We're proud to announce what many people already know:  Silverfish Longboarding.com and Concrete Wave Magazine have teamed up to bring you broader coverage of skateboarding, greater opportunities to interact and more stoke!  We're still two seperate entities, but you'll see even more of the cooperative efforts between members of the 'Fish and Michael Brooke's magazine in the future.

We've been working together, for the better part of a year, already.  Silverfish has been providing race & event coverage to Concrete Wave, and CW has been using the 'fish as a conduit to support events and ideas that we all want to see happen in skateboarding.  So, we'll be doing even more together in the future.  We've got the Evolutions 2 DVD just about ready for members to download, there will be CW schwag to give out in the Forums, we'll continue providing the CW Buyers' Guides and you'll see exclusives from Michael Brooke right here, on the front page of Silverfish.

Click through for more... 

If you haven't checked it out yet, Michael Brooke is now hosting his Blog on the front page of Silverfish Longboarding.com and now calls the 100% Skateboarding forum inside the 'fish his primary home on the internet. He's informative, provocative and loves to talk about skateboarding!  Give him your thoughts on his ideas, your input on the magazine and your demands for longboards on the cover.  Michael sent us the following "joint interview" ...we'd almost forgotten the quick chat during an event and can't believe we forgot to ask the "pie question"!

From Skategeezer's desk:  The following is a transcript of sorts, from a roundtable between the editors of  Concrete Wave Magazine and Silverfish Longboarding.com.  In the conversation, held on the sidelines of a Silverfish Slalom Clinic being taught by Lynn Kramer and Tiger Williams, were Michael Brooke, Malakai Kingston and Erik Basil…

MK: I see it as a way of expanding coverage & getting contacts that we both have into the spotlight. We can give those who deserve props just that and bring into a larger understanding how much there really is to skateboarding. We can spotlight disciplines of skating and expose, to a larger degree, the groups that really make things happen. We’re expanding a literal community of knowledge for the world of skateboarding. Should they care? I'm not really sure. Will both of our abilities be expanded because of this?  For sure.

MB: It’s about building momentum. I started out in 1995 with a $5 per month website (anyone remember the Skategeezer homepage?). Over the last decade, things have mushroomed and at every step, I’ve looked closely at what will move the ball further along. I am convinced that a huge number of people visiting the Fish will not only dig what CW is about, they’ll tell their friends. Putting it in a different way, this is the future…3rd party print meets 3rd party web.

MB: What are some things you have planned for me at the site?  By the way, I don't have a shred of computer programming ability!

MK: The  hosting of your Blog and Forum will bring you exposure to so many skaters, especially new ones that find us when they first get that urge to skate.  We’re hittin’ 2,000 visits a day from people that have never visited our site before.  We plan to host your Evolutions DVD’s and back-issue articles of both CW and Intl/ Longboarder.  I don’t look forward to getting it formatted in, but it will be cool for skaters to be able to click and read.

EB: If we do our job behind the scenes at the 'Fish, you shouldn't ever need "computer programming ability" to fully participate in really cool stuff.  Things have been a little wonky since we embarked on the major upgrades, but we're working to regain the simplicity and power that were the point "of all this" in the first place. The 'Fish will host your Blogs, and set it up so that it's very easy for you to post them.  Your Blog will run off a link on the front page, we'll have a forum dialed in to be yours as host...the possibilities there are immense.

MK:  What are you planning to do with your blog and forum?

MB: We’ll move the blog from the CW homepage to yours and I 'm pretty sure we will get more exposure as a result. As for your forums, it’s like you’ve pumped it full of steroids…so many different people and topics, all at once. From news to commentary…and it’s 100% interactive.  I will be in there.

MB:  Here’s one -- If I could give you $10,000 right now and you had to spend it on something to do with skateboarding, what would you do? Would you travel? Spend it on hardware? Buy shoes to fill your closet?

EB: First, I would check TransWorldFashion to see what shoe is core...   then I'd consider a number of things that amount of money could help with:  1) set up Malakai and I to hit several, particular events around North America, so that we could expand our coverage and support of stuff we want to see explode;  2) purchase slalom cones in bulk so that we can sell them to members at a better price than current market terms;  3) stock up on Silverfish schwag for event support & sponsorship; 4) upgrade our stable of digital SLR's & lenses for event coverage.  Some of these things could be combined, so you might find ‘Kai waiving around a new Nikon while we rip past fresh 'fish cones at the DH event during the DHB-Cup in North Carolina...in our new Nikes!

MK: I would probably put it back into Silverfish… I would like to see Silverfish increase the prizes for events, hold more slalom/sliding clinics and get some schwag pressed for giveaways.  What would you do?

MB:  I’d print up more mags and more DVD’s and get them to shops that have never seen the mag…probably keep some back for a big party when I hit North Carolina slalom comp in November.

EB:  We know you’re predicting big changes in the skateboarding market and that you’ve got close eye on trends and developments, Michael.  So what do you think is going to happen to the mass-market if and when guys like Per Welinder or name-your-big-company-du-jour turn their eye to longboarding and “boards that turn”?

MK: Not gonna happen…

MB:  It’s happening!  The truth is that not only is there interest in this market, there is GROWING interest. But traditional popsicle -shape board companies that dive into this part of skateboarding will find it a little more complicated than they originally thought. It’s not as simple as throwing together some shapes, getting a team and an ad campaign. Longboard consumers have some particular wants and needs that are quite a bit different than the traditional popsicle consumers. That being said, there is plenty of opportunity here, it’s just a question of balance. If it’s ONLY about stealing market share or making a fast buck, it probably won’t fly, long term. Companies that produce remarkable products for the specific audience (ie beginner/entry level or expert) will be rewarded. The fact is that if the street companies start getting involved, they will increase the exposure of longboarding and this benefits everyone.

