Happy Holidays

Don't forget to bundle up because, as Billy says, it's cold outside.

Mid West Tour Episode 5

Happy Friday!...enjoy the latest tour video...

Why We Race

World Class Downhill Skateboard Racing from Landyachtz on Vimeo.

An old man is talking

...listen up kids, cause Bertrand has important things to say.

Check out his whole blog HERE.

Introduction: Bear Trucks Polar Bears

UPDATE: The Polar Bears continue to rock my world. The Polar Bears are so good they make my other TKP trucks feel like cheap toys. I have been to the concrete park near me twice so far with the Polar Bears, they are excellent carving trucks and they grind extremely smoothly on concrete. I have been improving my frontside carves on the flow corners; I am now going so fast that I'm flying off the coping on the exit. The 91a durometer stock tall barrel bottom bushings were too soft for a big fellow like myself, so I replaced them with some Venom 97a pink bushings. I kept the stock top bushings to keep the carving sharp. The trucks carve really well with the hard bottom bushings and I am getting absolutely no wheelbite with my 52mm Satori Linked Logo 98a wheels. Everything with the Polar Bears is fast and stable at the park.  The trucks are super stable; bombing some hills I quickly wore the Satori wheels down to about 50mm. The Polar Bear trucks are so good that I don't even bother to skate my other boards now. Wherever I take a skateboard, it is the one with the Polar Bears on it that I grab without hesitation. Traveling is so easy with these trucks, they carve well, they grind well, and it is so easy to ollie with these trucks that I barely set up anymore to hop curbs. Here are some more pictures of the Polar Bears:

Polar Bear 155mm trucks. I'm still grinding my locks in. The heat treated aluminum is so strong that it is taking longer than usual. The Polar Bears grind super smoothly.

Jack the Ripper

Jack Craddock is one of the youngest riders on the team. Living in West Van gives him the perfect terrain to practice and its no wonder this kid is progessing so fast. Totally dominating the Junior 1 division at races this year, this kid is coming after the older guys now.

Get those kids on board!

This little guy will be slaying in no time.

Mid West tour part 4

What took you guys so long?

Euro Tour 2012 Part 3: Land Boat Special from SkateHouseMedia.com on Vimeo.

Skate House Media always puts together great edits. This one happens to feature Team Rider Dillon Stephens in Europe a few weeks back.

Mid West tour part 3

Custom Wolfshark

Some beautiful work by Champstiles Woodburning

Avaliable at Flatspot Longboard Shop

The Parade of Lost Souls

The Landyachtz warehouse and surrounding area was turned into a nightmarish wonderland for Halloween...

Parade Of Lost Souls from Landyachtz on Vimeo.

Happy Halloween From Landyachtz

Thanks to Joel Linafelter for sending us this sweet jack-o'lantern photo! Now do the Monster Mash...

Billy Bones Slide Gloves

Billy shows you all the cool things you can do while wearing his new Slide Gloves.

Mid West Tour Part 2

Straight to the horses mouths...

From Travis:

We landed in Medoza on Thurday and hooked up with some locals and headed to Potrero De Los Funes, where the race is held. All three of us slept in a car the first night, we hit the race hill early, met the locals, and started runs... Such a wild course. It's 2 min + of balls to the walls high speed sweepers, on the verge of drifting. Some crazy fast pack runs, wild course... qualified today with powerful head winds and deceiving rain, it went well for the three of us. We're staying with the Chileans in a cabana rocking Argentinan meat bbq.

From Max:
Snake Skeleton was crazy, Race day had a gnarly tail wind, 6man heats on a 2min + run. Semi finals I was up with dalua, danky, James, niko, and another buddy I cant remember. I ended up snaking a crazy inside line in the last big corner and stole a first, finals were straight stupid, everyone making passes everywhere, elbows up flying  through corners . Danky rolled away first. Dillon 5th and me 6th. All the North Americans destroyed the party.

Words from South America

Travis sent us this...

"yo man, everything is awesome down here. the race was a 3 day festival this year. all practice the first day, 4 qualifying runs in the morning of day 2, and racing on day 3,  dillon qualified 1st, max 8th, me 9th overall. we all met up in the quarter finals and had an epic run with max, passing back and forth, the fucker got me in the end. it rained for the semis, and pisssed rain for the finals. max won the concies, and dillon made a sick pass of switzer for the win. just an epic techy track, tons of spectators and fine ass senoritas. well put together event with food music, the works.. a wild after party, all the spectators and racers were invited. awards, music, cervesas just fucking epic"

 

... and Katie had this to say.

