Terrible. Happy
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Hosted by Shannon Farrugia
Terrible. Happy
#244 - Shan, Ti, and Jim: 2024 in Review.
Shannon Farrugia, Ti Coleing, and Jim Turvey reflect on the year that was 2024! The boys discuss their favourite guests from the past year, THT's foray into video production episodes, happenings in Australian skateboarding (and the world), shifts in skate culture, Thrasher SOTY predictions, how watching Neighbours helped Jim survive tonsillitis, symmetrical egg-shaped board trend, the importance of role-modelling and mentorship, world affairs, and much much more. Good episode with good, yet somewhat awkward humans.
Thanks for listening, happy new year and I'll be back January 2025!
Shan 🙏
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We will be here forever. Do you understand Forever, forever and ever and ever and ever. We will be here forever. Do you understand that? Chop the hole up. Chop the hole up, the hole up back, the hole up back, the hole up, the hole up back. For some things, how many Surge to the murder? The mother of the unbefuttered no-transcript Jim Turvey Ty Coling welcome Shannon Jim.
Speaker 6:Hi Ty, hi Shannon.
Speaker 4:The two most serious men in Australian skateboarding.
Speaker 5:Wow, what an accolade. Yeah, thanks, you know what's so funny?
Speaker 4:hanging out with you two Before the podcast, I can't shut yous the fuck up. And then, as soon as I hit record, it's like crickets.
Speaker 6:Jim, you started recording like five seconds ago.
Speaker 4:Exactly, you need to talk more.
Speaker 6:Well, I was asking Ty what his first photo in a magazine was, because I had this old photo of him from one of Andy McKenzie's zines, from Thug, that I merely took and sat manly. But you said that you'd had one around. The same photo had also been in Free Surf, a zine or something. Is that right?
Speaker 5:It looks like it could be the same photo. It's hard for my eyes to see, right, but it would make sense. Yeah, manly, first street park in Australia, I think so what was the curl park?
Speaker 6:describe the actual trick it's like an Indy nose bone over the hip right. Is that correct?
Speaker 5:well, back then it'd be a front side nose bone, indy would be backside, that's true, yes oh yeah, no, I can't believe.
Speaker 6:I said that.
Speaker 5:I'm usually really fussy about that?
Speaker 4:is his knee tucked or was he stink bugging it?
Speaker 6:No, he's in a good posse.
Speaker 5:Please.
Speaker 4:I know I shouldn't even question that. No he looks, I've seen him stink bug. He did this trick once ages ago and he stink bugged the shit out of it. It was like a caballerial heel flip indie grab on a vert ramp.
Speaker 6:And he stink bugged it.
Speaker 4:And he stink bugged it when he grabbed the Indy Just saying Ty.
Speaker 5:Correct Many flip Indys on vert. They don't always require to be tucked. Hey, listen.
Speaker 4:I'm not judging.
Speaker 5:Hey, Tusk did some of the best ones ever and they weren't tucked.
Speaker 4:Yeah, tusk can do whatever the fuck he wants, that guy. So he's skating. Were you telling me that he's skating again at the Mega Ramp down in Melbourne, or something?
Speaker 5:I don't know if he's been skating Mega or he's been skating Paran recently again, though.
Speaker 4:The new Paran.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:How do you rate that skate park after going there? It?
Speaker 5:looks amazing. Oh, it is amazing. I skated it. I was saying the vert ramp looks amazing because I didn't skate that. The vert ramp looks perfect and the crew skating it were making it look perfect and the street park's super fun.
Speaker 4:It looks really fun yeah, so did they stay true to the old vert ramp and make it metal surface? Yeah, it's all metal because it looks brown in pictures and I was like is that wood?
Speaker 5:yeah, no I thought the brown like before, was sort of from maybe rust, but I don't think that's the case, because it's pretty brand new and it's a brown of sorts and yeah, I'm not sure of that why. But yeah, it looks amazing, it looks perfect. No bumps, nothing. It looks really good.
Speaker 4:I love how they've put like lighting under the handrails and stuff when you skate at night. Have you seen that, jim?
Speaker 6:No, no, I'm just imagining I was going to ask if they've put that big. Remember the really early one. There was that on the brick wall next to it there was that skate safe kind of like a painting of like someone wearing pads on the old sign in the 80s.
Speaker 5:Yeah, that building's. I think that got knocked down now because Vertram's in a different spot now and that's the street where the old Vertram was. Oh right, so it's completely the configuration's different, a different spot now, and that's the street where the old VertRamp was.
Speaker 6:Oh right, so it's completely the configuration's different as well.
Speaker 4:Oh right, yeah, when I had Simon Bogglo on the podcast he was saying that for convict skate parks they kind of regard Prahran as one of their like milestone skate parks. They feel really proud. They feel proud of all their parks, but that one in particular. They were all like we nailed this. You know, they're really proud of it.
Speaker 5:Fair enough, that's great.
Speaker 4:And also I mean that skate park, the original one. There's a deep history in Australian skateboarding there, right Proper, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4:Sick, but anyway, listen, this episode is the last episode of the year for THT. It's a bit of a wrap-up episode. It's something I've been thinking about and just want to spend some time with two people I really admire and respect and also had a deep involvement in the podcast this year. So thank you, gentlemen. We're going to just talk about some stuff. I've got some notes actually I've got a whiteboard here and we're going to go over some thank yous for people and sponsors that have been involved to make the podcast happen over the year. I want to talk about the Good Push, which is a suicide awareness initiative by Nathan Keely from Newcastle. I also want to talk about some of our favorite episodes of the year and SOTY predictions Thrasher SOTY, not Slam SOTY. Maybe we'll talk about the Olympics and also Hayley Wilson turning pro. I feel like it was a pretty special moment recently.
Speaker 4:I want to talk about the Bunt Jam event because, ty, you went down to that and I think it was a pretty unique event as well for australia I think so definitely for australia, yeah yeah, and this is random, and jim laughed at this when he's seen it but I want to talk about why symmetrical egg-shaped boards that are wide with short wheelbase are so on trend. I've got my theories because I'm riding like the widest board I've ever ridden at the moment. It goes so sick. Yeah, I can actually flip it, yeah, anyway. So you guys want to add anything to the list?
Speaker 6:No, I think we can freestyle it.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I think so, but thanks for having us, shan, and thanks for doing a great job of the podcast. Definitely, I think it's a valuable contribution to the scene and everything, everything you do, people you try and reach out to and get on. I think it's super valid. May it continue thank you, brother.
Speaker 6:I appreciate that because a lot of hard work does go into it oh well, I was just going to second that and say, yeah, you've definitely um helped me um pass some kind of quiet hours in a really enjoyable and informative way. Yeah, this year for sure.
Speaker 4:Thank you, brother, I appreciate it.
Speaker 4:And a lot does go into it. So I do want to take the opportunity to thank a lot of the people that have been involved over the last year, especially so. Obviously Ty Colling and Steve Tierney have been very integral into the production of it in various ways and I kind of regard Ty and Steve as part of THT. And also Jim Turvey has had a lot of involvement this year as well, not just lining up guests but giving me a lot of creative feedback and sometimes direction with content. Big shout out to Deaf Wish Cast, sydney's original hip hop act, for giving me permission to use their song Forever as the intro music. The companies that have sponsored the podcast, especially now that we've gone into the visual aspect and they are Cockroach Wheels, convict Skateparks, belmont Coffee have contributed longtime sponsor Crush Organics, cbd oil and, just recently, breathe these Nasal Strips. Thank you, and I definitely do breathe better with those things and sleep better. Also all the artists that Steve Tierney has been arranging for the visual episodes. They've just been amazing and thank you. It really brings such a depth to the visual aspect of the podcast and I want to keep that going and also support the arts. Also all the guests that have been on like this year. It's just been such an interesting year.
Speaker 4:I mean, I've actually had some guests that I regard, as you know, like on my bucket list guests. You know, chima Ferguson was definitely a standout, but also Outsider Skateboarding one of my favourite musical artists of all time and he's Australian it was Tim Levinson from the hip-hop act the Herd. He goes by Earthboy and for me that was just a real special moment having him on and he's got a real purpose in life, that guy. Also everyone that listens and I know there's regulars out there and so if you're a regular listener and you reach out to me sometimes, I love that. Thank you for the feedback and thanks for listening regularly.
Speaker 4:Some of the stories I hear of people and where they listen trips me out. So I have a lot of people saying like I'm a laborer and I'm on a construction site all day and I listen to it then. Or I've had one girl she's a tree planter and she's out in the forest just planting trees all day and listening to the podcast. Like it's a trip dude. Also, marty Baptist has been a longtime friend and he's also a profound artist and he's just been so supportive of the podcast and he's also allowed me to use some of his artwork as part of the new logo that I use on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and other places, and you know he's just allowed me to use that and I'm just so grateful for Marty and, yeah, he's always supporting it.
Speaker 4:And just recently I want to make mention to this guy, luke Moody. He makes these skate wax called Slappy's Snub Wax and he just sent me a block of wax randomly and I just love it. But also the profits that he makes from that wax goes to charity and also supporting education for young people in rural and remote areas. So that's super special. So good on you, man, and you're doing a good thing. So thanks for letting me have my little rant. Gentlemen, did I forget anyone Ty?
Speaker 5:I don't think so. No, it was all pretty good, pretty valid. I had to get that out, I had to get that out, I had to get it out and that was a bit of a long.
Speaker 4:I don't like to talk that much consecutively.
Speaker 6:It was very professional though, like it was actually interesting watching you look at the whiteboard and then kind of like I don't know freeform, that don't you think yeah, freestyling off of just very short notes and good job of remembering what everyone's doing and contributed.
Speaker 4:Yeah, man, I appreciate it, and I just also want one last thing I want to add is like I don't make any money out of the podcast. And any money that does come into the podcast, it just basically pays for running costs. Especially since we're going into the visual aspect, and I just want to make this clear is like skateboarding has given me so much and continues to. So for me it's just to give a little bit back, but not just to skateboarding, just to people. And I've been asking myself this question a lot lately like what am I doing for others and am I being too self-centered?
Speaker 4:And then recently there's a good gentleman from Newcastle, nathan Keely, who's a past guest. He's embarked on this amazing initiative where he's skateboarding from Port Macquarie to Newcastle, which is about 300 Ks, for no other reason but just to raise awareness about suicide prevention. But also it's a testament to the human spirit. So I'm going to ask you, gentlemen, this like what are you doing for others? You know, do you ever sit back and think about? Like, what am I giving back to people in society? Or am I in a mindset of like, take, take, take?
Speaker 6:No.
Speaker 4:I mean Heavy question? No, it's not a heavy question. What are you laughing at?
Speaker 6:I mean, it's something it is a pretty big question just to drop on somebody's lap Great and it's something that probably requires a little bit of like introspection as well from me. I mean, I feel like I try to be really generous and share things that I maybe have at my disposal. So, whether it's like something from like I collect old skateboarding magazines and things like that and rare Australian skateboarding ephemera more than boards or anything, and I do really enjoy kind of finding things for people. But I also if I was going to be honest, that's probably quite self-serving as well Like I do why I enjoy the process.
Speaker 6:I enjoy being part of this world, like even right now sitting like and I said to Ty before, you know, even getting to sit here with somebody that I was a fan of and being a guest on this podcast with you has allowed me to do that as well and sit and talk to people that I am. You know that periods of my life have been enamored by or whatever, so there is some self-purpose in that as well. So, nothing, I don't think any of it's, even when I'm doing something for other people, to be completely honest, not that I think I'm a selfish person or anything, but it's definitely I'm getting.
Speaker 4:I get satisfaction out of that as well you're allowed to and that's completely okay, and I know I did drop a heavy question because I'm gonna back you by saying I believe both of you are giving back in various ways. Like I want to tap into Ty's coaching of young people, young skaters. I mean, that's profound. Yes, I know there's payment involved, but it's still an endeavor that is serving and supporting others. Do you think that?
Speaker 5:Yeah, definitely. And I think the angle which I come at it from is like it's great to try, and you know, show kids tricks and that sort of things and how to skate and give them ideas for skating, but what really does it? For me maybe that's self-serving, but what I really get out of it and want to give to it is try and guide them also, give a bit of guidance along the way, just in in life and their journey and with skating, but also a bit with life too, and just because, like realistically, I never had that sort of guidance when I was younger. And that's fine, I love finding my own way and that was all part of it. And this could be delusional old man talking, but it seems like there's just so much going on now with internet and activities that people can do, there's so much available in the world and to maintain a sense of focus in all that, just to really try and be a part of that and assist that focus and and nurture that and get you know, get the best out of them. And, as Bo Mitchell actually just articulated very simply to me the other week, who's the Skate Australia national coach? He, he was like I'm just trying to get them to be the best person that they can be, and I back that too.
Speaker 5:And a lot of the coaching stuff I've read like sort of psychology, philosophy stuff, teachings and things that I've come across in the last several years of looking into such things. That's what it's about, like trying to bring out the best in yourself and also with others, and that's a big part of what I enjoy about the coaching side of things and I sort of try and do that outside of, let's say, my paid part in that as well, just being at parks If I just see talk to people, people that I know or don't, if there's opportunities there, try and just, you know just a little tidbit here and there, maybe, and it might be a trick or it might be a little something else. You know, lifestyle or whatever, and I'd also like to add like, if you know, all this comes adds more to being a self-sustaining lifestyle. Uh, adds more to being a self-sustaining lifestyle. What what I aim to do with that, with all of that, is do some I guess you'd call it pro bono coaching to kids who can't afford stuff and maybe aren't, you know, don't have the ability to tap into a program or something like that through skate australia, but to be able to reach out to underprivileged kids.
Speaker 5:I was having this discussion the other week. It's like what would you do if you had, you know, if you won the lottery or had heaps of money? And I think that would be one thing I would do, like maybe try and set up a foundation or something to help kids be able to go through, let's say, the professional competition cycle, and they can't afford it and that's a big divide, I think, at the moment, because a lot of it's self-funded for so many people, not just in Australia, and it is like that for a lot of other sports as well, not just skating or action sports, but many traditional sports. You have to self-fund yourself, I've discovered for a lot of it. So to maybe help kids who are underprivileged to be able to do that, who've got the talent but they don't have the means to be able to get around to, like, well, global qualifiers and things, and I think that would be a really cool place to take it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I think you both used the word satisfaction, like put a price on that satisfaction. You really can't Like I know when you do, you know your research gym and you know the photo exhibitions you've done and things like that. Like you know you're not looking for monetary value out of it.
Speaker 6:Oh no, I mean, there isn't any.
Speaker 4:You're sort of like oh, of like a bit self-serving because I'm getting satisfaction. Well, I think you give a lot for that satisfaction and I think what a great way to live. You know, whereas, like so many people are seeking what's in this?
Speaker 6:for me, you know, and I think you know it's it never leads to happiness ever no, that's right, and I think part of it for me is just like is being a conduit to things that already exist. So it's not even a selfishness, as far as it's not something I've done or made necessarily. It's just giving people access to something that that you know they I'm sure they would have had the ability to find it themselves, but it just would have been a bigger struggle.
Speaker 6:So, helping people, you know access history or you know and. But kind of talking about that, I wanted to go back to how, how you mentioned kind of when you were coming up just then, when you were talking about coaching yourself, now, who were the figures?
Speaker 5:This is for personal interest for me doing that kind of as close as that role could be for free in the early 90s, for example, that were giving you advice, um, giving you advice on tricks or or helping you with skateboarding itself were there, were there any'd like to say Chris, he was inspirational in just what his skateboarding output, but he wasn't necessarily up front with sort of helping people at that stage, like directly you know, but definitely inspirational with just how things sort of seemed to click for him. So there was that and it was quite obvious, that sort of gift and it was like wow, you know, that was good enough unto itself at that stage. He became a lot more personable as time went on. Definitely he became a lot more personable as time went on. Definitely I guess Mick Mulhall was good through that time for sure. He was always around, you know, through vert skating and stuff. Obviously the vert ramps were pretty focal points, pretty much focal points at that stage.
Speaker 5:Who else then? I don't know, because the older guys, most of them, who were around weren't that much older. Particularly in hindsight they seemed a lot older. It was like four or five years difference, but now that's like nothing, you know, relatively speaking. So everyone was just all in it together in the mishmash really, and everyone. It was very territorial, kind of a bit more so back then, and that didn't necessarily mean it was nasty or anything like that, but it was very much like kind of you had to hold your own in sessions, which was an interesting thing. It definitely taught you how to snake and have to, you know, barge it to get a go, because it was pretty ruthless back then and I guess you used that energy from everyone to push you, you know. But there certainly wasn't a lot of direct help and guidance like verbally as such along the way.
Speaker 5:I remember being a bit inspired by Evo Dave Evans. I remember him going, oh, I wouldn't mind, you know. No, he was just a bit inspiring because he was really good at skating in those years and just he sort of put hype out there as well as being an amazing snake, like incredible. All the Cronulla guys were like really good at snaking on vert, but that was. But it kind of pushed you, you know as well. None of it really had a malice behind it, but it just really it brought a different type of assistance. You know it's just like hype and uh, yeah, hype and vibe to the whole sessions and lit things up. So it pushed everyone still pushed each other, though that that's always been there when things happen. It was like, yeah, everyone get behind people doing things for sure.
Speaker 4:What about you, jim, who were some of your key influences?
Speaker 6:or role models, even In Newcastle. This guy I'm still friends with today. He was one of my cousin's best friends. He lives in Norway now. His name is Brett Peoples and, yeah, he was just like skater with my older cousin. Cousin's best friends is this guy. He lives in norway now. His name is brett peoples and, um, yeah, he was just like skater with my older cousin and, uh, he was kind of one of the when I started skating in town with all the older guys.
Speaker 6:He was kind of one of those people. I kind of maybe because I already knew him, I kind of had a bit of a past, so as a grom I kind of skipped that process, kind of got to hang at the spots with everybody already you know and got to meet people that were already established in the local scene. So that really helped. So my cousins as well my cousin Tom and Jack, yeah were just probably the biggest influences I think to this day. You know, like as far as one both surfed and skated. Both were like amazing visual artists. Both were really like I don't know just good at the things that they did and they were really like generous with their time and sharing those things with me. And I definitely they're far more talented at anything they've ever done than I am, but yeah, I think they just opened up the world for me.
