HUCK magazine The Kelly Slater Issue (Digital Edition)

ÂŁ3.95 | issue 23 November 2010 Kelly Slater 10x World Champion Photography by Guy Martin Mural by Judd Shoppee and Peter Webb

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HUCK 23

Man Versus Mob

Contents.

68 Teams thrash it out at the Vans Downtown Showdown.

Kelly Slater

Positive Force

36 The man behind the ten world titles.

72 Torah Bright takes women’s snowboarding to new heights.

Bustin’ Out

Cold Water Brief: #03

48 New York City’s longboarders charge around en masse.

74 Dramatic shots of frigid South African waters.

The Snow Collector

UNITED NATIONS MDGs

52 David Benedek challenges snowboarding’s status quo.

82 Eight steps to a better world?

Urban Steed

SHERATON YEARS

58 Hardcourt bike polo is not a blue-blooded sport.

84 Swedish skateboarding in its prime.

Things I Have To Say

HELMETS

64 Sweden’s fallen skateboarder Ali Boulala speaks out.

88 Protect your noodle with the best lids in town.

12 HUCK

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY MADARS APSE

CONNECT WITH THE TONIK S

dcskateboarding.tv - 50% MORE DURABLE!

FACEBOOK.COM/DCSHOES.EUROPE

WALLRIDE. BLABAC PHOTO.

photography: JOHN JAMES.

18 FRONT

30 FRONT

20 FRONT

32 FRONT

22 FRONT

34 FRONT

The Arteries

Nairobi Kids

24 FRONT

90 BACK

No Borders

LIFE THROUGH A LENS…

26 FRONT

94 BACK

Jenny Jones

Frank Turner

28 FRONT

98 BACK

ANDY IRONS CAMILLA STODDART

East Timor Art

14 HUCK

Lee Ann Curren Aesthetiker

Sources

photography: GUY MARTIN.

Publisher Vince Medeiros

Creative Director Rob Longworth

Managing Director Danny Miller

Editor Andrea Kurland

Designers Anna Dunn Angus MacPherson

Commercial Director Dean Faulkner

Global Editor Jamie Brisick Skate Editor Jay Riggio Music Editor Phil Hebblethwaite Latin America Editor Giuliano Cedroni

Wesite Designer Evan Lelliott Words Kieran Burke, Shannon Denny, Tetsuhiko Endo, Michael Fordham, Gemma Freeman, Tony Gunnarsson, Guy Martin, Liz Seabrook, Olly Zanetti

Staff Writer Shelley Jones

Images Jens Andersson, Stu Argue, Brett Beyer, Nathan Blaker, Paul Calver, Matt Georges, Theo Gosselin, Andrew Groves, Richie Hopson, Jon James, Guy Martin, Dan Medhurst, Jonathan Minto, Jamie Morrison, Scott Neill, Robin Nilssen, Chris Ortiz, Chris Parkinson, Owen Pillai, Owen Richards, Pat Stacy, Sandra Steh, Camilla Stoddart, Yves Suter, Matt White

Editorial Assistant Tom Eagar

Translations Markus Grahlmann

Snow Correspondent Zoe Oksanen European Correspondent Melanie SchĂśnthier Online Editor Ed Andrews

Editorial Director Matt Bochenski

UK distribution enquiries: andy.hounslow@comag.co.uk Worldwide distribution enquiries: carla.demichiel-smith@comag.co.uk Printed by Buxton Press

Digital Director Alex Capes Special Projects Steph Pomphrey Marketing & Distribution Manager Anna Hopson Account Manager Liz Haycroft

The articles appearing within this publication reflect the opinions of their respective authors and not necessarily those of the publishers or editorial team This publication is made with paper from sustainable sources.

Huck is published six times a year. Š TCOLondon 2010

Enquiries editorial@huckmagazine.com Published by The Church of London 8-9 Rivington Place London, EC2A 3BA +44 (0) 207-729-3675

16 HUCK

Distributed worldwide by COMAG

info@thechurchoflondon.com

On the cover Photography by Guy Martin Mural by Judd Shoppee & Peter Webb

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We came to Puerto Rico for a victory party – not a eulogy. But on November 2, 2010, death struck the Rip Curl Pro Search when news filtered back that

Andy Irons July 24, 1978 - November 2, 2010

thirty-two-year-old Andy Irons was found dead in a Dallas hotel room.

One week later, the cause of death remains a mystery. But here’s what we do know: after missing both his heats due to dengue fever–like symptoms, Andy boarded a flight home to Hawaii, stepped off the plane in Texas “too sick to fly”, then checked into a hotel instead of a hospital.

And here’s what we know about his life: Andy Irons was possibly the most radically competitive surfer ever. A three-time World Champion

18 HUCK

PHOTOGRAPHY PAT STACY

who dared to do the unthinkable: to snatch world titles from World

relationship was a blistering heat: it changed the sport and, as a result, set

Champions; to speak his mind instead of a press release; to be himself,

the stage on which Kelly Slater has just been crowned World Champion for

not a trademarked athlete. He was a vocal supporter of his Hawaiian home

an epoch-making tenth time – in the same week as Andy’s death, no less.

and its community, a devoted husband and – saddest of all – a soon-to-be father who will never see his unborn child.

But were you to write an epitaph, it would likely be this: ‘He took on Kelly.’

Because when everyone else chose to bow before the world’s alltime greatest, Andy stared him down and shattered the spell. Their very

As Slater says: “Andy was an absolutely gifted individual. He was the most intense competitor I’ve ever known and one of the most sensitive people. I’m lucky to have known him and had the times we had together. I was able to learn what I’m made of because of Andy.”

Now, instead of 2010 being the year ‘Kelly won ten’ it will be the year we all lost one. matt walker

19

Split Second Photographer Camilla Stoddart is breaking down boundaries for women in her field.

Text Liz Seabrook PHOTOGRAPHY Camilla Stoddart

When photographer Margaret Bourke-White ventured to the Soviet Union in 1941 as the first female war correspondent, she proved that gender means nothing when you’re stood behind the lens. But the battles she had to fight are still being fought today. Just ask Camilla Stoddart – the only woman to make the final fifty in this year’s Red Bull Illume Image Quest. “I’m aware that there are far fewer female adventure sports photographers out there, but I really thought there would be a few in the finals,” reflects the Scot.

Having cut her teeth shooting skiers and snowboarders deep in the backcountry, Camilla understands how physically demanding her chosen career path is: “A lot of the time you have to be close to the athlete, often in exposed places and amongst the elements.” But she refuses to adhere to the notion that women are somehow less equipped to tackle extreme terrain.

Camilla had to climb, bush-bash and wade through glacial rivers in New Zealand’s Mount Aspiring National Park to get her awe-inspiring shot of BASE jumper Josie Symons. The result is an image that cuts through gender stereotypes imposed on both photographer and athlete alike.

“Usually people think that [Josie] has just gone along to watch her boyfriend Dan jump. They are surprised when she jumps too, surprised and mightily impressed,” says Camilla, who graciously dismisses such preconceptions as assumptions, not prejudice.

Unperturbed, Camilla knows the best way to change attitudes is by encouraging more women to get out there and do the same: “If you want it bad enough you will get there, it won’t be easy and there are no short cuts, but you will have the time of your life.” www.whiteroompictures.com

20 HUCK

nEwEracap.com/flagbEarErs

© 2010 NEW ERA CAP CO., INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

TrisTan EaTon, arTisT & Toy DEsignEr

22 HUCK

Photography Stu Argue, NATHAN BLAKER, THÉO GOSSELIN, JON JAMES, JONATHAN MINTO, JAMIE MORRISON, SCOTT NEILL, OWEN PILLAI, OWEN RICHARDS, MATT WHITE.

FAR FROM DEAD UK punk is alive and kicking, and The Arteries from South Wales are living proof.

TEXT Shelley Jones

“When you’re thirteen or something,” says The Arteries bassist, Jamie

So how do The Arteries define punk? “Ah, that’s a difficult one!”

Morrison, “you hear a song that’s like, ‘I don’t wanna do homework, I’m

laughs Jamie. “I guess it’s about doing things your own way and not

not gonna listen to grown-ups,’ and you think, ‘Fuck yeah, that rules!’ But a

conforming to what other people think you should do; doing things for

lot of people grow up, lose that angst and lose their love of punk too.” He

the love of it, and doing it without fucking anybody else over.” So it’s not

stops for a moment and laughs. “Then there are people like us. We get into

a genre of music? “No I don’t think it is at all. I think there are a million

it for the same reasons, we just never lose our angst.”

bands that don’t sound like a four-chord punk band but act in a punk

The Arteries are about to cut their anchors loose. For the next couple of

way. I think the bottom line is just having this DIY attitude and not caring

months, the five punks – Jamie Morrison, Miles Morgan, Rhys Jenkins, Rhys

about making waves in an ocean. It’s about doing things for you, and

Pillai and Tim Sudbury – from South Wales are going to tour, pretty much

having fun with it.”

non-stop, around the UK, Europe and the US, with their new album, Dead

The Arteries, for their part, sound every bit as punk as you’d

Sea, in tow. It’s their second full-length since Blood Sweat & Beers in 2008,

imagine. Their new record is darker and less rock and roll than their

and a lot has changed in the time sandwiched in between. The Arteries

first – channelling the exoskeletons of Hot Snakes by way of AC/DC and

– once just a bunch of “skater kids that jammed together in a garage” –

Lagwagon – but they aren’t actively trying to diversify. “It was never our

dipped their toes in the communal ether and found a place to call home.

intention to be different,” says Jamie. “We just wrote what came out

“I guess we realised we could go and play gigs in other places than just

and then put it in an order that flowed.” In an industry that constantly

Swansea,” says Jamie of the paradigm shift. “And then we got opened up to

demands innovation, they are happy to sink into their groove, playing a

this whole community… It’s definitely a ‘doing it together’ thing. You meet

timeless style they can grow old to. Jamie explains: “Nothing would ever

other punk rock bands, you make friends, and you help each other out…

compromise the way we sound. If anything ever changed that, or we

We realised that we could network our way around and see the world like

stopped having fun, we’d quit.”

this.” And Dead Sea is, among other things, a reflection on that discovery.

And when it comes to putting that sound out into the world, the

“The name is kind of an ironic take on the general perception that punk is

punk way of doing things comes in handy too. By releasing their music

dead,” says Jamie. “Because from where we’re standing, it’s definitely not.

on homegrown record label SWFU (South Wales Friends Union), or

We wanted to put out a record that questioned that [attitude].”

with the aid of labels they trust (Paper and Plastick, Specialist Subject

The UK punk rock scene may be underground, but to a lot of people,

Records), The Arteries have found a way to tour, have fun, and remain

it’s just non-existent. Those who subscribe to the belief that punks are

fully independent. “We don’t make any money but we’re self-sustainable,”

always clad in studs, leather and Kings Road-type peacockery could be

says Jamie. “If the van doesn’t break down, we’re good to go. As long as

forgiven for thinking that the DIY spirit died with their own teenage angst.

we can keep playing without going crazy, we will. Forever.”

But The Arteries are part of a generation that don’t need to wear their politics on their sleeves.

And they’re not alone. All over the UK – and beyond, of course – there are DIY collectives putting on shows, releasing records, screen-printing

“People think that because [we] haven’t got spiked hair and safety

tees and sleeves and documenting good times through photos or words.

pins sticking out of every orifice, that there’s no punk anymore,” says

It’s not about being trendy, or timely, or even popular. So what exactly

Jamie. “But it’s evolved into a much more meaningful thing. And I think

keeps this community chugging on? “I guess you just notice a lot of

day-to-day people see [our] image and because it’s not shocking they

things in life, and the world, that are fucked up,” says Jamie. “And punk,

don’t take any notice. But if they could look past that, I guess they would

for us, is a release and a way to express the fact that we don’t want to do

see that punk is alive and kicking.”

things like everybody else.”

Further proof that punk’s DIY ethos is anything but dead…

Get A Grip Screen-printing Studio Sam and Kay push paint through silkscreens all day to jazz up your tees, koozies, totes and more. www.getagripstudio.com

Punk ‘n’ Bowl Slay some pins and rock out to some rad bands in London or Bristol courtesy of Greg from Rooftops and his girlfriend Cara. www.huckm.ag/punknbowl

The Big Takeover This collective put on gigs in reclaimed spaces across London and donate all profits to good causes. www.bigtakeover.co.uk

No Guts No Glory Founded by photographer Nathan Blaker, this collective is a platform in Exeter for art, music and like-minds. www.ngngdesign.com

Zineswap Make something, self-publish it and then swap it on this awesome site dedicated to sharing punk-inspired print. www.zineswap.com

Southsea DIY These promoters light up the deep South with houseshows, vegan grub and unforgettable all-nighters. www.myspace.com/southseadiy

Bangers Are these punk rockers from Falmouth the hardest working band in the UK? They’re definitely the funnest. www.myspace.com/bangersbangers

Specialist Subject Records Andrew from Bangers runs this awesome DIY record label and distro channel for a melting pot of UK and US talent. www.specialistsubjectrecords.co.uk

23

NO BORDERS! Meet the protest posse who think lines on a map are straight-up whack.

Text Olly Zanetti & Illustration ANDREW GROVES

“No borders. No nations. Stop deportations,” chant the campaigners.

deep. And the same is happening elsewhere. From Israel and Palestine

They’re stood at the doors of Frontex, the agency responsible for border

to Europe’s eastern extremities, countries are becoming fortresses. Even

control across the EU. Numbering around seventy, the activists are opposed

the term ‘migrant’ has become a four-letter word. Asylum seekers fleeing

to Frontex’s expansion. And the hullabaloo they’re creating today – which

persecution in their country of origin are often brushed off by the press as

appears to be successfully disrupting a conference organised by think-tank

‘illegal immigrants’ or ‘scroungers’. And governments, seeing migration as a

Security & Defence Agenda – is one of several direct-action protests taking

hot topic that can bring home the votes, are clamping down too. In the UK,

place as part of September’s No Border Camp in the Belgian city of Brussels.

the coalition government is calling for caps on immigration. Meanwhile in

As an organisation, the No Border Network is difficult to pin down. Like

France, Roma people have been deported in large numbers by the Sarkozy

many of today’s campaign groups, it has no central structure or official

government in a move the EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding has

organisers. Rather, it’s a banner under which a string of autonomous

called “a disgrace” and which may be in contravention of European law.

activists are working to highlight the injustices that come about when

The No Border Camp was born of a fury at such injustices. It started

people are prevented from moving freely. It’s not surprising that they’ve

out in 2009 in Calais’ infamous ‘Jungle’ – the woods near the French port

chosen Brussels as the focus of this month’s campaign. As the administrative

that became home to migrants seeking refuge in Europe. The Jungle hit

centre of the European Union, it’s a pretty nifty way of bringing their

headlines when the French authorities destroyed the camp, arresting

message to the fore.

many and leaving others homeless. No Border activists came to offer

Campaigner Greg explains what brought him here: “Volunteering with

support where they could and show solidarity with those evicted.

an organisation in Leeds that works with asylum seekers made me realise

But were the show-your-face protests in Brussels as effective as

the horrendous way migrants are treated in the UK and I started talking to

the hands-on Jungle campaign? Greg thinks so. “It raised awareness,

people involved in migrant solidarity campaigns. I went to Brussels to get

inspired new groups, strengthened existing ones and facilitated increased

more information to reenergise the campaign in Leeds.”

communication across Europe.” There’s talk of another camp next year,

Greg’s concern isn’t misplaced. Fleeing persecution or seeking a better life elsewhere has been criminalised worldwide. On the border between the

but as Greg is quick to point out, the struggle to end forced exile is an ongoing one. People are always needed, all year round.

US and Mexico, what was once little more than a line on a map has been transformed in places into a wall twenty-one-feet high and buried six-feet

24 HUCK

www.noborder.org

Photos: Dominic Zimmermann

Hans rides the Saywhat Jacket of the Zimtstern A BC collection Hans Ă…hlund

www.zimtstern.com

Being Jenny British snow star Jenny Jones takes centre stage in a compelling short film.

