FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Tech

Watch Skaters Fall Off Lexus' New Hoverboard

Shredding on thin air is harder than it looks.

It's an already emotionally-draining year for the hoverboard community, from childhood hero Tony Hawk's hoax, to the launch of Hendo's prototype—underscored the pressures of Back to the Future II's 1989 prediction of ubiquitous hoverboards come October 2015. Even automobile manufacturer, Lexus, is taking advantage of the hype with their own hoverboard prototype, and we've got to give them credit for making a really sweet-looking skatepark to go with it.

Advertisement

In the demo video, pro skater Ross McGouran learns the same lesson Tony Hawk learned when testing Hendo's board: it's really hard. McGouran—who normally rips—spills out onto hard concrete at the end of every other shot. As WIRED notes, the park has a hidden layer of metal keeping the board's liquid nitrogen-cooled electromagnets afloat, which sounds especially unforgiving. So that's two challenges hoverboard scientists have ahead of them before we'll see Marty McFly-style hoverboard racing through the streets: bringing it out of the custom skatepark, and making the thing comfortably rideable. Until then, we'll have Quebec designer Catalin Alexandru Duru's propeller-based hoverboard, the military's new hoverbike, or virtual reality to get us off the ground.

For a little bit more info about how Lexus' board works, check out the behind-the-scenes video here.

Get up to date on the hoverboard industry in our past coverage below:

Tony Hawk Just Ate it Riding the Real-Life Hoverboard

Watch the Longest Hoverboard Ride in History

The Military's New Hoverbike Is Hell on Air

'Back to the Future II' Designer Reveals Treasure Trove of Forgotten Concept Art