Product Review: Rooftop Skateboards OG Bubble

If you don't know already, Rooftop Skateboards is a small "microbrew" skateboard company headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana. Rooftop was founded a few years back in Bedford by a really friendly fellow named Ryan Draper, who's done quite a bit over the years to promote skateboarding in south-central Indiana. Rooftop has been a supporter of The Solitary Life/Everything Skateboarding since day one... yet, we've somehow never gotten around to reviewing their products. Until now:





Rooftop's owner, Ryan Draper, backside in the big bowl at Bloomington's Upper Cascades Skatepark. Look at all that vert! Scary...





This is the "OG Bubble" logo deck. This one is about 8" x 32", with a 14.75" wheelbase. But they're available in a whole rainbow of sizes. The graphic is a single-color heat transfer, and the wood is american-made by a really, really reputable woodshop. In fact, it's the very same woodshop that I used to use at my old company. So, I can personally vouch for the quality of this wood on a whole lotta levels.





The shape is a pretty standard street shape, but maybe just a little bit "blunter" than others on the market right now. It's straightforward, functional, and works great for bluntslides, tailslides, noseslides, or any other trick where you need some extra landing room or leverage on the ends and edges of the nose and tail.





The concave is what I'd call "medium deep". It's a good all-around concave, with just a little bit of rocker tossed in for a lower center of gravity, better foot feel, and a little extra durability and pop. Small things make big differences on street decks, and Rooftop's got the little things nailed down pretty good.





Rooftops generally retail for around $45 (with grip) at most skateshops in Indiana, which is in-between most "branded deck" and "shop deck" prices. You can also buy them online from www.rooftopskateboarding.com, if you're somewhere outside of Indiana. Support the grass roots of skateboarding, and support small, skater-owned companies.

Be The Scene #223:

Product Review: Rooftop "Cruiser" Model

This is the second of a two-part Product Review series on Bloomington, Indiana's Rooftop Skateboards. This one is a neat little custom cruiser that we refer to as the "Cornfield Cruiser" here at the Everything Skateboarding offices. Here's why:

The most obvious attribute of the Cornfield Cruiser are the graphics. Not your "typical" mass-produced, Rooftop-logo-based artwork, these decks are all individually custom-painted, one deck at a time, by Ryan himself using what might be best described as a "sponge-over-stencil" process. No two are exactly alike, and he doesn't make many of them. I think the plaid-effect is kinda cool, and the windmill on the nose just screams "Indiana".

On the top, there's a one-color sponge-stencil of a cornstalk... thus, the "Cornfield Cruiser"nickname...

This cruiser is just a little bit wider than Rooftop's "street" decks... but not by much! For all intents and purposes, it's about the same size as Rooftop's biggest street shape. Again, the wood is 100-percent american-made, and it's quality stuff that you can count on to work.






Like the size, the concave is also very "street deck". It's not hard to imagine that you could very easily use this "cruiser" to slap some curbs, frontside rock some small quarterpipes, or get bizzy in a bowl somewhere...






Like the street decks, these also generally retail somewhere in the $45 range... depending on which shop you go to, and how generous the sales dude's feeling that day. And, these are also available at www.rooftopskateboarding.com for all of those out-of-staters that want to own their own little skateboarding slice of Indiana.

Be The Scene no.36:

Upcoming Events, November 1st, 2011:

JJ Rudisill always sends in the coolest flyers...! I'm guessing this one's in NYC, since that's where The Bossman lives and all. Still the coolest dude ever...





A little closer to home, Ryan Draper of Rooftop Skateboards has organized a weekly skate session at the Bedford (Indiana) Skatepark. Every Saturday at 2pm, sharp. The skatepark is at US 50 and Q Street in Bedford, about a half-mile east of 37 south. It's a prefab SkateWave park, but it's pretty large (relative to most SkateWave parks...), and fairly fun (again, relative to most SkateWave parks). Look for the city pool; the park is right behind it.

Lastly, we still have the 1031 demo happening at Killer Skatepark in Evansville, Indiana on November 21st, 2011. Starts at 6:00 PM CST, costs $10.00 at the door. For more info, call 812.402.2940 or surf www.killerskatepark.com.

It's All Skateboarding...

Coming Soon...

It's been a busy weekend. I just got back from a two-day round-trip to Evansville, Indiana where I enjoyed Killer Skatepark's Two-Year Anniversary bash. There will be a full-feature story on my excursions later this week, plus a boatload of new articles... but until then, enjoy this flawless switch frontside bigflip by Evansville's own Nate Ives. Lates...!

