Light Bohrd

Almost everyday we get to see something cool that people are making with our Thin Air Press and other Roarockit products... but when this one came through, our eyes literally LIT UP!

If you haven't heard of them, you soon will... Roarockit is proud to present: LIGHT BOHRD

Chris Forgey is the President/Founder of the Texas based Light Bohrd, and is extremely excited (as we are) to finally bring his technology to market. To get an overview on what their doing to revolutionize the board sports world, here's some words from Mr. Forgey himself:

“We're making longboards and skateboards that feature illuminated graphics. We're the first company in the world to do this and have a patent pending for the idea and concept. Our boards have several unique features: the technology and components are fully embedded, no external wires, no external batteries. The lights in our boards are motion activated, we recharge our internal power source with a charger from PowerMat.

Our first priority is to build a premium longboard and skateboard. The reason its taken us so long to bring our product to market is the refinement we had to go through to have a product that had the performance and feel that we'd expect as riders ourselves. Then we wanted to add the cool feature of adding illuminated graphics.

We're excited about the product. Light Bohrd is sponsoring 3 riders at Maryhill this upcoming weekend. They'll be riding our pro-series board made for extreme downhill riding. This will be Light Bohrd's debut and we're ready.”

Photo Above: A little quality assurance done by Light Bohrd's Product Engineer 

The Light Bohrd team at the 2012 Gnarathon

Make sure to check these unique boards at http://lightbohrd.com/ and on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/lightbohrd

Unikorn Longboards

Recently we had two gentlemen from Montreal visit the RockitLab here in Toronto. They brought along a few of their handmade longboards, with some incredible laser engraved artwork. We would like to welcome Francis and Vincent from Unikorn Longboards to the Roarockit family!

Unikorn Longboards are generally made with a bamboo core. When the guys came to visit the shop, we introduced them to our new 1/16” Birch veneers, a locally grown bamboo alternative. They took a few boards worth of material home, and ended up pressing that same night!

Here's what they said about their visit, and working with the Birch:

“As soon as we got back home (9:30 pm) we pressed a board with the birch right away. It came out really well, it's a little stiffer than our bamboo ones and a little heavier but it might be for the best. The bamboo boards would actually twist a bit length wise but the birch doesn't. It might be only due to the fact that we have more layers then before and so more layers of glue. The extra layers of glue should help it keep its shape longer though... I actually believe that the board is more responsive then with the thick bamboo, probably do to the fact that it doesn't twist.”

You can get more information about Unikorn Longboards @ www.unikorn.ca ... and make sure to 'Like' their new Facebook page.

We look forward to more great work from these talented builders. Keep up the good work guys!

Bombora/5th Annual Swap Meet

If you've never heard of Ontario's own Bombora Boards...WHERE YA BEEN!?! Bombora's unique brand of gnar is brought to you by Mr. Rob DeFreitas – A local and very talented board builder whose name rings out in the Ontario longboard scene.

Rob has been building boards using Roarockit's Thin Air Press for over 3 years and has built an impressive lineup of boards for various riding styles. From the Ruckus and H.T.F.U of the Garage Series to the freeride favourite Staxxx model, Bombora Boards has a pro board for all shapes and sizes. Aside from building amazing boards, Rob is also a talented Lighting Director on the set of ET Canada, and is the man behind many of your favourite local skate videos.

And if that wasn't enough to make you tremble in his presence, Rob is one of the main organizers behind the stoke-laden Swap Meet!

The Swap Meet is a way for local riders to get together, check out the latest gear, stock up on hardware and shake off the Winter's rust in preparation of the new season.

This year marks the 5th Annual Swap Meet, which again takes place at Roarockit's Professional Deck Building School located at 880 Millwood Rd. Toronto, ON M4G 1X1. With more sponsors, riders and stoke than ever – this is sure to be an all-time amazing event. Come check it out on Sunday March 25th from 12-4pm - SWAP!SWAP!SWAP!

OH!! And don't forget to check out the legendary POOP CHUTE for a Post Swap shred hosted by Toronto's own Skate Invaders!

You can visit the official Facebook home of the 5th Annual Swap Meet by clicking the image below.

Introducing... Marcel Dionne

Rockit Talk is proud to introduce Marcel Dionne.

If you've ever been to Roarockit, you may very well have met Marcel. Maybe he taught you how to shape your first mold? Maybe he did a demo for your school? Or maybe he just gave you a big high five and a smile as you walked by!?! Either way, were stoked to have Marcel on board as part of the Roarockit family.

Marcel has worked at the Roarockit Skateboard Company for almost 2 years and is our primary in-house teacher. Thoughout his time with the company, Marcel has taught countless students how to build their own custom skate and longboard decks, as well as creating hundreds of boards himself. He uses this experience to help prepare new students for what to expect during a build.

For example, "Many students tend to rush due to the short drying time of glue. Panicking in these situations can often make the process slower than it needs to be. Before we start pressing the board, I go over a prebuild checklist to make sure we have all the tools and materials needed within reach. This helps to keep the students calm and avoid mistakes. If you are properly prepared, there should be no problem getting the board glued and in the bag before it dries."

He also states that, "“Building boards by hand involves a lot of attention to small details – easily missed by most newcomers. 50% of my teaching is about anticipating problems during a build, the other 50% is letting the students make mistakes during the class. I'd rather them learn from their mistakes in-class, so that they are prepared when they do their first build on their own.”

Marcel wasn't always a master board builder. Having come from a background of computer science, much of his experience has been one of trial and error. Luckily, he has been surrounded by many great minds at Roarockit that have helped him to refine his woodworking skills. His favourite saying when it comes to building and prototyping is “Make (or think of) as many new mistakes as you can, so that your next build can anticipate them all”.

On top of building boards for a living, he is also extensively involved with the Skate Invaders - a local Toronto skate collective that promotes safe riding and good times. His experience riding with them has given Marcel a great skill set on which to design boards that not only make sense, but ride great! This kind of first-hand knowledge is what makes him such a great teacher as well.

Bursting with ideas for both work and play, we hope to see much more out of Marcel in the coming year and beyond.