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| Q&A: Slalom Pro Mike Maysey (2489 Posts)
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price? sup
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On 7/5/2006
mike maysey
wrote in from
United States
(24.176.nnn.nnn)
hey man...it has been many moons since we skated. Probably it'll be a few more since this job thing has taken over for the time being. I will be skating La Costa (probably poorly) but racing non-the-less.
Surfed a bunch over the 4th weekend...in trunks no less. Got some killer little waves at San O during a decent summer south. Did I mention I trunked it? I haven't been able to trunk it in literally years. What a treat! Dav-O gave me this grail of a surfboard that I can't get enough of. Anyway...going for a skate tonite at the spot where the photo at the bottom of the page (or top of the next) was taken.
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yo maysey
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On 7/2/2006 dprice
wrote in from
United States
(68.166.nnn.nnn)
yo mike, you making it up to hood river for that slalom race? if you are me and some of the other RATZ can give you a tour of the local spots, such as Rowena loops and Maryhill...but you probably got work or something, how many years since we've skated together?...
later-dp
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bob...
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On 7/1/2006
mike maysey
wrote in from
United States
(66.214.nnn.nnn)
Delays, delays...been making a bunch of money lately with all my long work hours and travel time...anyway...
I agree with everything Paul says about boards and cone placement.
I agree also with his idea of looking at video and try to figure it out.
That's how I learned everything (well almost) I know. I try to take a little bit of everyone I see in person or on video and incorporate it into my style. But in the end, no matter what I do or how I 'try' to emmulate someone, I'll never be able to do it. Reason? Style is unique. You see, I skated A LOT with Paul Dunn in my first year or so after I first starting running cones. BTW, suggestion: If you have someone near you of that caliber, seek them out and try to session with them at least once. All I had to do was skate with Paul and be inspired to go fast. The lines are different, gear is different...all of it. For me, it was trying to move like Paul that made me skate the way I do now. And also constantly trying to beat his times in those early sessions. We slalomed with a timer almost every session back then. So I would try to copy Paul because I thought that's why he was faster. Thankfully what came out when I tried his style was then a product of my style, not Paul's. Not to mention all the FCR Series races I went to that that year and skating with those guys.
Here's what I do...and listen up 'cause I'm only gonna say this once...it's all my hips. Well, most of it. 'Efficiency of arms' helped a lot too. Early on in my slalom skateboarding (way, way back in 2001), I wasted a lot of energy by slinging my arms all over the place. Found out later, it (the arm sling) wasn't for me. I knew when I was doing it, it was slowing me down. I still look at video whenever I can, although skateboarding is mostly not happening for me right now. It's still on my mind.
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The "Twist"
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On 6/29/2006 Paul Howard
wrote in from
United States
(64.5.nnn.nnn)
Hey, Sorry I missed the discussion but you nailed it on the head, you want your arms moving vertically(one arm goes up while the other goes down in counter-balance to the lower body as it swings around the cones) more or less like a speed skater on the ice. You can do this basically just like a speed skater facing head-on into your line of travel or if you're more inclined to ride sideways in your stance you can swing your lead arm leading you and swing your trailing arm trailing you both in vertical movements and NOT twisting at the waist(moving the arms horizontally) while you do this. In this case, the arms are synchonized but not moving exactly together, the lead arm will go up and down a smidge earlier than the trailing arm usually.
If you like the sideways stance, don't put your feet 90 degrees to the board but closer to 45 degrees similar to how a slalom snowboarder has his/her feet.
Again, I highly recommend buying one of the previously mentioned DVD's and watch who is fast and why, and watch who is not so fast and why, I GUARANTY that noone who is fast is doing the "twist".
Maybe Maysey will have something to add since this is his forum and I'm just barging onto it again as the "Shell Answer Man".
Good Luck-Paul
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no twist
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On 6/29/2006
Cole
wrote in from
Finland
(82.181.nnn.nnn)
OK, that helps alot. I was trying to figure out different was of 'swingin' my arms today and started to come up with this. The feeling rminded me a bit of how speed skaters swing their arms to create momentum and traction. It felt a bit uncoordinated but i can see that this is much better than the twiting i've been experimenting with up to now.
