5 Reasons Mountainboarding hasn’t seen exponetial growth.
Categories: Featured, Misc
Written By: J.J. Gittes Aka Evan Carlson
Every time I watch quality mountainboard footage and european kids setting down tricks with that heavy style, i ask myself how can mountainboarding be so small. There has been a lot of great video popping up on the web so i have been thinking about this a lot. This is my my gripe, my opinion and if you don’t like it tough. I encourage you to tell me what you think, even if it’s a capital “F U”. Mountainboarding means a lot to me and i want to see change.
1. No well financed industry behind it
When i look at most other action sports that are thriving i see an industry behind it or decades of dedication from individuals looking to push those sports. Let me start with snowboarding, an outcast sport from the start but only an outcast to the ski industry, a thriving industry, now with annual revenues over $2 billion dollars.
It's ok to sign a deal with the devil right? Everyone else already did it.
Once snowboarders were allowed onto the slopes they were no longer seen as complete jokes and could legally ride good terrain. It’s a lot easier to get big cash sponsorships when you have the support of a major resort which brings 1000′s of visitors a weekend. Wakeboarding is similar in some ways, boats are a complete necessity to wakeboard with out it your standing on a dock. Get the support of the boat industry you are in business.
Then there are the sports driven by decades innovators and true lovers for their sports. Surfing and skateboarding both have had a long hard road of isolation and bad reputations but it was that edge and never stopping that got them to a place where they were excepted. AJ made a great point, look at all the kids you see rocking the Hollister tee shirt in the mid-west and has never seen the beach, let alone surf. So these sports created there own image and it was that image that built there industry.
2. Media exposure
Ya ya ya, Johnny Kapahala, big fucking deal…. well actually it is, expect they called mountainboarding, dirtboarding through the entire movie.
Disney's Johnny Kapahala - Back On Board
The last bit of media that mountainboarding sees spills over into my next point but it’s guaranteed to be seen in 1 in 10 bloopers videos aired on every major network. Or you get the occasional jokers like Travis Pastrana’s boys who take it out on Nitro Circus and break themselves off and to my next point.
3. Bad stigma (“way to gnarly!”)
Your friends have either never heard of mountainboarding or say “i know what that is, isn’t it really dangerous”. All these first generation Red Bull addicts got a hold of a video camera and a mountainboard and thought they would get extreme. Then only to find out they had no balance and fell off a skateboard the last time they stood on one, now they’re shooting video of themselves crashing and they thought “Dimmu Borgir’s Black Metal” would be the perfect soundtrack. Like WTF, you really felt the need to post that on Youtube!!!
No need to get heavy metal on us, it's just mountainboarding.
Now you wonder why people have no desire to try mountainboarding. We need to make it look fun and kill that bad late 90′s rep. NEW RULE FOR ALL MOUNTAINBOARDERS POSTING VIDEO ON YOUTUBE – NO METAL – NO CRASHS – ONLY FOUR WHEELS DOWN AND BUTTER!
4. Not enough technology in the boards
Let’s face it, until recently there were only 3 real mountainboard companies out there and a lot of fly by night start ups that failed. MBS hold dominance in the industry, they have spent the most time researching and testing their boards and with more than a decade of experience under there belt they have designed a board that sells. No offense to J Lee, Joel and PMC but they have been sleep on the new products and innovation and yes, innovation takes money but damn its time to risk again. In the European market Scrub and NoSno seem to be producing some high quality products which i have only heard great things about, but they have no distribution in the United States so I can’t pass fair judgment.
Ok i got a bit off track there, the technologies haven’t changed much over the past 5 years but the way kids ride the boards have. Since the release of MBS’s Matrix truck we haven’t seen anything to progressive that can compete. Ground Industries tried the cube and it seems to work at low speeds but I’ve watched Kody Stewart blow up half a dozen sets when riding sizable jumps. In my opinion lighter wider trucks would allow for a more stable ride and allow riders to travel a much higher speeds and maintain complete control.
I think about snowboarding and skateboarding, both industries have boards that are designed for a specific type of riding and technology that supports it. The highest end mountainboards have a few options on legnth and the variation on width only happens between brands. My point is boards need to be customized all riders can not fit into this cookie cutter shape that the companies have designed the boards around.
5. Followers not innovators
My final point for this post is we all have our own ideas about what mountainboarding should and shouldn’t be. Unfortunately we have a lot of similar board sports that have taken some of the creativity out of it for us. Whether your roots are in snowboarding, skateboarding, wakeboarding, biking or even gymnastics you will find similarity in the tricks which you can do. I know there are other elements of mountainboarding, it’s not all freestyle, but lets face it how many boarder cross races or grass hill runs can you watch before you get bored. In the end i think it comes down to our creativity, it’s time to dig deeper and find those unique elements that can’t be imitated by every other board sport and at the same time keep it fun.