Text Shelley Jones & Photography DAN MEDHURST

If the true beauty of snowboarding is being in the moment – feeling the

completely different to my normal life. I had tried snowboarding for a week

past and future explode around you in a wave of white powder – the

and had an urge to ride more.” So she moved to Tignes, France, and a year

process of making and watching films about it may strike you as a little

later she entered the British Snowboard Championships, pulling a backflip

odd. In an attempt to capture its spirit, surely filmmakers undermine the

to win gold in Big Air.

fugacity that makes snow-sliding so special?

Jump to 2009 and Jones became the first British rider to win gold

The trick, of course, is getting the film right. And as British snowboarder

at the X Games – bagging two more golds in slopestyle at the US and

Jenny Jones knows, a great film can be a powerful force. “I think snowboard

European events this year. It’s an incredible achievement, but she seems

films can inspire you,” says the champ, “whether it’s to travel, or just to take

unfazed. “I don’t like to sit still for long,” she says. Truth is, she hardly

in what life has to offer. Seeing all the natural beauty is good for the soul.”

sits still at all. From coaching at Kommunity Camp in Les Deux Alpes to

Jones has just returned from her first shredding trip of the season in the

cycling from London to Paris in aid of breast cancer, Jones is an inspiration

Chilean Andes. There she hooked up with talented snow shooter Johannes

for people to get out and push themselves, no matter how close they live

Östergård to create their entry for the Relentless Energy Short Stories

to a mountain.

competition – a challenge to pairs of filmmakers and riders to explore

And that’s something Östergård was keen to acknowledge in his mini

the concept of ‘no half measures’ through the medium of film. “A lot of

movie. “I want the viewer to feel what it feels like to be Jenny Jones,” he

snowboard films just capture the gnarly riding,” says Östergård. “I have a

says. “Maybe it’ll inspire someone to go travelling, or just to do what they

lot of respect for those filmmakers, but I’ve always felt the life surrounding

love to do. As long as they feel [moved] after watching it, I’m happy.”

those moments is just as interesting. Life can be tough, emotional, beautiful

The Relentless Energy Short Stories competition may be fierce – with

and compelling, especially when you live life as intensely as Jenny does.”

other talents like surf lensman Mickey Smith and BMX shooter Matty

The film tells the story of Jones’ snowboard career via sessions filmed

Lambert already dropping dynamic edits – but with a vision like his,

during the trip to Chile, although, Östergård says, it could be seen as “any

Östergård is sure to tell Jenny’s story of power, scale and determination in

trip she’s done in the last ten years”.

all its time-exploding glory.

In a world where pros are groomed from as young as three or four, Jones is something of an anomaly: she started riding seriously at eighteen.

For more information on the Short Stories competition or to view the films visit

“I wanted to see more of the world,” she says, “and be excited by something

www.relentlessenergy.com.

26 HUCK

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28 HUCK

Some Kind Of Art The people of East Timor are reclaiming their voice through the writing on the wall.

TEXT Kieran Burke & Photography Chris Parkinson

Oppression isn’t an abstract concept for the people of East Timor. First

that all seems indicative of the country’s traumatic history. Then again,

the Portuguese arrived, ready to use and abuse like only colonialists can.

there are also proud proclamations of peace and development that seem

Then Indonesia stepped in, backed to the hilt by the US who, once again,

to nod towards a desire for harmony in the country.”

took another nation’s struggle for independence as a personal affront. By

To celebrate the launch of Chris’ book, Melbourne gallery Until Never

the time everyone had removed their grubby hands, there was of course

recently played host to three of East Timor’s rising street artists, Etson

the inevitable power vacuum and years of political turmoil to endure. But

Arintes da Costa Caminha, Zito Soares da Silva and Alfeo Sanchez Pereira.

that tale of chaos is just one story. There are other stories, however, like

But ‘street artist’ is not the label they would use to describe themselves.

that of East Timor’s flourishing art scene.

Despite a huge turnout at an exhibition of their work and genuine praise

Following in the spirit of nations like Mexico and the Philippines, where

for their individual styles, Alfeo says, “Street art is not a well-known

street art is a legitimate form of protest, an eruption of creativity has

concept in Timor. Let’s just say that people making graffiti in the street

spilled out onto the walls of the nation’s capital Dili and into more remote

are not really aware that you could name that ‘art’.”

locations, too.

Whatever moniker this new creative outlet eventually adopts, conflict

Australian Chris Parkinson has spent the last four years living and

has undoubtedly been a catalytic force. Alfeo explains: “There are a lot

working in East Timor. Excited by the art he saw popping up around

of gangs in East Timor, gangs that are against each other. The Indonesian

him, Chris started documenting what he found and before he knew it,

occupation created a lot of conflicts within the Timorese, [there are]

he was releasing a book. Peace of Wall: Street Art from East Timor is

conflicts that are not yet resolved. A lot of gangs use graffiti to express

his way of sharing this potent art form with the world. “As I continued

themselves, to say, a bit strongly, what they are not happy with. And these

documenting, it became evident that I was capturing a grassroots feeling

messages directly provoke another gang.”

that was permeating the country,” explains Chris. “I realised that [graffiti]

But after years of oppression, is there a chance that East Timor’s

was really a [medium] for the marginalised and a form of communication

youthful voices will be hushed once again? “I guess [graffiti is] legal in

that could be accessed by all.”

East Timor because we are not yet criticising the Timorese system,” Alfeo

Through his role as objective documentarian, Chris believes he’s gained

says. “However, we can't forget that it’s a new country, Timor is a child,

a pretty good insight into the reasons East Timor’s disenfranchised have

and a child never criticises their dad. But who knows, it is always later that

taken to the streets with spray can in hand: “Youth have a lot of questions,

the problems occur.”

but few answers. They do not know what to do. They have no direction.

It would appear that we are only just seeing the beginning of something

There is little information for them to make good decisions. They are

highly poignant in the post-conflict and post-colonial discourse of East

tired, they feel that they are just getting older and their opportunities

Timor. But the roots of those images run decades deep. “I am twenty-five

are getting fewer. They are sick and tired and suffering from having their

years old, Timor has been in conflict for more than twenty-five years. The

education stopped. With art, and through art, youth have something to

youth have definitely used graffiti as a tool of expression during this time,”

do, and they have something to say.”

Alfeo says with passion. “This work simply came from within us and it was

And though he could be talking about any graffiti or protest movement

something that we wanted to express. It’s like an expression of liberty.”

that has taken root anywhere, at anytime, the images splattered on the walls of East Timor speak of a very particular time and place. “There are

Peace of Wall: Street Art from East Timor by Chris Parkinson is published by Affirm Press.

lots of territorial assertions, political commentary and haunting images

www.affirmpress.com.au

of ghosts, skeletons and gargoyles,” explains Chris. “And, for me at least,

www.peaceofwall.blogspot.com

29

Lessons Learned Pro surfer Lee Ann Curren proves humility can be a family trait.

Interview Melanie Schönthier & Photography Aquashot/Roxy

Lee Ann Curren is not just ‘a lucky girl’. She may be the only European

to California… When I see my dad we surf together, play music and just

surfer to have qualified for this year’s ASP Women’s World Tour, but

have a good time. I feel really close to him, but I have also learnt to live

it’s an achievement founded on good old-fashioned graft. Yet, at just

without him and do it my own way.

twenty, she carries the acclaim with a humility that makes her appear older, wiser and more reflective than most girls her age. Lee Ann doesn’t

What’s the best piece of surfing advice your dad ever gave you? There are

like to talk about herself – and she doesn’t call in favours for being the

a lot, but one thing in particular springs to mind. ‘Put more sizzle in your

daughter of three-time World Champion Tom Curren. What she does

surfing.’ […] It took me a while to understand it: it’s that attention to detail

like to talk about, however, are the people who inspire her. People like

that transforms a five into a seven – to finish a move well and dramatise

the Titan kids.

your surfing. When I watch my dad’s old heats it becomes obvious.

Who are the Titan kids? These kids that live in Titanzinho, a favela in the

What qualities do you attribute to your parents? From my mum, the

north of Brazil. My boyfriend André Silva grew up there and during our

qualities I hope to inherit are her generosity and strength, and from my

last trip we decided to start a project to help them. They all love surfing,

dad, humility and talent.

but there are a lot of dangers in the favela, like drugs or prostitution, and they can get lost easily. With our foundation, Surf and Hope, we

You wrote on your blog that you have “the best job in the world.” Does it

want to help them use surfing as a way off the streets. We send them

ever feel like work? Some people think being a pro surfer is like being on

surfboards and started an English class there… André and I co-directed

vacation all the time, but actually it is a lot of work, and even if you love it,

a documentary about the project called Titan Kids.

travelling all the time can be tiring when you’re always under pressure to earn good results... But I wouldn’t change it for any other job in the world!

Your childhood in France was very different to those kids in Brazil. Did your dad, Tom, teach you how to surf? Not really. I grew up in Biarritz,

www.leeanncurren.blogspot.com

but my parents got divorced when I was four and my dad moved back

www.surfandhope.blogspot.com

30 HUCK

CHRIS KROLL

GEORG HUBER

Thomas 'BeCKNA' EBERHARTER

BY US, FOR US Austrian snowboard crew Ästhetiker are keeping things fully homegrown.

TEXT Gemma Freeman & Photography YVES SUTER

“The main focus of riding boards is not on competition or athletic

“All the FIS (International Ski Federation) crap happened in Austria

ambitions,” goes the mantra of Austrian snowboard crew Ästhetiker. “It’s

and we were over it,” explains Nyvelt, referring to the upset caused when

all about the beauty of the move, the style.”

the ISF (International Snowboard Federation) – an organisation run by

It’s a manifesto the progressive pioneers have subscribed to for

snowboarders, for snowboarders – shut up shop in 2002, leaving events in

almost twenty years – that, and a sense of pride for their Austrian roots.

the hands of the ski-oriented FIS. “We wanted to make our own jams, our

A collective of some of snow’s most creative minds, the Mayrhofen-based

own way, and give something back to the sport that means so much to us.”

posse represent a refreshing streak of independence in today’s corporate-

The tour, which hosted events across Austria, gained a reputation as

sponsored world. Whether they’re putting on skate jams, inventing new

a celebration of snowboarding – a place where riders could revel in the

formats for snowboard events, or producing custom boards for their

spirit of freestyle jams, instead of bickering over points in podium battles.

growing team, everything they do is distinctly homegrown.

Soon Ästhetiker were approached by Klaus Marko, head park shaper of

Founded by Steve Gruber and Bernd Egger, Ästhetiker now boast pro

Mayhrofen, and together they created a unique event on home turf – the

snowboarders Chris Kroll, Andreas ‘Mone’ Monsberger, Gigi Rüf, new boy

punk-inspired Wängl Tängl. ”We wanted to make the perfect park,” says

Georg Huber, backcountry renaissance man Wolle Nyvelt and legendary

Gruber. “So riders could be creative, have fun, and end [their lines] with

Zillertal shredder Thomas ‘Beckna’ Eberharter among their ranks.

this crazy obstacle.”

They first started coalescing in the late eighties, but the name and

Now a five-star TTR event, Wängl Tängl is renowned for its innovative

group really took shape in 1992. Back then snowboards weren’t allowed

formats, like last year’s Gang Jam, which saw riders charging around in

on lifts, and the crew’s original motivations were somewhat simpler,

packs. And while Ästhetiker have branched out into products and media,

explains Gruber: “We were running around, snowboarding and partying,

they’re still just a bunch of punk kids at heart, happiest when they’re ripping

and would pick people up who had the same interests.”

the Zillertal Valley’s insane terrain. “The thing that keeps us going is that

“It was about having people to ride with,” adds Beckna, “to push your limits, experience the mountains, learn new tricks and develop.”

As the riders in the group started to progress – picking up sponsors,

we’re still having fun,” wraps up Gruber. “Snowboarding isn’t fun anymore if everything gets stereotyped, and everyone’s talking about stocks and shares. We’re far away from that.”

winning competitions and gaining media coverage – Gruber and co. knew it was time to start something. That something became the Ästhetiker tour.

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For info on Wängl Tängl 2011, see www.aesthetiker.com.

NO STARS “A HORRIBLE ALBUM THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO LISTEN TO. AND I MEAN THAT. I DON’T HAVE EARS. PUT ME BACK IN THE DIRT.” – AN EARTHWORM

ENJOYED BY ALL LIVING THINGS WITH EARS. Introducing 1% For The Planet: The Music Vol. 1, featuring Jack Johnson, Mason Jennings, Jackson Browne, and more. All proceeds benefit 1%’s continued efforts to make the planet a more beautiful place.

Visit music.onepercentfortheplanet.org to listen to exclusive tracks.

SEE WHAT I SEE

1.

This is Africa – but not as you know it.

Let the boys of Kibera show you around.

Text Olly Zanetti Kibera is Africa’s second largest urban slum. Barely the size of New York’s Central Park, this plot on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, is said to house between 600,000 and 1.5 million people. It’s easy to imagine the scene – poverty, hunger, nameless faces crying out for help – which is odd, considering most people have never heard of Kibera, let alone visited it.

Put the words ‘Africa’ and ‘slum’ together in a sentence, and you’re left with a one-dimensional story of desperation and despair.

But, as artist David Fulford found, there are other stories. Rather than

2.

descending on Kibera with his own agenda, David flipped the power structures of representation on their head. Working with boys from the street children organisation Koinonia Community Kenya, David distributed cameras and ran drawing sessions, encouraging the boys to record their own view of life in Kibera. “Because they’d gone off on their own, they took some incredibly candid pictures, ones I don’t believe a photojournalist would’ve been able to capture,” says David. “They have a genuinely intimate quality.”

It wasn’t until David returned to London that the significance of the images began to sink in: “This just wasn’t something that could be laid to rest. It wasn’t responsible to leave the material sitting on my desk when it had the potential to be informative and beneficial if used in the right way.”

Instead of locking this side of Kibera away, David felt he needed to share it with the world. So with the boys’ permission, he published the images as a beautiful book, Koinonia: Self-Portraits by Nairobi Street Children. As well as donating all proceeds to the Koinonia Community Kenya, David plans to return to Kibera in 2011 to start a street magazine, “something the boys

3.

have authorship over and which will benefit the local community.” www.portraitsofnairobi.com www.koinoniakenya.org

1. Joseph Oduor, age thirteen. “The Landscape is one of the largest slums in the world. In fact it is the largest slum in Eastern Africa.”

2. Andrew Ndirangu, age eight. “The picture behind Muli is a curry powder. Muli likes curry powder in his food.”

3. Victor Ochiami, age eleven. "I took this photo for fun."

4. George Ngare, age fourteen. “The girl with a blue dress, she is the sister of the one with a wound on the leg and the other two children are hers.”

4.

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L U M I N E X C O L O U R R R P. £ 1 4 . 9 9

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Is Kelly Slater surfing’s otherworldly shaman or simply a kid from Cocoa Beach made good? As the circus descends on Hossegor and the World Tour gathers pace, all eyes are fixed on the demigod who, in just six weeks time, will be crowned Champion for an unprecedented tenth time. Michael Fordham, meanwhile, just wants to get to know the man. text Michael Fordham & Photography Guy Martin

ossegor at the time of the Quik Pro is a zoo. The menagerie is restricted, however, to the genus of homo surficus – albeit in its many regional variations. There are soul-boy hipsters in trilbies, deck shoes and Frogskins wielding retro biscuit boards with selfconscious panache. There are übergrom towheads whose every sartorial inch is plastered with sponsors’ stickers, avatars of North County San Diego culturally displaced with baguette in hand. There are scruffy-haired teens from the posher environs of South Devon on the surf lig with their Alice-banded girlfriends. There is also, of course, a legion of surf curious beach-goers enjoying the dying embers of the autumn sun, and an equal number of shutterbugs and other media slags from every corner of the action sports world, brandishing their wristbands frantically in an attempt to get access to the top thirty-four practitioners of the sport of the ancient kings of Polynesia.

