Beetle Killed Longboards
Posted: July 17, 2015Check out what these guys are doing with Beetle Kill Pine. Support and help spread the word!
About Beetle Killed Longboards
www.beetlekilled.com
For us, it all started with a trip to Utah. In 2013 we participated in a project called Designers & Forests where a small group of interested individuals engaged in a 
conversation about their, and society’s, involvement with forest environments. Having experience in product development, we looked for possibilities of making use of the dead trees while spreading awareness of its problems. In our exploration of Utah, we discovered a strong connection between people and the outdoors. People spent a lot of time in the forests whether it be camping, hiking, or doing extreme sports. Despite this, people, in general, seemed largely unaware of the reasons behind the problems happening around them and to what extent they had spread. Our conclusion was that something needed to be done, something that stood out, something that could tell a story – how about a longboard? At this point, we didn’t know much about how to make a longboard, or even riding one for thatmatter…
So upon our homecoming, we dove into manufacturing techniques of curved plywood (i.e. longboards) and began designing and making prototypes. We learned that some techniques were actually quite simple while others could be further developed to better suit small-scale production. In the end, we arrived at a simple manufacturing process that allowed us to make high-quality hardwood longboards with very small means, thus reaching our ideals of environmentally friendly and responsible manufacturing.
Today we continue to develop our prototypes, skills, and brand hoping one day to be making high-quality longboards out of reclaimed Beetle Kill wood, somewhere in a small town in Utah. To learn more about sustainability and lumber, see our blog on why we use salvaged timber.