The Ethics and Manners of Cruising on a Longboard 

Okay. So you just bought your first Longboard, and you can’t do much more than cruise. You might think, hey, I’ll just push all over the road and have fun! And you are correct. However, you must do this politely in order not to make anyone angry. Because I’m telling you, people get angry at skateboarders incredibly intensely and it isn’t something you will enjoy seeing.

So here, I present to you, 4 things you can do to preserve your dignity on a longboard. (And not get killed)

One. Know when to go fast.

Yes, yes, I know, going fast is incredible and it’s honestly the only thing that rustles your jimmies when you get better. I know that feeling. However, the feeling of running into people’s shins and squashing into their backpacks isn’t a great one either. Plus, they’ll probably start spitting in your face as soon as they get up. You don’t want this. Instead, go fast when there aren’t many people, or when everyone is staggered at different distances. As long as you know that you can weave around them, don’t worry about slowing down too much.

Two. Make hand signals.

The thing about longboarding is that people don’t know to just stay put. They always try to get out of your way, which is quite ironically incredibly annoying and dangerous when it comes to it. One of my greatest pieces of advice to offer is to point in the direction that you will be going in the next 10 seconds. When you do this, people will either move in that direction or they will assume you are going in that direction and just stay in the same place. Make your decision here and move in whatever direction you think is right.

Three. Don’t hog the road.

Many times, you will be on that path or road with a lot of other longboarders. Namely, freestylers and freeriders. These riders demand a lot of space to do what they do. They’re flying and sliding all over the place, and really, you don’t want to be in their way when they get into it. My advice is to always stay on one side of the road. Don’t unpredictably carve all over the road, that may get you hit in the shin or have your board smashed against another. That isn’t good.

Four. Enjoy the sights!

Pushing down a random road is no fun. Cruising is best when you go see things. Skate from store to store, restaurant to restaurant. Hold a burrito in one hand, hold your phone in the other. This is why you chose a longboard over a bike! Have a conversation with a friend while cruising. These are all great things to do when boarding. My personal favorite is urban exploring. Go follow weird roads and bike paths as far as you can take them, and you will eventually come to a place nobody really goes. Spread a cloth, have a picnic.

-Ryan L, Longboarder.

Improving/Morphing the image of longboarding.

In my experience in the community, I’ve quite often noted the light that longboarding is portrayed in as a sport and activity by the general population.

To start off, it’s worth noting that downhill longboarding isn’t nearly as official as many people would like it to be. It isn’t recognized as an X-Games sport, nor is it all that recognized as a mainstream sport that is able to be competed in a civil manner. Longboarding is seen more as a hobby or pastime to most people who are largely uneducated about the sport, which is unfortunate. After some intense thought, I have come to build an explanation as to why this is the case.

Much of this situation stems from the way that longboarding is portrayed in the media.

We can compare the media coverage of longboarding to the coverage of skateboarding events. There are indeed skateboarding events on television, where skateboarders do tricks and competitions in closed environments, where there doesn’t seem to be any perceivable dangers to threaten the safety of the skateboarders themselves. Because of this, most people who watch these events on television or on the internet don’t think too far into the safety aspect of skateboarding.

However, the coverage of longboarding is actually much more direly ignorant. Usually, longboarding ends up on local news as a dangerous extreme sport that reckless kids do and get hit in the process.

None of the safe aspects of the sport are broadcast at all, it’s usually videos of uneducated long boarders racing down busy highways and public roadways without spotters and proper safety equipment, which is understandably met which much anger and hate from populations around the area.

There is also a plethora of longboarding crash videos which show people being bodied by cars and curbs, which doesn’t help the situation at all.

What they don’t realize is that longboarding is actually as educated as skateboarders and other extreme sports, such as BMX biking and downhill cycling. Spotters are used by smart people wanting to ride smart, safety gear is worn, and the skaters themselves don’t push themselves beyond their abilities.

Races are always held on closed roads, EMS and medical staff may be on scene as well. The point is, longboarders take many safety precautions as well, but the media turns a blind eye to these precautions.

There are great ways to prevent your local longboarding community from being shown in a bad light.

One community at a time, it is absolutely necessary that we improve in image and reputation if longboarding is to become recognized as a viable sport for anyone.

Wear a helmet, wear protection. The less people get hurt, the more people will appreciate the way we go about bombing hills and cruising fast. Don’t show people getting hurt. If you get a video of a friend crashing, don’t show it. But most importantly, make sure you enjoy the sport. Saying good things about longboarding out of your heart will make people want to try it out. We want new friends! We want new ride buddies! Don’t be afraid to teach them how to longboard.