Stickers...!

Stickers are available! Finally...! And honestly, it's about time that we figure out how to promote this stupid site effectively. They're paper, and they're inexpensive... but they stick like glue, and in the right environment, they can even last for a couple years.

If you'd like a few sent your way, drop us an e-mail to the same 'ol, same 'ol e-mail address, and we'll hook you up...! Because we still love our readers more than any other crappy blog on the interweb ever could...!






*That e-mail addy is still budstratford@aol.com, by the way. Got it? Good...

The Editor Wonders: Who's Job Is It...?

Recently, I was talking to a skateshop owner about "kids these days". Us old guys... we spend a lot of time talking about "kids these days", these days. It's mostly a function of skating's recent popularity, I suppose. Too much coverage has somehow blessed us with too many wussy little kids that defected from rollerblading and razor scootering in search of cooler pastures, we theorize. It's so true: Old, bitter bastards tend to do a lot of complaining. I should know, since I'm generally regarded as being one of them.

Anyway... during our discussion, this shop owner quite frankly admitted to me that he had a tendency to be a little bit rough with his little-bastard customers. Sort of surprised by this revelation, I asked why in the good grace of gawd he would do such a thing? Surprised himself by my reaction, he told me that he honestly felt that it was his duty, as a skater, to "harden 'em up" a little bit. Rough 'em up in order to toughen 'em up, so to speak.


Next month, Everything Skateboarding will be running a full-feature initiative called "Spotlight On The Independent Skateshop". We have gone to some pretty stupendous lengths to round up some of the very best and brightest that this industry has to offer, to offer up some tactics and strategies that hopefully, will help guide these skateshops forward on a more sustainable and profitable pathway to success. Why...? Because we all feel that these locally-owned skateshops are a valuable and irreplaceable resource that we just can't afford to lose. So, why not launch a wide-ranging, bold, and brutally honest initiative to help them stay in business...? It only seemed like the right thing to do. And if you know me... or, any one of us... at all, then you certainly understand that we're pretty huge on doing "the right thing" around here. It's kinda what we're known for. And we don't apologize for it one damned bit. We're sorta known for that one, too.

The problem, though, is that bold and brutal honesty usually cuts both ways. Brutally and boldly, we are the guys that will always stand fast in support of the independent, skater-run skateshop. On the other hand: We typically don't support abject stupidity. And that's where that bold and brutal honesty starts working against some of our independent skateshop buddies. Because it's our position that the skateshop does not exist to fuck with it's customers. Not as far as I can see, anyway. Actually, I'd go so far as to say that the mission of any good, solid, and legit skateboard shop is really, quite the opposite: It's actually there to serve the customers. My position has always been that the industry exists to support skateboarders of every age, race, gender, or ability. Not to belittle and brutalize them.





We're not exactly the guys that'll shy away from staking out a position, and standing firmly behind it. You'll probably be seeing more of this kind of message over the next few months. Hey, little kids...? Never, ever forget this: If anyone,anywhere ever gives you crap for being a little kid, you've got our permission to go right on ahead, and tell them to suck it.



I think that one of the great mistakes that this industry makes too often, is the mistake of not thinking things through before marrying a concept. I think that's why this industry ends up marrying way, waaayyyy too many shitty concepts. Like, telling kids that they drink their own pee if they buy blank skateboards (I'll never forget that one). Or, telling skaters that longboarding isn't "really" skateboarding... which is another fully flaky concept that we're still battling, today. I mean, try telling Tom Sims that one, for cripes' sakes. See how far you get when you're confronted by a living legend that's also a lot smarter than you'll ever be.





When we look for leadership on this issue, we certainly don't have to look much farther than our own excellent staff. Here's a brief overview of one of AJ Kohn's pet projects, Gear 4 Groms. I doubt that you'll ever hear him spewing about how kids need to be kicked around a little bit. Even if it might be "for their own good".



So, yeah... this damned industry of ours. Always ramming stupid ideas into everyone's heads. Like the idea that we need to ostracize and embarass little kids for the high crime of being... little kids? I mean, seriously? Let me tell you something: There's more than enough parents, guidance counselors, coaches, principals, geeks, jocks, skinheads, landlords, pedestrians, security guards, cops, old geezers, little bitties, bosses, pundits, politicians, neo-conservatives, neo-liberals, skatepark police, bitter old skaters, and other assorted bitches, bastards,and assholes out there already... and all too ready and willing to 'harden up' the kids for making the major life mistake of picking up a skateboard. I'd go so far as to say that even life itself will probably 'harden up' the kids just fine. So surely, they don't need any additional help from us.

