The AXS Gear/Concrete Wave Readers’ Choice survey yielded a tremendous amount of information. Almost 4,000 people took the time to fill out the survey, with an average time of 14-plus minutes to complete! That represents almost 40 days’ worth of time! We produced a fully comprehensive listing of all companies in the Concrete Wave Buyer’s Guide. But here, for the purpose of space, we will address some of the key findings from the survey. We instituted two distinct changes this year. First, we changed the actual questions to reflect what brands are actually owned by readers. Rather than focusing on the word favorite,” we wanted to know what people actually had in their quiver.

Q&A with with some of the biggest names in the industry and how they see the longboard industry doing for this season in 2013.

Every so often a great “cause” comes along. This time it’s brought to you by Churchill MFG. Introducing the “PEEDS” Downhill Race and Freeride Wheel. Peeds phonetically represents the term used inside hospitals for the children’s wing and is short for pediatrics. Everyday, hospitals fill up with kiddos that are fighting childhood cancers. From Tumors to Leukemia, they fighting for something as simple as life. Most of us take our health for granted. Fortunately for many of us, we hear very little of what these little warriors have to endure on a daily bases. It can be heart breaking to witness it first hand.

While Facebook’s stock price might not be where it was a few months ago, there is no doubt that the social media site continues to be a juggernaut. In writing this article, we wanted to give you some “best practices” to help you figure out how best to use Facebook to your advantage. But since most of our readers don’t have the deep pockets of Pepsi or Red Bull, we wanted to present an additional angle to the feature – about that weird feeling you might have gotten in your gut that maybe social media ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

In the next couple of years, our shops, our skateparks, our hangouts, our hills and the places we exchange money for the products we enjoy riding and wearing will have a tall task: survive and thrive. It’s my belief that if you love what you do, and you work hard, the rewards for your efforts will follow suit. Admittedly, it’s a cliché thing to say, but it’s the truth. Through work experience and business relationships built over time, I have the confidence to say this in print. My current position as an in-house rep gives me a little insight on shops coast to coast.

For as long as there have been retail storefronts, there have been issues about how to present the product you’re selling. The skateboard market is no different. I’ve been in hundreds of skate shops over the last 35 years, and the level of presentation has rarely punctured the “adequate” ceiling. Since this is an election year in the USA, I’m going to bring the word “HOPE” into the equation in the “hopes” that retailers reading this will consciously add more value to their products via high-quality presentation.