When most students are out sleeping or hanging out with friends, juniors Brian Koznarek and Jack Melvin are busy cutting, pressing, and gluing 10 by 48 inch sections of plywood and designing artwork on them. And no, they aren’t making physics trebuchets or even skateboards. They’re making longboards.

“The difference is quite huge. A longboard is a transportation device, so the bearings spin more freely. A skateboard is much slower; you need to be slow so you can think about your next trick. Spin a skateboard wheel, and it rolls and soon comes to a stop. Spin a longboard wheel, and it rolls for three minutes. At the least,” Koznarek said.

Koznarek and Melvin launched their own longboard design company, Type Zero, last spring when Melvin introduced Koznarek to the idea. Juniors Sam Pielet and Garrett Kim are also involved in the company, along with Central graduate Josie Koznarek.

“The inspiration for making longboards was to have fun making our own boards instead of buying them. We both went into our basements and began to build boards from scratch and came up with our own designs. Eventually, I asked Brian if he wanted to make a company out of this, and he said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Melvin said.

Along with making some cash, Melvin and Koznarek also hope to make longboards more popular amongst Central students.

“Currently, longboards aren’t too big in the school. Not many people even know what a longboard is and what it is used for. We hope that by selling them we get more people into it,” Koznarek said.

“We’re hoping to start a longboarding club this spring to have an excuse to get together with friends, ride and just have a good time,” Melvin said.

Overall, Melvin and Koznarek enjoy making longboards, and have gotten much out of the experience.

“Running this kind of business, we learn about kinds of boards and how to run a business. Also, building the boards and brainstorming is awesome because we learn what works and what people like.

“My favorite part of this business is just the fact I can do what I love, which is make and ride longboards, and actually make money from it. You could say it’s a dream job,” Melvin said.