Category: Skateboarding

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Features

Boardroom Girls Christmas Jam

The Boardroom Skatepark, Leicester, hosted it’s first girl skate jam, organised by park local Becky Wood in December. There were no competitions, no spectators just a groups of ladies having a real good time ripping up the park, sessioning rails and random blocks. The Birmingham lasses, Katrina and Rogue’s Exotic Emma plus honouree brumster Lois Pendlebury, were first to arrive and they went straight in to hammer the bowl.

Soon after, the London ladies Jenna, Louise, Heidi and Lucy showed up – that was after first sampling Leicester’s finest food establishments. They spent their first fifteen minutes gassing with the others (as in talking – as ladies do) just to let the food go down but they soon got into it. Several more girls turned up. Vans Grom Sam had travelled up by train but the one who’d come from furthest afield, and deserved a good slap on the back for her efforts, was Laura from way down in Cornwall.

The session was soon flowing, Lois was attempting to ollie up the huge 4 set europe gap, which she eventually got. Not satisfied with this, she started trying to kickflip up it though she found this somewhat difficult, as there was not a big run up plus it was fairly whippy. Not to be deterred she fathomed that perhaps she would have more luck if Jenna photographed her whilst she was trying to attempt it. She reckoned that the added pressure would make her land it – which after a few attempts it did! With everyone syked by her landing it, the adrenalin immediately started flowing.

A bollard session soon commenced and Laura was first to ollie it, then Kristina landed a huge pop shuvit over it. Every time someone landed a trick it inspired everyone else to push themselves up a gear. Sam effortlessly pulled off countless backside boardslides on the handrail for Jenna to photograph and Kerri noseslid down the ledge.

With a short respite for group photos, the session quickly resumed. Emma landed a couple of backside 50-50’s on the ledge and smiths on the bowl. She definitely would have won the competition for the best dressed, with her waistcoat-come-t-shirt from the Clothes Show Live?!? Becky and Laura pulled out a combination of flips between them on the bank – fakie-shuv flips, fakie flips, backside and frontside flips etc etc – there was no end to their technical wizardry! Becky however on one landing, slammed pretty hard falling from one block to another on the sharp edged coping. Everyone winced at the broken ribs scenario but thankfully she got up laughing.

Katrina spent a fair amount of time imparting her mini ramp knowledge with the less experienced skaters. Her encouragement really added to their experience and it showed how such an event is really developing an affable close-knit community. Everyone who attended the event believed it was a brilliant idea and had a great time and wish to thank Dave and Becky for their hard work in organising it.

Jenna Selby

Categories
Skateboarding News

Antiz – Z Movie

The highly anticipated new Antiz video is ready to drop. Aptly titles Z-Movie will premiere on January 13th in Lyon at the Rail Theatre; Free booze and live music for everyone in attendance. A European tour will follow, but the dates and venues are yet to be announced.

Let it be known that Antiz aren’t in it for the money, so expect to find Z-Movie being dished out for free with Antiz decks and at all good skateshops.

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Element Clothing

28th Dec 2006

As we step further into the winter and bare the front of all the harsh elements Mother Nature wants to bestow upon us, an adequate wardrobe is the strict minimum so as not to suffer. Aware of the elements (ha!), Element has produced some top quality gear to make it through the winter, with style to boot.

First up are the Grind Pants, or trousers if you’re British, made of a soft corduroy material that is exactly what you want during the cold season- Jeans don’t retain heat and simply soak up moisture! These bottoms have a good cut to them which leave them baggy everywhere except the crotch region, so people won’t point and laugh at you as if you crapped your boxers.

With the bagginess in mind, the cut doesn’t flare out at the bottom and sits comfortably over your shoes without dragging under the heel. Extra detail includes deep pockets and flat rivets in the hip/pocket regions so no hippers here.

Next, we have the One Love Hoodie: 80% cotton, 20% polyester. I got an extra large version of this top, and it has to be my favourite. Super soft and not wafer thin, but not too heavy either. The hood is pretty big, so you can whip it over your hat, beanie, doo-rag or paper bag with no problem. Good graphic, though not pictured is the little skateboard that appears on the back right hip side.

Finally we have two t-shirts. There isn’t much that can go wrong with t-shirts and Element have been stitching up their good for quite some time now to know that a t-shirt mustn’t shrink, the screened print can’t flake and the seams must be sewn tightly. With all the bases covered, these two tees are sweet.

Have a look at the online catalogues and see if anything takes your fancy.

8.5/10

Ralph Lloyd-Davis

Categories
Skateboarding News

Cliche celebrates 10 years

Cliche are celebrating their decade of European brilliance with a fat load of limited edition goodies including these numbered decks – One is an OG 8.5 old-skool concave, whilst the other is a modern shape – a special DVD boxset with all the Cliche videos, jackets, fresh hats and more.

For a sneak peek at all the goodies, visit the Tenth Anniversary website here.

www.clicheskate.com

Categories
Features

Crossfire Xmas Jam 2006

Written by: Ralph Lloyd-Davis – 21/12/2006
Photo Credits: Big thanks to Gorm – Ace Joe – Elvin – Steven King.
Sequence Credits: Big thanks to Dom Marley and Leo Sharp (Sidewalk Magazine)
Video Credits: Big thanks to Adrian Downie, Niall Kenny, Alan Christensen and Andy Evans

Road to Ruin – Anarchy in the West-End

“My doctor told me not to let anything get me stressed. You fucked up…”

Those were the words Zac uttered to me as I grovelled apologies for missing my train out to the Crossfire Xmas Jam from Belguim! I felt stupid, and shit. Another ticket would set me back an arm and a leg, and even then I wouldn’t make it to the jam until it was ending…

Then, I got a call from my wife…..There was a flight out the following morning for £50, and I’d get there in time to party. What would I do without such a wonderful woman? I’d probably be wearing odd socks and pour salt instead of sugar in my tea.

Woo hoo! Crossfire, here I come! However, there was a catch to this golden ticket: The plane took off at 7am, which meant 6am check-in, which meant 5.15am taxi, which meant 4.45am wake up, which meant no sleep till Crooklyn!

