Category: Skateboarding

16.08.08
Words by Stanley
Sequence from Phillip Procter
Video from Alan Christensen, Moose and Nick Richards

Much has changed after last year’s jaw-dropping display from Almost – who collectively took the phrase ‘mind the gap‘ and quite literally turned it alley-oop. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the board slaps still echoing about the place. The gap was shut down by Lutzka; and Meanwhile 2 fell into a lull; preparing itself for next August and the inevitable massacre that will be brought upon it.

Meanwhile 2 spent most of the following year secluded in a protective womb, recharging and blossoming into the arena for everyone to enjoy today. Freestyle Skateparks, the local user group and the UKSA did a fantastic job of liaising with Westminster Council to get this ready on time and build a park that everyone would love.

As the crowd turned up one by one you could see that the time was well spent; eyes were eager for a rollin’ and shreddin’ session on that absolutely mental new floor. And let me tell you: this floor rode smoother lines than, oh, let’s say the imagined lovechild of Luther Vandross and Barry White. And that’s smooth. The transitions had curves of irresistible booty status also. Man… Things were going to get dirty.

So here we are. The crossed out calendar squares have led us to 16th August 2008, and in Royal Oak, a fully-polished and renovated concrete playground is ready to serve as the blank canvas for a colourful day of united skateboarding. At this point we have to say a big thanks to artist EYEFEELSICK, Claire, Phil and Candy who worked hard to get the place painted in time over late nights, the spot had a facelift that was much needed and they did a fantastic job.

Armed with planks, wheels and determination to tear this place a new hole, the best of Britain were in attendance, none of whom were to hold anything back. The dedication towards events like this is truly admirable – the London crew were Holding Tight, of course, but plankers from literally all over these shores made the effort to drop by and make this event as hectic as it promised.

Dykie kindly brought the Crayon Skateboards crew down from Wales in his Postman Pat Mobile alongside other Cardiff/Bristol rippers in possession of the savoir faire, Nicky Howells and Dave Snaddon. Joining them on the long motorway to Meanwhile’s rebirth were Hologram media monkeys, Nick Richards and Trix, and a welcome return from long-term Welsh ripper Matt Davies.

The Gyppo Army and Lovenskate posse were in force with their ‘no bullshit‘ approach to skating, and following from the South-East was the prolific Chris Oliver amongst other Curb Surfers and a couple of Blueprint activists. Death and Hubba Wheels turned up early and the foreshadowing of awesome to come was a little bit overwhelming. Jerome Loughran came equipped with glossed out Hubba Posters that turned Royal Oak from a grotty underpass into a sleazed out strip bar. Globe and Blind were lovely enough to send Austria’s Phillip Schuster along to add a little European flair in this already eclectic mix.

A special mention must go out to Ronny Calow, missioning it down from Sheffield on his birthday. Did you know that Ronny shares a birthday with the death of Rock ‘n’ Roll King, Elvis? He aint nothin’ but a hound dog, after all.

Our friends at SUSO came with two fridges bulging with canned juice to quench our monstrous thirst aquired throughout the day. Once those were raided, the fridges soon served as an extension on the bowl corner. Wileman got juiced up and came close to a 360 flip nosestall while Steak got his 80’s metal on with a noseblunt yank in.

Time for kick off… and before I’d even drained my absolutely necessary cup of coffee, Ben Cundall had already succumbed to the come-hither eyes of that hip and was throwing nollie helipops in every direction with the utmost of ease. Things were seriously heating up hours before the comp got started! Electricity was already in full flow; while Schuster was styling some slick 5-0 variations on the ledge, Zac was busy running all over the place making sure the sound system could handle the inevitable (and needed!) hardcore and metal to come during the gap session. A word to the wise guy: Meanwhile 2 comes equipped with two curses. One is that the sound system will always be cursed at this spot, the other is the plague of empty chicken boxes that scatter about the place like an urban Easter egg hunt. Once the chicken was swept aside and the speakers got blowing out Ghostface, The Prodigy, Atmosphere and other beats perfect for a street comp, we were ready to go.

