Danny Emerson. NBD ollie attempt. Shot by Will Greenfield
Some background info...
We were walking past this spot on Tuesday on the way to the three up down, and Dan mentioned in passing how he wanted to try these stairs one day. About ten seconds later he shouted that he was going to try it and skated off into the distance. Before me and Ed could get our cameras set up he hacked at the stairs and flew himself down them.
Dan gave them five good tries before saving it for another day. No doubt this will go down at some point
Note - Go stand at the top of these. They're about six times longer than you think.
The promise of Xmas viewings were well kept today. Well, all except for Ginge's, who once again I think might have died. If he is still alive, the Barratage will be around soon I'm sure.
Firstly Sirus Gahan absolutely smashed it with this edit of stuff filmed over this year.
Then Al Hodgson not only thanked him with this comedy banger of an edit...
...but has also whipped up this nuts full video. The postponed follow-up to Another Angle, with footage from 2008-10.
Part 1
Part 2
Huge props to all involved. Merry Christmas to all. Hope you all got what you wanted and hope all the scooter kids had boards under the tree.
I don't have the internet right now (again) so haven't been able to update. I've managed to post this off my phone somehow. It should be fixed soon, and promises of a wealth of edits have been made for Christmas, so there will be much to see in the near future. In the mean time, here's Barrat chilling in the apple store. That's all I can manage right now.
I've known Matt for nearly five years now. Shared many good sessions and had the pleasure of going on a trip or two, and filming a video part of him as well. He's been killing it more and more since I've met him, and has certainly lacked some the recognition he deserves. I wanted to approach Matt for some words about his joint-venture Push skate shop, but quickly realised that I'd already done that a few weeks earlier. But I know that Matt has some interesting things on many subjects, so I decided quiz him for a few skate related words. A fairly detailed read, which could have gone on and on...
Photos by Rich West, Mat Riley and Neil Sharp
When did you start skating, and what got you in to it?
Man I can't really remember exactly if I'm honest! I know I had an old orange plastic banana board thing that given to me by my dad, I think it was his from when he was young and foolish enough to skate. I got that gripped and proceeded to learn shuv-its on the patio in my garden... I must've been about 11 or 12 I think and was really into football at that time. Then a few months later the THPS game came out and that sealed the deal, I quit playing footy for the local team (sorry Dad!) and became an avid member of the Tony Hawk's generation, doing ollie norths and sex changes all day every day. I sometimes wonder if that game had never been released how different my life could've been...
It's funny how the 'Tony Hawks Generation' is legitimate now. Now we can give abuse to the Berrics generation
Haha yeah - at least our generation wasn't completely obsessed with being better than your friends and trying to beat everybody you meet in games of skate! Berra's corrupting many a young mind...
You grew up skating in Uckfield, which only got a park recently. How did you get by keeping the motivation up?
Well when I first started there was a massive crew of us, literally about 25 - 30 kids all with skateboards, plus some bladers, bmxers and general crusty types as well, who would all hang out at our local carpark for hours every day. We had a metal miniramp but that got taken down as it was really dangerous, someone took a hammer to it and made the coping look like a 12 foot Toblerone. So we'd skate the carpark mostly, some of the older guys would build flatbars and grindboxes, me and my mates could barely lift a hammer between us so our contribution would be occasionally stealing a bench or two from the local leisure centre or our school whenever we got the chance and dragging it down to the session, fridges from skips we're a good one too. It was a really healthy scene at one point especially for such a small town, then seemingly overnight everyone dropped off, leaving just me, Rich, Martyn, Mitch and a handful of others as the only guys skating for a good few years. I guess the quitters got bored or just grew out of it, but we were hooked, or at least I certainly was. It got to the point where all I thought about was skating, to the point where non-skating friends, girlfriends, schoolwork and everything else just took a back seat to getting baked and going skating with the crew. I'd have some Bernies jeans and a horribly oversized gangster-ass tee stashed in my school bag, walk out the front door wearing my uniform and make my mum think I was leaving for school, grab my skateboard on the way out the door then literally get changed in the street on the walk to school and tell my buddy Tom not to tell anyone that I'm gonna get the bus to Brighton or Tunbridge Wells to go skate, usually on my own - I was a total skate junkie! It got to the point where I was getting up super early every morning and raiding my parents morning post to eliminate any letters home from my school. Haha I was so dumb I actually thought I could get away with bunking on the regular so blatantly! Obviously they found out eventually and gave me a proper bollocking - definitely don't bunk off school kids! So yeah, if anything, keeping up my skate motivation wasn't really an issue as I loved it from the start. I think as I've got older I've slowly been learning that there's more to life than skating and kind of feel like I wasted the privilege of a free education.