Speaker 4:Interesting. Did you feel like you were craving a role model? Because, I know I was okay, yeah do you feel like you needed role model or?
Speaker 6:just they were like I definitely I can remember like realizing when I was in my early teens that there were people that I really looked up to and that I valued their kind of like, the things that they told me, but I also was kind of, maybe a little bit wary of that too, like just being aware, maybe even I wouldn't, even though I wouldn't have been able to articulate it like this, but that maybe everybody's fallible. So like not to, not to, you know, do everything they did as well. Yeah, but I can definitely remember things like I can remember getting good advice, though, like I can remember, like I can remember coxie getting really angry, like ben getting really one time like the idea of me, like smoking pot or taking drugs, because like they did.
Speaker 4:How did that make you feel Like oh wow, someone cares about me.
Speaker 6:Oh yeah, tell me what to do. No kind of like, maybe more thinking. Yeah, no like made me feel valued, I suppose, did it? Yeah, because it's kind of like. Well, they must care about you in some way, did you?
Speaker 5:feel like you needed role models, ty, or you just liked it. I don't think I really felt like I needed them. I think I had a pretty good and relatively stable sort of family surroundings and stuff. So I think I felt pretty at ease in that scenario. So I was just out skating and having fun and wanting to push it and, I guess, be inspired by whomever was around you know, pushing the envelope and inspiring me and whoever was around.
Speaker 5:Like I said, it was just this mishmash of everyone together like really working it and trying to work things out. And particularly like that period I was talking about was more late 80s into the early, very early 90s when that scene was super strong, from like Curl Park to Mona Vale, vale to bondi, sort of fairfield. That time that was about, you know, 88 to 92 somewhere there and then and then it turned into street skating more because all the vert ramps sort of dilapidated or whatever, and then street just went, you know, through the roof with progression and everything. And that was a super inspiring period that also had its gnarkiness.
Speaker 5:You know new trick came along, couldn't do the old trick like you know pressure flips came in and out real quick and it was like massive in and then it was totally out sort of same, with no complies and that sort of thing, you know. So and if he was still doing those tricks, you certainly weren't. You considered cool in the scenes. They had to like do this major adaption really quickly along the way. So yeah, everyone was just pushing each other like that and that maybe wasn't necessarily always in a positive light. Like I said, you looked at like not so positively if you weren't doing the cool tricks or whatever, whatever. But that brought its own. It was exciting because there was so much new stuff going on and that was that was really inspiring in itself and just everyone pushing it. You know into like Davo and Wade Burkett, you know, and then into sort of Aaron Jenkins coming to Sydney and just everyone in town. Like I'd go street skating in the city a lot.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that was one of my questions. In what year did you learn frontside no-slides on ledges?
Speaker 5:Far out, I don't know, 92 probably.
Speaker 4:And then, like in more recent, in more recent years, do you ever ask yourself like maybe I should learn a new ledge trick or I wouldn't say it's not entered my head I love street skating still, like I really do love it.
Speaker 5:It takes a long time to to warm up. Pop these days. I'll tell you that.
Speaker 4:I just find it bizarre. Like you've got like one of the best frontside no slides on ledges right and you're a vert skater originally, but like you've just got that trick so on lock and me and Jim were talking me and Jim went for a skate today and we were talking about how, like, for some people, some tricks just work and it seems like frontside no slides in the streets is for you, for jim, I think you were saying like what's a street trick that just works? Like half cap kickflips, like that half cap kickflip today was so sick. But why? Why do some tricks work? Andrew reynolds, frontside kickflips who?
Speaker 6:else. No, it's something to do with, I don't know, repetition, like body patterns.
Speaker 5:There's a lot of body, yeah, yeah, structure body patterns and structure, and all that for sure yeah and your particular, like patterns, but weight and you hold yourself and how your feet feel comfortable. I mean, there's so many intricacies, it's like sure we've had the discussion before. Some people can do kick flip, but they can't heel flip, vice versa, you know.
Speaker 5:You know what I mean. There's so many Some people are just better at frontside than backside Talking to the kids today like some people can do airs on vert but not lip tricks. Others can just do lip tricks really well but they're not that good at airs. You know everyone has, or lots of people have, their favoured ways of doing things. You know Some people are exceptional at switch and don't look like they're skating switch, but some people are like, oh, that switch and it.
Speaker 4:you know it doesn't always look that good even though it's switch or whatever yeah, I was getting messed up because I was watching tiago's part in that latest edit, the new balance video. Yeah, he's one of those skaters that like he's amazing and his part's amazing, but he's one of the few I go, oh, was that switch or not switch?
Speaker 5:because he's just so dialed both ways right he's definitely good like that, for sure, because he's a goofy footer yeah, I get really confused because he's switch. I'm like oh, that's.
Speaker 4:It makes sense because I'm regular and you're like no no yeah I just want to clarify too.
Speaker 5:I grew up, for the first couple of years, skating street.
Speaker 4:So wait, wait, wait, you started street. Yeah, no, you didn't, did you, it was barely any foot stuff.
Speaker 5:I skated street for years, okay.
Speaker 4:I just want to clarify Streets of Bondi or just the city yeah. Or you hit the city.
Speaker 5:Bondi and the city and my local school.
Speaker 6:What.
Speaker 5:Wallara school, wallara, yep, yep, or just the city. Yeah, or you're in the city Bondi and the city, yeah, and my local school.
Speaker 4:What Wallara School, wallara, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5:Wallara Public Martin Place, pyramid.
Speaker 4:Bank. Yeah, yeah, remember that. The structure, the pyramids and stuff, what? Was that called. I was trying to tell someone the other day because they're about this bank in Martin Place. Yeah, that was the metal pyramid bank.
Speaker 5:My mum was friends with the artist who created that.
Speaker 6:Oh shit. Who was the artist? Who was it?
Speaker 5:That slips my mind at the moment, which is bad Because we were speaking about it the other day because you said the same thing to me, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was so epic and it's like forgotten by people. Yeah, totally, it's like forgotten by people.
Speaker 5:Yeah, totally it's like they never knew existed like wallies off the side of it and all sorts of things, and it was quite steep and super steep, yeah, and that thing got skated so heavily it had like all these indentations, yeah little bullets, like from people's, like trucks, you know the wheel nut and tiny wheels, like jamming into it the whole time. 39 mil wheels hammering that thing how do we do it?
Speaker 4:Do you want me to talk about the good push again? Really quickly, I told you about Nathan Keely skating, just like I've got to mention something he started the good push about how long ago was it, jim?
Speaker 6:I don't know, last year.
Speaker 4:No, I thought it was early this year. I don't know. I thought he's oh yeah, it was early this year, it was like three or four months ago and he did about 100K and then had like a somewhat of a hernia or something to that it's pretty serious.
Speaker 4:He had a pretty serious medical issue, just randomly, you know, and then had to stop it and it was quite devastating and, to his credit, he has restarted it and it's day four now and he restarted from where he ended and it's still approximately, I think, in total still like 250 kilometres of pushing.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think he's done 200 kilometres already on this trip.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, already, yeah, and so it's amazing, anyway. So just again like that, that human spirit and of never giving up. It's just like the epitome of what skateboarders are right like you keep going until you land. It's such a metaphor for life and resilience it's just resilience and I just think that example to people alone is like okay, I started this thing, I did have a major medical issue, I'm doing it, I'm going back and I'm doing it, so respect it's great, definitely yeah so we need more of it.
Speaker 6:He's a lovely guy too. He's keely, yeah, a really good guy, yeah yeah, and he's a past guest last year.
Speaker 4:so you go back and listen to nathan keely's episode and I'm gonna ask you guys. So this year I've had a range of guests on. I'm going to rattle off some of the names that I've had on and I want you guys to just maybe drop your two cents in for some episodes that maybe stood out for you. I don't know if you listened to all of them, but start of the year, this year, my first guest of the year was Chad Caruso, so he was the guy that skated across America. So Nathan was quite inspired by him. So Chad I found super interesting because he did this thing no one else had ever done before. And again, it's breaking down those barriers. And then, what do you know, nathan's doing it and Chad was also saying there's some other guys around the world who are now doing these skate across country initiatives. What do you guys think?
Speaker 4:Pretty right, it's amazing for sure who are now doing these skate across country initiatives. What do you guys think? Pretty great, huh.
Speaker 5:It's amazing for sure. I mean it's a massive endeavor, especially all the way across America. I mean a few hundred cases, amazing in itself, but fully across America. I mean even our roads. But roads aren't made for skating. Generally they're rough roads, obviously. Generally they're rough roads, obviously. I know chad. I watched a couple of his vlogs and, uh, the wheels, the wheel damage he was getting and stuff chipping out and you know, I think would have gone through a few sets and, yeah, just a massive undertaking to do that for sure massive and you know, in this culture where, like, everyone can comment and have their two cents on the internet, it was really funny In that episode Chad said to me.
Speaker 4:One of his quotes was he said I found it really it was really funny to see how many people reached out to me to tell me that I was doing this wrong, yet I was supposedly doing this thing that had never been done, and it's like isn't that just a reflection of the society we're living in at the moment? Like everyone's got an uninformed opinion on something without actually formulating a real view, Don't you reckon? And I was just like yeah, and then what do you know? He did it.
Speaker 6:Yeah, it's like the. You know it's the same as guys sitting in a lounge watching football telling, screaming at the television, telling them you know you should have done this, you should have done that. I mean, you know it's much. You know it's easy to criticize from the sidelines.
Speaker 4:Yeah, like when I watched the UFC 100% on the couch going why don't you just kick him in the head? Just kick him in the head, they never do it.
Speaker 6:They can't hear you. Why can't they hear?
Speaker 5:you, it's rigged.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So Chad Caruso started off the year this year and for me I loved it. Super inspiring, just a good dude, and also his story is great because he is an alcoholic and he got sober. So another one of those you know and it's quite, it's almost cliche I'm sober now but again, full credit. So he's gone from like addiction to this recovery to then achieving amazing things. And again I just feel like when you get honest with yourself and be really honest and be real, life just gets beautiful and inspiring and you know there's no end. The sky's the limit. So that's what I took away from that episode personally.
Speaker 5:That's something. Honesty to yourself is something I try and talk to the kids about a bit as well, yeah.
Speaker 5:Not super often, but it's something that's definitely been brought up because I think that can be a major blockage. You know essentially lying to yourself and you don't even know you're doing it. Sometimes you think you know essentially lying to yourself and you don't even know you're doing it. Sometimes you think you know you see little kids playing. They're like I'm flying or whatever or doing stuff, and it's like they're yeah, they're pretending and they're playing and that's fine. But I think sometimes that carries through and people think they're doing things that they're not you know.
Speaker 6:And it takes some sometimes mental fortitude to know when you when you're lying to yourself or not, when you're fooling yourself and you've really got to be honest with yourself to to go forwards do you come across that in your coaching role much, um, people that exactly what you're saying people that aren't aware of their limitations and I know, to be fair, a lot of the people are young, but I know that there is a big thing. You know, when you grow up at a skate park, or at skate parks in general, there's always a guy that could be a good skateboarder, could be good at skating that local park, um, but they're pretty focused, or at least acting as if they're focused, on making it in skateboarding. They don't really skate anywhere else. They couldn't honestly be comparing themselves to the latest videos or looking at the photos in the magazines, because if they were honest with themselves, they don't actually compare. But then they also feel slighted in the world of skateboarding itself when they don't make it.
Speaker 6:Do you see that? You know the? You know the exact characters I'm talking about. Of course, you've both been in the industry for a long time. Yeah, can you see the beginnings of those ever in your coaching role? And then, how do you work? How do you work with those with with that? How do you kind of sidestep that and either make them successful?
Speaker 5:how do you be honest with someone and say I don't know if I think I've seen a little bit of it in kids who are more so sort of beginning stages of their journey. I think the better crew who I'm working with have a reasonable understanding of where they're at. But it's funny, in the less developed kids I do see it a bit and it's almost not worth like really confronting that with them sometimes.
Speaker 5:Like yeah, I can do this and that, and you're like, well, maybe not, you know, and you sort of just try it's not so much of being blunt with them, but just trying to work a way around for them to do that trick properly yep, like funny ones, particularly like rock to fakies when they clip on the way in and same with fakie disasters and stuff and you're like like, yeah, I can do it. And you're like, yeah, but it's just not going to work that way you know, and that's just a very obvious one.
Speaker 5:And yeah, just to try and get them to work around, that is a funny thing. And they're like, yeah, but I can do all these things. And you're like, yeah, but you kind of can't.
Speaker 6:And you still want them to enjoy themselves as well?
Speaker 5:Yeah, exactly, and you don't want to crush that fun and what they're getting out of it by saying no, that's just totally the wrong way of doing it. You're crap. You know you've got ages to go. So it's a fine line between getting, helping them to improve and and encouraging them and not discouraging them. You know what I mean like checking their ego and, and there's a bit of ego checking in there as well, because well, it does and and. But they're kids and they're so young, you're so young, you're just like da-da-da-da-da, you know.
Speaker 4:You had your ego checked when you were young by the older crew. Yeah, if you were getting too cocky, you were put in your place. Kids these days are not getting put in their place.
Speaker 5:I could be wrong, but I think there's potentially a bit more fragility out there these days with so much mollycoddling going on, you know. So I think it's a yeah, it's just that's an interesting challenge in it trying to work with that and around that and getting good outcomes from that point, you know, and that's its whole own challenge, and each kid is different as to how you tackle that. And that's what I enjoy in the coaching space to be able to work with each kid individually and come up with solutions so you can work through that, keep them encouraged and inspired, you know, and that's the craft right there.
Speaker 5:That is the craft. That's the craft, Sure sure.
Speaker 4:Firm and fair, yeah, but I don't think you're doing a kid any benefit by mollycoddling them. I really don't. I don't think you should be wrapping things in cotton wool, like. I think there needs to be some tough love. I think there needs to be more tough love, but also I think, especially with young men, uh, they need strong role models who are? Putting them in their place in a way that's masculine and kind and, yeah, I think we have a responsibility to do that, because it's not happening enough and there's a whole generation being raised by single mothers and full credit to single mothers.
Speaker 4:But there needs to be a balance and I feel like we can be male role models to young boys without being their fathers, and they need that as well. And fathers obviously have the responsibility to step up and be the primary role model, but the research shows that other people in that child's circle are just as important to their development and learning. And yeah, that's all I've got to say.
Speaker 5:No, definitely that. And I think when I try and do it, I try and use humour where possible to try and lighten the mood up and still get to the core of things as well and not just be like harsh down the line. You know what I mean. I'll tell some truth but try, and you know, use a light tone with it.
Speaker 4:That's where you're good at it. Like it's questionable if I'm good at that as a teacher. Oh, I think I've softened a lot, especially as a teacher. But yeah, you are exceptional. I've seen you with Taj Wolfenden the other day coaching him. I've seen your approach to him. It was like this subtly relaxed yet very concise feedback. There's the craft. It's like he's a craftsman, craftsman, anyway, so keep going.
Speaker 4:So yeah, this year I had a few other amazing guests, like Jed Smith. He is the co-host of the biggest surf podcast in the world Ain't that Swell? And also article writer for Stab Magazine. Now, we don't talk anything about surfing in that episode. I'm really drawn to Jed because he's very outspoken, used to be a vice journalist, has amazing worldviews and opinions, educated opinions, but also sustained numerous head injuries throughout his life and has acquired probably CTE and has been curing himself through a range of modalities such as breathing, ice bath, psychedelics, cbd oil and he's very public about it and I found it super intriguing, so I learned a lot about that. I also had James McMillan, who's a profound artist from Byron Bay and good friend surfer, but again, his art speaks to me, so I loved that. Here's one that I found interesting Rudolph. So Darren Stapleton, do you remember Darren?
Speaker 6:Stapleton? Yeah, absolutely, did you guys listen to that one? Yeah, absolutely, because I think I said this to you once. So one of the earliest magazines that I had was like an issue of Speed Wheels and Darren had like a checkout in it and he's doing a ho-ho like a handstand. And I can remember saying like one of the first times that like I skated with like older guys in town and like this magazine at the time was like four years old, it's probably 92.
Speaker 6:The magazine came out in 88 and I can remember kind of they're like, oh, talk, people talking about who their favorite australian skateboarders were, and I was maybe 11 or something. I was like oh, yeah, rudolph's. And like the older guys stopped and looked at me like what the fuck, how do you even know? It would have been seven when that magazine, like when that got and I was like oh, and I just remember getting roasted for saying not because of Rudolph, not because of Darren at all, because you knew the history well, just, it was also also like it was kind of like pressure flip, no slide. Like like no slide, crooked, grind, no slide era, and then, like we were having this serious conversation, I'd name dropped like rudolph doing a ho-ho and uh yeah, I just got roasted that goes back to what I was saying yeah, it's exactly.
Speaker 6:It's exactly what I was saying before about things moved so quickly, right, like you know, you, one minute, like during that period, it's like no side crew ground, no side crew ground, we didn't call it crew ground, it's obviously. But like yeah and uh, and then you know two weeks later, if you did that trick, you're a kook, you know. One week you're doing pressure flips, the next week you're doing double flips, the next week you're doing double flips. Then if you do either of those a month later, like you're a kook, like everybody you know it's, you know. Then you know, just, everything was so rapid, the progression was so rapid.
Speaker 6:You had to really be you had to be on your like A game the whole time. But it was just so exciting so I mean I wasn't even bringing up. This would have been. No, it would have been more than 92 because Questionable was definitely out. It was further than that. It was after Tim and Henry's. Even it probably would have been between virtual reality and secondhand smoke. I date a lot of things using the Plan B videos. I don't know if anybody else does that.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 6:Questionable for sure, so it was probably a bit later than that. Seriously. So yeah, of course, but then I'm calling out like Rudolph is one of my favorite Australian skateboarders. Just from this picture of a ho-ho, you can imagine how roasted I go, because I wasn't just two weeks behind. I wasn't like talking pressure flips and doubles, I'm like years behind.
Speaker 4:Can I ask you though, jim like? Have you on a personal note, have you always just been enamored by history On Like outside of skateboarding? Are you just attracted to history?