But it was no good feeling sorry for myself. I was the one who fucked up in the first place. 20 minutes kip, one bottle of rescue remedy and one confiscated deodorant later, and I was gazing dreamily at the sun coming up over London.

Crossfire is the only outfit down South to pull everyone together at this time of the year when the days become nights and water turns into ice, so if you were anywhere within a few hundred miles radius, you know you should have made it down for the annual Xmas get together.

But I’m guessing you were there because the Bay66 skatepark in London’s hip west-end was ram packed full of skaters. I won’t list off each and every British skateboard notable present, just take a look at the news sticky for that, but I think it’s safe to say that if the Westbourne park flyover decided to collapse on that sunny Saturday afternoon, then British skateboarding would be reduced somewhat, Freestyle included- seeing as This’n’That celeb whizzplanker Darran Nolan was present and giving a helping hand. Cheers mate!

Right, enough setting of the stage, what everyone wanted was guaranteed carnage and prizes, so without further a due, Zac grabbed the cowhorn and the unsponsored jam began.

Always a favourite with the crowd, and the worst fear of the on site medical staff, the ski jump opened the show. A few clean melons here, and plenty of ragdoll flailing there, it was tiny little Alex Decuhna (inspired by Lee Blackwell!) who scored a pair of Globe Shoes with a kickflip, and a huge backside 360 that even Danny Way could tip his helmet to.

Honourable mentions must go out to the kid who managed to tailblock drop in on the massive wallride beside the jump, and nutty Darryl who went all Sluggo Boyce on us backflipping to revert over the hill dressed like a Backstreetboy! (Jokes!)

Next damage control zone was the Koston blocks across the driveway. You should have seen the way these unsponsored kids were fiending to have a go at balancing across the blocks. I think they broke a collective record for most under 15’s huddled onto a drop-in bank. After many valiant efforts, and a few bumps and lumps, the chaos claimed its winner, Ollie Smith (with a name like that, he’s hardly going to be a fisherman!) who slid his way through some smooth 5-0s, nosegrinds and bluntslides. Sweet as a nut.

Ollie wasn’t holding back either when the third stage of the unsponsored jam took off. The cheeky fella was thrusting long frontside 5-0s and an oh-so-close frontside nosegrind the full 14 feet of the kicker to curved blocks. This obstacle is a new feature of the Bay66 skatepark, and looks like it was inspired by the London Mayor’s building; a top city street spot.

One pair of Globes was enough for Ollie though, so it was up to technical Jak Tonge to earn his winnings with a perfect manual kickflip out, and a sketchy frontside 5-0 frontside 180 out to fakie nose manual drop down. The exact opposite trick- kickflip manual- was also made by James Baker who bagged a years subscription to Sidewalk Magazine.

To wrap things up with the kids, the mini ramp sesh took centre stage. Eager amateurs lined each side of the deck waiting for the master of Ceremonies to call their name and drop-in. This was a mini version of a skate off where consistency and variety in tricks was the key to success. It wasn’t until the last 5 minutes of this jam that things went ballistic with a full on Texas Death match going down, except the madmen taking part were all under 5ft tall! Wicked!

With so much talent on show, three winners had to be announced. I was designated Judge for the entire Christmas Jam, and to tell you the truth, this was the only moment I felt really intimidated. Little kids eyed me up, ready to throw me into the flatbottom if a disrespected their efforts. Oh no… The midget mafia wouldn’t sway my mind though because it was obvious that little Kyron had killed it lining up frontside flips, sugarcanes and backside 360s into his runs. Mini-me’s Dean and Michael also walked away triumphant with Sidewalk subscriptions and a free Globe deck signed by the European Team for their troubles.

PRO COMP

As a brief interval between the unsponsored and sponsored comps, I’d like to say that the skatepark was buzzing. There were skaters everywhere, so if you noticed something sick go down which I fail to mention, please let it be known on the forums and share the stoke.

Right, anybody who has been to a Crossfire Jam should know that the midi ramp jam is always explosive. There must be something in the masonite or cement ceiling because everyone gets worked up into a frenzy.

Zac heckled the riders and the place kicked off Creature Skateboards rider Marc Churchill was slicing through some of the smoothest smith grinds, taking each one to revert, whilst Brighton beardo Stevie Thompson hopped ridiculous beanplant and backside boneless variations way out of the ramp onto an extension box before leaping back in backwards. Those two guys are seriously under-rated!

Slapping their balls to the wall were Death rider Steak and Ross from Bournemouth. Steak was powering around the ramp like a rabid animal, even going so far as to attempt several Mctwists. The power was obviously in the headband. Ross tried his hardest, and did land on a couple but without rolling away, to stick a head high 360 flip mute grab..

With a park like this on their doorstep, it’s pretty obvious that the local talent could ride too, with Awahd rotating perfect miller flips every go. He never lost his New Era once. Ben Raemer’s mum was there to show support for her son who went one higher than Danny Wainwright this year with a frontside air into the ceiling! His other deep bag of tricks had finger flip liens to tail revert, and a super close kickflip backside crailslide(!). Ben is the future of British skateboarding.

Finally, the tech-wizardry of Chris Oliver and Greg Nowik set the standard for Crossfire cash. On the one hand, Chris was stomping out ridiculous head high frontside kickflip melons, kickflips to fakie, a ludicrously close rock 360 flip to fakie and I even spotted a close attempt at a frontside salad kickflip to fakie. Whoa!

But, no-one could get close to the consistency on White Trash Skateboard pro, and amateur boy racer, Greg Nowik.

As Zac bellowed out of the bullhorn- “Greg eats mini ramps for breakfast, lunch AND dinner!”. Greg was relentless with the massive tweaked airs, double flips, blunt shuffles, a stupid blunt late back foot flip to fakie landing in a switch manual roll away, and the winning trick: a blunt 360 flip to fakie.

The crowd went bonkers, hardcore punk rock from Black Flag, Bad Brains, Flipper and Negative Approach rained from the speakers courtesy of DJ James Sherry and Zac couldn’t feel his hands anymore. Those last Crossfire minutes lasted almost as long as those of British Rail on Sundays, so without hesitation we went straight to the rails.

