The skaters from the 2023 Push Relay team came on the podcast to talk about their trip; the many things they learned, challenges they faced, and places they saw. It was a delight to see this crew reminisce about a life-changing experience they all shared in together.

The team was made up of four skaters: Andy Andras, Rick Stubblefield, Paul Kent, and Miles Kipper. The team was formed by Jack Smith. A long time cross-country skateboarding veteran, Jack is no stranger to the open road and crossing the United States on a skateboard. He had first completed a cross country ride in 1976, and has done others since. The most recent being the crew chief for these guys in their 2023 attempt.

Thanks to the team for coming on the show and thanks to Jack for igniting the spark so many years ago.

This episode is all about the 2025 Miami Ultraskate. I got to meet up with Landy Cook who was kind enough to share his perspective on the 24 hour skate marathon. This was Landy’s third time attending ultraskate and first time participating in the paddle only category. I recall speaking with him prior to the event where he told me he was going to “take it easy” and I suppose skating over 200 miles is easy for Landy because that’s precisely what he did! We go over the things that made this year’s event unique and dive a little bit into what got Landy to attend these silly events in the first place. He is a great resource, especially when it comes to pumping as he was 99% pump for several years before deciding he would give the whole pushing thing a try. We also talk a little about what being a newcomer in the scene felt like and how being around a group of like-minded individuals can make some of the most introverted people come out of their shell.

Back for another round on the show is Jeremiah Pascua, long time ultraskater and 250 mile club member. Last year we talked briefly with Jeremiah about where he was at with his training and some of the things we were looking forward to at the 2024 Miami Ultraskate. But we barely scratched the surface. In this episode, we revisit some of those same topics but we are 1 year the wiser! Jeremiah is by far one of the most consistent skaters in the scene. From his 50 push ups a day to regular attendance at the Miami Ultraskate, he has gained quite a bit of knowledge along the way. Knowledge he was kind enough to share with us! We talk about how you can make the most of your time while training, how to avoid cramps on those long days, and strength training to round off your abilities – core strength is important! Jeremiah also contributes to the event as a sponsor and will be providing a photo package for attendees so that they can focus on their skating and be able to lament over photos of themselves later on. It’s pretty impressive that he can manage to get all this done while also riding a skateboard for 24 hours.

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This episode’s guest is current world record holder and owner-operator of Melonekacke Longboards, Lena Meringdal. We heard a little bit about Lena when listening to Paul McMahon’s experience at the UK Ultraskate 2024, where Lena set the new record of 425.5km, or 264.4mi, but this was an opportunity to delve a little deeper. And delve we did! I believe there’s a solid 15 minutes of us just talking about potatoes – Lena’s secret weapon! I learned a lot from her experience as she has a great way of explaining her process and reasoning behind her nutrition sources. We also got to talk about what goes into the board building process – how she comes up with new ideas, testing those ideas, trial-and-error, and much more. I would wager that Lena is more of an engineer than just a “board builder”. Her ability to assess problems and come up with unique solutions is quite inspiring. As she hasn’t stopped with just skateboards. Just this past summer, MK released a new LDP specific truck! Lena talks a little bit about what went into that and the reasons why it came about in the first place. She is a great example of what happens when you take matters into your own hands and apply yourself.

Melonenkacke Website
https://www.melonenkacke.com/

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This episode’s guest is none other than Andy Andras, well-known and respected distance skateboarder from Miami, Florida. Most listeners will know of Andy’s many accomplishments, but not everyone may know the story behind those accomplishments. I definitely got more than I bargained for when speaking with him. Andy tells great stories and does so with tremendous humility. We got into some distance skate history, including how Andy got his start and leading up to breaking the 300 mile barrier, as well as where he’s at now with the sport. He also shared his latest idea which is something he’s named “Chasing Sunsets”.

Paul McMahon is a distance skateboarder from Dublin, Ireland who has been dominating a lot of the European distance skate events. He was also the winner of the 2023 Le Tour de Longboard IDSA challenge. In 2024, the European Race series consists of 6 races and we got to talk about each one of them. Paul has already locked in 1st place for the series. We also discussed what his entry into the sport was like and what it means to be competitive in something like distance skateboarding. Paul told some stories about training as well as his experience during UK Ultra skate where he got to ride with Lena Meringdal as she broke the 24 hour women’s world record.

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This episode's guest is Travis Upshur, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Travis has what I would call an infectious energy. He’s relatively new to distance skateboarding and has a very strong passion for it. The second he heard about Miami Ultraskate, he was cooking up plans to go. And with his first go at the 24 hour challenge, he managed an impressive 150 miles. Philly has an amazing community for distance skateboarding and Travis is a great ambassador for this community. I think you’ll all enjoy getting to know him.

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Moondog Roop and Justin Bright are two distance skateboarders who managed to ride the entirety of the Natchez Trace Parkway, which is a 400+ mile road in the south eastern United States. Moondog and Justin don’t limit themselves to just adventures on a skateboard, they have done some pretty gnarly things on foot, too! I tried to extract as much as I could from them but, truth be told, I don’t think one episode is enough to cover it all. It was a real treat to get to listen to these two chat with each other. As always, thanks for listening and I’m Max Frank.

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