Speaker 6:No, I'm just interested in it, but it's not Like. It's also not one of those things I hate and I say this all the time, any time we're having conversations. I don't want to be one of those people that's constantly looking back either, like I always say, like the best skateboarding is happening now. No doubt I'm not somebody that's like oh in my day, but I just liked to be informed. I liked it all and like even when I got my first board, I got this john lacero street thing, but there are already double kicks in the shop, but on the archetype of a skateboard on television, if you did see, one wasn't a double kickboard yet and I wanted like I just so. I was so attracted to skateboarding, I wanted to just be a part of what it looked like and stuff but were you trying to be like original within the subculture?
Speaker 6:I know, I know I bought a pair of airwalk beyonds once in like 1995 to cut down because I was probably still watching questionable too much and just got roasted.
Speaker 4:So were you trying to be cool by not being cool? No, no, I wasn't that deliberate. I wasn't that deliberate.
Speaker 6:No, it was more just like being stuck in my own little world.
Speaker 4:As like a kid, turned up to this excursion, I went on the other day. He's in year 10, 16, turned up with a CD Walkman Whoa. And just like what's that?
Speaker 6:Like a Discman.
Speaker 4:Discman. It's like a CD. You know those old, yeah, of course it's like this big square and he had it like clipped on his belt.
Speaker 6:The biggest lie ever told is when they have the anti-shock thing. Yeah, that just didn't work. They skip.
Speaker 4:I know, and we were just me and the other teachers were cracking up because we remember literally having them when it was all you had. Yeah. And it was just this. Was it an attempt to be like, hey, I'm so retro, or was he just genuinely like into it? I don't know.
Speaker 6:You'd have to ask him. Yeah, it couldn't have been for the sound quality, couldn't be for the sound quality.
Speaker 4:But no, I could no. You is what I'm trying to say. No, no, no, mine was probably more just being off in my own little world. Anyway, so other guests. Sid Tapia, for the second time was an interesting one because Sid had a really interesting year in terms of his art. He did some really profound artworks that were in the public eye with his murals, like painted all the Matildas. He was also commissioned by Fox Sports to paint an image of Shane Warne and I'm having a mental blank the other cricketer with dreadlocks, andrew Simons.
Speaker 6:You're asking the wrong person.
Speaker 4:I'm not a cricket guy, but it was a really special moment when they won the Yashes and Andrew Simons jumps on Shane Warne after he bowled out someone.
Speaker 6:Andrew Simons is the guy that was on hey hey Saturday, isn't it, andrew Simons? No, it's Red Simons.
Speaker 4:Sorry, I don't know. Are you being funny or is it because that's funny? Yeah, I was.
Speaker 4:But anyway. So he had that and we talked about that, talked about his life and, yes, sid, his influence on australian street culture, skate culture runs so deep and I I often forget, and it wasn't until we did the end aaron brown episode, you and I and aaron pulled out this beautiful book, his homage to skateboarding in sydney predominantly in other parts of the country, but mainly Sydney. And seeing all the old images of Sid and I was like wow man, his look, his trick selection, his whole presentation was quite striking for the era. What do you reckon?
Speaker 5:Yeah, definitely, and because I partly grew up street skating with Sid and Alex Smith no frontside nose sliding Shush with Sid.
Speaker 4:No, and Alex Smith, frontside nose sliding.
Speaker 5:Shush. And yeah, sid was rad when we were super young. You know he had the ollie pop back then and then he hurt himself ollieing a massive gap and then he was sort of gone for years and it was like damn, imagine if Sid kept skating, you know whatever. He'd be like super good. And then he came back after, you know, obviously rehabbing and getting over the knee stuff, and then he just turned into a whole new Sid you know, not necessarily new just followed on and improved and did everything that he went on to do and yeah, always classic style, you know, things done really well for sure there was a marketability.
Speaker 5:Definitely.
Speaker 4:For me. I see him as one of those people on the forefront of this, like good skater, but also conscious of marketing themselves, and did it quite well. Would you agree or disagree?
Speaker 5:I think I was probably naive to that thing directly as such. But he certainly had his whole style of himself and and that was evident since he was young, like he kind of had, you know, good haircut and he just always he never looked ratty or anything like when we were younger. So I guess he always just followed that through. It was kind of his natural style, you know, not just his skate style, but he's just his general style of living, you know, and that that came across it was just an attractive skater and human like that, you know, and I think that rubbed off and his skating exemplified that as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it all went hand in hand you had a push on a skateboard.
Speaker 6:He was handsome too, he looked like. He kind of looks like he still kind of looks like he kind of looks like Pete Andre hey hey, that's a yeah, he does, he does no for real Like, and that's not a burn he kind of does. Right, there's a going ad. There's a going ad. There's a going ad.
Speaker 6:I'm scared for going. I forgot about that. There's a going ad that O'Meally shot at Gosford Skate Park and he's doing like a melon over the hip and he looks like a young Peter Andre doing like a big kind of melancholy.
Speaker 5:He must have liked tight trucks.
Speaker 6:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Those things didn't turn terrible.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think he's riding the little Gs in the ad.
Speaker 4:They were my first ever trucks.
Speaker 6:What Were they?
Speaker 4:like Shadows or Pro 3s or something. The ones in the middle of the hangar had the little.
Speaker 6:Had the groove.
Speaker 4:Groove yeah.
Speaker 6:What were they called? Well, they was like.
Speaker 5:Shadows or Pro 3s or Pro 1 or 2.
Speaker 6:Phoenix there was a few different ones. Phoenix had the plastic base plate right right, yeah, I think so, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:Oh, there was a few of them did yeah, yeah, then after sid tapie's episode I had jim turvey, which was a great episode jim, yeah, that was good, that was a good history for sure yeah, it was for sure I loved it. Uh yeah, the zine culture. It's an epic one. Again, I love art in all forms and, again, you're the only person who's ever brought that form of art to the table. So thank you, oh, thank you.
Speaker 6:Yeah, no, I mean I'd just like to thank everybody, like in the Australian scene that's made them for me to collect them really, like I mean I make them too. But even the picture I just showed Ty before was from one of Andrew McKenzie's scenes in the early 90s and that to me, yeah, it's pretty valuable.
Speaker 4:Just you're creating all these amazing relics that are going to be around long after you're gone. Yeah, like, how cool is that?
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think that's cool.
Speaker 4:And then your daughter's going to, you know, have these things to look at as well, you know.
Speaker 6:Like do you ever think of that? Well, she might look at that and be what was dad into.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I had earth boy on the show from the herd I already mentioned. I was really stoked about that one. You know tim levinson. He came to the house and, um, I spent most of the day with him and I think we went, had coffee and stuff and, uh, again, he's always been politically driven.
Speaker 4:If you've ever listened to the Herd, the Herd's whole thing was anti-establishment question, the status quo. I mean, their lyrics were epic and he wrote most of the lyrics for a lot of their songs. But he said something about art in the show that I just really loved and the quote was art is part of social change. Art is how we have a public conversation about everything. It's an essential part of how society moves. It's the cogs in the wheel. And I was like what it's so? True, because I work in public education and whenever the government's going to cut budget to education, what area of education do they cut? They cut the arts because it doesn't fit into the capitalist model or anything. But I guess my question is like how much is the capitalist model really serving our society?
Speaker 5:And when you look at the state that we're in, Well, I think, just to cut to this real quick, I think it does, but it's just unfettered capitalism and corrupted capitalism is a problem, that's all.
Speaker 4:But how do you regulate that?
Speaker 5:It's very difficult, because humans are humans.
Speaker 6:Yeah, and greed exists.
Speaker 4:Exactly, and greed is one of the seven deadly sins.
Speaker 6:That's a powerful force, but the arts sector right contributes more to the Australian economy than the mining sector does.
Speaker 4:Which is amazing right, okay, tell me how.
Speaker 6:Well, actors, television, visual arts, music, journalism, the arts sector.
Speaker 4:The arts sector is a big, you consider journalism as art.
Speaker 6:The arts fit in, so anything that fits into the arts sector ultimately. So the overarching arts sector contributes and employs more people in Australia than mining does.
Speaker 5:I remember reading that during COVID because they were talking about things getting cut. You know, that's a true statistic.
Speaker 6:That's not just me making that up, because I was an arts major Jamie.
Speaker 4:get that up for us, would you? Is this your?
Speaker 6:imaginary assistant. Hey, wait, there's some weird feedback in my ear.
Speaker 4:I was getting it too and I changed my plug-in. Let's fix you. Is it like getting all like a rattly?
Speaker 6:It sounds like there's a B in like the thing and it was coming from yours, it was coming from everybody, like when everybody spoke. So I don't know if it was my headphones or if it's the mic. Say something. I'm still getting a little bit. How's that? No.
Speaker 4:I can still hear it Like a reverb.
Speaker 6:I just don't want it to affect the recording.
Speaker 4:No, it doesn't. It's just in the actual speaker the headphones.
Speaker 6:Can I take my headphones off then? Yeah.
Speaker 4:That's really bizarre. Yeah because, I was getting it too, and then I changed plug-ins and you just tell me then, if I'm not point at me, if I'm not talking loud enough. Yeah, thanks Jim.
Speaker 6:But no, that's a true statistic. Yeah, Ty said he read it too.
Speaker 4:Wait up, let me get it right. So you're saying that the arts contribute more to the economy?
Speaker 6:Yeah, and they're a bigger employer as well.
Speaker 4:Oh, a bigger employer. That makes sense.
Speaker 6:And a lot of well, a lot of. So there's this misconception with mining that it contributes like, puts all this money back into the, all the money goes offshore. Absolutely it does, and Australia is a particularly bad country economically for actually reaping the benefits of their mining industry as well.
Speaker 6:Someone like Norway where it's all completely like, where it's like publicly owned so anything that comes from their ground goes back into their country as far as, no matter who they sell it to, all the profits go back they employ their own. Australia's shocking at doing that. It's all like privately owned international companies and you know they might. It's something like 50,000 people are directly employed in Australia by the mining sector. There's actually not that many comparatively, you know, I'm sure if you look I'm not If you live in a small town and that's your primary industry, obviously that's like everybody's employed by that it's not going to stop. No, no, no. But that's I'm not. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not taking anything away from people, but there is this misconception that it's the saviour of the Australian economy and money's just raping and destroying the country for ultimately no.
Speaker 6:Have you noticed that?
Speaker 4:your gas bill is through the roof. Do you have like?
Speaker 6:yeah, we have a gas. Have you seen? Have you seen?
Speaker 4:have you just noticed that your gas bill is really high? Yeah, I've kind of felt like it always has been, but yeah because we're selling all our gas offshore at dirt cheap prices and then the stuff that gets kept here, it's become a limited resource, so then we pay exorbitant rates for our own gas.
Speaker 6:It's kind of ridiculous yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, do we want to keep going on this tangent?
Speaker 6:No, we don't need to start talking about the politics. No, why not?
Speaker 4:We'll leave that to Joe and the others. Well, I'm just making like I think it's okay to make observations from what I'm noticing, and I'm noticing that my gas bill is the most expensive I've ever seen. So then I researched it and looked it up to go why is that happening? And that's what I discovered.
Speaker 6:I think Ty's right, I think we can. I think there's one thing for us to touch on the topics, but we don't want to get wrapped up in like I think at least one of the things I enjoy about being a co-host or being a guest on your show is not that it's not our job to solve these kind of like earth-like problems. I never once said that. No, no, no, I'm not saying that I never once said that.
Speaker 4:No, no, no, I said speak from your personal experience. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I said speak from your personal experience, and that was my personal experience.
Speaker 6:But no, no, no, what I'm saying you know, like I said earlier, I love talking about that stuff in my private life. But also I'm here to like I was excited to come and talk about, like skateboarding and like the shows that you've done this year and like touch on all those things. I don't want to get too sidetracked away from the things we're passionate about.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I didn't bring up the topic of mining I know I did, I'm sorry, yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyway.
Speaker 6:But I was talking about the arts, not mining.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but I mean, we're also living this experience and I know other people commentate on it and there's a lot of negativity out there in the world and people talking about negative stuff, but I feel that and I rarely bring those topics into the show oh, no yeah. But I also see a society that is complacent to the point of being complicit. Oh yeah, sure.
Speaker 4:We are, in my opinion, one of the most complacent societies in the Western world. We lay down and we roll over at the drop of the hat out of fear of losing an amazing lifestyle which we have, but it's getting eroded and you only have to literally speak to your neighbor next door who can't afford to pay their rent, more people living in vans than they've ever had who can't afford to pay their rent, more people living in vans than they've ever had. And I just am sort of more driven by keeping that conversation going and maybe inspiring some not controversy but fire in people to question the status quo and especially question a distrust in the powers that be. And I'm not militant, I never have been and I work for the government, so I'm just kind of sick of it, if I'm straight.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think that's fair enough and I think, yeah, look, when you're saying about lighting a fire inside people, yeah, and in complacency, look, I would. You know, as far as for my person, the way that my like, the journey that I've been on, I would hate to think that I've ever been passive. You know, as far as you know, I've always been active in trying to, like I don't know, try and figure things out for myself, and I'm by no means an expert in anything. But you know, yeah, I try to keep informed and I would like to think that my neighbours and I don't mean my literal neighbours, but I just mean the people around me were doing the same thing. But you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's true. Now listen, Russell Grundy was the next guest we had on the episode, and one thing that stood about Russ is that he's quite like a loving soul. He's got a lot of love to give Russ.
Speaker 6:He really does, yeah a loving soul.
Speaker 4:He's got a lot of love to give. He really does.
Speaker 6:Yeah, he does did you go up with him a lot? I can remember when he first started coming to newcastle skate park yeah, um, I can remember seeing him like on the central coast and stuff as well, yeah, and he was just like he was amazing. I can remember thinking he was amazingly consistent really early on, like it was. He was one of those first people that when we're going to skate comps and stuff like that, he kind of I suppose that's when that thing started changing with competition skateboarding too. You know, like the first comps I ever went to was still very much street style comps, remember that and there was a lot of. You know, if it wasn't on a half pipe then there was a lot of bailing going on. But I can remember when he really came on the scene that it was, yeah, he kind of of. For me he was one of those first first people locally. You know that was he was really consistent, yeah he could make his stuff yeah, definitely yeah yeah, definitely
Speaker 5:yeah, yeah, you work with him a lot on the judging scene I have done a lot of work with him on that too, yeah, and I remember him coming through like I'm billabong and you know, when he was kind of a kickflip melon guy or whatever. But like he was great at that stuff and you know pushed the boundaries on the size of a lot of that stuff and you know came out swinging. It was good.
Speaker 4:He did he really did.
Speaker 6:He actually had a really big bag of tricks. So I always felt that was a weird thing with Russ. Yeah, he did get that. I always felt that was a weird thing with Russ. Yeah, he did get that. That was the kickflip melon thing, but he could.
Speaker 4:That was a special moment.
Speaker 6:Right, he had a. Really he did have a really big bag, and particularly a couple of years later, you know, when he was probably in his early 20s.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 6:He had an incredible bag of tricks. Really good switch skater too.
Speaker 4:Yeah, was he. Yeah, yeah, absolutely he's still ripping. He's still ripping. Like I see some footage every now and then I was like oh wow, russell, you know, he's still got some moves, he's still got some moves for sure Great switch pop shove.
Speaker 6:it Did he. Yeah, I saw him do the switch 360 flip over the fun box at Mayfield once drop in switch. It was so good.
Speaker 4:Yeah, nice. Then we to John Gray's and I actually look at Jim next to him. I've got some plants behind sitting and there is a San Pedro cactus that was given to me by Jim Gray. John Gray, oh sorry, John Gray.
Speaker 5:Jim Gray is the vision.
Speaker 4:I meant to say John. Did I say Jim Gray before? I'm sorry, but John Gray, yeah. So I'm like I always look at that cactus and go John Gray gave me that.
Speaker 5:I'm like I always look at that cactus and go, john Gray gave me that. Yeah, you know, he's always been a legend. It was, you know, pleasure growing up skating vert around him and like all that crew. But, yeah, john was always just pleasant, friendly, you know, loved it. You know, always brought good vibes to sessions and he continued on.
Speaker 5:You know, when I was doing the bondi skate riders comps during the 2010s and and you know we had a big demographic age demographics coming along and he'd come along and, you know, rally the older boys up and and even go in the fish comps you know the street comps and still get involved in there and he just loved it. He's like I just want to come and put it out there and support you guys and, just, you know, get everyone involved and there, and he just loved it. He's like, oh, I just want to come and put it out there and support you guys and, just, you know, get everyone involved and try and make it happen. So he's always been a good inspiration in the scene, for sure, oh for sure man.
Speaker 6:I've got to say as a fan that was a great episode. So thank you to both of you. That was an awesome episode. A lot of love came out of it. Yeah, that was. You know there's a bit of a yeah skate history nerd.
Speaker 4:That was a really good one I can thank Ty for lining that one up.
Speaker 6:Absolute pleasure. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I guess for me just spending time with someone like John and just really realizing what just a kind and beautiful soul that man is, you know, really is, and how much of a frother he still is on skating so good 60 years old ramp in the backyard. Jimmy, I've seen.
Speaker 6:I've no, I've seen photos of it and footage of it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, and he's like 60 still doing inverts on a vert ramp yeah, so good yep, anyway. Then we had kane horsepool, who's a friend of mine from the south coast, skateboarder, profound mural artist down on in around the Wollongong Illawarra area. Love Kane, just a soul to the earth human, also works for National Parks and Wildlife. He's a conservationist at heart and his artwork reflects Australian native birds and wildlife and that's a big feature of his art and that he puts that in murals that go in the street.
Speaker 6:So yeah, shout out kane, love you. Buddy um, we had sean musset gravel burns.
Speaker 4:Did you listen to that one? I was the co-host I know you did. Sorry, I was like I gotta be confused.
Speaker 5:Yeah, did you know I haven't listened to that a few. I've got to catch up on a few.
Speaker 4:Again, and I was saying this to Jim when I met Gravel and Jim. You know it's very rare in life when you just meet people and instantaneously just go. I think we're going to be friends, forever.
Speaker 6:We're in now.
Speaker 6:And like that was a good moment. Yeah, sean's a great guy and he's a great ambassador for skateboarding and he's just a really creative soul as well and genuinely, and I think his roots are so deep as far as, like you know, he's friends with guys like John Gray. He kind of transcends every generation, not just because of his age and he was there and he was friends and he was skating alongside them, but he kind of has he never really stopped skateboarding at any stage and he's kind of, yeah, he's just always been there and he's always been contributing in some way as well. Was he.