The rail jams are always a good place to witness prime pitfalls and proper skills. With a triple choice of two hubbas and the round rail, the best British ballbaggers went to work.

Boots opened the show with a third try kickflip frontside boardslide, whilst Blueprint Skateboards Neil Smith answered back with a nollie backside lipslide and kickflip backlip.

East and 50-50 dread head Korahn Gayle pushed out a buttery smooth frontside salad grind to fakie, and flatcap wearing Sherpy mixed things up with a feeble to backside 50-50.

The ratio for bails per make was running at about 7:3, which is fair enough, but poor Adam Howe riding for Plan B took the heftiest slam when he miscalculated a frontside something or other, and flew straight to the floor and sent one of his shoes flying a good 20 feet away! Ouch!

In the end, judgement had a split win between Globe rider James Gardner with his shocking frontside bluntslide (held upright I might add!) bigspin out, and Death Skateboards am Boots hammering in the nails with a perfect bigspin frontside boardslide.

The vert wall jam was next up with a love seat quarter pipe that dominated the far side of the park. Whilst Zac heckled Santa Cruz’s Joe Habgood to get his boots on, Duffs man Rob Smith was already two tricks in with a sick kickflip indy footplant and good bonk of his nose on the ceiling!

Someone else heading for the stratosphere was Death rider Horsey who literally hit the roof on several of his mental beanplant to fakie attempts. The speed freak actually landed on a couple, but couldn’t roll away far enough.

Chris Ault repped in front of his boss, Fos, with stylish wall jams to rock fakie and massive frontside airs out and around. Tranny tamer, Stevie Thompson took off like Horsey on some great beanplant madness. One wipe out almost took a camera man out to Zac’s call of “watch out media scum!“.

Local ripper Awahd rode high up into the wall to frontside air back into the quarter pipe, whilst the Southampton crew came correct with Marc Churchill knocking out a massive frontside air across the whole expanse. Father Christmas a.k.a. Dan Cates heckled Death team rider Lee Blackwell for wearing shorts when he whipped out his trademark (and last year’s winner) kickflip nosegrab fastplant. It was obvious who had won though- Rob Smith with gruesome face paint to boot, had a big bag of tricks and almost shut it down with a kickflip indy footplant finger flip back in! As time was called, Globe and Kill City rider Daryl Cashman repped the tech side of things with a beautiful kickflip nosestall revert – silky smooth.

Helas, it was time to haul out the beast for this year’s special obstacle. Initially the people screamed how they wanted a Ring of Fire, but the local fire department had us wrapped in thick red-tape at that suggestion.

So, plan B was brought forward by Mark ‘Fos’ Foster who suggested a Whale and this beached sea creature was built, thanks to SA. Ettienne and his brother.

Shaped like a wave, with sharp gnashers and a dangerous harpoon wallie bar poking out its backside, The Heroin Whale was definitely a proving ground to separate the men from the boys.

It took a while for everyone to get used to this quirky beast, but once the initial slappies were settled, things really started to heat up. Horsey got a one-footed 50-50, whilst Chris Ault balanced a long manual to 5-0 slappy off the end. Playing it slow, but not easy, Neil Smith gathered the balance to land a rock fakie on the bar Daewon style! and Ben Reamers came closer than ever to a backside 360 out of his pole jam.

As men reduced themselves to pulp trying to tame the beast, little Alex Decuhna from the unsponsored comps stepped up out of nowhere and wallied the rail first go! The crowd couldn’t believe it, and a few of the sponsored guys felt a bruise of their ego.

Naturally, the Whale’s creator, Fos, gave Alex a free Heroin deck for his effort – N.B. The rail was almost a foot taller than Alex at its peak! The man of the hour though was Chris Oliver. After losing out to Greg Nowik during the ramp jam, this time Chris was taking no prisoners. The ginger ninja dropped bomb after bomb with backside smiths, nose grinds, nosegrinds to revert, switch nosegrinds to revert, and to top it all off- a head high kickflip caught perfectly out of a mach ten wallie! Boom!

This shit was done and everyone celebrated with one of the biggest product tosses to date. Unfortunately we could not do the usual product toss to the death this year.

Last year, many kids took it too far and people got injured, this year had to be slightly different. Crossfire would like to stress that it is with great pleasure that we can give out so many free goodies thanks to our sponsors, but skate parks are becoming targets for parents who allow their kids to come to these events and then threaten to sue us afterwards and that just can’t happen anymore.

That said, the rabid look in a child’s eyes when four massive boxes full of clothes, Globe Shoes, DVDs, boards and stickers are carried out and showered from above, is a sight that makes Damian from the Omen look angelic.

It had been a long hard day, but so amazing. The British skate community had come together to celebrate Xmas in the Big Smog, and fun was had by all. With the kids stoked, the obstacles sore and the skaters hyped, the only thing left to do was hit up the party organised down the road at Mau Mau.

Hi-Jinks assured by Ed Pitt’s DJ set and a live performance that took the roof off from Joe Driscoll, a steady flow of booze and good vibes. Merry Christmas everyone!

If you would like to comment on the Xmas Jam you can do it here.

Big thanks to our associate sponsor Globe Shoes for their unconditional support for the second year now. Also big shout out to Independent Trucks, Heroin, Death, Landscape, Blueprint, Casual, Kill City, Karma, Plan B, the Harmony and Blind Skateboards for supporting British Skateboarding, supplying product and organising their pro riders for this event.

If you were there, thank you for your support, if not we will have more planned for 2007 so enjoy downloading the video on this page by right clicking and saving as.

Click the image below to view the Xmas Party Pics..

Merry Xmas 2006!

Official Results:

Unsponsored Jam:

Ski-Jump: Alex Decuhna – BS 360 and a Kickflip

Koston Block – Ollie Smith – FS 5-0 – BS Bluntslide and FS Nosegrind on the top.

Curved Ledge – Jak Tonge – manual Kickflip out and FS 5-0 FS 180 fakie nosemanual drop down.

