We are pleased to bring you a new “Visuals” interview with Jack Curtin. We caught up with Jack on the phone at home in San Francisco before he set off to spend the day skating the city. Find out what video part, trick, photograph, and board graphic burn bright in his mind’s eye…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Jack Curtin starting his day at Pier 7. PH: Liam Annis

Skateboarding, and a fascination with the city drew Jack Curtin to San Francisco like a moth to a flame all the way back in 2001. It is the city he has called home ever since, a place generations have pilgrimaged to but where only a chosen few have forged careers. Jack’s relationship with the city has seen him apply his technical prowess to tramline spots steeped in history, but also redefine possibilities on the burliest terrain it has to offer. His propensity to handle a diverse array of spots means that his video parts have always been full of surprises. He has been pushing it in the Bay Area and beyond for more than two decades, and he continues to do so.

Jack’s innate ability speaks volumes, it found him part of the original migration to DGK when the company was in it’s formative stages. Marcus McBride and Henry Sanchez saw his potential during a period when he was prioritising Pier 7 over the lecture hall, sweeping him along with them, and chartering his course. This part of his story is one he honours, and acknowledges throughout the following article, as we hone in on some specific “Visuals” that have impacted his journey.

It was interesting to learn how a Transworld video, which he first saw in Indonesia became a significant source of inspiration, with Josh Kalis and Stevie Williams influencing his taste many moons before they were all on the same team. Pier 7 next plays host to a timeless trick flawlessly executed by Marcus McBride, one of its favourite sons, a spot, and human that have played an integral part in his story. When it came time to pick a photo Jack gravitated towards some memorable Guy Mariano magic, an image captured by Mike Blabac during a golden era where he eluded most lenses. Board graphic chat closed out our discussion, touching on a sports-inspired series from the Crailtap family before circling back to his first DGK box, and a rare Henry Sanchez board that remains on his wall today.

It was a pleasure to connect over a thoughtful selection at this point in time which finds him back on the DGK team where he began, his pro model fresh back from the factory. These recent developments have ushered in new energy, his motivation, and excitement to film for the projects ahead of him was palpable. As this homecoming signals the start of a new chapter it was nice to have spoken about some of the things that inspired him at the start of his story…

Josh Kalis FT. Stevie Williams – TWS: The Sixth Sense (1998)

This was my first introduction to Stevie [Williams] and Josh [Kalis]. I would have seen this when I was 15 years old living in Indonesia. I was doing the math, this came out in 1998, and I started skating in 1996, so just two years at that point. The way they dressed, and skated really spoke to me. It was oozing East Coast style with hip hop flavour. Eastern Exposure 3 had been released but that was kind of before my time, I watched that video a bit later, not when it came out. When I was living in Indonesia we didn’t have a good shop where we were, Singapore was our nearest outlet for stuff. On every summer I would get to come home to the US, so would one of my friends, and another would go back to Australia. We would each buy a different video, then we would come back, and watch them together over and over. This would have been my one from that summer.

I would go to New York when I was young so I really liked the New York footage, I was always fascinated by that city as a kid, and Philly too. One of the standout tricks for me in this video is Josh’s noseblunt slide at the Pyramid Ledges in New York, that was the first time I had seen that spot. All the Philly spots were really cool too like the propped up East Coast picnic tables and bump to chain.

This part in The Sixth Sense was different for me because there was this power from ledge skating I had never seen before, and the way Josh did his flip tricks was shocking. The 360 flip in the intro already blew my mind, I had never seen a 360 flip on flatground look like that. He also nollie flips that flat gap in Dallas going Mach 10. He does a switch back noseblunt on a bench too, that was the first one I had ever seen, I’m not sure I even knew what that trick was, at the time, but I knew it must have been hard because he did it on a smaller bench. He was doing them way ahead of everyone.

The music and editing is so special, that Company Flow song gives it this raw gritty feeling. Another thing that is so classic is how Josh described Love Park in the little montage… “It’s got everything, big ledges, little ledges, long ledges, short ledges, big stairs, little stairs. It’s got everything. Skate there every day, unless the cops are there”. Something about it just lingered in your head, it made you want to watch it over, and over again.

“This part in The Sixth Sense was different for me because there was this power from ledge skating I had never seen before”

Then Stevie came into the picture and he didn’t look like a typical skater, he looked like he was just off the block. He had this really loose style about him, and he was wearing clothes that weren’t even skate clothes. I always thought that was really cool looking, and it reminded me of the Trilogy era too. I think that was the beginning of Stevie getting back into skating again. He had that period on Underworld Element, then he took a break from skating, It all looks like it was filmed in a very short time. I wonder if that was even his board with the Independent stickers all over it. He has that line at the banks where he’s wearing a button up shirt, and these blue leather Reebok mid tops, and the way he switch heels off the curb is just so sick. For me, it was the beginning of skating in athletic gear, that was the era. Swishy pants, windbreakers, camo pants, rugby’s, jerseys, and skate shoes that looked liked running shoes had set my wardrobe moving forward.

It’s also like the dawning of Stevie and Josh’s era at Love Park, because by the next Transworld video The Reason you have Stevie’s part featuring Josh. I feel like that was the peak of that shit, they were skating there every day, learning new tricks, squadded up, and Bill Stroebeck or Ryan Gee filming VX. Stevie’s skating from video to video is like going from Am to Pro or something. His skating and style was so much more dialled in by The Reason. He was fully on DC and I think Chocolate by then. I remember buying the light grey Kalis 1’s after his part in The Reason. It was this The Sixth Sense part that introduced the DC Lynx, I definitely had a few pairs of those as a kid, and got to skate the Lynx 2 when I rode for DC later on. How I ended up on being on a team with two of my most favourite and influential skaters growing up is hard to wrap my head around sometimes. Life is crazy like that.

Marcus McBride – DECA: 2nd To None (2001)

I love talking about the old Pier days. This trick appeared in the Deca 2nd to None video where Marcus [McBride} has so much insane stuff filmed at the Pier. It was mostly all filmed by Vic Neyra, and the background story on this is that Marcus did this first try as soon as Vic [Neyra] broke out the camera and filmed. The way I got hooked up with DGK is through filming with Vic at Pier 7, he was the one who introduced me to Marcus, and Henry [Sanchez]. That was around the time DGK started, when Henry left Lucky to ride for DGK they kind of brought me along as an Am. Marcus and Henry were the some of the first pro’s I made friends with in SF. This video came out right before I had moved there, I moved to the city in late 2001.

Marcus liked to go to the Pier by himself with a filmer for the most part. If he had something he wanted to film he would get down there at about 10 in the morning, and I wouldn’t usually show up until the tail end of the session. The sick thing was that after skating I would go home with Vic [Neyra] to his house. He would drop all of the clips he filmed that day onto this one VHS mixtape. He’d record it on to there so we could watch it all again without damaging the tape. We would go back to his, smoke spliffs, and I would get to watch all of the clips he had filmed that day. That’s how I got to see a lot of things before they came out. I saw a log of the Chomp On This stuff, and a lot of stuff from the Gold Wheels era, that Got Gold video was one where I was there for most of it.

“The way he did it is incredible, he caught the switch tre flip out, It’s blasted out of there, and to do that is so hard”

The most impressive thing I witnessed Marcus do there in the flesh was probably the tre flip over the pad in a line. The way he would push was so hard. Marcus did a nollie heelflip nosewheelie up the manny pad there too, he was the first person to nollie heel up it I think.

I used to skate the Pier every day, I took university in San Francisco for two years so I would finish class and just head down there. That was when Rob Welsh was still skating the Pier, so were Mike York, Brad Johnson, Henry, Lavar [McBride] sometimes, Nikhil Thayer, Andy Honen. Pepe Martinez was even skating there when I first moved out here. They had remodelled EMB, then after a year they knobbed it all and it was a wrap so Pier 7 was all we really had downtown. We didn’t have a skatepark in SF, that was it. We didn’t have Waller or all the shit we have now, all these different warm up spots. We just had Pier 7, Third & Army, and Wallenberg, that was pretty much it. For me the Pier was always a favourite, and it was the easiest to get to. Half the pleasure of the Pier is the location, and the scenery. It’s really cool that it’s back, a spot where you can hang out, meet up with people, and enjoy the scene, the vibe of the city. Spots like that are always the best.

As far as Marcus’ trick, this switch manual – switch tre flip, I think it’s the first time I ever saw this trick done. The way he did it is incredible, he caught the switch tre flip out, It’s blasted out of there, and to do that is so hard. There’s his one, and then there’s AVE’s one from the DC video, the two best ones ever done.

Guy Mariano. Switch Crooked Grind. PH: Mike Blabac (1998)

I was still in Indonesia when this came out, the same year as the video. This was when Guy [Mariano] was kind of back skating but it was really rare to see clips of him. He was on Axion, and he had a shoe, but even in The Chocolate Tour he has just three clips, and this is one of them. I had studied Mouse by this point, and had the Guy Mariano part on repeat. I read the Chewy Cannon interview you did where he talks about that, all the little details, it was the same for me, we’re both the same age I think. Chewy talks about how Guy Mariano made switch crooked grinds the trick, the trick you wanted to do. This photo is what made it that for me, it makes it look so cool. I had this photo hanging on my wall by my bed and would just admire everything about it. His fit, the classic white tee, navy Fourstar swishy pants with the blue and white Guy Axion pro models on sitting in perfect switch crook form. I will always have this image burned into my brain. This was a big-ass ledge for back then too.

“I had this photo hanging on my wall by my bed and would just admire everything about it…For me this is the perfect photo”

Funnily enough back in Indonesia a distributor handled Girl and Chocolate. Towards the later years of high school we got pretty good, we ended up meeting the distributor out there. They had Girl, Chocolate, and Fourstar. We pitched to them that we could make a video promoting the brands, and feature the Indonesian skaters they wanted featured if they gave us product. So for six months we got some Girl, and Chocolate boards, some Fourstar stuff, and Reef shoes! That was part of the package too. It was amazing, we were living the dream making this local video, no Axion shoes though. We would buy those on our trips back. My friend had those Guy Mariano Axions in navy. When they came out they were the coolest shoes ever.

I’ve never been to see this ledge but everything has been done by now, and it’s super awkward to skate I’ve heard. For me this is the perfect photo. Another photo from this time period I picked was [Eric] Koston’s backside noseblunt on Hubba Hideout, another Mike Blabac photo. He was a photographer who was definitely in the right place at the right time during this golden era.

DGK HENRY SANCHEZ “SF GIANTS” DECK (2002)

I was a huge Girl and Chocolate fan growing up. A series that I always loved was the College series from 1998. Every graphic in that series is dope but I had like two or three of the Sean Sheffey “Fighting Irish” boards and I didn’t do boardslides on it the whole time I had it because I didn’t wanna mess up the graphic. I remember it being the nicest complete I ever had. That was the first one I was in love with, I would just stare at it. That was the first one I felt really good about. I loved how simple and clean that graphic was, and how it had that sports look to it. Every board in that series was great, there was a Colin McKay one where they re-did the California Berkely Golden Bears logo, it says “Col” instead of “Cal”. Tony Ferguson had the University of Tennessee one so it was just a big orange T, and Mike Carroll had the North Carolina board with “MC” on it.

That Colin McKay board was amazing looking back on it, it was a clean one. I remember thinking it was big at the time, I think it was 7.9” wide back when I was riding 7.5”’s. It’s amazing that DGK still make 7.8” boards, that’s what Kalis and Kevin Bilyeu still skate though. I’ve been riding 8” boards for the last few years, I tried to go up to 8.1” but I realised it was too big. I have had a slight issue transitioning from Skate Mental shapes to DGK ones recently but it’s all good now, the wood is great too, they use Bareback which is the best. Back when I had that Sean Sheffey board I was pretty much exclusively skating Girl, Chocolate, or Alien Workshop. My mum worked for the embassy when we were in Indonesia so I could PO Box order stuff. We would get together with my friends and place orders with CCS. Once I figured that out it was a wrap, I would bug the shit out of her.

When I picked a board from the DGK Jersey series for this, I then realised later that they’re both sports related. That very first drop of boards from DGK will always be special to me. My favourite would be the rare Henry Sanchez SF Giants board, I don’t know if it even hit shops but I have one hanging on my living room wall. It wasn’t released because he was only on for about three months, that makes it extra special. I had never seen a board that looked like the actual jersey, they even printed the little hesh marks on it. There’s a signature on the board too, it just looked super professional. Stevie had the Philadelphia Eagles one, and Marcus had the San Francisco 49ers. I had them all in my very first box. Stevie had a Philadelphia Flyers board too, I have footage skating one of them at Fort Miley.

“That very first drop of boards from DGK will always be special to me. My favourite would be the rare Henry Sanchez SF Giants board, I don’t know if it even hit shops but I have one hanging on my living room wall”

That Henry Sanchez board with the Giants graphic is the favourite for me though because of the overall connection, and because it never came out. As far as SF pride, when I was a kid I was a 49ers fan, even back when I was living in Washington DC. My dad would always watch football, he was a Redskins fan. I just loved the 49ers uniform, but also Joe Montana, and Jerry Rice were amazing. So that put them on my radar, I was always fascinated by San Francisco. There was the football team, the bridge, and then for skating obviously it was this big epicentre. I was fascinated for years, and always wanted to live here. I moved here in 2001, and it’s been 23 years now which is longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. When it comes to the Giants, Tony Vitello took me to my first Giants game when I first moved here so I became a fan, Washington didn’t even have a Major League baseball team at that time.

Jack’s Henry Sanchez inspired return to DGK “Bip City” graphic

The Henry Sanchez Giants graphic is what inspired my new board for my return to DGK. Matt Daughters asked me what my favourite boards had been historically. So the Henry Sanchez board became the inspiration, with the colourway, and the Giants colours as the concept. The design team came back with that little character, and I thought he was perfect. He looks like a little Bay Bipper. They sent me my name, the little dude, and the wording beneath said “Hello again”. I didn’t think that worked so suggested it say “Bip City” instead being as that’s what we call this city lately. There’s an actual criminal in the city recently who was interviewed, and it went viral. He’s name is “Jack the Bipper”, this dude has been arrested 44 times, and he’s still on the streets. Bipping is slang for a kind of smash and grab. I thought we had to tap into that. It’s just part of the shit we deal with, it’s a Bay Area special.

back on DGK, back at the pier. Jack Switch frontside bluntslides on hallowed ground. PH: Liam Annis

We would like to thank Jack for his time, we look forward to seeing what’s next. We would also like to thank Matt Daughters at DGK for his help in making this happen. Thanks also to Neil Macdonald (Science Vs Life) for the Guy Mariano mag scan, and also to Mike Blabac for sending the photo. You can own your own copy of that photo for the bedroom wall as well as many more by visiting the Blabac Photo Shop.

Keep up to date with Jack here: @jackcurtin, @dgk, @nbnumeric

Related Reading: Lightbox: Karl Watson by Mike Blabac, First & Last: Henry Sanchez, Josh Kalis Interview

Previous Visuals Interviews: Ted Barrow, Dave Mackey, Jack Brooks, Korahn Gayle, Will Miles, Kevin Marks, Joe Gavin, Chewy Cannon

The post Visuals: Jack Curtin appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

This Industry interview is with Jeff Henderson who spent over a decade working for Emerica, had a brief hiatus, and has recently been welcomed back into the fold. Find out more about his time helping to build the brand in the early days, and his plans for what’s coming next…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Jeff Henderson at the local shot by his brother Brian

Jeff Henderson’s skateboarding story began like many with a Variflex complete, opened in San Diego on Christmas morning in 1987. His stepdad was in the Navy which meant a fair bit of moving around was on the cards, and as his love of skateboarding began to take hold the family moved to O’ahu in Hawaii. This is where everything changed. Speed Freaks, and Shackle Me Not blew the roof off what was possible on this important Christmas gift, a Vision Marty “Jinx” Jimenez quickly replaced it, and a new crew of friends were made who would accompany him and his brother as they explored what spots the military base had to offer. One notable proving ground was a 12-foot wide, 5-foot high quarter pipe that almost went to vert. This was built by the base in response to skating’s growing popularity, and was placed at his bus stop to school.

Skating was here to stay for Jeff but his stepdad’s job meant relocating every three years was inevitable. The next stop from O’ahu would be Mountain View near San Jose. As his location changed, so did the whole landscape of skateboarding. Questionable was in the VCR, and train trips from Mountain View to San Francisco entered the picture. Getting to see firsthand what was happening at Embarcadero during this magical time was to soak in the evolving industry in real time. This eye-opening period, and the three years that followed were spent going to school, and skating around the Bay Area during every bit of free time. When the next orders to move came through from the military it meant seriously swapping surroundings, from skateboarding’s spiritual home to the colder climes of Bremerton in Washington State.

This interview begins by delving into the series of events beginning in Washington that led to Jeff picking up a camera. This tool would keep him connected to the thing he loved while out due to injury, begin to steer him towards his destiny, and be his portal into the industry. Jeff began work at Sole Technology in 2003, an evolving role which began with him assisting as a team manager, ended up with him being global brand director of Emerica, and lasted almost thirteen years. We explored the many roles he performed for Emerica, the videos he worked on, the people he brought up, the relationships he forged, and some of the crazy situations he found himself in during a time period that defined the company. This serves as an interesting glimpse behind the curtain of a brand we’re pleased to still be stocking.

Our reason for connecting with Jeff at this point in time is because he has recently been hired by Sole Technology to work on Emerica once again. He has been contracted to take a look at the brand as a whole, begin steering it’s direction, and help forge it’s future. This is an interesting time for Emerica, there are a lot of opportunities for the company moving forward, and Jeff’s excitement about all of them was tangible. Through his long-standing relationships with key team members like Kevin “Spanky” Long, and Leo Romero he has built a plan, and has a vision you will learn about as you read on. The conversation serves to quash the message board speculations that are always humming in the background. From an industry perspective this is full of insights about how things worked for a brand like Emerica during Jeff’s first innings, and what he learned in the process. It also dips into his time away from the industry, and how that has set him up for a re-entry propelled by renewed vigour and appreciation. Enjoy reading tales from someone who has contributed a lot in a variety of different roles, and continues to do so in a new one…

Backside blunt on Eric Simpson’s mini ramp in Washington State. PH: Eric Simpson

When did filming enter the picture for you?

Back when we were living in Hawaii in 1990. My parents had a VHS dad cam back in the day. My older brother Brian would tell me that if I was going to come and skate with him and his friends that I had to film. There was no thought of making skate videos. We would just go back to the house and watch the footage. But I really got into filming heavily later.

When I was seventeen in Bremerton, Washington. I was skating a mini ramp with some friends and trying to learn blunt fakies. I broke my ankle so I was out for six weeks with a cast. Right after getting the cast off I was skating another mini ramp; My leg was weak because I hadn’t been skating and I ended up tearing my ACL. I went back to the same doctor who said I had sprained it. So, I continued skating on it. Over the next couple of years if I landed on it weird it would swell up. One day I ollied a stair set and my knee just totally went.

So the camera accompanied you healing?

Yeah, my parents moved to Florida, and I lived with them while I had surgery. I bought a Hi-8 camera because I couldn’t skate for seven or eight months. I met some friends out there and just started filming and making edits with those guys. I wanted to be involved in skating even though I was told I shouldn’t skate any more.

Was there a specific moment where the process clicked for you?

I didn’t have a fisheye at first so I was just filming a lot of long lens stuff. I started understanding how to frame a shot. I was in Florida for a year and then moved back to Santa Rosa. My brother was there, he had started riding for a small company from there called Insect. There weren’t many concrete skateparks in the US at that time. The Santa Rosa one was popular; it was an hour north of San Francisco so there were always people coming through.

So another crop of people to film.

Tony Trujillo was really young at the time, he was about fifteen, and he was ripping. Mike Rusczyk moved here from Chicago shortly after me as well. I was filming with everyone. Eventually I got a TRV900 and a death lens. I filmed a lot of stuff with Mike Rusczyk for the Foundation Art Bars Subtitles and Seagulls video. Also with Tony Trujillo who was working on his Transworld In Bloom part. I realised this could be something. I was working a day job in a hospital, and at a drug store, but I was filming in all of my free time.

“I realised this could be something. I was working a day job in a hospital, and at a drug store, but I was filming in all of my free time”

When was the first time you got paid for filming?

Jon Miner is from Santa Rosa. He is one of my great friends. Jon wanted me to film him and I ended up contributing clips to some of the Thrasher videos. It was the first time I had got paid for filming skateboarding! It was probably about $100 but I saw it as something I could do. I also made my own video which was called Sloppy Seconds.

How did this lead to you beginning to work for Sole Tech?

There’s a weird connection between Santa Rosa and Sole Tech. When I came to live here, Mike Manzoori was living here. Jon Miner is from here. Tony Evjenth was from here as well. Sadly he has since passed away, he was the team manager for éS back then during the Menikmati days. éS, and Emerica needed an assistant to the team managers. Having known [Mike] Manzoori, and Tony [Evjenth], and [Jon] Miner, they all put in a good word for me. Mark Waters [RIP] was managing that whole teams department, with Justin Regan as the Emerica team manager, and Tony Evjenth as the éS team manager. I came in to assist those guys. Sending out packages, collecting coverage from magazines, helping with events. Anything that needed to be done.

What was the learning curve like?

It was mostly learning how a company operated. As it was a skateboarding company it felt super comfortable. To start off at Sole Tech with those brands was a dream come true. Being around the team guys – these guys I looked up to – and now I’m working with them. It was pretty surreal.

You started when This Is Skateboarding had just been released?

Yeah, I filmed one clip in This is Skateboarding. I tagged along with Miner out to Grass Valley and filmed a 5-0 on a rail of Chris Senn that made it in the video. I was so stoked! I think I started in March of 2003. Shortly after was when Kids In Emerica came out.

Can you tell us a good Heath Kirchart story?

After Kids In Emerica, Miner hit me up to film Heath at a school that was down the street from his house in LA. At this point I’d had a quick hello with Heath at the This Is Skateboarding premiere. I didn’t know him so there was an intimidation factor to going to film. It’s usually about an hour and fifteen minutes to drive the route to his. Heath called me and I had to tell him I was still stuck in traffic and going to be late. It wasn’t good.

“He was the fastest skateboarder I had ever filmed…”

Trial by fire. Jeff filmed this line of heath kirchart for the habitat Mosaic video in high heat

I eventually pull up at his house. He comes walking out of his house ready to go. I introduce myself. He’s all business. I get my camera out the trunk, and we skate the couple of blocks over to the school. There are two picnic tables in a row. He switch ollies one sideways, and then does a switch flip manual on the second. Heath skates so fast. He was the fastest skateboarder I had ever filmed. I was trailing behind him and he was asking me to film more from the side…I was pushing my ass off! So. I figured out another route to get the speed and the timing… but he was trying for a while, and it got to the point where I had to ask him if we could stop to take a water break! He’s the dude fucking skating, I’m just filming! I had to drink water or I was going to pass out.

It was one of the funniest things to him though, he thought it was hilarious. The footage ended up in the Habitat Mosaic video. We’re good friends to this day and laugh about it now. I didn’t blow it!

A couple of years of assisting and you became Emerica Team Manager?

With my role; I took it so seriously. I wanted to make sure that everyone was stoked on what I was doing. Justin Regan was the team manager at the time but he was getting promoted to the global brand marketing manager for Emerica. I wrote this whole letter to say why I thought I would be good at the team manager job. He ran it by the team and everybody was down so I became Emerica team manager in 2005.

“I wrote this whole letter to say why I thought I would be good at the team manager job. He ran it by the team and everybody was down so I became Emerica team manager in 2005″

Who were you responsible for adding to the team or the workforce?

Justin Regan had already been working with Brandon Westgate and wanting to bring him on board more. As team manager that was like the first addition I made, but it was through Justin Regan and his relationship. He basically handed that to me. We have the pros, but we were also building up the younger team. So that’s kind of where I was coming in. Bringing in Figgy [Justin Figueroa], Collin Provost, Jamie Tancowny, and Marquis Preston. They are the guys that I brought in. We were also starting to work on Stay Gold.

Lots of tours and time in the van together. What was the most challenging aspect of looking after that team at that point in time?

I guess the craziest thing I had to deal with then happened on a Wild Ride trip where we partnered with Harley Davidson. We were starting in Portland, Oregon, and we were gonna make our way to San Francisco. We had a bunch of friends who rode motorcycles that didn’t ride for Emerica who were coming on the trip as well. So, there was a lot of people… So we all got into our hotels in Portland, then went out partying.

Later, we get back to the hotel. [Jon] Miner and I went across the street to get some drinks from 711. When we were coming back, we could hear people partying and then we hear glass breaking. So me and Jon walk up to this room and it’s Heath [Kirchart], and [Brandon] Westgate, Leo, Heath’s buddy Bob. As we’re walking up I hear “just do it, no-one’s gonna know!”. When I walk in [Brandon] Westgate is throwing something at a picture frame, and breaking the glass. It’s pretty late already – after midnight – so we calmed the situation down, and then I went to my room to go to sleep.

Another rude (less expensive) awakening in Tampa, one of Michael Burnett’s favourites

Then I get woken up to pounding on my door at about 3 in the morning. It’s the police. They tell me that our buddies broke a whole room, and that we’re all getting kicked out. There had been people in that room smoking weed too, and this was before it was legal there so the cops are asking about that. Luckily, they didn’t bust us for that too. I go to the front desk with a cop on each shoulder, and the front desk says I have to cover damages of $8000! I just had to do it. Then we all walked out all still kind of drunk, but with our motorcycles parked there. We can’t just get on our bikes and take off but the Police are telling us we have to take them off of the property. We had to walk our Harley’s but were all just kind of stuck there – about fifteen of us – all spread out outside of the motel at 4:30 in the morning.

I have Wild Ride video = TM nightmare written in my notes.

Haha! Yeah it was nuts. I had no idea the extent of the destruction. It turned out that people were filming it happen, too. They broke every single thing in the room, they were throwing furniture out of the window into the parking lot, kicking holes in the wall, smashing the mirrors, everything was fucking destroyed. I had to figure out where we would be going to stay next. It was such a headache! Haha! An isolated incident.

Can you think of a specific instance where your TM skills saved the day?

So much happened on those trips, it just became known that I had to step in sometimes. Spanky [Kevin Long] will still say this to me today. If we were away, and something lame was going on, or there was a situation he wanted to change Spanky [Kevin Long] would just say “Jeff Fix”, he will still say this to me today. Anytime something needed to happen, or a team manager needed to step in and handle something, that was what was said. Everyone started saying it, they knew I could handle things and saw I would fix them. You’re constantly doing that stuff, reacting to situations, so it’s hard to narrow it down to a specific but “Jeff Fix” would be said a lot, I’m a fixer, it’s in my nature.

“We were going to amazing skate spots, and I was getting to witness the most incredible skateboarding, from the most incredible skateboarders. It was a dream come true to have that job”

Alternative Stay Gold crew shot with Jeff and Jon Miner in the mix. PH: Atiba Jefferson

Your time as team manager included the lead up and delivery of Stay Gold, how was it working on that video?

Yeah, it was always a good time. If it was a filming trip everyone was pretty focused. Everyone knew what we’re doing with this video. It was never crazy trying to manage that side of things. That was always just awesome. That video project took a long time. What was meant to be a two-to-three year project became almost five. That time period…some of the best times of my life. Being a part of it from the beginning and working with [Jon] Miner was just incredible. I definitely honed my skills as a filmer throughout that process, too. We worked really well together as a team, he helped me to grow as a filmer, thinking ahead of time about how things would be edited later. I was with a group of guys who truly felt like family. We were friends and we were travelling the world. We were going to amazing skate spots, and I was getting to witness the most incredible skateboarding, from the most incredible skateboarders. It was a dream come true to have that job.

What trips standout to you from filming for Stay Gold?

Being in China; somewhere with such a different culture was eye opening. You’re adapting to everything that’s going on, there are amazing spots everywhere, and it seems like no-one cares if you skate them. We had Atiba [Jefferson] on that trip and it was towards the end of the video so I feel like there was some pressure. I was working with the guys to make sure we got to the right spots. We got so much footage from that trip.

Atiba Jefferson on the other side of the lens. Crooked grind in China shot by Jeff

What clip from that video are you most stoked on filming?

There’s a pretty quick, tight shot of Figgy [Justin Figueroa] where he’s doing a kickflip smith grind on a handrail in San Francisco. I was above… second storey. I had to lean over a railing to shoot it. I was using a VX-2000 so I had that screen you could flip out and see what you were doing. My hands were outstretched over this railing, I’m looking at this screen trying to line everything up for this tight shot. It just goes by, but the way I had to film that one makes it one I was happiest about. Haha.There were so many good things. Oh, Andrew Reynolds’ kickflip down the Davis gap! I shot one of the angles of that one, but it was just insane to watch that go down. We knew we were going to Davis. It was rad, the anticipation, and the whole team pretty much being there for it. Everyone was so stoked for Andrew. It was such a cool feeling.

Knowing you’re watching the ender as it happens.

Haha yeah! I’m so proud of how that video turned out.

Andrew Reynolds closed out Stay Gold by kickflipping the Davis gap. This is Jeff’s angle

What things changed notably for the brand after that video?

The industry had kind of hit a peak and was coming down. Skateboarding was on a downward one at that point. People left and people were let go. Certain tough calls had to be made. One big change was that éS was on hiatus. However, we saw that as an opportunity to start designing some shoes that would have an appeal to different consumers. August Benzien – who is an amazing designer – was with us. He has been working at Nike since 2015. After Stay Gold we really made a point of taking some design risks. Westgate had his shoe with a runners toe. The G6 foam was designed for impact, and we built a whole line around that. The campaign budgets were smaller but still pretty damn good back then.

We also brought Yogi Proctor back in as an art director. He’s been part of Emerica from the beginning. He designed the logo and influenced art direction from the start. He came up with the Made in Emerica campaign; the slogan, the visuals. We worked toward a new style of video with Made: Chapter One and Made: Chapter Two. where it’s a video showcasing a select few riders. It wasn’t a new concept to the industry but it was new for us as a brand. Embracing social media was a change at that time.How we did our marketing was changing.

From being Team Manager for five years you went from regularly being in the van to the office and became global brand marketing manager. How was that transition?

Right after Stay Gold was an interesting time. Justin Regan came to me and asked if I had ever thought of wanting to step up and be a marketing manager. What I didn’t know was that he was prepping me. It was going to become a thing where the global brand marketing manager for Emerica – Timothy Nickloff – would be running both Altamont and Emerica as a brand director, and he needed a marketing manager. Literally a week later, Justin announced he was leaving and they told me they wanted to promote me into this role. I didn’t go to college, I started off filming skateboarding, you know? So, it was kind of a scary thing for me. I’ve been there for seven years, and learned a lot over that time, but to go into something so new with so much more responsibility felt ominous. It was a scary thing to take on for me, and I expressed that. But Timothy told me he was here for me to help me, support me, and be a mentor. So I had that. So I had great mentors bring me up from Justin Regan to Timothy Nickloff. It was a huge learning experience. I gained a lot of skills during that time from working with those guys.

“I had great mentors bring me up from Justin Regan to Timothy Nickloff…I gained a lot of skills during that time from working with those guys”

What skills would you say you went from having zero knowledge of to mastering?

I’m not sure about mastering..but I have a good concept of putting together plans for the future. Footwear timelines are so far out. I had to learn keeping track of timelines. There are always three seasons – having to deal with the one that’s in the market now, the one that you’re building content for that’s going to launch next, and then you’re building alongside the product line for the next one which is 18 months out because you have to have marketing in place to sell it in to stores. There’s all this stuff that has to happen way before the shoes come out. Three seasons, keeping track, building out your plans, your go to market strategies and things like that. This was an area where I felt like I didn’t really know anything about it going in, and coming out I definitely had a vast knowledge of how to do all that stuff.

What are you proudest of achieving in that role?

I was helping Miner finish up the Stay Gold edit. He had me pulling VX clips for the credits but he ended up going with all 16mm or super 8 film clips in the end. I was watching through so much amazing VX footage and I remember saying to Jon that this stuff needs to get seen. I kept bringing it up that we should put out a raw edit. Almost a year after Stay Gold came out, Miner started editing and telling the story for each rider and what they went through to get their part done. Jon titled these B-sides. Like a record release would. Doing these raw edits really hit and we were getting tons of views. It essentially stretched out the Stay Gold Campaign another year and half from the release. We were really the first brand to go that deep into showing the raw footage from the video and it has become the industry standard now. It even got to the point where Nike released a raw edit and called it a ‘B-side’. We took a screengrab and posted on our Instagram saying that we were flattered. Haha. They changed the title of that video pretty quickly.

Under the bridge in Philadelphia, the Stay Flared crew at FDR. PH: Ben Colen

Another thing that I’m proud of was the Stay Flared Tour we did with Lakai. We were seeing a lot of the skater owned or smaller brands struggling. Timothy Nickloff and I both thought it’d be an amazing idea to team up with Lakai, similar to what Girl and Anti Hero were doing with Beauty and the Beast. It was our idea to do that with footwear. We met with Lakai a bunch and figured out how we can cross brand on footwear, work with Thrasher, and create this whole tour. I’m stoked that we teamed up with them. It was about these two independent footwear brands. We’re here for skateboarding. If there’s no skateboarding then we don’t exist. Other corporate brands, they can get out of it whenever they want because have their other sports. I was really proud of how that came out.

What about bringing other people in?

One of the funny things that I’m kind of proud of during this time was that me moving up into the marketing manager role meant that there was a team manager position open. It was a very transitional time, [Justin] Regan leaving the company was a big deal. He’s the one that created the look and feel of Emerica during its iteration when Andrew [Reynpolds], [Erik]Ellington, and all those dudes came on. There was a definite shift from what Emerica was from the Yellow video to what Emerica was after This Is Skateboarding. So Regan leaving was a big hit to the company. We needed to find a good team manager that the team could trust. Heath [Kirchart] had just retired as a professional skateboarder after we put out Stay Gold but was still affiliated with the brand. He was wanting to work. I think at that time he was delivering pizzas for Pizzanista. It wasn’t because he needed the job, it was because he wanted to have the experience of doing that. Heath doesn’t need to make money, he is such a smart investor with the money he’s made over skateboarding. He has been so smart with his money that I don’t think he has to work ever again, he’s good.

Jeff with Justin Regan, Heath Kirchart, Brandon Westgate & Andrew Reynolds

So Heath at this time is just a pizza delivery guy. I had the idea of getting Heath in there as team manager, and asked what everyone thought. At first it seemed kind of crazy but I ended up talking with him about it multiple times, and he was really into it. It came to a point where I had to have a serious conversation with Heath where I told him I knew he wanted to do the job but I needed his commitment for at least a year, I didn’t want him to come in and do it for a couple months, and be over it. I wanted him to give me a year and told him he’d be good at it. So Heath came in, and whatever he takes on he wants to be good at so he nailed it, he was such a good team manager. He actually did it for two years, almost to the day, and it was great. When he came in all of this change was happening, it just showed that something cool was still going on.

What is your favourite Emerica shoe of all time? Have you ever had a hand in product development?

I think I’m gonna go with the Westgate G6. That shoe was incredible. It was so comfortable. It skated so well. We used to have shoes that had air bubbles and all of this different tech. But for where footwear and Emerica was at that time, it was a pretty different style shoe.

“I went from an entry level position to running the entire brand. You learn a lot along the way”

The second Marc Johnson shoe represented a more technical direction in the earlier days.

Yeah, that was a great shoe, I think that was one of the most expensive shoes around at that time. It was such a different looking shoe. I wore that one a lot. As far as having my hand in product, I was always a part of discussions when any of the team were working on shoes. I’ve helped with colourways on shoes also. Now I’m back in those meetings. I’m trying to help out with new designs and collaboration stuff. Trying to bring different ideas to the table and building out who we can work with to tell a story.

At the tail end of your time at Sole Tech you were promoted to global brand manager for Emerica. Was that challenging? You were suddenly overseeing other people doing the roles you had previously.

There were definitely challenges with that. Timothy Nickloff left the company to work in footwear but outside of skateboarding. Having taken on bigger roles before, I knew I could approach this with the same mindset. I had to learn a whole new skillset; working more closely with the sales team, margins, overseeing all departments and not just marketing and learning how they all work together. I worked for the company for nearly thirteen years. I went from an entry level position to running the entire brand. You learn a lot along the way. There’s some hindsight, too. Certain things could have played out differently. There’s always bigger picture stuff happening.

One eye honed in on the bigger picture. Leo Romero nosegrinds while Jeff films.

After a short stint doing this you made a move outside of skateboarding and worked for Lagunitas Brewing Company.

I was the global brand manager for Emerica for pretty much a year, almost exact. My wife and I had two young sons at this time and we had discussed moving back up to Santa Rosa in Northern California to raise our kids. It was the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make but I did it for my family.Lagunitas Brewing Company is a beer brand that was really growing a lot. I had some friends that work there. So I reached out. It seemed like a cool company with a lot of similarities to the skate industry. There was a lot of terminology and things about the beer that I had to learn to understand to market on that level.

Marketing on a larger scale with bigger partners?

Yeah, definitely. I was the regional marketing manager. I oversaw partnership marketing and event marketing. There was some cool stuff…Working with the San Francisco Giants, the San Jose Sharks, and some other teams in the Bay Area. Towards the end of my stint there Lagunitas had partnered with a local cannabis company to develop a product called Hi-Fi Hops. Long story short; I got laid off at Lagunitas with 112 people after Heineken took over the company. I ended up going over to the cannabis company to be brand manager of the Lagunitas Hi-Fi Hops brand. I did that for a little over a year then when the pandemic hit, I was laid off.

So then you start a machine shop?

Yeah, marketing is usually one of the first places where cuts are made, so I knew it would be almost impossible to find a job doing that. My brother-in-law Danny has a CNC machine shop about two and a half hours from where I lived. I called him about an hour after I got laid off. He was so busy that he said he could actually pay me to run the machine making parts so he could be doing other stuff. I drove out the night of getting laid off and started working with him not knowing anything about it. Over about 6 months I had been learning a lot from Danny, and online. I was staying with him for a week at a time then going home on the weekends. It wasn’t a ton but I was making something, trying to do what I can for my family. About seven or eight months in, I ended up buying my own machine for home and Danny was giving me work whilst at the same time I was learning how to make my own stuff.

Truck Knucks are a Toyota Tie-Down anchor designed by Jeff Henderson

I’d learned how to design things in CAD. Having my knowledge of marketing product it got into my head that I need to come up with my own product. I have a Toyota Tacoma truck. In the bed of the truck there are these track systems that have these tie down rings. They’re made of plastic. I started looking at it, and I figured you could make one that looks like a brass knuckle. I ended up coming up with something that I liked. Then I went to market with it and it’s been selling! I also got picked up by a large online retailer for aftermarket truck parts, called Extremeterrain.com. They’ve been selling them and helping with the marketing. It’s been slowly growing. It’s not going crazy, but I’ve been doing that on the side.

It sounds like you have had an interesting and productive time outside of skateboarding, have you had a keen eye on it while working outside of it? Did it become an even more precious thing during that time outside of the industry to reflect?

Working in the beer industry was kind of cool, because I got to sponsor some video premieres, and stay connected in that way. Even though I left, I stayed connected to it. There are a lot of real friendships that I made with the team like Leo [Romero], Spanky [Kevin Long] and Figgy [Justin Figueora]. I love those guys. I was always still making it down for events to see those guys. For Made: Chapter Two, we sponsored with Lagunitas beer at the premiere, we sponsored the Lakai video too.

Jeff Henderson, Heath Kirchart & Jon Miner in Santa Rosa

Jon Miner ended up moving back to Santa Rosa during the pandemic. He had a contract with Emerica to do their videos. He always likes to get a second set of eyes on things. I sat with him on a lot of those edits, and there were some contributions that I made that worked out. So I definitely stayed involved on that level too. When you work these other jobs there are certain things about them that really feel like work. Whereas, even though things got stressful and tough in the skate industry, It was still working with something I love so much, and I missed it. I felt so much more connected in skateboarding.

“Having a look outside of the industry was an important thing for me to experience”

Having a look outside of the industry was an important thing for me to experience. Different perspectives. You look at what the goal of a company is. With Emerica, the goal is selling footwear. That’s the ultimate goal. I’m coming back into it with that mindset.

You must be excited to be once again working for a company you play a key part in for such a long time, what is your role, and how did your return transpire?

To be able to come back to Emerica is special. It’s a lot different now. The brand is much smaller, but there’s excitement around what we can do. It’s still an independent owned company and we can be nimble because of where we’re at size wise. I feel like the brand needs to evolve a bit, and it’s going to take some time with product with footwear being 18 months out. But even with that being the case, you can make direct change through marketing.

Jeff’s last day at Sole Tech. On the lanes with Don Brown & Pierre Senizergues in 2015

It’s been great having [Jon] Miner up here. He’s super connected with everyone even though he wasn’t working with Emerica anymore. I had been talking with Leo [Romero], and Spanky, and hearing how they didn’t feel like they had a voice at the brand at the time. There were some changes that had been made at Sole Tech, and that left a need for someone to come in and help. There are a lot of people that are still working there like Don Brown. They know me and my work ethic. So those guys were super on board. This is a brand that I love, and I would definitely want to try to help get it back on track. I’m coming in focused on the marketing and am consulting on the brand as a whole.

So there’s a kind of restructuring going on over there?

Yeah. it’s kind of in a state of rebuilding. We have got to look at the future, which is exciting. There’s a lot that can happen. We can make some changes for the good down the road. Like I said, the footwear timeline from when you first start designing a shoe to when it comes out, is like 18 months to two years. So there’s product that’s coming that I wasn’t involved with at all, but we are building out the marketing plans for these things.

The Dakota Servold Emerica ad for his new shoe featured in the latest Thrasher. PH: Brian Gaberman

Dakota Servold has a shoe coming out this week. He was filming this whole time, so he’s got this video that he’s been working on. Jon Miner is editing it for Thrasher. There’s just an excitement about how we can take the marketing, evolve it, and give it a rougher feel and look. If you see the newest Dakota ad that’s in Thrasher it has some of the evolution of visual elements that we’re talking about. It’ll continue with that video. Jon Miner has been a big part of helping us with that. It’s exciting to start working some of this stuff in; the new look and feel of the brand. It will be changing a lot.

Different colour hues are synonymous with different eras of Emerica, What is your vision when it comes to the evolution of the brand image?

We obviously have our logos and our brand colours that we’re not getting away from. The green is always going to be a part of the brand. It’s part of our DNA. It’s more about being a little grittier. A little more DIY or analogue. With many of the brands out there right now, everyone has a really clean and kind of simple aesthetic. For us to stand out, I feel like taking a kind of rawer approach. It represents where we are as a brand. We’re gonna get our hands dirty rebuilding. It’s all hands on deck.

“It represents where we are as a brand. We’re gonna get our hands dirty rebuilding. It’s all hands on deck”

There have been rumours floating around on the message boards speculating on the future of the brand, we are happy that this quashes them.

The industry right now is hurting all across the board. It’s not just the skateboard industry, it’s the economy everywhere. Emerica is feeling that for sure. But we have this opportunity to change, to bring Emerica to where the market is right now. And that involves discussing how our footwear line is. We have been really good at making a black and white vulcanised shoes. But our goal is to make the line diverse enough that it’ll appeal to any type of skateboarder. We want to make Emerica a brand for all skateboarders. That’s the goal. The great thing about Emerica is that we have authentic history. Emerica has been around. What’s become kind of cool in skating right now harks back to a certain era and we were there. We have people that want to work with us again.

Timothy Nickloff, Mark Waters (RIP), Jeff & Brian Schaefer. Boards For Bros donation in Detroit

It was cool to see Marc Johnson’s shoe back on the shelf for Skate Shop Day

That shoe was such an iconic shoe for Emerica. That one came out and they hadn’t contacted Marc! But now, the projects happening with other signature shoes from the past have the person involved. That’s going to be pretty exciting. I’m really looking forward to everyone seeing the stuff that we’ve been working on behind the scenes.

That was the Jake Phelps shoe of choice.

Yeah, Phelps always wore the MJ. We had 12 pairs of them made for Jake specifically, with his logo. He ran those for a long time.

Do you already have any ideas for fresh blood as far as the team?

I feel like it’s been stuck for a long time from the branding to the product line and even the team. We’ve always had a team of Ams coming up and I feel like that’s something we need to build up on right now. We need some youth involved with the team. The globalisation of Emerica is what we need to be thinking about for the future as well. Not just solely focused on people from California. It’s nothing new, it’s just something that I feel Emerica needs to pay attention to.

“The globalisation of Emerica is what we need to be thinking about for the future”

It’s already been great connecting with Kevin Parrott. I’m going to be working with him pretty closely. He’s handling all of our marketing for Europe, and he’s been a huge part of skateboarding, the culture, and the industry there for a long time. So to be able to get his take on the brand has been super valuable. We can bounce ideas off each other and build it out. I feel like he hasn’t been able to have such a voice on the brand for a while but working together, it’s really going to help.

Could your relationship with Jon Miner lead to a full length video project in the not so distant future?

He’s not working for the brand right now on any kind of contract level, but he’s got a lot of love for the brand. He’ll be involved though. Definitely. As far as a full length? That’s not going to be happening this year. We’ll just be working on smaller projects. This Dakota [Servold] video for his shoe launch…It’s amazing. I think it’s something that’s so different. What Jon is doing with Dakota’s part really taps into Dakota’s personality. I’m excited for people to see that!

You mentioned that Spanky and Leo are going to play a big role in the future of the brand…

I’ve only been working on the brand for a couple of months but it’s one of the main reasons I’m so excited. I’ve been working really closely with Leo, Spanky, and Miner getting their input on what they would like to see happen. We’ve been talking on group chats often. Those guys have so much that they want to contribute after feeling like their voices didn’t matter. They’ve been off doing their own thing – their own projects – and not focused on the brand, specifically. I’m back, and we have a good open relationship. Spanky is so connected outside of just skateboarding. He has people that he knows from all walks of life who have a tie to skateboarding. He’s been bringing in these these friends to collaborate, which is super authentic. Spanky also just has a good eye for art direction.

Jeff entertaining the troops on a Stay Gold mission with Jon Miner. Pictured with Marquis Preston, Leo Romero, Kevin “Spanky” Long, Braydon Szafranski & Collin Provost. PH: Michael Burnett

With Leo…he’s constantly being a leader within the team. The rest of the team kind of goes to Leo. He brings a lot of ideas in. I told Leo and Spanky that I’m here for them, and that I want to help bring this thing to where it needs to be. It’s not just my vision. This is definitely a team effort. That goes for all of the skate team but also internally. We’re all working together and we have this big opportunity. I have the experience of how to do these things and I’m keen to bring that back in. Give us some structure. It’s just been great to see the energy of everybody. Real excitement. It might take some time to get there but there’s a lot of new shoes coming up that I think fit really well into the market. Right now it’s about getting a jump on how we’re going to tell our stories, and put our brand out there with the marketing.

Do you plan on perhaps structuring your role so it finds you back in the van?

It’s funny, I’m wearing so many hats. So I am going to be finding myself back in the van here and there. We’re going to be heading out to Phoenix for a demo around the launch of Dakota shoe at Cowtown skate shop. I’m looking forward to being in the van for that one. Being around as much as I can, and being out with the guys is important.

Jeff performs a ride on 50-50 for his brother’s lens while Isaac “Chalker” Kenyon films

It’s always been refreshing that tours remain an integral part of the Emerica mission statement. Will we be welcoming the Emerica squad back to the UK one of these summers?

That’s the hope and the goal. It won’t be this year unfortunately but hopefully soon. We are starting to steer the ship in the right direction so that we’re able to get out there on the road again as soon as possible. We would love to get back to the UK.

Are you still finding time to skate yourself?

I do. I’ve had a lot of knee injuries over the years. My doctor’s telling me I’m gonna need a knee replacement down the road, but I definitely skate. [Jon] Miner has a really good mini ramp so we get on that and skate which has been fun. I’m kind of limited to what I can do now just based off where my knee is, but I still get on it for sure.

“if you want to work in skateboarding, you need to have the heart to do it. The love of being a skateboarder is what needs to drive you”

Getting some in the deep end. Jeff finding time to connect with the coping

Finally what advice would you give to a young skateboarder who wants to work in the industry at this point in time?

I think it just takes a lot of heart for skateboarding. That and you gotta want to do it for the right reasons, and not just for a paycheck. Skateboarding is such a special thing and being a part of it is something that’s so unique. I appreciate it so much after being gone for eight and a half years. I’m picking up conversations, and seeing people I haven’t seen for a long time, and it feels very natural. It’s this network and it’s such an important thing. Obviously there’s not a ton of money in skateboarding at the moment, and even the big guys are making huge cuts. So if you want to work in skateboarding, you need to have the heart to do it. The love of being a skateboarder is what needs to drive you. Then it’s about being accountable and reliable. You’re always going to be handling more than just the job description, it’s about helping out on so many levels. Everyone’s contributing, regardless. If you’re a footwear designer you’ll be contributing to marketing ideas, or whatever it might be. It’s about many people working as a team and you have to be open and willing to do that.

We would like to thank Jeff for his time and wish him all the best for his new role at Emerica, we look forward to seeing what the future holds. Shop with us for current Emerica products and keep an eye on new releases. We would also like to thank Michael Burnett for sending us images from his archives, and to Kevin Parrott who supported us in making this happen. Thanks also to Maksim Kalanep whose photo of Jake Phelps (RIP) we cropped to include.

Related Reading: Michael Burnett Interview, Offerings: Kevin “Spanky” Long, Jon Dickson Interview, Don Brown Interview, Brandon Westgate Interview

Previous Industry interviews: Kevin Parrott, Vans with David Atkinson, Seth Curtis

The post Industry: Jeff Henderson appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

This new “Offerings” interview with Spencer Hamilton is guaranteed to open up a diverse array of avenues to explore. Read on to find out what skate video, album, book, and movie he recommended, and check in with one of Canada’s finest…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Spencer Hamilton at home in Vancouver. PH: Tracy Giesz-Ramsay

Our paths last crossed with Spencer Hamilton when a Supra tour swept through town back in 2019, and it was a pleasure to meet him. We had a brief talk outside our old Covent Garden shop about his trip so far which quickly segued into nutrition, and yoga before the team were moved on to Southbank. Spencer became animated as soon as those topics arose. With that quick chat as a reference, I was sure he would greet one of these interviews with the same enthusiasm, and was proved right as he swiftly responded with the interesting selection you’ll learn more about below.

There is something in the water out in Ottowa. Canada’s capital has produced a long line of incredible talent, and Spencer plays a significant part in that lineage. Although he has relocated to Vancouver he continues to represent by crafting parts on home turf, promising us more footage filmed on the BC streets in the not-so-distant future. His skateboarding is a high-grade blend, fusing his technical prowess with an aptitude for gnarlier terrain, a combination that makes him one of our favourites to watch. Interestingly his approach can be traced back to two specific videos that made an impact on his young mind, something which is acknowledged below.

Our conversation delves into the influences that left an indelible mark on Spencer’s psyche at various stages in his journey, starting when skateboarding first entered his life. There is a heavy amount of appreciation for The Chocolate Tour, a video with an enduring appeal that means it is still often referenced today. Anyone who took this in at the time will attest that this taste-maker made a heavy dent on our skateboarding subconscious. Spencer’s film choice involves Will Smith playing Muhammad Ali, a tale which captivated him at a time when he was building his first comprehensive part, this Michael Mann production continues to resonate today. He selected a Pink Floyd album from 1975 that helped soundtrack another formative period in his life, and opened up his continued musical exploration. Finally, his literary choice dismantles the old adage of never discussing politics or religion by doing just that, encouraging us to make space for the beliefs of others in an attempt to understand alternative perspectives.

Some things changed for Spencer since his last trip to Slam, while lockdown slowed the roll of most, he was welcomed to the Primitive team, and also became a member of the New Balance Numeric squad. One thing that hasn’t changed is the consistent flow of flawless tech he gifts the community, long may it light up our devices. If you have read or watched any interviews with Spencer you will know that he is a great communicator with strong, well-informed opinions about many things outside of the skateboarding sphere. We’re glad that this conversation managed to tap into that. We hope you enjoy the read, and emerge with some recommendations to pursue.

The Chocolate Tour – Chocolate Skateboards (1999)

What was happening in your world when you first saw this?

I was living in Ottawa, and I remember going to the premiere for this, it was at a little bar in the market. As with most premieres I don’t really remember watching the video, I would have been nine or ten at the time. It was a cool experience though, it may have been the first premiere I ever went to. I saw all of the old guys from my community there, Wade [Desarmo] was there, and his older crew of friends, they were all ledge skaters who had a style that I looked up to. I remember seeing them doing some tricks outside afterwards, and just marvelling at a different type of world that was opening up. At that point you were exposed to a lot less, you’d see a new video once in a while, and what was happening at your local park.

So you bought the video after this?

My dad got this for me, I can’t remember if it was a Christmas gift or not. My older brother skated too, and I remember him being over the moon to get that. I watched it on repeat basically.

How long had you been skating for when you first saw this?

I had been skating for a few years, I actually think I was sponsored at the time by the skate shop I still ride for which is called Top Of The World. That would have been a recent development, within the same year of that coming out.

There was a lot of expectation following MOUSE. Do you remember the anticipation of this coming out?

It was such a different time, we just had a premiere at a local bar but promoting that event seemed very important. I’m not sure I had even seen a skateboard magazine so this was opening the door to a new world of people. What was really cool was the skits, seeing all these people, and then over time figuring out who they were. Those skits were an interesting puzzle for a kid, learning about the importance of different people over time. I didn’t know who Mark Gonzales was when I first saw the video, it took a certain amount of time to figure that out, but when I did it was awesome, identifying Mark Gonzales or Tony Ferguson.

Were you aware of Tony Ferguson’s legacy in any way as a fellow Canadian?

At that point I don’t think so. I would have been aware of Rick McCrank which was neat, he didn’t have a huge section in that but what he did have was awesome, he was having a moment. It wasn’t until later on that I realised Tony was from here, he’s actually from Ottawa as well, he’s from my hometown. Rick McCrank would have been more of a household name, especially right then.

Was there a specific part you rinsed?

I used to watch Stevie [Williams]’ part religiously. Style, tricks, music, the whole thing. Gino [Iannucci]’s part as well for the same reasons. For me, a great video part has to have great music, and The Chocolate Tour had a lot of songs that I liked which went well with the skating. Gino, and Stevie’s parts were standout, the whole package. Mike Carroll, and Richard Mulder too, their parts are so memorable, the tracks, and the skating, I just fucking loved them.

“For me, a great video part has to have great music, and The Chocolate Tour had a lot of songs that I liked which went well with the skating”

That Stevie Williams part is such a special moment in time, it was so exciting that he was just on that company, and then the part was incredible.

It was oozing with style, and to have last part in a video of that calibre. His part was one for sure that I rewound, and rewatched the most. It was special, and then years later I find myself on on a trip with him. He’s a super nice guy. Such a trip, Rick McCrank, and Tony Ferguson are also people who I see often enough, who are super standup guys too.

Can you think of a standout trick?

Tony Ferguson’s backside flip fakie 5-0 on the bump to bench was insane, he did it so good. At the time my brain wasn’t even comprehending what that was. I loved switch back heels, and always loved Daniel Castillo’s switch back heel-manny, the one he 180’s out of.

Then Stevie’s ender, the switch heel-switch nose manny-fakie hardflip. He does a fakie hardflip out of a Manny up the pad at the Pier but the one he does down it with the switch heel. I remember thinking what the fuck did I just see? Certain tricks, everyone has a hardflip now but back then, what I was seeing as far as people I was skating with, people weren’t doing fakie hardflips. There’s a bunch of shit in that video I had never seen before.

Is there anything you do today you can directly contribute to this video? A trick in here you’ll always think of as the perfect example?

I think subconsciously it influenced the way I skate, ledge to stair combos, or up stairs to ledge combos. I’m not sure I went out there trying to do that but subconsciously it embedded that into my head, and my skating. Watching that video now it’s obvious to me that it’s a blueprint for how I skate. As far as one trick specifically, not so much. There are a lot of switch heels, and nollie heels in there, and those tricks took me a long time to learn. It wasn’t until I started wearing cupsole shoes that I figured them out, and I only started wearing cupsole shoes about seven or eight years ago. My entire life skateboarding I had a hard time doing switch or nollie heelflips but I could do switch backside heelflips which I always felt gave me a commonality with Daniel Castillo.

I was always into board feel so for years I loved Vulc shoes. Then a friend of mine broke down his theory for me. You get ultimate board feel with Vulcanised shoes but because you feel it more you can try a little bit less when it comes to flicking. With cupsoles you feel the board less so you have to try more, put a little more oomph into it. For myself, generally, more shoe is better, less shoe equals a terrible heelflip. It’s the size of the shoe, and the extra effort you put in combined. I also found my kicklfips improved with a cupsole just because I’m trying a bit harder. That was a bit of an epiphany to have after fifteen years of skating.

I mentioned the trick example because when I visited Pyramid ledges with my friends we wouldn’t leave until we had all done nollie heelflips on the bricks humming the “duh duh der” GZA intro.

Haha, of course! It’s one of those videos that embeds those iconic spots like Pyramid ledges or Pier 7. I remember going to Pyramid ledges in my teens and it’s like Mecca, in some religious way you’re on holy ground. Especially at the start when he does the nollie heel, and then cruises around the corner. I recreated that movement with the song in my head when I went there too for sure. At this point thousands of skaters have been there, and done the same thing. Was he filming that line with any notion of it becoming iconic? I’m sure he didn’t even like it, I don’t know. It’s so funny with stuff like that. His switch 180 in the line after he kickflips up the stairs before doing a backside nollie heelflip. He does that switch 180 where his front foot kind of comes off, a trick he probably didn’t like that becomes an absolute fan favourite.

The line that inspired many turn ups. Did any music in here open up avenues of exploration?

At ten with no internet my musical exposure was pretty low. I had two older brothers, and my parents, I don’t think there was a lot of rap going on in our house. There was definitely a bunch of stuff in there that I had never heard before like Andre Nickatina, or Stevie’s Big L track. Then even some of the softer songs, in the credits there’s a Cat Stevens song, and a John Lennon song. My middle brother is in the film industry, and is definitely the artistic, creative one in our family. He didn’t skate but really enjoyed all that stuff too, the combination of skating and music. Not only does that embed songs in your mind in a way that few other things can do, but it also exposes you to a lot of different genres, and artists. Movies can have a similar effect but skateboarding draws from a very diverse mix of genres.

“any skater who has watched Girl or Chocolate videos, you’ll hear a certain song in a grocery store and it just hits you”

We’re lucky, Girl video soundtracks especially were always very eclectic.

Yeah, any skater who has watched Girl or Chocolate videos, you’ll hear a certain song in a grocery store and it just hits you.

At this time were Girl and Chocolate boards on the top of your list?

Absolutely, I remember skating a Mike Carroll board, and a Stevie [Williams] board too. I mostly got shop boards from Top Of The World but they were really good for occasionally letting us get some pro boards. I was a little kid, another big video premiere was Thrill Of It All, that’s a pretty good contrast, maybe a Yin to the Yang, or Yang to the Yin. So I was definitely inspired equally by that, I like jumping off stuff so I really liked the vibe Zero had in that video. It made an impact, years later it’s no surprise I skate the way I do with those two videos playing a major role early on.

Top Of The World is the best sponsor you could have in Canada right?

Oh my god, especially at that time, the team was incredible. Ottawa is not a particularly good city to skate in, it was okay, one of it’s biggest strengths is that it’s close to Montreal, close to Toronto, and somewhat close to New York. The team list included Wade Desarmo, Paul Trep, Gaileau [Momulu], Wade Fyfe, and Mike Fyfe, Joe Buffalo, Richard Sarrazin, there were so many skaters. Obviously Tony Ferguson, and Rick McCrank were also from Ottowa but had moved out West long before. Growing up at the time there were so many good people on that team, it was a legit high calibre, not just a couple of hometown heroes who were okay, everyone on that team was really good.

It was quite something to grow up around that, these guys were good but they knew what was cool, they were willing to give me some time and encourage me in the right direction. They taught me what to do, and what not to do, and I’ll always be grateful to them for that. Top Of The World was something else, I got the call after a contest asking if I would ride for them. I remember going in and being given a deck, some wheels, a bunch of stickers. I was looking at this huge stack of stickers like they could be dollar bills. I’d get a board every month, wheels when I needed them. It was real support, they had my back with whatever I needed. A few months earlier I was going in there with my board asking them to re-grip it on top of the old grip, hahaha.

Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd (1975)

When did you first hear this album?

I was living at a skate house that I moved into in about 2010. I have always been into music, as I said it kind of started with getting exposed to a bunch of different music from skate videos. That for sure sparked an interest, and a craving for new music. I got a laptop in my late teens, things started to snowball once you could go online and look for music. I was really into rap, I was a big fan of the Diplomats, Cam’Ron, and Juelz Santana who had a lot of music containing samples. That got me into oldies from the 50s and 60s, Motown, and other stuff. That was my early interest, and exposure of going from rap to the samples, and learning about older music.

When I was younger alternative rock bands were around like Green Day or Nirvana, I listened to that stuff a bit, but it didn’t last for me very long. When I moved into the skate house one of my housemates had quite a depth of knowledge when it came to classic rock stuff, we had a good sound system there too. That exposed me to a lot of new music. At the time we were in our early twenties, going out drinking like you do at that age. We were smoking weed, experimenting with psychedelics, and finding this overwhelming euphoric feeling, especially from this album.

So the perfect soundtrack to this time in your life.

Yeah, the experimentation with different sounds, the unpredictable nature of how the songs were formatted. I had never heard anything like it, the length of some of the songs made them memorable. “Shine on you Crazy Diamond” bookends the album, it’s two parts. It’s full of eery sounds, there are peaks, and valleys throughout it. They hit different to anything else I had ever heard before on a pretty deep level. Certain substances played their own part in this I’m sure, but like any piece of art, the first time you’re hearing it has such a different effect to the 100th time you hear it. It was the perfect storm, the ultimate experience for an induction into Pink Floyd.

“I was feeling new things, and hearing sounds I had never heard before, it took me on a total journey”

I was feeling new things, and hearing sounds I had never heard before, it took me on a total journey. At that time in my life I was doing whatever I wanted, skating all the time, going to parties. I’d spend a lot of time when I wasn’t doing those things dabbling with psychedelics, going on long walks, cruising around my neighbourhood on a cruiser board with my friends, and listening to all of these songs on a speaker or on the headphones. I don’t want to necessarily encourage people to do psychedelics, that’s not my point here. But at this point, that was what I was doing, and I couldn’t think of a better album to choose, it made a lasting impact on me.

Do find time to listen to this album now?

No, not so much, at this point with having a kid, most of what I listen to right now is kids music. If I’m by myself oldies are always around, the thing with Pink Floyd is you need to be in the right spot, at the right time. It’s not the type of music you listen to with your wife and kid. For me it’s always been a little bit more of a personal thing that puts you in a place which is not necessarily right now for me. If I were to go on a long bike ride or a run that’s where I’ll probably get back to it. Like most albums there’s an interesting story behind it. I’ve seen some documentaries, and interviews about making it.

Are you a Syd Barrett fan?

This may be sacrilege but I’m less of a fan of him than I am of later Pink Floyd. He was obviously a mastermind who influenced them a lot. Dark Side of the Moon is after Syd Barret left, the band were trying to find their voice, their rhythm, and where they want to go. Wish You Were Here follows that. Most people are lucky to do one great thing in their lives, if that’s a book, or an album. To make one is incredible, so to make a masterpiece like Dark Side of the Moon, recalibrate, and come out with another masterpiece like Wish You Were Here is just extraordinary. To have that album be similar enough, yet different enough at the same time. Roger Waters wrote such simple but profound lyrics that could speak to everybody some way. That coupled with David Gilmour’s guitar is such a complete package, an ultimate experience in music.

Do you have a favourite Pink Floyd skate video appearance? There have been quite a few.

I don’t know about that. I can think of a couple but I find with certain songs, and music that I really like that I got into without skateboarding. I don’t want to associate them with skateboarding, I don’t want to associate Pink Floyd with skating. So no, not really, hahaha. When Plan B came out with that Superfuture video after relaunching there’s an epic part that uses “Time”. I always joked about coffee and Bailey’s, or orange juice and Vodka. I don’t like mixing alcohol with drinks that I like on their own. You’re bound to have skaters that you really like, you don’t want to see them paired up with a song that you really don’t. Or there may be a skater you don’t like so much, and you don’t want to see them skate to a song you love.

Do you collect music?

Oh yeah, both on my computer, and on vinyl. I have most Pink Floyd albums on vinyl, that definitely makes the experience all the more special, to be listening to the album on a really good sound system, as intended. The flow of the album too, songs like “Have a Cigar”, it’s hard to put your finger on how it makes you feel but it transports you to somewhere else, like an out of body experience. What is going on here? It hits everyone different, for some people it’s Jimi Hendrix, or Led Zeppelin. I like those guys too but for whatever reason Pink Floyd stand out for me. So many different themes are explored from album to album. There’s so much depth to their music, the sounds they used, the eery vibes they explored, and incredible guitar. It’s just great.

Ali – Michael Mann (2001)

Was it hard to pick a film, is this a new favourite or a frequently rewatched one?

I don’t think there’s any movie that I have watched more than this one. It’s a go to when I’m looking for some entertainment, and some inspiration, it has a lot of both. I first watched this when I went to Barcelona which would have been in about 2008. I went with Kurt Filippone, Wade Fyfe, and Ted Degros, it was a really fun crew to be out there skating with. Kurt or Wade had this extensive collection of DVD’s, I think one of them had gone to China and picked up loads of bootlegs. We were skating all day in the winter time, then the sun would go down at five or six, and we’d go back to the house to this binder full of movies, and documentaries. There were loads of things I had never seen, and Ali was one of them.

At that time I don’t think I knew anything about Muhammad Ali. I wasn’t particularly interested in boxing or anything like that. It had a good score, the same way the skate videos I like have a good soundtrack. That made a big difference for me, Ali having the soundtrack it did, that elevated it to another level of enjoyment. Muhammad Ali is such a cool character anyway, there’s an interesting documentary called When We Were Kings which is about the final fight with George Foreman in Zaire. I recommend watching that too.But having seen that documentary, and some others, and from watching some interviews with him after watching Ali gave me more of an appreciation for the movie. I think Will Smith did a really good job of acting in it, and playing that character.

Right down to the way he speaks.

Yeah it’s incredible. Muhammad Ali was an amazing person, his personality, the things he stood for, particularly his position on the Vietnam war. That was quite something to be a conscientious objector at that time. Some of the stuff he said was more controversial than others, but he was so young at the time. How do you navigate the things he was going through? He was in the Nation of Islam, learning about race, the dynamics of what was going on at that time. I think some of the things he said were just so accurate, so spot on. To take such a stand for a cause back then, to risk some of the best years of his life as a fighter, and his freedom, was unbelievable. That’s a really rare thing for an athlete to do, to put his sport of choice second to what he thought was right.

“To take such a stand for a cause back then, to risk some of the best years of his life as a fighter, and his freedom, was unbelievable. That’s a really rare thing for an athlete to do, to put his sport of choice second to what he thought was right”

It’s the ultimate sports story, you’re with him for the journey.

It really is the ultimate, it is unfortunate that the story of Muhammad Ali ends quit tragically, some of his later fights, and his neurological decline were really sad to see. But the pinnacle of the movie, the awesomeness is coming back from all of the legal stuff, getting off, getting out of the draft, and getting a shot back at the title. Even the loss to Smoking’ Joe Frazier. Like all great sports films, and stories, it can’t just be a perfect ride to the top. There have to be some problems, and he had a lot of them. There’s his fighting style, and the style he had of shit talking. Nowadays you have characters like Conor McGregor, and I get it that you want to sell tickets to the fights, but Muhammad Ali had a certain class with his shit talking. There was the back and forth with Howard Cosell. I felt like what he brought to the table was wholesome. He had his rhymes, things which were so charismatic, and really fucking funny.

I think the civil unrest of the time is well communicated by Michael Mann. You feel righteous indignation at what he was facing. Outrage at the racism, the draft, his unfair treatment…

I think Michael Mann was the right man for the job. Like you said there were all of these things happening at the time and he happens to be a boxer who is shaking everything up with a charisma, and style that no-one has seen. There’s such a conversion of things happening that make for the ultimate story. Being friends with Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X, and them both being shot at that time is wild. You couldn’t write a crazier story, and if you did you wouldn’t think it was true.

From that filming trip to Barcelona, the footage I got went towards a part I had in a video called Strange Brew. For that part I used the last song in the movie as my last song in the part. There’s even a little sound byte that the editor put in of Muhammad Ali speaking. It was a big part of the conversation on that trip to Barcelona, we were all super into it, myself in particular. I really enjoyed that movie, and it has this extra level of meaning, and sentimentality because that part was the first time I sunk my teeth into something and tried to make a complete piece of work. I saved up money to go to Barcelona, went out in Vancouver a lot with Kurt, and his dedication as a filmer was really appreciated.

This is a great movie, I’m glad to have watched it on your recommendation.

I still watch this film, a couple of times a year I’ll put it on. I think it’s time for me to watch it again. It’s incredibly written, all the actors did a great job. Jamie Foxx plays a hilarious character with his own issues. The story of the Cassius Clay name change is in there. There’s so much to it, the story is complex in multitude of ways, and Michael Mann did such a good job of getting into all of it. If I remember correctly Will Smith ended up having quite a good relationship with Muhammad Ali from spending time with him prior to playing that role, and after as well. It’s nice to know that he was happy with it.

The Righteous Mind – Jonathan Haidt (2012)

This looks like a poignant read, have you just put this one down?

Saving the best for last. I read this last year. Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff wrote a book called The Coddling of the American Mind which got me interested in reading this one. I really like Jonathan Haidt, I’ve watched quite a few of his lectures, I enjoy his way of communicating, and the subjects he speaks about. He is a moral psychologist, currently he mostly speaks about social media, and the impact it has on kids. The subtitle of this book is “Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion”. I have always been interested in politics, and religion, kind of anything that is controversial. Anything that has meaning, that some people believe in, and some people don’t. If there’s something people love or hate, I have always found it interesting learning, and engaging in deeper conversations about that.

What did you learn from this book?

It is super enlightening but it’s also quite a complicated book, and I plan on re-reading it. Some of the basic premises are looking at left versus right, and religious versus non-religious. Left versus right explores why some people are conservative, and some are liberal. Then what is the use of both in a society? On a deeper psychological level one of the points he brings up is that we all like to believe that we are rational thinkers. We ourselves believe that the rational comes before our intuition when faced with a situation, a circumstance, or an issue. He puts forth the proposition that we’re guided predominantly by our intuition, then we rationalise second.

This is something he took from David Hume, he provides examples from his own life where that’s been the case. It gave me a bit of an understanding of how I act in the world, the things I do, say, and communicate. I find learning things like that give you a needed alternative perspective on your programming. Not taking things as they are but questioning why you say things, or respond in certain ways. Is that really what I meant? Was I being honest? Or did I feel intuitively that this should be a certain way, then post hoc rationalise why that is rather than investigating it, and then responding. That may sound pretty abstract but the book has a better way of describing all of this.

Has it gifted you with more understanding when someone has ideas that are wildly different to your own?

That’s where it gets into conservative ideas versus liberal. He has something called moral foundations theory. There are six moral foundations, the first is care/harm, the second is fairness/cheating, the third is loyalty/betrayal, the fourth is authority/subversion, the fifth is sanctity/degradation, and the sixth is liberty/oppression. Liberals, and conservatives, people in general, all have some of all of those. Liberals are going to be higher in some, and lower in others, and vice versa.

Ideas which are subjective not black-and-white?

Very much so, and your interpretation of one of those foundations could be different. One of the best examples of that is fairness, as far as equality, and things like that. The left are more consumed with equality in an economic sense, the distribution of wealth. Conservatives tend to be more focused on proportionality, how hard are you working, and things of that nature. I found it really interesting, and helpful for myself. I grew up leaning far more towards the left, as for a political leaning anyway, being more concerned with social justice issues, and things of that nature. Over time, getting into to my thirties, having a baby, I’ve found myself definitely leaning to some more conservative values.

“It gave me a bit of an understanding of how I act in the world, the things I do, say, and communicate. I find learning things like that give you a needed alternative perspective on your programming”

I feel somewhat politically homeless to be honest, I don’t find myself to be a card carrying conservative, nor what I would consider a card carrying liberal. Learning about this stuff helped me understand this transformation, or the ongoing transformation that seems to be occurring in me. It teaches you to try and understand both sides which is what I want to do, and maintain, I don’t want to be on one side looking at the other as if they’re evil. I don’t think that’s helpful. He draws a comparison to the Yin and Yang which is appropriate, we don’t need to get rid of one of these, we need them both, because you need a combination for society to flourish. That combination requires things like stability, this is found in institutions, and a family structure. When you get rid of those things, looking at history, that’s when bad things start to happen. Yet, at the same time, you do have to be concerned with people who have less than you, the rights of people who are less fortunate. Trying to maintain an open perspective on that stuff, and avoiding an “us and them” false dichotomy is important. What could be more important in the context of politics than that right now. In this day and age we seem to be going in the complete opposite direction where things are becoming increasingly more polarised. The left believing you need to get rid of the right, and vice versa. It’s divisive, and ridiculous.

What about this in regards to religion?

With religion it’s very much the same. I grew up with my mum who is a Baháʼí, a pretty interesting faith. We would go to some of the events they had as kids, they were very low key, and community based. Looking back they were super neat, little prayer sessions, nothing indoctrinating. So I had a bit of influence from a religious front, and then my dad is definitely an atheist, and doesn’t have much room for anything religious. So I always had that yin and yang to begin with. Jonathan Haidt in the book, who considers himself to be on the left, and considers himself an atheist, makes a really good case for the positive aspects of religion, and for people being part of a religion. I think it’s good to hear stuff like that if you haven’t. I like Sam Harris, I listened to a ton of Christopher Hitchens when I was younger, and Stephen Fry. Listening to them debate religious scholars, I’ve always been drawn to that side of things. However, there’s clearly something really deeply valuable about being a part of something that binds you together, and religion does that almost like nothing else. Especially in a country like Canada, or the United States where it’s culturally very diverse, that can be hard to maintain when you don’t have a common thread.

But isn’t there also an element of being part of one religion that also asserts you’re in the right camp, and others are wrong?

That is certainly an issue amongst religious people, and religions in general but I don’t think that has to be the case. To me that would be negative part of a more extreme vision, or version of religion. We can integrate some live and let live within the religious context. The book is awesome for someone like me, I’m not a religious person but it has made me a lot more understanding of religious people, and enabled me to see something in it where I never could before. I can’t get past the idea of believing in some mystical being in the sky. I’ve never been able to find any interest in any of the stories. However, Carl Jung and people like that have talked about the archetypes of these religious stories, and have also helped change my perspective on some of it.

You don’t have to necessarily subscribe to a religion to be able to find something interesting about the stories it’s based on. The book gives you a deeper understanding of humanity, and why people think the way do. Again a large part of that involves a combination of genetic roulette, and environmental factors that make you value one of these moral foundations more than another. The big five personality traits feed into that also, extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Certain traits are associated with conservatism, and others more with being liberal. Those personality traits affect how you’re going to present yourself in the world, and act, and communicate. It’s interesting to figure out where you are on this spectrum of things, and how you can be less of one, and more of another. It’s a way to try and fix some inadequacies within yourself. It’s about being aware of this stuff, otherwise how can you fix something if you don’t understand it’s an issue?

So you think the world would be a better place if more people read this?

Absolutely, I think it would turn the dial of polarisation down a little bit if people would consider what’s discussed in this book. It’s a bit of a complicated read but as I get older I’m open to the idea of reading things twice. If you don’t feel like reading the book watch a video with Jonathan Haidt talking about this stuff, he’s an excellent communicator with a pleasant disposition.

How is skateboarding right now? You had some time out for healing?

I’m back now which is nice. I had a fracture in my good hand. My bad hand is fucked, I have a dead scaphoid. Some days it will be okay which means subtle pain, I can’t do certain things but I can do most things. Then other days it’s fired up, and hurts doing pretty much anything. I fractured my good hand so I was really trying to be more careful with the healing process. I need this thing, especially with a young child, you want to be able to pick them up, you want to have fun without worrying. That was over Christmas, and into the New Year but I’m skating again. There’s been tons of rain in Vancouver though, I’ve been trying to go to the gym a lot during the day or at night. If the rain doesn’t let up I’ll go for a run or do some kind of cardio. I’m just trying to be as ready and able as possible, so when the sun comes out I can enjoy that to the fullest.

Wristguards in the mix?

If my scaphoid hand is extra tender I’ll put a wristguard on but I don’t wear them every time I skate. The aesthetic of that hurts, if I’m wearing one I’ll wear a hoody so there’s just a tiny bit peeking through. It’s a tough one though, if I have a wristguard on it makes me try and dodge landing on my hand, but then I’ll slam harder on my hip or my back. If there’s anyone reading this who is wondering if they should get an X-Ray on their wrist that’s fucked up, I would recommend going to do that as soon as possible, getting a cast if you have to, and then taking the physio very seriously. I have some regrets, that’s for sure.

Spencer refusing to let rain stop play in Vancouver

On the health tip, are you still doing yoga?

I used to practise hot yoga, I did Bikram style yoga a lot.I really like doing that I just don’t have the time right now. It’s an hour and a half class, you want to get there a bit early, and you don’t want to rush out. With the commute to the studio in the mix it’s three hours which I just don’t have right now. I do a ton of yoga at home now, I do specific yoga poses for how I’m feeling at the time. Some are really subtle, I’ve sat cross-legged for this whole interview, and I find that helps. I don’t know why yin and yang always comes up in my world but yin yoga is another style of practise, you do the postures for an extended amount of time, it’s meant to get into joints, ligaments, and connective tissue. So a saddle pose which is like a pancake split, sitting cross-legged, certain things I will do for twenty minutes or more. It’s less dynamic, a static, passive stretch. It has a lot of calming properties to it as well.

I’m not doing this stuff instead of working out, you’ve got to lift weights, and train your body in a rigorous physical way as well. I find the static, passive stuff, gets hated on by a lot of people but I figure you could sit on a couch, or sit cross-legged on the floor, or in a saddle pose. I find I get a lot out of doing that versus lying on the couch. If I’m going to relax I want to find the most effective way. The dragon lizard pose is more dynamic, getting into the hip flexors, and the quads, it requires a bit more engagement. I do that, and pigeon pose quite a bit also. Some of these I do in a yin style where I’m just relaxing, and others I’ll do with weights, moving through a range of motion, and adding a resistance element to it. That has been an interesting addition to my practise that I find quite valuable.

What is on the horizon that you’re excited about? Are there Primitive and New Balance projects on the cards?

I’m not sure exactly what the year looks like as far as New Balance but they always have something cooking, and I would love to get on a trip with them. Primitive is celebrating it’s tenth year. They just put out the am video, and this year is tenth anniversary year, I’m excited to get on whatever trips they have planned for that too.

Spencer’s Vancouver part for Primitive from 2021. We look forward to seeing mark two

Your Vancouver part was sick, will you be filming another part there?

I’m actually going to be working on another Vancouver part. The last part was filmed with a VX, I’d like to film the next one with an HVX or HPX with a nice big lens. My friend Chance [Swainson] who filmed the last part is going to work on it with me, he has one of those HD rigs. I’d like to put out a new & improved, upgraded Vancouver part this year. That usually consists of skating the same spots, and trying to upgrade my tricks too, so that’s always fun.

Have new spots materialised in the meantime?

There are a couple actually, they’re few and far between in Vancouver because they’re really good at making any new spots relatively un-skateable. There are some new ones though so hopefully it will be some new spots, and some old classics. I like going out skating on my bike these days, it’s so much easier. Whether I’m in New York, or Spain, I like the idea of not getting in a car. I just like to be out, keeping the body moving. There’s a a campus here called UBC, the university of British Columbia. It’s not too far away but you have to drive. There are a ton of spots there so I need to make more of an effort to drive out there and skate.

We look forward to seeing the results. Any last words?

I think we covered a lot. I’m glad my brain kept up.

We would like to thank Spencer Hamilton for the time he spent on this, it was great to catch up and learn more about some things which have played an important part in his life journey. We can’t wait for another full part now that he is back firing on all cylinders. Keep an eye on Spencer’s Instagram for the regular transmissions that have been keeping us inspired.

Previous ‘Offerings’ Interviews: Aaron Herrington, Rowan Zorilla, Beatrice Domond, Chris Jones, Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long, Helena Long, Tom Karangelov, Bobby Puleo, Ray Barbee, Zach Riley, Ryan Lay, Casper Brooker

The post Offerings: Spencer Hamilton appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

This “Visuals” interview is with Palace Skateboards founder Lev Tanju. Read on to find out about the homegrown visuals he selected for us, and the reasons why they are important to him…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Lev Tanju out for Ice Cream in Rome

Lev Tanju is a national treasure, he founded Palace Skateboards back in 2009, an institution that has always championed London, and continued to prove the International appeal of a diverse squad of humans he believed in from the start. His blend of humour and irreverence are key to the success of the company but are counterbalanced by his desire to celebrate the skateboarding he loves, and everything he loves about skateboarding. Working together years ago meant that many hours were whiled away watching, and talking about our favourite videos. His infectious excitement about the videos, mags, or photos that have gripped him has always been able to light up a room, and as soon as this format was introduced we knew he would be the perfect candidate.

Lev started at an interesting time when all of our eyes were honed on what was happening on the other side of the Atlantic. Collectively we keenly awaited the next transmission of dope via VHS, and he quickly began absorbing the best media, some tastefully curated by friends made at Fairfield Halls, and later Southbank. This would lead to an early US pilgrimage and a life course where skateboarding was the North Star. When Lev joked recently in a product description that he nearly cried watching Rob Welsh do a nollie crooked grind when he visited Pier 7 for the first time, it goes some way to describing what an impact things made on him. It’s a true representation of the emotion certain things in skateboarding can stir in us. That’s why this article could have quite easily been dedicated to the importance of Girl, Chocolate, Alien, Aesthetics, and beyond, we’ve had those very conversations before.

Lev decided instead to go down a more personal route with his selection, choosing things that made a lasting impression on his young mind, that all happened in the UK, some right in front of him. He discusses a Jamie Bolland part from Alex Craig’s seminal scene video H’Min Bam which he describes as going against what a video part was somehow supposed to be. Then we dip from Glasgow back to London to talk about a timeless Ben Jobe clip filmed on hallowed ground. Lev then chose to speak about not one, but two photos of Nick Jensen shot at different points in his evolution as one of the best skateboarders to ever emerge from the city. We closed out the conversation by focusing on a Blueprint Rob Selley graphic he saw on his very first visit to Fairfield Halls. While those videos from the other side of the pond were being regularly rewound a new movement was at play that would shake up boardwalls countrywide, and he was lucky enough to see it happening firsthand. It was interesting to acknowledge the excitement of that time before going on to talk a little about some of the graphics he has happily had a hand in himself. We are pleased to bring you these insights from one of the best, someone with deep ties to the shop who remains a constant inspiration…

Jamie Bolland – H’MIn Bam by Alex Craig (2004)

Lots of people have already talked about many of the iconic parts. There are so many that inspired me, Kareem Campbell, Josh Kalis, Gino [Iannucci], a long list. I thought I’d use this opportunity to do something UK based. There have obviously been so many good parts but this one I feel is just a banging skate section, I’d never seen a part like it ever, it felt so independent, and raw. Jamie Bolland skates so differently to everyone, and the music is fucking amazing. You know when you see something you’d never seen before? When I saw this it was just mental. This gave me faith back in the day that you could make a skate section that was fun, and different. You didn’t need to be nollie hardflipping picnic tables to do something banging with a section.

The whole thing to me stood out, H’Min Bamis just a banging independent skate video. This Jamie Bolland section went against what a video part was somehow supposed to be. There’s no build up to a hammer at the end, it’s just someone cruising around, skating to good music. That’s what’s important to me. Some of The spots he’s skating ain’t even spots. He’s skating out of a tree stump bump in the floor, and wearing weird leather jackets. It’s just really good section that’s hilarious because the music is so weird, I’m not even sure what genre that is? Horse noises, German reggae, it doesn’t make sense.

“There’s no build up to a hammer at the end, it’s just someone cruising around, skating to good music. That’s what’s important to me”

I used to watch this loads before going out skating. We had this video, and we would have been watching it at the Brixton Palace, I think that’s before it was even called a Palace, that’s one of the earlier skate houses we all stayed at. We had everything, all the videos on VHS, that was the only way to watch things. This came out just around the time I started working at Slam. One other video that springs to mind from that time is the Aesthetics video Ryde or Die Vol.1, we would watch that a lot, I think Rob Welsh’s part in that is one of the best of all time. I didn’t really know what Aesthetics was when I was first working at Slam but took the video back to watch at the Brixton house. We had no idea what to expect before watching it, then it was just mental. H’Min Bam was the opposite end of the spectrum to that but had the same effect on us. The same vibe, what is this video? There was no Instagram, these videos were coming out without teasers. So you got this whole experience when you weren’t already immersed in what the skaters were about beforehand. Those two videos made a real impact, and also that Canadian video North 2: Port Moody Blues.

H’Min Bam was a proper Scottish video, and I love Scotland. There’s Bristo Square footage in there, that’s one of my favourite spots ever. Jamie’s kickflip there is so good, you can’t do a better kickflip than that, it’s impossible. There’s also a line in his part where he looks like Colin Kennedy, that always stood out to me. I thought it was suddenly Colin as a guest but it’s still him, that switch push. If your silhouette looks like Colin Kennedy you’re basically doing something right innit? Growing up Colin was one of my favourite skaters, so dope, and so Scottish. I actually thought his kickflip over a bar into a bank was in this video but it wasn’t, it’s in a Sidewalk video. Leo Sharp took a photo of that karate kickflip, another next level kickflip he did.

I got into Uncle John & Whitelock the band before I had seen this video. We had been to see them play at the Ice Palace with Headshoppe, so I had seen Jamie playing keyboard with the band, and had their CD. So I was already listening to their music then I watch this and find out he’s also a banging skater. Their song “MaryHill Vibe” is in the video too so it was a real combo. I’ve got an Uncle John & Whitelock tattoo actually. I’ve used their music in skate videos too. There were a few years where I didn’t stop skating, but for a couple of years I wasn’t really on watching all the videos which came out. Looking back at this video it was great inspiration at the time but it didn’t directly influence anything I was doing other than inspiring me to use Uncle John & Whitelock’s music. Glasgow has a special mojo, it’s culturally so fucking cool, everyone there is on some shit. I love Glasgow.

“This gave me faith back in the day that you could make a skate section that was fun, and different”

My favourite skaters are all characters. Watching skaters at that time, they all fell into a category. All skaters wore skate clothes, the ones I was into anyway. Jamie was something else, he looked like skating was his second love. He didn’t dress like a skater which was really cool to me, and it’s a scene video that has withstood the test of time. John Rattray’s stuff in the video is unbelievable too, he skates to a Kings Of Leon track, it’s so mersh but I reckon it’s quite deep. It’s the time period when he got on Zero. I never thought of him as being gnarly until he got on Zero, then it made sense. I knew he could do gnarly shit but I never thought he’d put a leather jacket on and lipslide a steep rail. He was a banging fit for Blueprint but fit equally as well on Zero, and his part works so well to that Kings Of Leon track. I can’t watch a Rattray section and get inspired to go and try something he did in it, I’m inspired by watching it but it’s the other end of the spectrum for me. I’m not thinking about doing a kickflip to fakie out the top of a quarter pipe but I can watch Jamie Bolland’s section and think about going to do a switch-front-board. I don’t reckon Jamie wasn’t getting paid to skate and he made that section out of passion, I love it, it’s sick. He has such a banging section, there are so many I like but I think this one is wicked, and I wanted to focus on the UK side of things.

Ben Jobe – First Broadcast (2001)

This is the perfect trick really, I’m sure he switch wheelies down the bank, he doesn’t touch his back wheels. It’s classic Ben Jobe where he’s just flowing like water, feeling everything. That bar out of the bank where it used to be is such a banging spot, not many people were skating it, definitely not this way. This is gnarly, such a short steep bank, and he’s going so fast I’m surprised he didn’t do it to flat. You would never see Ben do the same trick the same way twice, every trick was always different, he was feeling everything out. It’s the perfect skate clip, perfect trick, done banging. It’s one of those tricks where it’s super special like that [Josh] Kalis kickflip, where it would never look the same way again. I wonder if he’s even skating his own board half the time, any footage of him is so off the cuff, it comes out of nowhere. I love Ben Jobe, and his footage, he’s such a memorable Southbank local, the ultimate Southbank character. He’d be playing his flute, or doing handstands, then he’d jump on someone’s board and do a backside flip like that one, you know what I mean?

This is one of my favourite tricks ever filmed I think. It’s at Southbank, again it’s at night, it’s lit up by generators. It’s so iconic for that reason too, that time in skating is gone now, the whirring of the generator in the background. It’s different now, you can probably light something up with fucking batteries. Southbank footage with a generator is of a time, and Ben Jobe is one of my favourite Southbank locals of all time too. The way he does that backside flip, doesn’t touch his back wheels, it’s just so fluid. Everything about that clip speaks to me. You know what? I love the heelflip by Ollie Watson just before it too. Ben nollie backside flipped the seven, and did a 180 fakie nosegrind on the beam that same session too. The nollie backside flip is mad, it flips so weird, I love it.

I never saw the period of time where Ben Jobe was learning to skate. I just saw him jumping on someone else’s board and slide back tails on the banked wall where the telephone box used to be. I remember him backside flipping stairs easy, so much rhythm and fluidity to his skating. This backside flip is just one of those things that got filmed and should be in the Southbank museum, it’s what skateboarding means to me. He’s holding on to it, he has so much flow he rides away. I bet it took him about three minutes to do it too. Any footage captured of Ben is great but this is amazing. Randomly another amazing thing I saw at Southbank was over that bar into the bank. When Pete Eldridge came to London for the first time with J Strickland. He got to Southbank, rolled up to the bank going switch, and he did a switch 180 over the bar into the bank. He cleared it by so much, it was a belly button height switch 180. It was fucked up, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. It was way bigger than a cone, so gnarly.

“There isn’t much existing footage of Ben Jobe, but I really think less is more sometimes…That backside flip is enough for him to have legendary status forever”

There isn’t much existing footage of Ben Jobe, but I really think less is more sometimes. As soon as you’ve filmed four sections, and everyone has seen all of the tricks you can do, there’s nothing left to the imagination anymore. That’s why I’ll go back to Richard Mulder, I always loved it how he’d have one or two tricks in a Chocolate video. He had the full sections in Mouse and that, but later on in The Chocolate Tour for instance he just has a few tricks, and I’m into that. You would want more but that would be enough. You can think now looking to the past that it would have been amazing to film a full Ben Jobe part, but he probably didn’t even have a phone back then. There’s a lot more that goes into capturing someone like that. I love that Ben has just a few tricks in that video, it’s enough for me. That backside flip is enough for him to have legendary status forever. I was lucky, I got to see him skate Southbank a lot back in the day. He wouldn’t try something for two hours, he’d just feel it out, then he’d do it. I’m not saying this is my favourite trick ever, but it’s one of them. I would say it’s my favourite ever trick filmed at Southbank.

