Incredible longboard dancing
Longboard Dancing Freestyle is type of longboard skating combining moves from surf, skateboard and dance. It started about 15 years ago, and even though it’s still a young sport, it has grown tremendously in the past 5 years. It basically mixes stepping on the board (dancing) and doing tricks with the board (freestyle), aiming to combine both in a stylish flow.
Today All Extreme had the opportunity to interview a professional longboard skater. But he is not your average longboard skater, he combines several sports in one.
Meet Axel Massin on social media better known as Achel. Axel is 29 years old and live between Paris (France) and Santa Cruz (Portugal).
Hey Axel, can you tell us please about the difference between regular longboard and your type of longboard? Is your gear more expensive?
The board is much bigger than a regular longboard (between 45 and 60 inches) and the trucks are usually set pretty loose to increase the carving. A good setup is quite pricey, and even though you can find a complete for 200€, the quality comes after 350€.
And how long you’ve been doing this?
I got into longboarding 6 years ago, when a friend brought me to DockSession, a weekly longboard meeting. I instantly fell in love!
What is the main reason for someone to practice it and what do you enjoy most in your activities?
For me there are two main reasons that made me very passionate about longboard. On the individual level, it is a feeling of freedom and flow that makes me forget about everything else, and pushes me to always try to progress and accomplish new challenges. On the collective level, the community has brought me many friends and given me the opportunity to travel around the world.
What are your favorite places to do your sports?
I’m very attached to my home spots in Paris, by the river or by the Eiffel Tower, because it’s where I can skate with my friends and where I learned everything. But I also love to skate in nature, especially by the Ocean.
What you think other people are thinking about it? (Your friends
family, fans)
My friends and family are very supportive and, even though they don’t know much about it, they find it quite graceful and pleasing to watch.
List some of your favorite achievements.
In contests, my biggest achievements were to make it to the finals of the world cup in 2017 and to win the French championship in 2019. Other than that, what makes me the proudest is to have decided to quit my former job to dedicate to longboarding and filmmaking.
We started The Longboard Camp 3 years ago in Santa Cruz, and it has been one of my favorite projects. 12 persons come for a week of longboarding and surfing in this beautiful Portuguese village by the ocean, and the vibe is always awesome. People can come whatever their level and age. We have had experienced riders, complete first timers, and people from 18 to 60+ years old.
What is the best thing that happened to you during your career?
Since I decided to live fully of longboarding and filmmaking, I have been blessed with a lot of great opportunities, and it is hard to chose one. The competition probably created the most intense memories, because of all the pressure around it, so either winning one or put the gold medal around my best friend’s neck were definitely some memories I will never forget.
What is your main goal? What are the challenges facing this goal?
My main goal is to be happy, and then to share that happiness with other people. Today, I’m trying to find and spread happiness through longboarding and filmmaking, but maybe tomorrow it’ll will be something else.
What other sports would you like to try or want to progress?
I also surf. I started recently but am very passionate about it and I would love to get better at.
How do you rest from sports? What is your favorite leisure time?
When I’m not skating, I’m often filming or editing. But once in a while, I also like to do nothing and watch a TV show.
Please give some recommendations to people who want to start with
Longboarding.
My recommendations to new comers are :
- Whatever is your age, sex, or experience in board sports, do it !
- Find people around you to skate with, the longboard community is very beginner friendly
- Use protections
- Find tutorials online (Lotfi Lamaali, Hans Wouters, Natalie Pluto, Brandon Desjarlais, Jeff Corsi…)
- Come to The Longboard Camp
