Hemel Board Company

I stopped by the Hemel Board Company in Ballard last week so that Steve could fix the front of Too Blue Stew. Cause I might have dropped a multi-tool on it last May (my bad), and it's the only board short enough to send to Mexico next Monday. I'd heard good things about Hemel. Ding repair done right. So with just a week to waste, I dropped in and dropped off. Steve and Shane were in the shop - Shane polishing some skate decks for an evo event that evening. Steve showed me around the shed. There were some old school sticks waiting on one wall, partly finished projects on another. Everything you'd imagine. We shot the shit for a few, but I could tell they wanted to get back to business. Can't blame'em. Excited to see the Stewart in good shape again. Follow the link for a few photos.

Punked City Cruiser

I like all sorts of skateboards. Long ones, short ones, old ones, weird ones. Anything, really. Unfortunately, however, I'm not all that good at this activity. I mean, I can push my self along pretty alright, carve down a hill in the dark, or negotiate the shit-show that is Alki on a sunny summer day, but I can't kick-flip the fucking thing, or skate a bowl, or slide down something steep. When I was younger, maybe middle school, I was all about skateboarding. World Industries, Independent, all of that. I had decks and trucks and shoes and Jenco jeans with big silly pockets and stickers - so many stickers - but I couldn't skate. At least not the way I wanted to.

Penny Skateboards

As far as I know, plastic skateboards have been around since the seventies. Like a lot of us, Ben Mackay started skating on something like this. Something simple. A small plastic skateboard, with narrow trucks and wide wheels. They were fun. And affordable. But when bigger boards made of multi-ply maple made their way to market, these little things disappeared. Skip to 2010. After twelve years in the industry, Mr.Mackay decided to "bring that little plastic board back, and back for good," re-branding and releasing an all new line of Penny Skateboards.

These plastic injection- moulded skateboards are available in two different sizes and few different flavors. The Original measures 22” long x 6” across and uses 3" wide trucks, while the Nickle, which is made from the same sorta plastic, measures 27” long x 7.5” across and uses 4" wide trucks. Both of the boards come equipped with 59mm wheels, Abec 7 stainless steel bearings, and have a pattern imprinted on the top to keep feet from falling off. That's all you need to know. The real question is which color do you want?!

Ibérica Skateboards

Ibérica is a Spanish skateboard company based in Barcelona. Developed by two design students, Raúl Arribas and Gonzalo Sánchez de Lollano, each Ibérica board is hand shaped, numbered and named after a spanish woman. Two different boards are being made, the Lola and the Tere, in four different color tones. Ibérica recommends 85mm trucks, soft bearings and tube wheels. Oh, and no "abrasive paper." Clearly they're looking to rekindle our relationship with small skateboards and tight turns. I approve.

GoldCoast Skateboards - The Conflict

GoldCoast Skateboards is a California company specializing in laid-back longboards and other concrete cruisers. Thanks to my friends at Stoke Harvester, I've had the pleasure of playing with one of their newest boards, The Conflict. According to their website, The Conflict is "what happens when you throw things together and the result is greater than the sum of it's parts." A 24-inch long, seven-ply Canadian Maple board that features "a classic Pan shape," 79mm Century trucks and 65mm 'Shred Boots' wheels, The Conflict is both classic and contemporary. Sounds like my kind of monkey business!

Sidewalk Surfing

Jake Zylstra and Andy Nieblas cruising the streets of Newport Beach on a pair of Shakastics Sidewalk Surfer skateboards. If you don't have the scratch for one of these, you can pick up a Penny at the Seaside Surf Shop for $100. Classic. Had a blue banana board back in the day. Might need a new one.

West End Surf & Skate

Located just off of Highway 101 in "downtown" Forks, the West End Surf & Skate is a small shop owned and operated by my friend Darren and his wife Leah. The West End is the only shop in the area and stocks a wide variety of surfboards, skateboards, wet suits and casual clothing.

Toes Nose

When I was in junior high, my father's good friend Terry got stoked on riding longboards. Terry had bought himself a Gordon & Smith, as well as a couple of Sector 9s for his kids, Tyler and Carly. After test riding Terry's board, my father stopped by Marley's in Ballard and picked up a Powell with extra wide trucks (he's a big fella) and a Sector 9 pintail for me.

Terry, who worked for a hauling company, lived in a small house on the outer edge of an industrial complex that he was helping to develop. He had access to the entire complex, including the freshly paved roads that ran from building to building. On the weekends, my father and I would ride the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton, drive out to his place near Silverdale, ride our longboards all afternoon, grab dinner and then head back to the city. It was a good time. Albeit short lived. The board I am riding in the photo belongs to my father.

Motion Board Shop

Stopped by Motion Boardshop last Sunday after we got back from Westport. Ms.Wood was interested in purchasing her own longboard and had spotted this place on her drive home. Turns out they recently relocated, and while they seemed fully stocked, you could tell they had just moved in.