I actually got to see Richard Mulder skate at Southbank too one time. It was when Nike SB first came out, everyone was skating in those black shoes with purple bits on that didn’t even look like skate shoes [URL]. He did a switch frontside 50-50 on the block, it was the best, I still think about it now all the time. That gave me faith, even now if I try a switch frontside 50-50 I think about that one he did that day. It was on the lower part of the old L-shaped ledge which is a minor but he did it so good. I’ve just got a new setup, I actually bought some black wheels from Slam online. I don’t know why I got black ones, mid-life crisis or whatever. I can’t wait to get out of work, and go skating. I’m going to try to do switch frontside 50-50s on that new block at Southbank, and I’m going to think about Richard Mulder basically. Spring’s coming, there’s nothing better than a nice sunny day at Southbank when everyone is sat on the block, couple of beers, play skate. It’s been going off down there lately, loads of people skating, loads of banging stuff going down.

Nick Jensen. Backside Smith Grind. PH: Oliver Barton (2001)

Growing up [Nick] Jensen made an impact not only on me, but everyone in the London scene. He was the first little kid who really skated good, before the Baker videos were out with little kids doing shit. I remember seeing him at Southbank before I knew him, I saw him do a nollie flip and thought fucking hell, how can that little kid do a nollie flip? Pretty soon after I began to skate at Southbank I met him, and we started skating together. I was so gassed to skate with Nick, and to watch him skate. Then this back smith photo came out. I don’t know what it is about it? He’s wearing Circa’s, he’s got a tiny board, I reckon it was one of those Blueprint lightbulb boards, he’s got Orion trucks. I don’t think I had seen anyone skate that ledge either, I knew the spot too. I had just never really seen anything like it. It’s such dope photo, everything about it is steez. He’s wearing dark garms, it’s shot at night, it has an Eastern Exposure feel to it. It’s so street, so London. I was into everything about it.

“This is the pinnacle of how good that trick can look”

Back smiths got rinsed, now it’s about who can ollie out higher, I don’t care about that shit. It was still a banging trick at this point in time, I suppose it was becoming trendy but it wasn’t like everybody could do a back smith. This looks like that photo of Mike Carroll doing a back smith that Mike Blabac shot with the blue sky, and the blue T-Shirt, it’s perfect. This photo made me want to get Orion trucks, it was one of them ones. “Orions yeah? Are they good?” I got them, they weren’t lol. When you’re that into something though, a good photo will do that to you, make you cop some dumb shit.

Look at his arms, and hands, such a sick photo. This was a special time for me, this is around the time of First Broadcast, that video was amazing, as was his footage. He was coming into his own, he was a bit bigger, he’s starting to nollie flip out of nosegrinds at Victoria Benches. This photo, this advert gives me Alien Workshop vibes, it has a mood, a feeling, it’s not just a digital photo. Think how shit you could make that trick look on that block. Shoot it from far away in the middle of the day or whatever. This is the pinnacle of how good that trick can look, it’s in London, it’s an iconic spot, I love that shit.

Nick Jensen. Frontside noseslide. PH: Sam Ashley (2004)

I wanted to add in this extra photo because I wanted to cement how banging Jensen is basically. Everyone knows that but this was taken a few years further on. When I first saw this I thought “what the fuck are you on mate?” You could face plant that bar so easy by hanging up on the bench. I’ve walked past this spot in Farringdon ten million times but never thought of doing anything else other than locking a bike up to it. It’s next level. It’s another example of him being ten steps ahead of everyone. This was in the [Anthony] Pappalardo era when we all loved off Pappalardo, Nick and I would skate together all the time. I would skate with him at Southbank or whatever but he was always a professional, he was always on his own shit. He would never say that he was out there doing anything, and then these photos would keep coming out of him doing banging shit on stuff nobody could step to.

This is cover material, it was so gnarly when I first saw it. Frontside noseslides are one of the best tricks in the world 100%, I always loved seeing them whether it was Mark Baines or Richard Mulder, and It is true that you can get an easy photo doing that trick but this isn’t one of them. Noselides on a block are probably the easiest trick but look at Rob Welsh’s noseslides, it proves it’s all about how you do it. With this Nick had to ollie up onto that bench first, it’s short. I could not ollie up onto that bench and ollie off, couldn’t do it, it’s too quick. Front board wouldn’t be as good although it would be gnarly, but seeing this front nose represented another step ahead. I just love night photos as well.

“He would never say that he was out there doing anything, and then these photos would keep coming out of him doing banging shit on stuff nobody could step to”

Nick said that this trick was a mission to do which makes me feel even better about picking it. What he did had to be so quick, so fast. It’s a banging skate photo and it looks like it would have been a mission too. If I was tasked with either of these tricks and it was a life or death situation I’d be dead, I just couldn’t do it. They’re not how I skate, and that makes them all the more incredible to me, when you can’t imagine how the fuck someone did something. No matter how well you filmed either of these tricks on camera the photos are always going to be better, they’re so much more mysterious, they offer up how he did it. They’re amazing pieces of documentary, someone doing something on two weird things that were never meant to be skated, and making it look beautiful. Two tricks that are impossible for me to fathom doing. Obviously there are a million skate photos that I love of so many different people but these are two that really inspired me.

Lev and Nick sat on the southbank seven PH: James Edson

I’m not sure what the best thing I ever saw Nick do in the flesh would be, he was always quite private. I do remember chatting to him when he was pranging out about having to switch flip the London Bridge stairs, that’s quite funny. He was pranging out the night before, I just remember thinking you don’t actually have to do this. When he was little it was great watching him skate at Playstation definitely, he’d drop in on the mini ramp and do frontside nollie heelflip tail stalls, it was mental that he could do little weird things like that. But Victoria Benches was the one, I remember seeing him roll up and do a nosegrind-nollie flip without even thinking about it, the same way someone would do a slappy noseslide on a kerb messing around. It was like a computer game, so weird the way he did it too, a balancey nosewheelie technique but there was so much rhythm in the way he did it.

“Nick was a very thoughtful skater, he planned the spots, he planned the tricks he was going to do, then how he was skating all came out in the footage”

Nick was a very thoughtful skater, he planned the spots, he planned the tricks he was going to do, then how he was skating all came out in the footage. You know how Chewy [Cannon] skates, he’s constantly buzzing around, Jensen was more secretive then the footage would come out and you were blown away. I remember him doing huge frontside nollie kickflips on flat, I don’t even like that trick but I love how he does it. He also would always do massive frontside nollies which inspired me to do that trick. He could nollie noseslide massive things too, this little skinny guy who was able to pop so big. I watched him film some ridiculous lines at Shell Centre while filming for First Broadcast. Skating with certain people definitely affects how you skate, you know he was growing up with Toby [Shuall], and that made him learn his tricks, nollie noseslides, switch front tails, frontside nollie switch crooks, there are similarities. I saw him do the kickflip back smith at Victoria Benches too, which was mental but at the same time you wouldn’t see him do loads of kickflips on flat. It’s good to talk about Nick in here, he deserves it.

Blueprint Rob Selley Deck. Graphic by Dan Magee (1998)

I never had one of these boards but when I got to Fairfields for the first time everyone was skating this board, either this one or the Mark Baines coffee board. I never had either but the graphic has stuck in my brain. I remember [Dan] Callow skating one, and doing switch frontside flips down the stairs. This was before I knew anybody too, I was from Croydon so I went to Fairfields because I heard that people skated there. That [Rob] Selley board, I don’t know why but it seemed so iconic. Everyone was skating it down there, and then [Nick] Jensen had that advert skating it where he’s doing a nosegrind at Paternoster Square on one of the wooden benches. That board was 7” wide which is gnarly, so banging! Shout out to Rob Selley, his part in Mixed Media is so sick, and the part in Anthems where he’s skating to that Camp Lo “Luchini” track. He was a different level of dope, Tom Penny-ish, he didn’t feel bare American to me, it just felt like he was on his own thing. Such a Don basically, I saw everyone skating that board and it just resonated with me.

I remember seeing the advert for it in the Blueprint catalogue. The board has the 01908 Milton Keynes area code on it. The board itself is beautiful man, it’s got weird baby blue coming through it. I love cream, and I love baby blue which is one reason for liking it. I hadn’t ever really looked at it too deeply until now but it’s my kind of board, I love how it’s laid out, how it looks. I think a lot of it has to do with the people I saw skating it at the time too. Charlie [Young] was at Fairfields when I went there for the very first time as a little kid, and we’ve been best mates for twenty years or something now. Everyone was running one of those two boards, and this one just always stood out for me.

It was an English board I always wanted but never got. It wasn’t pretending to be anything, or copying anything, it was a new thing. That graphic is proper industrial looking, it felt like something new. That layout is weird too, I’d never layout a board like that if I was doing a graphic, it’s amazing. I would love to know what Dan [Magee]’s inspiration behind doing that board was or if he just did it. It’s got a weird drop shadow, telephone numbers, I always thought it was a postcode which is interesting. I never thought at that time that anything English could be so dope. Then I watched his skate sections and it all made sense. Wearing Adidas, doing nollie heelflips down the three at Fairfields, switch frontside heelflipping up them.

“I never thought at that time that anything English could be so dope. Then I watched his skate sections and it all made sense”

Fairfields at that time was such an amazing place, another Southbank in London with so many people going off, and skating so good. Just a banging scene where everyone was so good at skating. It was mental to witness when I first went there. I was wearing camouflage DC Clockers and pushing mongo, I wanted to know what everyone was doing, what they were skating. I didn’t even know the difference between nollie and fakie at the time, that’s how new I was to skating. Meanwhile [Dan] Callow was switch frontside flipping the stairs at the end. I’ve still never done one of them in my whole life. Everyone was skating kicker ramps too, and breaking boards because they were all skating twiglets.

I got to see [Rob] Selley skate there, [Paul] Shier obviously, [Matt] Pritchard even. There was a main block everyone skated, next to the one Shier did the nollie noseblunt slide inside. People had wedged a couple of concrete slabs inside the planter to level it up like a block. I remember Pritchard skating up and just nose-wheelieing through it. That was rugged on the inside, fine for a slide or a grind but that nosewheelie was asking for it, and he just charged it. Over the years I got to see some amazing people skate there like when Cairo Foster came over, I remember him skating the high ledges. I saw Channon [King] skating there one morning wearing those weird Chany Jeanguenin Converse. I was there weekends, and bunking off school but only went there regularly for a couple of years max before I started going to Southbank all the time. I saw [Paull] Shier film so many things there for the video, I was there when he did that nollie noseblunt slide inside, he did that so quick as well, I even remember him being surprised at how quick he did it.

It was cool to see stuff go down, then to be at the premiere and watch something you remember seeing happen. I had that feeling more with the Landscape Portraits video because I was way more in the scene. I was there watching Toby film a bunch of shit, and it’s cool watching it come out in the video, but it also made it special when you hadn’t seen stuff, that build up of expectation. I hadn’t seen much of [Olly] Todd’s footage and his section in that video was unbelievable, perfect, so much variety, and cool shit. That’s what I was kind of saying about Jensen, when he was off on his filming missions in the city at night. I was partying or zooted while he was manicuring his skate sections so that when you watched it you though “what the fuck!”

A handful of Lev’s graphic favourites from the palace skateboards archives

As far as graphics I have had a hand in that are memorable for whatever reason, I like the early ones where I just had a digital camera, and was taking photos of things and photoshopping them. Toddy’s first board with the weird statue on it, I quite liked making that one. I love the first ever boards with Joey [Pressey]’s dog Stella on them. Then I really love the Palace Josh Kalis “Palis” one. That was one of my favourite boards ever to skate, so to be able to make that a reality again. I asked him of course and he was fine with it, and I asked Don Pendleton to do it which was good. It meant I could just go back to my youth, and skate my favourite graphic again. It’s quite selfish really but that really meant a lot to me. We recently did two Blueprint ones, I’ve been skating one of those, and I love it, I’ve been skating the [Danny] Brady one. I enjoy revisiting old boards. I’ve got one I’ve just set up that’s not out for three months. I’ve done a [Guy] Mariano one, the graphic with the football on it, it says “Paliano”. It’s so sick, I’m so gassed, it feels like I’m skating a Girl board from the late 90s but it’s my shape, my version.

“It meant I could just go back to my youth, and skate my favourite graphic again. It’s quite selfish really but that really meant a lot to me”

I really like riffing on graphics, this makes me want to do a [Rob] Selley one now, it’s fun innit? Just fun, it’s a nod to the ones that I like. That “Palaesthetics” Rob Welsh board was another good one. I had the original one when it came out, it was probably about 7.3” wide, I was skating Oxford Street benches and just broke the nose doing an ollie on the flat messing around. It was good to see that board again. I like the ones that pay homage, but I like all of Ben Sainsbury’s graphics too to be honest, and love every board Will Bankhead has ever done. I like all of them really, one of my passions is making skateboards. The ones I like the most are generally ones I want to skate, big flat colours, I love plain looking boards. That Rob Welsh one is just a “W” on a green board, the Kalis one was plain too. I miss dipped boards now, those white dipped Alien boards. At the time it was annoying but now I miss it, might have to bring that back. That “Nocturnal” series Alien did was deep, that time of Alien Workshop is my favourite time in skating really aesthetically. Their videos, the boards, working in Slam and skating the best boards, such a great time in my life. Shout out to Jake, Gareth, Toby, Massey (RIP), Pizzer, Seth, Mags, Robbleyard, Grifter, Toddy, pound coins, and the Bagel Factory.

Nollie Flip for 2024. Lev signs off by revisiting an old favourite at a spot that means the most

We want to thank Lev for this one, it was great to connect and talk about some halcyon days. Thanks to Sam Ashley for sending over the photo of Nick Jensen he shot two decades ago, and thanks to Dan Magee for sending us a photo of the Rob Selley board he designed even longer ago.

Thanks to James Edson for digging in the archives for the Southbank shot. Thanks also to Neil Macdonald (Science Vs Life) for the Oliver Barton shot Nick Jensen Blueprint ad scan, and the Leo Sharp shot Rob Selley Blueprint catalogue scan.

Previous Visuals Interviews: Jack Curtin, Ted Barrow, Dave Mackey, Jack Brooks, Korahn Gayle, Will Miles, Kevin Marks, Joe Gavin, Chewy Cannon

The post Visuals: Lev Tanju appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

For our latest “Offerings” interview we checked in with Matlok Bennett-Jones whose thoughtful selection has played a part in his rehabilitation from injury. Find out which skate video, album, documentary, and book he chose to share with you…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Matlok Bennett-Jones improving his swing on a museum visit

Matlok Bennett-Jones comes from a long line of legends who cut their teeth on the streets of Sheffield. When he first relocated to London he became a welcome addition to the staff here at Slam during the time when our second Covent Garden location sat next door to our favourite pub. He is part of an elite crew of Slam alumni who have gone from helping our customers pick their next whip off the board wall to having their name up there with the best of them. It still makes us smile every time we open the latest box of boards from Passport and see Matlok’s name in the mix.

His time working with us was unfortunately fairly short-lived, but he soon became a friendly face at the Palace shop a short walk away into Soho. When skating for Passport became a professional affair he stepped away from any nine-to-five activity to free up time to focus solely on skateboarding. This was going well until an errant 50-50 on a handrail at the tail end of last summer led to a torn meniscus, a torn ACL, and the long road to recovery. Thankfully this has gone smoothly, meaning he will be back in action by the time the good weather hits. The tail end of the rehabilitation process seemed like a good moment for this interview, and it was great to speak about everything he picked out for us.

These interviews always bolster the book pile, and open up new life-enriching avenues. This one brought a meditative music element, gifted me new appreciation for an old film, and presented a portal into the tail end of the nineties through Neil Chester’s lens. It was a pleasure talking about a video which has remained a real constant for Matlok. This was a VHS tape on the counter of skate shops country-wide long before he even picked up a skateboard. Courtesy of a thoughtful reissue by Mark Baines this memorable scene video managed to reach, and inspire a whole other generation. Hopefully this recommendation will continue to help it find some fresh eyes.

Once you have treated yourself to some UK skate history find out more about a record full of songs recorded by Factory Records’ very own Martin Hannett. These lesser-known moods, and recordings are guaranteed to take you on a voyage beyond what you may expect. Then take in Hearts of Darkness which revels in, and reveals the chaos that birthed one of the most famous films of all time. Finally, find out about a book full of outsider musicians you may never have heard of before a brief check in about recent developments. We hope this selection will take you on a journey of your own, and look forward to seeing some new Matlok footage in no time.

Sumo-Through The Eyes Of Ruby (1998)

How did this video find you?

I guess you could say I got the second wave of exposure to this video. I wasn’t even skating when it came out, I started in about 2003. I wouldn’t have been aware of SUMO or any of that. But when STORY was around, [Mark] Baines’s skate shop, that was around the time when I first started going to Devonshire Green, and into town. I would have been about thirteen. Baines did the STORY Filmmakers Guild, reissuing old videos. He did a DVD which had Through The Eyes Of Ruby, Steady, Driving South, and Hating Life. I think I just went in and bought the DVD, or maybe I bought a board and he gave me one.

I had probably seen a skate video before that, but that was the first one which made an impact. Especially with Through The Eyes Of Ruby, so many of this spots in it are in Sheffield, and I recognised loads of them. Then I started going into the city more, It would have been the first time I became consciously aware of spots, and what had been done there. The beginning of my understanding of what street skating is really. I think the only other video I had seen at that time would have been Blind What If? So this was a totally different type of video.

Who made the most impact on you?

I was completely obsessed with [Mark] Baines’s part, Scott Palmer’s part, and Joel [Curtis]’s part. They really stood out to me, even re-watching it again recently. I watched it yesterday having not watched it for a few months, it’s just so sick. I love how Joel’s part opens with just a fat drop off a wall. There’s something so sick about the start where he’s just tanking it, and carving that bank, it’s so powerful. Joel was definitely one of my favourite skaters growing up.

It’s rad that Baines put out that DVD, it gave a whole new generation an idea of the strong scene that came before, something to be proud of.

Definitely, everyone is in that video. I’d love to ask Ches [Neil Chester] more about it, how long it took to make, and get some behind the scenes tales of it coming together. One thing I really love about that video is the random Huntington Beach footage that crops up. Especially Baines’s part, there’ll be the bleakest Sheffield spots cut with him nollie tailsllding a rail in the States. The locations in skate videos are sometimes so weird, different, and come out of nowhere. Then when you return from some footage filmed in LA to the UK it looks even more bleak, hahaha, so good. It’s probably my favourite Baines part just because of when I watched it. That Elliot Smith tune is one of my favourites ever, and it works so well.

The way it’s all edited is just so cool, I love the part where there’s a drum fill and it cuts to the sequence of him doing a blindside-fakie nosegrind-shuvit at the old Crucible. That editing really resonated with me. Another thing that was really cool was seeing those spots, by the time I was skating they weren’t there, Crucible was a completely different place, it was crazy thinking there was ledge there once, or that you could skate some stairs. I think that’s the thing with this video, it was always a point of reference when I started skating the city. Joel [Curtis] does a backside 180 down the Odeon 12 in his part. I had never been around it when there weren’t blind bumps there but people would point out what had been done there. I think Smithy [Neil Smith] nollied them too, and it felt at the time like that was just impossible you could skate stairs that big. The stairs are quite short but the steps are so high, it’s insane, I couldn’t understand it.

What elders from this video were around when you were starting?

When I started skating and meeting people they were mainly from the generation in between them and me. I didn’t really meet [Mark] Baines properly or start skating with him until I was about sixteen. When I was going to Dev Green, or the House, it was the generation in the middle, people like Jerome [Campbell], Ash Hall, and Shaun Currie. What was cool was that because I didn’t start skating with any of the guys in it straight away, they had this kind of celebrity about them almost. It made it even funnier, I remember years later going to the pub when I was eighteen, meeting Rob Ransford for the first time and fanning out over meeting him. He wasn’t really skating at that point, just a bloke, a legend, it made it so much cooler. I told him about watching his shared part with Ches [Neil Chester], and he couldn’t believe I was stoked on that, so good.

“This video played a big part in my life from thirteen to sixteen, I was watching it all the time, it was embedded in my brain”

I ended up meeting Joel [Curtis] properly a lot later on and it was the same thing. Growing up locally Joel, and Baines, were always just my favourite skaters. Landscape was the first board brand I ever skated for and one reason I really wanted to do that was because Joel had been a part of that. You look up to these people, then get to meet them and they’re really cool. I love bumping into Joel, or bumping into Seth [Curtis] in London is always really nice.

Watching this video back it shows how next level Baines was at this point in time. We were lucky to see some of what he was filming go down. He was ahead of his time really. It felt like any time he was out for the day he’d film something incredible.

His part is so good, I’m such a huge fan of videos where you get demo footage, or random park footage in your part. He does a nollie 540 from a quarter onto a bank, and everyone is cheering, it’s so sick. You don’t really see that any more, that kind of died, any park footage, or especially demo footage in your part. It’s a nollie 360 really but it spins so much that it looks like a 540. Thinking of [Rob] Ransford’s part too, there’s sick skating in there but also footage of him skating a jump ramp doing Christ Airs and shit.

There’s stuff Ches filmed in London, and bits Dan Magee donated to the video too. This must have put some London spots on your radar before you saw them for yourself.

This video played a big part in my life from thirteen to sixteen, I was watching it all the time, it was embedded in my brain. So by the time I started coming to London, and eventually moved here I was realising where things were. It definitely made me think I would have loved to have skated Shell Centre when it was there. That spot looked so fun. It would have been the first time I saw Viccy Benches, I remember going there for the first time and I definitely had Baines’s lines there from this video playing in my head. I really wanted to film a line there, filmed it, then realised that Lucien [Clarke] had done the trick I was trying in a better line, hahaha.

Baines’s opening line at Knightrider too is so good. When I first moved here I’d walk around there quite a lot because I go to a gym that’s near there. Some lines or tricks link up with music so well, and the way that opening line goes with the start of that song really sticks in your head. I remember going there a few times when Tom [Knox] was filming his part there, and just thinking it’s insane that you could skate all of those stairs in a row, and then skate this sick out ledge at the end.

Some bits of London stood out for me but I just really associate this with Sheffield. Any time I feel like I want to go back to Sheffield to see everyone, and skate The House, or Dev Green, I just watch this video and get so hyped.

Any immediate influences from this video? Or tricks you learned because of it?

I’m not sure if it was consciously, but when I look at this video, Scott Palmer was one of my favourite skaters, and definitely the biggest influence on the way I skate. He’s a small guy, I always wanted to emulate how he skates fast, he’s like this little ball of power. He also has a simple trick selection, nothing too crazy. It was amazing watching him skate Sheffield spots, the stuff he does at St. James, he does a back 180 then a switch 180 down the stairs. Then he has a line where he does a nollie back heel, then switch flips the seven. That’s so fucked. By the time me and my friends were skating there no-one was doing stuff like that. I remember seeing people frontside flip them and thinking that was gnarly, but him doing lines like that back then is insane. I always loved the back 180, switch 180 line, the symmetry, I love full turning stuff like that in skating.

I’ve only met Scott [Palmer] a couple of times, I’ve always thought of him as this enigmatic type of skater, how he skates has always been really interesting to me. Simple tricks done really fast, and powerfully. I met him a couple of times when we went to skate that indoor skatepark in Hull, he was really sweet. I always found it interesting that he had that part in Lost & Found and then kind of stepped away. It’s always so cool when people do it like that, put out a few incredible parts and then just dip.

That “tried to be dope” switch hardflip moment lives on as an often-quoted bit of UK skate history.

Yeah it’s so good! Immortalised forever that quote, it’s fucking perfect. I’ve been to that spot too, it’s in Bridlington I think. We did a Sidewalk x Converse seaside trip years ago, and we went there. I’m sure one of us did a line and tried to quote that. The front crook to fakie he does there is sick.

Sheffield had such a sick scene. The premieres for Anthems, and Waiting For The World were held in Sheffield.

I didn’t know that, that’s fucked. It seems to me that back then people travelled between cities a lot more than they would do now. I know the Yardsale lot will trip to Leeds now for instance, but it seems looking back, like people were dipping everywhere back then, beyond just going back and forth to London. It seems like people don’t really do that now, I have so many friends I skate with from London who have never been to Sheffield, or up North really.

Are there any other specific standout moments for you in this video?

I watched it again yesterday and I really love the Ches [Neil Chester], and [Rob] Ransford shared part because of how different their skating is. I love it when people who are totally different have a shared part. I don’t think I was that bothered about that part when I was younger but watching it now, it’s so sick, the shared Post Office thing. I also remember when I first started skating for Converse I met Ches and I was fanning out on him too. I love Ches, he’s so funny. I saw him last year in Amsterdam at some Pop Trading Co thing, he rocked up fully lycra’d out with his bike. I’ll always love this video, I can always watch it happily. it’s short but sweet. Joel [Curtis]’s part, [Mark] Baines’s part, and Scott Palmer’s part will always remain a favourite.

The Invisible Girls – Martin Hannett & Steve Hopkins (2015)

When and how did this record become part of your life?

I actually think the first time I would have heard anything from this was in a Polar video, Pontus [Alv] used a song in I Like It Here Inside My Mind. Don’t Wake Me This Time. I can’t really remember where I heard the album for the first time though. I was really into all of the Factory Records stuff, and knew of Martin Hannett from looking at the credits of stuff like New Order or Joy Division when I was younger. As I got older I started to delve into more stuff like Magazine, Buzzcocks, Chris Sievey, and all that stuff back into Martin Hannett. I found him from listening to some John Cooper Clarke stuff, he produced the Disguise in Love album.

So the Invisible Girls were a band Martin Hannett was in that accompanied John Cooper Clarke?

Yeah, the Invisible Girls were essentially Martin Hannet’s studio band, so when he was producing stuff he would use them, kind of like The Wrecking Crew you would see on Beach Boys stuff. It was a really good in house studio band made up of incredible musicians, he was psycho so just musicians he liked I guess. Obviously it’s Martin Hannett’s brain in the driving seat but it’s such a specific sound to generate, especially with this group of musicians.

You hear it on that Disguise In Love album, especially on this track “Valley of the Lost Women” which is my favourite John Cooper Clarke song, it’s amazing. His spoken word recording with them playing in the background. I wanted to delve more into that, then stumbled across this album. It’s a collection of songs, that are almost like sketches, ideas that Martin Hannett had, some became songs, some didn’t. Each one fades in, most are made up of two parts, then they fade out, Each one is so well produced, and dense, and thick. It’s not an afterthought built around a recording of a guitar track, they’re full songs.

Songs you listen to often?

Yeah, they’re easy to listen to and zone out. It’s my favourite album to walk around and listen to. Recently when I’ve been doing my knee rehab, and spending time in the gym. When I’m trying to avoid listening to my gym music this is one of my favourite albums to listen to, it’s great for running. There are different elements to it where it’s almost like the soundtrack to a Sci-Fi film, other tracks are the classic post punk sound that was around at that time. Then I bought the record which has made me listen to it even more, it’s just become this thing I’ll keep going back to every now and again.

“it’s Martin Hannett’s brain in the driving seat but it’s such a specific sound to generate, especially with this group of musicians”

My understanding of it is that they were making these tracks with the end goal being that someone would pick them to sing over, a more commercial aim.

Yeah they were. That “Time is Slipping” song was recorded for Pauline Murray who sang in that band Penetration. That became one of hers, and then I think he produced her album. I’m not sure what he intended to do with all of them, other than them all being these weird ideas. It’s a compilation of all of these tracks that he got together.

Songs without homes almost?

Yeah, exactly but because he’s so fucking talented they’re all incredible.

When I listened to it, it felt like the first five tracks were definable, or fit into a genre, then it went a bit more off-piste.

Yeah they are like coherent songs for sure, then there’s that “Procession” track, and it starts to get a bit more weird after that. That’s when this Sci-Fi element comes in. I’m looking now at what Pontus [Alv] used for his video, it was “All Sorts Of Heroes” part 3, it’s one at the very tail end of the album. I always looked at that song “Huddersfield Wastes”, I would listen to that a lot, and I always tried to put it forward for videos as a song idea, I think it would be so sick to skate to because it’s so epic. It never got used unfortunately, there are other songs on there which would be amazing to skate to. Because they’re instrumentals, and there’s so much space there I think it would work so well.

I had the album on while working and it was an easy listen, very meditative.

That’s the thing, it doesn’t demand too much from you but it’s really satisfying. Like you say those first four or five songs are really banging, then it becomes weird and meditative after that. I always recommend this to people who like anything he touched. My girlfriend’s mum is really into Magazine, and all those Manchester bands, I gave her this record and she was really hyped on it.

This is an album you’ll play as a whole?

I’ll put the whole record on if I’m tidying the house or something, but I definitely have favourite songs I’ll put on if I’m listening to it on my headphones. I’ll put on “Huddersfild Wastes” or “Time Is Slipping”. It’s quite an intense thing nowadays to find the time to listen to a whole album so I listen to tracks here and there. I definitely get a lot of joy putting the whole thing on while I tidy or something though.

So you maintain buying records?

Yeah definitely, my girlfriend had been working at Rough Trade since she was about fifteen, and left when she was about twenty three. She has always worked in music. So I was already a big music head but when I met her I inherited her whole record collection as well. I’ve been trying my best to contribute towards it, she got me into buying records more, and now it’s something I’m really into. We have a real good record shop called Stranger Than Paradise which is next to where we live. It’s run by Noreen [McShane] who used to manage Rough Trade East, and worked with my girlfriend Tallulah. She’s like her second mum so we go there all the time. You could go on for ages and sound pretentious saying that record shops are the closest thing to the skate shop experience, but they really are. It’s sick to have a hub where you can check in, have a flick through, and have a chat.

Who or what has turned you on to the most music do you think?

The main thing that put me on to music, different stuff, was inheriting my older stepbrother’s iPod when I was thirteen. It had such a good mix of music, and I had no idea how to change what music was on there, just how to charge it. So I had to stick with what was already there but it was packed with so much, loads of 90s hip hop. It was the first time I had listened to Biggie, but also the first time I heard The Smiths. It was such a good starting point, almost like inheriting your brother’s record collection. That gave me a musical compass to begin with. I was lucky to grow up in a generation where Spotify came around, and YouTube meant you could listen to anything and everything. I remember being sixteen scouring for music, and just hitting related videos again and again. It all started with that iPod though.

If someone reads this, listens to this record and wants more, where should they start digging?

If you haven’t already I recommend looking through all of Marin Hannett’s producing credits, there’s a long list, and even if it’s a slightly different sounding artist you can always hear him in the details, how mental he is. I’d investigate the stories of him producing Joy Division stuff, making Stephen Morris play drums on a roof on his own. Read about his methods of recording and how crazy it is, you get a deeper appreciation of his stuff when you realise how crazy his methods were, especially during that time. Go through his discography for sure.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse (1991)

Talking about crazy methods segues nicely into this. Is this documentary a recent watch?

Totally, without even watching this documentary it’s kind of common knowledge that Apocalypse Now was a fucked up film to make. I had watched the film a couple of times when I was younger. I’m a big documentary head anyway, when I was laid up after my recent surgery I just started watching loads of stuff. This was recommended on a podcast that I listen to so I watched it, and it blew my mind in so many ways. From a production standpoint, to watching Francis Ford Coppola go crazy, then what the actors went through too. It gave me so much respect for acting, seeing how much it affected Martin Sheen’s health. There’s that scene at the beginning of the film when he’s on his own in that room, watching the story and process behind that makes it even better, I just found it really interesting.

His method there is incredible.

It gave me a great appreciation of the craft just hearing him talk about it. He says he wasn’t doing well, and was drinking a lot. He explains that in the scene he was intent on facing this guy head on the guy he had become. That whole scene was almost a cathartic, therapeutic mission. Getting battered, and having it out.

You mentioned parallels with skating.

I think we have the equivalent in skateboarding a lot. Whether it’s Heath Kirchart only wearing white to film a part, or stories about people going crazy because of the process they’ve subjected themselves to. I always find the back stories about what went into getting something really interesting, and this documentary tells the story of the gnarliest version of that in a way.

One of my takeaways was the uncertainty of this thing, Coppola wondering if it was ever going to come to fruition.

It’s a real peek behind the curtain. I guess when you watch films you see them as these big machines, and think of everything being so organised, and well constructed. Then you look at this which is one of the most well-respected films of all time, and realise the director was on this crazy shoot in the Philippines with no idea of how to finish the fucking thing.

Through to completely canning parts of the script, and filming improvised lines.

Yeah, having a call sheet with no title, no plan other than turning up for the day. Making that film has every element to it that makes for a good story. How it was fucked from the get go, how the script comes to happen. The notion of George Lucas entertaining making the thing in Vietnam, during the Vietnam war. I love the idea of the script itself being this untouchable thing no-one wanted to go near. They talk about how Orson Welles was going to convert the story into a movie but made Citizen Kane instead and never did it. It’s the film equivalent of when there’s an equation on the wall that needs to be solved. You’ve got Francis Ford Coppola funding the thing himself, remortgaging his house.

“I love the idea of the script itself being this untouchable thing no-one wanted to go near”

I think Laurence Fishburne was fifteen at the time he was acting in this film but lied about his age to get on the cast. So many little elements about it are so cool. Then the stuff with Marlon Brando at the end is hilarious. I never really think about this stuff, but talking to you now I’ve definitely been on trips with skaters who have the same approach. Rocking up on a trip with no intention of skating, the big skater who rocks up and does fuck all. That’s the equivalent of Marlon Brando in this film, hahaha. Give me a million dollars now, then I’m going to come over there and not do shit. It’s so funny, I love it when Francis Ford Coppola takes note of Brando’s weight, he tells him they can work with it, make him this gluttonous leader. Then Marlon Brando tells him he’s insecure about his weight and doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Coppola couldn’t win.

It would have panned out completely differently if circumstances weren’t pitted against them.

Yeah it makes you think if everything went well what would the film look like. There would have been none of that crazy improvisation from Brando at the end. You wouldn’t have got the same performance from Martin Sheen if he wasn’t so fucked, filming this thing, and having a heart attack fed into his character. If it was an uneventful, successful shoot, how would it have turned out?

They make reference to making this being their own war of sorts.

Oh my god yeah, that piece he [Francis Ford Coppola] delivers at the beginning is so epic. I remember when I first watched the documentary thinking “holy shit, this is going to be amazing” just from what he says. He’s just a film director talking about a film but he could be talking about anything, his words transcend the subject.

He thought he was making a bad piece of work the whole time. It hammered home that even the most talented, successful, award-winning humans are affected by self doubt.

Yeah, he was plagued by these nightmares, or visions of it being a complete failure. That stuff is really reassuring when you’re in any kind of job where you’re making something creative, something that will end up out there to be judged. Knowing that the leading people, or the most respected, are just as insecure as you are. You see him as this obvious movie giant but he’s returning to his wife every night and confiding that he has no idea what is going to happen. It also reinforces that sometimes things made out of pure panic can turn out well. This documentary really resonated with me at the time I watched it, there’s something so interesting about anything you really like which has a crazy story behind it, and this is one of the craziest stories of all.

I loved that Coppola wasn’t precious about guarding this process. His belief being that anyone can make a film. Seeing that more access to technology would mean more filmmakers.

Exactly, he started a production company. He wanted to put a camera in anyone’s hand. I always respected that about him as a filmmaker, he wasn’t guarded about the craft, he wasn’t stuck up about film or directing. He definitely came at it from a more creative standpoint, where anyone can do it, it’s just about doing it.

So you recommend everyone watches the film if they haven’t already, and then checks out the documentary?

I had seen the film a few times, I think I first watched it when I was about seventeen. Then saw it a few years later, and had a different experience with it. But watching the documentary, and then watching the film again, it became a whole different film. That peek behind the curtain is so revealing, like seeing how the sausage is made.

Songs in the key of Z – Irwin Chusid (200)

This book is another musical gift, when did this find you?

This was a present from my girlfriend, she got it for me about a year ago. I don’t think I even asked for it, she just knew to get it for me. The author Irwin Chusid put together this compilation of stories about different outsider musicians. It’s a type of music I have always been obsessed with, beginning with liking Daniel Johnston from a young age, then finding out about The Shaggs and stuff. There’s this whole world of musicians who came into music, recording out of necessity, with no idea of what they were intending to do, or wanting to do. Some of them were trying to be famous, but some of them just have these songs they’ve written and want to record them. It goes back to the Francis Ford Coppola idea of putting a camera in anyone’s hand, it’s kind of the same with music. If all of these people make music just to do it, rather than because they’re good or know how to, you end up with these really incredible things sometimes.

Out of this book I guess Daniel Johnston is a shining example of that. There are other interesting people in it. The thing with outsider music is I’ve always been obsessed with the story of how things came to be, the facts behind things. If I like something I want to know everything about it. I don’t know if you’ve listened to Philosophy of the World by The Shaggs? I think Frank Zappa said that album was one of his favourite of all time. They were these sisters, and the dad was obsessed with making them famous so he bought them all this gear, took a loan out, and paid for them to record. None of them could play their instruments, and they didn’t know how to sing, or write music. Yet they made these weirdly kind of insightful songs, pressed about 100 records, and nothing happened. Over time it became this thing, to the point where we are talking about now. It’s really unlistenable music, but also so innocent. It captured something, you can’t really make something like that, it’s so natural, and weird, and interesting. That’s the thing about recording this stuff, it’s frozen in time forever.

And this guys mission is to preserve their stories and make sure they’re not lost.

Exactly, the guy who wrote the book is interesting himself. Some of the musicians he’s just writing about but others are people he has met. I haven’t read the book for a while but he talks about meeting Wesley Willis in the basement of a venue before he played. That gives it another element, he has really good personal stories about some of the people he’s speaking about, which adds to the sense of character you had about them before. Wesley Willis also made fairly unlistenable music. Some of these artists I would put on the stereo when I worked in the Palace shop to get people to leave, hahaha.

“The reason I love this book so much is because it’s super informative but you can also tell that Irwin Chusid is really passionate about the subject matter”

Wesley Willis would make songs using the pre-loaded tunes on his keyboard. He’d always use the same two or three of those tunes, and add his own story over the top. He was similar to Daniel Johnston, very influenced by comic books, he did songs about Superman or Batman, they were all constructed in a similar way. I think his most famous song is “Rock N Roll McDonalds”. It’s worth checking out. Wth these outsider musicians you always have these incredible personalities behind the music, and crazy stories. The reason I love this book so much is because it’s super informative but you can also tell that Irwin Chusid is really passionate about the subject matter.

This must have opened up some serious avenues of exploration?

There are quite a few people in the book I didn’t know much about who I have been learning about, and listening to. I hadn’t heard about Joe Meek before reading this but I became really interested in his story. He was almost like a British Phil Spector, a crazy music producer who was ahead of his time. He ended up killing his landlady, and then shooting himself when he was in his thirties. He lived on Holloway Road actually, I have seen the house where he used to live, there’s a blue plaque up there. He produced an instrumental song called “Telstar” by The Tornados which was the first record by a British rock band to reach number one in the US charts. He was going to produce the band conventionally but then completely took over this instrumental and it became this hugely successful song which led to him working with other musicians.

I’ve always been interested in music producers and their process, people like Martin Hannett, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector and people like that. Joe Meek is almost a comic book villain version of that. His house was his studio, the drummer would be playing in the living room, they’d be recording backing vocals in the bathroom, someone in every room. There’s a story where he pulled a shotgun on a drummer because he couldn’t play a part right, he held him at gunpoint until he played the drums the way he wanted them. Someone who was such a pioneer, and made all of this incredible stuff, but was a horrific person. He had his own issues going on which contributed to that. You need to check out this space concept album he made called I Hear a New World, at the time no-one made that type of stuff. The title track off that album is so spooky and weird. When you listen to that music and reailse this guy is on Holloway Road in the early 60s, not doing too good, but is recording this music on his own, it’s really interesting. This book led to me going through his back catalogue.

There also people like Harry Partch who was a composer who grew up in Arizona, and then New Mexico. He had a poor upbringing but goes on to become a composer using all of these crazy instruments he made himself. You see pictures of these instruments, and they look like something from Alien. Search for these instruments, they’re in storage, no-one knows how to play them. What I love about this book is it talks about Daniel Johnston, The Shaggs, and Captain Beefheart, classic people you would expect to hear about and associate with this form of music. But then there are characters like Joe Meek or Harry Partch who are completely out there who I may never have come across. Pushing outsider music on anybody isn’ t easy, here’s this horrible music that’s hard to listen to made by people who don’t now how to play, haha. But there are so many different avenues in this book, it encapsulates everything well from Tiny Tim to Syd Barret, it’s all in there, they’ve all got a chapter.

The kind of figures and songs who would be a gatekeepers dream, yet he does the opposite.

Totally, he’s putting you on to all of these people, and lots of them are backed up with his personal accounts. The Wesley Willis encounter I mentioned before is hilarious. Wesley Willis had a big bump on his head because every time he would meet someone he’d give them a headbutt. The author talks about going to meet him to do an interview and getting headbutted super hard as an opener, then the interview was really tense because he seemed unpredictable, he had no idea what he was going to do. It’s really infectious hearing how passionate he is about recounting or presenting this stuff.

This seems like the kind of book you can happily dip in and out of.

It’s great to revisit. When I first started reading this book I went on a trip to Kent with my girlfriend, to the middle of nowhere to stay at a hotel by the sea. I read this book on the train there, then started listening to the Joe Meek stuff which is when I found that “I Hear a New World” song. The place we stayed felt like it had a population of about 200 people, nobody anywhere. I remember going out for a cigarette before I went to bed, and listening to that song. Pitch black, isolated, with a song so eerie and spooky, I’ll never forget it. I’ll forever link together that weekend in a ghostly seaside town with that book, everyone has those associations with certain things. Music paired with an uncommon experience is like smell, it stays with you forever.

Have you got any projects on the boil or trips planned? You’re still in the rehabilitation stage right?

I’m deep in knee rehab at the moment, I’m trying to build that strength back up. I’m hoping to start skating in the next couple of months, getting back into it, and getting things back again. I’m going to be going on a Passport trip to Finland in July because we just put that lad Eetu [Toropainen] on. He’s like the chosen one, so good at skating. He lives in Helsinki so we’re going to do a trip out there, and then go camping around Finland which will be really nice. I’m looking forward to that. Squish [Jack O’Grady], Josh Pall, and a good chunk of the team are going to go. Passport trips are always so fun, they’re always keen to do something outside of the usual skate trips to a city. It’s going to be a good way for me to ease back in to skating, and going on trips.

Matlok getting involved on a Passport trip last year. Japanese BSNBS filmed by Geoff Campbell

It’s always good to see you in that mix. How is it being a relatively new addition to the New Balance squad?

They’ve been amazing, I started skating for New Balance about a year ago. I didn’t even talk about the link between Through The Eyes of Ruby and meeting Seb [Palmer] for the first time actually. I loved talking to him about that. I was talking to my girlfriend about this earlier, skateboarding is so weird in that way. I grew up watching that video, watching [Mark] Baines’s part on repeat, then meeting him. He was the first person to ever give me any free stuff really, he used to flow me Fabric boards out of his package when he skated for them. Fast forward ten years later and I’m asking him for shoes, and working with him regularly now.

It was so cool meeting Seb, you know where SUMO used to be? I ended up working in that very same unit, I worked in Size? the shoe shop when it was there years later which is so crazy. It was funny to talk to him about that. I hadn’t met him right up until I first went out to Long Beach to speak to him, we had plenty to talk about. It’s just really cool to get on a new shoe brand, then straight away I’m working with [Mark] Baines, Seb [Palmer], and [Dave] Mackey. It’s so nice, I’m so lucky. Skateboarding is so weird like that, you meet people, and make these relationships which come full circle. Don’t be a dick to someone basically, you might need to hit them up for something in ten years.

Are you sat on any footage?

I actually have a part in [Daniel] Wheatley’s video which should be coming out in around June. He’s finishing up working on that at the moment. It’s going to be good having that come out. Then I’m planning to spend the rest of the year getting back to feeling good on my skateboard, but I want to have something in the works. My main takeaway from being injured is realising how important it is to always be sitting on a little bit of footage. If you get hurt when you’ve got nothing filmed it’s the worst. One thing that’s helped me get through a lot of this injury is knowing that I’ve got a part coming out. From now on I always want to be trying to film even if there’s no major project in the works, I want to be as busy as I can be.

We want to thank Matlok Bennett-Jones for the time he took to speak about the recommendations above which are guaranteed to help you happily while away some hours. We wish him a quick recovery and look forward to seeing him in action very soon. Keep an eye on the Passport Instagram for more updates.

We would also like to thank Neil Macdonald (Science Vs. Life) for the loft visit and VHS photo, and Swift Blazer for the DVD shot. While we are at it we’d also like to thank Neil Chester for making Through The Eyes of Ruby a quarter of a century ago.

Previous ‘Offerings’ Interviews: Spencer Hamilton, Aaron Herrington, Rowan Zorilla, Beatrice Domond, Chris Jones, Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long, Helena Long, Tom Karangelov, Bobby Puleo, Ray Barbee, Zach Riley, Ryan Lay, Casper Brooker

The post Offerings: Matlok Bennett-Jones appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Welcome to the latest instalment in our “Visuals” series, the result of a conversation with Charlie Munro about some important moments in skate history that made a lasting impact on him. Read on to see what video part, trick, photo, and board graphic he selected. Then see where he is at right now via a quick Q&A after the close…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Charlie Munro in NYC. PH: Quentin Guthrie

Charlie Munro is one of the most powerful skateboarders the UK has ever produced, a talented technician with a lunatic eye for what’s possible. He’s also one of the most prolific, always busy working on something. This interview was made possible by a momentary lull in his hectic travelling schedule, which is primarily focused on crafting a new part for New Balance. This is discussed later on in the article. We look forward to seeing new footage on the streets of London, and from wherever that heavily stamped passport delivers him very soon.

It was interesting hearing more of Charlie’s story in the context of his selection, and the point in time each moment found him. Everything he picked is tied in some way to his formative years. Our conversation greeted Charlie at the beginning of his skateboarding journey, where his first-ever video purchase could have gone in a variety of different directions. Thanks to sound advice he opted for a classic, and one part in particular held lasting appeal. Enjoy the appreciation of the seminal éS Menikmati video that kicks things off, and learn why Arto Saari’s part was one that lit the fire for him. You’ll be sure to think of it the next time you’re trying to pinch a crooked grind for some distance. Next, explore a magical Milton Keynes moment from a San Franciso-centric Rob Welsh part. This iconic trick made an impact on Charlie when he returned to skateboarding after a hiatus, it’s obvious watching him skate that Wu-Welsh’s execution has permeated into his consciousness, and set a precedent.

The photo that left a lasting impression on Charlie is a Sidewalk cover from over twenty years ago captured by Andy Horsley. This was the result of a Clown trip to Italy where a shortage of spots provoked some creative thinking from Chris Oliver, nudging him to entertain tackling a twenty-two-stair curved handrail. When it came to speaking about a board graphic it was another childhood favourite, a John Rattray Blueprint graphic Charlie fondly remembers prolonging the life of. This graphic was further stamped into his grey matter via some epic moments of John killing it on a Circa tour that featured in Transworld’s Video Radio. Enjoy finding out more about this selection and their significance…

Arto Saari – éS Menikmati (2000)

Menikmati was the first video bought with my own money when I was eight years old. I had just started skating, and was given some money for Christmas. We were lucky to have a skater-owned shop in Cambridge where I grew up called Vert which was there for a year or two after I started. We went in there between Boxing Day and New Year’s and I remember being super excited. I had some money, and knew I wanted to buy a video. The guys working in there recommended Menikmati for my first video. I can’t say the cover inspired me – I was picking up 411s because they had pictures on the front and naturally you’re drawn to them as a kid but I ended up going with Menikmati from their recommendation. I’m so glad I did, even now I can watch that video, and it’s still amazing.

Because Arto is regular, I related to him more, and wanted to be like him. I enjoyed the music, liked his style, and everything he was doing. There was also that element of him coming from outside of the US, then going there. His story about that in the intro was really cool, and relatable. He talks about America not being the absolute dreamland it’s presented to be, which is pretty bang on to be honest. I’ve experienced exactly what he’s talking about. When I went there I wasn’t under the impression it was going to be some utopia anyway purely from talking to other people. It’s great there but there are a few factors that make it a bit shit.

I was instantly impressed by how solid Arto was, he would do really gnarly shit but make it look easy. He did everything properly and that drew me to him. There’s a clip in the part where he does a frontside flip over a rail, then the next clip is a switch frontside flip down some stairs. I couldn’t believe that he could do it regular and switch. At the time that was so mind-blowing to me. There’s also the El Toro front board where the lights turn off which is so sick! You hear him say “motherfucking generator went off and shit”. It’s so good, he sounds pissed off even though he’s just rolled away from such a good trick.

“Revisiting this video will always take me back to being a kid again which is really nice”

His part is so good, I watched it again just the other day. He also does that crooked grind around the curvy ledge. That was monumental for me, something that was stuck in my head for so long. That’s why I forced myself to try and get good at crooks from a young age.

In the part Arto does a lipslide followed by another lipslide on the Arco rails in LA. I remember going there on a trip and being so hyped to see those rails because of that. There’s also the bigger side where [Heath] Kirchart tries to lipslide then lipslide the two 17 stair rails in Sight Unseen which is pretty hectic. It was cool to visit that spot for nostalgic reasons. I think sub-consciously Arto is always a bit of an inspo for me. I don’t skate rails so much any more but there was a stage where I was really into it, and Arto was definitely a part of that. Revisiting this video will always take me back to being a kid again which is really nice. I used to analyse everything when I younger to try and figure out how people did certain things. I’d analyse step by step how someone made their board flip a certain way and try to apply it.

This video has such a good cross section of people too. You’ve got [Ronnie] Creager’s part which is super chill, he’s got the bucket hat on, he’s living life in Cali, having a nice time. Then Arto’s throwing himself down the gnarliest shit he can find. But I do love that Creager part too, the flip back tail flip out, all of that stuff he does is insane, so ahead of it’s time. Then [Tom] Penny’s part is amazing too. Having a guy in there from the UK made it so much more relatable, and way more enjoyable, knowing there were people from all over the world, and then this dude from Oxford thrown in the mix who is the absolute G.O.A.T.

Rob Welsh – Transworld FREE YOUR MIND (2003)

At the point when this came out I had been skating for a few years. I don’t think I really appreciated this as much as I should have until I came back to skating. I was skating from the age of about eight, then stopped when I was thirteen. I was always the youngest person in the group I skated with but when they all started to go to University, and left where I lived, I was kind of on my own. I carried on skating for about six months but it loses it’s charm a bit when you’re out skating on your own. Coming from a village, a small town, everyone leaving definitely took the fun away. So I stopped when I was thirteen, then started again when I was about to turn nineteen so I missed some pretty valuable years. I remember seeing this Rob Welsh noseslide pop out before I quit but it was only when I started again that I really appreciated it for what it was.

I would go to Milton Keynes a lot myself when I started again so this was something relatable. I remember looking at the spot and thinking it’s just the best way you could have done it. [Rob] Welsh is the steeziest guy, and I’m forever a fan of that trick. I’m a big fan of the noseslide pop and Rob Welsh does it in the best possible way, We kind of have a little saying me and Quinno [Quentin Guthrie] where you have the “Anti-Welsh” which is when someone noseslides and doesn’t pop out. The rule of thumb is that if you’re anti-welshing just don’t noseslide. There is definitely some Rob Welsh influence any time I do that trick. This one at the bus station is iconic.

“It is a great example of a simple trick done perfectly. Less is more is a saying that is very true in skateboarding”

It is a great example of a simple trick done perfectly. Less is more is a saying that is very true in skateboarding. There was a period of time where there was a lot of flip in, flip out shit going on but less is more. Keeping things simple can look the best. I’m a big fan of Rob Welsh, the dude is amazing but this one trick will always be an all time favourite. His whole part in Free Your Mind is so SF-centric then there’s this one trick in Milton Keynes. It’s rad that he’s not from here, then that one trick he did here is so phenomenal, and will always stick in my mind. I haven’t been to Milton Keynes for a long time but kind of want to revisit that bar-to pop-to road. It’s definitely hard to skate. I heard Barney [Page] did it frontside recently which is sick.

Chris Oliver. 50-50 in Sorrento. PH: Andy Horsley (2003)

Chrissy boy! I was with him yesterday actually, I went for a roast with him and his missus. This photo came out the same year as the Rob Welsh video part. It was the cover of Sidewalk, and I cut it out and put it on the cover of one of my workbooks for school because I was so into it. I remember thinking “this dude is insane”. In my mind there weren’t really any people in the UK doing shit like this, jumping on rails like that. I hadn’t really heard of Chrissy before seeing this, then suddenly there’s this dude, and from that moment I was an instant fan. It’s weird to think that now I’m really good friends with him, and we do all of this stuff together. He was such a big part of skateboarding for me growing up so it’s quite nice.

I think this is probably one of the best Sidewalk covers that there ever was, it’s so good, and it was twenty-one years ago so Chrissy must have only been about nineteen at the time. There are over twenty stairs, and there’s a gnarly curve at the front, he is a wild man for that. He still skates so good nowadays, every time I skate with him I’m shocked. He’s still learning tricks, still skating better than anyone. He really is so underrated, anything he wants to do on a skateboard he can do it. It never clicked, he never went as far as we all would have liked to have seen, but I guess that’s skateboarding.

“I think this is probably one of the best Sidewalk covers that there ever was”

There’s footage of the attempts at this out there too, it doesn’t look like this was hard for him at all. This was on a Clown Skateboards trip back when Benny [Fairfax] was riding for them too. The ride out for this isn’t ideal either, you’re heading into the sea, it’s such a short landing, you see him power slide at the bottom. It’s so wild, his stance on the 50-50 is so sick too, he’s got one arm up. There are pedestrians watching him do it in the background, and they’ve never seen anything like it “who is this lunatic?” they’re thinking. Chris has gone on this trip, and the only spot he can find is a twenty-two stair curvy handrail – guess I’ll jump on that then. That’s just Chris, that’s probably what went through his mind, the only thing he can see is this massive rail so he adapts, and sees what happens. I don’t remember any other really big rails he skated other than this one which is quite interesting, it shows his approach to stuff. He is a great human, I’m hopefully going to see him later today.

Blueprint John Rattray deck. Graphic by Dan Magee (2001)

This was one of my first boards, it’s one that will always stand out in my mind. All of the colours are so sick together. When you’re really young you value your skateboard so highly. I would have made this board last for six months or maybe longer. You know when you scrape your tail so much that it goes square? I would have sanded the corners of this one down to make it round again. It would have been re-gripped too just to make it last as long as possible. This was my favourite board, I would have learned a bunch of shit on it.

[John] Rattray was a massive inspiration to me back in the day, he’s the reason for choosing this board. Waiting For The World would have been my first introduction to him. Then he has footage killing it, riding this exact board in Transworld’s Video Radio which is another video I rinsed when I was younger too. He is just an ATV, he skates anything, and everything, and does it so well. Arto and him don’t remind me of each other specifically but the way they skate is similar in a way, very powerful, and well rounded.

The board itself really stands out in Video Radio, [John] Rattray does a nollie flip, and a backside flip down London Bridge ten on it. He’s also skating Playstation skatepark in that video. He does a frontside alley-oop ollie on the old vert ramp high above a kid stood in the foreground with a mohawk. I was talking to Tom [Knox] about it and it turns out that kid was his brother Sparrow which is so sick, I heard that and couldn’t believe it, that’s fucking amazing. He has a line at Southbank skating that board too, he does a nollie backside heelflip on flat, then switch backside 180s the seven, and he is going so fast! I’m a big fan of Rattray. It’s during the filming of Video Radio that he was asked by Jamie Thomas to ride for Zero, so looking back these are the last flashes of him on a Blueprint board. That was another big step back then, someone moving from a UK board company to one of the most popular US companies.

“When you’re really young you value your skateboard so highly. I would have made this board last for six months or maybe longer”

Palace paid homage to those boards recently, they did one for Chewy [Cannon], and one for [Danny] Brady. I was hyped when I saw that, I should have probably tried to buy one of those for the wall. I would ultimately love to have that Rattray board but that’s a very long time ago now. I skated a lot of Blueprint boards back in the day, my first ever board was a Blueprint, they would have all been bought from the same shop where I got Menikmati from. I knew of Blueprint but the guys in the shop definitely helped me make the decision and guided me towards the company. My first board was a Colin Kennedy with an arty type of yellow graphic, I remember being super hyped on that board too. After that I would try to only skate Blueprint boards. I was young at the time so had no real idea of what was good but I’m so glad that was my introduction, a UK thing, a brand that was so sick. If anyone has one of those boards to donate I would be eternally grateful.

Thanks for that Charlie, just a few questions. You’ve been busy this year, what’s your schedule right now?

I’ve been travelling a lot this year so far. I’ve been going on a bunch of trips with Quinno [Quentin Guthrie] for a New Balance project. It’s kind of our own project but New Balance have been supporting us throughout which has been incredible. We’ve got Davide [Holzknecht] from Italy involved too so we’ve done a bunch of trips for that, I’ve been trying to get out filming with Quinno [Quentin Guthri] as much as possible. I also have a bunch of Monster trips coming up too, I’m going to Lisbon with them next week.

Where have you been already this year?

I spent a month in Australia which was amazing. It’s pretty hard to skate there though. Everyone is just so fucking good there that even when you think you have a good idea, chances are it’s ABD. SO that made the trip pretty difficult. I took a pretty good slam the first week I was there too, and had to chill for a couple of weeks. I borderline thought I had broken my hip but luckily I think I’m okay. It still hurts a little bit but I can fully skate now which is good.

Going the distance. Backside nollie-switch frontside crooked grind in Milan filmed by Quentin Guthrie

I’m going to Lisbon next week. I’ve been to Athens, that was for a New Balance Europe thing with Josh Hallett and the boys. That was really fun, we were in Athens a couple of weeks before I flew to Australia. I went to Brazil with Monster in December of last year, we did an event out there. I blew out my heel half way through that trip and it took until February to heal properly, an annoying two month injury which healed in time for Athens. So my next stop is Lisbon, then Zurich, then I’m back for a week before flying out to China.

Sounds like you’re way busier than most.

It’s all pretty full on right now but when I get back from China I’m going to try my best to stay here. I really want to film some stuff in London, I feel like I’ve been slacking on London footage for this project, and we want to make sure there’s a bunch of good stuff filmed here. London is the best.

It’s sick you’ve had the New Balance thing to focus on and it’s something epic, not just sporadic trips for smaller projects.

It’s been great, I’m proud of everything we’ve been doing. Quinno is amazing at what he does. He’s very strict when it comes to quality control. But that is definitely not a bad thing, it’s important to have quality control in everything you do.

You must be used to that having worked closely with Dan Magee and Kevin Parrott on Cover Version.

That’s true, those guys are strict about what they put out also. It can be frustrating sometimes. There are a few things we have filmed that I would be happy with but Quinno thinks I could do it better so we’ve planned to go back. Some of the stuff is quite scary though, there are some situations I’m not looking forward to putting myself through again. I have a few things playing on my mind I need to go and confront again but it’s all for the greater good. Quality over quantity is what we’re going for.

When do you expect that part to be finished?

We have to figure the music, and there’s still a bunch more stuff that I want to do for it. When Quinno feels it’s ready, in a good place, and he’s hyped on it is when it will go out. We’re working with September as a rough deadline but we’re not sure just yet.

You’re currently operating without a board sponsor, how’s that going?

Yeah, I recently parted ways with Primitive so now I’m a free agent. I actually feel really good about it. I don’t feel restricted in any way. I have been riding Primitive boards for around seven years so iI’ve been enjoying trying out other boards again. It’s like a new chapter which is great, everyone has been really supportive.

What’s your ideal board?

I’m actually not that picky. I kinda dip between 8.25″ and 8.38″ depending on how I’m feeling.

We hope you find a new home soon. Any last words?

Shout out to you for taking the time, and shout out Palomino.

We would like to thank Charlie for this one, we can’t wait to see what his year of travelling produces. Thanks to Quentin Guthrie for the support with photo and footage. Thanks also to Neil Macdonald ( Science Vs. Life ) for the Sidewalk cover mag scan, and to Dan Taylor for the photo from his Blueprint board collection.

Keep an eye on Charlie Munro for updates, and follow New Balance for clips of Charlie and the rest of the team. We recommend taking in the “Scrape” part Charlie grafted on with Quentin Guthrie. At 1:41 there is a nollie noseslide employing Rob Welsh’s exit strategy, and at 0:20 there is a lengthy crooked grind handled all these years later thanks to some Arto Saari technique. It’s good to see that inspo in action.

Previous Visuals Interviews: Lev Tanju, Jack Curtin, Ted Barrow, Dave Mackey, Jack Brooks, Korahn Gayle, Will Miles, Kevin Marks, Joe Gavin, Chewy Cannon

The post Visuals: Charlie Munro appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Welcome to the first instalment of Screen Time. This is a new feature we’ll drop on you sporadically filled with top-tier web content we have selected for you. Screen time is a loaded term these days, this list of essential viewing should make you wince less when that weekly report pops up. Replace doomscrolling by setting aside time for some things which have recently hit the infobahn that you may have missed. This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive rundown of everything that’s happened, simply some things we have enjoyed that we think you will too…

Quartersnacks – Favourite Spot with Dom Henry

We didn’t want you to miss this one. When Dom’s “favourite part” for Quartersnacks dropped it marked a moment for us. So much great content had landed in our lap in the space of a few days, and this was the icing on the cake, it planted the seed for curating this selection for you. Farran Golding did a sterling job putting this together. Clicking on the clip above wiil transport you to the video piece he created, We recommend heading over to Quartersnacks also to read Paul Shier’s thoughtful words about Dom Henry’s campaign at the tail end of Fairfield as we know it, and the reason for it’s decline. This piece is of course filled with Dom’s footage that was primarily filmed by Quentin Guthrie & Rich Smith, but is backed up by archival footage from Dan Magee, Josh Stewart, Adam Todhunter, Jacob Harris, James Cruickshank, Ethan De Lacy, and Chris Aylen, as well as photos shot by Dominic Marley and Wig Worland. We thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Guy Mariano Bobshirt Interview

Bobshirt interviews are always on point, and this is one of the best yet. Tim Anderson, as always, gets right into it with one of the best to ever do it, making way for over an hour of stories. These dip right back to every skateboarding expedition being a front row seat to Mark Gonzales’ exponential progression and chart his career from his first appearance. Switch 360 flips, Slash’s credit card, Axions, and even a Bobshirt. This is essential viewing.

Mike Arnold’s Thrasher “Mike vs Bike” Video

About a month ago adidas Skateboarding dropped the “Dae Trip” video which teamed up Daewon Song with three striped team mate Mike Arnold. This part filmed and edited by Jacob Harris did a good job of showing their unique talents. The penultimate trick in this was Mike’s fakie flip through a bike frame at Lloyd’s in Bristol. Something which flashes by. It turns out that the process behind this was an epic undertaking which is where Mike Vs Bike comes in. Find out more about this moment captured by Phil Parker with an alternative angle from Arthur Hill. For more insights into Mike’s process check out Backstory: Nick Jensen & Mike Arnold.

The Nine Club JOey Suriel Interview

This is another interesting interview full of insights from what was a golden era of time for many of us. For his episode of The Nine Club Joey Suriel gives us more than a peek behind the curtain of what was happening. His story is a rich one interwoven with many people, companies, and eras. It was amazing finding out more about the Menace days, this company was short lived but made a huge impact on the skateboard industry. This moment can never be repeated but it’s amazing seeing things like this Lucien Clarke part paying homage to the Menace part in 20 Shot Sequence in the best way. This Joey Suriel interview is full of history, and some great stories.

Rodney Mullen on Hawk Vs Wolf

Tony Hawk and Jason Ellis have been putting out their Hawk Vs Wolf podcast for a good while now, they are now nearing 150 episodes. We’re not sure if this podcast is on your radar but if not that’s a lot of bingeable material at your fingertips. Episode 137 came out a couple of months ago now but still felt it’s one we’d like to direct you to for this first run of web selects. This interview is with skateboarding pioneer Rodney Mullen, an inspiration with a new lease of life. There are some great nuggets in here including a glove tip for spinning 360, and a Swatch demo with a twist. Definitely set some time aside for this one.

“Down By Law” by Paul Young

When we spoke to Aaron Herrington recently he mentioned having a part in the bank for this Paul Young project and it didn’t disappoint. Down By Law is our video pick for this first instalment of Screen Time. It’s one which has demanded a few rewatches already. If you enjoy watching this East Coast masterpiece then definitely take in this Village Psychic article which overthinks some of the intricacies. Thanks for getting this far, we hope some of these recommendations improve your screen time if they haven’t already.

Related reading: Paul Shier Interview, Isolation Station: Dom Henry, Tim Anderson Bobshirt Interview, Tony Hawk Interview, Rodney Mullen Interview

The post Screen Time #1 appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Our latest “Offerings” interview is with Matt Pritchard. Find out what skate video, album, book, and film he chose for you before finding out a bit more about him reconnecting with skateboarding after an injury demanded some time off…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Matt Pritchard and his dog Lemmy. PH: Dan Bentley

Matt Pritchard is, and always has been a force of nature. Our fond memories of him stem from halcyon days shared when things were simple, where a lucky few got to see him operating at the height of his powers. His visits to London involved him staying at Paul Shier’s house in Croydon which meant a front-row seat for Fairfield locals, a lot of memorable tricks, and some hilarious nights out. He played a big part in the growth of Panic Skateboards, the company that would go on to forge Blueprint. Contests were a different beast back then, drawing the entire UK skate scene, and Pritchard never failed to leave a lasting impression both on and off his skateboard. Looking back it’s easy to see that his larger-than-life presence, and innate capacity for comedy and chaos, were destined for a broader audience.

Following the Pritchard vs Dainton video, their audience expanded exponentially via the MTV show Dirty Sanchez which lasted five seasons and a movie. This would make Pritchard and the boys household names, and provide the platform for everything that has followed. Skateboarding would always be the foundation for all of the success, fame, and rock ’n’ roll living that transpired. It is something that has remained a constant for Matt even when advised otherwise. That’s why it was great to connect and be able to acknowledge a seminal Plan B skate video, and other releases that inspired him at the start of his journey, a period fuelled by progression that’s close to his heart. Our conversation then explores a Queen album that has remained part of his life since 1986, one that provided pre-skate stoke in the early days, and became the go-to soundtrack for the after-party. There’s more rock ’n’ roll romanticism to follow as Ozzy Osbourne’s memoirs are discussed, and then Tom Hanks’ iconic portrayal of Forrest Gump rounds out the selection.

After delving into the “offerings” Pritchard chose for us, our conversation shifted to his current plans and the role skateboarding plays amidst them. He has ditched the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle that underpinned the crazy time he lived through for an even more extreme regimen. In recent years he has embarked on a series of incredible challenges, including running from John O’Groats to Lands End, circumnavigating Wales via Triathlon, completing a half marathon every day for 30 days, conquering 10 ironman challenges in 10 days, and braving the Irish Sea and Atlantic Ocean by rowing. Those are just a select few of the incredible feats he has achieved, fuelled by the desire to destroy preconceptions that a vegan lifestyle makes you weak. It’s been amazing seeing recent footage of him pushing himself on a skateboard while simultaneously training to row across the Indian Ocean from Perth to Kenya. He remains an inspiration to push your boundaries, live well, eat well, and continue to do the things you love. Enjoy the following insights from Cardiff’s finest…

PLAN B – Questionable (1992)

You said it was hard to pick this, and that Public Domain (1988) and Video Days (1991) shared a similar special place for you. Before we start with this how did this two videos affect you?

When you get asked to pick a skate video after 40 years of skateboarding it’s not easy. They all mean something different. For me, when I had just started skating the first video I saw was Public Domain. Ray Barbee doing the No-Complys to that music (McRad- “Weakness”). I loved that fucking song, back in the day I actually tape recorded it from the video off the TV so I could play that song when I was doing my No-Complys, pretending to be Ray Barbee. That was the first skate video I sat down and watched until I wore the tape out. That’s what I’d watch to get inspired before going skating.

The next video after that for me that really hit home was when Blind brought out Video Days. That was the next step up, the next stage of evolution. They’re progression videos I guess. Guy Mariano’s part in that, he’s only young at the time but I remember those noseblunt slides he was doing on a kerb. Those type of videos, you’d watch them, then go out and try to do all the tricks you’ve seen.

There’s a part in Video Days where Gonz [Mark Gonzales] and Jason Lee are skating in Bristol. Before this video had come out we were in Bristol skating. We had been skating these banks and left to head for the next place. As we were skating away a car comes down and stops. These American guys said “do you know if there are any skate spots close by?” We told them where we had just left, and gave them directions to the banks. As they drove away it dawned on us that it was Gonz and Jason Lee in the car. I convinced everyone I was right and we skated after the car. Lo and behold it was Gonz and Jason Lee, and we sat there watching them skate these banks. Then Video Days came out after that with footage of them both skating in Bristol which must have been from that same day. I loved that video, really enjoyed it. After that, for me, the next video to push the boundaries was Plan B Questionable.

Do you remember the moment you first saw Questionable?

Yes I fucking do because there was so much hype about it. It was really expensive, it was about £35. These days you go on YouTube and everything is free but back then that’s what you had to pay. We didn’t have any money but my mate Craig Sullivan said he was going to buy it and we could all go back to his house to watch it. It was so exciting man, kids these days don’t realise, we were so excited to have it, I remember the black cover. We stuck it in and sat there.

Still to this day my first memory of that video is when it comes to the end of Pat Duffy’s section and he 50-50s that kinked rail. We saw it, it’s in slow motion, and we didn’t think he was going to make it to the end. Then he keeps going, and going, I remember all of us in the room were just spinning out when that happened. Everyone’s section in that video was unreal, and the music as well was really good.

This video put a lot of different music on the radar.

It really did. Mike Carroll’s part where it starts with the Beastie Boys, then you’ve got the shot of Embarcadero from the top of the building, and the C-block makes up Carroll. So good! What a fucking video.

How was it being a skateboarder in Wales in 1992?

We’re going back a long time here. There was a spot in Cardiff called the Cardiff Banks but I think that may have gone by this point. We had a very strong skate scene in South Wales. Everyone used to come from the surrounding areas, as far away as Swansea. People from Bridgend, the Valleys, they all used to catch the train into Cardiff, and we’d all congregate at the Cardiff Banks. We’d meet there on a dry day and visit different skate spots around the city from there. It was brilliant back then, life was so much simpler.

We didn’t have any mobile phones, the only communication you would have would be picking up the phone in the morning to call everyone you know. You’d have to ask your mother to use the phone first of course. You’d set a time to meet at the banks, then if someone didn’t turn up, they didn’t turn up. You’d wait around for a few people in case they were late then get to it. After an hour if that was the gang, that was the crew for the day. We’d start skating at 10am, maybe earlier. I remember having a milk round on the weekends I’d get up at 5am for, then I’d have a paper round after that. Then I would go skating from 10am or earlier, skate all day till about 3pm, then I had an afternoon paper round. So I’d skate all the way back home from town, do the paper round, then jump on my skateboard and skate back into town. We’s skate till 7pm or 8pm at night, then go back home, have some food, and repeat if it was dry the next day. That’s all we did.

Patt Duffy pushing the limits of what was possible with this 50-50 from his part in Questionable

Did you ever skate a Plan B board after seeing this?

I always wanted a Plan B board but they were too fucking expensive, same as Powell boards, I never had one of those because they were always a tenner more expensive too. I couldn’t afford one, they were £60 and normal boards were £42. It’s mad how that’s engraved in my head. I also remember Big Spin boards being £35 which was always an option if you didn’t have much money. Plan B boards were always that bit more expensive so I never had one.

You mentioned Pat Duffy, any other parts that really stood out for you in this?

Rodney Mullen, he really pushed the button in this one. Everyone in this video had insane sections. Sean Sheffey as well. I watched half of the video last night before I went to bed because I knew I was doing this with you. Sean Sheffey stands out, his part in the Life Skateboards A Soldier’s Story video did too, his part in that was just unbelievable. I’m digressing here but Kien Lieu has a part in that too, The Donger. He did this perfect frontside 360 ollie, no-one did that trick like him. He’d ollie right up in the air, point it down, and turn full 360. I think the only other person who had one that good was Donny Barley, he does one out of a kerb cut in Welcome To Hell. I’m going off topic here but so many things were going through my head after watching this last night. That Tim & Henry’s Pack Of Lies video too, didn’t that come out around the same time?

It came out the same year as Questionable.

That’s so good too, Henry Sanchez skating to Black Sabbath. He had this checkered shirt on in that video, I remember after watching that I went out and bought a checkered shirt, and cut the sleeves off. I had that checkered shirt for years.

“Anything that can take me back to those days gives me such a warm feeling…This video will always put a smile on my face, it reminds me of such amazing times”

Pulman always spoke about your ability to see something done in a video and translate it into your own skating pretty easily. What tricks did you take away from this? The pressure flip is at the tail end of it’s moment in the sun here.

The first people I saw do pressure flips were the Bridgend boys. I think I learned that trick the same night. Then once you’d got the one you learned all the different variations of it. I have no exact memory of specifics but a lot of things I saw in skate videos I was able to learn myself. I’m doing it right now. I’ve been skating this hip at the park, and I’m slowly introducing tricks that I used to be able to do, and re-learning them. Last week it was a frontside flip. Today I was trying a 360 flip but didn’t get it. If I get something in my head, it has to be done, and I’ll keep going until I fucking do it. If I don’t do it, it keeps playing on my mind and does my head in. That’s my process, it’s the story of my life really.

I was just thinking of something you mentioned in your Brain Drain interview. You said that the day Alvin offered to sponsor you at Radlands you were doing frontside nollie-late front foot flips over the hip, a trick from this exact era.

I can’t remember when I first learned the nollie-late front foot flip to tell you the truth. It was one of those tricks for me. You know when you get a trick and you’re just really confident with it, and know you can do it every go. It was just one of those tricks that worked. I remember doing a normal one going forwards, then it developed to the frontside 180 version, and so on.

I love Rick Howard’s part in this video. He does a really long line where he just keeps going and it reminds me of the old Fairfield days when you used to skate the length of that place hitting everything.

No way, that’s a compliment. Now you’ve just mentioned that guys name. I loved Rick Howard’s style, the way he did tricks, he always made everything look really good.

Why would you recommend this to someone skating now who has never seen it?

If someone wasn’t around back in the day I’m not sure if they could appreciate the progression we were witnessing. This shift in what was possible, and the change from what we’d been used to before that. But they should watch it, it’s just such a sick vid, the soundtrack is banging, the skaters are unreal and they have been for many years. Sit down and watch it, it’s an hour long. I was watching it in bed last night and it just took me back. I could feel exactly how I was feeling back then as I was watching it which is mental. Then I realised I’m in 2024 and it fucking sucks arse, hahaha. Anything that can take me back to those days gives me such a warm feeling, they were happy days with no worries. The only thing that could do my head in back then was if it was raining. This video will always put a smile on my face, it reminds me of such amazing times.

A Kinda Magic – Queen (1986)

Am I right in thinking this is a childhood favourite?

Yeah definitely, I was in the Queen fan club when I was fourteen. I just loved that band. When I used to get a bit of extra money and had no skateboard-related expenses I used to go and buy an album. I’m sure kids today may not understand that either but I used to go into HMV and buy the latest album that had come out, it was ace. With this record A Kind of Magic I loved the album cover which had those cartoon drawings of them. I loved the band, that album, and the album artwork so much that I took it to a pair of jeans. Do you remember back in the day when you could get jeans with Fred Flintstone on the leg of them? I bought a normal pair of jeans and painted the A Kinda Magic album cover onto the leg. Christ! I was walking around everywhere with those on.

I had a video with Queen’s Live at Wembley gig, and just like a skate video I watched that over, and over again. Then going into my later years, my partying years, every time I used to get back to my house at night I would play YouTube and put Queen on all of the time. When Freddy would sing “Ay-Oh!” to get the whole crowd going, you have no idea how many times I have watched that gig, unreal.

Do you remember watching the Live Aid show when it was televised live?

Yeah I do remember watching that, it was in 1985, we were living in my old road, and the weather was really warm. I remember my parents watching it as well. They were all off their heads, in later years I found out that Status Quo brought a massive bag of sniff and they all got off their tits backstage, different times.

It’s hard to explain the impact of a concert like that too, the whole world was tuned in.

Yeah, you just couldn’t get that these days, it wouldn’t happen, and Queen took the show away. Still to this day that goes down as being the best live performance of all time. Freddie Mercury was such an incredible front man, the best who has ever lived, for me anyway.

What was the stereo setup for you first playing this album?

It was the Hi-Fi in the bedroom, graphic equaliser on there, tape deck. I’d put the album on, play it as loud as it would go until my parents started shouting at me to turn it down. Then I’d turn it down a little bit until they continued shouting. I’d keep turning that dial, hahaha. That would have been the set up, listening to that album before going skating. I love the whole album. With other bands you’ll have an album, and I’ll only like a couple of songs. But any time I bought a Queen album, I’d like every song, and play the thing from start to finish. They had so many hits.

“With other bands you’ll have an album, and I’ll only like a couple of songs. But any time I bought a Queen album, I’d like every song, and play the thing from start to finish”

What’s the closest you’ve got to seeing Queen?

I was meant to be at the famous Queen Live at Wembley show in 1986. My auntie knew what a big fan I was and had bought tickets for us to go and see them. Unfortunately she got breast cancer so we couldn’t go in the end. Later on in life when the [Dirty] Sanchez stuff was going on we ended up being invited to the Kerrang! awards. We had a table, me, [Lee] Dainton, Panch [Michael Locke], and [Dan] Joyce. We were sat there and Brian May was there at the awards, fuck me I was starstruck! I couldn’t believe it. You can’t explain it, I’m 51 now, and I have loved Queen since I was a teenager. Seeing Brian May in the flesh was pretty special.

Later on I met Roger Taylor’s son Rufus through some people I knew, turns out he was a big [Dirty] Sanchez fan. I ended up going out on the piss with him in London, and he invited me to his birthday party. I got the invite through, and the address was Roger Taylor’s house. Damien Hirst’s missus at the time Maia, the mother of his kids, is a Gumballer and I went to stay with her and my friend Buttsy [Butler]. We were in a car with Buttsy, Maia, and her mate Debbie. I didn’t know who Debbie was just that they were mates. We were going out in London, and Debbie was driving. Her phone starts ringing when we’re in the car and it was on loudspeaker. I could hear the dude on the other end of the phone. The more he’s talking, the more his voice sounds familiar. I turned round to see Buttsy, and Maia laughing with their hands across their mouths because they could see I knew who it was. It was Roger Taylor on the phone, and it was his wife Debbie who was driving. I was spinning out.

How was the party?

The party was at Roger Taylor’s house, the family house. I drove my van there with my missus. There was a special entrance, when I say house, the house was on the top of this hill, and it was surrounded by all of these fields, it was fucking insane. They had a huge tent put up for Rufus’ birthday. Roger Taylor was in there, I was pinching myself thinking “what am I doing here?”, it was unreal. I was so starstruck I didn’t even have the guts to go up and ask him for a photo. This was around 2013. We stayed there all night and I got absolutely off my tits. I ended up losing my missus.

Somehow I ended up driving my van, on private land by the way, and crashing it into the side of a tree that was on his grounds. I managed to find my missus though, turns out she was in the back of the van when I crashed into the tree, she had no idea what was going on. This story is just coming back to me now. We fell asleep but Buttsy ended up back at the house. They had a swimming pool, and next to the pool was this giant statue of Freddie Mercury. It was the statue from the “We Will Rock You” musical. There’s a photo Buttsy sent me of him by the pool with this giant Freddie in the distance. I missed out on seeing that, I was gutted but that was that.

What did you think of the Bohemian Rhapsody movie?

I loved it, Rami Malek did such a good job of playing Freddie. He had a hell of a life.

Have you ever caught a tribute band?

My mate Alex Dan Simmons heard that Queen were playing in St David’s Hall in Cardiff, I thought that was a small venue for them to play but he bought us tickets to go. He called me up to check I realised it was a Queen tribute band. I actually thought we would be seeing Brian May, and Roger Taylor. They were great though, the guy sounded exactly like Freddie Mercury, and they were fucking amazing. Then I went to see Brian May, and Roger Taylor with Adam Lambert singing at Birmingham NEC. That was absolutely unreal. Freddie came on the stage in the form of a hologram when Brian May was playing “Love of my Life”, it was quite emotional actually, amazing.

I am Ozzy – Ozzy Osbourne (2009)

More musical inspiration, are you a big Black Sabbath fan?

I wouldn’t say I’m a massive Black Sabbath fan, more of a fan of Ozzy [Osbourne] but I do like Black Sabbath yeah. There’s something about Ozzy that I really like. He is a hell-raiser, a nutcase, and just a working-class Brummie boy who happened to make a load of money. I’m a big fan of Ozzy because of who he was, who he is, but I do love Black Sabbath as a band. Jim Hickey who was the director of [Dirty] Sanchez was working with Ozzy at one point, and he told me he’d got me a present. He gave me the I am Ozzy book, and Ozzy had signed it for me on the inside cover. It says “To Pritchard, you ain’t got nothing on me. Best wishes, Ozzy Osbourne”. I couldn’t believe it.

What impact did the book make on you?

I remember reading the book and thinking what a nutcase, he was flat-out! At the time of reading it, it was a bit of a bad inspiration. It inspired me to really do more any time I went out partying. It made me want to put more shit up my nose than I normally would. I was thinking if Ozzy could do I, I can do it.

Any standout moments?

It’s a great read, I couldn’t put it down. My memory isn’t so good but there’s one part I remember clearly. They were all in a house in LA shovelling shit up their noses, and they had loads of it. They got so paranoid from doing it constantly that they thought the police were after them. There was a knock on the door and they told Ozzy to flush it because they thought it was the police. He refused to waste it so he shovelled it all up his nose. Then they found out it wasn’t the police, it was just one of their mates but he ended up completely pinged off his head. That is just one of many crazy stories.

People may conclude from seeing Ozzy on TV that he’s not he most coherent survivor of fame but this doesn’t disappoint right?

No, there are a lot of memories from that time, he is obviously surrounded by people who have helped him remind him. I’m sure Sharon [Osbourne] has helped him remember things, or helped him with those kind of stories. It’s interesting though when you look at it. These people who have lived these massive Rock N’ Roll lifestyles, end up living to a ripe old fucking age. Lots of these people who spent years doing all of these drugs end up living longer than people who looked after themselves.

“To Pritchard, you ain’t got nothing on me. Best wishes, Ozzy Osbourne”

Do you think a character like him could ever exist again?

Hardly, they don’t make them like that anymore. It was encouraged back then I guess, it’s not encouraged any more. If anyone did come close they wouldn’t make an effort to highlight it, they’d be trying to cover it up if anything.

What’s the closest you got to meeting Ozzy?

When we are doing the [Dirty] Sanchez thing, The Osbournes show was out at the same time, and MTV were doing this Seven Wonders of MTV thing. Ozzy was one of the seven wonders, and they chose me as one of them as well. I couldn’t believe it, it was nuts. I was on the same fucking bill as Ozzy, how did that even happen? Jack Osbourne was the guy narrating the series, and they did a piece on each different person. Being on the same bill as Ozzy is something I’ll never forget but I never got to meet him, I would love to though. I never got to see Black Sabbath either, it’s a shame, Ozzy lived for playing live but had to turn it in because of his health.

Your dog’s called Lemmy. I imagine the inspiration for his name is a book on your pile as well.

Motorhead man, Lemmy’s god isn’t he? He’s my god anyway. Lemmy and Freddie were two amazing frontmen. I love Lemmy’s outlook on life, his political stance, and everything else. I named the dog after the man himself.

Would you ever consider writing a book of your exploits?

It’s been on the cards for many years. I’ve been working with somebody over the last few years, and I’ve got a lot of stuff jotted down. We’ve got a lot of stuff on the dictaphone that’s saved for now. There will be one, we’ve been chipping away for a while. When I was rowing across the Atlantic I did a diary entry every single day so there’s a book there really too. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed from talking to me but my memory is fucked, little bits come into my head here and there. I think I will have to ask people who were close to me, and lived with me through it all to see what they remember, and get the whole picture.

Forrest Gump – Robert Zameckis (1994)

Why was this your top pick?

I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many times I have watched this. I love this film because I can relate to it a bit. Every time I watch it I see a little bit of me in him. I think that’s it really I see myself in him. I love how the story is pieced together, it’s got everything really, highs, lows, it’s quite emotional. It makes me feel good when I watch this film.

Would this have been one you first saw in the cinema?

I did watch this one in the cinema. I’m not the greatest cinema-goer because I’m inclined to fall asleep but this was the perfect film. When I sit down to watch this I’m totally engrossed from the moment it comes on. It captures me from the word go. I really can’t put it into words, it’s just an amazing film.

It’s filled with US history, such a good commentary on Vietnam from all kinds of perspectives.

There are so many stories in one story, it’s genius. I want to watch this again now. He has so many different relationships with people. His relationship with Jenny, his relationship with lieutenant Dan, and how that changes, and evolves. It’s heartwarming, just an incredible story.

“When I sit down to watch this I’m totally engrossed from the moment it comes on. It captures me from the word go”

With a great soundtrack too.

It’s another film with an amazing soundtrack, really fucking good. It’s very quotable too. My other favourite film is Twin Town. The amount of quotes that Welsh people know from that film is mental. When we would come back to the house for the after party over the years. Queen would always go on first, and as things started calming down we’d put Twin Town on and laugh our heads of.

Have you ever read the book?

I haven’t, I’m shit with books to be honest. That is unless something grips me straight away, if it does then I can’t get my head out of it but it’s rare that happens. If it does I’ll be reading something every spare minute that I have. The first book I realised that I could read was Robinson Crusoe back in the day, I couldn’t put the fucking thing down. Ever since it has only been certain books like I am Ozzy that have grabbed me.

Why should someone who has never seen this film take it in?

If you haven’t seen Forrest Gump then you haven’t fucking lived. That’s a crime against humanity. Every single person should have seen this film, it should be part of the school syllabus, part of every teacher’s responsibility. Forrest Gump shows you how to live your life.

We’re stoked to see recent footage of you skating. You had to take some time out right?

I went out to Dubai with Forties in 2019 before all that Covid shit kicked off. I was skating and I did a frontside grind over this gap on this big quarter pipe and I went flying flat on my back. I took this big slam on day two. I fucked myself, that was me done. Kris Markovich was with us and everything. I was gutted, stuck in Dubai, couldn’t skate, and I really wanted to because there were so many sick parks. When I got home I went to have an X-Ray and I had fractured my spine. I was pissed off, then Covid happened. It seemed like every time I jumped on my skateboard I hurt myself. To the point where I thought I have to retire from doing this thing, even though I didn’t want to. I had to go with the mindset of “If I fuck myself, I fuck myself”, and accept that’s the way it is. The problem with me is if I hurt myself and can’t do anything else because of that my head goes to pot. That’s always the worry but in the end I decided I can’t live my life like this. I want to do what I love, if I hurt myself in the process that’s just the way it is. That’s why I started skateboarding again.

Recent backside flip at Spit & Sawdust skatpark in Cardiff

What’s the process like for you these days?

This morning I got up, went to the gym, then went for a dog walk before going to the park. I go for a skate on Tuesday mornings, and Friday mornings. I’ve been skating at Spit & Sawdust skatepark in Cardiff, we have a private session with all the boys. It takes me a good half an hour to warm up these days, then another half an hour having a proper skate. That’s pretty much the deal really, I’m really enjoying it right now. It’s a game of trying to do tricks I used to be able to. Every week I’ll work on one trick, and see if I get it. It’s not just skating it’s hanging out with the boys as well, people I haven’t hung out with for a long time. It’s nice just cruising. Earlier I was doing half cabs, frontside 180s, and backside 180s over the hip. That felt fucking nice so I kept doing it, if it feels good keep doing it, so that’s what I did. That’s before I started trying the 360 flip which I didn’t make this time around. That process of just doing something simple, those three tricks over the hip, felt good. Long may it continue.

What’s new with you? What projects do you have on the boil that you can talk about?

I’ve just launched a range of training supplements, plant-based protein powders, plant-based pre-workout shakes, hydration, gummies, stuff like that. That’s what I’ve been concentrating on recently. I’ve still got my tattoo shop and barbers in Cardiff City Centre. We just celebrated ten years in February so that’s doing pretty well. I’ve got a few things going on as always.

Everything now is based around health and wellness because that’s what I’m interested in at the moment, keeping fit, looking after myself, and trying my best to inspire others to live a better, cleaner life. I’m also working with someone on something that’s going to launch very soon, I can’t say any more about that right now though. That’s also based on health and wellness, something to help others live a similar kind of life. Then skateboarding really.

“As we speak right now, I should really be on the Indian Ocean, but that mission has been put back to next year. In 2025, I will be rowing from Perth, Australia, to Kenya in Africa.”

Is there any more rowing on the cards?

As we speak right now, I should really be on the Indian Ocean, but that mission has been put back to next year. In 2025, I will be rowing from Perth, Australia, to Kenya in Africa. That’s 5000 miles. It will be three months at sea so I’ll be rowing three hours on, three hours off, 24-7 until I reach my destination. That’s the next big mission.

What advice would you give to anyone considering a vegan lifestyle?

What are you doing eating flesh for in the first place? That flesh is full of fear, it comes from an animal that was absolutely shitting itself about going to it’s death before it was killed. What you’re eating is full of that animals fear. Whenever anyone considers a vegan lifestyle people tell the not to, they tell them they’re going to be weak. I think I’m evidence that veganism doesn’t make you weak or give you lack of energy. If you follow me on socials you can see that I am fucking full of beans, use me as an example. Veganism does the opposite, it gives you loads of energy, it helps you row across oceans, and do ten Ironmans back to back. Go vegan.

Thanks for your time mate. We look forward to seeing some more regular clips appearing. Any last words?

Get gnarly.

We want to thank Matt for taking time out of his busy schedule for this conversation. At the time of publishing he just landed the 360 flip he talks about battling in this interview. You can see that by following him on Instagram. Keep up to speed with everything he has going on, and everything he has done at MathewPritchard.com. Thanks to Dan Bentley for the portrait of Matt and Lemmy.

If you enjoyed hearing Matt talk about Questionable we recommend watching The Moment Skateboarding Changed Forever for more Pat Duffy appreciation.

Previous “Offerings” Interviews: Matlok Bennett-Jones, Spencer Hamilton, Aaron Herrington, Rowan Zorilla, Beatrice Domond, Chris Jones, Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long, Helena Long, Tom Karangelov, Bobby Puleo, Ray Barbee, Zach Riley, Ryan Lay, Casper Brooker

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We invite you to take a trip through Andrew Brophy’s First & Last interview. As always the line of questioning is designed to shine a light on his journey, from the very beginning up to where he is at right now. It has been incredible watching Brophy’s trajectory, something we were lucky enough to witness evolving in real-time. He made London home in the early 2000s, and Slam’s old Neal’s Yard address was the clubhouse for him and many other faces skating the city on the regular. At the time new boards were his staple diet, and as Southbank’s surfaces claimed them regularly we would often welcome Brophy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He was part of the woodwork, shop rider, sporadic staff member, and highly quotable one-man folklore machine.