At the centre of this hullabaloo is one man’s image. Kelly Slater has been the poster boy for the action sports industry these last three decades. We have grown up with him as this whole thing blew. Somewhere along the way he became the most all-conquering aquatic athlete ever and the only surfer that your auntie has ever heard of.

When we arrive in Hoss at the end of September, the Slater story is gathering towards critical mass. Having just pulled into the lead of the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT) by winning the Trestles, California, event, the thirty-eight-year-old is focusing on scoring an unprecedented tenth world title. In just six weeks time, that history-making achievement will become a reality when, in his final heat at the Rip Curl Pro Search Puerto Rico, Kelly seals the deal with an indomitable, perfect ten.

Shadowing Smelley Cat was always going to be a daunting scenario: everyone wants a slice of Slater, and your humble correspondent envisaged a riotous distraction of paps and autograph hunters wherever the subject roamed. There certainly was that. But we also found a supremely focused athlete who was, though elusive and contradictory, at times earnestly evocative of his sport’s elemental profundities.

Over a period of five days we hung about in the Slater entourage a little, had

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“we just had this weird situation at home and that was pretty tough, but I think it also formed my independent, competitive self too, so it’s all part of the picture.”

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some dinner, swapped some stories, and drove from beach to hotel to

about, entertaining fellow Floridian pro Damien Hobgood’s

golf course and back again, pretending not to be part of Kelly’s constant,

three-year-old daughter. They’re walking around tickling

frustrating throng. We had heard that Kelly was scheduled to be playing

each other and pulling faces, and she’s riding on Kelly’s

golf with Quiksilver young gun Julian Wilson and team manager Belly at

feet while the gathered crew and random liggers snap pics

a golf course close to the centre of Biarritz. Perfect opportunity to have a

on their iPhones, rom-com smiles frozen on their faces.

chat away from the surf glare, right? Wrong.

As we pulled into the golf club, we knew something was up. Seeing the Crown Prince of surfing dressed in chinos and Polo shirt, we could

But you’re obviously still motivated to compete, right? That

deal with. But it was the battery of long lenses trained on the eighteenth

competitive desire is waning somewhat. Right now, I’m competing and

tee like the guns of Navarone that truly disturbed. Turns out, this was

that’s what I’ve chosen to do so I’m one hundred per cent applied, but

a well-publicised charity event, in which sports stars from across the

I’m kind of yearning to get off the Tour after so long. […] It’s just not

disciplines were scheduled to turn up and raise the profile of a children’s

exciting for me when I show up at a contest. It’s more stressful. It used

hospice. “This guy, who could hardly speak English, stuck a microphone

to be so exciting like, ‘Whoa, there’s Tom Curren, there’s Martin Potter!’

in my face and asked me to say something for ‘the surgeons’,” Kelly tells

Still, if I see those guys I’m pretty psyched. And if I get to be away from

me later. “I didn’t know what he was talking about. He said it about four

[the Tour] for four to six months or something and then I see the guys it’s

times before I realised he was talking about ‘the children’.”

pretty cool. But, you know, generally it’s just a pain in the ass because they

With our allotted time running out, after loads of casual conversations

catch as many waves as I do. [Laughs] We’re just competing for waves

and group hangs but precious little in the way of journalistic quotes, we

with each other all the time. Travel around with the best thirty to forty

finally manage to spend an hour in Kelly’s sole company to do an interview

surfers in the world and it’s hard to get a wave when you’re just a part of

on the way back from golf (albeit with Julian Wilson, Julian’s girlfriend

that crowd. I’d hate to be some guy who was just at his local beach when

and Guy the photographer behind the wheel). Alone at last. Sort of.

we show up. We’d be a pain in the butt.

How does it feel to be Kelly Slater, the centre of the global surf

When you’re not competing, how do you like to spend your day? I

industry? I just try not to think about it. The only way you get to the end is

like to play golf with my friends. To me it’s just a great thing lifestyle-wise,

to focus on right this minute. Worrying about the end result of something

to spend hours and hours golfing with your friends just talking about

is never going to be the way of accomplishing it. I’ve got to think about

life, family, kids, houses… whatever’s going on in your life. A lot of guys,

the heat I’m in, the wave I’m going for. […] You’ve got to be really present-

almost all the guys I [used to] surf on tour with, aren’t on tour anymore,

minded. You’ve got to have a clear head, and you’ve got to have nothing else

except one guy, Taylor Knox. Pretty much my whole generation doesn’t

you’re worrying about in your life. You also have to try to be aware of a lot

really compete anymore. So I get to catch up with them for maybe a

of things, and to be aware of things on a deep level. You have to be aware

couple of weeks or a couple of months at the most in a year. I like to play

of the way you live your life and how that applies to the things that you’re

music by myself at home, and I just learn songs that I like or write songs

trying to do. You have to be aware of whether these things are helping you

that I hear in my head. I spend a week or two or three a year on the Big

or holding you back. I view it as a pretty dynamic thing that’s happening

Island, Hawaii – I don’t have a house there or anything. And when I do

out there. […] There’s a lot of input. You’ve got to figure out which of these

have free time, I just like to look at the map and see where there’s good

inputs are helping you and which are hurting you.

swell and just fly there and surf. […] I love searching for waves; I love that excitement of maybe finding something you haven’t had yet, something

Are you conscious of the way people react to you, especially when

new and fresh that you haven’t experienced, new cultures and new waves,

you’re in the water? I’d rather be oblivious to it and just surf by myself

climates, food. I love the whole experience.

or with a couple of friends and not have any expectations from people.

Whether they think you’re killing it just because you stand up and you’re a pro surfer, or if they’re critical of you and think you’re surfing like a

Kelly is a foodie. Surfing and travelling all the time on the

kook because they expect a lot out of you, it takes away from the fun of

Quik account entails the constant search for carbo loads of

it in some fashion.

the finest quality. We’re in a particularly civilised restaurant at the Capbreton harbourside. Kelly eats Carpaccio of beef.

The Californians in our entourage eschew our oysters for

The contestants’ area at a World Tour event is like an F1

some straight-ahead local flavour in the form of duck and

Grand Prix paddock in flip-flops. There are surf legends

chips. Halfway through the meal, reigning champ Mick Fanning

and assorted entourages gathered shoulder to shoulder.

strolls by with his wife, pronouncing a true blue ocker “Bon

There is an atmosphere of expectancy in the air. But Kelly’s

appétit” on the way. Fanning’s brief appearance brings on the

crew is relaxed. There’s Shelby, his energetic publicist,

subject of drinking. The Aussie champ is legend. Kelly less so,

and Catlin, from Quiksilver in California, as well as ever-

at least in the noble art of dipsomania. We’re talking about

present girlfriend Kalani. But there’s also a bunch of very

Cornwall, England’s surf-rich Atlantic peninsula. “I was in

loyal Florida friends from way back, with whom he has

Newquay during my first year on tour,” he tells me. “The thing

travelled for decades. As the crew tell stories from the

I remember most is seeing some guy eating his friend’s puke off

night before and laugh at the local newspaper report that

the floor for a bet.” Sounds about right. The surf was pretty

has billed Kelly ‘Le Bruce Lee Du Surfing’, uncle Kelly apes

crumby too, apparently.

41

That’s the root of surfing, isn’t it? Isn’t it that search for the new that motivates anyone to surf in the first place? No, actually. I was ultra competitive as a kid and I wanted to win. I wanted to prove my skills, my abilities. I just felt I had a lot to prove.

Originally, I just surfed because my dad surfed and we just hung out at the beach…

I’d play in the sand, build sandcastles, play in the dunes, and I’d bodysurf and surf. I never looked at magazines. I just went to the beach and started surfing. Only after I started surfing did I start to look at magazines and say, ‘That’s my favourite surfer’ and watch movies, you know? It took a couple of years for that to sink in for me. […] I probably really started surfing the first year of the World Tour, so around ’77. I started competing in 1980 when I was eight years old. […] I had an older brother, three years older than me, who beat me up all the time and so I had a little chip on my shoulder.

[Laughs] We were in different age categories [for surfing] though, so we probably only had a handful of heats together as amateurs. […]

The moment the guy walks in I can tell there is something special about him. Kelly lights up as the man joins us for an aperitif in the hotel foyer. There’s a certain old-world dignity to him. He wears handmade shoes and bespoke horn-rim specs, sports a cashmere hoodie in sky blue offset by tastefully cut chestnut-coloured cords, and speaks with a languorous accent from the Deep South. Turns out he’s Jimmy Buffet, legendary ‘Gulf and western’ musician and surfer. Jimmy has flown down from Paris, where he had a gig, to watch Kelly surf and to talk music. “Jimmy’s music was a soundtrack to my childhood,” Kelly tells me the following evening. “My dad and I would listen to the music on the way down to the beach, listen to tapes on the beach. Having him come down to hang for a couple of days was really emotional for me.” Kelly lost his dad to cancer a few years back. Now Kelly gets to dine with his dad’s hero. It’s a tribute of sorts.

You’ve spent twenty years as a professional surfer, at the top of this huge tree the industry has become. Any regrets? When I was younger I think I regretted things, but now I’m older and wiser I don’t think I regret anything in my life, because you can’t do everything right if you don’t know how to. You’re going to make mistakes and if you don’t make the mistake you made, you’re going to make some other one that’s almost identical. I could say there are things that I’d rather have had in my family with my parents and stuff like that. Well, my parents split up when I was twelve. They didn’t have a very good relationship. When I was ten or twelve my dad moved out and then they got divorced; they just didn’t get along very well. I think they loved each other. I don’t know, we just had this weird situation at home and that was pretty tough, but I think it also formed my independent, competitive self too, so it’s all part of the picture. You know, everything I’ve done in my life is a small part of the big picture of how I was formed and how I became myself. So I don’t really have any regrets. There’re mistakes I’ve made that I wish I’d never made in my life, usually personal things with friends and that kind of thing, but it gets easier to not fuck up and it becomes easier to apologise when you do. […]

On the front at Biarritz we grab an ice cream and, somehow, we get on to the question of whether or not Obama would win the next election.

God knows what the connection was. “I don’t think we need a president,” Kelly tells me. “I mean, if it’s supposed to be a real democracy then the president just implements the will of the people, right?” The conversation then ranges into the whole issue of George Bush’s rigged election, and how Kelly enjoys the National Public Radio shows, and a

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“I’m honestly just tired of being in that pressure situation for twenty years, or longer... maybe thirty years now of competing full time.”

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certain BBC man born in San Diego who was physically ejected

You’re arguably the greatest surfer who has ever lived. Does this

from the office of Florida governor Jeb Bush for asking too

mean that the surf experience is most intense for you? Well, if we’re

many of the wrong (or right) questions. “I’m into the truth,”

out in the ocean I’m going to catch a lot better waves than you’re going

says Kelly. “Not conspiracy theories.”

to catch, based on my experience and my knowledge of the ocean. And that’s the number one thing: if you spend more time doing something for a longer period of time, you know it intimately. That’s just what

You have this incredible status within the surfing tribe. Do you

happens. I would compare it to, like, having someone in your family and

feel some responsibility to represent surfing and the surfing

someone you casually meet and [saying] you ‘know’ that type of person.

environment in a certain light? I think that’s just a natural part of being

You go, ‘Oh, I know people like them,’ but you don’t know everything

a surfer... I don’t think that I, necessarily, am any more obligated than the

about that person. You could meet someone and feel like you’ve known

next person. I think that we’re all obligated. I think that when you have

them forever, but you really don’t know them deeply and intimately. You

the right opportunity, when you’re aware of something you can help put

surf a bit and stuff, but not like I surf. You don’t live and die for going

the word out about, then you have a responsibility for it. I don’t feel like

surfing every day. It’s not your job. It’s not your passion every single day.

there’s any pressure for me to do one thing or the other.

Because I spend so much more time in the ocean, when we go out I’m going to be able to read what’s going on much better.

You’re quite political at one level, though, aren’t you? Somewhat.

Almost everyone who gets too involved in any one cause tends to be

But I know a lot of people who surf every single moment possible,

tainted in their view of the world based on the cause they’re after. You

who totally dedicate their lives to the ocean. Look at the other top

always have to adhere to that thing that you’re talking about, or most

guys on the Tour. Even these guys don’t surf like you. What is the

passionate about. Obviously that’s a good thing because change doesn’t

difference between you and them? I don’t know. [Pauses] But if you

happen until people make that change. But I don’t know. [Pauses] Just as

do the calculation, if you figure out what the waves are doing, who you’re

an example, say I’m a doctor. Well, if everyone’s not sick, my job doesn’t

surfing against, how they surf, you start getting an overview of what’s

exist anymore. I’m not saying doctors are bad, but if people aren’t sick,

happening. You get an idea of what’s going to happen, but you never know

there’s no need for them. So we have this ‘self-creating’ society. There are a

until you’re in that situation. You may go out against the toughest guy in

lot of pieces that work together. It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle – somehow it all

the world and have a really easy heat. You may go out against a guy who you

actually makes sense. […] Look at what’s happening with the environment

totally underestimate and he smashes you. I’ve had both things happen. I

and our food sources, and who’s controlling what. There are new diseases

had a final at J-Bay against Mick Fanning, and he proved to be the other

that didn’t exist a hundred years ago. A hundred years ago there wasn’t

best guy in the contest. I could have beaten him switch foot – he fell on

one out of a hundred and fifty kids being born with autism. There weren’t

every single wave he caught. […] Sometimes that happens for whatever

the rates of cancer that we have now. There are a lot of really heavy things

reason, you know – you get tired, your mind stops working, you get nervous

that are happening in the world, and you could pick any one of them and

or whatever, you choke in the moment. You can be on either side of that

spend your life trying to fight for the whole cause, but number one you’ve

luck, depending on how you’re approaching what you’re doing.

got to look out for yourself and the people closest to you. And, generally, the people who make the biggest changes in the world are the people you

So you still have those days when everything seems perfect but

don’t even know. Obviously there’re people like Martin Luther King or

you can’t surf? Yeah, did you see the first round? [Laughs] I’ve just

Nelson Mandela, but the people working behind the scenes – the people

pulled into the lead of the world rankings and I’ve just had the lowest

they get their information from – are generally people who are working with just small groups of people trying to understand what’s going on around them, rather than someone who’s looking at the bigger picture.

I’m not really sure where I’m going with that, but basically, you can get too involved in big things and forget about the real things that matter.

score of my life! Sometimes you have an off day; sometimes you’re out of sink with it. I could have gone out maybe half an hour later and caught all of the good waves – it could have been the opposite. […]

During the time we’re with Kelly a strange dynamic has emerged. We seem to be stumbling around in the entourage’s Travis Lee is Al Merrick’s man on tour. As the main guy from

wake like a couple of Hugh Grant-type caricatures. Bumbling

the company that has shaped Kelly’s boards for the last

Englishmen to a man. It’s something Brits tend to do when

twenty years, he knows something about what makes Slater

they spend any time with Americans. That’s cool. It makes

such a spooky talent: “I can’t remember if I read it somewhere,

us seem unthreatening and naïve. Little do they know. It

or what, but Kelly has something the French call the coup

comes to a head right in the middle of our elusive interview,

d’œil. He can glimpse the reality of a situation in an instant, like Napoleon on a battlefield.” It makes sense. We mortals just stumble through and do the best we can, but Kelly knows instantly the ebb and flow of a heat, and can apply his knowledge of the way his body and the waves work to any given situation. Even next to the other super surfers on the dream tour, the Slater act is simultaneously more radical, refined and flowsome than any surfer I have ever seen.

when Guy spazzes out going through the Péage – France's ubiquitous toll booths (the money for which he has to borrow from Julian). Flapping under pressure he chucks the coins everywhere, missing the gaping coin bin that’s been purpose-built to gather road tolls from even the shoddiest of throws. “Oh, you stupid English c…” says Kelly, mocking a conversation we had earlier about the casual usage of this very British expletive. He’s got a smile on his face, though.