Ps Peace and love Magneto – the best longboard brands ever!

WEAR A HELMET. Ryan L, Longboarder.

Things you need to know before you longboard:

Looking for a detailed guide on how to start longboarding? Look no further.

The first thing you’ll need is a board.

Your first board should be something easy to ride, and relatively inexpensive, such as a Magneto Long board.

Having a cheap, but sturdily build board will ensure that you are not afraid to thrash it and wreck it, however have a relatively easy time learning how to ride it.

Having a relatively large standing platform will help as well, anything from 38-40 inches long will give you enough room to stumble and explore.
For your first board, aim to buy a pre-built complete, as you can hop on and start riding right away!
Learn to push.
It may look easy, but learning to push well can be a chore. However, this is a fundamental skill that you must absolutely learn. Without pushing, you will not get anywhere, and without getting anywhere, standing on a longboard will be, well, literally standing on a longboard. You don’t want that. You want to be gliding over sidewalks at speeds exceeding a jogger! Some tips:

Bend your knees! Bending your knees will help you reach the ground and get a stronger push. Practice riding with one foot on the board! This will help you balance as you push.
Push from the front of your board, all the way to the back of your board. Having a strong, full stride will have you going much further than you would if you hadn’t had a strong, full stride.

Learn to bail.

Falling off your board is something you’ll be doing all the time as a longboarder, beginner or not. So, it’s a good idea to learn how to bail. Now, everyone bails differently. Some people aim for grass, some people deck themselves out with full pads, but I always find that rolling is the best way to bail. (Only at low speeds, of course.) This means that when you fall, you roll as soon as you reach the ground. This makes sure that you don’t get any road rash, and that all your skin stays intact throughout the bail, which is always a nice thing. And as always, wear a helmet!
Learn to stop.

Footbraking seems simple; you put your foot down on the ground and drag, right? But it isn’t as simple as you might think. It takes practice.

First, start by practicing riding your board with your front foot on your board and nothing else. The foot should be facing forwards. Just balance on your board, up to a decent rolling speed. Think about how ast you’ll probably be going when you’re cruising.

Second, bend the knee of the leg that is on the board. Remember to keep your foot facing forward and your other foot next to this foot, hanging in the air. Bend it so that your upper body is moving straight up and down, and not forwards or backwards. Think that you are doing squats.
Third, place the heel of the foot that is off of the board on the ground, and let it drag. Don’t apply any pressure, but make sure to keep your foot up and parallel to the ground.
Fourth, start applying a bit of pressure to stop better. Now you can stop!

Learn to turn.

This is the last and most complicated step, as learning to turn impulsively and getting familiar enough with the board to think of it as an extension of your own body is quite hard. For this, you will just need tons of practice and experience. Remember, G-force and leaning are your best friends!

Go and get a board! You’ll have fun. Always wear a helmet!

The best day Longboarding!

This is a story of the day, or rather, the best night I’ve had to date.

This is in the very, very beginning of my career as a longboarder. Before you know, all the gnarly high speed runs and the standup slides, even before I did my first coleman slide to slow down! Actually, if I do remember correctly, this is even before I learned to sufficiently footbrake.

Anyways, so this was about one and a half months into my longboarding career, I haven’t fully embraced efficient, full pushing yet, and I was still doubting myself on my capabilities. However, one day, my friend messaged me on Facebook, insisting that I go with him to a mellow downhill run to the local burger joint. I was hungry and always willing to challenge myself, I accepted. After this, I tuned up my bearings, cleaned my trucks, and even though I had some pretty bad bushings back then, I cleaned those too. And so I went and met them at the station. It wasn’t just him; it was a whole group of people! There were downhillers, there were freeriders, some groms with no experience on cruisers, and I believe there was also a rollerblader there. (No idea how he got in!) And so we went. The downhillers went in the front, absolutely ravaging the slope, miles ahead of us, and then the freerides went, and then we went. Surprisingly enough, I stayed with the freeriders, it must have been the fresh bearings! This was an almost 15 minute long run. It wasn’t fast, and it wasn’t threatening at all, in fact I had enough composure at that speed to have conversations with people. Tuck and move up, get a chat with this guy, maybe fall back a bit and talk to this girl. It was an eye-opening experience, really.