"Well, we all made it to Colombia and needless to say we are having a good time!  The 4 of us showed up separately starting with Max, who came a full week early to attend an event and skate the mountains in Medellin before the festival.  Next up, I flew into Bogota for the third time this year, followed by Travis shortly after, then Dillon, fresh from the midwest tour.  The race weekend was pretty awesome, plenty of dry runs, and as usual some wet, but overall a good atmosphere.  Dillon qualified 1st by almost 2 seconds, then the 3 of them found each other on the start line for the third round of racing.  With Travis stepping out in third, Dillon went on to win the open division for an epic soaking wet final and Max finished 5th overall after destroying the consi.  

The boys are continuing on to Argentina tomorrow and I'll be flying home to Vancouver for some local fun.

Mas Fiesta!!"

Hungry?

Lunch on the run from Hopkin Skate on Vimeo.
NomNomNom....

Everyone has their own style

Mark rides a Peacemaker like no other... Meow are those yellow Monster Hawgs?

The Mid West Tour is Underway

And it looks like the crew is having a great time south of the 49th parallel (north).

Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour dates HERE.

This explains things...

I was wondering why the factory was strangely empty last Thursday. Turns out according to Liam's blog, the bosses paid everyone to play in the park. Looks like they had lots of fun. If only cats could throw discs.

New Music Video

... looks like the team is hitting the big time.

Whistler Longboard Festival 2012

Unkle sure puts on an epic event. Next year.... BE THERE!

Skate the Forest

This event has been running for a number of years in various incarnations. It used to be a race, now we all just get to hang out and have fun. There is an online auction that closes Sept 20th, get your gear HERE. Be sure to check out www.skatetheforest.com .

The trip towards the World Champs 2012

Words by Adam Yates:
Not long after getting home from the Cathlamet road trip with Striker and the F bomb,  i turn around again to hit the road east with some of the team. Nick Breton, Travis Craig, Justen Ortiz, Graham Badner and myself are all leaving early to do the Landy thing and visit shops in the Edmonton/Calgary area. Local 124 is one of the OG shops in the Edmonton area and Mike Sanders is the man when it comes to supplying the local groms of the area with all their stoke needs.

Nicks parents put us up in their home and wat a sleep! The mission home from Cathlamet was long and then to drop Kyle out at Abbotsford added another hour to a 7 hour drive. Got home and had 4 hours sleep to do it all again. 12 of the best east and I’m telling ya i was stoked to get a good night of sleep. The breakfast that we had that morning was mondo, home cooked Quiche Lorrain courtesy of mumzi Breton, Thanks Kathy! One of the best break’s id had in a long time. Wat a way to welcome us to Edmonton!!

Nick threw down and played a great host. We walked the main drag of Whyte Ave and had a beer at his old watering hole the Strathcona Hotel. We also got lucky with a few free give-aways – cold iceies on this sweaty day in Edmonton was a delicious treat. Off to Local 124 mid arvi and what a crew. All the groms had turned out and were all asking questions on how to do this and that.  It’s always great to share ya knowledge and spread the stoke! Had a jam on the local mini ramp and then it was time to session the River Valley pathways. Some tight lil drops and some real sketchy pavement but hey, why not! It was sick just to lurk in the park and session with all the Local crew. As the day drew to an end, it was back to the shop, passed a few Hotrods on the way. Old boys out enjoin they’re rides! At Local124, we had a small lil autograph session and a jam on the ramp. Jacob Dutton is new to the Landy team and was really thrown down showing his skills on transition! yeah bra!

Guess its time for eats and we’re off to Mike’s house for the hell cook up. Who knows where we’ll end up? Its Edmonton and I’m sure Nick’s keen to catch up with a few of his ol drinkin buddies! The colonel and his wife Jane threw down on some burgers and beers at their pad. Inspired by Jodie (Shnitzel) Wilcock, Mike had made himself a sweet CNC and was setup in his garage. It even played songs, the theme song from Tetris! It was like the man pad from hell, everything a lad needs; A wood fire oven, a CNC, a beer fridge and a few lil lady’s on the walls!