45

What other sportsmen have inspired you? Generally the best guys in

laughing and he was serious, like, ‘This is my fucking job, what are you

their sport inspire me, because they’re doing something that the other

doing?’ and I was like, ‘This is a fucking side gig for me, I’m over this

guys aren’t. Whether it’s Lance Armstrong or Tiger Woods or Kobe

thing.’ I was just embarrassed. It was crazy. I’d ask them all these things

Bryant. Those are three guys who definitely have had an influence on me

about the scene like, ‘How come when they’re doing CPR, their arms

because I’ve watched what they do and have learned from their tactics, or

are bent and they’re not pushing? How come they give one breath, and

their natural ability or whatever, you know, how they reacted in different

the person coughs up water, opens their eyes and they’re totally fine?

situations. And the most dominant of them at any given time has been

Can’t you guys give at least some reality to this?’

Tiger. Tiger went out there for a few years and played a different game.

Instead of doing what he needed to do to win, he went out there and

What about Pammy [Pamela Anderson]? If I didn’t ask you about

did what was possible. He wasn’t doing the impossible; he was doing the

that I would be neglecting my journalistic duties. Pam and I are still

possible. He was going out there and making mistakes but still beating

friends… we’re good. She’s actually super nice, very smart. We dated for

the field by big margins. Competitively, that’s amazing.

a little while, but it wasn’t right.

What are your plans after you finally finish with the Tour? I’m going surfing. The Tour is a way of life for people for many years and it’s

Kelly’s girlfriend, Kalani Miller, does banter well. She

a fun and exciting thing. A lot of people have goals of winning events

and Kelly met around four years ago, when Kalani was a

or winning titles, but at this point I want to have more freedom to go

hard-working Roxy girl. Now, she has her own successful

home to spend time with the people I want to be around. I’m honestly

beachwear line and travels with Kelly a lot. Lounging

just tired of being in that pressure situation for twenty years, or longer...

about the hotel, she is currently rocking a set of bleached-

maybe thirty years now of competing full time. […] Last year kind of

and-dyed jeggings, the entire concept of which seems to

broke me. I was just tired of being in heats with people all the time.

amuse her man. “I think Quik should start a line of jeggings

All of last year, especially at every contest I went to, everyone was like,

for men,” she tells Kelly. “You’d look great in them.” The

‘What about that tenth title, what about that tenth title?’ and I was

couple are relaxed together. They’re affectionate without

like, ‘I’m having a shitty year, stop talking about it!’ Obviously it’s not

that cloying, sentimentalised bullshit that seems to

something you can deny talking about – people are talking about it

pervade high-profile hook-ups. Having been brought up in

to me all the time – and now I’m having a better year and I’m more

Southern California by a local surfer father and a Hawaiian

relaxed. It’s been a fun year for me. […]

mother, the globally wandering existence of a pro surfer seems to mould naturally into who Kalani is. She is, we suppose, a surfer WAG, but not as we know it.

News hot off the press is that the first two series of

Baywatch, in which Kelly starred in a less-than-stellar performance as surfer ‘Jimmy Slade’, are being re-released.

The Kelly connection is highlighted by the PR crew representing the Hoff-and-Pammy show and the distributors are sending box sets to every surf magazine editor on the planet. “They could offer me a million dollars to do one episode and I wouldn’t do it again,” he laughs. “That was my old manager’s fault. He thought that one day people would hardly remember that I surfed, that I’d be in Hollywood or something.” The irony in the fact that Hollywood has come to surfing, and that he couldn’t be any more famous for doing what comes naturally, is not lost on Kelly.

Are you in a good place in terms of relationships right now? That must make a huge difference when you’re travelling all the time and dealing with constant pressure? I’m sure it feeds into it. I’ve had relationships in the past where I was really stressed out and really not getting along well with the girl that I was with, and it definitely detracts from what you’re attempting to do when you go out in a contest or in a heat. It makes it real tough to enjoy what you’re doing and to focus on what you’re doing completely. To be happy inside is probably the number one key to that.

We arrive back at the Quiksilver superstore at Capbreton.

Kelly gets a shave from the in-house barber (yes, a barber What was the Baywatch experience really like? It was excruciating…

shop in a surf store). On the stairwell right next to where

It’s funny, I don’t know how that was such a big show; it was just

he’s being lathered up is an eighteen-feet-high mural of

painful. […] I’d pull the writers aside and say, ‘How did you guys even

Kelly. The icon realised. As a journalist doing a profile

come up with this?! How do you come up with the surfboards getting

you’re looking for conflict, looking for the place where

lost in a cave and being held captive by an octopus and we have to

the tectonic plates in a person’s character rub each against

fight the octopus to go get our surfboards back?’ I asked the guy [who

each; the place where energy is released. The fissure in

wrote that scene] how he came up with it, and he said, ‘I actually got

Kelly seems to me to centre on the fact that he just happens

that from a surf magazine I read, about how these surfboards had

to be the greatest surfer who has ever paddled out into a

disappeared into this cave and they only found them years later.’ And I

heat. If there is a conflict there, between global superstar

was like, ‘Where did the Baywoctopus come in?!’ I actually almost got

and good-old beach-bred boy, then he’s harnessed the

in a fight with Dave Charvet in that scene… well, I actually did get in

energy. The energy is still burning after all these years. And

a fight and someone [had to] literally pull us back off each other. I was

46 HUCK

that’s the thing that fascinates

“Can you dig it?� Mike Dallas incites the horde in front of the Coney Island amusement park icon, the Cyclone.

48 HUCK

Prepare yourself for a long and wild ride: New York City’s longboarders are charging around en masse.

Text Tetsuhiko Endo Photography Brett Beyer

t’s 7:00pm in New York City and the

eccentric events that bring this mismatched crew

thermometer

thirty-five

together. There’s the Central Park Race, the Brooklyn

degrees. It’s the hottest summer on record

Blitz and the infamous Broadway Bomb, an illegal

and Mike Dallas of Bustin Boards has

street race that sends hundreds of skaters hurtling

organised a twenty-six mile longboarding

down America’s most famous street – Saturday

race, based on the quest from the classic

traffic at its peak – to see who can get from Columbia

New York movie The Warriors, to get from Van

University to the statue of the Wall Street Bull in

Cortlandt Park to the famous Cyclone amusement

the shortest amount of time. The current record is

ride in Coney Island. Seventeen teams of three are

twenty-six minutes and forty seconds, faster than any

here tonight, each representing a different street

form of transportation besides helicopter.

still

reads

gang from the movie. And almost all have dressed to impress.

You’ve never seen skating quite like this. They are the mongrel mutations of a new evolutionary branch

The group is a mismatched horde of people

bursting forth from the filthy, stinking furnaces

from different urban tribes. Black, white, Hispanic,

of New York City and coming to a street near you.

rich, poor, skate shoes, running shoes, baggy jeans,

There’s no pretence, no rules, no barriers to entry

tight shorts, Buddy Holly glasses, goggles, aviator

predicated on cool – just long decks, fat wheels and

caps, hipster haircuts, shaved heads, cholo braids

a collective need for speed.

and piercings in places metal shouldn’t be; anyone

When I catch up with the pack from Bustin

and everyone is here, together in one place. “Can

Boards a few weeks later, they are doing what they do

you dig it?” yells Dallas as he raises his arm. And on

best: flying through the city one summer afternoon

that signal, they take off from the starting line with

in the feral pursuit of the kinetic. “I’d tried short

one collective push.

skateboards in the past, but the scene felt somewhat

The Warriors Race is just one example of many

intimidating to fit into,” says Nathalie Herring,

49

spinning one of her wheels absent-mindedly as we enjoy a brief respite with other longboarders at the bottom of the Williamsburg Bridge.

We have been causing a scene on the bridge for the last hour, swerving through pedestrians, eliciting curses from hipsters on pristine new bikes, narrowly avoiding disaster every time we lean into turns or bust the wheels loose for long, controlled slides. The riders barely notice.

As twenty-four-year-old Herring explains, it’s all about the distinct feeling of the ride. “A lot of times I like to glide my fingertips across the concrete, like a surfer in the water touches a wave, and feel the energy beneath me,” she says. “Longboarding is how I choose to connect Traffic laws become very relative the second you step onto a longboard. The trick is knowing which vehicles to burn (buses) and which ones to respect (taxis).

with the world around me.”

After the bridge, the crew picks up speed, rushing like a wolf pack through congested streets. When I catch up with Solomon Walter Lang of Bustin, we are both dripping with sweat. I’m panting and my kicking leg hurts, but he’s just warming up. “I love Manhattan.

I love dodging people and weaving through traffic,” he says. “I love the energy and the rush. The city is always changing and to skate it, we always have to be aware of the way it changes.”

They’re insatiable in their compulsive desire for motion. Moving is their sole purpose; arriving, a disappointment. Repose only happens long enough to munch candy and gulp can after effervescent can of energy drink.

The police see us run a red light and all hell breaks loose. The pack explodes in different directions, then coalesces again a few minutes later at a downtown meeting place. We ride the spot for a while, soaking up its curves and undulations, then take flight again.

Unknown riders show up and are absorbed into the group, no questions asked.

“This is ‘push culture’ and it’s just the beginning,” says Lang. “Longboarders accept each other as instant family, people see this love and this sense of belonging and freedom and they want that. Each skater takes it upon himself to spread the stoke... he wants you to understand what he’s feeling.”

And people are. Skateboard sales dropped two per cent in the first part of this year, but longboard sales have jumped forty-three per cent. For the moment, no one is grumbling about this surge in popularity. “I love the freedom it has given me. The freedom to be myself.

I love the community and the joy that it brings. I want to go fast!” Lang shouts over his shoulder, while he threads between two buses and flies through an empty intersection.

It won’t always be like this. The masses will come, the media will descend, the underground will become the institution. Jonny Depp has already bought a few Bustin boards. But until then, New York City’s longboarders are just a bunch of young people with too much energy, in love with the city, going everywhere and nowhere as fast as they can

The dangers of fast bearings, long turning radii and riding in tight packs. Theseus XW holds onto Mark Shaperow for dear life.

David Benedek betreibt Nachforschungen zum Status quo des Snowboarding.

Interview Melanie Schรถnthier Fotografie Sandra Steh

52 HUCK

53

avid Benedek is a collector. He doesn’t stockpile stamps in his basement or fill his garage with weird little trains. Nor does he lock trophies in glass cabinets, which – considering the amount of podiums he’s topped – would just about make sense. David’s impulse to forage for something he can hold onto for all time stems from a more visceral place. He collects snowboarding. He seeks out the people that have moulded it along the way, documents the stories that have given it shape and presents the shifting sands of history in a tangible form.

You see, as well as being one of the most progressive

snowboarders

Germany

has

ever

produced, David makes things. He makes movies, like

In Short and 91 Words For Snow, which capture the many varied, multi-layered narratives that help make snowboarding so endlessly rad. He puts those movies out into the world through Blank Paper Studio, the production company he founded with big brother Boris and fellow pro Christoph Weber as an excuse to do all manner of cool shit. And now, satisfying another creative itch, David makes books. One book to be precise, simply titled Current State: Snowboarding – a mammoth compilation of interviews with some of snowboarding’s most influential faces – written, designed and lovingly whittled out of what the thirty-year-old terms an “obsessive snowboardish philanthropy”. You see, David makes things, so that we can have things; his collection is ours to keep.

It’s a simple motivation, but one this inquisitive doer likes to bear in mind – especially when he’s grappling with the pressures of an authorial debut. And as we realise when we meet David at his Munich base, the urge to create something you can grasp with both hands can be a powerful force.

54 HUCK

“Over the next months, I would like to

two and a half years ago when I realised I no longer

two years. Was working on the book a trigger for

write a book about snowboarding. Kind of

knew which direction snowboarding was heading.

this move? The book certainly has got something

a status quo report in which different

Snowboarding seemed to have to fight for such a long

to do with my own emancipation process. All of a

people that are involved in snowboarding

time to establish itself and grow, but after succeeding

sudden you are outgrowing something you have so

get to talk, thus trying to make a conclusion

it seemed like nobody had a clue where to go next. At

long identified yourself with; I’m thirty now and at

about snowboarding’s current state. I don’t

least this is how I felt. With the interviews I wanted

some point you start to look for a bit more depth

have a clue how to write a book, but I think

to find out what people from different backgrounds

than just double corks and the like. Snowboarding has

it is going to be an interesting experience

in snowboarding think about the sport and gather a

a seasonal cycle and I lived within this cycle for ten

and I’m already curious about the result.”

collective opinion about its current state – the direction

years. For example, you always ride the same spots – in

in which it’s heading and where it shouldn’t go.

the videos you see the guys riding the same kicker and

-

doing almost the same trick for five years in a row. You

November 29, 2008

How did you choose the people you interviewed?

can’t do this forever. To break out of this rhythm, you

My intention was to show a fair and democratic

have to find new objectives – Blank Paper helped me

Two years have passed since you first mentioned

picture of snowboarding and not only speak to people

in doing so. One year we organised an event and the

your ambition to make a book. What has been the

that I already know and share my opinion. Of course,

next year we made a movie. Now it is a book. I’m just

outcome of that initial idea? A book that takes form

it still is a very subjective assortment of people that

about to grow out of all this [in a] pretty mellow [way],

slower than I thought it would. [Laughs] Actually it

I considered as relevant and interesting. In the

without hurrying myself up.

was supposed to come out at the beginning of fall, but

beginning, there were fifty names of which I finally

now it’s going to be February. I think I had unrealistic

interviewed thirty. Twenty-four interviews are now

expectations and underestimated that it will take a lot

published in the book. I was especially interested in

“Snowboarding will try to get more

of time to organise all by myself – from the finances to

people from different cultural eras in snowboarding.

acceptance and grow without losing its

the design, right up to the interviews.

Someone like Shaun Palmer, for example, who has

roots. Our sport is appealing to the masses,

been part of snowboarding since the late eighties,

but only in a limited degree – an old

What was the best moment during the project?

probably has a different image of snowboarding than a

grandmother will never understand why

When working on any project, there are always three

nineteen-year-old Jed Anderson.

this one switch backside 9 was especially

moments that are amazing. The moment an idea

stylish. There will be a limit, but this is

develops a life of its own – when you feel this actually

Which interview surprised you the most? Speaking

could work out and all of a sudden it goes whoosh!

to Scotty Wittlake was pretty interesting. Five years

-

And hundreds of new ideas pop up in your mind that

ago, at the peak of his career, he just quit professional

February 8, 2008

are all built on this very first one. Maybe it sounds a

snowboarding and nobody really knew why. I had filmed

bit cheesy, but it’s a bit like [how I imagine] you would

with him for one season, but didn’t get to know him

sense greatness, or at least the potential for greatness.

really. I still remembered that he never wanted to earn

What did you find out about the current state of

The second moment is when the production part is

any money with snowboarding and had a pathological

snowboarding during your own “emancipation

over and you put together what you have created –

guilty conscience towards the rest of the world. He

process”? It actually only demonstrated what I always

that anticipation of the actual result, which, on the

even donated his pro model royalties to charitable

suspected, but since the very first idea for this book

other hand, can also be quite depressing sometimes

organisations – which is a nice move, but I had the

came up, a lot has changed. Snowboarding used to be

when the product doesn’t match the expectations.

feeling that he could never really enjoy what he had

more set on expansion a few years ago and less interested

Then, if you did not completely ruin it, you are soon

achieved. In the interview he explained his decisions

in its own culture; the outside world was what counted.

holding something in your hands that is real – this is

with so much self-reflection and self-criticism that it

You had the feeling there was nothing more to come

the moment when it’s all worth it. The moment your

really amazed me. His anti-capitalistic attitude lacked

– that this was it. But when I look at it now, there is

idea has become something real, something that you

a missionary hypocrisy and there was no sense of

so much innovation and fresh input in snowboarding –

can touch. The time in between those three moments

idealisation. This was pretty cool and somehow even

it’s a [totally] different feeling. Snowboarding is getting

can be pretty dreadful, but you can make it from one

heart-warming as it revealed a very unpretentious

back to its inner core. Of course there are more riders

to the other okay.

love for snowboarding. Scotty lives in Portland today,

than ever, who are on NBC with their mainstream

working as a bike courier, but during the winter he still

sponsor stickers, but at the same time you also see

You’re normally at the receiving end of interviews.

rides three times a week – with the same drive. There is

the drug-addicted ‘indie rail guy’, the pow surfer or

What drove you to start asking questions of your

hardly a more authentic person than Scotty.

the split boarder. It is not only about 1080s anymore

own – what were you trying to find out? I was

nothing negative.”