The hip saw bodies (namely Casual’s Pas – ouch dude…) and wood flying across it from every angle – Dave Snaddon summoned an unmatched pop from out of nowhere and soared cab bigflips over with ease. He even lurked by the ledge and snuck a nollie flip backtail bigspin out too like the technical wizard he is. Nicky Howells had his back once again, keeping things ridiculously consistent with his extensive bag of tricks. Landscape’s Snowy slipped in a few slick lines while Shaun Witherup nailed those trademark f/s bigspins of his over the hip; even admist all this carnage Ben Nordberg still laid down the law in the most unfazed manner. In the words of that ever-trustworthy Doctor (that I probably reference way too often) – don’t blink. Don’t even blink: you would seriously miss everything.

Absurd nonchalance from Caradogg left many speechless. This was followed by Philipp Schuster who destroyed the bowl corner in the most inconspicuous of ways – creeping in unnoticed at times! Not bad for a bro with a dodgy ankle. Matt Davies proved that he is still on mighty form with a banging tailslide flip out on the wall and fellow welsh ripper, Jess Young, represented Duffs hard leaping over the fence from the hip. But it was Chris Oliver who stole the show with a frontside flip from the hip out over the fence and into the road, dodging chicken boxes on the roll out and taking the cash. Crayon/Globe rider Dan Wileman took the ledge crown with a frontside 270 to backtail – I mean, how can you pull something as awkward as that off with any finesse? Dan did, and won some moolah. Nicky Howells took a share too, for generally killing it and showing no sign of slowing.

Things were about to take a turn for the “oh sheeeeeeit” as the transfer comp got started. You pretty much have to get your Indiana Jones steeze locked down to cross this chasm alive. Thrash metal screamed out the cries of war and soon people were charging at this transfer like a bunch of enraged Spartans fresh from their restaurant in the depths of Hell. Tweaked out grabs were dropped by the likes of Horsey, Steak, Casper and Kevin McKeon, including a mammoth frontside 180 grab from Matt Davies, but Sweeney came in militant with a backside 360 grab to take the cash money. A special mention must go out to The Naked Man, (remember the 07 Southbank Jam?) who took the most frightful slam in such a way, it was surprising the unforgiving floor didn’t gobble him up. Props dude – well, you probably could do with some to stand up straight after that.

Now, this year did see an absence from the unafraid Americans, but this year the gap was claimed by us with Dan Wileman and Dave Snaddon taking the raised bar, fixing rockets onto it and blasting it sky high. Just look at the footage. The beast was unleashed, and subsequently tamed by a ferocious bigflip and a backside flip done in the last way you’d ever consider. Trust Wileman and Snaddon to make it look like a piece of piss. Those board slaps are still ringing in my head, even as I write this.

These events take a great deal of planning; getting the word around to skateboarders all over the country is just the tip of the iceberg – really, it’s an exhausting process. But Zac is just not the character to give in, nor go at things by half. And to see it all come together on the day is a joy that refuses to be paralleled. After all, it’s because of jams like this that our skateboarding scene in the UK is so friendly and solid. United as one wood-pushing entity, we can put our collective stress aside, have a stupid amount of fun and stand amazed at the ever-rising standards of British skateboarding.

Check out Alan Christensen’s video edit of the day for an insight into another mind blowing event from Crossfire – and you can see another exclusive edit, on the kind behalf of Hologram Filmbot, Nick Richards, right here.

Huge thanks to everyone who made an appearence (what would a jam be without the crowd?) and of course, anyone who offered their kind help – it’s all greatly appreciated. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did; see you next year.

Big thanks to all at Globe Shoes and Dwindle, Mei at SUSO Drinks who delivered for everyone’s thirst on the day, Flood and Steve at Freestyle Skateparks, Nik at Westminster Council, Alan Christensen, Moose, Nick Richards, Jerome, Trix, Hayes, Horsely, Lee Johnson, Moyno, Claire, Toby, Phil, Candy, Sidewalk, Document, Kingpin, Blind, Blueprint, Death, Heroin, Landscape, Crayon, Hubba, Krux, Drawing Boards, The Harmony, Casual, The Gyppo Army, Plan B, Karma, Slam City Skates and Lovenskate for their support and involvement. Long live Meanwhile 2.