Download the Magic Surfskate Selector Formula here: surfskate.love/magic-formula/

I respect you being so devoted to skateboarding.

Impressive to see just how many retailers and manufacturers have incorporated wheelbase, length, and width filters on their websites over the last 2 years. IMO, SL has made a tremendous contribution to the surfskate community 🤙

thank you so much! My first surfskate was a surfskate with a wheelbase that was too wide for me and it was so tiring to pump not fun at all:) so i did the questionnaire on your site and it said the carver 29.0 astral was the best option for my budget so i just bought it and it is like i am in heaven thank you

I've seen a lot of people who are enthousiastic about their interest, but you are not only enthousiastic, but also driven and devoted. I really appreciate your effort and devotion! Greetings thanks from the Netherlands

This video truly was a revelation. I’ve been in the search for my best fitting surf skate for years and now I (hopefully) have found it. Just ordered my very own Proteus (18” stance as well) and I’m so stoked to get on it as soon as it arrives. Thank you so much for your dedication, hard work and passion for this. 😁🤙🌊🏄🏻‍♂️🔥

Love the intro into your Surfskate “lab!” A lot went into this video! Wow. Thank you for your dedication! 👍🤙

I love how knowledgeable you are about surfskates! You earned a new subscriber! I just purchased the Carver C7 trucks, now I’m on the hunt for the correct deck. I’m excited!

This is the golden piece of Surfskate content. Much appreciated!

Seriously Steve, I totally get what you explained and that's such an amazing thing. Stance width determines the wheel base but the different systems may impact that and must be compensated. It really is a cheat sheet that you've created because it is a numerical formula. Great work mate, really good stuff.

It’s a pretty long video, but after I watched the whole thing, it is the only video ones ever need to pick their first a couple of boards. Thanks so much sir. Your video deserves way more views and likes. I guess ppl are just not very patient nowadays

Dude…mad love for all the work you’ve put into this topic. Really appreciate it, thanks! 🙏🤙🏼

This is the most valuable information for finding a surf skate! Much love for the dedication and knowledgeable info! Keep it up surf skate love

I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for all the hard work you have put into the sport! I think the information in this video is invaluable for people who want to get into surfskating, and also for people who are already into it, but want to explore other boards/trucks/brands.

Man! So much good info here. So much respect for showing us all the math. Thank you!

Comprehensive and very helpful, specially for beginners who want to dip their feet into surfskates but get overwhelmed by the plethora of choices. Kudos!

Hi Steve, great video and thank you for all your hard work on getting this information out to the surf skate community. I'm two months into sure skating and looking to buy my first board so I will be applying your formula.I did visit a local store recently who stocked mainly Yow and Smoothstar and asked the sales person for the wheelbase sizes on various models on the rack, he knew nothing about wheelbase sizes or even if it was important and wanted to know why I was so concerned by wheelbase. He then started measuring boards with a tape measure as we were talking, it then occurred to me that many people are directed to a board by the graphics or look by the salesperson but not once was I asked the style of riding I was into or how experienced a rider I am. I'm looking at Carver now and thanks to you I now the exact models suited to me 😉👍

Man, I’ve been watching your videos. You’re kind of a geek on surfskate. I began to ride due and thanks to your passion. Keep moving.

Hey man, thank you for putting out all this info. I really had no clue what I was looking for, this info is invaluable.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts on surfskate specs Steve! Been spending a lot of money on different surfskates and came to the same conclusion.... Axle to axle wheelbase to stance is the only relevant measurement in surfskating and directly contribute to how fast one progress in skating. Thanks for sharing and reaffirming my experiment hypothesis!

Absolute Stella information Steve. This is going to help so many people. Thanks

Three times GREAT! I enjoy all your video's. Your info is very helpful. Thanks to you I bought a surfskate and I love it.

Yesssssir glad you put this work In!!! This is amazing. Kinda like a surfboard/snowboard calculator. This formula can probably evolve a ton of people's riding and comfortability. Yeww

I've had a surfskate lesson recently and the first thing the teacher told me, was that my Carver USA Booster was too narrow for me, in the sense that the wheelbase was too short. I switched to a longer wb and made a lot of progress ever since. I think this video and the magic formula is very very helpful for a newby, considered there are so many setups available. Thanks Steve

You rule!!! Thanks for all the hard work!!!

