THE ARBOR COLLECTIVE RELEASES NEW KELLY SLATER SKATEBOARD
The 9x World Surfing Champion’s new swallowtail shape arrives in stores this summer.
Venice, CA - May 25, 2009 - The Arbor Collective is proud to announce the release of a new model created with friend and nine-time ASP World Surfing Champion, Kelly Slater. This follow up design builds on the foundation created by Arbor’s original Slater Model. The updated design provides speed down the line and the tightest turning available from any of Arbor’s carve oriented skateboards. “The new swallowtail design was inspired by some of the boards Slater has been surfing recently,” said Bob Carlson, Arbor’s cofounder.
Kelly Slater is arguably the best competitive surfer ever. He has won an amazing nine world titles, five of which were consecutive, and is showing no signs of letting up. “Kelly’s life is rooted in the world competitive surfing and all that comes with that path,” says Carlson. “This led us to work with Venice, California based artist, Jake Pickle to develop a graphic that highlights the important elements in Kelly’s life: surfing, music, travel, and friends.”
The new Salter Model, which is now more competitively priced at $179, is a 37” long tapered carver, with a concave profile that is 8.75” wide. A 26.30” wheelbase creates the stability and performance of large-radius turning. The Slater Model also features Arbor’s gummy 65mm, 78a durometer wheels for a smoother ride, and Gullwing 9” reverse kingpin trucks for tighter turn initiation.
The new Slater Model is built with a unique blend of materials that deliver a powerful combination of attributes, including: performance, an important amount of surf heritage, and a respect for the planet. “It’s the environment that makes a life of surf, skate, and snow possible,” added Carlson. “This awareness has always been important to Kelly and Arbor; it drove our design efforts ensuring that the new Slater Model is as friendly on the environment as possible.”
ENVIRONMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS
Seven Plys of Sustainably Sourced Hardrock Maple: Maple provides the best blend of durability and lightweight performance. It's also readily available and affordable, which allows Arbor to offer a price point that is uncommonly low for an environmentally friendly alternative.
Finish Ply of Sustainably Sourced Hawaiian Koa: This hardwood’s more densely packed fibers add important structure, which improves return, while providing a one-of-a-kind grain pattern on each deck. Koa wood was used by the Hawaiians to build the first surfboards 600+ years ago.
Recycled Glass Re-Grip: Each skateboard is gripped with long-lasting crushed recycled glass. This ultra clear grip surface allows the deck’s natural grain and color to remain highly visible, while providing better performance than silica bead alternatives.
Water-Based Finishes: All Arbor skateboards are produced using a water-based sanding sealer and final finish to help protect the air we breathe, especially when skating.
Recycled Plastic Risers: All complete skateboards are shipped with recycled plastic risers, which allow Arbor to reduce dependence on petroleum-based plastics, while contributing to a reduction in the use of landfills and the proliferation of plastic pollution.
Reclaimed Wood Byproduct: All wood byproduct created during the production of Arbor skateboards is reclaimed for use in other Arbor products or by outside companies. This allows Arbor to stretch an important resource, while helping to reduce strain on landfills and forests.
ABOUT THE ARBOR COLLECTIVE: Arbor was founded in 1995 on the assertion that solutions to many of today’s most difficult snow, skate, and apparel design challenges exist in the natural world. For 14 years, Arbor has built on the belief of replacing, environmentally harmful materials with ecologically based, natural alternatives. Arbor’s goal is to create a higher level of function and relevance in the most responsible way possible. The end result must be improved style and performance, with significantly reduced impact on the environment. “We need clean air to skate, clean water to surf, and snow to ride…”
Things have been insane in the last few months. We are working very hard on new models with anew breaking trough nano-tubes technology. Yvon Labarthe is all ready riding on this amazing aero space technology. We will send you in a few weeks a press release regarding this. We also have a very cool new school street luge design, that is still tested by Ivon him self
We are very proud to announce are new team:
Yvon Labarte a gravity legend that is a partner, developer and pro rider
Robert Stack a friend and our team manager. Bobby aka Crazy Bobby Stack
Ignacio A. Miranda Lagunas from Chile, he works as a pilot and in his spare time he is a pilot with the phantom carbon top mount on asphalt.
a very promising young guy Nick Harris 19 years old from Cleveland.
The Decked Project is coming to London! Decked is an exhibition featuring 50 emerging illustrators, designers and street artists, all showcasing custom designed skate decks. Each deck is hand inked/printed/painted/carved in an effort to celebrate the original, a love for art and a respect for those who originally changed the face of skate culture, the Dogtown skaters. The boards are 100% recycled and kindly provided by Faltown Skateboards.
Artists from across the world are taking part including Aaron Petz, Mr Penfold collaborating with The London Police, Oliver Winconek, EYESAW and Skaffa among many others.
The project has been organised by two illustrators wanting to put together an exhibition that was fresh and away from the hierarchical gallery systems and agent routes, allowing emerging talent to show alongside established names. Decked aim to break down a few barriers in the art world and make the opportunity of showing artwork in a London gallery a more accessible option for young artists, no commission is being charged on anything sold allowing each artist to keep 100% of sales. The artists have been chosen because of their broad background of styles creating some visually exciting and unique boards that will be a credit to the longboards they are painted on! Decked is showing at StolenSpace Gallery, Brick Lane, London from 25th -31st August. For more information visit http://thedeckedproject.blogspot.com/
So here we are, a year and a half later and still going strong. If you haven’t heard of us, you will now! Read up!
Chris A. (pelucachris) and I (assumeivan) began Black Velvet Slide Pucks back in January, 2008. We were both avid corian users to say the least. We made frequent trips on the weekends to our local Home Depot to snatch as much corian as we could, sometimes even by the box full. However, one day both of us finally realized how much corian was really costing us. Sure, we thought corian was “free” but in the end, was it really? I realized how much I was spending on Velcro for corian, and how many gloves I had to replace because my corian died out.
BC Longboards release of the “Flounder”, a 100% bamboo thrasher!
With a built-in tail and subtle nose kick, this board is a cross between carving heaven and old school/street skating. Concave and camber between the trucks for pumping or ride out on the nose or tail for a surfy feel. The flounder has a stiff yet snappy flex to work synergistically with the truck system for easier commutes round town.
The tail is a bit softer than your traditional street deck, allowing for rebound and responsiveness. The flounder can be ollied and most of your standard street skating tricks are still possible. A small waist band near the rear truck provides extra room for foot placement and board maneuverability. At 35” long this board is long enough to carve, yet compact enough to carry to class. At 9.25” wide, switching from edge-to-edge is easier than ever.
Although, designed to work with a variety of trucks, we recommend the Tracker RT-S with a 65mm wheel.
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