Flatland Skimboarding: what is it and where is it born?

Skimboarding was born in the mid-1920s as a tool for lifeguards to quickly run along the beach. Back then they just used a piece of wood and slid along the shoreline to reduce the time it took to reach swimmers who needed help. Much has changed since then; foam skimboards have conquered the world of waves and wooden skimboards have evolved into flat skimboards allowing people to take their skateboarding skills to the beach. Skimboarding in flat and inland areas of the US has grown a lot in recent years and for a good reason: you can slide anywhere. A low tide pool, a river, a flooded road or your own backyard are all options in the world of flatland skimboarding. It’s hard to tell where exactly skimboarding has started away from beaches and oceans, but it is possible to follow its growth thanks to pro riders, contests and manufacturers.

An influential player in the advent of the inland skimboard world is Jim Gordon, owner of J-Gordon Skimboards: “I started creating skimboards around 1980 and my boards were made for waves,” says Gordon. “In the beginning I was selling my boards at Go Skate in Santa Cruz, California. I didn’t know the boards were then sent to their Sacramento store. When I found out, I asked if the boys from Sacramento had gone to the ocean. They told me they were sliding down rivers at Sac and skimming like skateboarding but there were no boxes or rails at the time; they were jumping on tree trunks and tables. Lon Porteous didn’t join my team until the early 90’s but he said he always had one of my boards, just like Mark Robertson. Both are like God Fathers of Skim for flatland, ”says Gordon. “As far as I know, they were the first to slide boxes and rails. The funny thing is they were both kids when they used my boards and now they’re middle-aged adults. “

Flatland skimboarding has always been there, it has just taken the right direction thanks to a sequence of events and people that have attracted attention. Robertson and Porteous and their crew created Skimfest for the generation of riders to come, such as Matt Head, John Minns, Noah Lane, Tim Pepper, Kyle Lynch and many other skimmers in Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, in British Columbia, Skullskates, Kayotics and Zed Skimboards were some of the companies that propelled the sport and helped it progress. Later Richard Doctor, Isaac Thomas, Tony Saddler, Timothy Mackey and Bryce Hermansen and the rest of the Dash Point team created DB Skimboards in Washington state.

Flatland skimboarding has grown exponentially in the Pacific Northwest and Sacramento. Other areas where skimboarding existed and which gained more attention were Utah thanks to Mike, Rich and John Gardner and Australia with Nemo’s skimboards. Other companies like Victoria and Surftech have even started building flat boards. “Basically there was a huge hype in late 90s and early 2000s. It was during this time that most of the tricks were borrowed from skateboards or snowboards and implemented,” says the skimboard legend Kyle Lynch. Kayotics, DB and Blister Productions all released skimboard videos that showed the world what you could do with a flat skimboard in your backyard or where there was some water. Other flat contests joined the Sacramento Skimfest, such as the Virgin River Classic in Utah, the DB Pro / Am in Washington and the Zed Island Skim Sessions in British Columbia.

Skimboarding today

As riders and competitions appeared, sites like the former InlandSkim.com, Tydle Magazine, and InlandSkimMovement.com appeared and started promoting skimboarding. The most recent Skimboardculture.com (now SkimMagazine.com and Flatland Magazine), continues to spread news and videos to a wider audience than ever. Now riders skim the Great Lakes, Texas, Louisiana, Holland, Germany, New Zealand, Poland, England, and in mudflats, flooded golf courses and fountains around the world. The flat is no longer so unknown and the scene has also moved to Europe with riders of the highest level and where the European Skimboarding Cup was born in 2014 and is still ongoing. The flatland skimboarding scene continues to evolve and grow every summer and has a promising future, thanks to riders who continue to push it further to the next level.

[Source: dbskimboards.com]

ON CAVEMAN-SHOP.IT YOU CAN FIND YOUR IDEAL SKIMBOARD!

On our online shop you will find different skimboards: the Flex model, a flexible board perfect to get big POPs and to attack rails and boxes on the beach, the Standard model, one of the most versatile boards on the market, suitable for all conditions even on small waves and Pro models, custom designed for skimboard legends Isaac Thomas and Adrien Raza.