What’s Next? 9.er

Midnight garage bombin' on my custom LBL Penguin (click on image above to view larger). Photo: David Marano.

One of the raddest and most distinct features of this growing section of longboard skateboarding is that of the custom skateboard builder. I’m talking about  builders such as Larry Peterson of Longboard Larry and Scott Moore of Subsonic Skateboards, and that’s just naming two of the many. Custom builders, like these, bring us back to the roots and essence of what it’s all about: skateboards for skateboarders, by skateboarders. Through creating each skateboard one at a time, and allowing the individual rider to have input into the building process, they provide every board with the attention it deserves and thus allowing the process to remain focused where it should be: on quality, detail, refinement, performance, and distinction. I’m not sayin’ that the large brands don’t make great skateboards—they definitely do—but if you’ve ever had a board shaped specifically for you and your style, then you know there is a certain pride and confidence built into that unique skateboard which is somewhat inexplicable, yet wholly undeniable. Read More

What’s Next 8.Go

Byron Esser has style. Cloak & Dagger Rd. Photo: Zadie Sexus.

Style is critical! And I’m not talking about some fashionista bullshit, nor am I speaking of any other showy display of Vanity. What I’m interested in is the particular way an individual does a thing that reflects Flow, Finesse, and Liquidity—and more specifically, how that fits into the act of skateboarding. Let’s just say that I believe style and skateboarding are best in bed, with each other. Read More

What’s Next? 7.OMG

Skateboarder and Wheelbase supporter, Nick Hooper, holding it down in his dorm room. Photo: Self-portrait..

We just received the above photo from a skater who recently obtained one of our Wheelbase Shadow Shooter tees. On the surface, it’s just an amateur image of some college kid standing in his dorm room, and from the looks of his pants, waiting for an eminent flood of some sort. He, he, he! But on a more serious note, if you take the time to look a bit closer at the photo, you begin to notice other things—details which reflect to what extent skateboarding has influenced this Michigan skater’s life. Looking closer you’ll spy various skateboard-inspired art donning the walls, skateboards lounging here and there, an unmounted set of trucks & wheels sitting eagerly on a coffee table. If you look even closer you’ll notice a stickered-up helmet lying in wait on the floor, as well as “Skateboarding Is Not A Crime” & “Earthwing” stickers calling out their anthems from the mini fridge. Nick’s picture reminds us of why Wheelbase began in the first place, and why it continues to provide so much stoke on so many levels—why we’re just as fired-up about it, if not more, than the day we went live. Skateboarding rules! Read More

What’s Next 6.0

Skaters, Pam Diaz and Vanessa Torres, hitch a ride "three-up" back to the top of the hill, somewhere on the North Shore of the Dominican Republic. Photo: Miranda Guzmán.

When I think about the global skate community it blows my mind. There are skaters riding skateboards in just about every nook and cranny of this planet you can imagine. The growth of longboard culture within the skate community has paved the way for a broader, more diverse future for skateboarders the world over. It’s crazy to imagine, but there are skaters right now, as I write this, mobbing hills and shredding the streets in Bolivia, Africa, New Zealand, Sweden, The Philippines, Mexico, Slovenia, Canada, Russia, the US and even China. And that’s just naming a few. It trips me out to think how big the skateboarding family has become and how many cultures and people it has connected.

All of this has got me to thinking a lot about “Gratitude” —thinking about how grateful I am for our thriving skateboard community—how stoked I am to still be agile and healthy enough to ride and tell the tale—and how awesome it is that skateboarding always finds a way to reinvent Radical. We are no doubt living in some troubling times, but whenever I pick up my skateboard and ride, I am reminded that the flaws and imperfections of our daily lives are only part of the bigger picture.

Skateboarding and the community surrounding it have provided me, and many others, with so many unforgettable experiences and opportunities, and for that I have Gratitude.

What’s Next 5.Bro

“A sheer rad occurrence rules!”

When I read that sentence this morning, a cluster of words I found hidden in the aging pages of a 1993 issue of Transworld Skateboarding Magazine, I was taken aback. I had to read it a few more times in order to register its full implication. Yeah, I know, it’s a pretty straight-forward idea; but in the context of riding skateboards this is the perfect idea—one that sums up why we do what we do. It’s what we all strive for—that one perfect half-moment that passes as quickly as it comes. Some of us spend our entire life’s trying to capture as many of these “rad occurrences” as possible. No matter what kind of board you ride or what kind of skating you’re into the “sheer rad occurrence rules”, everything. It’s just a Fact. For those who dedicate their lives to skateboarding, this is what it’s all about. Please don’t get it twisted, I’m not talking about some consumerist-style instant gratification; I’m speaking on some deeper shit—a Zen-like clarity that you only find while atop of your shred sled, rolling fast and flowing humongously.  You gotta wiggle it, push it, mob it, pop it, slide it, dip it, and even glide that shit—but if you do this, and pull it off, the payoff happens and is pure clarity.

At Wheelbase, we fully back the “sheer rad occurrence”. In fact, I’m going to get off this stupid computer right now and go search for some “sheer rad”. Roll on!

-Marcus