The bottom line is that kids, newbies, upstarts... they ultimately look up to us for guidance. More than we'd probably like to acknowledge, or even admit. Well, since skateboarding has given us all so much in our lives... I think that we sort of owe it to skateboarding to make at least some feeble attempt to help bring the next generation up right. We should probably be teaching them the same things that other skateboarders taught us. Stuff like, "Look, kid... you can be a dick to whoever you want, on your own time. But when you're a skater...? You always, always, always be
cool to your fellow skater. Because that's just the way it is. Get in line, or get the fuck out." There's a practical reason for that, of course. Because if we can't rely on each other to get the right shit done, then who in the hell are we gonna rely on...? Skaters really can't rely on anyone else in this world for a helping hand, so it's basically up to us to help each other. And skateshops are an integral part of making that ethos, a reality. But first, they've gotta practicing what they're preaching. Or, they risk looking hypocritical. All I'm asking for here is that indy skateshops do us all a favor, and leave the hypocricy to the experts at IASC.

Now, I'm not going the high-and-mighty route here, and start claiming that we should all strive to be some sort of holier-than-thou role-model-figure here. I'm a big believer in the Charles Barkley doctrine, which basically says that everyone else is a hell of a lot more qualified to be a "role model" than I'll ever be. What I am saying here, though, is that role model or not... it's still a damn snappy idea to maybe use some simple common sense from time to time.

The hard truth is that, the more that blatant jerks like me keep drilling crap like "self-respect", "self-worth", "self reliance"and "self determination" into the kids... you know, more of that worthless stuff that skateboarding taught me... the more they're gonna stop taking your- or, anybody else's- shit. And, that's great! Because that's exactly the way it outta be.

Still Crankin' Out The New Artwork...

This week, I'm taking some time to further update the art offerings before I hit the road this weekend to destinations far and away. Here's a few of the most recent pieces:




The "Aperture" column at The Solitary Life originally had "found" (read: "swooped") artwork for the camera photo, so I updated this with an old hand-drawing of my very first camera, a silver-bodied Minolta X-370 SLR. I still shoot from time to time with a film-guzzling (and wallet-draining) Minolta X-Series, but nowadays it's a black-bodied X-370N with a 17-35mm zoom lens.





Some of the art simply had to be tracked down, and cleaned up a smidge. The Solitary Life archives are a bleedin' mess, due to the editors' utter inability to organize competently. "The Editor", of course, is yours truly... and boy, do I suck sometimes. I spent most of tonight, cursing myself. That's becoming commonplace these days.





Heads Up, kids: We'll soon be running the "Better Letter Contest" as a regular feature, and it'll be a choice means of winning tons of free swag. All y'gotta do is write a legible, entertaining, funny, and smart letter. I know it's hard. But seriously, you can do it. Get those letters in...! The addy is still budstratford@aol.com.





The beloved "Smoking Pig" logo makes it's return (we'd never, ever even think of retiring that one), cleaned up for it's new home...





...while the "Commuter" logo also gets a minor makeover, and a newer, bolder ink treatment courtesy of a fistful of brand-new Sharpies...



Doing the art has been a mighty good time, but I'm seriously looking forward to hitting the road, and causing some major trouble along the way. Stay tuned...!

Upcoming Events: October 2011

Indianapolis, Indiana; Saturday, October 22nd, 2011:

Old Indy Skaters "Zombie Longboard Cruz"
10:00 am
Frank & Judy O'Bannon Soccer Park
(16th St. and the Monon Trail)
$5.00 donation. Donations benefit William Cole.

www.oldindyskaters.com

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Evansville, Indiana; Saturday, October 29th, 2011:

Killer Skatepark 2 Year Anniversary Bash
Killer will be open 12:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Free Skate All Day
Street Contest:
Sign Ups 1:00 PM CST, Contest Starts 2:00 PM CST
3 Classes: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Prizes Given
$5 to Enter

Also:

“KILLER or DIE” Video Premiere – Killer's 2nd shop video
6:00 PM CST
Video Features: Jay Lauf, Deekler, Coby Krieg, Joe Lester, Zach Newhouse, Josh Griffin, Josh Brown & Glenn Davidson

812.402.2940
www.killerskatepark.com

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Evansville, Indiana; November 21st, 2011:

1031 Demo
6:00 PM CST at Killer Skatepark
$10.00 at the door

812.402.2940
www.killerskatepark.com

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Attention all skate shops...! Make sure that we have the latest information on all of your upcoming events! E-mail the editor at budstratford@aol.com today.

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