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Let's [not] twist again, like we did last summer
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On 6/29/2006 Bugs
wrote in from
Australia
(59.167.nnn.nnn)
I'll have a go at answering...
You've seen slalomers swing their arms, right? When swinging your arms, your hands usually travel in an arc (a part of a circle). The "twist" is where your hands swing in a horizontal circle, parallel to the ground. The "correct" way to do it is for your hands to swing in a circle that is vertical, perpendicular to the ground.
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What the twist?
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On 6/26/2006
Cole
wrote in from
Finland
(82.181.nnn.nnn)
What exactly do you mean by 'the twist'? Do you mean to not rotate your arms and shoulders to initate the turns? And what do you mean by 'arms perpindicular to the line of travel'? Is it like keeping your shoulders square? Good tips i'm just rying to get a handle, and have a feeling i'm another natural born twister.
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One more thing for Bob
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On 6/10/2006 Same Guy as Before
wrote in from
United States
(64.5.nnn.nnn)
Hey, also, train yourself to move your arms and upper body in counter balance to what your legs are doing.
DO NOT DO THE "TWIST" - The "twist" does not add any speed at all nor does it really help you get around the cone. It's a natural habit of many people new to slalom, If you're twisting, it's a bad habit that gets worse the more you do it. Instead, Move your arms 90 degrees perpendicular to your over all line of travel as you go around cones. There's several body positions and arm movements That most racers use but they all utilize the arm swing 90 degrees to the line of travel.
Do yourself a favor and get the 2004 Worlds DVD from www.sk8kings.com
or go to the Gong show forum and see if Kenny has any old DVD's he made available for sale or go to the DHB forum and ask Marion Karr about getting Dixie Cup DVD and study EVERYONE's form and style and figure out what they are doing and why it's working. www.asphaltplayground.com might have something as well. There's probably more out there but that's what comes to mind at the moment.- Adios, Paul
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Bob wants Help
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On 6/10/2006 Paul Howard
wrote in from
United States
(64.5.nnn.nnn)
Bob, What kind of courses do you want to ride? How steep and fast is the spot where you are slaloming. Here's my 2 cents for a beginner:
Tight- Start with cones 7' apart, and as you get used to it, try to get them to 6' and tighter. Use offset cones, S-Curves, etc. Your offsets will be farther apart than your inline cones. Wheelbase 18-20"
Hybrid or General- Same thing only bigger with wider offset cones. Wheelbase 18" to 22"
Giant- Same thing only bigger yet. Wheel base 21"- 24"
Super G - Set the cones really far apart (20' to 75' depending on your hill) with huge offsets. Wheelbase that you feel safe on.
Boards- T/S and Hybrid will benefit from a steep 15 to 20 degrees of pos wedge under the front truck (depending on the brand of truck) and 5- 15 degrees of negative wedge on the back truck, more for non offset conventional trucks and less for a TTC/Splitfire/Indy or Tracker offset/Seismic 30 degree rear truck.
For Giant and Super G, use less pos wedging on the front truck than for T/S and General. "Maybe" more neg wedging in the back if you feel you need it(you will know because you will feel the back end turning more than you want).
These are only general suggestions, you really need to play around with your equipment with wedges and bushing combinations to see what works for you and your riding style. See what Maysey says for sure, he's faster than me, I just barged onto his forum 'cause I'm sitting here at work between patients. Good Luck -Paul
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help
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On 6/9/2006 bob
wrote in from
United States
(66.167.nnn.nnn)
I only have the most basic knowlege of slalom, so could you guys give me a few tips. (Cone distance, foot placement,ect....) Thank you
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Howdy strangers...
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On 6/3/2006
Mike
wrote in from
United States
(66.214.nnn.nnn)
Sorry about the delay...I'm sorry to report, I didn't do too well. I placed 11th in the DH, and 12 in the GS (I think) and needless to say, I was a little disappointed in myself. I went into the race thinking, 'I should have some muscle memeory of some kind after having spent so much time riding last season...no such luck. I had to come to the realization that things are different for me right now than they were a year ago.
