Three sick local brands to buy a longboard from.
Earthwing – the go to off the shelf complete
Available in a stores in the city, the Earthwing Superglider Complete is one of my favorite boards. Designed by a local guy who used to work in a skateshop on the West Side, Brian Petrie.
If you don’t get the board get the wheels. - Earthwing wheels are sick for any board. I recommend them regularly for beginners because they are bigger and grippier, and can be used on a short deck, but not super gummy and soft.
Bustin Boards – The only custom longboard designer in the area.
The crew at Bustin are SUPER cool! They live amid their work in a warehouse where they constantly toil with improving their designs, to meet their customer’s needs. Colorize any which why you like using their slick and easy online system, but also you contact them, real people will tell contact you back and tell you everything you need to know about longboards.
Though I haven’t spent a lot of time riding it, The First Strike is one of my favorites, simple because it uses drop through trucks that make the board super low to the ground.
My other pick for city/campus life is the Spliff. At $90 this little baby is a steal. It’s small yet rides like a super long board and it’s fast!
Original Skateboards – The best technology you will ever find in a set of longboard trucks.
Put a little spring in your hard carves with Original Skateboards. The have the sickest trucks I’ve ever seen and they’ve evolved quite a bit over the years, raising the carving longboard bar yet again.
In its third longboard re-incarnation the Custom 35 is back with a vengence. Taking advantage of the same ultra-light, super flexible, H-Vlam longboard core as the Apex 37, the Custom 35 is a more carving specific performance alternative to the dropped-low Apex. If flowing carves, full mahogany rails and a snowboard inspired ride play into your longboard style, the Custom 35 should be your longboard of choice.
