longboarding is its own thing.
Is it ever! As Jaffa so ably demonstrated, longboarding is not the only non-shortboard thing going, and was not the first thing, but merely one manner of appreciation . . . and not only is longboarding its own thing, it's its own fourteen things, or at least three that we have discussed so far. If you'll forgive the pigeon-holing, it's roughly at least: logging, 'high-performance', and gliding . . . not to mention the hybrids, 'fun boards,' eggs, and other craft surfed even part-time in the longboard 'style,' which tends to include some nose riding.
On the classic end, here's one of my favorite 'smooth & casual' sliders, Kenji Miyauchi sporting a lanky loose-jointed style, and proving that bleach-blond slashers lack exclusive rights to the title of surfer:
https://youtu.be/sW3WFviwFhMFor 'performance' longboarding, I'm a Nelson Ahina III fan. He's Hawaiian but here he's in Japan where HP long boarding appears to be a bigger deal than many places. For example, the JPSA puts nine-hour HP longboard contests on You Tube, some of which are in 14" onshore conditions. Instructive, but definitely a niche market. Meanwhile here's Nelson making the most of otherwise non-cinematic conditions:
https://youtu.be/ufxftlIiGwoAnother of my HP favorites is shaper and brewmeister Ben Skinner, and this one in particular . . . dig the blustery UK juice:
https://youtu.be/pROUgEipiu0I think my question came from the narrow perspective that longboarding is simply a stop along the way to shortboarding.
It's ironic that the glider goodness opened your eyes to longboard sovereignty, when it also demonstrates the converse of your former delusion of the longboard-to-shortboard progression: Ryan B was a short boarder first, cutting his teeth in southern California competition surfing . . .. hence not merely shortboarding but for points, sponsors . . . and matured to develop an appreciation of the full range of surf craft, including the minimalist perspective piece of ripping on a brash chunk of unglassed foam:
https://youtu.be/adMAvGZz0t0 You should catch him on twin fish, asymmetricals, logs and everything in between, his identifiable smooth style translates from one shape to the next, as smoothly as he uses them to explore the potential of each wave. Some refer to such wizards as surfing the wave more than the board.
It seems like the longer your board is the more you become part of the actual wave. Shortboarding, on the other hand, offers a surfer a kind of release from the wave. I see that difference now.
A nifty point of distinction you have articulated there, and much on my mind as I have started to explore somewhat shorter craft in the interest of exploring that release, and knowing that difference.
In the end, it sounds like you're ready to have fun on a longboard. I say don't be shy about going a little longer than you thought. If you're going to log it, log it, why would you not want to paddle easier, and get in earlier? Also remember to forgive yourself while you find the sweet spot, get your turtle roll down pat and especially remember that in the end, you are probably the only one who really cares what board you rock . . . except to catch stoke on how it treated you, why you chose it, where it came from, etc. Choose one from a local shaper or have one built, and otherwise-reticent connoisseurs will come out of their shells in the spirit of keeping tabs on the local talent: "How's that [insert shaper's name] treating you?