Apparently the last two night nicks dogs have been comin down of a night time jumping all over Justin who’s been kipped up in a corner on the floor. Last night was no different and stories were shared over a mondo breaki cook up again supplied by Kathy! Its been raining over night here so a late start and the plan to go get our dress shirts on was made. Off to Value Village and Winners to see what threads they had. All walked out with some baller collars ready for the Pro session at Easy Rider skate shop, another one of the Edmonton sk8 shops that stock Landyachtz products. Sittin here at Callingwood sk8 park in our fine threads watching Dutton throw down flip tricks of all sorts. Open park, not too much flow but if ya got ya shit down, I’m sure you could get some hell lines!

Easy Rider’s owner Warren Currie greeted us and gave us a tour of the shop. They had some sweet stuff from Longboards to Wake and S-Up paddle and Snowboards. Was sweet walking round the shop and doing the pro thing. There was a good lil turnout of groms. A lot more mellow than that yesterday of 124. Had a hell lil cook up and had a jam on his lil outdoor street setup. Great arvi spent there. Now off to the Breton household for another tasty home cooked meal and some hell chilled beer. I think we’re gonna impress Nicks mum with our new collars! Dinner was a real treat, the best I’ve eaten on the road for sho! Thanks Kathy for looking after us and welcoming us into your home!

Last night got a lil rowdy. Holy! late one but that didn’t stop us from hitting the road well before lunchtime. Calgary’s a 3 and a half hour drive south from Edmonton, through farm land. Flat as and the road is pretty much one boring shitty assed straight HWY. I guess its all good, just another part of this rad country that i can say I’ve driven through. On the out-skirts of Calgary theres a mondo shop for the outdoor addict. Its called the Bass Pro Shop and Outdoor centre. the place is mental. It’s like walking straight into an indoor forest. There were stuffed animals of all sorts, a mondo fish tank with trout and salmon, all ya campin and hunting needs and all the camp gear to hide from preying eyes! Hands down the best outdoor shop I’ve been in!

Royal Boardshop and Calgary has come to play, grommets everywhere. Steve from the shop had prepared a small lil event around the blocks behind the shop, sorta like a challenge of different activities. There were 7 challenges ranging from hippy jumps to manuals and early grabs! Groms whre stoked to get out and get the challenges marked off on the score card. We gathered to announce the winners and Sector team had rolled in. Jacko, louis and the usual punters from the Team. it was good to see some old faces not seen in ages. Eric, Adam and Freddy had come from Sweden too. Bailed the shop and went to the hill to tag up the hill with BEAR graphs. It was epic to be able to legally graph a public road! sweet deals! Lookin forward to the next 3 days here on the hill with all me mates! Its gonna be rad....

Behold the Ripple Ridge

Guff joins Phillip for a typical summer day in Vancouver.

It's all about the Journey

The Crew from Moosehead stopped by on their journey because they think our boards are made well.


Thanks Moosehead, we like your beer too!

Yippie Ki-Eh...

Kyle Martin and Dillon Stephens took Cathlamet by storm this past weekend walking away with both Gold and Silver around their necks...a job well done!

Here we see Kyle chuggin and Dillon Grinnin

Kyle Is always down to sign some autographs

Washington's finest also wanted an autograph from Kyle...but for different reasons.

Dillon and Kyle tests out a new set of wheels in the store

Looks like Dillon had a good weekend!

Time to saddle up

The Cathlamet Downhill Corral goes down this weekend.
2012 Cathlamet Downhill Corral Skateboard Festival Promo Video from Cathlamet Corral on Vimeo.
Giddyup!

Three firsts and three seconds

What a crazy weekend.

Nick Breton got Second place at the High Level Downhill in Edmonton. A big thanks goes out to Local 124 for putting this event on every year.

Dillon Stevens got second place at the first ever Descente in Switzerland.
And last but not least Nick Hurley got first and Justen Ortiz got second in the first ever longboard race at Sun Peaks. Big Thanks to 5Forty boardshop for the good times.

Hawgs KM FSU Review

Wheelbase did this excellent review on the Kyle Martin FSU Hawgs wheel which is perfect for high speed aggressive riding.

Just in case you missed it, check out Kyle shredding these wheels in this product video:

Giant's Head Freeride 5

Holly banked wall of awesome!   Be sure to look out for the PINECONES!

Birdcage 2012

It's going down this weekend, Sunday the 12 of August.