Planning to buy surf skate soon, thats what I needed, appreciated.

Your the best! Thanks Steve. Keep up the great content!!

Super good info and explanation. Thank you for your sharing.

As always, very impressed by your dedication to the sport and really appreciate your contribution Steve!

Amazing video! Thank you so much for all the hard work and your time! It's really magic formula, thank you for sharing.This information is very helpful and valuable.

Thanks for all your hard work. The information you have been collating is unprecedented. BTW I noticed Smoothstar now sell their trucks on their website. SS, as you might guess, are very popular in Australia but we really can't ride anything right now as we're in the lockdown from hell. Happy skating :)

You are amazing Steve :) Your videos are amazing. You emit so much love to what you do, so much positive vibes. Keep enjoying it pls! Greets from a Russian skate & surf lover)

Thanks again Steve for delivering some most valuable info. At least I know my first experience on a Surfskate will likely be of a more positive nature, rather than leaving me frustrated and disheartened. I applaud your contributions to this sport, and thank you for saving myself (and many others) from possibly wasting money on future purchases.

Very very cool ! 🤘🏼🤩🤘🏼 Thank you for sharing this knowledge !!! Super helpful and i love your explanations, very straightforward and easy to follow !

Your video is very helpful to a newhand, thank you!

So happy that I found your website while googling and so I came here. Thank you for giving us all the information we need, by investing in so many boards by so many brands and sharing your experiences and thoughts + ideas with us. I really appreciate is, as I am about to buy a surfskate soon. A little less soon, now I found you 🤣.

I really love the way that you love your boards - I can relate to that, especially to the ones that are the same.

You’re so hyper-focused-I get it 🎉 thanks for the info! Very helpful! Good luck!

I love this review. Excellent ! You nail it. That's life ! Finding truth is always awesome in any field. 🤙👏🏄🏽⚕️🕵️🔬 🎩𓀚

Very helpful for beginners, great thanks

This explains my sensations between my Soulboardiy Adam and the Yow Meraki trucks. The Adam allows for 19" and 17" wheelbase, but with the Meraki that wheel base felt shorter, especially the 17" one (with your formula it is reduced to 15,25"). Now I know why. Thanks for all the hard work🤙

So much useful thank you Steve！

hands down, this is the best surfskate channel out there 🙌

Thank you so much for saving me money and frustration!

This is The Best Video on surf skates and the only one you need to watch before getting one.

You’ve changed my life 🤯

This makes so much sense. I'm very fond of the Carver C7 system and the greenroom. I'm 5'8 and have the same stance as my husband who is 6'3. I bought an emerald peak which is slightly under 2 inch difference in wheelbase from the greenroom. It feels different. My emerald is snappy( similar to regular skating with very loose truck), great for mixing in quick tricks. I cannot go long distances with the emerald but the green room is a different story. I'm glad I saw this because I know to not go below the emeralds wheelbase as it's my minimum width I can have. I'm a bit over 17 inches for my stance.

Thanks fot all the time you take to prepare and your research. I want to buy a surfskate and is very common to find the surfskate by brand, measure, but not so common to order them by the wheelbase, that should be the first factor to consider. Thanks!!

Grande zio! Dude you're the best!

Steve! You really rock! BUT, please do a special episode on the Waterborne. Yes, It would have an extra element with the type of truck you buy, but still, it's worth giving us that information!

Thanks Steve! Super useful 👌

You awesome, thank's for great tips man!!👍👍

Great job Man .. thank you from brazil!!!

Excellent Info!!! Now I know where to focus.

For the first board, I totally agree. But then it’s the same as choosing a surfboard. It depends on your style and what you wanna do. If you like snaps, you’ll go smaller then preferring chilled cruising. But nice explanation, I had to go through maybe 25 boards to share your experience 😀

Hello Steve! This maesurement job for the trucks has been made this year by the french guys on SurfSkateFrance, the french facebook group, the mostly surf shapers formula for the stance is height in meter x10 plus or less 1 inch, cudo! I see we have the same friends (Hi Shane Lai!) ;-) It's a worldwide affair! ^^ Thank you for all your job and sharing it!

