Longboard For Little Hearts - Santa Cruise 2014

The Santa Cruise 2014, what a great day from start to finish.

Photo's by April Whitlow

Words By James Allen

The day began with clear skies and a meeting of Skateboarding Santa's, outside the Hammersmith Apollo. I arrived to see many Santa's already gathered, showing off their boards and outfits, and ready to get going. After many introductions and waiting for others to arrive, it was almost time to leave, so the Longboarding for Little Hearts crew gave a short speech reminding us why we were doing this event and then briefed us on the 20 mile route and the pace to be taken.

We were all pumped and ready to go, so after a few photos and cheers we set off on our journey towards Windsor.With everybody so excited, the first leg was an easy one, the skaters were pushing through the streets and paths of central London, weaving through the crowds, cars and any other obstacles we could find. Already we knew this was going to be a fun journey. As we made our way along, there had to be a few pauses to gather everyone together making sure noone got lost or left behind, not that it'd be hard to find a santa riding a skateboard.

After a while the group approached the main roads, which meant one long straight path alongside the traffic. Most passing cars would see us all and start honking their horns, which we would return with waves, smiles and cheers.

It was alot easier keeping everyone on the right path, but it did  however mean faster skaters would get too far ahead and the slower ones were getting left behind, so after a brief lunch/dance break at a McDonald's drive thru, the pace was reset and everybody was motivated

and ready to get back on track.

After following the main road route, across a variety of different paths clogged with wet leaves and muddy puddles, or journey led us back onto small town roads, waving at passers by, spreading cheer, and even stopping in Slough to have our picture taken with the Mayor.

We met with a few latecomers to help guide us through the last leg and into Windsor. As we skated into the town and up the hill to the castle, we were greeted by a friendly crowd and some of the charity organisers who were all cheering us on through the finish line.  Everybody was happy to have finished and rest their tired bodies, after more photos with the organisers and crowd of course.

So we headed through town to a pub/restaurant where we had 50+ seats reserved for the tired and hungry Santa's. But the FUNdraising didn't stop there, with raffle tickets sold out, then the prizes being drawn and the drinks flowing, we all sat back and enjoyed the rest of the evenings festivities.

Thanks to everyone involved in the organisation of this event for a much needed cause.

It wouldn't be possible without Dean Lake, I asked him about the charity, Mindless Longboards involvement and the great things he's doing, this is what he said:

    "Obviously with my daughter Olivia having the heart condition and needing open heart surgery at 7 months old to save hear life was extremely hard! I've managed to turn such a dark and worrying time of our life into something as positive as Longboarding for little hearts! It takes up a fair bit of my time and is a real challenge at times but is very much worth it when it all comes together like it did at the Santa Cruise. And the support is always over whelming as it expands the awareness of what myself and other families go through to another group of people who wouldn't usually think about children with serious heart defects. 

Having Mindless behind me means a hell of a lot! When I first started out creating LB4LH I sat planning all I wanted to achieve.

Sponsorship was a big thing to get people behind me to help this cause get recognised! 

I approached Mindless as I knew their offices in Amersham were close by and told them my intentions. They wished me luck but said they get a lot of requests etc.... They must've watched LB4LH grow over a few years until they come back to me last year and said "we want to be part of this" that feeling was incredible and makes the hard work I put in worth while that a big skate company like Mindless recognised that and it was a worth while cause!!"

" Helping other families through tough times is another thing I do assisting the Children's heart federation. If they get a parent call up asking for support I chat to them about my experiences!

I documented every aspect of Olivia's surgery in pictures etc and Have used them to prepare other parents for their child's big day.

I'm Thankful Olivia's went as smooth as it did as other children I know wasn't as lucky and a few I've supported really wasn't lucky and lost the battle!"

You can donate anytime at, https://www.justgiving.com/longboardingforlittlehearts/

Thanks again and see you next year!

Special Thanks:

Dean Lake for Organising the great event!

April Whitlow - Shove It Mag - For the images.
 Check out Shove It Mag for event coverage and awesome images.

James Allen for the write up!

Mindless Black Edition Rogue

Our most popular entry level board in a limited edition colour-way. 

The Rogue has a classic pintail shape deck which is wide with a nice subtle concave, making it ideal for beginners or those who take to longboarding occasionally.

The Rogue comes with high quality hardware, soft cushions and Mindless Team wheels making this is the best starter longboard on the market.

Full sizing information, available:

http://www.mindlesslongboards.com/mindless_products/rogue-black-edition/

Hogtober - James Allen 2014

As the majority of you guys and girls know, Hogtober fest has just been and gone!

Our rider James Allen was there and gave us his account of what took place over the weekend!

"My weekend at Hogtober was excellent, as always! 

The Saturday started with an early rise and wet looking skies, but this was expected due to weather reports showing storms, and it wouldn't be a hog hill event without one wet day anyway. So we packed the car, full to the brim with longboards, helmets and waterproofs, and hit the road!

Much to our surprise, after a 3 hour drive and 2 coffee stops, we arrived at the Redbridge Cycling Center to find a pretty much dry hill, and lots of friendly faces to greet us. 

After doing the rounds and greeting all the other skaters it was time to sign up, limber up and skate!

There is always plenty going on whichever hill you head too, there was slalom taking place in the usual spot, a bit of freestyle on the flat top, and freeride/downhill going through the main run.


 Knowing that Jorge's slide jam was starting in just over an hour, I took my new short techslide board proto, (thanks guys) and headed over to the GS/slide hill to start skating and having some fun!!

