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Teen longboarders test limits of speed
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Photos by Rob Varela / Star staff Eli Suzuki-Gill speeds down a Camarillo street on his longboard. "It's a rush," Eli said of barreling down a hill at speeds of up to 45 mph.
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On a street corner at the bottom of a steep hill in the tony streets of Camarillo's Spanish Hills, Russell Wood waits.
"Don't Fear the Reaper" rings on his cell phone. When Russell answers and looks up and down the street for cars, a blond curtain of hair falls across his 15-year-old face.
"All clear," he says.
Then they come.
Two figures clad in motorcycle jackets, full-face helmets and leather gloves come barreling down the hill, cruising at 30 mph, then 35, 40, finally closing in on 45 mph. Eli Suzuki-Gill and Robby Nafie, both 15, are crouched down low, heads bent forward, hands tucked behind their backs, as they blow by Russell in a blur of leather and speed.
The two aren't on motorcycles or bicycles or anything that requires power.
They are standing on skateboards. And they are moving very, very fast.
This is speedboarding.
"It's a rush," Eli said as he shook his hair from his helmet.
And it's becoming a lot more popular.
Though longboarding — skating on boards much longer than traditional skateboards — has been around since skating was born in Southern California in the 1950s, the cruising boards have been making a comeback in recent years. With the resurgence of the boards, there has been an increasing interest in seeing just how fast gravity will pull someone downhill.
Speedboarding races are better attended now, gear is becoming more technical, and people like Eli and his crew are posting their feats on YouTube.
"It's not for everyone, but it is growing and you are going to see it more and more," said Erik Basil, co-owner of the popular skating Web site www.silverfishlongboarding.com. More people attend and compete each year in races put on by the International Gravity Sports Association, Basil said. Competitions in San Dimas as well as down massive mountains in Washington are growing bigger every year.
For those with a healthy respect for asphalt, this might not be their bag. You shouldn't even have to ask if this is dangerous.
Russell lifted his shirt to show what happens when you don't wear a leather jacket and take a nasty swan dive. The matching purple scars on his pelvic bone were proof that skin is softer than road. The four stitches in his chin were a testament to why you should always wear a motorcycle helmet.
"That doesn't feel good," he said as he pointed at his road rash.
The biggest hazard is cars. Russell and his friend Nathan Deweber stand guard at intersections to watch for traffic.
Judy Suzuki doesn't like that her son feels this need for speed, but she supports it, driving her son and his friends to steep hills with few intersections that they find on Google Earth.
"I don't have insurance so you know where my mind is," she said. "I tell him You are on Jesus' insurance.' But you can get hurt walking down the street. Life is too short not to skateboard."
And then there is that whole question of legality.
Skateboarders fall under the classification of pedestrians, who have no speed limit, said Ventura County Sheriff's Deputy Patti Salas. However, they do have to follow rules such as yielding the proper right of way at intersections and being in control.
"It's really risky behavior," she said. "It's extreme skating. They have to be safe when they are doing it, but I don't know if you can do that in extreme skating."
After screaming down a hill at break-neck speeds, stopping is an important skill to have. Skaters stand upright to cut wind resistance, then weave back and forth across the road to slow themselves. At that point, they can do a foot brake, where they put one shoe flat on the ground. Robby's right shoe sole is planed flat from the rubber meeting the road.
The other way to stop is to slide out, kicking the board sideways while putting a gloved hand on the ground.
Veteran skaters have fancy gloves with plastic pucks on them; Eli chopped up an old cutting board and glued squares of it onto leather work gloves. The gang is excited about the remodel of Nathan's parents' kitchen, when the Corian countertops will be up for grabs.
The friends, who all go to different Ventura high schools, got into this about a year ago when Nathan got a longboard for his birthday.
Unlike street skating or "vert" skating on ramps, the longboards have a mellower, smoother vibe to them.
"It has more of a surfing feel," Robby said. Besides, so much of the other skating has an attitude, they said. Instead of trying to one-up each other with kick flips and ollies, now they just sail along.
They saw video clips of speedboarding and began looking for hills in their neighborhood. Before long, they needed boards that were better designed for the task and started shopping online.
Their setups now cost a few hundred bucks, complete with soft wheels to absorb bumps, decks that have a low center of gravity and super high-end components.
The appeal is about the speed and the adrenaline, of course. And the fact that girls seem to think it's cool doesn't hurt, either.
But there is something else, too — something about going as fast as you can and tuning out the blurry world if only for one-third of a mile. It borders more on Zen Buddhism than punk skating.
"The only thing you are paying attention to," Eli said, "is where you are."
Posted by smithjc on July 24, 2007 at 5:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
the signpost up ahead....................the emergency room
Posted by Ventuckey on July 24, 2007 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
On a city street with cars. Smart.
Posted by Prodigy on July 24, 2007 at 9:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sweet, now everyone can do it. I’m just curious, was there a radar gun involved with the speed claims? I’m sure one of the many “super high-end components” on the board is not a speedometer!
Posted by surfmedic91 on July 24, 2007 at 9:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
They are totally accountable for any injuries they get or anything unsafe they do. This is much more dangerous than any other form of skating because of the speeds and cars involved but it's fun. Next thing you know, the VTA CTY Sherriff's dept will be giving them tickets.
They can skate 45 mph down residential streets but we can't skateboard through downtown Ventura. I was actually "pulled over" on my longboard for skating around the California st. parking garage. Hee hee.
Posted by shaver_one on July 24, 2007 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Except for the size of the board, that's the same thing we used to do, 45 years ago, in West LA...the birthplace of 'sidewalk surfin'. Rock on, Dudes.