Love this channel🤙🏻

Thanks for your work Steve, totally agree with you! It would be so much easier if the companies refer to their “wheelbase” as the distance between axes. In cars and motorcycles, and I guess in everything else with wheels that’s what “wheelbase” means. I recently bought a Yow and a Slide with the same 18” “wheelbase” and I was disappointed since I expected the same distance between axes, what obviously is the important measure for riding anything with wheels.

This is great information. While stance-to-wheelbase is most useful for surfskates, it also matters for cruisers. Additionally, stance-to-foot platform matters when choosing any longboard. Thanks Steve.

My slide swallow wheelbase 18,5 was too long, just receive yow Medina camo with same length but 17 wheelbase it’s seems that it’s fit perfect with my stance. Really agree with you that wheelbase is the most important. (I continue to watch ;)

That saves a lot of money for me newbies. Thanks Steve.

thanks to your videos, I'm going to buy components and try to make my own surfskate

I have not watched yet, but the episodes are becoming feature film length. I like it👍🏼. Magic Formula seems to suggest young Gandalf is in there 😂. This is rapidly becoming the Marvel Surfskate Universe with Mark dropping a teaser for his upcoming movie. Need to get me some autographed merch, might become valuable one day. Un saludo, Spain 🇪🇸

I just replaced the screws on my Yow Medina Camo and will do the same for my Yow Pukas. Reason? Because stance width is not fixed, but dynamic, depending on what you want to do with your surfskate. With raised screws, I can feel the exact foot position without looking and adjust as needed (or rather learn to adjust!).

Amazing job Steve! So proud of you my man, the reason this is so 100 million percent right is because of how simple it really is, though very complicated to figure out as you did!!!!

Great video! My conclusion to this is that, if my stance width is 19'' (maybe 20'', not really sure) , I don't have many options and that I should stick with my Yow Malibu (23" WB), even if the width of the tail is not very comfortable.

A little wordy, but great knowledge and very helpful as a newbie to surfskate. Thankyou

Can someone explain this to me? My stance is the same 18" but I first bought a YOW with iirc 23" wheelbase and it felt so sluggish and annoying. Switched to a Kontiki deck with a 17" wheelbase and it feels so much better, flowier, snappier. Based on that chart I should be aiming between 19-21". Does this preference offset apply to Swelltech? I want to buy a swelltech and I was looking at the 36" with a 21.5" wheelbase which falls within my stance specs... but now i'm afraid to order it if it ends up feeling like shit just as YOW 23" did. I want it to be snappy at the same time as flowy for surf training.

Спасибо!!!Спасибо!!!!Спасибо большое, за Ваш труд и проработку этого матерьяла!!Вы мне очень очень помогли!!!

Thanks Steve. Must know & understand basic knowledge base. Of what is in stock, trucks wanted, true wheel base (axle to axle) there was limited choices. Purchased a YOW Arica. Bit of a compromise regarding wants. Proper wheelbase for stance. Wide enough for my size 25cm feet, but a bit dissatisfied with the concave. Advertised as on the deeper end for YOWs. JMHO, YOW's deep is really the minimal depth of contour for probably many surfskaters. Guessing would like ~50% more depth. Also find the deck on the too stiff side for what I like.

Aaah this is great....Love the line: "you are going to eat pavement" if your wheelbase is too short. Agree on the Proteus.....what a ride (I'm 18" stance too). I note that the Waterborne Rail Adapter also throws off your wheelbase making it shorter. But I managed to rejig it so the trucks line up with the deck holes. Nice one Steve.

thanks steve! i have a question. I see decks that have mounted the wheels on the tip of the nose compared to further back - what type of rider would use which mount? :)

and of course you can also mount several mounting holes on one deck so that the wheelbase changes! I made a 18.4" wb out of my yow pukas rush 17" wb. The only thing u need is a drill, pencil and ruler. it works best if the board has little nose and tail rocker! that limits the range. cheers

Man! Give me one of those!! Man I have to work two weeks to get one and you have like a hundred! Hahah thanks for the info!

Hey Steve, I have just bought a carver sun ray, and im quite a small person, so without having measured my stance or the wheelbase of my board, im guessing its on the larger side for me. As a money saving idea to save buying another complete board, would you say buying a new deck that will result in a smaller wheelbase with the same trucks I've got now could be a good solution? Thanks, Ness

May I ask about measurement of wheelbase, I have my Slide CMC PERFORMANCE which I measure axle to axle is 20 inch but from your formular it should be 17 inch. So now I'm confuse about that. Would you explain them, Please.

