Loaded Boards makes composite skateboard decks (primarily longboards) for the most discriminating skaters, which means each board is handcrafted with care, and carries bold graphics with ultra-slick finishing by a team of shop designers. Many are trained engineers and architects; all are supremely devoted to the sport. Whether during the design stage in the computer or in the production phase in the shop, subtle adjustments evolve the boards over time — fine tooling for wind resistance (like adding an aerodynamic tail) or the slightest cupped indentation for ergonomic foot positioning might get added along the way. Loaded's products develop from compound geometries that could only be produced via industrial design software, which translates the digital information to fabrication machines such as compression molders and superplastic formers — the same techniques the aerospace industry uses to achieve complex curves. Loaded's graphics are meticulous, too, such as eight-sided cubic prisms and kaleidoscopic fractals that are simultaneously subtle and stylish — they hint at the math-nerd side of the shop's skater-cool culture. —Wendy Gilmartin

10575 Virginia Ave., Culver City, 90232. (310) 839-1800, loadedboards.com.

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