By TIM MOSIER

Tim.Mosier@leaderpub.com

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They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. An Ancilla College student and Mishawaka native is starting to realize the full weight of that sentiment while crafting and selling his hand-made long boards.

Long boards, often confused for skateboards, are set up similarly, but are about 50 percent larger and with a flat board that is built for transportation, not tricks. Thanks to his high school and college education, Andrew Huff has been able to merge his passion with his career to professionally create and sell long boards.

Huff is the owner and manager of Huff & Puff Board Co., a Mishawaka business in which Huff uses reclaimed wood from all over the area to create custom long boards.

“In high school I won state in a carpentry competition and then went on to nationals. Once my two passions — carpentry and boarding — came together, I knew I wanted to begin handcrafting my own boards. Things just kind of took off after that,” Huff said.

Huff learned his woodworking skills starting at the Elkhart Area Career Center where he built a house through the building trades program, he said. From there he decided to buy his own wood working equipment including his own press, planer and band saw.

Huff, a sophomore graduating from Ancilla College this spring with an A.S. in business administration, will begin selling his long boards at Culver Marina and Outpost Sports on Grape Road in Mishawaka, Indiana, this spring.

Huff attributes some of his success to his ability to see market trends before they develop. When the artist began creating long boards, the interest in the product was not nearly as popular as it is today.

The long board industry really picked up steam in 2012 and has been gaining interest ever since, particularly on college campuses.

Some area skate board shops have begun bringing long boards into their product lines and Huff is set up to be a prime local supplier.

“Huff and Puff is a small local board shop so it is a great thing to be carried by some of the surrounding local retail shops. I love to see kids riding my boards around town so I especially love the local sales,” Huff said. “I think [the sport] is so popular because anyone can do it. Long boarding is easy to learn and it is such an awesome feeling once you get the hang of it.”

If current trends continue, Huff said he expects to increase his product line and maybe expand his workshop. It is especially important to Huff that his creation keeps its small town charm.

“In the next couple years I would love to expand and upgrade some of my equipment so I can handcraft more boards,” Huff said, “At the same time, I don’t want to get out of the small, custom, local shop category because that is what really makes Huff and Puff unique.

For more information on Huff & Puff Board Co. visit HuffPuffBoardCo.com