Helmets save lives. A no brainer as the kids parents might say. My helmet not only kept me alive, but it is recognized around the world. Nothing to do with my travels and not because of any ballyhoo over me. This Azonic downhill mountain bike helmet has bounced off the pavement on four different continents. I can remember the day I bought it but where it’s been is a little foggy. It probably should have been shelved after its first impact. Like any good helmet after it’s slammed once it’s done, unless you’re a poor skateboarder trying to get to the next event.
My helmet was always well taken care of with some cool paint jobs over the years. I would bring it as a carry on flying to races and put it on when preparing for landing. At some point it would just get tossed in the trunk to go bomb hills. The miles of racing and places I’ve taken this helmet can’t be compared to its exposure as a sticker. This helmet (my head) is part of the iconic Coast Longboarding logo. A logo that has been on stickers, t shirts, posters, videos, and trophies for years (I never got a Coast trophy) and like me it’s being retired.
Longboard skateboards and skateboard racing gained popularity fast and the biggest push came from Coast Longboarding. Coast has shaped skateboard culture by hosting huge events, concerts, and fundraisers to benefit so many. The community of skaters it has spawned and it’s cult like following have everything to do with its champion Bricin “Striker” Lyons. To describe Striker and what he has done for skateboarding is a long story and I’m finding it difficult to start. His presence has everything to do with the growth of the sport and his passion for longboarding may be unmatched.
The longest running skateboard event EVER is now Coast Longboarding’s “The Attack of Danger Bay”. I’ve attended several Danger Bay events, from the very first “Attack” where I was destined to win only to be thwarted by some old man named Schnitzel. I’ve traveled for days to compete only to be held at the Canadian border (turned away once), sleeping in my race leathers to stay warm and cooked for a hundred or so competitors in the pouring Pender Harbor rain. If you have ever been to Danger Bay, you have your stories too and some of them cannot ever be mentioned. The antics of the competitors and community are legendary. If you think legendary is a lofty description www.coastlongbaording.com will chronicle the history.
“The Attack of Danger Bay” is still just a part of what Coast Longboarding and Striker have created. Striker is the monarch of the sport and has been its biggest advocate. I would like to tell some stories about Striker and have the right to after sharing blood, sweat and tears with him but his character is too big for my writing. Writing about Coast Longboarding and its history for me is difficult because it has been a fundamental part of my life and so many others.
Let us get back to me and my helmet! My helmet has been around the world with or without me. Kids wearing Coast clothing will ask me if I have ever been to Danger Bay? I’ve handed out Coast trophies with my likeness to kids who were conceived during Danger Bay 1. I’ve seen my likeness in portable bathrooms from Brasile to Africa. The Coast logo has been tattooed on bodies and somehow so has my head or helmet.
It’s time to retire my Azonic helmet and put it on the shelf, the shelf of the Coast Longboarding Museum. Bombing your local hills and outrunning your local cops has been a huge part of my history thanks to Bricin and his family.
He is like family to many of us in the skateboard community as we’ve shared so much in life. Coast Longboarding and The Church of Skatan have created a museum and Bricin and his family are its curators. Whether or not you skate the history of Coast Longboarding will make you laugh the teeth right out of your mouth.
Check out www.coastlongboarding.com and if you see that logo know that it is only my helmet, the body is still a mystery.
Safety Third
Robert James McKendry III
www.safetythird.blog