Lynn Kramer, a mechanical engineer from San Diego, started showing up at slalom races in 2002 during the Fat City Racing era, and quickly became the fastest woman racer in the U.S. Within two seasons Lynn was winning every major race that had a womens division. She went to Europe to find more women to race.

We knew Oregon gets too hot in the summer and too damn rainy in the winter—so fall it was. I don’t recall the three in the morning wake up call was not on the itinerary. I woke up in Fresno and took over the wheel to Weed. The wheel was steering the Gravity Team to the concrete art recently labored in Oregon. The Team included, Jesse Parker, Roger Mihalko, Dustin “Ddog” Taylor, Ed Latus, Paul Santilli, myself and Breamo, who organized the expedition and brought a bunch of camera bags. We chose to enter the beaver state from the East and head North to Klamath Falls.

About eleven years ago, I picked up a book called “The One to One Future.” In this ground-breaking work, authors Don Peppers and Martha Rogers examined what happens when technology allows companies to market to customers on a one to one basis. The book originally was published in 1993 and a decade and a half later, it’s incredible to see how on point they were. I couldn’t help but think about the one to one future while I was preparing this article on skateboard customization. It is my belief that skaters all over the world will pick up on the benefits of having skate gear that is uniquely created for them. This article examines three areas of customization: deck construction, board graphics and grip tape. I am sure it’s only a matter of time when we see truck and wheel customization. Until that moment arrives however, there is still a tremendous amount to explore.

The explosive growth of longboarding is undeniable. From freeriding, to sliding, to racing, cruising and carving, all types of skateboarding are getting more exposure than ever. Pockets of riders and small communities are forming and popping up all over the globe. Although most types of skateboarding are very much male-dominated, there are not surprisingly more and more females getting involved in downhill skateboarding, especially here in BC. Whether it’s because of the endless terrain or the huge population and tight community surrounding the sport (much thanks to Coast Longboarding), the number of women riding here is constantly growing. The first girl to ever race at Danger Bay was Louise Leslie, a.k.a. LouDogg. She was a huge inspiration, and within two years of that there were 11 girls lined up to race.