Speaker 6:Doing art. You know he did a lot of Bonzo graphic stuff and you know he's kind of he did a lot of yeah, he did a lot of kind of graphic design and layout stuff and mags and stuff. He was yeah he's always had his finger in it somewhere, you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah, cool stuff he was. Yeah, he's always had his finger in in it somewhere, you know. Yeah, cool, it's a good one. Then. This is interesting I had leon paxton. Now I'm gonna make mention this. I still, if you're listening to the like, I still have one more episode to record this year and I'll tell the backstory to that. But to date, uh, so you'll be listening to this is the last episode, but I've got one more recording to do, but to date, the Leon Paxton episode is actually this year the most listened to episode of the podcast this year.
Speaker 6:Well, he's got a big social media following.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but it did catch me off guard because, yeah, I didn't realize he's very popular with his YouTube channel and all the skate park review stuff he does. I just don't know why I didn't expect it, because he's an awesome guy with his YouTube channel and all the skate park review stuff he does.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I just I don't know why. I didn't expect it, because he's an awesome guy. But yeah, guy Miller said that his kid Hunter loves watching Leon's stuff. You, know.
Speaker 4:Well, it's one of the few times I've gone to school at my job and kids come up to me going. Do you know, Leon Paxton? You know, not. Did you interview Chima Ferguson or anyone else? It's like I was just like okay, it's the next gen.
Speaker 6:I think, yeah, I think next gen is the thing as far as that generational change of skate media delivery and for the three of us who are, you know, within a couple of years, the same age, it's a different world now as far as how people receive their information. Obviously I know that's such a obvious thing to say, but I mean, as far as skate content goes, the skate industry was so hard and fast about how things were delivered for so long and people were really scared to kind of like stray from that because you wouldn't like it. It was quite possible that even if you were the best skateboarder in the world, if you weren't delivering yourself in a certain way or packaging yourself a certain way, you were never going to make it. And people have kind of found these roundabout ways of accessing kind of like fame or professionalism within skateboarding that, just once upon a time I suppose our generations just would have just like tore to pieces.
Speaker 3:There's also limited access and ability to do that. Yeah, of course.
Speaker 5:So the platform is just multiple platforms is so amazing.
Speaker 6:But just the fact that even people haven't moved with the times with that like of course, like it's quite obvious when we say that of course, yeah, well, well, obviously, these platforms that didn't exist before. But there's still people that are like, oh, that doesn't count, they're not professional skateboarders, when the reality is these, there are youtubers and like influencers that are making more money than you know, like a lot of people most people that ever rode for like australian companies or anything like that yeah, and you're right realistically, I 100 agree and I'm personally still getting my head around the fact that YouTube is a thing, a respected thing amongst the next generation, a creditable thing to a lot of these kids, and a platform yeah, like I agree it's a platform Get some credibility and fame.
Speaker 4:I don't know Because, like when we did his, when I did the episode with Simon Boggo from Convict Leon co-hosted that one and we went to the skate park at Glebe and Leon did a vlog of our day and while we were at Glebe, like just numerous kids coming up like, oh are you Leon Paxson and can I get your autograph, or I just it was just, I guess, a bit of an eye opener, yeah, and then, like when Leon was filming us skating and doing our thing, other kids kept trying to get in the shot too, so they hopefully could get on one of Leon's vlogs, you know amazing.
Speaker 6:It's like when Tony Holland was on Neighbours was he really?
Speaker 4:yeah, how do did he know this In like?
Speaker 6:1989 or 1990 oh shit. I was taking a piss. That's not what it's like.
Speaker 4:But he really was.
Speaker 6:Was Toadie. No, it was before Toadie was in it.
Speaker 4:Now listen. Rumour has it, you have a Toadie tattoo. Who told you that I do?
Speaker 6:I do have a tattoo on Toadfish. You told me that. Oh did I. You know he's got a toady tattoo. Well, how would he know that we just met?
Speaker 4:No, I'm telling you, he has a toady tattoo from Naver.
Speaker 5:Amazing. Why Can I ask, why why?
Speaker 6:That's a good question. Should we not be laughing?
Speaker 4:No, no. Is it a piss take? Are we allowed to laugh? No, it's a mistake.
Speaker 6:My in about like nobody in my family watched Neighbours until I was in about year eight or something tonsillitis, and I was home from school and I couldn't reach the remote. I was like, you know, like, just like a pancake on the lounge and I came on, you know, like after Simpsons or whatever, and I just watched an episode and I was like, oh shit, I want to find out what happens here. And so just watched an episode and I was like, oh shit, I want to find out what happens here. And so I watched an episode the next day and then, you know, I probably had a week off school or whatever, probably milked it off the antibiotics that kicked in. But you know, I ended up watching like a week's worth and I was addicted and at first my family would take the piss out of me because no one watched Neighbours in my family. And then, like, they all got addicted too because of me, because it was on.
Speaker 6:And then it became this thing where, like and especially because, like you know, as I got older and be at uni and stuff, people would think they expected me to be into like highbrow shit or whatever, and I'd be like, what's your favorite show? I'm like, oh, I love Neighbors and people would always get really like offended, almost. I'm like I don't think it's like I like coming home from work or you know whatever, or skating in winter when it's early enough and you can switch off. It's not. I don't think it's like the Phantom of the Opera. You know like I'm watching that's a weird example as well. So, anyway, fast forward years later and people take the piss out of me for, like Neighbours and Simon Lyddiard, very dear friend of mine and, like you know, amazing skateboarder.
Speaker 6:At the time he was dating a tattooist and you know, like outside of skateboarding I'm also really I collect tattoos as well. And yeah, and I think I just joked with her one day about can I get a tattoo of Toadfish? And yeah, she drew up Toadie's head, but like with an actual toadfish body, and then drew it on my leg.
Speaker 4:So can I ask though, in all seriousness, do you feel like it actually brought your family together and it's actually conjured good memories of family times? The tattoo. No neighbors.
Speaker 6:Oh, I mean, yeah, my sister and my mom and I definitely Like you bonded over neighbors.
Speaker 4:Yeah, like I mean, yeah, my sister and my mum and I definitely. Like you bonded over Nathan. Yeah, like I mean that's rad. I'm not laughing, I think that's rad.
Speaker 6:But it's also not a super serious thing, like I'm not ringing up my mum being like fuck, did you see what Harold did? Guys that fucking hate, Harold fat shit. Ian Smith. He's an Australian icon, oh shit, I feel bad. I'm sorry I shouldn't have caught him, in fact, because I think I haven't watched it much lately, but I'm pretty sure he just said goodbye to the entire cast on like a live episode.
Speaker 4:Is it?
Speaker 6:still going. Yeah, like it left last year for a while and then they brought it back. Damn, yeah, it's been going for a long time, man, there's skate footage. I posted some skate footage on my Instagram the other week of Jason Donovan skating in Ramsey Street. No shit yeah.
Speaker 4:I went there once. Listen, I'm not going to show my age, but I'm going to show my age Like I remember when Kylie Minogue was on Neighbours Just saying Like that's how old I am.
Speaker 5:Yes, yes, thai, thai, Of course.
Speaker 4:But I'm not that old, I don't feel that old. But far out, jason Donovan, he rides.
Speaker 6:Okay, so he rides. He rides a Very flex voodoo too.
Speaker 4:Is that had?
Speaker 6:no, nose, no, nose that pink Round, really round nose.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you know what a voodoo.
Speaker 5:I know what a very flex voodoo is, was it?
Speaker 6:round.
Speaker 4:Yeah, really round and real flat.
Speaker 6:Yeah, pink, bright pink. He had the bright pink one later on, but he jd, yeah, he in the show he rides. There's multiple episodes where jason donovan's riding a voodoo and I wonder if, like hardcore, hooked him up because the hill brothers they would have for sure, were making them, so I wonder if they're trying to sneak some products into neighbors probably well, they just, they probably were.
Speaker 5:The production crew probably would have hit up the skate distributor hardcore and then, just if either of the if.
Speaker 6:Well, not either. If any of the hill brothers are listening to this right now, can you send me a voodoo, please, like if you've got one in the factory somewhere, imagine that, that'd be sick.
Speaker 4:I'd love to see your collection stranger I don't really, you still haven't shown, you haven't shown me the man cave.
Speaker 6:You've got your gym. I don't have a man cave you must have like.
Speaker 4:No, I got your own personal library. I've got a studio.
Speaker 6:My wife is a photographer and she had a studio in our backyard, but her studio is now massive because she couldn't house all her things in there. She has like big backdrops and she's like a food photographer. It's not a soundproof studio. No, no, no, no, no, no. It's not soundproof at all, but she makes like big backdrops and drops and she's like a stylist and stuff.
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 6:So yeah, the tiny little studio in her backyard did not fit her purposes, and then I got to move my stuff into it.
Speaker 4:You're a creative power couple.
Speaker 6:She is the power I'm part of the couple I don't know if there's power.
Speaker 4:Ah, jim, you're powerful, you are, you are, yeah, thanks. Anyway, what are we talking about? Leon paxton, yeah, famous, love that kid. He's doing great. He's a great guy and, fun fact, I was his high school peer teacher at lemire High, campbelltown area.
Speaker 6:Were you really? Yeah, wow, I didn't know that.
Speaker 4:He wouldn't want to hang out with me.
Speaker 6:So you remember him from then?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I remember him Because like they skated and I skated and I tried to bro down with them, but it was just a case of I thought skating was going to like make me cool with the cool kids, and he was one of them. So that's true in the reality was you're just a teacher that's telling us what to do. Don't talk to us.
Speaker 6:That's true southwest too, because I always run southwest because I'm originally from panini east hills area. Yeah, first four years out of uni, man, I was young.
Speaker 4:That's true southwest down there, yeah it's a trip, him, and sean enox, who has moved to america and became quite a famous YouTuber in California for skateboarding. He's got thousands and thousands of followers. He's big over there, interesting huh. They're good on them, man, they're doing their thing and fundamentally they're just really kind souls who have their heart in the right place, so fully stoked to advocate for Leon and Sean.
Speaker 4:Next, off the bat, chimaguson. That was, you know, big episode because it was the first one visual episode we did with the production studio. Shout out to ty behind the scenes lining it up. Um, yeah, it was cool, you know. But I just want to say I am disappointed that chima was the first video production episode that we did because there was still a lot of creases to iron out. I was really, we were really like you know, I scrambled to get that together and make the, get the studio happening and all that stuff and it all came together. But I just wish that I'd maybe got a bit of practice in prior to Chima, because for me personally, he's literally my top five of favorite skaters of all time. There's something about him speaks to me his style, his grace, his finesse, his courage and also the fact he grew up in Western Sydney, in an area called Villawood where my mom grew up. So I have this. I just feel like I have I identify with the guy. But anyway, that's my two cents, ty.
Speaker 5:Yeah, no, it was great to be part of that episode and be a little instrumental in getting it to happen. You know just a little bit of history, not like super deep, like interpersonally with him or anything, but you know just through the, through the jewish clothing days and stuff and and sort of him coming up through that era and everything.
Speaker 5:So yeah it was great to have him on and facilitate you having on, you know, a lifelong sort of hero idol in skating, and that was great for sure, and just to get his stories out for sure, because, in fairness, you know, didn't know a lot of depth about him, so it was good to be part of all that and go through his story. Yeah, it was good and great to see his journey and where he's come. You know, and ran into him the other week heading, heading to Melbourne on the plane to go down to the, the globe comp and bunch jam and everything. He was heading down to do the, to the real stuff, a real tour and everything. And yeah, it was cool to run into him and met, just ran into him at the airport. He was with Kyle Walker, had a chat to him. He was a really nice guy too and, yeah, just good to share that journey with him, you know. Yeah, definitely yeah.
Speaker 4:Sorry, that's the feedback from that whole real tour. I got from numerous people All the real team, mason, kyle, chima, obviously Hayley that they just were so friendly and nice. I mean, I'm not surprised, but it's just a common comment that I heard from everyone that had contact with him in some way how just polite, courteous and just really down to earth they were, which is nice.
Speaker 5:Yeah, definitely. I heard that from numerous people and it goes against the old adage of don't meet your heroes. And they're all cool, because I met a bunch of them at the Airbnb. Ben Ventress was graceful to give us a ride into the city with Chima and Kyle and stopped by the Airbnb with everyone and, you know, met them all and yeah everyone was super friendly. I had a bit of a chat with a few of them and, yeah, it was a good vibe for sure.
Speaker 4:Good stuff. Amy Massey was an interesting episode. Loved Amy, she's a personality but ultimately just she was super down to earth, super fun to hang out, just like a really good vibe, and really loved skateboarding and, yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent with her. Then she co-hosted George Richard's episode and, yeah, she's funny and just a character. So, yeah, that was another highlight. And again, going back to production, I feel like when we got to the Amy episode, we got the production even better and I think visually her episode looks amazing and she talks about some of her skating and we get some of her skate clips up and we also get some of her TikTok clips up and she talks us through them. And that's where I like her unique stories because, yeah, she's got a massive following on social media, in that realm, you know, and it would be very easy to just stereotype her as, like, just a social media or a TikTok skater, but she really is much, much more than that she's a Skate Australia judge. Is that correct?
Speaker 5:Not Skate Australia World Skate.
Speaker 4:World Skate, and then that led to being a judge at the Olympics as well. So, yeah, she's got some interesting stuff to talk about, so go and listen to that episode.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and Amy, I've known Amy for, you know, years, longer than before she became proper social media famous and she's always been a skate frother, you know. Yeah, she froths, and so it's great to have seen her journey play out the way it has and and the success successes that she's had as well and gone off. Her got her own tangents going and and that's the beauty that's like with leon and everyone can you can create, you can create your own tangents and, um, she's been, you know, definitely masterful at that, along with many others, but she's definitely created her own thing and showed that you can do that again, no matter if you're a guy or a girl or anything. And, yeah, she's definitely held the flag up in that respect. That's great.
Speaker 6:For sure, and her energy. I think the energy comes across in both the episode, her episode, and then the episode with George as well. The skate ride energy.
Speaker 6:You can't fake it kind of you. Her episode and then the episode with George as well, the skate ride energy. You can't fake it kind of. You know what I mean. You're either just pumped on skateboarding in the world that kind of surrounds you and you're kind of amongst it, or you're not and you can't really pretend because it would just be boring Exactly and I think that's pretty evident that she's anybody that was doubting her career or anything like that, because she was, you know, because exactly what we're talking about before, with those different avenues and the way that you get to, you know, or what is professional skateboarding these days, I think anybody that doubted the way that she'd made it, you know well, the divert, and again like an example of just the diversity that exists now and it's just great, like it's more brings more to the plate, more to the table yeah, it's good, definitely, and I
Speaker 4:love her kickflip catch.
Speaker 6:She has a really nice kickflip catch is someone cooking some kind of like beef stroganoff?
Speaker 4:I can smell something like it, dude, there's someone in this building who's just a mad cook.
Speaker 6:I'm always getting rad smells yeah, you want me to close the window. It smells good. I wasn't sure if it was like annoying you, or yeah a beef strogan, this, and I don't know if that's what it is it's making me jealous.
Speaker 5:Yeah, got some scares of that uh, moving on.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I uh, chris yote. Oh man, for me personally, I love the episode. It might be like a personal favorite. You know chris is the owner of amnesia skateboards started in newcastle so I know it meant a lot to some newcastle people. But his influence beyond newcastle is extended to all around the country. So what do you think, jim?
Speaker 6:loved it. I mean, I mean, I'm a fan of chris's and I've, you know, I've been a fan of everything that he's done since I was a little kid and you know, knowing him personally when I was a little kid, probably hassling him personally when I was a little kid, but, um, no, I really enjoyed the episode and I think, um, yeah, you asked all the questions that I would have wanted to ask if I had him, had him trapped on a mic in front of me as well just right.
Speaker 4:Um had me in tears, that guy in that episode. I was crying because, yeah, the story about his brother passing away from cancer and that was a catalyst for restarting amnesia I.
Speaker 6:I remember his brother.
Speaker 4:Yeah, do you.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I remember his brother. I remember meeting his brother at admin actually. Like he says in the thing, he wasn't as taken by skateboarding as Chris was, but like he would come out. Yeah, I remember meeting him. I can even remember like kind of the way he was dressed and everything. I remember thinking he was cool, yeah.
Speaker 5:I remember sitting on the stairs at admin and having a chat with him. Yeah, he's a good guy. Yeah, it was great for me hearing that episode too, because I lived with Chris for months years ago. He was a flatmate of mine and, yeah, it was great to live with. And obviously, yeah, through the whole amnesia thing again, hearing his story and journey and where he'd gone on, I mean I didn't really know you know anything much of him after that time, you know. So to hear all those stories was great.
Speaker 4:Yeah, for sure. Cool.
Speaker 5:And he had great stories, the elevator stories, and all of that like classic what a job.
Speaker 4:I didn't even know that was a job.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it's wild.
Speaker 4:Like when people get trapped in elevators and they ring the button. He's the guy that answers that. How?
Speaker 5:cool, is that yeah.
Speaker 4:So unique. So, unique.
Speaker 4:Anyway, I love that. The uniqueness of that. Austin McMahon, founder of Young Henrys, was the next episode. And man, again, that guy is a special human and I can see why he's so successful. When you're around him, like so sharp and so smart, it just comes out of him. But what I love about what he's doing is that he is trying to nurture he really is trying to nurture culture. He's put his money where his mouth is. He sponsors and has kept some people he's kept their skate careers going by sponsoring them through that company and his whole focus is to be is to create live events, you know, and I think that's really special. But also the beer brewing process of making it environmentally friendly and converting the byproducts that would be pollutants into like oxygen and upcycling the byproducts.
Speaker 6:Wow.
Speaker 4:It was super interesting. Yeah, so usually when you brew beer, the byproduct is carbon dioxide, but through working with Sydney University, they've worked out a way to capture the carbon dioxide I'm getting this wrong, so listen to the episode and upcycle it, and so then the byproduct is oxygen, upcycle it, and so then the byproduct is oxygen, but then they're using that byproduct, as that can be used as, like, a cow feed or something. Again, I'm sorry, I'm just losing it. It's kind of technical. Go and listen to it for a better description sounds amazing.