I love mountainboarding for the feeling i get when i land a trick, for the hard slashes and the feeling of my tire taring through the dirt, most of all i love the community, the people. I’m not the only one that feels this, i think it’s important to relay that this is something we all have in common, we all do this for fun, this is no million dollar contract at the end of a season, only a couple of beers with your friends and the memories of some great event.
Let’s not be the next flat ground BMX, and just fade away. In the words of the Allman Brothers “I’m gonna keep on keepin on.”
July 7th, 2009 at 12:47 am
iif mountainboarding really is so great, why do you have to try so hard to sell it?
July 7th, 2009 at 12:50 am
…and mountainboarding is not “just like snowboarding”. it is about as much like snowboarding as wakeboarding is like surfing.
mountainboarding is the best way to ride grass/dirt/rocks effectively on a board, just as wakeboarding is the best way to ride a lake effectively and surfing is the best way to ride a wave effectively. it is really not that complicated.
July 7th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Sorry to say it but the inherent danger of dirt boarding will always win. Go ahead and try to convince the public its safe……..see what that gets you….or even better yet try to convince them a snake will not bit them or a bear wont eat them, the danger is just to inherent.
No matter how many times you say it or how many videos you show with out crashes any one with a brin can see the dirt board is dangerous. It relay what separates us as dirt riders from the other board sports……. you have to have King Kong balls to ride dirt ……and that’s all there is to it.
If it was Safe and fun we would sell more boards then we do……but it NOT TRUE….its fun but not safe at all.
Personally i ware my scars as badge of honer, not every one can dirt board you need to be strong, brave, and a little crazy to take it seriously.
P.S.
Please contact me for permission before using any of my photos in future blogs!
July 7th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
This is a bitchy retarded topic. Who gives a fuck if it blows up?
It is fun as hell and the community is awesome. It changes each year, some years bigger – some smaller. If your expecting it to become popular overnight than you obviously haven’t been in it for long enough.
Personally, I think it is great that there are people within the sport that mountainboard because of the “gnarly” aspect. Not that they should be doing TV interviews or anything, it is just fun to see someone who enjoys the same sport as me for COMPLETELY different reasons. I will also add that this type of “hardcore” mentality is limited to a small group of thrillseekers. I am not one of these people. I ride for the adventure and the beauty of flowing on top of the earth. I despise falling and getting scars, when you fall it is a mistake, I think it is kind of retarded to wear your proof of mistakes as badges of honor, but to each their own.
The masses are more attracted to an accessible and safe sport. Mountainboarding IS safe. Just like skateboarding is safe and snowboarding is safe. Saying it’s not is just stretching for something that isn’t there. Or maybe convincing yourself it is something other than what it is. You can take any board novice out to a grass hill and cruise with no issue. Maybe you choose to ride your mountainboard in an unsafe manner, or teach people to ride that way, but I certainly don’t. It may sound cool to tell your friends how dangerous it is but there is only a small amount of them that would want to try it out after that (see: small group of thrillseekers).
There is no proper opinion on this subject, nor was this an objective article. Some attitudes are working against the expansion of the sport and others are enhancing peoples opinions of what we do. I have personally done my best to show the sport in the brightest light with everything I have done (makes sense right?). I am convinced it is a safe sport if you stay within your limits. Skateboarding and snowboarding have their different types of crews (hipster, emo, gangsta whateva) it’s just that mountainboarding is so small that we all have to deal with eachother pretty directly. Weather you are into it for the gnar or the beauty, your style has a place within it. That is the best part about it.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
“Sorry to say it but the inherent danger of dirt boarding will always win.”
and this quote is quite simply retarded. I don’t think you put much thought into it.
Sorry to get my negative on but it just seems as though you aren’t looking at the full picture and/or have no experience marketing a product to the public. If we went as big as freestyle motocrossers or as fast, maybe I could agree that the “inherent danger” would be a selling point. We don’t go that big or ride that fast (compaired to other action sports) that is why pushing the safe element makes a lot more sense. But again, do it how you want, time will tell what works and what doesn’t.
July 8th, 2009 at 2:05 am
I read this and I only got pissed off. Not only is it biased and narrowminded but so are the responses to it. Van promotes the same “it’s as safe as you make it” schpeal every time we talk to a person expressing interest, but after reading his responses Ican see where people would get confused. I think what Van was trying to portray and it seems you JD are saying the same thing. Mountainboarding is so easy that it forces you to go bigger, “balls up” if you may. But JD, dude, chill out. Blaming people and calling names is very childish. I would hope one of the largest media outlets in dirtboarding would hold some sort of proffesional front…at least.
