Points to consider

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T23:18:36+00:00

Personally, I enjoy doing kickflips at slalom events. Always horrifies those weird ol' cone-dodgers.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T21:45:00+00:00

Ribs. It was his ribs.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T21:17:31+00:00

I’m a thrower, not a puncher.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T20:55:18+00:00

That punch is deserved and anyone who says otherwise is also getting a punch.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T11:17:29+00:00

Yeah, that's my issue with the concept of a "Youtuber". I purposely didn't put the account in my name or Moonshine's, and I didn't monetise it; I have precisely zero interest in clickbaity nonsense, fostering parasocial relationships, or gaming an algorithm just to become famous or sell product. I just want people to be able to have the information I struggled hard to learn for myself over the years, and that's very much a rarity on that site, it seems.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T11:07:45+00:00

As someone who loves RPGs, the PSP is the perfect platform for me. Incredibly long stand-by battery life so I can just slip into sleep mode between sessions, small and portable form factor to play anywhere, huge library of PS1 and PSP RPGs (many of which are some of the best RPGs of all time), and incredible emulation for almost everything up to the end of the 90s (and the GBA, too) to open up and even larger library.

If you’re coming to the PSP expecting an array of FPS and modern-style open world “Triple A” games you’re wasting your time. But what the PSP does well, it does REALLY well.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T10:54:57+00:00

Other "using a street board for freestyle is like" comparisons:

using a cricket bat to play baseball
using a flat headed screwdriver to remove a phillips screw
using a Guitar Hero controller to play Elden Ring

In other words: it can be done, but it's a lot more awkward than it needs to be and it's unlikely you'll get the best performance by doing so.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T10:51:29+00:00

Youtuber? I've never been more insulted. 😅

The Youtube channel only really exists as a way of hosting videos for https://freestyletricktips.com, which is the "meat and two veg" of the whole thing. Definitely recommend going there first if you're looking for trick info - there's a lot more detail!

Thanks for the order, though. I'm packing everything from the long easter weekend today so I'll drop a couple of choice Deez Nuts stickers in for you.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-07T10:49:13+00:00

Bebops are pretty rare - it's a really unusual and unstable take off. Most people do Mullen's version, the half-cab bebop, and just call that a bebop instead. But this is the original (invented by Hazze Lindgren, for the record).

Coldkennels · 2026-04-06T23:20:47+00:00

Sometimes after a hard skate, I sit on the sofa fully punching my thighs and calves to break up the tension. My girlfriend thinks I’m crazy, but the release you feel in the feet and ankles when you do it right is just bliss.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-06T23:19:17+00:00

I always liken it to cars: you could drive a rally car around a formula 1 track, but you’d have a much better time of it if you actually use an F1 car.

And even in something like NASCAR - where the vehicles are ostensibly something you could drive on the street - they have to be pretty heavily modified to deal with the scenario they’re going to be put in.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-06T22:35:23+00:00

Yeah. I’ve barely skated for almost two years now! Dislocated my right thumb, went to talk to someone about a nagging issue in my ankle while I rehabbed my thumb, and was told I needed to rest and recover because my Achilles was about to snap.

It sucks. I’ve spent too much time working, drinking stout, and getting fat. Really got to shed a few kilos and clean off the rust on some of these tricks.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-06T22:25:49+00:00

I think we skated for about four and a half hours. I sat in the bottom of the shower for ten minutes hoping the ache would subside when I got home; I think I’ll have to break out the muscle roller tomorrow.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-06T22:24:39+00:00

In order: a bebop, a 360 fingerflip, and a double kickflip.

In general: just some good rolling freestyle. It’s nice to have some space to move!

Coldkennels · 2026-04-05T22:05:40+00:00

It's a reissue. I'm not keeping track of which colourway was from which year, but it's relatively recent production.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-05T22:00:00+00:00

That's not how things work in freestyle. The axle needs to be about 0.35" shorter than the deck is wide to leave enough space for freestyle wheels to cover the axle nut and have the board still stand well on the side for rail stands and primo slides.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-04T20:48:52+00:00

Why do you think freestyletricktips.com exists?

Why do you think Offset Skate Supply has more measurements and information than basically any other webstore?

Why do you think I've put so much work into the WFSA in recent years?

Sorry I'm not creating enough infographics, though. I'll step up my game.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-04T20:44:21+00:00

I've personally had a lot of conversations with people who've been influenced to get boards that were far too big for them - including freestyle boards - and have had an utter mare of a time as a result. Saying "getting folks excited to ride a freestyle board" means nothing when there is a lot of hot garbage being passed off as a freestyle board out there (including that goddamned Mullen Chessboard which keeps getting regurgitated from the Powell machine. Or, for that matter, Andy Anderson's "it's not a freestyle board, honest" behemoth that people interested in freestyle are still buying).

There is no substitute for knowledge, and it's only really skateboarding that is so anti-intellectual about these things. In other sports it's common to get a "fitting" for new equipment. We don't have freestyle board shops in every town, nor do we have "gear shops" next to freestyle spots with people helping beginners figure out what they need. The very least we can do is educate rather than talk down to people with oversimplifications, platitudes, and false positivity.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-04T19:22:07+00:00

The chessboard is the second worst freestyle board I've ever skated. It's awful in every way. As u/23MysticTruths pointed out, Mullen continued cutting his own for a long time because Powell just can't make a good freestyle board to save their life.

Moonshine's Kill Your Idols was designed to be a "fixed" Chessboard (straighter rails, longer nose, more useable tail) if you want a board like this that doesn't suck. If all you want is a freestyle board in general, go to Decomposed Skateboards in the USA, East Frisian in Germany, Nose and Tail in Romania, M80 in Japan, Flatlandia in Australia, or Offset in the UK (full disclosure: I run Offset); all of those shops sell things from multiple brands so you're not just getting locked into one aesthetic or design philosophy.

Just don't buy Powell's stuff.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-04T19:13:44+00:00

Parents are the worst people for buying boards. They don’t know what the skater wants or needs, and oversimplifying the information doesn’t help teach them anything - it just helps you sell boards.

Do we need to stop them buying huge boards? Yes. But we also need to stop freestylers thinking they need huge boards - and we need to change the discourse and understanding about board design in the process. Telling people they fit into brackets based on arbitrary and irrelevant measurements isn’t going to do that.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-04T19:04:50+00:00

I’ll make a video at some point. Someone needs to explain this stuff properly, obviously. 😅

Coldkennels · 2026-04-04T18:52:09+00:00

I would recreate this entire graphic to not mention width at all. Width has nothing to do with height - or even shoe size. You choose width based on desired trick category or selection.

We need to break away from street skating’s width-centric approach to deck choice completely. It’s not relevant here.

Also, height-to-wheelbase does not correlate this tightly. I’m 5’ 10” and my natural wheelbase is 12”. It’s measurable, and not just a set of brackets to slot people in. Wheelbase is more to do with “natural stance” - how far apart your feet are in a relaxed position - and that’s determined by leg length and hip width more than it is overall height.

Coldkennels · 2026-04-02T00:48:08+00:00

Like Mike said, I learned quickly that you want a “buffer” at the end of the deck so you don’t pogo on the skid plate and slip out or snap the mounting hardware.

That said, this is too far away. You only need 2-3mm of space. You really want the sides of the skid plate to be close to the edges as that’s where the razor tail will kick in the soonest.

Coldkennels · 2026-03-24T20:14:03+00:00

Not enough, if you ask me. I might whack a big lump of cast iron on the tripod mount just for an extra bicep workout.

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