With the success of the Loco series, Landyachtz seems to have gotten hooked on creating skate-inspired decks with a slashing twist. The new ATV series, as revealed in the Landyachtz 2017 line, offers mellow concave with a durable longboard construction, matched in heaven with shapes that are ergonomic, economic and foot-friendly for all-around urban skateboarding.
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At LNV, we like and appreciate smaller board companies who are always innovating. Because they are smaller, small-time boardmakers have more wiggle room, being away from the prying eyes of critics and consumer bases. Instead, they have a clean slate to test their creations and work towards something unique that works.
Many starter companies however, begin producing boards without a strong base and footing in skateboarding and skateboard technologies. These companies never take off, as their constructions aren’t strong and they run into problems while operating the board. Shawn is an exception- a skateboarder for 7 years, Shawn at Voxel Boards knows how important it is to have a strong, tested construction and core before you can experiment with concaves and shapes.
We paired up with Shawn over the weekend and did a little interview with him to really get into the mind of a amateur-turning-professional boardmaker! Check it out below.
LNV: What prompted you to start making boards?
Voxel: The things that prompted me to make boards were all very personal. I had lots of experience growing up around tools, and I knew how to make things. I first wanted to make boards when I was about 14. It took me till I was 20 to realize “Okay, now I actually have the ways and means to do this. I’m not in school, my job sucks…Let’s do this.”
LNV: What do you think is your greatest selling point?
Voxel: I think our greatest selling point is that at our current size, doing limited releases and small batches let’s us improve quickly, and let’s us do weird and niche things that other companies can’t cater to. We have some really cool ideas for limited releases in the future, and the idea is to make sure that something stands out to you in every single one.
LNV: What sets you apart from other boardmakers in the industry?
Voxel: I think what really sets us apart is how we handle our graphics. We have more artists than we have board makers or business people in the company. So, when you go to order a board from our site, we prompt you with options for selecting your board. You’ll be able to choose “Custom Graphic” from those options, and actually work with our artists to commission something that goes onto your board. We also give people the option to upload their own image for use, but I haven’t seen anyone else approach it quite the way we have yet.
LNV: What are your plans for the future? Do you plan to upscale production?
Voxel: Well I recently got a job, and so far, it’s changed my life for the better. It’s also shifted my career to be more around woodworking, and craftsmanship. You’re going to see me trying a lot of new things within the coming months. Lots of unique materials and new construction. In terms of production, we currently only stock the 3310 on the site, so we’re going to be doing re-releases of a few of the old boards pretty soon. Lots of redesigns! I’m also going to be implementing a lot of changes to the manufacturing process, so we’re going to get higher quality, and hopefully try to get more recognition in the community.
LNV: What was your greatest inspiration for the 3310 and its shape?
Voxel: The inspiration for the 3310 came a lot from my desire to do better. I was on the like, 5th mould revision on another deck, and I knew that if I didn’t switch projects, I would get burnt out. I had a lot going on in the company at the time too, so I spent time sorting through that, and working on the new design. It took me a few days to design the mould, then I designed a shape. I spent a whole week just making the mould, and when I was done with it I slapped on the veneers a few layers at a time. Finally after two weeks, we had this giant, rectangular double-kick blank. It felt a lot like holding a certain, indestructible phone in my hands.
The Voxel 3310, as the name suggests, is one tank of a board. It’s been curbed, slapped, hopped and smashed, and yet the rails stay pristine as ever. The slightly square-ish, rounded off figure is utilitarian- maximizing the effective foot platform and increasing the amount of kicktail that has an effect on flip tricks.
The 3310 has a hefty tub concave which flattens out near the street-inspired kicktails for a high pop and ollie-able capability. The back comes with a minimalist, stylish wood-grain graphic with a stain to keep it clean and stickers an absolute possibility!
Pre-order on Voxelboards.com now!
Moonshine has been the fastest growing skateboard company this past year- from a small startup making limited numbers of boards to one of the most successful makers of highly engineered longboards, Moonshine has made remarkable progress this last year.
For the new year, Moonshine is releasing 3 new boards to further expand their grasp over the great aspects of longboarding- freestyle and kicktail slashing, and the perfect art of cruising. Introducing the Moonshine Outlaw, Elixir and Proof.
First is the Outlaw- a board that was born accidentally through the filming of xXx: the Return of Xander Cage. The deck was originally designed for Vin Diesel’s longboarding scene, but after riding it extensively during the duration of the filming, Nick Pappas and Brandon DesJarlais decided that the concave was of amicable enough quality to make it into the official Moonshine Catalog. The Moonshine Outlaw features the classic Moonshine trademarks- urethane rails, waterproof construction and flushmounting. With the mellowcave that you know and love, the Outlaw is bound to be a legend just like the Sector 9 Daisy.
Second is the Moonshine Proof- a technical take on a classical pintail shape. This one is special though- it has wheel cutouts to help with leaning and powerful carves, a sharp, crisp shape supplemented by a strong, tanky construction and a sleek graphic that everyone is bound to love.
Lastly, the Elixir brings new meaning to quiver-killer. Whereas other decks have had steeper, freeride-oriented concaves, the Elixir mixes Moonshine’s trademark mellowcave with a combination of efficient shape and shallow kicktails to make a board that’s both great for downhill and freestyle. It features lunchtray-like wheel flares, deep wheel wells and a killer green graphic that’s bound to make any slide a looker.
Get these new treats before they go out of stock!
Hurtle is prepping their new DeLuxe Cruiser for a release later this year. They’ve been kind enough to provide a look of what’s to come!
Hurtle drew inspiration from the the style and character of the Sixties while designing this new skate. They’re made from a piece of solid, European Oak and topped with a sheet of joined veneer. Each deck is shaped by hand and features a color pattern unique to each deck. The deck you get is sure to be the only one like it. To reinforce this idea, Hurtle is individually numbering each deck as well – your deck will be only yours.
The DeLuxe measures 25″ long x 7″ wide. They feature laser engraved markings and are drilled for old-school truck mounts. Truck options include the Gunmetal Pistols or the Tracker Midtracks. In keeping with the old-school-cool theme, Hurtle has chosen 56mm 78a Cadillac Classics for the wheels. They are a reproduction of the first urethane skateboard wheels made available in 1973. Finally, bolts and bearings courtesy of another British brand, Sabre.
If you are searching for a truly special, hand crafted skateboard with some oldschool ‘sidewalk surfer’ flair hit the link to check out Hurtle and keep any eye out for availability later this year.
2017 brings a welcomed update to one of King Lui’s most popular rides, the Wachter. Translated as The Guardian, new features include a drop-thru/topmount option, shorter wheelbase and a double-kick on either end. Designed with freeride in mind, the Wachter’s symmetrical shape work keeps you comfortable in either direction.
The King Lui team added a tail on either end for a little extra fun – kick it up on a curb, nose manual or a just dance a little. The updates make the Wachter more versatile for rider’s who like their boards to do a little of everything. Other new features include a double micro drop and just a bit more than a 1/2″ of concave. They’ve removed the rocker on the drop-thru version so ride height should be just right. It weighs in at 4.5 pounds with a wheelbase of 25.5 inches.
King Lui expects the drop-thru version to be available in roughly two weeks (beginning of April) but the top-mount is still in development. Hit the link to visit King Lui and check back here for more news when the top mount is available!
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