His innings in the UK cemented his status as an honorary Londoner, and have come to represent a magical time. Dominic Marley’s new book “Naughty” encapsulates this time period, just one flick through and it’s apparent that Brophy’s imprint on what was happening is indelible. Many notable names have honed their skills at Southbank but no one before him had the same otherworldly Antipodean pop. His unique approach redefined what was possible under that roof. We always enjoyed hearing the weekly whispers, and seeing what he put down there firsthand. It’s amazing to see regular footage now that proves he still possesses that same snap. His upcoming summer visit to the UK will likely add some SB NBD’s to the list he’s already contributed to, and we look forward to seeing him back on the slabs that helped pave his way.

All of these memories are a part of his story but the hammers he put down in the city of London are just the intro. While he may have been busy making calls to Al Boglio from the Slam landline, hustling to secure the next box of Cliché boards, his official induction into the team and ascent to pro status happened after he had left London in pursuit of the career that was unfolding. The rest is history as they say. We looked forward to seeing photos, footage, and him when he was back to visit. When Cliché sadly folded we had no idea what would happen for him, and as you will find out during the course of this interview, neither did he. It was a trip to watch what transpired from this side of the pond knowing that being part of the Girl team, let alone having a pro board, was his teenage dream manifested in its purest form.

Brophy is living proof that those good old days can keep on rolling. It’s inspiring to see him still progressing, in the mix on trips, and grafting for a part in a full-length video. This interview involves some healthy reminiscing while remaining anchored in the present, all the way through to the last trick he learned that’s yet to be unleashed in the wild. Enjoy learning some more about Margaret River’s finest export…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Andrew Brophy at home in Noosa. PH: Brogan Brophy

First love before skating?

I got a BMX bike for Christmas, it was a Redline 540, a racing bike with quite thin tyres. I ended up getting super into BMX racing. I had growing pains in my knees though, Osgood-Schlatter disease which meant my knees wouldn’t let me ride the bike. That was, in a weird way, what led me to skateboarding. I couldn’t race bikes anymore so I had to find something that didn’t hurt my knees. Weirdly skating didn’t hurt them as much.

First skateboard?

One of my friends Aidan McGowan had a skateboard, it only had griptape on the nose and tail with a big, bare, slippery wooden middle. If my memory serves me right I bought it off him for $5, then I took it home and my dad re-gripped it. That was the first one I ever had. The skateboard that followed that one was a Christmas present from my brother Ben. It was a G&S board, it had the OG logo as the central graphic. He also had a slick bottom Acme board I inherited with a Warhammer style graphic of a dude shooting a big machine gun. I thought that was the coolest thing I’d ever seen, plus it was coated with that weird rough plastic to make your board slide better. It made me think I was going to do more shit. I never skated with my brother though unfortunately, he is ten years older than me. That Christmas present he bought me would have been when I was turning ten years old, he had already moved out of home by that point.

First person you saw skating?

The first person who I saw who wasn’t like me and useless at the time was Toby Patman. Growing up in Margaret River there was nowhere to skate. There was only one main street in the town, and fuck all going on really. We would skate this primary school, it had concrete ledges, pretty good ones to be fair, undercover as well. Toby did a pop shuvit 50-50 on this ledge and I just remember being blown away – What was that, and how did it happen? He was the first person I saw skate who was really talented. Straight away I thought I needed to be his friend, somehow he was going to teach me how to do this stuff. He still rips, still lives in Margaret River, and I still talk to him regularly.

First sponsor?

Sessions Surf Shop in Margaret River were my first sponsor, they were wicked, and Toby [Patnam] worked there. The shop carried all the cool stuff which was pretty unique because it was a really small country town. Margaret River was also quite a big surfing hub though. We had a lot of amazing surf breaks so the world’s best surfers would regularly visit. So the surf shop had links for all the good surfing gear, and in turn links to all the distributors for skate stuff. They always had boards from A-Team, Birdhouse, Blind, I remember seeing Colin McKay Girl boards. When Globe shoes first came out they had the whole range, all of that Nitrocell air sole shit. I never got free shoes or anything, I’d get discount on boards, free stickers but I didn’t get anything for free for hella years. Mostly I’d get secondhand boards from Toby, and the other older guys who were getting free stuff. Their seconds, thrashed shit, but it was still the best.

First mag you saw?

It was again through Toby who I met via the pop shuv 50-50. He had a brother called Ben too, they were three or four years older than me, and went to the same school. They both lived in a unit out the back of their parents house. Their dad was an engineer and an architect so they had a pretty cool set-up going on back there. It was a kind of granny flat where we would hang out, they had a little mini ramp there too. I remember them just getting the Birdhouse The End video, so it would have been 1998, I was in Year 8 at school. They had all the videos, and all of the Transworld mags back when Transworld was as thick as the Bible. They had all the mags, and videos so I would go through them all over there.

Backside noseblunt slide from Brophy’s 20 page interview for Slam mag in 2008. PH: Steve Gourlay

Funnily enough our high school had copies of an Australian magazine called Slam on their magazine shelf rotation. They must have had a subscription to the skate mag so I would go to the library to read mags too. That’s all because Toby’s mum worked in the library, hahaha, that’s how big our town was man, classic! These are memories I haven’t dug up for a while.

First mag appearance?

It would have been in Slam for one of their “New Gen” features, it would have been right around the time I went to London so I would have been seventeen.

First video appearance?

It would have been in a Perth skate video filmed by Chris Yow. I can’t remember what the video was called but it came out in around 2000. I had a shared part with a skater called Aaron Nannup, and another skater called Lee Johnson from Perth. Shared parts are a continuing theme in my skate career

First skate crew?

It was me, Aaron Fitzgerald, Max Grantis, Toby [Patnam], his brother Ben, and a couple of older boys. It was just five or six of us really.

First elder to take you under their wing?

There’s a classic one, and his name is Brett Margaritis. Brett was pro for Think Skateboards at the time, he would come down to Margaret River because of his partner at the time whose mum lived there. He would visit all the time, he’d give me boards because he was pro for Think and had them coming out of his ears. He would come down when I basically lived at the skatepark, a permanent fixture. We ended up skating together a lot, he was really nice, and we got on well even though he was about ten years older than me. He’d ask me to show him skate spots, film me, ask me to film him. So we would cruise around there, then I would also go up to Perth when I was a little bit older. By the time I was fifteen or sixteen I’d go and stay with him, my mum had met Brett and said it was cool. He had a house there already, I would go to stay, and skate with Brett and some of the younger crew out in Perth. He was the first dude to open that door for me, offer me a place I was allowed to go and stay.

First spot that nurtured that supernatural pop of yours?

Definitely Margaret River skatepark. We had a pretty good park built there in 1998. We were there all day every day, like any kid who gets a park built in their hometown. As far as pop, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t, I didn’t do anything weird to learn how to ollie high other than not being overly good at flip tricks. I knew I could jump some shit, and I would get nervous being around people who were really good at flipping their board. That made me turn my attention elsewhere, I could probably jump over that, something I could do that would make me fit in. That’s what I would do, I would jump a lot.

“Jumping a lot” looks different for everybody. Colossal backside 180 from the 2008 Slam Interview. PH: Joe Beckert

First person to set the bar for you?

There are a few important moments in my young skating brain. Someone who I saw skate and thought “holy fuck, you are incredible at skateboarding!” was someone from Perth called Zac Willmore. When I was about sixteen he came to Margaret River one day with a crew, I think they were all sponsored by Emerica shoes, and DVS. They came down and Zac Willmore was frontside flipping the fun box. That fun box was a piece of shit, even ollieing it was hard. It was steep and nasty but he was frontside flipping over it like it was nothing. He could do kickflip back tails, kickflip back smiths, kickflip crooked grinds, everything was easy for him, every go. This was in about the year 2000.

When I started going to stay with Brett Margaritis and skating with those guys in Perth, Zac was living on the outskirts of the city. He didn’t have a car but someone we were with did, maybe Chris Yow, so we’d go and pick Zac up to go skating. We’d go on young kid skate missions all day, and all night. Zac was the one out of all of us who had the gift. You’d get to a handrail, a thirteen stair rail, Zac would smith grind it no problem, or lipslide it straight away, no warm up. He could: smith grind, front tail, kickflip crook, and back lip absolutely anything. He was kickflip crooked grinding massive handrails back then, no-one was doing that, I don’t think we’d even seen American dudes doing it. I have no idea why Zac didn’t become a full-blown household name throughout all of skateboarding. I think he injured his ACL twice and that fucked everything up for him. He was one of the skaters who showed me you have to be incredibly lucky, or incredibly good.

“I remember on those first visits Nick [Jensen] being incredibly good…he kind of set the bar for being able to skate rough shit with quick feet…”

Then when I went over to London it was probably Nick Jensen. He was friends with Rob [Mathieson] who was basically the first skater I met in London. I met him at Playstation skatepark and he asked me “why are you skating here?”. I didn’t know where else to go, I had just moved there but he suggested I come and skate Southbank. That was way closer to where my brother lived so I went there, and that was where I met everyone. I remember on those first visits Nick [Jensen] being incredibly good. He’d get there and switch flip the seven, or nollie flip the seven, or switch backside 180 the seven. He was incredibly gifted as well, he kind of set the bar for being able to skate rough shit with quick feet. It was a completely different approach to what I had been skating in Australia. City skating in Perth involved skating one city building at a time, smooth marble floor with a three or four stair out onto a foot path. London was full of never-ending craziness, everything is tiled, bumpy, or rough. Rob [Mathieson] himself, Snowy [Daniel Kinloch], Joey [Pressey], they were all good. That crew I first met in London, everyone was pushing it in their own separate way.

“It was a completely different approach to what I had been skating in Australia”

There was also Cale Nuske. I didn’t skate with him back in Australia. I came into contact with him way later on, almost when I was about to leave the UK and was getting on Cliché. But he was just too good, I mean that in every sense of the word. You couldn’t compete with Cale. I remember watching him skate this hubba one time, he nollie crooked it ten times in a row, he did it every try like it was nothing. Then when he had done that he just nollie flip crooked it, and then we went and got McDonald’s. It was a ten stair hubba! But it was nothing to him, he wasn’t even stoked, just said it was a good hubba. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I got on really well with [Cale] Nuske as a friend but I couldn’t put myself remotely near his talent on a skateboard because he was fucked up-gifted. He was another one who was dealt a super shitty card with really traumatic knee injuries. It sucks because he was another generational talent, for sure, without a doubt.

First skate trip outside of Australia?

It was a European tour for Link Footwear. Brett Margaritis was TM for the brand. I had just gone to visit my brother in London, and this tour was happening at the same time so Brett suggested I meet them on the trip. I don’t think they even paid for the flight, it would have been my brother, or my mum and dad. So I went to meet them in Lyon because Link Footwear was being run out of Cliché. We got in the van and it was a pretty fucking psycho introduction to tour life. It was me, Marcus McBride, Alex Moul, J.B Gillet, Lucas Puig, Junnosuke Yonesaka, and Brett – so a pretty wild crew. Lucas couldn’t speak any English at all, and we were rooming together so that was slightly complicated, hahaha. We basically just got stoned together the whole time because we couldn’t talk. I remember being hella nervous and sitting in the middle seat in the back of the van next to Alex Moul smoking ciggys. I also remember getting really drunk accidentally, I was drinking gin and juice with Marcus McBride. I was thinking “This is mental” the whole time. It was actually a pretty sick tour.

This “Hog” part for Wayward Wheels is a sick retrospective including lots of London footage

First trip to Southbank?

I think I was in London for three months before I met anyone. I didn’t know where to go skating. I’d never been to a big city like that in my life, I didn’t really know how to use public transport, it was all pretty overwhelming for me. So I used to go to work with my brother and sit there, he worked at a university in Rusell Square. I would sit in his office or skate around the university, I was way too timid to venture out anywhere at the time, it was too overwhelming. Then once or twice a week he’d drive me to Playstation skatepark [now called BaySixty6] in West London. That’s where Rob [Mathieson] planted the seed of me visiting Southbank so I went there with Rob. It’s lucky that I did because I had no friends, I didn’t know anyone, I wasn’t skating very much, and I wasn’t having a good time. I was even thinking of moving back to Australia at that time. I went to Southbank with Rob the day after meeting him I think, and that changed the whole trajectory of my stay in London. If that hadn’t happened I would have fucked off back to Australia for sure. I spent that day skating with Rob and I’m pretty sure it was a Wednesday, so that evening we went to Candybox which was a hectic club night at the time. That’s where I met everyone for the first time, Joey, [Pressey] Snowy [Daniel Kinloch], Lev [Tanju], [James] Edson, yourself, everyone. Then everything went mental for four years and I don’t remember anything, hahaha.

First opportunities with Cliché?

It was weird for ages, I kind of got on but didn’t get on at the same time. Through the Link Footwear thing I met Al Boglio in Lyon at the Cliché offices and he had given me ten boards to take on this trip. He fucked up and gave me his email though. I now had the boss of Cliché’s email. So we did that trip then I came back to London and I wasn’t getting sent boards from anyone at the time. I think Al [Boglio] sent me another box of boards but explained that it wasn’t an official thing. Then I started working at Slam in the shop a couple of days a week. I wouldn’t even call it work, I was there hungover, hating it, gripping boards with Rob and you. I was skating for the shop too. If my memory serves me correctly I was getting shoes from Circa which was through Slam City Skates distribution.

“there was a three year period where I was pissing off Al Boglio via email, riding Cliché boards unofficially, and shooting photos riding them at Southbank”

I would go out to the warehouse every few weeks and get a box of shoes, and also a box of boards. I wasn’t officially getting boards but I would always grab Cliché boards which were also distributed by Slam at the time. I was breaking a lot of boards back then too, it was pretty fucked up. I drank a lot of beers back then, that must have been it. I would also skate Heroin boards sometimes, they used Chapman woodshop so they were exactly the same shapes, dipped white boards. I didn’t properly get on Cliché until towards the end of my stay when I was leaving London. They started flowing me some boards, and I went on some flow trips to Lyon towards the end but it was only made official the year before I left London. So there was a three year period where I was pissing off Al [Boglio] via email, riding Cliché boards unofficially, and shooting photos riding them at Southbank. My first pro board with them came out in 2008.

First filmer/ photographer you clicked with?

I think the first filmed I properly clicked with was Chris Massey. I have a good early memory of hanging out with Massey, Oliver Barton, and Pete Eldridge. I actually spoke about this with Eldridge not that long ago when I was in the States. Massey was the first filmer I clicked with for sure, he was always around and in the mix. Maybe Nick [Jensen] would be going filming and I’d jump on some missions with him. I didn’t film much with Dan Magee but I was definitely around when stuff was going down. Massey and crew would have been there when I shot the ollie over the bar outside Liverpool Street with Sam Ashley, Oliver Barton shot the hardflip down the double set just down the road too. I would have also filmed some stuff for Static back then when Josh Stewart rolled through. Snowy had a camera too, we’d film with that.

Dom Marley was a photographer I enjoyed shooting with a lot back then, Marley and Sam Ashley were always down, Leo Sharp too. Dom kicked it off pretty early on, we shot some Southbank stuff together. I wish there was more footage from that era, the rainbow ledge, the bench. I would love to see what’s on the tapes Snowy filmed, there would be some amazing stuff, to us anyway. I’m pretty sure he filmed me grind up the cheese block and clear the bank to flat. I remember that being the result of a phone call with Matthieu Tournier. They needed a DVS ad urgently, it was pissing down with rain and I asked Snowy to film it while Sam Ashley shot the sequence. I figured I could nosebonk that thing to the flat and it worked out. I’ve never seen the footage in my life, it’s on one of Snowy’s tapes in a box somewhere.

First dalliance with a career outside of the skateboarding world?

There was the jewellery thing early on, I was pretty keen, it was the only thing at school that I was any good at. When I came to London I looked at enrolling on some jewellery making courses. I was figuring out if I wanted to make fine jewellery like rings, and earrings or whether I should go into the watchmaking world. I remember sitting there with my brother at the university, looking at the costs, and figuring out how it would work for me. My brother Ben said “why don’t you just fucking skateboard for a bit, worry about this stuff later”. That jewellery idea quickly got dropkicked out of the stratosphere and never returned. It’s unfortunate in a way because it would have been a cool thing to have continued doing. I’m glad Ben really wanted me to chase the dream though, I did chase it, I’ve chased it for a really long time now.

First Girl box?

I had been on Fourstar for a very long time, I had a really good connection with Sam Smyth and Rick Howard. Me and Mike Carroll got on like a house on fire too, we are close friends. When Cliché came to an end it was at a point where Fourstar had gone too. Fourstar had been put on the back-burner, Cliché had died, and I remember thinking that would be how it all comes to an end. I was upset because Cliché came to an end extremely fast, one day it was just a wrap. It was a bummer, I started thinking about other opportunities I’d passed up. We’d just had our son Jagger, and it went from Cliché paying wicked money to nothing, I needed to find a way to support my family. If only there was a crystal ball I could have looked into. Everything had come to a hiatus, and I thought it was the end of the skateboarding dream I had.

“Everything had come to a hiatus, and I thought it was the end of the skateboarding dream I had”

Mike Carroll and Rick Howard surprising Brophy with his first pro board at the Girl warehouse

I wrote an email to Rick [Howard], I’m pretty sure I worded it along these lines… “ Is there any room on the team for an old, washed up, Australian skateboarder who can still jump kinda?” I think I was twenty-nine when it happened. I’d already had ankle reconstruction, two knee surgeries. I loved skateboarding still, was still good at it, just getting older. Rick asked if he could take some time to think about it. The guy who made my boards at Dwindle is called Eric Sentianin, he’s the board engineer, the guy who came up with the carbon boards, and designed the different shapes. He had forty or fifty boards saved there for me at the factory. They started shooting me out ten packs of blank boards, and I just started putting Girl stickers on the blanks thinking that may help my opportunity. I did that for a while, they were cool with it, and started sending me boards.

I was happy to be on, I wasn’t pro any more but had a board sponsor, I wasn’t going to get kicked off my shoe sponsor. So it wasn’t all falling apart like I thought it may have. I didn’t think I was going to get a pro board, I was just happy to have a home on Girl. Then I was in the States on a trip and Rick [Howard] invited me to to do a kind of Crailtap thing where we walk through the warehouse and pick out some stuff. I picked out a board off the shelf, and there it was, a board with my name on it. That was psycho, I didn’t know how to react to that information, I couldn’t believe it. It’s crazy that happened.

First song you think of when you think of Slam?

Probably some Morrissey shit, something Seth [Curtis] played in the shop that I had a problem with. Obviously I didn’t really know much about music at the time. I think I just turned it off and said something like “I’m not listening to this depressing shit”. I think of Morrissey for sure, and someone being pissed off with me because I changed it, or telling me how good it was. Slam was the ultimate, that skate shop is it!

First port of call in London and LA?

The first port of call in London would always be the Palace in Waterloo or Slam, one of the two. Fly into Heathrow, get the train, and figure where I’d turn up. I remember turning up to the skate shop unannounced one day and surprising you, you were like “what the fuck?”, and I was like “yes!” – straight back in there. It was always hard to get into the Palace because I didn’t have a gate key and wasn’t about to start climbing fences with my bag. So it was Slam, the Palace, and Southbank when I arrived. In LA it’s different, it’s not a cool city in that way. I’d be heading to a suburb, somebody’s house. It would always be Mike O’Meally’s house or Mike Carroll’s house.

First place?

Have I ever done well in a comp? You know what – I skated in a CPH contest, Copenhagen Open. We were there on a Fourstar trip I think. The set up was actually sick that year and we were just skating the park. Then someone asked me if I wanted to skate in the contest. I was hesitant but I agreed and they put me in the very next heat. They put you in a shared heat, three people at a time. It was me, Peter Ramondetta, and someone else. I was warmed up, and felt alright, I remember backside lipsliding this big, long handrail. Somehow I ended up going to the finals where they take you on a boat out to this big concrete park. I think I ended up coming sixth, it could have been eighth. Maybe that’s a big number, I don’t know though man, that’s pretty good for me.

Frontside nosesliding the distance in Copenhagen. Comp winning material shot by Dominic marley

First spot that’s now gone you would bring back to it’s original glory?

It’s not gone but I’d like to skate Southbank the way it was. When I first got there it was all open, from the river all the way to the back. There was the hubba Rory back smithed, the works. The big road gap down the back after the little banks, the phone box you could ring to check who was there. That era for sure, it was pretty special.

First trick that comes to mind from your career that stands out as a favourite?

Maybe the tre flip over the Canada Water rail or the tre flip over the picnic table at Dylan [Rieder]’s park. That was a cool moment for me doing that trick at Dylan’s park. I skated with him a lot back then, and that park was an integral part of that, it was another era of it’s own over there. I spent a lot of time over there with a crew of crazy individuals. Dylan only lived eight or nine blocks down the road from me. I would wake up, have coffee with my wife, take Jagger for a walk, then go to Dylan’s and skate the park. I’d do that every day because it was difficult skating elsewhere during the week. On that day we were all skating, there was a big crew, and we were all trying to do tricks over the table. It was Jeron Wilson, Brandon Biebel, Federico Vitetta, Dylan [Rieder], AVE [Anthony Van Engelen], Guy Mariano, myself, and more I can’t remember. It was a stacked session.

I was sat in this little zone at the back with Jeron Wilson and Guy Mariano while people were skating the table. I remember Guy [Mariano] saying “there’s no way anyone could tre flip one of those things, maybe Chris Cole could do it”. I figured I could maybe do it so I joined in the session that Federico [Vitetta] was filming. I tried a couple and they fully worked, it was crazy but they were going over the table. Then I just did one, it was super sketchy but it was only about ten tries in. I landed three in the end, another sketchy one, then the one I did. Everyone was there, Guy Mariano, the enigma, the person you grew up wishing you could have his Axion shoes. That was a moment, it was something for sure.

“there’s no way anyone could tre flip one of those things, maybe Chris Cole could do it”

360 flip over a picnic table at Dylan Rieder’s skatepark filmed by Federico Vitetta

Last practise you implemented that has improved skateboarding for you?

I think just trying to be healthier, what that entails is different for each person. For me it’s a lot of different things, I don’t drink, I sauna, I ride a bike. I took up other hobbies so I can keep my love for skateboarding engaged. Shit gets old, especially when you’ve done it for a long time, you need to maintain that want for it, and for it to feel good. I have to do that other shit outside of skateboarding for that to be the case. Those Hyper Ice leg squishers are good for sure. I genuinely think the best thing I’ve done though, that has kept my body able to skate is riding a bike because my knees aren’t good.

Last technical innovation that revolutionised your rig?

It has got to be those carbon top boards, the Girl Pop Secret boards. It just makes for a really solid board, they’re super good. I’ve been skating those for a long time, it’s a stiffer, stronger board that lasts longer. I’m quite tall, quite heavy, I’m guaranteed to break a normal board. Since I’ve been skating those I just don’t break boards any more.

Last encounter with a critter most of us have never had to deal with?

It was yesterday actually. I picked up some concrete formwork at my wife’s parents’ house. These big pieces of wood that have been in a pile, in the middle of the bush, for probably about a year. I had gloves on but as I picked them up there was a spider there that was probably about 15cm in diameter. It was big, pissed-off, mum spider, she had her babies there stuck to the wood. She was there protecting them, and she was pissed off. I’m not a huge fan of arachnids so I also pissed off rather swiftly. I had to scratch off the egg sacs, they look like a white pillow that’s stuck to the wood, they’re the size of a 50p but puffed up. I scratched them off after the spider left but I was not impressed by having to do that. There’s always weird shit like that going on over here. Snakes are quite interesting, they have nice scales, they look cool, weird obviously, and can be scary. But there’s something about the way spiders move that fucks me up, I’m not down. This one from yesterday isn’t a dangerous one, they’re called huntsman, they’re non-venomous but move in a crazy way.

Still learning. Bionic switch hardflip on home turf

Last new trick you learned?

Fucking switch hardflips, it’s a classic. I do need to go somewhere and do something with it but I did some on my flat bank at home, and I was stoked. Always wanted to do that one.

Last trick you had to go through a process to re-learn?

Kickflips every time I do them, it’s the most psycho trick in the world. Everyone thinks they can learn to kickflip like Jake Hayes or [Andrew] Reynolds. My body just doesn’t want to do it. I’ll do one, land it so I’m happy, then forget how I did it. The next one will be completely different and disgusting. It’s definitely kickflips for me every single time I do them. I was trying them today over this ledge and none of them were the same. I just don’t have the muscle memory for that trick.

Last trick you consciously retired?

Switch front shuvs for sure, that trick just makes me feel like I’ve never stepped on a skateboard in my entire life. I can’t do those in front of people.

Last board graphic you were super stoked on?

Any board graphic that has my name on I’m super stoked on at this moment in time. My first pro board for Cliché means a lot to me because I never thought it was a possibility that would happen. That was important, I have one hanging up, and another one in plastic. My first Girl board too, the blue one with the oversized OG logo that says “Sheila”. There have been a lot of cool ones. I love the one Rob Mathieson drew with a great white shark eating a crocodile that’s eating a snake who is eating a spider. My two first pro boards will always be special.

Last skate trip highlight?

The last skate trip went on was to Taipei in Taiwan. It was a hard trip, we got arrested, and had to pay some big fines. Everyone on the trip had to pay these fines which was a lowlight. Maybe the highlight was the cop coming out of the station after having given us these savage fines. He was out of his work uniform and had these two big plastic bags. He explained that now he’s out of work hours he’s not a cop any more, apologised for having to give us these fines, and gave us these bags filled with tall Heinekens. We couldn’t believe it, we’d literally been locked up for thirteen hours. They put us in there at 10am and released us at 1 in the morning. It was out of control, then suddenly he turns up apologising, and giving us beers. That was a weird highlight.

Last hammers from your three sons?

We went camping two weeks ago to a motocross event. Ziggy my youngest son is eight, and he has always been super intimidated by motorbikes. When little kids get scared, they get shy, and just refuse to try certain things. When we got there they had a really cool, open kids track that wasn’t open to bigger bikes. There were loads of young girls, and boys riding, he saw that and said he was open to trying it for the first time. Motorbikes are scary for little kids, they’re big, they’re heavy, and loud. Riding with the throttle is hard to explain to them too so I get it. Ziggy went out there, he rode around, stacked it pretty bad, but then he figured it out. Then he just didn’t stop, he rode for six hours all three days. I was really proud of him, he was autonomous, chose to do it, chose how long he wanted to do it for, and carried on after he crashed. I was excited to see him really enjoying himself like that. River is similar with the motorbike stuff, he’s happy to do it, likes to go and learn. He listens to people, he conquers his fears, it’s great to watch happening.

Jagger is now quite good at basketball, I’ve enjoyed watching him improve at that, learn to play as part of a team. Navigating being a team player is important for young people. As skateboarders we don’t really do a team sport, we’re always together but working on our own stuff. I’m happy they’re all doing well.

Last spot you visited you can’t wait to return to?

There were so many spots in Taiwan that were out of control amazing but we were kicked out from every spot in about ten minutes. Let’s just say Southbank, hahaha.

making the most of some rubble and Nearly hitting the roof at southbank. PH: Dominic Marley

Last person you watched skate in the flesh that blew you away?

As far as technical skateboarding I’ve watched Griffin Gass do some shit. His control is second to none, it must feel cool to do the kind of combos he does, he is so precise. Griffin is always mind-blowing because of that control aspect, it’s spectacular to watch. Then Simon Bannerot is just like water, put him in a skatepark, or the right street spot he can just flow through it. He has the ability to make tricks that are definitely not fun look like they are, it looks like he’s surfing. They both do things it looks like it would feel really cool to do. Also to be able to see certain things as being possible, they have a different way of looking at things.

Last Converse shoe you stockpiled?

Definitely the Louie Lopez, it’s really good, that simple vulcanised sole works really well for me.

Last Wayward Wheels power move?

Staying in business, it’s tough out there. We have new wheels coming soon.

Last video to hit your feed that warranted a rewatch?

I watched Heath Kirchart’s Epicly Later’d episode again the other day. My schedule involves too many kids, and too little time.

Last binge watch?

I literally just watch motocross.

Towing the boss on a Girl tour. Brophy and Rick Howard getting revved up. PH: Ben Colen

Last new Australian discovery?

Since living near Noosa Heads we take the kids up to a place called Double Island Point which is probably an 85km full drive up the beach to a coastal headland. You take a barge across, drive up to a cut-in to the beach then drive 80km north along the sand. You cut through a corner of the headland and pop out at these amazing multi-coloured sand dunes that are huge. It’s a really long point break, a right-handed wave. You need to make sure you get your tides, and your winds right because you can lose your car in the ocean otherwise. It’s really beautiful there, so picturesque, I took Rob Mathieson and his partner up there when they came to stay.

Last trip you’ve signed up for this year?

There isn’t an immediate skate trip scheduled but I’m going to go to Japan with my family. It has been my wife’s dream to go there forever so we’re going to go. I hope to skate a little while I’m there too.

Last clip you filmed you’re hyped on?

I got a clip in Taipei that was filmed pretty cool by Daniel Policelli. We’re working on a full-length Girl video at the moment. I filmed a few things in New York too that I’m pretty fucking stoked on. Hopefully many more clips to come, you’ll have to wait and see. I hope to have a pretty solid part in that Girl video as a 38 year old.

360 flip on an eye-opening early trip to Russia shot by Leo Sharp

Last place you thought you’d ever end up?

Early on in my career we went to Moscow and took the sleeper train. Trips like that are strange looking back, things that happened really early on. I never thought that shit would happen.

Last words?

Tell your friends and family that you love them. Life is a fucking weird ride.

Thanks to Andrew Brophy for taking the time out to speak to us, it was great to connect. Follow Brophy on Instagram for regular updates. We’d also like to thank Leo Sharp, Ben Colen, and Dominic Marley for sending over photos. Keep an eye on Girl Skateboards for updates about the full-length video Brophy mentioned. We’re looking forward to that one!

Previous First & Last interviews: Nick Boserio, Jarrad Carlin, Colin Kennedy, Henry Sanchez, Mike York, Amanda Perez, Mark Gonzales, Lance Mountain, Brian Anderson, Danny Brady, Wade DesArmo

The post First & Last: Andrew Brophy appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Naughty is a new book of photos by Dominic Marley. Find out more about what makes up this book backed up by some musings from Dominic Marley himself about the process of making it, and his relationship with the body of work it contains…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. “Naughty” shot on Cornish sands by Dominic Marley

Dominic Marley’s new book Naughty represents the decade he spent shooting skateboarding on the streets of London. This 128-page book is filled with photos spanning that ten-year period, including some that were shot before he had turned his evolving craft into a way of life. It has been carefully assembled to be an evocative keepsake, a time capsule that breathes new life into these old images, many of which are lesser spotted shots. Knowing that this book becoming a physical reality has been on the cards for some years, it was a pleasure to acknowledge it being out there by speaking to Dom about his thoughts now that this labour of love is in or hands.

The launch event for Naughty took place at the Photo Book Cafe on Wednesday May 15th and lots of heads turned up to see the book for the first time. Dom’s first takeaway regarding the response to it was one of relief, explaining that, “A few people have responded with the exact intention of it which was to bring back the nostalgia of that time. So from that perspective, it has served its purpose, and I hope people continue to see that”. Everyone who showed up would have been able to see that the finished work ties a bow around Dom’s time out in the field but one piece of feedback meant the most, ”It got Toddy’s approval, that was always a thing for me, from the very first project we worked on together. I shot a lot with Toddy, he knows what he likes on a skateboard. If it wasn’t good enough I think he would be the first to tell me he wasn’t feeling it”.

“It got Toddy’s approval, that was always a thing for me, from the very first project we worked on together”

It’s only natural that Olly Todd’s opinion remains a barometer for Dom. After all, it was their first Ben Powell commissioned collaboration on an interview for Sidewalk magazine that saw Dom’s photos published for the first time, and opened up his hands-on approach to printing. This physical element is something he fondly recalls, “As the years went on there wasn’t enough time to make a print every time you shot a photo but at the beginning when I shot something the post-process would be more of a consideration. I would send the magazines 12×16 prints that they would scan. That’s still a process I like to use sometimes, it’s a lovely way of working. There’s a certain quality to it, if you really look into the details of some of those photos you can see it. Toddy’s 180 nosegrind from his interview opens the book, that was scanned from a print. They look different to a regular film scan, there’s a softness to those images I like, and if you can spot it, you can spot it”. Alongside the skate photos themselves which are obviously a focus, are other images that recall this way of working.

The original selection process, a contact sheet of an Olly Todd ollie from his Sidewalk interview

From the very first photos that came back, the Slam shop in Covent Garden played a big part in Dom’s schedule. The proximity of the Neal’s Yard shop to the Endell Street lab where he got his developing done meant no more than a week would go by without a visit from Mr Marley. He remembers the regime clearly, “The lab where I used to get all of my film processed was just around the corner from the shop. Every week or two, or on the way back from a trip I would go and drop my film in there. I used to get test rolls developed there. If there was a particular thing I had shot multiple rolls of I’d run one through, then see which way to go with the exposure based on that. Once I’d dropped the film off I’d be left with a couple of hours so my lab days involved at least two hours in Slam to begin with. I’d check the film, and then spend another couple of hours at the shop waiting for the next rolls. I’d frequently spend some solid time there, watch the latest videos, read magazines, and catch up with everyone. It was always fun. Slam played an integral role in me seeing all these images for the first time, it was part of the whole process, it’s where most people who are in the book gravitated towards as well”.

“Slam played an integral role in me seeing all these images for the first time, it was part of the whole process”

We are pleased to have been a part of it, and even got to see some of the iconic images in the book on the lightbox when lab waiting time was over. Many of the photos in Naughty made it to print but seeing them all together, in uniform black and white, adds weight to them, and has changed how Dom looks at the work he has accrued, “It’s about repurposing the photos, and it’s made me look at the archive in a different way. Film is 25 frames a second, a moving image, but with a still, unless it’s digitised and in a scrolling format, the frames per second are decided by how long the person viewing it wants to spend looking at it. That viewing time is affected by other things. One photo viewed alone has its own significance, but a set of photos presented together takes on another significance. How you edit them definitely changes the narrative of an image or a collection of images”. Needless to say, a lot of time and thought has gone into ordering the photos. Two kickflips destined for Nick Jensen’s feet well represent the passage of time presented…

Two Nick Jensen Kickflips from two different eras. Playstation skatepark and Gas Banks in Holborn

“The photo of Nick [Jensen] doing a kickflip at Playstation was one of the first times I ever used lighting in a skate photo…Those two photos together represent an evolution for both of us”

When asked about both of these Dom looks back on the mutual progression the two of them went through between shots, “The photo of Nick [Jensen] doing a kickflip at Playstation was one of the first times I ever used lighting in a skate photo. I shot that really early on, it’s deliberately next to a photo of him towards the end of that decade doing a kickflip over the bar at gas banks in Holborn. They are both great kickflips for their own reasons but the Gas Banks one is obviously quite gnarly. Those two photos together represent an evolution for both of us”. From skating with Nick at Playstation and further afield during that exact era we can attest that he has always had a very powerful kickfip in his arsenal but there’s no way his teenage frame could have propelled one over that Gas Banks rail. These photos together are great markers, a Waiting For The World era Nick at his regular TF beneath the Westway complimented by him operating on full power in the wild for Make Friends With The Colour Blue. The early photo of Nick prompted us to ask about other photos from a similar period that appear. One photo Dom shot of Charlie Young at Fairfield went down around the same time he was tasked with working on Olly Todd’s interview…

Charlie Young Backside Noseblunt slides at fairfield halls in Croydon, an early Dom Marley photo

This photo is interesting because while Dom was tripping into town to shoot very specific things with Olly Todd, this photo at a childhood haunt is the product of a day out skating, some nice light, and the camera bag beginning to become a regular feature. Speaking of this transition he said “This photo of Charlie is a point where I started shooting skating more, alongside skating myself. We were sessioning the block together, and then I shot a photo. In a way, that’s everything skate photography should be. As the years went on things became a bit more of a production, you would be going somewhere specific with a shot already in mind. That early photo of Charlie is very organic while other photos are more constructed. There’s a lot of early stuff in the book, those photos represent a nice time of their own”. It’s a testament to Dom’s good eye that the photos shot when he was developing his technique retain just as much allure as ones where he had everything wired.

“At one time I would look at earlier photos and not be a fan of them because of the critical eye I had developed to improve. But looking back on them now they are probably some of my favourites”

He speaks about the reasons for this and how time elapsing means you can revisit images with fresh eyes, “My relationship with the work I was producing changed over time. All skate photographers know that you are limited by the amount of lighting you can bring around with you, and a lot of the time by where you can put it. With some of the later photos, I would be looking at those shots with a very critical eye, I’d be looking at the lighting, and what I could have done differently to improve the final product. I would always be looking to improve, and by looking at things in that way you almost disregard any images that came previously”.

By the time it came to selecting images for Naughty, and with more than a decade of commercial work under his belt his scrutinous eye had softened, ”At one time I would look at earlier photos and not be a fan of them because of the critical eye I had developed to improve. But looking back on them now they are probably some of my favourites. They were raw, they communicate that, and I think that’s what skate photos should be. There’s that element of spontaneity, even when the photos are planned. There was this unknown factor of how it was going to work, and that’s the magic of it. That’s why I think photos shot on film will always hold that nostalgia. All of the photos in the book were shot on film”. One set of photos shot on film that appear in the book may seem incongruous at first glance but they represent a narrative of their own…

Portraits of Stevie Williams shot by Dom in the Slam city Skates basement

There is a big leap from your entire friendship group watching The Reason and The Chocolate Tour religiously in 1999 to being on a European tour with your favourite skateboarder from these videos and the team he put together. This contact sheet exemplifies the wild trip Dom’s fascination with photography took him on, ”The Stevie portrait was taken at the end of a Reebok trip, we ended up back in London, and at Slam in Neal’s Yard. The trip began in Serbia, then to Germany, and back to London. I flew to Serbia with Lev [Tanju]. It was nice to take Stevie to some spots we would usually skate, and to see how his skating translated. We had planned to shoot some portraits on that trip, and Slam seemed like a fitting place to do it. There are some other portraits in the book of London locals, and some photos of skaters taken in London who are from elsewhere but having a photo of Stevie [Williams] in the book seemed appropriate. We all grew up loving his skating. Also, his portrait being taken in Slam shows how pivotal the shop was in the whole creative process”.

“having a photo of Stevie [Williams] in the book seemed appropriate. We all grew up loving his skating. Also, his portrait being taken in Slam shows how pivotal the shop was in the whole creative process”

We are stoked that this book is now in existence, and proud to have played some part in the process that led to its creation, it was a long road for it to come together. From speaking with Dom it’s obvious that another collection of photos could easily transpire from the archives as both the inspiration and the material are there at hand. While he jokes that he’s down to a skate photo a year it was also great to learn that skate photos of some of the younger members of the Palace camp could become a reality soon. We look forward to seeing the tradition, and craft laid down on the pages of Naughty continuing on the London streets with this legendary lensman. Years of yoga practice following the era that produced Naughty should give his ideal fisheye angle an added assist. Here’s a virtual glimpse of a book we can’t recommend enough…

Naughty just joined our selection of Books & Magazines. Visit us to make sure this epic collection of photographs is one of the spines on your bookshelf.

Related Reading: Dominic Marley: 5000 Words, The Skateboarder’s Companion – A Little Bit ‘Naughty’, Free Skate Mag – Naughty – an Interview with Dom Marley

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This “Backstory” article is with Quentin Guthrie, a continuation of the piece we put together with Josh Stewart where he selected some memorable missions from his last video. This one spans Quentin’s time out in the field, dipping into a selection plucked from different projects, going all the way back to a clip captured shortly after he made London his home…

Introduction by Jacob Sawyer. Quentin Guthrie coming up on Maga gold on a US trip. PH: Charlie Munro

It was a pleasure to speak to Quentin about working on this idea, and then to receive his thoughtful selection fully formulated. Below is a window into the process behind five completely different expeditions, their significance expanded on by one of the most talented lensmen to have put in the work in our capital and beyond. When Dan Magee, someone who devoted decades to contorted follow filming on London’s streets, applauds your work with a fisheye it’s clear that your technique with that coveted piece of glass is on point. We asked Magee to expand on the “best fisheye filmer in the world” quote. This “joke that’s not a joke” is a soundbite about Quentin which has reverberated around the internet. Dan explains, “There is no best fisheye filmer in the world as it’s all a question of preferred taste, but if you like closeup filming then he can get the closest and make it look good in a non-GoPro way”. This remains high praise from a seasoned VX-veteran with high standards who doesn’t consider himself a good filmer. Wielding over a pound of glass is a unique skill that comes with its own prohibitively expensive perils, a sobering reality Quentin speaks about below when discussing his first time filming with Davide Holzknecht for his last video Assets.

Alongside his first time filming with Davide is a Dougie George trick captured at Southbank which also took place before their powerful, and productive partnership had properly begun. Dougie remembers this as being an exciting time. Already a fan of Quentin’s videos, and keen as always to film with a VX, this marks a moment that got the ball rolling for both of them. As well as Dougie this story rightly contains other long-time collaborators Charlie Munro and Dom Henry. The Charlie Munro trick Quentin chose went down in his hometown of Perth at a spot he had already put a stamp on back in the day when he spent more time on the other side of the lens. Dom Henry has many lines in his body of work that have been blessed by Quentin’s craftsmanship, the one selected for this article is some flawless tech put down at Victoria Benches before the spot ceased to be. Rounding all of this out is a Jason Caines moment that went down a stone’s throw from our old Covent Garden shop, a road gap we all walked past many times that Jason made his own. We hope you enjoy this look back at the archives that Quentin has kindly curated for us. They are also joined by some insights from a few of the people involved…

Dom Henry – Victoria Benches 3 Piece (2017)

I met Dom when he moved to London in 2017. We immediately bonded over our shared sexual orientation and appreciation of the antipodean sense of humour. This line came about because Dom and I were fixated on the idea of filming a line at Viccy benches. I always loved the way the spot looked, and appreciated its significance in UK skate videos.

At the time a lot of people were skating the spot as the Palace video (Palasonic) had just dropped, so if you wanted to skate it uninterrupted you had to go early. I remember on the day of this line I slept through my alarm and arrived at the spot an hour late. I was always terrified of arriving late to meet Dom as he had a tendency to staunchly express his displeasure towards tardiness. But thankfully on this occasion he was quick to forgive. It also gave him some time to think up a no push line before I arrived.

I can’t remember how long exactly it took to film the line. It wasn’t a complete saga, but it was long enough for us to stop and think ‘fuck! are we actually going to get this’. After many attempts, Dom landed the line but after reviewing the footage we discovered he didn’t actually pop the half cab flip (not sure how I missed that). We were gutted because the first and second trick were perfect. Arthur showed up as we were reviewing the clip and arrived to see the faces of two very disappointed men.

“This line came about because Dom and I were fixated on the idea of filming a line at Viccy benches. I always loved the way the spot looked, and appreciated its significance in UK skate videos”

He immediately lifted our spirits and gave us the motivation to try it again. Dom landed the entire line (executed perfectly) the next go back-to-back. I was stoked on how it turned out. I’d never really seen anyone film at the spot ending a line with the camera placed slightly under the bench. It was also nice to see Dom flip out of a regular nosegrind as he is a known fakie manny/ nosegrind flip out abuser.

We filmed the line towards the end of making NEXT and it was a nice way to round off filming for the edit. Sometimes I wonder if Arthur hadn’t arrived (with his ‘been up all night partying’ energy) would we even have gotten the clip?

Here’s Dom’s account of the process behind this one…

I loved this period of time filming with Quentin for his video NEXT. He was so down to get out and about all around London purely out of dedication for the independent video he was making. I was super stoked to be a part of it, having met and became friends that year. We were getting out together all the time and having some big laughs on the regular. This was a memorable one to film in terms of sheer relief.

I have a bit of a curse with doing a crap version of whatever I’m trying fairly quickly, then taking forever to land a good one. I thought this was about to continue on this day at Viccy, as after a fair amount of effort I suddenly managed a version of the line where the first and last trick were clean, yet the half cab flip didn’t pop at all. At ALL. Technically clean, speed maintaining, but literally didn’t leave the ground, I somehow just twirled one round without hitting the tail, and then landed the nosegrind nollie flip. The classic case of cursing yourself for carrying on after doing part of the line badly. I immediately felt a sense of dread that it was going to be hard to do it again, and there was no lying to ourselves that it was a useable make. Yet somehow, the very next go, I landed the complete line again, this time with the decent flat ground trick. We couldn’t believe it – it felt criminal to have escaped what felt like an impending saga so lightly! I remember being delirious with relief. We seriously came up on some luck that day, to say the least.

Charlie MUnro – noseslide in perth (2022)

Charlie and I were lucky enough to travel to Western Australia to film for his Primitive Scrape part. This spot is in Perth hills, a 45-minute drive from the city, close to my parents’ house, the house I grew up in.

En route to visit my parents I stopped by one day to see if it was still there and thankfully it was. I did a boardslide on it when I was 19, about 13 years prior to taking Charlie there.

I showed Charlie a photo and we came up with the idea to film a noseslide, one of our favourite tricks (as mentioned in his Visuals interview). It was quite bizarre taking Charlie to spots I grew up skating and seeing him, my friend from Cambridge, in this yellow brick Australian bush setting.

I remember we were quite sketched out skating it because you have to jump a big fence to get into the netball court so if you take a heavy slam, you’re kinda fucked. Charlie managed to do this within a few goes. I texted my brother to come watch him skate it, he pulled up with his 3-year old daughter and they watched from the other side of the fence. Later that day Charlie filmed this switch heel (another favourite trick of mine) with my brother towing him in in his car while his daughter was in the backseat thinking we were playing some kind of fun driving game.

“It was quite bizarre taking Charlie to spots I grew up skating and seeing him, my friend from Cambridge, in this yellow brick Australian bush setting”

Later we all had dinner at my parents’ house and watched the sunset over the city while my mum told Charlie embarrassing childhood stories of myself. It was a very nice wholesome day.

Although Charlie noseslid it, I would still argue that boardslide is harder haha!

This is what Charlie had to say about this excursion…

Getting to visit where Quinno is from was a treat. We went to this rail he boardslid back in the day with the intention for me to try a noseslide. We had to hop this big fence to get to the spot and just before I started trying his brother and niece rocked up to say hello. It was a pretty strange but wholesome vibe. Luckily it worked out pretty quickly so I could properly introduce myself to them. Later that day I got to meet his parents and connect my mum with his mum on WhatsApp which is just at cute as it sounds. Big Dee regularly hits me up just to check in too.

Davide Holzknecht – Ride on switch nosegrind fakie flip (2023)

This clip was the first thing I ever filmed with Davide. It was also the opening trick in Assets, the edit I put out last year. Originally, I tried to film it fisheye however that didn’t go as planned. On the very first go, the first time I ever pressed record and pointed a camera at Davide, I misjudged the timing of the flip out and the lens got kicked and flew off the front of the camera onto the floor. It landed directly on the front element and subsequently scratched it beyond use.

I couldn’t believe our luck, what are the chances of this happening the very first time you hit record and point a camera at someone? Particularly because I am no stranger to lens hits, I cop one on nearly every single fisheye trick I try film.

We were absolutely devastated, mostly because at that time MK1s were extremely difficult to find and were selling on eBay at an average price of £2k. Davide said he felt responsible, for trying the flip out too early, but it’s one of those things where I also misjudged it so it’s difficult to say whose fault it is really. It is also the nature of the game when your filming gimmick is to place the lens an inch away from someone’s board as they try a trick.

“what are the chances of this happening the very first time you hit record and point a camera at someone?”

After 20 minutes of quiet anger and self-loathing, we decided to film it long lens, as was the only option available haha. It was difficult to shake off what had happened, but we managed to persevere and get the clip. It ended up being one of my favourite clips in the edit, I love how relaxed the flip out looks, almost as if it happened in slow-motion. The execution of the trick is the perfect representation of Davide’s relaxing nature and calm approach to skating. Without this energy on the session, I doubt I would’ve been able to continue filming after breaking my lens. I really admire Davide’s positivity and gentle nature, I genuinely think the world would be a better place if we were all more like him.

Jason Caines – Road Gap Ollie in Covent Garden (2016)

I met Jason shortly after moving to London in 2015. Watching him skate, I was immediately drawn to his confidence and energy.

It’s kind of hard to tell (because all road gaps look the same in footage) but the gap is very long and quite shit. A week prior Will (Harmon), Pani (Paul) and I laid a street sign post in the gap and grinded across it for a bit of fun. It felt appropriate to talk about this clip because it is on Endell Street, just across the road from the old Covent Garden Slam.

On the day of the ollie, we skated past Slam and I remembered there was a road gap. I showed it to Jason and true to form he was immediately down. I always wanted to film someone skate a road gap in London that I’d never seen anyone skate before.

The ollie was an absolute ‘my war’ for Jason for many reasons. The run up was shit, the street was very busy with civilian foot traffic, and the old lady that lived in the flat above the spot was not happy about the noise. I remember whoever was working in Slam at the time coming out between goes to cheer and hype Jason up.

“The run up was shit, the street was very busy with civilian foot traffic, and the old lady that lived in the flat above the spot was not happy about the noise”

Jason tried this for probably about 2-3 hours, which is quite mental considering how fast you have to push at it. He took some of the worst slams I’d ever seen because he was so determined to land it, committing to anything that was under his feet (despite if the board was upside down haha). Eventually he landed it, with only a few goes of light left. The roll away is so fucking sick, he desperately tries to stay on his board and somehow pulls it off.

One of my favourite things about Jason is he goes absolutely mental when he lands something, so the celebration is always so much fun (which is quite surprising because if you chat to him, he’s such a mellow dude). We ended the day with a beer at the pub and rewatched the clip on my phone about 30 times.

Here are some thoughts from Jason Caines to accompany Quentin’s…

I love skating over road gaps, nailing a long ollie from one road to another always hypes me up. Especially if it has those classic double yellow lines on either side, so you know it’s a legit full-sized road gap that a car could fit through. I’d always looked at that long road gap outside the old Slam City Skates shop on Endell St and rolled up to it, thinking of doing an ollie over it. The roll-up is smooth, the gap is long and it was across the road from Slam which made it even sicker. I thought it was possible if I skated fast enough at it.

So after years of thinking about it, I was out one day in Central London in 2016, filming with Quentin Guthrie, Arthur Derrien and Tristan Rudman. At some point, we realised that none of us had plans to try any specific tricks but Quentin asked me if I had an idea for a trick. I put the Endell Street road gap out there because I thought, it would be funny to try it and my attempts or slam would make for a good clip but after we got there and I tried it, I landed one over it in primo and realised I could maybe do it.

Everyone was hyping me up to land it. Quentin was filming it up close with his fish eye, from an angle that I had not seen anyone film a road gap ollie from before so I knew that land or slam, the footage would look dope. I decided on the next try to push my board out a bit to get a longer ollie, land it into a frontside powerslide and carve it out. So I put in few extra pushes, rolled up and popped the ollie but I was going so fast when I landed on the other side, I  instantly went from doing a frontside powerslide into a backside powerslide. I drifted sideways on the roll out. I managed to keep my balance, by swerving out the slide, and I stayed on my board and somehow got the rollaway. So stoked, I’m still hyped on it.

I remember running into Blondey [McCoy] and Big Man [James Fry] 5 minutes after I did it and they said they hadn’t actually noticed the road gap was there or that you could ollie it. I was hyped for other skaters to eventually see the clip, and hopefully be surprised that an ollie over the gap was actually possible.

Dougie George – Nosewheelie – Nollie Backside Flip at Southbank (2020)

Dan [Fisher-Eustance] introduced me to Dougie whilst filming for his Free Skate Mag part in 2020. This was one of the first clips I ever filmed with Doug and subsequently the beginning of our established friendship/ filmer-skater relationship.

I remember ending up at Southbank one evening with Dan and Dougie after an unsuccessful day out filming. I didn’t really know Doug at this point, or his skating, as this was probably the second time we ever met. I watched him and Dan skate around casually killing it and out of nowhere he tried this trick and got shockingly close. I couldn’t tell if it was just a fluke, but I pulled my camera out and started filming him. SB was super busy, so it was difficult to get consistent goes. Brayden (Slezak) was there and helped us manage the chaos of trap stars and overly confident low-skilled skaters.

“Within about 20 minutes Dougie landed it flawlessly and I was absolutely astounded. It felt almost surreal to film such a monumental trick, executed that well, in such a short space of time”

Within about 20 minutes Dougie landed it flawlessly and I was absolutely astounded. It felt almost surreal to film such a monumental trick, executed that well, in such a short space of time. We were all buzzing for hours after this. I texted Dom (a seasoned manual connoisseur) after it went down and said, “you’ll never believe what I just filmed at SB”.

I put the clip in Dan’s part to go with the little SB section and it ended up appearing as number one in the Quartersnacks Top 10 for that week. I think it might’ve been the first time a guest clip had made it to number one. I can’t remember who, but someone said ‘Dan must be a great friend to let Dougie have the best clip in HIS part’ haha!

Dougie and I joke about how he baited me with this clip because a lot of things we filmed proceeding it did not come as easy haha! Having said that, we did film something equally as fucked at Oval space recently for the Asics Europe video which took him about 10 minutes.

I recently took on the role as TM for Butter Goods so I’m officially Dougie’s boss now. Dougie if you’re reading this.. As your boss I am expecting more clips from you to this standard.

We want to thank Quentin for this selection of clips and for sharing the reasons he chose them with us. You can watch the videos where all of these clips appear by perusing his Youtube channel. Also be sure to follow him on Instagram for updates. We recommend tuning in to Joel Curtis’ Skate Creative podcast for a recent episode dedicated to exploring Quentin and Josh Hallett’s work.

Previous Backstory Articles: Nick Jensen & Mike Arnold, Neil Smith, Conor Charleson, Josh Stewart

Related reading: Visuals: Charlie Munro, My Board: Dougie George, Isolation Station: Dom Henry

The post Backstory: Quentin Guthrie appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Our “Visuals” interview with Jaime Owens expands on a video part, trick, photo, and board graphic that have embedded themselves in his grey matter over the years. From an iconic board mail-ordered from a magazine in the 80s, to an Olly Todd video part that made it’s way to the other side of the pond, Jaime came through with the goods…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Jaime Owens out hunting noseblunts. PH: Mike Heikkila

For nearly four decades, skateboarding has been Jaime Owens’ constant guide, a journey which began in South Carolina. Magazines have played an integral role in his experience ever since his sister brought him a copy of TransWorld home from the grocery store, a kindness which opened a whole new world. Little did she know that one day he would be editor-in-chief of that very publication. Jaime’s story involves his time at TransWorld SKATEboarding (TWS) as editor, and at Skateboarder magazine before that. It even saw him become associate producer of Jackass in the early days, a role he passed up in favour of becoming immersed in the print game. His dedication, and love for skateboarding have always remained paramount. When TWS as a print mag ceased to exist Jaime continued to forge his own path by creating the excellent CLOSER magazine, an independent passion project that delivers his undiluted vision of how skateboarding should be presented. It’s a publication we’re proud to have on the shelves.

It seemed fitting that we connect with Jaime in a format that celebrates the time he has spent ensconced in our culture, and appreciates the significance of some of the visuals that have ultimately inspired him to keep their spirit alive. Jaime picked an Olly Todd video part from Chris Massey [RIP]’s seminal video Portraits, a VHS tape which would have winged it’s way to him all the way from our old Neal’s Yard address. He selected a Guy Mariano noseblunt slide that appears in Video Days, a watershed moment that evolves into a celebration of the trick itself. His photo choice is a striking Daniel Harold Sturt image of Matt Hensley which ran as a Gullwing advert, and the graphic he selected is a Vision Gonz board he ordered from the pages of a magazine. Prepare your eyeballs for some treats, and enjoy Jaime’s reflections on their relevance to him and our culture.

OLLY TODD – LANDSCAPE: Portraits (2003)

For some reason Olly Todd’s Landscape part has always stuck in my mind over the years, it stood out from the gazillion amazing videos and video parts. It has stood the test of time, I recently rewatched it again while thinking of this list and it holds up to this day. Even when it came out, in an era of big Zero and Girl videos full of massive rails or crazy tech skating this spoke to me. There was this video in the midst of it with a fully UK skater, skating London, looking like he’s the lead singer in a band, and skating to such a sick song. All of the spots look amazing, and his trick selection is so on point, all the classic tricks: kickflips, backside flips, noseblunt slides. Some of the most beautiful looking tricks I like to see people do. This just stood out so much in that era and I have loved it ever since.

I would have seen this for the first time when I was working for Skateboarder magazine. Oliver Barton worked there at the time. He would shoot all of the Blueprint and Landscape guys. He was also best friends with Chris Massey (RIP) so I think he got copies of the VHS tape sent to him at the mag. I was the photo editor at the time and I had the TV and the VCR in my office, that’s where we would all watch videos whenever they came in. I remember watching the video and just loving the scene it represented, the whole vibe, the spots, everything. When Olly got on Stereo a few years later and came out to the States I was so pumped to go and skate, and shoot photos with him. That transition to Stereo just made perfect sense too, he was such a stylish skater in the same vein as Ethan Fowler or someone like that.

The last trick in this video part is so great, it’s the exact opposite of anything coming out during that era. Last tricks would always be big handrails as I said before, or some crazy technical trick. When he ollied up that bank and did a kickflip nose-manual down I was blown away, it was such a weird last trick, so awesome, and so different. Watching it now, it’s still so sick. I love that you get to see it in regular speed after the slow-mo too. I got to go to that spot one time when I was over there on a Volcom trip and I was geeking out. I know everybody has hit that spot but for me that was the “Olly Todd last trick spot”.

“You could put this out today and it would still be a banging video part, it’s over twenty years old now which is crazy!”

I also really like the backside 360 ollie he does out of a kicker. Lots of the spots in there look like New York, he obviously filmed a Static part years later with Josh Stewart, and I can imagine Josh Stewart watching this video part and thinking “dang I want to film with this guy!” because he skates exactly the type of stuff Josh loves to film. That opening line filmed at night that’s just lit by the light on the camera with him pushing and cruising the streets. It was just so different to the normal style of editing videos at that time. You could put this out today and it would still be a banging video part, it’s over twenty years old now which is crazy! The Death In Vegas song is amazing too, if I ever here that song somewhere I’m stoked. Really great video parts have to have that great song to compliment it and this does. It’s the whole package: filming, editing, skating, music. It’s all perfect, wrapped up in a nice little bow.

This is a part I can definitely always pull up and revisit. I know Olly is at a different stage in his life these days but it’s been proven that older skaters can still put out amazing video parts. I would love to see another little video part from him that shows him still skating. Get that dude on some sessions and film some clips.

Guy Mariano – Noseblunt slide in Blind: Video Days (1991)

Video Days is obviously one of my favourite videos of all time and Guy Mariano’s part in that video is just iconic. The noseblunt slide I picked is not a monumental one at all. He does one in the middle of this little parking lot line where he does a tailslide first, and a 50-50 afterwards. I remember that trick stuck out to me even then, the trick looks amazing for one, then the fact that he was so little, and his board looked giant, yet he was able to go up and do a noseblunt slide then pop out in the middle of the kerb. I was always just fascinated by that. Any time that I was at a a spot I was too scared of even trying to throw that trick in. How the hell did this little kid do that? Obviously it’s Guy Mariano but it’s a little kid with a giant board making it look so easy. Then of course Gonz [Mark Gonzales] invented them and has one in his part too on the white bench down the stairs. It’s so cool that Guy was skating with Gonz, learning these tricks from him as they’re invented.

Just the other day I was looking at a TransWorld with an A1 Quality Meats ad published the same year. It has a photo of a very young, and very small Jason Dill doing one on a bench. That ad made me think the same thing at the time, how did this guy get his board up on top of the bench to do a noseslide downward? I was trying to figure out this downwards noseslide, what the heck is that? So this particular trick has always fascinated me, how you get the board up and over, then push down into it. It just looks so cool, and it all began by seeing Guy Mariano do it. Noseblunt slides put your body in this cool position, in the same way a backside smith grind does. Both of those tricks put you in this karate style position if you get into them right, the coolest position for a photo

“how did this guy get his board up on top of the bench to do a noseslide downward?”

Through the years I have also loved watching Ed Templeton make them look cool, he would always lock in so good from the first ever one you see him do in the New Deal 1281 video. He does an impossible noseblunt on a kerb in that part too! Those tricks look so easy and mellow when he does them but if you roll up to a kerb and really think about doing that, it’s death. You’re definitely going to your hip on that trick. Also don’t forget Ed’s Welcome To Hell noseblunt slide at Beryl Banks to kerb. There’s a timeline with the trick, obviously Gonz inspired everyone to learn tricks but there’s a direct lineage with this. Gonz inspired Ed Templeton to do them and it became one of his favourite tricks. Then it continues, Tom Karangelov is a huge Ed Templeton fan from the Huntington Beach, Santa Ana area and he has kept it going. He does it because of Ed, knowing that Ed does it because of Gonz.

In the “Enter the Museum” part that he put out Tom’s last trick is a tribute to Ed’s noseblunt slide in 1281, they’ve put rails on the ledge but he managed to do a backside bluntslide and kind of wallie one of them. It’s crazy and weird but he was able to skate it as a tribute to Ed. Tom [Karanglov] is keeping the tradition alive. I skate with him a lot, and love that trick so it’s great to get to regularly see one of my favourites done so well. Tom loves the history of skating, he’s always asking me questions about what it was like seeing Natas [Kaupas] or Gonz skate for the first time as a kid. His enthusiasm for the history of skating, and appreciation of it is really cool. I would love to see more skaters nowadays look backwards to understand where we came from, and how we got here.

“I would love to see more skaters nowadays look backwards to understand where we came from, and how we got here”

I was never able to do this trick through the years but I finally learned them on transition, on little quarter pipes. I have still never done one in the streets on a sidewalk kerb though, and I’ve been trying to do it. I’m about to turn 50 later this year and I’m determined to get one, either by the time I’m 50, or as a 50-year old. I want to do one on a kerb like Guy Mariano, and pop out in the middle, not go off the end. I’m going to be so happy when I do one, it will have only taken 30 plus years. Hopefully I can learn it, I’ve gotten close so I hope to do it soon but that trick can definitely take you out. I think it’s one of the most classic, rawest, street tricks you can do. It’s so scary, I’ve done the slip out to my hip so many times. I feel confident on any type of medium sized bank though, I’ll happily throw a noseblunt slide in there all day long, but the street one is a completely different vibe.

Aaron Meza lives in Burbank and every time that we go and hang out we’ll visit some Video Days spots because they’re all around his house. I’ve actually been to look at the kerb where Guy [Mariano] does the noseblunt slide that we’re talking about. That parking lot has only changed a little bit. I’ve always dreamed of recreating Guy’s little line that he did there once I’ve learned noseblunt slides, it would be so cool to get Meza to film it long lens the same way.

Matt Hensley. BS Noseblunt slide. PH: Daniel harold Sturt (1992)

The significance of this one is that it’s Matt Hensley who is one of the coolest skaters of all time. It’s Daniel Harold Sturt who is one of the greatest skate photographers of all time, and Matt is doing a backside noseblunt slide, one of the sickest tricks of all time. All of these things combined make for one of the greatest skate photos of all time. The photo itself is just incredible, the lighting is amazing, no-one had lights above skaters pointing down at that time. I don’t even know how he had a light set up like that. The long exposure with the burlesque sign behind him works so well, the colours are amazing. The timing is perfect too, it’s shot just before he gets into the backside noseblunt slide. This photo also came out at the peak of Matt Hensley being a god, the shaved head, the cargos, the chukkas, he looks so freaking cool. It’s three of the greatest all in one: skater, photographer, trick. I can’t believe it was used as a Gullwing ad! It could have been it’s own whole spread

This is the perfect snapshot of him during that era, shot by one of the greatest, most elusive, weird, behind-the-scenes photographers to ever do it. No-one can speak to [Daniel Harold] Sturt to this day, no-one can interview him, he doesn’t want to talk about skateboarding. That all adds to the mystique of this photo, how did they get this shot? This is pre-Photoshop, just an incredible photo by a master. All of the iconic Matt Hensley photos were shot by Sturt, they obviously had a relationship and shot a lot together. I don’t think a lot of skaters always realise that if there’s a chance to align yourself with one of the best photographers at the time, you should really do it. Jump at the chance to be captured by these people. Matt Hensley was obviously fortunate to be friends with him.

“This is the perfect snapshot of him during that era, shot by one of the greatest, most elusive, weird, behind-the-scenes photographers to ever do it”

Matt’s wife Desiree worked with us at TransWorld for years so we got really close with the Hensley’s. We would go over to their house, and their family photos were all shot by Sturt too! Child portraits on the wall and everything, he was fully integrated into the family over there, he’s a family friend still. He shot all of Matt’s most famous skate photos, and all the family pictures of him and the dog, hahaha. It’s so cool. He is still this mysterious dude even though he is still a family friend who comes over to visit all the time. He is someone everyone would die to interview and get his story but he just doesn’t care, or want to be involved in that part of skating. We’re so close to him, just one degree of separation, but still all bets are off when it comes to getting anything going with him. His photos are just incredible though. Being at Skateboarder in the early 2000s meant I definitely got to get my hands on some of his original negatives, some of the stuff they used, and also prints. He would often send prints to the mag and not the negatives, he’d print it, stamp his name on it, and that’s what you’d get. I saved some of those for archival reasons.

The Matt Hensley Gullwing ad shot by Daniel Harold Sturt as it appeared in TWS January 1992

I fully remember seeing this photo for the first time, it looked like a painting. The lighting, and the colours were unlike anything else, it almost didn’t look real. There’s mystery involved, you saw the photo and wondered what the trick looked like but there was no footage. They would have just gone and shot this photo without a filmer. Thinking of it now, since you can’t get a print of it, it would be pretty cool to get someone to paint it so you could have an oversized version of it. If I could have a giant wall dedicated to one skate photo this would be the one. I always loved looking at photos by Daniel Harold Sturt, and Spike [Jonze], they were an inspiration. Also growing up and seeing J. Grant Brittain’s name over and over again in all of those TransWorld’s definitely planted the seed that it would be pretty cool to hang out with these dudes and shoot iconic photos of them. I was at High School in the early 90s, I gravitated towards photography as a way to document the lives of me and my friends. I wanted to do that because no-one else was, then I slowly began wanting to become a better photographer. I wasn’t even thinking that I could shoot skate photos but those guys were definitely an inspiration. If I was going to shoot photos that’s what I wanted them to look like. I never got to that point but looking at their work made me want to try.

“I fully remember seeing this photo for the first time, it looked like a painting. The lighting, and the colours were unlike anything else, it almost didn’t look real”

I would pick up magazines at my local skate shop, that’s how I would have seen this photo for the first time. Where I lived you could even pick up skateboard magazines at the grocery store. My sister bought me my very first issue of TransWorld from the grocery store when I didn’t even know that skate mags existed. At that point I would get copies of Freestylin’ which was a BMX magazine that had skate photos in it, that was where I’d see skateboarding. Then my sister brought home this issue of TransWorld with Rodney Mullen on the cover in 1986. It was a fat issue too, I couldn’t believe it, a full issue about skateboarding! I was blown away that there was a mag dedicated to it. So from that point on I would get them, from that same store, and then the skate shop. I’s so cool thinking back and remembering her bringing it, I can still clearly remember her saying “I saw this at the grocery store, I thought you’d like it”. It was this window into a whole other world, it was the coolest thing in the world, and it still is. I’m so thankful during that era of my childhood to have stumbled upon this whole world and been sucked into it. We’re still talking about it forty years later, still involved in it, still love it, still doing it. It’s very fortunate to find something you love that early in life.

Vision Skateboards: Mark Gonzales Pro Model (1985-1989)

The first time I saw this board was in mail-order ads. You would always thumb through those pages of completes in the mag to see which one you wanted, and I remember seeing it in the CCS spread. This Gonz [Mark Gonzales] Vision board always stood out to me. It looked so cool. That graphic is 1000 percent 80s, and it encapsulated the era it came out in, it was so awesome. This was the first, and pretty much one of the only boards that I ever mail-ordered, I ordered it from CCS. Waiting for that board and it coming in the mail was one of the coolest experiences ever. Beyond that, our local shop would get all of the latest boards. I can’t remember why, but they can’t have had this one, which is why I felt like I had to mail-order it. I would normally buy boards from the shop, I didn’t want to wait for this because I was impatient, so the anticipation of it arriving drove me crazy.

It just looked like the coolest board in the world. It then became evident from looking through the mag at ads with Mark Gonzales that he was one of the best skaters ever, even before you had seen any footage of him. Looking back at it now I love how 80s the graphic is, all of those Vision boards were full 80s creations. Growing up I was a Powell Peralta kid like a lot of people because they were the coolest, and most popular. I had various Lance Mountain boards, a Tommy Guerrero, I learned kickflips on a Steve Saiz of all boards. Obviously as a kid you’re influenced by everything, but looking back now I love all of the Vision graphics from that era because they are so defined by that decade.

That Gonz board has stood the test of time as being one of the most iconic board graphics ever. It’s cool that it’s his first pro graphic at a time when boards stayed around for a few years. There were different colours and some changes but it was in production for four years which is insane to think about now. When he started doing his own graphics they were weird and took on a life of their own but that first graphic was something you saw in the mag over and over again. That ad where the graphic surrounds the Tod Swank photo of Mark was so rad too, there’s a Miami Vice element to it. Miami Vice meets a science-fiction movie, everything I love basically. Throw those things on a skateboard, and there’s your graphic. That’s my childhood right there. I remember trying to learn airwalks out of my buddy’s jump ramp on that board.

“That Gonz board has stood the test of time as being one of the most iconic board graphics ever. It’s cool that it’s his first pro graphic at a time when boards stayed around for a few years”

Finally pulling that board out of the box was something else. I’m so bummed because I have no idea what I did with it in the end. Back then we traded boards a lot, I have no idea if I traded it, or where that thing ended up. I wish I knew where it went, even if I knew who it went to I would be tracking them down to this day. So I couldn’t find my original one, and I wasn’t about to buy a $500 one on eBay, so I finally got one of those reissues which say The Original instead of Mark Gonzales. I’ve been meaning to paint over that and just write his name there but I haven’t got around to it. I have always wanted the silvery grey one that I had. My board collection is from the year 2000 when I was at Skateboarder, and then TransWorld when we would get some boards for free. I never really went down the collector route of spending loads of money on OG decks. I’ve got to that point in my life where moving boxes of skateboards that I don’t look at seems pointless. I’m slowly relieving myself of all my clutter, trying to sell things, and move them on. I’m going to save a few that mean something to me but I hate that boards are just sitting in boxes. If I could store things in a warehouse and then go and look at them when I’m 70 years old that would be awesome but it’s not possible. I have to carry them around every time I move house or office. That stuff is heavy!

I have loved all of the graphic tributes to that original graphic over the years, from REAL or Krooked, they are things I tried to get when they were doing that stuff. There was a REAL series where everyone on the team got that graphic as their pro board, I have a few of those, I have the Krooked homage to it with a photo of Mark’s face. When those things crop up I have to have them. If anybody ever finds a silver grey Gonz with clear griptape, and Billabong stickers on top, please hit me up. My first ever board was actually a Town & Country, I finally found an original one through eBay which I bought. Then my friend Chris Rice who is @destroyedwood hooked me up with Gullwings, and Sims street wheels from the same era that I had. So I have that complete sitting in my corner. That’s the last board I’ll ever own. If I get rid of everything I’m saving that board. I told my daughter one day that she’s probably going to inherit a bunch of stuff but the one thing she has got to keep forever is that thing. That’s her dad’s first board, not the original, but close enough.

Jaime Owens closing out this “Visuals’ with two noseblunt slides of his own

Thanks for your time Jaime. Is there anything on the horizon you’re excited about?

I’m excited about continuing to make skateboard magazines through CLOSER, and to still live my lifelong dream of never growing up and being a skateboarder until I die. I’m pretty stoked on that, hopefully I can keep that going. Thank you for even wanting to hear anything I have to say about anything, I appreciate it.

It was a pleasure catching up with Jaime for this. We recommend visiting our Books & Magazines section to pick up copies of CLOSER Skateboarding Magazine, it’s a beautiful publication we will keep regular stock of. Visit the CLOSER website for online interviews. Find out more out about Jaime’s history in his Nine Club Episode, follow his personal Instagram and Closer Skateboarding for updates about new issues. Big thank you to Neil Macdonald (Science Vs Life) for the Matt Hensley ad scan.

Related Reading: Olly Todd Interview, Offerings: Tom Karangelov, First & Last: Mark Gonzales

Previous Visuals Interviews: Charlie Munro, Lev Tanju, Jack Curtin, Ted Barrow, Dave Mackey, Jack Brooks, Korahn Gayle, Will Miles, Kevin Marks, Joe Gavin, Chewy Cannon

The post Visuals: Jaime Owens appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

This interview with Dan Adams explores the process behind making the incredible new Read and Destroy book a reality. This celebration of RAD magazine has been years in the making, and it’s Dan’s hard work as an archivist that has made it possible. Find out more about this epic undertaking and learn about an important piece of British skateboarding history that demands a space on your bookshelf…

READ AND DESTROY – A 272 page review of the life and legacy of RAD magazine and its instigators

Dan Adams has had deep ties to Slam City Skates since its inception, a relationship that is expanded on in this interview. Over the years he has been a welcome visitor, a guide of sorts, as well as being a reliable source of information, and inspiration. He is someone we’re proud to call a friend, and we have enjoyed every opportunity to collaborate with him that has arisen over the years. Knowing just how much time and work he has dedicated to making the new Read and Destroy book a tangible thing meant we naturally wanted to devote space to telling the story of that journey from Dan’s perspective. His Shawshank-esque expedition through decades of images and ephemera to seeing the light of the narrative emerge on the other side is a great accomplishment. It was a pleasure to find out more about what went into making this gift to our culture.

We learned about Dan’s time working alongside Tim Leighton-Boyce as designer of RAD, a formative experience with its own set of challenges that underpins his emotional attachment to this project. It is Dan’s commitment to making sure the voices and contributions to the magazine aren’t forgotten that has remained a driving force throughout. The development of the archive itself is fully explored, an immense task Dan wanted to take stock of before even beginning to tell the tale. We also spoke about the lens he chose through which to approach the editing process, one focused on telling the story of the British photographers who made the mag what it was, and presenting their work in the best way possible. This interview presents the scope of Dan’s task, his reasons for the decisions he made to make sense of everything, and finds out more about the elements of the magazine, and the process of making this book, that he enjoyed the most.

By no means did our conversation find Dan basking in the glory of the book coming to fruition. When we spoke he was submerged in the process of turning the archive he knows so well into a gallery show for RAD magazine fans eager to see what has been lurking in those boxes. Once again he’s translating that material into another package that spans rooms instead of pages. We can’t wait to see this next piece of the puzzle on Thursday 11th July. Full details of the London Calling events geared around the Read and Destroy archives close out this article. We hope you enjoy learning about this epic new book, are inspired to add one to your library, and come and join us for the festivities ahead which have been designed to celebrate the life and legacy of RAD magazine and its instigators…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Read and Destroy book creator Dan Adams laying back on the Lotts Road vert Ramp in Chelsea back in 1988. This was shot by Slam City SKates founder Paul Sunman

Congratulations on the book becoming a tangible thing. Is it cathartic to hold it in your hands right now?

Thank you. It’s very good to see something concrete come out of all the work that’s gone on over the last few years. It’s always been a bit embarrassing to me that it’s taken so long to pull it all together. It’s good to see this stuff in print again. It was always my desire to get these photographs and a record of that time in British skateboarding history in print, which is where I have always felt it looks best. As much as I enjoy things like Instagram I still love a printed skate photo.
 It’s a funny thing with a book like this because when you’ve got a large amount of photography, and you’re trying to tell lots of stories that span a long period of time, it’s almost a book that could never end. But you have to draw a line underneath it somewhere just to start the story off. It’s a catharsis of sorts just to get it out there—it’s a relief.

Can you explain for the readers your ties with Slam City Skates…

I’ve known the founder of Slam City Skates, Paul [Sunman], pretty much since he came down to London in the early ’80s. He came down here to study initially, and because we were all a part of this tiny little London scene we very quickly got to know each other. Paul was a keen photographer before he was a Slam City Skates founder so we would always be around at the same venues, the same contests, the same sessions. He would always be there with his camera, or his freestyle board, and we were all just part of it. I suppose that once he got Slam going I was a customer, I would go there for my Thrasher magazines, and my Santa Cruz seconds wheels that were sold from beneath the Rough Trade counter. It all felt quite nefarious at the time, these skate products being brought from under the counter at the record store. Haha! The first people who ever worked at Slam were all mutual friends so it became part of the scene, and part of the life of the culture at the time. It still is from what I can see, it’s a very active part of London skate life.

“We all desperately wanted a colour skate mag in the UK at the time—everyone wanted a mag to represent what was going on”

In turn can you explain the role Slam played in RAD magazine’s story and what it represented for the community?

RAD grew out of what was essentially a very small, and intertwined community. initially. Predominantly it evolved from the Southbank culture of the times, you had the BMX guys mixing with the skate guys, and Southbank was where we all congregated. That’s how our network cemented itself, and how it grew, so RAD was kind of fermented in that place essentially. Paul was a very early contributor of photographs to the magazine for obvious reasons, we were all so close to it and he was eager to support it. We all desperately wanted a colour skate mag in the UK at the time—everyone wanted a mag to represent what was going on. So when one appeared, and you trusted the people making it, you were going to support them because it was good for the culture. Once Paul had a business that allowed him to spend a little bit of money, he was able to support the magazine with advertising as well. So it became this holistic endeavour essentially where it was mutually beneficial to everybody.

Mark Gonzales shot by Paul Sunman in 1987. This was taken one year after Slam opened beneath Rough Trade and the year the first copy of RAD magazine hit the shelves

You were a designer for RAD in the early 90s, how did that come about, is there anything you are proud of achieving during that tenure?

I guess it came about through connectivity really. I had known Tim [Leighton-Boyce] for many years, as we all did in that small skate world we all existed in. I had always been desperate to do a magazine of some sort about skateboarding. At that point I absolutely worshipped skate magazines, particularly TransWorld SKATEboarding. I had grown up feasting my eyes on Skateboarder magazine which I would probably say is the reason I wanted to do all of this. It certainly cemented my deep love of skateboarding photography. So when Ian Roxburgh had to leave the job at RAD that he’d been doing so well for a good couple of years, an opportunity arose to take this thing on. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and was able to step in and take over that role.

It was a tricky time because at that point the magazine had just been sold by one publishing company to another, and it was incredibly under-resourced. It was actually very difficult to put the magazine together, we didn’t even have a proper office at that time. Tim no longer had the kind of budgets that he’d had available to pay contributors in the years previous. We didn’t really have any real production facilities of our own either so we had this crazy situation where I was designing the thing using photocopies that were all cut up and spliced together on a cutting board. I would then fax those layouts down to a company that worked for the publisher somehere down in the West Country. They were typesetting those designs up on early Apple computers and generating the print files. It was a very unsatisfactory way of trying to put together a magazine.

“What has made me proud is to find out latterly how much that magazine in all its forms has meant to the people that used to buy it and read it”

Like digitising a zine…

It was like digitising a zine but using the filter of somebody else’s eye. You’re not even putting your wonderfully scrappy, exciting layout on a photocopier, and putting that out there. You’ve got some guy who is cleaning it all up at the other end. We had very short deadlines so there wasn’t much opportunity to correct things we weren’t happy with. It was quite a testing process because I had essentially two weeks to put together a whole magazine. I loved doing it though, I loved being able to finally do what I had wished I could do. I was a rookie designer at that point, I had just graduated from art college so it was an amazing opportunity. Unfortunately that experience was cut short by that publishing company selling it again just a year later. The new publishers were insistent that they use one of their own in-house people to design it. It was a challenging time for all concerned I think. In terms of my whole life’s design output it’s not my proudest moment. What has made me proud is to find out latterly how much that magazine in all its forms has meant to the people that used to buy it and read it. The fact that we were communicating something that was such a strong experience for them has made all of those past frustrations evaporate because I realised that it didn’t really matter. It absolutely did its job.

Jim Thiebaud on the cover in 1991, a Dan Adams cover decision during his time at the mag. PH: Luke Ogden

Do any covers stand out?

I was proud of being able to get that Jim Thiebaud shot on the cover, it was one I felt pretty good about. I had spent a really wonderful summer with him, Ron Allen and Jeff Klindt in San Francisco knocking around the skate spots there. Jim was just starting REAL with Tommy [Guerrero] at that time and he found out I had started this job, and sent over this package which was essentially a way of him promoting REAL over here. It was really great to have the opportunity to do that—there was also a subliminal political message in there because he’s skating the “Hanging Klansman” board. When I saw that I knew it had to be on the cover. That was a proud, subliminal, political moment.

How was it working with Tim Leighton-Boyce at that point, what did you learn from your time together?

That’s a good question, and not something I have ever really thought about, it taught me about hard work for one. I think I have a pretty good work ethic but Tim’s work ethic at that time was insane, he was doing so much to make that magazine come together. He would be out all day driving around, shooting, then coming back at night to type everything up. There would be trips in the middle of the night to processing labs to get the pictures done, then we would have to run off to Waterloo station at 3 in the morning to make the Parcelforce delivery so we hit the deadline for the photos to be scanned at the repro place in the West Country. It was an immense amount of work in a very condensed period of time to get the magazine out. That was all really down to Tim’s extraordinary input. The value of the hard work ethic is perhaps what I took away with me from the whole experience.

An iconic photo of Curtis McCann at Meanwhile 2 next to his portrait. Photos shot in 1991 and 1992 respectively by Tim Leighton-Boyce

The book does a great job of celebrating Tim’s approach, the anti-gatekeeper, community building spirit that gave readers such a strong connection to the mag.

From all of the research that went into us getting all of the material together, and then trying to unravel it, that was the thing that became the most common thread. It was something that anyone I spoke to along the way, all celebrate. They all said that Tim was this amazing facilitator because he was open-minded, and non-didactic about his working relationships with people. He was willing to let them flow freely because he trusted their creative minds, and respected them. Professionally I have never worked with many people like that, and the immense value of that approach became apparent. It’s a mindset that’s really intrinsic to skateboarding which is something that has free-flowed its way forward with such incredible progression. Because of this non-didactic nature it has allowed itself to go where it wants to go by trusting the creative talents doing it. You can go out there and change the game, there’s never going to be a kind of coach or patriarch figure who is going to say “sorry you can’t introduce that trick into the pantheon, it’s not legit”. Ultimately it’s about the spirit of skateboarding.

For someone reading who has grown up in a digital age it also communicates just how much of a channel it was. It provided a real connection to skateboarding in the UK, but also via Steve [Douglas]’s updates it was a source for the most current news from the US.

I’m glad that’s coming through from the book. It was another major, recurring thread. People would say that it’s impossible to communicate just how important the mag was to their life. It’s so easy to forget just how limited information was back then. When I stop to think about it I can remember very clearly how limited it was. It is worth emphasising that, because we are all flooded with so much information nowadays that none of us can keep up any more. So to have this very selective, single document, that can have so much meaning, was quite a powerful position to be in really, a powerful voice. I don’t think that voice was abused, it was used in a very democratic, and on the whole, a very objective way. That was Tim’s way, not to be dictatorial, or to force any idea of his own across. He wanted to bring in other voices and to make sure they were all being heard.

“I value those times, I value those people, and I really value their contributions to skateboarding. It’s always been important for me that those voices and contributions are not forgotten”

Whose idea was it to make a book in the first place? When did the idea germinate?

It formulated a very long time ago, and actually, the first meeting we had about it was in the Slam offices. That would have been around the time that Dogtown and Z-Boys came out [2001], something which made us all take stock of the stories and photos of our own. We realised that all of the photographers who had worked on the magazine had all of this material parked, and hidden away. We all thought it would be great to get this stuff out there, and had several conversations about it back then. There were a few false starts along the way, different people came and went. But the germ of the idea remained in my head as an important thing to persist with. I value those times, I value those people, and I really value their contributions to skateboarding. It’s always been important for me that those voices and contributions are not forgotten.

Femi Bukanola boardsliding in Manchester for Tim Leighton-Boyce’s lens. An altentaive shot ran as the cover of RAD Magazine in August 1988

Let’s talk about the process of getting to this point. When did making sense of the archives properly begin, where are they drawn from?

Obviously setting aside time to undertake archiving projects or even just editing projects is a costly thing. You need to be able to donate your time. That’s something that has always slowed it down, not enough people, with not enough time to donate freely. The fact that Seb Palmer from New Balance had offered some money to get the project kickstarted again was really what enabled it. That meant you could put down tools on another job and commit some time to the project properly.

It involved going to a lockup that Tim Leighton-Boyce had, just to keep everything out of the way principally, and sifting through these boxes that were in a pretty parlous state really. There were probably about thirty large archive boxes, alongside various other assorted envelopes, folders, and files. There was quite a heap of stuff from Tim, then all the other photographers had their own boxes of different shapes, and sizes hidden away. It started out with this immense sifting process in order to make sense of what was available to look at. Were we dealing with all the bangers, or were there whole boxes of outtakes? That was stage one which took a long time. I felt that if I were to do these vast archives justice I needed to know that I had seen it all, I needed to know the entirety of the material. Even if I couldn’t physically use all of it, I had to have a sense of what constitutes the archive. If five photographers had come to me with forty photographs each, already scanned, we could have sat down and done a book quite quickly. This has been a very different sort of project though, the bulk of which has been the development of the archive itself.

“I felt that if I were to do these vast archives justice I needed to know that I had seen it all. I needed to know the entirety of the material even if I couldn’t physically use all of it”

You have Tim’s complete archive, how does he feel about these photos today?

He has always been quite non-committal about it actually. His approach with the photographs, and the magazine, was always quite hands-off. He was always ready for other people to make the choices and respected other people’s reasons for making those choices. He didn’t tend to interfere with the art directors, designers, picture editors, or whoever may have been going through those photos. That approach sustains today, he is very much hands-off and is often pleasantly surprised when I pull something out. He’ll say “Did I take that? I like that”. I think to a degree he’s probably parked the whole experience, it’s a chapter in his life which he hasn’t needed to revisit particularly. I think it’s kind of good that other people can go through these things because they’re able to be objective.

Every photo included has involved a huge amount of work from yourself. You have been digitising slides but also meticulously retouching photos. Did that process get any quicker and do you find it enjoyable?

It has got quicker but it is definitely a laborious process and a costly one. Scanning analogue photographic material is a long process, there is quite a lot of debate about the best methods. Wig Worland and I have discussed many different methods, and tried out many different approaches to land on one we felt was cost-effective and reasonably quick. It’s something I have come to enjoy actually, you get to really engage with the photography up close. Obviously cleaning off lots of dust, and bits of beard hair in Photoshop can be a bit tedious. But to bring an image to life and make it really ping is good. Even to recover images that might not have made the grade back in the day, modern Photoshop methods can work to really boost things.

Some RAw RAD material. Folders and files had to be made sense of before scanning could begin

Can you think of any images your work transformed from something once lost or discarded to something usable?

That applies mostly to photos in the very early section of the book taken in the ’70s. Tim had been shooting back then for Skateboard magazine but only for a couple of issues before it went out of business. So he had rolls of film that had never really been seen by anyone. They were right at the bottom of all of the boxes. Maybe the odd two had snuck out of there and made it into the pages of RAD when they were doing history pieces or reviews of the old days. Not many of them had ever been used though. Those photos were the most exciting because they seemed to be the most rarified, the most unseen. With most of the other stuff there are outtakes, and alternatives but the general setup, the people involved in the pictures, and the places, will have been seen before. When it came to the ’70s ones they were much more enigmatic for me which is why I had to include them in the book. I felt that Tim had these very vivid photographs from an earlier time that nobody knew about which predated RAD but were the reason that he ended up doing a skateboard magazine. That seemed like an intrinsic part of the story if you were going to tell it.

“Tim had these very vivid photographs from an earlier time that nobody knew about which predated RAD but were the reason that he ended up doing a skateboard magazine”

Early shot from the TLB archives. This photo of Derek “Jingles” Jhingoree shot at Rolling Thunder in 1979 has never looked better

It’s a book representing the archives and that’s ultimately where they begin.

That’s what I think. I’m sure there are going to be people out there who will say this isn’t a book about RAD, it’s a book about something else. I think it is in the sense that the story [of RAD] has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In a way RAD magazine is the end, and TLB is the middle. But he came from somewhere, he has a legacy, skateboarding has a legacy, and I know something about that because I was there. There are people who picked up RAD when they were twelve or thirteen in the late ’80s who won’t know anything about that era before. I think skateboarding is much more open to these wider stories nowadays than perhaps it used to be. I also think older skateboarders are more open to historical backgrounds so I felt like it was the right time to bring all that to the fore.

What is the untapped reality of the archives as a whole. Could you come up with a ballpark figure when it comes to images?

Bloody hell, the physical number of images? I’m not sure I could begin to think about that. There are probably 25 binders of black & white negatives covering fifteen years. Thirty boxes of colour photography of one sort or another. I can’t even begin to calculate but it’s certainly the biggest archive of skateboarding photography from that period, and perhaps from any period. Bar the digital photographers who are able to accumulate tens of thousands of images without even thinking about it. As far as physical archives of skateboard photography, it’s got to be the biggest one in the country, thousands of images. Combine that with the work of Paul [Sunman], Jay Podesta, Mike John, and others, you’re adding even more to the mix. It was no mean feat trying to find a path through it I have to say, it was a little bit intimidating. Tim’s career as a skate photographer stopped in the early 90s but I suppose there are photographers who picked up where he left off who transitioned from film to digital. There must be some other big archives out there for sure.

The archives run deep as the Mike Manzoori files attest. “Mostly Manzoori” would be a great name for a band

The book as a project from the original vision has existed in different formats, beginning with a vaster page count. Was it difficult having to be ruthless in terms of editing everything down?

At one point there was a project to make two volumes in one package when I couldn’t see my way through the sheer amount of material that there was. I was made aware, by the publisher of the weight (of the project) that puts on you. At each stage they would say that you could do a book that’s 400 pages but you could also make a smaller one and make further volumes later on if there’s the appetite for it. So it became time to get ruthless which wasn’t always easy, editing is difficult but not impossible. In some ways it’s quite good to be ruthless sometimes. I’m aware with these things that there’s a subjective element to it, some people will have their favourites, and ask why something was chosen over something else. I think it’s about the overall effect that it conjures up, for me it was about trying to capture the spirit of those times, and the people who made those times interesting.

“for me it was about trying to capture the spirit of those times, and the people who made those times interesting”

Alex Moul’s input was definitive. This Willy grind in Harrow ran as a poster in 1991. PH: Tim Leighton-Boyce

Has spending a lot of time looking at Nick Phillips’ anarchic visuals left you with a hankering for less polished, more chaotic aesthetics when it comes to layout design? How has that informed your own eye/ taste for how things should look?

It’s funny you should say that. While searching around for a solution to the cover which is obviously a very important thing for a book I began by playing with a lot of tight-arsed typographic solutions. I did think then, ‘I need to be more Nick here’, I need to channel my inner Anarchic Adjustment. That’s why I began blowing up the contact sheets, and using the markers that had been used on images to pick out the best shot. Making something a bit more rough and energetic, then infusing it with the fluoro colours Nick was always so fond of. I think those were very much the spirit of the magazine, a sense that your hand had been used to create the work rather than a machine. That was the spirit of the mag which came from the spirit of making Zines before that.