– it’s about innovation and creativity… It’s amazing to

interested in the [current state of snowboarding]

You’ve also chosen to take a step back from the

see how much creative progression we’ve experienced

and what people think about it. There was a moment

snowboard industry over the course of the last

throughout the last two, three years.

55

“everything always grows in a kind of breathing movement; it blows up, collapses, stabilises and begins to grow again.

Snowboarding has passed the STATE of expansion and is going through its stabilisation” Can you pinpoint a turning point when this

You were the first to land a double cork 1260

period of progression sparked off? No, I don’t

in 2006, but have since moved away from the

-

think so. To me, it seems like everything always

contest scene. Did you feel that you had reached

June 12, 2008

grows in a kind of breathing movement; it blows

an upper limit after that crescendo – that there

up, collapses, stabilises and begins to grow again.

was nowhere left to go before the tricks became

Snowboarding has passed the state of expansion

too technical, too dangerous? No. I even had a two-

Your parents are both from Hungary, a

and is going through its stabilisation at the

page list of tricks I still wanted to do. I also thought

country that isn’t particularly well known for

moment, where it is all about innovation and not

about filming a video part over a period of two or three

snowboarding... That’s true. But they have both

about the commercialisation of the innovation. Of

years, only focusing on those tricks. But then I was

lived in Germany for decades. My dad escaped pretty

course there are the Olympic Games and all of a

looking at events like the Air & Style and Freestyle.CH

movie-like, through East Berlin to West Germany

sudden you see snowboarders invited on Jay Leno,

and thinking, ‘What are you actually doing? This is

twenty-two years ago. Even though snowboarding’s

but it is natural that there will always be a counter

bullshit.’ I simply do not have this crazy drive anymore

not their world, they always supported me. Of course,

reaction, too. It is always like this; if something goes

that you need to ignore the risks when conditions

they keep asking me from time to time if I would

in one direction, there are forces that stretch to the

aren’t perfect and unfortunately this is often the case

consider going to university at some point, but they

other direction. In my opinion, snowboarding has

at contests. As soon as you have lost the drive, you feel

are not reactionary or conservative at all. Maybe due

over-stretched itself and now the whole culture is

like, ‘Okay, I could do this now, but it would really suck

to their heritage in a country that was surrounded

stabilising again.

falling flat on my face.’

by fences – it was always important to them that my

Having interviewed such a cross-section of

This summer, Torstein Horgmo surprised the

characters, do you think the type of person

snowboard world with the first triple cork. Only a

attracted to snowboarding has changed over

few months earlier, Kevin Pearce suffered a serious

Now that you know where snowboarding is

time? Only in parts. When someone like Shaun

injury while training for the double cork in the

heading, do you have a better idea of where you

Palmer tells me that half of the guys that started

pipe. Has the price of innovation risen too high?

are heading too? Good question. Actually, I’ve been

snowboarding with him are drug addicts and the

No, in my opinion it used to be even more dangerous,

following my own path for a long time, aside from

other half are in prison, I have to say that this is a

when the riding level was not as high as today, but the

the conventions that a normal snowboard pro has to

whole different story. Today kids, including me, wear

jumps were. I think it is not the tricks, but the obstacles

fulfil. So I think I will continue on this path – going

the latest brands from head to toe and get a lift to the

that are dangerous – even though they’ve improved a

snowboarding when I want to go and doing other stuff

mountain in their mum’s SUV. So yes – snowboarding

lot during the last years. Unfortunately there are still

that I’m interested in the rest of the time. This year it

did attract other, more rebellious guys back in

park shapers that want to stand out by building crazy

was the book – next year it could be something else.

the days. I think this is a normal process, initiated

features, thus putting kids at risk. That really sucks.

Snowboarding doesn’t really draw me into one corner;

parents influenced you, they still did.”

brother Boris and I could do whatever we wanted to

by the growth of something and the resulting

do and I owe them a lot for this.

last year I tried splitboarding, which was fun. But it

regimentation. Today you see families visiting a rave

What kept you motivated over the years to

could also happen that I’m looking for some [other]

next to pill-eating techno freaks. But actually, only

attempt more and more complicated tricks?

challenge and working on a trick that is still on my

the basic conditions change, not the personal feeling

I think most people have this primitive drive to

list. But generally speaking, I’m heading towards the

to be attracted to and feel part of a certain culture.

improve and progress. For me, this was learning new

creative world, the production of movies and books – I

When I see today’s seventeen-year-old kids – all

tricks. It is the same for almost all snowboarders.

think this could be compensation for snowboarding.

enthusiastic snowboard mag subscribers – dressing

You see something, think about how it could feel and

Somehow it already is...

in the brightest neon colours and getting pissed at

work on realising it. As soon as these thoughts have

parties, it is the same exact thing that I experienced.

built into your head, you make them rest there and

You are one of the most influential snowboarders

at some point – it could be one month or a year – you

of all time. Why isn’t there an interview with

know that you can make it. I’m sure that Torstein

you included in the book? There will be a short

already had the triple in his head for one and a half

introduction, written by me, and maybe a conclusion

years – you don’t come up with it just like that.

at the end. But as I was the one who did all the

“I’m more on the technical side of snowboarding, but I don’t think that’s the most important part. In a way, I was just going

interviews, I’m already fifty per cent of the book. I

the way of least resistance because that’s my

think that’s enough, isn’t it?

talent and it naturally draws me to that.”

“Who influenced me the most? I think my

-

parents, since there’s such a subconscious part

April 9, 2009

to education. Even if you don’t think your

56 HUCK

Current State: Snowboarding by David Benedek can be preordered at www.almostanything.com.

Actionshot Wolle: SAlomon, Actionshot marlon: Andy Fox / andy-fox.com, lifestyleshot Eero: oAklEy

58 HUCK

Put the ponies out to pasture, leave your pretence at the door: hardcourt bike polo is not a blue-blooded sport.

Text Shannon Denny Photography Paul Calver

59

The roots of that weed, however, run deeper

In a world where technology, rules and hierarchies

than you may think. An early precursor of hardcourt

in sport are spiralling out of control, hardcourt polo

polo appeared at the end of the nineteenth century

is refreshingly straightforward. “We keep it simple,”

during the original bicycle craze, brought about by

says Matt. “Three people on a team, no foot-downs

the handy invention of pneumatic tyres. An Irishman

on the ground. If you do, the penalty is touching out

named Richard J. Mecredy (also spelled McCready)

at the sides in the middle.”

laid down rules for pursuing cycle polo on grass in

In league play, the first team to score five points

1891, and before the decade was out Americans and

– a point is scored by striking the ball into a goal

Europeans were playing competitively. Grass bike

– wins the game with three games making up a

polo was a demonstration sport in the 1908 London

match. In tournaments, games are timed to end at

Olympics and its popularity soared, until World War

ten minutes. The only contact allowed is like-to-

II largely halted its progress.

like, as in bike-to-bike or mallet-to-mallet. Referees

Fast-forward several decades, subtract the bucolic grassy setting and in its place insert a hefty dose of

officiate over tournament play, but regular meet-up games are self-policing.

concrete, and the hardcourt revolution started to

“The biggest rule is, ‘Don’t be a dick,’” Matt says.

on’t let the name fool you. Hardcourt bike polo might

roll into the modern metropolis. Hardcourt polo got

“So if someone started throwing their weight around

call to mind a certain princely sport invented in Persia

its start in 1999 in Seattle and by 2002 had spread to

or getting out of line, everyone would just reel them

around 600BC – and later carried across the globe

the bike-loving city of Portland. Two years later it

in. And you don’t want to be that guy anyway; you

by colonial plantation owners, mustachioed cavalry

popped up in New York, and by 2006 it had touched

don’t want to turn up in front of thirty or forty peers,

officers and Argentine aristocrats – but if you show

down in London.

friends and people you don’t even know and be the

up at a practice expecting kitten-heeled spectators, a

According to the London Hardcourt Bike Polo

table of silver trophies and a tent serving Pimm’s and

Association (LHBPA), two years ago the sport had

The infrastructure requirements are as minimal

Pommery then you’re in for a shock.

taken hold in about fifty metropolitan areas. Today

as the rulebook, although finding suitable courts in

one everyone hates on.”

It’s a weekday evening and a post-work crowd of

you can find it in more than two-hundred-and-twenty

the centre of a crowded city can pose a significant

urban bike-lovers are cracking open cans of Red Stripe

cities, with an average of two new areas registering a

challenge, says Dale Bickham, an Australian research

around the perimeter of a tarmac playground where

bike polo scene every week. They estimate there are

scientist who’s played since the early days of the

the inner-city London boroughs of Hackney and

over 4,600 dedicated bike polo players worldwide

British hardcourt scene: “People are particular about

Islington meet. Here, among the council blocks and

with a further 20,000 who play infrequently.

what the court is like. In London there are space

anti-climb paint, this underground sport is growing up

So what’s the secret to its runaway success?

restrictions and a lot of people playing football on

like a bastard kid; pony polo may well be its mother,

As humanity tries desperately to wean itself off

similar courts, so there’s a bit of a clash.” An ideal

but reprobate youth culture is certainly the dad.

a destructive addiction to oil, two wheels have

court will have one entry point, no gaps in the fence

With its distinctively urban context, hardcourt polo

never held quite so much appeal. Cycle couriers are

where a ball can escape, a smooth surface without

shares common ground with hip hop, that Bronx-born

credited with the birth of hardcourt polo, and it’s

a slope, unbroken pavement and floodlights to

movement that owes its existence to a confluence of

not hard to see why. The skill-sets they’ve honed

facilitate wintertime play. Diehard fans have been

deprivation, ingenuity and improvisation. Underfunded

to navigate the urban environment (tight turns,

known to scour Google Earth in search of grey

schools could offer turntables but not musical

stopping on a dime, standing still while poised on

rectangles with a row of lights down the side.

instruments, while the sides of subway trains stood in

pedals and steering through miniscule gaps) are

“People have sought different locations,” Dale

for artists’ canvasses. Out of this scarcity of resources

perfectly suited to this modern manifestation of

says, pointing to examples of a recent tournament in

came the underground expressions of scratching,

the game.

Manchester played on an indoor ice hockey rink and

Matt Bibby, who works as a designer for the

another hosted inside Spitalfields Market in London.

streetwear label Chunk, remembers being instantly

“But it’s always come back to three or four staple

Bike polo may be less about economic deprivation,

mesmerised upon first catching sight of bike polo

courts that get used over and over.”

but the dearth of space and resources that goes hand-in-

three years ago: “I only came across the game because

hand with urban life – and the brand of scrappy ingenuity

I was walking down the road with a couple of friends.

that it engenders – is the same. And much like hip hop’s

We saw all these bikes gracefully gliding around in

global growth, hardcourt bike polo is flourishing like

the sun chasing a ball.” Matt now plays at least once

some kind of tenacious weed that springs up in the

a week, while Chunk has made a habit of sponsoring

cracks of an untended asphalt surface.

both teams and tournaments.

graffiti, beatboxing and breakdancing, with early innovators literally making something out of nothing.

60 HUCK

61

The LHBPA is working toward standardising

requisitioned from building sites or roadworks.

Open where a Seattle team won the top prize: a quiver

court requirements to enable consistency, and has also

“People find them, happily,” Felix divulges. “The

of polo bicycles custom-made by London’s 14 Bike Co.

established equipment rules to promote safety. For

official rules say twelve centimetres is the longest you

Back at the Red Stripe-fuelled meet-up, though,

example, bar ends have to be smooth and plugged “so

can have. Drill holes take the weight out, or people

the absence of a winners’ podium hasn’t diminished

if you fall on them you don’t get sort of apple-cored,

will have one massive hole so they can scoop the ball

the compulsion to play. But first, cones must be found

which is a pretty nasty experience,” Dale explains. “The

with the side of the mallet.”

to serve as goal markers. When I ask where they’ll get

more serious it gets, people don’t want to give up the

Wheel covers are another modification that calls

cones at this time of night, one two-wheeled bandit

ball so they just keep on going, and that’s when you get

upon a player’s upcycling savvy. These prevent damage

grins, “They’re donated by the local council!” Within

more injuries.” There have been skull fractures, broken

to spokes, and also provide a tactical advantage.

minutes the pack returns with the desired contraband

collarbones and split knuckles, so some players opt for

“They’re quite handy,” Felix says. “If you’ve got the

in hand, and he announces, “Philanthropy – modern

protective gear borrowed from other sports, like cricket

ball on one side of you and the attacking or opposing

philanthropy in action, that’s what it is.”

helmets and hockey gloves. These provide protection

player is on the other side of you, they can’t see the

Resembling a tribe of urban Robin Hoods, the

from swinging mallets, flying balls – and the ground.

ball through the wheel.” In London, the ubiquitous

merry band gets down to business. Somewhere far

But with the sport still in its infancy, you won’t

estate agent signs provide the perfect corrugated

away on a green expanse of real estate, bike polo’s

find a bike polo section in Foot Locker or Lillywhite’s

plastic medium for the job. One player’s wheels

pony-based predecessor is no doubt carrying on its

just yet. As a result, borrowing and hacking are

sport the unmistakable livery of one of the country’s

traditions among pricey horseflesh, full-time grooms

intrinsic features of the scene. Bikes are often

most notoriously greedy agencies; “I’m sponsored by

and magnums of Champagne. Here, however, the

cobbled together from spare parts, and Felix Cramer,

Foxtons,” he grins.

satisfying sound of ball against plastic is followed

a college student, illustrates how DIY skills have

With more players catching polo fever every day

by a ‘ping’ as the projectile finds a chain-link fence.

come in handy in fashioning his much-used mallet.

of the week, tournament play is on the rise. In 2010,

There are high-speed chases and instant emergency

“It’s a golf club and electrical tape,” he tells me. “I

thirty-one teams competed for the UK Championship

stops, crashing, weaving, scraping and scrapping as

played with it so much I broke the end off it, so there

in April, while forty-eight teams took part in August’s

the quarry wiggles free. Occasionally the ball becomes

was a massive hole. So what you do is put a penny on

European Championships in Geneva. That same

airborne before being tamed again by the pack of

it or a cork and tape over it.”

month, the World Hardcourt Polo Championships in

hungry cyclists, circling like piranhas in a rough sea of

Ski poles or bamboo are other common

Berlin saw sixty-four teams battling over the course

grey tower blocks and crumbling concrete. They sail

components used to serve as mallet shafts, while

of three days, and then less than a week later teams

around smoothly before one casually, but decisively,

mallet heads are typically made from plastic piping

from ten countries fought it out in LHBPA’s London

puts the little orb between the traffic cones

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things i need to say t h e a l i b o u l a l a i n t e rv i e w Two years ago Ali Boulala went to prison following a tragic motorcycle accident that left close friend Shane Cross dead.

Now Sweden’s fallen skateboarder is ready to speak out.

Text Jay Riggio PHOTOGRAPHY Robin Nilssen

It’s hard to believe that just three years ago

At around 1:05 am, Ali and Shane left to drive

an uphill battle to Ali as he struggled to regain the

skateboarders Ali Boulala and Shane Cross were

around town on Ali’s motorcycle. Ali lost control

use of his legs. He was confined to a wheelchair for

living lives most people only dream of. Travelling the

of the bike and slammed head-on into the wall of

two months as he literally, day by day, learned to walk

world, partying, signing autographs, sleeping in, doing

the Tramway Hotel. It was reported his speed at the

all over again.

demos, appearing in countless magazines, cashing

time of the wreck was thirty kilometres per hour.

