Jason Mitchell, Seismic Nationals 2007, Hybrid Slalom.  Photo by Greg Fadell Northern California Downhill Skateboarding Association
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Soulriding

 
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Soulriding (2099 Posts)
Topic Soulspeak
On 11/19/2000 Herbn wrote in from (216.107.nnn.nnn)

Perhaps this has something to do with soul,and maybe somehow can be related to skating(i stretching here).The core is Napstra,you know trading music for free,i feel that if a song/album is not worth buying maybe it's not worth the time to download either,cause i'm not really that into it,if i'm into something,buying it is no problem.Like skating hills,(here's the stretch)the walk back up,the reflection,self limited adrenalin.Contemplation, not just of skating,but mostly about skating,but sometimes about things like Napstra,is there an r in there?,do i care?if i mispelled it consider it out of spite.Though rides up to the top are fun:)hmmmmmm.

 
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On 11/19/2000 speeddemon wrote in from (24.4.nnn.nnn)

skateboarding man....drugs,alcahol,stress,a whole bunch a shit that can fade away,simply by carving a hill,riding a transition,or just chillin on a longboard,shortboard,any board man,its just....damn i love this sh*t

speeddemon
ride the lightning
not high,just happy

 
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On 11/16/2000 inthebarrel wrote in from (165.247.nnn.nnn)


Behind my work there's this blessing in the form of a drainage ditch with 1 ft high walls. On nice days, I eat while reading "Surfer", head on to the ditch and pretend I'm hitting lips. On the way back, I hit this sweet slightly inclined hill and just carve my way down it. I can even get barreled under the 18 wheelers at the werehouse. Do it a couple of times and when I'm back at my desk I can swear I just got out of a session at J-Bay -with no one out.
I can't surf everyday anymore -landlocked for a couple more years as wife finishes school. I also got a real job.
So I soulcarve until the weekend comes. And that my brothers, keeps me sane.

 
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On 11/14/2000 Mikey wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

just had a good night, started out just cruisin to the store down the block to grab some grub, rolled around the parking lot a bit...ended up havin about an hour long session, carvin and pumpin around the parking lot, throwin down some slick drop knee carves and big looping eurocarves, stress and frustration flowin out my pores...sat down and took a break....big ol smile plastered across my face...thats what its about

 
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On 11/13/2000 Pre-School Rider wrote in from (209.198.nnn.nnn)

First off,Speeddemon,more power to ya!!I KNOW For a fact that your attitude RULES!!!! I had the priveledge,and responsibility,of riding with,coaching,and teaching skaters/snowboarders such as Chris Yetz,Ian Spiro,Zach Bingham,and Jim Kelly(and pro skier Akina Pickett),all of whom considered themselvles(in 1988)to be "newschool skaters" and thus have nothing to owe the 'old guard'.Years have gone by,and what I have gotten back from these insanely talented riders is a 'thank you' for showing them "STYLE" and 'Speed'that have allowed them to progress beyond their peers.I can't ever match their moves,but I'll kick any of them in the keester on a good downhill,even as I broach middle age.Meanwhile,it's noteworthy that they all independently have drawn on lessons hard learned while trying to integrate 'style' into new-school moves,and that without that extra push,they all might have rode just like any other 'jibber',without that spark of speed and style that now makes them rule.Keep on riding fast!! Flow + Tricks + speed is the combo that's another step beyond in the evolution of skating,always. JAC, keep on,my man! Skating is an elixir of youth.Don't ever LET your age get in the way of your fun! At 33,Breaking my foot seemed to be the doom of my skating/snowboarding lifestyle.But I way overcame the troubles it presented,and am skating strong now,and snowboarding well enough to represent my Full Certification(earned After I broke my foot)in the A.A.S.I.It is a symbol of personal strength that you continue to do things that others have given up on.Just ride on!Meanwhile,Strut on those crutches! I broke MY foot playing fricking Basketball?!How lame is that? At least you were going for it! Ride with pride! And meanwhile,heal well...

 
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On 11/13/2000 speedemon wrote in from (24.4.nnn.nnn)

i just recently started shortboarding again.why?i wanted to grind,ollie over stairs and kickflip.its been three weeks since i started,and i can slide,ollie over stairs and can hang a pretty good manual.i love shortboarding and longboarding,but theres one thing longboarding has that shortboarding doesnt,and its the style.none of the skaters at my school can throw down a drop knee carve,and not one of them can name a single longboarding company.that may not sound bad,but when you have a posse of skaters who dont know who tony alva is,and cant even comprehend why somebody would want to ride a longboard because its easy or something.None of them have any soul-all they want to talk about is going pro or bragging about tricks they can hardly land...damit.where did it go wrong.im gona buy them the concrete wave so they can see where they came from and what came from the longboard,like the shortboards they all ride.im hoping to get them into it,so they can all chill and stop trying to outdo everybody that rides a board.its about fun and soul,not about goin pro man

peace out
carve hard and fast,faster than lightning
ride the lightning

 
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On 11/10/2000 tony wrote in from (63.228.nnn.nnn)

Hey roger,

I am very pleased with my Nitro Natural 175.