I have a good excuse though... : )
I can't remember when it was I rode a skateboard last, right here as I type this. In the past month and a half, I've been putting in some long hours. Lately I've been walking an average of about 4 miles a day in 95+ heat. So by the time I get home or should I say, back to my hotel room, all I want is a beer and some A/C. Most Saturdays I have apprentice school from 8am - 12 pm, which leaves the remainder for Saturday for resting and usually by Sunday morning all I want to do is try to recharge my batteries for Monday morning when I have to be back on the job at 6am.
Yeah, it sucks having a real job, but I'm finally making some decent money and it's only gonna get better! So this is my life for the next 2.5 years. Not a bad deal considering once I'm done I demand over $30/hour!! Once I finish this apprentice program and journey out, I'll have more control over my job and can be sure to skate more and travel (to the races) WAY more. So, that's my deal right now.
Given this though, with La Costa coming up in a few months, you can bet I'll be hitting it HARD to prep for that as soon as time allows.
Anyway, that's the inside update...and then some.
BTW, I heard the news of Skaterbuilt boards in France...I'm stoked for you guys and girls. And something I heard about the Swedes riding Skaterbuilt...good choice, huh? Congrats everyone!!!
Laundry time...
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plumpstationcrossdresser(are we talkin Socal or the 'loin here?)
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On 5/8/2006
dprice
wrote in from
United States
(67.100.nnn.nnn)
how did you do @ andrew's crossover race dude?
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mothballs and cobwebs
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On 5/8/2006
willywhit
wrote in from
United States
(24.34.nnn.nnn)
After years of slalom hiatus, I got out to run cones here in Boston. Wicked fun dood !Fatboy still got some skills.Check out the contest 5/13 at Needham HS, Gilmour will MC ! 
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ITS ON!
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On 4/30/2006
Andrew Mercado
wrote in from
United States
(24.130.nnn.nnn)
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DC GS
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On 4/23/2006
mike maysey
wrote in from
United States
(66.214.nnn.nnn)
Forgot to mention in that post last night...you might want to try setting your rear truck quite a bit tighter than your front. All my alalom boards are set up this way and it seems to work well for allowing turns as well as keeping me front wobbing at speed...
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GS setup
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On 4/22/2006
mike maysey
wrote in from
United States
(66.214.nnn.nnn)
DC-For starters, I would suggest a board in the 21"-23" inner hole to inner hole range. As for width, 8"-9" wide should do it. I think my GS board is 22 1/2" inner hole to inner hole and about 8 1/2" wide at it's widest point. For wheels, suggest using softies for GS...myself, I use 80a around no matter what the course or surface, I need to know I have traction if I need it. I do need to experiment more with wheel hardness in GS, but at least with the soft ones you'll run less risk of sliding out if the course has cranking turns in it. I also space my wheels out so that they roughly come to the edge of the board. I try to keep them about 1/4"-1/2" inch wider track in the back than the front. Wedge the front a lot and wedge the rear not so much. Basically set your trucks so that the front does most if not all the turn while the rear doesn't turn just trails the front. You DO NOT want that rear end trying to oversteer on you at 30 mph.
lemme know if you need more help...late.
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GMR
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On 4/22/2006
mike maysey
wrote in from
United States
(66.214.nnn.nnn)
For that run I'm about as protected as I can be with my full face, leather pants and a barrowed jacket (thanks Mercado). I do plan to invest in a set of full leathers and a more appropriate helmet as soon as money allows.
Dave-Since I can't concentrate on slalom for the time being, I'm gonna get back into some other aspects of skateboarding. Yeah man, I remember that day...I slid across two lanes and rolled up onto the guard rail right in front of that dude...I learned really fast not to pull on the rail on heelside turns! I have this Skaterbuilt deck right now I've been riding. I have kinda had my eye on those Rogers Bros decks...maybe I'll have Chuck build me a DH stick...we'll see.