Anyways, I can take a board virgin and get them riding smooth in a couple runs, but in order to jump a 25ft dirt jump you need to know just WTF you are doing or you could hurt yourself without even trying. It takes a whole diff type of person to hit a big jump or bomb a dirt road (brakeless) and be stoked. We as a whole community ARE diff from the rest of the boarders, it’s truth. Also, everybody that watched our video expressed that they felt they were capable of doing the same tricks and moves showcased in our film. We succeeded at showing people how accessable dirtboarding is, how safe it is (Stowe).
July 8th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Halston-
I don’t see a place there where I was blaming anyone nor do I see any type of name calling. I mentioned that I thought certain points that were made were “retarded” but never called anyone a name or blamed anyone for anything. I suggest you re-read my post, it will clear you up on that one.
I was merely pointing out the differences and trying to explain the unique qualities of the diverse community of mountainboarding. And explaining that the sport is going to have a gradual growth and never “blow up”.
I personally don’t feel that I am different than the rest of the boardsport community in anyway. I am not trying to be different by riding a mountainboard, just trying to get the same stoke that I get on snow and on my skateboard on the rest of the earth.
And no, I don’t hold up a professional front nor do I attempt to. I have to do that everyday at work, why would I want to do that in my freetime?
Let’s try and not take it all too seriously, it’s just mountainboarding, there’s only like.. 30 people who do it worldwide. ha
July 8th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
I told AJ this the other day, you guys can only pretend you dont care about dirtboarding for so long, cause its obvious you do. Maybe you should preech what you practice instead of the opposite because your actions contradict your words. It’s ok to care about what you do, admiting to it only makes it better….but if you dont care as much, or take it as seriously as you should, maybe you should stick to filming something you care more about…whatever that is…?
This is a community, and we are not the same as skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, or longboarding. Instead of ignoring that fact, we need to embrace it and carve out our niche isntead of bitching about you do this and you do that and blah blah blah. How about LET’S get this shit going, and LET’S make people recognize this sport with the respect we know it deserves. Or lets sit around and bitch and call each other retarded, whatever.
July 9th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
wow, it is a silly rant up there, what i took from it is, Dirtboarding is small and fun, I know both JD and Halston, very different people with different attitudes and perspectives. But the point remains, Were broke… and there’s very little new money pouring into our sport. But maybe instead of talking about it we should go out and look for support(matty, kody, dersham and i have hit that hard talking to osiris, converse, rockstar, to name a few, as well as sandbox marketing(the only company that really gives a shit about us making it))
and for the rest of you riders who enjoy your wheelie board thingy’s, and want a red bull sponsorship but your still working on you stylee 180 pro grabs and curb stalls,,, eat shit. ride cause its fun, hey thats why we did it 10 years ago right?????
and when it comes to riding the gnar, check yo-self before you wreck yo-self.
July 9th, 2009 at 10:15 pm
If you are sharing news with the mountainboard community I believe it should be unbiased. This article was very opinionated. I think that has something to do with the passionate responses. If “the-dirt.net” is a blog as we discussed in person, maybe you should choose a different tag line. “mountainboard news you need to know” misleads your readers. If it is a news forum, I think the moderators should be cautious to keep the news factual. As for me… I vote for gnar-boarding. It is dangerous. That’s how I ended up with a scar on my forehead and 3 broken bones. Safe? Ha! It’s as safe as you make it or as dangerous as you dream. You decide that for yourself when you commit to dropping in on the terrain of your choice.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
samantha, babii girl, gnar boarding?? please..
July 10th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
This sport has not grown because of the various styles and forms that we each bring to the mountainboard based on our life experiences. I always try to tell people that it is as dangerous as almost any other board sport, but actually easier to begin. The problem is that becasue our boards are foreign to most people their initial reaction is to say “I can’t do that, its dangerous” as they finish off 5 beers and attack an icy ski run.
Perosnally I beleive mountainboading to be relatively safer than similiar boards because the board can go anywhere and yu have a great amount of control and response to deal with.
Surfing–movingwater is way dangerous
Skateboarding–Probably the most technically challenging activity known to man; concrete is hard and breaks bones.
Snow/Ski–Of course you can jump off a 20 foot cliff into deep powder, land on your head, and get up laughing…but most of the time we face icey groomers and tumultuous speeds as we fly down mountains.
