Dalton  Teen  Hopes  to  Grow  Skateboard  Business  Saturday,  March  22,  2014  By  Charles  Oliver  

Skateboards  break.  And  they  break  fairly  o<en.      But  one  Dalton  teen  has  developed  a  skateboard  that  not  only  promises  to  break  less  o<en  than  others  but  has  more  “pop,”  the  springiness  that  skateboarders  value,  than  many  other  boards.  It  has  already  won  plaudits  from  his  fellow  skateboarders.      Now,  even  as  he  makes  plans  to  graduate  from  Morris  InnovaHve  High  School,  Victor  Cervantes  is  meeHng  with  manufacturers,  retailers  and  others.  He  hopes  he  can  turn  his  skateboard  design  into  a  small  business  right  here  in  Dalton.      “A  normal  skateboard  is  all  maple.  This  one  has  a  layer  of  carbon  fiber  in  the  middle.  That  makes  it  stronger.  It  should  last  longer,”  Cervantes  said  recently  as  he  and  friends  tested  the  prototype  at  the  Dalton  skate  park  at  James  Brown  Park.      The  prototype  began  as  a  class  project  at  school.              

“We  started  with  a  gap.  The  gap  was  that  skateboards  break  way  too  much,”  Cervantes  said.      He  said  an  acHve  skateboarder  can  break  a  board  every  two  or  three  months.    “So  I  started  looking  at  how  technology  could  make  stronger  skateboards  that  last  longer,”  he  said.  “I  did  some  research  and  came  up  with  a  carbon  fiber  and  maple  mix.  I  wanted  to  use  maple  because  that  is  what  tradiHonally  is  used  for  skateboards,  and  I  wanted  something  that  sHll  looked  and  felt  like  a  real  skateboard.”      Cervantes  says  he  believes  the  new  skateboard  could  last  a  typical  skateboarder  six  months,  maybe  longer.  He  says  he  also  believes  it  can  be  produced  at  a  price  that’s  compeHHve  with  tradiHonal  skateboards,  which  cost  around  $120.  

A<er  coming  up  with  his  design,  he  approached  a  company  in  Atlanta  to  build  the  prototype.      “They  told  me  that  someone  else  had  tried  this  before  and  it  hadn’t  worked.  This  was  the  first  one  that  turned  out  perfectly,”  he  said.      That  led  to  Cervantes  and  his  friends  taking  the  prototype  out  to  the  skate  park  to  put  it  through  its  paces.      “It  felt  smooth.  The  tricks  flowed  smoothly,”  Cervantes  said.      Javier  Aviles  said  he  was  skepHcal  when  Cervantes  first  told  him  his  idea  for  a  new  skateboard.      “Then  I  saw  the  design,  and  I  knew  he  was  serious  about  it,”  he  said.  A<er  riding  the  prototype,  Aviles  said  he  was  impressed.      “When  I  first  picked  it  up,  it  was  really  light,”  he  said.  “And  the  first  Hme  I  popped  a  trick,  I  got  a  lot  higher  than  I  normally  do,  higher  than  a  normal  board.  It  has  a  lot  of  pop,  which  is  great.”  

 While  the  skate  park  was  the  obvious  place  to  test  the  prototype,  it  may  have  been  especially  meaningful  since  Cervantes  played  a  large  part  in  its  creaHon.  Four  years  ago,  when  Cervantes  was  sHll  a  middle  school  student,  he  spoke  to  the  City  Council  and  convinced  the  members  to  build  the  park.      Preston  Keck,  a  teacher  at  Morris  InnovaHve,  said  Cervantes  “really  took  ownership”  of  the  skateboard  project.      “I  guided  him,  but  I  by  no  means  put  it  together  for  him,”  Keck  said.  “He’s  the  one  who  developed  the  concept.  He’s  the  one  who  approached  the  companies.  He’s  the  one  who  designed  the  plan  of  the  business.  He  has  done  a  phenomenal  job.”  

FOR  MORE  INFO  To  find  out  more  about  Victor  Cervantes  and  his  skateboard,  search  for  Abiding  Technology  Skateboards  on  Facebook.