Landyachtz 2013 Presskit

Based in Vancouver British Columbia, Landyachtz is Canada’s largest longboard company. Since 1997,we’ve set ourselves apart by creating innovative, quality products.

We strive to be sustainable and give back to the community as much as possible.

Longboarding keeps you moving, gets you around, and is a great community activity. At Landyachtz, our mission is to make cutting-edge and durable products through teamwork, innovation, engineering and style, that enable people to better enjoy their lives.

True innovation. And with us, you can get the full package; our trucks, wheels, and decks are engineered to work together as a unit. We were the first company developing complex shapes, creating easier to ride boards that offered more people the opportunity to get into longboarding. Higher quality materials, concepts and engineering have gone into each product, ensuring they perform better.

Landyachtz isn’t just a workplace, but also a second home to over 50 skateboarders who get to wake up every morning and be surrounded by something they love. Every employee at Landyachtz is passionate about boarding and that passion goes into every one of our products. Because they’re essentially end users, employees know their products and are constantly testing them out for themselves. The company has become a community that fosters life long friendships; the Landyachtz family and culture have even become reasons for some employees to move to Vancouver from other provinces and countries.

Longtime friends and skaters, Michael Perreten and Thomas Edstrand, met up at the University of Victoria. With Mike as the hands-on guy and Tom as the artist, they started developing boards for getting around campus. Other students began to ask them where they could buy the boards, and the duo saw the opportunity.

Through trial and error, Mike and Tom improved their craft and met up with Jody Hilcock of Highway Longboards to create some of the first lowered boards that would soon help to revolutionize the industry.

Landyachtz’s first home was a 350 sqft. space shared with a local snowboard company on the North Shore of Vancouver--longboarding’s unofficial west coast home. With steep and demanding terrain testing the physical limitations of the boards, Landyachtz needed to make products that could really perform.

Bricin Lyons (aka Striker) became the first sponsored rider.

Energetic and willing to push the limits of the sport, Bricin put Landyachtz boards to the test and proved their durability. Bricin went on to form Coast Longboarding, which has put on over 30 longboarding events (including the world renowned Danger Bay).

Together, Landyachtz and Coast Longboarding helped to transform Vancouver into a longboarding mecca, attracting riders from all over the world.

Tom won the IGSA World Cup for downhill skateboarding. The next few years would see sponsored riders, Frederick Lindstrom and Scott ‘Scoot’ Smith take the title as well. Landyachtz used racing as a way to test and develop products that improved longboarding for every discipline: downhill, freeride, carving, cruising and commuting.

10 years after it all started, Landyachtz moved into its current location. Mike and Tom decided to restore and renovate the building-after six months of hard work, it’s now a 9000 sqft. skateboard factory. With most of the Landyachtz staff living within skating distance, it was a nice change. Commuting to work became a fun skate.

The Landyachtz warehouse expanded into the entire 2700 sqft. space and, because there was only enough room for manufacturing to take place here, a warehouse across the street provided more space for packing and shipping.

To make operations easier in the U.S., a second warehouse opened in Los Angeles, California. Landyachtz now ships 95% of U.S. orders through this location. The community at the LA shop is just as strong as its Northern predecessor.

The goal has always been to make the best boards on the market through innovative designs and a focus on durable products. That is still the goal today.

This is just a piece of our history. For the full, detailed story, check out our website: http://landyachtz.com/D172.cfm

Longboarding keeps you moving, gets you around, and is a great community activity. At Landyachtz, our mission is to make cutting-edge and durable products through teamwork, innovation, engineering and style, that enable people to better enjoy their lives.

At Landyachtz, we strive daily to reduce the impact that we have on the planet: • By reusing scrap cardboard and grip tape backing as packing materials • By recycling what can’t be reused • By purchasing equipment and resources from closing manufacturers, such as board presses, fiberglass, desks and chairs In 2008, Landyachtz moved into The Factory, a building that was previously deemed a tear-down.

The DIY potential brought on a massive salvage project, and after six months of clearing, cleaning, patching, tearing down and building up, the space was complete and is home to Landyachtz today.

The best thing that we can do to have the smallest impact possible is build quality products. Better quality boards and equipment means less broken gear being thrown out, which lessens our overall impact on the environment. Why buy a board that will break in a year when you can own one that will be with you forever?

Longboards have been around as long as skateboards. In the past 15 years they’ve grown in popularity. Compared to skateboards, they’re ridden differently, are longer than traditional boards, and appeal to a much more diverse age group as they’re often used for recreational cruising versus doing tricks. However, longboards and skateboards could be considered members of the same family. Riding a longboard is like riding a bike; it’s easy to learn, can be used for transportation or recreation and can be a solo activity or one to bond with friends and family.

• Landyachtz started in 1997 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada • We are the largest longboarding company in Canada

We strongly believe in giving back to the community and preserving the environ ment we live in. We recently raffled off a custom deck where all proceeds from ticket sales were don ated to the Sierra Club, a group we’ve been working with since 2008. In 2012, we started donating boards to the ‘Longboarding for Peace’ project to teach kid s from struggling communities how to longbo ard to take up a healthy and soc and encourage them ial activity.

• The company is based in Vancouver, BC, with a second warehouse in Los Angeles • Our most popular board is the Switchblade • Our Evo board has been on the podium more times than any other board • Landyachtz currently sells to over 450 shops across North America • Riders’ ages range from 10 to 50, with the average age 18 – 20. 10 years ago, the average age was closer to mid twenties • We produce 30 different models of boards • The longboard market has nearly doubled in each of the past 10 years • The industry has grown from 5 or 6 manufacturers 10 years ago to nearly 100 today

Our team of passionate riders are testing and helping to develop new products year round. Many of them have won races all over the world, and a few have been crowned “World Cup series Champion” (2005 Thomas Edstran d, 2006 Fredrick Lindstrom, 2008 Scott Smith, 200 9 Mischo Erban).

Check out the Landyachtz Team’s skills at: www.youtube.com/landyachtzlong boards.

get in touch Landyachtz Longboards 1221 Glen Dr. Vancouver, BC V6A 3M8 778-785-6855 PRESS CONTACT Samantha Landa Public Relations 604-836-5444 samantha.landa@gmail.com