NHS Open House

I got the chance to book a last-minute flight and join the Transworld Skate crew (Jamey Stone, Mike Fitz, and Skin Phillips) for a trip up to Santa Cruz for the NHS open house on May 12. We’ll evenutually have some more in-depth content about this, especially in terms of board tech as the new P2 technology gets ready to roll out. Until then, here are a few outtakes from the trip.

The right weapon in the hands of the right pirate. Jamey Stone swings the Guzman Sword Board.

NHS VP Jeff Kendall and Transworld Skateboarding Editor-In-Chief Skin Phillips at the NHS Backdoor Bash in Santa Cruz.

NHS R&D Director Tim Piumarta takes board testing very seriously, and he’s got the collection of Medevial-looking torture machines to prove it.

See what I mean? I hung out and watched at least three boards go into this machine. Some of them lasted longer than others, but none of them came out in one piece.

I know this looks pretty perverse, but there is actually a very sound scientific reason why that microscope is pointing at a G-string and fishnet stockings.

Wheel testing and data crunching.

This doesn’t end well for the board. I’ll try to get some video evidence up soon.

Think of all the kids who’ll walk into a shop and say, “I want the orange ones,” without really knowing how their new wheels will perform compared to the others. Maybe the high-tech analyitics will be lost on most consumers, but I heard rumors that some wheels out on the market right now aren’t even round.

Senior Sales Manager Holly Anderson and VP Jeff Kendall. I was definitely on a mission to finally meet Holly at this event. She developed a bit of a cult following around our office for the headshots she’d send in for product previews. Everyone else would email some pretty stock photos, but Holly was a lot more original, usually straddling motorcycles or pointing guns.

Jason Jessee and Rich Novak.

The morning after the open house, Jeff Kendall brought us by the new Santa Cruz Boardroom. This shop has one of the most impressive collections of surf, snow, and skate memorabilia I’ve ever seen. We’ll have a video tour posted soon.

Brian Leonard and Santa Cruz Boardroom owner Terry Campion (right) show off a classic Rob Roskopp deck. Skin has a great post up on Transworld Skateboarding with a lot more photos from inside the shop.

A visual history of Independent trucks.

Stone gets wheeled home in good spirits after some trouble in the skatepark.

Like I said, we’ll be following up with some more in-depth coverage once the official P2 launch gets closer. Until then, here are a lot more photos of the event on Transworld Skateboarding from Skin and Dave Chami.