So there you are at a local skate shop or online in your underwear, puzzling through all the different longboard deck shapes. Which pushes best? Which works best with a Mellow boost? We've made a long story short to cruise you through some metaphors to make the lesson slide down easier, so feel free to carve around or race straight downhill to checkout that one single shape that grips your fetish hardest. 
In this first installment of understanding Longboards we talk about shapes and their best uses. We'll deal with the effects of material, flex, wheelbase and length on your ride in later posts.
Cruiser
Cruising is what most longboard rider do. Cheaper than a Cadillac, but just about the same feeling as on a sunny path down by the beach or a quick zip to grab some broccoli or a forgotten roll of TP. With beefy tail you can maneuver through tricky places or pop ollies over pesky cracks and puddles.
Mount a Mellow Drive: Extra boom on smaller boards + a Mellow Drive = radical times
Carver
A longer deck with pintail or fishtail gives you a carver! More room to stand doesn't mean you'll be carving rock or turkeys but instead nice elliptical shapes on the open road or parking lot. The closest thing to the feeling of catching waves when the coast is a million miles away.
Powered boost with a Mellow: Link the longest loveliest turns by making them endless.
Slider
Get ready to shred the tar way beyond casual skating. In spite of looking like a « normal » skateboard, it'll let you do high speed skids and plenty of holes in your clothes. Get yourself some sliding gloves to avoid grating your hands like aged parmesan on the blacktop.
Motorise your skate: Add a Mellow Drive to this and get a real Miami power boat feeling.
Freerider
Find a hill and cover it in hard carves, slides, swerves and speed. Formula 1 cut-outs avoid wheel bites and allow for maximum handling and maneuverability. Who needs a kicktail when you can slide to a stop?
Attach a Mellow Drive to boost: Strap a Mellow on one of these bad boys and experience the delight of carving back uphill!
Racer
Get ready for bombing downhill like you're going for gold on a steep Alpen slope. These boards are usually stiffer than your high school principal, but are made with more exotic wood and materials. These fast boards will cost you a pretty penny. Get your leathers on, text your grandma "l8ter" and head off into full #yolo mode.
Double engine Mellow power:Rev your dual engines but careful - that’s a spoiler not a kicktail so don’t count it for last second turns.
Dancer
Here comes the hot stepper! A shape that reduces your chances for wheelbite but with more deck than a freerider. Moonwalk like Michael or prance like Nijinsky, this large board is your dance floor, so find a nice open space before unleashing the dancer inside of you!
Electrify your pirouettes: Footloose plus dual motors will make you feel like Jay Z charging across a four-lane highway while checking your Instagram feed and screaming out "money ain’t a thing".
Whether you choose one of the above or just get all of them, don’t feel restricted to their set categories since most people mix and match. Don't be afraid to test out other people’s boards. Be as undecided as you want with your Mellow Drive and switch up your ride depending on destination, road type and personal whimsy. The options are endless!
Stay tuned for more blogs and videos to better understand longboard materials, truck mounts, flex, tail, concavity, camber and what happens once you power up your skate with an electric drive boost!
Keep rolling with us on the Mellow Times.