“It was always an objective of mine to frame Nick [Phillip], Ian [Roxburgh], and Steve Hicks’ work in a way that shows it off the best and to give it context. And also to let the photographs be seen without any graphic interference”

What I didn’t want to do in the book itself is try to imitate that kind of approach inside because I think that can sometimes look really corny. One publisher I spoke to asked if I could make it look more “skateboardy” based on the some idea that it’s this anarchic pursuit. It was always an objective of mine to frame Nick [Phillip], Ian [Roxburgh], and Steve Hicks’ work in a way that shows it off the best and to give it context. And also to let the photographs be seen without any graphic interference. Obviously in the magazine they were always behind something, or graphic elements surrounding them or cutting into them. That was exciting and right for the time but I wanted to find a more timeless solution for displaying these things.

It would be counter-intuitive to spend hours retouching something before overlaying anything once again.

In a way yes, I didn’t really think about that but you’re right. It’s been good to reminded how we’re all very much tied to these machines and these software packages that we all use to design things. In the absence of a strong creative mind or with a fast deadline in the way you allow the machines to take over I think. Nick was very much allowing his personality to take over with his work, different times and processes it was interesting to revisit.

Some of the ingredients that went into a Nick Phillip layout

I like how you have still incorporated that aesthetic though, involving ephemera and text in the layout.

It would have been great to have more opportunity to do that but I’m glad you think it’s worked. I always wanted this to be a celebration of the photography first and foremost. The graphics were always a way to present the photography. It had to be in there because it was a vital part of the magazine people really responded to. It was important to remind people of how vibrant it had been. With more space, and a bigger book there would have been more opportunity to include more of that. I wanted to try and give a sense of what it has been like for me digging through all of those boxes. Looking at contact sheets, and actual pictures, showing the sprocket holes on the film stock, and that kind of thing. Giving a glimpse of that analogue material and what it actually looks like when you’ve got it in your hand or on a lightbox. I felt that was an important thing to display, to give some sense of being involved in the archive itself.

And what it was like to create the magazine to begin with.

Yeah exactly, that’s a very good point. Those are all of the ingredients on your desk when you’re putting a layout together. There’s a lightbox next to you, slides are strewn about all over the place despite the fact that they’re these wonderfully fragile little things. They were treated with quite a lot of contempt really. There are letters from readers included in the book showing you what kind of stuff came through in the mail bag. Little glimpses into the process.

You must have interviewed a lot of people for this. Was that a big task in itself?

Quite a lot of people, principally the main people involved in the making of the magazine. It would have been interesting to talk to more people who were around the periphery of it. There were some people who were essentially fans at the time who I spoke to who gave wonderful insights. Someone like James Davis in particular who expressed incredibly eloquently how he had engaged with the magazine and what it really meant to him, reflecting on the famous “Southrop Affair” article which appeared in the mag. Talking to people like that was very enlightening. Interviews are a difficult thing because you can kind of do them forever. I’m amazed at the appetite Neil Macdonald has got for following the trail. He has interviewed everyone for his book Elsewhere and the amount of information he is gleaning is just incredible. Unfortunately I don’t have quite the same appetite for that much information. I was very much focused on digesting the photography and getting the best out of that in a way. That was where my personal desire for information led me.

Did anyone’s ideas about the mag change how you looked at it? Did you learn anything you didn’t know previously?

Primarily it was just coming to understand how important it was, that was the main thing. Also finding out what an important figure Tim [Leighton-Boyce] had been for all of the people who had worked on it. That was something I had never fully understood at the time, I think they probably hadn’t fully understood it at the time either. You often come to know these things in retrospect, you realise who your mentors were, who gave you the greatest impetus in your working career. That’s not always apparent at the time. Threading all of that together and hearing it re-emphasised time and time again from different people was an important focal point from which to build the story.

Joe Millsons ramp in 1990. Tim leighton-Boyce capturing more than just tricks

Do you have any particular favourite shots? Can you think of an example of something you were blown away to see on the Lightbox?

That’s so difficult, I’m blown away by all of the photos for different reasons. The ones I am most struck by always aren’t actually the action shots. They’re photos of people’s shitty ramps, I just love those. The beauty of skateboarding for me has always been the way that you can be hidden from the view of mainstream society and build these very vibrant communities for yourself. In my day that was often focused around ramps. I know nowadays that would be a spot or a range of spots that you congregate at. The way these ramps facilitated community building was incredible. You get in there and you have to build it together, you learn on the job because you’re not a professional carpenter, you often have to acquire the materials through underhand means or by scrimping and saving. I think those ramps were amazing enablers for the culture so I’m always very touched and charmed by those photos. They’ve got a lot of longevity for me.

“I think those ramps were amazing enablers for the culture so I’m always very touched and charmed by those photos. They’ve got a lot of longevity for me”

I can obviously also happily look at banging skateboard shots all day long. I suppose the one that keeps singing out to me, and one that I keep using is the photo of Curtis [McCann] doing a melon grab out of a little kicker at Meanwhile 2. That’s on the A+ list for me but there are more, and every time I go back in there I find more. I have to say that I am a little snow-blind from it all right now. When I initially started going through the boxes I was consistently blown away that certain shots still existed at all.

You were responsible for Latimer Road vert ramp, something people flew to the UK to skate. What’s your favourite moment in RAD captured there?

I wasn’t responsible for it but I was involved in the building and making of it. It was group effort but I wasn’t an instigator by any means. I did the drawings for it and did some of the building work but by no means was I the chief architect as it were. I did the specifications and all of the drawings for it but it was built by a guy called Simon Chambers who ran the youth project down there. He was an amazing guy, a sculptor, and builder. I would call him the chief architect, I was the chief advisor/ quality control technician. There was a whole bunch of us who actually built the thing, all sorts of people came together.

Latimer Road vert ramp under construction in 1987. PH: Paul Sunman

There’s an insane shot of Mark Gonzales doing a frontside fastplant in black and white, it’s so big that it took Tim completely by surprise. He almost couldn’t get the lip in the shot because it’s so boosted. There’s also another photo of Jeff Grosso doing a frontside handplant. I’m very taken by that one because he himself said that he remembered that picture vividly, something I thought was very flattering for Tim. But it also reflected that for him the ramp had been so good, he had expressed that in relation to that photograph which made me immensely proud of being involved with the building of that ramp.

Jeff Grosso stamps his approval on the Latimer Road vert ramp with a frontside invert in 1987. PH: TLB

I know that the other American pros who visited in ’87 and ’88 were all hugely complimentary of it at the time too so that was a proud dad moment for me I suppose. It’s only slightly heartbreaking that it was in a really challenging part of the city which meant that no-one wanted to go there. Slam were a big supporter of that ramp. Paul [Sunman] intercepted that project—he caught wind that a half pipe was going to be made somewhere round there. He was adamant that if they were going to do it they had to do it right. Paul was the one who set that on the right path, then SLAM ponied up and spent money on the steel. Like RAD magazine that was a project that came out of the community, it was an inter-connected thing. That’s what makes all of these things so wonderful, the connectivity really, and how it pools people’s skills together without anyone being paid.

Every photo in here is shot by a UK photographer even if the skater is from the US so it’s all through a British lens as it were?

That’s right, that’s not to minimise the contributions to the mag from people outside of the UK, American or European. We just had to focus the choice somehow. Conversations early on landed on us celebrating the British guys because they’d never had a chance to be celebrated like that in print. So we decided to focus on those photos, and if the opportunity arises at a later date we can loop back round and catch all of the other American and European contributors in a different volume or project.

Californian manoeuvres captured through a British lens. Mike Vallely frontside boardslides in 1987 while Paul Sunman shoots

It’s great to see Paul Sunman’s photos in there and to romanticise some of his work like the Mark Gonzales Gonz gap photos which are a story by themselves.

They are, Paul has some nice stories about that, it’s all so wonderfully random. That’s the other thing about these pictures. Going back through these things you realise how special they are. How come there is only one photo of Natas [Kaupas] on a tour to the UK in ’89? Just one picture from one photographer, then you realise these things were so random. If you didn’t get the call on your house phone that someone was going to be somewhere on a certain day you wouldn’t know, and you wouldn’t be there to take the picture. Paul happened to be able to shoot Mark on that occasion because Mark turned up at the shop. He had come to London on a whim almost, without any kind of schedule. He turns up at Slam because it’s the skate shop he knows about in the UK and apparently says “come on I want to go skating”. He had to go somewhere later on but wanted to skate beforehand.

“that’s another thing I’ve been made aware of going through all this stuff, just how fleeting and serendipitous these moments were”

If you’re there and happen to have your camera it’s a serendipitous moment. If you have to go home to get the camera and he’s gone off skating or decided he doesn’t want to skate any more that moment has passed. So that’s another thing I’ve been made aware of going through all this stuff, just how fleeting and serendipitous these moments were. If you didn’t get the call you weren’t going to get the shot, maybe no-one would. Nowadays you see something on Instagram as it’s happening and get yourself across town. In some ways how did we manage to do anything without mobile phones? But we did, it worked.

We’re looking forward to for the launch of this. It’s great the Slam shop is involved for a signing the day after the gallery opens. When we did the RAD T-Shirt launch night pre-Covid it felt like a mini London Calling. It was great to have Vernon Adams, Paul, TLB, Winstan, Wig, yourself, and everyone out for the night. I hope it’s more of the same…

Thank you, we’re excited to be involved. I think it will be a continuation of that night and I’m very much looking forward to it. I’ll go back to my buzzword but it’s about connectivity, it’s taking it back to where it all began which is always very exciting for me, but with new people in control, making it contemporary and relevant as well.

A virtual leaf through the pages of the new read and Destroy book which releases on July 8th

Does setting up the photo exhibition feel less daunting after last year’s successful gallery opening?

No it’s actually more daunting because it’s a broader spectrum of imagery. It covers a greater range of different kinds of skateboarding, and I’m trying to do something slightly different to last year so it’s not just a repeat. It’s not entirely anxiety free.

There was a conversation about having a further 90s zine to accompany the book. With the vast archive to hand could you envision another volume or separate project taking shape in the future?

There won’t be a zine unfortunately, there just hasn’t been time or budget to do that which is a great shame. That’s not to say that it won’t happen in the future. There is plenty of scope there for other projects. With a big archive like that it’s possible to slice and dice it in different ways. I’d almost love someone else now to come in with their vision, and I could help facilitate them making choices. Now I know what’s there, I could guide someone else’s eye and illustrate that story in a different way. Although I’ve tried to be very objective about what’s in there I’m very aware that there’s always an element of subjectivity to all of this but I hope I’ve nailed it.

You could come at it from many different angles. You could make a book that’s entirely vert ramp photos for instance.

Totally, which I would enjoy doing very much because that’s what I grew up worshipping. Maybe now with vert skating in a slightly more ascendent place it would be a good time to do something like that. You could look at the archive through all kinds of different lenses. Tim was very good at photographing skate spots in the built environment, he always had a great eye for that. He could see a skate spot as well as any skateboarder out looking for the right ledge or obstacle. Those photos would make a great book of their own. It would honestly be amazing for each photographer to have their own volume, they all have their own strengths. It was very difficult to find space for everybody in a way that did them all justice.

Wig Worland may never have captured much behind the scenes action but he more than made up for it with skate photos. Carl Shipman frontside flip at Radlands in 1994

Do many photos of the photographers in action exist?

Weirdly not, not very much. Sometimes photographers would point the camera at each other—there’s a great photo of Mike John in full ’80s regalia, brandishing his camera, shot by Jay Podesta—but not often. With film being so expensive, and the number of frames so limited they tended not to waste it. If they were there to shoot a session that’s what they would do. One of Wig [Worland]’s great frustrations now retrospectively, is that he never shot anything other than the actual trick that was going on. Sometimes they were caught in the background if there was more than one person shooting. There’s actually a nice one shot by James Hudson of Tim on the deck totally knackered, taking a break in between sessions. It’s like he’s taking a nap on the platform and James obviously thought that was kind of funny. There’s another shot that’s not in this book that Neil Macdonald dug up from James’ archive. James took a photo of Tom Penny at Radlands and in the bottom of the frame is Tim taking a photo which is the one that was published. There are a few nice moments like that where two photographers are capturing the same action from different angles.

Last words?

From my own point of view I am extremely grateful as a skateboarder to all of the skate photographers who have made skateboarding so vivid and exciting for all of us. That has been the driving force behind me wanting to make any kind of publication of skateboarding photography. I live vicariously through their archives.

The READ AND DESTROY book goes on sale on July 8th

You are invited to celebrate the release of the new READ AND DESTROY book in person over a busy four day schedule filled with events…

This year the London Calling event is geared around this publication. We are pleased to be hosting the book signing at our East London Shop on Friday 12th July. Be sure to put these dates into your diary and come to join Dan Adams and the squad who made RAD magazine possible. You can also sign up ahead of time for the Print Workshop and ensure your place at the RAD Forum. Follow Read and Destroy and London Calling for further updates.

We would like to thank Dan for the time he took with this interview and the supporting assets he provided. We would also like to thank Neil Macdonald [Science Vs. Life] for the mag scans from his personal RAD collection. Finally we would like to thank all of the RAD photographers, designers, contributors, and readers who have all played a part in the legacy of this important magazine.

Related Reading: Neil Macdonald Interview, Alex Moul Interview, Carl Shipman Interview, First & Last: Mark Gonzales, Slam City X RAD Archive: Curtis McCann, Dressen at Southbank 1987, London Calling Event 2023, Slam City Skates – The Logo

The post Dan Adams Interview appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

We’re pleased to bring you the latest interview in our 5000 Words series, a closer look at some photos shot by Ben Colen, and the stories behind them. There are some amazing photos in here dating back to his early days behind the lens for the Crailtap family…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Ben Colen in Pittsburgh. PH: Johnny Wilson

Ben Colen is an incredible photographer responsible for capturing a multitude of images of our favourite skateboarders. He is a photographer’s photographer, classically trained, with skills honed from submitting his work to mags like TransWorld, Big Brother, and Strength. This would lead to a staff position at Skateboarder for eight years followed by a matching stint over at the Crailtap camp, two roles that found him behind the lens for some of the best to ever do it. The decades he has dedicated to his craft have harvested so many iconic images that it was tough to narrow down exactly which photos to speak about. We left the ball in Ben’s court to see what he would pluck from his archives to expand upon and were excited about what came back.

It has been great to hang out with Ben over the years when different Euro excursions led to him visiting London. We have fond memories of the Static II era when Ben accompanied Josh Stewart for three weeks back in the Skateboarder days, the Slam shop playing host to the beginning and end of many days out filming in the city. Not much has changed in the grand scheme of things, Ben is still married to the very same game, waiting for the call, the meeting spot, and the day ahead. He continues to put in the work, as this article illustrates. There is some nostalgia of course, but in amongst it is a recent photo of Tyshawn Jones only someone with their feet on the ground could have captured, and a photo adding to the legend of Yuto Horigome snapped last year on a Nike SB trip.

Enjoy the curated discussion featuring photos hand-picked by Ben. His time in Los Angeles is well-represented by some epic photos of Aidan Mackey, Alex Olson, Anthony Van Engelen, and Cory Kennedy. The aforementioned Tyshawn photo and a Cyrus Bennett photo with a New York City backdrop balance things out, products of his return home to the East Coast. His appreciation for the Fourstar projects he was involved in shines through when speaking about a memorable shot of Ishod Wair with a plunger and a Mark Gonzales boardslide made possible by a Tom Sachs creation. Photos of Brian Anderson, Mike Mo Capaldi, Sean Malto, Rick Howard, and Vincent Alvarez are included in his selection, images made possible by time in the tour van. He also recalls an unsanctioned Raven Tershy moment that beggars belief. We hope you enjoy learning more about the work Ben chose for you…

Aidan Mackey – Tail Drop

This is in LA right by Echo Park lake. He likes to do all of these weird, gnarly drop-in things, and this is one of them. He’s tail dropping in from the bar at the top. This day is the slam footage that’s in his Blessed part. It’s basically a dirt mountain into a pretty main road so you have to wait for the timing and everything. I just love this photo because it looks like big wave surfing or something. It’s gnarly because you’re going super fast down it. He would keep eat shit coming off that ledge at the bottom over and over again. It was one of those weird days that was pretty entertaining. Logan Lara is filming in the foreground and Caleb Barnett is next to him. I think Max Palmer was there for this too, back when those guys rode for Call Me 917. They were in town filming and along for the ride.

“It generated so much dirt, this giant cloud of dirt was following him, this Pig Pen situation. Every time he slammed it was like an explosion”

There’s a smaller one of these on the other side that Aidan had already done but this was the big one he was trying to do. He is a pretty unique skater, there aren’t many people who are going to try to ride down this shit. They all used to live about a block away from this thing too so I think it’s something he had been eyeballing for a while. I met a lot of those guys when they were pretty young around Fairfax. I had definitely been out with them, even if I wasn’t taking pictures I had been out skating with them a lot. It was amazing watching Aidan do this, and take so many slams. It generated so much dirt, this giant cloud of dirt was following him, this Pig Pen situation. Every time he slammed it was like an explosion. I always liked this one because you can see just how steep it is, he had to powerslide through the dirt to line up making the drop. I just put this photo on Instagram. Sometimes it happens where I have these photos that I love, but for one reason or another they don’t end up going anywhere. I’ve printed this once quite big and it looks pretty rad printed in a larger format. That’s something that sucks now, a photo can just go straight to the gram when you would prefer they were looked at in a much bigger format. It doesn’t always happen though. They don’t get appreciated in the same way because you don’t take the time to stare at the photo. It’s so much nicer to see something printed, it’s also more exciting nowadays when it happens because it happens less frequently.

Alex Olson – Ollie

This is the photo that announced that Alex was going pro for Girl. We had been trying to shoot an ad photo for a while at this point. This was taken at the bottom of Manhattan Beach where there are all of these big hills that lead down to the beach. Directly up from where this photos was shot there was this big street gap Alex had wanted to ollie for the ad. This street gap sucked, there was a downhill runway to it, and you had to ollie off the downhill over this thing. It just sucked and it wasn’t working. He got pissed from trying it then bombed down the hill afterwards and ollied out of this kerb cut. Instantly I told him that it looked fucking sick, and we have to go and shoot a photo. He is one of my favourite people to shoot with even though we haven’t for a long time. We shot a few of these ollies, and we shot some other stuff too. I think he wanted something gnarly for the ad so he may have been a little disappointed in a way to have something simple but I have always loved a good ollie photo, it never gets old. This one was perfect with the scenery and everything, it just worked really well. It was a good luck situation that ended up working when something else didn’t.

“I have always loved staring at a photo of someone doing big ollie. When I was a kid I loved it and it still has the same effect”

For me an ollie photo is the most classic shit, I have always loved staring at a photo of someone doing big ollie. When I was a kid I loved it and it still has the same effect. When the ad ran it had Mike Mo [Capaldi], Sean Malto and Alex superimposed in the corner. That was because they surprised them together by announcing they were all pro when we were on an Australia trip in 2008. Alex already knew he was going to be turned pro but [Sean] Malto and Mike Mo [Capaldi] had no idea. It was cool being there when they did that. I worked at Girl from 2008 until 2015 so this was early on in my time there. Alex’s original idea for a photo would have been way gnarlier but this one is just so much better to me personally, simple but timeless.

Cyrus Bennett – Ollie to Wallride

Cyrus is ollieing over that pipe to wallride here, a photo of this trick ran in Thrasher but shot from the front. This is one of those photos where I really like the angle it’s shot from. You’ve got the city in the background, there are the two workers are filming him right there from behind the wall. It’s a shitty spot, one of those things where it looks like it’s a bump but it’s not a bump. It’s tall too, you’ve got to get over those pipes. It’s one of those situations where the other angle works better for the mag but I really like the alternative angle as well. It’s busy, there’s so much stuff to look at, you can see the hill which you can’t so much from the front. I like it sometimes when you can shoot this environmental thing that’s pretty interesting around the trick itself, it’s something that’s not always possible. A lot of the time you’ll go to a spot and there’s only one way to shoot it that really makes any sense, but this was one of those times where we got a couple. We had to go here more than once too which helps with looking at something from a different perspective. Magazines tend to want to place more emphasis on what the skater is doing because you only have so much space. I like the other angle a lot too but this is another look at a rad trick that tells more of a tale about the spot.

Brian Anderson

This is just a portrait of Brian that I like a lot. It was taken on this filming trip in Florida. Somewhere in the middle, in either Tallahassee or Gainesville, there are these freshwater springs. You can swim in them and they’re amazing, beautiful water. It looks like a swamp almost but the water is crystal clear, a really cool pace to visit. We went to this spot where you could jump off this dock. There were plants and swamp stuff floating on the top of the water. I remember Brian diving into the water and swimming under this stuff but he basically swam right into this rock and popped up with blood all over his face. It was weird, I have photos somewhere of him coming out of the water with a super bloody nose. I took this photo a couple of hours later at a gas station, the light was good so I wanted to shoot it real quick. It’s a portrait I’ve always liked.

You never really remember exactly when you met people for the first time but I definitely met Brian in the very early days of my time at Skateboarder magazine. I was shooting photos with him early on so we’ve known each other for over twenty years. He is one of the best people, and I’ve been lucky enough to shoot a ton of stuff with him over the years. He lives out here too, he has a place in Queens, and another in New Jersey so it’s cool getting to see him out here.

Anthony Van Engelen – Wallie

This photo ran as an Independent ad in 2013, it was shot when he was filming for Propeller, I remember Greg Hunt filming and Guy [Mariano] was with us. This thing was down at the Sears building, there’s an out ledge there that people skate on the other side. It’s what feels like an abandoned building in downtown LA but maybe it’s not. These weird pillars were there and someone had kind of Bondo’d the back side of it so you could ride up the bank. It’s one of those photos I love to take, it’s just a wallie but it’s huge, and it’s AVE who is one of my favourite people to shoot with. He is one of those people who always has cool ideas and does rad shit. This was shot late in the day so I think we would have been skating somewhere first, if Guy was with us then there would have definitely been something he wanted to do too.

“it goes back to looking at photos when I was a kid wondering how are they so high up in the air?…it’s still incredible to me and I’ll never get tired of it”

This thing was big, and the ground was horrible so he put in some work to do this but it wasn’t an all-day battle situation. Guy and AVE are great to skate with when they’re together because they’re both such focused skate rats, they’re driven to get what they came out to do but they’re funny together at the same time. This has the same appeal for me as the Alex Olson photo, it goes back to looking at photos when I was a kid wondering how are they so high up in the air? It’s the kind of shit that gets you stuck on it when you’re young. You remember that first HUF [Keith Hufnagel] ad for REAL where he’s doing that ollie in SF? Gabe Morford shot it, he’s so high in the air that you’re trying to figure out how it’s possible. I will always love seeing shit like that, so I enjoy getting to take those photos, it’s still incredible to me and I’ll never get tired of it.

Cory Kennedy – Caddy Ollie

This was amazing, it was shot at Gardener which is the table school everyone skates in LA, it’s also incidentally where my daughter ended up going to Elementary school which is pretty funny. We were just there one day, and it’s not the easiest in and out. The fence kinda sucks, it’s a pretty tall one to hop. Cory showed up this day with a full golf bag and hopped the fence with it. I don’t actually remember the exact reason for it. Elijah [Berle] was probably there that day and Logan [Lara], this was back when Elijah, Raven [Tershy], and Cory all lived together in Santa Monica. The original idea was probably to hit some golf balls around the schoolyard or something, then the idea to do this came up. He tried to ollie the table with it one time and ate shit. Those bags are so heavy but it was only a couple of tries before he did it. The whole situation was too funny, Cory is one of the funniest dudes to have on a session always. You can see the Jam Box on the table too, he probably went through about twenty of those speakers because he was always skating with them, and landing on them. That thing would always be on the session with us too. It was one of those funny, random days. I always hated climbing that fence with my camera bag in the first place so I have fond memories, and photos, of Cory climbing it with a golf bag in tow.

Jerry Hsu – Switch Frontside Crooked Grind

This ended up being a TransWorld cover and I was so happy with how this all worked out. Jerry is somebody who tries such fucked up tricks, and because of that, a lot of the stuff we would shoot required going to the spot a bunch of times to get the photo. For this one I’m pretty sure we had been there about three different times but on this visit everything just worked. The time of day was perfect, the light happened to work good, his outfit, just all of it worked really well. It was a trick where he kept almost doing it. He was landing switch and going back down that thing so he would be powersliding down it, or whipping out, it was definitely one of those torture yourself type tricks so it was pretty awesome we got this. On an earlier trip Jon Miner was filming, he brought a roll of twine or coarse string so he could tie it along a load of those poles in the background to try and stop his board going into the LA river if it shot out. One time it hopped over it and went down into the river anyway. That spot is so fucked.

I was always really stoked on this photo generally and something making the cover is always exciting, it’s never not going to be a really cool thing to see. I shot a few things here with Jerry over the years, he did a switch frontside 5-0 on it which was a Royal ad. He has done a few things there, Jerry will always do the most fucked up thing possible at a spot. Riding up that thing switch, going downhill and carving into it, landing back switch, everything about it is pretty insane. We had shot this already once but sometimes you look at the camera and just know you’ve got the photo. It’s one I was immediately happy with, whereas usually I find a lot of shit to nitpick.

“sometimes you look at the camera and just know you’ve got the photo”

It’s nice when it happens that you instantly like something. I still shoot film sometimes, not often skate photos, and it’s always fun to see what comes back. So it was exciting shooting skate photos on film, and getting the slides back but it was also nerve racking at the same time. Did the flashes go off? Did the lab fuck anything up? There were so many things you were stressed about before getting them back. So it’s cool to see if you like things like with this photo, it’s also cool to be able to adjust things on the fly instead of hoping a light meter is right. Shooting digital is different but I like it for sure, I’m not someone who has a problem with it. Shooting film meant maybe made you played things a bit safer, there were still people shooting some wild shit though, photos that I wouldn’t have risked taking or ideas I wouldn’t have thought of. I remember looking at Brian Gaberman photos in Slap early on, he would do some pretty crazy shit sometimes. Situations where someone is doing something gnarly and I would definitely have stressed out trying to capture it the way he did. Shooting digitally has made it kind of easier to experiment, and helps you to bail on an idea earlier if it’s not working. Also when you know for sure you have a photo you’re happy with you can try something else in addition.

Ishod Wair

This is a funny photo that I always liked because of the whole setting of it. We went to Philly because we needed to shoot Ishod and Gonz [Mark Gonzales] for a Fourstar thing. I was there with my friend Eric Anthony who was the Fourstar director back then. It was so fucking brick that day, it was unreal how cold it was when we got there. We tried to do some stuff outside but it was windy and just really miserable. Somehow I think Mark’s brother-in-law came and met us there when we were trying to skate. He taught at this private school, and it had this gym with an old floor that looked like it was from the 1800s or something. We went in there and I actually shot a skate photo of Mark ollieing a hurdle on this elevated running track. Mark and Ishod had been playing basketball a little bit, then because it’s Mark he was coming up with different challenges. They were both trying to get baskets by using these giant plungers. I was hanging out on this track shooting photos and it looked so cool with that checkerboard floor as a background. The photo doesn’t really explain itself but I always liked it. Doing Fourstar stuff was amazing, the trips were always so fun, such a good mix of people. I was really lucky to get to go on so many amazing trips. Everybody got along really well, and skated everything, it was one of those perfect storm things, always a great time. I feel like that came through too with all of the videos that [Aaron] Meza did. Mark [Gonzales] wouldn’t be on a lot of the trips but sometimes he’d show up for a couple of days and it was always so fun to have him around, his energy. Obviously getting to see him skate is just awesome still.

Mark Gonzales – Boardslide

This was when I still lived in LA but came to New York to do some Fourstar stuff. Eric Anthony was there, and [Aaron] Meza was filming, we shot some other stuff on this same trip. I remember on this night that Tony Ferguson also randomly happened to be in town so he was along for the ride, hanging out with us. I think Genesis [Evans] showed up at one point and was skating. Mark had this idea formulated, he’d seen this rail which was right by the building he lived in at the time, it was downtown, sort of near the Seaport. He had gotten this artist named Tom Sachs to build the ramp for him. He is a fine artist who has had big shows in galleries, and Mark got him to build him the ramp which is pretty funny in itself. He wheeled the ramp over from his apartment building a few blocks away. It was amazing to watch him skate this thing, Mark still eats shit when he’s trying stuff. He went down so fucking hard skating this thing, one of those ones where everyone is quiet for a second. But he just popped back up and got back to it. I don’t like seeing anyone eat shit, Mark’s older than me and takes serious slams but he’s one of those people who always seems to able to just shake it off in situations where a lot of people wouldn’t.

“He is also one of those people where it’s almost impossible to take a bad photo of him, I don’t think I have ever really seen one”

I feel lucky to have been able to shoot a bunch of things with him. Growing up there are a lot of things I have done I never thought I would have, and shooting a bunch of photos with Gonz is definitely on that list. The first time I shot with him was pretty random, back when I was working for Skateboarder but because of Fourstar I have ended up meeting up with him and hanging out. We would do day in the life style things or shoot things specifically for ads. He is obviously someone who always has cool ideas. He is also one of those people where it’s almost impossible to take a bad photo of him, I don’t think I have ever really seen one. This was a cool night, it was pretty late at night when he was skating this thing. The kicker itself is funny, it was pretty steep, built for the task. That artist made it so it was clean and white, it looked like it should have been in a gallery or something. It was a weird idea Mark had and he made it work. The rail is long, tall, and the curve itself is pretty extreme so it’s fucking gnarly. It was great to watch, it was also cool having Tony [Ferguson] there that night too because he’s funny as hell, a good addition to the session.

Mike Mo Capaldi and Sean Malto

This spot is in Kansas City, Raven [Tershy] had a Chocolate ad on the top bar there that Sam Muller shot. I actually shot a cover there of Vincent Alvarez doing a kickflip pivot on it. That might have even happened this same day, I can’t exactly remember. We were there on a filming trip and you can see all of the shit that was in the way, all of these car parts that we had to move out of there to be able to skate it. These dudes put this little lean-to piece of shit together and it was one of those opportunities where I knew I had to take a picture. They were best friends, they always roomed together on all of the trips so it was cool to capture them together like that. I watched them both grow up, it’s weird, there’s a lot of that stuff, friends I have made through skating because I’m taking pictures. Often they’re kids I have know since they were fifteen, it’s a trip. This was taken during the filming of Pretty Sweet, a specific Midwest filming trip. Cory [Kennedy] was on it, Jeron [Wilson], Elijah [Berle], Vince [Alvarez]. It was a big crew, we went through Kansas City, Chicago, and a few other places. Kansas City is always fun because [Sean] Malto is like the mayor, he has it all sorted out there so you eat a bunch of good barbecue, and do some fun shit.

Raven Tershy – Frontside Carve

This is fucked, it came about when they were working on intro ideas for Pretty Sweet. There was a week when we filmed a bunch of shit. Some of it ended up being little inserts in the video, him riding up the wall in slow motion appears briefly in the intro. This building was in Vernon which is like a little industrial zone in downtown LA. We just put these things there, they came on a flatbed truck, and we didn’t have a permit for any of it. We set the ramps up against this wall and Rick [Howard] towed him in on a Vespa. If the cops happened to come by we would probably have been arrested, there are these ramps, we’re in the middle of the street, all illegally. We managed to skate there for a while too. It’s so crazy what he’s doing, he basically came pretty close to grinding the roof of a building. I have always dug this one, Raven is always fun to shoot with, and always doing something that’s really photogenic generally, but this really is something you don’t get to see every day.

“It’s so crazy what he’s doing, he basically came pretty close to grinding the roof of a building”

It appeared in Thrasher but this is one where I think you need to see the real footage of it to totally understand, there’s footage from this whole day on Crailtap. I feel like this is something that could have thrown this in his part, it counts. On the same day we put the ramps in the middle of the street with a channel gap and Elijah [Berle] did a frontside air over everybody from ramp to ramp, they were literally blocking the whole street. It’s kind of crazy how long we were there with no appearance from the cops, I think we might have seen one but only after everything was all packed up and back on the truck.

Rick Howard

This a picture I like generally, it was taken in Copenhagen on a Fourstar trip when we went all over Scandinavia and to Germany for the Gang Of Fourstar video. Rick [Howard] loves fire, breaking shit, and being a fucking menace. Fire just looks so cool in photos to begin with but this is funny because I feel like Rick is so down for fireworks, fire, and causing a ruckus basically. This was a somewhat mellow bonfire when we got there but it got turned up pretty fast, hahaha. If you’re not there for any of this Rick is pretty reserved, he can be quiet, but when there’s mischief to be involved with he definitely gets a little sparkle in his eye. I’ve seen him do some pretty funny stuff for sure. It’s a good Rick explainer but fire always looks cool in pictures so I have a soft spot for that too I guess.

Tyshawn Jones – Ollie

This day was crazy, it happened last year. I was just hanging out at my house when Tyshawn [Jones] hit me up to see what I was doing. I asked what he was trying to skate and he explained that he wanted to ollie a $5million Ferrari. I was down obviously and asked where he wanted to meet. The car ended up parked on Lafayette Street which is where he skates the can a lot, it’s where the old Supreme shop was. His friend Steven Victor who is a record executive owned the car and said he was down to have him skate it but we had no actual plan. I got down there and met TJ when he was setting a board up, the car wasn’t there yet, and we were trying to figure out where to shoot it. We got him to park it sideways blocking off one lane of Lafayette Street, it was the same deal as the Raven photo, no permit. As soon as the car showed up there were people just gawking, that’s before the skate shit happened at all, people were tripping on the car so a crowd started forming. It was crazy. The whole process must have taken about an hour, and I didn’t see a cop even once the whole time we were there which was insane. We had to wait for the light every time but had to be careful to guide the traffic past the car because we were blocking the lane.

When the car showed up I was wondering how he was going to ollie the thing, it’s a super wide car on top of everything including how tall it is. Even if it was a block or something it would be an insane ollie but the fact it was this $5million car made it wild. It was crazy to watch it go down. I was nervous, he was nervous. It took four tries and the board hit the car twice, I was tripping when I saw that happen but he did it, and it was incredible. It was a surreal experience, another one I definitely felt lucky to be there for, a one-off for sure. I had tried to go skating earlier that day but nothing was really happening so I had returned home with no idea I would be shooting that later on. It was amazing how everything worked out. This photo never ran as anything, Tyshawn just wanted to put it on the gram and watch it go off. They might have posted the video of this twenty minutes after doing it or something like that. I knew even while I was shooting it that it probably wasn’t going to run anywhere, adidas ended up using it on their Instagram because timing-wise it would have come out so much later if they had run it in print. It was never in a magazine which is kind of wild but maybe one day it will appear in something as it’s definitely not something you see ever. It was a really cool thing to have happen.

“It took four tries and the board hit the car twice, I was tripping when I saw that happen but he did it, and it was incredible”

He had a couple of people there filming. Everyone in the crowd was filming on phones, when you look in the footage 90% of the tourist have their phones out. There were even a couple of paparazzi dudes there shooting just off to the left so it got shot every fucking which way. I’ve seen multiple videos posted but it’s surprising to me I haven’t seen any of the other photo angles pop up. It was crazy, maybe in China I’ve seen people doing stuff with a crowd like that watching but I don’t think I’ve ever watched somebody skate something with that many people standing around filming and taking pictures. Most of the time people don’t want anyone staring at them or taking pictures when they’re trying something. Before he even started he knew it was going to be crazy and that a crowd was guaranteed. The scene is cool, my only gripe is that there are these dudes in the background who double-parked a Range Rover, they’re blocking it in a way that pisses me off photo-wise but there was no controlling certain things. He’s soaring over that anyway, the ollie itself is really fucking ridiculous. The car’s width is almost a table lengthways and it’s taller than a table too.

Vincent Alvarez – Hell Hole bail

This is in Wyoming, the crazy thing about this one is that he got out of that completely fine. Vincent is one of the best people at bailing I’ve ever encountered in my life, he just sort of flipped out of it and landed unscathed. It was shot in 2009 when we were on a cross-country filming trip for Chocolate. Pretty Sweet was originally just going to be a Chocolate video so this may have been at that point although there were some Girl dudes with us. We had two vans on this trip, and one of them we got from Matix, and that thing was a fucking nightmare. There were constant issues with it to the point that someone forced us to pull over on the highway because the wheel was about to fall off and they could see it. That was a couple of days before this photo, we had to take it to some spot to be looked at. While we were there we tried to find a skatepark but the only one we could find was super janky. These local kids told us they knew of some spot and we had nothing to do. A lot of the time when random kids tell you they have a spot for you it turns out to be kinda shitty but then they took us to this place. It said “Hell Hole” over the entrance.

“A lot of the time when random kids tell you they have a spot for you it turns out to be kinda shitty but then they took us to this place”

It’s basically a full pipe but the walls are banked as you go towards it so it’s not a complete full pipe. That lighted area goes right up, it’s a big drain thing in the middle of this lake. You could look from the top and it’s wild because there’s basically a giant lake on top of you. It was amazing, one of those times you think you’re off to see some bullshit but it’s this incredible spot instead. It’s perfectly backlit, kind of a dream spot in many ways. I shot a couple of photos of Kenny Anderson there, I think one was a Chocolate ad and the other one was a Wallride cover or something like that. But this one, as far as bail photos go I have always loved this one, also the fact that he got away from it completely fine makes it even better.

Yuto Horigome – Lien Air

This has never run anywhere, it was taken on a Nike SB trip. I always loved it because I always thought that those Lien Airs are one of the coolest looking tricks. This one looks like some kind of Chris Miller thing to me. This was the first time I had been on a trip with Yuto [Horigome]. We were in Louisville and he wanted to skate this hubba. We went to check it out but you couldn’t skate it until after 11pm. So to fill time we went to check out the skatepark and this massive ramp was there, it’s probably 13 feet high, a huge vert ramp. He seriously just dropped in on it and did a perfect McTwist, over head high, on the second try. It was fucking crazy, I tried to shoot that but I don’t take a lot of photos of vert tricks and blew that one for sure. He did this Lien Air working up to the McTwist so I asked if I could shoot one of them, and he just did it so perfectly. It was funny because he skated the vert ramp for twenty minutes then went and slept in the van. Then we drove to the hubba and he just switch frontside bluntslid it. That was my intro to shooting with Yuto, that kid is insane! It was pretty memorable for sure.

“he skated the vert ramp for twenty minutes and then went and slept in the van. Then we drove to the hubba and he just switch frontside bluntslid it. That was my intro to shooting with Yuto”

I don’t get to shoot something like this very often so it’s so fun to try and do it, also just to watch it happening. He is so good, I would love to see Yuto come out with a full vert part. He is so good at skating that shit, it’s really crazy, then you see his street stuff and it’s super gnarly too. He rips at vert, and he’s doing it padless. Rolling in off that roll in too is just gnarly. That roll in ramp you can see to the left didn’t use to have any wood on the side of it, and you could see right through that skeleton of the ramp. We heard that more than one time a couple of kids tried to butt slide down it, panicked, put their hands out, and had their fingers cut off by the steel skeleton. The local kids were telling us this story, then eventually they put a piece of wood there to stop that happening, so gnarly. Back to Yuto though, this was an incredible thing to witness and take pictures of, iIt was really fun. There aren’t many trips where you end up at a vert ramp. I got the lip of the ramp in there too, just squeaked it, haha.

Huge thank you to Ben Colen for digging into his archives and setting aside time for a conversation about some of his favourite photos. Follow Ben on Instagram, check out his amazing artwork, and see more photos on his website. Be sure to read his Lightbox Interview from 2020.

Other related reading: Caleb Barnett interview, First & Last: Brian Anderson, Anthony Van Engelen interview, First & Last: Mark Gonzales, Tyshawn Jones interview

Previos 5000 Words Interviews: Steve Van Doren, Rich West, Dominic Marley

The post 5000 Words: Ben Colen appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Our “Backstory” series continues to delve into the process behind different tricks that have made an impact on us, our most recent conversation was with Toby Shuall. Find out more about two tricks he flawlessly floated down stairs over two decades ago which stand up today and are part of London folklore, Toby’s stream of consciousness expands on these two moments, the tricks themselves, and much more…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Toby Shuall and his son Ezra on home turf. PH: Clare Shilland

Toby Shuall is a dear old friend with many stories to tell from the years he spent skateboarding in London and beyond. He has deep ties to Slam, he spent years working at the shop part-time, he was on the shop team, and his clothing company Suburban Bliss was on the shelves since its inception. It was also the hub where many filming missions with Chris Massey or Dan Magee would begin. This “Backstory” interview focuses on two iconic tricks from Toby’s time in front of the lens, a frontside nollie heelflip down the London Bridge Ten which appeared in First Broadcast, and a 360 evolution of the same trick down the Southbank Seven which appeared in the Landscape Portraits video. With those two specific tricks as a framework, and frontside nollie heelflips in general as an anchor, a conversation took place which covers those moments and many more things in between.

Toby is a fascinating individual with a lot to say so it was interesting hearing him elaborate on this time period. As fans of skateboarding we have videos like First Broadcast and Portraits which well-documented an exciting, burgeoning scene, and what was going down predominantly in our capital. It’s easy to look back on that time through the lens of what technology we have on hand today so hearing Toby talk about holding back from landing tricks until he had the luxury of being able to film them illustrates the struggle of the time to make things happen. It shows how fleeting so many moments really were and paints the picture of a completely different time we’re lucky to have such comprehensive documentation of. We’re glad to be able to bring you Toby’s insights on two landmark London tricks and their place within a magical time in UK skateboarding history…

A remodelled sequence of Toby Shuall from Thrasher June 2000. Early documentation of Frontside nollie heelflip down the southbank seven by Luke Ogden

I don’t actually remember when I first learned frontside nollie heelflips but I can remember not being able to do them. I presume I learned them at Southbank but it could have been at the end of my road. Frontside nollies just always worked for me and I’m better at heelflips than kickflips, I can’t even do a kickflip. So with the way I learned to skate it just makes sense that trick was easy for me to do. Switch heelflips and frontside nollie heelflips were the tricks I could do with my eyes closed when I skated. I’m not sure who I would have seen do it well, I can think of a lot of people who did it not very nicely, hahaha. It was a kind of tramline trick I suppose, one which I used more widely than most people. The first really good one I saw was the one Keith Hufnagel did at Union Square in SF over the green bench, that happened around the time I was first going to SF when I was 16. It’s a trick that just came really naturally to me. I was always doing half cab heelflips at one time, I got good at doing the half cab version, then I got better at doing things nollie and it went that way. It quickly became the easiest flip trick for me to do.

I was better at skating nollie than I was skating regular really in certain ways. I used to be able to switch ollie higher than I could ollie almost. I would definitely rather switch frontside 180 a set of stairs than ollie them, still would if I had to. Straight ollieing didn’t come that naturally to me, doing big nollies and wiggling yourself around seemed easier. When we grew up seeing Tom Penny skate firsthand, and the time I was skating with him when he was getting lots of coverage, nearly everything he did was tweaked. Interestingly I think that came from him being a mini ramp skater first, he was really good at doing things alley oop, he was always alley ooping everything when he got into being a street skater more. He could turn everything a certain way, it was easier for him. For me it was a way of cheating, by turning something I was able to get higher in some weird way. I remember trying to learn switch shifty ollies after seeing Ricky Oyola do one in Eastern Exposure 3. Loads of skaters from my era were tweaking tricks, Tim O’Connor would do massive switch 180s where he turned really late, I became obsessed with that.

I had the cover of Document doing an overturned switch nosegrind at Victoria benches. I don’t know if people really realised that was what I was doing, it was over-rotated not just a straight grind. That came from Scott Johnston actually, he had a photo at Brown Marble in SF doing a cross between a backside tailslide and a backside 5-0, that became known as the scooter grind. He was over-rotating grinds, experimenting with the position of his skateboard in the air, everyone went their own way with that. There’s footage of me doing a frontside nollie heelflip over a beer keg in my Headcleaner part. At that point in time on a good day I could just do that over those beer kegs really easily, I used to do that a lot. I started to get more poppy at that point. Southbank is so good for that though, I’d go and get those kegs from the bar underneath the bridge. They were just a good size, quite a big thing to jump over but not huge. We were always skating over those or orange cones. That stuff came about because there were no ledges at Southbank, the beam was so shit so I just got really into trying to do tricks over things. That comes from growing up watching Trilogy and seeing all those lines at Lockwood where people were doing tricks over small picnic tables. All we ever really wanted at Southbank was an LA picnic table. We couldn’t get one of those, but we could get a beer keg.

“All we ever really wanted at Southbank was an LA picnic table. We couldn’t get one of those, but we could get a beer keg”

Then there were the brick walls at Wallenberg, I skated that spot a lot when I was in SF but it was after its time. People had stopped filming there, no-one did anything there any more and it kind of died as a spot but I was really into it. I did a few tricks there over the bigger bit of the wall, a switch heelflip, and a frontside nollie heelflip but I never filmed anything. It’s insane watching those competitions now where people skate down the four. I loved both sides of Wallenberg. It was exciting for me, we didn’t have that stuff in England, there weren’t really school playgrounds in London we could access. Wallenberg was peaceful, a bit crap in a way but it was such a cult spot when you grew up in our era. I think I could still do a frontside nollie heelflip today if I really had to but I’m a bit stiff. That was just my trick, it’s like Paul Shier doing backside kickflips. I couldn’t do a backside kickflip to save my life but I can frontside nollie heelflip and 360 flip too. I was so obsessed with learning 360 flips, and I could do them, but I’m not sure how I managed to do them. I wasn’t very strong skating regular flip-wise. My injuries which took me out didn’t stem from skating or how I skated. I found out later that I have a problem with my anatomy, I’m hyper-mobile in my upper body. I’m sure years of spinning myself round in circles didn’t help but I don’t think that’s what it was. I just got really unlucky, my ankle is shot from skating but my collar bone injuries are because I’m really lanky and have double jointed shoulders which made my collar bones disconnect.

We’re going to talk about two frontside nollie heelflips down stairs. That was the trick I would always take to stairs but I would also always try switch backside heelflips. I wasn’t so strong at doing that trick and I would always snap my board any time I tried to do it. So many times I nearly did that trick down something and got a good picture or tried to film it but I would snap my tail. The frontside nollie heelflip I could just land without falling or breaking a board. I don’t know how I had that trick on lock but it was just so easy for me. I felt at the time like I over-milked it. I did overuse it perhaps but looking back I should have milked it more. There were some big sets of stairs I almost did it down but stopped myself. It would have been quite good for me and I should have but after I did it down the London Bridge stairs I felt like that was good enough.

Toby Shuall – Frontside Nollie Heelflip (2001)

I was skating here with Nick [Jensen] this day. I think that Vaughan [Baker] nollie backside flipped them the same week or not very long afterwards. I would have just turned up this day on my own, I always liked skating with Nick and this was what he was skating, I was just in a good mood, Nick was trying to do a switch flip. I didn’t go there to try it specifically, not one little bit but I had probably been thinking about it. I never ollied those stairs, I never did any other trick down them but I tried this and did it within five goes. It’s quite a drop so it’s better to just get it done, I suppose that’s what was going through my head. It was a lucky day, I was having a good one. Nick was there to do his trick that day but it didn’t end up making one, it was super windy. I certainly didn’t wake up that morning thinking I was going to go to London Bridge to try and skate the stairs. I wanted to do something down them, that’s the one trick that was reliable for me so I may as well have done it that day over another one. It just happened really easily for once, and it wasn’t often like that for me.

I remember Cairo [Foster] being there that day, he was in town staying with Oli Barton. He was an old friend of mine so it was a good vibe having him there although he was injured and couldn’t skate. They’re not the biggest stairs in the equation of what people are doing nowadays but it’s always still quite good when anyone does something down them, it became a landmark spot. They’re kind of worn out now, the stone at the top is really weird. Those slabs are made of Portland stone and are quite pitted so they just got worse. The way the stairs are built is weird too, there’s a kicker where you take off, and you land into a slight upward slope. I tried to switch heelflip them once and really hurt myself. I think I gave that ten goes, called it a day, then never skated them again. I think I had landed on one, zoomed out, then by the time I went there again Brian Wenning had done it so there was no point.

“I certainly didn’t wake up that morning thinking I was going to go to London Bridge to try and skate the stairs”

Dan Magee said that he would have preferred to film this from another angle possibly but the priority was trying to capture Nick’s trick. He knew that Nick was intimidated by trying the switch flip so he didn’t want to distract him by moving around. As I said in that podcast about Portraits, Dan [Magee] was never there to film us when he was out. This was a bit different because he was making First Broadcast which the Organic team was set to be a part of. I come from an era where there were a large amount of good things that I did, or the people I was skating with did, which were never filmed or documented. If I ever did anything good and it ended up being filmed I was fucking stoked anyway so I didn’t care that much about camera angles. It was so rare to have the opportunity to film so I saw the footage and I was instantly happy. Also Oli [Barton] was at the bottom of the stairs and he took a picture so I was stoked. That was the first Organic ad when we were trying to establish that company. We wanted to make that company good and I walked away with a photo and some footage for a video so I was chuffed.

It always felt like such privilege to film so there was pressure. We only really had [Chris] Massey who also had a full-time job. We had the windows of time when he wasn’t working and no other real options so you took advantage of the rare occasions that arose. Before that period of time there were no filmers in London, Mike Manzoori would be about sometimes. I had a camera from Slam for a brief moment which I would use to film Clive [Daley] and everyone at Southbank but that broke so that was the end of it. We would film each other if we could when we were younger. Lots of stuff that we did would be great to have on film, we missed out on a lot but we were lucky to have stuff in this video, and to have the opportunity to make Portraits. Dan [Magee] used to complain about filming us but it was just on the principle that we should have had our own dedicated filmer. He would always film us though and it was great. If it wasn’t for him pointing the camera at us, and [Chris] Massey living with him and getting inspired to make the video, I don’t think we would have ever had any good footage. The part I had in the Headcleaner video was from when Frank [Stephens] came to stay with me. He stayed with everyone on Unabomber for a few weeks and filmed them. Frank filmed most of that part from just staying at my house.

“It’s one of the classic London Bridge tricks I’m proud to say that I filmed” – Dan Magee

Toby’s frontside nollie heelflip captured beautifully by Oliver Barton with Dan Magee filming BGP’s

You mentioned the frontside nollie heelflip over the keg at Southbank, I remember that specifically because I was wearing a yellow fitted Alien Workshop cap backwards which I was pretty stoked on at the time, hahaha. The whole time I skated I didn’t like skating in jeans, they were just too thick. So my optimum outfit would always involve beige chinos, something that was inspired by Marc Johnson, and Mike Carroll I think. My default clothing in the last few years of being a skateboarder would have been beige chinos and a plain white T-Shirt. I would still wear that now but I’d get too dirty. I remember when footage of Marc Johnson first came out, I think he skated in Dickies quite a lot but he had a monstrous amount of footage in white T-Shirts and beige trousers and was just killing it. When I grew up people were taking the graphics off their board, I remember stripping an entire board graphic with a Stanley knife blade. Footage from the World park would often be those guys skating prototype blank boards. Everyone wanted plain shit basically, Half Cabs, beige chinos, white T-Shirts, plain boards, and plain wheels.

This London Bridge trick is probably the most commercial trick I did, this and the Southbank one we’re going to talk about. I finally pulled something out the bag that no-one else had done, it was a decent set of stairs, and Oli was there so there’s a photo to back it up. Then that became the ad for something we wanted to be a really good English company, we were pushing for it. I had the first ad and then Olly [Todd] had a front blunt photo. It was just a good time for us to be able to take a proper picture and have the trick filmed. I was always prouder of doing a trick over something than down something though. I think one of my favourite moments would have been when I shot a Haunts for Sidewalk. There was a bar over near SOAS which I frontside nollied and it was quite high. If you ollied that at the time it would have been good, I’m sure someone could switch kickflip it now but it was quite a high bar, I switch ollied that as well. Things like that felt like more of an achievement to me. My evolution as a skateboarder just involved having the frontside nollie, and frontside nollie heelflip as staple tricks, my brain just locked them in. I could never do the backside nollie heelflip version and obviously desperately wanted to. I couldn’t really do switch frontside heelflips either. I remember Joey [Pressey] doing one into the bank at Southbank and I never saw him do that trick again, it was mental.

I’m wearing that pink Suburban Bliss T-Shirt here, I remember giving Kenny Reed one of those shirts and he’s wearing it in that New Deal video [7 Year Glitch]. I’m so much from a generation where it was frowned upon to promote yourself so I didn’t like doing it, to the point where it was to my own detriment. I wore my T-Shirts a lot but if you look at most of the footage from the era when Magee was filming us, in what’s probably my best footage I was always wearing a plain T-Shirt. Sometimes I wore them but I also thought of the company, and skateboarding as separate things as well. I don’t think that’s weird, it’s just the generation we come from where we’re not just shamelessly promoting ourselves all the time like every other twat nowadays. I tried to start a clothing brand, I wasn’t denying I was a skateboarder but that was always my idea. I wanted it to be a small, London-based clothing brand. I was really obsessed by it not being a skate company, quite a weird thing to do in a way but that’s how I saw it. It’s how I grew up in London, a clothing brand was one thing, and a skateboard company was another. Lev [Tanju] broke the back of that whole thing, he was always like “why can’t it be?” There was a company called Subliminal from New York, it was only around for about a year, it was barely a skate company, it was like another version of Stereo but it didn’t have a team. This incredible artist David Aron did graphics for them, so did Phil Frost, the T-Shirts and boards were amazing. I was inspired by their approach. I have no real memory of shooting something and being happy that one of my shirts was in the shot.

First Broadcast was a massive milestone. The thing about [Dan] Magee was that he could be so lame to us at the time but he really did sort us out. He gave us access to being able to film properly, he gave [Chris] Massey opportunities too, he filmed some of the tricks that were in First Broadcast. We were part of this community and were able to film things at the highest level possible. Dan had the best equipment, a Death Lens, generators. It was amazing, it was like we were proper sponsored skateboarders trying to do our jobs with the right facilities. It’s so good that he did that, it’s a shame it couldn’t have carried on. You have to give it to Dan, he could have easily just made another Blueprint video but he opened it up and made something that represented the UK scene and made it look really good. It was his own version of Eastern Exposure in a way, he mixed it up. Dan’s a fan isn’t he? He wanted to film some other people who were doing good shit. It was a good thing, it was his idea, no-one else suggested that.

“That First Broadcast period was the first time shiit was good, and it was ours for once. We didn’t have to run off to LA to make it”

I was with my wife the other day and we met Greg [Finch], we were talking about our friend Travis Graves who sadly passed away recently. I was saying that my life could have turned out very differently, I so nearly stayed in America when I was younger, I don’t know why I didn’t. It was so much better there, coming back to London was shit. But when I went there and came back maybe the second to last time the scene had started to get really good in Europe, and in London. I didn’t want to be in America any more, I realised what was happening here was better. First Broadcast is a real testament to that, it’s a great documentation of a period where things finally got good. That period was really great for all of us, it put to bed that whole bullshit North-South divide. Most of the footage was in London because that’s where Dan was but there was a great unity in the skate scene in London at that point. Our group of friends especially, we were all really happy to be in London, to be in England, and to be skating. We were trying to make it good here, we didn’t want to be anywhere else. That was crazy because I grew up always wanting to leave, to go where it was better to skate. Growing up at Southbank, we all wanted to go to Embarcadero, we all wanted to go to SF. That First Broadcast period was the first time shiit was good, and it was ours for once. We didn’t have to run off to LA to make it. I love it that Jacopo Carozzi and Casper [Brooker] ride for Baker now, if you’re good enough you no longer need to move to Huntington Beach to get a pay cheque. I think First Broadcast was my best time, I wasn’t completely injured, I was able to skate, things were good.

Toby Shuall – Frontside 360 Nollie Heelflip (2003)

I last watched this because my daughter Miriam got really into Mazzy Star and one of her best songs soundtracks the part. It was a good time but it’s difficult for me as well because at the tail end of the video, by the time it came out I wasn’t in a very good place. I was still skating a bit but I didn’t have much left, I’d had some problems. I’m quite a militant individual, if I want to do something I do it, I’m still like that now. When it came to filming for this whenever I got the opportunity to go out I knew what I wanted to go and do. We would film with Massey at different times. We always knew that Massey was doing us a favour. He wanted to make the video, he wanted to be a filmer and film us. But he was doing us a big favour because he worked and he was donating all of his free time to going out with us. Because it was hard for us to carve out time slots we all ended up going off with him at different times. Olly [Todd] would go and meet him in the evening and film at night loads. He has a lot of night footage. His opening line I specifically remember being just the two of them out on a solo mission, Olly was always on his own shit too. He’d go out skating with everyone but filming the things he wanted to get were often just him and Chris. Time really was stretched so if we were with Massey filming we would just try and do anything we could to come home with something.

The line I did in Barcelona that’s in my Portraits part I filmed with Magee. I was there with the Blueprint guys, they were on a trip, and I had to wait to be filmed. I was having a ridiculously good time at that spot for some reason and no-one else was, hahaha. So most of the footage is Massey’s but there are definitely clips filmed by Dan from days where I was out with the Blueprint lot. We would do day trips, I’ve got the frontside nollie heelflip over the bar in Milton Keynes in my part. We had driven there and had a shit day because that place was cursed for us so I just went there. I had a sequence of a ollie over that same bar when I first got sponsored by Slam. That spot is sick, a perfect bar with a drop. I remember doing the frontside nollie heelflip almost immediately. That’s probably the best one I ever did as far as it looking good, and being neat. We just wanted to get something, get some footage to make the trip worthwhile.

I remember I was wearing those i-Path Grasshoppers. I always liked how those shoes looked but didn’t like skating in high top shoes. I would always undo the velcro bar when I wore them and they’d feel kind of alright but I’d always have another pair of shoes as back up. Then one day I realised I just couldn’t wear those shoes. I was so stoked when Kenny [Reed]’s shoe came out. Matt Field had the low top shoe with the sun on the side, then Kenny’s Traveler was a low top that was almost like a Reebok in a way. Those shoes I could just skate in, a good, standard, low top skate shoe. I just didn’t like skating in boots but to contradict myself for the London Bridge trick I was wearing a high top shoe that was nice, they were good to skate in, Lions they were called. I got used to them but I don’t think I really liked it, I’d still rather skate in a pair of normal trainers. All of those shoes looked sick though, I wore so many pairs of those Grasshoppers. They were good because they stopped you banging your ankles but I could never do them up. So in my mind I wasn’t wearing boots, I was wearing trainers with long sides. That shit’s crazy, when I was a kid people bought Vans #38’s which had three sections above the ankle, then everyone would cut off the top two sections to leave you with a mid-height boot. No-one wanted that full high boot. Now the Sk8-Hi is like a fashion trainer but back then no skater would not cut off the top half. Skaters are so weird like that, always adjusting things to feel right.

“I got it to the point where it was starting to work then tried to do it properly a few times but I held off…I knew I’d break a board or hurt myself so I waited for there to be a camera around”

With the frontside 360 nollie heelflip I began to be able to do them quite well on flat, and I wanted to do one down some stairs. I had thrown it down the seven at Southbank a few times when there was no-one there. I got it to the point where it was starting to work then tried to do it properly a few times but I held off. I knew I didn’t want to do it there and then because I wanted to film it. I didn’t want to get into it because it could be quite risky, I knew I’d break a board or hurt myself so I waited for there to be a camera around. When that day came, and Massey was there I thought “I’m going to fucking do this” but it was an absolute mission. There’s footage out there of some of my attempts, it was tough, there were a lot. Then on the one I make there’s a little pivot at the end, and I was always pissed off about that. I remember thinking “fuck it, I did it, I didn’t touch the floor” you know what I mean? If I did something and I didn’t touch the floor or snap my board I was happy. I don’t even want to speculate on this one but maybe it took about 100 tries, it was an ordeal. This was before digital cameras and Sam Ashley was there trying to shoot it as well, he burned through all of his film. There were rolls and rolls of film on the floor, it was so annoying, I tried so hard. I think I could have maybe done it again. I actually started to get much better at the trick after that. I used to do it on flat, and I could do it over hips all day long, but I don’t think I ever did it down anything ever again.

I thought about trying it down the London Bridge stairs but they were just too big and the trick was too tech. The Southbank seven aren’t big stairs but they’re big enough, I thought I’d leave it at that. I grew up at Southbank so I remember being a tiny child watching people jump down the seven, and thinking that was possible. They’re not the biggest stairs but if you do a trick down them you’re pretty stoked. I saw some footage of a kid doing a trick down them the other day and he looked stoked so they’re still delivering. I stuck a frontside nollie heelflip down Macba once but I slid out and there was no-one there, I remember thinking why am I going to kill myself trying to do this? Macba four are slightly bigger than London Bridge, they’re fucking high. I remember questioning myself, why was I trying this same trick down another set of big stairs? I don’t need to do it. Now that I’m older, in retrospect I should have probably just done it everywhere. I was the first person to cuss people who just did their same trick at different spots around the world, then I just started doing the same thing. It’s good to have a good trick like that but it’s also a curse.

Still from the intro sequence to Toby’s part in the Landscape Portraits video filmed by Chris Massey

When I did the 360 one at Southbank I knew I had done something that no-one else had done so it was a good feeling, I grew up watching Plan B videos. I learned a good trick and wanted to do it down some stairs definitely. One day when we were young I remember Ben Jobe skating the seven. This was before his crazy hippy footage. I’m pretty sure he was wearing a black and white pair of adidas Shelltoes and he had a fucked up setup, completely worn out with a short nose and tail. His skateboard was making noises when he was moving it was so fucked up. So he was skating quite slow to do both of these tricks but he frontside nollie kickflipped the stairs, and switch backside flipped them. It was probably 7-10 goes to do both tricks. I couldn’t believe it, they’re both hard tricks to do down stairs now. He did that for kicks, chose those two tricks and just did them there and then. He was so absurdly talented when we were young it was insane. In that Baker sense he could do tricks down stairs that he probably couldn’t even do on flat. He’d regularly come to Southbank to try a random flip trick down the seven and just do it. I actually remember Greg Finch once doing a frontside shuvit heelflip down the seven and I don’t think he could do that trick on flat. There’s Joey’s switch frontside heelflip I mentioned earlier too. There’s definitely some magic at Southbank. If you skate there all the time there are things you could do there, you maybe couldn’t do anywhere else.

“When I did the 360 one at Southbank I knew I had done something that no-one else had done so it was a good feeling”

I think I did every trick I wanted to do down the seven, I’m quite limited. I snapped my tail off as always trying to switch backside heelflip them which is something I probably should have made myself do. This was my best trick though, the best one I filmed with Massey, it makes sense it was the last trick in that part. There was a good day with you in America where I nearly switch backside heelflipped a double set. I would have fucking done that as well but everything got weird and everyone wanted to leave. It was such a little double set, I think [Eric] Koston did something down it. I was getting so close, feeling it, then this kid flew in from out of nowhere, tried to nollie flip them, and snapped his ankle. We had to climb out of there, I remember Oli Barton shooting it and realising how close I was to doing it. So frustrating! What a weird day. It was me, you, Jason Dill, Gino [Iannucci], Bartok, and then this unfortunate kid. On that whole trip I had those Organic boards with painted edges. I think everyone thought I was some dickhead kid from England who copied Karl Watson’s skate company. I was friends with Karl Watson though, and he knew that we had already made that company, I don’t think we ever even spoke about it properly but we didn’t have an International patent. It was such a bad name though, I was too young to fight my corner on that and didn’t have a better suggestion. I wanted to call it Myth which is a pretty fucking shit name for a skate company too.

My nursery is now called Zophian Plants which is a name I’m happy with. It’s a horticultural business so I meet quite a lot of posh people who all want to pronounce it Zo-fie-an, I have heard a lot of different pronunciations but it’s correctly pronounced Zoh-fee-an. There was this skater we grew up with in Harrow who was fucking amazing, I had to speak to Nick Zorlac to make sure I got his name right. He had a picture in Thrasher smith grinding over the crack in the Harrow halfpipe. When Jake Phelps and that lot came to England I met them when I was younger at Radlands and they all knew him, they were all asking about “Zof”, he knew [John] Cardiel and shit. He was a proper NorCal legend but not official in the world of sponsored skateboarding. He was called Zophian though and I always thought it was a fucking good name, so it’s a homage to “Zof”. It’s so funny, he was a legend, and it’s a great name, so we should have named the skate company after him. I thought about calling my nursery Supernaut at one point too, it’s a Black Sabbath song, no-one would know about the company name but I’m glad I settled on Zophian.

Toby’s skateboarding mindset prevails even with his Zophian Plants endeavours. Homage to “Zof”

I don’t skate any more, you know that, but my mindset is still exactly the same as a skateboarder. I’m on my own in a field today with these dudes explaining that I want to do something, and I need them to do what I need them to do. To me that’s the same as jumping down some stairs, I taught myself horticulture because it’s just what I want to do. My mindset is very much like skateboarding still which is really weird. I think when I meet normal people in the world I’m working in they think I’m quite mad. I haven’t worked for another nursery, I don’t know anyone but they think I’m really motivated. I’m just stubborn though, I’m going to jump down these stairs, I’m going to make this thing. Skateboarding is persistence, stubbornness, bloody-mindedness. You train on your own, fail alone, trying again, and again, to do something. I don’t skate any more and I have no bitterness about that but I get annoyed sometimes when people ask me why I don’t skate any more. You would never say that to me. I would if I could but I can’t. It took me a long time to appreciate what I learned as a skateboarder, and to realise that it is still really embedded in my mentality. It’s never gone away, I just do my own shit.

It doesn’t matter how commercial skateboarding comes, I’ll still see some new kid on Instagram. Don’t know who he is, where he came from but he is just killing it, a recent example for me is that kid Willow [Voges Fernandes]. I’m just watching footage of him out there with his mates, he’s doing what he wants to do on a skateboard, no-one is intervening in that. It’s a certain type of person who becomes a skateboarder, I’ve realised all these years later that I may not skate any more but my mentality will always be the same.

“It’s a certain type of person who becomes a skateboarder, I’ve realised all these years later that I may not skate any more but my mentality will always be the same”

Going back to Portraits, it was just great to be able to do that with the people I did it with. To make something that was of a standard, something I didn’t think was shit. I always felt that if I had more of a chance I would have filmed a better part, that’s how I looked at it. I think it was good enough, I was stoked. It was the best part I ever had, the way it was edited, the music, the tricks but I know that if I had more opportunity to film I could have done more. When I quit skating I was injured but I was having a hard time expanding as a skateboarder I think as well. The only blessing from being taken out of skateboarding so young was that I didn’t have to go through that period of wondering if I was good enough to still be doing it, to be sponsored. You can skate as long as you like but I was sponsored and I think I took that quite seriously. I was hyper-critical, if someone was shit I would cuss them, hahaha. I was the first person to cuss someone for being shit, I still am. That was the one blessing of being taken out so young, I didn’t have to deal with that.

Portraits was a good video but I feel like it was the warm up to what could have been for a lot of us. I’m just happy it happened, it’s hard to think about now as an adult because obviously our friend who made it is now dead. The memory of the video is quite tragic in some sense. It always makes me think about him. He spent loads of his own money on a camera, and he never really got much for making that video as far as I know. He put lots into it and nothing really happened but he learned how to edit while making it. Then from there he went on to do all of the things he went on to do as a career. That’s the perfect example of a skateboarder’s bloody-mindedness. I’m going to make this video because I want to make a video. He did it, and he did it all for free basically but got really good at editing, and at understanding the process of making and directing something. If he hadn’t have made that video I’m not sure he would have gone on to do what he ended up doing. It all comes from that same stubborn mindset we all have.

As far as people today who are doing that trick well, our friend Chris Lippi sent me footage of Tyshawn Jones doing one over a full size trash can in New York. Whenever I check that dude out, it’s obvious that he is one of the best skateboarders in the world basically. His skill level for being a proper street skater but having this Danny Way element is just mental. The nollie kickflip-crooked grind he did down the rail at the Brooklyn Banks is insane. I remember Jason Dill telling me about having a kid on the team who is ridiculous the last time I saw him. That nollie frontside heelflip over the trash can is amazing. I couldn’t have done that in my era, it’s way bigger than a beer keg, some serious [Andrew] Brophy pop. I feel like his whole thing is that he can do things that no-one else can do, it has to be something impossible every time he puts something out there. He’s so gnarly and I’m sure he’s a funny chap, I’ve heard so. His skill level is insane.

We want to thank Toby for this trip down memory lane and for painting such a vivid picture of some halcyon days. Massive thank you to Neil Macdonald [Science Vs Life] as always for the mag scans from his archives. Thanks to Dan Magee for providing some background about what went down at London Bridge that day on the other side of the camera. Thanks also to Chris Massey for creating something all those years ago which we still revisit, you are missed.

Previous Backstory articles: Nick Jensen & Mike Arnold, Neil Smith, Conor Charleson, Josh Stewart, Quentin Guthrie

The post Backstory: Toby Shuall appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Our latest “Offerings” interview connects with Silas Baxter-Neal to find out about a skate video, book, album, and documentary that have impacted him. Silas came back to us with two picks which are gems from his formative years in Eugene still delivering joy today, and two more recent discoveries. Find out more about his selection and check in to see what projects he has on the cards right now…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Silas Baxter Neal on a current Euro trip. PH: Chris Mulhern

It was a pleasure to check in with Silas Baxter-Neal for this interview. Silas first visited Slam on a Sidewalk trip back in 2004 shortly before the Regal Road Habitat tour, a timestamp that represents more than two decades out there in the field. His work ethic and dedication to crafting video parts haven’t wavered. It all began with a laser-focused move to San Francisco but has evolved into an art form he can pursue effectively from home turf in Oregon, something his prolific output can attest to. His part in Inhabitants teed up a well-deserved SOTY win the following year and Silas hasn’t slowed down since. Each part he puts out there is always far from formulaic and full of surprises, proof that older dogs can indeed continue to learn new tricks. This interview caught him days before jetting off to continue work on a part with Chris Mulhern, a quest to see what learning opportunities new European architecture can inspire.

This preamble about Silas’ commitment to his craft ties into his first pick, an Alien Workshop video which laid the foundations for what a video part could be. Photosynthesis will always remain a blueprint for the impact a full-length video can have, and also introduced the company Silas has called home since we first met him all those years ago. It was interesting hearing him talk about this seminal video through to working with Joe Castrucci in the years that followed. Outside of skateboarding Silas is somewhat of a green-fingered renaissance man with a keen appreciation of his surroundings, something which drew him back to Oregon in the first place. Inspired by that, his book choice offers a plants-eye view of the world and urges us to consider our place in the natural world, as opposed to outside of it. We also learned a little more about what plants he’s nurturing at home.

When it came to selecting an album, Silas dipped back to the nineties and picked one of the most iconic hip hop albums of all time. His son’s introduction to hip hop as a teenager has opened the floodgates for reminiscing and this one came up top of the pile. Plays of this record must be in the millions at skate shops globally so if you are yet to Enter the Wu-Tang, the time is now! Rounding out the recommendations is a fascinating documentary about a visionary who was too many years ahead of the internet. Dial-up speeds couldn’t match what he foresaw but he predicted our digital lives and the effect they would have on us way before we were even sat there waiting for Metrospective clips to load up. This sobering tale backs up his book choice and rallies us to live our lives in the real world. The interview closes out by checking in about what Silas is up to right now. We hope you enjoy this read and get inspired to spend some time out there in the wild (with the Wu on your headphones)….

ALIEN WORKSHOP – PHOTOSYNTHESIS (2000)

Do you remember the first time you saw this video?

I don’t remember the first time viewing it but it was back at home in Eugene when I was a kid. I watched it at a friend’s house because I didn’t have the video myself. We would take turns buying all the skate videos, then trade them or watch them at each others houses. My friend Ryan had that video

What was going on with you at that time?

It was back in the early days. We had our little crew of skaters in Eugene which had a pretty healthy skate scene at the time. There was a local shop called Boardsports which really supported us. Trevor Prescott and Tucker Glasow were two guys who were older than us who had made local videos previously, a series called Oregon Sucks. So we grew up making videos too, relating to them, we would always be out skating street. There were a couple of newly built parks back then so we would meet at the park first then hit the streets and try to film stuff.

Photosynthesis would have been the perfect blueprint for what a skate video can be.

It was so visually intriguing, the footage in between the tricks, the music was super good. They just knew how to put together video parts as far as them being well-rounded from the spots to the trick selection. To us it was definitely the archetype of what a skate video was supposed to look like.

Is this still one you’ll revisit that transports you back to that time?

When I’m travelling through YouTube this is one I will regularly go back to and watch again. I like [Jason] Dill’s part, I like the Habitat section. [Anthony] Pappalardo had an amazing part, and Anthony Van Engelen’s part was really good too.

Were there specific parts that spoke to you more when you were younger?

I think we were really psyched on Brian Wenning, and Pops [Anthony Pappalardo]’s parts because they were the younger new dudes. Their parts were really exciting. Wenning was skating so differently to other guys at the time, all that balanced grinding stuff he was doing. Then Pappalardo’s approach to street skating, his style, and the spots he was skating. As I got older I started to really appreciate Jason Dill’s part, just the orchestration of it all. How that part was put together was super good.

Any tricks stand out to you? What’s happening when you close your eyes and think about this video?

[Brian] Wenning’s nollie nosegrind on that curved ledge at Love Park. I remember watching that and being blown away by how balanced it was.

Did this change the way you skated in any way? Did it inspire any new tricks or aim you in new directions?

Not so much at the time. We didn’t really have many ledges at our disposal, something that was probably similar to London. The weather was pretty harsh, and the ground was pretty rough so we didn’t have the same kind of spots. We did a lot of jumping down stuff instead, jumping down stairs, or jumping on handrails back home. It did make me learn new ledge tricks though for sure, I would try them at the skatepark. I wanted to learn balanced nosegrinds really badly at the time, I just didn’t have very much to do it on.

“I think more than anything this video helped me think about video part construction, what it means to have a well-rounded part”

Is there anything you’ll still do to this day that summons up a moment from this video?

I think more than anything this video helped me think about video part construction, what it means to have a well-rounded part. It made me want to find cool spots and make things more visually exciting. That’s my take away from Photosynthesis and what has stuck with me the most.

It was exciting having the Habitat section in there, this fresh new direction.

Totally, people often forget that Mark Appleyard was on at that time and he had a bunch of really good tricks in there. The Mr. Dibbs soundtrack made the whole thing really cohesive. Kerry Getz had some really cool stuff in there. Pat Corcoran was a rail chomper who stood out because there weren’t a lot of East Coast dudes doing that, he was real sick and just kind of disappeared after that.

Did this open up any avenues of musical exploration?

Yeah I think I always looked to skate videos for musical inspiration. At that time I would have been heavily into hip hop, and the Habitat section had the Mr.Dibbs soundtrack. I got into his music through this video and the crew of people he was affiliated with, the whole backpack rap genre. They released that Mr.Dibbs soundtrack on vinyl too which is really cool, I never got a copy of it though.

It must have been amazing to go from watching this to being in Inhabitants, and being part of the same legacy. Did that add to the weight of that project for you?

The Habitat Mosaic video followed Photosynthesis and that video was super amazing, every part was a real hitter. I loved Danny Renaud’s part, again the music was amazing, he had such a wide range of tricks and spots. That made a big impression on me. So being in the van with him was a trip, Danny Garcia too, it was pretty unbelievable to be part of one of those projects. It made me really want to earn my keep and find my place. Joe Castrucci is such an amazing editor, he’s so good with visual graphics, and music selection. So just knowing someone like that was going to be putting my part together, and editing it motivated me. I realised whatever he put together was going to look good but I wanted to live up to his standards too.

Moving from Eugene to living in San Francisco, and being part of the big leagues as it were was so exciting and fresh, and was such a different thing to what I had dealt with before. I was excited to be working with those people. Brennan [Conroy] was a great filmer, someone who knew what you were capable of when taking you to spots, and figuring out what to do. It was great working with them, it really helped me excel my skating and feel like I was part of something.

Any final thoughts on Photosynthesis?

I think it was such a good video in long-form, a great watch from beginning to end. That art is lost a bit these days with a bunch of single parts and short edits. I still think it’s important for people to watch those videos that were made to be watched in their entirety. I know people have shorter attention spans these days, myself included, but I think everyone should watch Photosynthesis all the way through once or twice as intended.

The Botany of Desire – Michael Pollan (2001)

Tell us why this book resonated with you?

I like to have a connection to the world that I live in, which includes the food that I eat, and the plants that grow. This book talks about the history of how different foods have influenced our culture, and the progression of humans. It talks about how apples helped spread the Western migration. At that time people were unable to drink clean water so they would make cider. They planted all of these apple trees further West, then people were able to take those apples, make cider, and live in areas where there was no clean water. It talks about the relationship between humans and plants. How different plants are designed to attract the human eye, to make them more appealing so people eat them, take those foods with them and plant them. There’s this idea that the plants are maybe not trying to take over the world but to expand their territory using humans and animals as their vehicle to do so. I find that idea really interesting.

So the survival of the fittest means becoming the most appealing to human desires?

Yeah and it gives the natural world it’s own intelligence which is a cool idea. It’s not something that most people consider.

From what I read this invites you to think about how we are influenced by the plants we share the world with, that we are not in control of them like we think.

It does, I also think that we as humans often think of ourselves as being outside of nature but we are part of the whole ecosysystem and what we do affects the life of plants in the same way it affects humans. I don’t think many people think of it like that. People talk about this idea of trying to save the natural world but it’s about trying to save ourselves as well. The book includes us in this world of nature and I like that perspective.

“People talk about this idea of trying to save the natural world but it’s about trying to save ourselves as well. The book includes us in this world of nature and I like that perspective”

The book focuses on four things?

It talks about apples, tulips, cannabis, and potatoes. It delves into how those four things have played a role in the progression of the human race, and how they have affected us. The tulip chapter is really interesting. It talks about how our desire for beauty and vanity created this huge bubble, there was a boom in the popularity of the flower, there was this Dutch industry. People were buying all these tulips at expensive prices and putting them in their gardens. Then this disease affected the tulips and made a lot of them die, and the tulip industry died as a result. The economy crashed as a result of it which I find pretty interesting as well. Every chapter deals with our relationship with plants and how they have helped or hurt the human race. What we’re attracted to is what we propagate, and what we consider attractive changes so at different times different things excel or don’t.

You have a farm on your land right? Do you have any exciting new plants growing?

We turned most of our yard into a garden. We grow the basic things that we know do well in our area: tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, leafy greens, and whatnot. I like to do a lot of the fruit tree stuff too, we have pear trees, apple trees, we grow cherries, plums, persimmons, figs, a bunch of stuff. I really like those a lot because with many vegetables you plant, they die at the end of the season, and you have to plant them again. With the fruit trees you have this ongoing relationship with the tree, you’re pruning it, shaping it, and treating it for disease so you’re watching how it develops over the year. You’re learning from your mistakes and figuring out what you need to do for the next year having seen how each season affects it. I like this ongoing relationship with a singular plant, and I love fruit trees because of that.

Are you interested in mycology also?

I am a little bit, I haven’t gone too much into the science of it but I have some Garden Giants. You plant them in your garden and all the mycelium helps put beneficial rhizomes into the soil, also when they grow you can eat them too. Mushrooms are fascinating, I spend a lot of time foraging for them in the fall and the spring, looking for wild mushrooms is really fun. I like to eat them but it’s also a great chance to get out off the trail and search round. It helps you get to know the forest a little better. Having a connection with the natural world, the land you live on, and live around is an important thing for humans and something a lot of people don’t ever engage in. I think having a garden, foraging for mushrooms, and all that stuff gives you a different viewpoint on your land and where you live.

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) – Wu-Tang Clan (1993)

When did this album enter your life and how did it impact it?

My brother or one of his friends had this album, the first time that I heard it was through them. It’s incredible, one of those things where every single song on it is a banger. I listened to it so much as a kid. Growing up I was exposed to a lot of West Coast rap so this was my early intro to East Coast rap. Through them I began listening to The Roots and other East Coast crews as well. This album was just so well created.

As time went by I learned more about the Wu-Tang, how they constructed the group so each individual member signed to a different record label, and how that changed the world of hip hop. Each member was getting royalties from different places, putting more power in the actual artist’s hands which was a pretty intelligent thing to do at that time. How some street kids from New York shook things up. This album is a soundtrack to my youth, we listened to it so much that it’s ingrained in my brain.

Is this one you still put on from start to finish?

I recently listened to the whole thing but mostly tracks just pop up on my Spotify playlist in the mix. I would like to say that I have a record player and I play records but I don’t, I never have. I found my CD zip-up folder the other day and realised I don’t even have anything to play these things on, our computer doesn’t even have a CD drive any more.

Do you have any favourite tracks on the album?

“Bring The Ruckus” is a great one. All of the samples the Wu-Tang used were always super good, more obscure songs. Over the years I’ve found myself hearing the original hooks and figuring out where they came from. I’ve searched out some of the original songs like the sample in “Can It Be All So Simple”, that original song by Gladys Knight & the Pips is so good.

Which Wu-Tang member has your favourite flow?

I always loved Ol’ Dirty Bastard because it was always super unexpected where he was going with it. I think GZA would be my favourite lyricist out of all of them.

Favourite solo album?

Liquid Swords is amazing.

Did you take in the Wu-Tang television series?

I did, I watched it a while ago. Recently I started watching it with my son who is thirteen now. He’s starting to get really into rap so I told him he needed to know about this. I thought it was a good way for him to learn about it in an accelerated way. I thought it was pretty good.

“This album is a soundtrack to my youth, we listened to it so much that it’s ingrained in my brain”

Does new hip hop reach you through your son?

He listens to all the new rap, stuff I never got into but now he’s listening to it I’m hearing stuff that I like, putting it onto my playlists and exploring stuff that way. I’m revisiting it because of him. Because of the content of rap and hip hop songs I chilled out on playing it when the kids were young. Now that my son is older and listening to that stuff on his own I’m listening to a lot of old stuff again. It’s back in my mix more heavily.

Have you pilgrimaged to Staten Island?

No I have never been to Staten Island, I should do that next time.

Is there anything else you want to say about Enter the Wu-Tang?

If you haven’t heard it you should go listen to it.

We Live in Public – Ondi Timoner (2009)

Thanks for recommending this, it’s a wild story. What made you pick this documentary?

I haven’t seen it for a long time but I thought when I watched it how well put together it was. That era is kind of the era I came up in so all of the pop culture stuff aligned with it like Friendster or the stuff he was doing is familiar. It’s an incredible story about how he [Josh Harris] laid the foundations for the current social media we are so obsessed with.

After it all died he tried to come back and he was just a nobody, no-one knew about him or cared who he was. All of the social experiments he thought up were super interesting though, the human terrarium he built in New York was crazy. I have an interest in human psychology and how people behave so I think that was such a huge human psychology experiment. He was also live streaming his whole life from the apartment he lived in with his girlfriend which was super weird but interesting. It was all just so ahead of it’s time that no-one understood it but it seems so normal now. He opened the doors for everything that followed but doesn’t get any of the credit for it.

I guess he envisioned it as a social experiment more than an enterprise as well.

Yeah and it has become our world in a way. It’s how people live now, it’s how people make money. It’s such a part of our culture.

It seems he was ultimately interested in what living like that in the future would do to a human being.

He was, and we’re seeing what’s happening.

Did this story affect how you view your own digital existence?

I think it did, I think it made me realise how people can get carried away with how much stuff they’re putting out there. How we create community outside of our own world, obsess over it, and create our own realities because of that. It made me realise that world isn’t all that real in a way. For some people it may seem really real but forward-facing relationships are so much more authentic and satisfying.

I found it interesting that someone so ensconced in that world of media and broadcasting escaped it in the end. He had the most extreme version of the modern world more than a decade before it was part of reality, then ducked out before it got there.

I think when you’re inside of it like he was it’s so scary and overwhelming. You see all of the unhealthy aspects of it. He saw it before anyone.

Tell us why everyone should watch this…

I think it’s a good reflection on where we are at in our world and how we got here. It highlights the pitfalls of falling too deeply into the digital world. Again… it’s our connection to the real world and the people around us that’s important.

“I think it’s a good reflection on where we are at in our world and how we got here. It highlights the pitfalls of falling too deeply into the digital world”

Your reality in Oregon offers an escape from the digital world. It seems like you have carved out a healthier more grounded existence for you and your family.

Yeah I think between my garden, and spending my free time in the woods or by the river is a way to appreciate the world I live in which counterbalances the world I create online.

Do you ever miss city life?

I’m fifteen minutes away from downtown so we’re not out in the sticks but I don’t miss the city aspect of life. I appreciate it and enjoy it through the communities that are here, the schools for my kids, the access to good food, the skateboarding. But as far as my mental state, I prefer to be in quieter spaces with more privacy and less people. More nature, that’s what centres me and makes me feel like I’m alive.

Was adapting to living in San Francisco in the early 2000s a challenge?

Not at the time, I think during that period I was living, eating, and breathing skateboarding. So it was a great place for that. I really loved the playground aspect of that city, and the wildness. Coming from a small town like Eugene and relocating to there meant I was learning so much about what cities are about. All of the interesting things they offer, and the craziness. I really enjoyed that period of time, I had a lot of fun. There’s the beach there too, it was a great city to live in during that time. I still love that city, I just don’t think I could live there again, it’s got even more crazy since I left. I enjoy visiting there now, it’s fun for a couple of days but I easily get overwhelmed by it all.

What’s new in your world right now? You just got back from a skate camp?

I’ve just spent the whole weekend at a soccer tournament my son was in. It was three day soccer tournament in Washington. Just before that I was at the skate camp on Mount Hood, it’s called Seek. The skate shop I ride for Tactics have their own week there so I went up for two nights, skated, and hung out with the kids. It was super fun

Do you have anything new you’re working towards?

I’m currently working on a video project with Chris Mulhern. I’m trying to skate a lot, trying to find trips, and travel as much as I can. I’m working on more of a long-form video part where I take my time with it and put it out the way I want to. I don’t want to rush myself. Chris [Mulhern] has his own [ untitled ] projects, the web series he has done for Thrasher. He has done six of them now. I’m stoked to be working with Chris because I’ve worked with him on adidas stuff and I’ve always been a big fan of his filming and editing. A lot of the stuff we do with adidas is curated through them, so I’m excited to work on a project that’s his vision completely.

It’s cool because he doesn’t really have a deadline for this so it’s down to how long it takes me. He’s filming with a bunch of other people at the same time. When there are a number of people close to finishing parts he puts it all together. I think it’s very important to spend your time on a video part. Through the process of spending a year or two years working on something you get to know your current skating, and push yourself in different directions. You go through the period of getting all of your regular tricks then you want more so you’re learning stuff, travelling more, and finding new places to inspire new tricks. Spending more time results in a more well-rounded part.

Silas gifted us this poetic two-piece from his trip to Malmo filmed by Laurence Keefe

You are someone I get the sense is always filming regardless of a set goal. Are you happiest when there’s a bigger project to work on?

I think so. That’s the style of skating I came up in, when people were filming for full-length videos. There was always a long-form project to work towards. When I lived in San Francisco that was the first time I ever lived in a major skate city so being removed from it I feel like travelling and filming all the time was how I could justify living where I do. I always wanted to be productive to stay in it if I wasn’t in the scene so much. I wasn’t being seen face-to-face so much so I always worked to keep putting stuff out there. It feels really good, there’s the sense of accomplishment, filming, landing tricks, putting something together, always thinking about what you want to do next. I like that stuff.

Are there any immediate trips on the horizon you’re excited about?

I’m going to Europe in a couple of weeks, we’re going to Norway. I’ve never been there before so that’s exciting. Then we’re going to Sweden and Copenhagen, it’s going to be really fun. I haven’t been to Europe in a long time. Most of my recent trips have been domestic so I’m looking forward to it.

Do you foresee a trip to London in the future?

I love coming to London, I love England in general. I would like to go back to Manchester as well because I had a really fun time there. Nothing is on the books but adidas do a lot of things based in London so hopefully there will be an adidas trip that will find me there some time in the near future.

Any last words?

Thanks for letting me be a part of this, I’m psyched to be doing it. Free Palestine, free Congo, free Sudan.

We would like to thank Silas for spending the time on this interview and look forward to seeing what he’s cooking up with Chris Mulhern.

Recent Silas Baxter-Neal related viewing: Out There: Silas Baxter-Neal , Silas Baxter-Neal for Thunder Trucks , Topography: Wallrides with Silas Baxter-Neal , ROUGH CUT: Silas Baxter-Neal’s “Burrow” Part

Previous “Offerings” Interviews: Matt Pritchard , Matlok Bennett-Jones , Spencer Hamilton , Aaron Herrington , Rowan Zorilla , Beatrice Domond , Chris Jones , Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long , Helena Long , Tom Karangelov , Bobby Puleo , Ray Barbee , Zach Riley , Ryan Lay , Casper Brooker

The post Offerings: Silas Baxter-Neal appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

We were pleased to be able to catch up with Will Miles to talk about the new Nike SB QuickStrike video which just hit our screens. Following the 7Ball video which was one of last year’s highlights, Will jumped straight into this ambitious project for Nike SB with five times the number of skateboarders involved, and less than half the time to deliver it. The following conversation covers the whirlwind of time Will spent behind the lens and discovers more about this incredible new video which shows just how good the epic squad of humans he set out to document really are…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Will Miles filming on the streets of Taipei. PH: Korahn Gayle

Was the name QuickStrike already decided before the project began?

No it wasn’t, it was something that Scuba [Steve Chalme] referred to it as at some point. When me and Johnny [Wilson] were trying to think of a name Scuba mentioned that and we both agreed it worked for us. For me there’s never a particularly good name for a skate video so my gauge is that as long as I don’t hate it we’re good.

How did the project come into play, did it naturally evolve?

It didn’t actually. At the premiere of 7Ball in Copenhagen I went inside to get some beers and saw Scuba. As I was getting the beers he congratulated me on 7Ball but also said “you’re ready right? Ready for the next one?” Then he explained they had another full-length video on the cards and didn’t know that Colin [Kennedy] hadn’t told me yet. Colin was leaving that one till after the premiere. That’s how I found out. We knew off the bat that the deadline was going to be around the time of the Olympics so we knew we had ten and a half months to make it.

So less than half the time of 7Ball and five times the amount of people to film.

Yeah exactly. It’s funny, I’ve been seeing people online commenting before it’s even out saying if there’s 43 people in it then it’s just a team montage but it’s not. It’s a full-length video with six people having full parts but there’s other people in it throughout. That was the only way to make it work with the amount of people who filmed for it.

A completely different process to the video before.

Wildly different. I think I counted that I did fourteen trips in ten months which is way more intense. It was a lot, there wasn’t a point where myself, Johnny [Wilson] or Ant [Travis] weren’t on a trip somewhere throughout that whole ten months. I would return and then they’d be off on another one. We all went to Puerto Rico together. It was constant, and it was over before I even had a chance to think about it in a way. No time to think. We got so much footage. I think there’s probably about thirty minutes of footage we didn’t use and the video is forty five minutes long.

What trip ended up being the most productive?

Hold on, I need to start remembering some trips, it all blends into one. I think probably Puerto Rico, that was really good. It was much better than I thought it was going to be. I guess I wasn’t aware that Johnny [Wilson] and Scuba had been there so many times. Andrew Wilson lived there for six months too. We were driving to tiny little towns in the middle of the island surrounded by jungle but then there’s a perfect gap to hubba, the only thing in the town. It was such a great experience and everyone got a lot of stuff on that trip. Then also the last trip for the video was to Paris, we had Noni [Augustin Giovannoni] filming as well so we could split it up, and we just had eight people. It was one of those where it felt like it was working really well. Four or five clips a day felt quite normal on that one which isn’t always the case.

