The Pretender – Cruiser Skateboard

Simple answer is “all of them” – Deviate Longboards are
designed to be ridden by anyone. The “right board” is determined by your
intended riding style, experience and comfort riding a longboard. All of our
longboards are designed for cruising and carving (essentially surfing the
streets) with variations in shape and size to meet the needs, style and
abilities of most longboarders.

Whether you are looking for a traditional longboard
skateboard, a cruiser skateboard, a mini longboard cruiser, a cruising
longboard, a surf trainer, a nose rider or an all around board, we have a board
to fit your needs.

Here is our quick hit list:

Best seller: The L-Train

Best board for travel: The Short-Trip

Best board for absolute beginners: The Bean

Best board for Street Carving:

• The No-Name (if you prefer a longer board)
• The Pretender (if you prefer a shorter board)

Best skate for surfers: 

• Shortboarder: The Pretender
• Mid-length: The Bean
• Longboarder: The L-Train

Check out our Board Finder for help identifying your perfect ride. 

Check out our blog on selecting the right longboard.

If you still have questions, reach out to us at hello@deviateboardco.com, we are
happy to help with your questions and longboard selection.

Yes!  Each board is shipped as a complete longboard fully set-up with trucks and wheels and ready to cruise. Grab your safety gear and get out and have fun!

Deviate Longboards are handmade in Brooklyn, NY using hand selected furniture grade hardwood.  All of our longboards are old-school flat deck longboard designs, making them super comfortable to ride.  No kick-tails, concave, etc.

Each longboard is constructed from solid wood using vertical lamination construction resulting in a stable longboard perfect for cruising, pushing and street surfing.  The combination of our designs, quality materials and craftsmanship create a soulful and fun longboard experience.

We are inspired by our New York surfing roots and set-out to design longboards that provide the feeling of riding old-school longboard surfboards with the benefit of modern trucks, wheels and bearings.  The flat decks are easy to push and cruise on, providing lots of room to maneuver your feet on the board to make turns and do showy tricks, just like old school longboarders!

It depends on what you're trying to replicate:

• The L-Train (47" long x 10.5" wide, 37" wheelbase): Mimics classic longboard surfing. Best for practicing cross-stepping, nose riding, and traditional longboard footwork. The 37-inch wheelbase mirrors the stable, flowing feel of a 9'+ log.

• The Bean (32" long x 10.5" wide, 23.5" wheelbase): Versatile mid-length feel. Good all-around trainer for practicing carves, pumping, and general board control. Similar to a 7-8' funboard or mid-length.

• The Pretender (29" long x 9.5" wide, 16.25" wheelbase): Short, responsive—like a shortboard. Best for aggressive carving practice and tight, dynamic turns.

It's both—which is exactly why it works so well for consistent fitness.

When exercise feels like a chore, we skip it. When it's genuinely enjoyable, we actually do it consistently—and consistency is what creates results. Longboarding delivers real fitness benefits while feeling like recreation, not obligation.

The Fitness Benefits:

•       Cardiovascular Exercise: Sustained pushing and cruising elevates heart rate into the
aerobic zone. A 45-minute cruise burns 200-400 calories depending on intensity
and terrain—comparable to jogging but easier on joints.

•       Core Strength: Balance and carving engage your entire core—abs, obliques, lower back—constantly. It's functional strength training disguised as fun.

•       Leg & Glute Toning: Pushing works quads and calves. Carving and pumping activate glutes
and hamstrings. You're essentially doing controlled squats and lunges while moving.

•       Balance & Coordination: Improves proprioception and spatial awareness—fitness benefits that matter more as we age and directly reduce fall risk.

•       Mental Health: Being outside, moving fluidly, and experiencing flow states reduces stress and
improves mood. Multiple customers call it 'active meditation.

Why It's Sustainable: Unlike gym routines that feel tedious or running that beats up your joints, longboarding remains enjoyable long-term. You explore your neighborhood, feel the wind, experience that satisfying glide. People stick with it because it doesn't feel like 'working out'—but the fitness results are real.

Handcrafted is a term that gets thrown around way too often and in many cases is really just a marketing tool. 

At Deviate, handcrafted is foundational to our craftsmanship first approach to board design and building.  But for the haters out there, here is what "handcrafted" means to Deviate:

• Wood Selection:  Every Deviate longboard skateboard starts with furniture grade hardwood.  Each piece of hardwood is personally selected by a member of the Deviate team to ensure the highest quality for the specific board it will be shaped into.  No mass sorting or outsourcing.

• Milling and Shaping:  We cut, mill, laminate and shape every single Deviate deck using traditional woodworking techniques.  No industrialized production lines, robots or CNCs, just a board shaper and their tools - going from hand-selected hardwoods to a final rolling skateboard.  All done in our Brooklyn, NY workshop.

• Assembly: Each Deviate board is set-up with premium Paris trucks and Deviate wheels, by hand, quality inspected and then packed for shipping.  Our boards delivered to you ready to ride. We know every board we send out.

Yes.  We love it when people swing by the board building shop to go for a skate.  Please reach out to us at hello@deviateboardco.com if you are interested and we will schedule a time that is convenient.

Absolutely!  We always welcome in person pick-ups at our board building shop in Red Hook, Brooklyn.  It's a great way to meet new members of the Deviate community and sneak out for a cruise because testing a new board right away is an absolute must!  Please reach out to us at hello@deviateboardco.com if you are interested in an in-person pickup before placing your order.

Absolutely. We love to collaborate and make custom longboards. Whether you’re looking for a specific aesthetic on one of our stock models or have a particular shape / dimensions in mind, we’d love to work with you. Pricing for custom complete longboards starts at $300. Please visit our Custom Longboard Shop page for further information.