 
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On 11/7/2000 roger wrote in from (198.206.nnn.nnn)

Pre-School Rider,
It looks just like NCDSA, only with snow and longer boards! I have a lot of reading to do now, cool.
THANKS!

 
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On 11/7/2000 Pre-School Rider wrote in from (209.198.nnn.nnn)

Roger,look into Nidecker boards.They make great 'freecarve' decks that aren't 'racers' nor remade freeride boards.Better yet is that even their 'freestyle' boards rip fat arcs!Another two I like are Rad-Air's Tankers(I own the 162 + the 200 cm models)and Glissade boards(just about any of their stuff).Take a gander over at www.freecarve.com for a nice place to find like-minded folk who ride snow.

 
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On 11/6/2000 roger wrote in from (198.206.nnn.nnn)

Anyone out there snowboard? Anyone out there using a carving board? Snow is coming and I am ready to upgrade from freeride (K2 Fatbob) to a dedicated carve setup - I'm itching to hold some real edge!

My return to skateboarding this year, especially long boards for carving made me realize, I have been riding the wrong thing on snow. Freeride boarding fun (weaving between trees, big jumps, halfpipes, etc.) is fun, but now I want the longboard side of snow, fast and layed out turns.

Any soulcarving skateboarder out there that has never done snow, get your ass out there on the snow! Seriously, if you are in SoCal give me a ring. Any slalom/carve snowboarders out there (anywhere), definitely give me a ring, I could use some advise on serious carving.

Roger

 
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On 11/6/2000 Paul d. wrote in from (154.5.nnn.nnn)

Making it look easy ,now that's not easy.But it counts for so much. Putting your hand down in a carve or a kickturn is a good example of style that's not part of the newschool (thier loss).

 
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On 11/5/2000 Nick wrote in from (203.96.nnn.nnn)

Yup, style is where its at. What does style mean...The ability to make something bloody difficult look easy, preferably at high speed.

 
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On 11/4/2000 Jeffs wrote in from (206.168.nnn.nnn)

Steve C, had to comment on your post. If you have to explain it to them they wouldn't understand. LOL Started skating in the 70's and I do the same thing! Style will always rule. That's why guys like Adams an Hosoi are legends, STYLE! I don't give a rats rear how many 900's Tony Hawk can do. Style is what's important!

 
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On 11/3/2000 Lono wrote in from (205.179.nnn.nnn)

It's all about "the feeling". Getting quiet, getting centered. [So-called "adults"] need to PLAY too!

 
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On 10/24/2000 Paul d. wrote in from (154.5.nnn.nnn)

I've recently started skating at work on a regular basis. When the break bell rings I carve around the parking lot out back. There's never anyone there and its a big smooth space. It's the perfect fix. Ten to 15 minutes by myself, and when I walk back into the office smiling inside nobody has a clue as to what I was doing. It sure beats talking shit with the boss. The best spots aren't always the best looking spots. The lot out back is a good one because of what it offers, a skate fix!

 
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On 10/23/2000 steve c wrote in from (206.173.nnn.nnn)

Skateboarding in the 70's shaped the way I look at life.

Anything I see is measured on the 'skate-able' system. Banks, ditches, storefronts, etc...
I think deep down I have been conditioned by skateboarding, or in this case, soul skating, to see
the world from a different perspective. This is one key element that makes us 'Skaters' different
from most people.

It's been some 25 years or so, and I still see the world from this point of view.
I don't feel the need to explain about it to non-skaters cuz they just DON'T see
it...plain and simple.

Skate tough, skate smooooth

Steve Cuz (Deplo)

 
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On 10/17/2000 Mad Hack wrote in from (211.123.nnn.nnn)

I think it's ironic that when I first started riding in the mid-seventies skateboards were considered toys but we used them for getting closer to the gravity gods and the lines they laid out before us on any sloped surface we could find--faster, smoother, as efficient as we could get it; but now that the actual equipment is so far from being a toy it is being used as one by the mainstream? I always felt I let down the side by curbing my obsession for finding the perfect line because it was just too hard to meet girls because you were always playing on that toy (no innuendo intended). I never stopped riding , nor did I stop seeing beautiful lines everywhere, but in high school I took my main expression to the "acceptable" ski slopes. I think many of us did, causing that slight slump in the eighties (thank Alva for those of you who didn't). The first time I saw a picture of an invert, though, I had the feeling that my kind of riding had bit the dust. There was a brief glimmer as Inouye, Blood, Olson and others ripped up banks, but then all slipped into darkness.

