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Lon Beale
Florence - Oregon - USA Sandboard Magazine Publisher
I saw my first sandboard in the spring of '72 as a teen living in Lancaster, California USA.
Having tried other board sports I was immediately intrigued by the possibility of boarding
on the sand dunes! After all, I was living in the Mojave Desert and we had a good number of sand dunes
to choose from. |
Oregon - USA |
 '89  '95  '99  '00 |
I never would have guessed that experience would evolve over the years into the the
bulk of my efforts today. As the years progressed so did my interest in sandboarding. I had
spent a large portion of my life immersed in the Martial Arts, ( boxing, kick boxing, wrestling )
and was privileged to train and coach many fine athletes including a number of professional
champions. I still found time to visit the dunes. Dumont, Glamis, Eureka, Kelso, Death
Valley, Indian Dunes and a few dune banks without names were all within a few hours drive. I rode them all.
Teaching high school for several years, (graphic occupations) and witnessing the influence that board sports had on the students made me more and more aware that sandboarding was missing its place. I left teaching in '88 and accepted a position as vice president / creative director for a surf wear company in San Diego California. There I received an intensive education in the competitive world of board sports. I was thrilled! Seeing the birth and phenomenal growth of snow boarding, inline skateing and wake boarding through those years, ( surf and skate were already popular ) fueled my determination to bring sandboarding to the world at the same levels. I spent the next 7 years networking, studying board design, dynamics and involving myself with every aspect of board culture. I soon move ahead on my own and began developing sandboards for future production. Stainless steel bases were used on the early boards but it was apparent that the weight and expense made the boards impractical. Every surface was considered and tested but most had limited or no success. Stainless steel was still the fastest. Early experiments with Formica didn't impress us, yet, ultimately we came back to Formica and began developing lubricants that would impress us. It was a natural progression that we turned in the direction of natural lubricants to seek a base wax for sandboarding. From maximum speeds of 15-20mph in the early '90s to 55mph today encouraged our efforts all the more and I truly believe that speeds of 70-80mph are now within reach. While there have been frustrations through this entire project the thrills were much more numerous and something new surfaces almost daily. I know the best is just ahead of us. In '95 I founded Dune Riders International realizing the necessity for a governing body for this rapidly growing new sport. After much effort the ground work was laid for what would become the world sanctioning body for sandboarding. I believe that every success is a team effort and I will not pretend to have made this happen all on my own. I certainly did not. There are many with us who share the same passion for the dunes that burns inside of me and there are many, many more yet to come. |
| These days sandboarding is growing ever stronger world wide and my commitment to this exciting sport grows stronger along with it. I believe sandboarding will ultimately take it's place along side snow, skate and surf boarding. I also see a future for sand on the slopes of the snow resorts in summer. It's a natural and so similar to snowboarding most would cross over at the same level. Resorts could then extend their seasons year round. I makes so much sense but has yet to be done. |
California & Oregon |