Strobeck is back with fresh Supreme team footy kicking off at knife point. Chuck on that bluntslide and get the teas on for footage of Sage Elsesser, Sean Pablo, Tyshawn Jones, Na-kel Smith, Kevin Bradley, Ben Kadow, Jason Dill, Mark Gonzales, Greg Cuadrado, Vincent Touzery and Kevin Rodrigues in Paris.
“Fuck Live Nation!” states frontman Civ, following charging live versions of New Direction and Stand Still that blew the pit of the Dome apart within seconds. It was a rallying call from a band that come from a no barrier rule, and unlike their show at the Electric Ballroom the night before, tonight is a hardcore show with only one rule. A rule that allows their people not only to share blood, sweat and tears, but to become brothers and sisters in the same square of wet flooring too. Fun.
This togetherness, born from a vibrant 80s hardcore scene, is a mentality that has reached every generation since. Having fun is the only thing on your mind when going out to see a band and that’s what you get from this lot. Strong, positive energy with a key message from hard working people who have non-stop promoted fun since they formed, and tonight’s set is rife with the good stuff.
From the building riffs of High Hopes, to the punching stomp of No Reason Why, the NYC crew smashed the Dome with classics from start to finish, on par with the electric show we saw them play last summer at Ieper Fest, where a barrage of stage diving did not stop until the final riff. Crowd participation was on point throughout this gig. Civ’s mic was shared with the lemming catchers at the front throughout the show. One cheeky punk even sneaked up on stage for a drink of his water in between tunes. I guess that’s to be expected though when you tell everyone what’s mine is yours. All fair game when you have a Big Fucking Mouth.
Do Something from CIV’s own Revelation classic pummeled the audience before Time Flies and Competition sped by like rockets. The former with a nod to old friend (and Turbonegro frontman) Tony Sylvester, who took the mic for a cover version of Judge’s New York Crew and smashed it. Their banging cover version of Minor Threat went down a storm too. There’s a lyric in that song that says something about “we’re all heading for that adult crash,” but those who managed to attend this show tonight never stacked it – they/we are the lucky ones, still wearing it on our sleeves, still getting away with it and it’s a damn good feeling.
As Walter’s harmonica wailed out the infamous solo to Start Today, I closed my eyes and thanked my lucky stars that hardcore came into my life. Thanks to everyone who played their part in it, especially Gorilla Biscuits.
Words: Zac
Photos: Natalie Wood / Wondergirl Photography
Enjoy the entire show if you missed it, courtesy of Max Horn.
Ye olde dusty hard drives in our office shelve many old photos that need airing, so first up are a bunch of party photos from 2005’s Day In The City video comp, the fourth in an annual series that Snickers sponsored back then featuring many faces you may remember from London’s ever changing skate scene. Most of them still shredding too.
Those around back then will also remember the winning entry by Jono Verity featuring Brendan Ryall and a young Tom Knox as they cruised London’s spots, plus Matt Hirst’s edit featuring Dan Beall and Jerome Campbell, and the hilarious Only Fools and Horses parody with Zorlac, Cates and Moggins repping for Death. Fun times.
Get your mince pies on this latest video installment from Leeds lurkers Jambul, Rory McKenzie, Joe Howard, Blinky, James Foster, Lee Rozee, Jordan Kaye, Vaughan Jones, Guy Jones, Alex Appleby, Reece Leung, Vince Orr, Dave Walker, Garry Giomarelli, Lewis Threadgold and more.
Proper filthy lens stuff from Alex Appleby dedicated to his brother Will who sadly passed in 2011. RIP.
Hungary’s Rios Crew have released a 15 minute journey thanks to the editing and filming skills of Bence Bàlint. Get stuck into this!
Jim Craven’s new full length scene video SEVEN featuring the always talented Manchester skate scene has been released online by Jenkem this week. Get those teas on for a 45 minute journey featuring sick graphics and skating from Tom Day, Ben Rowles, Joe O’Donnell, Neil Worthington, James Gell, Joel Peck and Valentine Kuhl.
You can own the DVD if you head to NOTE.
As the Instagram updates of mind-blowing skateboarding started flowing in from this weekend’s Tampa Pro event with Chris Joslin’s bs flip and Shane O’Neill’s winning run, I couldn’t help but notice the scantily-clad models standing aimlessly by the podium as the winners brandished their trophies. I’d always thought it a little repulsive at the darts, with old sweaty men walking alongside models half their age, in short dresses, but somehow hadn’t noticed it at a skate comp before. Although not shocking in itself, was it really necessary? And, as we celebrate today International Women’s Day, how does this contribute to the portrayal of women’s involvement in skateboarding?
