Lush Longboards Blog

The Lush Longboards Blog Has Moved!

2010-11-22T17:09:00.002+00:00

You can now find all the latest updates, news, events, products, team riders and all other sorts of randomness on BLOG.LUSHLONGBOARDS.COM

See you there!

Lush Longboards Newsletter - The Return

2010-11-19T16:04:00.000+00:00

If you have subscribed to our newsletter in the past, you should have received an email in your inbox today asking you to renew your subscription. DO IT!!!!

We are relaunching our newsletter in a couple of weeks time, and it will feature exclusive giveaways, updates and sneak previews of new products, events and goings on from Lush Longboards HQ - not available anywhere else.

If you didn't get the email, you can subscribe by entering your email address in the box below.

We will be in touch real soon... watch you inbox!

Essential Reading

2010-11-16T18:15:00.000+00:00

Gav at Longboard Sessions has been working on this Safety Article for a while now, and now it's online we thought we'd help him get it out there as it really is essential reading if you skate down hills.

He covers all aspects - Safety Equipment, Skating techniques, Communicating with other road users and skaters, it's all there.

Don't end up like this... Matt P on his way to Falmouth hospital with concussion, Wear A Helmet!

You can check the full article out HERE.

Spread the word around - as a longboarder on the open road you are representing all of us, so let's all play safe and keep it tight! Thanks Gav!

06.1 Part 3

2010-11-15T13:02:00.000+00:00

Just uploaded the last part of 06.1 DVD to the Lush Youtube - sliding with Rich and Matt around Bristol, filmed in the spring of 2006.

We've been filming for a new web edit recently, slightly hindered by the good old English winter - but getting there. Coming soon!

It's Winter in Finland

2010-11-11T17:01:00.000+00:00

... so the locals are resorting to desperate measures!

Thanks to Juha Sila at Offshore for the pic!

Almabtrieb 2007 on the Lush Flickr

2010-11-08T16:41:00.000+00:00

Winter is kicking in proper now in not-so-sunny Bristol, so it's time to get all misty-eyed and nostalgic about another skate trip from days gone by...

Jojo, 2007 summer catalogue cover shot, evening run at Almabtrieb 2007 on the then-new Revolution speedboard... new topmount info coming soon!

...and here he is qualifying... tidy into the first corner...

Almabtrieb 2007 was a good one... with Jojo Martinez and Pete Connolly ripping the racetrack, and Matt and Nick laying down some urethane at the evening slide jams with the Brazilians, we had all the bases covered. The weather was perfect for the whole race, the organisation was dialled, and we didn't miss our ferry for once - oh wait actually we did miss our ferry. But it was still amazing, and we'll be going to Almabtrieb 2011 for sure... be there if you can!

Pete C into the first corner.. FAST.

Mischo Erban... winner of the most aerodynamic man in 2007 (and probably 2008, 2009, 2010...)

Speedchecks (controlled sliding to brake into a corner) had yet to break onto the race scene... this year was all about heavy footbraking into the first corner. A couple of French guys were trying it without footbraking and eating it all weekend... then Clement and Mischo eventually made it and blew everyone away ... downhill had just changed!

Nick, one foot capslide, scary photog moment!

Way more in this set on the Lush Flickr, if you were there, spot yourself!

More photos coming soon... Late night skatepark mission with the light setup this week if the weather holds...

06.1 DVD - Part's 1 and 2

2010-11-05T18:04:00.000+00:00

More ancient files from the Lush Archives...

In the winter of 2005, we took our UK slide team on a trip to Barcelona. Sliding was just taking off, Sergio and Cliff had been to the UK, the slide scene was kicking off all in Sheffield, Bournemouth, London, Falmouth - over the UK. We wanted to get out of the country and find some new hills, and then send ourselves down them, sideways.

Make...

No Helmet cameras back then.... Chris T, 40mph in a piss pot and kneepads, carrying a 3chip!

The footage we collected over a week of non-stop skating formed the first half of 06.1. It's actually stood the test of time pretty well, really... Sit back, and enjoy!

BCN Part 1

BCN Part 2

Mega Lush Legacy Photo Upload #1 - 2005 Barcelona Trip

2010-11-04T18:37:00.001+00:00

This will take you back a bit... In October 2005, we took our entire team as it then was, on a trip to Barcelona to film some stuff and skate a lot of hills. We did - and here's the photos!

