I grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo and started driving as soon as I could. I paid off my first car while bartending in college and grew up being used to having the freedom of, if you just want to go somewhere, you simply get in your car and go there.

Then I moved to New York City, sold my car, and learned the ropes of public transportation. While I love public transportation and have mastered the ropes; the subway, buses, trains, and taxi's do at times force you to submit to their binds a lot of times. As a result of those limitations I still craved a way to get around New York City just as I used to be able to get around with my car, on my own terms. As of today, I think I might finally have that freedom back! 

I just got my brand new Boosted Board Dual + Version 2 and yesterday was my first full day riding it. You may have seen these magical all electric "vehicles" around YouTube as a lot of the content creators have them already. Here are some of my initial thoughts so far.

High Praise 🙌 ! WOW! I am blown away! As a life long skater I can honestly say this is the dream. I started skating in my childhood driveway from before I can remember and more recently I have been longboarding around New York City on a good old fashioned non-motorized longboard for the past 3 years. This new board though, it is no joke. 

To give you some quick background the Boosted Board Dual + v2 is an all electric longboard with 2 motors. It can go up to 22 MPH and comes with a 6-7 mile range on average. An optional extended battery can increase the range to 12 miles on a single charge.

The amount of acceleration the board has, is nothing short of impressive. I was immediately blown away by how fast it actually accelerated me. After that I also wasn't sure how the board would handle going uphill. I quickly learned. When I approached my first big steep hill in midtown manhattan, I jumped the boosted board up one mode from Beginner to Eco and it climbed it like a champ. Again, even accelerating while carrying me up the hill. And, if you put the board in PRO mode, you essentially fly.

Now while getting speed and acceleration on traditional longboards is almost always somewhat easy, stopping can be challenging. Stopping a longboard with your foot is a skill that takes some getting used to when you first start riding. But not with Boosted. The brakes are built into the throttle. And even better they are regenerative so when you are braking your are actually putting power back into the battery.

Perhaps most importantly though, one of my favorite things about the Boosted Board is the fact that you are getting around the city above ground. It really is a small electric vehicle. It can become easy in a big city full of public transportation to only orient your understanding of the city around the subway stops you magically pop out of the underground from. With a Boosted Board however, something that can only be described as "experiencing the great outdoors" of New York City's concrete jungle might be my favorite feature. Not only is it at times faster to get somewhere via bike lanes then taking either the subway, bus, or a taxi through traffic, but it is mind freeing. You can't stare at your phone like you would on the train or in the back of a cab, so you are forced to just experience the city around you. Which I love! 

The Boosted Board's basic functions have exceeded my expectations and I can't wait for my next ride. I am sure I will learn more about the Boosted Board as I continue to ride it, but my initial impressions are amazing. I truly love that it has the potential to expose me more to this great city I live in and I can't wait to explore more of it with my Boosted Board taking me there.