BLAND PRO SHOP 2290 Nicolaus Rd. Suite 103, Lincoln, CA
BOARDPARADISE 1206 E WENDOVER AVE. GREENSBORO, NC
CARAMEL ONLINE
EXODUS RIDE SHOP 7401 Highland Rd White Lake, MI
FENIX FINGERBOARDING 10420 Plano Rd, 105B Dallas, TX
HANGTIME BOARDSHOP 2537 7th Ave E, North St Paul, MN
MODERN SKATE & SURF 500 N. STEPHENSON HWY ROYAL OAK, MI
RADIO FINGERBOARD STORE 3246b US 421 N, Wilmington, NC
RADIUS ONLINE
RYSE ONLINE
SEASONS FB ONLINE SILENT SKATEBOARDS ONLINE
SKATESTATION 13 S Main Street Layton UT
SKATE 618 - CHEMS FB 618 FRANKLIN AVE, EDWARDSVILLE, IL
SLUSHCULT 220 E. 4th St. Suite 106, Santa Ana CA
SOULDIERS SKATE SHOP 67 Toronto St, Barrie, Ontario
TH!S FB SHOP 7055 W. 16th Ave. Lakewood, CO
TEAK TUNING ONLINE
TOTALLY RAD SKATESHOP 1918B ST GEORGE AVE, SASKATOON, SK S7M 0K5
WAUCHOPE SKATE FINGERS ONLINE
THE VAULT FINGERBOARDS 239 S La Brea Ave Inglewood, CA
UNITY RIDE SHOP 5838 N 43rd Ave. Glendale, AZ
GOT A SHOP? WANT TO BE ON THIS LIST? EMAIL US AT PLIESMAG@USAFBL.COM
LETTER FROM LEVINE
What a year! This issue closes out the 2025 season, and honestly, it feels like a full-circle moment for fingerboarding. We’ve got Black River on the cover, the brand that helped spark what fingerboarding eventually became. They set things in motion years ago, and what followed was a whole generation of riders, builders, and media carving their own paths off that momentum.
Inside, we’re also highlighting the nominees for Fingerboarder of the Year! These are the riders who’ve shaped what fingerboarding looks and feels like right now, the ones raising the bar in contests, edits, and community influence. They’re proof that the scene isn’t slowing down, it’s leveling up.
This issue is about both the roots and the rise. The builders who made space for us, and the ones now pushing it forward. That balance is what keeps this whole culture alive.
To every shop, brand, and rider who’s supported us this year, thank you. You’ve turned Plies Magazine into more than a magazine. It’s become a snapshot of where fingerboarding stands and where it’s headed.
Here’s to another year of growth, connection, and progress.
Here’s to the ones who built it, and the ones carrying it further.
And here’s to everyone who still believes that fingerboarding is bigger than people realize.
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Rider O.T.M.
Stay Creating: Ajeet Chana’s Way
From Milton, Ontario, Canada, Ajeet Chana is a young man who’s always looking for new ways to create. Whether he’s skating, building, or filming clips, he’s driven by the same curiosity that first got him on a board. He started skateboarding in 2021, drawn to the freedom and style that come with learning tricks and finding flow. “I’ve always loved being creative through whatever hobby I’m into,” he says. That same mindset carried over when he picked up fingerboarding later that year.
For Ajeet, fingerboarding wasn’t just a smaller version of skating, it was another way to express himself.
“I love fingerboarding because of how creative and diverse you can be while still keeping the same gritty
and realistic feel of skateboarding.” In the beginning, he rode Tech Decks and the occasional Teak Tuning setup. But everything changed in May 2024 when he got his first pro fingerboard. The feel, the control, the precision—it instantly clicked.
That moment sparked something bigger. Ajeet launched Chana Board Collective, his own fingerboard brand built around creativity and progression. “I’m always thinking about how to elevate my boards,” he says. “It’s all I think about.”
One of his favorite memories came at the USAFBL event at 6Skates in Toronto. He entered for fun, ended up winning a raffle, and placed third for Best Street Trick. “I got home and had a mountain of fingerboard products to open,” he laughs. “It felt like Christmas.”
