Although college kids and twentysomethings make up the largest part of the longboarding population, there are also plenty of teens, Gen Xers and even boomers.
"Then you have the casual dad, who walks in here with Junior to get him his Tony Hawk board," said Jim McDowell, of Santa Monica's Rip City, a skateboard shop that opened in 1978. "And while we're putting Junior's board together, the dad sees all these longboards, asks to look at one, then they're standing on it, and the next thing you know the glaze has come over their eyes and he ends up walking out with a nice 45-inch pintail, and his kid will have his typical little flippie board."
Longboards also appeal to surfers and snowboarders, who cross-train on them. "The body movements are virtually identical [to snowboarding], and the awareness and being able to look around you and make those movements when you have to is important," said Jon Casson, the snowboard director of Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club in Colorado. "It helps overall coordination and helps keep you in shape."
And unlike surfing or snowboarding, there's no waiting for snow, good surf or even dry weather -- many longboarders regularly skate in parking garages.
As with any exercise that's fun and aerobic, weight loss is sometimes an unexpected benefit. Los Angeles skater Daniel Boothe lost 60 pounds in four months when he began skateboarding for fun and transportation, the latter of which is getting more popular as gas prices increase.
"It's so comfortable to go places, if it's within a mile or two or maybe even three," said Sergio Ayala, 43, a recent L.A. transplant, who recently picked up longboarding. "It's so much easier to just get on the board and start rolling down the sidewalk. It's a lot easier than firing up the beast, driving and having to look for parking."
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For a gallery of longboarding photos, go to latimes.com/skateboard.
