Lars Erickson Board Company

It's always fun to see up-and-coming board builders, with a passion for the industry, progress in their craft with the help of Roarockit Technologies. In this edition of Rockit Talk, we will be profiling a young builder named Lars Erickson who has been documenting the development of his own custom longboard company through various websites and videos posted to his 'Gnarfarian' YouTube channel. 

Lars has been building custom boards for almost two years now, and has recently added the Thin Air Press vacuum bag process to his arsenal.   

“I have been using my Roarockit vacuum bag now for half a year. It is working very well and I have been pressing customs and riding some of my very own decks... To me board building is all a process. Longboarding is a process. One that challenges barriers and walls set in our souls. It helps expand what we are capable of and push our limits.”

Lars currently lives in Kansas, and is constantly building and getting input from riders in his area. He plans to put that experience to use when he leaves for college, and starts selling his new topmount speed board on campus. Not only will he have a new set of customers, but he can teach them how to shred as well!

“Longboarding to me offers many benefits. It isn't just about going fast or learning to slide... I mean, going fast is totally awesome, but longboarding offers so much more than that. It can boost cinematography, woodworking and even people skills!”

"I hope to continue my board building and eventually start a larger company. It's definitely gonna stay with me my entire life."

As you can tell, Lars is very passionate about both building and riding his own longboards, and you can follow his exploits on his awesome YouTube channel, and his own personal blog – LarsLovesPeace – He is also sponsored by Daddies Board Shop to help test out new products and give reviews.

Check out the Lars Erickson Board Company on Facebook

Lisa Farrows Art

The Roarockit Skateboard Company loves showing off the work done by people in our community, and one of the brightest stars around is Ms. Lisa Farrows!

Lisa is an Outdoor Educator for the Peel District School Board and works with an expulsion program called Fresh Start two days a week. As both a passionate painter and longboarder, she has managed to incorporate both hobbies into her lesson planning and gets students to paint deck-shaped canvases in the classroom... very cool!

You may also recognize Lisa from the Ministry of Wood - as the first artist to be featured in our Builder of the Month section a few years ago. She does some incredible custom paint jobs on boards, often for events or fundraisers, and has even started restoring some historical pieces from around the city:

“...most recently I've been doing restoration work at the Flatiron Building and the Dineen building at Yonge and Temperance. It's been incredible to put my mark on two historical buildings in Toronto. Both buildings have 6 vault doors that are over 100 years old that I've done replication work on. At the Denine building there was a 150 year old safe that was found in an elevator shaft that I brought back to life ... Next on the list is a furnace door and an elevator. It's so exciting.”

Lisa has also worked closely with Rob from Bombora Boards to create some very special decks that were donated to the Boarders Against Breast Cancer fundraiser, and the annual Hospital For Sick Kids Gala.  

And what does the future have in store for Ms. Farrows?

"Who freakin knows! I'm sure there will be more Art, Adventure and Good times..."

You can check out more of Lisa's art on her Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/lisafarrowsart or follow her on Instagram @Farrows

You can also email Lisa for a quote on a custom design - artbylisa@gmail.com

Monga Boards

Straight Outta Sweden, some crazy board builders named MONGA!!

One of the best parts of Roarockit's Thin Air Press technology, is giving people the oppourtunity to start building their own high-quality custom boards, and seeing it grow into something bigger.  These three young builders, based in Stockholm, have been impressing us with their custom designs, craftsmanship and enthusiasm towards growing their own company.

Building their own longboard started as a high school project, and after a lot of positive response (and graduating) builders William, Karl and Rikard have continued to build on their success with Monga Boards.

The small team at Monga explain in their own words, the process involved in the creation of Monga Boards: 

“We had no knowledge at all and we just experimented our way forward. The first board we made actually got some really nice comments from our friends. They were surprised that we actually managed to make a longboard that was rideable! But when we take a look at the board today, we understand that we had no clue what we were doing, and that board we built was absolutely NOT rideable haha! 

We started to look on the Internet on how other people pressed their boards, and after some research, decided to make a 'rib press'. Well, even then we didn’t think much about how to do it, and just experimented our way forward. It took us 4 rib presses to finally make a decent board that we could present.

Even then, we still wanted to make better boards and the process with the rib press was taking too long and we hated it. Just working with it made us angry! But one day, William was looking on Facebook and saw another board company in Sweden that uploaded a picture of something called a 'vacuum bag'. 

I had no idea what it was or how it worked so I googled around and luckily found Roarockit's homepage with the great TAP bags! At this time we only had a few weeks left on the project and we were behind schedule. But when our first TAP bag arrived we managed to create an awesome pintail with the veneers provided and we really thought that this was going to change the whole project for us. A new way to press using foam and a vacuum bag, which took up no storage space at all and was easy to work with. We were really stoked! 

As we were giving the presentation at school in front of our class and teacher, we got even better feedback and everyone was wondering how we managed to do the boards so well! It must have been around that time that we decided “let’s do this after the project as well!” 

