Author: Crossfire

Interview by RLD
Sequence at Epic courtesy of Lee J, other shots courtesy of Gorm.

Kevin McKeon alias Meanwhile Kev literally dropped in on skateboarding and lay many a transition to waste. My first encounter with Kev was via an internet chatroom – NOTHING devious or dirty! – just regular skate banter and tittle-tattle.

If anyone was down for a session or willing to squeeze into a crusty Ford Mondeo that failed it’s MOT for the cause, it was Kev. Once footage started to trickle through the wires, and eye witness accounts testified, the legend of Meanwhile Kev was etched in stone. Crossfire caught up with Mr. McKeon prior to another rendez vous with a taildrop or roll-in from hell.

10. Number 10 strikes like Big Ben, so describe a typical day for yourself?

I usually wake up feeling a bit rough, I try to get up before midday and then I ring up a few people to see if there are any sessions happening. Then it’s a downhill skate to the local train station and go to wherever! I skate until I can’t skate anymore and then just settle down for a night of drinking and fuck off back to mine or a mates and then fall asleep! Wake up again the next day and do the same!

9. Keeping track of time with number 9, how long have you been practicing the skateboard art?

I started skating in Summer 2002, so 4 and a half years now. I managed to blag bits and bobs off of my mates like a set of trucks and a deck and some wheels, I put it all together and rode that for ages until it fell to bits!

8. Number 8 is what’s on your plate, so what do you do besides skateboarding?

Not too much really, I go to a 6th form in the sticks and I have to do a fair bit of work with that, after that’s finished I just go out skating and get drunk, just taking the piss and partying! Slagging off mates for no reason at all is pretty fun too!

7. 7 rhymes with Kevin, so why do people call you Meanwhile Kev?

Well I used to only skate Meanwhile a lot and my names Kev so that kind of stuck. Also because of that fucking sidewalk forum and all that.

6. New for number 6, what are your favourite tricks?

I can’t really get tech, so I just settle for just trying to do simple tricks on hard things, or tricks that feel good. Long frontside grinds on concrete feel amazing! Anything where you have to smack your tail like bodyjars, they feel sick too! Blasting big airs always feels good!

5. Down for a dive in at number 5, where’s the best place to skate?

Anywhere north of Birmingham really! I don’t really like skating in London too much apart from Romford and Harrow, as people there usually have different atmospheres at those kind of places and just seem like real people who skate for the fun of it. Most places in London you seem to get people who are really fake and don’t act like themselves at all. I’m not really too into that.

4. Number 4 is for the dancefloor, what constitutes a good night out?

I suppose just going to a good bar or club really, with drinks flowing, good music and women I suppose! A bit of drunken antics always livens things up! All those things go down in the good books!

3. is for free, so how did you get sponsored?

Johnny ( the owner of halfpipe skateshop) saw me skating vert at Bay 66 a couple of years back and probably felt sorry for me seeing how I was dressed and decided to hook me up I guess! To be honest, back then I didn’t really deserve it at all and was just lucky that he was there. Then the others just came along from just sticking at skating and travelling about.

2. Number 2 represents your crew, who do you skate with on the regular?

I’ve been hitting up Romford and Harrow a bit lately with Aaron Sweeney and Awadh from down here. I meet up with Cov Sid a lot as well, he was down here last weekend actually and we just hit up all those kind of 70’s parks just sinking beers and falling over a lot! It’s rad! I skate with Ollie Tyreman quite a lot as well when I go up North, he sorts me out with a place to sleep and lifts and all that!

1. And finally, in at the pole position, the questions on everybodies lips is, what made you want to roll in on the extension at the Works?

I couldn’t really work out the line to get enough speed to get right out of the top. I could only drop into it, rolling in seemed like the next thing to do I suppose. After rolling into it, I got the line clocked out and it just flew me back up there

And now you get a chance to shout you any sponsors or thanks!

I want to thank Adam and Toby at Karma Skateboards, Nick Zorlac for Death Urethane, Powley for flowing me Vans shoes, Johnny and all at Halfpipe and Zac for Crossfire Clothing and for this Countdown. Also anyone that has sorted me out with a beer, place to sleep, lift, bit of product or anything like that! Cheers!