The locals of Saffron Walden are salivating over the prospect of the current park being extended in the future. The images below are the very first thoughts from Billy Coulon from Evergreen Skateparks in the US, one of the original Dreamland team who built the existing park.
Let us know you thoughts on the rough sketch as in idea so that the people behind One Minet Park can read them.
The Essex skate scene are busy right now as ever. Not only have they just completed the annual Lords of the Sword filming for you to vote the winner on here in 2 weeks time, the locals of Rayleigh had a summer jam with Switch Skate shop. Watch all of Monster Network’s coverage featuring Barry Dring, Nigel Davies, Warren ‘Great Tricks’, Glenn Steed, Sean Kelly, Wil Thompson, George Gough, Sonny Treffers and more in the video edit below.
Visit Switch this week to pick up Lakai shoes for £35!
Rayleigh Skateboard Comp Results Aug 29th 2011
Under 16’s
1st Place – Salar Kooshki
2nd Place – Harry Emmanouilidis
3rd Place – George Wren
Over 16’s
1st Place – Laurie Colley
2nd Place – Sonny Treffers
3rd Place – Barry Dring
Sponsored
1st Place – David Watson
2nd Place – Nick Remon
3rd Place – Nelson Ortiz
S.K.A.T.E Champion
Cameron Snow
Best Trick
Salar Kooshki – Kickflip into bank/360 Flip off Quarter pipe
The Essex skate scene is gearing up for the launch of the annual Lords of the Swords road trip and video competition. The event was started in Chelmsford by AJ Martin and Luke MacDuke to create a scene video and has morphed into a much bigger get together inpired by Thrasher’s King of the Road series.
Competitions aside though, Lords of the Swords is most importantly having a laugh with your mates. Last year’s winners managed feats of bravery, that included catching a sizeable snake under an Essex flyover and (failed) attempts to ride sheep!
All videos will be premiered at Park DX in Colchester on the 16th of September and the top 5 posted online here at Crossfire for the public to choose who should win. The Lords will then be knighted on the 18th September in Hooga Bar in Chelmsford alongside a mini ramp session and copious amounts of liquor. Look out for the videos next month and get voting!
Creature Skateboards UK team rider Carl Wilson has joined Habitat Footwear this week with a banging welcome edit.
The new footage has been filmed and edited by Russell Cowling of Monster Network in Essex, watch the 3 swords here.
Blueprint Skateboards have released a fresh video edit today featuring Neil Smith.
Watch this footage from Essex’ finest that is Edit of the Week here and look out for his pro model in your local skate shop this month.
It’s always an honour to watch this man in action on or off a board as you are guaranteed that a smile will hit your face. Ben Raemers appears on Shred or Die’s Free Lunch video feature this week and discusses shitting himself, baboons fingers, fisherman’s friends, David Byrne, The Muska, strange birds that go bump in the night and plenty more.
Go Essex!
Essex coverboy Ben Raemers is subjected to a web documentary this week from his shoe company.
Watch the 3 part series right here that covers various characteristics of the UK’s most talked about UK skater right now.
The Monster Network have stumbled across some lost footage circa 2008 from the filming sessions of their excellent In Between Days video that dropped earlier this year.
This short clip features Warren Greatrex styling, Channon King wallriding, Steve Bailey shredding and Jay Tate fooling. Watch below…
Leigh-On-Sea skatepark will be holding a competition with Switch Skatestore for skateboarders only on August 29th.
The jam kicks off at 1:30PM so get down there and suck in some of the Essex sunshine for a chance to win some product from and for a guaranteed good time.
When he’s not networking with the metaphorical beasts and ogres of the interweb, Russell Cowling turns his creative eye to the viewfinder of a camera aimed directly at the gritty shores of the South-East. Though countless filmmakers have been influenced by the do-it-all-yourself approach to filming and editing that’s evident in the finer skate videos courtesy of French Fred, Greg Hunt et al, no one achieves it with such DIY honesty than the Essex lad himself. There’s no stock footage in sight. The Monster Network, seek to progress even further from the wonderful Never Forever and Into The Fall, combining creative skateboarding with artistic interpretations and observations from the eyes of those that walk the four-wheeled plank. In Between Days does just that…
After biting through a typically impressive visual introduction, the filling bursts through the crust in the form of ‘Gorgeous’ Dave Watson who’s been steadily on the up since silently killing it on the now-defunct Clown and having the raddest trick in Into The Fall half-way through the end credits. This section is effortless and his style speaks volumes that the dial on big-talkers doesn’t even turn to. While they’re blabbing away at 10, Dave is cruising away at 11. And that front-blunt on the unreal natural quarters in Basildon is completely off the scale. Essex Legend Simon Skipp – whose Romford ditch recently got some gnarly coverage in the new Blueprint flick – shares his section like he did in Never Forever and proves himself still worthy of being the undisputed king of Romford. There’s no bad-talking the way Skipp can attack Romford’s blue wall switch and still 360 flip like no other. Nigel Davies slips in a huge noseblunt before Dave sleeps through a killer ender to close this excellent opening section – that’s kindly been posted online to whet your appetite on the Monster Network site itself. Good stuff.
I’m gonna call out my own bias right now on the second section, because I grew up skating with Warren Greatrex, and I can only express my anger that he didn’t land such incredible shit when I was the one filming him. A lot has changed since secondary school and that huge gap he glides over wasn’t even in the shitty bike track we used to skate back then but Warren’s style has always been perfect. We could be seeing more from this kid if he keeps killing it like this. George Gough and Wil Thomson follow to the spectacular soundtrack going with some interesting ledge trickery and a couple quick-footed gems. That frontside shove…
In Between Days Trailer from Monster Network on Vimeo.
What I’ve always enjoyed about Monster Network productions is that they’ve never been afraid to have lots of shared sections. For someone with Firefox-Generation-ADD (or FIGADDS! as I’ll call it), keeping it consistently fresh makes the skating flow down even more nicely, like a well-made mix tape made for a friend. For the next track we have new Channon King footage, and it’s like hearing the opening chords to a song you haven’t heard in a while but always loved. His style is unmistakable and still suits his off-beat trick selection on ridiculous spots, including what’s either the world’s worst designed bench or one that’s been victim to the world’s largest arse sitting on it.
The next treat is a meaty friends section full of some more familiar South-East heavy-hitters, culminating in some really piss-taking malarkey from Raemers, Veran Tull and Neil Smith. Nick Remon jams to a song you’ve all heard before but not in such raw context. Nick rips through impossible terrain and reps Switch Skatestore hard. This admirable local loyalty is kept up with the notorious smooth stylings of Jay Tate. This is a section so fresh and clean that even the haters-gonna-hate brigade that often dismiss natural style for sketchiness can’t talk shit on. Real pop, excellent catch and fluid, bolt perfect skating that’s never robotic, Jay Tate kills it. With the assistance of Adam Howe and Jay Minta (specifically that Kalis-as-fuck catch on the nollie frontside flip off the indoor kicker) this montage is my personal favourite in a video full of bangers.
Carl Wilson takes the end section and deserves the honour. Park skating in videos is something often contested and I disagree with those doing so, particularly if you can kill it like Carl, if you skate what you want and film what you want and be creative in your own way then you get a great video. And this is just that. Top work to all involved, 3,5,0,1,2,5 go!
Order it now for £5 before it sells out at www.monsternetwork.co.uk
Stanley
Enjoy these offcuts…
Unused footage In Between Days from Monster Network on Vimeo.