You can also determine your ideal stance and adjust the truks on the board to your liking, right? i did it and i felt exactly what you say a few cms make all the difference. Another difference I felt was in determining my ideal stance and following your tips I noticed that the position that seemed ideal to me with my both feet on the ground and without the skateboard, was actually short. On top of the skateboard, applying the forces and the movement i had to move my feet further apart to feel more comfortable in movement. This consequently increased my wheelbase. Thank you very much for all the sharing of knowledge and for the variety of themes and products that you present us in your videos. Big hug from Portugal.

I learned the hard way. 50 years old, been skating my whole life and I decided to buy some meraki trucks and put them on a tiny regular board, a hosoi deck with a street board wheel base. I bit it so hard but oh well, get back up and learn.

Congrats 👌

35:30 Do I get u right that if I'd buy one with over +1'' WB-Range I dont get closer to a relaxed feeling of surfing through my town because its getting harder to pump? I want to get as close as possible to that relaxed surf-feeling as possible? Thanks a lot. PS thanks for the video that comes in the right time because Im about to buy my first surfskate (Im a beginner with now surfing or skateboard experience :)

Great video Steve. I already used the calculator many times. But what I found out is that my natural stance and my ride stance are different. Natural is something about 16.5", but riding is almost 20". And so I can have some different results, like carver triton 29" and 32". I will start with the 32.

Hi, i am a physiotherapist from austria and would measure differently here. the axial power transmission goes through the entire foot and not from inside to inside. so i positioned myself in a balanced stance and measured from the middle of the back of my foot to the middle of the back of my foot. I'm 180 cm tall and weigh 75 kg, my stand is 53 cm, 20.9 inches. now you can measure from axle to axle for the respective deck because every manufacturer builds differently. at yow the wheelbase is 1.5 inch smaller than the axle (meraki). 20.9 - 1.5 = 19.3 inches, that would be the sweet spot for me with the yow brand! cheers

Ok now finding my correct natural stance is the next objective haha. Trying to figure out of the lack of squating mobility in my knees has to do with my stance width or with my poor mobility. But much appreciated Steve! All your work for the SS community is the best! And makes it so much better. And love the start, Steve the Surfskate professor

Hey! Why do you measure axle to axle distance for Meraki using Carver back track?!) At first I was surprised our measurements differed, but then I understood the trick) Isn't it inaccurate? Firstly because backtracks add pretty much to wheelbase (axle-to-axle), secondly they add differently.

This is an awesome service to the SS community. You have truly brought science to SS selection, and I know it’s not without an exhaustive amount of research and massive investment. I am 58 and recently returned to bowl riding, after a long hiatus on longboards. I had to do a lot of investigation to re-learn how to buy a bowl-appropriate board and components, but not nearly as complicated as dialing in a SS. I’m not Surf Skating but I’m glad I subscribed earlier this year (I enjoy the education!).

Great video, Steve! I’m a Carver addicted surfskater. May I ask you how tall you are?!

I have a question regarding the carver cx. Why do the CX setup has the front truck bushing the same position as the rear truck? What happens if you flip it around like a traditional skateboard setup where they kingpin and the bushings of each face inwards, toward the other?

Hey Steve, what's your opinion on the new Loaded X Carver Bolsa CX Surf Skate? I wanna buy it but I am not sure

hi, understand if we are talking about a couple of inches difference then it will make you unstable, but but if we talk about 1inch or half and we prefer once model over another then cant we just adjust our stance width, and is our stance always the same width anyway? so while the guidelines are helpful and dont think we need to worry about an inch or so.

Got me a surf skate for a steal today. I gotta Globe Onshore board. It's as long as my Vision Gonz deck. It has a foam on the kick tail. The trucks are a little weird but I may have um too loose. Revenge trucks. Can't wait to have a free day to cut loose.

Fair play you are the go to man on the surf skate. So what your saying is if I have stance of 18" . I take a tape measure with me and measure and find one that is 18"distance between axles. So good to go regarding wheel base? Cheers Martyn UK.