Back 5-0 at a lesser touched spot in Brighton
What keeps you entertained outside of skating now then?
Well to tell you the truth, not a great deal! Sometimes I feel like my life is pretty one-dimensional at the moment, working in a skateshop, watching skate videos all day at work, chatting to everyone who comes in about various different aspects of skating, and then actually going skating on my days off... Skate skate skate blah blah blah - it can be a bit overkill at times. Don't get me wrong, I love it and I'm hyped on skating but the saying 'too much of a good thing' certainly rings true sometimes! To counteract this I've got myself a few books on teaching yourself Spanish and I've been brushing up on that, make the most of the dark winter days and the perpetual rain cloud hovering over us. Ever since I was about 17 I've been telling myself that I need to learn at least one other language and I learnt a bunch of the basic Spanish phrases, swearwords and that kinda thing from a Spanish ex-girlfriend so I've decided that after all these years of talking about it I'm going to knuckle down this year and actually do it. It's rad, but really hard and frustrating as a typical 2-hour session of reading and practising my pronunciation gives the illusion of 'learning it', but the next day rolls around and I've got to familiarise myself with everything I studied the day before as I've already forgotten half of it - hopefully it'll get easier the more I progress with it. I think unless you just take the plunge and move to Spain to fully immerse yourself in the culture and learn the language that way it's hard to stay motivated with it - who knows maybe I'll have to end up living in Spain for a decent amount of time, obviously that would suck compared to England!
A short collection of footage put together by Andy Evans
What's your view on the Brighton skate scene at present?
My view on this changes day to day, usually depending on whether the sun's out and how windy it is outside! On a sunny day with a few friends and no wind it's everything you need it to be... Warm up with good flatground on the seafront, head down to Hove Lagoon for a lazy cruise and a block sesh or Shoreham bowl if you wanna talk ABECs and do slash grinds... maybe even go street! Regardless of where you end up going you can just skate till dark and then go bomb NCP carpark or get some tinnies and grind some yellow painted curbs till sunrise - there really is something for everyone here. Plus there's literally hundreds of kids with skateboards. I'm reluctant to say that there's hundreds of skateboarders, as there's a difference between a kid with a board and a 'skater' y'know, but every day I see new faces with boards and so that's really encouraging for the future of things round here.
What's the difference?
I guess the difference is in their approach towards it - either doing it because it's fun and they love it or doing it just because their mates do and wanting to be part of the gang. For example one kid came in the shop recently and asked if we had any 'rasta coloured boards' I told him we didn't but that the graphic really doesn't matter too much and we've got plenty of non-rasta boards that are sick. He just looked at me as if to say 'Are you f**king serious?!' and left. Obviously if he was a true skate rat as opposed to some kid who just wants a rasta board to compliment his 'look' then he'd know that it's all about getting the right shape and everything else is kind of irrelevant - the true skate kids knows this, they just seem to be in the minority... Too many kids doing it for the wrong reasons, to the point where the actual rad kids you meet stick out like a sore thumb amongst the see of khaki-cord-wearing swoosh enthusiasts who just hang out at the parks and comp each other out.
What do you see in the local scene that gets you hyped?
Everyone's always filming for something or making a video with their friends and obviously that's a really important thing for any scene as it really brings people together and things like Youtube and Facebook encourage everyone to interact with each other that little bit more. Kids are going out with the intention of pushing themselves and, whilst I think maybe some of them don't really have fun and shouldn't take it quite as seriously as they do, it's rad to see all the youngsters going out street skating every day, not only showing up some of us older guys with their tricks but reminding some of the more negative older guys that there is actually shit loads of spots round here, you've just got to be motivated to go and skate them.
