Has America finally realised Europe is worth its weight in gold? Well, Matix Clothing seems to think so because they have just established a UK Team.
The lucky buggers that will be dressed to impress are Joey Pressey, Daniel “Snowy” Kinloch, Chewy Cannon, Jody Smith, Danny Brady, Josh Perret, Jak Pietryga and Joe Lynsky.
For more info about these Euro musings go to: www.matixclothing.com/europe.
Check back to Crossfire in the future for a Chewy interview….
Understandably, Rampworx has come in for some (sometimes well deserved) criticism for its ignorance to the needs of their loyal skateboarders. Now their frustrations can be tempered by the fact that they have pulled all the stops out for a completely new section at the rear of the skate park.
Over the last 4 months, Rob Godfrey and his team of expert ramp builders (thanks to Gaz, Perry, Chris) have been hard at work during the long cold and dark months of winter and believe me if it’s just you and 3 guys cutting wood in sub zero temperatures, the park is a solemn, ghostly and, almost arctic place post festive season!
So what can skaters look forward to when they roll up to the park this forthcoming spring?
Well, here is a short list of what the ‘build team’ have come up with:
• Mini Half Pipe Flows Into Mini Spine,
• 30 Ft Quarter 30 Foot Long With 8 Ft Flat Bank In Middle,
• 24ft Wall Ride, Quarter To Flat Bank Into Wall Ride,
• Quarter Pipe, Burnside Pillar,
• 24ft Flat Bank With Roll In,
• New Flatbank With Boxes and rails,
• 3 New Drive Ways With Box Rails And Drop Off Boxes,
• 2 Mini Humps,
• Quarter Into 2 Pump Ramps
It’s also worth noting that the park has just launched a brand new membership scheme. For the nominal fee of £20, you get a whole host of goodies including Members t-shirt, sticker pack, reduced door entry, 10% shop discount and a member’s only day.
For more information call 0151 530 1500, or 0151 666 2224 or visit the new site at www.rampworx.com
Similarly email the park at info@rampworx.com.
A Graphic Short Story
by Jody Barton
“I’m a survivor… …have you got a spare cigarette?”
Opened on Wednesday 1st of March
6 until 8.30 pm
CIDE 88b Gallery
88 Lower Marsh
Waterloo
London SE1 7AB
Embryo Boy is an unwanted child who won’t give up. He won’t give up smoking. This book sees his conception, double eviction from the womb, search for housing and gainful employment. All with a dark and mischievous humour that will hopefully alienate nearly everyone. Defiantly Anti Life, Embryo Boy has a sense of world weariness not usually seen in one so young. And before you ask ‘does it have a happy ending?’, it doesn’t have a sad ending…
Also there will be some new screenprints, some free copies of the book and more. Embryo Boy will be making a personal appearance.
Propmaking by: Rich Holland and Charlotte Mann.
Sponsored by: MonkeyShoulder
We know Marseille is good. We also know Brixlegg is a beast, but, do you know about Courtrai in Belgium?
Well, you do now because they have a brand new concrete bowl complex plus cradle, designed by Team Pain, that is waiting to feel your urethane and taste your blood!
Well, not until mid April… On March 4th skaters from far and wide tried to put pressure on local authority to get the park opened, seeing as it’s finished and yearning for a thrashing. Crossfire were there to witness the confrontation with police. Check the skate features section on this site to find out what happened…
The hand that rocks the cradle
Courtrai skate park debacle.
In the last year, there has been an incredible increase in the amount of concrete poured for skaters to shred. Quality parks are beginning to pop up all over the globe, so summer holidays can be booked in Stoke on Trent instead of San Francisco, and the next Geoff Rowley might learn the ropes in Malmo not Barcelona…
However, to get the mixers turning you need to work with people that don’t skate. It’s an age old fact that skaters are broke, so if we want something we do it ourselves, or swallow our pride and ask for help.
Help comes from non-skaters and notably politicians. The suits are the ones with the cash that could create the sickest cradle, or the sketchiest hip. We work together to iron out the wrinkles and build something really worthwhile. Recently, the little town of Courtrai (Kortrijk in Flemish), Belgium, got served with a concrete skatepark designed by Team Pain (Tim Payne and Co.) that could easily rival Marseille. Plus, it’s got a mean cradle!
Now, before you get your Velcro straps in a twist and hunt down a map to find Courtrai, let me explain the current situation: You can’t skate there.