Mini Ramp: Kyron, Dean and Micheal

Sponsored Jam:

Midi Ramp Jam – Greg Nowik (White Trash/Globe) – Blunt 360 flip in, ollie back foot flip, double flip fakie and huge tweakery.

Rail Jam: – Boots (Death) w/ Kickflip FS Boardslide & big spin FS Boardslide. James Gardener (Globe) – Front blunt slide big spin out.

Taj Mahal Wallride Sesh – Rob Smith (Death/Independent/Duffs) Kickflip indy footplant and roof ripper..

Whale Tail Pole Jam on the Heroin Whale: Chris Oliver (Alai/Vans) – BS Smith, BS Nosegrind revert, switch BS nosegrind revert and wallie kickflip out head height!

Photo Credits: Big thanks to Gorm – Ace Joe – Elvin – Steven King.
Sequence Credits: Big thanks to Dom Marley and Leo Sharp (Sidewalk Magazine)

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Globe Winter Apparel

These days skate shoe companies have a full range of accessories and clothing available to accompany their footwear ranges and Globe‘s apparel presence over the last few years has crept up into the forefront to compete with the other elite brands out there. Here’s a selection of winter product from Globe that should keep you warm and feeling good at the same time.

‘Globe Wanna Be Anarchy’ Jacket

It’s winter and there’s nothing worse than skating home from a session freezing to death afterwards. This year Globe have brought you a solution, this camouflage cotton lined and shelled winter jacket is made to combat the cold but to also allow you to skate in comfort.

The polyester lining is slightly padded keeping your warmth in but also acts perfectly in a slam situation offering you protection if you fall due its thickness, but please note that this is no puffa jacket, but it has a good filling. Despite not having inside pockets that I’m personally accustomed to, this jacket does offer 4 buttoned pockets on the front with tailored sleeves and poppers if you want to tighten them up.

Overall this Globe camouflage number is a winter slayer and should get you through the worst of it.

Globe Scraper Crew Sweat

Hoodies take all the attention but the good old fashioned jumper has made a massive comeback in skating this year and stripes in particular have always proved popular. This charcoal scraper crew sweat has subtle thin blue stripes on the front, thicker stripes on the back and is thin enough to feel comfortable in if you are skating with a jacket on this winter. Made out of 70% acrylic and 30% wool, you know that this will be a tad styleier than the effort your Nan may try and knit you this season. Check the Globe website for other colours. You can’t go wrong with a jumper.

Globe Neo Beanie

This is the warmest acrylic beanie to bless my head all winter so far. When this reached HQ I was down with a stinker of a cold and still had to get through the week whilst the weather just got colder and colder. I must admit this thick tea cosy saved my arse as it provides some serious warmth and also comes with a neat peak that seems to be my preferred taste for winter headwear these days. These may well come in different colours but mine was labeled earthmarle which is a rustic brown, comfortable and should do the trick nicely.

Globe Fingerless Glove Mitts & Toasted Throaty

Other winter warmers from Globe include these fingerless gloves that also turn into mitts once you pull the mitts over the fingers. It’s a strange design I have not seen before but obviously works well if you want the best of both worlds. They are seriously warm but also are not too thick so that feel clumsy in them. Also, if you are sick of a trailing scarf and want a quick fix to stop the chill hitting your neck Globe have also released a toasted throaty this season for exactly that reason. The fabric is stupidly soft so if it’s freezing and the wind is up, pulling this across your face is going to be nothing but comfort – plus if you don’t fancy wearing it in black, the toasted throaty is reversible and grey on the opposite side, just switch it

Find all of these at www.globe.tv

Chuck Bangers

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Element Winter Apparel

Element recently announced the release of their winter collection. The collection was inspired by their newest pro, Michael Mackrodt : a stylish german fella with some serious pop in his hop. The collection includes the Kensington Jacket, Rocker jeans and Cajon gift set.

Clothing isn’t something you can test like a deck or pair of trucks, so I’d like to set the record to the following criteria: Quality, Competence and Cool.

Starting with the Kensington jacket , the quality is top-knotch. The jacket is made of very soft cord material with a padded lining. The colour might resemble that of your late great grandpa’s easy chair, but the finish is actually quite refined with little details like the buttons on the right shoulder. Competence-wise, the Kensington boasts 5 pockets – 1 inside, 4 outside- and an interesting button-up pattern overlapping the zip- 2 at the top and one at the very bottom. However, the material is not waterproof at all so anything heavier than a fine mist will probably leave you in desperate need of an umbrella or contemplating the warmth of a wet sponge. Finally the Cool factor results in a good score for the Kensington. I was complimented on my new jacket by several friends and social circles.

Next for review: The Rocker jeans . Despite the name, these jeans are a slim cut, but not ridiculously tight. The jean material is slightly stretchy and soft, which makes movement a flex no problem. However, the way the material moulds it self a little tighter in the upper half might have those of us who prefer a low crotch to their jeans squirming a little to begin with.

Finally, the Cajon Gift set . Presented in a pretty wooden box emblazoned with the Element logo and original grain finish, the Cajon looks good already and you haven’t even opened it. Inside is a beanie, I-pod sock and belt: Three essential accessories. The beanie is like a skull cap with a subtle design, and the belt is a one-size-fits-all slip-thru metal buckle. The quality is good and there is no margin for error. Just make sure the beanie fits!

So, Element are looking to inspire everyone this Christmas season with their new line of soft goods. My favourite has to be the jacket, but I must point out that the Cajon Gift box would be a perfect gift for friend or family member without blatantly looking like something you picked up at the SOS. Good stuff.

Ralph L-D

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Plan B PJ Ladd Limited Edition Live after death 7.5 x 31.5

So Plan B is back in full effect and everyone is shook- especially the cyberspace haters. Just to run through a check list of what constitutes a bad ass team shifting units:

1) Innovative and extra-ordinary skaters- Check!
2) History and good track record- Check!
3) Haters despite everyone riding your goods- Check!

So, there you have it- Plan B is the shit. But, as you should all know by now, Crossfire scratched beneath the surface and tests the goods so as not to see the paying customer taken for a mug. Would Plan B and their elusive prodigy, PJ Ladd get a good score..?