I'm glad to see we are again rising out of the primordial sludge and taking to the streets. I have nothing against trick riders if they have nothing against me. I don't really want to watch them much, but I am glad they are reclaiming and have reclaimed the urban landscape we have been stuck with and are using it for tapping into the gravity we live in. Skateboarding has always had a political side, and it is to do with freedom--from money, from business, from the cops and from orthodoxy--and if there is anything that is too bad about the new school it is that they have been more co-opted than we were.

I stuck my two year-old son onto my old Alva with fultracks and Bones cubics, set him in a crouch and launched hime down the hill this summer. The future is with us...

 
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On 10/16/2000 Brian wrote in from (207.188.nnn.nnn)

Ah... What a weekend I had!

My longboard finally arrived. (I got a 44" G&S Fibreflex Pintail from
longskate.com). Eager to try it out, my friend Tim and I went carving on
Saturday. What a thrill to be back on a board again!

The flowing carving fun took me back to the days when I was a youngster
growing up in the hills above the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. I
would take my little G&S kicktail fibreflex out every chance I got and ride
the winding canyon roads. Good times. Good food for the soul!

Tim and I had such a great time on Saturday we went back on Sunday and
rode for many hours. Mellow carving on a longboard is as wonderful as
snowboarding--but without the expensive lift tickets!

This is a great site and a great forum. It's a kick to read about the
experiences and memories of folks in my age bracket (I'm 34). I totally
remember making the jump in quality from clay to Cadillacs. That was great.

Feed your soul! Carve your heart out!

 
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On 10/15/2000 Dan wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

Sweet story. Thank you, Jack.

 
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On 10/13/2000 Jack wrote in from (205.188.nnn.nnn)

I'm so glad I that my friend Dan Gesmer told me about this site. I skated a bit in 1964 while living in Texas, I was about 8 years old when the Hobie Team came through our town. I can't really remember the specifics of the demo, just that I wanted to do what those guys were doing.
Ten years later found me graduating from Morro Bay High School and finding an old Hobie with clay wheels in my best friend's yard. The summer of 1974 was my year of skateboarding re-birth. My buddies and I all set up boards with Chicago trucks and clay wheels, we would hit the local streets every night. Remember at this time it still was uncool to be "playing" on skateboards. Sometime that summer one of the guys showed up with a Surfer Magazine that had a Cadillac Wheels ad featuring style master Gregg Weaver. I remember calling every surf shop within 100 miles looking for these new wonder rollers and then driving all the way to Ventura so that we could get our hands on them. When we got back that night and got our boards set up...it started raining. We tried to ride on the wet sidewalks, after a few spills we decided to wait for the next day. Need I say that next day changed my life. The smooth flowing ride was incredible, all I wanted to do was keep skating.
A month or so later while skating around in my driveaway this VW bus pulls up and this long-haired, John Denver look alike gets out. He asks me if I have ever done any mountain skating. When I answered "no" he asked me if I would like to give it a try. In a matter of minutes we were heading up the coast and then turning inland on a twisting, lightlty trafficked road. After a few miles of crawling uphill in his bus we reached the summit. Climbing out, he checked out my skate, and told me to tighten my trucks a bit and then just follow him. This guy was an incredibly smooth skater, he looked just like he was skating an endless downhill wave. I did my best to keep up, bailing ever now and then when I lost my carve and started going too fast. Later that night I shared my adventure with my friends who couldn't wait to try it themselves after hearing about it. It turned out the "long-haired guy" lived just up the street from me and he readily agreed to take the crew skating the following evening. True to his word he showed up at my house the next night and 8 skaters ranging in age from 12 to 18 piled in that old bus and headed to the same road that he and I had skated the previous day. After numerous runs that night we returned home to hang out and listen to Steve's (the long-haired guy) stories of skating long downhill runs in the Angeles Crest in the late 1960's. He had begun skating in during the fad years of the early 60's and had just kept on skating throughout the years. A couple of months later Steve moved to an experimental community (commune)somewhere in the midwest, man is that 70's or what?
In 1996 after I read an article in Surfer's Journal written by a Stephen C. I contacted the publisher who was a friend of mine and tracked down Steve's phone number. I called and talked to his wife, who amazingly remembered me after 22 years. Steve wasn't in and for some reason I never got around to calling him back...tomorrow I will, it turns out that I have never thanked him for introducing me to the joys of mountain skating.

 
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On 10/13/2000 Shad wrote in from (146.137.nnn.nnn)

going down a hill while not caring when you get to the bottom, and not taking the easy way out, then riding on without worrying what happens next is what i think of when i soulriding. keep riding, dont be intimidated by new school flippidy-foo skateboarders.

