concrete.surf

Make the city
your wave.We ride
Any Break!

Concrete surf means surfing when there's no ocean around. On a surfskate, on concrete, tarmac and brick, with your head always on the wave.

Find a community Surfskate training
your playground

What concrete surf means

Skateboarding comes from surfing. Back in the fifties, surfers in California bolted wheels onto planks so they could still ride on flat days. People called it sidewalk surfing. Then came the empty swimming pools, and the stand-in became a sport of its own.

Surfskates bring back that original feeling. The front truck moves so freely that you can pump and carve like on a wave without ever pushing. Trucks like this have been around since the mid-nineties, but things really took off during the lockdown years, when hardly anyone could get to the coast.

For us, it's Any Break in its purest form. Between trips, the city becomes your line-up: the car park, the multi-storey, the bowl in the park. Any spot can be a break if you look at it through a surfer's eyes. If you're more drawn to the water, have a look at landlocked.surf.

Learning to surfskate at a glance

Technique, gear, spots and training. Everything you need so your time on concrete pays off in the water.

Technique

Pumping, turns and stance. What it's good for and what to keep in mind.

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Board and setup

Truck systems, wheels, bushings and bearings. What works for what.

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Spots

Car park, multi-storey, pump track, bowl. Turn your city into a playground.

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Training

Cone drills, surf drills on concrete and what your body needs.

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Surfskate technique

A surfskate feels wobbly at first. After a few sessions you realise the movement is the same as on a wave.

It all starts with your stance: feet about shoulder-width apart, front foot over the front truck, back foot over the back truck, knees relaxed. You steer with your upper body and your eyes. Wherever you look is where you'll go.

You get speed by pumping: weight onto your front rail, sink into your knees, extend, then over to the other rail. Once that feels natural, add bottom turns, top turns and cutbacks. Start slow with wide arcs, the tight turns will come on their own.

Go to the drills

Surfskate setup

The biggest difference between two surfskates is the front truck. After that, wheels, bushings and bearings decide how the board feels.

Every system works on the same principle: the front truck gets an extra pivot axis and turns much further than the back one. The back truck stays stable and acts as the pivot point. Whether a spring, a bushing or a bearing brings the front truck back to centre is what gives each board its character.

SURFSKATE / SIDE VIEW Principle, not to scale Wheelbase Deck length, depending on height and stance APivot with second axis BSpring or bushing CSwing arm with hanger DRiser and baseplate EBack truck, stays stable Swing range

Surfskate trucks compared

SPRING ARM The spring loads up as you turn

Swing arm with compression spring

Carver C7, Smoothstar Thruster

The Carver C7 is flowy with wide arcs, great for big carves and a longboard feel. Smoothstar is much looser and built for tight turns in small spaces, better once you've got some experience. On both, you can adjust the spring tension.

REVERSE KINGPIN 90° 90° Turns steadily, no spring arm

Steep kingpin with bushings

Carver CX and C5

No spring arm, just a steeply angled kingpin with bushings. It feels tighter and more stable, even at speed, and works well for beginners and the skatepark. The C5 is lower and narrower and fits regular decks too.

COIL SPRING Spring winds up as the truck turns

One coil spring in the base

YOW Meraki S4 and S5

A coil spring sits inside the baseplate. One end is fixed to the base, the other hooks into the rotating truck body. As you turn, it winds up and twists the truck back to centre. Feels snappy.

360° ROTATION Top view Super agile, takes practice

Front truck turns all the way

SwellTech

The front truck can spin all the way round and is only pulled back by springs. Very aggressive and agile, but with a steep learning curve. Better for focused surf training than long rides.

ADAPTER AdapterRegular truck Turns your own board into a surfskate

Add-on for any truck

Waterborne Surf and Rail Adapter

Not a truck system of its own, but a piece that sits between the deck and a regular truck, with thrust bearings and a bushing. Easy to pump from a standstill. The Rail Adapter gives the back truck extra lean so it can keep up.

