Are You Ready For The Hill??

All the resorts are finally open and people are starting to get out and ride. So, I thought it would be the right time to suggest some things that would be a good idea to have.

• The most important piece of equipment to have is a helmet, especially if you are a beginner, because you will fall a lot. But, even if you have been riding for years you should still have one. For example, Zach (a new employee) has been riding for 12 years. He fell hitting a box at Pine Knob and received a serious concussion.
  
• Gloves and glove protectors are another things to purchase. Having the right gloves will keep your hands extremely warm. Glove protectors are a must have if you use the tow rope a lot. They will stop your gloves from getting torn up.
  
• A leash is a necessity. In Michigan it is now a law to have one on your board. Some resorts will enforce the law more than others. But, sometimes they will take your lift pass away.
• A lock is a great idea to have, especially if you don't want your setup stolen. That will happen and it sucks if it does.
  
• A board bag is a nice thing to have. Especially if you are traveling it makes it easier to carry everything. If you are flying somewhere, wheels on your board bag makes everything a lot easier.
• A good investment is a pair of goggles. When you are going down a hill your eyes will water and it is extremely hard to see where you are going when your eyes are watering. If you ride most during the day, you will want to get a darker lens. Amber is highly recommended. If you are a night rider, yellow or clear is the way to go. Most companies sell separate lenses on their website, so you can change them whenever you want.
• Make sure you check your bindings every time before you go out. But if you forget, a handy thing to have is a snowboard tool. That way if you notice something is loose or you want to adjust something, you can right on the spot.
  
• With outwear, you want to look for something with a high waterproofing and a high breatheability. That way you wont get wet from the snow, and when you sweat the jacket
  
• MAKE SURE YOUR BOARD HAS METAL EDGES. IF IT DOESN'T, YOU CAN NOT RIDE AT A RESORT.
  

If you didn't know, we do teching here. A wax and scrape is $24.99 with a 3 day turn around. If you pay an extra $10 we can get it done in 1-2 days.

Let It Snow!!

I'm pretty excited about the winter weather we finally have. Now resorts have been able to make snow and open. So far Nubs Nob, Brighton, and Mt. Holly are open. Boyne Highlands and Mountain should open this weekend. Instead of checking a million websites for snow reports in Michigan, our website updates the information ever hour for every resort. CLICK HERE for the snow reports on Modern's site.

We recently got in new Neff beanies! They look pretty sweet. I can't wait to stock up on them. This is one of my favorites from this year. It looks a lot better in person, but some some reason the pictures online make it look very bland. I was going to Photoshop it, but PCs and Photoshop do NOT get along. If something this radical isn't your thing, we do have "normal" beanies too.



This video that you are about to watch is so funny. I don't know the people who made it, but at about 0:38 one of our very own employees, Marshall, makes a debut. Watch the end too, there is a slow mo of his debut.



Before I "sign off" I just want to wish all MSU students good luck on their finals next week. After a long week of studying and test-taking, come in a treat yourself to an early Christmas present!

Thrasher DVD

Ok, since its December and we have yet to have a flake of snow... It's time to talk skateboards. We just got in a gang of independent trucks and spitfires. Also we got a few Creature decks and a couple from Death Wish as well. And for those die hard heshers on your Christmas list we just got in Thrashers newest flick titled Under the Bridge, and Creatures Hesh Law is coming soon. And if your looking for a nice indoor spot to shred the gnar during these cold months stop by the Bikers church skate park in Holt click here for their site. Thats it for now guys n gals, stay warm.

Never Summer Longboards

I forgot to mention the other day that this weekend we are having a "weekend after Thanksgiving Day sale." You will get 10% off you're entire purchase. It started Friday and goes until Sunday. But, you can not add coupons on top of the sale.

GUESS WHAT?! This upcoming week we should be getting in new Never Summer longboards! These longboards are always the first to go.
These are the longboards we are getting:

The Tyrant












The Eclipse












The Concept












The Assault












The Swift












CLICK HERE to be taking to Never Summer's website for more information on each board.

Tons of Things to Talk about

I'm sorry it has been so long since the last blog entry. Our Swap Sale was this weekend, so I didn't have much down time.

Speaking of the Swap Sale, it went really well. A lot of people brought in a bunch of stuff. If you didn't come, you missed out. There was some really good stuff for SUPER cheap.
By the way, if you haven't come in to see if your stuff sold, you need to do that ASAP! Pick up date was Monday, so now you can ONLY get in-store credit. Sorry...