Is our main market existing board enthusists? or should we be reaching out to those who have neer ridden a board before?
=======bottom line
—-The technology has barely changed in the last 6 years since the introduction of the comp 16 pro.
—-Riding styles have developed and changed as we have all gotten used to “the best existing design” available.
The truth is that every component on a mountainboard will change in the next 5-10 years.
—-There is always a better way to do the things we do, the board technology needs to reflect the advancement in rider ability.
-tuan
July 10th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Well said Benton.
July 10th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
True that benton. Keep progressing boys! The boards will catch up.
July 10th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Benton is clearly retarded.
July 11th, 2009 at 12:44 am
Flip your trucks, it’s the least you can do to evolve your board to the next level without having to wait for “new product” to be released. Flip just the hanger not the top truck. Longer EASIER manuals and stalls. Don’t forget to give Casey T the cred, he figured that shit out!
July 14th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Just a few points I would like to make, first of all this is just shit talk which is what it is if it were anything else why use a picture of van? Second of all written by “Admin”? might as well have say written by PUSSY this is time number two I have gotten on here and gotten pissed off because the writer has something to say and been too big of a chicken shit to either express it themselves or even say their name. Mountainboarding as I call it is as dangerous as you make it as van has always said in every interview he has ever done. If this sport is going to go anywhere it needs two things MONEY and MEDIA the DSA has consistently gotten media attention and done everything in our power to grow the sport through our “Learn to ride” program where we teach safe riding to people of all ages on our own dollar with our own free time, What have any of you ever done other than promote yourselves and talk shit and hide behind fake names or none at all? Maybe instead of Blogging like women you should get out and ride or teach someone to…
July 14th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
BTW every article on this website is the same, it starts out promising and useful but by the end is nothing but Libel and One 5 Propaganda. JD you said Van was retarded and if you truly think that then thats fine but dont try to take it back to save face this isn’t your mothers sewing circle and people value your opinion as much as a peso so say what you want and if you say it enough times it might be worth my two cents.
Shawn “Dirty D” Dobson
July 15th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Well we certainly got you fired up
July 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
BTW, this is Evan’s site, it is NOT affiliated with One5 media at all. Any opinions on here are those of the contributor. If you see admin, that’s Evan or AJ. I have never contributed content (articles) to this site, neither has Mike. If you have beef with articles, talk to Evan or AJ, One5 is not involved. tyfyt
Keep fucking shredding bro, keep shredding, you rule! Oh shit yeah, getting so sick!
July 15th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I obviously know that Van isn’t retarded, re-read it and take a deep breath. I said his comments were retarded, which I still firmly believe. The only retarded person is Benton. haha
July 15th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
…I don’t think benton or van are retarded. In fact, I watched them have a very intelligent conversation when we came to Colorado to shoot film in june. Although shawn has a sharp tongue, he’s right. Why do you guys follow a leader who calls you retarded and leads you with values that force you to hide behind anonymous posts? You have a choice. Do something positive for the community. You guys don’t deserve to be treated like dirt. You should be having fun rolling in it. Stand up for yourselves, and each other.
July 15th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
I am curious who this leader you speak of is? I hope you’re not talking about Jason Lee. I wouldn’t say those kind of things about the father of mountainboarding. He created the sport! Just because he calls us retarded and forces us to hide behind anonymous posts does not make him a bad leader, it makes him a good friend
I am taking a stand. I am standing up to say that no longer should DIRTSTAR be able to talk shit about my best friend Jason Lee. It is just sick and wrong. You wouldn’t be riding if it wasn’t for him, you should have some respect.
FYI, Jason and I go door to door and spread the good word of mountainboarding. We have even created a BIBLE of sorts. We bring it with us and read passages while on our long “missions.” It is badass, how is that for positive community work. He may treat me like dirt, but he is the reason I am riding today. You should be ashamed of yourself.
July 16th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Mr Lee, while certainly coining the term ‘mountainboarding’, did not invent the sport. The true ‘Father’ of the sport was an inventor called Mort Heilig ( 1926 – 1997 ).
If you don’t believe me, come round to mine & i’ll show you my copy of Transworld skateboarding-mag issue 2, bought when i was 16, with a quarter-page ad for an “All Terrain Dirtboard” by SuperCruiser Inc. It is from April 1990. FACT.
Also true; mountainboarders are passionate people: use the passion positively and enhance your world, use it negatively and you just end up fucking yourself.
Damn i love a good debate
ps Agree with comments about subjective articles & anonymous opinions being ‘News’ LOL
July 16th, 2009 at 8:58 am
PPS.
“5 Reasons Mountainboarding hasn’t seen exponetial growth.”