Now Ajeet is preparing the third drop for Chana Board Collective, focused on new designs and keeping the creative drive that started it all.
From Moscow, Russia, 35-year-old Evgeniy Lisin is a creator shaped by rhythm and motion. His story began at age eight when he first heard Onyx’s Shut ’Em Down album. He didn’t understand a word, but the sound and rhythm instantly pulled him into hip-hop. That same spark carried into his next obsession. In 2000, after watching the opening video on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, skateboarding became a lifelong love.
A year later, he got his first Element skateboard. Winters in Moscow were too harsh for skating, so when Tech Decks appeared in local shops, Evgeniy’s father bought him one that matched his real board. “It was unforgettable,” he says. From there, fingerboarding took over the school halls. He and his friends rode with three fingers, grinding on pens, rulers, and desks, building cardboard ramps and pyramids from scratch.
After years away, Evgeniy rediscovered fingerboarding in 2023 through the Russian brand SysteamFB. His creativity reignited, and he began building realistic obstacles with found materials, turning everyday items into rails, stairs, and ledges. “Fingerboarding is a great opportunity for your brain and hands to work together,” he says.
Now Evgeniy designs obstacles that look and feel like real skate spots, complete with plans for resin puddles and street details. He’s also crafting his own decks and preparing new builds for friends in the SysteamFB community.
Instagram: @lisindigital
YouTube: @LsnOne
Streets of Patrick Silva
known artistically as Egor, is a 27-year-old graffiti writer, graphic designer, and skater from São Paulo, Brazil. He has always used his creativity to contribute to the culture around him, blending art and movement into a single vision.
His connection to fingerboarding began in 2010, around the same time he started skating. A friend introduced him to the scene, showing videos and the creativity behind it. For Patrick, fingerboarding became a way to relax, listen to music, and think through ideas that later shape his artwork.
Photo: Kyle Green
That same year, he discovered graffiti at local skateparks. Seeing how art and skating connected, he picked up a can and started painting walls. His artistic journey has evolved ever since.
“I’m always looking to evolve and work with people who motivate me to grow,” he says. His inspiration comes from everywhere, streets, music, books, and art shows.
Today, Patrick continues merging his worlds of skateboarding, graffiti, and design. He is currently creating Gabriel Fortunato’s next pro deck in collaboration with Kings Skateboards, and a t-shirt design for Distrito Rojo Skate Shop in Spain.
Instagram: @egosujo
Behance: Patrick Silva or https://www.behance.net/patrick_are72e
BLUEPRINTS AND MOUNTAIN AIR:
High above Lake Annecy, tucked between steep green valleys and peaks that catch the morning fog, Lou Salopek lives in a small cabin deep in the French Alps. It’s the kind of place where the air smells like pine and snowmelt, and every sunrise feels earned. His workshop sits just beside his cabin, surrounded by woodpiles and the distant echo of mountain life, quiet, steady, and built by hand.
Lou is a carpenter who specializes in house renovations, but his real art lives in miniature. He crafts fingerboard parks from wood, concrete, marble, and steel with the precision of a builder and the soul of a rider.
Like many, he started with a Tech Deck, riding books and plastic ramps. After stepping away for a few years, he returned in 2021 with pro wooden setups and a sharper vision. When he saw the
wooden ramps people were using, he thought, “I can make those.” The first builds were crude, but they sparked something lasting.
Over time he refined his proportions, transitions, and materials. What began as curiosity turned into a calling.
“Fingerboarding taught me a lot of new building skills,” Lou says. “It made me look at materials differently and pushed me to build things better.” He now collaborates with his friend Orkan on public parks, including exact replicas like Annemasse and reimagined designs like Saint Jean de Maurienne, drawn fullscale on paper, then built piece by piece.
The reward, Lou says, never changes: watching others ride what he’s created. That joy is the heartbeat of his craft. His proudest moment came after twenty relentless days on the Saint Jean de Maurienne park, a blur of sawdust, late nights, and 4 a.m. finishes. The moment it was done, pride replaced exhaustion.