Who was unstoppable?

Everyone was on one, the video is a lot to take in because everyone went in. For me probably Deeddz [Didrik Galasso] is someone who I would describe as unstoppable, he absolutely destroys it. Cyrus [Bennett] as well, he wasn’t really filming for it then six months in he started, and he ended up having a full part which is ridiculous. Then Joe Campos, he got a part over basically three trips and two weeks back in LA filming which is insane. Some of the stuff Joe does is ridiculous, he really is unstoppable and the video shows that even more. If you didn’t know already he really is unfuckable with.

Were there any sagas you thought may not reach fruition?

There were a few things we were planning on going back to. There was something Deeddz [Didrik Galasso] tried in Downtown LA, it was a 50-50 to lipslide. It’s the spot where Nick Garcia did a nose press-nose manny and then 50-50s the curved rail. It’s where all of the whippy quarter pipes are. There was one that was the opposite side from where Nick Garcia did that trick. Deeddz was frontside 50-50ing the ledge and popping out to front lip on the handrail. He got so close to doing it. We went there about three times for him to try it. Whenever we were in LA together we’d go there. He got completely robbed and we were thinking about maybe flying back just to try and get it at some point. Then my friend sent me a photo of it and somebody had just cut the rail off completely. Who knows if that was a shot at us but the rail doesn’t exist anymore so the saga was ended and everyone involved has peace of mind.

Was there anyone you intuitively clicked with who you hadn’t filmed before?

Yeah a few people, I got on really well with Jake Anderson and Vilma Stal. I had never met Vilma before and she is so sick, I really like her section in the video. I’m really excited because I don’t think people are that aware of her. She got the cover of Grey recently. I think people will be stoked on her skating and think it’s really dope. She’s wicked and Jake is as well. We all went to Taipei and Jake Anderson was on that trip, him and Vincent Huhta got on so well together which was such an unexpected duo. I loved that so much. I had never really had the opportunity to film with Jake but had a great time every time I did while working on this.

Vilma Stal nollie flips onto the cover of Grey VOl.05 Issue 22. PH: Kenji Haruta

Who would you most like to film a whole part with based off of this project?

Joe Campos. That would be nice, a good next project

Do you have any interesting off-the-clock stories that went down?

I genuinely can’t remember it, I feel like in two years time I’ll be able to remember stuff.

In therapy?

Hahaha, yeah when I’m lying on that chaise longue it will all come out. I honestly can’t remember most of it. People have been talking about places we went and I’m thinking “wow did we do that? I guess we did”. There isn’t a story that comes to mind immediately. Too much happened for me to be able to take it all in.

Had your camera kit changed at all since the video before?

No it was the same camera kit, the Panasonic HPX with the extreme fisheye which is what everyone who filmed for the video uses.

One thing Casper Brooker mentioned finding impressive was how well you handled so many different people, personalities, and different types of skating. Was that ever-changing cast of characters overwhelming?

It could be but it became quite normal I guess. You just have to accept that anybody is going to react differently to anything. Not expecting anyone to do what you would do. Then you can’t get annoyed when they don’t. Also, and this sounds cheesy as shit, but when you’re doing this so much that you can’t remember the last place you were two weeks ago, it’s also important to remember that we are there to have fun at the same time. We’re there to go skating which is meant to be fun so it’s all about keeping it like that in some way if possible.

Did so many people mean you had to don the backup TM cap at times?

Yeah and no, it’s always a bit of a collaboration between the filmer and the TM. I was lucky to have Korahn [Gayle] on pretty much every trip and if he wasn’t there Scuba was. Korahn is fantastic, having him as support is great. It’s trying to get Korahn to skate as well as being the TM which is hard. He feels so bad for taking up other people’s time so he won’t do it which is funny. You have to all work together. I think the thing about it is that most of the time everyone there is there to try their hardest so just accepting that is the best thing. If they can do what they’re trying today they can, if they can’t then they can’t. You can’t force things all the time so it’s about letting it happen in a way and trusting that everyone is trying their hardest. If they are then pushing them doesn’t work anyway.

Casper mentioned different types of skating too. Your back is good right? Some gnarlier than normal long lens stuff in the mix might have provided a yogic break.

I have never been someone who got to the gym but I had to start. I would go to swim and go to the sauna and stuff because I knew I couldn’t go on the next trip and be fucked, then get back and be even worse because the next trip would be ten days later. There was no choice, I had to start going. The beauty of it was enjoying that everything and everyone is so different. Somebody could be doing something really tech, or something really gnarly down a big drop. I enjoyed everyone’s different approach, and that’s what makes a good video. Especially nowadays with the amount of skateboarding that’s about you want it to feel like the video changes throughout or else it’s just formulaic.

“when you’re doing this so much that you can’t remember the last place you were two weeks ago, it’s also important to remember that we are there to have fun at the same time”

You have had your eyes trained on a lot of Swoosh silhouettes over your time in the field this last few years. Which shoe, or what persons way of wearing them was most pleasing to your eye while working on this?

One thing I was pleasantly surprised about was how much I liked the Olympic Pack Dunk, the shoe from that Electric Pack. I didn’t think I liked that colourway from the photos and then when I saw people skating in it I realised I did. I’m a sucker for a simple Dunk or a black and white Blazer Mid. Nik Stain, wearing a black and white Blazer Mid, I’m happy.

What’s your favourite Nike shoe for filming? Any modifications to minimise squeakiness when dragging your shoe to slow down while filming?

You have to wear them in a little bit because that initial squeakiness can be an issue but I love skating in Dunks which have a grippy sole so it’s about wearing them in. I feel like the new Ishod shoe isn’t that squeaky actually straight out of the box. I’m just a Dunk guy though really, there may be some slow down squeak you just hope they don’t land it before that’s worn off, haha.

Do you have a favourite moment you captured in here?

Ville [Wester] fakie olies a road gap and I would say that’s my favourite moment in the video. It’s a road gap in Paris and it was just so exciting filming that. We had already had such a good day, and everyone had got such good tricks. Ville turned up late having been trying to film something elsewhere with Nonni. He showed up and just started skating the road gap with everybody. He backside ollied up the kerb and fakie ollied this huge road gap. He doesn’t shifty the fakie ollie in any way and he was initially purposely landing in fakie manual to avoid hanging up, he almost held the manual on one of them. I reversed it on my computer and it looks like he’s ollieing it the wrong way.

Ville Wester signs of a perfect day filming in Paris with a powerful fakie ollie

We all wanted to go to this African restaurant called Waly-Fay. Korahn and I love going there and we had a reservation so we knew we were potentially going to be late. Korahn thought they might cancel our booking but this fakie ollie was going down. We arranged it so that Korahn went and sat there to hold our place so half of the crew left to keep our table. Then maybe five goes later Ville just did it. I’ve never seen anyone fakie ollie a road gap like that, it was so sick to see. Dylan Jaeb, Joe Campos, and David Stenstrom are there in the roll away and can’t believe what he just did. That moment just completed the trip for me in a way. It was the best day, Joe [Campos] had filmed his ender and we had already got so much good stuff. That was my favourite moment, it was just as the sun was going down.

The tail end of the journey.

Yeah exactly, that’s why I can remember it, hahaha.

With so many people involved was editing a challenge? Did working alongside Johnny Wilson make that whole process easier?

Working with Johnny did make it easier, it was great working with him, I enjoyed every moment of it. We spoke together at the start and it was obvious that he should do Karim [Callender], Antonio [Durao], and Cyrus [Bennett]’s parts because he had filmed all of them so it made the most sense. We knew that was what he was working on so I was to be working on the rest of it and also making it flow and work where possible.

It was interesting, for the first week or so of trying to edit it I was unable to wrap my head around it. Then I went and bought a huge whiteboard. I wrote down everyone’s name who was going to have a part and went from there, it looked like I was searching for a serial killer or something, lines to names, who was going to appear where. That was the way I had to make sense of it because it was such a jumble. I think it doesn’t look as much of a jumble as it probably should somehow but that’s all down to the whiteboard.

Will and Johnny Wilson on a productive trip to Puerto Rico pre-whiteboard purchase. PH: Scuba Steve

Were there any music debacles?

There were two who weren’t getting back to us, Johnny [Wilson] and I both still had one song each waiting for clearance maybe six days before the premiere. The record company wasn’t getting back to us, and one track was self published but the artist hadn’t responded either. We went straight to the source and direct messaged both of them. The kid who had self published his track said he didn’t know what to respond to the email so I had to beg him to get back so we could use the song. We had spoken to the other band and they were down to do it too, it just took time. We found out that both songs had been cleared on the same day.

How was your Olympic experience?

We weren’t really involved, we were just on the sidelines but the screen outside the Pompidou where we held the premiere was insane. I have never seen a screen like it, and just to see everyone, and everyone’s name was fucking dope. It’s not often that we have those moments, where all of your hard work is presented on that kind of scale. That blew me away, they really didn’t half-arse the presentation of the video. It was great, the crowd was such a mix of so many people involved in skateboarding, past and present too. It was such an honour to have everyone there. I didn’t really experience the Olympic event though, we didn’t make it to any of the skateboarding. One result was that it felt like everyone had fled Paris and no tourists were going there so the city felt more mellow than it usually does which was nice. Having returned I enjoyed watching some of the Olympic bowl stuff the most because that doesn’t feel like the same thing. I’ve seen some people who are good at skating bowls in my time but that whole thing was wild, everyone can just do kickflip indy’s apparently, when did that happen?

Are you rolling straight into another project or taking a breather this time?

I don’t think the body could take another one right now! I’ve got a good break, I have another trip on the horizon somewhere but it’s not until some time in September. I’m taking at least a month off. My girlfriend and I are going to get in our car and drive as close to Italy as we can get. I’m looking forward to swimming in lakes and turning my phone off for a bit.

Nike SB | QuickSTrike by Will Miles, Johnny Wilson, and Ant Travis

We hope you enjoyed those insights from Will Miles and have carved out a viewing of the QuickStrike video he has put in the work to produce. We’d like to thank him for his time and look forward to what’s coming next. Will that Joe Campos part be on the cards? Shop with us for the all the shoes Will mentions and more from Nike SB.

Related reading: Visuals: Will Miles , Visuals: Korahn Gayle, Grey Skate Mag: New Year in Taipei

The post Will Miles Talks Nike SB QuickStrike appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

We wanted to direct you to this video from Living Proof which re-frames Leo Fitzpatrick talking about the movie “Kids” with accompanying imagery from the film. Some of Leo’s memories following this film hitting the cinemas involve the Slam shop and his time in London so we felt it relevant and also wanted to highlight the good work Living Proof keep putting out there…

Leo Fitzpatrick speaks on KIDS, a film by Larry Clark

Living Proof New York just posted this excerpt from a previous interview with Leo Fitzpatrick about his role in Larry Clark’s controversial mid-nineties movie Kids, and the effect this seminal release had on his life. During this conversation Leo fondly recalls his time in London following this film, a trip where a visit to our original Slam City Skates shop in Neal’s Yard would lead to a year in the city thanks to a chance meeting with our friend Seth Curtis who was working there at the time. We wanted to direct you to this interview excerpt because it references a different world where the interconnectivity of skateboarding was vital to our experiences, and we are proud the shop played a role in Leo’s.

Beyond Leo’s introduction to the UK skate scene following the release of Kids, this is a fascinating glance behind the curtain of a film which shone a bright light on the East Coast skate scene, turning lesser-known figures within it into household names. It was interesting hearing about how this exposure prompted his visit to the UK, the nuts and bolts behind the production, how he came to have a part, how much everyone involved got paid, and the enduring friendships he forged. This interview segment is taken from a longer full-length interview which was posted on the Angel and Z podcast before this evolved into Living Proof New York. We recommend scouring the episode list of both of these because there are some incredible interviews on there with skateboarders, graffiti writers, and other key figures who contribute to the rich tapestry of creativity in New York, and make up the broader downtown community.

Visit Living Proof New York to be directed to all of their social channels, subscribe to their Patreon, check out the shop, and discover what the podcast has to offer.

The post Leo Fitzpatrick on “KIds” for Living Proof appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

We’re pleased Braden Hoban found time to speak to us for this “Visuals” interview in the middle of a hectic schedule. Thankfully, the stars aligned and we and we had the chance to dive into the video part, trick, skate photo, and board graphic which have impacted him. With a brand-new pro shoe fresh on the shelf, his second video part of the year dropping, and yet another one in the works, we also took this opportunity to learn more about this exciting moment in time…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Braden Hoban on the road shot by Leo Romero

For some a skateboarding career is punctuated by a stint of sponsor-hopping in an attempt to find the right fit—the space in the van that feels like home. For Braden Hoban it seems like the universe conspired from the jump, delivering him a second family he’s still just as amped to be on the road with years later. His love and enthusiasm for these nomadic quests and the humans he shares them with is palpable. Every piece of visual stimulus he picked for this conversation reflects his journey, one which is only gathering pace as he heads out to Europe during one of his most productive years to date.

Braden started the year with a Street League victory in his hometown of San Diego. One month later he closed out the Toy Machine Real Life Sucks video with a memorable, hammer-heavy part that was the result of some serious months in the van. This interview took place just as his pro shoe for Emerica was about to drop, a milestone moment that involved him simultaneously working on a separate filming project led by Jon Miner, to support its release. As you’ll learn more about later Braden would be out filming all day as per usual, then going in for round two while everyone’s dinner was still digesting. This hard graft resulted in the incredible “Into The Light” part which comes out the same day as this interview. As this is being typed he’s back out there crafting another part—a work ethic instilled by the crew he once dreamed of joining.

Read on to find out more about the impact Leo Romero’s part in Stay Gold made on Braden, the point in time he started to explore Emerica’s back catalogue of videos, and the full-circle evolution to now where they’re both skating the spots Braden used to trip out on, together. Find out why Jeremy Leabres’ technique continues to be a motivating force and inspiration, and why a photo Dakota Servold took of Aaron “Jaws” Homoki and Tim Aguilar with a Cody Long assist is burnt into Braden’s mind. The final “Visuals” component discussed is the classic Toy Machine Monster graphic which was brought to life by Ed Templeton and Sean Cliver in 1995, a board that is still in Braden’s boxes today. We closed out the interview by finding out more about dodging shadows for the “Into The Light” part, designing his new Emerica shoe, how contest skating feeds into what goes on in the streets, and more…

Leo Romero – Emerica Stay Gold (2010)

Choosing this was easy, Leo was a huge inspiration growing up and this has always been one of my favourite video parts. Stay Gold as a video too is my favourite full-length for sure. Everything in Leo’s part is just gold, the tricks, the spots, the song. Obviously Jon Miner edited that one and he nailed it. The video has always been a huge inspiration to me from when I started skating again in 2014. Stay Gold being released actually coincided with my break from skating, I didn’t skate from fourth grade to seventh grade, so for about four years I was just doing other stuff. When I first started skating again MADE: Chapter One came out, then all the rough cut B-Sides followed and I started getting obsessed with Emerica through those videos, they changed my life. Watching those B-Sides, and seeing those dudes out on the road communicated much more than just the skating, [John] Miner put them together so well that it felt like you were there with those people, out skating with them.

So from that exposure to MADE I went back and watched Stay Gold and all of the B-Sides from that video and Leo has my favourite part, he’s the greatest of all time for me. The spots he picked to skate blew me away as a kid, he was skating all these neck high rails, and crazy gap to rails. That definitely resonated with me when I was younger, it made me want to skate like that and still does. It seemed really fun and you can find rails like that anywhere, spots that people would usually dismiss as not being a spot or overlook. Leo was skating all the rails like that and it pushed me towards that type of skating, big handrails, gap to rails, huge handicapped rails and shit like that. I still like to skate that stuff and it’s all due to Leo and that part.

As for moments that really stood out for me, everything that he did on gap to rail at the end made a big impact on me – the noseblunt, the front feeble, the nosegrind. Also there’s a rail he does a few tricks on but he frontside crooked grinds it too. It’s super tall, a five-stair rail that goes out instead of down the stairs. It’s super mellow but tall, I always thought it was ridiculous just how tall it was, it was rare to see a frontside crooked grind on a rail like that. The way he does it is just so sick because he has tight trucks so he doesn’t really pinch it, he just grinds it rebel style. I think it’s so badass how he does them. He has some good flip-in stuff in here too, kicky grinds, it made me want to learn kickflips into frontside grinds. It definitely made me want to learn front crooks, and front feebles too. I wish I could do front feebles like him, the old school way of doing them. Mine are the new school way of doing them where your front foot is kind of pointed, back then the way people did them was with your front foot in an ollie position. I always though the way he did them was really cool, I just can’t do them like that.

This video part really set the bar. I knew when I saw it that this is skateboarding, this is what I want to do with my life, and these are the people I dream about skating with. This represented how it should be to me pretty much, and how it should look. I didn’t get to see Leo skate in real life until I was on the same team. When I first started getting flowed Toy Machine boards there was a demo at the Etnies part in Orange County which was the first time I saw all of those dudes skate. I don’t think I even introduced myself or anything like that. So that was the first time I saw any of them in person and I must have been sixteen years old. I didn’t properly meet any of them or interact with them until my first trip. I was starstruck, it was definitely a trip to go from looking up to all of these dudes for my whole childhood to being in the van with them. If I could have told my little kid self this would happen I would never have believed it.

“This video part really set the bar. I knew when I saw it that this is skateboarding, this is what I want to do with my life, and these are the people I dream about skating with”

Another thing that’s funny is that when we’re on the road we usually start our days by watching skate videos and Stay Gold is one we watch a lot. Either I will put it on or Dakota [Servold] will put it on. It’s cool because all of the little kid questions I had about the part I have been able to ask Leo. I’d be watching the video sitting next to him asking him where spots are or getting him to tell us stories about things. It’s really cool getting to pick his brain and be a little kid again, finding out how long it took to film specific things or asking why he doesn’t do certain tricks any more. It’s a trip dude. I think the main thing I’ve learned from skating with all those dudes, but especially from Leo, is perseverance and dedication. They taught me that hard work pays off. Those dudes are the definition of blue collar workers when it comes to skateboarding, they truly don’t stop until the bell rings. They don’t stop until they physically can’t get up anymore. Seeing that was very motivating to be around. As a kid I couldn’t believe how gnarly those guys were but it’s because they worked their asses off. Watching those videos as a kid I decided that this is what skateboarding is, then seeing it in real life and seeing how hard they work for it added another dimension, it all made sense. That’s what I wanted to be doing, I wanted to work hard like those guys. Their dedication and perseverance was a good life lesson.

The Mott the Hoople track Leo skates to is sick too. At the time when I first saw this video I was listening to Andre Nickatina and Mac Dre, lots of Memphis rap.Watching skate videos and especially Emerica videos made me realise there was a whole other world of music out there to be discovered. Then also being in the van with all of those dudes broadened my horizons even further.

As far as something I have seen Leo do with my own eyes that made as big an impact on me as this video part is a specific frontside 50-50 I watched him do. He is always searching for long grinds and you know there will always be a long 50-50 in one of his parts. We were in Sacramento on an Independent trip and there’s a rail out there that’s a two-stair flat out-rail which goes for about 150 feet flat then down a thirty-stair rail. The rail is all fucked up too, it’s super thin and wobbly which just makes it even harder to grind. It was one of those times where it became a five hour battle. He’d be making it to the end but not landing it, then not being able to make it to the down rail for a while, slamming super gnarly, almost rolling his ankle on the stairs, everything. Watching the whole process was inspiring, he wasn’t freaking out or even pissed off, he was just laughing. Any other person would have stopped way before and thrown a tantrum but Leo was just cracking jokes. It was cool to see him enjoying the moment and appreciating the process of trying trick for five hours, hahaha. When he ended up rolling away it was the greatest, everyone was so hyped. It’s one of the longest rails that has ever been done for sure. That’s something Leo did that has stuck out for me in recent years.

Jeremy Leabres – Toy Machine: The Re-education of Jeremy Leabres (2014)

I picked this because at the time when I saw it all I was doing was kickflips. My friend Giles and I would just go to our local skatepark which had this little bump to rail. We would just try and learn every single kickflip trick on the rail. Both of us were just super fired up on kickflips. So seeing this as a kid made a big impression, it was a super tall rail which seemed insane, and the way he did it was the opposite cross-lock which I think is the sickest way to do kickflip front grinds. It’s the cross pinch but the opposite way, just the sickest way to do them. Jeremy [Leabres] has so much style too, he’s a style lord so he made it look so sick. Any time that I do a kicky front grind I hope that it does the opposite cross just like this one.

Jeremy is awesome, there are a lot of tricks in this part that I went and tried to learn. This is a Toy Machine video but I wasn’t specifically looking at Toy Machine videos for inspiration at the time, it was more all of the Emerica videos so I wanted to watch anything involving the people who were part of that crew, all of the dudes I just really wanted to skate with. Everybody, Dakota {Servold], Leo [Romero], Jeremy [Leabres], Dan Lutheran, CJ [Collins], just that whole crew. All I wanted to do is skate with them and travel with them but I never thought it would actually happen. That’s such a crazy thing, to think I want to travel with those dudes, and now it’s a reality. As a kid that seemed impossible but when [Mike] Sinclair asked me if I wanted to get boards it felt like one step closer which was definitely pretty motivating to just go out there and get it. It felt achievable that I could end up on a trip with those guys.

“seeing this as a kid made a big impression…Any time that I do a kicky front grind I hope that it does the opposite cross just like this one”

I’m also lucky those guys have such longevity and I fully get to skate with them. Those dudes just don’t stop, they’re only getting better. I met them all at a really cool time too. Most of them had just got sober and they were all absolutely killing it. So the first trip that I went on was at the tail end of filming for the Programming Injection video. Just to be thrown into the van when they’re finishing off a video was pretty wild because everyone was going the fuck off and trying to get enders. That was really cool to see and be a part of. They got everyone around them fired up. Leo [Romero] is 37 now and he’s like fine wine, just getting better with age.

The first trip I ever went on with Jeremy [Leabres] he got hurt unfortunately. He’d been there a week when I showed up then he hurt his knee so I didn’t get to spend that much time with him. After he healed up and started to come on all the trips again it was really cool. We were road mates together and room mates in every Airbnb or hotel. He is such a cool dude, very mellow, kind, and a funny dude to be around. So I have seen his kickflip 50-50 in real life and it’s pretty fucking sick. He tried one on this last trip too, he kickflip front boardslid this bump to rail then tried to flip grind it. I really wanted to see it but it didn’t end up working out. I have seen his front crook too and he has an amazing front crook, his flatground too for sure. Anything Jeremy does really is magic, he’s got so much style and the spots he skates are just fucked. He makes everything look good.

Tim Aguilar, Aaron “Jaws” Homoki & Cody Long. PH: Dakota Servold (2022)

This is Tim [Aguilar] and Cody [Long] on the other side of the lens. I was there for this one and they did it about five times too. I haven’t seen this photo for a while but I have the image of Tim Aguilar doing the boneless on Cody Long’s stomach burnt into my mind. It’s so sick dude, Jaws [Aaron Homoki] is backing them up with the frontside air. This one made it into Thrasher too. I think at first they were just doing it with an iPhone and at a certain point Dakota stepped in and said “let me get a photo of this”. It was so funny to watch and they did it so many times, they were all really good at it. Tim [Aguilar] has a mean backside boneless and Cody Long’s body is perfect for doing a back boneless off. It meant Tim was able to bounce out too trampoline style, hahaha. I want to see more photos like this for sure, doubles are always good anyway but to put a Cody Long in the equation too is fucking sick. This photo is amazing.

I have a long history with all of these guys, they’re all my brothers. Jaws was actually on that very first Tum Yeto trip that I went on. I don’t remember a photo that Dakota ever shot of me, Leo has taken a few, but I have definitely shot some of him. I took some sick photos of Dakota on my little Fuji camera. I shot a photo of him doing a noseslide on a double-kinker in Seattle which came out pretty sick. It wasn’t in Thrasher, I was kinda bummed, I thought it would have been a cover, haha. That turned out good though, it was the second day of him trying the trick too. When someone goes back for the trick and then gets it it’s always epic.

“I haven’t seen this photo for a while but I have the image of Tim Aguilar doing the boneless on Cody Long’s stomach burnt into my mind”

Tim Aguilar is always fun to shoot with. He is always in the video too, always in the clips because he is trying to get the best possible photo. It’s so funny, if you look at the last Toy Machine video [Real Life Sucks] I think that he has more clips in the video than anyone else had. He is in so many that it’s kind of just a running joke now with everyone. The first person I started shooting with was actually Dave Swift, I would just go out with him and our buddy Alex Willmes who rides for Skate Mafia. Skating with him was a pretty cool moment in time. Then the first time I ever skated with Rhino was at O-side hubba, that was really sick. Oceanside is twenty minutes from where I live in Encinitas. My buddy Alex and I had already skated this hubba and got our tricks. I did a kickflip nosegrind and he did a back 180 nosegrind to regular. So we got our tricks but a week later our buddy Jesse told us that Rhino wanted to go and shoot the photos and asked if we were down to do it again. We were like “Of course, it’s Rhino!” So we went and redid our tricks for him That was such a fun session, he asked me if I wanted an Independent box the same day. After that we’d skate with Rhino every weekend which is when I came out with my ‘Lunatic Fringe’ in Thrasher.

Toy Machine Monster graphic (1995 – Present Day)

This board is what I got in my first ever box, the classic Toy Monster. I think I had a couple with a green woodstain and a couple with blue. I had skated some before that too that I had bought from the skate shop. It’s just one of the most classic skateboard graphics of all time. It was such a trip getting a box of those boards as a little kid. I was looking up to Leo [Romero] and Jeremy [Leabres], and it really felt like I was a part of something after getting a box of those boards.That was such a special thing for me at that time and it will always represent that. This will always be one of my favourite graphics.

There are a lot of Blake Carpenter tricks where he’s skating one of these, Jeremy [Leabres] often skated this graphic too. It’s iconic, you can see that board in videos for decades, It’s been around forever just like the Zero skull and it’s stood the test of time. I still get those boards today and it’s still the best. The board I skate is a little over 8.4” but it’s pretty much 8.5”. I have my shape pretty dialled, the boards are out of BBS and I think the shape is a B16, a classic Bareback shape made with a Mold 4 which is a little steeper than the regular mold. I’ve been skating the same shape for the last three years. I’m not too picky about wood stains or anything like that, it’s just the shape that’s important to me. My favourite top ply is probably brown or the dark grey ones that are almost black are pretty sick.

“it really felt like I was a part of something after getting a box of those boards”

I don’t have the Toy Machine Monster on my wall at home but I have a Toy Machine flag up, it’s the ‘Bury the Hatchet’ graphic with god and the devil. There’s the Toy Machine American flag graphic with the Monster and I put that up outside my parents house as well. I have Leo [Romero]’s board on my wall, Dan Lu [Lutheran]’s board, Jeremy [Leabres]’ board and Dakota [Servold]’s board on my wall too as well as some other random Toy Machine graphics. I actually have the Monster tattooed on my leg. They have the free tattoos at the Tampa contest, that graphic was one of the ones available so I thought “you know what? Let’s do this!”

I think my favourite personal graphic would be the Halloween one that Ed [Templeton] did for me based on John Carpenter’s first Halloween movie. That’s one of my favourite movies ever, I have the poster for that movie on my wall as well. Ed [Templeton] hit me up to discuss using that as a board graphic and I didn’t even think that could be an option because of copyright issues but he already had it drawn out with the sect as the pumpkin. That was really sick to see that and be able to do it. Also my first ever board graphic means a lot because it was my first board, and it had boobies on it. Who doesn’t love boobs?

Braden Hoban’s “Into the Light” part for Emerica

We were stoked to see your “Into the Light” part, it’s incredible. It must have been weird from being out with crew all day, eating together and then venturing out again when they went home. Did you end up getting into a rhythm with it?

We definitely did end up getting into a rhythm but it was tough. I knew it was going to be hard when Jon [Miner] first threw the idea out there. Going on a trip like that already involves a lot of skating and it wasn’t getting dark until about 9pm. I knew it would be challenging but I was willing to try because I knew the end product would make it so worthwhile. I couldn’t help myself when it came to skating in the day, I couldn’t not skate these spots we were going to when everyone else was skating. If we went to a sick ass rail and everyone is getting fired up I couldn’t just sit there and not skate it to reserve energy for the night. On the first night mission we went on during that trip I tried to film this ledge line. It’s the one where I do a back noseblunt, a heelflip, then a kickflip nosegrind to fakie. I was trying to do a switch tre afterwards and I just couldn’t fucking do it. That ledge line ended up being a three hour battle and I was definitely losing it a little bit by the end of that. Thankfully Dan Stolling was there helping me with the whole situation and trying to enjoy it.

This is the first time you had been out and tried to film at night?

It was the first time on that trip. I had filmed two clips before actually in Encinitas. Those were really cool actually. The very first trick I filmed was the impossible over that rail and I brought my whole family out for that one. Were just chilling and I told them I was going to skate this rail down the street and invited them to come along and watch. It was cool, they brought some beers and got food, it ended up being really fun. That made me think the whole thing was going to be cool and not stressful at all so to go from that to the first line I tried on the trip was kind of a nightmare.

Is that something to do with being out there on your own?

I try not to put it down to not having my homies around me, it’s not always going to be like that I’m just lucky that it often is. It wasn’t down to not having people around to make the situation easier it was more about being tired from skating all day. I didn’t want the first session to be a failure it was just a battle, I’m just not good at skating ledges whatsoever. I tried not to overthink it and put too much weight on that one bad experience though.

Did you manage to turn that solo process into something that was like meditation and treat it differently?

It’s a whole different vibe and energy going out at night versus skating in the day. Most of those missions were just me and Dan [Stolling]. Then Tim Aguilar would come out most of the time to shoot photos. It’s a whole different thing skating at night without the crew, you just get more in your head about everything. You’re out there, you’re tired from the day, you know everyone else is just chilling watching a movie at home, and part of you just wants to be there. That was a motivating force though, it made me want to get the trick done as fast as I could but there were a lot of hiccups depending on the spot. Sometimes we’d go out to a spot and it would be so dark already, then we’d light it up and it wouldn’t even help that much because there would be so many shadows. It wasn’t like we were going out searching for spots or checking them out either it was a planned thing. We’d skate all day, look at spots and I’d call out what I thought would be sick to revisit at night. So I would only have one or two ideas and I didn’t want to ever go out and come back with nothing. I wanted to get at least one thing on every single night that we went out.

The lights always make me think of the Brian Anderson quote at the end of Modus Operandi about feeling like a jewel thief when setting up generators with Ty Evans. There’s something romantic and memorable about those kind of missions.

There is, and it feels good when you do get something. I think that mindset of wanting to get at least one thing every single night helped. It ended up working out, every single night that we went out on that trip we got at least one thing. I’m actually very proud about that. We had a pretty good streak going.

Are you going to miss those missions now they’re done?

Erm, no! Hahaha. It was a really good time though, and I had a lot of fun doing it. It was tough at times but that’s just skating, it’s never going to be easy.

“every single night that we went out on that trip we got at least one thing. I’m actually very proud about that. We had a pretty good streak going”

Did having the lights help you focus and make it easier for you to get into committing to stuff or were they distracting?

Honestly it made everything ten times harder in my opinion. There’s a lot you’re dealing with. I’m pretty excited I’m only going to be skating in the daytime from now on.

The music and Miner’s editing made the whole thing feel otherworldly, I loved the video game vibe of the lit rails where you did a half cab down the stairs and then a flip 50-50.

He really killed it, and one of the things that got me so fired to to do it was his vision. Talking to him about it it was obvious that he’d been thinking about that idea for a good while. He tried it with HK [Heath Kirchart] and it didn’t fully work out, he’s been wanting to do it ever since then. He had a lot of faith in me when he brought up the idea which was really cool and the timeframe we had was kind of gnarly.

What was the exact timeframe?

I had three months and I’m very glad it worked out. [Jon] Miner is crazy, he’s a genius when it comes to that stuff. It’s funny, we were talking about the part at the premiere, and I hadn’t seen it until it was shown there. He was explaining it to me beforehand, that it’s not meant to be one of those all-time parts with huge kinked rails and hammers, it wasn’t supposed to be like that, it’s something much more conceptual. But how he explained it was “we’re not having sex and fucking all gnarly, we’re taking our time with it and making love”. It was so funny hearing him explain it like that. He’s thought about it a lot. He was telling me that with every project he does it’s really hard for him to release it because it’s his thing. If he wanted to he could just keep fine-tuning it forever. It’s like releasing a piece of himself out into the world, and having to let go of it.

The core constant of skateboarding for you has always been being in the van, filming trips, stacking clips. But you have these unique personal battles. This part for instance isolated you but you also have the solo discipline of going to compete in SLS or X Games amongst it all. Has that become something you crave and enjoy? Like an additional itch that needs to be scratched?

I really enjoy those trips, it’s actually worked out really well because we go on trips for so long, for two or three months at a time. It’s not like I’m on a trip for ten days and have to leave during the only weekend we have for contests. We have so much time so I can just bounce out and skate Street League for the weekend, then come back in and know that I still have time to film video parts.

Warming up for the Rockstar Energy Open by adding extra heat to a kickflip backside noseblunt slide

How does it feed into filming? Do you think working on video parts would be harder without that element of laser focused skatepark maintenance in the background?

I think it’s helpful for sure in multiple ways. Let’s say we’re in Denver for a week and I only have the week days to film before leaving for the weekend it gets me more fired up. I know the tricks I want to try and know I want to get them done before we leave. I never want to leave feeling like I could have done more so it’s helpful in that way. It’s also a way of keeping the sword sharp, going out and skating a skatepark for two days straight, and fine-tuning all the tricks.

I’ve talked about this with other people but when you’re on a trip you want to be as sharp as possible so we’re definitely hitting parks in the mornings and dialling in our tricks. But it’s cool to go out to a contest and practise tricks that I want to bring to the streets. You’re just getting them more dialled, the two things work pretty well together. It’s also an opportunity to make money. I feel very lucky to have the opportunities to go and skate those contests because not a lot of people do. It’s hard to make a living from skateboarding and there are so many skateboarders out there who deserve it all but have nothing. I feel very fortunate to have that other space in skating I can go and do.

How was that Rockstar Energy Open contest?

That contest was so fun! It was one of the sickest events I have ever been a part of. We were there for a whole week, all the Rockstar dudes. We went there on Monday and filmed for these little videos they had playing in the middle of the contest between runs. We went out there to street skate and film a bunch of stuff, I got to skate with [Chris] Joslin and Lazer [Crawford]. They seriously did that event right. It’s really sick too because [Steve] Mateus the Rockstar TM kind of did it all by himself and it could have easily flopped. He had a lot of pressure on him from PepsiCo, all the bigwigs over there, all his bosses. Lots at stake but it went really well for everyone involved. Anyone I spoke to who went there for it had the best time ever.

I was talking to a lot of the transition dudes and they said it felt like the Vans Park Series which was one of the sickest contests in their eyes. They said it was something they’d been searching for in the contest world for a long time. There was less of a jock element and it was more of a fun event, a breath of fresh air for contest skating. Everyone skating in the contest was staying in the same hotel which was awesome, everyone was hanging in the lobby, grabbing drinks, people hanging outside. Just one big family, everyone having a great time. It was the sickest event I’ve ever been a part of and I can’t wait for more.

“It was a really fun process to be involved with and I got to create something I want to skate in forever”

Braden’s new Emerica pro shoe ‘The Hoban’ in a traditional inaugural colourway

Finally congratulations on the pro shoe. What are you proudest of achieving with the design of this one?

Thank you dude. I think I’m proudest that I love the shoe, I love looking down on it and being hyped on what I’m seeing. It was a really fun process to be involved with and I got to create something I want to skate in forever.

Was digging through the archives the funnest part of the design process?

Definitely, I loved looking at all of the shoes I have skated throughout my life, and creating something new inspired by that. This new shoe involves a piece of all the shoes that I loved skating in growing up, it was amazing implementing all of that into one shoe. It trips me out looking down on it and thinking I have a shoe, it’s crazy. I really enjoyed fine-tuning everything, it’s sick to be involved in something like that from the ground up. Having an idea of something you want and watching it slowly build into something without really knowing what the final result will look like, but consistently trying new things to get there. It was great putting things into the shoe that I have always wanted on others and making the perfect shoe for me.

Braden gives his new shoe the kickflip nosegrind test for Kyle Seidler’s lens

What’s a more obscure shoe you may have referenced when designing this?

Lots of the Inspo came from the first DC Wes Kremer shoe. It’s funny, I saw a lot of comments when images of the shoe first leaked onto Instagram. Lots of people saying “that’s just the Wes Kremer”. That’s definitely where we started. I loved skating that Wes Kremer shoe, I skated it for so long. I wanted to draw from that but add all of these elements of other shoes to make it perfect for me. It’s funny that people were saying that, i’s so much more than a copy of another shoe, I recommend trying it for yourself. Another shoe I skated a lot was the Jerry Hsu so there’s a lot of inspo from that as well. I skated the Dickson a lot and always loved how that had such a strong heel piece so it wouldn’t just flop out so we put that in there. Then obviously the Emerica Vulc is my favourite sole so we had to put that one in there too. I’m hyped on it and very stoked that they gave me a shoe.

How has it improved skateboarding for you?

I no longer have to think about all of these little things that we as skaters often overthink. We are all in our own heads about shit and how it affects what we do. Be that your board, your shoes, your whole setup. Skating is already so fucking hard, I just wanted to make it so that I don’t even have to think about my shoes at all. Everything I want to be there is there, everything is dialled, and it’s helped out for sure. I’m not overthinking things any more.

Thanks for your time Braden. Any last words?

I think that’s it, I appreciate you thinking of me.

We would like to thank Braden for this one and look forward to seeing the next part he is working on. If you didn’t catch his Nine Club Episode then we recommend tuning in for more over there. Follow Braden on Instagram for the latest from his world.

Braden’s Emerica shoe will be with us next week. You can shop with us for shoes from Emerica and hardware from Toy Machine.

Previous Visuals Interviews: Jaime Owens , Charlie Munro , Lev Tanju , Jack Curtin , Ted Barrow , Dave Mackey , Jack Brooks , Korahn Gayle , Will Miles , Kevin Marks , Joe Gavin , Chewy Cannon

The post Visuals: Braden Hoban appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

We are hyped that Daniel Wheatley just checked in with us for a “Visuals” interview. Find out more about the video part, line, skate photo, and board graphic he picked for us. Then read on to discover some more about the process behind making his latest full-length video Soul Crusher…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Daniel Wheatley with Torey Goodall in the pouch. PH: Kevin “Spanky” Long

Daniel Wheatley began making skate videos when he was a teenager and his passion has seen him put in some serious industry hours over the years. His work as a team manager for Dickies and the Crailtap family naturally found him filming some incredible skateboarding, roles that enabled him to cut his teeth as a film-maker in a professional capacity. His work following those jobs involved crafting some videos for Lotties and a stint as shop manager at the Palace Skateboards store in LA. It would be the Palace retainer for that shop opening which facilitated Daniel dedicating his time to the Lotties Must Be Stopped video. With more creative freedom and Mike Gigliotti’s graphics intertwined, the videos he produced helped define this LA store and bring it global recognition. Unfortunately Lotties closed it’s doors in 2021 and this meant that the Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long part he was working on for the shop became the Baker “Horses” part which hit our screens a couple of years ago. This highly creative time period would lead to the realisation that making skate videos was all Daniel really wanted to do.

For the last two years he has spent his time between London and Los Angeles working on his first completely independent full-length video. Soul Crusher was released a couple of weeks ago and is proof that this is exactly what he should be doing. It contains all the elements of a great video from the music to the spots, and from the cameos to the skaters he has showcased in the best way possible. Just prior to the release of this video which should be in everyone’s pick of the year we reached out to Daniel about working on an interview to support it. All of his work on getting Soul Crusher to premieres on either side of the pond also coincided with him just becoming a father so we waited for everything to calm before talking at length about skateboarding moments that have inspired his journey. We’re glad we were able to connect and mark this moment in time.

We were stoked to hear Daniel’s thoughts on a Raney Beres part from the Anti Hero Destination Unknown video and the reasons why this particular Dan Wolfe edited part hit home for him. It was also interesting to hear about Raney’s brief residence in his broom cupboard. When it came to selecting a trick it was a line Daniel’s old boss Mike Carroll performed at LADWP that won out. This two-trick masterpiece is definitely the lesser-spoken about line in his Modus Operandi part which has aged like a fine wine. It was an epic Mosaic-era photo that Ben Colen shot of Anthony Van Engelen which represents a slice of Wheatley’s Floridian childhood. Finally the board graphic which has made the biggest impact was a James Kelch REAL board which came out before he began skating but has been under his feet as a filmer thanks to DLX reissuing this piece of history to celebrate the Mayor of EMB. It was interesting to hear all of the insights Daniel brought to the table about his thoughtful selection. We closed the interview out by finding out a little bit more about Soul Crusher and what’s next. Enjoy the read, and be sure to watch the video…

Raney Beres – AntiHero Destination Unknown (2014)

I love asking younger skaters what their favourite videos are. They always fire the question right back when I ask them, and this is one that comes to mind for me right away when I’m asked. My favourite video parts are the ones where there are friends mixed in throughout and this Raney part has that in spades. Across the whole thing you have T-MO [Tony Miorana], Julien [Stranger] is in there at the end of the part with a tailslide which, I think, is his one trick in the whole video, Gut [Sean Gutierrez]’s in it. You have a bunch of the crew appearing throughout which really gives it the feeling like you’re there on the sessions.

But also the track, that Rudimentary [Peni] track is so memorable…“Cloud Song” is such a heater. I feel like it’s one of the few video parts someone has used a Rudimentary Peni track where it actually feels the song and the energy levels of the skater are perfectly matched. It makes you want to go and skate with your friends, and also to go and travel with your friends. You can clearly see these guys are skating because they want to be and the camera is almost secondary. Raney has had tons of video parts, he’s been around for so long now, but I do feel this is his part that really hits the hardest and showcases him as a person and his skating the best. You can tell that he knows he’s filming for a video, but at the same time he’s the kind of guy that’s going to go and do all that same skating regardless.

I like how some of the gnarliest stuff is just thrown in throughout it. Things that could have been the last trick go right by the whole time. It’s gnarly the whole way through. One thing in there that makes this part hit so hard for me is a clip at some pre-fab janky skatepark. Raney drops in and airs over a wall into a mini ramp on the other side. It happens right when the song cuts. I love that edit, the song cuts out, he airs and you can tell the hype of the session. He lands on the other side and screams this maniacal scream which just lets you know the hype was real. I’m pretty sure Dan Wolfe and Julien Stranger put Destination Unknown together- but serious hats off to whoever’s idea was to cut the song out, he lands the trick and then the scream. And then when the song kicks back in, it feels like a punch in the face, and the ripping just ensues. There are only so many video parts where you almost feel like you’re doing the skating when you watch them because the hype translates through the screen so well.

This Raney Beres transfer makes an impact in more ways than one

There are Dan Wolfe classics that we are so lucky to have had bestowed upon us. All of the Eastern Exposure shit is obviously what immediately comes to mind when you think of him. But I remember getting to go to DLX maybe ten or twelve years ago, and I hadn’t seen a recent Dan Wolfe video at that point in time. So, I was surprised when I went into DLX and saw him standing behind the computer editing something. I wasn’t aware that he was still in the building. I was so caught off guard and happily surprised to see that he was there working on things. Now you’re more aware of what people are up to or what they’re working on. Destination Unknown came out, I think, on Christmas a few years later, and to see it was him who had edited it was a trip. Maybe they were already working on it when I stopped by that day. I would have to say that Destination Unknown is one of the best videos to come out in the last fifteen years. It’s really hard for a brand as they get older to keep the videos as exciting as they once were, but Anti Hero do a good job of that. Dan Wolfe fucking crushed it with this one. I know Julien [Stranger] would have been over his shoulder for sure during the editing process, but that duo editing together is so cool.

I was lucky to film with Raney too around this same time. I first moved to LA when I was working for Dickies. I remember getting an email from Ronnie Sandoval that looked like a twelve year old wrote it, he must have been about fifteen at the time, that’s how I got introduced to Ronnie. Once I saw him skate I just wanted to go and skate with him all the time and we became really close friends. Ronnie was pretty highly sought after by seemingly everyone at that time, and I was instantly skating with everyone who was in his world. Other people were coming up at the same time so I would be out with Raney [Beres], Robbie Russo, Rick Fabro. Raney wasn’t always around, he’d be bouncing around from place to place a bunch of the time. But there was a brief moment when Raney lived under me in my apartment building. Basically my landlord was renting out the storage closet, I’m not kidding you, Raney lived in the storage closet for a few months in the summertime. He shared a Harry Potter-sized broom cupboard with Jon Sciano. So when he was living under me I got to go and skate pools with him. He magically disappeared a little after that, but it was a really sick time getting to be in their world. I would say I’m a huge fan of their whole world, but I’m not the DIY, Anti Hero dude. It’s my dream to be one of those guys, but I’m not gnarly enough.

“I would have to say that Destination Unknown is one of the best videos to come out in the last fifteen years”

I do love filming transition though. In terms of being a consumer, when all of the Beauty and the Beast stuff was coming out, and all of a sudden DLX was getting this huge resurgence in skating. You had [Anthony] Papaplardo and Alex Olson and SJ wearing Dickies, and they had Spitfire T-shirts on. Dickies and a Spitfire T-shirt became this fashion trend that suddenly swept the world. I was at the age where I could figure it out. I could see that those guys were looking to Julien Stranger, [John] Cardiel and Peter Hewitt etc. That’s where they’re getting this uniform from. So you do your research and realise that Anti Hero is the coolest shit, I was sixteen.

From there I instantly started watching every single video I could find with all of that transition skating in it. I had grown up really only paying attention to street skating. It was really a huge epiphany to discover that kind of skating, but unfortunately, I didn’t know anyone who skated like that. I didn’t know anyone who even existed in that world, and it got me so hyped to finally get to film some stuff like that when I met Ronnie. For a moment it became super normal for me. It felt like I was hanging out at Washington Street, Channel Street, and Lower Bobs constantly. But as a filmer you’re pulled where you’re pulled. These days I wish I got to film transition a bit more because it’s for sure the most exciting thing to film. You can’t really tell as much from watching videos, but it’s crazy to see how consistent guys like Raven [Tershy] and Ronnie [Sandoval] actually are. They almost don’t fall down, then if they do, it’s the worst slam you’ve ever seen and they could be out for a long time.

Videos that get me the most stoked to go filming are the ones where you see how well a crew can work together, where you can see how much people are enjoying themselves around one another. Those videos that show that camaraderie. Everyone is on the session, everyone is having a blast. A lot of that comes down to editing magic for sure, which is one of the things I’ve learned over the years. But you have to be there. Take a 917 video or Destination Unknown, videos where you get to see the whole process. Here are these guys at breakfast – Andy Roy is eating oatmeal and Robbie Russo is eating pancakes or something. It makes me feel like I’m with my friends on that adventure. Great videos make you want to recreate them with your own friends. You want to shoot something that shows you and your own posse having those good times. Of course, whatever crew you’re with, every day is not going to be as magical as the videos may make you feel. You have to go out a hundred times to capture maybe ten of those magical moments, but chasing that feeling is what makes me excited to want to keep going out to film.

“You have to go out a hundred times to capture maybe ten of those magical moments, but chasing that feeling is what makes me excited to want to keep going out to film”

I’m sure it wasn’t by accident with this Raney part, but they did a really good job of making it feel like an older Anti Hero video, something that fits right in with their classic videos. When you’re watching Two Songs or something like that it just feels so janky, in a good way. There’s a line in [John] Cardiel’s Epicly Later’d where he says the video camera was like having a baby, something he didn’t really want to carry around, a responsibility. That is so well ingrained in most of the Anti Hero videos, you can tell that they don’t necessarily care to have a video camera around. I like that you can tell from Raney’s part a handful of different cameras are being used. He obviously doesn’t give a fuck that they have an HPX with the ‘right’ fisheye lens, and that shines through so well. That’s what sticks out for me filming-wise from this part. There’s a smith grind he does on a bump to a fence in there and when I think of Raney that is always what comes to mind. The noise that smith grind makes is stuck in my brain, fucking incredible. I could go on for five more paragraphs, but I won’t.

Mike Carroll – Modus operandi (2001)

It’s not surprising to me that Scott Johnston’s frontside 180 to switch crooked grind at Financial was already picked by [Dave] Mackey. That was my first choice, but this was my immediate next thought from the same part. In terms of favourite video parts this one in Modus Operandi will always be special. It’s Mike Carroll, but it’s also Scott [Johnston] and Rick [Howard]. It’s not a super long part, Mike [Carroll] probably has about twenty clips in it but it’s crazy and I could rant about the whole thing for ages. But this line specifically stands out for me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone nollie flip to backside 5-0 and frontside 180 out before that or since. I’m sure someone may have now, but it’s such a weird and unique trick. For me, growing up, ledges were few and far between in middle-of-nowhere Florida. So to see these two perfect ledges at this heavenly looking spot, that you come to learn is LADWP, was incredible. Such a classic spot. There are a lot of tricks in Modus that have been talked about but this stuck with me for some reason. I have definitely tried to get friends to do that trick, but I’ve yet to get someone to film one. I definitely will get someone to.

I think another reason why I like this line so much is that more and more these days the most popular skaters out there have evolved into these kinda ATV guys. Those are the ones who really stick out the most in videos to me for this most recent generation. There are, of course, plenty of psycho fucked up solely-ledge skaters that exist, but you don’t see it so much in the better videos that have come out these last 10 years or so. I feel like there’s very few people who exist in that area between the ATV guy and the extra tech wizard. Someone that is obviously fucking insane at skating, but isn’t a video game character. Maybe like a Vincent Touzery comes to mind. Someone that can go really fast, and do something tech but not over the top. You know Vince probably could nollie heel into a ledge trick and then sit on it for 40 feet, and then flip out, but that shit is kinda gross, and I love that he doesn’t do that kinda shit. It feels like the Nick Michels of the world all got so good at this very ATV approach with really sick basic tricks. But now that’s kinda become the norm? Nick is one of my favourite skaters, of course, and that kind of ATV skating is my actual favourite, but I find it really cool when you see younger kids who have taken the time to get good at this very specific style of skating. The tech-but-just-tech-enough, so that it doesn’t go overboard.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone nollie flip to backside 5-0 and frontside 180 out before that or since. I’m sure someone may have now, but it’s such a weird and unique trick”

Watching the part, you kinda get the idea that [Mike] Carroll’s pushing himself to be doing all these gnarly rail tricks. And then you see Plan B Carroll shining through with a super weird techy move, that let’s be honest, he probably did pretty fucking easy, but I don’t think we ever saw him do that before or after this one. I don’t doubt that every trick in this video part was relatively easy for him at this time. I’m not saying he didn’t work for it, but even being around him when I worked at GIRL years later, you could see that when he wanted to even just attempt something he hadn’t tried in ages, the muscle memory would just be there. He could just go and do whatever he wanted to. There are some serious handrails in this part- I have a funny side story about that. When I was first working at Girl, the Lakai warehouse was in a separate building. There was a small office bit there with massive photo blown up to enormous poster size, probably some sort of promo thing behind the front desk at reception. It’s him lipsliding this pretty classic rail, it goes right by in the part. Carroll had signed this huge poster to Kelly Bird and it just said “To Kelly, is this enough stairs?” Signed Mike Carroll. Hahaha. I read that and just imagined this scenario that there would have been some kind of rift at this point in time while this was being filmed. Kelly telling him to hit some handrails or something. You can tell he’s doing some of this stuff thinking, “You kids want handrails huh? Here you go!” So good.

At this same exact time you have the Jason Dill tricks at this spot in Photosynthesis. It must be Ty [Evans] filming this stuff. I feel like LA had these moments of being really cool, really popular. LA being perceived by the outside world as ‘cool’ seems to come in waves. It will never not exist as the epicenter of skating, but there are obvious moments in time where footage coming out of LA really hits the right way. And it must have been pretty sick to be out there at that time when all that era of LA skating was going down. Those ledges have been freed up randomly at times over the last ten or twelve years, but they’ve always been a bust. With this specific spot, I feel like it’s so hard to capture someone doing something good enough that would be memorable there these days. What kind of line is going to be worthy that we could get before getting kicked out? What is going to hold up to what [Mike] Carroll, Rick [Howard], and Arto [Saari] did? There are certain iconic spots that I feel like you can actually film something at and capture some of that magic or nostalgia and make it look cool and give it a fresh spin on it, but I never felt like I would be able to capture the magic of that spot, so I have never really tried to.

AVE – Switch Backside Nosegrind. PH: Ben Colen (2003)

Asking about this stuff is great, it’s some of the most fun stuff to talk about, and as you can tell I have talked a lot, but it’s also the hardest to be able to narrow questions like this down to one image. There were a few flashing through my head, but I had to do some searching for this one. I went on Chromeball and started poking around. I realised on my search that you could pick any Ed Templeton photo from any era and every single one is so good, all the way through to the last photo he ever shot skating. I settled on this AVE one though for a number of reasons. I think it stuck out so much in my mind because during this time Mosaic had just come out. Growing up in Florida we were raised on Alien Workshop, so when Habitat came out in Photosynthesis it hit really hard. Everyone in Florida really fucked with Habitat, all of the older guys loved it. So, for Mosaic to come out and have all the Alien guys in it was exciting. There were guys from Florida in it that weren’t Andrew Reynolds, and they were skating in Florida as well which obviously hit home. The moment it came out I was just getting old enough to know where certain spots were, to know what they were skating and understand the significance. I think Mosaic as a video hit specifically hard for me as well because we went on a family holiday to Philadelphia, and because it’s such a small city I got to see a lot of the classic spots they skate in Mosaic just from out of the backseat of the car. Drive by and see City Hall and LOVE.

This photo has always stood out in my mind, it’s one of AVE’s handful of tricks in Mosaic. There’s that shoe he is skating in the photo, the DC Avenue, we were all into. It’s in LA too which was so far away from anything resembling Florida, any kind of table or bench was super exotic to us still. I was blown away by it, thinking a picnic table must be the coolest thing to skate, it must grind so good and be so fun. Fast forward to moving to LA –they’re not, they’re honestly terrible, they’re terrifying to skate, all the worst shit can happen to you, and the ground at the schools is usually not great. But to see this photo elicits so many memories of my childhood, and makes me fantasise about this era of AVE. His stuff in Mosaic looks like extras from what he had for The DC Video. Everything is great, his gear, his hair, how fast he’s going. AVE still goes faster than anybody, but how fast he looks like he’s going here, and during this era, may be his fastest he ever skated. It looks like every single thing he can do is on demand, he can do it without trying too hard, he’s probably going to get loaded afterwards- it’s so epic.

“With this one it’s the trick, the clothes, and how gnarly it is to do that on the back of one of these benches where your leg could easily go into the bear trap…no photo could hit in more ways than this one does for me”

This switch backside nosegrind specifically reminds me of being raised on Alien Workshop and the importance of balancing nosegrinds. You would just get lectured by the older heads about things like this. It’s also the fact that it was taken by my favourite photographer. I think of Ben [Colen]’s work differently to how I would think of a Spike [Jonze] or a Lance Mountain photo. Their photos probably stand out to me the most, but Ben’s photos from this era (and before) up until now, are always my favourite photos. You see the flash go off in the footage too so you knew there was going to be a photo. I got to work alongside Ben [Colen], he was the staff photographer when I was working at GIRL. He is definitely one of those dudes who would continue shooting while you were filming. He was never a dick about it, but sometimes we’d be filming, and I’d know he got the shot, and maybe ask him if I could film without the flashes. He would agree to move them but was always going to shoot the photo every time. I love that about Ben. I think him and Ty [Evans] got into it about that once. Ty, I assume, would have asked him to get out the way and Ben probably refused because it’s his job.. So I think Ben refused to move a flash and Ty [Evans] threw a trashcan at him, hahaha. Ben [Colen] is the epitome of who you want to be shooting your photo. You know it’s going to turn out great, you know he’s going to be thoughtful about shooting it, and also he’s the funniest fucking guy to have on the session. He is the low-key silent killer, he’ll throw out one thing that’s gonna have you thinking about the funny thing he said for weeks or even years later.

With this one it’s the trick, the clothes, and how gnarly it is to do that on the back of one of these benches where your leg could easily go into the bear trap. You know how fast he’s going, how tall the thing is, how good he did it, the song he’s skating to in Mosaic… It was probably a really sick, gorgeous evening in LA at the schoolyard, AVE was probably there with all his homies. I’m creating this hypothetical, perfect afternoon here for myself in my head, but no photo could hit in more ways than this one does for me. The photo hit me then and it hits me now. All of the memories combined, which I could seriously go on ranting about, for me, make it the perfect photo.

Real skateboards – James Kelch “Flyer” deck (1992)

I am one of those Chromeball nerd kids, when Eric Swisher put that site out I just devoured it. The same as with Epicly Later’d. I want to say that I saw this board on Chromeball first in a James Kelch post. So, when I was thinking of boards, of course my first board came to mind and various others. But in terms of thinking about what board I would buy a hundred of, and I did buy a reissue of this one, a slick, this was the one. This came out way before my time, I’m thirty-five and this came out in 1992. There are so few boards that I have had which elicit any kind of emotion. So, without having an actual personal connection to this board, it hit me when I first saw it. The colours, the kid, the field, and the scene on a skateboard is kind of random. What does it mean? Is there a secret meaning?

[James] Kelch said in an interview that he was driving along before his first pro board came out and saw a billboard with this image on a random Delta Airlines advert. I love that story, how completely flippant it was to make that. Who gives a shit, let’s put that on a board. I find it funny that this board with a child in a field hit me so hard. Any time that I really like a graphic that’s what I’ll pick for my filmer board because I know I’m going to have it for a year straight. Aside from that I don’t have any real connection to it at all. There’s just something about the colours, it’s such a beautiful scene. I could stare at that board for a really long time which is why it was an easy pick.

“I feel like most girlfriends or wives don’t particularly want to have skateboards on the wall but this one could sit happily in any room in the house, it’s just beautiful”

James Kelch, especially at that time seemed like a pretty tough guy. He probably liked hip hop, and cutting it up with his friends. Then they stick this really sweet child on a board and think fuck it, that’s cool. I like that ability to remove yourself from the equation and see how cool it can be, not something that represents your exact vibe. You see it now when they do those Deck-Aid shows or celebrate 30 years of GIRL. Sometimes you’re looking at something which is ultimately a bad graphic, but it’s still so good. You need a graphic so you take Tommy Jeans and put Jovontae Turner there instead, you’re looking at this incredible board but it’s just the Tommy Hilfiger logo. It’s that “fuck it, who cares?” energy from when board graphics were coming out all the time in the 90s. I think for some of those brands there isn’t a single bad graphic because of the feeling from that era you get from looking at every single one of them. There have been eras with super bad graphics, but in the 90s it seemed like the best companies just couldn’t miss. Like they could just throw some shit at the wall and you’d need a thousand of them at every skate shop.

I feel like most girlfriends or wives don’t particularly want to have skateboards on the wall but this one could sit happily in any room in the house, it’s just beautiful.

__S O U L ___ C R U S H E R____ by Daniel Wheatley

We were super-stoked on Soul Crusher, it was a breath of fresh air. How do you feel about it now, are you your own worst-critic?

I’m definitely my own worst-critic. I can’t imagine there are too many people out there that make skate videos who really think they knocked it out of the park when they make something. There’s just too much history of really creative awesome things in skating, how can anything being made actually hold up? So, it’s always pretty nail-biting for me. I never like showing the video to anybody who is in it while I’m working on it. Usually I ask my girlfriend to take a look, I ask her to watch it and tell me what she thinks. Even though it doesn’t mean something to her, as she may not grasp exactly what’s going on, but if I can elicit some kind of emotion from somebody who doesn’t participate in what we do, then I know it’s kind of where I want it to be. Even though it’s probably only skateboarders who are going to watch it, if it can hit an emotion for somebody who isn’t a skateboarder, then that emotion is going to be ten times more impactful on the intended audience.

Going into this one specifically my girlfriend wasn’t around for the last couple of months of editing so I had nobody to show it to. Going to the premiere and seeing that Rick Howard was there for instance, was fairly anxiety-inducing. I’m always my own worst critic. There are a few things in there I think I should have changed having watched it back a number of times. The fact that anybody likes it at all, and the guys in the video seem happy, then I’m happy, the job’s done and I don’t need to worry about it anymore.

You’re hyped on the feedback?

Any time you get a text congratulating you on anything is special, everybody is so busy, so it honestly means something to hear from friends who took the time to reach out. I don’t typically care about the amount of views something has. We’re really lucky with the group of guys that we skate with and are surrounded by. If we make a video and a hundred people see it, at least that hundred people will be our peers, and the people we look up to. Overall, I have to say that it got way better feedback than I expected it to. We had the video in finishing stages, we’re getting ready to put it out there and guess what? The Nike SB video is coming out the exact time and I know it’s going to be beyond gnarly. I honestly thought it may have gone under the radar because of that, so to get the feedback it did I truly couldn’t be happier, especially as the dudes who are in the video fucking deserve it. Way less for me, but more for Mingus [Gamble] and Matlok [Bennett-Jones] who put so much hard work into it. I’m glad to hear they were well received, and made it on some peoples’ radar.

Was it liberating grafting on something completely yours?

Hugely, I would actually say that was the scariest part. Working for brands for so many years you get to almost hide behind having to make things in their image. When there are four other cooks in the kitchen who want something to be a certain way, even if I put it together, you still get to hide behind the reputation of a brand. Then with the Lotties stuff, when it came to Mike [Gigliotti] and his shop, all of the art and stuff became so massively popular that sometimes I questioned if people actually liked the videos or were just so hyped on Lotties that I could have made anything and it would have worked. This was scary as there was nothing to hide behind. I would say it was refreshing to make things any way I wanted, but I’ve been making things the way I have wanted since starting to make the Lotties videos, as Mike, thankfully, never gave me any direction. But I was definitely more nervous this time around.

“it was the most rewarding to put out a video that has no kind of brand legacy or distinct imagery behind it to hype it up, and a crew consisting of mostly underdogs, and have it be received well”

One thing I’d like to say is, it was the most rewarding to put out a video that has no kind of brand legacy or distinct imagery behind it to hype it up, and a crew consisting of mostly underdogs, and have it be received well. Even Matlok [Bennett-Jones], he is a fresh face as far as an American audience is concerned, Charlie [Birch] the same thing. To see that all the guys got some love was great. I was mostly nervous because I wanted to make those guys who need bit of a push look as rad as I possibly could.

In Cole Nowicki’s review for his Simple Magic blog he talks about the great names involved as in the actual names of the skaters Billy Trick, Mingus Gamble etc. Skateboarders have always had memorable names but this is backed up in your video by the titles and the individual fonts, like you’re creating superhero identities even if it’s Andrew Allen’s homie CARL. This makes their footage something more which all ties into a very old part of skateboarding where a name had an identity attached to a visual graphic almost separate from the skater themselves. Is that something you got a kick out of creating?

I would say that with titles in general, the last ten years we have seen the antithesis to: here’s your single part, here’s your name title, followed by another person’s part with their title. That idea of “the footage will go in, and it will be really raw, because you’ll know who everyone is already, skaters are smart, they’ll figure it out.” Following that was a wave of no titles in so many videos, and everyone filming things the same way. I will say that those graphics, those names, and seeing those words have always stuck with me, as I’m sure it has with tons of us. For me it’s partly about paying homage to the videos I really enjoyed growing up on, but another part of it is that I want my friends to be known. I want their names to ring a bell, so if you put a massive fucking title on the screen it’s going to help, there’s no way around it. Even if it just blinks by in one split second. Skaters are smart, but if there are twelve blonde guys in the same Carhartt jeans, all skating to a similar song as the last song that came on, who all happen to be from some country you maybe haven’t been to… Why put all the blonde guys together in one section with no titles? You’re doing them a massive disservice.

Watching Mike Gigliotti draw things every day was inspiring, he would draw a thousand things in one day. I don’t want to bite Mike too hard, but seeing him draw all those illustrations made me want to try, and I’ve always loved to draw. So, when it came time to finally do them it took me fucking ages. I’m definitely not as talented and time proficient as Mike is with these things. With the Lotties videos, I would tell Mike that I need Nick Michel’s name, twelve skulls, and barbed wire with somebody puking on Arnold Schwartzeneger, and he would be like “Snap!” Done. With me it took all day to just draw Matlok’s name. Those are the things that go through my head thinking back now, and I’m chuffed that anybody enjoyed that sort of thing because it was painstaking and took a long time. It’s also massively rewarding to think that doing things this way did help drill Billy Trick’s name into someone’s head or that Andrew Allen’s homie Carl (Depaolo) will get some recognition.

Two special guest tricks appear in Soul Crusher. Heath Kirchart and Daniel Wheatley after filming them. PH: Jack Moran

Where did the name for the video come from?

Thanks for asking, it’s one of those ones where it’s such a silly name but I know anyone who has made a video has gone through the plight of trying to pick a video name. Creating a name that somehow means something, and sounds cool, is kind of meaningless when so much shit comes out these days. Naming a skate video is probably one of the stupidest tasks bestowed upon you when making a video. I had a couple of different options but one day someone said something, I think Shane Farber said one day when we didn’t get a trick that it hurt his soul. So, this soul crushing moment went through my head. I know everyone goes through this same thing but you have a year-and-a-half to film a video, you get to the spot and fix it up, then you show up the next day and the concrete has been ripped out. Or you go somewhere and it’s the classic scenario, dude tries the trick for two hours, nearly does it, and the we get kicked out. Or it rains, that feeling when your soul has been crushed by how arduous it is to go and try to film a skateboard trick in 2024. So, Soul Crusher came to mind as an option. Then, I thought of how it would look on a T-shirt. Once I realized that I, personally, wanted that on a T-shirt for my own self just for kicks, I thought it could be good.

It was nothing but good times making the video of course when I look back on it a year later, but in the moment things were fucking gruelling for sure. I filmed this video while simultaneously filming Casper Brooker’s Baker part. I went to that Tate spot with Casper [Brooker] probably about fifteen times over the course of a summer. I’m there at seven in the morning on our twelfth attempt watching Casper just crumble, and I think that feeling is relatable to all skateboarders. You don’t always get the trick and that feeling of defeat will crush your spirit. It’s funny because I watch the video nowm and it’s quite a fun video to watch. It doesn’t feel so taxing or depressing watching it but thinking back there were many moments which went exactly the opposite way to how I wanted them to. That’s where the name came from, in a very long-winded story.

Who or what trick surprised you the most?

I kind of just include all of Casper’s footage in with the filming of this because Casper was on almost every session, so I’m gonna throw one of Casper’s in there too. He did the 360 flip off that thing in Bank for the Baker video [Baker has a Deathwish Part 2]. That 360 flip definitely took him a couple of days to do, but you see how good somebody has to be at skateboarding to do that. The ollie up is insane. I watched Tyshawn [Jones] ollie up that and switch ollie up that the other day, but I also watched him mess up on some of the ollies up a couple of times. I think that explains how difficult the ollie up is. When you watch the guy with arguably the most pop in the world struggle a little bit and to see Casper 360 flip the living shit out of it, and he did it four times was super surprising. Also, Matlok [Bennett-Jones]’s frontside heelflip over the Victoria rail and Mingus Gamble’s back tail to 50-50 on that classic corner ledge. Both of those tricks could have easily not gone down, but they both went back on multiple occasions and tried for hours and hours.

It was to a point where I knew they were both capable of what they were trying, but if I were to put money on it I would bet on us getting neither of them. It was our fifth trip back to the shittiest ledge in the whole of LA that’s covered in grease and pork garbage from years of tacos being made there. I would leave there dirty, just from filming it and Mingus would be covered head to toe in disgusting filth. Sitting in 100 degree weather melting while your friend doesn’t land a trick for four hours, then going home for a shower thinking he may not have a last trick, but knowing the video has to come out all ties back into the name of the video.

Matlok Bennett-Jones’ efforts were rewarded with this frontside heelflip for Soul Crusher

You put your project out there while your partner was subsequently working on a very important nine month project herself.

Yea man there was a crazy serendipity to all of it. I knew the video had to come out before our child was born. Even then I had a hard drive crash after the premiere, had to wait a month, and somehow it came out literally the Friday before our daughter was born. In terms of everything I have done in my entire life it has been a pretty crazy high, I got to make a skate video with all of my friends and then got to have a child with the love of my life.

Congratulations, it sounds like it all worked out perfectly.

I appreciate that dude.

What does your reality look like now, do you have the space and resources to begin another project?

Right now everything skate-wise is just dependent on me getting work. I have been very fortunate to make everything happen this far, but after so many years of having a salary from a company, freelance doesn’t ever get any less stressful. I’m going to keep working outside of skateboarding to do more projects inside skateboarding. I figured when I turned thirty that all I really want to do is make skate videos, so if someone wants to fund a skate video holler at me, but until then it’s actually so fun to not be held accountable to anybody. I’m going to go and buy a can of Bondo because I want to, I’m going to concrete this spot because I want to, I’m going to buy a plane flight for a friend here because I want to. Being able to work and afford to do all that, I’m massively thankful for sure, because it keeps me doing the thing I want to be doing.

“In terms of everything I have done in my entire life it has been a pretty crazy high, I got to make a skate video with all of my friends and then got to have a child with the love of my life”

Where feels more like home these days London or LA?

I still feel like a bit of an outsider being American in London. I don’t know if I would claim London the same way I would claim LA. Just because even after spending cumulative years here, there will always be part of the joke I’m missing out on, or parts of the culture I just can’t relate to because I didn’t grow up English. But honestly, both feel like home. I probably have nearly as many skate spots in my phone in London as I do in LA if that says something. Since I’ve been living in London it’s been really welcoming. Compared to how cliquey LA can be, London felt way more approachable. It definitely helped to have spent plenty of time here over the years skating, and working for Palace and all that. Plus, I’ve always paid a ton of attention to the skating and videos coming out of here- that has helped form a bond here for sure.

What can we expect to see from Blanket or are you still evolving this idea?

The idea is definitely still evolving. I just needed a place to put all the ideas I have. Almost like a CV for the projects I have worked on and the things I’ve made. For now, it’s just trying to make skate videos with my friends. But I think the ultimate goal for Blanket is to eventually be able to use it as a vehicle to help friends out by making cool things with them, whatever those things might be.

Thanks for your time Daniel. Any last words?

Thanks Slam and Jake for taking the time. Sorry if I went too in depth with any of the questions! Big thanks to everyone that lets me point the camera at them and doesn’t get annoyed when I try and tell them what trick to try.

We hope you enjoyed this window into Daniel Wheatley’s world, we’re grateful to him for his time, for the video, and for whatever is coming next. Follow him on Instagram and keep them peeled for Blanket updates. Massive thank you to Ben Colen for the AVE photo.

Related reading: Village Psychic: Daniel Wheatley Interview , 5000 Words: Ben Colen , Offerings: Matlok Benett-Jones.

Previous Visuals Interviews: Braden Hoban , Jaime Owens , Charlie Munro , Lev Tanju , Jack Curtin , Ted Barrow , Dave Mackey , Jack Brooks , Korahn Gayle , Will Miles , Kevin Marks , Joe Gavin , Chewy Cannon

The post Visuals: Daniel Wheatley appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

The Stussy FW 24 line just arrived at our shop in East London…

Tygar wears the Stussy Built Bomber jacket in green, the Stussy Faded Graphic Zip hood in Black, the Stussy Sportswear T-Shirt in White, and the Stussy faded graphic fleece pant in Olive

Stussy are a brand we have had ties with since our earliest days, Shawn Stussy’s inimitable logo was as visible to customers on our shirt racks as Thrasher magazine was on the counter. This meant we became a destination for people who were fans of the brand and it delivered us a customer base who would regularly check in for the latest. This relationship continues today, we have regular inventory updates direct from Stussy and all of their clothing is only available by visiting us in person at our East London shop. We have a decent archive of items available and this post highlights some of the latest additions to the rail…

STussy Basic Cuff Beanie [Tiger]. Stussy Heavy Washed Plaid Shirt [Green]

Stussy DNA Pigment Dyed T-Shirts [Shark & Natural] Faded Graphic Fleece Pant [Olive] Washed Basic Low Pro Cap [Mocha] Raglan Thermal Basic Stock Crew [Bone] Heavy Washed Crew [Faded Black]

We have some appropriate items for the changing of seasons like the plaid shirt pictured with the beanie as well as some sherpa fleece vests and jackets. We also have new trouser options and a healthy array of essentials like all of the itms above. Of course, like when we first opened our doors, we have stock items like T-Shirts and caps which kept everyone coming back to visit us in the first place…

backprints on the Stussy DNA Pigment Dyed T-Shirts with a Washed Basic Low Pro Cap

You can find all of these new arrivals and much more from Stussy at our East London shop located at the Truman Brewery. We are open 7 days a week from 11am – 7pm. More information about our shop here. We look forward to you paying us a visit.

The post Stussy FW 24 appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Welcome to our “First & Last” interview with Sirus F Gahan. This conversation dips into the past and present of one of skateboarding’s most prolific creatives. Sirus F Gahan’s filming and filmmaking prowess has been enlisted by different brands. As a hired gun he has delivered videos imbued with his unique creative vision. His potential and the personality he transfers to his work wasn’t lost on Pontus Alv. With many balls in the air at the same time Pontus entrusted Sirus with Polar’s ongoing visual direction, a decision which has seen him rise to the challenge by contributing an additional, definitive graphic voice and the incredible Everything is Normal video which recently dropped.

In anticipation of the next Polar hardware update which announces Emile Laurent and David Stenström as the latest additions to their pro ranks, and a video crafted by Sirus set to accompany this news very soon, we thought it would be a good time to check in with this creative dynamo who hasn’t downed his editing tools for months. At the time of hitting publish their new pro boards are freshly on the wall.

Via a series of firsts and lasts we managed to uncover much of Sirus’ journey, from the Australia to Brighton transplant which started him looking for alternative entertainment to begin with, through to his recent months. It was interesting finding out about his early exposure to skateboarding and filming, the challenges of his new role, his inspirations old and new, looking at his work from different perspectives geared around new canvases, projects outside of the industry, and more. Enjoy these insights from one of our culture’s most productive auteurs…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Sirus F Gahan shot by Jay Izzard

First love before skateboarding?

Surfing, I grew up in Sydney in Australia and surfing was the one, I was obsessed with it. I never really cared about skating at the time. My dad skated a little bit but mainly surfed and we would go together. When we moved to the UK it was to Brighton and there was nowhere to surf so I realised I needed to do this other thing that’s a bit like surfing. My dad used to skate around with me barefoot in Sydney when I was zero years old which scared my mum a lot. In the same sense I was also out in the water when I was really too young to be out there which was really sick because I have always had an affinity for being in the water.

First skateboard?

My first actual skateboard would have been a really shitty one from Argos or something, I remember having one that had a crocodile graphic. My dad had skateboards though so I would use those, he had these old fishtail Santa Cruz boards, old G&S boards and stuff like that. I would pretty much use those. I would go down to The Level in Brighton on these mental fishtail boards, try to roll into the banks and just slam because these boards were thirty years old. They would have been the first real boards I used. The first board I bought would have been a Pig City board, I remember having one with the Rizla graphic. Also funnily, my dad’s friend Simon Levene who was a pro slalom skater had this signed Arto Saari Flip board that he gave to me. It was obviously something that was meant to be for the wall but I remember skating it, it had a rabbit graphic on it. So one of my first boards was a signed Arto Saari Flip board in about 2001.

“My dad used to skate around with me barefoot in Sydney when I was zero years old which scared my mum a lot”

First video that made you fall in love with the craft of a full-length?

I’m trying to think of an answer that’s not Mind Field but I’m pretty sure that’s what it was. The first proper videos I watched were The DC Video and Flip Sorry. I didn’t really even understand the concept of a full-length though or even that it was a film. So Mind Field was the first Alien Workshop video that I saw, and the first one where I realised you could do other stuff beyond skating in that context, and have it in a skate video, and it’s cool. Before I saw that music used seemed to be hip hop or punk, the songs seemed like generic choices in my brain. They weren’t things I was necessarily into it so when I saw Mind Field I was super into Animal Collective and I realised you could use indie music in a skate video. So that definitely turned on some light bulbs in my brain. That video is a generic answer but it’s the truth.

First camera?

I don’t know what it was exactly but I would have got it for my twelfth birthday. It was a shitty little handycam video camera because I really wanted to make skate videos. It was just a little MiniDV thing with no fisheye or anything obviously. I would just film me and my friend doing stationary ollies with that. I actually broke it really soon after getting it, I had no idea that this wasn’t a robust item. I didn’t realise it was a delicate piece of electronics so I would chuck it around and throw it on the ground and stuff. I had no concept that this was a thing which could break, then it just broke straight away.

Early parkour experiments stoked the filming fire. Sirus backflips on Brighton beach PH: Ben Tunnicliffe

First thing you filmed early on that you were really stoked on?

When I first started making videos when I was twelve or thirteen it was just me and my friend. We would take it in turns to film each other skating. He was considerably better than me so I would film him more. We would also film parkour tricks and stuff too. There was honestly a big moment that my friend filmed, I jumped over this railing in Brighton on to the pebbles on the beach. It was a parkour-style leap. I remember watching that back and realising that stuff can look so big and epic on camera. I think it was because up until that point everything we had filmed had been quite underwhelming. We would film an ollie or something we thought looked cool and it just looked shit on camera. That parkour moment might have actually sparked my passion for filming a little bit, or my ability to see what is possible with it.

First footage you filmed to appear anywhere?

The first thing I filmed that came out in something I thought was big thing was when Dylan Hughes came to Brighton. He was filming for the Savoir Faire video and he frontside flipped over a railing in Brighton on the beach. I happened to be there and the other filmer [Ciaran O’Connor] was there. He was filming [Dave] Snaddon ollie this fifteen-stair and so I happened to film Dylan doing this frontside flip which was banging. I remember transferring it to his VX from mine with a FireWire cable. I had never done that before and it felt so industry, and so tech. I remember thinking that was a pro thing which just happened, I’m a pro filmer now. That was the moment, then I used that same clip in the promo for my own Brighton scene video which was called Lads 3.

First inkling that this is what you wanted to do/ could support yourself?

That Dylan Hughes moment may have been it. I never fully thought it was a possibility as a real job, and obviously it’s not a real job but here we are. I made loads of stupid skate videos, and montages and stuff. Then Sam Bailey who used to work at Kingpin hit me up to film an Emerica thing, it was a paid job, only £50 or something but that was when I thought “oh my god! I could be a professional filmer”. He emailed me that offer and I remember standing up at my desk and being elated at the prospect, this was the start of it. I didn’t actually end up doing that Emerica thing but that was the moment where I realised it could happen.

“That was my first industry skate job and I was fucking terrified”

Then they got me to shoot this Lakai in London thing with Jesus Fernandez, Enrique Lorenzo, Sebo Walker, and others. That was my first industry skate job and I was fucking terrified, it was with Nick Jensen and Danny Brady too. There was this Fully Flared squad basically and it was me filming them. I couldn’t believe it was happening and thought I was going to fuck it up. That was my first job and it’s all thanks to Sam Bailey. That was when I thought it was possible, this was the skate life I could live.

First skate trip outside of the UK?

I did a couple of Belgium road trips with my friends from Brighton where we would cycle around Belgium, on the first trip we drove. We hit up loads of DIY skate spots and all the skateparks. When I was nineteen I went to Barcelona with a bunch of homies and had an absolutely classic teenage skate trip time out there. Not that exciting on paper but pretty fun at the time.

First commercial work outside of skateboarding?

I used to shoot a lot of music videos which I guess were work but it wasn’t like I really got paid from them. I was asked to do them though. I can’t remember what the first one was but I think it may have been an Alex G video before he was a big musical artist. I think it was also technically the first music video made for him. It was kind of a job but I didn’t get paid, I actually lost money doing it but that was it. I enjoy music videos, they are exercises in losing money but they are really fun. It’s a good format to play around with ideas and images.

First favourite person to aim your lens at?

I grew up in Brighton but I went to school in Lewes and I used to skate the skatepark there every day after school. It was made up of shitty plastic ramps and my friend Jack Stonell was one of those kids who is just unbelievably good at skating but on a small town vibe, with no intention of taking that skill anywhere other than the skatepark. Someone with no real understanding of the skate world outside of that. He was really tech, and amazing, and he was my favourite person to film with. Also that’s my favourite type of skater, that brand of skater who just does incredible shit at the local park, then goes home and has no idea what’s going on outside of that in the skate world. I think that’s really awesome. He was a good friend and he would always do tricks I had never seen before.

Brighton to Brixton. Two photos shot by childhood inspiration Rich West a decade apart

First photographer who inspired you?

That would definitely be Rich West. I grew up with Rich and before I knew him he was the older kid who shot all of the other older kids skating. They were all the kids I looked up to from the skatepark who were better than me and my friends who were three years younger than them. Even back then when Rich was seventeen he was a fucking banging skate photographer, and a really good skateboarder as well. He was all I knew about skate photography for a long time and was an awesome person to learn from. Not that I wanted to learn skate photography but to understand that world. He was so schiz about it from an early age that he just got really good really quickly. He was really inspiring.

First photo you shot that you were pleased with?

I remember the first roll of film I ever got developed and made into a contact sheet. I shot a portrait of my friend Ben Tunnicliffe who is a skater from Brighton. I remember seeing it on the contact sheet and thinking that’s insane, I took that photo and here it is in physical form and it’s exposed properly and in focus. I remember seeing it clearly, then my friend who was studying photography in college made a print of it because I was so psyched on it. That was another realisation, you can click this button, all of this chemical stuff happens, and then this comes out the other side if you do the right things. I was really stoked on that concept and still am today.

“you can click this button, all of this chemical stuff happens, and then this comes out the other side if you do the right things. I was really stoked on that concept and still am today”

First perfect pairing of skateboarder and music that comes to mind that was an inspo?

The first one to spring to mind is probably [Jason] Dill in Mind Field skating to that Animal Collective song. I’m not a massive Dill guy, I hadn’t seen his Photosynthesis part prior to his part in this video. I had no idea of who he was, he was just a kooky manual guy to me when I watched Mind Field, but this part really clicked for me. It was Animal Collective who were a band I really liked at the time then this guy who was kind of weird. It all came together and I liked it. I remember watching it over and over again, listening to that song, thinking about the skating, and the two becoming synonymous with each other in my brain. I can hear that song and see the switch 180-manny back three just thinking about it now. I guess that hadn’t really happened for me before that.

First footage you contributed to Polar that was used?

I think it would have definitely been a random Jamie Platt clip. I think I first made an Instagram edit for them maybe, an iPhone clip but if not it would have been the part me and Jamie made for Instagram. I was there the day that Jamie was put on flow from Polar in Bournemouth about ten years ago. We were filming stuff together back then when he was about sixteen but it was quite a while after that when any footage got used.

First time your work appeared in an unfamiliar context?

When the series of boards I made first came out, the watercolour scenes. That was the first stuff I made for Polar. I had made those images with a board series in mind but not specifically for that. When that came out it was really cool for me, also one of the boards was Jamie [Platt]’s board. Being able to make a board for Jamie who I have skated with and filmed for over ten years was a very cool moment and something I never thought would happen, or planned on. I’m not a graphic designer or an artist in that sense so it wasn’t on the cards in my brain.

The beginning of the process. The nuts and bolts of Sirus F Gahan’s first board series for Polar

First time you felt in tune with your work and its translation to products or the first time you felt you had a handle on the process?

That first series of boards was the moment I started thinking in those terms. But there was a process prior to that where I wasn’t making stuff for the purpose of putting it onto a product. I just sent Pontus [Alv] an archive of my stuff that I had made for no reason in particular. So there was definitely a process that stuff came out from, followed by a realisation that the stuff I make in my room at 2am can be on a T-Shirt in Mexico, someone in New Zealand could be skating a board with my artwork on it. It’s something I hadn’t considered before. Something I have been thinking about a lot recently is that I am lucky enough to go on a lot of cool trips with a lot of cool people. I’m always filming and I like to document stuff using stills but am always filming because that’s my job. I realised that there’s a lot of amazing still imagery in the video footage that I hadn’t thought about in that way before

First film of yours you would show someone who has no idea of your work?

If they had no idea of my work I would just leave them like that and not tarnish their world-view, hahaha. I would probably show them the last Polar video [Everything is Normal] if I was going to show them a skate video. Because although that was an amalgamation of a lot of stuff that wasn’t mine I did slyly put my heart and soul into making it, and it ended up with a lot of me in it. I don’t even know if I like it at this point, I’m pretty sure I hate it but I think at some point I was happy with it. That’s probably the closest thing to happy I have been with a skate video that I have made so I’d show them that.

First thought destination for a skate trip?

I’ve always wanted to go to former Soviet Union spots, and wondered why more people haven’t. Places like Kazakhstan or Eastern European spots like Serbia. I feel like people have been doing it a lot recently. If it was actually up to me I would say the middle of America, exploring the USA in a van, and Toy Machine demo-style drive around from place to place. I think that would be so sick, organise demos in small towns and drive around the middle of that insane country.

First piece of guidance from Pontus Alv?

I can’t quote him exactly but while I was making the last video his kind of direction was: “be you, be weird, be dreamy, make it weird and how you want it to be”. That was very reassuring to hear, and very inspiring to hear. I wanted to make it disjointed and weird, dreamy in a sense but I was worried about it maybe not feeling like the video it needed to be. Having him backing that was really cool.

The Polar Everything is Normal video by Sirus F Gahan first premiered on Jun 21, 2024

Last skate video to excite you in recent months?

The last one to excite me would be Don’t Like by Matt King. He’s my favourite skateboard filmmaker and I find him thoroughly inspiring. That new video is super sick, it’s totally him. I don’t think he ever used to work in skateboarding that much but he films for Sci-Fi [Fantasy] and does edits for different brands. When I started working for different people it made me change how I work but his new video hasn’t changed at all from his old Arizona scene videos. Then Daniel Wheatley’s video [Soul Crusher] which was sick to watch too.

Last thing you filmed you were really stoked on?

It feels like I haven’t filmed in so long. We went to Portland a couple of months ago and Emile [Laurent] did a frontside tail stall on this bank to fence and did a frontside 360 back in. I’ve never seen anyone do that before and never imagined anyone could do it. It’s the best trick I have ever filmed and not because of how I filmed it. He just did it so fluidly. He was having a religious experience while he was doing it too, it was 38 degrees, and it took him a while because it’s insane. It’s insane to even get into front tail on this thing so to front three out is mental. He probably had heat stroke and he was talking to himself, talking to god I think or a higher being. He did it and as he was rolling away we got kicked out of the spot. Most of the time in skateboarding all of that shit doesn’t go your way and that day it went perfectly. It’s the best clip I have ever filmed I think.

“Emile [Laurent] is always surprising. When I think he’s fully burned out from skating he just has infinite energy”

Emile Laurent getting as high as possible at Burnside and setting the scene for his first pro board. PH: Rich West

Last member of the Polar squad to surprise you?

Emile [Laurent] is always surprising. When I think he’s fully burned out from skating he just has infinite energy. He is always so inspired to skate, and to skate shit in a different way.

Last person not on the Polar squad to surprise you?

I don’t get surprised that much. Recently while I was having a depressing time in my room editing my housemate surprised me with a massage. He didn’t give me a massage, he booked me a massage which was really sweet, and a surprise, and really cool.

Last musical discovery?

I’ve been addicted to listening to the Dear Catastrophe Waitress album by Belle & Sebastian since May this year for some reason. It just brings me joy & sadness simultaneously. Otherwise the actual most recent thing I heard that I enjoyed was at this random fashion show last week which had really banging music. I dug around and found one of the songs was “Dystopia” by Mezer.

Last Polar trip?

The last trip we went on was to Portland to finish Emile and Davide Stenström’s video where Emile did that insane trick.

Last time your artwork appeared on a Polar board or clothing where you were particularly pleased with the results?

When this interview publishes there’s a new board I made for Jamie [Platt] with some artwork I shot that’s coming out. I’m always stoked when my art is on anyone’s board obviously but it means a lot when it’s with Jamie and I’m hyped on this one.

Last project you enjoyed outside of skateboarding?

I did a project for Polaroid where I shot skaters in their bedrooms and I really enjoyed that. I really enjoy shooting stills, and I enjoy hanging out with people and shooting them in their spaces

Last filmmaker outside of skateboarding to inspire you?

The one off the top of my head is Mike Leigh, I just watched his film from 1983 called Meantime a couple of nights ago. It’s an unbelievably good film. What I thought were new concepts in filmmaking I realised were not. I found that film and him as a director really inspiring.

Last thing skateboarding brought to the table you think the world needs more of these days?

Absolutely nothing, hahaha. It’s not the last thing it brought to the table but I think skateboarding in general brings a fun look at the world we inhabit. There are less hard parameters in skating, the world can be used for different things. I think that’s a good outlook, it’s the classic thing where you’re not meant to be skating something and someone has a problem with it. Why do you have such a problem with it?

Last thing you achieved working for Polar that was challenging?

The whole Japan thing was a big challenge where I was a little out of my depth. I had to edit the video which isn’t out of my comfort zone but does take a lot of work and brain power. Simultaneously we had all of the art shows and premieres around the world. I had to plan the art shows in Tokyo, London and Leeds, and get everything ready for that. I also had to plan the book, the products, and it was all happening at the same time. It took a lot of brain capacity to make all of that happen.

Last encounter with a member of the general public that made you despair for humanity and last one which restored your faith?

The last one that made me despair for the human race is because I try to take a lot of street photos. I took a photo on the street where there was a woman who was possibly in the photo, I don’t actually even know if she was. I was quite far away from her and I wasn’t making a thing about framing her or doing anything like that. She got so upset that I had taken a photo on the street with her in it, she was threatening to beat me up, it was thoroughly depressing. Then I was in Morrison’s the other day and this old lady asked me to help her find the frozen roast potatoes because she couldn’t see properly. I was very happy to help her find the frozen roast potatoes and she was very polite. It was just a nice interaction, I was happy that she asked, I found that very sweet.

Last time you got to go skating?

I went down to Brighton to visit my mum recently and got to hang out with my friends for one day. We went skating in Lewes at a new DIY that I think Diggs English’s dad built. I skated for about five minutes and was too knackered to carry on so I sat down for three hours catching up with my friends.

Sirus takes an Autumnal opportunity to wallie out of a tree for Felix Adler’s lens

Last piece of good advice from Pontus Alv?

I was just on the phone to him before speaking to you. His advice was to come to Amsterdam to finish the video and that’s what I’m going to do because I’ve just been sitting in my room for two months going crazy by myself. I’m going to meet Pontus in Amsterdam and we’re going to finish it off together.

Last new piece of camera equipment that has improved your life?

I recently made an investment in a proper 16mm camera which I got off this guy who used to film extreme sports in the early 2000s. It had this fisheye because he used to film snowboarding for the BBC and the Extreme Sports Channel. It had been sitting in his shed for about fourteen years. It’s a camera that I’ve always wanted, it’s an Aaton which is an old French camera. I’ve always wanted to own one, it’s my favourite 16mm camera. So I got it off this guy who shot surfing, snowboarding, and skating on it. Also because I shoot skating he gave me a really good deal on it which was really cool. I really enjoy using it and I don’t enjoy using many cameras.

Last last-minute meltdown moment making Everything Is Normal?