If you've never heard of this event, it might be because you don't live in Quebec, or have simply not been paying attention. Check out last years photo's and write-up HERE (hope you can read French). Big thanks to PED Boardshop for putting this event on. Register HERE.

Where my dogs at?

... oh, they're clearly in Mexico.

As it turns out...

Hayato has already won the race, just like last year. Good thing its a freeride, so everybody wins.

Giants Head Freeride

It's going down this weekend for the Fifth year in a row. If you can't make it out, you can watch the Livestream. If you've forgotten how much fun it was last year, check out Skate House Media's flashback...
Flashback: Giants Head Freeride 2011 from SkateHouseMedia.com on Vimeo.

Otherwise BE THERE!

Dillon is in Europe

And he had this to say about things...
"Off to a rough start, missed my flight and dislocated my shoulder. My luck turned around when I met up with the crew at the Prague airport with two minutes to spare before they gave up on me. We arrived at kozakov late that night and celebrated our arrival with the locals. Trying to heal my shoulder and my hangover I sat out the whole first day and only rode when I had to qualify. Four days later the race was upon us and I have a total of four runs under my belt, the rain hit half way through the race and I was stoked. Made it to the finals with Zen, he got hit in the first corner, I got a nice lead until I blew it in a wet right hairpin going way to fast. I ended up getting fourth but Zen managed to pull of second even after following me into the hay bails. The van is packed up and our next stop is Italy."



He missed the Seawall Cruise here in Vancouver this past weekend.

These hooligans didn't though.

The Aussie has landed

Adam Yates looks to be stoked on the *new* Bamboo Drop Carve. Good thing we're shipping a boat load of them down under. Fair dinkum cobber!

Return of the Drop Carve

   
It took the boys here at the factory some time to finish production on this board. But as you can see, it's worth the wait. mmmmmmmm cookies.

Roadtrip!

This cat is excited for business at the 11th Sullivan Challange.

Congratulations Andrew Chapman!

The Whistler Longboard Festival went off this weekend. Andrew Chapman took home top honors with a first place finish in Open class, followed closely by Max Wipperman.

Rounding out the field was Mathew "Grizz" Kroetsch with a first place finish in Masters class. Charlie Darragh with a second place finish in Junior catagory. Last but not least Jack Craddock and Quinn Dubois got first and second place respectively in the Grom category. (Photo's by Andrea Sebostova)

In case you missed it...

We made an awesome video to introduce the peacemaker:

Loved the song? Check out the video for Red Fang's Wires. It's one of the best we've ever seen!

We'll definitely be using more songs from them in the future.

World Domination

Adam Yates has been busy skating and winning races over in Australia. He has recently gone through a lengthy physical rehab for a knee injury he sustained in Portland over a year ago. It's great to see him back on a board

From the Ozzies mouth:

So there has been a few races here of late. All local stuff for ASRA points and all that jazz. The first was last weekend, All Mossed Out down in Mossman, Sydney. Tight, Technical hill, crazy pavement. I got third in a hella tight final.

The next two where a lil closer to home on the Sunshine Coast and Noosa Heads. The first "Rockin at the Ridges", a lil technical hill with pretty nice pavement but lacked turns. The two turns were both tight right's and made for some tight cornering 2 and 3 wide. Battled all day and finished undefeated, 1st in the final after kickin out in 3rd and makin two inside passes on the two corners availiable. INSIDE!

The last was Noosa Hill Climb. basically a mini Maryhill. Had some wet weather in the days leading into the weekend and made for a few small steam crossings along the way. I think 13 turns in total. The top a lil straighter than the more technical middle with the end a seriers of sweepers. Started the final in 4th out of 6. Bossed it through and made my passes before the techy section ending up winning by 15 meters.

Team Rider Katie Neilson has also been recovering from Knee surgury and is just getting back on her board. She is currently calling South America home and won the Los Abuelos DH women's class. Watch out, Katie is back!!!

Well, I went ahead and set up a switchblade 36 and got myself back on board after nearly 8 months without skateboarding this weekend after deciding to enter the very fast, technical 2.5 km long Los Abuelos DH Race here in Pereira, Colombia. After a hard, solid day of racing I took home a solid 6th in the open category and ran the women's field to the top of the podium as well. For the whole day I would skate one class and then they would rip me back up on a motorcycle to the top when I kept advancing. Needless to say, it's two days later and my legs are still like Jello, but if feels great to be back on board and I'm stronger than ever!

- Katie