Yeehaw!: The Sacred Totem of Shred
Just a few of the boards kickin' it in the Wheelbase Shred Cave. Photo: Sexy Steve.
A nicely used board sits on the ground catawampus, slivers of wood poke and jot out on the edges; the graphic is covered with stickers, grime, and a large area has been scrapped off from boardsliders and bails. The griptape has dried mud spots all over it. You go to pick up this skateboard and get a whiff of somethin’ horrendous. It stinks from that one time you ran over an opossum which subsequently sent that furry vermin into the hereafter; or maybe the pungency is due to that time you carelessly left it outside in the rain for three days. Who know why it’s so darn smelly? But it’s your board, the roads are dry, and it’s time to ride.
In my humble opinion, a well-used skateboard is the most beautiful skateboard there is. When it has been shredded to the brink of destruction it knows its duty and has proved its worth. Your shred-wagon-of-doom, like all of us, is always in a state of decay anyway—it’s been that way ever since it was birthed somewheres in a far off warehouse. Each well-shredded skateboard holds a tale, an epoch of the skater, or skaters, who have ridden her. The tattered board offers a graphic history of the expression created by the rider and can be read within her particular scars and customizations.
Let it be told, the life of a summer-sled does not end when she is shelved for a newer, fresher model. I’m sure many of you out there in the interwebs have old well-salted boards lyin’ around in plain site. I definitely have a few myself—boards that I’ve hung up or leaned conspicuously against a wall so as to let them continue to tell their stories of sessions past. I’ve also placed a number of well-loved skateboards under the feet of the next generation of riders. This next generation is like a second life for the board. In an instant, the board passes to the next rider and is given a whole new set of experiences, a second chance to shred. And there are still other times when people use old skateboards to make new things like tables, shelves, chairs, clocks, or whatever other furniture one might need around our human pig pens.
Looking at the life, adventure, and storytelling our wiggle-machines provide for us on their journey down the Road Of Shred; one begins to see a distinct quality—within the skateboard—a quality reminiscent of an ancient totem or history book.
Your skateboard has been with you through your harshest slams, tasted first-blood, slashed up-and-down & side-to-side; and she’s seen all the same close-calls with vehicles, coping-gaps, and homeless brohams. So, if you call yourself a true skateboarder, I ask that you treat your faithful friend with the respect and dignity she deserves. Ride her till the wheels fall off, let her be born-again under the feet of the next generation of rippers, and when nothing else can be done to keep her rollin’, place her on the wall for all to see, or take what’s left of her broken back and build something new entirely. Yeehaw!
-Pete
- Yeehaw!: A Bit of Draft Etiquette.
- Yeehaw!: Johnny Strange & the X-Gene
- Yeehaw!: Dippin’ The Dogs
- Yeehaw’s Spirit of the Board
I used to have a space in my bed beside me for my downhill board. She still has a nice warm spot on my carpet.
Hell yeah! I definitely have boards that have a long history of shred and tell a story through there scrapes, wear, and whatnot. Sk8 Wood is sacred for sure.
Two of my oldest downhill boards, a landyachtz evo and a landyachtz dh race are hung on my wall. I painted on both of then. The evo has a stencil of the famous creation of adam painting by Michelangelo. the dh race has a kraken on the bottom, still one of my favorite mythical creatures.
i know the bumps and knots that run the edge of my board better than the bumps and knots that run the length of my shins….
The first night i had my comet voodoo doll i wasn’t allowed to skate, so I went to my friends house and fell asleep beside it
my mom ran over my madrid while i was skitching and it didnt brake
We the years, I just can’t keep all theses boards… I only got my first 2 boards on my wall. All my other « old-boards » is given to the next generation!
I shred my Rambo bazook all over town, head to town center and bomb some parking garages, move on the my favorite skatepark and ride the bowl, keep heading north to all the good hills and bust some 40mph drifts into long 50+ straights, my board can do it all.
Give me shirt!!!
Chyea I love my beaten ass board
My old boards edges were falling off, the nose and tail were beaten to shit but i still loved shredding on it, i passed it down to someone else who loves shredding so they could get better and better. Gotta love the longboard brotherhood in my area.
What area are you in man? The downhill community rules!
I approve.
doesnt matter if youre a down hiller or a bowl skater, shred on my friends
My boyfriend is making me skate with his old board…I love it.
Yeehaw!
how about us women skaters! ive got enough ol’ boards to feed a few families!
Dude i know people who drive over their 2 year old ratty beat up Loaded decks just to show em off
shredddddddd<3
the only thing better than a new board is a stinky old piece of sliver. if it isnt broke in half, it hasnt been loved!
my board sits at the dinner table with me. he doesn’t eat much, but i enjoy the company of my best friend.
YEEHAW!!!! 20th comment! WHOOOOA! You just won a free Wheelbase t-shirt. Hit us up at [email protected] with your address and what size you wear and we’ll send it out asap. Shredlove.
[...] Re: In Your opinion, what do you think the prettiest/best looking board or deck is? Originally Posted by ibadfish the deck that's been scratched, scraped, curbed, slammed, smashed and splintered that i grab out of my trunk every time i go skate. Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks so. Yeehaw!: The Sacred Totem of Shred : Wheelbase Online Skate Magazine [...]