Fine-tuning: deck, wheels, bushings, bearings

Deck, wheelbase and four parts that help you get more out of any surfskate.

Deck shapes

  • Short decks around 29 to 30 inches: nimble, for bowls, pump tracks and tight lines
  • 31 to 33 inches: the all-rounder, close to the feel of a shortboard
  • 34 inches and up: calmer and more stable, for long carves and more speed
  • A kicktail for snaps, kick turns and the bowl. A fish or swallow tail gives your back foot extra hold on cutbacks
  • A wide nose and some concave keep your feet in place and put pressure straight onto the rail

Wheelbase

  • Wheelbase is the distance between your trucks, measured between the inner mounting holes
  • Short, about 15 to 16 inches: tight turns and quick snaps, ideal for bowls and pump tracks
  • Medium, about 16.5 to 17.5 inches: the all-rounder for carving car parks and tarmac
  • Long, from about 18 inches: more stable at speed with bigger arcs, good for taller riders
  • Many decks have several sets of holes, so you can change the wheelbase yourself

Wheels

  • Soft, around 78a, with square lips and a wide contact patch: grips when carving and pumping and smooths out rough tarmac
  • Harder, from about 81a, with round lips and a narrower contact patch: breaks loose more easily, great for snaps and slides on smooth ground
  • 60 to 65 mm: nimble and quick to accelerate, for bowls and parks
  • 65 to 70 mm: the all-rounder for carving. Bigger wheels hold speed but raise the risk of wheelbite

Bushings

  • Stock bushings get soft and sluggish over time
  • Higher-quality bushings rebound faster, so the truck reacts more directly and gives you more feedback when pumping
  • One example is Riptide with their APS formula. It's what we ride ourselves and what we've had the best experience with, but there are other good brands too
  • Pick the hardness by body weight. Riptide has a weight chart for that
  • Go one step softer up front if you want to lean deeper into turns

Pivot cups

  • The truck's pivot sits in the pivot cup, and that's where friction builds up as you turn
  • Worn cups squeak and make the truck feel sticky
  • One example is Riptide's WFB cups. They're made for minimal friction, so the truck turns smoothly and quietly
  • Budget option: rub a little wax on the pivot. Skip oily lubricants, they can damage urethane

Bearings

  • Bearings are the ball bearings inside your wheels, two per wheel
  • The balls are either steel, usually stainless, or ceramic. Ceramic runs lighter and won't rust, but costs a lot more
  • Some bearings come with the spacer already built in (built-ins). With all others, a spacer goes between the two bearings so they don't bind when you tighten the axle nut
  • ABEC ratings say little about skating. Good seals and regular care matter more: clean and re-lube them now and then, and let them dry after puddles

Surfskate spots

You don't need a skatepark. You need smooth ground and a bit of imagination.

The best sessions often start right outside your front door. An empty car park on a Sunday morning, a multi-storey after work, a freshly surfaced bike path. On top of that, more and more cities now have pump tracks and bowls.

If you want to search properly, Trucks and Fins lists over 19,000 places worldwide, from skateparks to pump tracks and bowls. The rest is up to you to turn into your playground.

Spots on Trucks and Fins

Surfskate training for surfers

A few cones, a patch of tarmac and twenty minutes. That's all you need to practise the moves for the water.

Cone drills

A few cones turn any car park into a training ground. They make you ride clean lines instead of just cruising around.

  • Slalom: pump from rail to rail without pushing
  • Figure of eight around two cones: practise frontside and backside equally
  • Tight turn around one cone: rotate from your shoulders and hips, like a cutback
  • Move the cones further apart or closer together once it gets too easy

Surf drills on concrete

Deliberately take the manoeuvres from the wave to the tarmac, and picture the wave as you ride.

