One To Try: Longboarding

The skateboard’s tall cousin offers a sweet ride and a great work out.

Yes, search “longboarding” on YouTube and you’re bound to turn up videos of pros screaming down hills and manoeuvring switchbacks at speeds of more than 50 miles per hour. These clips, though exhilarating to an armchair athlete, can also be intimidating. With origins in the 1950s Hawaiian surf movement (surfers wanted to bring their seafaring ways to land), the longboard, however, is a surprisingly accessible entry into the skate scene—the wheel size and material on these lengthy boards provide greater stability, traction and durability. Beginners are recommended to start slow with a board built for cruising (save those downhills until you’ve mastered the basics and procured a sick graphic helmet).

Check out the customizable boards at Muir Skate (https://www.muirskate.com/), a beloved longboard shop in San Diego that ships internationally and offers a wealth of resources from the boards to buy to longboarding basics.