Now you’re pissed, well imagine how the locals feel. Basically, the bowl has been ready to skate for at least 4 months, but because the landscapers think their pretty flower arrangements and green grass won’t grow in winter, everything must wait. Obviously the politicians agree because nothing looks worse on a political campaign poster than a mass on concrete in a mud field. So, like a 12 foot deep tub of ice cream in front of hungry kids, the dream of riding this beast is melting away because the table hasn’t been set.
An email circulated around skaters informing them of a get together rally to try and manifest their rights to rock ‘n’ roll. Unfortunately, news of the informal gathering was spread on the net, and subsequently reached the powers to be. Upon arrival in Courtrai, skaters were greeted by no less than 5 police vans, several riot squad dogs and various plain clothes coppers waiting for the spark to throw a few hoodlums in the back of the meat wagon. Keep in mind that this is in a small town in Belgium, so the total number of skate activists present was no more than a hundred at most.
Add to the equation, a well prepared Mayor who has a horde of aides and media types flurrying around him to make his look good. Basically, the Mayor played the skaters like a bunch of inexperienced fools, and turned the media bias around. In theory the media were their to show the politicians in a bad light, but due to a general lack of organisation, this power move was usurped by the enemy.
You might think those present were a load of pansies, but when you saw the eager cops present that day, and the fact that uproar might result in negative repercussions for the locals, everyone decided to play it calm; A little too calm for my liking… But, the Mayor did want to look good for the cameras so he let us ride for an amazing hour in total! Thanks man, but that’s not really long enough to take advantage of such a site. Oh! Did I forget to mention that those who did get to skate were hand picked? Of course, this isn’t a free for all, you know. This is a photo op, isn’t it..???
A few skaters who weren’t allowed to skate whilst the BMXers got served free Redbull- They don’t miss an opportunity do they!- decided to attack some jersey barriers further up the road. The Mayor thought that was funny at first, but then realised it would upset his constituency to see such inappropriate behaviour in the town’s streets, so he called the cops on them. Yeah mate! Luckily, the damp squid of a day had squashed any rebellious uproar within the skaters, so no arrests were made. An impromptu plan was made to congregate in Brussels, some 50 miles away, to skate the Belgian Capital’s park with a far smaller bowl, but at least there would be no hassle! Please note that Brussels has recently acquired a new concrete bowl with banks and ledges (unfinished), yet the site is still behind barriers and under construction. Despite these limitations, cops don’t care if you skate there on the weekend. You skate at your own risk (obviously!), and not for the risk of the unfinished flower beds!
In any case, Courtrai’s new park will be open end of April supposedly, and is well worth a visit. To end this, Belgian ambassador, David ‘Roest’ Martelleur was asked by the local newspaper whether he sided with the local politicians he said, “I’m not a politician, I’m a skater!” Nuff said.
A big shout out to all the skaters who came from far and wide to rep for the cause, Element Europe for turning up, Team Payne for building the beast, and the Courtrai locals for putting their town on the map.
Ralph Lloyd-Davis
06/03/2006
UK skater Dave Chesson might have stepped just that little bit closer to resembling Frankenstein!
These beautiful 22 staples were not inflicted after a brawl in the showers at Wormwood scrubs, nor were they self inflicted in an attempt to wow the ladies (even though the scar might work!).
No, Dave is a skater who pays the price for his passion. After chipping away at his shoulder socket over the years, and subsequently suffering multiple dislocations whilst performing meanial tasks, enough was enough and Mr. Chesson went under the knife.
Despite some heavy surgery, the trouble came afterwards when Dave OD-ed on Morphine, and was forced to go ‘cold turkey’ only a week after the operation. Dave is currently resting himself and hallucinating on other strong painkillers for a full recovery by this summer, let’s just hope he manages to shave that lapmonkey in time for the Urban Games, even Gorm would be jealous of this bush!
If you have a scar, hipper, broken bones or bruises you want to share with the rest of the world then send them here and we will publish them.
Pics courtesy of Leo Sharpe and Richie Hopson
Rodney Clarke has lived a larger life than anyone, but still stays humble and down to Earth. Already those are two attributes some of us only wish we could answer for.
Rodney is a veteran yet still stands at the front of the game. He is recognised from Australia to Austria and always happy to session or share a drink with fellow skaters.
