About us
In the beginning
----And then on 5/5/19----
It was a nice sunny day in the PNW. A great day to ride.
Braden, the founder of Kraken Boardshop, was doing some downhill runs just down from his house.
On the last run of the day he wanted to end it on a good note, wanted to go a little farther, a little faster to end on.
He took an unexpected fall, hitting his helmet on the road, end over end, multiple times.
Taken to a local hospital with what was first thought to be precautionary for a concussion turned out to be anything but.
His brain was swelling from the impact and he blacked out.
He was Life-Flighted to the closest trauma hospital where he immediately underwent an emergency craniectomy (part of his skull was removed to allow room for the swelling brain). After the surgery the Surgeon said he had a 10% chance of making it..........
13 days in a coma and three of the longest months of his families life spent in hospitals and massive amounts of various rehabs, even relearning how to speak and eat.
It has just passed the two year mark of that life changing accident and Braden continues to improve in all aspects of his recovery.
Even though he is not yet ready to get back on a longboard, his passion for the sport lives on and that is why the Kraken Longboard Shop is still here.
If he had not been wearing a helmet, he would not be with us today.