...and what gets you down?
Pivot fakie on the big one at Unit One
The state of the Level! I don't want to launch into another rant which everybody has already heard countless times but honestly, Brighton has had and always will have one of the healthiest skateboarding scenes in the country so to think that the once infamous Level is now a pile of rotting ramps mindlessly plonked onto some rough-as-fuck concrete is just a joke. A really, really bad joke. Sort it out Brighton and Hove City Council! With the abundance of fresh concrete parks popping up all over the place it is actually quite offensive to me that there isn't one in Brighton what with all the skateboarding history here - back in the day there used to be the Cage, and the Barn, plus the Level which used to look incredible (a bit before my time!) I know it had concrete ramps of all sizes and from old photos it looked amazing, so it's a bit depressing to see the state it's in now. Other than that just the usual problems affecting most skate scenes - the scooter epidemic, kids being absolutely obsessed with the idea of sponsorship before they've even learnt to carve, skate-stoppers, people that project their negativity onto others - all that shit really.
You're pretty involved with what's going on, what with the shop and getting involved with BHSA - Would you like to see more locals get involved with these things?
Well I think there's no a lot of point in sitting around complaining about the state of the Level and stuff if you're not going to try and do something about it. I'd encourage anybody that wants a shiny new concrete park at the Level to perhaps send an e-mail to the council letting them know how much you want a new skatepark, or come along to a BHSA (Brighton Hove Skateparks Association) meeting once a month, or just pop into the shop and ask us a few questions about what's going on with it. The more people involved the better really and, yes it has been going on for ages already, and yes it probably will take ages (as all things concerning the council do) but don't let that put you off - the more of us there are pushing this thing forward the quicker it will happen.
What do you have to say to the people who say "It's been going on for ages, nothing's ever going to happen, what's the point in trying?"
Thanks for the positive input and I look forward to seeing you crawl out of the woodwork demanding your involvement when we get to the design stage!
You travel a lot. Where are some better (and worse) places you've been to?
Frontside rock 'n roll slide on an interesting looking obstacle
Hmm that's a tough question as in the grand scheme of things I must've only been to about 1% of all the places on my hit-list... Belgium and Holland are amazing, not only for the weed, cheese and blonde girls but this thing called skating too haha! Such a healthy, tight-knit scene in Belgium with dudes like Bruno, Cookie and Ben and all the guys from Mechelen, Brussels and Antwerp building amazing concrete parks all over their country - definitely going to go back there soon and pay those beer-stealing hesh dogs another visit! Most recently I went to Copenhagen which was rad but quite expensive - me and Rupert ended up camping out there in the middle of October (don't ask!) as we somehow got invited to this Volcom contest out there, and even though we only went for 4 days it still cost me the best part of £300 - I've done 2 week trips on that budget in the past! Sweden is really sick, again quite similar price-wise to Denmark but don't let the Kroner's put you off going as Scandinavia in general is truly inspiring on so many levels. Spain, Portugal, France, Switzerland, Germany ... basically continental Europe in general is where it's at if you ask me - we're stuck on this stuffy little island, living in this bubble contentedly out of touch with the rest of the world really, so when you head onto the continent it like this whole other world - you're greeted by a more relaxed atmosphere, with the added bonus of finer girls and better spots. I'm all for getting out of your comfort zone and exploring new cities on a bike, a board or both and hopefully one day in the not-too-distant future I'm going to take a few years out of 'life' and do my dream cycle trip encompassing pretty much all of Europe. I've got it all roughly mapped out at about 6000 miles in total so far, it's a bit ambitious I know but fuck it aim high and all that, right?!
Flip in to the bank. Answers on a postcard if you know where this one is
You've just been added to the Lovenskate roster. What's the deal with them?