The first thing to hit me with this board was its shape. According to the little guarantee slip, this Limited Edition Life after death deck came with a “Guaranteed Plan B concave“. Alright, well I’d definitely think twice if I bought a Plan B board that boasted anything otherwise! Strange claim… Anyway, the shape in itself is about as good as it comes for any street technician out there. The rails, the dips and the contour of each extremity scream the words, “Scoop, flip and catch!” Needless to say, this board is a pleasure to ride from the get-go. No awkward foot in bowl concave situations, or retarded pop from obtuse angles on this deck.

The next thing I noticed with this board was the measurements: 7.5 x 31.5 that makes for a pretty small board for anyone peaking above 5ft11. My previous board had a large wheelbase (space between the trucks), so stepping onto the PJ Ladd had me double crossing myself as to whether this wasn’t a mini. It isn’t. Then there’s the width; 7.5 but riding like a comfortable 7.6. It’s only a fraction of a difference, but it means a lot when you’re trying to get your position and balance right.

Finally, the finish of this Plan B board is clean as a whistle. Smooth carpentry on the rails, and a jazzy twist on the old skull and crossbones graphic. I had to take a picture of it because the top surface of this deck is printed from top to bottom with each rider’s skull and banner. So, like I said, the finish on this deck is clean. Hell, the varnish even slides without sticking or flaking off.

Haters can keep hating because with product like this Plan B is laughing. I can’t wait for Unquestionable to drop…

9/10

Ralph L-D
19/12/06

Categories
Moves

Special Tour Tricks Moos

• Julien Furones – Tree wallie ph. Eric Antoine c/o Skateboard Europe.
• Daniel Cardone – Dropping in.
• Anthony Van Engelen – BS 50-50.
• Scooter Decenzo – Natas 3000.
• Mark Appleyard – 360 Flip.
• Mark Baines – Fakie nosegrind switch FS 180 manual out.
• Chris Cole – FS Flip.

Top 5 Reasons the Crossfire Xmas Jam rocked:

1. Sick skating from over 50 top British riders
2. Truck loads of free goodies
3. Fos’ Heroin Whale Tail
4. Multiple Best Trick comps open to all
5. After party at Mau Mau!!!!!
6. and mainly because you came to support it…thanks.

Categories
Interviews

Chris Pastras Interview

21st December 2006

Stereo Sound Agent 547 a.k.a. Chris Pastras was passing though London on a secret mission to spread the gospel of stylistics and hang ten hill bombing when Crossfire intercepted him getting his flair on.

Chris happily replied to our inquisition and even spilled the beans on a movement that’s sweeping catwalks and boardwalks alike: this is Chris Pastras of the Stereo Sound Agency. Interview and questions from Ralph Lloyd Davis and Zac

Please state your full name, any alias’, Agent names or nicknames you might have. What does your mother call you?

My mother calls me Chris. Christopher Malik Pastras is my full name.

Malik? That’s rather suave.

(Laughs) Yeah. Now let’s see… My Agent name? 547! I almost forgot. Then my nickname: Dune.

‘Dune’ – that’s stuck for quite a while now, huh?

Oh yeah. It’s been with me since I was like 13.

What brings you to London, Agent?

547! (Laughs) See, it’s not that exciting… I could make something up?

Yeah, go for it!

We made a massive Stereo PR budget, and we’re doing a massive PR sweep of Europe!

Right…

Nah !(Laughs) My girlfriend works for Kangol hats, and I came over just to visit our distributor- Out of Step. I thought it would be super freezing and snowing (in London), so I didn’t bring my board, and ended up having to get a board.

We’ve got a couple of rigs here you can roll around on. A couple of old 70’s sticks you might fancy?!

Nah… The guys from Kingpin have all this free product because they get it sent in for reviews, or whatever…

Oh! So that’s what all that is?

You guys don’t pull that scam over here?

No! We do it legitimately, unlike Niall on the scam. If you’re listening Niall – We’ve rumbled ya! :) (Laughs)

No! Thanks Niall! He had a full kit for me and hooked me up.

Well, we won’t mention what board you’re riding right now. It might offend someone.

Oh no! I’m riding a Shut board. They were my first sponsor!

Ah… Then it’s a nice gesture.

Yeah, I mean I’m putting it to use.

Yeah, but I bet there’s some poor kid out there who could have had a Shut skateboard, and you’ve nicked it!

(Laughs)

So, obviously Stereo’s got it’s legs back off the ground and it’s up and running again, and we all know what’s going on… Well, we know a bit about what’s going but we’ll find out more soon from you, every little detail.

Yeah, I can explain: We basically just went off on our own. Being the sort of underground left of centre brand Stereo is, it didn’t really make sense to have it in a licence because at the end of the day the distributors only making a certain amount off the product, and you’re only making a certain amount too. But, when you’re on your own, you can control the product, put it out when you want, how much you want… We’re basically an underground fun brand just doing it to keep the integrity of the brand up, but if you’re in a licence then you really want to drive up the volume in order for it to make sense.

Absolutely! Put the effort in…

Yeah! I mean, we put the effort in, but this is for Stereo’s true essence, and not for what the distributor wants. It’s just like anything, like a record deal: if Sony starts putting out, then they’ll start sniffing around, whereas if you can put it out yourself and sell just as many, then you that much more excited about it.

No, absolutely, but it does take a lot of effort. Are you guys playing the underdog card vis à vis promotion this time around?

No! I wouldn’t say we’re underdogs! I would just say we’re not trying to compete with the top three bands who are totally obsessed with trying to get the newest kids, and impress you with some stupid new product like, “We’ve got a super bolsar wood ply!” or something… They are totally volume driven, and they’re fighting each other over pricing, and that 12 year old kid they’re trying to sponsor… We’re just not playing that game! Stereo’s true to Stereo. We’re not competing with the top brands.

So, who would you class as a Top 3 brand then?

Sales wise? Because I can list my favourite brands! But, sales wise- and I’m probably completely out of the loop- I’d say Zero in Southern California with the rails, and Jamie Thomas who I totally respect. Ummm..? Element… Another big brand is Dwindle with all the World stuff.