 
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On 10/12/2000 hugh r wrote in from (205.216.nnn.nnn)

Adam, I too have done soulcarving on my dirt bikes. Near my house is dirt equivlant of huge half pipe. Over 100 foot of hill side and 300 feet between them. I carve back and forth and across much like I would on a skateboard. I actually even wish that it was concrete and I was on my board... HR

 
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On 10/12/2000 Adam wrote in from (63.192.nnn.nnn)

Everyone here should try, at least once in your lives, riding quad ATCs at the giant sand dunes at Glamis, CA. Only a few hours drive east from San Diego, this surreal landscape must be seen to be believed. Not a scrub brush, rocky U.S. styled desert, this puppy looks like the Saraha. 100-foot tall dunes made of soft, white sand, stretch as far as the eye can see. When you're "in" the dunes, it's quite easy to lose your bearings as they are so large and non-descript. But the landscape is awesome; formed into every wind-swept shape you can imagine from enormous bowels the size of stadiums, to rolling hills, lips, cliffs, steeps, and everything in between. This is where the ATC's come in...

Perched on your 4x4 "quad" ATC, you own the moonscape, and can choose your line at will. The best quads are the 2-stroke 250cc models equipped with sand paddle tires. These powerful, lightweight vehicles can take you virtually anywhere you heart desires. It gets kind of surreal when the wind is blowing the top 1/2 inch of sand along in front of you as you carve in and out of the rolling dunes.

Dropping in on a huge bown is a total rush as your quad hits normally unattainable speed, but keep that speed up if you hope to climb back out the other side! The whole trick is to conserve momentum, stay moving, and remember, "when in doubt, gas it out!"

(There was talk of making dune riding illegal, and for all I know it now is, but if you ever get this opportunity, take it!)

 
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On 10/12/2000 Joe Clement wrote in from (208.13.nnn.nnn)

In response to Paul d., yeah my brain also works like that. I also have a habit when I am looking at anything that is banked or sloped, I imagine it as skateable terrian (I have had this habit since I was 10. I am now 35.). The other day I was standing in the middle of a grass play area that is surrounded by grass banks about 1o feet high and about 20 some feet long. I drifted into a daydream: the entire field and banks were concrete and I was skating them. I was pulled back to reality by the voice of my son yelling, What are you doing? dad come on and chase me.

I was wondering if anyone else makes skateparks in the sand when they go to the beach? Then you get a nice flat 1X1/4" or 2x1/4" inch piece of wood or stone and skate it! It's a cheap way to do some finger boarding.

 
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On 10/11/2000 Mark wrote in from (199.46.nnn.nnn)

Soul skating: It's what I've been doing all along. As a kid in the mid-1960's, my older brothers were really into
the Beach Boys music and the whole surf lifestyle. They had Hobie and Makaha skateboards with clay wheels,
which I inherited once the eldest started driving (he's 14 years ahead of me). All this "surf-stoke"
was taking place in Dallas, Texas, where the nearest beach is 300 miles away, and there ain't much surf to speak
of there. I'm sure the music and the explosion of 'beach party' movies (and The Endless Summer) caused this kind
of thing to happen all over the country, coastline or no. I'm just so thankful that it happened to me. Once I
learned to ride the board standing up, I practiced carving from driveway to sidewalk to driveway for weeks on end.
Clay wheels will teach you the fine points of weighting and balancing your turns to perfection - attempting to
get maximum lean / minimum radius without sliding out.

There are many young shortboarders in my neighborhood, and I wonder if any of them can carve a smooth arc. I feel
the most soulful when I ride among them and do absolutely nothing. Just push and glide, usually way up on the nose.
The more they taunt and giggle, the better I feel, for I understand and appreciate something they have yet to
connect to: soul skating.

I was under the impression that this forum might be for skaters who also surf and / or snowboard. Was that the
intent? I have surfed a few times and am still trying to learn. The waves in the northern part of the Texas
coast are pretty weak, so this is very challenging. I have a 7'6" hybrid, and hope to make it to Costa Rica
someday soon. Surfing kicks ass. As for snowboarding, I tried that once, and it hurt! Carving the thing came to
me pretty quick, but stopping was the challenge. The mountain was more ice than snow, and falls were my only
"brakes" that first half-day. Early the second day, I had figured out how to stop, but by then I was so sore
and tired, I couldn't enjoy it. After two days, I felt as though I had jumped out of the back of a pickup on
the freeway - I hurt like hell. Conclusions? Both surfing and snowboarding are much harder than the TV makes
them look. Surfing: can't get enough. Snowboarding: I'm leaving that to the younger guys. Longboarding for
soul: I'll do this until I just can't anymore, and that's going to be a while.
Mark
(39 and holding)
Soul brothers unite!

 
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