Next up are new wooden ramps, welded obstacles, deck projects, and a major event this spring at the Saint Jean de Maurienne skatepark.
Instagram: @hct_fingerboard
Portrait photo: @argentikev
Park O.T.M.
Ryse x SkateStation: A Cross-Border
In a powerful display of how connected the fingerboard scene has become, Ryse Fingerboards celebrated their one-year anniversary at Souldiers Skate Co in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The event brought riders from across the region together for a full day of fingerboarding, community, and nonstop energy that filled the room from start to finish.
What made this anniversary special was how it reached beyond borders. On the same day, nearly two thousand miles away in Layton, Utah, SkateStation hosted their own Game of SKATE contest. Ryse mirrored the format in Canada, creating a shared moment between two of the most active and respected shops in North America.
After each local contest wrapped, the winners from both events met online for a live, cross-border Game of SKATE on Instagram. Trick for trick, they battled it out in real time while riders from both countries tuned in and cheered them on. The prize was simple but huge: a chance to earn a future Plies Magazine cover.
Game of Skate for the Culture
When the final letter hit, @Raedon.fb from SkateStation and @ draganflip_ from Ryse both walked away with respect from the entire scene. Raedon took the overall win and secured his upcoming Plies cover feature, but Dragonflip’s performance made it clear that Canada is producing serious talent and pushing the competitive level higher every year.
The Ryse anniversary jam was more than just a party. It was proof of what happens when shops connect and riders unite around a shared love for fingerboarding. Canada and the U.S. came together for a moment that showed what the scene is really about: progression, collaboration, and culture without borders.
Date NAME / EVENT LOCATION
12-14-25 Flip Fest 1 Mathews, NC
12-14-25 Sesh #5 Bayamón, Puerto Rico
12-21-25 Hangout Numero Tres Greensboro, NC
01-03-26 Finger Frenzy 6 Battle Creek, MI
04-24-26 Fingerboard Con Boston, MA
04-25-26 Fingerboard Con Boston, MA
04-25-26 Rendezvous Andover, MA
04-26-26 Fingerboard Con Boston, MA
UAG Fingerboards - From Japan to the World
UAG Fingerboards - From Japan to the World - In this episode, we sit down with UAG Fingerboards right in Japan to talk about their roots, the scene in Japan, and plans for the future. We also dive into our collab event happening later that day, featuring the Blitz tournament format - originally brought to fingerboarding by the legends at Grain Theory. Expect stories, laughs, and insights from both sides of the world as we talk community, design, and the shared passion that connects fingerboarders everywhere.
Release Date: Oct 27, 2025
Season 3 Episode 138 | Building North Carolina’s Fingerboard Scene | Boardparadise
live from the Atlanta Tour Stop with a very special guest, Josh from Boardparadise! We talk about the legendary Boardparadise shop in Greensboro, North Carolina, its deep roots in skateboarding, and how they’ve recently brought fingerboarding into the retail world. Josh shares how his team added parks, events, and new sponsors, transforming the local scene into a thriving community. We dive into the Hangout events, growing collaboration between skate and fingerboard culture, and how local businesses like Boardparadise are fueling the next generation of riders. From grassroots events to national exposure, this episode is packed with insight, energy, and inspiration for shop owners and riders alike.
Release Date: Oct 29, 2025
Episodio #14 - Galo Fingerboard Ft. Edgardo Urrea
Después de una breve pausa, regresamos con un nuevo capítulo de D2 Skate Podcast, el espacio dedicado al fingerboard en español. En este episodio, Felipe y Mateo se sientan a conversar con un invitado muy especial: Edgardo Urrea, fundador de Galo Fingerboard, una de las marcas más influyentes de la escena chilena y latinoamericana. Hablamos sobre sus inicios en el fingerboard, cómo comenzó a fabricar decks a mano y el proceso detrás de cada creación. También exploramos sus mayores influencias, el crecimiento de la comunidad, los desafíos que ha enfrentado al desarrollar su marca y los hitos que han marcado su camino. Además, Edgardo nos adelanta en qué está trabajando y qué podemos esperar de Galo en el futuro.