MB: I want to talk about doing an awards program for folks that contribute or run good shops, etc… Do you think we would call them the “SilverWaves” or “ConcreteFish”? Or neither?

MK: I'd like to call it "StokeStokers" (laughing)

EB: I think we gotta talk…   We have an idea to help out local shops, get them on the internet so that skaters can find a place to buy something other than a popsicle stick from a shoe salesman, and maybe your idea fits in that idea… we’re kinda getting schooled on how much work something “simple” like what we want can be.

MK:  We’re about the skate community and connections between riders and riders.  Riders and good shops are a good fit, too.

EB:  I don't think we need to combine the CW and ‘Fish names to have it be good.  If we find a name that evokes and idea and stands alone, all the better.  Right now, we’re excited about this idea to get local shops networked…you gotta hear about it more from Kai.

MK:  You guys have day jobs or whatever.  When you get to skate, what stokes you the most?

MB: When I skate I find that I am able to completely clear my mind – the freedom, the movement, that’s something I’ve enjoyed for over 3 decades. I love going out to a skatepark, or just skating with my kids and neighbors in the street. Every time I go out, I make sure I bring a quiver of boards…and some extra mags. It amazes me to see the change of perspective when kids see me start to skate. They wonder who this old guy is…I start skating and then I let them try the boards and then I give them a copy of the mag. They get completely into things and actually stop skating and start reading! Passing on the skate stoke energizes me.

EB:  Y’know, it varies.  When we’re doing the LB-101 class at the University, I’m on campus a lot and I get to take skaters that are new to longboarding or even to skating in general and hit spots I’ve been skating for y’know, a long time… (laughter…cursing at MK)  Anyway, that “spreading the stoke thang” is really great.  Other times, it’s the opportunity to carve long hills along the coast…freedom and hippie s—t, yeah yeah…

MK: It’s the stoke of experiencing all the riders and disciplines we get to sample, you know?  The whole community of skaters and we all bring things to the table.  Skating with my crew and knowing they will always be ready to hit it is what gets me.

MB: Okay, where do you see things in 10 years or, more precisely: where do you see yourself in 2017 in regard to skateboarding?

EB: Ah, in ten years...  Well, in ten years, I hope to be racing at the 2016 La Costa Open with my wife and 15-year old son.  Joe will be skating with his friends Nicki Chaput and Sarah-Maude Rogers (stick with the hot women, kid!).  He will be excited to see cool pros he knows, like Russ Weber, Justin Kludy, RJ Meehan and Tyler Wendtland, each of whom will be at the top of their games and leading their era of skateboarding.  I expect to have Malakai and Marriette's 6-year old there (laughter….they weren’t even married yet at this time) along with Lynn Kramer's by-then- daughter, and for us to be able to see that next generation of…

MK: I can’t believe you asked him this…

EB: … kids enjoy the fruits of us of having stoked the renaissance of multi-disciplinary skating and the popularity of the sport.  I expect skateboarding will remain grassroots in its elemental nature, but that longboarding, slalom, and all forms of racing will be much more well-known in general, with regular media coverage being the norm, rather than the rare exception, and a family-filled festival atmosphere around events.  Milk and honey, brah!!

MK: I see myself skating...  EBasil plots and schemes about “evolution” and “renaissance”, but I just skate ‘cause I’m core!  (laughter…)  It’s all about the skating!   Naw, he and I share what you old farts would call a vision of the future where skateboarding is not a crime and the whole world is like that Australian vid EB won’t quit watching  (laughter….)  Yeah, I see myself skating in ten years.  I see myself skating in ten minutes…

MB:  Still skating, still spreading the stoke and more than likely more gray hair. There will be some boom and busts. The attrition rate in skateboarding will fall. It will hopefully move from 85% to probably 70 to 75%. We’ll see more women and the other skate mags will continue to showcase other types of skateboarding. I see a reclaiming of skateboarding…a rebirth. And this rebirth has everything to do with the ACT of skateboarding and not the FASHION of skateboarding. Heretical to say it now, perhaps not so much by 2017, but the truth of the matter is that longboarding will SAVE skateboarding.  Longboarding is the gateway to other types of skateboarding, it brings in new blood, it brings in women and imagine this, it actually allows skate shops to make a profit selling hardgoods. If you look at where we were in 1997, it’s unreal the progress, but my sense this has all been a warm up. Things will get mighty interesting, mighty fast over the next year.

EB:  Okay, so here’s one that Kai and I want to know:  when are we going to see a longboard on the cover of your mag that’s not in a bowl, or some speedboarders hangin’ it all out?

MK:  …and a slider really sliding?

MB:  It will happen…and when it does, it will be suitable for framing.
 
At this point, Malakai Kingston was already putting on pads and EBasil took off to skate after his son that had just blazed down the middle of the slalom courses on a giant kneeboard.  Malakai was gone in an instant.  I was left to put this to words and prepare for our joining of forces.  Later that day, I skated the Poway Skate Park with La Costa Boys, the CCMF crew, the Silverfish crew and a group of kids skating all styles in the bowls.   It would be weeks before we’d announce the partnership between Concrete Wave and the ‘Fish, but I already knew the future looked bright!