Brother, dude skating across the country

Three months, 3,000 miles of open road.

Stinky feet, Hot Pockets and hopefully some hot groupies.

It's a dream road trip for Scott Raynor, 17, and Stephan Reinhardt, 18.

They are "Brutha Dood," and they are skateboarding across America. "I'm the brother," Reinhardt says, "and he's the dude."

They'll ride custom longboards, long skateboards designed for distance, on the coast-to-coast venture from Newport, Ore., to Virginia Beach. Along the way they'll do demos and raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Friends Nick Truscelli and Darius Grant will follow in a van to stream video online and provide supplies.

Raynor and Reinhardt expect to go 50 miles a day and as fast as 50 mph using only their own wheels - or their feet. "We won't ride in the van," Reinhardt says. "That's cheating."

Their only requirement: paved surfaces. That shouldn't be a problem, Reinhardt says. "Anywhere there is concrete you can skateboard. In this crazy world of ours us humans laid out concrete everywhere. It's pretty much a world built for skateboarding. Oh, and cars, too."

That might be a problem.

The trip stems from a love of skateboarding and a year of planning. "I didn't like high school too much; I didn't know what I was about to do," says Reinhardt, who got a GED. "All I knew was that I wanted to skateboard across America and then see where that took me."

Raynor gets his Rampart High School diploma Thursday. "I just want to see something different. New people, new faces, find some new spots to skate," he says.

Their goal is to work at a California skateboard shop, then open their own.

Their older brothers went to college. "We're the first of the breed. My dad's a doctor. We'll leave it at that," Reinhardt says.

It's a good sport for a doctor's kid. Dad gets summoned for advice from bug bites to scrapes. Scars dot the teens' legs. Helmets and skating gloves help save skin.

Feet take the brunt. "Don't tell the ladies, but my feet are looking pretty haggard," Reinhardt says.

Still, it has its rewards. "The best pickup line is: ‘Hey, I'm a professional skateboarder,'" he says.

Does it work on police?

Has so far. "We awe them," Raynor says.

They'll sleep in the van and eat on the cheap. "Hot Pockets on a stick over a campfire," Reinhardt says. "Energy drinks and Little Debbies have all the nutrients that any person would need."

Other skateboarders have wheeled across the nation. "It's not about beating their record," Raynor says. "We're making a different journey for ourselves. It's all about the journey."

On the Web: www.youtube.com/user/gd0g34  

Tell me your stories: 636-0253 or andrea.brown@gazette.com.