Enjoi?

Yeah, Enjoi is doing it legit.

Flip?

Yeah, there you go! So, those are like what I’d consider competitive skate brands.

They’ve got their own styles, and some great styles too I might add! But what happened to style in skateboarding?

Oh, I think it’s still around. I don’t know what happened to it, but it’s around more than ever now. You’ve good styled skaters doing all the big stuff too.

The Gonz is still ripping it up out there! Holding onto the back of cars and things… I love it! Does Krooked go down as well in the States as it does over here?

Yeah, sure! It does well, and it’s got its own core base. I mean, I guess you could use (Krooked) as an example- but I’m not saying it’s the only one- as something running along the same lines as Stereo rather than a company like Flip. We’re not trying to compete with Flip. We’re just doing our own unique thing; having our friends do the graphics and keeping it true to what we know skateboarding to be, so it winds up being left of centre even if we’re not trying for it.

Who had style when you grew up-on and off a skateboard?

Ah! The Gonz, Jason Lee obviously. I like the way Natas skated a lot. Eric Dressen and (Ben) Schroeder on transition. I don’t know there are so many…

How about companies?

When I was growing up? It was probably Powell Peralta, Santa Cruz, G&S, Vision! (Laughs)

Who has style today?

Definitely the guys on our team: Olly (Todd), Benny (Fairfax) and Clint Petersen. There are a lot. (Geoff) Rowley and the Flip guys have got good style. It’s cool because everyone has their own style nowadays. Skateboarding went through a lot of weird phases, but right now I think pretty much anything goes. I see a lot of the new younger kids coming out, and they’re doing beanplants to handrails and 360 bonelesses! Just wacky shit down stairs, and wallrides. (Skating) has kind of got fun again because people accept transition skating too, so I think it’s a really good time for physical skateboarding.

Yeah, it’s merging quite nicely.

For me, the best ones come up with something original, or merge something old skool with some thing new skool… Look! You’ve got a Louie (Barletta) poster there. Louie does a good job! Ali (Boulala) does a good job too! Ali’s got good style, and he’s doing new shit, but with that style, he looks like he could have skated in any era.

Absolutely! Ali’s actually passed through Crossfire a couple of times, and Louie’s up for a grilling next. You know Richie Jackson?

Oh, that guy’s awesome! I was just thinking of him when I mentioned the beanplant to handrail stuff. I saw that and I was like “What the fuck???”

He rides for Death Skateboards, a UK company looking to take over pretty soon.

Hold onto that one tight!

Ok, so say you and Jason were sitting around in your Agents office…

(Laughs) With the big round table, and the sales chart!

(Laughs) Yeah! So, you’re sitting there and you’re like “Where are we going this week?” Which skater would you plan to nick?

God! (Laughs) that is a tough one! Oh man, I might have to come back to you on that one later…

We’ve got time. People will be sitting there waiting for you to reveal your plans! (Laughs)

It’s funny because when we first re-started Stereo, we were talking to Jerry Hsu, and Jason had never seen him skate, so he was like “I don’t know… he’s kinda weird. I don’t know if I like his style..?” (Laughs) Jason just didn’t know anything about Jerry because it was out of his era, but then we ended up going on a WE trip with Jerry some two years later, and it was so funny because Jason was so upset, like “Jerry Hsu is the best skater of all time!” (laughs) This was back when it seemed Enjoi was going to break up after Marc Johnson left. That’s one name I know Jason is kicking himself over not getting for the team. There’s your bit of background gossip! (Laughs)

Cheers! Back in the day, you used to ride for World Industries with Steve Rocco at the helm. Actually, I heard there was a documentary coming out about Steve…

That’s right! I just got interviewed for it.

Tell us a bit more about that, because over here we’re only just starting to hear about it.

Sure. They just asked me about trips and stuff, just standard issue stuff, nothing too outrageous. I was asked your basic skate related questions like who was on the team, where did you go, what did you do..? I don’t know what they’re cooking up for with this film. They could be editing me with Martha Stewart into the footage for all I know! (Laughs) I could be super-imposed into a monkey cage or something…

If you’re editing the Steve Rocco documentary and you’re listening- You know what to do! (laughs)

Yeah, but it was a pretty low-key interview just asking me about the original days, how I got on, what was it like filming for the first video..?

How’s it changed for you?

What? World?

Well World has changed a hell of a lot, but how about the World!

(Laughs) Oh, how has the World changed???

We’ve got another 35 minutes or so… Why not? (Laughs) How has life changed for you since then?

Man! It’s come full circle for me a few times. I think I’m on my eighth resurgence! (Laughs). What happens is I get so busy running Stereo, doing ads or dealing with the team or budgets, that I kind of almost lose sight of the beginning; where you started when all you wanted to do was skate. For me, all I ever want to do is skate and make art. So, I’m now getting to the point where I can get back to that, because sometimes I’m at the point where I’m so busy that I’m supposed to be here to make art and skate but I’m not even doing that! I’ll just be stuck on the phone, and answering a hundred emails a day… like having budget meetings! (laughs)

So, that’s when it sucks, and I recently took a step back and said “Ok, enough is enough!” I’m going to skate more and make more art. It’s been a couple of months now and I’m having fun with it. At least I didn’t forget about skating because I was high on heroin or something! It could have been a lot worse… I could have left skateboarding with a really bad coke habit and no company! (Laughs)

How did the original Stereo brand come about?

Me and Jason were already starting to cook up ideas when we were still over at World. But, with a company that was as big as World it wasn’t like “Yeah, I like this Zippo lighter logo- throw it on my board”. We kept coming up with ideas, but they didn’t fit the image of World back then. Things got weird for Jason because Mark (Gonzales) left Blind, and then Rocco kind of handed over the team to Rodney Mullen. This was when Daewon (Song) and all the other younger kids were starting to come up.

