Lena Meringdal, deck maker and distance skating athlete, talks about her skate brand, MelonenKacke Longboards. This interview covers her brand’s story, lineup, R&D and marketing strategy. Continue reading MelonenKacke: interview with Lena
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. Continue reading Protected: A look at the cult of Independent Trucks (Luecke, A. (2018). Jenkem Magazine)
In early 2021, while the covid-19 pandemic was still raging, and after many events had had to be canceled or postponed in the struggle against the spread of the disease, the IDSA decided to hold the Ultraskate event in Miami anyway. This decision can only be explained by weighing the interests involved against each other (of which public health interests are part). In this post I try to reappraise this conflict of interests to the best of my available resources. Continue reading Ultraskate 2021 amidst a pandemic
I don’t know where the problem starts. Is it the consumers who would buy, literally and figuratively, anything? Or is it rather the skate companies who would sell to the consumers anything, if they asked for it? It certainly is a vicious circle. Continue reading Why we’re stuck here: on the state of the skate industry
You are rightly frustrated with hearsay and anecdotal “evidence” distorting consumer preferences and pointing them to inferior products. Logic doesn’t seem to help and in fact the parties involved are inclined to prefer hearsay over logic. The perfect example of this is the Bennett Vector truck. Continue reading The case against Bennett Vector
My little collection of skateboard industry marketing bullshit I’ve stumbled across on the internet in the last few years. It’s a work in progress. Continue reading The BS-marketing collection
Disclosing affiliates and partnerships in the social media before posting promotions disguised as innocent suggestions is self-evident. Or so I thought. Continue reading Unethical practices in skateboard forums
I’m skeptical about whether companies are indeed creating their own compounds. Their own molds and shapes, pigmentation and logos, sure. But don’t they still have to buy it in liquid form from somewhere?
So, I started a thread on a forum and I got into a rather interesting conversation with user Zip, which I reproduce here. Continue reading Polyurethane (PU) products and the industry
The other day I was searching the internet about “rake” and speed wobbles and stuff and I stumbled upon Sabre’s webpage on “Truck Geometry.” It was a bit… messy. Continue reading Axle offset (aka rake): urban myths and skate companies
So, yeah, it exists! The pumping motion is described by these Russian mathematicians (and I must assume, avid slalomers).
The math exceeds me by far, but someone, somewhere, sometime might find this helpful, hopefully. Continue reading Peer-reviewed literature: the math behind pumping
It is my impression after all these years of following this community, that all this company cares about is milking the enthusiasts who would pay for any of their new shinny products and taking advantage of the ignorance of beginners. Here’s a couple of instances that illustrate this point. Continue reading You tripped up again, Dont Trip
Changing Angles 