Like I said, this run was about 15 minutes long. So 15 minutes later, we all landed at an A&W (A Canadian burger chain, delicious), and we all ordered our own meals. We all put the tables together into this huge mile-long thing and sat around it, getting rowdy at 10:30 at night at this burger chain. It’s dark outside, but nobody seems to be tired at all! We’re talking about gear, girls, boys, dreams, university, it just went on and on and on in this seemingly neverending energy-filled conversation between 10 people all brought together by longboarding. Everyone was incredibly friendly, and I’m just sitting there thinking, “Wow, I need more of this.”.

At that point, my head just went from aiming for a casual, cruising kind of longboarding career into pursuing what all these people had; something to improve on daily and show off at meetups. I started giving to the community, donating gear, donating money to hold competitions. And that’s how I am here now. That fateful night 2 months after I picked up my first board at the shop, when my friend invited me, an unknowing grom, to a skaters’ hangout. You can do it too. Pick up your first board, have fun.

-Ryan L. Longboarder.

Longboarding is better than you may think it is. In fact, I can list off 10 things that you are missing out on

Check out our electric skateboard blog post.

10 things your missing out on if you don’t Longboard, right off the top of my head. Ready?

One. Longboarding is efficient.

If you don’t have any interest in going into the hardcore longboarding sports such as freeride or downhill, you can rest easy knowing that longboarding is probably one of the best ways to get around town and from point A to point B. They’re fast enough to travel in bike lanes (once you get good at pushing), small enough that you can carry them into cafes and into your workplace, and fashionable enough that you won’t be sneered at on the street. Why walk when you can travel 30 steps in one push?

Two. Longboarding is exercise.

Pushing a longboard 4 miles will tone your legs, your core, and your brain. After 7 months of longboarding, I have toned, muscular calves and legs that can outrun a moderate runner. Furthermore, I have more patience with myself now as I know that I can endure 4 miles of rhythmic pushing. It’s really good exercise and training.

Three. Longboarding opens up new doors.

Personally, I’ve never been good at any of the athletic sports. However, ever since I started longboarding, I have picked up and been absorbed into the competitive community where I now race alongside many others. Don’t want to play football or soccer? Try longboarding. You can get the same experience but with more fun and more community.

Four. The community.

Unlike many boarding communities, the longboarding community is absolutely filled with angels. Need help with something? They’ll help you out. Don’t have enough money for new wheels? I’ve been straight up handed a fresh set just because the other person wanted me to be able to board at the meetup. They will help you with new setups, come out just to help you learn to slide. We are welcoming, and that’s rare these days.

Five. It’s great for your social life!

Longboarding is quite surprisingly a great conversation starter. If you walk into a room with your longboard, chances are high that someone will want to stand on it, maybe even ask you to teach you how to ride it! If you put on some funky light up wheels, you can increase this factor tenfold. But don’t do that. They’re slow.

Six. It’s something to work on.

For someone like me who has way too much free time, longboarding has been a great way to spend my
time. Whether I’m out learning new slides or boarding around the city exploring, I’ve always found longboarding to be the epitome of enjoying quiet time.

Seven. It’ll make you love the outdoors.

If you ever thought you needed an excuse to go outside, longboarding is one. Since much of the longboarding action happens on bike paths and homey streets in your neighborhood, you’ll come to love rushing by trees and looking up at the sky at 20 km/h. Remember when your mom said “Take in the green”? This is a great way to do it.

Eight. You’ll make connections.

Believe it or not, longboarding opens up huge career opportunities! Being a longboarder and being in the community really loads you up with information that will let you work at skateshops and maybe even become sponsored in the long run! Why work at a job you don’t like when you can be surrounded by the culture you love, and get paid for it?

Nine. It will give you motivation.

Personally, I’ve always been super lazy with the things I have to do, such as schoolwork. However, when I think, “If I get this done, I can go out and longboard.”, I always get this huge burst of energy from which I can complete my schoolwork in no time at all. And then I go out and go fast. Just send it.

Ten. Adrenaline.

This is the most important aspect of longboarding. I didn’t enjoy adrenaline before, but now I do, immensely. No longer am I afraid of rollercoasters or fast cars, no longer am I afraid to try new things, because longboarding gives you all of that. Longboarding teaches you to override your fear of going fast because going fast is so enjoyable on a longboard. In the end, I highly recommend longboarding as your favorite pastime.

I hope to see you at my next race.

Ryan L. Longboarder.