Despite the fall of previous sponsors and a paralysing accident, Rodney stayed strong and took it all in his stride to build a brighter future. Ralph Lloyd Davis caught up with Rodney just before he whizzed off to Australia with the Crème team. Lucky bugger!
What are you doing now?
I was just having a quick conversation with Australia!
Zac mentioned you were about to head down there again- what’s up with that?
I’m gonna go and escape the winter for a bit.
By yourself, or with the Crème lot?
The Crème lot and the Split guys.
Lucky bastard! You’ve been to Oz a lot haven’t you? I remember in that UKVM you mentioned nearly paralyzing yourself- What happened?
I got half way rotated during a backflip on a fricking trampoline, came up short by about 180 degrees.
Shit… It’s always when you least expect it, eh?
I landed forehead first and dislocated the c5 disc, and bruised my spinal cord! It left me paralyzed for about a day or so…
Were you alone or did Skippy come to your aid?
My good mate Spence was there. When I told him I couldn’t move he thought I was joking started bouncing on the trampoline
Pfff… Typical.
I’m screaming like, “Mate, stop it! I’m serious- I can’t move. Get help!” I spent only two weeks in hospital though.
That fast? Lady luck wanted to see you skate some more obviously. Even though you’ve had some heavy injuries in the past, people know that you can get gnarly on your board- Is it a bit more calculated nowadays?
I ain’t worried about hurting myself. I kinda got the whole “I’m indestructible” thing going, you know: what don’t kill ya, can only make ya stronger, and all that… I wrecked my ankle shortly after getting back on my board; these days its more about what my body will let me do.
Looking at the some of the yoot out there nowadays, do you ever think some of them are taking unnecessary risks? Mispelt yoof..?
Nah, its weird that it may seem that way, but I think people just look at what’s been done, and feel that its within them to try crazy stuff. Danny Way doesn’t help matters jumping out of helicopters and stuff! (Laughs) The level of skating has gone through the roof!
I look at skating like stunts nowadays. The age of flowing and lines seem to have flown out the window… At the Xmas Jam Ross (McGouran) was going off- it was sick. You were spotted going at the gap with some fairly old-skool moves- What’s your favourite?
I would love to have done what Ross did, but for the sake of consistency I stuck with a trick I could probably do in my sleep.
Ah! The old sal-flip… I like it too except when you land on it primo. If you could take the younger generation back in time to another era of skating to teach them something about their past- where you you go?
Probably the early seventies. Kids have to loosen their bloody trucks and learn to carve and turn- when skating looked more like surfing. It has sort of gone that way again a little bit with the long hair wearin’ hippy Huntington Beach beach stylee. But, when I look at people like (Geoff) Rowley and Chris Haslam, that’s what the kids remind me of.
Who did you look up to as a kid?
Obviously the Bones Brigade being the first major company I remember seeing had a major part to play as a kid. Tommy (Guerrero) was my favorite then- when they all came to the UK I was so hyped! Then after that it would have to be Ray Barbee, Matt Hensley, then a little while on Eric Koston and Danny Way. Oddly enough, its weird that they all made visits to the UK around the same time..? Hey! What does that say to the USA? The importance of tours and stuff is immeasurable.
Do you think some companies have forgotten the importance of demos and touring? Sometimes they jet over to Europe for filming missions only- no demos, no nothing…
Absolutly! Ok, so a good video part is essential these days- no question. But nothing actually beats seeing it live. It never can
Off on a bit of a tangent- When was the last time you saw (Mike) Manzoori at St.Albans?
Oh wow! I don’t honestly remember… Maybe about 8-9 years ago, my guess..? Mike used to smash that place! (Laughs)
Do you have any fond memories of the old St.Albans comps? Or perhaps something horrible that engraved itself on your memory?
It was an amazing time in skating, so many memories: (Matt) Pritchard’s early naked antics, Tom Penny’s run on the mini ramp, Luke McKirdy killing it, Manzoori killing it, Rune Glifberg wallride madness… So many things!
I know you’ve done the whole euro contest circuit a few times- how do the big events compare to the ones at home?
The home grown events have more atmosphere. When big companies put on their events for the telly or whatever they tend to become more like a show. It’s all good but not the same.
Right, now we’re in Euroland- How did Crème Skateboards come about? Was it intentional to get a few different nationalities on the squad?
Yeah! We wanted to showcase the best of Europe. There are many things great about the English scene, but I think we tend to forget that we are part of Europe and have a lot in common with other parts of Europe, like the terrain and Architecture for instance. Cliché does a good job of bringing the whole thing together, but they are only one company.