Make sure you check out the February issue of Transworld Snowboarding. Modern is going to have an ad in it. I (Lindsay) am pretty pumped about this because a snowboard photograph I took at High Cascade Snowboard Camp is going to be used!

By the way, High Cascade Snowboard Camp has announced which pros are going to attend each session this upcoming summer. The dates and prices are up as well. I highly recommend this camp. I've attended two different summers and LOVED it. Click HERE for the website.

This fall weather is really bumming me out. I want it to snow. I am feening to go snowboarding. It hasn't even been cold enough for resorts (in mid Michigan) to make snow. I looked at the 10 day forecast and it is supposed to rain/snow a couple of days. But, that doesn't help the conditions to make snow.

A lot of customers come in the store asking where to snowboard around here. There really aren't any resorts close to Lansing. I suggest Mt. Holly. It is about 1 hour from here. That is the resort I grew up going to and used to teach snowboarding there. I would have to say that it is the best in the area. But, if you are willing to drive 3 hours, I recommend Nubs Nob or Boyne Highlands. They are right across the street from each other.
(Click on the resort's name to go to their website.)

In the "fan mail" section of the January issue of Transworld Snowboarding, one person talks about snowboard tattoos and how no one really has any. Transworld decided to put up an online gallery for people to post pictures of their "shred-inspired" tattoos. If mine was finished I would totally post a picture of it. If you have one and want to post a picture, I think this is the link to post pictures. Make sure you tag it as "tattoo".

Last but not least, in every issue of Transworld Snowboarding, they post 4 Shrediquette Rules. One from this month is #33: Don't hit up a shop employee for advice and then buy it online.
EVERYONE SHOULD FOLLOW THIS RULE! Thanks :)

New Decks and Other News

Attention skateboarders!!! We finally got in more Modern decks in sizes ranging from 7.37 to 8.5! We also got in Nemesis decks.. The new graphics are pretty sweet. Look at the post from November 10th for pictures of the new designs.
On top of that, we have new Habitat and Alien Workshop decks.












I recently read in the Detroit Free Press that Otsego Ski Club, in Gaylord, will be a host for snowboards to train for the Vancouver Olympics. Snowboarders from four different countries will be using the park and half pipe at Otsego. Click here for the article in the article from the Free Press.

Make sure you watch the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade this year. Modern Skate and Surf has been in the parade for years. We have a mini ramp on wheels with our team riders "performing aerial acrobatics" (that is what news papers always say when they mention Modern demos. No joke. Hahaha). Here's a picture from last years parade.













Our only BMX team member, Malcolm, is pretty astonished by the trick Brett (another team member) is doing.
The face just cracks me up.

REMINDER! Our swap sale is starting this Thursday. Check in begins Thursday at 11am and goes until 2pm on Saturday. Although, I suggest bringing your stuff in on Thursday so that it has all weekend to sell. The actual sale starts Friday at 11am and goes until 6pm on Sunday. If your stuff sells you can get 100% in store credit or 75% cash back.

Burton Gloves & Nemesis Decks

We finally got in new gloves for this year. We now have Burton, Dakine, and Grenade. The Burton Baker Mitt and the Burton Glove Liner have always been our two most popular items for your hands.

CLICK HERE to take you to our glove section on the website.

Burton Baker Mitt

Burton Glove Liners

We are carrying Nemesis skateboard decks again! They are two of the original designs but edited a bit and they look way better than before! You can buy the decks in the store locations. It doesn't look like we have put them on our website yet.

Just a reminder the Royal Oak Swap Sale starts this weekend.
Lansing's Swap Sale is next weekend!

Pretty excited about this next piece of info. I am bummed that I wont be able to make it though. Royal Oak is having a snowboard rail jam outside of the Royal Oak Skate Park this Saturday! Registration is at 11am and the contest starts at 2pm. For more information CLICK HERE.

Random Info

I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween. I know I had a blast.

Well, I'm sad to announce that Louie Vito (professional snowboarder) was kicked off ABC's Dancing With The Stars earlier this week. Bummer. He rides for 686, Grenade, Spy, Neff and other companies.

I'm also devistated about MSU's loss to Minnesota yesterday.

We here at Modern Skate are proud to announce our employee Marshall Lundberg was just nominated for a 10'-11' Nobel Peace Prize. He was a shoe-in for the physiology category. Although his contributions to the actual study and perfection of imaging semiconductor circuits is scant, he has provided HOPE to the scientific community as a functioning young adult in society despite having only 1/8th use of his brain.

We also got in some Dakine beanies and gloves. Come in and check the stuff out. Don't forget to congratulate Marshall on his nomination while you are in the store.

