Ive been skating on and off since i was about 8ish (im 34 now) just got myself a new deck im old and slow but i love to skate regardless. Im gonna look into longboarding also just sounds fun
For your shoe issue, I would recommend some simple shoes (http://www.simpleshoes.com/). For some of their shoes, they use recycled car tires for the outer sole, so I don't know what would be more durable than that. Specifically, I'd recommend the Sno Tire in hemp.
heheh, it's actually possible to use old car tires to make a 'replacement' sole once the original wears down, I just need to get my lazy ass on it. As far as Simple is concerned, they're kinda cool, but not really my style. Also it's cheaper for me to just buy shoes at $20-30 from Ross anyways.
no one noticed the griptape on that deck is some Sour Diesel, figure someone would've said something about it. looks awesome in person since the shiny shit in the griptape looks like THC Crystals on the buds.