I tried to figure out my stance width, and apparently it is 19-20". However, it seems to me that the boards with this specific wheelbase are more for longboarders and cruising rather than shortboarding and training snappy turns. I am 5'5" and weigh 132lbs, I am riding a 6'3" shortboard, so I doubt that it might be my proportions. I also watched pictures of some pro surfers and their stance seems to at least be 22", especially when their back foot stands on the pad (or they have really small feet and I am terrible at estimating). If your suggestion is true - and I appreciate all the work you've put into this - shouldn't there be more options with a wider wheelbase that are also made for training on a shortboard? As an example, the Yow Teahupoo is one of their bigger boards with a wide wheelbase as YOW describes: "Thanks to its big dimensions, the Teahupoo 34” is the go-to board for people over 1m75 (5'7") in height or for beginners (!) looking for a stable and comfortable board to get started. The long wheelbase (19”) will bring you stability and comfort, as well as help you gain more control when performing fast and wide lines." However, according to your Surfskate Formula, if my stance width is 19" and I want a Yow Meraki, I'd have to look for the wheelbase range "19.75-21.75" which is even bigger than YOWs biggest board made for beginners. When I looked at the Carvers, the only board with the wheelbase 18.875 is the Carver Green Room, which is the biggest board before the Tyler which was made for Noseriding. And even if I chose 18" as a smaller wheelbase in order to have a "speed car", those boards are still considered medium-large for bigger turns. So are the surfskate brands wrong by not considering more stance widths? Or might I be standing wrong on my surfboard? Or might the stance width not be as important as you mention here? I don't want to criticize, just understand and not having to buy 40 surfskates as you mentioned just to figure out my perfect fit. Thank you!

Many of the these surfskate decks have a flat or nearly flat nose. Most of the Yow decks have a flat nose. You can use that to very easily change your wheelbase. Take off the front truck and drill 4 new holes an inch ahead of the existing holes. Or gain even more width by using the front 2 holes in the deck and mounting the back 2 holes of the truck to them. Then you can use the front truck holes as a jig to drill 2 new front holes in the deck. You don't have to worry about the extra holes hurting the board as they are more than strong enough when just used for carving. I used to do this in the 80's because I have always liked a wide stance and typically the nose was flat in those days. I would often attached a small windsurf rig to the front of the board to sail in parking lots. So it was very important to get the front truck right at the nose with the windsurfer rig mounted just behind the front wheels. You needed the aft placement to avoid getting launched when hitting rocks or cracks, and because you can go faster then you really should the long wheel base helped control speed.

Great efforts. Thanks Steve. Most people would place their back foot on the end of the kick tail. for example my most comfortable stance is front foot above the front truck pivot and my back foot on the kick tail. that makes my stance a lot wider than the wheel base.

Is it possible to significantly practice increasing the range of your stance width as a way to increase the variety of your surfskating experience?

Are the back trucks all the same across all the brands? Or do they also move back up to 4" with the front trucks? Or do they even move up, narrowing the Axl base width even more? Because if so the match needs to be recalculated...

Unfortunately, I bought my Slide Gussie Stingray 31" literally a day before I found this video. Fortunately, it seems that I made a lucky decision and got the right size after all (based on your formula). Fingers crossed it works!

Is the difference (axle compared to bolt positions) between different rear truck brands negligible?

Awesome clip Steve! I think you are missing the most important point though: A short wheelbase sucks at top speed when looking at pumping. I consider anything under 21'' slow. Now, when riding transition or incline you won't notice it because you carry through the momentum but as soon as you hit the flats it really matters a lot. In addition, any longer surfskate with an adapter will still be waayyy more nimble than a regular skateboard setup used for bowl riding. Last but not least, you forgot to mention. If a rear truck is used that offers plenty of turn - such as an Original Carving Truck or a Gullwing Sidewinder plus a surf adapter for the front truck - you can ride boards with a 26'' wheelbase and literally still turn on a dime. Fact. I like my setups to be super nimble, loose & fast. That's why I prefer longer surfskates. Even when riding parks, I prefer a wheelbase that doesn't feel nervous when pumping and adds some more juice to the pump. Cheers Bro!

I think you said your foot position should be behind the rear bolts of each truck. But should your foot position be modified for each brand because the effective wheelbase is different for each brand, or should your foot position be consistent across all brands? Thanks