Erik Maki’s Sustainably Made Longboards Look and Ride Like Surfboards

Skateboards could perhaps be the most eco-friendly mode of transportation after walking. Their simple design and lightweight construction make them easy to carry, and they use less than one-tenth of the material required to make a typical bike (you can even <a href="http://www.inhabitots.com/board-games-upcycles-old-skateboards-into-wooden-toys-childrens-furniture/">recycle </a> them). Designer and craftsman Erik Maki realized this while a student at University of California San Diego, and it soon became his passion. Now, his eponymous company, <a href="http://makilongboards.com/">Maki Longboards</a>, is changing the look and feel of the art of skateboarding.

Erik Maki handcrafts a Signature Series longboard, made from FSC certified Hard Rock Maple and American Red Oak.

Erik reuses scrap pieces of lumber to create smaller products, like key chains, in order to eliminate waste.

All Maki graphics are applied using a specialized process using natural fiber laminates and an environmentally safe epoxy resin.

The "Drifter" model longboard.

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Erik carving up the asphalt on a Maki Longboard.

Practicing "hanging ten" on a Maki Longboard on the way to the breaks.

Erik Maki handcrafting a new board in his Los Angeles workshop.