With no women’s competition or category at Tampa Pro, the hostesses (as they are called in the industry) most likely represented the bulk of female presence during the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against lipstick or miniskirts, and certainly nothing against these pretty women making an easy buck. I also know, as a marketer myself, how invaluable sponsorship from big companies such as these energy drink corporations is to some events even taking place. The first question is – why do these sponsors want hostesses at skate comps in the first place?
As big brands from outside of skateboarding get involved in events such as Tampa Pro and Street League, they bring with them aspects from other sports, and try to make skateboarding more appealing to the masses. I spoke to Nic Powley, owner of Skate Pharmacy and a long-time organiser of major skateboarding events such as the UK Skate Championships here in the UK who commented that: “I guess the people that make the decisions think it’s fun to have promo girls there but then they’re probably men and they probably don’t skate either. It’s just the usual situation of people that don’t really understand skateboarding and our culture holding the purse strings, and having the power to make the big decisions – not just about having promo girls there, just generally about how skateboarding and skateboarders are portrayed and marketed to.”
One of the things which was a little disappointing about the hostesses’ presence at Tampa Pro was the concurrent lack of women’s skating over the weekend. As Nic points out, “you don’t get promo girls in Tennis or Athletics so much – there are females competing at those events on the same days so I don’t think they’d get away with it. It seems like they are mainly used at what are considered male-dominated sports such as motor racing and football, where they feel they can get away with it.” Indeed, although Street League does feature a women’s category as well as hostesses during the prize-giving, hostesses feature mainly at events notable by their absence of female competitors.
The next question is: Is there potential to move away from this sort of thing in the future, should we (a Royal skateboarding “we”) wish to?
With the amount of innovative marketing products and channels being used and developed across the world, I’m convinced there are better ways of promoting a brand in a memorable, yet more appropriate and effective way.
I caught up with Christophe Picquard, organiser of the annual world cup competition Far’n High near Paris, where the Brazilians triumphed last year with Luan Oliveira and Leticia Bufoni winning their respective categories: “We’ve never had hostesses in miniskirts at the Far’n High. I have to say when you see them at American contests you do wonder what they’re doing there, although it doesn’t really bother me. It’s not that shocking.”
Yet does he think that sponsors request the presence of hostesses unconditionally or could they be persuaded to get their message across differently? “I don’t think sponsors put a massive amount of pressure in that way, but organisers probably don’t see it as an issue.” Powley says he’s never been forced to accept to feature something at an event which he wasn’t happy with: “I imagine a brand could easily be dissuaded from it if they felt it was something that could go against their image. I think they just apply the marketing rules for Formula 1 or football to skate events and maybe that’s not the best approach.”
Although there’s a need for investment to organise bigger events, these brands clearly want to target us skateboarders and the people we appeal to – so we do have some power to steer it in the right direction. By realising that having hostesses at skate events might not appeal to most skateboarders, by then standing our ground when dealing with sponsors from outside our world, and by continuing to push women’s skateboarding more and more at events and elsewhere, as Nic and Christophe have done, we can all keep enjoying and take pride in what we do.
Undeniably, and importantly, there are currently bigger issues to address within skateboarding. As Christophe points out, “I am more concerned about girl skaters not finding sponsors because of their physical appearance, for example.”
In the meantime however, major events such as Tampa Pro and Street League are seen by a wide audience of skateboarders – some young, some girls – as well as the wider world through the media. I’m not shocked by the use of hostesses, just not convinced it’s the best way to portray skateboarding. As Nic says: ”As a young girl looking at getting into skateboarding, you’d want to see some female role models actually doing a sport or activity rather than just being a sideshow.” And that sums it up rather nicely.
Written by Claire Alleaume
It’s been time since The Back Forty dropped their entry for TWS’ Skate & Create comp with Mr Skateboarder. It was a spectacular production stuffed with laughs and this new project that they’ve been building up on tinterweb also carry more tongue-in-cheek fun. Click play for The Ramp Keeper.
Fancy some Yorkshire rippers?
Myles Rushforth’s scene video has a strong UK cast featuring skating from Will Creswick, Long Pearskid, George Reid, James Tudor, Rob Salmon, Ian Brown, Ben Moulson, Reece Leung, Matty Smith, Owen Silverwood, Paul ‘Wapo’ Watson, Josh Cox, Laurie O’ Hara, Ben Rowles, Nathan ‘panda’ Smith, Dave Morgan, Alan Callaghan, Mark Stern, Mark Kemp, Mani Haddon, Sam ‘Blinky’ Hutchinson, Myles Rushforth, Scott Parkin, Eamon Croghan, Farran Golding and Alex Bird.
Every Skater of the Year gets a dream ride with the dream crew – AVE took Rowan Zorilla, Donovan Piscopo, Eric Dressen, Guy Mariano, John Fitzgerald, Kevin Terpening and Kevin Bradley to Hawaii.