Way, way more than this on the Lush Flickr... get in there...

We'll be posting the DVD that was produced from this trip, 06.1, on the Lush Youtube tomorrow... And some more oldschool photos, there are so many...

Actionape #1

2010-11-03T09:57:00.001+00:00

A Kurt Nischel / Jason Dawn collaboration...

Buy Now from your Local Skateshop at lushlongboards.com

2010-11-01T14:43:00.001+00:00

The Lush Longboards Online Shop is open again - but this time, there's a difference!

If you're in the UK, you can now order stuff from us online, and we will process the order and pass it on to the nearest local Lush Dealer to you with stock, who will ship it to you direct.

This means we can support the shops who support us, you and the scene, whilst making it super easy for you to buy Lush, Cult and Sabre products.

It is UK only for now - we will be rolling this out to other countries soon.

Meanwhile here's a picture of Mr Penman with a fat backside pendy to get you psyched.

Australia

2010-11-01T12:47:00.000+00:00

Longtime Lush rider Kurt Nischel just sent us this from Australia - mini ramp in his back garden, 5 mins from the beach...

Rider - Kurt from Stikman Films on Vimeo.

More ramp and downhill on www.kurtnischel.com, plus watch out for the new Lush ramp/slide/pool/bowl/everything deck that Kurt is helping us with!

A Spooky Halloween...

2010-10-26T16:48:00.000+01:00

Check it out - super limited edition, dated and numbered, made-to-order, Lush Spooky Wall Clocks!

100% Canadian Maple, US Cold Pressed, with a nice Red pair of Gothic Hands and a U.T.S. Clock mechanism to finish the deck off. Each one comes signed and numbered, just like the Lush Boards of old.

They will be online on the 30th October, £50, only at www.lushlongboards.com - come and get one!

Sneak Preview - Lush Freeride Gloves

2010-10-22T16:36:00.000+01:00

We've been working on these for a while now - so we thought it was time for a sneaky peak!

BRIGHT RED!!!

This is essentially a development of classic Lush Slide Gloves from years past. We've gone for a lightweight, breathable construction, without as much armour as previous versions - if you want protection at 50mph, have a look at the Lush Race Gloves.

Darren rips it up - afternoon tea break on the Lush/Shiner hill!

The thinking behind the glove is "a well fitted glove with less armour is much better than a badly fitted glove with a lot of armour." Over all our years of making Slide Gloves, we've found that a good, comfortable fit is probably the single most important factor in how well your gloves do their job. So we've had sure that this one has lots of stretchy stuff on the back for a snug fit, and we havn't piled on the protection as much to keep it light and flexible.

Finger pucks are back!

One feature a lot of you missed from the Race Gloves is the Finger Pucks - so we went back to them with this model. They're velcro'ed and removable like past gloves, and interchangeable with the Race Pucks too.

A big stretch panel on the back of the hand keeps these gloves really close fitting - be sure to get the right size for the best fit.

If you're an occasional hand dabber or dragging out the monster laybacks, this is an ideal, affordable alternative to making your own Slide Gloves. Available in all good Lush stockists by the end of November!

Where it all began

2010-10-21T11:50:00.000+01:00

Just found this on YouTube - Jim Freeman's 1976 "A Magic Rolling Board," transferred from the original 16mm film.

A timeless classic - check out the bare foot hang tens, 50mph on a flexy five footer, gorrilla grips and some pool skating from Alva and co.

More retro videos next week... 06.1 is coming back!

Al Collins - skate Ireland Documentry

2010-10-14T09:47:00.000+01:00

You may remember back in June reading about Al Collins - he skated from Mizen Head to Malin Head, the length of the West Coast of Ireland, on a Lush Kilima. In doing so he raised a huge €13,862 for Muscular Dystrophy Ireland in the process!! Well done Al!

Phil Evans has produced a rather cool-looking film about the skate, here's the trailer.

The Rolling Collins - Trailer from Philip Evans on Vimeo.

The documentary is in post production and will be out there soon - watch this space!

Only one skateboard in the office each...

2010-10-13T12:08:00.000+01:00

That rule was never going to last very long... Just part of the office quiver!