Do you share knowledge, like try and learn one another’s languages, culinary types or anything?
I don’t really want to talk shit on certain people but ‘they’ seem to think the whole world revolves around the UK.
I know what you mean… But yeah like I said earlier- have you learnt or taught anything to you teammates?
It’s great! Domi (Dietrich) and Manu (Margreiter) spent a bit of time over here in the summer. Its funny watching them pick up on all our bad habits, swearing and stuff like that. (Laughs) I know how to ask for things in a couple of languages and to cook a super good pasta dish Austrian style now.
Sweet! Loic from Antiz skateboards taught me that the French have a grab called a ‘sad’ which doesn’t exist in any other language! I think it’s their equivalent of a melon grab.
Its times like that when I wish I had paid more attention in school… Nah! Melon grabs comes from melancholy which means sad and depressed, just like the grab. So it is the same.
Ahh! Well done Sherlock. In any case, they still make me laugh with their ‘flip back’ ‘trois-six flip’ malarky… 10 years ago, could you imagine yourself pro, and riding for a respected euro company?
I never expected to be pro it was a nice addition and probably the natural progression of things.
Cool. So, what are your plans for the future? I know you’re going to Oz in Feb/March…
Well, I’ve been running this skate school thingy at my local park and have one more in South London. They run well and I really enjoy working with the kids
Anyone asking for a 900?! Do you think you might do something like that in the future- i.e. work with kids, or would you rather post up somewhere in the skate industry?
Who knows? I would like to stay industry related, but I don’t know what the future holds for now..? I will just keep skating as long as my body holds out.
Alright Rodney, I’m pretty much done for questions. Now’s the time for your list of sponsors, people to thank, people to not thank etc…
Cool.
So yeah, post ’em up.
Etnies, Crème, Split, Coretech, Independent, Motel 6, New Era. I want to thank everybody that has helped me out over the years; that’s too many people to list! All my sponsors and anybody who has ever let me sleep on their couch.
Cool. Cheers for this Rodney and have fun in Oz whilst we hug the gas heaters in the deep freeze!
Cheers man, and Cheers Crossfire!
Ralph Lloyd-Davis
03/03/06
I wonder how long you have to hold a grind for to get a pro model? Well, Tony Trujillo has obviously ground his Indys down to the axle because he’s looking to get his pro endorsement on very soon.
Trujillo also has a new shoe out on Vans that looks like a Rowley model, as seen in the new magazine adverts. Shame their UK company could not send us the news personally as they are asleep and have been for months now. Do they still exist in the UK?
Likewise, Stevie Williams, PJ Ladd, Zered Bassett and Stefan Janowski will get pro trucks over at Venture. I just wish I knew what the point was..?
www.independenttrucks.com for your trucking goodness.
Sometimes you just have to envy professional skaters… The lucky bastards over at Flip are currently travelling all over the world gathering footage for the next Flip video.
Don’t hold your breathe though, because no-one knows when that bomb’ll drop!
So, enjoying the pleasant winter climate of Mallorca, we have Ali Boulala, Arto Saari, Geoff Rowley, Bastien Salabanzi and Rune Glifberg tearing things up. Glifberg has just announced he is confirmed for the Snickers Bowl competition at this years Download Festival, more about that soon. That gang of lunatics has been joined by the latest teen investment Eric Fletcher. We don’t know much about Fletcher, but if Flip approved you know he’s good.
Elsewhere, Mark Appleyard doesn’t care about skateboard bans as he scours Barcelona in search of new spots that could satisfy his amazing skills. Look out for Apples at The Works Skatepark in Leeds with the Globe Shoes team on Wednesday 6th of April. Tom Penny remains as elusive as ever with news of a top-secret filming mission going down in Buenos Aires..? Anyone care to add to that?
Finally, keep your eyes peeled for any David Gonzales footy because the little amateur from Columbia is holding it down despite his half-pint size. David is in Brazil and Chile turning heads as he serves out healthy servings of gnarliness.
Check out TWS April 2006 for coverage of the Feast Tour 2005
Other Flip news just in is that there will possibly be a Flip Team UK outing planned for July 2nd at The Prissick Plaza in Middlesbrough, more when we are sent more info…
Go to www.flipskateboards.com, but don’t expect much info, it has been static for months on end now…..one day it will be unleashed and kids all over the world will be happier droids!