Meet Michael

Michael Brooke started skateboarding in 1975 on clay wheels. Within 2 years he'd graduated to a FibreFlex with Bennett Pro Trucks and Road Rider Four wheels. 

 

Michael continued skating in the 1980's and gravitated towards freestyle. In the late 80's he picked up a longboard (Schmitt Yardstix). When the internet first started up in the mid 90's, he posted his skate story on the Dansworld Skateboarding website.This posting led to him creating the SkateGeezer Homepage - an homage to old school skateboarding.

 

From here, Michael wound up writing a book on the history of skateboarding. An advance copy of the book was sent to Spin Magazine in early 1999. This led to a 1999 article in the magazine that served as a catalyst for the 2002 documentary "Dogtown and Z Boys" along with the feature film "Lords of Dogtown." Entitled "The Concrete Wave", the book sold over 42,000 copies and spawned a 52 part TV series. 

 

After the success of the book, Michael launched International Longboarder Magazine. As co-publisher and founder, his mission was to widen the scope of skateboarding that the other skate media wouldn't cover.

 

International Longboarder eventually morphed in 2002. Michael wore many hats as the publisher and the magazine eventually hit over 100,000 readers worldwide. In 2012, Michael founded Longboarding for Peace. The movement has done a number of unique projects including working with police departments in Southern California to exchange guns for longboards.

 

IN 2018, Michael sold Concrete Wave and embarked on a new career as a funeral director's assistant. As he thought about his over 40 plus years riding while surrounded by death, he realized he had something new to write about. A chance viewing of a post by Nathan Ho was all that was needed to start a collaboration that has turned into The Endless Wave.