Lamborghini makes pretty amazing cars. But what makes them so cool is that they are different and unique compared to the cars that Ford, Chevy, Honda, and Toyota make. If every car manufacturer made cars that looked exactly like those made by Lamborghini, they wouldn't be rare, interesting, or cool. The same thing applies to scooter videos. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you have to do something different than everyone else is doing.

You can create a unique perspective through your videos by trying to be completely original, but that can sometimes be hard to do. Another way to help promote original ideas is to try to avoid cliché and common techniques that you see in many other scooter videos. That's not to say that these often-used techniques are bad ideas, but you might want to try avoiding them if you want your videos to be creative and unique.

ScooterDad is proud to announce that our Scoot Loot online store is now open! For those who may not have seen our new products in person or online, we have bracelets, keychains, dog tag necklaces, bandanas, and lanyards. All orders ship with free ScooterDad stickers and refridgerator magnets, while supplies last. Look for some upcoming contests to win yourself some Scoot Loot.

We've had great reception to our Scoot Loot products from both kids and parents alike. Parents love that they can provide inexpensive ways for their kids to accessorize. Kids love the creative options they have with products of multiple colors and multiple ways to show off their style. For example: our Get It Dialed bracelets come in 5 different colors and they have a snap closure so kids can wear them on their wrists, around their bars, scooter headtubes, or through the ventilation holes in their helmets, as Kota Sports' Savannah Schuetz showed us.

NW Scoot Competitions proudly presents the Ripzu Junior Jam presented by NW Scoot and ScooterDad!

UPDATE: Pre-registration is now open! Click here to pre-register for the Ripzu Junior Jam and save $10!

Join us on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at Ripzu Skatepark in Vancouver, WA for our first 12 and under competition as NW Scoot and ScooterDad present the Ripzu Junior Jam! This is a beginner competition with age divisions including 8 & Under, 9 & 10, and 11 & 12.

Well, if you haven't already heard, there was an unanticipated closure date for registration to Scooter Camp (hosted by Woodward) as of last Friday. That is, they have started telling people that if you weren't already registered by last Friday, then you'll be put on a waiting list and you may not get in. This is good news and bad news. The good news is that our sport is growing more than many people have anticipated and this year's Scooter Camp is going to be the biggest ever. The bad news is that this early closure of registration was unexpected and many people will be left out, some even having purchased plane tickets already.

If you're one of the campers who has already sent in your registration but has not yet received your camper packet, I highly recommend that you call Woodward (during business hours, 9AM-5PM Pacific) and confirm that you have been accepted. If there is an issue, the sooner you can address it, the better! Call Woodward at 661-822-7900.

It's time for another round of Ask ScooterDad! If you missed the first two installments, you can find them here: Volume 1 and Volume 2.

If you have any questions or topics you'd like me to cover, just let me know. Send me an email at kenny@scooterdad.com, post on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ScooterDadBlog, or message me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ScooterDadBlog. Look for more installments to come!

It seems that Hidden Internal Compression (HIC) systems are becoming more and more popular among freestyle scooter riders. This is because they are simple, cheap, and light compared to SCS systems, which we covered in another tutorial found here: Proto SCS Installation.

The HIC system uses a shim to extend the reach of the fork into the bars and prevent the fork from pulling out of the headtube. The tutorial video in this article uses a Lucky HIC composite shim, Lucky HIC bars, and Lucky HIC oversized clamp, but other HIC systems should work similarly. In terms of true HIC, we've been extremely happy with the Lucky setup.