Considering just how serious his injuries were,

cheques and racking up clips for the upcoming Flip

Both were riding without helmets. Shane, who was

Ali’s recovery was achieved fairly quickly, with the

video. The two friends and Flip teammates were

a passenger, died almost instantly. Ali was rushed

help of excellent doctors and intense physiotherapy.

in permanent vacation mode, no different from

to the hospital with an entire mess of injuries,

But throughout the long, painstaking process, his

the regular state of any well-to-do professional

including severe brain trauma.

inevitable fate lingered as the date for him to appear

skateboarder. Swedish-born Ali had already spent

The

incident

sent

a

cannon-sized

blast

before a judge approached. In the end, Ali would

years pushing the limits of the proverbial party, and

reverberating around the skate world, leaving

plead guilty to one count of culpable driving. He was

seemed content to build on the wild child, punk-as-

friends, fans and industry insiders utterly shocked

given a four-year sentence with a non-parole period

fuck persona he had already mastered. And his buddy

and wondering. Wondering what could have become

of two years.

Shane Cross, though younger and still an amateur on

of the Australian-born Cross and his unprecedented

It’s October 1, 2010. Ali was released from an

the Flip roster, was already becoming accustomed to

talent that would never be explored. Wondering if Ali

Australian prison six months ago after serving almost

the pro lifestyle. He was living fast, partying hard,

would survive, ever speak again, ever walk again, or

exactly two years. It’s 7pm Stockholm time and Ali is

nabbing a ton of coverage and blowing minds with

ever ride his skateboard again.

home with his fiancée who he is scheduled to wed in

his sheer skill. Without a doubt, he was well on his

Distracted by the overall weight of the situation,

less than two weeks. He speaks patiently and thinks

way to becoming Flip’s next pro. Life was excellent

what many failed to consider were the legal

deeply about my questions before carefully answering

for the two friends. But on March 7, 2007, everything

ramifications that hovered overhead. After all, Ali

each one. Despite his admission that he still

changed forever.

had a blood alcohol level of .162 at the time of the

occasionally experiences some short-term memory

incident and was later charged with the death of his

loss, I search unsuccessfully for an indication that

teammate, fellow skateboarder and dear friend.

such symptoms actively exist.

The details surrounding the tragic motorcycle accident that left Shane Cross dead and Ali Boulala in critical condition are still hazy – mostly because

Ali’s injuries were severe and required months of

“I still need an operation,” he says after I inquire

Ali himself remembers nothing of the incident.

hospital treatment and intense therapy. In addition to

about his skating. “I have calcium that’s formed in

The account pieced together by the authorities

fractured spinal discs and a broken shoulder, amongst

the muscle of the hip which is due to the brain injury.

sounds like this: after a full day of skating, the two

other things, he was left with an ABI (Acquired Brain

I don’t have proper range in my hip with my hip

settled in at Melbourne’s famous Cherry Bar before

Injury), which accounted for severe memory loss and

movement. I can’t lift my leg up that high.”

stopping off at a friend’s house to drink some beers.

the inability to walk. The recovery process felt like

Though he’s only rolled around briefly on a

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explore or revisit. But as we inch along towards the heart-wrenching details, Ali speaks openly and the pain in his voice seems to bubble to the surface. “Now looking back it seems so weird, like a time warp, like I was just in this capsule,” he says before taking in a deep breath. “Sometimes it feels like that shit didn’t even happen.”

Having no memory of the accident, his only vague recollection is strangely connected to a random skate sequence he shot on that fateful day, which later ran in Australian magazine Slam.

“I [only] remember the day because someone told me that was the day,” he says, seemingly in disbelief that such a documentation of the day exists.

“Someone showed me the photographs of that day skating and I’m like, ‘Oh fuck!’ If nobody had showed me them, there would be no way of me knowing which day it was. Now I can look back and go, ‘Oh okay, oh my god – it was that day.’ Otherwise I would never have known.”

As we wrap up our conversation, I inquire about his plans for the upcoming year, expecting more details on skating, freedom from behind bars and staying healthy. But the sadness in Ali’s voice thickens as he begins: “Some time in the future I want to talk to Shane’s parents and to his dad. I haven’t really tried to make contact.”

It’s then that Ali talks of how he thought of Shane every day in prison, and of the countless letters he attempted to write to Shane’s family. He tried his best to get the words on paper, to write a letter that might express his regret – that might show just how sorry he is – and possibly bring some sense of closure to both Shane’s family and his darkest remembrances.

But the words never came. board since the accident, he expresses no doubts

latest video, Extremely Sorry. And just recently,

“It’s really a very delicate issue. There’s nothing

that he will be skating again very soon. “I never really

based on nothing more than his past reputation as

I can really say. I’d like to be able to say some day

thought that I’d never be able to walk again, it was a

an amazing skateboarder, he’s been added to the

how sorry I am but it’s fucking hard to get there,”

battle, but I never thought, ‘It’s over, I’m never going

illustrious KR3W apparel roster. In just a few weeks,

Ali says before pausing. “That’s something that

to walk.’ When I knew that I was going to walk, I

he’s scheduled for a European signing tour with Tom

I just have to do one of these days. I don’t really

knew that I was going to skate too,” he says with

Penny, Lizard King and Horsey. It’ll be his first tour

know if there’s anything one can say. I don’t know

utter confidence.

in over three years and his first skate appearances

if that’s ever really going to go away, but I’d like to

since the accident.

say something at least. I’m still hoping I can do it

Ali’s had a long leave of absence from skateboarding but he’s stayed connected all along,

Despite Ali’s success and notoriety as a

flipping through skate mags his fiancée would send

professional skateboarder, his absence from the

him in prison and thinking about it incessantly.

spotlight has somehow given him the impression that

“When you can’t really do it, it makes you want to do

when he starts touring again, he will go unnoticed.

it more than ever,” he says with childlike excitement

“Sometimes I go into McDonalds and some random

seeping through his words.

guy will be like, ‘Oh my god let me take a picture

While most of Ali’s sponsors severed ties with

of you!’ So maybe I’m not completely forgotten

him throughout his recovery and following the jail

there,” he says. “It’s cool to know that people haven’t

sentence, his longtime board sponsor, Flip, stuck

forgotten.”

with him the entire way, keeping his pro board

As we continue to chat, I am careful not to push

in circulation and even giving him a part in their

too far or touch on heavy topics Ali may not want to

66 HUCK

someday soon, somehow.” www.kr3wdenim.com.

explorING the dichotomy between group and self at the Vans Downtown Showdown.

Text Ed Andrews Photography Richie Hopson

he Reeperbahn, Hamburg: a wide street

This mismatched posse have gathered here for

flanked by strip bars, sex shops, late-night

the European leg of the Vans Downtown Showdown,

drinking holes and other such dens of

a unique contest that asks the solo skater to leave self-

iniquity. It’s known locally as die sündige

interest at the door and ride beneath one banner as a

Meile (the sinful mile), a place where rampant shoreleave sailors, adventure-hungry backpackers and deviant locals satiate their lust for hard liquor and soft flesh. They are the sinful mob. And it’s here that they get their selfish kicks.

Come August, and another group of sinners are descending on this less than salubrious district. They are the punks, the greebos – the indolent trespassers who spend their days rolling on tarmac and crashing on sofas – and in the eyes of so many, they are totally depraved. Pushing around in tight-knit packs, they disturb the peace with a clattering din, T-shirts saturated in sweat and grime, unkempt hair creeping out of beanies, their vulc soles and suede uppers scraped away on coarse griptape. If heavy metal is the devil’s music, then he’s riding atop a seven-ply concave deck when it booms through his head.

squad. Eight skate teams have been invited to design and session obstacles inspired by Hamburg’s nautical heritage. Of the eight designs submitted, four have

1.

been built: Death Skateboards’ pirate ship, Element’s tanker ship, Antiz’ volcano-shaped sea monster and Cliché’s strippers’ pole.

Throughout the day, each obstacle is subjected to an hour-long onslaught of maple, steel and urethane as each of the eight teams field their skaters most suited to the task, frantically charging at the obstacle that acts as a natural choke point. Bails, slams and stray boards are simply ignored as the skaters chase after the perfect inward heels, the largest gaps and the longest lipslides – all in the pursuit of cash prizes and the affirming cheer of the crowd. Some say this is what happens when pride and greed converge; that competition has turned these men into a mob.

1i.

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1ii.

1v.

69

v.

v1.

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vi1.

vii1.

But there is redemption amongst this brodown of the damned, and not one found in ancient texts and superstitious rituals. It’s something that is constantly being reiterated through the loudspeaker sermon and the Masonic greetings of high fives and fist bumps – it’s that of team, companionship and

bonhomie: the grouping together of like-minded

the world and turned them into something new. We

dudes, brought together in pursuit of that intangible

took spots from Barcelona, Valencia, Gran Canaria,

thing called ‘stoke’.

Liverpool as well as St. Albans and re-worked them into

“I guess we’re encouraging everyone, because all

one obstacle that we hope will make for a fun skate.”

those guys are friends anyway,” says Julian Dykmans,

Even indomitable London-based skater Ross

co-founder of Antiz skateboards. At thirty-four he’s

McGouran – who, along with fellow Element

stepped in to replace an injured teammate and is

teammate Phil Zwijsen, dominates the contest – feels

snaking amongst ams half his age, his Morrissey quiff

duty-bound to his team: “Normally, you’re always

still perfectly coiffed. “People are not thinking, ‘I

skating for yourself and if you are knackered, you

really hope this guy’s going to miss his next trick,’ you

might not carry on. But in an event like this, yeah,

know? We want people to land tricks and that’s the

you’ll carry on for the team.”

healthy thing about skateboarding.”

So where does this altruistic streak stem from?

The skateboarding community may be a paragon

According to Dan Cates, it’s born of a bond that forms

of the virtues of mutual support, but what happens

on the road, during those long nomadic searches for

when competition enters the mix? Can the individual

undiscovered spots: “When you get in the van and hit

rise above the self-serving impulses of ego and id,

the road for a two-week skate trip with ten other guys

and be happy for others to triumph, even if it means

who you know have got your back, it’s a good feeling.”

missing out on the coveted lucre themselves? After

“You could go skate by yourself,” says Julian

all, in that solitary moment when man meets board,

Dykmans. “Transport yourself, practise for hours in

skateboarding is a selfish deed; a mental and physical

your garage or on the street by yourself. But the point

struggle on the path to self-fulfillment and individual

is to meet your friends, interact and get stoked on

expression – a manifestation of nefarious hubris.

everybody’s tricks, and that’s how you progress as well.

Throw in the opportunity to win cold, hard cash and

[It makes you] want to travel, take a bus or train to the

surely it’s not long before avarice rears its ugly head.

next town, next city, next continent.”

“I think some people are doing the best they can

It’s an attitude that is clearly commonplace.

for the team, other people wanna win money,” says

Mauro Caruso, a young Italian Cliché flow team

Nick Zorlac, founder and team manager of UK-based

member, identifies this dichotomy between self and

Death Skateboards, a brand that wears its morbidity

team best: “Skateboarding is something that has to be

on its sleeve. “There’s a real mixture of sentiment.”

individualistic because it’s just the mix of you and your

“Normally, I always skate for myself,” adds Death

board, nothing else. But you also need to have friends

pro Dan Cates. “But here I feel we have to try and

to skate with. They give you motivation, inspiration,

defend our name, as corny as that may sound. I want

fantasy – and with them, you have good times.”

us to do our best because it feels like such a big deal to

By the time the contest draws to a close, Element

be invited here in the first place.” Having skated under

Europe claim a collective top spot. But the real

the Death banner for twelve years, Dan has more of

winner of the day is skateboarding’s unmistakable

an attachment to his sponsors than most. He even

esprit de corps – that rare sense of togetherness that

designed the pirate ship obstacle they’re sessioning

unites every pro, regardless of what label is slapped

today as a homage to the team’s collective past: “We

on their wheels, trucks, decks, shoes, clothes and

pillaged some of our favorite skate spots from around

carbonated caffeine drinks. Unlike the sinful vices permeating this nook of the city, skateboarding is never just about the self.

1. Antiz’ Hugo Laird overheating. i1. Death Skateboards’ Benson goes for a massive transfer on the Antiz sea monster. ii1. Dan Cates giving fellow Death teammate Mark Nicolson a back rub.

1v. The Element Europe team (left to right): Michael Mackrodt, Phil Zwijsen, Ross McGouran, Guillaume Mocquin and guest am Nassim Guammaz. v. Javier Mendizabal, Rob Maatman and Guillaume Mocquin go fully plaid. v1. The footwear hazards of a sinful life. vi1. Zero’s Thomas Nielsen getting much attention. vii1. Blind’s Chris Oliver rides the Cliché strippers’ pole.

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pOsiTivE ForcE Torah Bright has taken women’s snowboarding to amazing new heights. Now she’s helping young girls realise they have the power to do the same.

Text Shelley Jones Photography Matt Georges

country skiing, [Alpine] skiing or snowboarding,”

girl-hate is a destructive force she won’t take part

says Torah, one of five Bright brothers and sisters.

in. “People like to make [negative] comments,”

“Mum says that we were all better outdoors doing

acknowledges Torah, “but when we’re at the top of an

sports otherwise we all fought! So [my parents] got us

event, we’re all wishing each other luck and hoping

outside doing sports really young… We just took any

we’re able to do our best to progress the sport and

opportunity we were given. It’s kind of been a blur

not just to win. I really feel like all the girls are great,

since that first day I got on a snowboard.”

solid, competitive, sportsman-like people. There’s no

Dedication and drive runs wild in Torah’s genes.

trash to talk!”

Not only is her older sister, Rowena, an Olympics-

Torah’s is a philosophy that is sure to inspire

qualified skier, but her younger sister, Abby, is a rising

young people everywhere. But is she comfortable

snowboard star and her brother, Ben, has been her

with the big ‘R’ word? “It’s a little scary to think of

coach through the highs, lows and concussions too.

myself as a role model because I feel like I’m one of

“Ben helped me realise that I had an ability on my

[the kids]!” laughs Torah. But she does have some

snowboard and that I was better than I thought I was,”

advice for the younger generation of pipe-dreamers.

says Torah modestly. “He’s helped me do things I didn’t

“I’d recommend getting out and doing any sort of

think I’d ever be able to do and I really believe it’s all

sport,” she says emphatically. “You know it’s hard for

because of the way he coached and empowered me.”

girls to start male-dominated sports, because they

Empowering people, especially young girls, is

can feel quite inferior. The guys can make you feel

high on Torah’s agenda. Over the last year she’s been

like that. But it’s character building and you should

involved in a Cartoon Network project inspired by

find another girl who wants to do it and get out there,

the character Gwen from daredevil cartoon Ben 10.

get out in the snow and do things and be creative.”

Torah explains: “Gwen is this great, adventurous,

Torah is careful not to slip into podium-safe stasis,

cool, kind, fun-loving girl and Cartoon Network

and continues to challenge herself by going faster

launched a campaign to find ten girls around

and higher as well as questioning the very institution

Australia that are just like her. So girls have to write

that bejewelled her last February. “The Olympics is

in and say why they are like her and what type of roles

a huge world stage,” she admits. “It’s the only time

they have in their communities etc. I’ve been helping

a lot of people, including many Australians, follow

judge what girls are picked by going around schools

my sport… But I love that the TTR World Tour,

and chatting to the kids. The ten girls are going to be

like the surfing World Tour, is more about the best

involved in the Gwen campaign.”

overall pattern and not one end result, and I think it’s

So it’s important to support that kind of spirit in

definitely the future of the contest circuit. I reckon

wenty-three-year-old Torah Bright cuts a remarkably

young girls? “Oh yeah, definitely. In our society today,

many TTR halfpipe competitions are stronger, the

unique shape in the snowboarding landscape.

who do young females have to look up to – beyond

six-star ones maybe, than the Olympics.”

