Photo By: Dylan Pierce

Boardworks' first skate event of the season was, in our eyes, a definite success! We set off with the goal of providing a platform for new riders in the Bellingham area to meet more experienced riders and learn new skills in a collaborative environment. We decided that putting together a session dedicated to learning how to stop would be a good place to start towards achieving that goal.



"Going" is typically thought of as the more fun aspect of skating. That is, when it comes to skateboarding, going down hills, going off of ramps, going through chunder, and other kinds of "going" are usually what you hear people excited about. Many people forget that stopping is equally as important, and can actually be equally as fun too. "How do you stop?" is one of the most frequent questions asked of any downhill skater.

So we got a group of all different skill levels together to learn and teach people how to stop on their skateboards. Everyone met at the shop in the early afternoon, tuning up their setups that had been gathering dust over the winter months before we hit the hills.



Photo By: Greg McCaslin

After everyone's boards were back in working condition, the group headed to a mellow hill where both the Boardworks crew and Western Washington University Longboard Club members helped aspiring new downhillers learn how to effectively foot-break and shutdown slide.

The @boardworks_skate learn to stop session was super fun and important. Check out @boardworkstechshop for your Longboard gear this summer! A post shared by WWU Longboard Club (@wwulc) on Apr 9, 2017 at 1:29pm PDT

Some of the crew hung out in a nearby parking lot and worked on breaking down the motions of different kinds of shutdown slides, while other riders stuck to the steeper hill across the street and worked on more advanced stopping methods.







Overall, everyone hung out with one another and helped each other learn new skills on their skateboards.

Photos By: Rob McCarty (rider below: Landon Jackson)

After everyone was comfortable stopping with a footbreak and a shutdown slide, the group was eager to test their skills at higher speeds. Thus, we moved the squad over to a longer downhill run and got speedy.

Photo: Greg McCastlin

Photo: Greg McCastlin

Photo: Greg McCastlin







Photo By: Dylan Pierce

(rider: John Slugg)

The Boardworks crew was stoked on the turnout and response to our first beginner friendly event, and we aim to put together many more this season! Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more fun skateboarding events!