  • Bottom turn: get low and look up towards the imaginary lip
  • Top turn: extend, rotate your shoulders and let the board follow
  • Cutback: turn back towards the imaginary whitewater
  • Practise your pop-up on a mat, then ride off in exactly that stance

Your body

Surfskating works your knees, hips and ankles differently from running or cycling. A little preparation goes a long way.

  • Warm up quickly: squats, hip circles, lunges
  • Mobility for your hips and upper back so you can rotate freely
  • Single-leg exercises for balance and stable knees
  • Anti-rotation core work, like Pallof presses with a band

And honestly, a helmet and pads are part of it, especially when you're starting out and in the bowl. For paddling and pop-up training in the water, head over to landlocked.surf.

Worth watching

Channels we've learned a lot from (and whose clips are just good fun).

The Surfskate Academy

The best place to start if you see surfskating as surf training. Technique, step by step.

YouTubeInstagram

Surfskate Love

How to teach yourself to surfskate, plus plenty on setup and maintenance.

YouTube

YOW Surf

Surfskate films that make you want to head out straight away.

YouTube

Carver Skateboards

Classic surfskate clips, from the streets to the bowl.

YouTube

Surfskate communities

Riding on your own is good, riding together is better. Lots of cities now have surfskate communities with regular sessions.

  1. Find a community

    Look for a group near you and drop them a message on Instagram.

  2. Join a session

    Most sessions are open to all levels. Just turn up with your board.

  3. Keep at it

    Riding regularly beats any video. And it's simply more fun together.

Germany

Europe

Rest of the world

Last checked: . Is a community missing, or no longer active? Let us know at hej@slowlifesociety.com.

Surfskating FAQ

What is a surfskate?

A surfskate is a skateboard with a much looser front truck. It turns sharper and lets you pump out of your rotation, so you build speed without pushing. Riding it on tarmac feels a lot like surfing a wave, which is why so many surfers use a surfskate as land training.

Which surfskate is best for beginners?

When you're starting out, systems with a bit more stability feel good, like the Carver CX. Looser systems like Smoothstar or SwellTech are more fun once you're confident on the board. Deck length depends on your height and stance, most boards are between 29 and 34 inches.

How is it different from a skateboard or longboard?

On a skateboard or longboard, both trucks turn in a similar way. On a surfskate, the front truck turns much further and pivots on an extra axis. That lets you pump without pushing and make tight turns like on a wave.

Does surfskating actually help your surfing?

Yes, as long as your technique is right. Pumping, rotation, stance and the timing of your turns are all easy to practise on concrete. But bad habits carry over just as easily: if you steer with your feet or pump more than your line needs, you'll do the same on a wave. It also won't help with paddling, pop-ups or reading waves.

Do I need protective gear?

A helmet is always a good idea, and knee and elbow pads especially when you're starting out and in the bowl. Wrist guards help if you instinctively put your hands out when you fall.

Where am I allowed to ride?

In Germany the rules aren't entirely clear-cut. Skateboards generally don't belong on the road, and on pavements the same rules as for pedestrians often apply, so go slow and be considerate. On private land like car parks or multi-storeys, it's up to the owner.

How often should I practise?

Three times a week for twenty minutes beats half a day once a month. Short sessions with a clear focus, like just cone slaloms or just bottom turns, get you the furthest.

Who's behind this

Hej, nice of you to drop by. We're two landlocked surfers from Hamburg. The sea is almost always too far for a quick surf after work, so we surfskate around the city instead. Car park, multi-storey, bowl, whatever's free. Any Break, as we call it.

Behind this site is SLOW LIFE SOCIETY. We make street and surf essentials for anyone chasing their own flow, in the water, on concrete or just day to day. We're connected by the idea that a good life isn't about how fast you move through it, but how present you are in it. Every design tells its own story from Europe's coasts, from the cold north to the sunny south, and every one of them is 100% human‑made.

And we're dreaming of a real place where this community can come together. We're not there yet, but we're building towards it.

Visit SLOW LIFE SOCIETY