Hanging toes and heels

"Hanging toes" refers to the style of riding a longboard with your toes hanging off the front. There are two reasons for it. It feels like flying. And the board moves faster across sections of the wave. You’re like superman--only wearing boardshorts or a bikini instead of a cape.

You coast across the glassy curls that rise up, tumble and peel across the beach. You feel the exhilaration of velocity. You see the beach and other surfers in the water. Perched on the nose of the board, you are king or queen of it all—just for a moment. As the wave dies, you relinquish your crown to the next noserider. It’s a beauty pageant for adrenaline junkies.

Hanging heels is much more difficult. Therefore has increased style. There is an actual purpose for the move. And that is to face the wave while riding. This is said to show ultimate respect to it. It’s kind of like missionary position. You’re looking straight at the wave, showing how much you care ;)

One of the tricks to hanging toes is to have the right board. There are two main types of longboards and everything in between. “Noseriders” are for just that, riding the nose. “Performance” longboards are for tighter and more radical turning. I don’t mean to use the word “radical” in a condescending way. Generally, everyone should spend time trying both styles.

A good noseriding surfboard is between 9’0-10’. For me, I like 9’6” because I think it’s good middle ground for noseriding and performance. Using a single fin is by far the most stylish, but the tri-fin setup gives you more riding options. There’s a ton of different boards out there, and the good news is, most of them are fun.

Longboarding is all about style. I love riding these classic shapes from the 50’s and 60’s. They take me back to a time when things were bitchin'. When drop-top convertibles were stacked up with surfboards. When the coast wasn't so crowded and all the great surf spots were just being discovered.

Let it all go. Feel the glide of a by-gone era. Hang your toes over the edge of a longboard.

Peanut butter and jelly. A sandwich of epic style.

A childhood classic. It evokes carefree days. Back when you could run out of the house, without thinking twice about bringing a cellphone or iPad. You were free, and you’d ask everyone to “play”. When was the last time you did that? Asked them to go ride BMX bikes. Compete with them to see who can skid their back tire across the pavement the farthest. Those were the days, and that’s the nostalgia--PB&J conjures.

Everyone’s opened up a Ziploc bag to find a smooshed sandwich. You know? The kind with jelly seeping through the bread. You take a bite, and it suction-cups to the roof of your mouth. You can't even talk before gulping it down with a glass of milk. Try that to liven the old work cube.

Granted, you shouldn’t be noshing on PB&J in front of your co-workers. That’s when you should assemble a slightly healthier stack of ingredients. Using breads with words like “whole grain". And, not “cinnamon swirl”.

Overall, PB&J is one of the great sandwiches of all time, and maybe the greatest in style. Invented by soldiers to ration food in WWI. It's a humble meal. The simplicity of two slices of bread--one with peanut butter, the other with jelly. The salty and the sweet.

“Town Talk” or White Bread – Going purist, brown bag lunch style. You are a cut above the rest. Literally trading in the pleasant security of health for cool. Cutting off the crust is debatable. But, overall, you're really throwing caution into the wind. That’s what style is all about.

Notes of Nutrition – Okay, you’ve grown up. You're trading up for more "granola" breads. You dabble in fancier jellies like blackberry, raspberry reserves and blueberry. Steady choices for a sophisticated palette.

Bark Sandwich – The bread is like bark from a tree. The peanut butter is out of the self-serve buckets at Whole Foods. Sometimes, people go so minimalistic, they just use raw peanuts and grapes on bread. It's going super-hippie, but committed.