Marshall handles the hill like a man on my Comet Pagan.

I took my friend Marshall out to skate a hill tonight. He hadn’t been on a board for a number of years. Marshall was a really good skater back in the late 80s, early 90s. Part of a crew of skaters from around here who just had great skate style. I think they really came of age in skateboarding at a good time.

Anyway, the hill was not super fast tonight, but the wind did help a little. Marshall handled it very easily, and followed me through the turns at the bottom, where you pick up some extra speed. After the recent rains, there was some sand right where you make the second (right-hand) turn. Not enough to really mess you up, but it was enough to get your attention.

This was one of several times in recent years I’ve seen a skater from my past ride again. It is cool to see someone remember the old skills. It’s also cool to recognize a particular skate style. Marshall’s style is so familiar to me — so clearly from this area, from that late 80s time frame. Even without doing any tricks — just his stance, his push, etc.

Fun session, man! Lets do it again!

Soon I’ll be doing a post about the best longboarding DVD/Tapes of all time, but have you noticed that no one really seems to put out videos that way anymore? This thing called the internet really seems to have made the “Big Release Video” irrelevant nowadays. People want their longboarding video free, and they want it now. I’d sure like to see another big video release from one of the companies again, but it would really need to be great to sell, I think.

Anyway, here some 5 of my favorite online longboarding vids. Some (most) of them I have posted here before, so this is kind of a review, but with some added commentary about each one.

Brad Edwards on Gravity Spoon 45
by Gravity Skateboards
With all the interest in downhill lately, I think its great to see an all-terrain longboard ripper like Brad Edwards. Lots of guys will ride a longboard on hills, but you don’t see too many blasting around skateparks on a 45″ kicktail. You know, they make kicktails for a reason…

Ben Schroeder Longboarding
by Glen Darcey
When this video showed up years ago, it freaked everyone out. Ben is a old time vert ripper — the kind of guy who just punishes a vert ramp or pool. His approach to downhill is unique. He seeks out junk in the road to run over, smash, and otherwise dominate the hill. I like to watch this every so often to keep my mind open.

Autumn in Flux
by Jason Nardella
Of course I’ve posted this video before. Jason filmed this using Super 8 film. I think it is just the best video ever.

Longboarding Adams’ Style
Adam Colton
I couldn’t find a copy of the very first Adam Colton video, but his one is close. With these videos, Adam C and Adam S. created a movement in longboarding but showing a new, fun, and different way of riding. Sure, Adam Colton has moved on to other kinds of skating since then, but this is where it all started.

Maryhill Festival of Speed
There are a lot of videos from Maryhill, but this is my favorite.

Go Skateboarding – Evren Ozan
by Sector 9 Media

This is a fairly new video, but it was impressive not only for the quality of the filming but for the stylishness of the rider. This kids just seems so at ease at high speed. Relaxed. There are a lot of great young downhillers these days, and I think we’re going to see more like this.

If you enjoyed these vids, please use the tool bar below to share them with friends.

This video, from the lads at Sundae Skates in Austin, is mind blowing. This hill just keeps going. My legs got tired just watching these guys hold their tucks for 5 minutes at a time. Killer vid guys!

Raw Norquay Run from Sundae Skates on Vimeo.

Me, 5/23/10, Richardson, TX

My friend Sean and I went out to my usual hill in Richardson today. We had a nice, helpful wind. Not super strong, but enough for a little boost. Loving the 76mm wheels on our pavement. They run right over everything. Sean is on his Gravity Kalai, set up right by Mile High Skates. Nice board. Not sure if many people are riding the Kalai, but Gravity really did a great job designing this deck. Very high quality.

I’m on my Comet Pagan, and tryed out my new Loaded slide gloves a bit. They are pretty cool. Need to put the knee pads and really try some sliding next time, on the FSM. I have some of the orange 86a Retro Freerides, which should slide real nice. Should be rad. It’s kind of weird getting used to sliding boards without kicktails, after over 30 years of depending on a kicktail for my skating. But with a little practice I think I can get it down. I did a couple of very slow backside 180s today with both gloves down, and it worked just fine. I was just wondering how hard it would be to get the Gumballs to break into a slide. The trick seems to carving into the slide a bit. Frontside is a different story – a bit harder, it seems. Anyway, its nice to know I can at least go into a backside slide and skid to a stop if I need to.

My friend Sean, 5/23/10, Richardson, TX

Borto and the lads had some fun playing in the streets this morning…