Before I knew it Jorge was back on the mic, announcing the start of the slide jam, with the main rule of play nice and have a good time. I felt privileged to be skating with so many talented people, there were just over 50 skaters, each with their own style, and all so good at what they do. So after 45 minutes of skate time we were dwindled down to just 10 riders, who had to take it in turns to take their last 3 runs and impress the judges. I was fortunate enough to be skating amongst the finalists, and had a blast doing so. After our final runs, the judges got together and discussed between themselves their favourite skaters, not releasing the identities of the winners until the prize giving, the next day. 

Post by James Lindner.

So the crowds dispersed, and after abit more of a chilled skate, it was time to pack up and head to the campsite.

At the campsite, the evening was filled with all things fun, there was live music from a great band, dancing from those who dared, a campfire, food, fire poi, people were drinking, and best of all, everyone was having fun.

The next morning was another early one, and even though some people may have felt a bit more tender than others, we were all happy to see the sun was shining. Eager to get on the hill and do a skate, everybody packed up and set sail.

You could tell it was race day soon as you looked down and saw everyone had equipped their big, fast, grippy wheels ready to roll. I had decided to give racing a miss this time around, and concentrated on getting as many fun runs in as i could, before the main hill was closed off for racing. I had a few good pack runs with pals, working on lines, tucking, getting through the chicane as fast as I could and generally having fun and improving myself ready for next time, which I have told myself I will race haha. 

Once again, throughout the day there was plenty going on wherever I looked, giant slalom looking fast, luge looking scary, mini moto looking dangerous, and the racing which was exciting and so rad to see everybody giving their all and having a good time.

After everything was done and finished, there was only one thing left to do, the prize giving. Everyone was cheering on all those that had placed and won something, including myself, which was a surprise, i managed to place 3rd in the slide jam, despite all the other excellent skaters, so thank you judges and all for that. Everyone had pictures taken, prizes and special hogtober tankards in hand, and even a few scrambles which sent everyone wild.

So player to player, it was another great weekend for everyone. 

Special thanks to Timmy for putting it on, everyone else who helped, all the sponsors and especially Mindless Longboards for helping me personally have the best time ever!

Be excellent to each other!"

#jamesallen

A rad weekend was had by all, thank you to the photographers!
(please contact us if you want to be credited)
And a special thanks to James for the time and effort writing this review.

Till next year! 

Saughton Skate Jam 2014 - NEW DATE

Due to bad weather, the Saughton Skate Jam was postponed, however, the organisers have just confirmed a new date. It's now happening on 23rd August 2014.

For more information, check out the events page on Facebook.
There are some great Mindless prizes up for grabs!!

James Allen Trailer

Check out this awesome trailer that James has put together.

As James's Videographer simply put it "He did a skid and I did a vid."

Full length video to follow.

Featuring: Mojo wheels, Talisman trucks & Hoodoo Bearings.

Pearse D'Arcy

Before Pearse left for Europe he sent us raw footage from a race he competed in. It's worth watching all the way till the end:

Love the celebration at the end! 

Pearse's European Journey so far..

Pearse is off competing around Europe.

This is a brief collection of photos and descriptions of his adventure so far.

"We outta here! First stop Wales to see homeboy Sion and skate the awesome hills of Wales for a day!! STOOOKKKKKEEEEDDDD!! "

"Halfway to Almab, 5 hours deep. Long drive worth it though to skate this epic hill!"

"Tire has burst on Autobahn, 295km away from Almabtreib. Nightmare of a situation, need help."

"Arrived in Prague ahead of going to Kozakov for the second world cup of the trip. Almabtrieb was awesome, didn't do to we'll unfortunately due to shitty legs. 7.30 and it's still 35˚c!! #justchilltour"

"Shooting round the first left at Almabtrieb, one of my favorite hills I've ever skated! — with Surf-Rodz."

"Eurotour has been awesome so far! Kozakov is over and we're at KnK in Slovenia now Unfortunately due to a lot of road rash, thunder and lightning and a lot of rain I have only gotten to skate one day of the past two. Todays weather is terrible but it looks like it might get better by tomorrow and then we'll be back at it. Here's a shot from Samy Cantieni from Day 1 here at KnK "

"KnK is over! Spent the last three days shedding this awesome hill in the scorching heat. Now heading on a 4 day journey to Peyragudes across Italy and along the Mediterranean, cant wait!! Pic from Sickboards Longboards"

Looks like awesome hills, weather and people. 

Videos and more photos of Pearse's time away to come soon.

Longboarding LA to NYC

Some of you may have noticed that we have been sharing a few posts from a page 'Longboarding L.A to NYC - Film' across Facebook and Twitter.

These guys are riding across the USA from LA to NYC. They've set themselves a target for the adventure:

"We want to create a film to inspire other young people to get out there and be motivated to create their own opportunities, rather than simply rely on a good education. Our film 'Skating L.A to NY' is a feature length documentary film following three teenage boys as they skate on longboards 3000 miles from L.A to NY in under 60 days."

Here at Mindless we're always fans of LDP (Long Distance Pushing) and doing what you love.
Rupert came to us full of passion and a portfolio of videos that he had produced, so it was clear to us that he meant business.

So here we are, the gang have been supported with product, and in return we get an awesome adventure to follow with great media!

A whole bunch of training is in store before the main trip. To start, they visited Wales for a long weekend, Rupert had this to say after they finished:

"So we made it! Late on Thursday night we arrived in Broad haven on the coast, 250 miles away from Rhyl after 5 tough days of skating. We would like to thank The Teenage Cancer Trust, Alibi Drink, and Mindless Longboards for their support we wouldnt have made it without them. We can't wait for all of you to see the film we are putting together about our adventure!"

Check out the products featured:  http://www.mindlesslongboards.com/

Additional Photos: