You are cordially invited to push the following video of mine over the 100k views mark! It took nearly four years to get there, yet during that time, the video has slowly but steadily emerged as the #1 result on YouTube for the search string ‘banana board’.
[LINK]
The video documents a whimsical push race held by some local skateboarder friends of mine.
The rules were simple -- you had to race on a banana board. No street decks or longboards. We did fudge the conditions a bit and permitted participants to swap in modern bearings and wheels.We had a ton of fun that day!
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| Who knew banana boards could be so a-peel-ing? |
The event was organized by Suzanne Nuttall a.k.a. ‘Ponyta’, a community-minded skater who has consistently livened up the local longboarding scene with her warm spirit and generosity.
(For example, her Super Mellow Beach Cruise is a friendly beginner-oriented outing that has become a summer tradition along the waterfront. Over thirty sessions have taken place over the years!)
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| Ponyta - the Banana Split organizer |
Interestingly, at least a couple of the skaters in the video have gone on to compete at the highest levels of the sport in downhill racing, not to mention become sponsored skateboarders.
Braden Tibbles -- the winner that day -- and Luke Melo are both among the top 25 ranked skaters in the International Gravity Sports Association World Cup series in 2012. (Click here to watch these two riders -- accompanied by Justin Readings, who I interviewed earlier this year -- skating waaaay faster in L.A...)
Meanwhile, I have steadfastly remained Toronto’s worst regular skater. Ha!
Skate on, frons!
Past skate coverage from me