When she dropped into the halfpipe at this year’s

just celebrities and trashy magazines?” asks Torah,

So what lies ahead for the technical, powerful and

Vancouver Olympics and busted her signature switch

regretfully. “There are some scary statistics that the

stylish slider, now based in Salt Lake City? “My main

backside 720 to win gold, her silhouette was unusual

Cartoon Network shared with me about how young

goal right now is just to go and ride,” she says. She

for a number of reasons. The first, archaically, is that

girls are wearing make-up and what they value the

may have recently exchanged vows with fellow pro

it belonged to a female. The second, is that you’d

most. I valued my childhood a lot. I thought it was

Jake Welch, but she is no desperate housewife. “I still

never tell. Torah has carved a name for herself in the

the funnest time of my life and kids are growing

want to progress as a rider whether it’s on powder,

snow world that, despite the media’s obsession with

up too quickly without good role models or people

jumps or in the halfpipe. And this year I’m hoping

her elfin features and candid Mormonism, is entirely

helping them kind of be true to themselves and what

to ride in the mountains more. I’ll still compete but

based on her board-sliding skills.

they want to do.”

I want to spend some time chasing the snow, away

She’s part of an old-school tribe of sportsperson;

Her attitude is something of an anomaly in

one that trains hard, rides hard and indulges no

the women’s pro snow circuit where superficial

crap. And she’s been that way since she was a teeny

endorsements, or scantily clad photoshoots, can

The world is expecting Torah to be the first

grom growing up in Cooma, Australia. “In the winter

seem standard practice. But she is not at odds

female snowboarder to land a double cork and she’s

times we were in the mountains as a family, cross-

with her pioneering contemporaries and vows that

fixated on the horizon – eyes ablaze

from the contest circuit so I can really get back to the soul [of snowboarding]. And have some fun!”

73

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PHOTOGRAPHY & TEXT GUY MARTIN

The Cape Peninsula, South Africa. This rocky outpost was once an island, a mass of earth afloat at sea. Now it clings to the continent like a wild appendage, the point at which two oceans clash. The Indian Ocean blows in friendly and warm, tickling the Peninsula’s eastern shores. But the Western-born Atlantic opts for a hostile attack, bashing the perimeter in heavy, brisk sets. It’s here, amid the icy currents and unforgiving breaks, that the O’Neill Cold Water Classic has landed once again. The world’s best surfers are ready to fight back, and photographer Guy Martin is along for the ride. These images are his response to our Cold Water Brief, in which we challenge five different lensmen to capture the essence of this demanding tour. Next stop, Canada.

75

the landscape A local surfer crosses the road at the main intersection leading to Muizenberg beach. The town of Muizenberg was the scene of a small but significant battle in 1795. It lasted three months and led to the start of British colonial rule on the Cape Peninsula. Muizenberg also happens to be the birthplace of surfing in South Africa. The long white sandy beach stretches for 25km and runs parallel to the infamous Seal Island – a large rocky outcrop where South Africa’s famous great white sharks can be seen breaching the water, often with a seal in their jaws and a wildlife documentary film crew floating nearby.

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the locals A spectator watches the second day of surfing at the Outer Kom, a heavy, snarling left-hander that only works on the biggest of swells. When pressed and asked for his full name, he replies that around these parts he’s known simply as ‘The White Rasta’.

77

the next generation A young local surfer waits for the contest to finish before he’s able to paddle out into the surf. He’s been surfing for five years, ever since his parents pushed him into the surf on his dad’s old longboard. Now with two major international surfing contests in the country, he hopes to be able to make a career out of the sport and follow in the footsteps of his homegrown surfing heroes, Greg Emslie and Jordy Smith. It’s a dream fortified in stone when, later on, he watches Emslie take first place.

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the man-made landscape Afrikaner Avenue is situated in the Cape suburb of Kommitije, which translates literally as ‘basin’. The coastline around the town is formed like a basin and is famous for its crayfish, dark, dense brown Kelp and, of course, the Outer Kom. Kommitije’s smart whitewashed houses, immaculate lawns and few security concerns make it a popular suburb with affluent white Cape Townians. The village, according to the last government census, is ninety-six per cent white with thirteen per cent of residents speaking Afrikaans as their primary language.

79

the crowd Kids from the Kommitije primary school are allowed the day off to come down to Long Beach to watch South African surfing hero and man-of-the-moment Jordy Smith compete. Jordy is expected to repeat his victory at J-Bay. Unfortunately for the crowd on the beach and his army of South African fans, he ducks out in the third round.

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the water A surfer looks out at the waves of Long Beach, Kommitije, as he prepares to paddle out for his heat on the third day of competition. The shallow sandbanks, sunny skies and perfect heavy brown waves are a welcome gift for the contest organisers. But with water temperatures hovering around twelve degrees, conditions are cold for those who surf. In the distance lies the famous Dungeons reef break, home to South Africa’s big-wave surfing legends www.oneill.com/cwc

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What the hell is an MDG?

A somewhAt brief, hopefully unbiAsed, Almost certAinly flAwed Assessment of the united nAtions millennium development GoAls.

achieve universal priMary eDucation

“hope dims for universal educaTion by 2015, even as many poor counTries make Tremendous sTrides.”* Primary eDucation enrolment rate**

eraDicate extreMe poverty anD hunGer

“The global economic crisis has slowed progress, buT The world is sTill on Track To meeT The poverTy reducTion TargeT.”*

1990 46% 2005 27%

tanzania

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations

proMote GenDer equality anD eMpoWer WoMen the Democratic republic of congo

ghana

8%

2008 63.9%

the goals is everyone’s business.

Falling short would multiply the dangers of our world – from instability to epidemic diseases to environmental degradation.

But achieving the goals will put us on a fast track to a world that is more stable, more just, and more secure.”*

Percentage PoPulation unDernouriSheD**

2005

1991 87%

SucceSS Story In Tanzania the enrolment rate almost doubled.

SeriouS Setback Civil war in Congo has reversed progress and the enrolment rate dropped.

2015 target 23%

34%

2008 99.6%

“Meeting

Percentage PoPulation living on leSS than $1.25 a Day in DeveloPing regionS**

1991

1990 50.7%

congo

he world, as we know it, is obsessed with numbers. Statistics, data, figures, graphs – they help us make sense of senseless things.

And the guys at the top love figures even more. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) – as dreamed up by the leaders of our world – are a set of eight targets that aim to eradicate poverty by 2015. In 2000, 192 United Nation member states saluted humanity when they stood up and said: “We are committed to making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want.” It’s an ambitious promise. But has it been kept? And can we really contain the world's problems in a set of stats?

A decade on – five years from the deadline – those same figureheads gathered in New York for the MDG Summit to swap figures, talk digits and draw graphs that represent billions of lives. Question is: amid all those numbers, did they find a better world?

“poverTy is a major barrier To educaTion, especially among older girls. […] women are largely relegaTed To more vulnerable forms of employmenT.”* number of girlS, Per 100 boyS, enrolleD in SeconDary School * 1991

29%

2005

75%

Sub Saharan africa 1999 83

SucceSS Story Ghana has reduced hunger by three quarters between 1991 and 2005.

SeriouS Setback In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the proportion of the population going hungry more than

Sub Saharan africa 2008 79

doubled between 1991 and 2005.

afRican studies and develoPment Politics, univeRsity of leeds

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eastern asia 1999 93 eastern asia 2008 105

100

75

50

25

united States 2008 102

0

“There is something depressingly repetitive about the call to end world hunger and the failure to deliver it. At the World Food Conference in 1974, Henry Kissinger noted, “Within a decade no man, woman or child will go to be hungry.” At the 1996 World Food Summit in Rome, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) agreed a declaration that pledged “political will and common and national commitment to achieving food security for all,” and the Millennium Declaration in 2000 of course agreed to “spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanising conditions of extreme poverty.” According to the FAO of the UN, the number of hungry fell in 2009 by 98 million. But don’t get out the cigars just yet. That only leaves one in six people on this planet hungry – some 925 million people. Persistent hunger is the biggest indictment of modern times (not only in the global South but in the developed industrial North too), it reflects not just political cowardice and economic deceit but humanitarian disaster – the persistent undermining of humanity at a time when the global economic system can certainly deliver an end to hunger.” Ray Bush, PRofessoR of

“In country after country, national progress has excluded the poorest, including those in rural areas and, very often, women and girls. So, while we should celebrate clear evidence of national progress, we must not ignore that the situation for many of the poorest people has actually deteriorated.” Kate higgins, oveRseas develoPment institute

Reduce by two thiRds the undeR-five moRtality Rate

combat hiv/aids, malaRia & otheR diseases “for every two individuals who start treatment eaCh year, five people are newly infeCted with hiv.”*

“Child deaths are falling, but not quiCkly enough to reaCh the target.”* Under-five mortality rate per 1000 live births **

popUlation living with hiv who are recieving antiretroviral therapy, 2005 and 2008*

19

2008 14

1990 105

2008 128

sUccess story Vietnam has achieved a remarkably low mortality rate for a low-income country (the UK rate is 6, the US 8). serioUs setbacK Despite its comparative economic strength, Kenya’s mortality rate increased.

Samir Amin, ‘The MDGs: A Critique from the South’, Monthly Review

impRove mateRnal health

“giving birth is espeCially risky in southern asia and sub-saharan afriCa where most women deliver without skilled Care.”*

northern asia

14

43

sUb-saharan africa

46 54 latin america & the caribbean

28

57

soUth east asia & oceania

16

42

developing regions

esRc funded PRoJect: the PoliticisAtion of hiv/Aids in tAnzAniA (2008-9)

ensuRe enviRonmental sustainability

“with half the population of developing regions without sanitation, the 2015 target appears to be out of reaCh.”* percentage of popUlation Using an improved sanitation facility in soUthern asia*

rural 1990 13%

2008 26%

1990 56%

2008 57%

“Goal 7 wants to improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020. Yet, cities in the developing world will absorb 95% of the world’s expected population growth between 2000 and 2030. […] Unfortunately, development of infrastructure and basic services have not increased at the same rate. [...] Slums symbolise urban poverty. The MDG in the context of eradicating poverty in urban slums is a mammoth task and the MDG's objectives is a drop in the ocean.” vAndAnA desAi , senioR lectuReR in develoPMent geogRAPhy, RoyAl hollowAy, univeRsity of london

develop a global paRtneRship foR development

on average, 1 in 6 people in the developing world are Using the internet. bUt only 23% of the world’s popUlation cUrrently have access to the internet.

“I have a problem with the idea that these MDGs can be achieved by spending more donor aid – the entire model is geared towards rich countries transferring funds to poor countries through the donor aid models that have been in place for many years. Yet when we look at the many tens of millions of Indian and Chinese people that have been lifted out of poverty, they mostly did not get there through aid – rather they got there through private enterprise and trade.” RichARd tRen, AfRicA fighting MAlARiA

2008 86%

2008 99%

“The proportional targets of most of the MDGs (e.g. reduce maternal mortality by 50% and reduce under-five mortality rates by two thirds, both by 2015) are inadequate and against the principle of equality for all. [We] believe that NO woman should die giving life and NO child should die before he/she has had a chance to live. 80% of maternal deaths worldwide are caused by emergency complications during pregnancy or childbirth. [...] However, the emergency component of maternal mortality has largely been neglected in international efforts towards meeting MDGs 4 and 5.” MAteRnAl And childheAlth AdvocAcy inteRnAtionAl

27 40

access to the internet in 2008*

developed regions

sub-sahran africa

2008 46%

31

soUthern asia

1990 99%

1990 72%

latin america & the caribbean

1990 41%

7

“aCCess to the world wide web is still Closed to the majority of the world’s people.”*

developed regions

sub-sahran africa

latin america & the caribbean

proportion of deliveries attended by sKilled health personnel*

20 cis

“There are myriad activist groups working to prevent the spread of HIV, to protect themselves, to demand better treatment, to involve donor agencies and to break the silences around what is still a stigmatised condition.” JAnet BuJRA And nAdine BeckMAn,

“Survival is certainly a part of early childhood, but not the only aspect of early childhood. Research suggests that brain development of young children, especially in the first three years of life, is heavily influenced by adequate nutrition, intellectual stimulation and nurturance. Therefore, attention to child survival and mortality rates also needs to be accompanied by an increased investment in parental support mechanisms.” AsiA-PAcific RegionAl netwoRk foR eARly childhood (ARnec)

“Each of these goals is certainly commendable (who would disapprove of reducing poverty or improving health?). [...] [But] it is assumed without question that liberalism is perfectly compatible with the achievement of the goals.”

4

Urban

1996 56

Kenya

vietnam

10

eastern asia

“The MDGs were signed up to and supported by almost every government, donor agency and multilateral agency.

This means that when success is achieved they all claim credit, but when there is a failure, no one takes responsibility.”

Richard Tren, Africa Fighting Malaria

*The Millennium Development Goals Report 2010, United Nations. **Overseas Development Institute: MDG report card; UN statistics division (hunger, net primary school enrolment, infant mortality, drinking water, HIV); UNESCO (primary enrolment by gender); 83 World Bank (Poverty headcount); Barro-Lee (average years of schooling); the Guardian. for more on the Millennium development goals, and to read each contributor’s statement in full, visit www.huckmagazine.com.

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NEW SWEDISH PHOTOBOOK Takes us back to the early 1990s, when being a skateboarder meant going against the grain.

Text Tony Gunnarsson PHOTOGRAPHY Jens Andersson

n his new photographic essay, Sheraton Years: Stockholm Skateboarding 1990-1999, skate shooter Jens Andersson tells the story of a small group of skateboarders in Stockholm at the beginning of the nineties. To be a skateboarder back then, he acknowledges, was to be in exile; it was rarely understood or accepted by society. But the kids in Stockholm refused to stop and found sanctuary under a semi-sheltered entrance to a loading bay near the luxurious Sheraton Hotel in Klara. The skate spot – known lovingly as Sheraton, or Sher for short – became the epicentre of the local scene.

Jens was there from the beginning, documenting the wilderness years in black and white. He felt a book had to be written, he says, to tell the story and process what those years meant. So he enlisted the help of writer, magazine editor and skateboard company founder Martin Karlsson who had shared the experience. “We did not know of any alternatives,” says Martin of his formative skateboarding years. “We thought that ‘street’ meant that you rode your skateboard on the streets and that was all we needed to know.”

Jens agrees: “No one knew anything else. I think everyone was just happy to have a place to escape, a place to call our own. We could skate when we wanted, that was all that mattered.”

The ‘Sheraton Years’ were a time when skateboarding was grassroots and Jens’ photos show that Sweden’s skateboard elite were once underground too, slumming it in dirty parking lots and travelling the breadth of the country to skate mythical skate-

iv.

spots like Sher.

Sometime around the mid-nineties, a wave erupted in the skateboarding world that would eventually flood mainstream youth culture too. The new direction changed what tricks were in, how the tricks were done and what clothes were cool, helping steer the sport to the consumer. Wheels got bigger and complicated flip tricks were dismissed in favour of stressed overstated style and broad movement – a long stylish backside 5-0 on a ledge was suddenly considered cool. For Stockholm skateboarders, the revolution coincided with the establishment of the city’s first indoor skate park, Fryshuset, known as Frysen. The new park made cold winter skateboarding at Sher redundant overnight. The change of terrain, as well as the indoor warmth, had a profound impact on skateboarding in Sweden. “For sure, skateboarding became more popular or less [unacceptable] in the late nineties,” says Martin.

1.

1i. ii1.

1v. v. vi.

Fresh-faced Lewis Marnell had switch frontside flips on lock, 1998.

The man with style larger than life, Amadi Oduya, Sheraton, 1993.

Martin Karlsson goofing with mates Peppe and Ingmar Backman, 1995.

Amadi Oduya with a switch flip 5-0, Sheraton ledge, 1993.

Fryshuset crew, including a young Ali Boulala, 1996.

One of the best Swedish skateboarders ever Lowe Eneroth, Stockholm, 1998.

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v.

