Solomon here. This weeks featured retailer  carrying your favorite Brooklyn longboards is Loja TopSkate of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Some of you will recognize the name as the local skate shop and sponsor of Bustin Brooklyn’s‘  Team Rider Jonas Ritcher and speedboarding phenom Douglas Dalua. Lorenzo Salcedo, who also happens to be a good friend of mine, first opened up this shop in 2009 out of his basement carrying the top performance longboards on the market.

Loja TopSkate’s reputation for carrying the best longboards and wide selection of longboard accessories has payed off in an area with abundant hills and skaters with a need for speed and has now opened a second location in the city. In Brazil? Stop by and say hello. You might even be able to get some longboard tips from some of the fastest riders on the circuit!

Jonas Richter run’s Brasil from Hugo Haddad on Vimeo.

Solomon here. For the next retailer spotlight I am bringing it a bit closer to home; back to the Beastcoast. Community Bikes and Boards is located in Philadelphia and is the city’s only location for you to purchase your favorite longboard brands. The shop is done completely out of recycled materials..check out the board racks in the photo and you’ll notice police barricades left behind to litter the streets after things got wild on Philly’s urban streets. Cops contributing to the counterculture. Word. Continue reading →

Solomon here. This week I’m featuring our good friends at Ocean Magic Surf and Sport. Located in Jupiter, Florida since it was founded in 1986 by Don French and is rated among top ten in the state. We are excited to have them representing our brand! Their hours of operation are 10-8 Monday-Saturday and 10-6 on Sunday.

Stay Skatin’

What’s up Johnny!! Looking forward to seeing when I make it back to the Miami area.

Solomon here. For those of you that haven’t heard of Jonas..well you’ll be hearing tons of buzz on him soon enough. This young Brazilian sensation is making moves on the scene, already holding his own against some of the top names in the scene. We had the pleasure of finally linking him up with the rest of the Bustin Crew where we were able to give him the secret team initiation…What happens in P.R…I am super stoked to have this young talent on my team!  He meshed with the crew quickly and his swagger screamed Bustin from the starting line! As amazing as his skill is it is I was more impressed by how humble he was. All he wants to do is skate and keep an eye out for the ladies. Of course he and I were easily automatically on the same page. Jonas did well at both King of Claremont and at Guajataka. Beating out all pros at both events for the longest slide, taking Juniors DH at Claremont as well as being in the final Pro heat! He was well on his way in doing the same in Puerto Rico but this is speedboarding..where @#$% happens. After Puerto Rico, while I decided to stay in the warmth of the south, he made his way back to cold NYC with the rest of the Bustin crew. Ladies and Gentleman I present you..The Brazilian Sensation. Jonas Ritcher.
#StaySkatin’

Solomon here. Along my trip the encounters I was most touched by were with underprivileged youth. All of in Georgia which had even more meaning for me as this is where I grew up. Brooklyn has had a big part in the creation of the present day me but GA laid the foundation. I have hopes of continuing something in GA and abroad but plan on being based out of BK. A majority of my time was spent with youth and on a few occasions I was told that they had the “best day of their life”..wow! I was always torn when I had to leave to my next destination and the kids begged me not to go. Taking away my board from them was just as hard and seeing how much they were inspired to do something positive/different than what their environment dictated I could not stop from promising a few boards. Continue reading →

Solomon here. I’m back in Brooklyn and feeling pretty rejuvenated from my almost two month skacation. And just as I expected my NYC family has not let the weather keep them from shredding the waves of traffic that have become our playground. I know that many believe the Winter is cause for hibernation and expect there to be a lull in the skate season as a whole but I have yet to see a break in events popping up in my Facebook timeline. From King of Claremont hosted by the Florida Longboarding crew to the Golden Gate Push Race in northern California to the Texas Sizzler being held at the end of March; There are races and events for all disciplines. One such event being held in NYC is the Official “New York” Thymeless Deck Launch Party. The event will be hosted by Longboard Living with BOZ Boards at Uncle Funky’s in the West Village here in NYC on Feb 24th. Ryan Rubin will be down and I’m sure he will be bringing more of our Canadian friends with him, let’s just hope he doesn’t bring even more frigid temperatures with him. Here’s the link to the event on Facebook.

So spread the word and come get down PushCulture style! And for those of you who are wondering where the actual skating part of this is involved..This is NYC: We StaySkatin’

Solomon here. I’m on the tail end of the most recent edition of my lifelong skacation here in south Georgia. I grew up on a farm in a town called Bainbridge and am spending time with the fam. It’s quite a contrast from Brooklyn and it’s non-stop pace. But my trip has put me in such a peaceful and euphoric state that I could be happy anywhere…though I’m in no rush to get back to cold temperatures. It’s the end of January and I’m still topless cruising around town. Sweating. It’s okay..I’m suffering so you guys don’t have to. Jokes, right? Really though, I wish so much more of you all could be here, it has been epic being on the road with friends. Next year for sure but don’t sleep on all the other events happening in between. And Maryhill. I was seriously contemplating heading back to Puerto Rico for the next two months but my lady and business calls. If everything works out I should be back in a week or two. I’m loving the road and warmth but I’ll be glad to get back to that NYC Push Culture traffic surfing ‘ish!

Right before I took off for the New Year I teamed up with my homie Zack Lieberman and our friend David Reeve with some of the Concrete Kings for a late night 3D film shoot. Zack was kind enough to include us in this project of his so we headed out to Midtown on a Sunday at midnight with freezing temperatures. And the film came out hard!!!! I would suggest tracking down a pair of 3D shades for the best experience but you can also view it in 2D. It’s straightforward. NYC. All black everything. Push. So I might not be back for a week so here’s this bit to hold you over. I can tell from facebook you miss me…..#stayskatin
I know I’m not rocking a helmet. It was a closed course and that was the wardrobe. Wear your helmets!!
And much thanks to these guys for doing this project with us!
Adrian Dan
Soy One
Danny Pichardo
Anthony Hanover
Kiefer “ska8erboi” Dixon
Leunam Leo Segura

Follow me on twitter @stayskatin

Solomon here. I haven’t been posting much for a few months now. I’ve been enjoying life but been in a bit of a funk. The Winter came to NYC and I decided what I needed was a break from NYC. I love this city and I can’t honestly see myself living somewhere else for right now. That doesn’t mean I have to be in Brooklyn all the time. I’ve been getting away from the city for events but it’s usually in one week or shorter periods of time. What I’ve come to learn over the years is that you have to get away from this craziness and reset sometimes. It’s easy to forget that life can exist out of the city and one can get so deeply caught up in that relentless pace of being. So here I am in Florida relaxing in a town called Celebration which apparently is a town designed by Disney.

Celebration, FL

Continue reading →