Byron Essert's New Powell Peralta Frog Longboard Deck

Byron! Nicknamed Lil' B! He's the man. Seriously, if you don't know Byron, you need to get up to speed, go to an event, find the guy with the biggest smile on his face, introduce yourself, wait a maximum of 5 minutes and you'll hear one of the dopest freestyle verses ever dropped in downhill skateboarding. That has nothing to do with his board, it just needs to be noted that he has one of the sickest freestyle rap game, that's spit from the dome. But hey, if someone can drop a mad freestyle, they can design one of the best quiver killer setups around. Are they directly linked? Bars to boards? I like to think so... But lets get into how the Powell Peralta Byron Essert Frog Longboard Deck was born. To bring you up to speed, Byron is a shredder reigning from Northern California, where the Laguna Beach Danger Riders were born. The gnarliest, fastest, and best stand up riders from anywhere in the world. These dudes were born to shred the NorCal hills, and that's what gives them the unique style that they all have. To give you a little sample of Byron's skate everything style, check the video below that perfectly showcases his ability to enjoy any and all aspects of skateboarding.

That should shine a little light onto what went into the style and riding that influence the design of his pro model board. Working with Powell Peralta, a company that's had its hands in skateboarding for over 40 years, it was nearly guaranteed that the board they would design would be absolutely perfect. With Byron's influence into the board we knew this board would be perfect for freeriding, downhilling, and a touch of nearly anything and everything that could be done on a skateboard. Gun to my head, if I had to say there was one board that does it all, well the Powell Peralta Byron Essert Frog Longboard Deck would be the one that does just that. Don't believe me? Well, here's Byron popping an ollie over the finish line of a race at over 40mph on his pro model board.

Crazy? Nah. Impressive? Absolutely.

The Powell Peralta Byron Essert Frog Longboard Deck comes in at 39.72 inches long, 9.9 inches wide, with wheelbase options from 26.75-28 inches long. The board comes in two different constructions. There is the standard construction that is built with a tri-axial fiberglass and multi species wood core, with hard cast urethane bumpers. The carbon construction is built with a tri-axial fiberglass and multi species wood core, with hard cast urethane bumpers, all sandwiched between two layers of carbon fiber. This equates to a very stiff and lightweight setup.

Both feature amazing construction, with the carbon one having a few subtle nuances that set it above and beyond. Having roots in NorCal, this board is a top mount directional speed board with the most functional kicktail to match Byron's style. The Powell Peralta Byron Essert Frog Longboard Deck features wheel wells to allow for greater wheel clearance, letting you rock your favorite freeride wheels, or large race wheels with ease. The design comes from both simplicity and functionality. This makes the Powell Peralta Byron Essert Frog Longboard Deck simple in design, while excelling at everything it was designed to do. A mild drop and rocker combo locks you in, giving you the confidence to tackle the steepest and longest of hills completely stand up. But it doesn't stop there. This makes the board an amazing downhill setup. With it's unique construction, the board is completely stiff both longitudinally and torsionally. This gives you a very stable ride, no matter how fast you're looking to go. And what would be Byron's board, without the ability to skate anything and everything in its path. No curb will stop him. The functional tail gives you the ability to ollie up a curb, and continue shredding those steep San Francisco sidewalks with the Sunset Sliders. Peep some of that construction and design being put to use here!

If I was to go on a road trip with a fully packed car, and everyone in the crew was only allowed to bring one board, the Powell Peralta Byron Essert Frog Longboard Deck would be with me guaranteed. And just because he's such a fun loving character, check out Byron on his pro model with NoCal homie Remington Schofield in a Maryhill raw run here.