I’ve been watching tons of skimboarding videos the past few days so I figured why not share some of the best ones. It’s really sick to see how good some of these pros are getting and how much the sport has progressed recently. All of these videos are great. I especially like the Alley-oop adventures one in Cabo, such a sick place to go skimboarding. The first one is from Resistance Wetsuits and is my new favorite go to video to get stoked.
So it looks like the first contest of the United Skim Tour this year will happen between May 15 – 17, 2009 at Lover’s Beach in Cabo San Lucas. Last years skimboarding contest saw some great conditions for the pros to take advantage of so lets hope it happens again this year.
For the most up to date information about the Cabo Clasico, check out the official UST website.
Check out this skim video of Paulo Prietto doing what he does best, shredding the gnar. It’s no wonder Paulo is considered one of the best in the world at skimboarding. It’s great to see videos like this coming out on the regular now, skimboarding is really starting to evolve with unique riders like Paulo Prietto. This is definitely the most epic video I’ve seen recently from Exile Skimboards.
I don’t understand all the disrespect skimboarders seem to get from surfers, as seen from this recent DailyStoke article. You can get the same enjoyment out of either sport and many people both surf and skimboard. Skimboarding has a fairly steep learning curve to become comfortable at riding waves but once your there you just get so stoked on riding more.
Surfing is definitely easier for beginners to pickup as long as you have good waves. Getting barreled and going down the line is also way easier in surfing. Skimboarding rides are usually really short and aggressive since you can really whip the board around the wave while with surfing you get the much longer ride and less maneuverability from having a fin.
Bill Bryan, the guy in the videos you posted does in fact surf and does about every other board sport you can name. He’s an expert in flowrider and has pretty much dominated the skimboarding world for some time. The guy was and even was ballsy enough to get towed in to Teahupo on a skimboard.
Either way quit the hate, there’s no sense disrespecting someone for holding a skimboard, especially since they probably have a surfboard in their car ready to out ride you. Both board sports are cool so master them both.
So I just came across a great skimboarding video from this year’s Skimdulgence contest in Australia. Theres some really amazing spots and waves there and I can’t wait to go skimboard there myself someday.
So the UnitedSkimTour started off great with the first event happening in Cabo with some really nice big conditions. Heres a video of the 2 day event that I thought was the best UST video I’ve seen so far. Check out the wipeout at 3:27, yikes.
Listen up everyone, if your serious about skimboarding you should know who Exile Skimboards is. Company founders Aaron Peluso and Andy Chiavetta have really changed the skimboarding world for the better with their low priced boards and great build quality. Aaron Peluso whos owns SkimOnline, has the biggest resource of skimboarders in the world. Seeing first hand what the riders want and look for have allowed Exile Skimboards to become a leader in the industry.
First of all I’d only recommend investing in an Exile if you want to get into wave riding seriously. If you want to rip it up every weekend definitely look into getting one, because it will last. I’ve personally owned two separate Exile’s and they were both top notch boards. Dealing with Henry over at Exile was always awesome and there more then happy to answer any questions you have.
Anyway my current skimboard is a Carbon Pro Shape with 3/4 foam and you have to love how light, strong and responsive the carbon is. There’s certainly a reason all the pros are using carbon these days for their boards. The carbon version will set you back about $450, with the Eglass and Sglass versions costing $365 and $395 respectively. I personally think carbon is worth the investment if your serious because it will really help not set you back when you want to advance your skills. I’m not saying the board makes the rider because I fully know theres pros out there who could rip a plank of wood, all I’m saying is if you want the best you might as well get the carbon.
With Exile having such riders as Grady Archbold, Paulo Prietto, Brendan Stevens, Brandon Sears and Brad Domke on their team its no wonder there becoming a hit among the people. These are guys going out there and constantly winning contests and having great heats. Anyway make sure to check out Exile Skimboards the next time your looking to pick up a board, you won’t be dissapointed!