Sincerely,
Lindsay and Zach

A Sad Saturday

Well yesterday was pretty depressing. MSU lost to Iowa. State was up 13-9 when Iowa scored a touch down in the last 2 seconds of the game. The final score was 15-13 (Iowa). Lame! I (Lindsay) went to the game, STUDENT SECTION! Here's a picture from where I was sitting.

In this store location, we have 10 new snowboard DVDs from this year:

Think Thank's "Cool Story"

Standard Film's "Black Winter"

Mack Dawg's "Nice Try"

Sandbox's "Shine On"

Burton's "The B"

Autumn Line's "Montevideo"

Transworld's "Get Real"

Absinthe Films' "Neverland"

Forum's "Forever"

Bald-E-Gal's "Tiller"

Check out our website for more DVDs.

Just a reminder, we have a huge snowboard sale going on right now. Anything from 2009 is 40% off, 2008 is 50% off, and 2007 is 60% off. Come check out the sale before everything is gone.

Everyone seems to be pretty stoked on the fact that we are now carring Vox shoes! Here is a picture of the styles we have in so far:

Swap Sale, New Products, & News

Alright! It is getting close to being that time again...Modern's Swap Sale! If you don't know what that is, here is a flier to inform you.

To enforce this awesome deal, the dates are:
Grand Rapids: November 5th-8th
Royal Oak: November 12th-15th
Lansing: November 19th-22nd


If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call any of the stores. HERE is a link to get each stores phone number.

We have recently received Lib Tech's Skate Banana as well as new Grenade gloves!
























Here's some exciting news...Preston Strout (High Cascade Snowboard Camp's Camp Director) is going to be the live venuse announcer for the 2010 Winter Olympics. February 17th is the Men's Halfpipe and February 18th is the Women's Halfpipe.

The Winter Dew Tour is approaching. The first stop is in Breckenridge, CO from December 18th-20th.

One more thing, Snowboard Magazine awarded the Never Summer Evo a Platinum Pick for Excellent Design!

Lots To Talk About

Well the weather is starting to get colder by the day. I heard that Kalamazoo actually got some snow yesterday! Woo hoo! Snowboard season is getting closer. (I know some of you aren't too happy about this, but I am!)
Yesterday we got in R.E.D. helmets and Dragon goggles. The goggles have some pretty sweet color-ways this year.

Transworld's Good Wood results are out. Click here for the list for the top 10 men's boards: over $400, under $399, pipe boards and the top 10 women's boards: over $400 and under $399.

Michigan State University's Snowboard Club has come out with the information about this years big trip. This year's trip is to Telluride, CO from January 3rd-8th. It only costs $600 and this includes: roundtrip luxury motor coach, 5 night condo lodging, 4 day lift pass, discounted ski and snowboard rentals, exclusive entertainment, free mountain shuttles, and discounts on food and drink! Click here for the clubs website. Click here Telluride's website.

I've been looking at different snowboard videos coming out this season. Out of all the trailers I've seen, Burton's new video looks sick. Click here for the trailers.

One last thing...State is playing Northwesten at home this Saturday at noon. So hopefully many of you will watch the game and root for MSU! The spread is MSU by 15. GOOOO STATE!!!!

Snowboard Season Begins

If you haven't heard, Loveland (a resort in Colorado) opened on Wednesday, October 7th. Jesse Csinscak and Nate Dogg got the first chair of the season. Congrats to Jesse on that accomplishment, I know he's wanted to do that for a long time.
Watch this video for news coverage on Loveland's historical opening.



In other news, we are sad to announce that Christine is leaving us. She's even sad about this.

She will now be working in the Royal Oak store. So if you're ever in the Royal Oak area, make sure you stop by and say hi to her. Oh, and you Royal Oak employees better take good care of her, she is a awesome employee and person!

On a good note, we received Spy goggles this weekend. We got a couple different styles in a ton of color ways. They look pretty sweet.



We are also now carrying Flow bindings. According to the-house.com, "Flow is the number two snowboard binding company in the world. An achievement such as this doesn’t take place overnight; it takes perseverance, commitment to product innovation and a product that stands apart from the rest. For Flow, success has been 10 years in the making."