Speaker 4:That's really cool, that is interesting, yeah, but that day I remember we had some tech problems at the studio and the guy just a busy man sat there for an hour while we're getting things sorted and just, yeah, just patient, kind, tolerant. And again I can see why he's so successful because he puts people before profits and that is really obvious. You know, they've got a huge staff of people who I think virtually no one's left the company since they started and things like that. So it's pretty cool. I think he's a good message for budding entrepreneurs as well. And obviously started as a skateboarder in Newtown you know, skating in Newtown and Steve Tierney used to remember him and skate with him and then went on to be a rock band lead singer, Heard of the what are they called? I'm having a mental break. Hell City Glamours, oh yeah.
Speaker 6:Lead singer, lead singer of Hell City Glamours. I knew that guy, moe, that was in that band. Yeah, yeah Cool.
Speaker 4:George Richards. Another good episode. Young dude just on top of his game right now.
Speaker 6:Yeah, killing it Not related to Mark Richards. I asked that question I know Young dude just on top of his game, right now, eh yeah, killing it.
Speaker 4:Not related to Mark Richards, though. I asked that question. I know that's why I said it. I just feel like anyone with the name Richards in Newcastle must be related.
Speaker 5:Maybe if you go a ways back, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 4:I even asked John Bogarts if him and Mark Cossatini if they knew Mark Richards, and they said no. I'm like, is Mark Richards like a mythical creature up here?
Speaker 6:No, I mean we could probably go down to Merriweather Beach and just like spy on his house or something and you'd see him. I mean he's around. I've seen him at Coles before.
Speaker 4:Really yeah. You know what I've seen in terms of pro surfers. I've seen Matt Hoy at Audi. I was like, oh, that's Matt. Hoy, if you know anything about surfing.
Speaker 6:I mean, I know who he is, but I don't. I wouldn't recognize him. But mark richards used to like. I mean richards. Before there was a skate shop in newcastle, richards was the skate shop I heard, I know and so mark richards would like grip your board for you if you're lazy really and he advocated he's a bar, beach ball.
Speaker 4:No, he did?
Speaker 6:he definitely did. Yeah, he was definitely he was. I was at those meetings trying to get it across the line with Bogarts Were you there?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I used to go to those meetings. I didn't realize there was so much opposition by political parties.
Speaker 6:Oh my God, there were people wearing shirts that said Save Empire Park the same people whose kids are now like skating that park.
Speaker 5:That's an age-old story now.
Speaker 6:And the people that local businesses didn't want it. People didn't understand the size of it either. It takes up less space than a tennis court or a basketball court Guys that were in my year at school, like when this and this is a long time ago, I mean, the park was, what was it? 2008 or something? 2009,.
Speaker 5:One more going thing probably yeah, 9, 10, yeah.
Speaker 6:Yeah, is when it finally opened. But the pushback, like I mean, there were guys so I was in my late 20s at the time and there was guys that I'd gone to school with that were saying they wanted the money to go towards bat ball courts instead of the like just young conservatives and stuff that didn't want it.
Speaker 4:You know there's a bat ball court that's down there. That is so popular there's a lineup to use that.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And it's just a brick wall and a bit of concrete.
Speaker 6:Good on them. I'm not taking away from them but I just mean there's just this thing that's anti.
Speaker 6:I mean there were people talking about it was going to bring intravenous drug users. One of the last council meetings it was at City Hall and I think John was there bogus, I know pat burgess was there, but I remember um, an old man stood up and and said that he was concerned that people were going to catch the train from sesnok to bar beach to use intravenous drugs in the bowl. It's just like nonsense. I mean there's no train line from sesnok to bar beach. It doesn't exist like it's just made up like why sesnok?
Speaker 6:and also, like I just said, do you know anyone that's ever used intravenous drugs? I do. No one's catching a train for an hour after buying them to go and use them you just use them where you get them Like it's not you know what I mean You're tripping.
Speaker 5:That's a classic one that's been used at many skate park inceptions.
Speaker 4:They're going to do drugs and they're going to be layabouts and louts and there are going to be layabouts and louts, but again, is this where the Olympics has helped? Probably yes. Those mainstream weird, those people who are just so removed from it, from the culture is Olympics going to be the thing that turns them and go? Oh, maybe they're not going to use intravenous drugs in the bowl.
Speaker 6:I'm sure it's high. How's the experience with that?
Speaker 5:yeah, with I, I think so, and that's based on no empirical evidence, but it can't not help the undercurrent, subconscious, undercurrent of the lay person to be like it's. It's an acceptable thing, basically. So I won't be vocal against a skate park because it's a mainstream activity that anyone does yeah, and my friend's grandkids now do it, and blah, blah, blah, or my grandkids now do it, you know. So I think it's definitely helped in just the general social vernacular for people to just be like oh yeah, like whatevs? As opposed to actually against it.
Speaker 4:Vernacular is a rad word, by the way.
Speaker 5:It is.
Speaker 4:Thanks for using it.
Speaker 6:I work in a library and I can definitely say that when SLAM comes in to go, you know we keep SLAM in our collection and when I'm talking to people I work with and they find out that I write for slam, they'll be like oh, the first thing they'll ask is like oh, did you get to write about the Olympics or something Interesting? You know that's that's the first place, cause that could be the biggest in their mind. That would be the not everybody I don't mean everybody says that, but I've been asked more than once. Yeah, and that would be like the ultimate goal to them.
Speaker 5:Like because that would be the pinnacle of sport.
Speaker 6:Yeah, so that that's their way. And then they're not being narrow-minded when they say that, they're just being. They're trying to find a common ground with me it's a catalyst magazine. I watch skateboarding, the olympics that's my common ground with this person to talk about and I mean so, yeah, definitely, yeah, you definitely. Yeah, you're right, it's this catalyst and it well, no, I mean, marley Ray tried out for the Olympics, but he wasn't in the Olympics.
Speaker 4:He was on the B, he started to and then he just sort of went.
Speaker 6:Ah, you know what, I'm not feeling it he interviewed Jed a couple of years back and Jed wasn't in the Olympics. No, he wasn't. No. So I don't think I've interviewed anybody that was in the Olympics? I don't think so.
Speaker 4:Kieran Woolley.
Speaker 6:No, no, I didn't interview Kieran.
Speaker 4:Slim have done numerous articles on Kieran.
Speaker 6:Haven't they yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think in an article on the issue that's coming out.
Speaker 4:I mention Arisa True in a comparison but I don't think I've ever trying to connect with me after the Olympics and it was really interesting because they were like, hey, shannon, I watched the skateboarding in the Olympics and every time it was followed with, but it was just shit. They just kept falling off, you know, and I'm like I mean I watched it and especially like one of them goes, oh, the men's street. That was just shit, they just fell off every time. I'm like that skateboarding was mind-blowing.
Speaker 4:Those guys barely fell off. You know I'm like, and then it was just like okay, well, here's the next thing trying to explain to people that they fall off. It's so hard. You know what I mean? Like it's not gymnastics. Where they're falling is I don't know.
Speaker 6:It's not equestrian where you're in a special outfit, like trotting around on a horse and going over a couple of logs.
Speaker 6:Help me Give me a response to them. What would you say? I mean, there's so many contributing factors and variables in skateboarding in general, let alone when you're, like, under pressure of a competition. I mean, it's not just your body doing it. There's this thing that almost has a well, it's an inanimate object, or it's animated when you make it, but that's, you know, kind of attached to you. It's not like you know what I mean. There's so many variables. I mean, ty, you've been in lots of skateboarding competitions and stuff like that.
Speaker 5:What would you say there's definitely elements of that. I mean, in a sense, to play devil's advocate was something you just said about the equestrian. You actually are trying to control another animal and that's actually quite amazing to do that and for them to do the showjumping. So yeah, there's that.
Speaker 4:But maybe in the early days of the equestrian they were falling off, so maybe yeah maybe yeah, that's true, but maybe in the early days of the equestrian, they were falling off. So maybe, yeah, maybe, yeah, that's true, maybe in when? How?
Speaker 5:long has equestrian been in the Olympics? 50 years? I have no idea. No, I don't even know.
Speaker 6:Same thing. I think you're asking the wrong people. Okay, jamie.
Speaker 5:But it's skating. I guess there is super intricacies with skating. There's flips, rails, ledges, gaps, there's all these different little nuances and I guess that adds to the whole thing. Maybe if you literally just had one obstacle being used, you might see more makes being done. But there's so much sort of going on, particularly obviously in the run section, so you've got that's a whole. Yeah. I mean it could be broken down in lots of ways.
Speaker 5:One thing I did sort of think which they could have perhaps maybe garnered more positivity and ongoing interest was they maybe should have had the park first instead of the street so people could have watched the park, because, generally speaking, people are making runs more and it's not just a, and because in the street you've also just got the single trick thing and there's a lot of bails.
Speaker 5:In that, obviously people are trying specifically very difficult technical stuff, but in the park it's about runs and a lot of people were making stuff. So if you've had that, got a bit of the wow factor, you've got the speed you know, high flying and all of that, and so if people have watched that first, they might have well at least been a bit more, a bit wowed by it and by the high flying speed element and as well, generally speaking, more stuff being made. So they could have appreciated that side of it and then it might have given them a bit more understanding to then go and watch the street and be like, oh well, we know that skateboarding is good and got that part of it, and then the street just shows this other whole aspect of it.
Speaker 6:That's a really good observation actually. Yeah, it reminds me. Do you remember that old vert skaters joke, the one that was like how many street skaters does it take to change a light bulb? No, Just one. But it'll take him, 60 goes. Did you like that joke back in the day?
Speaker 5:No, just one, but it'll take him 60 goes. Yeah, did you like that joke? It's great stuff, definitely.
Speaker 4:But I get, you're not a bird skater, though You're a street skater. Whatever, he's a skateboarder. He started as a street skater. Maybe he's a skateboarder.
Speaker 5:I love Slalom and Luge as well, do you really? It's not something I've ever done? I did do Slalom once.
Speaker 6:We need more watercrops. Yeah, I'd like to go. Gravel Burns used to do Slalom. I'd like to go and do it. Sorry, Tom.
Speaker 5:I get now, though, why skateboarding wasn't introduced to the Olympics a lot earlier? Because it really wasn't at the stage where people were making enough. I mean, you know, video grabs in magazines in the 90s really spelled that out for technical skating, definitely. You know so, even though it had that it is a demonstration sport model in the 96 Atlanta Olympics, with the X ramp kind of thing, and they were like, oh, this is what it could be, which, in reality, is probably more sort of a setup that they could use and that sort of morphed into the park stuff. Realistically, you know, but you, particularly in hindsight, 2020 vision you get to see that your street skating was not up to the par. Yeah to now. I mean, they like that's it. They are falling a lot now, but they're trying really hard tricks, but they're also making a lot of really hard tricks you know now as well, there's a lot going down.
Speaker 6:When, realistically, someone just Smith grinding or lip sliding one of those rails that's like one of the big rails that's in the street section.
Speaker 6:they do that every go and during the time period Ty's talking about that wasn't a reality for 99.9 percent of you know professional street skaters you know what I mean like there's things that are in, say jamie thomas's part and welcome to hell, or you can go back a couple years before that and pat duffy's part in questionable where what were considered big rails and obviously some of those are still really big and gnarly, but those those guys and girls that are at the Olympics would just like do some of those more simple. When I say simple, I mean just like the straightforward tricks out of flip in or flip out. But Smith grinding and loop sliding big rails like that would just be nothing to them as far as the athleticism goes now.
Speaker 5:Like they just do that warming up?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I know it's almost depressing how easy they make that stuff, but I'm loving the diversity in skate events nowadays. So, like Olympics is just one aspect of the diversity. You know, I love all these other, like all the jam stuff that's occurring. You know, like there is obviously in Australia we have the Belco Bowl Jam and then we also overseas, I mean recently. Is it the independent Hell Ride thing where they do that hillbomb in the ditch? Yeah, yeah, I mean, is it the independent Hellride?
Speaker 5:thing where they do that hillbomb in the ditch yeah, is that one in Finland?
Speaker 4:is it Another jam style thing where they go down some hill in the park? What's that one called Helsinki?
Speaker 6:It's in Helsinki. Oh yeah, and that was quite recent, right, and it showed all the crashes, yeah, helsinki.
Speaker 4:Hellride.
Speaker 5:Helsinki.
Speaker 4:Hellride and then part of that they set up like a ledge across a little river thing and it's cool. And then recently Ty, I know you went down to this was the Bunt Jam down in Melbourne, which is something that's been happening in America for a while, where they have a three-on-three basketball comp and then also the jam format with the barn and they had like a high-oil comp over there, yeah, the AFL post set up.
Speaker 4:I just think that stuff I mean for me. I just love how there's all that stuff happening more and more. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5:And in like, particularly before I even went down, someone was like, oh, the Bunt Jam guys will probably have like an AFL bar set up for the sort of Oli thing. And I was like, oh yeah, probably. And then that's what they had. Did they have inside knowledge? I don't know. But I was like I mean, it sort of makes sense, but that was kind of cool to just integrate other, you know active sports lifestyles into that, you know cultural stuff for Melbourne, particularly so it was super appropriate and they incorporated that in there, and then basketball as well.
Speaker 5:So it's like it's kind of like skateboarding and all these different ways that people are professional skateboarders, you know. There's just all these different avenues and skateboarders are interested in lots of different things as well. Yeah, absolutely, and it just opens up that whole world and it was really busy. The three-on-three basketball day one. That was reasonably busy and there were definitely people there for it. But the actual Buncham itself, like my goodness, it was super busy, like with the barn thing and the AFL post and then that hardcore band Speed, and a lot of people said that that was a lot of the crowd because it was the first time they'd played in Melbourne for ages and it was a free gig kind of thing. But it was super busy and it was just a good, I guess, cultural experience and good time. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 4:Did you watch the basketball?
Speaker 5:I did watch the basketball, most of it. Didn't watch all of it, but it was just entertaining. It was.
Speaker 4:It was funny To see people who aren't touting themselves as pro basketballers competing. That would have been fun to see the amateur sort of approach to it, but then there'd be some skaters that are really good at basketball.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, there were for sure. There was some good shots. And to see Gary Rogers get the out-of-bounds like shot for I don't know a grand or a couple of grand or something, people were trying it for a while and Gary just was like boom, this is Gary from Skateline and it was a big shot and I was like wow, that was pretty impressive and he got it like super quick and I'm like we can't give it to you straight away, but no one else could really get it. He nailed it.
Speaker 4:It was like a halfway shot.
Speaker 5:Yeah, half court shot, like a pretty much a half court shot. Yeah, I think that crew and it was just a fun thing to see. Everyone just loved it.
Speaker 6:It looked like it was really fun. Like you know, sometimes those things don't translate that well over social media and you just see the crowd, but it looked like everybody was genuinely like just going off and enjoying themselves.
Speaker 5:Like it looked like everybody was really getting behind everybody as well, which is always awesome to see hell yeah, yeah, I think many years ago it would have been harder to pull that off, but now it runs again. Because of so much stimulus out there, people are a lot more accepting of just kind of whatever these days, and so it was.
Speaker 6:It was a cool thing I had in yeah, I know I going to say remember if you're interested in anything physical outside of skateboarding. When you were a skateboarder for a long time, particularly in the 90s, it was like you were a jock. Yeah, totally right I can remember, like one of my friends, like caught me doing push-ups and was just like roasting me.
Speaker 6:I was like man, I just want to try and stay fit. Like you know, I'm not as naturally athletic as everybody else. Like I'm just trying to stay fit and it was just like kind of getting roasted for it Interesting?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I get it. That's a weird thing.
Speaker 6:But now that's just normal Like now that's totally normal.
Speaker 5:It's totally part of the culture.
Speaker 6:You know is to look after yourself to stretch. You know.
Speaker 4:Like Philippe Gustavo posts his gym workouts and stuff like that. Have you seen that?
Speaker 6:No, no, no, but I can imagine.
Speaker 4:Again, I can imagine a pro skater posting their gym workouts back then.
Speaker 6:Well, it's kind of like what we were talking about before. I can remember seeing Dustin in Surrey Hills walking along with a bottle of water and a banana coming out of, like he was doing. I'm not saying he was doing upper body stuff. He'd been on an exercise bike, probably rehabbing his knee and just like you know, I don't know him or anything, but just seeing him like walking and that at the time particularly the kind of I suppose the how he was marketed would have gone against everything that you know people would have believed about him. But also, don't you want that person to continue skateboarding for as long? If you were a huge Dustin fan, wouldn't you prefer that he went and rode an exercise bike for a couple of hours every day, got his knee fixed after the surgery and then could skate again? Of?
Speaker 4:course you would, but that water bottle had vodka in it and that place he walked out of was a gym-themed nightclub and the banana was like had been soaked in. No.
Speaker 6:I think he was probably just it looked like he just looked like a normal dude. That was he didn't have a very appropriate gym. He had like cut-off tight black jeans as shorts.
Speaker 4:But that guy paid to play. I mean, he skated so hard and the poor guy literally broke his body for skateboarding, just like Arto Sari we were talking about earlier. Vice have just put out a new documentary called Let it Kill you, which is very much in the same theme as the epically laded type five, and I think Patrick O'Dell is actually interviewed in it. He's not hosting it or anything, but yeah, again like I'm sorry, just like seven ACL reconstructions or something. And then the doctor said like you're literally done, I can't fix it anymore. You know what I mean. So just like you're literally done I can't fix it anymore.
Speaker 4:You know what I mean. So just again like this, is how much people love skateboarding, like you know. You can never doubt how much Dustin loves skateboarding, really, you know, and same with Ato, and that just inspires me, like people just go all in on their love and their passion to really any cost. You know. So it's pretty cool.
Speaker 6:Well, todd, I can ask you so, say during the juice period and stuff like that, when that period where I suppose Australian Skateboard it was really like levelling up, I suppose in the streets, who were the people that you were seeing, especially when you were making those videos and stuff, putting their body on the line like the most, like early? As far as going that extra little bit as the physical side of it.
Speaker 4:I can't wait to hear this.
Speaker 5:You mean like training stuff? No, no, no, or actual skating.
Speaker 6:Actually, yeah, actual skating, as far as, like, the potential to get hurt now has gone, has taken the notches, like taken another notch.
Speaker 5:So Devo was definitely there. He did some pretty big gap stuff.
Speaker 6:I mean, he was the first to the rocks rail you know which is pretty death gap, one of my favorite photos ever so good, yeah, really good one, um, and the museum gap was a huge one as well.
Speaker 5:Yeah, death run out on that amazing um phil mackie not that I saw him doing much stuff, but he was. He was really pushing the boundaries.
