A high ollie comp organised by Axe Distribution was held in Tamworth on Sunday 5th May. Luke McManus and Jamie Hewitt cleared 9 boards on the day from flatbank to flat, watch the footage here.
Axe Distributions Tamworth High Ollie Competition a Skateboarding video by Daniel Pendlebury
Photos by Ray Zimmerman/Vans
This weekend’s Pool Party at the Vans combi pool was another classic weekend of gnarly skateboarding. The event had everything, from the upcoming padless crew who have tech skills for miles, to the legendary skaters that bring classic airs and lip tricks who have paved the way for the current scene throughout the years. The question is though, should the ‘ams’ who are running riot at comps like these come away with ca$h money after a weekend of putting the work in?
Despite ams being able to out-do some pro’s on the circuit with their new found skills, legendary pro Steve Caballero doesn’t think so today. In an open letter to his Facebook friends just now, Cab reached out to his followers to deliver this message below, calling for ‘ams’ to be ams and Pro’s to get paid to do a job. So who is right and who is wrong here?
I respect Cab’s opinion as he is one of skateboarding’s most giving people and as a result his opinions are not be disrespected on here whatsoever, but what are your views on this ongoing debate?
Should ams get paid or not? Should they compete to raise their status and leave the dough to be collected by the pro riders, or should their skills be rewarded too?
Read Cab’s letter and please let us know what you think in the comments ↓ below.
“Good morning everyone,
I try and keep a positive attitude as much as I can with whatever that’s put in front of me and that’s how I’ve been able to cope with life from years on end, I don’t sweat the small stuff… Because It’s only small stuff:) but there’s one issue in our skate industry that still bugs me to no end and that’s…Amateur skateboarders who get paid for skateboarding or who have entered pro events (accepted the money prize) to later claim.. An amateur status in our industry :(
PRO is short for “professional or profession” which means anyone who makes a living or gets paid $ for what they do!
AM is short for Amateur which is supposed to mean, not getting paid or a person who hasn’t received any $ amount, it has nothing to do with how much talent you have.
So if your “claiming” an amateur status, yet still continue to receive prize money or a monthly income from your sponsors, guess what… your Pro!
I’ve been wanting to say this ever since I heard that Amateurs had started getting paid years ago and someone created a contest that’s called… “Ams getting paid”. This is the one thing that our skateboard industry may lack and that’s integrity.
I may be wrong, but the last time I checked this is how it all started in my career back in the early 70’s. Thanks for listening and have an amazing day.”
Cab
DISCUSS THIS HERE ↓
Photo: Rory Milanes shot by Maksim Kalanep.
The Guardian are powering the campaign for Save Southbank right now with their 3rd feature in a week. This one though has special meaning, as its written by legendary London skater and musician Crispin ‘Spry’ Robinson, who ripped MW2 and various other London spots to shreds when he was skating full time back in the 80’s.
His wise words on today’s Guardian feature state that:
“Moving the skaters to a purpose-built spot along the river misses the point. Reclaimed urban spaces are more than just bits of forgotten concrete. They have memories. They resonate with ghosts of the past. They contribute to the richness and diversity of our lives. Their value cannot be measured in material terms. We need South Bank.2
Read the full feature here.
Malmo’s top dog Danijel Jugga Stankovic joins Geoff Rowley who was welcomed to the Lost Art shop team last month. We interviewed Jugga (now on the National Skateboard Co) when he was riding for the harmony back in 2006. It feels like a lifetime ago but he is still one of th nicest blokes you will ever meet. Enjoy this welcome line.
Bucky Lasek and Chris Miller took the honours in this year’s Pool Party at the Vans Combi Pool over the duration of this weekend in California. Enjoy the highlighted footage of the full weekend.
Masters Results
1. Chris Miller (Del Mar, CA) $15,000
2. Steve Caballero (San Jose, CA) $7,500
3. Christian Hosoi (Huntington Beach, CA) $4,000
Pro’s
1. Bucky Lasek (Encinitas, CA) $28,000
2. Pedro Barros (Florianopolis, BRA) $14,000
3. Rune Glifberg (Copenhagen, DEN) $7,000
Pro footage:
Masters footage:
Qualifiers footage:
Henry Edwards-Wood has unleashed an incredible new edit featuring Southbank’s locals leaving their mark on the banks, ledges, blocks and rails. It’s a must see today.
The Observer got behind the fight yesterday and ran this photo feature yesterday, plus on Friday, the Guardian also highlighted the fact that the petition is now using village green status to protect the Undercroft by forming a preservation society. Get to know.
Click here for our Save Southbank event feature with more skate footage, interviews and photo’s from the May Bank Holiday weekender.
If you were looking forward to this, you will not be disappointed when you click the pic below for the footage. Ben Nordberg lays down a huge amount of great tricks on the Berrics in his new Recruit section. Wonderful stuff. Look out for cameo tricks from Geoff Rowley, Curren Caples and Louie Lopez too.
Ben is also interviewed here.
Filmed/ Directed by Boris Proust
Cliché has come a long way and travelled a lot of miles since its first video Europa was released some 10 or so years ago. Bon Voyage is the latest leg of their fantastic journey and there are noticeable changes in the team line-up and general aesthetic. The premier international team boasts Daniel Espinoza, Kevin Bradley, Paul Hart, Joey Brezinski, and Pete Eldridge from America; Sam Winter and Andrew Brophy from Australia; Lem Villemin from Germany; Javier Mendizabal from Spain; Adrien Coillard, Max Geronzi, Charles Collet, Lucas Puig, JB Gillet, Flo Mirtain and Jeremie Daclin from France.