They were flipping their boards a lot faster than me, so I just looked at my watch like, “I think I’m running out of flip time here…” Jason and I travelled together a bunch, and shared the same interests, similar music tastes, similar art tastes… We were just super into retro based stuff in our little unique world, so we decided “Let’s do our own shit!” Screw if it sells. Someone will make it, we don’t care. (Laughs)

So, we did Blue first, and that’s where we got to cook up a lot of the ideas for Stereo with all the Blue Note style, unique colour ways and hand-drawn art like the first crown logo. More than anything, I was looking at it like I could ride out my career at World with all their young new riders- at a time when pros had a three year lifespan back in the early 90’s. I wasn’t that confident about it. I didn’t know if the whole pro thing was going to last, so what if I just wound up doing creative stuff..? My mind just went “Wow! That would be fun!” Planning out ads, making my graphics, and before you knew it I was running a company.

Amazing! What about the riders? They’re an integral part to a company that’s going to last. Obviously you’ve got a couple of Agents on the team that we know very well being from the UK: Benny Fairfax and Olly Todd.

Ha! The Scrappy Elf! That’s what I call Olly. (Laughs)

Oh really? (Laughs) You might want to explain that one. It is Christmas after all!

(Laughs) Yeah, he’s like a little scrapper, and we would joke about him because he’d always come over with like no money and three t-shirts in his backpack, one pair of shoes and a shoelace. I was like, Olly could survive anywhere. He’s like one of those guys, like “Grrrrr!” he reminds me of an old-skool boxer from the 50’s, like you could see him busting out those old-skool boxer moves! (Laughs) He also skates like a magical elf because he’s so short…

(Laughs) I never thought we’d get stuff like this out of you! This is brilliant!

He’s so mini, but he’s got really quick feet, and somehow the scrappy elf was born.

Olly will never live this down!

(Laughs) I don’t if he’ll be too happy about that!

Yeah, so Benny…

Oh! You’re trying to change subject? Ok, then he’s the scrappy Titan! (Laughs)

Yeah! (Laughs) But, where did you find Benny and Olly because that’s what the UK wants to know?

Let’s see… Benny came first because we were both riding for WE, Jason and I were some of the first WE Activists. Benny had gotten on WE through the English distributor, and so Greg the owner was showing us pictures of Benny in Sidewalk and Document. It’s because of WE that we got hip to Sidewalk and Document. I mean, I had a subscription with them in like 2001 or 02 from back when I came over with Osiris, and that got me kind of Hip to British skaters. We told Greg, like “We really like the way this kid skates, it’s the original stereo style, he’s got good style” We’ve got to talk because we want him on our team. So, we got a hold of his number and called him up.

Perfect!

Then Olly came in through Benny. He was always talking about Olly and we had the same sort of deal with seeing him in Sidewalk and stuff. We really liked his style, he’s really unique, so it was perfect. But we didn’t want to make him amateur seeing as he was already pro in the UK. We just went for it!

Yeah, they are both amazing skaters. I think the first time we met Benny was when he turned up at the first ever Crossfire Easter Jam and he won it. I had never seen him before but it was obvious.

Nice! Yeah, they just won the Red Bull Seek and Destroy comp this year. You like how I propped my riders there? A little PR plug! (Laughs)

Yeah! So, let’s stick with the boys for a minute: What are their best and worst qualities? They must stick out like sore thumbs when they visit America!

Yeah! The best for them is that the ladies love their accents when they come over to the States. I think they do well with the British accents.

(laughs) I think we do alright over here!

Their worst qualities? Errr… Benny never learnt to clean before he left England.

What? Himself..?

(laughs) Dishes, clothing, anything! His apartment looks like a crack house. But I don’t think that’s a British thing. I think that’s just a Benny thing.

Have they introduced you to stuff like Marmite or something?

Errrr..? Beans on toast! I have had marmite- I like it, but I don’t think those guys do. Most of the things they had brought over, I knew about for quite some time already.

What about your partner in crime, Mr. Jason Lee?

He’s doing his Earl thing. They film 10 to 12 hour days.

People are starting to pick up on that series over here.

Then he’s got a son who just turned 3; Pilot, my godson. So, Jason’s super consumed by work. He gets home around 9 o’clock at night, and has to get up again at 6 in the morning. Then he spends the weekend with his kid, so we have to work our way through all this, so we mostly connect through email. Jason manages to keep more in the loop than people would guess! He’s fairly particular about his ideas, but he manages to get in there so it’s cool.

Whatever happened to that Stereo TV pilot? Were the riders featured in that?

It was all the Stereo guys with me and Jason as the sort of ‘hosts’. We’re trying to re-tool it for a different network now. But, way more skating this time because that first pilot was more MTV’s version of Stereo with producers and people like, “You really need to build up these characters!” It was fun, but they built some ridiculous $100,000 set: A Stereo Sound Agent head quarters. It was insane!

What???

Yeah! I have photos of the set which I was waiting to release at some point. I was waiting for it to marinate because we couldn’t use it yet… But anyway, (MTV) built this crazy set with a full-on crazy budget pilot, movie crew style, but it was a bit much. It’s disappointing because we knew it could help Stereo immensely, but in other ways it was refreshing because it would have made life a little bit crazy. (laughs) Right now, I do stuff with Fuel TV here and there, so we’re trying to come up with something way more skate driven and we’re in the works with that now. It will be a much less Hollywood, and a lot more skateboard.

Well, it’s cool to see you’ve got demand. At the end of the day, are skaters looking for mainstream attention, or are the suits looking for you?

The skaters on our team? Oh, our guys aren’t mainstream at all! In general though, it’s gotten to the point where it works both ways. The best way is to walk the line and use the money from bigger companies and still maintain your integrity, and do your own thing. That’s the trick! (Laughs) That’s why you have to stay on your toes, and I don’t spend days on end wasted off my ass because I’m trying to walk that line successfully. We’ll just try and keep this Stereo thing afloat, do as much promotion as we can without being totally horrible. (Laughs).

What about the actual skateboarding? How much do you actually get to skate these days?