Spot some gems like the first ever Kisiwa, a Legend 48 from 2001, Carbon Revolution, powercoated yellow Sabre hangers, and many other things...

2010 Charity Skate - Write Up!

2010-10-11T15:28:00.001+01:00

Words by Jo Coles, photos by Steve Coles

What an amazing day. I think maybe we had 150 skaters, boarders and bladers on the trail. The passers-by in Bath were all grinning at us as we gathered at the station, some tourists even took photographs! The guy selling The Big Issue wished us all well, even the taxi drivers were quite cool about the log jam of weirdos in the car park. In the past they've looked a bit fed up at the skateboarders, but this day was different. A lady with three little kids stopped to chat about what we were doing and then gave them money to buy a raffle ticket each. She gave them each a pound. “Can I keep this as my pocket money?” “No it's to give to the lady for raffle tickets to help the charity.” “Oh, ok... can I have 21 tickets please?” :-)

Facebook version is here - tag yourself!

The regular press photographer stopped by and grabbed a quick shot and then we got a great send-off from Rich before heading out... for the first time with a hill to aim for! Maybe it was the goal of Shiner Hill but the pace seemed pretty fast, it was good hard pushing! and pumping! and skating! It was great to see Dan and the gang from Camberley Skaters out on the trail with us on their blades.

The fancy dress costumes were amazing! Men in suits, men in frocks, Men in Black, balloon costumes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, spacemen, cowboys, pirates (props to the winningest pirate on the day who skated in a coat weighing about 50lbs), zombies, Bruno, Che Guevara, Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog, Mexicans, 70s disco dancers, 80s aerobics instructors, bananas and chillies, a bumble bee, a white faced mime artist, fat Sumos, burlesque girls, and men in drag everywhere. So many great costumes, I can't remember them all. Some skaters had come as 'themselves' of course and that was fine. Everyone looked weird anyway. ;-)

Catch the Rabbit!

Any contest for the title of most inappropriate skateboard was given up immediately Rob B and the team (the three amigos) started bolting together their 132” monster. Three guys on one skateboard and they made it like a rowing team calling 'stroke stroke!' to keep it together. Props also to Vic who pushed his ski-skate sound-mobile the whole way in a bright red body suit and wig, pumping out the tunes all the way from the sound system on the back. We had skaters of all genders (some a bit indeterminate!), from ages 9 to 50 and everyone went the distance. Some say it's 13 miles, some say 15. I think it varies from year to year!

Mime

The trail seems to get a little gnarlier each year (like some of the skaters!) and it was fun to say hi to the various groups stopped by the wayside for a breather. The first pub got some early custom, and they have a good looking car park there, all slopey and smooth. The Railway Cafe was busy with skaters involuntarily throwing tea and chips about and it was there that a little old lady came over to me with 50p for the Macmillan nurses. She'd obviously asked someone what on earth was going on, and had reached into her purse and come out to find 'Hong Kong Phooey' to donate. ;-))

On the way the little Hole-in-the-Wall cafe was even busier with loads of skate weirdos chilling and refuelling there. More chips were spilled and there was music in the air. The folks who run the cafe did a good and cheerful job for us, especially since they had no warning we were coming. I think we ate all the chips they had! Speaking of cheerful, it was fun to say hello to all the walkers and cyclists coming the other way. Most were really amused and smiling, and although there were a few who only looked confused you know that they would all remember being passed by squads of grinning superheroes on skateboards. Cheer up you guys!!! Haha. I was stopped by a postie who wanted to know what it all meant. ‘£3 grand’ I told him.

Pumping was tough on the long long stretches of gnarly surface but the smooth bits were lovely and the final miles are great with the really slight descent which means no feet down with a nice wiggle on. Finding the turn-off for Shiner was a bit of a challenge for those 'in the zone' but everyone eventually found their way to the party on the hill and the crazy sideways skateboarders.

Zombie Skate Face

The hill is already superfast enough but the lovely Jules and the guys had only gone and built a humongous roll-in off the top of the Lush Hippy Commune Accommodation. Skaters flung themselves down the ramp and down the hill all afternoon. It was great to see a glamorous blonde in a corset and a man in suit and gas mask shredding the hill. Props to Joe who slid one handed, having the other arm in a sling! Will rode the 132” board down the whole thing, luge-style, as only he would! The deck make an ominous sound as it bottomed-out on the transition but he made it. Rich even managed to slide the monster on the hill, solo, without any blood spilled.