The deal with them is they are fucking RAD ! Stu is an absolute diamond and probably one of the most creatively motivated and hard-working people I've ever met. He screen-prints everything he sells with his own fair hands and his printing buddy happens to be an old school-friend of mine (hey Lilli!) What they do is really fresh and different to alot of other companies at the moment and so in that respect it's really exciting, being at the studio and watching those guys printing original stuff with nothing but inks, screens and their inky fingers really is a treat to watch and I feel lucky that I'm involved in it really! Basically Stu e-mailed me after everyone's favourite toe-nail collector Craig Questions left Lovenskate for Heroin and a spot on the team opened up - 'Would you like to ride for us?' ...Ermm let me think about that one quickly... 'YES!'. Thanks for that Stu! It's early days yet but he know's that I've been down for Lovenskate for ages, in fact the first time we met was at a Harrow Jam and I was wearing a Lovenskate tee, he was so hyped on that haha! I used to buy his stuff from Luke's old shop in Tunbridge Wells, South, and another one of the shop riders Ewen has been on Lovenskate for ages, so it's nice as I already know most of the people involved and it's a sick little team being built up... There's Lucy Adams repping down south as well as Alex Barton and we've also got Liam Sprout spreading some Lovenskate in Barcelona who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet but Stu sings his praises. So yeah, so far so good mate... Cheers to all who Lovenskate!
Are you working on anything for them?
There's a video in the works as we speak which is cool - it's giving me something to work towards and whilst filming can be a ball ache it beats that feeling of being unproductive! I'm finding it hard to find the time to go out and film, what with working full time in the shop and recently moving house and stuff, but it's cool though, Stu takes a really relaxed approach to footage and filming and stuff and I think he's into the few bits and pieces I've sent him so far - quality over quantity and all that! I just want to make my part as good as I can and feel like I've earned a deserving spot on the team y'know... especially when you've got people like Alex and Ewen on there getting rad footage and killing it at events constantly. I'd like to attend more events and rep as much as possible too but most Saturday's I end up working and Sunday's I just feel like staying local and shredding Goon miniramp with AfroThunder, Rich or Stevie and the crew. I know I'm slacking a bit on the events front but hopefully that'll be remedied soon enough!
When's this video arriving?
I couldn't tell you! In the new year, I think... Keep your eyes peeled as I'm sure it'll get hyped up a bit before it's release
Are you keen on getting far down the sponsorship route, and the industry side that comes with it?
Good question. I don't see why not, I mean for the last few years I've tried my hardest to go on as many trips as possible, skate as much as I can and still try to hold down a job so I'd welcome any opportunity to carry on doing those things minus the 'real job' aspect any day! I've recently sorted out a little flow thing with the good guys over at Fourstar UK through the shop, and whilst it's not anything serious it's something which I'm fucking stoked on and really grateful for - thanks again Styley! In terms of the industry side, that goes hand in hand with it obviously and I guess it's important to remember that anything you pursue as a career will have aspects to it which you may dislike and skateboarding is no different - at least the skateboarding industry is predominantly made up of skateboarder's so regardless of the politics or factions within it you've always got that love for skateboarding connecting everyone if nothing else.
What importance do you think a core skate shop plays in a skate scene?
An independent skate shop is key to a healthy skateboard scene. Nowadays kids buy lots of stuff from mailorder companies and websites, which makes it a bit harder for local shops to keep on keeping on, but I guess you've got to show the youngsters why a local shop is so important by putting on events, running little competitions, helping people out as much as you can and basically make them realise that without a local shop a healthy skate scene can quickly become divided and dwindle. A lot of people think that by saying 'Support us, We're local' they instantly deserve people's custom but I'd argue that you needn't do that so much - it can sound a tad patronising. Bottom line is if you're friendly and helpful to all who walk through the door and try your hardest to get the entire scene involved in all different aspects of the store, be it premiers, hooking up younger kids on the come-up or even just sorting them out with free grip or a bearing when needed then you'll be pleasantly surprised by the return custom. Despite saying that though, it would be nice to not have to compete with a certain 'Tescos of the extreme sports market' 10 minutes walk away that can offer similar products at cheaper prices, but such is life. Independent shops are where it's at, not just skate stores but green-grocers, butchers, restaurants and everything else and it's a shame that nowadays people opt for convenience over community - I guess running an independent shop you've just got to make people feel like part of the community so that they realise why they shouldn't go down the road and buy their stuff from a faceless corporation.
Matt's part from 2009's Wet Sussex
You said that you often see skaters walking past the shop without so much as a second glance...