Release Date: Oct 31, 2025
Season 3 Episode 139 | Zeg Heads Talks Fingerboard Shops, Stickers & Southern Scene
On this week’s episode of the USAFBL Fingerboard Podcast, we’re live from the Atlanta Regional stop with Drew from Zeg Heads! We talk about Zeg’s beginnings, the growth of his mobile shop, and the importance of supporting local fingerboard scenes. Drew shares how sticker culture became his signature, the vision for a future Chattanooga storefront, and the inspiration behind creating a 2000s-style skate shop vibe for fingerboarding. It’s all about staying true to the culture, building community, and keeping the scene alive.
Release Date: Nov 5, 2025
Gatekeeping In Fingerboarding | The Split Ply Podcast
Episode 1 of The Split Py Podcast with Hunkfb & Mintfb
Release Date: Nov 5, 2025
Season 3 Episode 140 | From Skateboards to Fingerboards | 223 Fingerboards
On this week’s episode of the USAFBL Fingerboard Podcast, we’re live from the Southern Regional Tour Stop in Atlanta! We sit down with Parker from @223fingerboards out of Cartersville, Georgia, to talk about how he turned a skateboard brand into a fingerboard company with heart. They dive into his creative builds, his roots in skateboarding, community collabs, and his drive to give back to the scene. Parker shares how he brings unique, one-of-one pieces to life and the story behind his pistol grip tape that’s taking off. A great conversation straight from the tour floor.
Release Date: Nov 12, 2025
The ROC Fingerboards Interview
In this episode I sit down with Erik Wilson better known online as ROC Fingerboards.. a New York City creator who has grown his platform massively over the last couple years and stacked real sponsorships along the way. We talk about his Fingerboard journey, the current landscape of making content in this niche, and the identity struggle every creator faces: are you an “influencer who fingerboards” or a “fingerboarder who creates content”?
When Nova-Kane brought the Apex Bench over to Shamir’s house in Crestline, California, he had no expectations. The moment it came out of the box, that changed fast. “WOW. I couldn’t believe the quality, weight, and sturdiness,” he said. The first impression is that this thing is built to ride. Heavy enough not to slide, finished edges, and clean marble slabs that look and feel premium.
What makes the Apex MMO stand out is its creativity. It is four obstacles in one, each configuration snapping together solidly and giving a completely different session. The weight keeps everything planted, and the marble surfaces grind beautifully. Shamir tested it outdoors on a sunny day with Nova, and both riders were able to hit opposite sides at the same time without a single issue.
Best tricks? Backside kickflip to backside tailslide felt perfect, and the higher setups made backside noseblunts and frontside blunts satisfying and smooth. Compared to other obstacles, nothing else offers the same modular flexibility. The only improvement Shamir suggested was adding slabs with different textures or even creating a transition version that could form a spine or quarter pipe.
The Apex MMO works for everyone, from beginners who want versatility to pros who want creativity. It replaces multiple obstacles, packs small, and is easy to move from spot to spot. Shamir recommends it to all riders. “I had a blast seshing this with Nova. I’m really looking forward to when it’s released to the public.”
Bonus moment? Discovering an unplanned “fifth” configuration and naming it the Funk Bench, proving this obstacle still has surprises built into it.
When the StoneLock MMO showed up, I knew right away it wasn’t just another ledge. After cutting into the box and seeing the layout options, it felt like opening a modular park. The mix of 3D-printed parts and polished marble tiles looks clean and rides even better. Each section locks together with magnets that click into place perfectly. It’s one of those details that makes you grin before your first trick.
The marble slides like glass, and the routed edges are dialed in for the smoothest grinds. I tested a prototype outdoors with Shamir, and we both rode opposite sides without a single issue. Kickflips into the banks felt great, and the ledges have that perfect bite for slides and nosegrinds.
Compared to other high-end obstacles, the MMO holds its own and then changes the game by letting you swap configurations mid-session. The only challenge is picking which setup to start with.
For riders just building their spot collection, it replaces four different obstacles in one. For collectors, it’s a statement piece. At $60, it’s worth every cent. Apex is clearly pushing design forward, and this build proves it. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