I look at that as progression. Each generation gets better and better. I look at kids coming up today and get blown away by some of the stuff they do, and they do it easy. You know how it is, you watch your favourite skate vids, get stoked and then go out and skate that type of stuff and try all the cool things you just saw. And a lot of the older generation back then in the Sheraton years paved the way for us because they were our local skate scene, we saw them skate there in the videos and that’s what was cool to us. I don’t know about having to prove ourselves, I think every new generation gets a little bit of grief from the older guys. But it’s all fun.

The book describes the move from Sheraton to Frysen as “coming in from the cold”. Do you have any memories from trying to skate in Sweden during winter? Yeah, we always did it. You would get

vi.

sick of skating the same old indoor park all winter long, so as soon as it was somewhat dry we would try to skate [outdoors], even if it was minus degrees and your bones felt like they would break if you made any “When Frysen was built we were overjoyed and skated

sudden movements. We would hit up Sheraton, the

more than ever before. People got so good during the

seven-stair and the nine-stair at Slussen and a bunch of

first years at Frysen, and it [became] enormous: people

underground car parks and subway stations.

like Jobby [Kamlid], Lojten [Andreas Törmä], Adam Karlsson, wow, it was a totally different level than

How do you remember skateboarding in the early

anything before.”

Frysen years? What was the atmosphere like? It

With Frysen came a new generation of

was good for me, it was one of the reasons I moved

skateboarders who no longer had to struggle in the

to Sweden [from Australia]. I was visiting my dad in

wilderness down at Sher. Kids like Lewis Marnell,

Sweden over the summer and went skating at Frysen

Pontus Alv and Ali Boulala came up from nowhere and

a bunch of times. It was one of the first indoor parks I

claimed the skate parks as their own. The response

had ever been to of that size. It was like a dream come

from the old guard was to be expected. According

true for a skater kid. The vibes were tight – skating,

to Jens, there was a very rigid hierarchy during those

homies, music, beers. Everyone would just come skate

years with the older generation giving the kids a hard

and kick it.

time and the Young Turks having to prove their worth before they got accepted as ‘legit’ skateboarders.

Skateboarding has evolved very quickly. How do

Going against the grain, it seems, is a big part of the

you think it’s changed since the nineties? Well,

Swedish skateboarding story. Whether rolling outside

it’s gone very mainstream. I remember walking

in freezing winter conditions or fighting for respect

down the street in Stockholm around ’96 and people

from their board-riding forefathers, Stockholm

would yell out some stupid abusive stuff because you

skaters have always been outsiders. Sheraton Years is

were a skateboarder like, “Hey, pull up your pants!”

not just the story of pioneering drop-outs that laid the

Nowadays people that don’t even skate rip off

foundations for Swedish skateboarding in blood and

skateboarder style to the bone, but I think it’s good

stone, it’s also the story of a new Scandinavian set who

because the bigger it gets, the more we can do with

went back to the streets, dismissing the parks built

it for skaters. Skaters were frowned upon back in the

to contain them, to sustain the legacy. And it’s a story

day but now it’s cool to look like a skater. There will

second-generation, Stockholm-based shredder Lewis

always be those who don’t like us, but it’s become cool

Marnell knows all too well.

amongst the new generation

In Sheraton Years, you appear as one of the next

www.sheratonyears.com

generation of kids coming up. Did you have it easier than the older generation, or did younger kids like you have to prove yourselves? Well I guess you could say we had it a little easier. First of all our boards only weighed about half the amount of the ones the older generation learnt on. As for the skating, well

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Nutcase

Multi-Sport (Watermelon)

Bern

POC

Frontal (Blue/Yellow)

Red

Muse (Priscilla Levac)

Prime (Hazelnut)

Giro

Quiksilver

Revolver (Grey Thumbprint)

(Blue)

Salomon Brigade Pro

Pro-Tec

Classic Snow (Lime)

Sweet

Trooper Halfcut (Matte White)

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LIFE THROUGH A LENS: CHERYL DUNN

A

The New York City-based photographer and filmmaker takes us on a twenty-four hour spin.

A. My cat Dev on my bed, with a Jose Parla painting behind.

B. I had to shoot some lingerie for the new lookbook of designer Araks Yeramyan. So I made my niece walk her pitbull in the underwear.

C. Art on the intersection of East 10th St and Avenue C. Because the Yankees are in the playoffs to win the World Series again, like last year.

D. This guy sits here every day on the Bowery. We call him ‘Army of One’ after the graff written on the wall.

E. My sister’s puppy in front of a beater car, Avenue B. F. Ricky Powell going in for a lip lock with Daphne Guinness at the screening of my latest film Everybody Street, Wooster St, NYC. G. A picture in my studio.

H. A cool car on Avenue C. I. Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn, NYC. J. Park Avenue and 17th St. K. Avenue B and 9th St. L. My friend Kai Regan fell down the stairs when he was carrying a signed copy of the new Bruce Davidson photobook I gave him for his birthday. He decided to save the book instead of his face.

M. Two neighbourhood girls.

N. The fireplace mantle in my bedroom.

O. Taxi ride.

P. The ATM machine on Avenue C. Everything in my neighbourhood is painted by this dude Chico. It is kind of out of control, but awesome in a Puerto Rican traditional murals kind of way.

Q. At the screening for my latest film Everybody Street.

This is me, Jake Scott and Michael Karbelnikoff. I look weird because I’m taking the pic. I have long arms.

Photography by Cheryl Dunn. www.cheryldunn.net

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Q Cheryl Dunn's latest short film, Everybody Street, explores the work of preeminent New York street photographers like Bruce Davidson, Martha Cooper and Clayton Patterson. See the film as part of Alfred Stieglitz New York at the Seaport Museum, NYC, September 15, 2010 to January 10, 2011.

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pics: billabong, michael müller, jelle keppens, thomas streubel

www.ispo.com

ispo – the international sports business network

Messe München GmbH, Messegelände, 81823 München, Germany, phone +49 (0)89 949-11 3 88, fax +49 (0)89 949-11 3 89, info@ispo.com, www.ispo.com, for trade visitors only

Text by Andrea Kurland & Photography by Lenka Špryslová

The Inbetweener

Frank Turner is on a solo mission to open minds to the melody of folk-punk.

Frank Turner is chuffed. There’s no better way to describe his mood right now than that uniquely British sense of stoke. And it’s not surprising, considering the trajectory the solo punk has flown.

Just look at the stats: five years, twentyseven

countries,

921

shows

(and

counting). From the moment the former Million Dead frontman picked up his guitar and hit the road, he’s been on a one-man mission to broaden minds with his unique blend of folk-punk. And it’s worked. After years locked inside the post-hardcore scene, Frank’s turning heads with a sound and presence that refuses to adhere to any one box.

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The punk cognoscenti are already

was slowly tapping into. “I was on this

lot of people who were kind of like,

onboard: just last year, Frank was

massive Neil Young trip at the time,” he

‘Fuck off, you’re not allowed to be

picked up by venerated punk rock

says, “and it seemed like I needed to

part of what we’re doing,’ which was

label Epitaph after he caught the ear

try something new. Whether you want

quite dismaying at the time… But it’s

of Bad Religion guitarist and label

to describe it as getting older or a shift

important to me to not give two fucks

founder

the

in taste, over the last couple of years

about what anybody thinks.”

cardigan crew have also tuned in,

that Million Dead existed, I’d spend

turning up in force at folk festivals to

my time sitting in the back of the van

That rage may have filtered into the

hear the roaming bard sing. It may

listening to records by Johnny Cash

lyrics Frank penned for Million Dead,

seem like a weird mix – “seeing folky

or Springsteen, rather than listening

but these days he prefers rhyming

types standing next to fifteen-year-old

to Refused, At the Drive-In, or any

couplets over teenage angst. The

kids with Mohawks” – but, for Frank,

hardcore band.”

Frank Turner oeuvre, with its sing-a-

Brett

Gurewitz.

And

that cross-pollination is key: “The idea

long stories and everyman themes,

of scenes has always made me feel

When the time came to make a move,

may call to mind the ballads of leftist

slightly uncomfortable. It always struck

Frank didn’t just step out alone – he

troubadour Billy Bragg, but unlike

me as a really crap reason to like a

ran headfirst down an unknown path:

Bill, Frank prefers to leave his politics

band, because they’re friends with

“It’s not like I was returning to my

at the door: “I don’t want my music

other bands or they’re from a certain

roots by switching to playing acoustic

to be overshadowed by my politics…

town. Something that I take great pride

– I grew up listening to Metallica and

People use the word ‘political’ to mean

in is that, at some of my shows, you’ll

Black Flag, so it was kind of scary…

one certain type of politics… But if

get people who wouldn’t ever really be

I went from playing to five hundred

someone says, ‘Oh you’re political,

at the same show together otherwise –

people at a show with Million Dead to

you’ll be into the Socialist Workers

and that’s pretty cool.”

about four people at my first show. It

Party,’ I’m like, ‘Absolutely fucking not!

doesn’t matter how well-adjusted one

I think they’re cretins.’ I’m a libertarian

But the biggest leap, in terms of

thinks one is, that’s kind of bruising

– I believe in the freedom and dignity

statistics,

been

for your ego, you know? At the time I

of the individual. I do have political

audience size. Having spent years

sustained myself through some kind of

views about the problem with states

spreading the acoustic gospel far

ridiculously over-the-top level of self-

and governments, but its just frustrating

and wide – playing every backyard,

belief, and looking back at it now, I can

when people go, ‘You’re a political

house party and out-of-the-way dive

see everyone else’s point, like, ‘What

singer’ and then immediately assume

– Frank has found himself stood

on earth was I doing?’ But at the time,

a whole set of beliefs that they think I

before a packed-out stadium crowd

it felt like it made sense.”

should subscribe to.”

has

undoubtedly

on more than one occasion this year, supporting

Green

It wasn’t the first time the standalone

If freedom of the individual is Frank’s

Day and The Gaslight Anthem, and

The

Offspring,

had to buttress his decisions with an

endgame, it’s little wonder he feels so

holding main-stage slots at festivals

inner strength. As an Eton schoolboy,

chuffed. With a new EP set to drop

like Latitude, too. It’s a shift in reality

Frank grew up rubbing shoulders with

in November, a headline tour lined

the relentless gigger has yet to soak

Prince William, when he really wanted

up for December, and a US tour with

up, even as he prepares for his own

to be moshing with the masses. “I went

Social Distortion slotted in between,

UK headline tour: “It’s good, it feels

there on an academic scholarship,

Frank’s clearly acting out his right to

like hard work paying off. I mean, it

which meant that I was kind of socially

self-determination. It’s an independent

still feels surreal; I still spend every day

removed from a lot of the people

streak that seems to prove the maxim,

waiting for the reality police to knock

around me,” he says. “It was a strange

‘Once a punk, always a punk.’

on my door and tell me there’s been a

time and I certainly don’t think I would

terrible mistake and I need to go back

have rushed into punk rock as hard

“Punk rock is like Catholicism – if you’re

to playing in pubs again. And who

as I did if I hadn’t felt quite so socially

into it as a kid, it’s ingrained in you

knows, maybe I will. But for the time

dislocated.” Along with two friends,

for life,” says Frank. “You can spend

being, it’s extremely gratifying.”

Frank drifted towards the hardcore

the entire rest of your musical life

sounds percolating around London.

attempting to get away from it, but you

Frank talks fast – at lightning speed,

But instead of being welcomed in

know, Catholics never become non-

in fact – with the self-assurance of a

with open x-tattooed arms, the boys

Catholics – they become ex-Catholics,

man who’s paid his dues. After Million

found themselves on the periphery

know what I mean? And similarly, I

Dead “ended in not a particularly nice

again – ousted as outsiders by other

think that’s true about punk as well.”

way” in 2005, Frank found himself

suburban teens: an act of elitism born

hovering in an awkward gap – caught

out of contempt for the elite. “Having

frank turner's new ep rock

somewhere between his hardcore

run away from the bullshit that was

is out december through xtra mile

roots and the tradition of storytelling he

drowning us at school, there were a

recordings. www.frank-turner.com

&

roll

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It’s All Crazy! It’s All False!

It’s All a Dream! It’s Alright MewithoutYou . Tooth & Nail I stumbled across this, their fourth album, by accident recently and it’s totally blown me away. It’s a collection of fables and animal tales set to a lush folk-rock backing, with easily the best lyrics I’ve heard in years. The language is so dense and original, it’s almost Shakespearean. The music has a basis in solid folk melodicism, but some of the instrumentation is breathtaking, while the production is perfect. There’s a strong mystical feeling to the album, based on elements of Sufism. All in all, it’s unique and amazing. If I ever write a song as good as ‘The King Beetle On A Coconut Estate’ I’ll die happy. Frank Turner

stay Positive The Hold Steady . Rough Trade I love The Hold Steady more than I have words for and genuinely think they’re the saviours of rock ‘n’ roll. This record took a while for me; I didn’t like it so much at first, but now I think it might be their best effort. The themes of positivity, set against the background of 1980s hardcore and delivered in classic bar-band style, pretty much tick all my boxes. “Raise a toast to St Joe Strummer” indeed. FT

Manchester Tim Barry . Suburban Home Tim is a touring buddy and a friend so I might be biased here. This was his second record and it’s a masterpiece. Tim carries so much honesty and soul in everything he does, it’s ridiculous. He’s been out on the road longer than most people I know, so there’s a gravitas to songs like ‘On & On’, which cannot be faked. FT

Kings & Queens Jamie T . Virgin Jamie’s first record was great, but it had personal attachments for me as we were around the same circuit at that time. I wasn’t sure if I’d like album number two, but boy was I wrong. This record is so accomplished, so slick and yet so full of personality. And it’s great to hear someone sing about the world I know with such passion, precision and wit. A pop classic. FT

Greatest Hits I & II Queen . Parlophone I know I’m kind of cheating here with two albums, and I know people might think I’m being cheesy, but honestly, if there’s a better collection of pop songs out there, I’ve never heard it. Queen consistently had flawless moments of greatness, and when you bring them all together, it’s mind-bogglingly good.

People who don’t like Queen confuse me – I really cannot get my head around it. All hail. FT

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SOURCES: Inspirations and things we dig.

A. Broken bike lock and a letter from the Met. On average, sixty-four bikes are stolen every day in London. During the making of this issue, four of those have been ours. B. Badges from the fifth birthday party of our sister magazine, Little White Lies. www.littlewhitelies.co.uk C. Schleich pug. www.schleich-s.com D. Brochure from Fforest, the site of The Do Lectures 2010 in Cardigan, Wales. www.coldatnight.co.uk, www.dolectures.com E. Neocolor chalk. www.scp.co.uk F. DIY Times. www.thediytimes.tumblr.com G. Rio Breaks DVD. www.riobreaks.com H. The Knitted Odd-bod Bunch, by Donna Wilson, CICO books. www.scp.co.uk I. Solitary Arts ‘White Yolks’ wheels. www.solitaryarts.com J. RBST x Cubeecraft MF Doom free model template. www.robeastblog.wordpress.com K. Knog bike lights. www.knog.com.au L. Zulu lady, Timbavati Nature Reserve, South Africa. M. Science Museum cloakroom tag. www.sciencemuseum.org.uk N. Chojin Club Vol.1. www.chojinclub.com O. Fanzines by Teal Triggs, Thames & Hudson. www.artwords.co.uk P. Carhartt ‘Trenton’ beanie. www.thecarharttstore.co.uk Q. Sprocket Rocket camera from Lomography. www.lomography.com R. Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers by Leonard Koren, Stone Bridge Press. www.artwords.co.uk S. NoWhere DVD, Absinthe Films. www.absinthe-films.com T. Mini New Era cap and Sharpie from New Era XC, an exhibition in which ninety graduate artists were invited to customise a 59FIFTY cap in celebration of the brand’s ninetieth anniversary. www.neweracap.co.uk U. Name tag from TED x London: The Future We Make, one of sixty independently organised TED events around the world marking the tenth anniversary of the Millennium Development Goals. V. Christmas ‘Tools’ decorations, by Pols Potten. www.scp.co.uk W. Exquisite Corpse ’zine featuring PMH, Saru, Product Two and Dave The Chimp.

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