Yeah occasionally I'll hear the familiar sound of wheels on concrete and peer up expectantly to see who's popping in, only to see some kid with a Fracture snapback, backpack and probably the board to match just cruise on past without even checking us out. It's expected though, as Brighton was without an SOS for some time so I imagine that those kids have gotten used to buying their stuff from 'Tescos' so you can hardly blame them. I guess one day they'll realise that their misguided loyalty is pointless when they've popped a bearing or snapped a kingpin and the girl behind the counter in 'Tescos' doesn't know where to start with sorting out a broken board! Plus with the scooter craze kicking into overdrive it wouldn't surprise me if 'Tescos' slowly decreased their skateboard product in the never-ending search of profit increase in 'newer markets' or some such bullshit. We're happy to let them do their thing and cater for the younger lot happy in the knowledge that one day those younger kids will grow up and start working things out for themselves, like me and my mates did. Hopefully they'll realise that consciously supporting local industry helps benefit you as an individual and your community as a whole.
Finish us off with some words to younger skaters in the scene.
Don't get bogged down with the trends or worrying about what other people think about you, your skating or anything else for that matter - just do your own thing and squeeze the most fun out of every day. Oh and take your fucking headphones out, turn off your facebook app or better still turn off your iPhone or your Blackberry and actually interact with people around you, face to face, as conversation is a dying art form!
Standard thanks / shouts etc?
Thanks to everyone that pops in the shop and keeps me company, even bigger thanks to those of you that show your support and buy stuff - it's much appreciated! Everyone who's skated with me, given me rides in their car, let me sleep on their floor or made me cups of tea in the morning - you know who you are and you know that you're rulers! Teague for not only doing the gnarliest trick in Brighton in about 5 tries, but asking me some rad questions and doing what you're doing - keep it up mate. Mitch, Rich, Martyn and all my Uckfield mates. Luke, Matt, Ewen, Ali and all the South / Tunbridge Wells crew - long time no see! Stu Smith and everybody involved with Lovenskate, Styley and everyone at Form Distribution, Chris for the job, Max, Puller, Teague, Andy, Rich, Sirus, Pas, Ben, Hastings Joe and anybody else who's made going out filming or shooting photos fun. Dexter, Thunder, Stevie, Rupert, Louis, Gooners, Level Army and everybody else who I've met through this silly little thing called skating - Cheers!
Thanks a lot to Matt for the words. This was pretty fun to do, so anything similar you'd like to see let me know and I'll try and hook it up.
Saturday 3 December 2011
Well, due to my internet deciding to die for a couple days you've all already seen this, but it would be rude if I didn't post it up. Watch it again anyway -
Ginge's latest in the ALL Killer No Filler series, and it don't disappoint.
And here's something you may have not seen. Check out this sick little edit of Drawing Boards rider Jak Tonge he pieced together himself. Some people can just do bloody everything.
Ginge has taken the initiative to do what I couldn't bring myself to do. He has stolen all my Andy Burrett footage past and present, and is mixing it with his to make a game changing Barrat montage. We have his word that it will be uploaded on Christmas day, to give you all something to talk about with Grandma at the dinner table. No matter how sad / weird you think we are, it's going to be good. As a start of the countdown, he's uploaded this hype clip, which is surely a contender for the Push comp.
And the spot chosen by Push for the competition is...
Goodies Double Set!
You have until Christmas Eve to post your clip onto the Facebook page, and the winner will be announced on New Year's Day. Full rules are in the post below. Get on it, I want some blood!
The guys at PUSH have just announced a rad little competition, where you can win yourself a fresh new deck! The rules are as such -
We've stepped it up a gear this time! All you have to do is go out and film a trick at the spot we choose, then post footage of it on our facebook page... If your trick is the winner then you come by the shop and grab yourself a rad new board!!! Sounds easy, right? Well check out the rules below...
Rule 1. This is a video only contest - no photo's. Doesn't matter what camera you use, even a phone, as long as the footage is clear then it's fine.
Rule 2. Somewhere in the clip you need to mention PUSH, whether that's writing it on your grip, saying 'PUSH' into the camera after your trick or whatever - be creative! It doesn't really matter what you do as long as PUSH is mentioned in the video at some point, that way it's proof that the trick was filmed during the time of the contest which stops people submitting footage from ages ago!