Exile Skimboards Team Rider Paulo Prietto Getting Shacked in Cabo
So in the first part of my how to skimboard series I talked about all the beginner stuff, dropping your board and other basics. In this part were going to focus on actually wrapping the wave which involves turning on the wave and riding it back onto the beach.
First off your going to have to find waves that are actually rideable because some beaches and spots just don’t work at certain tides. Ideally you want the waves to be breaking close to to the shore so you can reach them. When there’s a lot of dead water in front of the breaking wave its going to be really tough to get to the wave especially if your a beginner. Choosing the right wave is crucial to skimboarding and its just something you’ll slowly begin to figure out over time.
Secondly you need to run really really fast and get on your board quickly. I can’t stress speed enough when it comes to skimboarding, you have to really push it because it makes wrapping much easier. A lot of beginners will start their run and pickup speed and then slow down to drop. You can’t slow down, try to just picture yourself running onto the board. You run onto it back foot first and then bring your front foot on, all in the same motion of your run. Remember if its windy to kick some wet sand onto the nose of your board to keep it from flying away and busting your shin.
Another important point is getting comfortable with shifting your weight. Remember to put some weight on that backfoot on the transition from the shore to the wave, it’ll keep you afloat. You also want to bend your knees and remember to look at where you want to go. Before you hit the wave your going to want to shift some weight to the inside rail while keeping those knees bent.
At this point you should now be heading up the face of the wave going into a turn and finishing at the top by “slashing” it. This is done through shifting your hips and looking the direction you want to go. Of course timing is crucial but with some practice you should get it.
So get out there and start wrapping some waves. Once you get that first one you’ll be hooked for sure.
Photo: Brad Evers
Your wanting to get into skimboarding but your somewhat afraid your going to make a fool of yourself. First of all quit worrying about looking like a fool. You need to practice and keep practicing if you want to get better. The more time you spend on the board the better your board skills are going to be. Now besides getting out there and doing it I figured I would help people out with some helpful tips on how to skimboard.
First off the most important aspect of skimboarding is timing your waves right. When your first starting out I’d recommend finding a flatly sloped area of the beach to practice dropping onto your board right after a wave breaks. Now dropping onto your board is one of the toughest things to feel comfortable doing and many people give up at this step in the process. You just have to keep practicing and you’ll eventually become confident doing it. Be prepared to get some nice bruises learning how to do this.
Now once your on the board enjoying the slide your going to need to feel out how to place your weight. Some basic guidelines are to shift a lot of your weight to your backfoot right before meeting the ocean to prevent the nose digging into the sand. This allows you to glide smoothly across the water instead of smashing into it. Also remember that wherever your head looks your body follows, this will help later with turning on the wave.
Another important part of skimboarding is running fast. To be a good rider you NEED to be able to run fast. Practice dropping over and over as fast as you can. At first your control will be a little off but over time you’ll get used to the speed and you’ll end up having more control. Speed is key to riding waves and the more you have the easier it will be to shred those waves up.
If you practice enough you should be able to wrap small waves which involves banking off the wave and riding it back to the shoreline. Try watching some skimboarding videos on youtube and watch the riders closely and try to do what they do.
In the more advanced guide on how to skimboard I’ll go over things such as pumping the board, one step dropping and getting air. Stay tuned.
When I think of the sport of skimboarding, Bill Bryan definitely comes to mind. The guy has been skimboarding longer than I’ve been alive and has been considered the best of the past decade. Having claimed the winning spot of the 2008 United Skim Tour, hes certainly not stopping anytime soon.
Bill Bryan is the swiss army knife of board sports and has seemed to conquer them all. Besides skimboarding, Bill is an excellent surfer and snowboarder and more recently hes been beating up the competition in the sport of flowrider.
Don’t believe the hype? Just hop on over to YouTube and type in Bill Bryan and see for yourself how hard this guy rips. I’ll even start you off with one of my recent favorites of him skimboarding Teahupo. Also make sure to check out all his 10th Street Bros skim movies, there all great.