OMG, WTF? Kan no 1 spel ennymore? LOL
July 16th, 2009 at 8:59 am
PPS. meant to add:
“5 Reasons Mountainboarding hasn’t seen exponetial growth.”
OMG, WTF? Kan no 1 spel ennymore? LOL
July 16th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Less fired up and more direct Van as much as Jason Lee Deserves respect. How did J Lee get involved anyway? Did he just get anointed in this forum by you, You make him out to be some sort of cult leader. Also as far as your “mission” thats wonderful you TALK about mountain boarding but that doesn’t necessarily put kids on boards.
I will bet you all of king midas’ silver that if this quote “”I think it is kind of retarded to wear your proof of mistakes as badges of honor, but to each their own.” were shown to 1000 people 999 would say you called van retarded and the exception is you If you truly didn’t call him retarded than why is it that the very next post was you stating that you did not call him retarded? Nobody had even had the opportunity to wig out yet in fact you did so in 7 minutes! You called an action retarded not a comment so be man enough to say it already.
Ps One 5 = One Man 5 people anonymously spreading his agenda.
July 16th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
BTW JD if mountainboarding is SOOOOOO safe why is there a sticker on the bottom of my board that says it isn’t? Skateboards dont have those in fact I have a 9mm that doesn’t even have a warning label on it. Who put that there? SURE IN HELL NOT THE DIRTSTAR ARMY neither did any “small group of thrill seekers.” If people on this site want to blame someone for the negative stigma of mountainboarding being unsafe look no further than the “Father” himself. Who is retarded now? The admin thats who, whomever that actually is, and just to clear up any misunderstanding I meant that the ADMIN was retarded not just his comments.
Shawn “Dirty Dobbs” Dobson
“Cut The Shit and Be Legit.”
July 16th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
I was under the impression that one five was a crew out of colorado led by justin dersham and supported by benton, ecar, mike,fritz,mork, and others. As your posts have made BRUTALLY clear, the crew that existed two years ago has been Hijacked and turned into a for profit media company by their “leader.” I have a lot of respect for jason lee and the support his company has offered the sport and my crew. I would never disrespect him. I will remain cordial with you, sir. However this will be my last post in response to a jd comment. It is no longer beneficial to the community of mountainboarding to continue when all my comments are reinterpreted to disrespect the sports original leader. See you in kansas jd.
July 16th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Btw… Aj and ecar deserve props for moderation. I notice you cut out the cuss words, but let the message be heard regardless of whether you are for or against the comments perspective.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:27 am
First of all this article was strictly my opinion, and if you aren’t familiar with media terminology, an opinion would be considered an “Editorial” so anyone who doesn’t think an editorial is news than you apparently have never read a newspaper or look at any major news sites. I wrote this article to start a conversation, you all read it and voiced your opinions clearly.
As for you Dirty Dobbs, Admin(the default name given by wordpress) is Evan Carlson.
Lastly, if you don’t like whats been written and you don’t think its news worthy then don’t read it.
July 17th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Yeah and leave Jason Lee out of it!
July 17th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Believe it or not JD can also be found here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc&feature=related pleading for his other heroes exoneration from “unfair” scrutiny.
July 20th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I just don’t understand why Utah has to shit on everything I love. Crying about it x2 tonight
July 21st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Why do u guys hate mountainboarding so much? Its as fun as fluffed clouds in a bottle, it’s only dangerous if you want it to be. ya see?
July 21st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Benton I didnt want to be this guy but JD was tight you are a retard, nobody hates mountainboarding we just hate you please follow along. JD when I read you were going to cry at first I thought you were kidding until I saw this picture http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=6519103&albumID=311516&imageID=2924922 Come on man even you gotta admit you look like a F****in Catcher in that picture, and you say we give mtn boarding a bad name. You were better off with women when you were FAT atleast you could chalk that up to being glandular there is no excuse for GAY!
July 21st, 2009 at 4:18 pm
BTW in 20 years a hundred bucks says you say the same thing your mom said to you “I was young, I needed the money” ha ha
July 21st, 2009 at 5:05 pm
At this point I am thinking you are kind of homophobic. It’s interesting that you have reverted to personal disses and all of those disses are about being gay. Is there anything wrong with being gay? Do DIRTSTARS not allow homosexuals in their “army”? Is it don’t ask don’t tell?
It is unfortunate that you can’t post anything intelligent or concise. I just feel so bad for you now so I am going to let you know that you have won. Great job! You hurt my feelings. This is not a pity win… I swear, you have won fair and square.