I did have quite a few meltdowns. The last one was probably while I was in Japan for the premiere. The video was done at this point but I was there organising all of the gallery stuff. I was also finishing Blondey [McCoy]’s video [Pigeon-Wise] at the same time. I was in Japan, I was jet-lagged, and I hadn’t slept. I had been editing the Polar video endlessly by this point. I had graded Blondey’s video on the plane then when I arrived there were things he needed to change. I was in this tiny hotel room in Tokyo, it was fucking hot, and I had a proper meltdown. I have one every couple of days to be honest but that one was particularly pressure cooker. Blondey had set the deadline for the video release for his birthday, and Pontus had set the release date for the Japan video for his birthday. Their birthdays are exactly one week apart

Last book you read?

The last book I read was Oblivion by David Foster Wallace. He’s a bit of a cliché writer for a male in their early-thirties to be reading but I just finished that last night. It’s a book of short stories. His writing makes me feel sane. I feel quite insane in this world but his observations about how things work, and the minutiae of interactions makes me feel like I’m okay, and maybe everyone else is insane.

Recent sample of Sirus’s street photography shot while assisting a shoot at a magic convention

Last pleasant surprise on the lightbox?

I was recently in Blackpool shooting the world expo of magicians [Blackpool Magic Convention], it’s the biggest one in the world. I want there to assist my friend who was making a short film. I managed to shoot some street photos while I was there. I shot this one of these two women with pink hair and it’s nothing special but the hit rate when you’re shooting street photos is very low. That makes when you get something which has some kind of feeling to it quite nice. This was one of those, the last time I looked down and thought something was actually good and not shit or out of focus.

Last great photo you saw?

I can’t think of a specific photo but the first photographer I think of is Jerry Hsu. I’m always blown away by how amazing his images are.

Last Words?

Just breathe and try not to freak out everyone because it’s a lot, everything is a lot isn’t it? Hahaha. My last words would be the thing I keep saying to myself, my new mantra is “Think Less, Do More”. I tend to think too much, and do too little, so it helps.

The latest Dane Brady, Shin Sanbongi, and Nick Boserio Polar pro boards designed by Sirus

We would like to thank Sirus for taking time out of a hectic editing schedule for this one and look forward to seeing the next video instalment which is coming soon. Follow Sirus on Instagram, get lost in his YouTube channel, and check out other work at SirusfGahan. Be sure to shop with us for all of the latest hardware and clothing from Polar.

Related reading: Everything is Normal – an interview with Sirus F Gahan , 5000 Words: Rich West

Previous First & Last interviews: Andrew Brophy , Nick Boserio , Jarrad Carlin , Colin Kennedy , Henry Sanchez , Mike York , Amanda Perez , Mark Gonzales , Lance Mountain , Brian Anderson , Danny Brady , Wade DesArmo

The post First & Last: Sirus F Gahan appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Richie Hopson is the most recent photographer to add to our “5000 Words” interview series. It was a pleasure to reconnect with Richie and to explore his work. Some examples had been relegated to lower piles of importance, and we are incredibly pleased to see them surface here…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Richie Hopson Crail grinds on the Red Kite Ramp. PH: Gorm Ashurst

Richie Hopson recently posted a photo on Instagram, an unseen photo he had shot of Matt McMullan when he was first learning the ropes behind the lens. This image showed Matt’s raw power enabling him to levitate over Stockwell’s old moon-like surface. This photo fittingly closes out the article that it prompted, one which we were perhaps remiss in not attempting earlier. Richie was at first apprehensive about the quality of his archives but as the heavy hitters below attest he has taken numerous notable images over the decades, and like that photo of Matt McMullan (RIP) which was nestled in a drawer, we’re sure there are many more that we hope see the light of day in the coming months.

Richie got his first skateboard in the tail end of the seventies, that wave of plastic boards filling every toy shop had him skating the street outside his house. Then BMX bikes first hit the streets and he obsessed over the yellow and blue Team Murray bike in the window of Halfords until he got one. Like many kids in the eighties the BMX scene would be a gateway to skateboarding. BMX Action Bike became Skate Action before becoming RAD and the local bike shops with a skateboarding concession switched over the prominence of products. Although Richie watched the bike shop in Woking transform from Surrey BMX to Surrey Skates who furnished him with his first budget complete it was his grandmother who travelled back from a US visit with a Vision “Hippie Stick” who properly began his immersion into the culture that changed his trajectory.

Early on Richie made attempts at documenting his crew with pocket cameras and disposables. Thrasher had made an impact on his psyche, as had TLB’s photos in RAD. As his interest grew he eventually got a little Pentax and began to experiment properly. Randomly, a job in telemarketing connected him with a friend called Paul Bliss whose tales from a photography degree and beyond spawned in him a desire to properly learn the craft. Very soon a photography evening class delivered him to the darkroom. Freelance contributions led to photos appearing in mags like Sidewalk and then Adrenalin Magazine which evolved into Huck. Chris Nelson who ran the mag Free Ride would be the first person to commission him, entrusting Richie to cover a trip to Amsterdam with the Death Skateboards team, a trial by fire that led to more assignments.

Although his path led to his main employment being within the fashion world it also found him drawing from transferable skills. Being a dab hand with radio slaves when no-one else had heard of them made him an invaluable part of the crew who he was assisting, and his experience found him offering solutions out of the gate. From shooting the Death squad in Holland to immediately working on Prada campaigns, his evolution as a photographer was inevitable. His passion for skateboard photography would remain bubbling in the background. Skating itself coupled with searching for architecture, and attempting to skate the unskateable is an obsession that leaves you forever changed. The following photos, and Richie’s stories about them reinforce the fact that even if you’re not shooting skateboard photos daily, that roving eye will always be looking for the next one. Find out more about the photos Richie selected and enjoy his memories about some of the moments in time he captured…

Michał Juras – Backside Tailslide

I took this fourteen years ago but it feels like just the other day. Strangely, it was when I felt like I wasn’t really in the game anymore as a skateboard photographer. My wife is Polish and we were on holiday there, this was taken in Warsaw. She was a snowboarder back in the day and all of her friends were skateboarders. So a family friend offered to show us a skatepark down the road and he took us to see this place. It was an incredible concrete DIY park, you had to walk over this big grassy hill next to a big tower block and it revealed an old tennis court where this was built, it felt a little Animal Chin, this great DIY park. I was quite excited by it and our friend said he could get a guy to come down and skate it but I didn’t have my camera with me so we arranged to meet back there in the afternoon. Looking at the photo it’s interesting that I would have been travelling with a fisheye lens.

The friend turned out to be Michał Juras, we met, he did a few tricks for me and this was one of them. There’s a few things I liked about this that made me choose it. I love the idea of the DIY movement and I keep seeing the one they’ve built in Dulwich [The Grove DIY]. It goes back to building plywood ramps in the 80s but people are doing much better jobs with concrete with Burnside being the first great example. I just love the fact that these tiny little things exist and was so stoked to discover this place. I quite like the “Locals Only” painted on the ramp because bizarrely I never get that feeling when I go to a skatepark, I always feel welcome so I found that strangely contradictory. Maybe I got that wrong but I feel in Poland people are really excited to meet other skateboarders or people from other countries.

“you had to walk over this big grassy hill next to a big tower block and it revealed an old tennis court where this was built, it felt a little Animal Chin, this great DIY park”

In the surf world I know the “Locals Only” thing is a different thing altogether. I was working with Chris Nelson for a book he made about surfing called “Cold Water Souls”. It was about people who surf in cold climates, we went to Nova Scotia, Hokkaido in Japan, and people would tell us stories about the whole localism thing. If you went to surf someone’s secret break you’d come back to your car and they would have rubbed surf wax over your windscreen so your windscreen wipers wouldn’t work, they’d fill your car with pebbles. They really meant it, I think there’s enough to go round with skateboarding to not need to be that territorial. I understand it with backyard pools, you have a limited amount of time to skate them so anyone else going there ruins it for you but with something purpose built like this everyone should be welcome unless you’re on inline skates or a scooter.

Not a crazy story with this one but I felt like I was no longer a ‘skateboard photographer’ but then was excited by seeing this place which illustrates that it’s not just the skateboarding but for me there’s always the excitement of seeing skateable terrain.

Kip Sumpter – Wallride

This came about from the Mike Manzoori and Andy Humphries connection. Mike rode for ATM Click and then later for Adrenalin, Kip Sumpter coming over would have been when he rode for ATM Click. I was living with Andy Humphries at the time and Kip came over to stay for a couple of weeks so I got to go out with them a bit. Kip was travelling with another guy called Pete Mihalenko and they were both so fast and powerful. I’d never really seen anyone attack the street like they did. They would see stuff and just push so fast and hard at it. They almost had a bowl skater’s style, you know when someone pumps around one with so much power. Kip had that same approach on street, this power and strength, and he would try crazy stuff. We were going to Stockwell, we would go to Cantelowes when it was just the flat bank and the pyramid in the middle. Southbank was another destination. Looking at this photo I don’t think I had more than one flash.

“When people like Kip come to a spot they haven’t been to before they often see lines no-one else really has before”

When people like Kip come to a spot they haven’t been to before they often see lines no-one else really has before. He was instantly all over this wallride, I don’t know if anyone had seen that as a possibility or done it before but it was amazing to watch because the surface of that wall is horrible. I wasn’t a staff photographer for a mag so my opportunities were quite limited, this was a rare opportunity for me to shoot an American pro over here. Technically this isn’t a brilliant photograph but I love the washed out, monochromatic vibe it’s got and it’s a rad trick, that’s why I put this one in here

Ben Raemers

I think Ben was thirteen when I shot this. At the time Mark Munson was managing the Duffs team in the UK. He had discovered Ben and kept telling me that I have to see this kid skate, that he’s incredible. So I started trying to compile a feature with Ben for one of the magazines, I think it was Kingpin. I started going out in the car with Mark Munson, Ben [Raemers] and Carl Potter-Wilson and driving out into deepest, darkest Essex to skate random things at Universities and stuff. There was this little kid who seemed a bit out of place, there’s Mark Munson-this big personality, and this timid, little thirteen year old kid. He was an innocent young child and I think these portraits show that innocence. But to counter that he was absolutely fearless on a skateboard. If Mark Munson told him to do something, or try something, he’d try it.

He was an incredible kid. I think these pictures were shot one day after skating Meanwhile because they were taken in the basement of my office at the time, which was on All Saint’s Road. They were shot on a 4×5 camera, a large format camera so the film you use are these big sheets that are 4×5 inches that give you a lot of detail. You load them in the back, put a black cloth over your head, press the button, take it out and do it again. That’s what these are, I remember shooting them in our little backyard behind the office. The camera belonged to the fashion photographer I was working for so I had access, and this is as much abut me experimenting, and testing this stuff out. The photographs then became part of this feature we were working on. I love the one of him yawning with his hands behind his head because it shows his youth.

Ben Raemers – Feeble Grind

I have a folder called “The Duffs Crew” and this one is from that. The feature I worked on with Ben spanned a couple of months I would say. We were just out there collecting pictures as and when we could. They were great trips, it was always Carl [Potter-Wilson], Mark Munson, Ben [Raemers], and myself. Kevin Parrott was also there with the video camera filming what was going down. Fo most of the photographs I took Kevin would have been there filming alongside me. I think I actually shot a sequence of Ben doing his first ever 540. I guess I like the rawness of this one, it was taken at a school in Kensal Green. We knew it was going to be bit of a bust with the caretaker there hence the photo is black & white with no time to set up flashes or anything like that.

“I think I shot about four or five frames of it, he got it pretty much every go and that was a flexy old rail that rattled when you hit it too”

We had to put a piece of wood down on the run-up and you can see the lip of the wood at the top of the stairs. Ben had to drop down a couple of stairs, there was a little bit of flat, the piece of wood, and then he’d ollie onto this rail. I think I shot about four or five frames of it, he got it pretty much every go and that was a flexy old rail that rattled when you hit it too. I love that little puff of dust at the top of the rail, he must have hit that piece of wood and kicked up some dust into the atmosphere. It just makes it even more of a frozen moment in time. Also, whenever there was something Ben could do something good on, Carl [Potter-Wilson] would do something amazing on it too. Shooting with those guys was a great time. Obviously what happened with Ben is tragic, it’s all very sad so it’s nice to have those memories of him in these photographs. I was quite lucky to have documented a bit of that.

Carl Potter-Wilson – Frontside Ollie

These were some grain silos they took me out to in Suffolk. It’s a skateboarders dream, pulling up in the middle of the road and seeing this.There was a photo of Ben doing a beanplant to fakie off the end wall of this rusty silo which I shot fisheye, then Carl said that he could do this ollie. He started doing these ollies pretty high so I asked to shoot a photo of that too. The two photos are completely different, one is enclosed and super wide, the best way of showcasing the trick but it doesn’t show the scene. Then for this frontside ollie I could pull right back, get out of there and show the whole scene. I think I definitely prefer those photos that show a whole scene. As a photographer you have to do the trick and the skateboarder justice, that may not always be the best photo composition-wise as a photographer. With Carl’s photo it all works together, the ollie looks great but you also get this interesting photograph which adds a sense of scale, and a sense of place as well, where it is. In terms of bang for your buck, going out with Ben [Raemers], Carl [Potter-Wilson] and [Mark] Munson was amazing, you always had three people killing it which was great, they were always pushing each other too.

“I think this would be an interesting photo on it’s own, or with a farmer in it ploughing his field, you put a skateboarder in there and it’s kind of gold”

I think this would be an interesting photo on it’s own, or with a farmer in it ploughing his field, you put a skateboarder in there and it’s kind of gold. There’s another element I just thought of too – back in the days when you shot a landscape image like this you would be hoping it may be seen in a magazine, and that format with staples down the middle meant you would make your composition with the action on one side or the other so someone didn’t end up with a staple through their forehead. It would have been in mind that the image could look great with some text weighted on the opposite side. You would be making those considerations while shooting back then. Interestingly now I suppose that most people want to be photographing things portrait due to how we consume pictures most of the time. The Instagram format is 9:16 or square and the landscape format doesn’t hold up too well

Product toss at a Billabong Demo

This was shot at Playstation at the bottom of the vert ramp at a Billabong demo. It was the early 2000s and Pat Channita, Willy Santos, Chad Bartie, and Bucky Lasek had flown in to skate the demo. When I shot this I had a Mamiya 6 which was a medium format camera that could fold down really compact. It was a bit rubbish as a camera for skateboard photography but I was trying to make it work and get some good pictures out of it. This was a crazy time in skateboarding which I’m sure has repeated itself in history but skateboarding was really big. There was this ridiculousness of the kids all wanting a freebie, stickers, or T-Shirts. Whatever it was they were clamouring for it and it felt like a great moment. It wasn’t directed at the skateboarding but looking at an aspect of the culture and what was going on around it at that time beside the action. It’s kind of an action shot but it’s not skateboard action. I love that kid reaching up and grabbing for something, it reminds me of an old war photograph but it’s kids hungry for product. The kid at the bottom has gone a bit cross-eyed trying to look for something, and the kid next to him is writhing in pain. There’s a lot of stuff going on in there that I quite like. My office was on All Saints road so I remember when they were first building that park. I would go down Portobello Road to get my lunch, check in on the progress, and try to get a few sneaky skates in before it opened.

Lance Mountain in London

That photo on the sunken vert ramp reminded me of some shots I took of Lance Mountain, I came across them this morning. Lance came to town around this kind of time and I took a photo of him doing a frontside air and a frontside invert on this same ramp. He was staying at this hotel out in Bayswater and I remember going over to the hotel, I can’t remember if it was arranged or if I was just winging it. But I asked if we could shoot some photos out on the street and I got some photos of him cruising up and down the road. He did that thing in Powell videos where he would run up the wall and do a backflip. I asked him if he could still do it and he even gave it a go so I also have some pictures of him attempting a backflip which is pretty funny. I don’t know how we ended up at Playstation, I probably asked him what he was doing that night and suggested he check out the park. It’s amazing that legendary stuff like that could just happen. I was quite keen at that time to capture portraits of everyone as well so I have some portraits of him too. It was something people were doing less back then, skateboard photography seemed to be just that, at least what was being published. I remember it being quite hard to encourage people to publish a picture that wasn’t a skateboarder skateboarding. That’s why publications like Huck and Adrenalin magazine suited me quite well I think. They were interested in showing the culture around it all.

Tony Trujillo in Marseille

This was a time when I was trying to get my pictures published in skateboard magazines. I had a good relationship with Adrenalin magazine, I had already shot some stuff for them and that mag later evolved into Huck. So this trip to Marseille was a really lovely commission for them. I had been to Marseille a couple of times independently already for the competitions and skating with mates. This was a really good time, twenty of your mates were all out there for the competition, there to skate, and then there’s this Bowlriders comp, this epic spectacle. It did a get a bit commercial in the end but what an incredible bowl, and it drew all of these legendary skateboarders from America, and all over the world. The year I shot this Chet Childress was there, John Ponts was there, and Tony Trujillo was there at the height of his popularity. He was one of the top skateboarders at that time, and encapsulated that Rock N’ Roll image.

“I was fortunate to be there with this incredibly loose brief, I was encouraged to basically shoot whatever I want”

I was fortunate to be there with this incredibly loose brief, I was encouraged to basically shoot whatever I want. They didn’t want a skateboarding feature, more just a piece on Marseille. I was trying to shoot people’s shadows while they were in the air, taking pictures of people’s leather jackets and the patches and punk rock emblems on them. It was a liberating brief. The other thing about that event was that if you saw any coverage it was really bright, lots of blue and red signage, Quiksilver branding, and it was really busy visually. It looked like any other event so I decided to shoot it all black & white. These were the days of actually shooting film so you had to make that decision consciously before you even went there as you had to buy the film to take with you. I opted for black & white to strip out all of that excessive information with all the colour. I also wanted the pictures to look different from what the other twenty or thirty photographers were going to come back with. I just had to shoot the event and the people which is why I was looking for moments like this one.

I can’t remember what he [Tony Trujillo] had been trying at this point but he’d obviously been trying it a lot and failing. There was this moment of exhaustion at the bottom of the bowl. It looks quite peaceful but there are about 600-1000 people standing around the bowl looking at him with the Marseille heat pounding down on him. So there’s this isolated moment which is surrounded by chaos. I’m a huge fan of Shepard Fairey and have a few of his prints here so the fact that his Andre the Giant image is surrounding him is kind of the icing on the cake really.

Mark “Fos” Foster Heroin Skateboards Ad

I knew Fos just through skateboarding for years. Then he worked at the Slam warehouse in West London so I would see quite a lot of him when I was working over that way too. He had asked me to shoot some photos for Heroin so I shot photos with Chris Pulman, Fos, and a few others. With this photo he had specifically said that he needed to put an ad in Sidewalk fast and could I shoot it. He had an idea of what he wanted to do, he always has a firm idea of what’s good so we shot this. I gave you this one not because I think it’s a great photo as far as what I’m doing my end – don’t get me wrong it’s a great trick, but I chose it because I love people’s scribbling and doodling over photographs. Fos was always brilliant at scribbling and writing things over photos. Every time I gave him a photograph I was excited to see what he would have done with it when it came back.

“Every time I gave him a photograph I was excited to see what he would have done with it when it came back”

I love all of his ideas and jokes “ I love the smell of Stockwell in the morning”, all of that stuff is great. It goes back to something you had said to me earlier this collaborative effort between the photographer and the skateboarder. Whether I find a location and ask if someone can skate it, or they have a fixed idea of what they want to do and where. This takes that a bit further, once the picture is taken someone can add their work to it and make it better than it was. What I loved about [Chris] Pulman, Fos, Nick Orecchio, Dan Cates, and all these guys was their dedication to do weird tricks in weird places and skate things that weren’t meant to be skated. Stockwell is maybe an exception but they all shared the same stoke on riding weird stuff which probably wasn’t very fashionable back then. Calling your company Heroin in the first place would have been against most people’s advice as far as a marketing move. It’s worked out though, he definitely marches to the beat of his own drum.

Tamago – Kickflip

I used to live on this road, it’s Randolph Avenue in Maida Vale. This spot was on the end of my road, and all around West London were many weird, potentially skateable things. I had this good working relationship with Foster and he had this whole crew of Japanese riders who were coming over to do a little tour of the UK. I had this bunch of random spots I’d been keeping up my sleeve to try and take people to. They weren’t that top secret but had potential for the right person. The spot is probably still there, it’s a college. So we had the spot, there were five skateboarders and one of them [Tamago] decided he could do the best trick on it. It was brilliant, it’s pretty hard to get any speed up there but what a great kickflip he managed to do. He got up there, he probably had four or five attempts at it, and we were out of there before we got kicked out. I had quite a few spots I had obsessed about someone skating and this is one of them. I picked this photo again because of a layout that Fos did with the picture. It just reinforces that I love Fos’ style of illustration and how he would just slap it over a picture and just make things look better. When it went into the magazine this was the opening page and I loved how Fos brought it to life.

Laurie Sherman – Frontside axle stall

Being a photographer it’s often hard to settle on the angle, what best shows the trick, the terrain, and what went into making it possible. Finding what you’re happy with as a photograph is a bit of a dilemma. You’re trying to fulfil different criteria. You want to do the skateboarder justice but also make it work the best from a creative point of view. The top photo shows how hard that thing is to skate but doesn’t show the wood run up. So without the other angle someone who hasn’t been there wouldn’t know that what Laurie is skating is just a piece of concrete in the middle of a field. That’s why I complimented it with the other one. That thing must have been built with BMX bikes in mind. The top photo shows both of Laurie [Sherman]’s axles on the lip, he’s in 50-50 but the only way he could really make it work was by power-sliding up the last bit to get his trucks up onto it. It’s amazing looking at where he is, where his body weight is, it’s so rad, on a tiny board. The thing is over vert too because of how it subsided over the thirty or forty years it had stood there. I had to pick two here because one picture doesn’t always tell the whole story. Sometimes it’s quite nice when you’re left guessing, sometimes you need a little more.

“I had to pick two here because one picture doesn’t always tell the whole story. Sometimes it’s quite nice when you’re left guessing, sometimes you need a little more”

I used to love shooting photos with Laurie that’s why there are two in here. We had so many things in common, from music onwards that it was always a pleasure going out with him on a mission. I always knew we were going to come back with a photo. There’s something timeless about his skateboarding, much of it could have been doing in the 70s but it looks super cool. We were shooting these photos at a time when everything was quite tech in the skateboard media so they buck that trend. We were there with Mattias [Nylen] who was trying a frontside rock on it which he may have made actually. We used my car and took these stolen pieces of wood from West London all the way across to South East London to make the run up so he could even skate it in the first place. You can’t see that factor from the side view but that angle best illustrates how over vert that thing was. He couldn’t make it up there to the grind but could kind of air into a truck bash. It’s great going somewhere unique like that with two rad skateboarders who just keep pushing each other in terms of what’s possible. I really miss seeing Laurie all the time.

Laurie Sherman – Viaduct kickturn

This picture I would probably say is my greatest hit as far as skateboarding photography. This came about through a skateboarder called Howard Byrom. I used to skate Stockwell with Howard, he used to have the best nollies over the bump there, and still does. Howard was a writer and he was working for the National Geographic. He called me one day to say he was doing some research and found this place called the Balcombe Viaduct in West Sussex and it looks like you might be able to skate it. He sent me a picture and it looked promising. We arranged to go down there one day, it was Howard [Byrom], myself, Laurie [Sherman], and Tom Crowe. In a village in the middle of nowhere is this field, and running through this field is a giant Viaduct, this huge structure which is a railway bridge. It doesn’t look like a huge amount from the street, you can’t really see these transitions. It’s only when you get alongside it and look down the length of it that you can see it with the railway line running above your head.

It’s insanely hard to ride, there’s no flat bottom so how do you generate speed and keep your momentum? I came equipped with some soft wheels which Laurie put on and made work. It’s another one I tried to shoot from different angles. I tried it with a wide angle lens, I even went there with Ross McGouran on another occasion and he did some ollies to fakie in it which is arguably a better trick but wasn’t a better photo. There was something about this photo of Laurie. This was all shot using transparency film before the age of digital so you really had no idea what was going to come back from the lab a few days later. But there was something about it, when I was looking at it I was thinking- if what I can see with my eyes comes out I would be stoked. It ended up coming back better than what my eyes saw with this weird infinity perspective to it. It’s super hard to do what Laurie is doing don’t get me wrong, it’s a very simple trick but in my mind that adds to the timeless beauty of it.

“This was all shot using transparency film before the age of digital so you really had no idea what was going to come back from the lab a few days later”

This photo ran in Kingpin. I’m not sure how the British Journal of Photography cottoned on to this photo and they put it on the cover of the magazine and they did something about my photography and called it something cheesy like “Chairman of the Board” or something like that. At the same time I remember getting a call from a producer from some kind of commercial company. He called me to ask where it was exactly and I said I didn’t really want to tell him, I felt if they went there they would probably come back with the same thing. I just said they should find it themselves. Then they called me back a few hours later to ask if the photo was real or had been generated on a computer. I told them it was real but that I was still not going to tell them where it is, hahaha. Obviously a few people have been and shot photos there now but there was a thing back then.

Mike Manzoori – Wallie

I’ve known Mike for a long time. He had left the UK at this point and been in America doing the whole thing working for Sole Technology. He was back in England for what felt like quite a few months actually. I think he was renewing a Visa and he was also looking after Tom Penny. I remember Tom hanging out at our flat and going to various places with him and Mike during that time. We’d go to Royal Oak and I occasionally took some photos of Tom but he was never happy with the tricks. As Mike was here for a bit we decided to get together and try to shoot an article. Mike’s an amazing human being, he’s an incredible skateboarder, and he can ride anything and everything. This spot was in Swiss Cottage. I have skated this spot with my friend Lalo actually, it’s a carpark next to school. It’s a really steep little bank up to that wall. It was Mike’s idea, he thought it would make a good photograph so we went and shot it. We shot at Stockwell, Meanwhile Gardens, here, a few other places, and got a nice little feature together. He’s a lovely guy I’ve known for a long time so it was really nice to get to shoot something like that with him. You can see Mike’s power in this photo, he’s driving that skateboard. It’s always a pleasure shooting someone like that.

Nick Orecchio – Backside Carve

It doesn’t get much more ridiculous than this. Nothing was off the table with the Death crew. Anything could be skated, however rubbish it was, and regardless of the amount of effort required in sweeping it, scraping it, or fixing it. They were devoted and dedicated to skating the unskateable. I can’t remember exactly where this spot is, it’s outside of the M25 somewhere near Farnborough. I think they sold pipes there right? Look at that elephant! It’s some kind of pipe company and this thing was there. We’d been driving for about an hour and a half at that point to get there, and you never know what you’re going to find with Nick and Dan but you’re going to get something out of it. Every mission was an adventure, and it was always fun going to shoot with those guys. This is one of the photos that came out of it. Another thing that’s crazily hard to ride. Nick is another amazing guy, from having those houses in Harrow where he would operate a distribution business out of his bedroom with a backyard bowl in the garden. His dedication to skateboarding and the cause is just amazing. He’s absolutely 100 percent committed to skating, living and breathing it, and this kind of shows that. I miss going on stupid adventures with the Death crew for sure.

Dan Tubb – Frontside Carve

This was a really good mission, it ended up running in Adrenalin Magazine. We were at Rom [Romford] skatepark, I think we had been shooting something there. Then I heard someone say that they were going to go off to a full-pipe. It was kind of a whisper that something else was going on. The plan was to get in their cars and head out to some cement factory. I was with my friend Lalo at the time and we managed to get an invite to tag along. What followed was one of the most insane missions I think I’ve ever been on to get a photograph.

We travelled in convoy to a huge cement factory in Gravesend on the Thames Estuary, we parked our cars and walked down to a wall. We climbed over the wall and then had to walk along a ledge which was about two feet wide. If you fell off this ledge you would end up in the river Thames on the East side of the Dartford tunnel. There were probably about six of us walking out along this ledge. I had this ridiculously large Profoto battery pack with me to light this thing. I have this battery pack, a camera bag, someone else has a broom, we’re all carrying skateboards. We had to walk a long way along this ledge where you could fall to your death. Then we all tiptoed our way through this cement factory to get to this pipe.

“this photo feels like one of those timeless ones with a crazy mission to get there as the story behind it”

When you’re in situations like this you have to get on with capturing it pretty fast because your window is not going to last very long. If you look at the centre of the pipe there’s something black there, that’s where I clamped my light and ran a cable down one of the posts. So the cancerous cement dust was swept up and then people started to skate it. Then very quickly these two guys appeared wearing High Vis jackets. I instantly thought that meant we were done but they came over and said “that’s amazing, we used to skate”. So we invited them to come and watch. Then this amazing session went on for twenty minutes or half an hour. You can’t see it very well but there’s a seam that runs around the circumference of the pipe. There’s actually a seam in that section you’re riding so you have to either ollie over that or in between it. What’s also not visible immediately is that if you look to the bottom right there are all of these pipes of rebar which are poking out. If you look up there’s more of them, all of this metal rebar poking out of the pipe. It was super hazardous in there and it was massive, that transition was gigantic. Dan Tubb could naturally skate that thing straight away and this photo feels like one of those timeless ones with a crazy mission to get there as the story behind it. We then had to tiptoe all the way along that ledge again to get out of there too.

I can see Martin Herrick in the foreground, Ginger Steve was there who has the best layback grinds, Wolfy [Chris Woolf] is there on the left, they’re the Harrow crew. There were lots of great skateboarders out there like them going off and skating all of this crazy stuff that went largely undocumented. This ran as an eight page feature, it was more of a documentary piece, there were a couple of skate shots in there but I had also documented the mission.

Mattias Nylen – Mayday

I shot this when I was trying to do a feature with Mattias, he was, and probably still is a super talented skateboarder. He could destroy almost anything. He really could destroy old concrete stuff though. I’d take him to Romford, to Southsea, Harrow to spots like the over vert wall that Laurie [Sherman] is skating in this article. As a by-product of those missions I ended up shooting for this series of articles for Sidewalk called Concrete Carcasses which focused on these old remaining parks like Stevenage and others. The projects were Black & White, slightly architectural and abstract. This session would have been with Mattias [Nylen], Emilio Arnanz, Fos [Mark Foster], and Howard Byrom who I mentioned earlier. It was a solid crew.

Mattias had a pretty strong idea of what he was going to do. This pivot to fakie in the snake run at Southsea wasn’t hard for him. The reason that I chose this one is because we always wanted the photo to look cool and credible. There’s the whole thing with skate park photos where a helmet changes the whole aesthetic of what you’re doing. If you look in the background of this photo towards the floor you will see a helmet suspended in the air. In order for us to not get thrown out of the park and to get this trick done we had to be creative.

“In order for us to not get thrown out of the park and to get this trick done we had to be creative”

The guys who ran the skate park were just doing their job and it was park policy that you had to wear a helmet to skate the place. So Mattias would wear the helmet when he was rolling in and visible, then he’d throw it off as far as he could before trying to do the trick and shooting the photo. To give you an idea of how quickly that all happened is shown by the helmet still actually being in the air as it bounces off the ground. Then you’ve got Kev Parrott perched in the top corner with his fisheye lens, he would be out filming

Matt McMullan – Ollie

This photo was shot a long time ago, it’s Stockwell before it was ever resurfaced. I was living in South East London at this time with Andy Humphries so Stockwell was my local at the time. I used to go down there a lot and it was 1998 when it got that red surface facelift, this is way before that. This was shot during my early days of experimenting with photography, around the time one of my early shots of Pete Corry was published. I would have been sending these photos to the magazines and they were not getting picked because they just weren’t great photographs technically. But I was spending loads of time skating at Stockwell. It was slow at that point, the original surface was slow and wheels were hard. Matt McMullan and Reuben Goodyear just ruled that place. It almost felt like they would always push off together, they had a doubles snake run thing going on. They would always both ollie over that first hump and then peel off in different directions. They both had so much style, so much flow, and so much pop. I think of the two of them together really, they were always there sessioning.

“I’m really glad I captured this one, it was just forgotten in a drawer for many years alongside others that hadn’t been deemed as being good enough to be published”

This could have been any winter session down there really during the mid-nineties. Look at how high that ollie is, Matt used to just float over that hip. You can’t underestimate how hard that was either, that place is really fast now but back then you were pushing as hard as you possibly could to get round there and have enough speed to pop over that, let alone float like he is here. He [Matt McMullen] had so much skill, I remember him from the mid-eighties too when he used to skate South Bank all the time. This is back when people would ollie the little driveway, hit the bank to wall, and then come back around. He was in the mix at those sessions all the time and was always a super talented skateboarder. This photo has a weird colour cast on it because it’s when I was experimenting so the whole photographic thing was very much trial and error (before digital). This was shot on a transparency film, it looks like Kodak EPS which is a tungsten balanced film. It’s intended to be used indoors under really warm lighting so the colour goes neutral but because I’ve used it outside in the daylight everything has gone kind of blue. The scene at Stockwell was great at this time, everyone would hang out, skate, and then go to the pub at the end of the day. Two constants there were always Matt McMullan and Reuben Goodyear just killing it. I’m really glad I captured this one, it was just forgotten in a drawer for many years alongside others that hadn’t been deemed as being good enough to be published. I guess now there are more ways to show people pictures, and they don’t have to be technically perfect to be appreciated.

We would like to thank Richie for taking this trip through his archives and for getting all of the images ready. You can see more of what Richie is up to via his Instagrram or over at his Website. We would also like to thank Kevin Parrott for raiding his hard drives for the Mattias Nylen Southsea clip, and Gorm Ashurst for the sick photo of Richie doing a crail grind which opened this article.

Other related reading: Industry: Kevin Parrott , Mike Manzoori Interview , Ben Raemers Interview , First & Last: Lance Mountain , My Board: Mark “Fos” Foster

Previous 5000 Words Interviews: Ben Colen , Steve Van Doren , Rich West , Dominic Marley

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Welcome to our “First & Last” interview with Jack O’Grady. It was a pleasure to speak to Jack about his past and present, learn more about his formative years, and see what his current reality looks like. When Jack visited London for the first time shortly before Covid had us all bunkered down, stories about what he had done began reverberating around. He came to my hometown for a day, casually reeled off several things no one had even thought to step to, and then caught the train back to similar suburbs. Those whispers had us all wondering and then “Kitsch” came out and we got to see the impressive results of his work.

Jack is one of those rare skateboarders who changes the local lore of every place he visits. Lots of “what if?” spots littered around London were sat there waiting for someone to have a good day. When Jack is on a trip it seems like every day is a good one and he made sure he left no stone unturned. It was amazing to see the mark he made in a short time and every project he has been a part of since has been full of incomprehensible moments that have had us reaching for rewind.

Since Jack first came to London there have been many new developments in his daily operation. He spent nearly two years living in Los Angeles, returning home when the Sydney summer lined up with winter on the West Coast. He has since relocated to New York for a change of scenery. Unfortunately, a couple of injuries have slowed his momentum, and his most recent, a torn ACL is in the recovery stages. When we spoke Jack was in Echo Park in LA not on the East Coast, he had checked into a daily physio regime provided for Nike athletes to make sure his first few months of healing were as productive as possible, and overseen by professionals familiar with his past rehabilitation. Knowing Jack would be out of action for a while we reached out and he was enthusiastic about spending some downtime talking about his journey so far, one which is just gathering steam. Enjoy learning some more about the Passport powerhouse beginning in the Sydney suburbs of Caringbah.

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Jack O’Grady rolling incognito at home

First love before skateboarding?

I started skating when I was seven. I grew up in the suburbs in Sydney, all of the kids in the suburbs would come outside and we’d ride our little BMX bikes and Mountain Bikes. I would say my first love before skating would have been riding my bike around the streets by our house. We would go to each others houses, ride our bikes around, and go down to the tennis courts to make little dirt jumps with shovels. That was the funnest thing ever at the time. I thought growing up in the suburbs was awesome.

First proper skateboard?

My first board would have been a hand-me-down from my brother, a thrashed setup with two square ends and really tiny wheels. My first ever proper setup that I bought was a Bam Margera Element board. I bought pink trucks and pink wheels to go with it, and I think we ordered it from CCS. I was really into Bam [Margera] and wanted everything to be pink. They were really big, soft wheels too. I was hyped though, it was my first ever brand new skateboard.

First time you saw someone skate in real life?

It was actually how I started skating. I’m the youngest of four siblings and the brother above is seven years older than me. When I was seven years old he would always have his mates over at the house. I was the typical annoying little brother, following them around everywhere and trying to do whatever they were. One day they were all just skating down my driveway, that was the first time I had seen anyone skate. I was trying to do it along with them, skating down the driveway on my arse. Then they went inside and I just stayed outside and kept doing it.

First skate crew?

It was the same kids I mentioned from the surrounding streets, gradually other people started skating. So initially I was skating with a few of my neighbours, and I made friends with a kid who lived about five minutes away. Everyone was a little bit older than me but we would all skate together in the suburbs or Caringbah. We would all go up to this big BP petrol station, they were my first missions with the older lads. This is all before going to any skateparks, early streetskating. My cousin who is a year younger than me was skating and his step-dad skated too. They used to go to this indoor skatepark every Thursday night so I began going with them which is when I really got into it.

Age just isn’t an obstacle in skateboarding, I would meet people at the park, the people who worked there. It was when I was about twelve that I meet my good friend George Kousoulis at the indoor skatepark. My parents paid George for the day to take me out to skateparks for lessons and stuff. He would take me out, he was way older than me and had his own whole skate crew. I met him and slowly started skating with him and all of his friends when I was about fourteen. It’s a classic scenario, you’re always around the older heads. That was when I started travelling into the city and going to Waterloo skatepark. I met so many people there. Summer holidays in Sydney involved going to Waterloo every day and skating with the crew there. Suddenly there are all these people talking about crazy shit that’s so new to you.

First video you rinsed?

I would watch Fuel TV all the time because they had these skate video nights on Fridays. The first video I ever watched was Let’s Live which was an Australian Volcom video. I used to watch that a lot, it familiarised me with Shane Cross for the first time. I remember it blowing my mind because that was when I was going to the Waterloo skatepark in the city I mentioned. There were clips filmed there and it was the first time I thought “holy shit, I know that place!” That was the first video which blew me away.

First mag you remember seeing?

I remember the first magazine I went and bought from the local shops. We had a newsagents up the road and the first mag I bought was an Australian mag called The Skateboarders Journal. This is quite random but the Gonz [Mark Gonzales] had the front cover. It was a picture of him where he’s flipping the camera and doing a wallride at the Brooklyn Banks. It’s shot fisheye from the top, he’s in the grill and The Skateboarders Journal is in a pink font. That was the first skate mag I ever saw, the cover just looked really cool to me so I bought it. That was the first one and then through skating with my older mates I ended up seeing loads more, my friend George [Kousoulis] gave me heaps of magazines.

Mike O’Meally was there to snap Jack next to Nick Boserio on his first ever Nike SB trip

The first time I appeared in a mag was from my first ever Nike SB trip. I was with Nick Boserio and Alex Campbell and they were filming for this video Two Up which they made. I started getting shoes from Chris Middlebrook when he was the Nike TM for Australia. I think I was about fourteen at the time and they all came to Sydney: Brass [Nick Boserio], Alex Campbell, Josh Pall, and a few other people. Mike O’Meally was with them shooting the whole trip. I tagged along for five days but I was pretty shy at the time. I ollied this gap to lipslide and Mike O’Meally shot it. I didn’t really know who he was at the time. He was fucking with me and I was so young that I was being cheeky back to him. We shot the sequence and that was my first ever photo, it was either in Slam or The Skateboarders Journal. After that came out I saw a photo of Shane Cross nosegrinding El Toro with O’Meally’s name credited at the bottom. It blew me away that he was who I had shot that with.

This gap to lipslide sequence was Jack’s first ever mag appearance. PH: Mike O’ Meally

First person to take you under their wing?

I feel like there were so many but probably my close friend George [Kousoulis] who took me out skating when I was younger. He would pick me up and take me to the city. He was friends with my parents as well, they trusted him and felt safe letting him take me to the city. He introduced me to everyone, he lived near me so he’d pick me up on his way in to the city. He would film too and that’s how I became part of the first video I appeared in which was called Treat Yourself. I would say George for sure, and still to this day. He was one of the main people who helped get me on Passport, that was through him being friends with Trent [Evans]. He was vouching for me and still is to this day. George is an amazing skater, he’s made some great videos, and filmed some incredible stuff over the years. It’s not just me he’s helped either, he’s done that for so many people without even trying to.

First person you looked up to who set the standard?

When I was younger I was just skating, I definitely had the dream of doing that for a job one day though. As I got older I would definitely see Chima [Ferguson] around at Waterloo after having watched him in Let’s Live. I would say him because of the level of respect he had, what he’s done. Getting older and learning more about it made me realise. He’s from the same place as I am, he made that move to America back then. Skating has changed so much now but when I was growing up I thought to make it in skating you had to be in America. He was in that scene making it happen years ago. The level he achieved, how he holds himself, the humble person he is, I would say Chima for sure.

First ever coverage?

Definitely the Treat Yourself video I mentioned, I had a part in that. They made discs of that video and it came are with Slam magazine which is pretty sick. So there was that video and not long after that Nike SB made this Sydney video called Cumberland County. I didn’t have a part in that one but I had some tricks in there. When that video came out was when I first got on Passport and went on my first international trip. Being in that video felt like a big step for me.

Darling Harbour Bridge Banks play host to a noseblunt slide from an eleven year old Jack O’Grady

First spot you’d revive that’s done and dusted?

Straight away I’d go for Darling Harbour Bridge Banks. When I was first going into the city when I was young this spot existed at Darling Harbour, a section of Sydney city on the water. There were these three perfect long pyramid hip banks. They weren’t too high, the perfect size, and there were three in a row on a slight downhill. I grew up going to that spot and maybe a year or two after regularly visiting the city they were gone. They locked it all down and flattened it out, renovated the whole area. That spot was so sick, we would session it a lot when we were kids, it was the best. It was made from these smooth lacquered bricks and it would make the sickest sound. Shane Cross does a line there in that Let’s Live video I mentioned.

First sponsor?

My first proper sponsor was Ruckus Trucks and Pig Wheels, Ruckus came first. At the indoor skatepark I used to go to was a guy called Aha who was giving me trucks after a little park clip I put out there. The same distro who handled the trucks also sold Pig Wheels, Dekline shoes, Toy Machine, and Foundation. I started by getting a few sets of trucks, they were crazy, fluoro coloured but I was fucking juiced. Then I started getting some wheels, the occasional pair of Dekline shoes, and some Foundation boards here and there. It was sick, they were the first boxes to turn up at my house.

First place?

When I was younger I would enter competitions for sure, just the local ones. There was this small competition at Bondi skatepark. Everyone knows the Bondi Bowl-A-Rama event, this wasn’t that, it was at the little skatepark not the bowl. It was a pretty weird setup but they had this little competition there. I was thirteen at the time and my mum took me there, it was my first competition ever. There weren’t too many kids in the comp but I remember getting first place and receiving this big Spitfire sticker. So I came first in my first competition ever which is pretty funny. After that I was really juiced to enter competitions. Then I entered my second one and didn’t win. I set the bar too high for myself with that first one, haha.

First trip out of Australia?

I’m not sure if you have “Schoolies” in England? In Australia when you finish school everyone goes travelling to mark the occasion, everyone goes to Bali or somewhere like that after their exams and we call it “Schoolies”. I went to school in this beach town but it was full of jocks, so obviously I wanted to go away, but I hated going to school with all these jocks already, the last thing I wanted to do was be stuck on some island with them. When I just got on Passport was when everyone from school was going away to travel. Passport had been planning a skate trip to Athens. I remember the night I got on, Trent [Evans] said to my mum “he’s coming to Athens with us”. My mum was stoked on the idea. It coincided with “Schoolies” but that’s what I chose to do instead.

“I hated going to school with all these jocks already, the last thing I wanted to do was be stuck on some island with them”

It was the best thing ever. It was my first Passport trip and also my first time out of the country going skating, my first time in Europe. It was my first trip out of the country with all the older guys and everyone was giving me so much shit. Athens was insane, everything was completely different to me, the food was amazing, and obviously the skate spots were sick. It was crazy place to visit, such a good time.

First cover?

I had a Slam magazine cover. There’s this spot in Melbourne with a bank out the front of this building. The number of the building is on top of the bank, three big metal numerals and the last one is a seven. That means you can gap out of the bank, bonk the flat top of the seven and land back into the other small bank. I did a backside 5-0 on it and my good friend Isaac Matz from New Zealand shot the photo. I went back to Sydney from Melbourne after that and went to Waterloo skatepark one day. Trent [Evans], JP [Josh Pall], Juan [Onekawa], and [Cameron] Sparkes were there and surprised me with it. They surprised me with it on an iPad though which was weird. The mag hadn’t gone to print or they didn’t have their hands on a copy but they surprised me with it fullscreen on the iPad. It’s weird with stuff like that, you kind of recognise the photo but with the font of the magazine included it’s so confusing at first. I couldn’t believe it when I figured it out.

“I couldn’t believe it when I figured it out…”

Jack doing the math for his first cover. Backside 5-0 from bank to bank in Melbourne. PH: Isaac Matz

First pro board?

There were two boards made at once. There was actually a graphic which never saw the light of day for a few reasons. It had a reference that no-one thought was bad in any way. Trent [Evans] made these two graphics and then one skateshop contacted him to say maybe one of them wasn’t a good idea for certain reasons. So one graphic that had already been sent out had to be recalled from every shop. Those got washed out and screened back over with a new graphic which is quite crazy, one graphic never made it.

The one that replaced it is because my nickname is “Squish”. When I was younger and used to skate Waterloo I was really chubby so people used to say “giving me some of that squish” and squish my fat cheeks. It stuck and people still call me that today. The graphic referencing that is a face getting squished in a vice and the head almost exploding. The other graphic is because of my car, I have a four-wheel-drive in Australia, a Toyota Hilux, and the gear stick in there has an 8-ball shifter on top of it. They got the exact same model gear stick with an 8-ball on top and shot that for the second graphic.

The board that never made it to production had a graphic of a boot squishing a cockroach. It was a skateshop in Germany who called that out as having nazi connotations. That is obviously not what Trent was doing at all but the distro out there told us that’s what people would think it was referring to. So we knew we had to get rid of that graphic, that’s the one that never came out.

First trick that comes to mind as a vivid memory?

One which comes to mind as an experience in my brain is a 50-50 I did at Martin Place on this kinked rail that almost has a death drop on one side. I tried it on three or four separate sessions times but the only way to really do it is to fully commit to it by leaning on the scary side. I didn’t make myself lean on that side until the one I actually did. That was an experience, every time I went there I didn’t want to lean on the scary side. I convinced myself that if I do nothing will happen and I’ll be fine. Skating is all inside your head, it’s obviously physical as well, but your mind is the most powerful muscle in your body. If you can trick your mind into letting you do something scary that’s half the battle. That’s how it goes for me.

Jack leans on the scary side at Martin Place for Thomas Robinson’s lens

First time LA felt like home?

I don’t know, never. I’m here right now and it definitely doesn’t feel like home, it won’t ever. I’m moving to New York but I’m not going to live in America forever. I have the opportunity to try it now though, and I’ve dreamed about it my whole life so I’m going to do it. When I’m in Sydney I’ll be annoyed when people I know ask me when I’m going back home. Sydney is my home and the only place that has ever felt like home is home. Being far away from where you’re from really makes you appreciate home even more. Sometimes it takes going to other corners of the world to realise that where you’re from is actually the best. I think when you grow up somewhere you take it for granted. I thought growing up where I did, taking those trips into the city, and going skating like that was just normal. But for someone growing up skating in LA that would be a completely different experience.

First place on your to-visit-list on your next trip to London?

When I go back to London I’d have to just go to Peckham Rye and kick it there. When I first went there Matlok [Bennet-Jones] was living out in New Cross, that’s the first place I stayed. Then I stayed with Will Miles and Kyron Davis out in Peckham. So then every time I visited after that involved staying south in Peckham, I like kicking it there, chilling in the burbs.

Heelflip levitation over the wall at Stockwell. Jack’s first trip to London in 2019. PH: Thomas Robinson

First Australian export/creation you’d direct someone towards who has no idea about the culture?

The first movie that comes to mind is Two Hands which is a Heath Ledger movie, that represents scenes around the city but the storyline doesn’t really have anything to do with Australian life. I’m not sure what could communicate what life is like in Sydney. People have crazy ideas about what it’s like, it’s happened a couple of times in America where people have asked me if there are kangaroos everywhere. One good movie that represents Oz is The Castle, not even the storyline of the thing it’s just an old, funny, suburban movie.

“I’m happy to have gone through that, to have felt different and been weird…it’s dope to be an outcast, it feels powerful”

Generations before me had a harder time as skateboarders, they were definitely rebelling against the norms. Skating is cool in today’s world. I’m hyped I grew up where and when I did because I still heavily felt that sense of being an outcast. It was a very jock-heavy, suburban bubble. Everyone plays Rugby League there, I played that when I was younger too. I went to an all-boys school and I was the skater kid. I’m happy to have gone through that, to have felt different and been weird. For kids growing up today skating has been completely normalised, it’s mainstream. It’s been like that in America for a long time but in Australia it’s a new development, it’s cool now. I remember on Fridays for school sports day you could wear whatever shoes you wanted with your uniform. I would be wearing high-top Nike Blazers and people would be asking me what the hell I was wearing. I knew they were the sickest shit ever and they had no idea. It was sick to feel like that, it’s dope to be an outcast, it feels powerful.

Three Thrasher covers from 2000-2003. Shot by Michael Burnett, Sam Coady and James Griffiths respectively

Last piece of good advice you received?

I feel like I’ve been getting heaps of good advice from people recently, I even had some good advice from a fortune cookie last night. Maybe this isn’t advice but I was talking to my best mate Raphcoup the other week. We were talking about growing up, skating, and the life we’re living now. I have a dream of having a farm one day when I’m an old head. I was imagining it and we were talking about how sick it will be, that he can come and visit. The bottom line of the story is that he was talking about how you live your life now, then when you’re an old head you just sit around and talk about all the shit you’ve done. The realisation is that at the moment we’re doing all that shit, building all this material so that when we’re old heads we can just sit around and talk about it. I had never thought about it like that. I feel like when you’re a skater you’re always stressing about getting older or losing time. I was thinking I can’t wait until I’m an old head reminiscing about the shit I did. It got me juiced to become old eventually.

Last place you visited that’s top of the list for for future trips?

I’ve had a real urge to go back to Japan recently, I’d like to go back to Tokyo just on a holiday. I went there about ten months ago. I reckon Japan is the best. I’ve been there on skate trips but I’d really like to take a holiday and just walk around, eat food, and do nothing. My friends went there recently, I watch Lost in Translation again the other night, and it’s made me really want to go back. That’s my favourite destination I think because it’s so different to anywhere else. It’s so fun just walking around, getting food, and exploring, it feels like a game. There’s so much going on everywhere, it’s this crazy other world, and it just feels awesome. My friends just got back from Costa Rica and told me stories of seeing toucans and sloths. I’ve never been but I’d also love to go there and see some sloths. I’d really like to see Dubai as well, I feel like that would be a crazy experience, to go and see some sand dunes, that would be insane. They are two more dream destinations.

“The realisation is that at the moment we’re doing all that shit, building all this material so that when we’re old heads we can just sit around and talk about it”

Last time you scared yourself?

I don’t know, all the time. I don’t even mean that as far skating, I haven’t skated in a minute because I’ve been hurt. I think the human brain can be really funny, and interesting. At the moment I’m going through an injury so I feel like my brain is growing. I definitely scared myself the other week because being in different head spaces can be funny. For four days in a row I was the most positive I have ever been in my whole life. Then there was a random switch up and for four days I was more negative than I’ve ever been. That scared me because I was wondering what the fuck was going on. I feel like the human brain is so crazy, one day I’ll wake up thinking something and the next it will be the total opposite.

Ollie into a wild one outside Brockley station. South London exploration captured by Henry Kingsford

Last trick you battled for?

I was battling for the trick I hurt myself doing but the trick won that battle.

Last injury?

Last year I fractured the patella on my right knee and I was out with that injury for six to ten months. Then I was almost one hundred percent by the time I went on my first trip back. I felt fit at skateparks, I felt good on my board but I was yet to film something. On the second day of the trip I got really excited and tried this trick. I was getting close and almost battling in my brain whether to fully commit. That’s what it is most of the time, you need to have tunnel vision and be confident in yourself. I was trying to 50-50 this ledge, drop down onto a rail, and then pop into this bank. It was a flat rail though so if you don’t pop out at the start, you keep grinding and you’re faced with a bigger drop to deal with. So I was grinding the rail but I was so locked in it was impossible to jump left or right. I got stuck on it and ended up jumping into the bank when it was higher than I anticipated. I hurt my other knee which sucks but that’s what happens, your body compensates. I’ve been learning so much about that recently. I’ll be back soon, not for that trick though

Last trick you learned?

I’m trying to think because I’ve been injured for ages at this point. Coming back from the last injury involved learning all the tricks I could already do all over again. So the most recent ones have been revisiting old ones.

Last visit to Bromley?

It was possibly the day when I did the 50-50 on that slide. Actually a couple of years ago we were skating in London and we were checking out this Instagram page ran by some scooter account. I’m petty sure the spot we saw was in Bromley, it looked like this really good square ten-stair rail. This account has all the pins so you message them and they send it to you. I went out there on the train with Sam Sutton and Will Miles at the end of the day to check it out. It ended up being the biggest catfish ever, the people who run those pages just want people to hit them up but then the spots are rubbish. The rail itself was amazing but the spot wasn’t. That was my last visit but the time before that we had a whole day there, it was the first time I met Tom Knox who is a legend. That trip to Bromley was cool though, we went to the skatepark, that slide spot was next to it. I saw a hubba on the way to the skatepark which we skated on the way back. There was a roll-on grind that went down heaps of stairs too, I ended up sessioning that withTom [Knox] while people skated something else. Bromley is dope.

Just two of the clips filmed in Bromley on the same day on a day trip with Will Miles

Last album you listened to the whole way through?

Probably Eternal Dust, they are a Sydney band that aren’t really a band any more. They are our friends, The band was a couple and one other friend but then the couple split up. They aren’t going to make music again but I like what they made. I would have listened to an album of theirs called Spiritual Healers, Defense Lawyers.

Last good film you watched?

I watched American Psycho for the first time the other day and I also watched the remake of Beetlejuice. I’m in LA right now and all of the people you can think of linked to the movies are located here. There’s a theatre here called The Vista, it’s owned by Quentin Tarantino and sometimes he plays his films there. I went there the other night to watch Pulp Fiction with my friend. It was just dope to watch a Quentin Tarantino film at his cinema, it was an awesome, touristy moment for me.

Last thing you acquired that has improved your life?

Probably some whey protein powder for the smoothies I make. Either that or some curl products for my hair, some random small shit. I have this pomade hair gel that’s a hack for curly hair. I got that recently and I reckon that’s helped my life a bit.

Last hardware tweak that made a difference?

For ages I would only run six bolts, I think I just lost hardware and ran with that for a while. I would then grip boards and only make three holes front and back. I think when I eventually replaced those two bolts it helped me a bit. I also skated Spitfire Formula Fours all the time, and opted for bigger sizes but more recently I switched to 52mm Classics and they felt good. I used to skate the conical shaped wheels forever, I liked how they looked big and square. Now I’ve gone back to that rounded, classic shape. It’s nice looking at something different sometimes, change is healthy.

Last random encounter that made your day?

Hahaha, I’ve got a real good one which happened the day before yesterday. I was with my mate Kevin. We were going to meet our mates for dinner, and then going to watch Beetlejuice. I was in Highland Park at an intersection. The light was green and I was waiting to turn left. There was a bus in the way but there wasn’t a green arrow so I had to wait for the green walk man to show. No-one was in sight so I went to go but at the last second these people popped up behind the bus so I hesitated and stopped in my tracks. It was Chris Roberts! I was stopped there but he was motioning for me to go so I drove off. I was cracking up with my mate “holy fuck I just almost ran over Chris Roberts!” hahaha. That’s some classic LA shit, you drive around and see all kinds of people. I was cracking up though imagining him talking about me nearly running him over on the Nine Club, it was pretty funny.

“holy f*ck I just almost ran over Chris Roberts!”

Last person you watched skate in the flesh who blew you away?

Probably Matthieu [Lucas D’Souza] who skates for Passport. He’s from NZ but he lived in Melbourne. I had never been on a trip with him but I went on one recently. He’s so nice to watch in person, one of those people who I feel translates better when you watch them in real life. His footage is sick but when you see it go down in real life it really hits the spot. Watching him manhandle some shit with ease was awesome, it was a blessing for sure.

Last board graphic you were super stoked on?

Passport did a recent series made of collages made up of photos the camera roll on our phones,. Lots of random photos. I put this photo of my dad on the board and he was really hyped. I was hyped that he was hyped, it got me really juiced. He was loving it, telling all his mates and stuff. He was really funny, he told me one of them said they’d have to bring the board around for two signatures because he’s pro too. I love that one because my dad and all of my friends are on it.

Last video to hit the world wide web you had to rewatch?

The Croons Theatre II video, Croons Theatre is my friend’s local company from Sydney. Support your local! That one is from the bros in Sydney. My good friend Gary [Almeida] made it and is ripping in it with Ben Hennessy. I like watching all sorts of stuff but sick footage from your hometown, I don’t think anything gets me more juiced than that. It’s sick to see some epic, raw, Sydney skating.

Last Nike SB shoe you stockpiled?

The latest one from Nike SB I’ve been stockpiling is that Dancer Blazer Low, that’s such an awesome shoe. That Blazer Low GT has changed a bit over the years but they’ve brought back a little bit of the older one, it’s the classic shape, simple look, less is more. Comfort and look-wise you can’t really beat it. I’ve also been stockpiling a regular Nike shoe called the Air Monarch. It’s a dad shoe I suppose you would describe it as. I get them in all black or in black and white and they are like a puffy cloud, that’s what I like to wear when I’m not skating. It’s like having a little cloud on your foot. People sometimes make fun of me for wearing a dad shoe but I think they’re steezy.

Last fond memory of Keegan Walker?

The first one that comes to my mind is the first time I properly ever met Keegan [Walker]. He started a company called Hoddle but when I first met him I thought it was called Hoodle, the same way you would pronounce poodle. From that moment onwards he would always call me “Hoodle C#nt” and we all still say that to this day. So saying his company name wrong to him, and him thinking that was real funny will always be a good memory.

More Sydney City action. Jack Lipslides into St. James Station. PH: Thomas Robinson

Last thing that made you trip on the global influence of skateboarding on culture at large?

One thing that’s annoying is that people who don’t skate are even dressing like skaters these days. That’s the new thing. You’ll be in your hometown and see someone with certain clothes on and think they look familiar. It’s like they’re dressed up in your friends clothes. That would happen to me a lot in Sydney, I’d be driving and think someone looked familiar but it’s just what they’re wearing. I feel like everyone looks like that in Sydney now, they’re all wearing the same shit. It’s funny, and interesting to see that.

“They may be inspired to build these parks with the Olympics in mind but that park might inspire some raw-as kid to start skating who could become the rawest ever”

One positive thing is that Sydney struggled so hard to get any skateparks built. When I was growing up there was only really one. Now people are trying to get them built all over and slowly it has changed. People talk shit about skating being in the Olympics but there are positives, they’re building lots of new skateparks in Sydney and I feel like that will have a big impact on the future. They may be inspired to build these parks with the Olympics in mind but that park might inspire some raw-as kid to start skating who could become the rawest ever.

Last thing skateboarding brought to the table you think the world needs more of these days?

Beef, there is nothing better to watch than people beefing. When Austyn Gillette and Elijah Berle were going off at each other on Instagram. It began with Austyn saying something about Elijah in an interview on the Nine Club, then Elijah got back and there was this ongoing beef. They were saying the meanest shit about each other and going in on each other’s careers. I think the skate world needs more beef because it’s just amusing, it’s so funny. I’m not saying it’s good to go out there and talk shit but back in the day people would have mad beef and it is what it was. I think the skate world is getting too nice. I’m not starting beef with anyone but it would be way funnier if mad people had beef with each other.

Jack’s first zine “Piccolo” was released last year and there is a new one in the works

Last art project?

I just started working on a new zine/book. I had never made a zine before until my last injury. I challenged myself and made this little book called Piccolo. It was made up of photos I had shot and drawn over the top of, it had a bit of a scrap book vibe to it. That was a great challenge and I learned something new. I’ve had this Pink Digi Cam for about eight months before it broke on me and I started making this new booklet from the pictures. I recently found this Mark Gonzales book made up from photos he had shot on a camera phone, these pixelated photos looked so awesome and it inspired me to do the same. It’s a good little project to keep me busy. I’m hoping to bring it to life soon

Last words?

You’ve got to look at the positives when you think there are none. When you think it’s the worst case scenario it’s never actually that bad.

We want to thank Jack for spending some of his downtime speaking to us for this interview. Be sure to follow him on Instagram as well as Passport for updates. We recommend watching Jack’s Pass-Port part, his part in Kitsch, and 7Ball, then cap it off with his Squish part.

We want to thank Thomas Robinson, Henry Kingsford, and Mike O’Meally for sending us photos to use for this one and also Trent Evans at Passport for other assets and support.

Shop with us for Passport hardware and clothing and Nike SB shoes.

Previous First & Last interviews: Sirus F Gahan , Andrew Brophy , Nick Boserio , Jarrad Carlin , Colin Kennedy , Henry Sanchez , Mike York , Amanda Perez , Mark Gonzales , Lance Mountain , Brian Anderson , Danny Brady , Wade DesArmo

The post First & Last: Jack O’Grady appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Our series of “Visuals” interviews continues following a conversation with Tyler Bledsoe. We caught up with Tyler on a Monday morning in Portland to find out more about some early skateboarding inspiration, and where he is at right now…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Tyler Bledsoe at Thunderbird Tattoo in Portland

Tyler Bledsoe has been quietly killing it for years. Alien Workshop’s Mind Field video put him on everyone’s radar, and his brand of perfectly executed, easy-on-the-eyes, masterful tech, and thoughtful video part construction definitely set the bar for a generation following. His body of work is tellingly timeless. Take in his perhaps lesser-watched, Transworld Hallelujah section which directly followed his breakout part for Alien and you will see that his take on what a video part should consist of, and early contributions to skateboarding are still resonating today. Tyler continues to transmit clips of the highest quality filmed on the streets of Portland.

His new fascination with creating tattoos has become an all-encompassing endeavour of late but has also stoked the fire for skateboarding when he’s not honing his craft with a needle. It seems he has found something as challenging and rewarding as grafting for tricks, a new obsession which can harmoniously coexist with the other. HUF recently tuned into Tyler’s creative efforts and incorporated his flash work into a clothing capsule, an organic crossover between two worlds that keep him motivated on a daily basis. This prompted us to connect and dip into some things which have inspired his journey, visuals that made an impact on his young mind, and some which are regularly beneath his feet today.

Skateboarding made its way into Tyler’s life very early, it was interesting finding out about some of the videos which made an impression on him. Learn why Josh Kalis’ part in Transworld’s The Sixth Sense video hit hard for him, notably a trick at the Brooklyn Banks. Equally influential for him was Mark Appleyard’s part in the seminal Flip Sorry video. When it came to a photograph Jeremy Wray’s historic water tower ollie shot by Daniel Harold Sturt is the one Tyler was most awed by. Discover why that iconic Thrasher cover seared its way into his grey matter some years later, and why Jeremy Wray was a very early influence. Finally, find out why a Jake Johnson Quasi board from four years ago is one he had to have more of made, a visual he likes to look down on that remains a constant in his skateboarding life. This article closes out by exploring Tyler’s current reality in the tattoo shop, what his life looks like right now, and his plans for the future.

Mark Appleyard – Flip Skateboards Sorry (2002)

I originally picked Josh Kalis’ part in the The Sixth Sense video but you told me it had already been picked once before. I based my choices off of videos that I was obsessed with growing up. The videos I would watch every single day, multiple times. So those two videos were my first two real obsessions. Sixth Sense was earlier obviously, it came out in 1998 but I remember waiting for that Flip video [Sorry] to come out for years. They kept on teasing it and then it finally came out. It was gnarly, it It was right when [Mark] Appleyard blew up. At that point I had never really seen people skate with their arms down, I couldn’t work out how it was even possible that he was skating like that, he made everything look so easy. I remember trying to skate like that, trying to keep my arms down, and trying to emulate him. When I was skating I would hear that Placebo song playing in my head, it was a total obsession. I feel like there were a lot of people at that time on the same tip, everyone was obsessed with Appleyard.

I remember seeing the video for the first time, they premiered it at the skatepark. Cal’s Pharmacy used to have an indoor park here in Portland called The Department of Skateboarding. They would premiere all the latest videos there. I saw Yeah Right, Sorry, and the Firm video [Can’t Stop] there, it was that era. I remember being at the premiere for Sorry, and it felt really raw, it was heavy duty. I don’t want to say it wasn’t polished, that’s not the right word, but I feel like it hit you a little harder than other videos from the time. There was so much anticipation too, everyone had been waiting for it for so long. Another thing about that video is that the soundtrack is so good. That era shaped my taste in music, my playlist is largely made up of songs that were used in skate videos.

“It holds that nostalgic feeling for me so it’s still very enjoyable to watch, it connects me with a younger version of myself”

Mark Appleyard really came out of nowhere. Another part I was entertaining was PJ Ladd’s Wonderful Horrible Life but Appleyard was the first one to have that effect on me. I was obsessed, it was different, he was flipping into tricks on rails, and it was all so casual. I love the nollie flip 50-50 at Clipper, his ender, it’s so nice. I’ve never seen that trick done any other time where it was that enjoyable to watch, the throw down itself is good enough. The kickflip frontside crooked grind down the rail is another one, something that was maybe a happy accident. There were definitely tricks in here I was trying to copy, I was trying to do nollie heelflip noseslides, and trying to nollie into rails but it really wasn’t what I was good at. I learned as time went on that I don’t do that type of skating but I definitely tried to copy some stuff and skate like that in my head. I watched this part again recently and it really does still hold up. It holds that nostalgic feeling for me so it’s still very enjoyable to watch, it connects me with a younger version of myself.

The stuff I always go back to regularly is not necessarily a specific part but just [Tom] Penny footage in general. I do watch other stuff but if I ever go to full up anything it’s always Tom Penny. Thats the shit I’m watching always. That type of fun, casual, easy-going skating is what I strive for. His footage just always looks so fun and natural. I always thought that’s the best way to skate. It makes you melt watching it, he’s floating. To be able to skate like that would be a dream.

Josh Kalis – The Sixth Sense (1998)

I just wanted to pick something from Josh’s part in The Sixth Sense and I landed on this. That whole part is the epitome of nostalgia for me, the gear, the shoes, the boards, swishy pants. That’s right when I was becoming obsessed with skating, when I made the decision that it was all that I wanted to do. [Josh] Kalis was so fucking stylish, he looked so good, and I was drawn to that style of skating. The part came out in 1998 so I was eight years old, and that was right at the moment when I wanted to do nothing else but skate. It was great to have such good videos like this when I was starting out because they helped set me on the right trajectory.

I love this switch backside heelflip, his landing and everything. His gear alone is good enough, there’s something about that big DC shirt, the Lynx, the baggy jeans. It just hits me. He is a gangster looking dude on a board. He had all the flip tricks dialled, he is a full skate rat, Kalis loves skating so it all makes sense. He did some other amazing stuff over that wall, the half cab heel he did was crazy. I missed the boat a little bit as far as skating at that spot but I have cruised through there and skated a little, no crazy sessions though. Those banks, and especially skating over the wall is so much gnarlier when you see it in person. It always looks much smaller in footage, it’s gnarly what went down there. It’s such a cool, iconic looking spot.

“I love this switch backside heelflip, his landing and everything. His gear alone is good enough…”

I love this period, the gear and everything. It was a time when Josh also was becoming really popular and it seemed like he was really honing into his own thing. All of the Philly footage will always have it’s own nostalgic feeling, it defined a time and it was so raw. It helps having Stevie [Williams] in there too, early Stevie footage is always a gem. It was definitely a trip getting on Alien Workshop having grown up being so influenced by videos like this. I remember the day I got a call from the team manager. I was in Junior High and I remember getting out of school and having a message on my phone from the Alien Workshop TM saying he wanted to do something with me and I was fucking tripping, I lost my shit a little bit. I don’t really know how that came about, maybe he had seen me skate at Tampa or something like that. It just kind of happened, I snuck my way on there.

There was a period of time where I was getting stuff from DC as well so I got to go on a few trips with those guys, it was right around the time the Workshop thing started to come to light. I got to see Josh skate and witness some of the magic firsthand. It was a bit like being around a celebrity though, I was probably a little starstruck but I was just so young, and they were the dudes. There were trips with [Brian] Wenning and [Josh] Kalis and it was during such a pinnacle era, very intimidating, but amazing to see. By the time I was filming for a Transworld part I feel like the videos had changed so much that it almost didn’t seem as connected but there was that heritage there. At that time filming a Transworld part had become almost a staple of being a professional skateboarder. It was an important project to put your all into. I was straight out of filming for Mind Field at that point, I remember wanting a break, I wanted to chill for a bit because I felt quite burnt out. Then Transworld hit me up a few weeks after the Alien video came out and asked if I wanted to work on a part. I couldn’t say no to the opportunity so I jumped right into it which probably made it a bit easier because I was already in the rhythm.

Jeremy Wray. Ollie. PH: Daniel Harold Sturt (1997)

This is something I really started to appreciate later on. I feel like [Daniel Harold] Sturt photos maybe go over your head a little when you’re so young, and this came out right when I had just started skating. This hit me later on when I was looking at all of his photos. That trick is so baffling, I have no idea what would make you try that. This is one that I look at and get a weird feeling in my stomach, I feel nervous just looking at it which is pretty awesome in itself. Sturt photos have a majestic feeling to them that translates, like a movie. I would have seen the footage of this in the Plan B Industry section in 411VM. Man, to throw down and push at that thing, and has faith that you’re going to clear it, it scares me just thinking about it. He had to run and jump the gap too, that’s even gnarlier, there’s no way, but if anyone is gonna make it across a big gap it’s going to be him.

Jeremy Wray was honestly my first favourite skateboarder. I was getting Element boards at the time and I feel like the company was at a really good stage in its evolution. Everything Jeremy Wray did was just so cool, something about it touched my soul a little bit. I watched that Element World Tour video from 2000 so much, it has Natas [Kaupas] in it, Kenny Hughes, Donny Barley. I remember Donny Barley and Jeremy Wray being the two dudes who I was obsessed with, I loved those guys so much. I remember getting assignments at school where we would have to write a story and using their names, writing the assignments about them, just fully obsessed. Other kids at school were like “who the fuck is Donny Barley?”, they had no idea.

“I love how jacked this ollie photo is, you almost can’t really tell what’s going on in a way. He’s just in the air like an eagle”

I remember watching Jeremy Wray skate for the first time in person and tripping on his kickflips. He would set up for them with his foot in almost heelflip position. I just couldn’t see how that was even possible, he’s the only dude to do them like that. Later on I watched his older parts like the one in Secondhand Smoke and understood more about why people loved him so much. I don’t think I’ve ever skated a roof gap myself, I don’t like heights so never got up there. I love how jacked this ollie photo is, you almost can’t really tell what’s going on in a way. He’s just in the air like an eagle. I love the chaos of this photo. It’s one of the best covers of all time

QUASI SKATEBOARDS – Jake Johnson DECK (2020)

I started skating this board and just loved the way that it looks in footage. That’s probably something that goes back to the Kalis Workshop era when they were making all those neon dipped EXP boards. So it’s somewhat of a nostalgic thing. Also I’m not even religious but something about Jesus stuff, I love it and I don’t know why. I’m in no way religious but I’m drawn to it, maybe it’s something to do with tattoo history in a way, it ties into that. There’s something about the colour and the graphic they did which spoke to me. I have skated quite a few and still have a little stack of them that I’ve been saving. I’ve skated that thing for a long time now, I had Quasi make some more for me because I loved it so much, the one I skate is an an “8.125 version. I love the way it looks in footage.and everyone loves Jake [Johnson], he’s a mystical human, one of a kind for sure.

“There’s something about the colour and the graphic they did which spoke to me…I still have a little stack of them that I’ve been saving”

It’s weird that I would like that dipped board because I wasn’t really into them when I was growing up. For some reason I don’t have an issue with them. I like looking down on them so much now. Looking back at board graphics I really liked growing up I always go back to the Alien Workshop Photosynthesis era boards, all of the Don Pendleton shit from that era has a feeling for me for sure. I was really into all of the later Element boards for Jeremy [Way] and all those guys, I was really into those too, the really simple ones. The basic graphics, the Egyptian stuff, I really liked those ones. I think the Workshop boards were the best ones though.

As far as my own boards I feel like every new board Quasi does for me becomes my new favourite. They’ve been doing all the weird, trippy, mushroom graphics for me which I’ve been super into. Mushrooms are so hot right now, hahaha. Quasi do such a good job integrating and interpreting what I like that I’m always stoked on my new stuff. Looking back on old graphics of mine, I probably trip out the most on the [Andy] Warhol ones that Workshop did. I have those on the wall and it’s a trip that I was able to get one of those. They did a few different Warhol board series, that was a pretty cool thing to be a part of.

The Quasi Jake Johnson board in question plays host to a perfect kickflip backside nosebluntslide

What’s new in your world? Are you hunkering down for winter?

Yep, getting ready for the gloomy season. I’m trying to really learn to be an artist, to live the life of being able to do that and support myself. I’ve been learning how to navigate that world. It’s so similar to skating, I couldn’t have found anything closer to it so I’m super thankful. It’s definitely challenging, and stressful, just like skating so it keeps me on my toes. I’m super stoked I was able to find something I love just as much as skateboarding because I feel like that doesn’t usually happen.

Drawing all the time, do you feel that tangible progression like when you first started to skate?

Yeah it’s so similar to learning that first kickflip or something. I remember trying to do that first one for over a year, learning the kickflip technique. There’s getting the strength to do it and muscle memory combined. Drawing and tattooing is the same exact process. Your progress is so gradual that you don’t notice it until one day something just happens. Suddenly it’s just way easier than it was before and you finally notice your progression, there it is. That sparks you a little more, and then you go deeper and deeper. It’s really just about dedicating time. I don’t know how to draw at all, I’m so bad at drawing but I can render things and put the time into making something my own. I can figure out how to do it and find the easiest way for me. It’s cool to be able to find my own way in it, just like skateboarding.

Did you enjoy translating your flash work to clothing for the HUF capsule that launched recently?

Yeah that was cool. I had been wanting to do something like that for a while. I have so many paintings, and designs just laying there in piles. It’s nice to do something with those and see it all come to light. Those guys did a great job with everything and I was stoked with what they did.

Bledsoe for HUF – Tyler’s collection for HUF Worldwide

Following on from the Jake Johnson board, ave you had the opportunity to tattoo any Jesus pieces?

That’s actually one I haven’t really done. People tend to be a little bit wary of anything religious. It’s definitely a certain type of person who will go for that. Usually it is a person who isn’t even religious who will get that but with crosses, and Jesus stuff, people are wary of it. It’s a little bit of a bold move I guess but this religious signs are so powerful and simple, they make such perfect tattoos. All of us tattooers love that shit whether we’re religious or not because it looks so fucking cool, there’s a weight to that symbolism.

How is life in the tattoo shop?

It’s good. Business is up and down, there are waves when it’s super busy, and then some downtime. I’ve been learning how to dal with that and do other things outside of tattooing. Leaning more about being an artist, learning more about painting. It’s blossoming, I’ve been learning how to market myself. All of these things I didn’t have to do before that are kind of similar to skating so it’s been interesting trying to learn how to do all of that. I’m just on my own, I don’t have companies promoting me with tattooing so that is all on me, promoting myself and doing all of the shit that goes along with that. It’s definitely a hustle.

Have you been managing to skate a lot in between?

Yeah I have been trying, it goes really well with skating, I’ll just say that. I can spend half the day tattooing and then go skating later on, or skate all morning and go to work afterwards. Hanging out in the tattoo shop is like being in a skate shop almost. Every one there skated at some point. I’m constantly around it even if I’m not out skating. It’s super cool to have that, I feel like I’m always surrounded by it.

Do you have any specific projects you’re working towards?

Not really, skating is pretty casual for me these days. I just want to continue having fun with it and not stress over it at all. I’m not jumping off stuff and killing myself for it right now. Tattooing is definitely becoming this thing which is taking over my life the same way skating did when I was younger. It’s weird though, they kind of feed off each other a little bit. People who follow my skating will see that I’m tattooing and come to get tattoos which is a cool little dynamic.

Some original Tyler Bledsoe flash work from 2024 waiting for you at Thunderbird Tattoo

Where will the imminent cold weather deliver you to?

I’ll probably try to go down south and do a little road trip. I want to go to LA and do some skating, maybe tattoo somewhere for a few days. I’m a real homebody, I love being home and it doesn’t bother me if I’m not going on trips. It will be good for me to branch out of my comfort zone and do some stuff outside of the rainy weather, you can definitely get a little stuck here. You can spend two weeks indoors without seeing the sun in winter which can get a little weird.

When you look back through your video parts which one do you think of most fondly or feel best represents your skateboarding and why?

I think the Mind Field part means a lot, I love the editing. Being a part of that video was a really profound moment in my life. I’m super proud of that one because I sort of had to fight to get in there, it wasn’t guaranteed that I was going to be in it. I had to prove myself to get in there and have a part so I’m proud to have been able to pull that off. I do honestly thing though that the Transworld era was my best skating. I was straight out of filming for Mind Field and into that part so I was warmed up already. I think that was when I was the most tuned up, and feeling the best on my board.

Is there anything you’re excited about you want to talk about before we close?

Nothing too crazy, just staying busy tattooing and skating.

We would like to thank Tyler for his time and care with this interview. Be sure to follow him on Instagram to see more of his tattoo work and for regular skateboarding updates. We would also like to thank Neil Macdonald ( Science Vs. Life ) for the Thrasher cover scan. Check out Tyler’s Jenkem Interview for more insights on his life in Oregon.

Be sure to shop with us for Quasi Skateboards and of course for Tyler’s capsule for HUF Worldwide and more.

Previous Visuals Interviews: Daniel Wheatley , Braden Hoban , Jaime Owens , Charlie Munro , Lev Tanju , Jack Curtin , Ted Barrow , Dave Mackey , Jack Brooks , Korahn Gayle , Will Miles , Kevin Marks , Joe Gavin , Chewy Cannon

The post Visuals: Tyler Bledsoe appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Susie Crome is one of the co-founders of The Ben Raemers Foundation, we spoke to her for some reflections about the busy year this important charity has had. The good work the foundation is doing continues to grow and evolve. This look at the year in review, in Susie’s own words, takes stock of their successes and points towards another productive year ahead. We encourage you to glance back at what has been achieved and to explore the valuable resources they have produced…

WWW.THEBENRAEMERSFOUNDATION.COM

Our first priority this year was to further develop our website. This was the initial thing we knew we needed to do in order to get the charity rolling this year, we wanted to make it more of a resource for people. We wanted it to be easily accessible, and somewhere we could showcase the work we are doing. Getting this right was a big project, our aim was to make it as easy as possible for anyone who needs help to be able to access it. There are links on there to an external website that keeps up to date about exactly where mental health support is available. We wanted to make it obvious for anyone needing help to find it. We also knew off the bat that we wanted to have a gallery of Ben, so there are loads of photos of him alongside all the skate videos he appeared in.

We also wanted it to encourage and support anyone who wanted to get involved. We want to assist anyone looking to get involved with activities in their local community because no-one knows their own community better than they do. All of the fundraising events that go on inspire and motivate others to do something themselves, something relevant to assist what’s happening locally. We wanted to make that simple so we have included a fundraising guide on the site. Lots of different people have done fundraising, runs, or events in the local community this year. Faruso [Faris Hassen] and Lucy Raemers ran the Hackney Half Marathon for instance. All of the films we have made are archived and appear prominntly on there as well. They are really helpful resources and that been so well received so it’s a good way for people to browse through those. That’s another great way of demonstrating our work.

We continued to offer counselling because we were able to carry over some of the funds from the previous year. That meant the counselling pilot project could carry on. We received funding from Vans to roll that out, it was an important one for us. We reviewed how that was run so we could learn from what had already been provided in order to improve how we offer access to counselling for people who need it. We now have four intakes of counselling every four months which allows ten people to have six free counselling sessions with a professional.

“All of the films we have made are archived…They are really helpful resources that have been so well received so it’s a good way for people to browse through those”

We received a new round of funding from Converse this year as well which was to support our Feeling Scene videos. The idea of those videos is to shine a light on local skate scenes in different places across the country. We have released one already and there’s another one in the editing stages. We hold events which in turn allow us to create a nice film exploring the scene surrounding them. There are plans in place for more of them to take place next year. We have been holding jams in the different places, and it really opens it up for younger people to get involved. We’ve received incredible support from different brands and the professionals who represent them. They have been super wholesome days that involve the whole community. When we held one in Cardiff we also ran training on the day too which worked out really well.

There is another Feeling Scene film which should come out before the end of this year which focuses on the scene in Leeds. We worked closely with Welcome Skate Shop on that one which really opened the doors for us and got everyone from the community engaged. We had a raffle supported by all of the brands, it even closed out with everyone playing a football match. We are big fans of those gatherings, we have had so much positive feedback about them being more inclusive than a competition format. People win prizes but it’s a real mix of all ages and abilities skating together. We’re grateful to everyone who has been a part of them so far and we’re looking forward to keeping them going. We also continued our Checking In film series with Korahn Gayle, another angle which will include the wider community.

Ben’s Coffee Corner, home base for the foundation at this year’s CPH Open in Athens

Events have been an integral part of our itinerary from the beginning. One huge one for us this year was CPH Open which took place in Athens, this was a really big moment for us because it’s such a prominent event in the calendar. We were heavily supported by Converse and Nike SB who wanted us to be front and centre of the whole event. We had our own programmed event which ran alongside it and took place in Ben’s Coffee Corner and it was encouraging to see that the brands, and organisers involved recognised the value of our work. It was amazing even though the event was a literal wash out because of the weather. Color Skate Shop played an essential role in that one too, they printed limited edition T-Shirts for us specifically for the event which everyone wanted and they looked amazing. It’s so nice to have that international community coming together for the greater good. That’s a big event as an example but other things that seem smaller, that aren’t these big international events, are vital too. We love to see local activities happening and it’s amazing to see some of them maintained like the Coping Festival in Manchester, it’s important to us that they want to continue doing it. Seeing the work showcased in all of these different environments means we are reaching a widening audience.

We even did the Chelsea Flower Show this year. thanks to our friends at Planet Good Earth. That is obviously a bit off-piste at first glance as far as its relevance. It wasn’t what people would expect but the idea was to show the wider world the power of the skateboarding community. It showed how people could be connected by the physical environment they coexist in.

It was really fun, and obviously great seeing [Danny] Brady with Deborah Meaden from Dragon’s Den on National Television. We were involved in the City Mill event at UCL. It was at a community skateboarding festival which also had an academic component. Lots of different academics involved in skateboarding got to discuss the work they were doing.

We teamed up with Vans for all of their Shop Riot events this year and we are going to be part of the finals too. Every shop who were mailed to take part in the contest also received an information pack about the foundation. This was to raise awareness of ourselves and the resources we offer, and to encourage them to take the Suicide First Aid training. Lots of them shared those resources and had them on display in their respective shops which is really nice. It’s great to have that there and we want to encourage as many people as possible to visit the website.

We held some Writing Towards Well-Being workshops the year before, the first ones were online. This year we rolled that out further and held them at Vladimir Film Festival and also at Leipzig. It was great to be able to offer those courses for people at the festival. Following those workshops we’ve made a zine with insights from different people who were involved. It’s nice to be able to make this ephemera to go alongside the work, it also exposes it to people who weren’t there. These will be going out to shops around the UK this week. They are another thing people can take something from which may be helpful to their own practice.

“Our Suicide Prevention training really cuts to the conversation, it informs you about exactly what you can do”

During the winter months we like to focus a lot more on the training side of things. More people are at home, it’s dark, and we want to make that training available to people because we can deliver that to them wherever they are. Our Suicide Prevention training really cuts to the conversation, it informs you about exactly what you can do. It’s three-and-a-half hours, not a whole day so people can take that time out from the comfort of their home and be equipped to help someone else afterwards. We also offer training in-person where we can. It’s reaching more people, we ran the training program with 35th and North out in Seattle for instance. We also ran some Suicide First Aid training out in Inverness for a Well-Being program the local university there instigated with the skateboarding community. The most recent company we have run training with is Passport out in Australia. Trent Evans who founded Passport back in 2009 had this to say about this valuable resource…

“Talking about suicide in any capacity can be challenging. Myself and the staff were beyond grateful to have Susie from The Ben Raemers Foundation run a suicide prevention training with us all. To openly and comfortably discuss all the various factors around this issue was incredibly powerful. Susie guided us all through the various techniques and tools to help assist anyone who may be in need. I personally look forward to working with The Ben Raemers Foundation further to help educate the greater community both in our hometowns and globally”

Susie Crome heading up a Suicide First Aid training course at the Grove DIY

Another thing we instigated around training was the 100 Learner Challenge. We wanted to get 100 people trained between World Suicide Prevention Day and World Mental Health Day. This wasn’t as successful as we would have liked. Over 150 people applied but people didn’t turn up and took up space that could have been filled by someone else. We’re going to have to reassess how we offer this next year as it’s not the most efficient way of delivering it. However, during that timespan we had one person get back to us who had received the training. On the same day as they were trained they used the skills they had learned, reached out to someone who was considering suicide, and ensured that there was safety in place for them. We managed to train 72 people in one month in the end so we may not have hit that 100 learner target on the first attempt, but that one piece of feedback proved just how valuable this training really is. If any skate shops, parks, crews, or teams want the training, wherever they may be in the world, we encourage them to contact us.

“On the same day as they were trained they used the skills they had learned, reached out to someone who was considering suicide, and ensured that there was safety in place for them”

We have continued to produce our own merch which has proven popular and helps to raise funds for the foundation. Nick [Sharratt] at Palomino has been helping with that. The more people wearing those T-Shirts the better, it keeps us in mind for anyone out there. We love seeing the stickers slapped up in as many places as possible, they have a QR code on the so hopefully that is another way to spark conversations.

Instagram has been such a helpful tool for us from the very beginning. We make sure we have a rotation of content on there: mental health advice, Suicide Prevention information, and legacy pictures and videos of Ben. We also like to highlight local support that’s available in different places. There are so many things available to people that they may not know about so it’s a good platform to spread that awareness.

The mental health advice on there aims to take the whole picture of a blanket term, it’s a holistic approach to it. We realise that certain things don’t work for everyone so having as much information on there addressing many factors that can have an adverse affect on our mental health is important. It’s about putting that stuff out there so it can become part of the conversation. That’s why we have featured some of our social media posts on the website because those infographics can be resources by themselves. That’s why we include things like sleep, and healthy eating. We try to take as much of an evidence-based approach as possible. We receive a lot of feedback saying that our resources or the information we have put out there has made a different to their lives so it’s really encouraging.

Having adverts in the magazines is such a gift. We now have access to these spaces that have historically been reserved for the latest products. Now we have a back page in the magazines with an advert on how to prevent suicide. That’s just fucking amazing isn’t it? It’s such a powerful thing. We have been offered pages by Vague, The Skateboarder’s Companion, Grey, and Free. Having access to their reach is incredible. We have a great relationship with Thrasher too. They have a yearly Death Match event and for the last two years all of the proceeds from their ticket sales go to the Foundation which is a heavy donation. They have been really supportive. Lots of brands have supported us with products for all of the events we run. Keen Distribution, Palace, Shiner Distribution, Slugger. Then there are all of the UK shops we continue to work with. We are grateful for all of the ongoing support we receive.

Another project that we are looking forward to seeing comes from the good people at Skate PTG over in Poland. They are creating this book called Hey, How Are You? it focuses on six Polish skaters and their struggles with mental health. They are crowdfunding the money to be able to print the book and then all of the proceeds from sales will go to the foundation. It’s such an amazing thing to do, and we are so happy to see the message reaching so much further afield in such a constructive way.

THE YEAR AHEAD

At the beginning of this year we onboarded some new trustees, and by doing that we were able to set a new strategic plan built around working collaboratively with a larger group of people beyond the original four of us. More people means more ideas, and people bringing in what they think might be needed from a different perspective. We have someone in place who is an accountant, someone who set up and runs a skateboarding charity already, Rob who used to work for Converse Cons and has experience of working in the corporate skateboarding world, Chris Jones, and someone who is a professional fundraiser. Having people with experience in all of those different areas has helped us, and will continue to help us tackle a three year plan we have in place

We are excited about next year already and there are a lot of things in the pipeline. We have two new SMiLe films which are currently being edited which we are hoping to launch in February. We would have liked to release some this year but they take a long time to bring to fruition in the best way. We have this real drive to get everything done but are conscious of the fact that we are working with other people’s timelines. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to get things together but we can’t wait for people to see the latest films, they will be a great way to start the year. We are also excited that it promises to be the first time one of our films is premiered outside of the UK. We’re grateful to everyone who has been a part of what we have organised so far and we’re looking forward to keeping everything rolling.

Please visit The Ben Raemers Foundation website for links to everything discussed and follow their Instagram for regular updates. You are also able to make donations and buy merchandise.. The photos of Ben that appear above were shot by Alex Irvine and Jaime Owens respectively.Thanks to Tom Critchley for the photo of Susie Crome training the local crew at the Grove DIY

Related Reading: Checking In With Casper Brooker , Lucy Raemers Interview , Ben Raemers Interview

The post Raemers Foundation Reflections appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Elijah Berle is the latest legend to take stock of some of the media that has earned an important place in his story for our “Offerings” series. See what skate video, album, book, and documentary he chose for us then check in to learn more about his current reality at the tail end of one of his most productive years to date…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Elijah Berle putting in the work PH: Anthony Acosta

It feels like only yesterday that we published an interview with Elijah Berle but it was over five years ago, a conversation that coincided with his first pro shoe for Vans. Knowing that he had a new colourway in the works, and having heard whispers of him putting the work in for a part to accompany we lined up another chat many months ago so we could put something out there to coincide with what he had been grafting for. We had no idea at the time that this would be published on the cusp of not one but two video parts hitting our screens in as many weeks. We’re pleased that Elijah found some time to entertain a call amidst the premieres, and we agreed on an “Offerings” interview being a nice distraction. Our conversation took place while he was on the long road back to LA having premiered the video in San Francisco the night before.

Elijah’s eclectic selection pointed us in many different directions, beginning with a video that was on regular rotation when he was starting out, steady inspiration for the full-blown skate rat he had become. The video he plucked from the pile that still delivers was Tent City, Rick Charnoski and Buddy Nichols’ documentary take on the Anti Hero squad camping on a road trip from Brisbane to Melbourne. This video captures everyone ripping, and everything in between, a powerful slice of life also echoed by his book choice. As an avid surfer himself Elijah decided to recommend William Finnegan’s memoir Barbarian Days, a Pulitzer Prize-winning adventure story that follows the author on his quest for more challenging waves. It was nice to hear Elijah’s appreciation for this escape and learn more about his own personal practice.