Speaker 6:First to kickflip into the pit. Is that true? I thought it was Shane Wallace.
Speaker 5:Phil, I don't know, shane.
Speaker 4:Wallace pop shoved it into it first. Yeah, no, I think I don't know. Was it Phil Mackie, I think?
Speaker 6:Phil Mackie, maybe because I know he did it the day that, like Durdek and Santos, were there. That. I think he kicked it into it before Dode.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me, because I know, I think he kick-flipped this pretty big gap out north shore or northwest somewhere in the hills Kick-flip that Chatswood 10 pretty early as well.
Speaker 5:Yeah yeah, so him and Alex Smith was pushing some stuff and then he had the trade flip cover into the pit on slam, there you go, great stuff. So Alex was doing some pretty hectic stuff. Who else I mean Sid was trying like years before that. That's how he broke himself doing a pretty big gap. You know, before that stuff was really being prominent in really early 90s, maybe even late 80s, when he did that or something. You know, right, okay.
Speaker 6:Like Frankie Hill style kind of.
Speaker 5:Yeah, kind of yeah yeah, probably inspired by that. Yeah, skunk would have been doing some hectic stuff a little bit later, but not too much. Like Chris Holland was doing some big stuff, like he did that. The north sydney 16 backside 50 and again, to my understanding that was the biggest rail done in australia at the time.
Speaker 4:That blew my mind as well to this day. When I seen that footage I just was like that's amazing. And so just like who I would just never expect from him. I was like who's? That surfer? You know, that was my initial impression. Who's that surfer doing that?
Speaker 6:And it's still big for now kind of, and that rail is hectic, like proper hectic. And what about on vert?
Speaker 5:Well, Chris was amazing at vert. That was my first inception. Like watching him at multiple ramps. He was amazing, he was really stepping it up. But Luxford, Adam Luxford, was big on the scene, big big airs. Mulhall as well yeah, all sorts.
Speaker 6:They were both going really high, though, yeah they were both going really big.
Speaker 5:Chris was going really big as well. Chris Holland was going really big at the time. Chris was going really big as well. Chris Holland was going really big at the time.
Speaker 4:He was definitely inspired by Hosoi and Magnusson and stuff.
Speaker 5:Spin. Jake Brown. Yeah, then, sort of following on from that, yeah, it would have been Spin. Yeah, dave Bodnar, jake Brown, like, definitely those guys. Looking back at my old, my first video that I made skateboard hit or whatever, looking back at the jake footage in that, like I didn't think, like you know, jason ellis had a bigger name at the time. Ultimately mulhall had a bigger name at the time, but watching jake's footage was just again was like wow, he was probably still had the best vert footage in that video. You know just style and tricks and everything. It's just amazing. You know how well he he developed through all that time. Um, and then you know, pretty much at that same time Tass and Ben were coming through. They were doing all you know, nollie, flip tricks on vert, vert, as well as Tuss going big backside, revert stuff. And Ellis, of course he was pushing in his own way, not quite as didn't quite have the finesse that the other guys did, but still was throwing down stuff as well.
Speaker 6:Were there people coming to say Mona Bale and stuff during that dead period where there weren't a lot of vert ramps around. Were like, uh, would like say, if they were in new south wales, would you see a lot of the melbourne heads come up like, would they skate places like monobail and stuff as well?
Speaker 5:um yeah, it was mona and fairfield I guess. Um, mona would have had the steel surface but you didn't. It was hard to always like align sessions. You know we're only going once a week or whatever, maybe a couple of times, but yeah, and then it. Yeah, probably Mona would have been the main spot and I'm sure everyone was sort of travelling around a bit like pretty much. But I think Tuss, ben and Jason were pretty much mostly in the States. By that stage, by that stage like doing that for sure.
Speaker 7:Sorry to get you sidetracked there. No, it's great Just having Ty captive here.
Speaker 4:I love it I love it and like we haven't, you know great, having talked, we didn't tap into that when we did our episode.
Speaker 6:I want to ask him about a loom. A loom, it was like an offshoot of Juice.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it was just to.
Speaker 4:Was it like the athletic division? No, no, no. Juice was more the athletic division.
Speaker 5:Juice and Matic was sort of that athletic sort of DC.
Speaker 7:More I wouldn't even say jockey side Bit of mesh, Bit of mesh that whole thing.
Speaker 5:But a loom was meant to be the more fine-tuned, nicer sort of stuff and that was basically for davo to have his own brand, because he had done x amount for juice and then juice was growing and to create a more niche thing for davo.
Speaker 6:I mean I love them both running I don't really run in juice pants for a long time in high school.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, the cargoes, or the more the sporty ones I had cargo pants.
Speaker 6:But I had these sporty ones that were like dark green and they had a cargo pocket on one side and then half of it was like this plastic mesh and they had like a drawstring like that. I never did up, but they did have drawstrings around the bottom of the pants.
Speaker 4:Man, I did probably some of the best skating in my life in those pants, that's right, because you're just that age, you know, like you're young and it's funny because, like there's nothing worse than a pair of pants, that when you go to jump they grip on your thighs, you know.
Speaker 6:No, these did not do that. They don't flex. These were like the best.
Speaker 4:They moved you there Because I was watching Elijah Burr His part just came out for vans, you know everyone's putting their sody parts out at the moment. Yeah, it's insane. And also they bought the music rights from metallica's seek and destroy, by the way, for this, which was sick. But he did a thrasher like my war type thing on this 50 50 rail.
Speaker 6:He did in sf in china town right did you see it?
Speaker 5:and he had a pair of pants, but he couldn't, he couldn't like, extend his thighs up enough yeah change pants with the filmer so to all you clothing manufacturers for skateboarders, don't be that brand well, juice was like one of the first brands, australian brands, to do baggy clothing like we do all the get into the skate fashion as such at the time and really push that here. So, yeah, they were pretty conscious of all of that stuff, I guess. I mean, it was also sort of, you know, not to whatever, but fly by the seat of their pants. They were just like doing all this stuff, you know, and some of it worked sort of, some of it didn't.
Speaker 6:I feel like it was pretty progressive as far as that goes, like there were things that it was kind of, I suppose it was like on par with something like Alphanumeric in the States as far as the kind of gear that they were making, but it was like here yeah yeah.
Speaker 4:Which is pretty well. That was a sick brand, alphanumeric, yeah.
Speaker 6:But Juice had the team.
Speaker 5:yeah, yeah that is right, I'm a.
Speaker 6:Devo fan. So that's you know. I was like always.
Speaker 5:It's of my favorite skaters, so the juice was well. The alum thing was good too, like sid tapie was on alum, yeah, as well. Kyle musky, who was incredible, like for sure. Another one injuries took him out early, you know, unfortunately, um, I think yoshi was on there yeah yeah because he had that, he had that or two.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, yeah so that was you know, that was, that was the new gen being led by kind of Davo you know what I mean, and he was a bit of the figurehead, been around for a while and then him and sort of Sid at the top and then the younger crew coming through with that, so that was creating a differentiation in the company. You know what I mean to bring some breathe, some new life into the whole thing and add a new vibe into the scene as well, because it was really nice stuff, you know.
Speaker 6:Yeah, and the ads were all really clean and like yeah, I can really picture them right now.
Speaker 5:Did that just end when he moved to Japan or oh, I think it just sort of ended, because that's just when it all started ending basically, street, quote-unquote street fashion came in like 55 diesel, all that sort of stuff, and it just kind of came and took over the skate fashion. For a while, you know, skate shoes kind of ended, white sole shoes kind of ended at that stage for a few years, you know, and that's just. And the markets killed, it Just ran its course, that whole story yeah.
Speaker 4:It's funny. If you go to Indonesia now Bali you'll see juice jumpers.
Speaker 5:Oh, I've had that discussion, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:And like it's funny, you'll see, like old Balinese grandmothers like selling petrol or whatever and they've got a juice shirt on and stuff. It's such a joy.
Speaker 6:Wait, is a new old stock or is it like?
Speaker 5:No no, no, no, he licensed it over there. You can look on Insta. They've got an Insta page for Juice Clothing and it's in Indo and some of it's pretty entertaining looking at that page.
Speaker 4:I have to say yeah, because it's not bootleg right.
Speaker 5:No, it's not bootleg, no but they make it all originally over there and when I went over there several years ago I bought a few. They had a great shirt actually T-shirt print which was like a round screen print of Belko Bowl with the J logo over the top. I was like that is just classic. I've got that at home. Still I just can't bring myself to throw it out. I was like that is just amazing, I can't believe it.
Speaker 4:I'd love to speak to the graphic designer who put that together.
Speaker 6:I don't know, have you seen? Because I have? Have you ever come? It's funny. And I've seen other retro like well, they're not retro brands, but on retro kind of like reseller, like websites, like when people are selling vintage things in like on Depop or Instagram and stuff. I've seen juice things before and it makes me feel old because like Like OG, yeah, OG stuff. And you're like what? Why is that? That's not vintage and you're like yeah, it is.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it is, it is vintage.
Speaker 6:But it just makes you feel old when the things that you think are like, you're like yeah it is 1995, that was 30 years ago.
Speaker 5:You know like yeah, great.
Speaker 4:Good times.
Speaker 4:Yeah, let's get so. We'll sort of move through a bit quicker. Simon Boglow, lead designer of Convict Skateparks, episode 237. I love that episode. I love Simon. He flew up from Melbourne, convict flew him up for the episode.
Speaker 4:The production's great and we get all the good skateparks around Sydney. We get the visuals and the man behind them all and it just breaks it down and the process that goes into creating these masterpieces that we get to enjoy now. There's so much to it, so lots of education in that episode, I think. And also thanks to Convict because they're sponsoring the next episode I'm recording on Saturday with the pro skater for Santa Cruz, rob Pace. So have a look out for that one. It's a very interesting backstory to the Rob Pace episode. Have a look out for that one. It's a very interesting backstory to the Rob Pace episode and all I'm going to say is that I'm a huge fan of Rob Pace and Brendan Gardol, who he's the filmer for Rob for most of his recent video parts and even the start of Rob's career.
Speaker 4:We had already recorded an episode for video production and we lost the episode. The production team had a hard drive crash and it got lost and, to Brendan and Rob's credit. They are just the best dudes ever. They just didn't complain, sucked it up. Yep, no worries, shannon, we'll do it again. So shout out to those boys. Epic. Like I said, we're recording this episode before that recording, so you know you'll be listening to this after we've already I'll put that episode out there. But we watch all the videos of rob's gnarliest handrails, uh, and all these some of his best skate tricks and from his best video parts. And just to hear him talk about some of the gnarly rails he did, like the the three gap rail he did in America, did you see the Thrash of my War? And that big gnarly Smith grinder around that long bend rail which literally would be like I don't know 50 metres long? I don't know how long that thing is, jim, did you see?
Speaker 6:it. Yeah, I've seen it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I don't know if that's a bad estimate, but the guy's insane. I think he may be one of the best handrail skaters Australia has ever produced.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think that's all For sure. Possibly I mean he's up there with the world has ever produced as far as like the length and height and stuff, like I mean he definitely he's a rail chomper for sure. I wonder, though, sorry that I keep sidetracking everybody.
Speaker 7:You guys probably want to go to sleep, or something no, if you're skating, say that 50 meter rail, for example.
Speaker 6:I know it's not 50 meters, but it's something it's probably close right say 20 attempts. Even if he does it, say if he has five, goes as it until he does it. That's like the equivalent of like the punishment my trucks would take in like a year in one session. Is he grinding to like the axle, like I know they're round bars and they're smooth and stuff. It's not like skating like a ledger code.
Speaker 6:Yeah, but surely he's grinding Like his grooves in his trucks would be insane Like have you, Smith, grown a feeble grind something and you're that locked in, as that long he's on a metal rail though.
Speaker 4:He's so locked in and he's going fast, fast. Did it heat up? Yeah, that's a good point. Like we should, I'll ask him. Ask him, yeah, good question. Any other questions for him I'll get prepared.
Speaker 4:But I think the thing that sticks out with me like he's fairly young, he's really on the top of his game, just turned pro for santa cruz, but I it's very like he's just got his head screwed on. Like he's so focused and driven. Like the day we recorded the, the lost podcast, he got up at 6 am in the Central Coast, drove to Sydney, was in King's Cross by 8 am or 8.30, spent two hours fixing a spot with his filmer, brendan, and then an hour trying the spot because he's filming a part for Volcom at the moment. Did that, you know, probably broke himself a few times because it's gnarly I've seen the footage and then came to the podcast and did it and then drove back to the Central Coast.
Speaker 4:Like his work ethic is like unparalleled and there's a reason he's successful in what he's doing at the moment. He's obviously got he's one of those guys who has that, obviously has that rare talent that we see over the years, but I don't know like it's also coupled with an insane work ethic and fearless, just fearless, like his thrasher cover. Did you see that? Yeah, like 50-50 down a rail and then it drops to a really steep rail and then he drops into backside, smith down it.
Speaker 4:It's pretty ballsy, I know.
Speaker 5:Definitely.
Speaker 4:So Simon Bogglo excellent episode. Next one, Adrian Errol Jones. Now, this one has meant a lot to a lot of people and the love that came out of it Shout out to Ty. Carling made the connection lined up, Adrian for that one, and I feel like we did something special there. What do you reckon, Ty?
Speaker 5:Oh, 100%. I was hoping you'd obviously bring that episode up. That was. You know, there was a bit of hesitation on AJ's part before it because he had some other encounters with people wanting to do things with him which he wasn't that stoked on. But Johnny Gray definitely shout-outs to Johnny Gray there, because once Johnny had done his episode I was like can't Johnny always get AJ on?
Speaker 5:He's like, mate, no, he's on. And he said yeah, I called him and give it to him. I told him, mate, he's got to do it. And then he changed his tune and he came on graciously. It took a while to get that one lined up time-wise but it happened and it was really cool to do that and get AJ's story and, like I said, you know one of the first pro boards that I saw of an Australian as a kid not knowing who he was, and then getting to skate with him over the years and know him and then hear his actual stories, because you don't really talk to people much about their history when you're skating or whatever you know. So to hear all those stories from him and get that engagement was really cool. It was an honour, for sure.
Speaker 4:You know and to be given the Jay Adams Award by Z-Town.
Speaker 5:By Pat Noho. Pat Noho.
Speaker 4:I mean, when he brought that deck out and explained the situation to us, it just made me so proud of Australian skateboarding and how deep the history is now and I think what I've learnt this year after having some people like Johnny Gray and Adrian, but even in the past like Mick Mulhall as well, you know, we need to know where we've been, to help us guide where we're going as a culture as well, and I didn't realize how many people are really crying out to hear the stories of these guys.
Speaker 4:You know, and for me, like I know, you were close to John Finlay. I had my experiences with John Finlay and I knew him and I remember he actually put me up on his lounge once with him and Wayne Taylor. When I broke up with a girlfriend and I slept on that lounge in Bondi, john Finlay was the first to go hey, just come and stay in our lounge. I had nowhere to live at the time and to hear what's emerged is more stories about Finn as well, because there hasn't been a lot of public talk about it, about his life and how influential he was, like it just feels really special and quite honouring to his legacy.
Speaker 5:For sure, for sure, and I think it's just on that sort of history kind of side of things and it's what I've told myself and I sort of forget philosophical with people recently. It's like without, if we didn't actually have memory and know history, we wouldn't be in any place where we are, not just in skateboarding, like with anything. If we didn't have a memory, we wouldn't have technology, we wouldn't know anything. So we need memory. Therefore, basically, we need history to learn what didn't work yesterday for that car? Well, that didn't. So we learn from our trial and error, you know. So we need history to learn from. And that wasn't such a prominent thought in my head, you know, years ago, in my 20s or whenever it didn't really, oh yeah, stuff happened and here we are, you know, but it's a really pertinent thing. And so I think having these historical, you know, but it's a really pertinent thing, and so I think having these historical, you know, stories and stuff is an important part, not just for skate culture but for, you know, human culture.
Speaker 6:Yes, definitely, definitely. And you get these detractors. You know, you get the. I love that. You just said that, because you get these detractors that say things like well, if they didn't do it, somebody else would have, but they didn't. And that's the key bit is that they didn't. Somebody else took the initiative and did it first and made the mistakes first. So, exactly what Ty said they made those mistakes so that we can learn from them, and we know that they learned from them, because we've recorded our history, whether it's orally, whether it's written down, whether it's now through video, all these things. But people will still detract.
Speaker 4:But also sorry to jump in, but I also think young crew have a story to tell as well, and we can't forget that. Oh, of course, you know, but what I'm finding is young crew feel like that they need to generate more of a story, but they still can tell us where they're at and where they got to now. Oh, of course, if you're 25 years old, you've still got 25 years of life experiences that are going to be important to a 10-year-old to hear, or a 15-year-old to hear. So, yeah, I just wanted to add that.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and it was just a funny little anecdote from today, doing coaching session with Taj and Harvey and Eddie. So Taj and Harvey and Eddie, I was over at the bushes next to their private like Harvey and Nuts ramp. They've got a ramp in the boneyard out west of Newcastle and there was this little bluey purpley berry there and I took it over to Mark Harvey Campbell's dad and I was like you know what this is like? No, I'm not sure he's like are you going to eat it or don't eat it? And it was like, oh, and we sort of had a quick discussion about what it took.
Speaker 5:You know, if you're back in tribal Indigenous days, who was experimenting, you know, and it'd be like I guess one guy would eat like some of that fruit or berry or whatever, and then the other guy would eat that and whoever didn't get sick, well, that's the one we ate and they don't, you know, don't eat the one the guys got sick from. Like that trial and error of even just survival is just an amazing thing that we've obviously had to adapt with over millennia. So history, memory is a super important thing for survival and progress.
Speaker 6:And we take it for granted.
Speaker 5:And we take it for granted exactly.
Speaker 4:And again, I think you're a purveyor of history, Jim, in a lot of ways, especially within this subculture.
Speaker 6:I just wanted to thank both of you for that Errol episode. Adrian, I reach out to him on Facebook sometimes, sometimes hope I'm not a pest and like, ask him obscure questions. He always answers. He's just like such a lovely person. We've never met in person but we have this. Like you know, I asked him a question for an article I was writing for slam recently and he just gives such amazing in-depth um answers.