Here’s a challenge:
Try a few disses without talking about being “gay” you know? All of your concern over my sexual preference is starting to weird me out a little. How about you challenge yourself to say something creative or funny or something with any value at all. You can do it, I believe in you!
July 22nd, 2009 at 3:44 am
cripes, is it really any wonder mountainboarding isn’t seeing ‘exponetial’ growth..
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:36 am
Nah I won that was all I wanted, JD maybe in the future you will just keep your mouth closed about my team. WIL you are right mountainboarding is failing because of tiny squabbles over propaganda news on a MOUNTAINBOARDING website. Nice original angle but the fact is only mountain boarders are on here so add that to the list of busted theories.
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 am
I would normally stay out of something so childish and trivial, but shawn you obviously cannot back up your words with riding, you were not even in your “team’s” video. jd said you won because your are a fool. there is no reason for him to waste any more time arguing with a frail child. we will see if you have anything to say in kansas. I do not think your keyboard or your “army” will offer you much protection there. GTFO kid
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Dirty Dobbs, your arguments are like 7 whole days……weak!
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
You don’t have to be the best rider in the world to stick up for your friends. Mountain boarding has never bin about your skill level! Its about your hart, Dobbs has as much hart as any one riding off road. Me and my team have bin singled out on more then one occasion and your finally see the blow back from this cliquish mentality.
There is enough room in this sport for us all. Regardless if you think its hard core on not. We should be working to accept one an others views instead of alienating one another for them. Whether your pore or a silver spoon we all love the sport. We should spend more time talking about what we like then pointing fingers at one another, and blaming each other for why the sport is not bigger. This article has brought to light the darkest side of any sport …..elitism.
We all don’t have to be on the same page for the sport to blow up. One of the greatest things about the mountain boarding life style is there is such a wide variate of different types of ppl in it. from PREPPY to METAL we have it all and we all love to ride and that is the real core of the sport. That acceptance is what makes this sport better then any other….you don’t have to “fit in” to fit in. And you don’t have to be good to have a voice, and if any one tells you other wise well its just a control issues.
I love this sport, and i love my crew, i love the friends the sport has given me. I see the sport in my own way and not every one feels the same and that’s fine, but i will always make the argument that we all have a place. We ride for our own reasons and should not discriminant or alienate because of them. The only common bond we need is riding and acceptance.
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I admitted to not being the best rider in the first paragraph so nothing new there however I was not in the video because of injury not lack of skill the DSA has a place for everybody. We would probably even let Evan in if he moved here.
July 24th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Lots of love is all we need to keep on having fun in the sport.
I feel like KD, as long as i have friends all over the world who can welcome me, share their lifestyle and their best spots, then it’s the best sport in the world…
Kansas, Iowa, UK, Italy, Poland Czech Rep, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Morocco… every trip i did for the sport has always been a blast… What else do we need ? Being like snowboarders and show off our fashion in crowded ski resorts ? Man, we’re living the best part of it. A bit more exposure, and we’ll have a good scene, profitable for some indutries with a bit more terrains, what else will we need ?
July 24th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
No reason to hate on metal, WTF?
July 27th, 2009 at 12:31 am
so anyways yeah that would be cool if we saw some exponential growth in mountainboarding
July 28th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Im glad it hasnt exploded yet, otherwise I would never be able to share bad Laffy Taffy jokes with Jlee on Facebook. or have Jereme Leafe scratching his balls on my couch. This is the best sport ever, just be grateful that you know about it because it was your destiny and not because “everyone is doing it”.
July 28th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
…and Van is more than welcome to scratch his balls on my couch as well. Now break it up and lets ride boys.
August 1st, 2009 at 6:23 pm
BALLS!
August 18th, 2009 at 9:07 am
Holy crap. This is (dare I say it ?) retarded !
Good thing I read this at work, and not in my precious spare time lol
September 29th, 2009 at 9:48 am
read through article got what you are after…
You want mountain boarding to be RESPECTED in the eyes of regular pedestrians as seen in the other prominent radical board sports.
That kind of respect and visibility takes time.
My point is this… stop worrying just enjoy the what you are doing.
If you track the progression of mountain boarding you will see the parabolic arc of popularity is way steeper than all of the other sports….
Surfing didnt become a full on mega industry until the 70s-80s… thats about 70-years of development…
skating took 30 years if you go back to the mid 60s -90s….
snowboarding took 15 years from late 70s to early 90s
how old is mountain boarding???10 years and its in the X games already…
its just a matter of time.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:33 am
I’ve been involved in mountainboarding since 1997. Since that time I have read and have written many articles like this and made the same five points plus many more.
