MK First and foremost with the addition to the sliding deck and gloves you make an obvious move to market to sliders. When did this become a prominent group to provide gear to?

MK How much research went into your slide deck and gloves, what were you looking for as far as form and function?

Ross We have put a lot of time and effort into R&D on the sliding side in the past year. The Park 38 deck was designed to be just the right thing to get longboarders who were used to a longer deck into sliding. It is wide where you need it; around the nose and on the tail, a radial concave all the way through and was shaped and with mixture of the old school and Lush style.

The slide gloves have been evolving over the last year or so, from an the initial demand from people that just wanted a sliding glove of some sort but didn't want or have time do make it themselves. We started manufacturing a welding glove / chopping board combination in-house, just like we were riding ourselves at the time. However, this type of glove has obvious disadvantages; it wears down quickly, slops around on your hand, often catches under the puck and pulls you off. Basically we saw a lot of room for design improvements.

We have changed the main slide puck to a new material (sorry, I cant tell you what it is) that can be much thinner, but lasts up to 10 times as long as regular chopping board. The finger and thumb plates are made using recycled kayak material that is designed specifically to resist abrasion. The glove itself has been developed in conjunction with a professional glove manufacturer. It is a fitted and breathable glove with carbon / Kevlar armoured knuckes so it wont get shredded on the road. Velcro sections are stitched into the glove, and the plates are replaceable and backed with super strength Velcro. It's a glove that looks great, will last a long time and is great to ride with - We are currently looking for a US distributor for the gloves, so if anyone is interested, please get in touch.

MK Sliding in general besides being an obvious expression of freestyle is a great addition to safety do you feel that it will enhance the skating experience of people that may otherwise stray from the sport? Do you think it will enhance attrition in the sport?

Ross In reply to the safety question, while sliding certainly allows you to ride steeper hills confidently, you have to be a pretty good slider to confidently slide in a dangerous situation! No, it's the freestlye aspect that I think attracts most people. Many people have been riding longboards for a few years now and although many just enjoy cruising and bombing, some have gone as fast as they really want to or carved the steepest hill. Now people are looking for a new way to challenge themselves, and sliding opens up a whole new aspect of the sport. That's got to be good for the sport, and it is certainly attractive and exciting to watch as an outsider to skating!

MKYou are a prominent company do you think other skate companies will follow suit and market to the sliders?

Ross Yes, I think that is bound to happen and is already happening - gravity have already been there for a while with the sliding wheels and so on. I think we will also start to see the emergence of new brands based primarily around sliding - Faltown boards in the UK are doing this and I can see the trend continuing.

MK I would think you have some rather talented sliders in your team any names come to mind anyone to watch for?

Ross Well, we are all pushing sliding pretty hard here. There isn't an official Lush team but you'll have to look out for the Sheffield sliders in the future.

MK Besides your team what sliders do you think are most influential to the sliding scene over all?

Ross Well Sergio and Cliff are the obvious ones, having had a lot of video exposure over the last few years. I think a lot of sliding talent is currently underground, and we'll see some groups of very strong sliders emerging as more meets and comps come underway. We are trying to put together a UK Sliding Championship in Newquay this summer - come check that out and judge for yourselves!

MK Disregard this question if it is answered above. Who do you think is the most inovative slider in the scene.

Ross The most innovative slider I have seen is probably Mark from Falmouth. He throws down some crazy shit every time I see him ride..

MK What if any difference separates a sliding mentality from the current status quo as far as mainstream skating goes?

Ross The sliding mentality seems to have a lot in common with mainstream skating, probably more than with longboarding which is more soulful. Basically it's just about getting together with your mates, trying new tricks and pushing each other to do better. It's a good vibe!

MK Have you guys been involved in sponsoring any sliding competitions? If so do you expect sliding competitions to become more commonplace?

Ross We held a small comp at the Lush Spring Session, which was pretty cool. I think that's all that's happened in the UK so far but we will be helping a lot with the UK Sliding championships later this year. I thought the Morrow Bay event of a few years ago was great with the "freestyle" event, mixing sliding with boardwalking skills for style points - I'd love to see more of that.

MK Obviously board sports in general are highly multicultural, Sliding seemsto be evolving in pockets in different countries any ideas on that?

Ross As you say, sliding is definitely evolving in small pockets around the world and we are seeing different styles emerging from different areas,which I think is great. The best thing is bringing people together to watch each other ride, getting stoked on what everybody has been doing.

MK Sliding, what are you expecting in the future?

Ross A few guesses - I think we will start to standup slides combined with hands down moves, rotations to reverse rotation (like a 360 to 720 back the other way). I'd love to see a cross over with street skating, tricks like a kick flip straight into a slide. Having said that, you don't get much more stylish than a good Coleman...