they were - especially with the hardcore bushings that came stock. Soon after I threw in some RipTide 90a APS Canons (slightly larger barrel) roadside, and some 90a Krank Fatcones boardside. This change gave a lot more stability to my ride, and I felt much more comfortable tackling the steep Californian slopes.

I then tried flipping the hangers for negative rake and got ever more stability out of my speed and fast slides. Still not as much stability as my K5s, but definitely an improvement over how they felt stock. The only downside to negative rake was that the ball pivot allowed for extra flex and slop in the truck so the turn became super dead at slower speeds. I soon switched back to positive rake and felt these trucks come alive once again. Although, the benefits of the ball pivot design seemed to be more of a downside when going really fast. The more I experimented with the RF-1s, the more I realized how amazing they were for slower speeds.

In late 2017 I was just getting into longboard dancing, and decided to throw some 180mm 50° RF-1s on my Moonshine Hoedown. These trucks were definitely a game changer! They’re lighter than almost any other truck on the market and have such a very responsive carve. On top of that, they’re much much stronger than any cast I had on my board before. Technical freeriding, city slashing, longboard dancing and freestyle is where these trucks really shined for me.

Currently, I have one set of 176mm 46° RF-1s mounted on my Moonshine Elixir and one set of 180mm 50° RF-1s mounted on a 46” Moonshine prototype dancer.

So, which trucks are right for you?

Each of these two models have unique strengths and weaknesses. I’ll summarize this below:

The Aera K5 precision trucks have the following advantages:

• Stable at high speeds, but still lively for general freeride.

• They’re built super strong and will last for many years with proper maintenance.

• Available with 50°, 46°, 42°, and 30° baseplates which allow for advanced tuning.

The Aera RF-1 forged trucks have the following advantages:

• Much more affordable price ($190 in the USA).

• Extremely lightweight at only 398g per truck including bushings, axels, etc.

• Use the same precision axels and kingpins as the K5s.

• Exceptional carve tuned for dancing, freestyle, and freeride.

I choose to ride the K5s when I need more stability and will be generally riding above speeds of 30mph. These are the trucks on my race board, but you’ll never see them on my cruisers.

I choose to ride the RF-1s for basically anything else. These trucks really excel where you want a quick and snappy response.

In case you’re interested, I included additional information below about the history of Aera trucks and why they decided to use larger 1” bushing seats in the K5 and RF-1.

Additional Information

History of Aera Trucks

Aera Trucks has been synonymous with high performance downhill skateboarding since Kevin Reimer started the company back in 2009. After riding every truck that was available at the time he soon realized that they all had some fundamental flaw that limited his riding ability. He always needed two fully loaded set-ups. One for longboard racing and one for freeriding.

He figured that if he could spend all of his time on just one set of trucks he would both freeride and race better. By starting his own precision truck company, he would finally have control to make any and all changes to his set-up that would help enhance his unique riding style. Thus, Aera Trucks was born.

In late 2013 Kevin sold Aera Trucks to SkateOne Corp (Powell-Peralta, Bones, Mini-Logo, etc). There were several reasons that influenced this move, but above all he saw the potential in merging with one of the largest and most trusted skateboard equipment manufacturers of all time. Being a part of something bigger gave Aera more access to the market, and a huge suite of development tools like in house engineers and an actual RnD department.

Why did Aera make larger bushing seats?

In both the K5 and RF1, Aera opted for a slightly larger 1" bushing size compared to the .96” industry standard. Aera did this for several reasons, but generally they feel that this is the where the market is going. Urethane tends to shrink between 4-5% when it cools down, and most manufacturers choose to make bushings using a 1" bore in their moulds. This makes .96" bushings when the urethane shrinks.

Being that Aera makes their molds in house, pours their urethane pivot cups and bushings in house, and can easily control the specific size of our their bushing seats in manufacturing, they made a true 1" bushing that work perfectly in their ecosystem of products. This offers slightly more urethane volume, which helps in rebound and stability, fits tighter into proper 1" bushing seats (like theirs), and also allows them to use 1" bore tools while making their bushing seats on the CNC trucks. It all just made sense for them.