Much gnarlier than it looks.

Prizes on the raffle table kept piling up – donations from all over the place! Thank you so much to everyone. Raffle tickets sold all afternoon and Rich pulled the winners out of the Macmillan bucket. Congratulations to all the prize winners and thanks to everyone for their support. The raffle raised over £500, which is BRILLIANT. One youngster was absolutely 'made up' with his new Airflow deck...

Jesse Tighe tearing it up

Huge thanks to all the donors of the raffle prizes: especially for the goodies donated by Octane Sport, Turn360, Longboard Lounge, Lush and Dazza! Massive thanks are due to the very cool guys at Shiner who let us party on the hill all afternoon. You are all diamond geezers innit.

Bristol Locals Train - get on!

As it got late there was a little cider in evidence. What is it with skateboarding and cider? It’s just got to be done. Mmmm... but it's not everyday we get treated to homebrew. WOW... and AJ and Andy showed up! AJ went faster and looser on his very first run than anyone I'd seen all day... on a borrowed deck!!

AJ not crashing

Our friend Longy was in our thoughts all day and we all wished he could have been with us, but he's busy kicking ass and busting chops and giving it what for, and I know everyone there was somehow sending him good vibes, karma, love and a big pinch on the bottom. Even skaters who haven't met him were having a great time on a special day inspired by him - so we were all there for him doing the miles and enjoying the chance to pull together to support his chosen charity.

When he's out and about again I think we'll have to have another special session...

More photos on the Lush Flickr, plus talk on the Forum and the Event Facebook.

A huge thanks to everyone who was there for your support! Please Keep Giving, we have raised over £3,000 so far with more to come in. See you next year!

Not your average Friday

2010-10-08T16:18:00.000+01:00

The day before the 2010 Fancy Dress Charity Skate, taking care of business at Lush HQ!

We went through our Target of £2070 raised for Macmillan earlier today, with many collected donations still to come - a huge thanks to everyone who has donated so far, let's see how much more we can get! Head over to the JustGiving Page to make your donation, especially if you are coming over tomorrow for the event.

The roll in off the Office Roof is getting there - skate photos tonight hopefully! Huge props to Jules and Mark for getting it done!

Darren Rathbone started with us on Monday, more info on that next week - here he is at the new iMac, shaping the next generation of Lush Speedboards - yes, that's Speedboards plural...

Rich built up the huge deck that Longy made him back in 2002 for the charity skate - 50" long, solid mahogany, weight approximately 1 metric ton, should be pretty unstoppable!

Buster meanwhile has been doing what dogs do best.

See you tomorrow for an epic skate adventure!!

Tanking in a Tache - photo comp!

2010-10-06T11:07:00.000+01:00

Hot on the heels of this summer's "Bombing in a Beater" comes this offering from LBS and LongboardSessions - Tanking in a Tache!

It's a photo comp - send in your photos of yourselves sporting a moustache (fake ones are allowed!) and the best photos will win prizes from Lush, Matt at LBS and Gav at LongboardSessions. More info here.

Tula - they call it a Long Board

2010-10-05T12:52:00.000+01:00

Our finnish brothers at Offshore sent us this video of the Tula on the streets of Tampere!

The Skater is Jussa Matilla. More from Finland soon!

2010 Samba - Spotlight

2010-09-23T16:16:00.000+01:00

We've been playing with these for a long time now... but here they are, finally available, the next generation of Samba!

The business end.

This time we thought it was time for a bit of a change - this latest version is more focussed on "freeriding" (sliding and carving) than ever. Major changes and tweaks include:

Refined shape following team input, with a wider tail. This version of the Samba is as happy going backwards as forwards, opening up a huge door of switch and fakie tricks. The shape also gives more back foot control, essential for those monster standups.
Significantly deeper concave with sharp top rails for extra grip and control during long stand up slides
Huge foot pockets
Stiff 8ply construction for better cornering and less chatter whilst locked sideways
Slightly shorter wheelbase for more response
Lower ride height for extra sideways control - the trucks are mounted further up the "kicks" than before.