The last two picks hail from different musical traditions. Elijah chose to speak about Metallica’s second studio album Ride The Lightning, a record that was part of the pile the same way Tent City was, a soundtrack to his life with multiple applications. It was interesting to hear about the role it played, and incredible to find out ahead of time that his new part would pair him with one of his favourite bands. The last recommendation was the compelling Heartworn Highways documentary which captures different musicians who were part of a more underground country music movement. This raw peak behind the curtain is full of emotion, captures a more innocent time, and presents a different America.

The interview closes by speaking about a hot moment from his Rodeo Technology part, Austyn Gillete’s cameo, his new Vans colourway, his history running waffle soles, his latest part, his partnership with Cody Green, premieres, and what projects could be cued up to follow. Explore the significance behind Elijah’s selection and check in to discover more about the killer parts he has recently gifted us…

Anti Hero – Tent City (2004)

What was going on with you when this came out?

When this came out I was definitely just an eat breathe, sleep, full skate rat. I was obsessed with skating, I would stay up all night watching skate videos then go to the skate park and just skate all day.

What about this video resonated with you?

It was such a cool era. I loved all of the film footage mixd in there, that’s something that really stood out for me at that time. It didn’t look like any other video I had seen at that point. They just looked like they were on a mission, it was so cool to watch because it showed everything, not just the tricks but the whole process. The missions they took, where they were sleeping. It made you feel like you were on the trip just by watching the video.

Was this one of the videos you would watch on repeat?

Yeah for sure, I had a little collection of skate videos and this was one of them. So I would cycle through those but this one was definitely on the top of that stack. It was one of my favourites growing up and it still is.

Did this plant the seed of venturing further afield?

I didn’t think back then that me being able to do something like that was even possible. I didn’t even process the idea of me going on a full blown skate trip. But it definitely made me to want to go to the skate park even more.

Was there anyone in there in particular who inspired you?

You know what, [Tony] Trujillo really stood out for me but it was the whole squad honestly. At that age I wasn’t really processing people’s names I was just soaking in the skating and the whole video in general.

What tricks stood out?

Tony Trujillo does a slob plant on a bar which I always thought was pretty sick. I love Steve Bailey’s frontside ollies. Then there’s the Pizzey park section where they are all ripping.

“it was amazing to see a video where everyone is so diverse”

Was there anything you went away and learned because of watching this?

It made me realise that there was a different way to skate transition, an approach I hadn’t originally recognised. It showed me all of these different opportunities, ways to skate transition and street. They were skating transition in a way I hadn’t seen before, without pads, it showed me you can skate transition in a way that I think looks the best.

If you’re looking at anyone to show you how to do that the best it would be that whole squad.

Yeah, and I feel like all of those guys are so different too so it was amazing to see a video where everyone is so diverse, it checked all of the boxes.

There’s some prime John Cardiel footage in there.

Of course, there’s some sick Cardiel street action too. That noseblunt slide on the bank stands out for me and he has a great quote before that too. He does a front rock slide off a quarter pipe into a bank, I always really loved that clip. I always enjoyed how the footage edited to music faded in and out of them narrating everything. It was unique way of presenting a video like that.

Rick Charnoski and Buddy Nichols were the guys for the job, they would have been as down to skate each place as everyone else.

I’m sure they did their fair share of ripping off camera as well as capturing it, they would have been working over time. Rick and Buddy are the sickest.

What’s your personal experience of Australia? Did you pilgrimage to anywhere featured in the video?

We did do an Australia trip and visited some of the parks but Pizzey was the one that stood out the most. We skated there and I remember that session really well. It has such an iconic bowl and it’s so far away obviously. When you finally get there, it’s kind of surreal, one of those seven wonders of the world moments for a skateboarder. It was cool to finally end up there years later and get a session. We got to see how crunchy it was and how it felt. It made me realise that all of the tricks those guys filmed there were super gnarly because it is no way as smooth as it looks on video. When you get in there and get a feel for it you find that out real quick.

I love the noseslide Cardiel does down the escalator there.

Yeah that was nuts dude, I know. You don’t see many people hit that hip really, it’s this untouched thing, it’s super steep and really sketchy. The only other person I can picture skating it is Raven Tershy, he did a big frontside air over it years later on Grant Taylor’s SOTY trip. Two rad skaters, same hip.

You’ve handled some KOTR action Do you think you could you hack a road trip on this level?

If I got invited on a camping trip across Australia with all my friends I would be more than hyped to go. I would love to camp and skate all of those parks.

Barbarian Days: a surfing life – William Finnegan (2015)

What made you choose this book?

I like surfing a lot and this book is the account of someone who spent their whole life as an avid surfer. It takes you through all of the different stages of his life and what surfing was like for him at each point. There are multiple sections and they’re all very relatable. As a skateboarder there are parallels, the way he would be constantly chasing waves, and travelling, spending the majority of his time trying to find the next session. It’s similar to skating, you’re always on the go, always looking to find something new to skate because you can’t just skate the same thing every day. It’s the same as being a surfer, you can’t surf the same waves or it gets boring. This guy was on a total mission to find all of the best waves in the world. I really enjoyed this book, it spoke to me. I found it inspiring, and it made me want to travel more and explore.

Does William Finnegan nail describing the philosophy of something you’re just as passionate about?

He’s telling his life story so it’s very detailed and intimate, you feel like you’re in the room with the guy listening to his story. He recalls all of the finer details about everything that he experienced. He describes all of the places that he surfed in enough detail that you can picture them, places that I have never surfed that I would love to one day. He really broke it all down. My favourite chapter is actually when he moves to San Francisco for a while. He explains what it was like being a surfer in San Francisco, it was a heavy experience that wasn’t for the faint of heart. The water is cold, the waves are big, the water was rough, it was a gnarly place to be a surfer.

Where did he go to surf there?

At Sunset there’s a stretch of beach where the waves get pretty good. In the winter time they get big and gnarly. It’s definitely a place that people come to who are in search of a big wave and an opportunity to push themselves.

“My favourite chapter is actually when he moves to San Francisco for a while…it was a heavy experience that wasn’t for the faint of heart”

Does his account echo the same kind obsession skateboarders have?

For sure, he explains in the book about waking up when it’s still dark out, paddling out and getting swept miles down the beach. He describes being totally smoked by these monstrous waves. He describes multiple instances where he was in a genuinely sketchy position but is quite nonchalant about his survival. He casually tells the tale of waking up in the morning to go surfing but without directly saying it he communicates that he was putting his life on the line. He talks about going out to surf and his hands would be almost frozen shut afterwards, he’d have to get people to open his car door for him because his hands were too cold. It’s cool to read about how super dedicated and gnarly he was.

The book describes a different time too, does he paint a good picture of the world he came up in?

He was a kid growing up in the 50s and 60s so they were different times in many ways. It wasn’t always the easiest world to navigate. He talks about his various moves around America and to other countries. It sounds like the period of time he spent in Hawaii was a nice time in his life.

Have you been finding time to surf?

Sadly I’ve only been out a few times this year. I’ve been really busy with skating and doing a lot of trips so I haven’t had as much time as I would like to. I definitely plan on finding some more time to surf because it’s really good for me, I miss it for sure.

Do you find it delivers the same mental reward for you as skating?

I feel like the two things are totally separate for me. It does do that for me in a way, they supply two different versions of the same feeling. One is more calm, slowed down, and relaxed. That would be surfing, then skating is higher intensity and you don’t have to be as patient, you’re moving much more. Surfing has a lot more moments in between riding waves, you’re sitting there way more than actually surfing. You have more time to process what you’re doing, you’re out there thinking about random shit, and it gives you the time to do that. When I’m skating I’m definitely not doing that, it’s the opposite.

Would you like to follow the waves and do some surf travel like the author?

I would absolutely love to. Sadly, these days I think it is a lot more crowded and expensive than the world he described. It’s a lot harder to do what he did. I don’t know if I could do it to that extent either, he really was living and breathing it. I would love to take a trip somewhere just to surf some good waves though, it’s a dream for sure.

It must feel good to have something like that you can always continue to do.

Yeah I think it’s something I will eventually lean on heavily when I can no longer do exactly what I want to do on a skateboard. It’s nice to know that I will have that when that time comes.

Ride the Lightning – Metallica (1984)

Was it hard to settle on a specific album for this?

It was so hard to pick one, I grew up with so many, the same as with skate videos. There are so many in the roster and you cycle through them. I got a record player when I was thirteen and got a few records. Ride The Lightning was one of them and there was just something about that one record. I would just sit in my room and listen to it over and over again. I would listen to it with the lights off, I would go to sleep listening to straight Metallica. It was calming though, there’s something soothing about it. Every song goes into the next. I could listen to it like that, just chilling, but it’s also the album I would choose to motivate me to try a trick. It applies to different situations.

That very last song [The Call of Ktulu] is quite a meditative one.

Yeah that song is intense, I really like that one. They’re all insane, Fade to Black though has got to be the most epic song of all time.

So this album is one you listen to, and think of in it’s entirety?

Yeah I still listen to this back to back, no skipping. I wouldn’t necessarily ever want to play just one song, if I put on one song I’m probably going to want to play the whole thing.

This album was also your first exposure to the band?

Yeah that was it for sure, my first Metallica album. I didn’t even get any of their other albums for a while either. I just had my little stash of records. This was before Spotify or Pandora or any of that stuff and I didn’t have an iPod. I would run through my ten or twelve records and Ride The Lightning was one of them.

“I would go to sleep listening to straight Metallica. It was calming though, there’s something soothing about it”

Do you have any songs earmarked for a future part?

Well, funnily enough we just used a Metallica song for my new Vans part. It’s not from this album though. We got really lucky and were able to use a song off their first album Kill’ Em All for the new part. That was a dream come true, bucket list moment for sure. Vans worked out a trade with the band, in exchange for some footage they needed they were able to agree on an affordable price to licence the track. Songs that epic can often be out of budget for skate videos but the stars aligned on this one.

Have you ever had the chance to see Metallica play live?

I haven’t unfortunately. I would love to go and see them play. I think though that sometimes when your favourite music is from a different era, seeing a band play is a different experience from what your favourite album may be. That album came out so long ago so they have a lot of material they have to get through.

Heartworn Highways – James Szalapski (1976)

I happily rewatched this before this call, such a good documentary. How did you land on this one?

I feel like documentaries are a lot more interesting to talk about than movies. I’m a big fan of country music, especially from that era. I also think that being a musician during that era, and their style of being a musician was raw, staying on the road, travelling, experiencing new things, and making music on the road. It feels somewhat similar to what we do. We’re experiencing new places, and new things doing something we love to do, in places we have never done it before.

It’s like Tent City for outlaw country.

Kinda yeah, it is a little bit. I guess both of them have a similar angle, they don’t really know what their next move is but they’re just rolling.

What came first for you some of the musicians or the documentary?

For sure some of the musicians. Then one day I was talking with one of my friends about music and I mentioned Townes Van Zandt. He straight away started talking about how sick the section with him in the Heartworn Highways movie was. I had to ask him what it was and he couldn’t believe I had never seen it. He said that if I liked his music and stuff like it, that I had to see the documentary. He then let me borrow the DVD and I was so stoked when I went home and watched it. The whole thing is so underground and you would never really hear about it but it’s super cool.

The Townes Van Zandt part is incredible.

Yeah man, that’s my favourite section, it stands out the most. They’re just fucking around and hanging out, cracking jokes and shit, and then the mood just shifts. The way he could change the room around like that just with his song is pretty unbelievable. They’re sitting there having a normal conversation, the next thing you know this song is being played, and tears are being shed, it’s intense.

So you were a Townes Van Zandt fan already.

Yeah I like his music a lot, and quite a few different artists from the same era who played the same gene of music.

“They’re sitting there having a normal conversation, the next thing you know this song is being played, and tears are being shed, it’s intense”

The documentary is a great American time capsule.

Yeah, it was filmed in a time when America looked a whole lot different, a time capsule is the perfect way to describe it.

Who did it help you discover that you weren’t aware of before?

There are a few people in it that I hadn’t heard of. I like the opening scene with Larry Jon Wilson, the guy with the super low voice. It’s shot in a recording studio, I really like that song and I have it saved on a playlist. That scene is really cool because you get to see just how talented these guys are. They’re nonchalantly making this music and it seems like it’s so easy for them. The way he is playing the guitar is unbelievable, then he breaks off when they’re changing the microphone or something and he just starts playing a little Lightning Hopkins riff. It’s so sick to see that raw talent. Guy Clarke is another guy in there who I hadn’t really heard who is sick.

Do you find time to play guitar?

I go in waves, I wouldn’t say I’m a guitar player but I like to try and play the guitar I guess. Sometimes I won’t pick it up for months and at other times I’ll play it every day. I usually end up playing it a lot when I’m hurt because it’s a good way to pass time and stay a little bit creative.

What music were you surrounded by growing up?

I would have been bouncing back and forth between punk rock, [Black] Sabbath, Metallica. I would listen to Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. There was a fairly wide variety of things I would listen to but there was a lot of country, a lot of punk, and rock and roll. I actually saw a good concert once when I was in London. We were at a Street League contest and Curren Caples asked me if I wanted to go and see The Rolling Stones. I didn’t think that would be a possibility but they were playing next door in two hours and he said he could buy tickets. So we left the contest, didn’t skate, and went to this concert. It ended up being one of the best concerts I have ever been to in my life, it was insane. We were in the standing area, and it was so spur of the moment which made it even sicker and more memorable.

We enjoyed your Rodeo Technology part. Does working for anything that’s in there stand out as being particularly memorable?

The ring of fire was pretty crazy. We had no idea what we were doing, hahaha. Somehow that apparatus got to FA, one day it was just sitting in the parking lot and I had to ask what it was. We began joking about lighting it on fire and skating through it, like the [John] Cardiel ring but more of a tunnel. I agreed that it would be insane but it was just something that we kind of joked about. Every time I went over there I’d take a look at it where it was sat out in the parking lot.

Towards the end of filming for this video part some of the guys over there started to get pretty excited about seeing if it was possible. They spent a decent amount of time researching the best way to light it up. What is the most flammable? What stays on fire the longest? So we lit it up, they did a bunch of tests with different materials. We thought we had it dialled so we got the thing all set up. We rigged it up and got the rail in there. We began with this kind of Kevlar wrap around the metal, then we sprayed that with brake fluid. So to begin with the smell of the brake fluid was super gnarly and the hoop is massive, it’s huge, you couldn’t reach the top, you needed a big ladder to get up there. We had to get this whole thing sprayed down, then to light it all at the same time was really hard too. At first some of it would be on fire while other parts weren’t.

“they’d light it up and it was all systems go. I’m at the end of the parking lot just pushing my hardest towards this wall of fire”

It just wasn’t what we thought it was going to be, it didn’t look that exciting. By this point we had gathered everyone there to do it and it was night time. We thought we had struck out at that point, we thought it wasn’t going to happen. Then [Jason] Dill became the motivator, he was like “we’re fucking doing this, we’re gonna figure it out, we’re here”. We were determined to find a way. It turned out that there were a bunch of T-Shirts which had been misprinted and needed to be destroyed. There were quite a few boxes of them so we started wrapping the thing with these shirts having soaked them with anything flammable. We were using lighter fluid, brake fluid, and just dousing these T-Shirts. So when we lit that up it really fucking took off but it was almost too gnarly. It only stayed lit for a certain amount of time so once it was on fire you just have to go for it.

It was an intense moment, they’d light it up and it was all systems go. I’m at the end of the parking lot just pushing my hardest towards this wall of fire. I was just hoping it all went smoothly, pushing, and making sure I popped out the other end. It all worked out, we got the shot but it was definitely a mission to make it happen.

Did you have that Gene Clark song in mind already?

Haha, I thought you meant while I was pushing towards the fire for a second. I didn’t have that one picked actually it was Benny [Maglinao]’s choice. We wanted to use something different to what I have used already in other parts. I have usually chosen the tracks I have skated to so when you want to use something different it becomes harder because it’s not on your radar. We had played around with a few options which were kind of cool but we were still looking. The release of the video was creeping up though so the pressure was on to find a song. We found that one just in the nick of time and I’m stoked on how it works with the part, Benny killed it and it all worked out.

How did the Austyn Gillette cameo come about?

We had essentially squashed the beef the next day after that whole saga. I gave him a call the next day and we talked it out. He apologised and I apologised, we squashed it directly afterwards. The world didn’t seem to think so though, the world wanted the beef to continue it seemed. All I was getting were questions about that, it was getting old, and I’m sure it was getting old for him too.

“We had essentially squashed the beef the next day after that whole saga…The world didn’t seem to think so though, the world wanted the beef to continue it seemed”

So when we had the opportunity to make this part, my friend Dylan [Christopher] who works for Thrasher had the idea. Dylan mentioned it to my friend Flech [Jonathan Flechas] who films for FA. He thought the idea was hilarious, told me, and I was stoked. I couldn’t think of a better way to tell people to fuck off. He’s in the part, we’re friends, are you happy? It was a good way to let everyone know that the beef has been squashed. I think it definitely surprised some people.

You’re wearing your new Vans Old Skool colourway in the part on that fakie 50-50.

Yeah, that shoe is about to come out. The Old Skool is one of my favourite shoes of all time. When I got the opportunity to have my own shoe it was initially quite hard to adapt to something new. I had been skating in Old Skools for years at that point so it took a second to get used to my own shoe at first. I got used to it though and then I would exclusively skate in that. When they stopped making it I leaned back on the Old Skools and it was a moment that felt like reconnecting with an old friend – I remember these days. It was a fairly simple transition.

Elijah’s new colourway of the Vans Old Skool, an overhaul of one of his favourite shoes of all time

How did you settle on the colourway?

I just wanted to pick some colours that I would actually wear on a daily basis. I wanted something simple but wasn’t in the line already. It was hard to navigate not making them too similar to something they’re making already. Blue was a safe bet as I don’t like wearing many coloured shoes, we just experimented until we found the right combination.

Your story with Vans is a very organic one in that you were buying their shoes anyway before they put you on. Do you remember the first pair Jamie Hart gave you?

I do remember, it was at a Damn Am contest in Costa Mesa and he brought them to me in his car. We had spoken on the phone but I had never met him. The contest was coming up and the shoes wouldn’t arrive in time so he said he’d drive out to meet me. That was a cool moment, I was psyched that they even wanted anything to do with me. It was a good feeling.

What shoes did he give you to start the ball rolling?

He gave me a pair of Era Pros, and I think they were black and blue. When I first got on I would skate that shoe a lot too. I jumped around a little bit because I was excited, it’s Vans, all the shoes are so sick so I wanted to wear all of them: Sk8-Hi’s, Old Skools, Era Pros, Half Cabs. I tried everything, I was just hyped to be skating in Vans.

Elijah goes the distance with this crooked grind in his new Old Skool colourway. PH: Anthony Acosta

Your Vans part to accompany the shoe will be out by the time this interview is published. How long were you grafting for that?

There are definitely a couple of tricks in Rodeo Technology which were filmed towards the end of last year but I think everything in this new Vans part is from this year. I knew I wanted to start working on a project so I started filming in January of this year. I was starting to get out there filming and skating a lot but then I broke my elbow in January. That meant I was out for a month and a half. I started skating again at the end of February. That was a little bit of a hiccup but ever since February we’ve been going for it non-stop, pedal to the metal.

Was it hard thinking about two projects?

I was seeing if I could even do it, I wasn’t speaking about it until I knew it was even going to be possible. I didn’t want to be claiming it and come up short. Once we realised we were going to have enough footage it was easier to start deciding what tricks went to which part and navigating it with Cody [Green] and Benny [Maglinao].

Michael Burnett called it your heaviest part to date. Is this one you’re proudest of?

I would say so for sure, skateboarding is all about progression and I still feel like I’m able to push my boundaries a little bit. I really wanted to do that this year, to make myself scared, and make myself uncomfortable. It’s good to put yourself out there and see what you can really do if you focus and try to make everything the best you can make it.

Is working with Cody Green the ideal scenario for you?

Oh yeah, he was on the scene right when I first started coming around. I’ve known him for my whole career. He is actually the one who got me on Vans. He had mentioned to Jamie [Hart] that they should check me out. I met Cody out at the Berrics one night and he seemed like a cool dude. We arranged to skate some time and we ended up going out night skating in downtown LA and filming a few things. I think I was wearing Osiris shoes still at the time so it’s the end of riding for Foundation. I found it impossible to find an Osiris shoe that wasn’t too bulky for me so I was skating this random pair of shoes. He saw that and thought he would see if he could hook me up, so it was Cody who saw if Vans would be down. He sent them some footage and I had a thing come out on Crailtap too which I filmed at the park. That was right when he sent them some footage.

“I’ve ridden for Vans for however many years old his son is, and he’s a teenager now so it’s been a while”

Then shortly before I got on Vans I got kicked off Osiris for skating is Vans that I had bought. I was over it at that point. I wasn’t making much money, it didn’t seem like it was going anywhere so I wanted to skate in some shoes that I liked. I would rather just buy Vans so when the Crailtap thing came out I was skating in Vans that I had bought. When Jamie [Hart] called me he said that he’d seen I was already wearing Vans anyway, and asked if he could give me some shoes. It’s been a long time now. Jamie’s first son is called Elijah, he had already picked the name before he even met me. I got on Vans right when he had his son so I’ve ridden for Vans for however many years old his son is, and he’s a teenager now so it’s been a while.

How have the premieres been? Your whole family were out in Silverlake and last night you had one in SF?

Silverlake was super fun, I love having my family there, and they love to be there. They get to see what I’ve been up to all year, and all the trips I’ve been on. They know how much work goes into one of these things so they get to see the finished product after a year of hard work. It was a good turn out last night too, it was cool because it was open to anybody to go so it was really fun. I’ve been up to SF a few times this year to film for the video so it was nice to be able to come back full circle and premiere what we did.

Elijah’s new “Berle For VANS” part filmed and edited by Cody Green

Is there a space for some downtime or are you on to another project?

I’m looking to try and dive into something straight away. I don’t like being stagnant, I like having a project to work towards and I love skating, and being on the road. I know Curren [Caples] is working on something. I would like to jump in on the tail end and see if I can scrounge something together for that. I would really like to film a San Francisco part. I was discussing that with some guys last night. I love skating up there and it’s a new canvas for me having filmed a lot of video parts in LA. I think it would be really fun to switch it up and make something from a different base for the next part.

Thanks for your time Elijah. Any last words?

I’m fucking happy to be here.

We’d like to thank Elijah for his time. Be sure to follow him on Instagram as well as VansSkate and Fucking Awesome. Check out our previous Elijah Berle interview from 2019.

Elijah’s new Vans Old Skool colourway will be available HERE from the 5th December. We’d also like to thank David Atkinson, Kevin Shealy, and Tin Tran for the help with this one. Thanks also to Anthony Acosta for the photos.

Previous “Offerings” Interviews: Silas Baxter-Neal , Matt Pritchard , Matlok Bennett-Jones , Spencer Hamilton , Aaron Herrington , Rowan Zorilla , Beatrice Domond , Chris Jones , Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long , Helena Long , Tom Karangelov , Bobby Puleo , Ray Barbee , Zach Riley , Ryan Lay , Casper Brooker

The post Offerings: Elijah Berle appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

We are excited to start our year off in the strongest way possible by publishing an “Offerings” interview with Gino Iannucci. It was a privilege to connect with someone who has long been an inspiration to all of us. Find out more about his selection and much more…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. self portrait of Gino Iannucci taken at home

Gino Iannucci’s impact on skateboarding hasn’t ceased reverberating since his early days on Black Label. His footage from different decades stands out as era-defining and if anyone deserves that favourite skateboarder’s favourite skateboarder crown it would be his body of work that has earned it. His video parts have punctuated our shared past and his style has made so many moments within them iconic examples of just how good skateboarding can look. His quality control and less-is-more approach to putting out footage makes what is out there all the more significant, especially at this time in history where we’re bombarded by clips every hour. All of this adds to the mystique of this enigmatic Long Islander and any time new evidence of him rolling surfaces it’s shared by our community much more than most. We had chalked up an interview happening as almost unfeasible so when Gino replied to say he was down for the idea we were blown away by this rare opportunity.

Our conversation found him out on the West Coast for the second time in as many weeks, catching him at the tail end of a busy schedule for ASICS. With little time to prepare we dived into the interview with Gino picking the things he wanted to speak about on the fly, as yet undecided on what recommendations he would settle on. It was great to hear some insights about things that have inspired him along the way including recent discoveries.

He begins with a skate video that was on regular rotation during his youth and featured a young John Lucero, someone who would play a pivotal role in his early days. His Mancunian music choice proves that it’s never too late to find new favourites, even decades after their original release. His film of choice again dips back to childhood, an early influence which has a 20 Shot Sequence tie in with lifelong friend Jason Dill. Finally, when choosing a book to conclude his recommendations the POETS Brand founder fittingly selected an anthology of poems by one of America’s realest writers whose musings on life took place with Los Angeles as a backdrop.

After wrapping up the “Offerings” discussion, we made sure to check in with Gino about his recent travels, what brought him to LA, the current role skateboarding plays in his life, ongoing and upcoming POETS projects, his extensive history in shoe design, his heritage, the Wu-Tang Clan, and more. We hope this interview spins you in many different directions and helps you find some new favourites thanks to the suggestions of one of the best to ever do it…

Team Schmitt Stix – Let’s Go Skate (1987)

This video released in 1987, what was going on with you at this time and why this video?

I brought this video in because it was special to me. It was one of the first videos that I owned and watched on a daily basis. It was at a time when I had started skating on a serious daily basis. There are a lot of good memories attached to it with my friends from where I grew up. It was one that a couple of the guys I skated with would all watch together. I had been skating before that video but this is when I was skating more frequently and becoming addicted to it.

So it’s one you got from the shop and was in your house or was it a shared situation?

That’s a good question. I was thinking about where I would have got it from and I don’t even know. I can’t remember if it was because a friend had it or if I bought it. I don’t really remember buying videos but they got passed around. I can’t remember how I got my hands on it. There would have been a few other videos out at that time that I would have watched but this one for some reason was the only one I actually had at my house. That’s why I ended up watching it so much, often with my friend Eric Rosetti. We really liked watching it, it was a very cool, laid back, day-in-the-life type of video.

It had Team Schmitt Stix waking up in the house, cracking jokes, having breakfast, then rolling outside and skating the mini ramp. It just all felt so amazing to have a little mini ramp in your backyard, and to be able to just wake up, stumble outside and start messing around. Then they cruise to the vert ramp down the way, they stop at a 7-Eleven and skate the parking lot. There was nothing in there crazy as far as tricks but it was a day-in-the-life of skateboarders and it just seemed cool. It was a fun video to watch.

Did this video make a difference to what you were doing or trying when you went skating?

I don’t think so because we skated street mostly. We did skate a lot of ramps in Long Island but I don’t think there was much in there pushing me to try anything on my skateboard, it was more keeping me enthusiastic about going out and skating, and having fun, period.

What was the mini ramp landscape in Long Island?

Let’s see now, there was always one ramp somewhere in Long Island that you heard about. We’d end up finding it, creeping up on the house with no idea of who owned the house or the ramp or what kid lived there. Then you’d hopefully see someone skating it, they’d see you, we’d say “hey, what’s up, nice ramp” and they’d say “hey, you want to come and skate it?” That was kind of the vibe. There were moments though where we had a steady ramp to skate at someone’s house. One could be two towns over, another could be a half an hour drive away, there was another at the one skate park we had when I was younger. So it was random but there was always at least one ramp up that we could go to. There were memorable houses too, we would spend so much time at these people’s houses skating their ramp, and so many kids would come through and skate them with us so it was cool.

“It just all felt so amazing to have a little mini ramp in your backyard, and to be able to just wake up, stumble outside and start messing around”

Was there a main car park you’d all go to?

Yeah of course man but the thing I took away from that bit where they’re at the 7-Eleven is that they went to get drinks, then pulled their boards out and just started skating whatever was there. It wasn’t even like their spot they’d go to skate. They just happened to be waiting for someone to go and get a Slurpee so they were doing some 43s and fucking around in the parking lot. That was just showing that basically wherever we go we’re sessioning wherever we’re at. That’s the way it was with us to, wherever we went we’d be so quick to take our boards out the car for whatever kerb was right there and just start fucking around because you felt like you always wanted to be on the board.

Are there any tricks in there that stand out as a particular moment?

Not really and that’s what’s funny about that video. There are some funny frontside layback 5-0 grinds on the half pipe and on the mini ramp that looked cool for back then. Very surfy vert tricks but I didn’t know how to do that kind of stuff. So it wasn’t about any of the tricks in particular because they were all really quite basic. They were basically doing their vert tricks on the mini ramp, rock and rolls, 5-0 grinds, smith grinds or inverts but on a mini. No offence to the guys but they weren’t doing anything that was too impressive on the mini ramp. It was just cool to see them waking up and just going outside and skating. No tricks come to mind just watching the boys wake up and session.

It’s cool that you had grown up watching John Lucero on the daily to getting on Black Label starting out.

Yeah it was because looking back, for me, a pro in a skate video, they were like celebrities to me, they were big time. Lucero had a funny part in the video too. He has a funny little line in the video where they’re eating breakfast, he blows his nose with his shirt and he looks around and keeps asking the guys for paper towels. It’s an infamous line that always stuck with me. So when I got to talk to him after connecting with him on Black Label we would bring that up and I’d laugh. He’d tell me stories about back in the day with other pros, funny stuff that has gone on. It was really nice to talk with him about that and cool to end up on Black Label after watching that video a ton of times.

Would you ever put this on and reminisce?

Nah, you know what, I guess maybe it’s because it’s the social media time right now. I just don’t watch videos any more. I haven’t watched a video in a long time, I’ll only watch clips. The last video that I watched was about a month and a half ago. I went to a screening of the Plan B video Virtual Reality, they showed it in Astoria, Queens. They had a Mike Ternasky installation in the Museum of the Moving Image. So they played the video, then they had Jake Rosenberg, Rick Howard, and Mike Ternasky’s daughter on stage for a Q&A after the video. So to see that on a movie theatre screen was pretty awesome, that’s the last time I watched a skate video. I haven’t even thought about watching the Schmitt Stix video for probably decades but it’s always stuck with me so when that question was asked to pick a video that was the first one to come to mind.

What other videos were part of the rotation back then?

There were a few from this time period that stand out. The Savannah Slamma contest was one of the first contests on video so we would watch that all the time. Then there was a video called Curb Dogs that actually came out even earlier, it was a skate jam in a parking lot, it was very punk, everyone dressed like that. They had a car in the parking lot and people were running up on the car and doing bonelesss off it. It was a random video about this skate jam and it was another one we ran a lot because we owned it.

The Very Best Of The STone Roses (2002)

What album did you end up choosing and why?

I didn’t even choose one to be honest, I’ve been so wrapped up with shit that I didn’t get down to thinking about an album. Let me think about one real quick. It’s a tough one because I’m not the most prolific music guy, I just like some shit, I like my stuff and I have some albums that I ran to death. They’re nothing special so I’m not sure I’d really be putting someone on to something.

This may sound ridiculous because I’m speaking to a British person but this is funny because The Stone Roses – I only just started listening to them. I have cousins in England, and I have one cousin who is a musician. I remember years ago that he would come and stay with us in Long Island, New York. He’d come and visit, and work with my father. My cousin is my age and he’s a drummer. This was around the time that Oasis got really big in the 90s. I remember that he would always mention The Stone Roses, if we were talking about Oasis he’d always throw The Stone Roses out there but I never properly absorbed that and checked them out.

Then for some reason, I don’t know how I got onto them but a few months ago I just got addicted to them. Being that someone like myself, as old as I am can still be that naive to The Stone Roses and where they stand in music I would recommend listening to them.

What album would you recommend?

I’d say listen to The Very Best of The Stone Roses album for sure.

Is there a specific song that caught your attention?

“She Bangs the Drums” probably but all of those songs are so good. That was on the first album which came out in the late 80s.

“They had their own way of looking at things, stayed true to themselves and were interesting characters who made good music together”

Are you still finding time to listen to music?

I still do sometimes, it’s mainly when I’m driving these days. Sometimes if I’m in the house and I’m watching the kids I’ll leave some music on, or some videos and let it run, some old hip hop or something. So yeah I do actually.

Who do you think turned you on to the most new music?

Nobody. For example there were so many times that The Stone Roses were mentioned to me but I was just so into my shit that I wouldn’t care to look into it, or I’d forget and just continue running what I liked. I have always just listened to the same stuff I always liked. At this stage in life too, I’m not really mingling with people who are talking about new music.

It’s quite funny to have come from a generation who bought our favourite albums on all formats. Maybe vinyl, recording vinyl to tape, CD replacing it all, maybe mini discs through to now paying a subscription to listen to shit we’ve owned multiple times. What format do you have fondest memories of?

CD’s really I suppose, it started with tapes, and there are many memories attached to tapes but they sucked, rewinding, fast forwarding to try and find a song took forever so CD’s I think.

What would you say about The Stone Roses to someone yet to check them out?

I would say have a listen and maybe investigate their history if you’re really interested. You’ll see that they were a movement in British music that influenced a lot of bands who went on to become really big in the UK and the rest of the world. They didn’t get as big as the bands they influenced. They had their own way of looking at things, stayed true to themselves and were interesting characters who made good music together. I like the way Ian Brown used to dress too, he looked like a skateboarder, it’s funny.

Rumble Fish – Francis Ford Coppola (1983)

Which film would you like to recommend?

Haha, let’s see now. I could go the easy route and name a favourite from when I was a kid or think about what has moved me as far as a movie over the last twenty years. I guess I’m going to keep it easy and just say Rumble Fish because If you’re not up on it you’re going to be psyched that you looked into it and gave it a watch. It’s a great movie.

What do you love about this one?

Visually it was a nice movie, it’s black and white, I like the way [Francis Ford] Coppola directed it. I like what it was about, a younger brother trying to be like his older brother but realising he never could be and chasing that. It was just cool, there were rough kids, gangs, it had all the things that made it interesting for a young kid to watch. Mickey Rourke was in it, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane. Just visually it was amazing, a lot of smoke, dark scenes, alleys. It’s meant to be set in Tulsa, Oklahoma which is where S.E. Hinton’s stories take place.

Do you remember seeing it for the first time?

I don’t really but I remember watching it on TV when it first came out, then ever since I was drawn to it. Then it’s funny, when we came out with the 20 Shot Sequence video for 101 Jason [Dill] used a scene from Rumble Fish for the beginning of his part. I remember thinking “Oh shit! Rumble Fish” and at that point I probably hadn’t watched it for a while. I just thought it was cool that it was one of his favourite movies too.

You mentioned social media dwindling your attention span for skate videos. Do you still find space to watch movies?

Yeah, me and my lady are always searching for movies to watch. Every night I’m searching for a movie, I’m searching for something I haven’t seen. It’s weird I’ve got to an age now, at one point it seemed easy to watch a movie that I already like, I could go back and watch certain movies over and over again. Then I got to a point, and it was recently, where I felt like I don’t want to see any movies that I used to watch or that I like. I just don’t have any interest in watching them anymore so I’m always trying to find something different, or new that I haven’t seen. I check a lot of movie apps, go to the independent category and try to find stuff I haven’t seen. Or I’ll know of an actor I’ve seen somewhere else that I like and search for other stuff they’re in, trying to find some new stuff. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.

“If you’re not up on it you’re going to be psyched that you looked into it and gave it a watch”

Is there ever time for the cinema nowadays?

Not any more man, not since having kids. I haven’t been to the movies for a long time. We’ve been to the movies once since having our kids two years ago and we used to go all the time, that was one of our things. I hope soon. I can’t wait for the kids to want to go, I’m sure they’ll love it.

You must have a long list of movies earmarked as potential Inspiration for POETS?

I think so, it seems to frequently come from a film, there’ll be something I pull from.

What’s your favourite movie reference that you’ve realised as a graphic so far?

I really liked a graphic that I did called ‘Fake it till you make it’. It was the dummy head from Escape from Alcatraz, one of the heads they made and left in the cell. We made a graphic with that and put ‘Fake it till you make it’ on there. It pertained to the world, that’s basically a common mentality it seems like. Faking it until you make it is something you see a lot these days. I thought it was cool, something funny and I love that movie so that’s one that stands out.

On a prison break related tip you made the Shawshank Redemption hammer too.

That hammer came about because I made these wooden board hangers and they were really classy. My friend who is a woodworker came up with the idea to make them. He did a bunch of board hangers which meant he had some extra wood lying around and he made this toy hammer. It was meant to be a child’s toy, he told me he could make me this hammer if I wanted and I thought it was so fucking dope. He made a bunch of them using the scrap wood from the board hangers and they were similar to the little hammer in Shawshank Redemption, that’s why we used the reference in an ad to push the “little hammer”, using the escape scene photo was a funny way of promoting it.

Back to your original choice, why should someone reading this watch Rumble Fish?

If they have any interest in seeing something new they’ve never seen before and because I said so, haha.

Pleasures of the Damned – Charles Bukowski (1951-1993)

What book would you recommend?

I haven’t read many books in my life so this one should be easy. I liked The Pleasures of the Damned which is a collection of Charles Bukowski’s poetry. Honestly I don’t really read books, I’ve tried and I can’t do it, I’m more of a movie guy. I know it sounds like I’m a dumbbell but whatever, I’m not going to fake the funk pulling out some book that I barely read. This one I actually did and I enjoyed it. I know that he has a following and that there’s a stigma attached to his name. You’re picking a poet, you pick Charles Bukowski, okay really? But I loved it, I love how he writes, I love how he thinks. It was the one book I kept reading and I couldn’t put it down, that’s why I chose this one.

Is it the kind of thing you would dip back into?

I think so, I went hard on it for a couple of books. I picked them up but haven’t picked one up for a while, I could see myself going back to it though. It’s interesting though because if you’re reading it on a daily basis, for me it felt like it was putting me in a mental position. I don’t want to say it puts you into a funk but into a funky way of thinking. It’s a way of thinking his writing that I can agree with but to walk around with that on your mind every day was interesting.

Do you think it was helpful to take on his outlook?

I don’t know if it was helpful, maybe. You hear things that you agree with therefore there’s validity to your thinking patterns or how you see things. It’s always nice to hear similar thoughts or stuff that makes sense to you personally. So I thought that was cool. Then there’s the drinking and all that stuff. I can relate to him saying that it’s easier to write when you’re drinking. I find that with music. I don’t drink any more and I find that I don’t enjoy listening to music as much because I don’t drink. Not that I always had to drink to listen to music but there’s a high to drinking and listening to a song and really feeling it. Sometimes I feel now that I’m missing that, there’s something that buzz does to you that gets you extra into what you’re listening to and amplifies it. That’s kind of a bummer to think I can’t feel that without booze.

“You hear things that you agree with therefore there’s validity to your thinking patterns or how you see things”

That booze though, it will make you go to places in your mind that aren’t the best place. It’s interesting that you can think you’re being as real as possible when you have a few in you but in my experience there’s a line that you cross to where it’s exaggerated. I think a lot of truth does come out though when you have a few in you. I think there’s that balance of drinking, and if you can control that and not go too far, you can get some real truth and feeling behind what you’re thinking, but too much and you get a little bit stupid.

He was trying to get all of that down on paper.

I don’t even know what I’m saying but I’m trying to figure it out while I’m talking.

Did you ever check out any of his novels?

I think I bought one but I never got into it.

Did you watch Barfly?

I did, I’ve seen that, Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway. I just watched a Faye Dunaway documentary on the airplane flight here actually, it was good.

So poetry as an art form connected with you?

Yeah, for someone who doesn’t really take to reading books. I find it hard to stay in them so reading poem after poem is a little bit easier, there’s a finish line right there, you can see where it ends. It’s hard for me to really absorb what I’m reading and remember it, and not get sidetracked. I guess that takes training or reading more often to do that. Maybe I have too much ADD or something, I don’t know.

Backside tailslide from the Asics Next Vibrant Screentest video filmed by Ritt Pontepsiripong

This interview finds you out in California. What brings you out there, are you enjoying being on that coast?

Yes I am, I’m in California with the ASICS team and we’ve been doing some skating. They’re working on a video with a couple of the guys and we’re working on some photos for a new campaign coming out in 2025. That’s kind of it, I am enjoying being out here though, it’s nice. I don’t come out to LA that much any more but I was also here last week for the Chocolate 30 Year Anniversary which was awesome. I came out here with my lady for that one and then I came back a week later for this.

When you first left Chocolate for FA it coincided with their 20-year anniversary and you have mentioned that wasn’t the easiest. It must have been nice getting to acknowledge the importance of that stint for their 30th anniversary just now.

It was nice, a lot different to the 20th. That didn’t feel like as much to me, not as special. That’s partly because I was just about to leave Chocolate but it felt different. 30 years is a lot more time, a lot more going on, a lot more getting older and things becoming even more nostalgic and heartfelt. It really was very special. I didn’t know if I was going to come but when I went to that Mike Ternasky instalment in Queens Rick Howard showed up. I didn’t know that he was going to be there but I saw him and we spoke for a bit, he told me all about what they had going on and I knew then that I couldn’t miss it.

The OG Chocolate Skateboards squad at the recent 30 Year Anniversary Show. PH: Jaime Owens

I’m glad I went, it was a little overwhelming because it was hard to absorb the whole installation and see everything and soak it all in. There were lots of quick conversations. The Deck Aid guys did a great job though and it was awesome to see everybody. It was cool standing in line to get in and having [Sean] Sheffey pull up behind us. He was with his son who I didn’t even recognise at first because he’s a grown man now. I was hyped to see everyone, I was bummed that Megan [Baltimore] wasn’t there though, I was looking forward to seeing her because I haven’t seen her in a while.

How is skateboarding factoring into your life right now?

I got a shoulder surgery back in July and I’ve been off my skateboard for six months. I have kids now, I’m running around doing a lot of shit, so the last thing I was thinking of was wanting to get back out in the streets during recovery. Just now though I came out here for ASICS and it coincided with the time where I’m just about able to start skating again under my doctor’s orders. I went out for the first time two days ago and it felt pretty good. Then yesterday I went out and I was trying to film a clip! I didn’t even expect to skate this trip, I thought I was gonna just come out and show up for some photos for some kind of lifestyle thing. But I was skating and I feel like there’s this bug in me. Now I’m thinking of coming back out to LA to try and film a clip because the weather is going to be bad in New York. So it’s just constant, it never ends. I could be off it for a while then when I touch it again then I feel like skating.

“That felt good, being part of that session…I was in the moment and I was enjoying it which reminds me of the old days, how it was”

What would be the ideal scenario personally for skating right now if everything feels right?

That’s a good question. For the longest time I think if I was skating I tended to go early in the morning, I’d get to the park when there weren’t as many people there and just do my thing. But then if you do that for long enough, that gets boring. You’re by yourself, you’re doing the tricks you can do consistently and not really pushing yourself. But then yesterday for instance. I was with the ASICS team, they were all at a spot then I started skating and just got into the groove of being in the mix skating. That felt good, being part of that session. I wasn’t just hanging out and watching them skate, I was in the moment and I was enjoying it which reminds me of the old days, how it was. It was good to be reminded that I have to put myself out there a bit more and just get in the mix.

How is sobriety factoring in to everything?

Sobriety can suck because sometimes I just want to fucking check out, I don’t want to be present all the time. But life has definitely been ten times better being sober.

Do you have new POETS projects lined up you’re excited about?

We just did that capsule with Danny Minnick and dropped that for this holiday. We’re working on something with Stance actually which will come out next year. I have never worked with them before so it’s going to be cool. I don’t want to mention anything else that’s been talked about in case it doesn’t happen.

What piece are you the most proud of seeing to completion or which one did you learn the most during the process?

I think it’s a jacket that I did. I made a jacket called The Tinker, a blue herringbone jacket with a P on the armband. That one was interesting because it was the second time doing a cut and sew piece and I was using somebody that was very experienced in cut and sew. He worked with brands like HUF for a long time and HUF was actually the one who put me on to him. It was a long fucking process doing it with this guy. It probably didn’t need to be so long, it may have just been the way he works. I don’t know how many conversations we had on the phone about this piece, how many times I met up with him looking at samples. It was a whole experience, I’d meet him on the side of the road sometimes out in LA.

But then the final product came out very well as far as I was concerned, everything that I wanted to do was perfectly done. He did a great job with it and it was very memorable because there were so many things that were getting in the way. The person that he used to make the jacket, who put it together in the end, his son had a brain tumour at the time so he was dealing with that and it put things on pause. Then the guy who was making the jacket for me got sick. So many things were happening which made it take so long to finish that jacket. It was kind of the most memorable piece for odd reasons.

It’s sick that you’re always working on something interesting.

I hope I can keep it like that but it seems like now we’re doing more seasons, now we’re working on Fall 25. I’m working with a new sales guy and he’s trying to get us on a schedule so we can sell to shops the way other brands sell to shops using the same timelines. It’s nice to have the freedom to do these things whenever you want, to make them when you feel it. But then when you have the time constraints you can still make the same quality stuff you just have to work in a different way. There are ups and downs to everything.

Are you in a space where you can talk about designs with ASICS? Is it inspiring being part of that program?

We are working on a shoe that’s going to come out next summer, the first thing where I have helped with the design. It’s an existing shoe they were going to release, then one thing led to another and it was decided that I would get a version of the shoe to work on which would be the initial drop of that style, which is awesome. It was just a matter of dressing it up and working with materials and colours, stuff I’m used to doing. That’s it for now and then there might be something down the road from the ground up, not saying it’s for myself but something for ASICS which looks like it will be a fun project.

So you’ve found your shoe in the line?

Kind of, from what they put out for the first release there has been one shoe that I have kind gravitated towards. Then this shoe they’re putting out that I’ve been skating in recently is probably going to be my go-to shoe, it’s more like an indoor soccer-based shoe.

You have always had good input when it comes to shoes, I really loved the Challenge Court.

I appreciate that, thank you.

It’s pretty amazing to have had an Axion shoe, Nike shoes, an adidas shoe, a New Balance with Poets, now Asics. You’ve even realised the wallabee with Padmore & Barnes. There aren’t many people who could have a run like that.

Yeah it’s pretty cool actually. For that period of time I was left and right, one shoe with on company, one with another. When Nike didn’t re-sign me I felt free to do whatever I wanted. Then especially as I have a brand, I could use that to work with whoever which is awesome. I got to work with adidas, I got to work with New Balance. Then during the New Balance collaboration with Tiago [Lemos] was when ASICS happened. That was a slight conflict of interests because ASICS was just about to open for business in the United States with the skate program, it was right when that shoe was supposed to come out. As long as I wasn’t wearing the shoe myself or promoting it in that way everyone agreed that it was fine. I’m happy that I have friends who were able to incorporate me elsewhere like with the Padmore shoe. My friend was close with that Padmore connection and asked if I was interested in doing something. There’s always help from someone else to get these things going and I appreciate the people that have let me in.

You have British heritage, can I ask where your mum was from originally and about your first trip to the UK?

My mum is from Birmingham and my first trip there was when I was a baby, I was probably two or something. My grandfather was Irish, and my grandmother was British. I forget where they met but they ended up in Birmingham. My grandmother passed away maybe fifteen or twenty years ago, and then my grandfather lived until he was a hundred and only passed away about three years ago. He was amazing, the most amazing grandfather. I have one vivid memory of being young back when I was maybe nine or something and taking a walk with him. He used to walk for miles. I went for a walk with him and his dog and we were out from morning until the evening. We walked out to this river bank and it was just so cool to be with him, I don’t even know why, I think because I had never seen him and he was such a pleasant guy, a happy-go-lucky guy. He made it such a memorable experience that I always loved him even though I didn’t really know him, I only saw him a few times.

Favourite Wu-Tang Clan member? Who would make you go to a show?

I was always a GZA fan, Liquid Swords and all of his solo albums I always liked. The last show I went to was actually a Ghostface show in Long Island maybe four years ago and that was cool. I’ve been to a few Wu shows over the past few years but interesting shows. One was when they did that documentary called Of Mics and Men, it was a three part series on ShowTime. When that came out my girlfriend got tickets to go to The Beacon Theatre in New York where they were premiering that documentary. They only premiered the first episode but then after that they had the whole fucking clan come out to perform and it was amazing!

I don’t think if Ghost was performing tomorrow in New York I would run to it because I don’t go to shows a lot but I’ve been to a few in my life and they were later on. I did see them at Summer Jam in 1995 but that was the only time I’d seen them before that Ghost show I mentioned. Then also recently my girlfriend again bought me tickets for The Lincoln Centre, they did a documentary about a show they did at Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Utah. They performed with a live orchestra and it was pretty amazing. RZA was there introducing it to the crowd, Inspectah Deck was there and Mayor Adams was there and shit. Those kind of events are fun now where they’re in a position to do these bigger things, cooler than seeing a regular performance of old tracks.

Nike Air Force 2 assisted hardflip from Gino’s 1996 Big Brother interview. PH: Rick Kosick

In your Big Brother interview what shoes are you wearing on that hardflip over the hip, are they regular Air Force 1’s?

No they’re Air Force 2’s, they have a little bit of a smaller sole and a strap open the top, they’re like three quarter. I was never a fan of the Air Force 1’s. I always hated them because they’re too big, too clunky.

Is there a board, item of clothing, or keepsake from your career you’d like to have if it still exists out there?

I would have to say my video camera bag that got stolen out of my car at the Brooklyn Banks in the mid 90s. It had so many tapes full of skateboarding and so much footage of all my friends that just got lost. I would like to have that back. I can’t remember if it was my camera but they were my tapes for sure and we had a lot of them, there were probably a lot of gems on them too.

Last words?

Thanks for the interview.

We want to thank Gino for taking the time out for this interview. Be sure to follow him on Instagram for regular updates and shop with us for regularly updated inventory from Poets Brand.

Big thank you to Chuck Hults for photos of his copy of the Schmitt Stix VHS cover, to Jaime Owens for his photo of the Chocolate Skateboards 30 Year Anniversary, and to Neil Macdonald (Science Vs. Life) for his scan from Gino’s Big Brother interview.

Related reading: Tim Anderson “Bobshirt” Interview , Lightbox: Gino Iannucci by Ben Colen

Previous “Offerings” Interviews: Elijah Berle , Silas Baxter-Neal , Matt Pritchard , Matlok Bennett-Jones , Spencer Hamilton , Aaron Herrington , Rowan Zorilla , Beatrice Domond , Chris Jones , Kevin ‘Spanky’ Long , Helena Long , Tom Karangelov , Bobby Puleo , Ray Barbee , Zach Riley , Ryan Lay , Casper Brooker

The post Offerings: Gino Iannucci appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

We recently caught up with Kelly Hart for the latest instalment in our “Industry” interview series. Find out more about someone who plays an integral part in the industry from many different perspectives and has performed more roles than most…

words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Kelly Hart captured on The Nine Club PH: Justin Crawford

If you want to discuss skateboarding being in good hands Kelly Hart’s are two of them. He has been infatuated with every facet of our culture since he was eleven years old, has contributed on many levels, and continues to help nurture the future and romanticise the past that built him. His journey includes his time as a professional skateboarder which wasn’t a completely linear trajectory. This is discussed in the interview, Kelly came up at an interesting time when how we digest media was evolving and his story encapsulates being on the cusp of that wave, something he embraced which has led him to where he is today. He is living proof that you can do things differently, an ethos which has aided his following roles in the industry.

Kelly has been working for éS footwear for years now having ridden for the brand previously. He came on board just after their brief hiatus and has worked as a team manager keeping the brand legacy alight while ushering in a new generation. Following Sole Technology being recently acquired by The Nidecker Group we thought it would be a good time to connect with Kelly and find out more about the roles he has played over there, what his job entails, and how it is currently evolving. His passion for the brand and his unique personal attachment to its history have him placed perfectly to help shape it and it was interesting hearing about what he’s had a hand in. This includes reviving stories from the archives, retooling existing ones, and working on campaigns to support new ones.

The conversation focuses predominantly on what Kelly has going on over at éS and his path into the industry but also touches on the other ways he keeps contributing. We discuss his time at The Nine Club, how that fits into everything else he has going on, and the role it plays in his life and ours. He also speaks on other team manager positions he has held, his time judging different events from Street League and The Olympics to Tampa Am, and how they all feed into each other. We hope this offers insight and encouragement to anyone who thinks they would enjoy a job in the industry. Kelly is a shining example of someone who cares about where it is headed…

Kelly Hart floating his powerful kickflip over a picnic table back in 2015 PH: Kyle Seidler

You first got sponsored by Kayo over twenty years ago after some shop sponsors and your career as a skateboarder began before any peripheral jobs in the industry transpired. Was there a point you did anything else early on, did you ever work in the shop you rode for?

When I was like fifteen years old there was a skate shop down the street from my house in Laguna Hills called Jay’s Board Shop. I would go in there all the time and watch skate videos. I would always be in there watching videos anyway so they gave me a job. That worked out pretty cool, I worked there for a couple of years. When that shut down I worked at another skate shop called Laguna Surf and Sport in Aliso Viejo. I was there when I got sponsored and I went on from there to just being out skating every day.

Working at a shop is a common gateway into doing something else in the industry.

You know what’s crazy about skate shops? You meet so many people who work in the industry by being there. You’re constantly meeting reps and that’s where I got my foot in the door. I would see the reps out skating different spots, then they’d come into the skate shop to buy tape and offer us some shoes or something. I think I got given two Element boards at first, then flowed an Expedition board. I was given some Vita shoes when that was going. That was an awesome shoe company back then.

That Jason Dill shoe was sick.

I never skated the Dill shoe but I rocked the Natas [Kaupas] one a few times. When Vita went out of business I met a guy named Pat Top who was the rep for Axion and he got me in over there. But the skate shop was definitely a great way to get in there and meet people in the skate industry.

After years skating for them you were meant to turn pro for Expedition, they changed their plans and you quit. This was kind of the crossroads that led to where you are now…

My perspective has changed a lot over the years after going through the things that I went through. From being a skateboarder and just trying to skate but also now understanding how businesses are run and what decisions have to be made. There are directions brands need to go in to evolve and now I understand that. I think it’s hard to understand where you stand in skateboarding when you’re just the skater. You don’t comprehend the inner workings and what brands are planning to do or what their future looks like. It was tough, I understood their decisions to go in a certain direction and focus on different riders but it’s weird to be in that position.

How did that move actually change skateboarding for you?

I had always strived so hard to try to be a professional skateboarder and get my name on a board. When I had parted ways with Expedition at that time the pressure got taken off. I had literally no clue what I was going to do. Luckily a few months later éS was coming back from hiatus and Don Brown brought me on. I was just generally helping out for about six months, I was getting $1000 a month and getting by.

“For me it was a big relief, there wasn’t this external pressure on me to skate any more. That was the point where I went nuts on my board”

They brought me on properly on January 5th 2015. That’s when I realised that I had a job, I had something to focus on that wasn’t just skating for a brand I love. I got to see how shoes were made, how they were developed, all the inner workings inside the business you weren’t aware of as a skateboarder. For me it was a big relief, there wasn’t this external pressure on me to skate any more. That was the point where I went nuts on my board. I look back at my skating and it was 2015 when I was on fire, I was on a mission with some warrior-type stuff going on. It was just so fun to not have skateboarding solely be my job.

It’s funny how that worked for you, it made you more inspired.

It was the feeling of not having the pressure. Sometimes that works for people and sometimes it doesn’t but it brought something to me. I remember when I was a kid riding for Expedition over at Kayo. Those guys were awesome to me by the way, Matt Daughters, Troy Morgan and Chany [Jeanguenin] were so nice to me. I remember saying to them early on that I wanted to be a team manager and wanted to help out with stuff. So they would give me little opportunities like running the social media for Kayo. They always knew that I wanted to work internally because I was so intrigued by how things worked.

Then later on it was your social media presence that led to Rob Welsh who was TM over at Expedition asking you to come back on board but you declined. What was the sequence of events that led to you replacing Rob after he left and finally getting that pro board you were promised concurrently?

I was just out there doing my thing, skating, working for éS and riding for Chico Brenes’ company which was called Central. I was doing that with Chico and I was super hyped that he had turned me pro, that was an honour and I’m very thankful for that. I was trying to build a new team over at éS and I had been skating really hard too, posting stuff on social media. That was what I was really focused on at that time. It was really fun and there was no pressure to it. Don Brown was really psyched on that.

He recognised that had value.

He did and certain people didn’t see that happening yet, they didn’t see the transition to that being a major factor in a skateboarders career or as being valuable from a business perspective. I did the fakie tre-fakie manual at the Courthouse and that went nuts. I was very stoked on that, and thankful that people kept re-posting it and giving it respect. That was one of those feelings you’d dream of as a kid, like getting a Grand Slam at the World Series, it felt something like that.

It was a moment, and around that time Rob [Welsh] had reached out, he said he was stoked on what I was doing at the time skating-wise and wanted to give me a board and bring me back on over there. I wanted to hear what he had to say and be open to it so we met. He was super nice and he showed me what he was thinking. I was thankful for that opportunity but declined and said I wanted to stay skating for Chico. He showed me his vision and it wasn’t that the vision wasn’t good, it just wasn’t where I wanted to go. I knew there were financial troubles at Kayo at the time, it was tough. When it coms to companies downsizing I now understand it, there are upper guys having to make hard decisions. So I said thank you but no and I told Chico [Brenes] what I had been offered but declined.

Kelly fakie shuvit flipping the wall in Santa Monica on his new pro board, 2016. PH: Sam Olson

Then it was a matter of weeks, maybe a month, and Troy Morgan called me. I genuinely don’t know what happened with them and Rob [Welsh] but Rob was no longer working with Expedition and Troy asked me to come on board and help them re-build the company. For me this had been this pedestal goal of my life for ten years, getting a pro board on Expedition was all I wanted. So I then had this opportunity not just to ride for the company again but to help with a newer generation of it that I felt fit the brand. That’s what they offered to me. I felt it was a good opportunity to try something new with a brand I’ve always loved and been a part of. It was hard for me to tell Chico but I felt thats what I needed to do it so that’s what I did. I left in a respectful way.

The Berrics had bought a bunch of boards from Central but that was the week all this stuff had happened with Expedition so I went and bought all of those boards because I didn’t want to leave those guys hanging with them. I wanted it so that no-one was losing money and there were no boards left sitting around. Those were tough decisions to make but I felt like that was what I wanted to do. It was cool to get a little pay cheque but It genuinely wasn’t a money decision at all either. I always wanted to ride for Expedition as a kid and I had gone from rep flow to being on the team as an Am. There was this whole story there so to be back and have a board, that’s what I wanted to do. I tried it, and I was super happy that I did even though it didn’t last too long.

Who did you put on during that period?

I was happy to be able to put on some younger kids, people like Will Gomez, Versace Plug [Hyun Kummer], my friend Isiah [Sanchez], Kea Smith. All these kids who were super rad and all about the brand too. It was cool to try something new and put on a new generation, I’m glad I got to do that.

So working as team manager for éS and Expedition at the same time for a stint. How did those roles differ?

It was interesting, I would just get product out to everyone who needed it when shoes and boards dropped but it was different. While working for both of those brands at the time there was no budget really to do anything. Both brands were having financial trouble so we did everything that we could with what we had accessible to us. We would go on trips and stay at my family’s house in DC, or at friends houses wherever we could. We just got out there and went skating, it was fun man. We were working with what we had on some real skate shit to be honest, we weren’t staying in any crazy hotels. I’ve never really had that luxury of working with brands who have the budget to do things on a bigger scale. That’s just how it was. We would film for projects here and there but mostly it was just all social media based.

“If you told me in 2012 that three years later I would be turning pro based off me posting a trick on social media that I thought I could never do, I would never believe you”

What did you make happen during that time working for the two brands that you’re proudest of?

There’s a lot that I’m proud of. It’s cool to see people doing their thing regardless of if I’m working with them any more or not. Seeing amazing skateboarders still doing their thing and being able to travel with them and skate with them. I think my proudest achievement would be doing things differently. Using social media but not having to do it a specific way. There was always this gatekeeping way to do certain things. I understand that gatekeeper is a tricky word these days but there was a mentality out there that you had to do things a certain way. I think I’m proudest of thinking outside of that box, doing things in a new way and still getting noticed. If you told me in 2012 that three years later I would be turning pro based off me posting a trick on social media that I thought I could never do, I would never believe you. I think that’s what I’m proudest of, trying to do things differently.

Kelly slides a lofty éS Accel SLim assisted frontside noseslide at JKwon. PH: Oliver Barton

What was the most challenging?

The budget stuff never bothered me, I hadn’t got used to having it in the first place so it was normal. I think the hardest part for me was when I got my hip injury. It wasn’t from falling it was from the wear and tear of skateboarding for twenty five years. Between 2016 and 2017 I had to get surgery which meant I could never really skate the same way ever again. So being able to work with these guys and skate with them even though I wasn’t physically able to skate how I could before was really fun to do. Then The Nine Club came into the picture around the same time which was a big thing. I wasn’t able to skate but I was super happy to be on The Nine Club talking about skateboarding every week. Then also being out skating with the people on the team and travelling. Those were the best parts and the worst parts of that time.

Did you have to mentally adjust from how you thought about skating, a kind of grieving process from that transition after injury?

I didn’t really know that the hip injury and the surgery was going to take me out like it did. There was crazy pain all the time, after I got the surgery there wasn’t pain but it still hurts when I skate. I just wasn’t expecting that. I have done all the physical therapy and tried my best. The doctor told me it’s going to be tough because I wasn’t going to be able to move it like I used to but the pain wouldn’t be as severe as it had been. There was a point where I realised that I was never going to be able to do it like I could again. That was pretty sad for me because that had been my outlet for my whole entire life since I started skating when I was eleven. Going outside and just doing a kickflip was never a problem but now that’s gone. It is sad but it’s changed into me being able to help skateboarding with brands, the podcast, judging skate contests and just being involved. I’m really thankful for that and stoked on it which has kind of taken over my skating.

Before we talk about working for éS let’s dip back and talk about how you first started getting shoes. Wasn’t it the OG Sole Tech Team Manager Tony Evejenth who hooked that up?

Yeah I would go and skate the Sole Tech park up in Lake Forest because I grew up ten or fifteen minutes away from the warehouse and skate park. I would go there all the time and skate at night and Tony Evejenth would always be down there after work, Jeff Henderson would be down there skating too. I was getting flow from DC back then, I would go on tour and skate with those guys a lot too. DC had stopped making the Lynx HE at that point and I felt there was no shoe in the line for me. I’m obsessed with how a shoe feels as most skaters are and it felt like there were no shoes they were making that I could skate.

I was friends with Scuba [Steve Chalme] and would skate with him and Tony [Evejenth] all the time. I was complaining to them that I had no shoes to skate. Tony told me he would give me a pair of Accels there and then so I had some shoes to skate. He gave me a pair of brown Accels, not the brown and gum ones, some chocolate brown ones. I was skating in them and realised it’s just the best shoe, I hadn’t skated in a pair since I was about fifteen. I continued to skate that park all the time and didn’t really know what to do with DC. Tony just invited me over, he said he’d start giving me shoes and get me on the program with éS, him and Scuba were all about the idea. It was tough to leave DC and I skated with [Anthony] Van Engelen a bunch back then so I let him know I was going to ride for éS because it was local to me and I had found a shoe I liked which I couldn’t find at DC. I remember him saying I should have told him the problem so we could have worked on a solution and maybe made something. He left shortly afterwards to ride for Vans so it was all good anyway. It was another thing that just naturally happened and I was stoked. There’s a clip in It’s Official where I switch flip – switch nose manual this manual pad with a low to high drop. That was the first pair of shoes I’m wearing where I decided I was going to ride for éS.

Honourable mention to Tony Evejenth for being a great team manager during a golden age.

Hell Yeah! Tony was super awesome, rest in peace. I’m grateful, he was super nice to me. Anyone who has met him will remember how nice of a dude he was. He genuinely always had a smile on his face. It was pretty cool to walk into the office and see him there. He really tried to look out for all of his riders.

You have this long organic history with the brand. It must be a trip when you get to work with Ronnie Creager or Sal Barbier all these years later, the people who made éS the most influential skate shoe company of all time. I’m sure you still get a kick out of getting to do that.

Oh yeah, I’ll genuinely be sitting here working on the laptop and I’ll get a text from Chad Muska or Ronnie Creager. It still blows my mind that that’s happening. There is still a little skate kid inside of me who has always looked up to these guys. To know that they’re cool dudes and to be able to work with them and help bring back their old shoes is pretty cool, I’m stoked.

Beautiful shapes on this hardflip snapped during a Venice Beach sunset. PH: Sam Olson

What skills would you say you went from having zero knowledge of to mastering over at éS?

That’s a good question, I would say actually doing something on the fly, that’s what I got really good at, especially with Don Brown and Leighton Dyer. You naturally learn a lot of things working at a brand but being able to work with fewer resources is tough. I don’t want to do that all the time but being creative when you don’t have much to work with is a skill and I think that’s something I got really good at. With Covid hitting too things got super weird and that’s one thing I took away from it all, an unusual situation people don’t get many opportunities to learn how to navigate.

Sole Tech was recently acquired by the Nidecker Group. How has that positively changed things for you? Has your role evolved even more?

Things were tough at Sole Tech before the Nidecker acquisition happened, it was hard as I said because we had minimal budget to do anything. Over the last six months the amount of positive change in a number of different ways has been incredible. I’m not just saying that, there’s a structure being built to handle many different scenarios. My new role going forward is as a Team Manager and handling Sports Marketing for éS, Etnies, and Emerica. So there is now more structure to work with certain people who are in place to handle different responsibilities.

“Over the last six months the amount of positive change in a number of different ways has been incredible”

They have made all of these moves already. There were a bunch of decisions that were made concerning riders that were difficult to make but when businesses acquire things they need to make a lot of decisions early on to be able to move forward. Those things are super tough especially when you’ve been around the brands for a long time like I have. Having the new structure means I can work with brand managers, people handling social media, someone overlooking everything. I’m excited to start communicating with all the riders and be more on point with what we have going on this year with all of the new shoes coming out. Building campaigns with them, that’s the stuff I’m looking forward to.

I saw Tom Asta’s video about being let go where he was very respectful of his time skating for the brand. That must have been a hard thing to work through.

Tom is still one of my close friends so having that conversation was really tough. It’s one where I felt the conversation was best coming from me personally too so I called him and we spoke for a while about it. At the end of the day I knew he would be doing a video like that, he is open and on point with that stuff. I felt he was very respectful, he is a genuinely good dude and I’m going to see him in two weeks. He expressed himself well. There’s nothing cool about getting let go from something, I know because I have had it happen myself.

People will always have something to say about any acquisitions and their credibility. I was talking to Kevin Parrott about the new owners and he said that one of the brothers boardslid an eight stair rail the first time he skated with him.

Oh yeah, those dudes are genuinely trying to correct what was wrong with all the brands in the first place. I had been frustrated for a while because everything was so scattered and now there are things moving forward which are structured to do well. They are all still authentic skateboard footwear brands and there are none really left. What happened with Lakai was horrible to see. I can’t think of too many beyond that, there’s Last Resort, Opus, Warsaw. There really aren’t skateboard footwear brands sharing that space apart from éS, Emerica, and Etnies. They’re still skater-owned. It’s been a wild ride but at the end of the day I’m happy to see what’s happening and to get answers now we have more direction. That’s why I’m excited.

How much have you had a hand in product development over the years? What have you been happiest to have been involved in?

I think what I’m happiest about is a shoe I’m wearing right now. I told the story of Tony Evejenth giving me a pair of éS Accels which I skated like crazy. In 2004 I remember going into Sole Tech and Scuba gave me a box, I opened it and was stoked to see the colourway of the newly reissued Accel but I saw it and instantly wondered what they had done. They had to switch factories to produce the shoe and shoes back then started to get very puffy as you would remember, and they were already puffy to start with which is crazy to look back at. I was just a flow kid back then, nowhere near being inside that building making any decisions. But they had decided to change the way the shoe was made along with the proportions of it. The thickness of the tongue was different, they didn’t skate the same way any more and they looked way different. That’s the way the shoe was made from 2004 until now.

“With this year being the 30th anniversary of éS they informed me last year that it’s coming back and I’ve been helping make sure it’s as close as it can be to the original”

Tom Penny 360 flip shot by Jesper Nillson. An éS Accel ad from 1998 next to the reworked original shape éS Accel sample in Kelly’s hand today

Then this year after ten years of being in there, and after me begging for the Accel to be made the way it used to be it has happened. There’s a reason why it has such a legacy, it’s because of the way they were made back then. All of the epic skating you saw in the Accel was from before 2004. Arto [Saari] skating them, PJ [Ladd], P-Rod, [Eric] Koston, and obviously [Tom] Penny. It doesn’t matter, all of that footage and everyone synonymous with skating that shoe are all from that era. That’s why I wanted to see it come back. The question was if it’s already a best selling shoe for éS why alter it again? With this year being the 30th anniversary of éS they informed me last year that it’s coming back and I’ve been helping make sure it’s as close as it can be to the original. I got my first sample pairs the other day and I’m excited. I posted a photo on my story and people were responding super hyped about them. I’m wearing them now, I’m super happy with how they came out the fit is how I remember it being. I think they look amazing and that’s probably something I’m most proud of helping with. We have a pair from 1997 as a reference and the difference is so noticeable.

The original shape wasn’t far off an Etnies Rap from back in the day.

Yeah they were a very similar shoe. The rad thing about the Accel is it’s such an iconic shoe that people want to wear it as it is. It’s just a great shoe. Not wanting to compare it to something from other brands really, but it’s like our equivalent of what the Dunk is to Nike. That’s what the shoe means to the brand so for me I always thought it should be perfected. It’s something I wanted to do forever and Charlie Manos had the insight to do it and I’m super thankful he did. I think when you see it personally you’ll be pretty hyped.

We are stoked to see the Two Nine 8 on the shelves as the Koston 2 was a favourite. We here will always equate that shoe with Mark Baines’ part in Waiting For The World.

Hell yeah dude!

What is your favourite historical appearance of that shoe?

Damn, you know what’s funny I remember being a kid when the Brazilian Vacation 411VM video came out. [Eric] Koston was on that trip, [Bob] Burnquist, and it was when Kerry Getz was briefly on éS also. I remember Koston skating his shoe in that video and it was a light grey with green, one of the very first colourways of the shoe. In that video he does a back noseblunt shuvit on a box at a demo. I thought a back noseblunt shuv was such a random cool trick and the shoes looked really good. I remember my parents would take me out for a new pair of skate shoes as a treat back then and I remember trying to find those shoes specifically and I couldn’t find them anywhere. I was calling all the skate shops but by that time they were already sold out. They were my favourites. I actually have an original pair of Koston 2’s at my place that a friend gifted to me years later, a Lakers colourway. That sole was wild, it was foam, shoes that weren’t as functional for skating as you thought they would be.

They had that running shoe toe.

Yeah they did, and do you remember the Axion Aries shoe? They had a similar toe shape and I skated a bunch of those. Looking back that shoe was weird to skate in but we just liked the way they looked.

Who are you stoked to see skate in the Two Nine 8 shoe now?

I definitely will have to say Aimu Yamazuki, I filmed a bunch of him skating in that shoe recently and he killed it! He’s probably my favorite skateboarder out right now. So fun to watch. You only see certain skaters like that come around so often. It’s like when Mikemo [Capaldi] and PJ [Ladd] dropped their parts back in the day. It blew everyone’s minds. That Primitive Wildfire part Aimu just dropped was on that same level I think. Other than him, seeing TJ [Rogers] doing his thing in the streets skating in that shoe is pretty rad. Anyone posting clips skating that shoe make me stoked. Anyone tagging me in their Instagram stories makes me happy because it brings back all of these memories.

The three latest colourways of the éS Two Nine 8 shoe which is available now

I heard there could be some exciting TJ Rogers news coming up.

Oh yeah. TJ worked so hard to get to where he’s at. I started flowing him shoes, I wasn’t sure there was anything there at the time but I was down to help him out with shoes. He just took that opportunity and ran with it. We would go out skating together but he started to go out filming all the time and sending me footage. It was unreal, literally ridiculous. One week would go by and he would send me three minutes of footage. He would get three minutes of footage in maybe four days and that’s not an exaggeration. He’d be getting five clips a day, it was nuts.

TJ Rogers switch backside tailslide 270 at the New York County Courthouse wearing the éS Two Nine 8. Filmed by Ed Guzman

I showed Don [Brown] and he did this edit, this Menikamati thing for us for the Evant shoe. He killed it, just came in and proved himself super hard to the whole world I feel like. When he dropped that T.J.I.F part that was something that I was stoked to work on with him and Kevin Perez. We would be out skating, Kevin and I spoke about the music and what we wanted to do, then Kevin nailed it with the editing. TJ just set himself up perfectly with everything he was doing to deserve a pro model shoe. TJ is an interesting dude, he has visions. A lot of skaters do but he really knows what the hell he wants. So he had an idea for a shoe and he came in to work with Michael Morey and Charlie [Manos] on the shoe and they fully realised his vision. He’s super hyped on it and it’s so cool to see someone like him work his way into doing that. He is a genuine workhorse on top of being an amazing skateboarder. We felt like it was right to give him a shoe and it will be coming out in Fall.

Team managers often end up producing content firsthand on top of other jobs required. Is there a moment you’ve ended up behind the lens you’re happy to have seen used?

Funnily enough I’ve only ever really filmed one clip that ended up in an actual skate video and it was Wade Desarmo in It’s Official. He does a front shuv back nosegrind revert on this drop off ledge in Barcelona. So I filmed that and one more clip of him where he kickflip front feebles that Enrique Lorenzo rail that’s also in Barcelona. Other than that, honestly, my favourite thing to do is filming social media stuff. We go on trips and that’s basically all we would do. Working with Tom [Asta], Aimu [Yamazaki], Wade [Desarmo], TJ [Rogers], whoever it is. Versace Plug when he came out here, Will Gomez. Working with all of those skateboarders on stuff has been super fun. Then you film a clip and it goes viral! Damn! When it first started with éS I would send Tony Vitello clips all the time of Tom Asta filmed at the Courthouse and he would post them which always felt rewarding. One of my favourite parts of being a team manager is working on the social media side of things in that capacity.

What do you think would be your biggest social media success story from a marketing perspective-from concept to engagement?

Weirdly enough to say it would be when I fakie tre-fakie manualled the stage at the Courthouse. I did that trick when we were rolling out the whole campaign for Sal Barbier’s reissue of the 23 shoe. I did that and perfectly lined it up with that campaign. We posted about the shoe then that Sunday I sent Tony Vitello that clip. He was hyped on it and said he would post it at 7pm which was just perfect actual timing. He was so rad to tag #esskateboarding and #centralsakteboarding in the post. The reach that one got was nuts. That was before stories too so everyone was reposting it but they were hard posts of me wearing the shoe which just dropped, I couldn’t ask for anything more than that. It was awesome for me to be a part of helping roll out that campaign with Sal [Barbier] but also being involved in that way, actually skating the shoe was something else. I remember Jamie Thomas coming up to me right after that happened and commenting on how that was like the new age of watching someone turn pro and everyone else celebrating that. He said he thought that was really cool, I was very proud of that moment. That’s the thing I have been involved in that made the most impact, or got viewed the most.

That’s an example of you being on the cusp of the way we consume media changing. Is there anything happening right now that’s an emerging change you’re aware of needing to get to grips with?

Interesting, that’s a good question. Everyone is on Instagram now but back then in 2015 there were only a handful of people really going in on that platform. Everyone skating [Brandon] Biebel’s park at that time was doing it, Dane Vaughan at that point was very active. These are all LA examples I’m giving pretty much because there was a certain group of people who were super heavy on that. But I think right now that YouTube has become more of a space where I think skateboarders can live, tell their story and share their experiences. Creating a community on YouTube has become a bigger thing. I know that because of doing The Nine Club for eight and a half years. I’ve seen that and I’ve felt it.

I don’t often use my own personal YouTube account though. I still skate but I can’t do it like I used to so it’s hard for me personally to want to start a YouTube channel. My whole life has always been all about skateboarding so if I can’t post myself skating I don’t know what I’d really be posting about. Now you see skateboarders like Pedro Delfino, Tom Asta, or Vincent Alvarez, guys you would never think would have a YouTube channel and they’re doing it and putting themselves out there. I think that’s really awesome and I see the value in them doing that, a rider having that outlet and community. There are other thing like TikTok for instance but myself personally, I don’t think that’s where skateboarders live, it’s a different thing. What’s interesting now is that skateboarders can scrape their own lanes in so many different ways.

That being said would you say what you would have been looking for in a team rider 15 years ago is different nowadays?

For me personally I think most skateboard team managers back then were looking for that talent, that gift, the way someone skates and how you do it. You would look at how good skateboarding is at a certain time and who is pushing the needle physically and in terms of possibility on a skateboard. Now it’s not really like that. The are a handful of skateboarders who are still pushing the boundaries of new tricks and what not, but now you have skateboarders having their own platforms to put videos out and build their own communities. There are different ways you can live in the skateboard world and make a living. When I was a skateboarder coming up you were paying attention to who was doing what trick, in what mag, in what video and where. Then you looked at what you could do which would compare to that trick.

“You would look at how good skateboarding is at a certain time and who is pushing the needle physically and in terms of possibility on a skateboard. Now it’s not really like that”

That’s just the way it was, now it’s not like that in any way. There are special dudes like Aimu [Yamazuki] who are special, not only can that dude raise the bar on skateboarding but when you watch him do something and it’s mind-blowing, even down to simple kickflip. Skateboarding is so precious to all of the people who love it like we do. For all of the kids who are pursuing skateboarding now I think it’s difficult for them to understand how they bring value to a company. Then if they have this following for whatever reason do they even need to ride for a company? That’s the funniest part, we all want that in the skate industry but certain people can just do things independently. They make their own YouTube channel and do their own thing. It’s interesting to see, there were fifteen board brands back in the day or maybe ten. Now there are a thousand and I don’t know who half the brands are or who rides for them. There are so many people who are on brands that are big right now and people genuinely don’t know who they are. It’s just the way it is now and it’s all good, it’s just different.

Can you think of a specific instance where your TM skills saved the day?

I can’t think of something off the top of my head but paying for dinners is pretty cool.

That can definitely save the day. This is all before we have even mentioned the Nine Club. How do you manage to fit that in? Or does it feel like downtime at this point?

It is somewhat therapeutic to go there and just talk with your friends about skateboarding, it really is. It’s funny that The Nine Club has got to this point where it’s such a big interview platform where people come to share their stories and some people get nervous because of that. Once they come on though they’re always hyped on how fun it was and often say it felt therapeutic for them too. That’s why it’s so rad. I have always been cool with being in front of the camera but I think most skateboarders aren’t that comfortable being in front of a camera talking.

For me I usually work from home or head into the office or head out skating but the studio is literally two blocks from my place so I can just skate over there and we usually film at around 5pm on weekdays. We’ll film during the day if it’s an urgent one we need to make happen. It’s pretty loose and we’re not stressing over stuff. We’ll have meetings once or twice a week on Discord or in person to speak about what we have coming up. Honestly Chris [Roberts] and Roger [Bagley] work so damn hard on everything day to day. I’m super happy to be a part of it for all these years. They understand I have these other work responsibilities with éS. So I help schedule guests, social media and am a part of the show. I love it. Shout out to the Nine Club crew: Chris, Roger, Jeron, Justin Crawford, Charley Camirand and Tom Curran.

Kelly Creasing up on The Nine Club during Erick Winkowski’s recent episode. PH: Justin Crawford

Favourite Nine Club moment of all time?

Yeah, that’s a good one. There was a random instance on an episode a long time ago. We had a pair of Emerica shoes on the table. For some reason we had candles on the table and at one point the box started to catch on fire. They put it out right away but if you look on the highlights channel on YouTube I laugh so hard because it was so silly how that played out. I loved Spanky’s story about how he was at a Sole Tech sales meeting back in the day which ended up with him running naked at some point in the night down the hallway and diving underneath some sales reps legs and just kept on running. That was hilarious, the thought of that happening. I think Bryan Herman’s story was nuts, him growing up, his investment story, having maggots grown out of his leg. It was just crazy. [Josh] Kalis was one of my favourites because he’s one of my favourite skaters. Then I also think one of the funniest, and most interesting was Erick Winkowski’s episode, that was really cool. I genuinely have a lot of fun in every episode but certain guys come on who really surprise you, there’s too many good ones. I loved Erik Winkowski talking about how he doesn’t drink anymore with huge bottle of Mezcal with a snake in it, hahaha.

Is there going to be more subscriber only content on The Nine Club?

We have been doing the Experience and The Live Show for so long, every Thursday. We are going to start doing The Live Show for our channel members every so often and focus on other things going on like the More Nine Club channel and Nine Club highlight clips. We will keep doing the interview show as it is, the original one. The plans always end up changing and evolving.

Do you feel like you’re progressing in all of the roles you have? With Street League too, your time at the Olympics. It seems like you have all of these channels, different avenues that seem to plug back in to how stoked you are on skateboarding…

Even though I can’t physically skate like I used to I’m happy to still be doing the judging and working with the crew. I have the judging which involves Street League but also Tampa, Phoenix Am and I am super hyped to do that. I love seeing all the current skaters, what they’re doing, it’s fucking nuts! You get to see the younger kids doing their thing too, there is whole new generation of female skaters and seeing the progression in front of your face is incredible. I’m so happy to be a part of that. As a team manager being at these contests and judging stuff is great. You can see people who would be ideal for different companies.

You’re perfectly placed.

Exactly. I was also team manager for Mob and Ricta for a while and it was cool to offer people stuff. Do you want some griptape, do you want some wheels? I remember that feeling as a kid, getting hooked up with some stuff so I was stoked to be able to help out younger skaters or people who need anything and still am. I saw that Mob just dropped that collab with Shake Junt and Jamie Foy. That was something I was trying to make happen while I was over there. I had been talking with Shane [Heyl] and Mob but for some reason they could never come to an agreement. But then to see that happen and pop up the other day was sick.

What advice would you give to a young skateboarder who wants to work in the industry at this point in time?

What’s funny is that you see some skaters and know they would be perfectly suited to working in the industry, you can see them playing a part. Grant Fiero who works for Street League doing their social media is a good example, he does The Skate Loop. Someone like Bradley Church who is known as Baggy Brad from out in Arizona. He is a super awesome kid who loves skating and loves éS. There are certain kids I see who love, live, and breathe skateboarding and they want the best out of it. If you love skateboarding and like interacting with skateboarders you’re set. If you love doing that just go for it. That’s my suggestion, only do it if you love it. If someone wants to be a pro skater I’d say hell yeah, go for it. There’s no blueprint to tell you how to be a professional skateboarder these days, especially now, there’s probably two thousand different ways to do it.

“I just want to help skateboarding progress. The passion for it that we all grew up on, I want to keep that going in skateboarding. It’s something that we all love and the passion for it needs to stay there”

I think working in the skate industry is awesome, it can be tough at times but that’s going to happen. It goes up and down, and it’s not always that easy but if you love it you don’t really trip out in those scenarios. You’ll be bummed in certain situations but i’s better than not working in skating. Do it because you love it, be genuine about it and don’t force anything. People will say just have fun but my advice is do it because you love it, that’s it.

Any last words?

It feels like my 411 Profile “I want to say thanks to Don Brown and everyone at Etnies”, haha. I want to say thank you for wanting to do this interview with me. I’m super stoked on Slam, you guys are epic, a big part of the skateboarding community and I’m happy to be able to do this. Thanks to anyone who has ever supported my skateboarding also, especially my parents. I just want to help skateboarding progress. The passion for it that we all grew up on, I want to keep that going in skateboarding. It’s something that we all love and the passion for it needs to stay there.

We want to thank Kelly for taking time out for this during a hectic schedule. Be sure to follow him on Instagram as well as @esskateboarding for updates about some of the coming éS Footwear news discussed above. Shop with us for the Two Nine 8 and other shoes in the line and hit up The Nine Club for the moments Kelly mentions in their vast back catalogue of interviews.

Thanks to Neil Macdonald (Science Vs. Life) for the Tom Penny éS Accel advert scan.

Previous Industry interviews: Jeff Henderson , Kevin Parrott , Vans with David Atkinson , Seth Curtis

The post Industry: Kelly Hart appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Welcome to the first “Longevity” interview with Dan Bardallo, the creator of the Skateboard Strength program. We wanted to pick the brains of different people who have invested a lot of time into pursuits outside of skateboarding to maintain it being enjoyable, and maximise the time doing what they love. When injuries, poor recovery techniques, or advanced age start slowing things down it’s probably time to implement some changes but we often don’t know where to look or are overwhelmed with options of what we should be doing. That waiting list for the physio itself may even be enough to stop you from entertaining any further support. We are confident that any un-answered questions you may have could already have been tackled informatively and effectively by Dan and we are going to point you in the right direction.

Having discovered the passion for skateboarding when Covid changed our every day Dan quickly realised that the community who had embraced him needed his help more than any other. He had already spent years studying his craft and using his experience in strength and conditioning to assist people with different problems. When he found skateboarding it exposed weaknesses in his own body which he had already been training for fifteen years and he realised this would be worse for older skaters or people just beginning to learn. He used all of his experience to develop a program that would help skateboarders of different levels train, recover, and strengthen their bodies.

His Skateboard Strength Instagram is an incredible resource you need to visit which will undoubtedly have valuable advice if you’re looking to change up things for the better. This interview covers his personal history, the Instagram experiment that started all of this, the incredible program and resources he has developed from that point, and his evolving journey that has improved many lives along the way. He also dispels some myths and common misconceptions about the type of training we need to be doing. We’re all looking for longevity and we hope this conversation leads you to some helpful information that will increase your own…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Dan Bardallo at the Sydney skatepark that started his journey

You discovered skateboarding later in life, what were you into before that?

When I find things like when I found skating I become obsessed with them. Originally what I’m doing now with skateboarding I had done with one of the first things I fell in love with in my life which was ice hockey. I was finishing up my party career, going out clubbing and boozing was coming to an end. I was over that repetitive cycle. There was a guy I used to work with who played ice hockey, I went to watch him play and thought it was fucking sick. He encouraged me to try playing and gave me a bunch of gear. I went to my first practice session and just fell in love with it. I became obsessed which I think is part of my personality.

After that I started playing ice hockey four or five nights a week, I was obsessed with the culture of it and learning all about it. Ice hockey filled that big hole left in my life from not partying. It was a nice transition in that way and through the process I realised that I enjoyed figuring out the puzzles for my body. There are big consequences if you fuck up but you’re using your body as a facilitator for these certain movements, there are certain gains needed to achieve certain goals. That thought process tied in really nicely with what I do which is strength and conditioning personal training. I had transitioned from using personal training for aesthetics like weight loss or fat loss and putting on muscle. I had also used it for repair because at a certain time I was quite broken as well. I challenged myself to use the training I had learned that was tried and tested and to apply it practically to help me perform better when it came to ice skating and ice hockey. That’s when I started noticing that the training really made a difference. I used to be the fat, chubby kid at school, I was always last in class. I’d be hiding in class, I was never the athletic kid. Then all of a sudden, playing ice hockey, I was the quicker guy out there. I could last a lot longer than the other guys too which was impressive, especially at my age, and I didn’t have any pain after playing for a few hours. That was the first time I realiised that this stuff meant a lot more for my body beyond aesthetics. I got to a certain point after about five years where I needed to give it up though. It was getting to be too much, it’s really late nights here in Australia when you’re playing ice hockey. I had training sessions that would start at 10:30pm which was just brutal as I had early starts for my personal training. When I did give it up though there was this massive hole in my life again.

How did skateboarding enter the picture?

Around Covid time we used to walk around the local park and they were building a skatepark there. I used to walk past it all the time. I was already in love with the Dogtown guys, the gnarly attitude they had, and everything that came along with that Dogtown culture. Mostly I was drawn to this idea of riding bowls. So when the park opened up I bought myself a skateboard for my birthday. At first I was just riding around, pushing around and even that immediately started giving me so much happiness and joy. One morning I went there at about 6am so no-one else would see me and started trying to ride the small bowl, I couldn’t drop in or anything yet. As soon as I rode the bowl a little bit I was hooked on something again. I fell in love with it and started to get obsessed with doing it myself and with skateboarding general. So anything and everything to do with skateboarding I started to get into and one of the big ones was listening to The Nine Club episodes. They spoke to all of the OG’s and it was a way to learn about the culture which for me was a massive deal. I was able to listen back to the things that were important to skaters, the way they spoke about things, and about certain parts of the culture. That is so important for skateboarding, the culture, and the respect for people who have come up from the past. There are all of these unwritten rules and regulations which aren’t written down anywhere but mean a lot.

“As soon as I rode the bowl a little bit I was hooked on something again”

Skateboard Strength creator Dan Bardallo hitting the tiles at his local bowl in Sydney

If I hadn’t had The Nine Club to guide me I think that when I finally started to post content it wouldn’t have been as successful because I wouldn’t have understood what was important to skaters as well as I did as a result. I think it would have been shit on and gone nowhere because skaters can spot a poser a mile away. I’m not the greatest skater but I had the understanding of things you don’t do in the skate community, and things you don’t say. I had an idea of what people would respond well to and what they wouldn’t. I greatly attest that to The Nine Club because of the education it offered me. I bought Kelly Hart a coffee when I saw him at SLS and shook his hand, I told him I wanted to thank him because if it wasn’t for The Nine Club I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing.

When you discovered ice skating you were already helping people as a trainer?

I had already been a trainer for about five years at that point. My arc with training was that I had always struggled with weight, weight loss and aesthetics never came easy to me which was frustrating. I always wondered why my mates could eat whatever they want and not put on any weight whereas aI had to work so hard for it. Then I found a trainer who helped me and I realised how much easier this stuff could be when you actually understand it and know the things you could be doing. At the time I was actually working construction and living with a personal trainer. My body was broken from construction and the guy I was living with suggested I try and work as a trainer. When I left school I originally wanted to do physiotherapy or a sports master’s degree but I was never really good at school, and later in life diagnosed with ADHD and other shit. School just wasn’t the right environment for me but I found you could do a course in personal trading and get a certificate. So I saved up the money from construction and did that full time. Then I ended up doing a full years apprenticeship with another personal trainer as well.

By the time I finished working construction my body was absolutely broken. I had stuff going on with my back and my hips and no-one could really piece me together. Then I found this guy who was next level, he exposed me to a level of trainer that I still really aspire to be to this day. Something I seek out still. I don’t think people really know that is out there in terms of what their understanding is in terms of the human body, anatomy, biomechanics, hormones, and how that all plays in. What they can do with this knowledge in terms of fixing people is incredible. Once he fixed me I started going down that route. For the first five years I was in a course every other weekend and putting anything that I earned back into education. I realised there was this level of trainer out there which is a whole other thing and that’s what I wanted to do. I kept upskilling and learning. Then I started helping people with pain, cases involving issues that were anomalies, people who felt they had been to see everyone and found out nothing. I slowly started to help people. You help one person and build on it, the more people I helped gave me a quiet confidence that I had the knowledge to really do this. By the time I found ice hockey I had the experience in aesthetics, weight loss and fat loss as well as the rehab experience. Finding ice hockey is what set me down the performance route. By then I had dipped my toe in everything.

But then you discover skateboarding. What led you into tailoring your skills to supporting the strain skating puts on your body?