We graduated and all went our separate ways, but as everyone got back from their vacation we had a very short meeting and decided to do this. So we ordered another TAP bag, but this time the bigger version. And we love it. 

This project has given us so much experience, not just in how to make a longboard, but in how to plan something as well. Always keep your patience and really think something through before executing it. But that’s not all, we are really tight friends now and we wouldn’t know each other like we do today if we wouldn’t have started building boards 2 summers ago and getting the top grade on our project. 

Thank you all at Roarockit who made this possible and for your excellent service and quick deliveries despite that we live so far away from you!"

No, thank YOU!! Hearing a story like this, inspires us to continually get better in an attempt to grow with, and meet the needs of the independent builder like yourself.  

You can find out more about Monga Boards by visiting their Facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/MongaBoards

Lil' Rockit Builder Kit

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of our first deck building kit - and in an effort to keep up with trends in the skateboard industry - Roarockit has developed a new kit to help introduce riders to the board building process. This is our answer to the 'mini-cruiser' craze that has been hitting the streets around the world. Introducing... the Lil' Rockit Builder Kit.

Mini-cruisers like the Penny Board and Z-Flex have been around for a long time, almost since the beginning of skateboarding itself. The smaller boards appeal to both advanced riders who want to try something new, and young kids who get their introduction to the sport riding something their own size. Either way, there is a nostalgia attached to the smaller boards and we want to give builders a chance to make their own.

The Lil' Rockit Builder Kit comes with everything needed to make your own 7 Layer mini-board. The veneer, foam, Thin Air Press vacuum bag, tools and even the glue are all included in one box. This is our most economical introduction to board building, and for the first time ever, we will also be including our Colour-Infused maple veneers with every set purchased!

The preshaped veneers measure 23" long x 6.25" wide, and the foam mold features mild concave with a 5/8" kicktail.  

So not only will you be able to stuff this board into your locker or backpack, but you'll be able to brag about the fact that you built it yourself!

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There are a few different options for building this board:

1. Lil' Rockit Double Kit = $125.99 ($5.00 extra for Teacher's Curriculum) 

2. Lil' Rockit 4 Pack Kit = $155.99

The Double and 4 Pack Kits come with everything needed to make 2 or 4 – Lil' Rockit boards, including:

(2 or 4) Sets of Lil' Rockit preshaped veneers (one colour sheet per set)

(1) Preshaped Foam Mold

(1) 14 x 47” TAP Kit – includes 2' Breather Netting, TAP Pump, extra Sealing Tape rolls

(1) 8 or 16oz Bottle of Glue

(1) Edging Tool

(1) Glue Cup/Sanding Paper/Glue Roller/'Handcrafted' Sticker

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Refill Kits are meant for builders who may already have a Thin Air Press vacuum bag, and just need certain materials to build one of our preshaped boards. Click on the products below for more information and pricing.

For more information about the Lil' Rockit Builder Kits, or how to incorporate this project into a classroom setting, feel free to email chris@roarockit.com or call us Toll Free @ 1-888-857-7790

Week Long Build Sessions

Roarockit offers full-week building programs, designed for you to build your own dream board with one of our experienced instructors! 

There will be 5 seperate sessions held in our Professional Deck Making School, located at 880 Millwood Road in Toronto, over the next year.  

The Session Dates:

March Break - 2013
Monday March 11 to Friday March 15
9:00 am - 11:30 am (12.5 hours total)

July Summer Camp 1 - 2013
Monday July 8 to Friday July 12
9:00 am - 11:30 am (12.5 hours total)

July Summer Camp 2 - 2013
Monday July 29 to Friday August 2
9:00 am - 11:30 am (12.5 hours total)

August Summer Camp - 2013
Monday August 19 to Friday August 23
9:00 am - 11:30 am (12.5 hours total)

Choose to make a skate deck, pintail, top-mount speedboard, our new Lil' Rockit or a more advanced drop deck. With an experienced instructor to show you the steps and share all the builder’s tricks and tips, you will produce a seriously awesome board the very first time, and will be able to continue making boards with your new-found knowledge.

Using the best wood in the world for a skateboard (Canadian maple), you’ll learn how to laminate a 3 dimensional board in a Thin Air Press, finish it, design and apply your own graphics. Using Roarockit’s patented method, your quality board will be entirely hand-made, using the power of vacuum, no power tools required.

As there is drying time between many of the steps, skateboard building requires multiple sessions to complete the stages. Sessions are planned so that all the steps are completed by the end of the 5 day program, so attendance at all 5 days is required. Space is limited, so submit your application early to ensure your spot!

What’s included:

The materials and use of our tools to create a custom board. During the 5 sessions, you will prep sheets of Canadian maple, glue up and press them in a Thin Air Press, over a mold. You sand and finish the edges top and bottom, clear coat and apply your own graphics to finish up your board.

What’s not included:

Wheels and trucks, hardware or grip tape

Feel free to contact us for more information:

Phone 1-416-422-5487

Email - marcel@roarockit.com