Rule 3. The clip needs to be filmed at the spot of our choice (which will be announced on here shortly). We still haven't decided exactly where it'll be yet... Could be Churchill Sq.? Maybe Goodies double-set? BK 14? Haha, who knows... why not suggest places on here and help us decide.
So just to summarise the three simple rules - film your best trick at the spot of our choice and make sure PUSH is in the clip, then post it onto our page and be in with the chance to win yourself a free board... You can't lose really - even if your trick doesn't win the board you've still gone out skating and got a rad trick on tape!
So keep an eye on the Facebook page in the next couple of days to find out where the spot is, or it'll be posted on here as soon as it's announced. Get involved!
I'm not letting this place become some standard web-content-you've-already-seen-regurgitating blog, but thought this might slip by people as $lave are a bit under the radar. Check out Ben Raybourn's welcome edit.
Photographer from BN1 magazine David Smith was on hand to snap a load of photos of the Goonfest jam that happened back when the sun used to come out, and kindly sent them over for our viewing pleasure. Have a peek at these few shots, and check out his website for more local snaps. www.photosbydavid.org
Stevie Thompson hits a few tricks down the Level, then comes to Goon to carry out his list of shuffle tricks on the mini. Followed by Thunder giving his own take on the action with some more odd manoeuvres
We all knew how badly this was needed...so here it is. Last week saw the opening of PUSH, Brighton's new independent skate shop. And it's looking damn good already.
PUSH
35 Ditchling Road
Brighton
BN1 4SL
(The road running along the west side of the level)
Become a fan of their Facebook Page for more regular updates.
Open Mon - Sat 10-6
Matt Ransom gave me some words about it...
Basically my mate Chris saw that Brighton was seriously lacking a decent shop and asked me if I'd be keen in helping him set one up. I jumped at the chance and now, 3 months down the line we've been slowly but surely building things up from scratch - totally gutting and renovating what was an old coffee shop into the brand spankers skate shop you'll see there today. Everyone who works here skates and has done for years and that's the way we think a skate shop should be done.
We've got loads of boards in stock, everything from 7.5's to 9 inch beasts from the likes of Anti Hero, Creature, Real, Girl, Chocolate, Krooked, Santa Cruz, Stereo, 5Boro, Sk8Mafia, Flip, Magenta, Witchcraft and most recently Drawing Boards, with more brands in the pipeline such as Palace, Enjoi, Baker, Cliche, Almost, Alien Workshop and Lovenskate to name a few.
One thing that I feel is worth mentioning with the boards is that we ONLY use the best grip, Mob, and you'll get a free sheet with any board you buy - standard! Fuck that Fracture shit
Obviously we've also got trucks, wheels and bearings from Thunder, Independent, Venture, Spitfire, Momentum, Bones, Chocolate and Girl with all manner of ABEC's and sizes to choose from, as well as skate books, hip flasks, ashtrays, playing cards, iPhone 4 cases, a signed Ryan Sheckler board and all the other essentials that you'll need for Christmas!
As well as all the hardwear you could ever possibly want we've got a bunch of clothing that we're really into from Fourstar, Diamond, Chocolate, Girl, Thrasher, Creature, Anti Hero, Baker and a local independent brand called T.C.C. (The Cro Club) plus beanies, snapbacks, sunglasses, gloves and other stuff aswell.
To top things off we will be stocking some of our favourite skate shoes, I can't reveal any more that than yet as we're still sorting out our footwear lines but feel free to pop in and see what kicks we will have arriving over the next few weeks.
So there you go...this is the ONLY skate shop in Brighton, and the only place you need to go to buy anything skate related. If you don't see what you want then just ask and they'll see what they can do, unless it's a scooter or a Fracture deck.
Ok. this place has been on hiatus a bit again, and I know I've said this before, but it's gonna be back in business from now on, so bookmark this shit and keep checking regularly.
Partly inspired by this...went down the goon at half 5 last night. Counted 30 people, not a single one of them not on a skateboard. It was indeed a session!