I was doing with skateboarding exactly what I did with ice hockey. I was using my tools, my craft, and experience to figure out what the best training methods would be. What do I need to be doing, and how can I maximise my performance for skating? There was a big difference between ice hockey and skating though. With ice hockey I just started seeking out the best S&C trainers for ice hockey in the world, I would pay them extraordinary amounts of money to sit down with them for half an hour. These are guys who were training people in the NHL, some of the best ice hockey players out there. I would pay them for a video consultation, ridiculous sums of money to pick their brains. I trained with one of them as well. Again it was costing a lot of money but for me it was invaluable research. I was learning from these top-tier guys on top of my education and personal practice. When I found skateboarding I went to do the same thing because it seemed to be the natural process. The difference was that if you type in strength and conditioning coach for any other sport, and I know skating is not a sport, but type in any other sport and you’re flooded with websites and multiple coaches. Do the same thing for skateboarding and it’s just crickets out there. Especially when I first discovered a love for skateboarding, I searched for resources and nothing came up. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone, some alternate universe. That seemed weird but it didn’t really matter to me because I already had the tools, it was about building understanding and taking the time to practically apply what I knew. I was watching so much skating, and still am. It’s amazing to stop clips and understand the biomechanics of certain movements while also experiencing that in real time as I progressed.

“I couldn’t believe there were so few people out there helping skaters. Then I started having one too many conversations at the park”

I couldn’t believe there were so few people out there helping skaters. Then I started having one too many conversations at the park. Everyone always has something that’s hurting them, everyone is skating semi-injured all the time. I’d hear guys saying they couldn’t do certain tricks anymore because it hurts, or their days of doing X, Y and Z were over. Then two things happened, first I was at the park and I was fortunate enough to watch Kieran Woolley, Keegan Palmer and Dylan Donnini. I was watching them skate this big bowl in Sydney from a distance. They were all trying a trick together, launching out of the bowl and running out. Sometimes they were landing on the flat bottom and I was thinking how the fuck are these guys doing this? How are these kids taking this impact? I was dumbfounded that no-one was doing any training for skateboarding especially with that level of impact being so brutal. The second thing that happened was I was skating the bowl with a kid who was down there with his dad watching. His dad kept giving his son tips and he gave me a few too. The kid told me that his dad used to be a really good skater. The dad kind of brushed it off when we were talking that he used to skate but mentioned his knee isn’t so great anymore so he stopped. That to me was already a common tale but a sad one because it’s a moment where you can really connect with your child by enjoying the same thing but you’re bound by your failing body.

The very first Skateboard Strength Instagram post inspired by many conversations at the local park

That motivated me and so I posted a few things up on Instagram to help people because this stuff is out there, it’s pretty well-known and well-studied advice but it seemed like skaters weren’t aware of it. So I made a few Instagram posts and they started to do really well. At the time I was running a basic personal training page on Instagram also but the Skateboard Strength one was getting more engagement. There was a lot more positive feedback and it was just a lot nicer. Personal training and fitness online, especially on Instagram is a shitty kind of world. It’s not one I ever felt I belonged in. All of the things skaters don’t like about the gym, I don’t like about the gym either. If you scratch the surface level you can discover really interesting stuff within it but I get how it looks on the surface because there’s too many wankers in string singlets and girls showing their booty. That’s not what it actually is but what a select few tend to do with it. Running the personal training page was exhausting, keeping up with that stuff and battling against it. When Skateboard Strength started doing well and getting good feedback it gave me a chance to step outside of the world I had been in, this fitness world I didn’t like. It was giving me joy and happiness, and it was helping my career because it was revitalising my interest beyond this pornification of fitness through social media. I decided to go all in on Skateboard Strength because it was giving me more happiness than that other world, and that’s still where I am today.

Let’s talk about the basic principles your course builds from. How did you cherry-pick relevant poses and exercises to help aid a skateboarders mobility?

I got injured quite early, I fractured my elbow. So even when I was recovering from that I would sit at the hill by my local skatepark and just watch skating. When you already have an understanding of biomechanics you can begin to understand what muscles are being fired, what joints are being used most, and what are the positional demands people put themselves through. Then you can start to extrapolate back and work out what you need to give people, what their bodies need. You begin to fine-tune things, I have the best exercises and modalities already there so it was about cherry-picking what’s best suited based on the demands I have been seeing. I started looking at myself and the problems I was up against. I train, I’ve been training for over fifteen years now so I feel I’m on the fitter side, especially for my age, but even I found myself getting tight. Skateboarding exposed certain weaknesses within me, so if it did that to me it was probably going to be way worse for older skaters or people just learning to skate.

So I used what I had noticed in myself and I also started training some high-level skaters, sponsored guys. It’s got to the point now where I’ve trained some pros as well. So getting to know them and their bodies was interesting, the issues they had, and the issues that kept coming up. What did they come in with on a weekly basis and how does that interact because if they’re having these problems and they’re at the top of their game those needs will filter down. It was basically like getting a crash course, these guys are out there filming parts and putting their body through the mill, it was a magnifying glass on the body of a skater. They’re doing things on a more intense level while the people downstream who aren’t so good won’t be experiencing the same level of strain but will be using the same movements. That higher intensity exposes things a lot quicker, the guys downstream will experience similar things but it will take them longer. I used all of that experience to work out what people will need at different levels and what will work for them.

“I used all of that experience to work out what people will need at different levels and what will work for them”

The Skateboard Strength Instagram is a valuable, clearly labelled resource answering many questions

Yoga or pilates are practices many people gravitate towards to help their skateboarding. Are there any poses that may not be so helpful?

I think I’ve shit on yoga and pilates a bit in the past and I think people maybe misunderstand what I’m saying but this is how I see it. I use bits of yoga and bits of pilates within my programming. If we have a 45-minute session we’ll start with some of that stuff. The issue is that you tend to get skaters who will find yoga or pilates, that’s usually their first entry point. They want to be less stiff and feel more mobile so they start stretching and they’ll feel better as a result. The problem is that skating is a game of impact and forces. If you’re not training to better adapt yourself to receive those impacts and forces you kind of get put on a hamster wheel. You’ll do the yoga or pilates, gain the mobility that you’re after, and feel good. Then as soon as you go back to skating you haven’t really armed yourself with the ability to handle the impact and forces at that new range. You’ve opened up your range with these poses, opened up these muscles but you’re not really strong there. You go back to skating, beat yourself back into that range, and your body responds by tightening up so you don’t go there again. The message your body is sending you is that if you keep going into this range it’s going to cause damage to the joints. That’s why it tightens up. It knows you’re going to hurt something so it tightens up because the muscles are overworked from those forces of impact. It tightens up to stop you going to those end ranges to prevent structural damage. So people often tend to get enhanced mobility from yoga and pilates, go skating and beat themselves up, then have to keep doing yoga and pilates more and more to maintain. It’s a hamster wheel.

“people often tend to get enhanced mobility from yoga and pilates, go skating and beat themselves up, then have to keep doing yoga and pilates more and more to maintain. It’s a hamster wheel”

It’s the same thing that happens with stretching and with all of these other tools that are out there now which can be cool if used properly, things like thera-guns, foam rollers, leg sleeves etc. You want to do some of this stuff but skaters barely train as it is. So if you’ve got two 45-minute sessions a week to dedicate time to this stuff it makes no sense dedicating the entire time to yoga or pilates where you’re only working on one side of what a skater needs which is mobility. In that 45 minutes, it is better to choose the best yoga and pilates exercises and do them in a five-minute warm-up period before arming you with the capability to handle the loads and impact that skating puts you through. Then this means you don’t have to keep doing this all the time, you don’t need to do more and more mobility stuff. You want that stuff to stick so you do less and less of it. So you do the yoga and pilates stuff to increase mobility, then create stability in those joints at those newfound ranges then strengthen up into those ranges. This way your body feels strong and capable enough to use those new-found ranges when you skate. This all means you have to do less mobility work, you’re holding onto that mobility because your body is capable of using it when you skate. When it comes to training to skate and you’re short of time which most skaters usually are that’s what you want to be doing, and that’s how I structure my programs. What are the best things we can be doing? I want to maximise that 45-minute block by incorporating the best things to aid performance.

You had to incorporate stability as a goal taking into account the specific positions and movements unique to skating. What do we as skateboarders do regularly that puts a bizarre strain on our bodies?

One of the things that’s really unique to skating is part of the reason that ankles get so beaten up as well. When someone jumps normally and lands on the ground their heel will eventually find its stiff point from the ground contact. The ground will be the limiter, your heel will hit it, and that will stop the range of motion happening to your ankle. If you have to cut direction or jump, when you land, it is your heel hitting the ground that is where the range of motion will stop. This helps as far as being a brake mechanism. When you skate, even if you’re just popping a small ollie off of the ground, when we land it’s possible for our heels to drop below toe level because our trucks steer the board. So when you do take impact when you land, the point when the board is going to be straight is when your heel is in line with your toes. Depending on how you land that heel can drop below toe level, and that is where you put a massive strain on your Achilles, calf, and your ankle in general.

A snippet of The Skateboard Strength Foot, Calf, and ankle program which is Free to Download

You also need to go from your heel being below toe level back up to it being in line with toe level to steer the board straight which can make or break your trick. Staying with the heel below means that you’re just going to drift off backside and turn. Not only does this motion put a massive strain on the calf and the Achilles, something else happens. When you watch a big trick done down a stair set in a video or someone landing the same trick constantly at SLS which I love watching because you can see this so clearly. When someone lands a trick down some stairs you see their ankle snap down but then it snaps back up to toe level to steer the board straight. That snap there is really unique to skating. You don’t get that in a lot of other places because everywhere else the ground will stop your heel from dipping down. This is why the foot, calf, and ankle get so strained from skateboarding. The demands being placed on the ankle joint are insane in skateboarding so that’s one of the big ones I always highlight that is very unique to skateboarding.

You incorporate strength training exercises in your routines that are obviously beneficial for performance. I noticed many of the exercises on your Instagram rely mostly on body weight and maybe resistance bands but rarely weights. Is there any strength training traditional workouts may include that could be counter-productive for skateboarders?

This is another thing I battle with skaters on. Most skaters don’t go to the gym so I try to make everything I post on Instagram really accessible to them. I make the exercises things they can just do at home. Resistance bands are cheap and easy to get hold of, and dumbbells are too. For most programs I run there is a home version where all you need is a set of dumbbells, some bands, and a foam roller. From there on you’ll have a long range of programming, that’s how it’s set out. I battle with skaters on this because I want them to load but they tend to view the gym and loading as this whole jock thing, it’s something I try hard to break the stigma on. When you look at skateboarding and the amount of forces that get placed on the body by either popping the board or taking landings, the forces far exceed body weight. So that being said bodyweight exercises alone simply aren’t going to cut it. So many guys message me with bad knees and tell me they’ve been following a program. They show me the program and it just includes bodyweight lunges. You take at least four times your body weight when you pop the board. If you want to repair your knee to skate you need to load that bad boy up and it seems skaters are afraid of that load.

“bodyweight exercises alone simply aren’t going to cut it…If you want to repair your knee to skate you need to load that bad boy up and it seems skaters are afraid of that load”

When I post stuff that includes loads that are heavier they tend to tank, they’re not popular. But skaters need load and we’re turning the corner as far as that awareness. You need to load and you need to load heavy. If you’re asking if anything will be detrimental to someone? I don’t think skaters will ever go to that point. If you were doing jut regular bodybuilding training it might not be as efficient but the way skaters are and the level they go in at even that would be beneficial to them.

I feel like the resistance to it comes from not wanting to bulk up, the perception being you’ll end up top heavy.

Let’s get into that. On paper, there will be a point where it could hinder your skateboarding performance if you got that big and bulky. So certain training methods could hinder performance. Most skaters in their lifetime won’t ever run the risk of going anywhere near that. That’s the difference, they’re so worried and afraid of something that’s non-existent to them- it’s just not going to happen. The process of putting on muscle is difficult enough so it’s not a concern, it is not going to happen to you. You’re not going to beef up like that, to put on muscle you have to strain the muscle to the point where you’re training super hard. Then you also have to eat, to put on muscle you need to be getting more calories and putting more energy into the body than you’re expending. Skateboarders are burning so many calories skating alone to begin with. You would have to be eating so much food to even get to the point where your muscles are getting the fuel they need to get bigger.

You would have to go to serious lengths to put on the type of muscle people think will hinder their skating. Muscle isn’t put on in the gym, the weight training is a stimulus, the catalyst to you putting on muscle. The actual muscle is built in the recovery period, are you recovering well? Getting eight or nine hours of quality sleep a night? That’s the environment you need to put on good-quality muscle. Most skaters aren’t doing any of these things. They may put on some muscle which will only aid them in their pursuit, to get to the level of muscle where you’re worried about it, it ain’t going to happen. Someone like Neen Williams is a good example, you see that dude and his discipline, it’s insane. That dude is ice bathing, taking saunas, he tracks all of his meals. He knows everything that goes into his body, the calories, the carbs, the protein, the fat content. That’s what it takes if you’re trying to put on muscle. He trains like an animal and he’s not too big for skateboarding. I think the misconception skaters have is that they’re going to stumble into putting on too much muscle and get bulky but it’s like chasing the boogeyman. It’s not going to happen, it’s a bad perception to have because it hinders them from training. Your goal should be to put on muscle. They say swing for the stars and end up on the moon, you’ll still end up with something good.

“You can create this nice environment where training and skating work together but you need to understand what a good quality program looks like. One that allows you to build over time rather than drill you into the ground”

Also when people say it will affect their skating because of the stiffness you get from training. That’s just down to the quality of training they’re doing. It’s not usually because of putting on muscle it’s usually because they are training inefficiently and getting too sore. They feel stiff because they’re sore, it’s not muscle, the training has made them stiff and that’s all. It all comes down to education and understanding, how to train properly, how to manage your intensity levels when you train. It’s understanding that if skating is your goal and training is meant to aid your skating then that’s the way you need to train. Skaters often approach training with the same gnarly mindset they approach skating with, if you do that with training you’re only going to pull up sore the next day. With strength training you don’t have to work to fail to get a result, you have to get close and flirt with failure. Skaters think they have to leave the gym sweating and on the ground and to feel like they upped stuff out. The reality is that a lot of the movements need to be slow and controlled, intentional. You’ll get all the benefits from this, the adaptation of strength but without the muscle soreness the next day.

You can create this nice environment where training and skating work together but you need to understand what a good quality program looks like. One that allows you to build over time rather than drill you into the ground. It’s like trying to ollie a ten-stair when you first start skating, you’re going to be pulling up sore, what did you think was going to happen? You need to develop the technique, the language, and the tolerance for it. Training is a lifetime pursuit, it’s not something you do for a few weeks then quit. I’ve been trying to get this message out to skaters, it goes beyond training, beyond skating, this is about quality of life. Guys out there are getting older and we see the toll skating has taken on their body, their knees, and hips. I wonder how I will feel when I’m sixty, there are parts of my body with screws in. The thing that training gives you is this quality of life off the board to play with our kids and show up for the physically and not in pain. It’s another benefit training gives you that is undervalued and not spoken about as much. If you take the time to learn it and learn the craft as well it will pay off in many different avenues.

Your program includes lots of helpful exercises for recovery, something it was common once upon a time to treat with beer, zoots, skate videos and some ankle alphabet exercises at best. It’s amazing that Instagram feeds like yours offer free tutorials that can aim people in the right direction and help them get back on track. It’s great that you aren’t gatekeeping this info even though you obviously are offering complete programs…

Thanks mate. I have the program I’ve put together and had some guys hating on it, hitting me up saying why don’t I do it for free. They’re accusing me of trying to make money off skateboarding. Anything you want I have already solved the issue for free you just have to look at my Instagram, my website, blog or at some of the YouTube tutorials. If you look at my Instagram every single post is labeled so you can go backwards and easily find what you’re looking for, it’s all there for free. I went really out of my way to create the program, this next level that builds from what you can see. I wanted to develop the best thing I could and it took up a lot of time, it still does and I’m still trying to deliver. All the info is there and you have both options, there’s definitely no gatekeeping and I’m definitely going to continue putting free stuff up there. This other option just makes things that much clearer for those who really want to make that change. Even then I tried to make it as cheap as possible for everyone to achieve that entry point to get in. I know the economy is tough and they say there is no money in skateboarding, I wanted it to be accessible in that way. I’m doing everything I can to support the community in both ways. The free stuff is cool but when you get the paid stuff there really is an incredible resource there for what you’re paying. That was my aim, if someone is going to hand over their hard-earned money they’re going to be getting more than they thought they ever would.

When I built the program and created the Skateboard Strength app I went and bought so many other programs because I wanted to see what other people were putting out there. My aim was to blow all of those other programs and apps out of the water in terms of what level of content I was going to be giving out to people. I also wanted to underprice it compared to other programs. Both avenues are there and a lot of effort has been put into both so I hope people appreciate it, enjoy it, and get a lot of value out of it whether they’re in pain or not. It’s about helping the community as much as possible.

warm ups | Recovery | Knee Pain | Older Skaters | Street Skaters

Saying that, even with all of the info there it can sometimes be overwhelming, The Netflix effect, an hour choosing something and never getting around to watching it. If you could recommend five regular exercises that would improve and safeguard skateboarding for anyone out there what would they be? Something you could do daily.

Above you will see five blocks of exercises I recommend that could be a useful starting point. With the programs I had done and with the free stuff that I post a lot of them are built of ten or fifteen-minute blocks of what you can do, I have pieced them together like that. They are there as advice for someone who has fifteen minutes to spare. All of the videos and demos are there, I have literally given it all away for free. But this is the issue, do this program, do it exactly like it is written here, the order is there, the repetitions. My feed is tailored to every different problem you can think of. I get that people are overwhelmed but I try to make it as easy as possible. I’m worried that I have included too much information on the app which could be overwhelming but even then I’ve made introduction videos and broken it down to be simple. There’s a group chat where you can ask questions and I’ll direct you to the right starting point. When you’re dealing with lots of people I have realised that many get lost.

Attention spans have dwindled too.

It blows my mind, I’m not sure if it’s attention spans or laziness but people literally want their stuff given to them. That’s what’s hard sometimes when people hit me up in my DM’s. I don’t have one unread message in there, I’m on it and every question gets answered. But a lot of them are still the stuff I want out of my way to prevent having to answer in the first place. I have dudes messaging me asking what to do for their ankle? If they took a second to look at my feed they would see all possible angles have been covered and labelled.

What do you think people underestimate the most as being beneficial?

I think people definitely underestimate the benefit that good quality strength training will have on their skating. Hips are a big one but I think people underestimate the importance of their tendons and how much they affect the rest of the joints like the ankle, the knee, and the hip. I see this a lot with older skaters and older skaters getting back into skating, and also with people learning to skate who are a bit older too. Tendons require what we call plyometric loading to remain springy. They fulfill this role of being these still springs that can absorb and produce elastic energy. There’s tendon use everywhere in skating, as soon as you step on a board and try to pop it. When we’re younger we run, jump, skip. We’re playing with our friends and our tendons are getting that style of loading a lot and are adapting to take it. When you’re young and you go outside and start skating for the first time you don’t really notice these things. You try to skate, you can recover easy, it’s all gravy.

“People are telling me that when they finish skating now it’s because they have run out of stamina, not because something hurts.That’s the perfect feedback”

What we see with old skaters trying to get back into it is that they undervalue the use of their tendons. Someone who hasn’t jumped or run in years is suddenly doing all of this plyometric loading trying to skate like they used to. The amount of plyometric loading a forty-minute skate requires is insane. So we see their tendons blow up, Achilles tendon, quad tendon, plantar fasciitis, jumpers knee. It’s a long list because the tendons just aren’t ready having been sitting around doing nothing for five or ten years. They get overused, tired, and can’t take it. How good your tendons are at accepting load plays a massive role up the chain on how much loading the knee or the hip takes. That’s when your knee takes a beating or your hips get overly tight, this upstream of forces are placed on the joints because the tendons are overworked and aren’t being used in the way they’re meant to be. They no longer have that capacity so there is a knock-on effect to all of these other injuries. Strengthening your tendons is definitely undervalued especially by those trying to get back into skating later on in life.

Can you give us a success story where you have helped the recovery of someone we may be familiar with?

I’ve got a few I don’t want to really talk about just yet because I’ve helped a lot of skaters and quite a few pros now too. More than I’ve talked about. Training still has a bit of a stigma surrounding it in skating and I’m very conscious of that so I don’t want to put anyone out there who doesn’t want to be mentioned. The amount of skateboarders who train and don’t post about it or talk about it is insane, most of your favourite skaters are training but never talk about it because of the stigma and how they may be viewed. I’m mindful that people maybe don’t want their recovery out there or talked about. There are two ends of the spectrum, I got messaged thanks the other day by a guy who was saying that beyond skating he can now pick stuff up off the ground without being in pain. His day-to-day life has improved, his knees and back aren’t hurting, and he’s not in pain when he wakes up. That’s huge to me, I love that shit because it’s quality of life beyond skating. Helping someone do tricks again is great but helping someone who has struggled with back pain for ten years to having none is massive. People are telling me that when they finish skating now it’s because they have run out of stamina, not because something hurts.That’s the perfect feedback.

Sam Saddleton fakie 360 flips for Satoru kamatsu’s Homage video

In terms of higher-profile skaters the last one was probably Sam Saddleton. That was a really nice one where I was fortunate enough to be close with him and training with him while he was working on finishing his video part. Towards the end when these guys are trying to finish things it gets fucking intense. He’s working to a deadline obviously and to see what those guys put their body through is nuts. I can’t try and take too much credit for what anyone did, it’s bullshit when people say these athletes are where they are because of me. They’ve put years of work in before they even met a trainer. I like to think of it as I’m working alongside an athlete and helping in any way I can. But one of the coolest things was not just what they put their body through but something I don’t think maybe other skaters in the community understand. Sam would go out at the weekend and skate, trying to film on Saturday or Sunday. I would then get a message from him on Sunday evening saying this is what’s happened, this is what went wrong. He would send me a bunch of clips, some of them would be makes, some of them would just be fucking slams. He’d then tell me what feels shit. Then he would come in on Tuesday and we would figure out what hurts, what’s bad, and take time out to try and fix his hip, or fix his ankle. We’d work to a point that would help with his recovery, I’d set him some homework. He’d be back in on the Wednesday, then by Thursday he’d be feeling a bit better and we’d train him enough that he’d feel confident to go back out on Saturday to do it all again. That was the process, every week he’d come in broken and we’d try and do enough in the week that he could get back out at the weekend and stack another clip.

We went to the premiere for Homage which is what he was filming for. Sam kills it in that video and so does Lenny [Tejada] who shuts down Sydney with his part, he kickflipped and tre flipped the Hyde Park stairs which was nuts. You should definitely watch that video if you get a chance. When I went to the premiere I was watching Sam’s part which to me is the best part he has put out yet. He had some slams in the bails section and watching those just brought all of these memories back. I honestly got a bit emotional because it was so nice to have been a part of that. I remembered all of those instances and how he had put his body on the line for it. I’m very thankful that he allowed me to be a part of that process and to see the result of what he was able to put out was amazing. That was pretty cool for me, a really cool moment so that’s probably the most recent one.

I think you’re doing a good job in reducing the stigma of looking after our bodies which as you said is quite a funny taboo in skateboarding.

It’s sort of okay to speak about it now. Lots of people would still never post about it but you’re seeing a lot more people talking about it than before. I think it’s still considered lame to talk about it. If you talk about the Dogtown culture, that whole skate or die attitude, even skaters like that are doing stuff now. They present a “don’t give a fuck” persona and I guess training is perceived as giving a fuck, I don’t know, haha.

“They’re telling me this stuff is ruining skating but it’s there to make things better for skaters so they can enjoy it for longer. That’s what this has all been about for me from the beginning. Reaching out with help to a community that was so welcoming and nice to me from the start”

I will still get a bit of hate online when I post stuff up, some of these older guys saying this is bullshit, that skaters don’t do any of this, and that all the top level guys don’t do any training at all. I always respond that they need to open their eyes, everyone is doing this shit and trust me, I know. I remember one guy made a comment about looking at all the top guys in SLS, that none of them do this stuff. Dude, look at the top guys in SLS, everyone does this stuff, I fucking know for a fact. People’s perception is really out.

Armchair critics.

Yeah, and the guys commenting don’t even skate anymore because their bodies are broken. They’re hyper-critical of it but they’re falling apart and can’t skate anymore. They’re telling me this stuff is ruining skating but it’s there to make things better for skaters so they can enjoy it for longer. That’s what this has all been about for me from the beginning. Reaching out with help to a community that was so welcoming and nice to me from the start. There’s a lot of pain and suffering in the skate community because of stuff that seems silly to me. There are solutions for this and there have been solutions to this for years. There’s no reason to stop skating at twenty because your knee hurts, it’s an easy fix.

You have also branched out into a podcast which has had a number of qualified guests and has included skaters like Spencer Hamilton and Felipe Gustavo. What has this outlet opened your eyes to from the evolving community?

It’s been a hard one because I would like to do one every second week but I wanted it to be with experts in their chosen field who skaters could learn from, or skaters who have had success with this stuff and are proponents of it. I want it to be somewhere people can learn and somewhere that breaks down the stigma surrounding this stuff. Hopefully people will see from it that more skaters are doing this stuff and benefiting from the results. It’s a hard thing to do because not everyone is willing to speak on this stuff.

Three notable appearances on the Skateboard Strength podcast available on Apple and Spotify

You get some G’s like Spencer Hamilton or Felipe Gustavo who are willing to speak on this stuff, they’re out in the open about it and I’m so appreciative of those guys for talking about it. Then coming on the podcast too, they didn’t need to do that but they openly spoke about their stories. I know many other skaters who do train but don’t really want to talk about it. You must know what it’s like, I’ve had lots of people say they’re down to be on the podcast but the reality is that it’s impossible to actually get them on. As I said, I’m hyped on people like Spencer and Gustavo and I think they’re doing really valuable shit for the community. My aim for the podcast is just to put that in the spotlight a bit more, raise awareness, let people learn from their favourite skaters, and realise it’s cool to do this stuff. It’s one thing coming from me but it’s a whole other thing coming from skaters people they know. I think it has opened my eyes to the fact that there are more skaters training than you think.

What timeframe do you think people need to dedicate to this?

I always tell people to start with two 45-minute sessions a week. If it’s yoga and pilates, whatever it is, just do something but start dedicating time to doing it. What I was saying before is that you can be a bit more efficient with your time. You can get a lot more done if time is an issue and you’re clever with it. If it’s yoga that’s an easy entry point the perfect go and do that. Do something towards it for two 45-minute sessions a week. With the training sessions I build, in 45 minutes we can cover it all, mobility work, stability work, strength, plyometrics. You can do it all in that two-session timeframe a week and that is plenty to start with. On top of that, I always tell the guys I train that everyone sits down and watches TV in the evening so I give them 5 or 10-minute mobility blocks for the evening where they can pull out the foam roller or do some stretching on the couch. Do that another couple of times a week and it’s plenty, especially initially. I always tell people it’s a bit of a gateway drug where if you do this for 4-6 weeks and are consistent with it you will notice enough a change in your body that it will make it a complete no-brainer for you. It will make you wonder why you haven’t been doing this forever. It will also make you realise just how shit you’d been feeling before. Perspective is everything when you have no barometer on how bad the body was. Once you get a test for how much better the body can feel daily and how much better you feel on your board you will be all in. You will start prioritising your training after that because you just can’t live the other way anymore.

There was an interesting point in London where we found out that AVE trained with ankle weights. Quite a few of us would wear ankle weights all day at work then go skating, take them off, and feel a kind of liberation and improved placebo-pop when in actual fact we were probably just twice as tired as normal. Would any of this be founded in science?

You were wearing ankle weights all day? That would be brutal. I think that would again be being weighed down all day and then the perspective afterwards being that everything else feels light. You were just giving your body a form of loading and your body adapted to it and got stronger. That’s it, that’s what you were feeling, that you’d gotten stronger. Was it the most efficient way to do it? Probably not but you got somewhere anyway, it’s a gnarly way to do it.

The craze didn’t last very long.

Haha, yeah, probably not the most sustainable which is another big thing I talk about. You want something you can sustain and keep doing long term. Will you wear ankle weights every day for the rest of your life? Probably not, and it will be something you give up. If you get those two 45-minute sessions locked in as part of your routine and it’s something you can progress at, then it’s something a bit more achievable.

Is that the biggest mistake people make, going all in and burning out?

100% and we see it a lot at this time of year, people go in on their New Year resolutions then by the end of January everyone’s dropped off. The reason is that it’s too much too quickly, it’s too big of a change. We see this with weight loss and fat loss as well, if you change too much too soon you’ll maintain for three or four weeks then it becomes overwhelming. Work-life comes into play, you get stressed out and everything else crumbles because you changed something so radically. Instead of saying I’m going to drop a little bit of weight people rebel against the entire process and forget all of it. That’s the all-or-nothing approach but if you start making subtle changes, a little bit at a time, that’s how you create and form habits that are easy to sustain. Over time, after a year or half a year of developing these things you don’t remember changing much because it’s been subtle and it has just become your lifestyle now. There’s nothing to rebel against because it’s just been slowly integrated into your life. That’s how you want to do it.

“if you start making subtle changes, a little bit at a time, that’s how you create and form habits that are easy to sustain…There’s nothing to rebel against because it’s just been slowly integrated into your life. That’s how you want to do it”

Does slamming regularly actually making your body or bones tougher?

I have been curious about that. When you think in terms of kids who have grown up slamming a lot. I was thinking about it because what happened to me was getting shinners and later on in life. I have had some shinners that have taken me out where I have thought “fuck this!” I see kids taking shinners and it still hurts but I feel like their bones have calcified and developed a tolerance to it over time. You take Muay Thai fighters, I did a little in the past and the kickboxers will kick trees. You do start getting used to that pain, initially, your shins are purple and it feels like crap but you start developing a tolerance to it, and you also acclimatise to being kicked in different places. I was curious about building this tolerance in your shins especially when you’re younger. In extension to that if you’re slamming a lot when you’re younger do you develop a tolerance that allows you to take it a bit more when you’re older? Over here with Rugby League, or Rugby over there, or GridIron in the US, those guys are just slamming their shoulders into each other all the time, you develop a tolerance and the body is incredible a adapting so I think there would be a lot of adaptation to slamming especially if you have done it from a younger age.

Who have you noted as having the most effective slamming technique that smacks of proper training?

You know what, I can’t name a particular person but one of my favourite things to do was watch SLS warmups. Every time I went I would get there early to watch that because I just love watching them bail over and over. I’ll name someone actually because it was a really unique experience. I remember one of the first SLS comps I went to we were watching Yuto [Horigome] warm up. I could be exaggerating here because it was such an incredible experience but I don’t think I saw him land more than a couple of tricks in the warm-up. What he was doing instead was he would pop the board, get close to the rail, or get his foot on the rail and run out. He would get there and just bail out, he wasn’t really landing anything. I remember watching him and thinking maybe he’s just not on today. Then as soon as his round went on he landed every single one of his tricks except the last one, then every single one of them in his second run and he got a Nine Club. I have never seen a skater just turn it on like that. It made me realise that at the beginning what he was doing was just feeling things out, judging distances, and getting a handle on things. Then when he wants to it’s on and it’s all there. That was cool watching someone so comfortable bailing. Watching those warm-ups is incredible because none of those guys look like they’re in any danger. Nyjah [Huston} is a freak when he’s skating big rails too, he never looks in danger and that delicate dance they do is so underrated. I call skateboarders athletes for that reason and a lot of people don’t like to use that word. But look at what they’re doing, it’s insanity.

I think when you’re younger you naturally recover quickly and may feel you don’t need to do anything extra to keep skating. Do you think younger skaters should incorporate strength training? Will this ultimately lead to greater longevity?

I think that when you’re younger you can get away with not doing it because you’re more pliable. But let’s take the NFL in the US as an example, or rugby here or in the UK. If you go back to the 80s and look at these sports look at the players and the athletes involved. They were working factory jobs and playing on the side before they became professional athletes Look at the body sizes of the guys playing then, they were tiny compared to today, they were smashing beers at halftime, it was so fun to watch. But their body types were way different, now look at the fucking animals playing today, they are huge, jacked units. Go back to that argument of can you get too big for skating? These guys are huge but also some of the quickest, most dynamic athletes in the world. They have no problem running fast or changing direction quickly and they are absolutely massive. The biggest thing that has changed for those guys is that they started strength training, and they grabbed these athletes young. These guys started strength training in High School.

The reason why this is so effective is that if you grab an athlete that’s going through puberty their hormones are through the roof. You talk about performance-enhancing drugs and guys take testosterone and steroids, young men at that age, fourteen or fifteen upwards, it’s like working with free steroids. The level of testosterone that gets shot through you at that age when you’re going through puberty is insane, it’s what allows them to recover so quickly. You get them doing some simple strength training at that age where they’re recovering so well and they just become the super athletes. They do so well because they can recover and they gain so much from it. That’s the difference, when you’re younger you can get away with not doing it but if you can get really good quality strength training to these kids at a young age we’re going to see some incredible shit start to happen and some incredible athletes start to happen. When you see them at twenty or twenty-five, not only will it create longevity where the kids will be able to perform at a high level until their late thirties but I think the level skating is just going to be insane. The volume of parts they’ll be able to put out, the volume of impact they’ll be able to take, their pop. It’s going to change the game which is the other side of things I get really excited about, and what I love about what I do. Where can this help with the level these guys want to take it to, and the level of gnarliness they want to achieve? When kids start doing it and doing it properly at a young age it’s going to really change the game for them.

Dan with the crew he trains in Sydney. From left to right – Sam Fairweather, Justin Schmidt, Dan Bardallo, Sam Saddleton

Thanks for you time mate, what would your advice be for someone looking to begin working with you and what equipment do they need to begin this journey?

The willingness to give it a try for 4-6 weeks is what I need, I guarantee you will see results that will make this a no-brainer. You just need to commit to those two sessions a week and maybe do some extra stuff on your days off, easy stuff you can do while you’re watching TV. The biggest thing you need is the commitment to working for 4-6 weeks consistently. You won’t see results overnight, it will take you a few weeks to notice these things but once you do you won’t look back. You get people who join the app but never try. You got that far, you obviously wanted to make a change. Joining the app is one thing but doing the sessions is what you need. I can’t do that bit for you, even with the best program laid out for you, you need to do the program to receive what you’re after. That’s the hardest thing and the only thing I need from someone is to be willing to try it and actually have that commitment to do it.

We would like to thank Dan for taking the time to answer our questions. We recommend following his Instagram which is regularly updated and full of valuable advice and free training videos. You should also visit the Skateboard Strength website where you can find out more and sign up to the Ultimate Performance Program.

Related Reading: Industry: Kelly Hart Interview , Offerings: Spencer Hamilton Interview

The post Longevity: Skateboard Strength appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Our latest “Industry” interview is with Shiner Distribution stalwart Alan Glass. Find out more about Alan’s skateboarding history, his many contributions to our culture, and his continued efforts to bring the same stoke he still feels to newer generations…

Words and interview by jacob sawyer. Alan glass self portrait while on vacation

Alan Glass is an old friend of ours here at Slam. Thanks to a chance meeting with Fos [Mark Foster] at Playstation skatepark at the tail end of the 90s, Alan’s time on the streets of London was set to increase exponentially. He put in the legwork for several seminal Heroin Skateboards releases and crafted them to define different eras of the brand. He was also responsible for the often-overlooked second Landscape video. All of those projects meant that we were fortunate enough to see a lot more of Alan on his days out filming, with our old Neal’s Yard shop fulfilling the role of a clubhouse.

There were multiple instances of Alan contributing to the UK video landscape before meeting Fos and working on the Good Shit video. His editing skills, a talent he first discovered at school, were destined to make him a go-to individual and happily transferred to his passion. This interview covers his early involvement, starting with how he got hooked on skateboarding in the first place. There is some serious serendipity involved with him receiving his first proper Santa Cruz pro board for his birthday in 1988 through to him still filming and editing for that brand today via his role as marketing manager for Shiner Distribution. A fan of skateboarding first and foremost, he is perfectly placed to be recreating the moments that made such an impact on his young mind for fresh eyes.

Lots of people have positions that involve marketing and team managing for specific brands but they are focused on a singular timeline. With the diverse array of American brands that Shiner represent Alan is busier than most, and he has spent over a decade fine-tuning how he delivers the marketing for all of them. It was interesting to explore just what Alan does for Shiner today and how that role has evolved and changed with the times. He is happiest still with a camera in hand on one of the various trips he gets to plan and execute so it was great to talk about the intricacies that go into doing that, especially when juggernauts like last year’s twenty-four-man Anti Hero tour hit the UK. It’s important that people like Alan, whose passion for skateboarding has never dwindled, are behind the scenes, dedicated to making it as special for others as it is to him. We are stoked to be able to bring you his story which includes valuable insights for anyone who feels they’d like to work in the industry…

Alan’s first pro rig – Santa Cruz Jason Jessee “Neptune” deck, Ventures, and OJIII wheels

First off what was your first skateboard, where did you get it from and what year was it?

I got it in January 1988. I bought if for myself with some Christmas card money and some Christmas tips from my paper round. That was after my birthday and Christmas in 1987, I had pretty much begged for a skateboard but I didn’t get one. I remember I got a digital watch for my birthday and I cried. So after Christmas I was determined to get the money together to buy a skateboard. I went to David O’Jones sport shop in Littlehampton in Sussex, an old school sport shop where you could get wide fitting shoes or have your badminton racket re-strung. It was a good old place like that and they also had some skateboards.

I got this thing which was called a RipStick, it was a £40 complete that was the equivalent to a Variflex Air Attack or their cheaper completes at the time. It was called a ‘Bone Ed’ and the graphic was a bit like a mid-period Heroin graphic. It had a repeat pattern on the bottom with skinheads all over it. It had full pink plastics: tail, rails, nose, and lapper. It had pink wheels and I bought some pink griptape so I could do my own griptape design with it on top. It was already pre-gripped but I didn’t know any better so I cut out a hand shape and a foot shape and I stuck them on top of the existing griptape. They obviously peeled off after a week or something. My mum had written off skateboarding as a silly craze but after I bought that and went out on it every single day religiously, by the following birthday I ended up getting all the good shit.

So the first pro board that following November was a Jason Jessee Neptune board, which is considered a classic although Jason has done his best to spoil that. Santa Cruz has been through a lot since then but back in those days Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz, Vision and G&S were the big four. So I had a Santa Cruz board, Venture trucks (back when they were big heavy Indy looking things) and I had OJ II ‘Freez Street’ wheels. They were supposed to be Natas’ pro wheel and at the time they were tiny because they were only 58mm or something, haha. The wheels were black too which may be cool these days but back then it was like what have you got? It was such a stinking looking setup.

What video made a big impression on you?

Public Domain for sure because I didn’t have a VCR at home. My mum thought a video recorder was a waste of money so skate videos became really special to me because I only got to see them at other people’s houses. The first time I ever saw one was when a friend brought Public Domain into school. It was when they used to wheel in the big TV on a trolley with a VCR underneath it in a metal box. We watched Public Domain in the art room and The Rubber Boys part at the start was literally the most exciting thing I had ever seen. This bunch of dudes all skating down the street, all four of them, hitting spots together. Then the music too, that McRad song. For years that was my favourite song in the world, I didn’t know who it was by or what it was called. It was just “that song from Public Domain”. Then a few years ago I ended up seeing McRad play in Sweden, I couldn’t believe it when that was happening.

Then I also saw Hokus Pokus at school too. We had a friend in the sixth form and we were two or three years younger. The skaters we were friends with in the sixth form would drag their TV over to the window so we could stand outside the sixth form common room with the window open and watch their skate videos with them. There’s a clip where Sal Barbier ollies onto a concrete bench with a flat bar behind it. He boardslides the flat bar across the gap between two benches and pops back down onto the second bench and rolls off onto the floor. I couldn’t believe you could ride a skateboard like that. It was absolute sorcery as far as I was concerned.

It’s the clip where he grabs out of the boardslide..

Yeah he does, I watched it a couple of days ago. He mute grabs off the rail to fakie. My only experience at the time was rolling along the floor so this showed me you could go anywhere you wanted on a skateboard.

Did those videos make you want to make videos yourself, or planted the seed?

Eventually yeah. When I was about fifteen or sixteen the school got a video camera and an editing setup. They had just introduced media studies as a GCSE option. My year were the first to have access to that. Nobody else had any kind of purpose for the camera but me and my friends knew we could film skateboarding, it was obvious. I learned how to use the editing suite. They even booked me to go in after school and teach the teachers how to use it ha ha! That was how I made the very first two or three minute long skateboard video which I still have on a VHS tape somewhere. That was when I was about fifteen I reckon.

“It was amazing as soon as I got hold of a video camera. Nobody else had any kind of purpose but me and my friends knew we could film skateboarding, it was obvious”

This is a sign of the times but whatever year that was, that Christmas my mum hired a video camera for me from the local TV & Radio shop. It was there to rent so she got it for me to use over a weekend. I remember not really knowing what to do with it, taking it out while we walked the dog along the beach. Then I finally realised, shit! I’m supposed to film skateboarding! I got all of my friends to go down to Payless carpark. I remember trying to film lines with no fisheye and no lights. It was the lamest shit but it was the first time I had ever filmed skateboarding. I was furious when I saw the footage of myself. I hated how I looked immediately, the same way you do when you hear your voice on tape, I saw myself skate for the first time and thought I sucked with an awful style. Hopefully everyone felt like that at first when they watched themselves. Or maybe I really do suck.

What could be considered as your first contribution to the skateboard industry. Would it be VIP Dubplate Selection Vol.1?

Haha, that wasn’t really anything industry so to speak it was just a scene video..

It was the first thing you did that made it into other people’s hands though.

Yeah exactly. I had made a Worthing scene video first of all, Worthing and Brighton. Only three or four copies of that listed though among me and my friends. When I did that Dubplate video it was obviously a kind of joke concept. I remember siting on Brighton Pier waiting for my friend and I had a notepad. I was writing down all of these ideas including the title. I landed on the title straight away because I was really into Jungle and Dancehall. I knew that I wanted to use that music in a skate video. It wasn’t some clever NBD thing it was just what I was into. I had all this VHS recordings I got off the TV, I had this footage from inside Jamaican Dancehalls, footage from Reggae Splash 89 or whatever it was. I just cut all of that footage in there and made this Jungle-themed skate video. That was literally just for the Brighton locals.

“I just cut all of that footage in there and made this Jungle-themed skate video. That was literally just for the Brighton locals”

I didn’t think at the time that I was going to be able to sell it. At the time I worked at this place where I built editing computers and they had this hook up for getting VHS tapes duplicated. It was super cheap so I got 100 copies of that video made and took them down to The Level skatepark and handed them out to all of the locals. I sent some to friends around the country. I must have sent one to Ben Powell too because it ended up in Sidewalk. It got reviewed and I remember Ben Powell wrote something in the review like “Before anyone gets confused by the musical content in this video I just want to say that the skating in here is actually really good”. Ha ha, thanks for the disclaimer, I’m sure my taste in music didn’t translate for everyone.

You had a brief stint working at a skate shop in Brighton, did you enjoy that side of things?

Yeah I did, I’m sure everyone at some point has considered wanting to work in a skate shop. It was fun, it was a little place called Fat Mamas which just randomly popped up one day. It didn’t appear to be skater-owned but it was legit shop, it did the job and it wasn’t a chainstore or like all of the other places we already had in Brighton. Except for RE-AL, that place was legit.

Then you ended up working as editor for the first batch of Viewfinder videos. Was that when you felt yourself progress at editing? Was it a good learning experience?

Absolutely, I had a friend called Pete Evans who was an Oxford skater so he knew all the Sidewalk guys. He was staying at mine in Brighton one weekend and mentioned that Ben [Powell] from Sidewalk, John Cattle, and this guy called Tom [Moore] were putting together what they were pitching as being a kind of 411VM for the UK. He told me they didn’t have access to any kind of editing equipment yet. I just said “fuck it, tell them I’m in, I’ll do it”. So I ended up talking to Cattle, then those guys came to Brighton and we started editing. Actually, I was homeless when we did the first one. I was living in Colin Pope’s box room which was like a broom cupboard. I just had a mattress on the floor, a desk, a computer, a TV set, a VHS player, and cables everywhere. That was my little editing dungeon for a few months.

That was when you properly got the bug for editing…

That was what felt like the most creative part of it all for me, it was also really kind of new to be able to use that stuff. It was Adobe Premiere to start with. The first videos I ever did were edited tape to tape on analogue equipment. [Dan] Magee always likes to say “No computers: there are some of us who come from the days when we edited skate videos with no computers”. I didn’t miss that ha ha! That was obviously hard as fuck, so when I got a computer it was amazing, you could change the colours, use different effects. All of the stuff that everyone takes for granted now, things you can do on a phone with a child’s app, was super exciting back then. I got really into the editing side of things rather than perfecting my filming.

Following those vdeos you meet Fos at Playstation in 1999 which leads to the Good Shit video…

Yeah he came over and introduced himself to me. I think I already knew who he was from magazines and stuff. I’m not sure if I was already friends with Seth [Curtis] at that point but I already had some kind of London connection and was up there that day. Then Fos came down to Brighton, brought all of his tapes, and we edited the first Heroin video Good Shit in one weekend.

“Fos came down to Brighton, brought all of his tapes, and we edited the first Heroin video Good Shit in one weekend”

The Viewfinder vids were for sale in shops but they weren’t for a company or anything, more of an independent effort. They were still super important though, Viewfinder was the first time I got to edit skateboard footage of people I had heard of not just friends, we had Mark Baines and Carl Shipman footage to work with. I was kind of starstruck when I started doing that one. The Heroin one was the first company video I worked on. If you watch it now it’s nothing really to write home about. It’s as sketchy, and shitty as it could be but the suited the brand I guess

That vid kind of defined what the brand was and would be though, It was a mission statement. Did that feel like you were brand building at the time? Did the experience feel different to you?

My sense of humour is to wind people up and I remember laughing my arse off at some of this footage. The first day we’re at my house and digitising some of these tapes I was looking at it saying “are you fucking serious?” Heroin skateboarding in those days was almost taking the piss, it wasn’t “proper” skateboarding. So I was laughing at this footage saying “I could fucking do that”. Then after a while it clicked, I got it, I understood where this brand was coming from. From there the video was edited accordingly. I was already more proficient in post-production and able to make things look more polished but it became apparent that it wouldn’t be appropriate for this brand. It’s not the best video I ever made or one that I’m super proud of. It was filmed mostly by Fos, some of it was even filmed by Fos’ wife. It was really grainy, shitty, low-quality Hi-8 footage but I could see what it wanted to be. I hope Fos wouldn’t mind me saying this but at the start it felt like it was trying to be, at least as a concept, a kind of British Anti Hero without the superstar skateboarders who are really good. It was the same vibe and Fos’ graphics worked their way into the video to put that whole thing across.

Then in between this timeline there was the Channel 4 documentary [No War for Heavy Metal] you put together. How did that come about?

I think we had already made the first two Viewfinder videos at that point. Then I had some friends who had this little indie music magazine in London called Circuit. They got hit up by a production company who were doing some low-key, low-budget documentaries for Channel 4 which they aired in the middle of the night. I was their video guy if you like, I had already done a few video projects for them filming bands and whatnot. They asked me for my CV so I gave it to them then the production company contacted me independently. They told me they didn’t want to go ahead with the Circuit magazine idea because they already had enough documentaries about music already. But they saw I had skateboarding on the CV and had nothing like that so they asked me if I wanted to make a documentary about skateboarding. I said yes not even really knowing what a documentary was.

I hit up the skaters I had gotten to know doing Viewfinder and made some calls. I was phoning John Rattray and people I had never met saying “I know you don’t know me but do you want to come on a week long trip? I’m not mental or anything” It had to be filmed in December so it was fucking miserable weather and we only went to indoor parks because it rained the whole week. I recruited all the guys from Viewfinder apart from Ben who couldn’t make it for some reason. We brought all of our cameras along and drove around the country going skateboarding with this mixed crew of people from all the different brands. We had people from the Death team, Unabomber, Blueprint, Reaction, the Curtis brothers who were getting flow from American brands. It was pretty wild, I don’t know how we managed to do it. I think I hit up Vans and they ponied up 1500 quid for the van and hotels. I just managed to persuade the people to come along and do it and it ended up on Channel 4 in the middle of the night.

There was some golden John Rattray footage in there.

I’m not saying he was head and shoulders above everyone else on that trip but it was his natural talent that blew me away. I had never filmed anyone that good on a skateboard before. He was really good and anyone who knows John knows that he is insanely intelligent and a really nice guy. It was a real pleasure to be on that trip with him. Some people on the trip were already my friends, and some weren’t. It was fucking great.

This would lead to being on the Heroin payroll. During that period you would produce Everything’s Going to be Alright, Live from Antarctica, Magic Sticky Hand, and the Landscape Horizons vid. Which video is your favourite looking back?

The Everything’s Going to be Alright video was possibly unsuitable for the brand in the sense that I took my film making to the best level that I could. I did the best editing and really polished it up to make something arty. That was to my taste but looking back it was maybe a bit too serious for Heroin. I was really proud of that video as a piece of work. But when we came to do Live from Antarctica next we knew we needed to go back to basics. Really basic titles, basic editing, stupid music and make it more appealing to what seemed like the market for Heroin skateboards or fans of the brand. That one probably made the biggest impact and ticked the boxes best. What’s funny is that it came out the same year as Lost & Found. So I remember people talking about LAF and LFA. We did a trailer for it that said it was the second most anticipated video of the year ha ha! That was probably the pinnacle of the Heroin stuff as far as I was concerned.

Everything’s Going to be Alright (2002), Live from Antarctica (2005), Magic Sticky Hand (2006), Horizons (2008)

Which of those videos do you have the fondest memory of working on?

Maybe Live from Antarctica in the sense that I went to Japan and travelled a lot. That was a huge deal for me, Fos buying me a flight to go out there was something that was unheard of for me at the time. I never thought I’d go that far in the world, especially with someone else paying. Filming in Japan for a few weeks was a dream come true. I really enjoyed filming the second Landscape video though. [Chris] Massey [RIP] had done the Portraits video which was an instant classic and everyone, including me, loved it. So that was a tough act to follow. When he clocked off and didn’t want to do the next one Fos asked me and I said I would try. It felt a little too late for some of the riders because after Portraits there was a small Paris promo that Massey did but then there were several years where Landscape didn’t put out another video. It was a long time afterwards, there were new riders, people had left so there was no more Toby [Shuall] or Toddy [Olly Todd].

It was great having new riders like [Nick] Stansfield and Jin [Shimizu]. Everyone was good to hang out with and travelling around with Joey [Pressey], Snowy [Daniel Kinloch], and Joel [Curtis] was always such fun. It maybe felt like some of the skaters were a bit detached from the brand by then because nothing much had happened.

Some of my favourite Joey [Pressey] footage is in that video.

Joey seemed to get some stick from people because maybe he wasn’t as spectacular at skateboarding as some people wanted. But I feel like the stuff he put out was a precursor to the Traffic or Static years, less is more, and Joey was kind of like that from the beginning. People probably wanted to see some handrails from him or something but I think he came out with a good part. He had a really good song by Ish Marquez and I remember him saying that came from the Slam and Rough Trade connection. I reckon you guys influenced the soundtrack to more videos than you think from just playing music in the shop all day. Any of us who lurked in there were subjected to whatever it was you guys were listening to at the time. You were ideally placed with a record shop beneath the skate shop, the two things worked so perfectly together. Toby Shuall had one of the best skate video songs of all time, no-one was really using acoustic Mazzy Star shoegaze kind of music.

What’s your fav clip you filmed for a Heroin vid and what’s your fav clip in Horizons?

For Heroin I don’t really know, there was so much of it and I wasn’t trying to be the best filmer or anything, we were just capturing what people were doing. One thing I wish I had filmed was anything that Howard [Cooke] did in Live from Antarctica. Swift Blazer on Instagram posted up almost all of Howard’s Live From Antarctica part recently and tagged me as the filmer but I don’t actually film a single trick of Howard for that video. It was all Fos and Howard’s mates contributing footage I guess. Piecing it all together was great but when he did that ollie transfer at the Gas Banks, and the other massive transfer at Meanwhile II it was mind-blowing. That was the closest a Heroin video had got to having proper hammer-stye skateboarding in it. I wish I had filmed that stuff because Howard is easily my favourite UK skateboarder of all time, and probably still would be. It’s terrifying watching Howard skate.

“It was easy to make skateboarding look good in those days…”

Rory Milanes in the Landscape Horizons video filmed through foliage by Alan Glass

As far as the Landscape video Horizons we filmed some nice stuff in Spain as everybody did around that time. You had some golden hour footage in there from those trips. It was easy to make skateboarding look good in those days, VX1000 footage, bright colours in a colourful country. Any of the stuff that Joey, Snowy, or Rory [Milanes] did out there on those Spanish trips was great. Rory had a part in that video with a Rolling Stones song and there was a spot in Barcelona, it was a kind of taco-shaped, spined bank. He did a back tail shuv I think, something relatively simple and I was filming from behind a rose bush getting an arty angle. I remember feeling pretty good about shots like that.

After Fos moved to the states you had a moment working in the real world at a bank. Were you pining to be involved in skateboarding again during that period?

It was one of those situations, when you lose your job and have a matter of weeks or months to maintain paying the bills, you have to find something. I just signed up to a temp agency and got this regular office job. It helped me grow up, it helped me get a mortgage and join the real world for a bit. What’s funny is that during that time I was probably my most creative. Me and French [Richard Sayer] had a little T-Shirt label called Funeral Fog and then he started Witchcraft Skateboards as the hardware brand to accompany it. I made a bunch of little videos for French during those days. I had a lot of fun with that, I made zines with him, we did lots of cool shit. He ended up doing an art show for an American car company who bought us flights to LA. We went over and had video work in an exhibition there.

“There’s that cliché that you never work a day in your life if you’re doing something you love, It’s an amazing existence. That really rings true when you go back and join the real world for a bit, that’s when you realise that you still need to do this stuff”

I always said that if I weren’t to work in skateboarding ever again and just ended up doing something regular, that’s probably when I would be itching to do something skateboarding-related of my own again. It’s funny how that works. You’re spoilt in a way if you work in skateboarding, whether you work in a shop or shoot photos, whatever it is. There’s that cliché that you never work a day in your life if you’re doing something you love, It’s an amazing existence. That really rings true when you go back and join the real world for a bit, that’s when you realise that you still need to do this stuff. I even started to take photos and things like that. I wasn’t trying to be a skate photographer exactly but I was shooting photos to put in my crappy zine. I was still filming for friends who had projects going on too.

How did working for Shiner transpire and what was the original role Chris [Allen] offered you?

The role was as a graphic designer in the marketing department which was a new development, they hadn’t really had that structure in place before. Everyone had just been pitching in with whatever they need to do to market the brands. When I started it was now a dedicated department pushing those products out into the world. I began by resizing ads from the American brands and getting them to the mags, laying out catalogues, the sort of things people used to do but don’t need to any more. That was kind of it and they also wanted me to do a video project for them. They had it in their heads that they needed some kind of video output to showcase the brands and flow riders they had. That was my first work for Shiner.

You basically ended up creating your existing role from that point.

Yeah, exactly. At that point they already had a team manager in place. But the work I began doing straight away, much like with what I was doing for Heroin and Landscape, without being named a TM I was still performing that role. I was booking people flights, driving the van when we were on a trip and being the guy holding things together to make sure they happen. After a while the team manger they had at Shiner ended up moving on somewhere else so they gave me that role, some of which I was already doing anyway. That part of my job became more important, it’s very time consuming and I became more focused on that side of things instead of just being a filmer the whole time. I had already spent a good ten years on the streets by then.

When you mentioned that video element who you started that was the Pixels channel, an outlet to promote stuff Shiner was carrying and the skateboarders it supported. How was it doing that and how were things different marketing-wise in 2012?

I have slightly awkward memories of it because I look back on it now as being really cheesy, and at the time it didn’t seem like that. Nowadays, and I think before and since, most skateboarding marketing in terms of videos and photos, general media output is really understated. People don’t put the skaters names in videos so much these days, things are anonymous and understated now. When I started, which would be thirteen years ago the direction was kind of to get the logo really big on the screen. We needed to get a presenter for this show like Lance [Mountain] used to do for 411VM. Marc Churchill was one of the main guys Shiner sponsored back in those days and he obviously had that talent already so all of that became obvious and easy to do.

As time progressed I started to get my focus back in terms of how I wanted things to look and how I thought we should be putting out material. Over time we did away with having Marc as a presenter, we didn’t release regular episodes in the same way as we used to. We began with a schedule like a proper media channel but after some time I decided it wasn’t representing our brands in the best way, it seemed cheesy and the answer was to go back to that traditional model of making a video for the brand in question in a more tasteful way. Through that classic lens, if you have a skateboarder who rides for your brand and he puts out five minutes of footage and everyone sees it, that’s enough advertising, you don’t need to plaster the logo all over it. Even at street spots there was a time when you’d see stickers on handrails and stuff, loads at demos. Over time that became out of favour and when I saw that I put a stop to the Pixels website and that output. I just went back to producing content that was appropriate for each brand.

It was also a time where the way people digested content was way different to today. If you were to make episodes of something now you have Instagram as a channel where you’re guaranteed eyes on whatever you produce. You were making those things when everyone’s hunger for content was awakening. It was Hellaclips time, lots of flipping through company websites.

Absolutely, if you wanted to see something from the Crailtap family or the Blackbox brands you would just go to their website. You’d visit the Zero website and maybe they would have some offcuts from a Jamie Thomas part up there or whatever. What we now know as Instagram content started off just being put on everybody’s websites willy nilly. I used to do the Landscape website for example and upload what we would now call B-Sides or Raw Clips. Basically the things you would get as extras on DVDs, that twenty minutes of extra footage was a selling point if you put out a video. Populating the website was a new way of putting content out into the world that wasn’t just the makes and the hammers. Now rough cuts are everywhere and people are almost more interested in that stuff more than the final polished video.

What would you have done differently looking back at that time?

I actually wanted to call Pixels ‘Mall Grab’ but the directors at Shiner didn’t really get it and it didn’t seem serious enough. I remember trying to prepare expectations for that. I told them it wasn’t going to be like watching some polished CNN-style skate report with motion graphics and a presenter. Then sure enough a couple of years later, after me thinking that would be awful, Skateline came out and realised that concept amazingly. All the stuff I had visualised and thought would be shit, or that I wouldn’t be able to pull off, someone managed to do it brilliantly. I’m really glad that the world has evolved and got this content done in a way that’s accessible to skateboarders. I don’t think of Pixels as my finest hour in terms of video making but it was necessary at the time.

Then there was the Vimeo Vs YouTube kind of Betamax issue as well.

Yeah that’s another thing, some of those videos are pretty much lost forever. We were making these ten-minute edits that came out every couple of weeks to start with. We were really grinding them out. Some of it was pretty good, there were some things in there that people did I wish skateboarders could look back on. We signed up to use Vimeo to host those videos which back then was like the high end version of YouTube for filmmakers and chin stroking types. Sure enough Vimeo didn’t win the war when it came to video hosting, YouTube surged ahead and became the huge platform that it is today. It has videos on there that are fifteen years old, it’s now a pretty fucking good archive for skateboard videos whereas all the stuff we uploaded to Vimeo is lost.

I searched for my own personal Vimeo account the other day to show someone something and it’s just not there. You can’t search for videos on that website anymore, or access things uploaded many years ago without real research and hassle. It’s not a friendly place while YouTube is the go-to place for skate videos. If you want to make a mark in skateboarding and have your tricks remembered then that’s where you want them to be.

Once you had sidelined the Pixels idea you went back to a more traditional route with the emphasis being on the mags. We discussed before that skateboarding is driven by marketing and that good ads can have as much impact on our collective consciousness as articles.

Absolutely, it’s something that goes for the mainstream as well. If you think of all of the TV ads we were shown as kids in the 80s and 90s some of the most creative and iconic stuff was done in advertising. That goes all the way back to the magazine ads of the 70s and 80s. When Craig Stecyk started doing Powell Peralta’s art direction or whatever they would have called it back in the day those ads were so good. Then [Steve] Rocco came along and did his style of advertising, all of that stuff was much more influential than even the graphics on the boards. The music you had in a video, or the way a video was put together was important but particularly the magazine ads. It’s marketing but done completely without rules.

I’ve always thought about it but without having the words for it as a younger man, that what we see when we consume skateboard culture it’s almost always marketing. Every article is about a skateboarder, or a trip or whatever but there is almost always some branding behind it

But even though you know what you’re watching is an ad you still have an emotional connection to it.

It affects you. I was thoroughly addicted to RAD magazine as a kid because I couldn’t get my hands on any American mags until my late teens. I would read almost every single word printed in there including the addresses at the bottom of the ads. I remember when I first started working at Shiner and thinking “shit, this is the address!”, the address I had seen printed at the bottom of all of their ads ever since I was a twelve-year-old kid. I now worked at Shiner, Lawrence Hill, Bristol but I knew those words so well from seeing them in the mags repeatedly. I got the RAD book recently and saw someone talking about this online, about how we even remember the captions. I can recall the caption about someone’s photo in a magazine from thirty years ago. So all of that stuff, everything that was in the mag was important.

Can you give us an ad that stands out in your mind?

The most notorious one probably would be the Quickies ad for Shorty’s, probably not something anyone wants to be remembered for these days because the world is a lot more politically correct than it used to be. There was a Quickies ad with a photo of rubber female genitals and the Quickies bearings sticking out of the bum hole with the caption “even your mum likes Quickies”. That was in Big Brother, no-one else was going to print that. It was there to raise the bar of extremity I suppose – check out how crazy we are. They printed the ad in that Dysfunctional skate-art book years later. Somehow I ended up with two copies of that book and I gave one to my mum. It was totally innocent, I wanted to show her the culture surrounding skateboarding to show her that the art and advertising was really cool. I gave her that book and a couple of years later I found it buried in a drawer in the spare room of her house. I flicked through it and realised that some of the stuff in there is just so gnarly, she wasn’t going to understand it, then when I saw that ad in there I was cringing thinking “I can’t believe I gave this to my mum”. So in terms of creativity and pushing the envelope that one was definitely up there, if not the craziest ad of all time.

“welcome to skateboarding, we do things differently here…”

Rob Roskopp Slimeballs ad which appeared in the August 1988 issue of Thrasher

I don’t think that ad scan is going to make this article, what about one you looked at as a kid that’s seared into your mind?

It has to be the Rob Roskopp “Fakie to Ralf” advert for Slimeballs. When you’re a teenage boy and you’ve got that Beavis & Butthead mentality you’re going to love ads like Roskopp supposedly puking up a wheel with what looked like actual vomit flying out of his mouth in the photo. That was like – welcome to skateboarding, we do things differently here. It was the late 80s, I was a little kid with no concept of what an advert for skateboard wheels could look like, that was one of the first ones I ever saw and it is probably notorious historically.

Your job title at Shiner is now marketing manager what roles does that umbrella cover?

It covers a lot of different things. These days social media is a big deal so it’s down to me. I had an assistant, for want of a better word, for a while who would handle all the social media for me but for the last few years I have been on my own. So that’s one thing, running several accounts for Shiner, and that’s an untameable beast that constantly needs feeding. I have already done several posts this morning. Then there’s traditional media with the mags so I’m making sure ads from our American brands appear in the European magazines.

Then when it comes to creating content that’s one bit where I feel incredibly lucky to work for the right people to be able to do that. Most distributors worldwide don’t necessarily put that much into their marketing at least in terms of budget that enables them to go out there and do that. As soon as I started at Shiner I was on that, they already had all these flow riders, some of whom were already well known in the UK, some worldwide. I was determined to make shit, get stuff filmed and put it out there. Everyone knows that photos and videos are the best form of communication for skateboarding and advertising your brands. I was already a filmer and I don’t doubt for a second that’s what got me the job. So I’ve been making content to this day. The usual one for me would be filming when we go on trips. If we take the UK Independent team to another country for instance, we will bring a magazine photographer with us, create an article, and everything that goes into that will be my responsibility. I will be the one filming, driving the van, buying dinner, booking the flights and hotels. That’s all of the Team Manager stuff people probably imagine is part of the job, there was never any kind of blueprint for it, I just saw what other brands and Team Managers were doing and translated that to Shiner.

The Alan Glass Anti Hero bro model that marked a decade of dedication at Shiner

Thankfully they trusted me and let me do that over a decade now. I feel extremely lucky that I work for a distributor that has the money for me to be able to say “right we’re doing a trip to Greece, it’s going to cost this much money, and we can afford to do it because we have a marketing budget”. It’s kind of all on me in that regard, I work alongside the directors but it’s me driving it which is a dream come true.

Do you still get a kick out of getting in the van?

Yeah, going out there into the world and skating spots, visiting new countries or towns around the UK and abroad. Whatever it is, for anyone who is still a bit of a skate rat, it’s wonderful. As I get older it’s slightly harder work so I pay younger filmers to come out with me because I can’t really film fisheye any more because my knees are too shot. It’s funny, imagine all of the skaters you know and rub shoulders with, everyone has their story whether it’s tearing their ACL or having bone floating around in their ankle. Everyone has these proper injuries. I have never had proper big injuries, I broke my leg once but that’s all fixed up and done. I think my body just got worn out and that the general wear and tear on my knees means I can’t film lines any more. I don’t really miss it, going round and round filming the same thing for two hours straight. It’s an endurance test I don’t miss that is definitely a young mans job. I’m filming long lens these days. I’ll be capturing the second angle while I pay someone young and fit to do the difficult bit. It keeps me out there.

It might sound silly asking if it’s still enjoyable but some people get to a point and they don’t want to be in the van any longer.

Yeah that definitely happens to people, it’s up and down for everyone. I remember back in about 2009 when we’d finished up that second Landscape video. I was out on the streets of London every day with the Landscape guys or on trips abroad. I have always had this problem with the soles of my feet, they hurt almost all of the time. I started to realise that I can’t spend every day on the streets in a pair of Vans or Dunks. This is before your watch would tell you how many steps you’ve done but we were clocking some serious distance. I had to start filming skating in Air Max because my feet were fucked and couldn’t take it any more. I remember thinking in my thirties that it was a young mans job I couldn’t do forever. But I still am, I’m just not on the streets all of the time like a young filmer who is down to meet at Southbank at 6 before going to the spot. That’s the bit I don’t get to do any more even though it was fun as fuck. Now I’m a family man and I pretty much just film on trips now where it’s a concentrated effort to get stuff done over a week or two.

How did the Covid-19 boom affect things as far as you were concerned, did you have to reconsider your audience?

It put everyone at home so no-one went anywhere for a while. If you were lucky enough to live in the middle of a major city then you got to go to spots that had been opened up because no-one was there. Something skaters in London and New York for instance took full advantage of. For me I was locked in my spare room doing social media for a couple of years basically. I remember finally getting back out there to do a trip for the first time and it was almost surreal. Something that used to be so normal was now a mission, people were having their temperature checked at the airport. But the act of going to film skateboarding outside was suddenly fresh and new again, I appreciated the break I guess, I never really thought of it like that before.

I was on a trip in February 2020 and by March the world had just shut down. We had just come back from Athens with some Indy guys. I got back and started planning the next thing I was going to do and everyone in the office were like “you’re not going anywhere mate”. That was the year we were meant to have this big Anti Hero trip, it was in conjunction with Supreme and set to go ahead for Summer 2020. I remember the Anti Hero guys saying “don’t worry about this Covid thing, we’ll just push on through, we’re definitely coming”. Then I remember Jagger [Dan Ball] saying “have you seen Italy?” It was a normal place 3 weeks ago and then overnight people weren’t allowed to leave their houses. It was destined to happen to all of us and sure enough the world came to a halt.

“From a business point of view everybody out there bought skateboards… Shiner managed to sell out of every last plank of wood, and every last set of transparent sparkly wheels that had been gathering dust for years”

From a business point of view everybody out there bought skateboards, it seemed that way. Shiner managed to sell out of every last plank of wood, and every last set of transparent sparkly wheels that had been gathering dust for years. It was all gone and then I think the whole skateboard industry was singing from the same hymn sheet when they ordered more stock than they had ever had to replace the stock they had sold out of. Then that boom suddenly went off a cliff and no-one was buying skateboards any more, at least not enough people. We’re still in the aftermath of that now, and the slight slump the industry is in is a direct result of that excitement of selling out of everything during Covid. From shops, to brands, to distributors, to everybody. There are more skateboards sitting on shelves than there ever have been. I started Covid working with a team of fifteen people, they furloughed everyone except three or four of us. I was the only one dealing with the skateboard stuff.

I was working alone almost entirely, it was pretty bleak. I remember posting something on Instagram about having an idea for a TV show – I’m a skateboard filmer, get me out of here! I got used to doing social media posts day in and day out. I hadn’t switched on a camera or been on a trip for months. Looking back though it was probably good to have a break.

Then marketing became the most important thing to focus on.

It was the only thing left to do. Like I said I think everything is marketing really to a certain extent. I had to figure out what I could get in front of skateboarders eyes because most of them couldn’t get out and do it like they wanted to. It was about trying to get the entertainment to them so they continue to feel like skateboarders I guess.

Who are you proudest of giving some initial support to as a TM?

I always feel a bit awkward with that, even with conversations I have in my head with myself. I didn’t discover anybody, I may have helped them in their early days or introduced them to a brand. It’s still all about what they did on their skateboard and not what I did though. There have been some really happy ones over the years at Shiner. I remember Tom Knox used to get Destructo trucks, I can’t remember if it was direct or just through Shiner but that brand got dropped and Tom asked to try some Indys. I started flowing him Indys but after a while there was this realisation, this is Tom Knox, he’s absolutely smashing it and making a name for himself. I remember contacting Rhino [Chris Rooney] in the states who is the Indy team manager. I told him that I was flowing Tom trucks but that he should really be on the international team, he was an international team rider for other brands already. Sure enough they agreed, they took him on, then he got a pro truck.

“every now and again the U.S. brands take someone seriously and start working more closely with them, that’s really fulfilling for me because I helped facilitate it”

Things like that feel good, the same with Kyle Wilson getting on Spitfire then suddenly he’s got a wheel, or Korahn [Gayle] and Chris Jones having their own Thunder trucks. They’re just people who it seemed very obvious to me should be riding for these brands in the UK. Then every now and again the U.S. brands take someone seriously and start working more closely with them, that’s really fulfilling for me because I helped facilitate it. I feel awkward with that stuff though as I said because it’s not me, it’s their talent that got them there. Nowadays it’s quite hard to get on an American brand, maybe it always has been. When I first started at Shiner people would be getting flowed product from American brands seemingly with very little input from them, and without much knowledge of them from the brand themselves. I knew that if I was going to be sending someone some trucks I would want the guys at Thunder or Indy to know about it, and to approve. I wanted to ask permission, I’m sure that’s the way everybody does it, I’ve had instances where I’ve suggested people and they have been turned down, that’s how the communication should be.

Can you tell me about a moment where your TM skills have saved the day?

I’ve been on several multiple country Euro tours now, and some pretty big ones where there are around twenty people and two or three vans. I’m the guy who ends up organising it all and being the dad. There have been loads of times where it felt like it was all about to go South. The worst thing that happens is if someone breaks a bone in a foreign country. We had a trip a few yeas ago to Spain. I always tell everybody before we go on a trip to please get their own travel insurance sorted out. The Post Office is the cheapest one, we don’t know inside out what the laws are in Spain or France when it comes to injuring yourself, if you have to pay for treatment or whatever. I remember Jak Pietryga breaking his foot out there a few years ago, it was a smaller bone inside his foot, it wasn’t hanging off but he was in a lot of pain.

I offered to take him to hospital straight away and he thought it was a good idea so I asked if he had travel insurance but he hadn’t gone and got it beforehand. So that’s when we had to stop and think, I could drive him to the hospital. I’ve done that before in other countries and someone has had a bone set but you don’t know what you’re going to get in terms of a bill. We sat and talked to Jak about it for a while, we went to a chemist and bought crutches. He had to survive one more day before we were flying back and then he could hobble into A&E in London and be seen for free. It’s moments like that where you have a dilemma and need to think. All I wanted to do was help him but it could have landed him in a real hotspot financially or physically.

We had an Anti Hero tour the year before last with twenty-four people on it where we did the whole of the UK. Bino [Justin Demmon] is one of their crew who was along for the trip, he’s had a couple of guest boards for them along the way. He was trying to ollie the fence at Edge Lane skatepark like [Geoff] Rowley did years ago. He was landing on gravel pretty much and he seemingly took all of the skin off the palms of his hands but kept trying it over and over again. He was landing with his hands down and just bleeding everywhere. He called it and afterwards said he thought he needed to go to hospital. It was a Saturday in Liverpool and Kingy [Stephen King] was with us. He told us that the last thing you want to do is go to hospital in Liverpool on a Saturday because you’ll be there till Monday morning. If you go in there with cuts on your hands the person who has been glassed in the face is going to take priority. He just wouldn’t have been seen. I felt responsible but Kingy was right and the trip would be a disaster if we had to stay. We ended up going to the supermarket to buy TCP and bandages and patched Bino up properly. There’s a nice photo of him in Thrasher with the bandages I did for him where he looks like a boxer.

Bino’s bandages expertly applied by Alan Glass on the Liverpool leg of last years Anti Hero tour

I always feel very responsible for the people I’m with. The term Team manager is a bit of a nonsense really in skateboarding. Alex Ferguson was the team manager for Man United, you know what I mean? There was a strategy and responsibility there that’s very different to skateboarding. Whereas I feel like a parent almost. I always drive the van super carefully, I drive like an old lady as it is but when I’m driving all of those people, these guys have families, or they’re famous skateboarders, I don’t want to be the guy who crashes the van and injures people or even worse. So the responsibility of someone trying a crazy trick or injuring themselves, or doing something dangerous while we’re away does always weigh quite heavy on me. Sounds soppy doesn’t it? Ha ha!

You need to look after yourself too.

I’m fifty years old now, I don’t think the skaters on the trips necessarily expect me to join in the session on the handrail with them anyway. I basically don’t skate on trips any more. That’s because one time I broke my wrist and I had to finish the trip driving around the UK. That was the Thrasher Vacation, the whole squad of [Jake] Phelps [RIP], P-Stone [RIP], Grant Taylor, Raven [Tershy] and all of those guys. I broke my wrist on the very first day and had to spend a week driving the van with it broken. It didn’t stop the trip but if that had been an ankle or a leg it would have. I’m not a very good skateboarder so if I slam and hurt myself even messing around on a manny pad or something it’s going to put the trip in jeopardy. I’m way too sensible I guess but things hinge on me and if I get something wrong it will ruin it for everybody.

What’s the best trip you think you’ve been a part of organising?

It’s hard to see past that Anti Hero trip from 2023. I know it’s weird blowing our own trumpets but that was the biggest and best skateboard tour the UK has seen in many years. There are things over the years people remember like the DC Euro Super Tour or the Osiris one where they had a coach. There have been various visits from famous Americans but this was definitely the best one to happen in the last however many years. For me I was working with people I really respected and having twenty-four people in two massive vans felt like a big responsibility. And, I was really pleasantly surprised that they actually wanted to do demos for want of a better word. It seems like no pros want to do demos but they were up for it.

“We had some of the best skateboarders in the world, the kids got to meet them, everyone got their selfies and their boards signed, and came away with stories”

I always thought if the Anti Hero squad come to the UK and I’m involved they’re gonna want to camp in the woods, not see anybody, skate obscure spots, and lie low. In actual fact Julien [Stranger] said they wanted to shake hands and kiss babies almost. They wanted to see the skaters and let them see them. It just worked perfectly, they made the Turbo Island video of the whole thing and showed every bit of skating from a demo at Livi to a back street in Leeds. Maybe a more serious kind of brand like Primitive would only think about releasing a straightforward street video. Maybe they would do demos too but for me that Anti Hero UK tour ticked all of the boxes. We had some of the best skateboarders in the world, the kids got to meet them, everyone got their selfies and their boards signed and came away with stories. Then there are dudes at Livi who found themselves in an ad that appeared in Thrasher Magazine. For me I think that was the most successful trip of all.

It’s the opposing approaches of creating content in isolation versus engaging with the community, and the power of seeing Grant Taylor at your local park or Gonz at Hackney Bumps…

I think it’s about use of time, it’s been a good twenty-five years or more of people going to Barcelona. Watch your favourite video of twenty years ago and it’s your favourite dudes skating in isolation as you said. It’s them and a filmer and a photographer, no-one gets to see it actually happen. But then it becomes content whether that’s a video or a magazine article. With the state the industry is in at the moment where you haven’t got as many kids starting skating as you’d like or maybe even people dropping out, it seems like participation is low. I personally think that people need to see and feel the experience of seeing these skaters on their doorstep or travelling to go and see them. I was very proud of the Livingston demo which we did with the Anti Hero guys. I arranged the trip so that they would fly into Scotland because no-one ever goes to Scotland. If you start your trip in London nobody wants to drive for a full day to get there.

Lord Div Adam with the men behind the wheel driving Turbo Island – James Woodley and Alan Glass

We decided we wanted to start there, me and James Woodley drove our two vans up there to Scotland, picked everyone up from Edinburgh airport and the very next day they’re at Livi. That place is special in the UK. I’ve never been a transition skater but I understand how special that place is and have been a few times over the years. This was the most people I have ever seen there and from the Scottish skaters I spoke to it seemed like everybody had turned out for it. They came out because not only does that stuff rarely happen in Scotland but they want to see Raney [Beres] and Grant [Taylor] skate that place. It’s the proudest I’ve been of suggesting something and having a hand in organising it.

With marketing budgets being less these days than when you started at Shiner where do you think budget is best spent?

Creating those moments is still of the utmost importance I think. Creating situations that get skateboarders together be it a demo with American skaters or a video premiere or a launch event in one of the shops for someone’s new product. It’s that kind of experiential stuff that’s important right now. Having said that, the content machine still needs feeding and it’s hungry. I see little point in skateboarders who are sponsored across the world if people don’t see what they’re doing. For some people you can get away with that, if you’re Gino [Iannucci] and people get two clips a year and they’re happy, that’s fine. But if we’re supporting skateboarders, even at the flow level those guys need to make videos, they need photos in mags and need to be out there seen with the products they’re being given. Creating content but not necessarily in isolation I would say is my favourite thing today and one of the best uses of marketing budget.

“Creating content but not necessarily in isolation I would say is my favourite thing to do today, and one of the best uses of marketing budget”

On the other hand social media and your online storefront for your brand is a very easy format to work in. You post something up and two thousand people see it in an hour – amazing. You have these readily available stats there for you now which you didn’t have when you ran an ad in a magazine. You would figure the mag circulation is 20k, they might show it to a friend so you can argue that 40k people saw it but you never really knew. There’s a good and bad side to that of course because that makes people change how they create media and content for skateboarding. I think skateboarding has this happy equilibrium though where we figure out what’s best for us as a community without even needing to discuss it. I think between us we mostly do a pretty good job of spending money in the right places and making sure skateboarders are covered in their need for content, the product they want to see, and so on.

The recent Spitfire Wheels x Atlantic Drift window at our shop installed by Alan

Talking of storefronts it’s cool that your job involves that side of things through to installing the Atlantic Drift window sticker at Slam a few weeks ago…

Ha ha, yeah that was one of those things. Communication is not always a strong point when it comes to skateboarders. We knew we had a product coming in that was specific to London so the guys at DLXSF wanted to have a window done at Slam for the launch. As usual we said we’d definitely do that and then quickly realised the wheels would be arriving a day later. Actually going and hanging out in Slam for the day, putting those windows up, and talking shit with the boys in the shop was a real pleasure. I don’t get to do much of that these days. For sales guys, and that’s a job I’ve never done in the industry, they get to talk skateboarding all day with shop owners and skaters. Whereas for me, I talk to our riders all the time about stuff, and on a trip I get to socialise. So it was nice to do that, skateboarders meeting other skateboarders is the best thing.

What’s the raddest thing you’ve captured on a trip over the last twelve months?

I did a lot of trips last year to the point I thought I might need to slow down a bit for this one and maybe spend some time with my family. There was an Indy trip last year to Cyprus where Marius Syvanen got this amazing photo of a water tower ollie. Think of the Jeremy Wray ollie captured by Daniel Harold Sturt. We’re driving through Cyprus and spot these two water towers, we wrote it off instantly, you don’t find this stuff easily and it’s probably impossible. So we go up to check it out. It was high enough that if you fucked up and fell down that gap you’re going to hurt yourself badly. We all started setting up and there was no good angle to film it from. We were on a hill and in order to get Marius’ front and not film a butt shot you needed to be down the hill which meant you couldn’t see him rolling along the top of the water tower.

Jeremy Wray and Sturt vibes on this epic water tower ollie in Cyprus by Marius Syvanen. PH: Sam Ashley

So with that trick I’m most stoked on the photo that Sam [Ashley] took as opposed to the footage that we got. It was one of those really cool moments where you get to recreate and pay homage to a really iconic moment in skateboarding. It may not have been as high, or the gap may not have been as long but as a moment it was like “holy shit, we actually get to do this”. I remember Marius calling somebody first, his parents or his lady to say something before trying it because he knew it was gnarly. If you watch the video it doesn’t look that big because you just couldn’t get the right angle to film it from, even though we had three cameras on it. We ended up making it into a little arty moment in the video but Sam’s photo that ran in Free magazine was wonderful, gleaming white water towers, perfect blue sky, and a really nice photo of him ollieing between the two. I was really stoked that happened.

Also back in 2023 we did an Indy trip to Helsinki and Doobie [Victor Pellegrin] did that gap to lip slide on a double kink in Helsinki and it was probably the gnarliest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do on a skateboard. It was insane and he did it in three goes on his birthday. The whole thing was hilarious, I’ve never seen such a big crew of people standing around, onlookers trying to watch us get something done to the point where I had to be on crowd control going round and telling everyone to put their phones away. I’m going up to Finnish pensioners saying “don’t film this”. It was such a big, spectacular moment and it was wonderful to be a part of.

Is there anything you’ve learned recently that’s made you better at what you do or something you want to do more of?

I feel like I’m learning every day. I’ve learned more about myself over the last few years and how I do this job. I think I needed to grow up a bit and I realised, the more people I meet and talk about this subject, that I have a bit of a reputation for being a hater when it comes to the Olympics, and the more organised side of skateboarding these days. In principle I’m not into it and I’ve felt recently, over the last few years that I need to grow up a little bit and accept it more. It’s like the hate skaters had for scooters at a point in time, ten years ago we were all so against these little kids on scooters. They’re in the way at the skatepark, so what? Pedestrians get in the way when you’re skating the street.

When it came to this organised side of skating and these kind of contest-only skaters, I found myself pitched against that side of things for the last few years while at the same time realising that maybe I need to relax. I’m not some kind of hardcore warrior who thinks you should only ride Indy trucks and skate DIYs. I don’t need to be this ultimate flagbearer for the core side of skateboarding. That side of things is never going to go away. You can try to homogenise skateboarding or turn it into something different all you like but it’s never going to stop being what it has always been. So I’ve had people asking for sponsorship of events that I’m not into and stuff like that, and for the most part I’ve turned them down. I’m not interested in hooking some kid up with boards when all they do is practise in their indoor park and skate at the British champs every year because that stuff doesn’t appeal to our brands. If it does then it’s fine, maybe Birdhouse for instance would be more interested in some guys who were contest skaters. So if it appeals to them then it’s their call. I think I’ve needed to mature with my attitude towards skateboarding because it’s all sick really.

What skills do you feel you have mastered over the last ten years?

I think maturing to the point where I’m totally comfortable taking a bunch of people who I have never met before on a trip to a foreign country. That side of things is kind of nerve racking but I know I can do it now. I’ve done it so many times over the last ten years that I feel qualified to do it now. It happens to me sometimes where somebody asks me how do I get a job? How do I get to work in the skateboard business? I think there are many things that are so useful to the skateboarding community where you can’t go too far wrong in picking up a camera whether you’re shooting photos or filming. If you can do that, and drive the van or run the social media as well. If you can do more than one thing and have a creative skill on your side then that makes you more valuable.

“If you don’t have a good skill set it’s going to be harder to make that jump into an industry job”

I feel very lucky to have stumbled into that kind of situation just because I wanted to film first and foremost. I don’t think anyone really thinks of me as a filmer any more but I’m fine with that because I did so many years of it and it helped me to get a job that I’m happy to do and now comfortable with. There are plenty of people who have got jobs in our industry who have been a pro skater for example with a really good name and people respect them. They get given jobs and brands know people will take them seriously, if you make a respected pro a TM the riders are going to know they are understood. Then there are photographers and filmers who have got jobs in a similar way. You send them out into the world you know they’re going to return with good content and that’s the major thing these days. If you don’t have a good skill set it’s going to be harder to make that jump into an industry job.

Could you imagine making a full-length video again?

I would love to. Over the last few years everyone makes trip videos. That’s easy! You go to Bulgaria for a week, you come home with a magazine article and enough footage to make a four or five minute edit. That’s normal. Then last year you had the New Balance video, you had the last Baker video a year before that, big videos that everyone is talking about which have taken several years to make. Those are still the most exciting things out there, they’re still the most exciting projects to work on and finally see when they’re done.

Santa Cruz is very important to Shiner because we make the clothing for the whole of Europe and that’s quite a big job. So in order to have the content we need to push that clothing and the brand we need to be out there. The main thing Shiner want me to do is get photos of the riders wearing the clothing which I’ve done in a really basic way because I’m not a photographer and I never have been. I’m shooting them on a phone and making reportage style documents of skateboarders wearing this stuff while they’re skating. They might be sweaty and there might be grime all over the back after they’ve landed on their arse, or they’re setting up a board or rolling a cig. That stuff is now super important for social media and for promoting the clothing we sell. So I’ve found myself on several Santa Cruz trips each year for the past few years. It occurs to me that we don’t need to keep bashing out edit after edit after edit for yet another Santa Cruz week in Spain or whatever. So what I have done is to begin saving up all of that footage from several trips to create a video that might not be a full-length but will be something that took more time and gave the skaters the best shot at putting something good together.

So we put together this little Santa Cruz video that was about ten-minutes long, a European Santa Cruz flow rider video a couple of years ago, and we really enjoyed doing that. So we’re in the middle of another one right now. I’m going back to Spain in a couple of weeks with some of the Finnish and British Santa Cruz riders to film for what is the third or fourth trip and we haven’t yet released any of the footage. That will end up being a slightly bigger project than just a one-week edit so that is the nearest I think I’m going to get to a full-length.

Has how you feel about skateboarding changed having been so close to it for so long?

I’m still a grom. Football is a spectator sport and skateboarding definitely is too. We don’t go to matches every Saturday but we read mags and we watch videos. I’ve always been a bit of a hound for consuming that stuff. Kids these days are happy to consume it just on their phones, it goes in one ear and out the other and they get whatever they need to get from it. I’ve got a garage full of magazines and VHS tapes that I still watch and read to this day. For me, I’m just a big fan of skateboarding. I still do it, I still like to watch it, I’m still very happy I get to document it and create things from it. From the first time I saw skateboarding as a kid I thought “I want that!” From watching Public Domain at school or that 7-Sport thing that was on Channel 4 which actually had clips from Public Domain in it and focused on a contest in Wigan or Warrington or somewhere. As soon as I saw that I knew that was all I wanted to watch. It’s all I wanted to see so to be able to contribute to that and be involved in it, even in my darkest hour, on a trip that’s not working out, or having to deal with someone who is acting up, I’m still so stoked to be involved.

“even in my darkest hour, on a trip that’s not working out, or having to deal with someone who is acting up, I’m still so stoked to be involved”

It’s so cheesy but if you’re into Heavy Metal, there are a million fans of that music but not many of them are in bands. I know I’m so lucky to be involved so even if I lost my job tomorrow I’m still going to be paying attention to skateboarding, I’m not skating at the level of the people in the videos but I’m still going to watch them do it, the same as the guy who goes and watches Man City every weekend and is a hundred percent into football. It’s being a skate rat, I think that’s a term for someone who is on the streets doing it all the time or if it’s just your major deal in life, that’s your thing. I’ve just forever been a skate rat since 1988.

Once a skate rat always a skate rat. Alan grinds a slappy crook for Chris Johnson’s lens

Do you have any final advice for someone skateboarding now who thinks they would like to have a job within the industry?

Pick up a camera, pick up a pencil or paintbrush, learn to screen print. Do something that’s a creative tool which the skateboard industry needs because you’ll have a head start on others who don’t do those things. I’ve known plenty of skateboarders throughout my life who would have loved to have had a job or to be involved in some way behind the scenes but they don’t have any of those skills. I’m not condemning anyone for not having them or boasting that some people do but it taught me everything I needed to know about how to get somewhere. I’m a big fan of music but can’t play an instrument so if I wanted to work in that industry I’d figure out how to become an engineer or something. If I couldn’t do the music part myself I’d find the way to be involved in that industry and you have to learn relevant skills to make that happen.

We would like to thank Alan Glass for everything he has done and continues to do for skateboarding, and for working closely with us on Shiner Distribution projects. Follow Alan on Instagram and follow Shiner too.

Thanks also to Sam Ashley for the Marius Syvanen photo, to Alex ‘Pin’ Osborne for the photo of Bino in Thrasher, and to Chris Johnson for Alan’s skate photo.

Previous Industry interviews: Kelly Hart , Jeff Henderson , Kevin Parrott , Vans with David Atkinson , Seth Curtis

The post Industry: Alan Glass appeared first on Slam City Skates Blog.

Welcome to our latest “Visuals” interview with Sam Narvaez. Sam’s recent travels have taken her to Barcelona and so we caught up with her while she was over there to learn more about her selection…

Words and interview by Jacob Sawyer. Sam Narvaez captured by Sem Rubio on her travels

Sam Narvaez footage always delivers, the fun she is having is tangible and her latest clips are always inspo to go and do the same. Her tricks in the last Krooked road trip video prompted us to reach out to Sam because we wanted to have her on the blog but her Headspace video for HUF gave the impression she maybe wouldn’t be so keen to speak about herself. That’s why we thought a “Visuals” interview might be a nice way to found some middle ground and were stoked to find out she was down. Sam came back straight away with some interesting picks, was excited to speak about them, and also happy to talk about her current travels, projects, and plans for the future. It was a pleasure to connect with her and meet her in the middle of such a productive time where skateboarding was of paramount importance and her new surroundings were feeding her enthusiasm at every turn.

Sam’s selection is a diverse array of inspirations beginning with a Dan Drehobl part for the ages plucked from the first Krooked video. She discusses Dan’s influence, his ability to make even the hardest tricks look like fun, and an early encounter with him. Her trick choice is a Dylan Rieder movement on transition that may well have flown under the radar for most but remains part of her hometown repertoire which makes it an even more poignant remembrance. When it came time to choose a photo she settled on every Keith Hufnagel ollie committed to celluloid but managed to narrow it down to a recently revisited Gabe Morford gem from the archives. Finally, her board graphic choice is one she has never owned but may well do after this publishes, a Tom Penny graphic from 1996 that was cancelled, revived, and still resides on shop board walls today.

It was great to be able to catch up with Sam after speaking about her selection. We got to learn more about her current situation and the projects she is building on. The interview found her at the beginning of a solo trip to Barcelona with a video part in the works. Having only been there for a brief stint and already sitting on three clips and two photos it seems that the Spanish lifestyle has been conducive to the task in hand. We spoke to her straight after having shot a new photo with Sem Rubio and it was clear that she’s on a hype, motivated by the different pace, and focused on what she is cooking up. We’re looking forward to seeing the results of her mission later this summer. Enjoy discovering more about Sam Narvaez and some of the visuals that have made an impression on her…

Dan Drehobl – Krooked Khronicles (2006)