Never Summer Boards and Es Shoes

Alright!
We are finally getting in our Never Summer snowboards!
I can personally give them an outstanding rating. I bought the 08-09 Infinity last year, and it is by far my favorite board I have ever owned (and I've had quite a few boards). Last year Never Summer came out with their R.C. Technology, which out of all the "rocker" boards in the industry now, Never Summer's make the most sense to me.
Never Summer's R.C. (rocker and camber) Technology gives a rocker freestyle feel with all mountain high speed performance. Most rocker designs perform well in power and parks but lack stability and edgehold when riding fast. Never Summer has the combined rocker and camber design that destroys anything in its path from parks to power and high speed cruisers. This new technology blends a NS custom rocker profile with separate camber areas at each end of the board, providing unmatched power and snap out of turns. This also provides better board tracking for high speed stability and massive ollies. For more information go to Never Summer's website.

Below is the Premier F1-R in a 165 (left) and the Evo-R in a 158 (right).


We also got in 3 new Es shoes; Cessna Mid, Accel TT, and Theory 1.5 (left to right).

That's right ya'll we just got the new hotness that is union bindings. We got in the Danny Kass models, and all the colors in the rainbow ( even black ). Hyped on that spartan victory over the weekend?! Grab a pair of the Union Force's in the green colorway. Also we just got a slew of Arbor longboards in for your cruisin' pleasure. That's it for now gang, I'm out.

Get Lifted

For the second year in a row, Burton is having the Get Lifted program. Select Burton boards come with a FREE LIFT TICKET to participating resorts! Last year there were only West and East coast resorts, but this year there are resorts all over the U.S. and Canada. The resorts specifically in Michigan that are participating are:
Cannonsburg

Pando

Boyne Mountain

Boyne Highlands

Swiss Valley

Shanty Creek

Timber Ridge

Mt. Holiday

Apple Mountain



CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Snow News

Today I noticed that leaves are starting to fall, which means...snowboard season is quickly approaching. Most Modern employees and customers are not happy that summer has come to an end because now school is back in session and outdoor skateboard season is almost over. But for me, winter is my favorite season, by far!
Because I am super amp'd on the upcoming snowboard season, today's blog is going to be dedicated to all things snowboarding! (I have the power to do this, because I am the one writing!)

I found some pretty hilarious articles about some professional snowboarders today. First off is Danny Davis, an Alpine Valley Resort local, was signed by Totino's Pizza Rolls®. I found this HILARIOUS, but then thought about it for a while. How awesome would it be to get pizza rolls for life? Here's the actual article. Second, Louie Vito is on ABC's Dancing With The Stars. This is old news, but I thought it would be interesting to post. This season premiered yesterday, and from what the article says, he is doing a pretty good job. To read more, click here.

In past blogs we have mentioned the fact that we are getting in snowboard gear, well here are some pictures of what we have in. We are getting in new stuff every day, so keep checking back for updates!

Team Modern at Lansing Riverfest!

Team Modern will be performing at Lansing Riverfest throughout the day on Saturday, September 19. The event runs from 3 PM to Midnight and features the musical stylings of My Favorite Highway, The Hard Lessons, The Elms, The Dirty Americans, Narc Out The Reds, PHILTHY, and Res Publica. There will also be an open air bar for those of you over 21, food, pop culture events and demonstrations as well as a retail corridor. The event is open to music lovers of all ages, however, only those twenty one years of age or older can enter he open air bar. The event begins at 3pm with a tailgate party for the MichiganState vs. Notre Dame football game and wraps up at midnight.

Tickets are available in advance at Modern Skate & Surf in Lansing for only $10. Don't miss out on this opportunity as tickets are $15 at the door. More information can be found at www.lansingriverfest.com.

hollaaa!!

Here we go guys and gals, schools back, those leaves are changing, and people are playin with the pigskin. This can only mean one thing, snowboarding season is coming up fast. So be the first on your block with the hot new pair of pants and jacket to match, all new 2010 gear from Burton, Special Blend, DC, Foursquare, and Volcom is flyin into the shop, also beanies galore!! Need new boots? We got a whole wall chuck full of boots and bindings from 32, Rome, DC, and Burton. And if you need any help making sure you look extra crispy for the slope just ask Chris or Lindsay, they're the " expert accesorizers. "
We also got all kinds of little accessories like socks, snowboard locks, leashes, hoodies, and all kinds of tees. So come get it while they're hot off the truck!!

Holt Contest and New Product

First off, I wanted to let everyone know that The Bikers Church in Holt is having a skateboarding and BMX contest on Saturday, August 29th (this Saturday) at the Holt Park, which is on Aurelius rd. Registration is from 10am-12pm and the contest starts at 12pm. Our very own Steve, manager of our shop, is going to be a judge. For more info on the comp go to holtfestival.com.

I realized today that I haven't mentioned the fact that we are FINALLY carrying Abec 11 wheels. All the avid longboarders know that these wheels are the best in the industry. The ones in the picture below are some real monsters...90mm!!!!