Aera expects the rest of the market to go to 1" seats and 1" bushings eventually. They also increased the height of their bushings ever so slightly over standard bushings so that as you pre-load the bushing, it ensures exact alignment with the pivot once tightened. Most other bushings will squish down below the height the truck is designed for and this wears out pivots, pivot cups, and bushings quicker, as well as effects the ease of steering.

To get the most out of your Aera trucks, I strongly recommend using RipTide canon bushings. They’re 1” making them slightly larger than other barrels on the market. They will fill the bushing seat in Aera K5s and RF-1s completely allowing for a more secure and solid ride.

Click HERE to read the interview Red Bull Slovenia just released of me.

About the 2018 “No Paws Down” World Championships

2018 was my third year attending the “No Paws Down” World Championships. It’s the race Red Bull hosts every year at the end of the KnK longboard camp in Slovenia. If there was one longboarding event that I really cared about doing well in, it was this one. Although I’m not too bad at traditional racing and even have a few podiums under my belt, I consider myself more of a freerider and really love blasting fat stand up slides. Featuring perfect pavement, 18 hairpins, and top speeds of 45mph, this course was perfect for my style!

What does “No Paws Down” even mean?

What makes Red Bull “No Paws Down” World Championships event so unique is that you’re disqualified if you put your hands or feet down at all during the course. In normal longboard racing you can be a bit more aggressive without worrying about getting DQ’d. This event forces you to be strategic and more cautious with your maneuvers or else you’re out!

In 2016, if you could make it to the bottom without falling, you’d probably get top 10. Also, most all people were riding free ride wheels. As the years went on, the event got much more competitive. In 2018 it wasn’t just about making it to the bottom anymore - anyone that participated in the race last year could do that quite confidently. You needed to use grippy wheels or you were surely going to get smoked!

Above photos by Duck Vader from Corner 8.

Powell Peralta Wheels for the Win!

I spent the majority of my time before the race trying out new wheels and seeing what were the grippiest wheels I could possibly ride without high siding every run. I experimented with the entire Powell Peralta downhill wheel line-up before I ended up choosing the PPDH 75mm 75a Kevin Reimer wheels in purple ssf pro. For me they were the perfect balance of roll speed, grip, and COMFORTABILITY. Several riders were riding much grippier wheels and I was honestly a bit worried that I didn’t stand a chance. But when it came down to racing, all of these guys ended up crashing out. It’s no surprise that the top 3 riders were all on the 75mm Kevin Reimer wheels!

The 2018 “No Paws Down” finals were stacked!

After a long and hectic battle through the bracket, it all came down to these final 3 riders. I managed to kick out in front and hold a solid lead coming into the first corner. I threw a huge heel side coming into the curve to play it safe. At this point I had all 3 of these guys gaining on me. With each passing hairpin, Patrick got closer and closer until he eventually passed me. He choose to ride slightly grippier wheels (75mm 80a K-Rimes) than me and it showed with his mad exit speed! From then on I had to play defense against Jan for the majority of the track. It was an extremely close match for 2nd place, but with a few tactical moves, I managed to hold off Jan and nail 2nd place!

1st - Patrick Lombardi

2nd - Brandon DesJarlais

3rd - Jan Izquierdo

4th - Dave Süess

I’m curious to see who will top the podium this year. It’s always interesting to see how far the level has come year after year. If there’s anyone in particular that I’d like to see on top it would be my dude Antoine Carlotti. Dude has mad talent and is more stoked than anyone on the hill. You got this!

Videos from the Event

Instead of filming a full edit like I’ve done in the past, I decided to strap on the GoPro Fusion 360 camera and send it with the boys in its rawest form. It’s definitely convenient to not have to worry about framing because the camera literally films EVERYTHING.

Below are 2 more videos that I helped film for Red Bull. The first is with the GoPro 6 on the Karma Grip stabilizer. The second is with the GoPro Fusion 360 mounted on a pole.