Posted by clementine on July 24, 2007 at 11:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The mom should buy medical insurance immediately. Or - will she try to get free medical aid for her son. If a car hits these dudes - they should also pay the owner of the car for damages. They're young and very naive. Too bad their parents feel they must support them.
Posted by bugmenot on July 24, 2007 at 12:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I live in a neighborhood that has a hill. The long borders come to our street, probably about 5x a week. Usually it's 2 guys and one follows them in a pickup truck at like 15mph through the neighborhood. The long borders don't go in a straight line either, they zig zag, like a snowboarder. They go from one sidewalk to the other, with a truck blocking traffic behind them.
I wouldnt have a problem with them if they went down the hill just once or twice. But when they make it an all afternoon affair, I feel uneasy with strangers in my neighborhood. It would be like those fake door-to-door salesmen who are really just scoping out houses to rob. Also, if you stereotype a skateboarder that has enough time to hang out in my neighborhood throughout week days it's not very appealing.
Sometimes I'll come home at lunch and they'll be there. Then when I get off work, they are still there. I don't like to tell people what they can or cannot do, i don't think that's my right, but one day I might ask them to keep it in moderation. I think that's reasonable and they will likely agree and not have a problem with that.
Posted by gman2398 on July 24, 2007 at 1:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You can tell who the old, square people are by their responses. Years from now these young skateboarders will be posting the same replies as the old people from today. Circle of life.
Posted by BeaHappi on July 24, 2007 at 1:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm glad that these guys are at least smart enough to wear full-face helmets and leather jackets.
I wonder if they'd be able to stop in time to avoid hitting something...like a dog, kid crossing the street, or other obstacle.
Posted by Just_wondering on July 24, 2007 at 3:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm all for extreme sports if the person participating is the only one that would get hurt, but this seems like an accident waiting to happen. I have the same question as BeaHappi...what happens if a child or a dog darts out in front of them? Not only will they running the risk of hurting themselves, but also whoever happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. As quickly as they think they may be able to stop, they definitely don't have anti lock brakes on their boards. even cars don't stop in time all the time.
Posted by surfmedic91 on July 24, 2007 at 3:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
gman, you are right on the money. George Lopez said it best. Kids of today would not survive with the toys we had when we were kids.
Just_wondering, yes, this is an accident waiting to happen. Accidents are never planned.
I remember skating and biking the B-Ramp 1/2 pipe in the barranca off Telegraph Rd between Victoria and Kimball back in the '80s. If one of us got hurt down there, it would have been forever before we would have had medical aid.
Posted by pacpam on July 24, 2007 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Three pre-teen boys without any more clothes than shorts and T-shirs carrying skateboards just walked up our 45 degree hill that has three 80 degree curves. The article extolling dangerous behavior has born fruit. The speed limit for cars is 15 mph for a reason. It's 8:35 p.m. Do you know where your children are?
Posted by Ventuckey on July 25, 2007 at 1:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm 22 and even I think this is craziness (or I'm getting old). It's a public street with cars. I don't care if they hurt themselfs, but do you know how much damage/injury a human body weighing let's say 150 - 200 lbs will cause at 45 mph! The paper shouldn't be susporting this. I'm a snowboarder, I go out every weekend during the season, but this is a street with traffic and other people around. From the video, it looks like Spanish Hills and I know that when I drive through there I like to take the corners and I cannot really see around all the blind corners. I guess when they get hurt they'll just sue some rich family who lives there.
Posted by Ventuckey on July 25, 2007 at 1:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To put it in perspective a 150 lb person going 30 mph will crash with 3000 lb force and a 200 lb person going 30 mpg will crash with 4000 lb force. That's over 2 tons of force. It only takes 33 ft pounds of energy to fracture a skull, or approximately 398 inch pounds of energy.
Posted by primus on July 30, 2007 at 6:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
you guys suck (posters) if we want to take the consequences i dont see why you people have to shoot holes in the whole opperations
Posted by pat_s on August 2, 2007 at 7:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ok and how many tons of force does a car exert? or a bicyclist doing the exact same thing. I've never understood why people have such contempt for skateboarders, they're just riding a piece of wood with wheels rather than a piece of metal with wheels (bike, scooter, roller blades.) And yes you can stop on a longboard, most longboarders wear gloves which allow them to place their hands on the ground to initiate slides to a stop. I can stop from 35 mph in under 15 feet, most cars will take up at least twice that distance to stop so before you attack us, know your facts.
Posted by mangels on August 2, 2007 at 10:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
YOU CAN DO THIS SENSIBLY AND SAFELY. I'm 47 years old and I've been speedboarding (or downhilling as us old timers used to call it) since I was 17. In 30 years I have never hit a kid or dog. I have never hit or been hit by a car. Nor have I ever caused a car to swerve or jam on its brakes. A skateboard can be stopped quickly in an emergency. It is done in the same manner as skiers, snowboarders, or ice skaters. You reach down, grab the edge of the board, turn the board sideways and skid to a stop.
Sloloco - you can buy a speedometer for your speedboard, although most people use a GPS device. It's just as accurate.
Posted by EBasil on August 2, 2007 at 10:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'd like to encourage anyone that's full of vim and vigor over the hazards of skateboarding or the appearance of smiling kids in your neighborhood to do a little investigation about what you're saying before you comment. Your opinion might not change when it becomes informed, but you might be heartened to know that the general level of skill and the culture of safety with speedboarding is such that accidents are rare, the skaters know how to stop and injuries are less common than in other sports. Keep in mind, nobody's vandalizing curbs, benches or property... bicycles in the street go as fast as skateboards do.
Check out the link to Silverfish Longboarding that the reporter embedded in the article. Open minds might find a refreshing, exciting insight to "skateboarding".
Have a great day.
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