That first day up there was pretty crazy. It rained on the way to the hill off and on. Then as Andrew, John and I walked up we noticed a bunch of wet spots as well as a bunch of debris in the road. Once we got to the ridge and got our gear on we were off. I basically stuck to John and followed his line down the road. We spent a lot of time air breaking and footdragging to keep our speed in check since the road was so full of obstacles. It was actually good for me since I not only got a chance to stick to John's wheels, but due to the slow speeds I got a chance to get a feel for the road. When Andrew and I went up there the following day, Easter Sunday, that's when we got turn bomb it a little more. I spent way less time airbreaking or footdragging and just simply went for it. There was one turn in particular...a right hander close to the bottom that feels like it's about 270 degrees. Andrew was right on my tail and I dove into the turn, grabbed my line and pulled away.
Is downhill the next thing for me??? I doubt it, but it's definately an amazing feeling at the bottom of a hill like GMR.
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Badlands race
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On 4/19/2006 Kludy
wrote in from
United States
(68.7.nnn.nnn)
Mike come to the badlands race this sunday, you will love it bro. Its Dave and Johns hill and you will get the cross training needed!Call john
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mikey on gmr
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On 4/19/2006
dprice
wrote in from
United States
(198.238.nnn.nnn)
thats rad you're getting back into downhill dude.....still rocking that old dregs i traded you?
see if you can get your hands on some leathers, then its a whole new ball game.
remember when you ate sh#t on tunnel right in front of that biker and almost slid off the road down a cliff and the biker just kept on biking, giving you a pretty nasty stink-eye...good times!
-dave
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GS
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On 4/18/2006 Danny Connor
wrote in from
United States
(207.200.nnn.nnn)
Masey,
That's rad that you hit up GMR. It's like weeks of training packed into one run down the hill for speedboarding. Wait until you have a full face and leathers, then it gets faster. I think it's a MUST for anyone who likes to jam down hills. I need some advice about setting up a GS. I don't know if there's any sort of standard or if you just set it up and keep trying till you get it right. I've run a couple pump station races so I can do it, I just need to be pointed in the right direction. Thanks man. DC
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GMR
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On 4/17/2006
mike maysey
wrote in from
United States
(66.146.nnn.nnn)
A little cross training at the finest downhill run I've ever seen...tucking and gliding at it's best. Thanks to Andrew Mercado for getting me out there and thanks to John Rogers for showing me the line. I'm gonna make a serious run for the overall at Andrew's race at the Pump...watch out now!!!
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Dixie Cup #2
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On 4/13/2006
Paul Howard
wrote in from
United States
(64.5.nnn.nnn)
MAYSEY: I highly recommend it.
MARION: I'd like to save $$ by buying my airline tickets WAY early(like soon maybe), are you thinking November 3rd, 4th, and 5th Fri-Sun? Will it be tied with the Pumpkin Fest again?
Also, email me some info about ASSA, racing insurance, membership, etc(I'm stoked Scott Moore/Subsonic is helping you guys out), Let me know, call me at (541)754-7826 or email me with the above name/email thingy.
I'd meet up with you and everyone at the Buckeye in June but I'm backing out due a back injury from a bike accident. Adios-Paul
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What's up?
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On 4/13/2006 Kenny
wrote in from
United States
(68.252.nnn.nnn)
Mike-
How's it hanging? Been skatin much? How's Evans? School? Work? Surf? Love life?
Things in Ohio are OK. Stop over at the Gong show to say hello.
Kenny
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wait a sec...
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On 4/13/2006
mike maysey
wrote in from
United States
(66.146.nnn.nnn)
November...I just might be able to swing that...I'll have to check into it.
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Marion
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On 4/13/2006
mike maysey
wrote in from
United States
(66.146.nnn.nnn)
however tempting your race is to me...I can't just bail for a weekend anymore. Because of my job I have school most every Saturday until late August...thankfully I will be outta school by the time La Costa rolls around.
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