Over the past month California has had some really crazy weather. Needless to say as a professional skimboarder I've been going a bit crazy and it's caused us to have to get quite creative to keep entertained and busy when we're not able to skimboard. One of the most recent storms brought lots of wind, rain, and high seas. The rough waters, and storm surge brought in lots of debris, mostly in the form of driftwood scattered all across the beach.
Today was one of the nicer days we've had in a while, so I thought it would be cool if we started this morning off with a nice beach fire, coffee, and boosting little airs over some of the washed up driftwood from the recent storms. With the help of my talented friend ToekneeMedia - https://www.youtube.com/user/Tonybianchi1 - www.toekneemedia.com - We were able to get some pretty cool shots! My favorite clip is the last clip which is a 360 shuv-it - Hippy Jump. For those who don't know, a "Hippy Jump" is basically an old school skateboard trick where the board stays on the ground while you jump over an object and land back on the board, and I translated that onto the skimboard in this video. The final clip is a Hippy Jump, with an added 360 skimboard rotation (shuvit).

What I'm riding in the video: https://austinkeen.com/collections/frontpage/products/2016-austin-keen-signature-double-carbon-fiber-epoxy-pro-model-skimboard
www.exileskimboards.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/AustinKeen

It's been a rough winter so far here in California, for me at least. It's been cold (to Socal standards), Gloomy, and barely any swell. I spent a week in Hawaii and just got back this past Friday. To keep my spirits high in the cold rain we decided to take a couple of my old skimboards down the road to Salt Creek and try skimboarding down the hill. It ended up working really well! You can check out my Exile Skimboard model here  - It's exactly what I ride in the waves. 

Here is the video

Episode 2:

I was stoked to meet up with professional skateboarder Beaver Fleming  for the day and take him wakesurfing for the very first time. I even had my first experience with the "Wake Foil". After wakesurfing we drove about 120mph on the freeway to the Clairemont skatepark where Beaver gave me my first "Skatercross" experience. Beaver and his buddies absolutely kill it there and do things on skateboards that my brain can't even process. If you guys liked Episode 2 please let me know by liking, commenting and sharing so I can put out Episode 3!

Shoutouts:
Big Shoutout to http://www.superformance.com/default.aspx for lending us that bad ass $96,000k Shelby Cobra MKIII for the day.

Kalon Morris for taking us on the boat.
Reed Morales for the idea and helping to make it all happen

Beaver Fleming:
www.Instagram.com/beaverfleming
www.facebook.com/beaverfleming
www.beaverfleming.com

My Channels:
www.AustinKeen.com
www.instagram.com/AustinKeen47
www.Facebook.com/AustinKeen47

My Sponsors:
www.Cariloha.com
www.powerbar.com
www.LiquidForce.com
www.exileskimboards.com
www.OneWake.com
www.Traceup.com
www.360fly.com
www.Clarionusa.com

Song: Hoshi Neroki
Artist: Wildcat
https://soundcloud.com/wildcatcanada/hoshi-neroki

2016 WAS EPIC! (all things considered). Shoutout to everyone who helped make my 2016 year awesome and captured it along the way. It started with one of the most financially difficult times of the year, to ending with one of the best places I’ve been in my Skimboarding career so far. I feel extremely grateful for all the amazing places, things, and people I was able to experience this year, and grateful to do what I do after many years of hard work and not giving up.
2016 was most unique for me because I experienced human life lacking the bare essentials in Haiti with Project509 , to riding in my first Lamborghini and surfing behind Yachts and sipping wine in Canada. I was inspired by the gratitude and contentment and love of the poor, the generosity of the rich, and the mental and physical perseverance of disabled veterans. Interacting with our human family from one side of the spectrum to the other in a matter of 1 year has made 2016 most unique for me, and has given me a perspective that I hope sticks with me forever. Wether you're Dan Bilzerian, or a child in Haiti waiting for the rain to fill your water supply, Wether you're a christian or a muslim, black or white, we are all a part of the same human family on this living, breathing, planet and I believe in 2017 that will become more apparent to the world than ever.

Thank you to all the contributors:
Most of this is compiled from my instagram so I apologize if I left you out, just let me know.
Devin Super Tramp
ToekneeMedia
Max Fuerst
Skylar Wilson
@Southsidewakeskate
Bryan Magaldi
Smitherspix
Judah Meiler 
Adam Hayward
Kenny Maddux
Drake Linn
Shawn Kenny
Surf Kelowna
Huge shoutout to my awesome sponsors and partners:
Cariloha
Liquid Force
OneWake
Exile Skimboards
TRACE
360fly
East Coast Skimboards
Clarion USA
PowerBar
Reed A. Morales
Marco Thompson

Austin Keen Highlights - 2016