It all started in Brooklyn, NY when Nikita – the son of RYS founders Janek and Katya Palat – was very small. Even at four years old, Nikita had an urge to explore that could not be held within the confines of afternoon trips to the playground on the corner. His parents wanted to create a better way for him to go beyond their street and experience all that life could offer in their vibrant city. The first RYS longboards were made to answer that call for adventure. It was on the gentle rolling hills of Prospect Park that Nikita first learned how to ride. It didn’t always come easy for such a young kid. But the wide design of his deck offered greater stability which shortened the learning curve. And he found incentive to persevere in the connection he had with a board that was uniquely his. Family skate sessions would take the three of them everywhere- through the parking lots of mural covered businesses, to museums and dinner parties at friends’ houses, and even down cacti lined country roads on family trips abroad. Eventually, people started taking interest in the funky punk graphics and beginner-oriented deck designs of the handmade boards and it wasn’t long before Janek and Katya were commissioned to build custom rides for others. Before they knew it, a community had emerged in the park – a growing group of young novice riders who shared their sense of joy in the spontaneity and creative challenge of longboarding. Like those kids in the city park, each of us is still growing, still learning about ourselves – still writing our stories. For us at RYS, longboarding has given us a medium to put those stories into motion. We invite you to join our community today and Ride Your Story™.