To review your points –
1. Well financed industry – that is the cart before the horse. What industry is going to finance a product with a market that can barely absorb the boards being manufactured now?
2. Media exposure – Johnny Kapahala did some good in spreading the word to kids but that benefit won’t be seen for some time to come, if ever. You are right though. Ground Industries, because they thought that if they use the word “mountainboard” that it was going to promote MBS, just confused the market identity of the sport. This is an example of selfishness that hurt the sport.
3. Bad stigma – I couldn’t agree more. Mountainboarding can’t afford to promote itself with the same punk attitude as does skateboarding. It is stupid to take a fringe sport and make it more fringe by adapting skateboardings lawlessness. I’ve bitched about this since my first post on a web site 12 years ago and nothing has changed. MBS is the worst offender. Wouldn’t that prove to most people that something is wrong?
4. Board Technology – I disagree with this one. MBS has done quite a bit. There are incremental changes every year. Sure there are some failures (MBS carve boards, the Atom and MBS longboards) but you have to have some failures or you just aren’t trying.
5. Followers not innovators – I can’t say I agree with this one either. Just look at the events that have part of the past seasons’ competitions. It seems that more events are being created that are specific to mountainboarding than ever before. Time to bring back the high jump.
So, with all of these points being discussed and debated over twelve years time why haven’t things gotten better? Look at the UK and the answer is clear. The UK has mountainboarding centres all over the country.
THERE IS NO PLACE TO RIDE MOUNTAINBOARDS IN MOST OF AMERICA
There. Sounds simple, right? We just open up some centres and the rest will follow. There will be safe places to ride, advanced riders can show off their skills to entice new riders. Media opportunities can be provided in a convenient spot and stores can open to sell boards and concessions. The most important thing is that riders won’t have to hunt and poach to find places to ride.
I spent about eight year’s mountainboarding. During that time I did all I could do to promote it in my area. I started a club. I got press. I sold boards myself and got local shops to carry them. I had one weak but legal place to ride. Then I gave it up.
Why? I was still having fun and staying shape and hadn’t hurt myself too bad. But, the place I had to ride was weak and I couldn’t find any place any better. Not that there aren’t places. They are all over. But, they are on private property and no one is going to take the risk of losing everything to allow a guy to ride a dangerous board down their hill.
Nothing short of national tort reform is going to change this situation. That is just not going to happen while liberal democrats are in power in this country. In the UK, the types of reforms we need are in place and any farmer can open a centre without fear of losing the farm if someone gets hurt or killed.
Liberal democrat politicians are in the pockets of trial lawyers in the US so the status quo will remain. Think about that next time you vote for “hope and change”.
My solution to the problem of mountainboarding’s lack of venues came as a coincidence with the opening of my local skatepark at the same time as Carveboard started selling their CarveStik. The CarveStik truck is a scaled down channel truck.
I played around with different deck sizes and designs and figured out how to strengthen and modify the Stik truck. What I intended to do was make a mountainboard skateboard/hybrid and that is what I did.
I have solved many of the problems that mountainboarding has and hope to solve the rest soon
Now, I can go ride any time at my skatepark and go to any skatepark in the country and ride. No more searching or trespassing or hiking for miles. My Skateboard rides like a mountainboard in a skatepark.
I have a patent pending on my board and I’m hoping to find an interested investor to help me launch the product.
As I said, my skateboard solves the biggest problem with mountainboards – you can ride it anywhere you can ride skateboards.
It is a technology that any company that manufactures and distributes skateboards and/or longboards can add to their product line with very little retooling.
It is capable of receiving a lot of media exposure as something new that can be seen at any skatepark, paved road, side walk or college campus.
It is safer than skateboarding and mountainboarding. It is more stable than both boards and is ridden on paved surfaces. A brake will be offered on cruiser boards.
It can appeal to many different markets. Young people can get extreme and older people can cruise. Girls can look good without busting their asses. It is not intended to be a fringe sport or a punk sport. I would like to sell my boards in WalMart and in skate shops.
.
So there you go. All of the problems with mountainboarding are solved in this one product. Before anyone says, “Well you just ripped off MBS” or “That is just a mountainboard with skate wheels on it”, please read the specification and claims from my patent application. It will be up to the US patent office to decide if my board deserves patent protection.
To see my skateboard go to http://maiskateboard.blogspot.com. Please feel free to send me an email at doctor_esperanto@yahoo.com
SPECIFIC-TERRAIN SKATEBOARD
Abstract:
A skateboard with unique stability, steering, jumping and adjustment capabilities for riding on paved and other constructed surfaces utilizing the athletic skills required to control traditional skateboards, snowboards and mountainboards.
