Who are Exile Skimboards?

Skim what? Skimboards I said. Isn't that like skateboarding on flat water for kids? Noooooo, get out from under that rock from which you have been living! SKIMBOARDING! You know, Brad Domke? XXL Big wave awards? Exile skimboards? Uuuuuuggghh, forget it, lets start from the beginning.

Skimboarding has been around for a long time in one form or another and just because its not as main stream as surfing means that I think it does not get the press it deserves. It is kind of like the Cinderella of water sports, but what happened recently with Brad Domke getting nominated for a XXL big wave award sent shock waves roaring through the surf media. It seemed as if Skimboarding had made it to the ball and met the Prince.

For those who need visual stimulation see below:

So where is skimboarding going and why should we be interested, well I thought the best person to ask was Hank at Exile who as well as making some of the worlds best skimboards also sponsor Brad Domke.

SB: Hey Hank, thanks a lot for sparing the time to talk to us at Surf Bunker, how are the waves with you today?

Hank: Well by my standards, pretty poor sadly. It’s about 2-3’ and the swell direction isn’t the most ideal. We have some bigger waves on the way though. That being said, that is kind of the beautiful thing about skimboarding...You can still go out and ride in anything from flat conditions and practice the more technical/skate style skimboarding to giant conditions like Brad proved.

SB: When and how did Exile start making skim boards & who is the founder?

Hank: Exile Skimboards was founded by two skimboarders from Laguna, Aaron Peluso and Andy Chiavetta. The two of them were making skimboards for themselves and friends under the name Chia Skims out of their garage prior to the formation of Exile in 2002/2003 when they officially formed Exile.

SB: Are there lot's of different types of skimboards like there are surfboards for different styles and conditions?

Hank: Absolutely! Exile offers 4 different shapes all with a range of sizes that will suit riders of any size in any type of conditions. You can get these shapes and sizes built in a number of materials from a baseline fiberglass model all the way to our Double Carbon Fiber Epoxy models which are what most of the top Pros and serious skimboarders prefer, and what I would say we really known for. These carbon boards are super light, super strong, and very stiff resulting in very responsive performance.

SB: How can we get our hands on Exile skimboards, the world over?

Hank: We have retailers throughout the U.S. and in just about every country where there’s a skimboarding scene. Anywhere that we aren’t fully represented we can ship directly to our customers. If you’re interested in a skimboard all you have to do is drop us a line at 1 - 949 - 492 - 0284 or e-mail us at [email protected]

SB: Do you think there is an easy transition between surfing and skimming?

Hank: No, not at all! The difference between having a fin(s) on a board and not plays a huge role in how you actually control the board. Additionally you are using different sets of muscle groups. For instance, in surfing you typically need to be a very strong paddler. Skimboarding you don’t need those arm muscles as much, but you need to be able to sprint very well, something that never factors into surfing. You can be an amazing skimboarder and a very poor surfer and vice versa. The only major similarity is that you’re on a board and riding a wave.

SB: Brad Domke and that famous XXL big wave entry, I thought he should have won, what do you think?

Hank: This is a tricky one... Well, I’m incredibly bias first off. By riding that wave, he did something that no one else has ever done on a wave of that size and consequence on equipment that probably most people would have thought impossible. When I think of “Ride of the Year”, I think the guy who made history in XXL surf, the rider who did the impossible, and by that criteria it would have been Brad hands down. I think Brad’s biggest detriments unfortunately were that he didn’t paddle into that wave, and that a huge majority of wave riders, surfers and skimboarders alike, just don’t fully comprehend just how hard what he did actually was. I think it really boils down to how you define surfing...Do you define it from a really technical standpoint of riding a surfboard and paddling into waves or maybe a little more soulful standpoint of riding a wave on any board...And that’s a really gray area. I can understand why the panel wouldn’t want to open up a can of worms in that regard. At the end of the day, there are 1000s of waves ridden every year by riders on all types of boards. To have Brad’s wave be considered in the top 5 is something that most wave riders will never accomplish. That’s the real victory to me.

SB: Exile presents the United Skim Tour which is awesome to watch, do you think there might be events in Europe and Australia soon?

Hank: There’s been a couple of sanctioned events in Europe in the past. Australia has a few events a year that aren’t on the UST. I think there’s always that possibility, and I would like to see it get there for sure. It’s going to be a long road. Skimboarding is still pretty small in terms of number of people doing it, and major sponsorship. Most of it’s top athletes are not solely “professional skimboarders”. They have normal jobs, or are in college etc...Without major sponsorship it’s really tough for those guys to get to far off locations to compete and still juggle those other obligations without much incentive either monetarily or wave quality.

SB: Who do you think will win the UST this year? Who do you want to win?

Hank: After the first couple of events my money would be on either Blair Conklin or Sam Stinnett. Their riding has been looking super sharp and they excel in all types of conditions. I don’t really like to put any of our riders above another. It would be cool to see Blair win simply because he’s come so close multiple times. Again though as long as the rider at the top has an Exile under their feet it’s a win for me!

SB: Can you remember your first skimboard? Have you still got it.

Hank: I can, and sadly I don’t. It was a really horrible wooden board that was lost to the ocean while riding one day. I still have my first real board. It’s snapped and hanging on my parents fence at their beach house where I grew up skimboarding.

SB: For someone that already surfs, what's a good reason for them to start skimboarding?

Hank: As I mentioned earlier, one of the most beautiful things about skimboarding is that you can do it in all types of conditions, even when the surf is flat or not big enough to break except right next to shore. So in that regard its a great way to still be on a board and enjoy the ocean. I think it can also change how a surfer looks at waves and their riding. Plus it’s just fun! Another thought I’ve always had is that skimboarding is a great way to get into surfing, especially for younger riders. Maybe you are a little scared of the ocean, maybe your parents don’t feel comfortable with you out in the ocean. skimboarding is a great way to get use to that and ease yourself into it.

SB: Can you describe how it made you feel the first time you caught a wave either skim or surf?

Hank: I remember just thinking that it was the coolest thing I had ever done, and wanting to experience that feeling over and over again. Regardless of how you do it or the equipment that you’re on, there is a very special feeling when you’re riding a wave. You know that you’re experiencing something unique, something that’s never going to be quite the same. I think that feeling in general makes people feel very alive.

SB: A massive thanks to Hank for sparing us a bit of his time.

It seems pretty clear, the stoke is the same skim or surf, we are all riding waves just in different waves and that's cool. If you already surf then lets face it, the conditions are not always perfect and you could be learning to skim? Skimming is a growing sport in the US, Australia and in Europe and the more people try it, the more it will grow. So get out there and give it a go.