Top down - lots of extra room at the back.

We build them up stock with Sabre X-Types and ultra-fast Cult Gamma Rays for a carvy, grippy ride that looks dialled - we just couldn't resist the Blue Horrotica / Sky colour combo of Adi's "Derelict Piste" graphic. But unlike Sambas of old, the new deck shape works well with a variety of truck and wheel setups, one of the more popular being de-wedged Indy's and Cult Classics for a super-loose slidey ride.

S-s-s-s-sideways!

Available from all our stockists and distributors now. Come and try one out at the Jam after the Charity Skate!

Lush Longboards Fancy Dress Charity Skate 2010 Update - Afterskate!

2010-09-21T16:37:00.000+01:00

The buzz is spreading on the Forums and Facebook for this event - it's going to be big!

We are going to be ending the event slightly differently to previous years - this time we'll be pulling everyone off the cycle path just before Bristol Temple Meads for a mammoth slide session at the Lush/Shiner hill! It's steep, short, gnarly and best of all, shut to traffic. Bring your helmet and slide gloves...

Darren, switch drift on the Shiner/Lush hill... did we mention the floodlights?

Also at the end of the event will be the prizes for the raffle, and we'll have the Lush warehouse open selling apparel and factory seconds. It's Lush Open Doors Day, so make sure you stick around after the Charity Skate!

If you plan on coming, make sure you donate something to support Longy's chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Research to support our cause! You can Donate Here. See you there!

The Gnar Swing

2010-09-20T10:15:00.001+01:00

Went to Midsommer Norton and Exeter this Sunday. There was some skateboarding, hunt around on Facebook for that. Possibly more fun (and more gnarly?) was the Rope Swing next to the hill at Exeter.

Airwalk!

If the day's injury count is anything to go on, this is more dangerous than 40mph in a piss pot and kneepads.

Coming into land... this is where the bad stuff happens.

Thanks to Chris and everyone for having us, see you soon!

Ready for the weekend....

2010-09-17T18:50:00.001+01:00

Spotted in the back of Mark's van as he was packing for a trip to Brighton/Shoreham...

Some of us are also going out of town to hit Midsommer Norton and Exeter this weekend too, Get out there and make the most of the English Summer while it's still here!!

Holiday snaps

2010-09-14T10:15:00.000+01:00

Words by Rich

I went Provence in South East France last week with a prototype Kilima, helmet and Race Gloves in my check in bag. Good job too - the region I was staying in was loaded with epic roads.

Just another random run, many kilometers long, perfect surface, super wide, no traffic, large smile, whoohaaa

Quite a lot of road signs like this around the place... a lot of them have Lush stickers on now!

The highlight was a dawn raid on Mt Ventoux. This is a famous 2000m Tour De France stage, and the road had been resurfaced last year. There are three ways up the mountain, all coming in at 20+km top to bottom. After some asking around, I went for the first 7km of the Beduoin descent down to the ski station.

It goes on like this for quite a while... the Hill Porn Collection is getting bigger.

The top of the mountain is way above the tree line, so falling off the road is not an option with head-sized rocks, snow poles and hundred meter scree slopes into oblivion. Combine that with hell steep gradients and flat out sweeping corners in the dawn light and I had a truly epic run that won't be forgotten for a while.

Leathers might have been a good idea. Check the height drop.

Top section - hell for cyclists, pretty crazy for skateboarders at 11%. Yikes.

Cyclists leave a big draft and can't go round corners very fast.

The Other Side... just after I took this the French Air Force turned up, 50m above the summit upside down, you can even have fun in a fighter plane here.

Stoked and sunburnt.

The proto Kilima was pretty much maxxed out at 40+ - it's a protoype laid up with our new composite glass sandwich construction, so it has a bit of flex. Things got a bit interesting in the corners at speed, but carving and sliding reminded me too much of bombing fresh pistes in the French Alps this last winter. Perfect...

Coming soon - this one's had some pretty heavy miles on it now.

Thanks to Jo Babilot for the local knowledge, and also to Alex and Sam for all the uplifts and photos. This article is dedicated to Xabi, a fellow rider I regretfully never had a chance to meet and now never will. Ride Hard, Stay Safe! - Rich