Speaker 6:And it's so amazing to I mean because skateboarding is not that old of a sport comparatively to other sports. You know, and I have to apologize for putting shade on equestrian before. This is a bad example but, like you know, it's such a young sport. We're really lucky that people like Adrian Jones, wedge, francis, these people are still like amongst us. You know what I mean.
Speaker 6:John McGrath, like all these people that were like in Australia, like the founding fathers of you know, yeah, there was some also amazing women too, like Lynette Gross was like one like the world, like she was from like South Australia in 1976. She went to America and won, like the international freestyle, like skateboarding, championships. As a woman like people don't even know she's passed away, but you know like she then went on to become a skiing champion, but if it wasn't for, like, whatever illness she had, she'd still be alive too. And it's like there's all these really powerful figures in Australian skateboarding. We're just really lucky that like there's not. You know, like if you wanted to contact, you know, one of the most famous Australian boxers of all time well, it was probably Les Darcy or something. They've been dead for 100 years, you know, but I can contact. I can literally just be like oh fuck, I want to ask Adrian Jones a question.
Speaker 6:I can get this amazing messaging thing up on a screen and be like one of my heroes ask him like the most obscure question turn my computer off, go and hang out with my kid or go and do whatever. Come back and, like one of my heroes has answered this question. He's like that's crazy, that's insane, I know, and like for the history, like we're so like, and then also to like the fact that you guys can just go and not even find him, because I know you know him but just have him and just talk to him and have him there.
Speaker 6:I mean we're in a very unique historical period of our sport, or our past, or whatever you want to call it. And documenting it To have these people and it's not like they're 90 and can't remember anything. They're still skateboarding, do you know what I mean? And they're still contributing and they're still of sound mind because they're not that old to actually tell us exactly what was happening, where and when. That's pretty.
Speaker 4:There's not many subcultures that still have that like right there and accessible you know it's pretty, yeah, pretty impressive, and then, and let's face it, then those legends aren't getting any younger and they are going to stop you, you know, dropping off. You know so, like we all are, you know.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4:So, it's like yeah, like I'm feeling more of a sense of like urgency, yeah, yeah, yeah. To tap into their knowledge base and they've got a lot to share, like all elderly in our society do. But I don't think enough people are tapping into the elderly and their experience.
Speaker 6:No, yeah, yeah, of course you know they're really not.
Speaker 4:They're just dismissing the elderly.
Speaker 6:Well, hang on. I went skating with you today, though. Zing Sorry.
Speaker 4:That's good. I actually deserve that. I did, I did, I did. I was actually feeling bad. I feel like I yelled at you when we were talking about the mining companies what I the mining companies. I was feeling bad the whole podcast.
Speaker 6:You were the one talking about mollycoddling before. I'm not easily offended and we're allowed to have an adult conversation.
Speaker 4:No, I know, I know, don't overthink it. I love you, don't overthink it.
Speaker 6:Anyway, thanks guys for making the Adrian episode Thanks, absolutely stoked.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I did do a backside Smith still on that little thing today, but anyway, I'm not that old he did.
Speaker 4:He did, anyway, I don't want to talk about it. Okay, it's not about me, but you know what it is. Listen, ty Nielsen was the next episode. Owner of Amigo Skate Shop Mate. I love that episode. For some reason I started asking him about when he lost his virginity. It got super funny and weird, but that guy rules man. And also there's a real sincerity to Ty Nielsen man, like he's a people person and he loves people and he really cares for people.
Speaker 6:And he's generous.
Speaker 4:He does, he cares for people, and he'll never say it, he'll never admit it, but he genuinely cares.
Speaker 4:He does Like I went in the other day and I'll share this, but say it, he'll never admit it, but he genuinely cares, he does like. I went in the other day and I'll share this. But I've had, I've got, a skin cancer that was quite deep and had to get it cut out and there was a week of wondering whether it had spread into my lymph nodes and I just found out today that it is all clear, excellent. But I remember I thank you, uh, thank you and um. I went into ty's gauge shop just after I had the operation and I could tell he really cared for me. But he was like trying to subtly make out like he didn't care. But I know he cared.
Speaker 5:I saw him today too, went into the shop.
Speaker 4:What did he say? Did he say how's Shannon?
Speaker 5:He actually didn't.
Speaker 4:Fuck that guy man.
Speaker 2:I want to give Ty a bit of a shout Like he's also.
Speaker 6:He's actually a great skate photographer too, Is he? Yes, yeah, he plays that down, eh, Like, there was a period like and he's a great skateboarder as well and he's just really fun to be around. But I've known Ty for a really long time but he's, yeah, there was a period where he was just like taking a lot of when there wasn't maybe before Brendan Frost was around, when there was a period where there was not many like skate photographers in Newcastle. He really stepped up and he took some great shots. I mean, he still does, I think, but he's busy running the shop. But, yeah, he's had some really good, has he? Amazing, yeah, skate photos. He had a photo of Adam Tabone in Thrasher.
Speaker 4:Sick yeah, the old New England park. So Adam was in Thrasher and Ty took the photo.
Speaker 6:Yeah, and he had like yeah, I remember he took. He was also really generous with his photography. I remember when, like Lydia, simon Lydia wanted to skate this hardball years ago, like we didn't have a photographer, frosty was somewhere and just rang Ty. It was like so inconvenient for him. I think he'd been playing cricket that day. Ty is a really good cricket player. I know most people wouldn't know that he was an enigma and he was just like yeah, come pick me up. And we just like went and got him. He came out, shot this amazing photo and just like had it sorted, like edited. You know it was for one of Simon's sponsors at the time, but it was just like the turnaround was amazing and it was yeah. I don't think a lot of people know that about him because maybe he doesn't he's not braggartly, you know.
Speaker 4:No, and he generally has a skate park because he wants a hub for people to have Skate shop.
Speaker 6:What did I say? Park, skate park, damn, I must be tired. Ellermore, vale, bale Skate Park Bowl. He goes to all of them. That could be his bowl. No, really, well, he's the only one that skates there. It's a pretty rad bowl, but no one ever goes there. Ty goes there from time to time. I think we should go there one day with him. I'd love to, yeah.
Speaker 4:But he generally wants to have a place for him in those early years of his life.
Speaker 6:Well, yeah, he worked at New Escape for years.
Speaker 4:He worked at the old New Council Skate and it felt like that got lost so he wants to recreate it and you can see and everyone appreciates it. It's rad.
Speaker 5:That's where I met him, at New Escape, and he used to talk about taking photos. Yeah right, I was repping it. Because, you were repping, so. I'd talk to him for ages as you do. Yeah and yeah, and, in fairness, I sort of forgot about the photography thing because he just doesn't mention a lot of stuff. You know he's just constantly talking about whatever else you know what I mean it's not all of that, but not about sort of necessarily his own stuff.
Speaker 6:His own stuff.
Speaker 5:yeah, Just talking about just all scene stuff and all that side of things.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yep, that's a good one. And then Carrie Pogson from Omnibords. Jim, what a day that was it was a great day, so we drove from Newcastle to Ulladulla and back in the same day and I calculated with stops and stuff we did about 12 hours of driving.
Speaker 6:It would have been heaps quicker if you didn't have to piss every like 500 metres. But like it's cool. I've got a large prostate. I apologise, sorry.
Speaker 4:But look, it was a good trip. I don't think I've heard as much shit talking in a car than I did from you in one day. That's pretty good. But we talked about everything. We talked about you, life, love in one day.
Speaker 6:That's pretty good, but we talked about everything. We talked about, yeah, life love. But, carrie, we got to see the presses. I was pretty excited.
Speaker 4:How did you feel being amongst it all?
Speaker 6:Like that slam issue number 24 you were talking about before, with Alex Smith doing the 360 flip into the pit. I merely cover that. In that issue there's an interview with Carrie about how you make a skateboard and it goes through like the rudimentary processes of pressing your own board and I read that article like when I was in high school, like just front to back like 800 times. So then to go into his actual factory and see him really doing it was a bit of a spin out.
Speaker 4:That's cool and I love how he verbalized. Remember he told us the whole process from start to finish.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah, it was rad, like it was really really cool, Definitely I'm trying to make my boards last longer, now and then to see like he'd kept all his original artwork. So he had, like he had drawings that Steve Tierney had sent, like just original hand-drawn stuff that Tierney had sent him.
Speaker 6:I mean like I want this, I want this. So he had, like I saw him, like he had the colour separations for Michael McDonald's like Silver Surfer board, which was a pretty iconic board in Newcastle at the time because he was a local pro. But Steve's artwork was cool because it was hand-drawn. So Steve was doing graphic design or whatever at the time, so he was sending Carrie all that stuff. That was pretty rad, like that was yeah, it was pretty just the history of everybody.
Speaker 5:Alex was probably writing for Carrie at the time when he had that colour as well.
Speaker 6:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 5:He was definitely a pro for Omni at the time yeah, I don't know if you talked about it in the interview, but I remember, Kerry, I did talk about trying out all different things with boards and snowboards and everything. But I remember there was a period where he was making some boards with basically like kitchen benchtops as like a form of slick bottom and stuff. Yeah, he was trying all sorts of things like his slick.
Speaker 5:It was early 90s when slicks were happening and I remember that they were really heavy. It wasn't optimum at the time, but he was just, yeah, really trying to push the envelope and see what he could do with boards, you know and try different materials and see what was working or not, yeah. And I rode for Kerry for several years as well.
Speaker 6:That's what I was going to say. You rode for him, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, and the boards were amazing. You know, at the time he used the resin glues. I remember just seeing my board fly out of a bowl once, like 20, 30 feet in the air and just literally come straight down on the nose and there was the tiniest little mark on it, a blemish mark, and I just thought the board was over, you know. And then I was like good boards.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and I think they're probably like better than they've ever been.
Speaker 6:Yeah, from what it looks like yeah.
Speaker 4:Even he said he thinks they're the best they've ever been.
Speaker 6:That's right, yeah, so it's sick, good product.
Speaker 4:And again, for me, that episode reminded us that we should be supporting local business and buying Australian when we can. And yeah, okay, it may cost a little bit extra, but think about the knock-on effect of that. Like you know, it allows a business like him to support our community of skateboarders. Maybe hook some kids up, give them some free boards. So you know, when you do pay that bit extra, that's what you're actually paying for as well.
Speaker 6:But his boards are still just competitively priced with normal boards. Yeah, they are. Imports are expensive now.
Speaker 5:I think they're definitely well within range.
Speaker 4:Imports are cheaper than buying American boards, but he even said they are a slightly higher price point because otherwise he'll never survive.
Speaker 6:Oh, if you're buying like Chinese banks or something, I suppose yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:But still anyway. But regardless, like his commitment and like we noticed too and we thought about it like you know, he's really responsible for keeping Australian skateboarding alive through dark times. People forget that yeah for sure. You know, and you know, so committed to it and still going after all these years. So shout out, Kerry Box.
Speaker 6:Yeah definitely.
Speaker 4:Aaron Brown was 241 and again, tell the story about how you found the legendary Sydney photographer.
Speaker 6:Aaron Brown. Well, I don't know if I found him. I think Brendan Frost found him.
Speaker 4:Okay.
Speaker 6:Because he was like living up here. And then Brendan Frost had said he'd met this guy called Aaron Brown. When I was talking about a photographer that I liked called Aaron Brown, he said, oh yeah, I met this guy called Aaron Brown who said he used to take skate photos, and I was like what? I mean, it has to be the same person.
Speaker 6:And then one day he just came into the bookshop that I was working at at the time and he had a photo book that he made not skate related and it said Aaron Brown at the bottom of it. And he was like, oh, um, yeah, I was just wondering if you're interested in stocking my book. And in front of like a whole packed shop I said, oh, are you? You're not aaron brown, the famous skate photographer? Aaron brown, are you? And uh, kind of everyone in this this sounds weird, but everyone it's not a very big shop everyone kind of stopped and looked and he said I don't know about famous, but yeah, I mean I am Aaron Brand, the skate photographer. And I spun out and, like I was supposed to be serving people, I was like I've been looking for you, you know, like I was like Did the whole shop applaud like?
Speaker 6:in the movies? No, not like that. But like I had this exhibition at a museum and like I included like lots of your photos and I'd ask everybody else's permission and stuff, but I couldn't even track you down. Like I used a photo of yours on a poster, I even wanted to like pay you but I couldn't find you. No one knew where you were. And he was like yeah, we both spun out and I knew all this. He was like I was naming photos that he'd taken and he was spinning out and then I had to apologize to people that were in the line.
Speaker 6:And they were like no, this is actually amazing. This is beautiful.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Serendipitous moment it was.
Speaker 6:It's that Roxy photo, the Dave Rocks photo. He's wearing the camo shirt, he's got a green MC wrap oh no, just green wraps Doing a frontside noseblown slide on like a green bench and like all the light streaking. I think it was in the first Australian skateboarding, that photo, man, that was one of my favorite photos, like probably outside of O'Meally's, like the Devo Rocks photo. That's probably my two favorite Australian photos maybe.
Speaker 5:Yeah right.
Speaker 6:And yeah, so to meet him and then like ask him about that photo. It's pretty dope.
Speaker 4:It was a history lesson, and his commitment to film photography and his love and his passion for it just came out of him, didn't it?
Speaker 6:Oh, I mean, he's the most enthusiastic he loves. You know, when they say like I don't know what to say, it's such a cliche, but like, find what you love doing and let it kill you, or whatever man he loves, he just loves it.
Speaker 4:He does, and it goes well beyond skateboarding.
Speaker 6:now, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, he's just a brilliant person. He's a really special person to me now, actually, it's funny because we haven't even hung out in person that many times. We have and haven't. We'll message each other from time to time, but he's just like I love Aaron. He's a really good guy. Yeah, the honor and pleasure of him shooting some photos of me over time and stuff like my interview issue yeah, I was going to say and some other stuff.
Speaker 5:Stoked, for sure, yeah.
Speaker 6:What was he like to shoot with? I mean, I know, shannon, you've shot photos with him, but I mean, when you were actually like at the heart of your career, when you were shooting with him and stuff, what was that? Was he a good guy to have around on the session?
Speaker 5:Yeah, definitely Like just he was just doing his thing, wasn't any particular way, you know, he was just there doing his thing, really wasn't any particular way, you know, it was just there doing his thing Really.
Speaker 4:And did you know? Did you have that innate sense that you just knew that whatever he was doing was going to be good? You could trust him.
Speaker 5:Oh yeah, of course, because he'd had the history already, you know. So it was like I mean, in fairness, I don't really remember why he came to shoot with me or how that transpired at all, but it did. I mean, everyone knew each other back then at that time, you know he was probably one of the main photographers for the mag Gordo. Maybe would have hooked it up or something.
Speaker 6:Yeah, he was the photo editor. Yeah, he was the main photographer for ASM.
Speaker 5:yeah, but yeah, I knew him through the scene and it just happened. But yeah, obviously I knew he was coming to shoot, so cool, maybe Guy wasn't available because I usually shoot with Guy Miller, you know at the time.
Speaker 6:But yeah, Do you remember skating with Aaron at all, like at St Mary's or Fairfield or anything like that? No, no.
Speaker 5:No, not that long before. That would have been at least six years before the stage when I shot with him.
Speaker 6:Yeah, okay, so six, seven years.
Speaker 4:Nice.
Speaker 5:Did.
Speaker 4:Guy Miller shoot the hill for Caballero. No, that was Aaron. Aaron shot that it was.
Speaker 5:Aaron Cool. The blue rinse over the photo kind of yeah, he shot most of those Vertex photos in that one Did he yeah.
Speaker 4:Legend Pretty epic he shot everything. Hey, yeah, bird x photos in that one did he. Yeah, legend pretty shot everything, hey, yeah.
Speaker 4:Like I remember, I remember after that episode thinking damn I wish I got into photography in that era, because he was saying like just there was no photography, good skate photographers, it was so wild, yeah, and I'm just like, oh man, he's like, basically, if you had to picked up a camera and got decent at it, you probably would have got photos in max and and like, what was his first contribution to Escape Mag and he got the cover. No, he didn't get the cover.
Speaker 6:Yeah, he got the cover and the poster. Yeah, it's like slam number 17.
Speaker 4:Great. And that's his first contribution. So sick, so good. Then, after Aaron, and this is the most recent one, it's with none other than the legendary John Bogarts soul to and this is the most recent one, it's with none other than the legendary John Bogarts, sold of the earth. Human, former police officer of 25 years, one of the OG pro skaters in Australia.
Speaker 6:Yeah, Bonser, I used to have his model, yeah. Yeah, he rode Bonser yeah.
Speaker 4:With the graphic that was done by Sean Mossett.
Speaker 6:Yeah, Gravel did that graphic.
Speaker 5:Oh, I think, yeah, what do you mean? Gra gravel did that gravel?
Speaker 4:yeah so and then the podcast has kind of got derailed after that episode, like for so many. For years I was weekly episodes and then I've decided to take more of a trajectory of, uh, quantity, a quality over quantity, like more fortnightly and just being, you know, focused on, you know, good quality production and getting it just a bit more detailed. And then, with the Rob Pace episode that we lost, I actually haven't produced an episode for about three weeks, which is the first time I've gone that long in since in 243 episodes. So I just want to share this. It kind of has rattled me a little bit because it's just become so entrenched as part of my life and having this deadline of producing something weekly and fortnightly actually keeps my whole life together in other areas.
Speaker 4:But then also with the skin cancer and the stuff around that, I just had this period of getting really derailed with it. So yeah, just thought I'd share that too. So yeah, so, Bogarts was the last one. Yeah Well, but then Rob Pace like I said is going to be the last one, and this will come out after we've already published the Rob Pace episode, so yeah, Well, go you on the dedication for keeping that consistency up.
Speaker 5:That's really amazing. It's really impressive as a passion project, like for sure stupid though, like.
Speaker 4:Do you think? Sometimes I'm like am I an idiot? Am I wasting time? Like, but this is.
Speaker 5:These are the um the thoughts that go through me, but that's the intricacy of the human condition made that obsession you know to to do these things and, like you said before, it's a bit of catharsis for you and it's a lot of things you know and we've had the discussion a lot that you've come to a bit of an understanding that you mentioned before. These stories are good to share and and have it out there and and um, no one's really doing it here on such a consistent basis and obviously nine club and others are doing that in other spaces but and it's and I guess they sort of have a viewership now it seems like they're basically making money and living off of it and that's great and it's much harder here, a lot of it because of our population and therefore what actual basically sponsors you can get to fund it. So you know, doing it strictly as a labour of love is, you know, that's honourable.