Hopefully the hype keeps going through the winter. I'll do my best to help on here. I know there's some interesting stuff coming up!
If you'd be interested in passing the torch on your great skill then check this out.
"Sports Development at Brighton & Hove City Council are looking to offer free training for volunteers who are interested in becoming Skateboarding Assistant Coaches.
If you’re interested you will need experience of Skateboarding along with an interest in teaching and will be a minimum of 16 years of age.
If you are interested and would like to find out further details please contact:
Ricardo (Skate Park Development Officer) 01273 292726 // ricardo.magee@brighton-hove.gov.uk"
They're looking to get some names as soon as possible to get this going. Once trained you can then take part in paid work teaching the younguns next year!
Get in touch through the details above if you're interested.
Jackson Neill and Jonathon Salariya's production 10,000 Stones has been gathering hype in the last few months, and is supposedly nearing completion. I had a little chat with the two behind it to get a bit more insight. Enjoy!
When did you start the vid process? How did the idea come about? Jon: We originally planned to do monthly montages, but everyone started to film more street, and better footage so we wanted to make something bigger. Jackson: We toyed with the idea of making a 20 minute montage but then the idea just developed into a full length, and we were up for the challenge. The idea just seemed exciting.
Who's got full parts?
Calum King, Patch Sullivan, Jake Clayton, Seamus Gleeson, Stan Brazil, Jackson, Seb Hallet, George Terry, Frost, Casey, Laurie Kelly, Jack Jeffery and Ash Parker. Although expect a few to be joint parts considering how much footage people end up with. And we are hoping Luke Tomsett pulls one together
Was everyone on board straight away? Jon: The young guns were on board straight away, and were always hyped to film. then the line up changed as the video developed and more people have come on board. Jackson: The promos have been a big help and have inspired a lot of people to get involved. We are really appreciative to everyone who has put time into filming, and have made the video what it is.
How long has it been in production for?
God knows. Err well we released the first promo in May 2010 but I threw that together with some waste footage, A couple of weeks after we decided to make a full length but it's just built up from there.
Where have you been frequenting to film? Jackson:: We have been filming in Brighton a lot and trying to make the most of the street it offers, we filmed a lot of the video at spots like Jury's inn, Goodies, Bk, Churchill and spots near the city centre. we have also filmed a lot in London, Eastbourne and other locations out of town, its really worth getting out of the city, some of the spots we found out of town are amazing. Jon: We have been trying to avoid park footage as much as possible in the last couple of months.
How / why did you get into filming? Jackson:I got given a digital camera for a xmas present a few years back, and just had fun messing about with that. Then I wanted to get into it a bit more seriously so I saved up for my current camera that I have at the moment. I realised that I enjoyed filming tricks just as much as skating, and I loved the joint effort of the filmer/skater and the relationship it builds. Jon: Err well I've been making videos ever since I was little, no idea why really. I've just always been into making films and then when I started skating it was a pretty natural progression into documenting and editing skateboarding.
There's a lot of people around trying to get in on the film making side of things, but you guys seem to be one of the only ones taking it to that next level of a serious production. Was that a concious thing or has it just evolved into that? Jackson: We started off thinking it would stay unnoticed in Brighton's skate scene. But due to the commitment of the skaters in the video, and Jon's hard work on the promos, recently it has been more noticed. Its a nice surprise to have seen the video grow and become more popular, because we never anticipated this in the beginning. Jon's editing also makes it unique, we don’t want it to be more about the editing than the skating, but I think he has got a real talent.
What or who's given you inspiration throughout filming? Jackson: Well Jon's editing has always been a big inspiration, because knowing that he will make it look amazing in editing has inspired me to film well. I have always been inspired by the Transworld videos, but recently the work of local film makers like Ginge, Ed or Slim. Jon:I don't know really, I get quite a lot of ideas from videos online on sites like Vimeo, I don't tend to get that much inspiration from skate videos themselves although they do inspire me to film
The young guys you're filming have really been progressing fast lately. Do you think having this video to work on has been a reason for that? Jon: I would say yes because they have all been so hyped on filming and trying such hard tricks, I think they see it as a motivation to push themselves and reach their full potential. We have also pushed the younger lot to to skate a lot of awkward street spots, I think this has helped them progress in different areas of skateboarding.