Claim:
What is claimed:
1. A skateboard invented for riding on paved and other constructed surfaces utilizing the athletic skills required to control skateboards, snowboards and mountainboards, comprising:
a. an elongated deck with an intermediate portion parallel to the riding surface that tilts along its central axis to control steering;
b. end sections extending from the intermediate portion of the elongated deck at an angle to provide mounting surfaces for truck and wheel assemblies;
c. removable foot bindings and/or gripping surface attached to said deck;
d. truck and wheel assembly mounting pads and shims attached to said deck;
e. truck and wheel assemblies;
f. a truck designed and manufactured specifically for the invention described herein.
2. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said deck is flat or chambered along its intermediate portion longitudinal section and/or is flat or concave along its intermediate portion cross section.
3. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said deck is composed of wood or composite laminates.
4. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said foot bindings are one or more clips or straps overlapping or covering portions of each foot to fully or partially bind the riders feet to the elongated deck.
5. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said deck has no foot bindings.
6. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said deck has truck mounting hole patterns configured to allow mounting of various skateboard and channel truck type truck and wheel assemblies.
7. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said truck and wheel assembly axles are of sufficient width as to provide stability in straight line and turning maneuvers and prevent contact between the deck edge and wheels and the deck edge and the riding surface.
8. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said truck and wheels assemblies are mounted on various pads and shims designed to adjust the steering suspension characteristics of the truck assemblies.
9. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said wheels are solid or pneumatic and of varying diameter and hardness.
10. A skateboard according to claim 1. wherein said truck is designed and manufactured to respond to the unique structural and performance demands of the skateboard.
Description:
This invention is a new form of skateboard developed to respond to the growing need for an increased stability skateboard for use on paved and other constructed surfaces.
This invention is more stable and maneuverable than traditional skateboards and more suitably scaled than mountainboards for use on paved and constructed surfaces including roadways sidewalks and skateparks. The methods to control this Specific-terrain Skateboard (STS) demand athletic skills similar to those required of conventional skateboard, surfboard, snowboard and mountainboard riding while requiring new skills applicable to the unique properties of the invention.
Conventional skateboards were developed by taking the trucks from roller skates and mounting them beneath a wood deck to simulate the feel and maneuvers of surfboard riding on paved surfaces. Changes to the initial design of skateboards have been minimal since their invention and the handling characteristics and steering mechanisms remain largely unchanged. Many devices have been proposed to address the inherent instability of skateboards, but none has overcome the high center-of-gravity and limited steering capabilities that contribute to that instability. Skateboard riders are mainly younger people who have the resilience to withstand the injuries that are a part of falling from unstable skateboards.
Mountainboard, also known as All-Terrain Boards (ATBs) and Dirtboards, prior art demonstrates the high deck ground clearance, large pneumatic tires and foot binding attachments that are used to enable the rider to stay engaged with the board over rough surfaces. Mountainboards have been developed as a means to ride off-road on unpaved and unconstructed surfaces. Their size, high ground clearance and large pneumatic tires are all designed to roll over the uneven surfaces and absorb the shocks encountered when riding unpaved off-road surfaces.
The skateboard and mountainboard prior art does not illustrate the advantage of the combination of a lowered deck for stability, foot bindings for aerial maneuvers and wheel size and construction for riding paved surfaces. Mountainboard prior art does not illustrate the unique truck mechanism with the geometry and range of adjustment capabilities for the purpose of achieving stability and to withstand the impact of landing from heights on paved and constructed surfaces generally used by skateboard riders.
Skateboard athletic disciplines have evolved into main divisions that include transportation, downhill racing and skatepark riding. Mountainboard riding is confined mainly to the off-road unpaved and unprepared surfaces the equipment was designed to travel.
Although skateboards are intended for paved surfaces some versions have been ridden off-road but are rarely used for that purpose due their increased instability compounded by soft and irregular surfaces. Skateboard riding disciplines have developed over the years of general use and competitions. The largest current skateboard disciplines are street trick riding, skatepark riding, transportation, downhill carving, slalom racing and downhill speedboarding. Although mountainboards have been used for skatepark riding, their size and weight make pushing the board impractical and trick execution much more difficult than with skateboards and the present invention.
The Specific-Terrain Skateboard (STS) combines more stable physical characteristics of mountainboards, including a lowered center-of-gravity and lessened ground clearance, with the light weight and wheel design of skateboards to create a unique skateboard with attributes new to and different from skateboards and mountainboards while conforming to the current riding disciplines of skateboarding.
June 16th, 2010 at 1:52 am
I use my longboard for sliding mostly not to sure what is best this helped a bit.