Me personally… Not enough! (Laughs) Lately more, if I’m lucky enough to get a few days a week. It’s been tough! The last year, we have been re-launching Stereo on our own. It’s been about 6 months since we left Giant (Distribution), so that really cut into my skate and art time altogether. I pretty much disappeared for a few months, and I’d skate like once or twice a week briefly. But now, we’re working on our new video, and I got some help. We’ve go a brand manager guy, and what looks like a marketing manager coming in pretty soon, and those will be the two people to do what I used to do. Then I can re-focus and really skate again.

What about spots? When you go skating, is it street or ramps?

I like skating transitions, just because the older I get, the less time I have to skate. If I only have two days left to skate, it’s frustrating when there’s all these variables thrown in… like getting busted. Plus, transition is easier on the bones. I’m 34, and there comes an age where you know you’re no longer going to be able to keep up with the likes of Arto (Saari), in your mid-30’s to early-40’s. You probably can, but you’ll probably break your knee cap off! (Laughs)

There’s comes that point where you want to have fun with your board, and cruising cement parks and bowls and stuff became the way. I always skated transition anyway, so it just took more form. The less time I had to skate, the more I really enjoyed transition.

San Fransisco has seen a few legendary spots un-knobbed. Which spots from the past would you like to see resurrected?

Hmmm…? It’s tough because Los Angeles spots aren’t really shutdown like they are in SF or New York.

Any parks that have been bulldozed..?

Hmmm… I’m glad that the Brooklyn Banks stayed around because they destroyed the small banks, which was a real bummer because I think that that was always like a legendary spot. That’s gone and I wish that hadn’t been destroyed.

Southbank will have its come-uppance too one day! What constitutes a Stereo Sound Agent?

You must have style and charisma. You must be brave, loyal, know how to drink Martinis… He’s got to smoke! Nah! (Laughs) The (Stereo Sound Agent) was just our quirky way of not saying ‘rider’ because we also give free shit to our friends who are musicians and actors. Stereo Sound Agents could be serious like our team, or it could be an old hunched over man with a bunch of plastic bags that we’ll call the “Minister of Black plastic bags”. It’s just tongue in cheek, our inside joke that we promote.

What about the Pink Panther, could he ride for Stereo?

Definitely!

He’s a smoker! (laughs)

The Pink Panther is an inspiration for us.

What other celebrities?

Ahh… Whoopi Goldberg, Ted Danson, Molly Ringwald… Mr. T !(Laughs). We’re doing a board with a graffiti artist friend of mine called RealStar, and when we made the Way out East video, we were working with Midlake and another band called Truth and Soul for the music. They are friends of mine from New York, and we are going to do some Truth and Soul skateboards with a free CD. We’re giving RealStar a board… We figures Stereo Sound Agents worked really well because we can sponsor our friends that don’t skate, promoting their art or music.

What are your top 5 desert island discs?

Ah man! I’m really into a band called Wilko. I like the Smiths, Bad Brains…

Have you seen American Hardcore?

Yeah. I wasn’t too crazy about the movie, but I liked the material. Let’s see… The Clash I like a lot.

Are you a fan of the Globe / Clash shoe?

I haven’t seen them. Right, I’ll take a pair then shall I? (laughs) Don’t ruin my high! Next thing you know, you’ll be telling me Vans have got a Bad Brains shoe out! (laughs) I like the Descendents too. It all depends on the mood I’m in. I have so many musical influences. I listen to Wilko stuff when I’m painting. I don’t know why… I listen to their albums on repeat. But if I’m going skating, I’ll dig out Devo or the old stuff I used to skate to when I was 17. It really depends… And if I’m moody, then it’ll be some sad Emo music.

It’s official- Pastras is Emo! (laughs) And he’s on MySpace… So, you like a bit of Emo then?

No, not really!

So, you just lied???

I don’t even know what current Emo bands exist!

Damn… All those Emo kids listening to this are probably going “Fuck! Pastras sold out!”

(Laughs)…

Is Scott Johnston still the ‘rippingest skater in town’?

He definitely is! There are a lot more rippingest skaters. He’s just one of the rippingest skaters, not the rippingest.

Now, before we wrap this up, you must give us the name of the skater you want as an Agent!

Oh! The skater! You’re back to that… I have to answer? Oh man! Let me think… I’m trying to rack my brain for current skaters… Do you have a pause button? (laughs)

Sure! Bip, bip, bip… Who would you take for your team right now?

Can you guys help with suggestions? (opens it up to the office)

No, this is on you! You can dig one up if you like? I know that’s bad taste, but it’s what Crossfire is all about. (Laughs)

Naming one is just too nerve racking… I can list a few we’d like to see ride for Stereo: Dylan Reider! Good style, definitely a good blend of old and new. Alex Olson! He got snatched up by Girl, but we were flowing him boards years ago because we are really into his skating.

One more..?

Errr..? You said one!!!

Well, yeah but you’re rolling them out now brother! (Laughs) One more- an established pro.

You guys are trying to get me into trouble here! (Laughs) Well, I named Jerry Hsu already… I can’t say.

Ahhh! You’re not getting out of here alive. Pierre (Andre Senizergues) from Etnies gave me one!

Who?

I’m not telling you, you’ve got to hit up our site and find out! (Laughs)

I have to say though, that when I think of current days, the only other people who do what Stereo does as far as riders and stuff is Alien Workshop and Habitat. They do a good job of promoting original street style, not just going for the crazy handrail guys. You can pretty much say that anyone on that team would fit Stereo in our eyes.

Perfect. But you’re still avoiding the question! (laughs)

I gave you like two or three names! (laughs)

Alright, we’ll wrap things up here.

If I could have one skater of all time, it would be Bill Danforth.

Oh, what a choice! I bet his shiny head is glowing right now! (laughs) That was amazing, thanks Chris for dropping by Crossfire HQ.

Thanks for having me.

Where can we find you on the web?

The Stereo site is www.stereosoundagency.com , and then we’ve got a MySpace. I’ve got my own MySpace, I think it’s /agent pastras..? I have a website for my art too: www.thelovestation.com is that enough plugs? Mom, dad, how’d I do? Am I good to eat now? (Laughs)

You will be able to podcast now from our radio section on this very site. You can stream it from the site or download it as a podcast.