Do you employ any kind of work ethic on the guys? Or do you just purely go out and have fun with it? Jon: We try to have as much fun filming and going on street missions. But at the same time, we do appreciate when people try hard to get good footage, and put in the effort. Jackson: We also make sure its clear how much we appreciate when people give everything they have got to getting a trick on film. In no way do we want to take the fun out of it.
Anyone you wish had got more?
You know who you are!
How many ollies down bk 14 are in the vid?
Well a few people have ollied it for the video. But I'm not going to use every single one, because we don't want it to be boring and over used. But expect more than just ollies down that set!
Are you going to have to force Clayton to switch 180 it before you're finished? Jackson: I'm sure if I offer him a years supply of buying him fags, he will try it until his legs fall off. Jon: I'm sure we can bully him into doing something.
Tell us a funny incident from being out filming
Jake Clayton taking a shit in Cardinal Newman playground, Jon bullying Jack Jeffery on every singe street mission, breaking into a uni office to have a 10000 meeting complete with whiteboard and table, Seb ripping a mole off his bum outside thistle hotel.
Any disasters? Jackson: My camera getting smashed by Alex Jackson on lagoon quarter and it taking me 6 months to find the money to get it fixed. Apart from that nothing really bad has happened, no footage has been lost that we know of.
So, I stop skating for 5 years. Then one day I wonder into the newsagent and see Sidewalk on the shelf. One of the young guys I used to skate with down Hove Lagoon is on the front cover. Who is it? Jon: I would say it would either be Laurie Kelly or George terry, because they are both incredibly talented, will skate any spot and will happily skate all day! Jackson: Watch out for those two names in the future. They are both really dedicated and skate for all the right reasons, TO HAVE FUN!
Release date? Premier ideas? Jon: We are thinking about the sallis benney theatre, but I'm not sure if they will have skaters back after the LA video. We can only try I guess. We have a few other ideas including BYC. Jackson: Realistically its going to be a few months because me and Jon start uni this month. So finding the time to edit and film will be hard, also if certain people don't come out and film, it really holds the video back. But every chance we get we will be pushing the video forward. So it will hopefully be finished by December to cheer up the winter blues.
Did Sallis Benney really tell you to fuck off when you asked if you could premier the vid there?
No they didn't ha. I called them and asked them about showing a video there. But I didn't say it was a skate video, because I was scared it would be an instant no. But I guess I'm going to have to ask properly sooner or later •
Local legend Andy Evans has just updated his Youtube channel with an absolute wealth of his old edits from contests, jams and other events from the last few years. If you want something a bit localised then check out the selection below, otherwise get searching through the goldmine of event history.
Seen this yet? Well, watch it again. The latest in Ginge's AKNF series, they just get better. Who says there's no skaters at the goon? Well, I do, but I'm obviously wrong.
Big thanks to everyone who came and showed support yesterday, all the guys that put themselves forward to help out, and to everyone that skated the comp and ripped. Saw some amazing skating all day. The 13 -17 category was some of the best skating I've seen at the goon. Some serious up and comers.
Results were
Under 12s 1st Joe Wilson 2nd Izak 3rd Felix
13 - 17 1st George Terry 2nd Matt Tozer 3rd Stinton
18+ 1st Dom Movahedi 2nd Frost Kid 3rd Smith
Best Trick Jam Winner Luke Tomsett - Backside backfoot flip the hip
Tow edits of the day have appeared so far. Firstly big up to Joel Shepherdfor filming the day and for the quick turnaround on this edit of some of the jams
And to Jackson Neill for his version of events.
Also thanks to Jordan La Roche shooting photos all day, here's a pick of them below, and a lot more can be found on his Flikr page. Well worth a look through
Saw a few more media heads around so I'm sure some more will pop up soon. Big thanks to Ricardo, Darren, James at Ocean Sports and all the others who helped make it happen. The next thing is in the pipeline already. Watch this space...
Check back here for regular updates, videos, photos and ramblings on what's going on in the skate scene that surrounds Brighton and Hove, coming straight from the giant bubble that is Hove Lagoon.