Speaker 4:Oh thanks, great, yeah, yeah, I just wonder if it's misguided. If you find it fulfilling, you know that's honorable. Oh thanks, that's great. Yeah yeah, I just wonder if it's misguided.
Speaker 6:Well, wait, if you find it fulfilling.
Speaker 4:Okay, good question. I do find it fulfilling, but I question my ego, so selfish. Well, I question my ego. It's like am I looking for some sense of validation or personal validation from this? I go through that a lot, but you're giving other people a voice as well. Yeah, and I think it does come back to that, and I have had to check my ego a few times and, like mate, sometimes I want to make it about me, but really the sense of purpose in giving someone avenues to share stories that could inspire other people is it is very purposeful.
Speaker 5:there you go, so thanks, definitely but I don't the bit about you. A lot of the questions come from your experiences in life that may not be directly, you know, related to you. Sometimes it can be, sometimes not. You know what I mean, and it's about putting across those stories and that's what conversations are about putting across stories, and they're important to have that's a perfect way of putting it, and it's also okay to want to tell your story as well.
Speaker 6:There's a big difference between telling a story and intertwining yourself within an overarching narrative and then making something all about yourself. There's a big difference between those things as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, sure well, that's again. I want to use this opportunity to thank you, jim, for doing an article in Slam on the podcast.
Speaker 6:Sorry, no worries at all, I've enjoyed doing it, it's fantastic and anything I can help to in any way that I can help to kind of broaden your listenership, because I know that, like I said earlier on, I really enjoy. I mean, I enjoy it as far as there's so much content out there. Obviously it's infinite.
Speaker 6:But when we find these things that help us to, you know, like pass our time and they help us to, sometimes they're not always informative and educational. Sometimes they help us to relax and they're purely for entertainment. That's one thing, you know. I know I was joking about watching neighbors before, but that's this thing too, that, um, I think people often forget that it's okay just to enjoy something, even though I get something, like I mean, when I'm, for example, listening to the Adrian episode, I mean I got so much from that even it sounds corny, but even spiritually like listening to somebody that I would consider a hero or something it's okay just to enjoy things at face value as well.
Speaker 6:Not everything has to like have depth and of course we're looking for that depth in things as well, and I often am in the things that I'm collecting, reading whatever outside of skateboarding as well but also, like there are episodes of yours where, like, say, some of the people that are like surfers or whatever like that, that I'll just have on, because I just enjoy hearing people talk at face value, for even if it's just like a vaguely related like subculture. So, yeah, no, thank you for putting everything out there as well. Thanks, jim Ty's taking a selfie. Who are you, ty? He's got the Christmas tree. I like that.
Speaker 5:Try and get us all in there, it's a bit dark.
Speaker 4:Oh no, I missed it Go. Go again. Now listen, let's get down to some other business. It's been a nice long episode, which I love, and I want to say this I love just doing the audio-only episodes. The video production stuff is great when we have really good visual images, like on Errol's episode. God, there some good visuals in adrian's episode really cool yeah, and then other ones.
Speaker 4:And I mean, wait to see rob paces, like the videos we get in. That it's just pure entertainment really. But I just feel like there is an authenticity to audio only and like the fact that we've been talking for two and a half hours pretty easily it it's a testament to that. But let's talk about SOTY predictions. It's coming up to that time of year. All the companies are putting out their best riders parts. Have you been keeping up to date, you two or thrash a SOTY? I?
Speaker 5:wouldn't say wholly, but seen a few things recently. Like you just mentioned, elijah Burrell's part Just watched that yesterday. I think Super gnarly quite diverse as well, I'd say somewhat very thrasher as such. You know Sam Fran, a lot of spots, all of that. Yeah, definitely really good, but yeah, apparently he's done some other stuff this year which I wasn't too aware of. Haven't been on top of that. Yeah, definitely really good, but yeah, apparently he's done some other stuff this year which I wasn't too aware of. Haven't. Haven't been on top of that, uh.
Speaker 5:But I watched jamie for his new balance part, uh, the other week and wow, talk about diverse and like a nimble human for someone such as him's amazing. Um, yeah, like that's amazing. And I've seen, I think, at least a couple of other parts that he's put out this year and whatever. And yeah, he's just wildly phenomenal on a skateboard, I have to say he's just got so many different moves and gnarly technical, like everything. I think that's fascinating, you know, really cool. And I'll just say I watched Brayden Hoban's long part the other day that he just put out and just funny, he mentioned Welcome to Hell before because he did a super long rail and he had a Welcome to Hell T-shirt on. I was like, oh, that's a bit of an homage to, welcome to Hell. Right there, jamie.
Speaker 5:I think Jamie did that rail. And I was like, oh, that's a bit of an homage to to welcome to hell. Right there, jamie. I think jamie did that rail. And I was like that's actually pretty cool because it's toy machine as well and I just thought that was pretty cool. I mean you could sort of argue the fact because he's done a lot of comp stuff this year. He's actually been pretty diverse in his whole career side of things this year. So I mean, I mean he could do well there. Didn't really think it stacked up as much as like Jamie's stuff or maybe Elijah's to get the top spot there, but 100% an honourable mention there.
Speaker 6:Definitely, he's a machine. Like he can flip into everything. Yeah and fast, he's sick.
Speaker 5:I Like he can flip into everything yeah and fast and just like he's sick. I really enjoy his skating, for sure, and his comp skating is really pure and true and he's just yeah.
Speaker 6:Yeah, and he seems like he's having fun while he's doing it too. He does seem like he's having fun. Yeah, that's a big thing.
Speaker 5:Which is amazing with his stuff too.
Speaker 6:You're like oh, you're having fun doing that. Yeah, go you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly yeah. What do you reckon, jim? Uh, look, I think it's going to be jamie foy. I mean everything that ty just said. I mean, he's just a phenomenon. I was hoping that it would be tiago. Like I'm always rooting for the underdog, and no one's world is tiago and underdog. I don't mean that, I just more mean that, like, everybody is assuming that it's Foy.
Speaker 4:It's not necessarily big, crazy handrail shit.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I'm just. I mean everyone's assuming that it's Foy just because of how well-rounded he is, how much content he's put out, all filler, you know, all killer, no filler, that kind of thing. What's the wrong? No, the opposite. You know, like he's just a beast and he is like but yeah, tiago had the switchback nose blunt cover of Thrasher. You know he's released a couple of parts, including his part with that switch heel, flip bump to switch heel, flip over that barrier in that, over that wall it looks like it's about 10 meters long or something in the New Balance video Switchback.
Speaker 6:nose blunt fakie flip out on the picnic table. Yeah, big Tiago fan, but, like, ultimately, I think that Jamie Foy is going to get it.
Speaker 4:Tiago's wearing those juice-o-matic pants If Tiago lived in Australia in 1999, he would definitely ride for juice, wouldn't he? You guys would have had him on the team.
Speaker 5:I'm sure, definitely, I feel like him and.
Speaker 4:Sid Would be homies With their like Athletic vibes.
Speaker 5:But yeah, foy, I mean that he's also killed Some comps too.
Speaker 6:Foy's done Some amazing Stuff at comps as well, I was making noises when he was doing Like what? Yeah that.
Speaker 4:I was making noises when he was doing like, yeah, that heel, flip back, tail, insane, all the grind down and then up that rail.
Speaker 6:It was the thrasher coming man he's going so fast across the flat, obviously to get up the other side.
Speaker 4:Those cross lockers man, like once they've got the cross lock in, like you know, Rob him, anyone that can cross lock. Well, in a round rail, sort of like, it seems like they can just do anything. But my theory is this Remember the year Nija didn't win it, a couple of years ago, when he had that amazing part with just every insane handrail and then Tyshawn won it, which was, you know, like amazing part as well, but just a completely different style of skateboarding. Really.
Speaker 4:It wasn't gnarly rails and gaps, really, but um, have you seen deeds as part?
Speaker 5:yes, it's probably the other day. He's so sick again.
Speaker 4:I just think it's a completely almost like a different, almost like a different genre of street skating. In a way it's raw. It's rough like he's having to ride big soft wheels so he can land stuff on cobblestones like portugal, like Portugal Euro spot.
Speaker 6:Yeah, totally like.
Speaker 4:And just like it's really amazing and his style is like I'm just hanging on here by a thread, I don't know. I feel like it could just take it out. It's so raw.
Speaker 6:I'd actually really like him to win it.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, he's so fun to watch, right? He's really fun to watch.
Speaker 4:Again.
Speaker 5:But again, it's almost like a little different genre within a genre. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, he's creative and gnarly and techie and tricky and he's always had really cool video parts.
Speaker 4:He has that. Really unique stuff I have to say I feel like it could go that way. There's no doubt Jamie Foy's skateboarding is exceptional and groundbreaking, no doubt.
Speaker 5:Definitely Anyway.
Speaker 4:Definitely. Anyway, yep, how are we feeling? Gents Tired? Yet it's a long one.
Speaker 6:No, no, I mean I'm good. I don't know if you've got some more.
Speaker 4:Well, I just want to start to wrap it up a little bit. I did put on our list of things to talk about. Look man, I've been riding 8-inch boards, 7.75 boards forever, popsicle-shaped forever, and I just was like I've got to try one of these egg-shaped boards. In the end I didn't fork out for a heroin egg because they're the really trending boards at the moment and they look amazing. There's a reason they're popular. It's because they're sick, right? But Marty Baptist sent me a Japan national deck that's about nine inches wide, tapers at the nose and the tail a little bit bit of a square tail. Yeah, wide, and I absolutely. And it's got a big key, it's got a short wheelbase and I absolutely love it and it flips well and stuff like that. Plenty of board to land on. So have you guys tried it?
Speaker 5:something like that I haven't, but I was just, uh, I've been taken aback with the whole phenomenon of it as well. And, um, just listening to chico brenner's on the nine club, uh, recently I think it was older, into a little bit older but just hearing him talk about all what he's doing with boards and all the shapes now he got into writing shaped boards was actually quite fascinating. And hearing him talk about how it actually affected tricks, um, and the way he did tricks and how it made some tricks kind of easier, some flips, and all that, even though the width of the board I actually found that quite intriguing, I have to say, and the short wheelbase thing wigs me out because I definitely feel like I need a certain wheelbase to not feel like my feet are too close together. I'm going to zing, zing out and die, basically, but it's maybe that width sort of circumvents that a little bit.
Speaker 5:I'm half. I tried a little one just eight, three, seven, five a while ago, but then I realized how skinny the nose and tail were. So it wasn't that that good because I wanted a bit more stability. But I'm definitely I'm intrigued to try out a wider one which has a wider nose and tail at some stage and see how it goes.
Speaker 6:What size board do you ride? Just generally like just a normal board?
Speaker 5:I think it's 8, 3, 7, 5 on smaller stuff. If I'm riding bigger stuff it'd be like eight and a half yeah okay, that's definitely basically popsicle shape you know, big thing for me is wheelbase yeah, yeah that's a big part. But the shape? The shape's intriguing. Now to see if it actually makes that much difference to doing certain tricks and feel but I see kids riding them and it's really interesting, yeah for sure.
Speaker 6:Well, when I first met Shannon, I was going through a phase of, like you know, my daughter was only one and a half or something and I'd just been. I got really lazy. I have because I just ride like 8.38 or 8.375, whatever, just like I don't even know what they are like 5.6 ventures and like 52-millimeter pretty 90s kind of stuff, 52-millimeter Spitfires, like it's pretty standard. That's what I like. I've ridden that for a really long time but I was riding. I have a. I got my friend Chris to cut me. I've got like an Eric Dressen Everslick, like Santa Cruz, like the original one. And I got my friend Chris to.
Speaker 6:He does this death breath company makes his own presses, his own boards. I got him to like cut one for me like a replica so I could skate that shape like that you know 1991 shape. And it's got some like Indy 169s on it but old ones, like old base plate, old T-bar anyway, because the hanger, the base plate, wouldn't fit on the new. Also, I had to make some frankensteins but I put these ojs on it that are like just so I'm essentially was making a cruiserboard. I don't usually do that. I usually just ride the one board.
Speaker 6:It made me lazy, though it was so fun to ride because I put big, soft wheels on it that I wasn't doing any tricks for ages. When I first met Shannon, I was just riding this thing around Like we were at a car park, like I'd met him, and the first time I went skating with him we went to this car park with Marley Ray and I was just pumping around in this thing. I actually had to one day go okay, like go to the skate shop and go and get a just normal board and put your ventures and your spitfires back on it, because I would just go to go skating.
Speaker 6:And the idea of special newcastle is pretty crusty, the idea of just like being able to pump around and like ollie up a gutter and like cruise around and slash around this thing with soft, like they're just big ojs and like this old it's fun it was so fun and not having to try it made me really lazy really quickly.
Speaker 6:It was really responsive to like the board, kind of like you were saying. I don't know, but the wheelbase is bigger but I had to make a. That's my only experiment recently with shaped boards. I usually have a single kick like set up that like I might deliberately like even put like a old outfit on to go and like skate up to shops or or something like like like a different, like dress from the wrong era and go for. I know that sounds insane, but like but you know Ben Watts.
Speaker 4:Ben is a skater from Campbelltown. He's been on, he was on the podcast a few years ago. Awesome skater works at fast times. I think he skates for cons shoes in Australia, but anyway, he said that years ago to me. He's like I get these different shaped boards and you look down under your feet and it just looks fun and it makes me feel like I'm having more fun than a popsicle.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.
Speaker 4:It's like it creates a fun vibe, just because it's hard to be different.
Speaker 6:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And like what's this tail shape going to be better for? Oh wait, that works better for trays and that works better for.
Speaker 6:Well, you just expect, you don't even do that, like you can go skate. I've got this. I actually just put cockroach grip on it, but I've got like a it's a Burford blank, that was someone had recut, like had cut, like a Roscoe what's the one with the full face, roscoe 3 or whatever shape on Old hole drilling. So I've got like old Indies on it, like original Indies on it, like original indies on it. And uh, I've got some t-bones on it, like new old stock t-bones on it must be heavy it's so heavy man I haven't even got plastics on it
Speaker 6:aside from risers and um, I've got cockroach risers on it but all ones and um, it is fun just to go and look like you. You just don't, you don't skate it the same though that's different to the cruiser thing. When I said I got lazy. You just go to like, if you take that out, like you're deliberately skating, like the era, that's what I mean about like I might have, you know, like a PAL shirt on or something that I wouldn't wear when I was going skating normally, because you're kind of dressing and you're going out, and if I'll go to the tavern in my house and just do like boneless details, I'm like Feeling a vibe, A little bank, or you know.
Speaker 6:You're not Feeling a vibe. Yeah, deliberate it's not. The same, though it's not when it looks good under my feet. Well, doing a three-step would just feel weird anyway.
Speaker 4:I agree. You know, hey, can I play that? Tim Levinson quote that he said about art.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Because, I just like it.
Speaker 4:He said some other stuff already, so here we go. Earth boy, that's like fuck man.
Speaker 7:Art is part of social change. Art is part of how we have a public conversation about everything. Politicians and media are the ones who generally drive the meaning that happens in our society. This is what we're going to legislate on. This is the thing that's going to keep the country going, and here's the way that we're going to perceive all these things. Who else gets to have a say, apart from, like you know, people chiming in on social media? Art is a central part of the way that the whole fucking society moves the cogs in the wheel.
Speaker 4:Just like that, that's fantastic. And on is skateboarding art to you, gentlemen.
Speaker 6:Yes, of course, all art, definitely Every part of it, except when it's a sport. No, it's sport and art.
Speaker 5:But that's it. There's no defined part of it really.
Speaker 4:But I just think what we're doing on these wooden toys or useless wooden toys like the old skate movie is exactly that. It's the cogs in the wheel. It's a catalyst for conversations and mind expansion and when we're learning tricks, talking about tricks or just talking shit at the skate spot.
Speaker 6:And exposing, being exposed to like new people too, because that's one of the biggest things is, you know, like I was exposed to like so many different people through skateboarding. I mean, we all were, not me, this is my personal experience. I know that we were just like it opened my world up the first time as a 11 year old kid, going into town and hanging out with all these from all different socio-economic backgrounds, all different cultural backgrounds, that just like it, just it broadened my horizon, so much so that I even started noticing. I can remember going back to school and like noticing it about like the kids that just played, like well, it didn't do anything, you know, the kids that weren't exposed to, like older kids from like all this, this plethora of backgrounds, I don't know yeah, well, it's open-mindedness and adaptation as well, which is kind of what art is as well.
Speaker 5:There's so many forms of adaptation, social, like different people, different mindsets, different vibes, tricks, styles, all of that, as well as the actual skating itself. That's what I love, and I'm sure I've said this before on the podcast. That's what keeps me engaged in skating is how far it's come, even though there's still this relatively encompassed band of tricks that are done like you're not spinning 20,000 degrees, you're not doing you know seven flip, 360 flips or whatever. There's this limited band, but the different things that all these tricks are done on in all the street, that's what's amazing with street skating, particularly and particularly all the Euro stuff, all the architecture, just all that adaptation is just fascinating and it just keeps it going, and that, to me, is art, fascinating and it just keeps it going, and that, to me, is art. Oh, look at it this way, instead of it just being whatever it is as a structure.
Speaker 6:Inanimate object. Inanimate object exactly Constant adaptability and reinterpretation. Great way of putting it yeah reinterpretation and also there's like a spontaneity about that like with street skating as well, and park skating too.
Speaker 5:And now particularly the modern parks with all these crazy obstacles and features which have been adapted from street and adapted, like I found I said this to someone recently like the old late 70s, early 80s parks. I think a lot of them, or some of them, were way ahead of their time. They could see the potential, but the gear wasn't up to it. Ultimately, their skills weren't up to it, and now they're just hyper versions of that now, with lots more going on and it's being used to the nth degree basically yeah, yeah, it's true.
Speaker 4:What do you reckon? Leave it there.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think that's good, it is good.
Speaker 5:Great stuff.
Speaker 4:Happy New Year everyone and thank you Ty, thank you Jim.
Speaker 5:That wrap-up.
Speaker 4:Absolute pleasure. Gentlemen, stay safe out there Ew.
Speaker 5:Happy New Year everyone. Happy New Year everyone.
