Sheltered, the 4th local skate video from Hastings and Bexhill features a group of friends who’ve tried to escape the sheltered towns they live in by traveling to many locations around the world from London to Tokyo and has just premiered in Hastings. The South East scene hasn’t featured much in the skateboard press but it exists and is thriving all the time with skaters such as Luke Dench and Joe Sandland pushing it to the next level. The previous video ‘no skateboarding’ got a fairly good review in Sidewalk Magazine but Sheltered will blow that one away with better editing, an all British soundtrack and consistent skateboarding.
Email: sam_designs@hotmail.co.uk for more info.
Ah! The battle of the stances continues… The Etnies Goofy Vs. Regular contest has just finished and the rebel forces fought well securing a revengeful victory for the Goofy footers. Dave Swift led his right foot forward gang of plank pirates (Koston, Cannon, Appleyard and Rodriguez) to victory over Jake Phelps’ left foot forward losers (Senn, Salabanzi, Cole and Sheckler).
I sense a few 20 to 30-somethings are about to bust their load when they find out what Blind is about to release… The Double Set DVD box which includes What If?, Video Days, Time and Henry’s Pack of Lies and all the Blind sections from the old World Industries videos i.e. 20 Shot Sequence, Trilogy, Rodney Vs, Daewon Round 1 & 2!!!
As any self respecting amateur knows, there are moments in your career-building lives where the different paths you take aren’t always as amazing as the contract makes them out to be. Often kids will find themselves balancing precariously on the whim of Team Managers managerial skills and distribution company politics. London based ripper Lucien Clarke is no stranger to these types of situations. But today he can shrug it all of and put it back to experience because Element Europe have taken the 6 foot 5 yoot under their wing and applied his talent to the flow team roster. I think this the time when the competition gets a little harder… Nollie flip 14 stairs second try anyone? 
There are many artists out there who have touched us personally with their view on life in general through art but there is only one person that has personally made me stop in my tracks and has affected the route of which I have led my life more than others over my 31 year existence.
Creme Skateboards UK rider Ross McGouran came in 3rd at the street skateboarding finals at the LG Action Sports Championships in Manchester UK. Daniel Viera came in 2nd with Wagner Ramos taking $30,000 for first prize. Ross beat the impressive Greg Lutzka who just could not string his runs together and use the entire course to gain him more points in the heats but killed so many tricks on the ledge. Danny Wainright, Rodney Clarke and Flynn Trottman all entered but did not make the top 10. The vert comp was also highly strung with Chris Gentry beaten to the finishing line by PLG in his last run who just nicked the cash off him at the end. Sandro Dias had a shoulder injury leaving the buzzing crowd packing away their 900 signs in droves and overall the skating in this final was off the hook. 
The fourth annual Snickers Day in the City DVD is now available to pick up at your local UK skate shop featuring Ross McGouran, Danny Beal, Tom Watts, Chris Ault and Ben Grove to name a few. Meanwhile, those behind the lens count Guido, Rich Holland, Kevin Parrott and Adam Gendle. The comp was won by Brendan Ryall, Tom Knox and the crew and beat Dan Cates and the Death Team dedicating their part to the Peckham posse of ‘Only Fools and Horses”. Go get the DVD this week, it’s a must have and it’s free…
OK, let’s get straight to the point. These shoes are probably the best that Globe have brought out in years. When Appleyard decided to swich to them he obviously had more in mind than the monthly cheque because these shoes are ideal for skateboarding. How do we know that? Because we have skated in them and they rock.
Depending on what floats your boat when it comes to the design of skate shoes, you must remember that they were originally built for skateboarding but when i opened the box and these lay there, i must admit i thought, dammit, it’s a fashion shoe and not really my thing personally….until i got them on! Firstly, being a person that usually skates in a flat sole, they were high but they also make you walk like you are on the moon….bit by bit with a walk to the shops i realised that they were seriously comfortable. But when put to the test, they are the best street skating shoes i have worn to date. These were surely built to spill heel bruises as there is so much protection there at the back end that it’s surely gonna be on your side when it comes down to running out of stuff.
Seeing as Savier pulled the plug on their shoe manifesto a while ago, you probably won’t be able find these shoes anywhere. That’s a shame because I think they are one of the best pairs I’ve ever owned. When I first slipped my size 10.5s into these they were tight. Not ‘tight’ in the slang way, ‘tight’ in the Cinderella silver slipper style. However, this loosened up and soon the Freemont was moulded to my foot shape. I took advantage of the hidden lace hoops, but applied a bit of Shoe-Goo to the side seams because new griptape and cotton don’t mix. Now, the best bit about these Savier kicks is the fact that I’ve been skating with them all through Summer, so that means a lot of skating has gone down, and all they have to show for wear is an insignificant hole on the side and a little bit of the underfoot that has worn away! In my books that is pretty amazing when you know that some shoe models on the market are dead in less than 3 weeks. Too bad Savier pulled the plug because they were definitely using some good materials…