Click HERE to hear about my full experience at the 2018 event.

How does one get into Downhill Longboarding?

As with most extreme sports, there isn’t much infrastructure so a lot of the learning comes from word of mouth and online videos. However, Camp Woodwings in the French alps organizes 4 week-long longboard training camps per year. Depending on which session you attend, they offer courses ranging from the basics of longboarding to advanced downhill and racing tactics.

Is it a very physical sport or is it all about talent on the board?

In the end it all comes down to talent and technique. Although, it’s no coincidence that you consistently see the better trained athletes on top of podiums around the world. Having exceptional flexibility and core strength goes a long way in keeping you more agile, stable, and powerful on board - all necessary skills for out-racing the competition.

They say Red Bull No Paws Down is a race like no other. Why is that?

What makes the Red Bull No Paws Down event so unique is the level of competition. It’s one hell of a challenge to even make it down the Bear’s Guts without putting a hand down. Racing full send with 3 other guys is on a whole other level!

How much harder is Stand up racing compared to “normal DH Longboarding”?

Stand-up riding is significantly harder due to that fact that all the balance comes from your wheels as opposed to using your hands as an extra point of contact. In traditional racing, you can be much more aggressive with your maneuvers. Stand up racing on the other hand forces you have to be more cautious and tactful throughout the course. 1 touch and you’re eliminated!

What do you think about Bear’s Guts venue?

Its 18 hairpin corners and perfect pavement make the Bear’s Guts, by far, one of the best tracks for a world-class No Paws Down event. With speeds of up to 90km/h and over 5 minutes of racing, this course pushes the limits of technique and endurance.

Header photo by JAN PIRNAT/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

This year I’m focusing a bit less on competition and more on the overall stoke I get from longboarding. Racing on the IDF circuit is one hell of a time, but after 3 years of doing the same events I’m looking for something different. To simplify things, I won’t be bringing my leathers or a suitcase full of race wheels this year. Honestly pretty hyped about not lugging all that stuff around!

I’ll be spending about half my time as the head instructor for Camp Woodwings in the French Alps. If you’re not familiar with Woodwings, it’s a longboarding summer camp focused on sharing our knowledge and passion for riding in a safe and encouraging environment. They even have drift trike and free boarding lessons which is pretty dope!

Below I put together a quite list of the plans I’ve got locked in. I’ve still git plenty of availability in August, so HMU if there are any longboarding events or stuff in general I should consider going to.

My 2019 Eurotour Schedule

• June 17 | Start Eurotour – Frankfurt, Germany

• June 18 - 22 | Moonshine shop tour – Germany

• June 23 - July 27 | Camp Woodwings – Annecy, France

• July 30 - August 4 | KnK Longboard Camp – Osilnica, Slovenia

• August 5 - August 10 | The Riders Project video – Austria

• August 27 | End Eurotour – USA

Don’t hesitate to shoot me a message if you’ll be at any of these longboard events or just want to meet up. I’m always stoked to meet new people.

Huge shoutout to Moonshine MFG for all the support in making this trip a reality. You guys are the real MVP!

@jdom_z | @capped.bella

Thanks again to everyone who entered. Until next time!

Among many other resolutions I have for this year, giving back and supporting others is at the top of my list. To start, I’ve decided to give away over 100 sets of my own longboard wheels for FREE. I haven’t figured out exactly where they’re all going yet, but I feel that sharing the love with the Instagram community is a great way to kick this off.

To enter, go to this post on Instagram and follow the instructions: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsgixADByDL/

Giveaway Rules Are As Follows:

1. Follow me on the gram @desgnarlais

2. Like the post and tag 3 friends in the comments (additional entries if you tag 3 different friends in another comment)

3. (Optional) Repost the video or photos from the post with the hashtag #ilovethelongboardcommunity and why you love longboarding for an extra entry

I’ll be choosing 2 winners from around the world on January 18th, 2019. Each will win 5 sets of wheels of their choice.

As always, thanks so much for the continued love and support. I’m beyond stoked for the year to come!