We've received some Krooked, Baker, and Girl decks, and Mini Logos with BRIGHT colors.

We just got in some 32 tshirts and sweatshirts.

New Stuff Coming In Every Day

Never Summer has come out with new designs on their longboards, check them out!



The Burton, Special Blend, and DC have really stepped it up on the designs on their tees and hoodies.



.



We got in a ton of Vans. The newest styles recieved are: Half Cab, TNT II, Era Grasshopper, Chukka Low, and Old School.



We are getting in new stuff everyday. You should come in and take a look at what we have so far!

The Season is Changing (soon)

For all of you that can't wait for winter to come (because I am super ready for it), you should DEFINITELY come in. We are slowly getting in new snowboard products. We just started putting the new stuff on the sale floor today. We have a bunch of Burton boards and some Forum boards. We also have DC and Burton boots.
For those of you who are still stoked on summer, we got in a skateboard order yesterday. It includes; Anti-Hero and Chocolate decks, Independent trucks, and a couple different completes.
Longboarders, don't worry, we didn't forget about you. We recently received a HUGE order of Sector 9. If you are a college kid, you'll for sure want one. It is a pretty convenient wait to get around campus.

Tons of News

So boys and girls, we all know pro skater Jereme Rodgers, well here is something some of you might not know; he's a rising star in the hip-hop world. So he has announced his "retirement" from professional skateboarding to become a rapper....WEAK!! In other not so lame news, we got in some rad children's gear from DVS, check out Maximus the young ripper in training. Yeah he's already flow for DVS.
We got some DVS' for your skating pleasure, the Munition CT, Munition CT Mid (colab with LRG) and the Dayton. Also we got in a couple copies of Transworld's new flick "Right foot forward" starring Matt Beach, Corey Duffel, Joey Brezinski, Bobby Worrest, and the always steezy Kellen James. When you buy this righteous video you also get a years subscription to Transworld...HOOKUP! And last but not least we got a whole bunch of new Modern tee's. There are a couple new styles and some classic ones. So come on in and BUY BUY BUY!!!

SHOES!!!!

So kids summers coming to an end.... Bummer i know, but we have some things to cure those school day blues. We just got in a gaggle of new shoes for the school year ( gotta look fly for the ladies ). All kinds of Es, Emerica, and Etnies, also a few DVS'. Books always falling out of that old skate backpack from 5 years agos with holes in it, we got all kinds of bags from Burton and Element to help you get yo learn on. And I know its kind of early but were just getting in all of our Burton 2010 outerwear, along with some rad socks. So get in and check it all out before its homework time again.

Summer Blow Out Sale

We have a TON of summer sales going on right now.
All sandals are $9.99.
An additional $50 off of wakeboard packages.
20%-50% off certain shorts.

We are also continuing a bunch of sales.
50% off Modern t-shirts when you spend $50 or more.
$5 off any clothing item and 20% off socks when you buy shoes.
All snowboard products are 40%-60% off.

Last weekend was our MASKS competition. To view the results check out our website by clicking here.

MASKS

I know I talked about this earlier, but the 12 Annual MASKS is this weekend! Saturday is the skateboard qualifier and Sunday is the in-line qualifier. It starts at noon at the Ranney Skate Park in Lansing, right by the shop. For more information click here. Even if you don't want to enter the contest, you should definitely come up to the park and watch the competitions.

Today we got in some Creature decks, Chocolate and Spitfire New Era hats, and Bones, Chocolate, and Deathwish sunglasses.

Art Project

A couple weeks back I mentioned how Marshall and I were building a mini ramp for the store window, and how it turned out terrible because I measured it wrong. Well, Christine built another one and I drew/painted on it. As you can see, it turned out AWESOME!

Yesterday, I worked at City Fest in Detroit. It was a good time working the tent and watching our demos. If you didn't go at all this past week, you for sure missed out!

Where The Wild Things Are

Every knows the children book "Where The Wild Things Are." Well, Girl Skateboards have come out with "Where The Wild Things Are" decks, and we JUST got them in. We already sold one today. You should come in and get one before they sell out.
We also got in Flip, Chocolate, Deathwish, Baker, Santa Cruz, and Krooked decks, Royal, Thunder, Venture, and Independent trucks.

Detorit's City Fest is this week from July 1st-5th. Modern has a street course set up and a mini ramp, as well as a booth. I (Lindsay) will actually be working the booth on Saturday. You should definitely come and watch our skate team put on some demos through out the day. For more info on Detroit City Fest, click here.

I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!