Mark McKee, Eric Frenay and Boris Proust take care of the production side of Bon Voyage and the end product is a very clean and fluent film. Boris has done well to differentiate himself from his predecessor, Fred Mortagne who single-handedly changed the way people see skateboarding. It’s good to note that Cliché also include their army of flow riders who are each given a few seconds to shine during the closing credits. This sort of recognition is a positive stance that too many skate brands bother to take.
So, the 50 minutes flight time of Bon Voyage begins with their newest pro Daniel Espinoza. Shots of Daniel in his supped up sports car, smoking cigarettes and staring into the distance conjure up a sort of 2 Fast 2 Furious vibe, but to be honest my impression of Daniel and his skating was anything but fast and furious; more of an asleep-at-the-wheel approach. He’s talented on a board, he can spin backside 360 bigger spins just as easily as he can grind long S-shaped rails fitting the cookie cutter mold of today’s über-ams. You don’t see many skaters go pro these days from one major video part, some may feel as though this was premature, but make your own mind up from his section. I’m sure he will be a firm fixture for the future of skateboarding.
As Daniel slides and flips his way off the screen, two OG street masters, JB Gillet and Pete Eldridge step up to bat. You really can’t go wrong with either of these guys. They have both cut their teeth at legendary spots during skateboarding’s golden era of the nineties, so why-oh-why did the accredited music coordinator think a limp electro love song would work well with their swagger and clout? Seriously, the music is so ill-suited to Pete’s powerful switch pop and JB’s smooth operations that I just can’t sit down and enjoy this otherwise gem of a section. Paging Quartersnacks for an urgent remix please!
Max Geronzi, Paul Hart and Adrien Coillard represent the next generation of rippers. You probably don’t recognize their names but you will remember them once you’ve seen their part. All three of them have been fixtures in their respective minor leagues and now their sitting nicely at the top of their class ready to graduate to the majors.
Lucas Puig – Nollie inward heel skill. Ph: Dave Chami.
Joey Brezinski rides in on two wheels and rides out on two wheels. The combos get crazier, the balancing gets better and the quirky sense of humour is kept at a minimum. Honestly, Joey is a white crane martial artist performed the most insane balancing acts on his board and deserves to be mentioned in the same breathe as Daewon Song or Rodney Mullen. I just wish we could get to see a few more regular tricks from the guy.
Charles Collet, Andrew Brophy, Lem Villemin and Javier Mendizabal cruise through the film at their respective speeds and heights. If it’s smaller than 3 feet tall, Brophy won’t skate it. Charles is a still a gnarly bohemian and I think Lem was injured during the making of Bon Voyage, but that didn’t stop him from pulling out some suave tech treats.
Javier really doesn’t have enough footage and it would have been great to see him cruising around that crazy glow-in-the-dark bowl structure at night. Oh well. There is a brief interval where the team takes us on their Trucker tour of Europe unearthing even more insane terrain set to the sounds of Cassius’ ‘I Love You So’. Those funky Euros love their electro and this video is full of it. Thankfully, most of it sounds alright.
Lucas Puig (assisted by a brief Jeremie Daclin cameo) brings us back to Cliché’s French roots with some solid street annihilation set to the score of Oxmo Puccino. Lucas gets a free pass riding up to ledges in Adidas tracksuit bottoms because he’s so skilled on a skateboard. I can see street purists are going to pick up on this loose fitted fashion statement.
Sammy Winter is a visual treat and some might say he’s more deserving of that pro spot than his cohorts. Plenty of pop and finesse describes Sammy’s skating. There’s even a brief clip of recently passed Lewis Marnell sharing some good vibes with his Australian brethren. Lost but not forgotten!
Charles Collett – Lien Disaster. Ph: Dave Chami.
American teen Kevin Bradley delivers by the bucket load. Kevin’s skating is very reminiscent of a young Bastien Salabanzi mixed with a splash of Lavar McBride. He attacks gaps, rails and plazas with speed and style. Even the snippets of bravado and hand gesturing seem fairly fun and positive so I hope to see more from Kevin in the future.
Finally we finish with Flo Mirtain. Relatively unknown for some, Flo just joined the pro ranks and this part is a pretty good stamp of approval for that position. Please note the recognition from Marc Johnson as Flo manuals his way around one of the master’s spots in LA. Flo is a tech powerhouse who seems quite mute, but in return his skating does the talking and it screams pretty loud that you need to keep an eye on this guy and his approach to this great pastime we call skateboarding.
There you go. That’s it. Bon Voyage, an epic journey around the world with a truly international team of thoroughbreds and future prospects. It’s recommended. Go get it from your local skate shop this weekend or from iTunes in two clicks.
Ralph Lloyd Davis
Flesh and Bones skatepark in the Belgian town of Aalst takes a beating from Phil Zwijsen and Axel Cruysberghs in this skatepark edit.
The street of Manchester get rinsed by Lewis Threadgold in this brand new VOX welcome edit shot by Phil Harvey. Get on this today.