HUCK magazine The Travis Rice Issue (Digital Edition)

Travis Rice - Theotis Beasley Bethany Hamilton - OFF! Japan b-boys - Geoff Rowley

ÂŁ3.95 | issue 29 | October/November 2011 Travis Rice by SCOTT SERFAS

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T R A V I S R I C E B Y R afal Gers z ak

THE SMALL STORIES

T he B i g S tories

14 S n o w mo v ies 16 B etha n y H amilto n 18 P ro b u si n esses 22 T he H ate D estro y er 24 Wav es 4 Water 26 T heotis B easle y

28 T rav is R i c e 38 O F F !

42 M o u n tai n boardi n g 46 U K R iots 50 B elly boardi n g 56 Geoff R o w le y 58 Wat c hes 60 P i n e R id g e 66 Cerebral B all z y 70 O v erpop u latio n 72 T ok y o B - bo y s

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ENDNOTES 84 M or g a n S p u rlo c k 88 J e n n a S elb y 90 O c c u p y Wall S treet 92 A bsi n the F ilms 94 S c roobi u s P ip 96 L o v e n skate 98 S o u r c es

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C ere b ra l Ba l l z y B Y G R E G F UNN E L L

Publisher Vince Medeiros

Creative Director Rob Longworth

Managing Director Danny Miller

Editor Andrea Kurland

Senior Designer Evan Lelliott

Commercial Director Dean Faulkner

Associate Editor Shelley Jones

Design INTERNS Kathryn Bratt Fabrizio Festa

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Words Laurie Barnes, Jon Coen, TOM EAGAR, Tetsuhiko Endo, NATALIE LANGMANN, Cinnamon Nippard, Oliver Pelling, Scroobius Pip, Jenna Selby, Stu Smith, Morgan Spurlock, Alex Wade, EVAN WAGNER, Matthew Williams Images OSKAR BAKKE, Nick Ballon, Dave Chami, JEFF CURTES, Greg Funnell, OLI GAGNON, RAFAL GERSZAK, Noah Hamilton, MATTHEW HAMS, Greg Hardes, Noriko Hayashi, Richie Hopson, John Isaac, ANGUS ‘HUMANGUS’ MACPHERSON, Robin Mellor, VavÁ Ribeiro, Daniel Rosenthal, Liz Seabrook, Jenna Selby, SCOTT SERFAS, Matthew Williams

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Huck is published six times a year.

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© TCOLondon 2011

a SnoW FilM oDYSSeY With travis rice

when fall line films dropped their cult classic (ALL QUIET ON) THE WESTERN FRONT in 1988, snowBoarding’s scattered diaspora found a way to connect. the snowBoard movie had landed. But that day-glo vhs was Just the start. today, snowBoard videos are more than Just a showpiece for superhuman pros – they’re a snapshot of snowBoarding’s ever-changing landscape froZen in time. this k aleidoscopic cosmos charts the movies and moments that have helped make travis rice who he is – and the riders and side proJects that somehow interconnect.

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RIDERS STARRING

MOVIE TITLE

TRAVIS RICE NICOLAS MÜLLER JAKE BLAUVELT DCP JEREMY JONES JOHN JACKSON MARK LANDVIK GIGI RÜF WOLFGANG NYVELT TERJE HÅKONSEN BRYAN IGUCHI DAVID BENEDEK

MOVIE

BRAIN FARM CINEMA TETON GRAVITY RESEARCH ABSINTHE FILMS BLANK PAPER STUDIO

THIS IS NOT INTENDED AS A DEFINITIVE LIST OF RIDERS OR MOVIES CONNECTED TO TRAVIS RICE.

PRODUCTION HOUSE

INFograPhIC faBriZio festa

YEAR

15

Still Driving Bethany Hamilton refuses to be defined by the tragedy that brought Hollywood to her door.

Text Alex Wade & Photography NOAH HAMILTON

How to understand Bethany Hamilton without reference to October

she says, calmly. “I never think about whether there might be any sharks

31, 2003, when a morning surf at Tunnels Beach on Kauai turned into a

around.” But how easy was it to return to surfing? “I learnt to pop up by

nightmare? Bethany was surfing with her friend, Alana Blanchard, and

using my right arm, placing it in the middle of the board. For duck-diving,

Blanchard's father and brother, when a fourteen-foot tiger shark ripped

my dad made a handle in the middle of the board. I was competing again

off her left arm below the shoulder. The Blanchards helped her to shore

three months after the attack.”

and rushed her to hospital. There, her father was due to have knee surgery,

Not only did Bethany surf again, she surfed exceptionally, turning pro

but Bethany took his place on the operating table. She was surfing again

in 2007, rising fast through the women’s World Qualifying Series and onto

in less than a month.

the ASP Tour, and even tow-surfing Jaws in 2009. Does she intend to

A best-selling book, called Soul Surfer, was published a year later,

pursue pro surfing seriously?

and Heart of a Soul Surfer, a documentary by Becky Baumgartner, was

“Maybe,” she says, “but I’ve never been one for planning. I just want

released in 2007. April 2011 saw the US release of Disney’s Soul Surfer,

to be the best surfer that I can be. I also want to continue to work for my

starring AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany, and Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt

non-profit foundation, Friends of Bethany.” This was set up by Bethany’s

as her parents. And yet, for all the publicity, a note on Bethany’s website

family with the aim of helping other victims of shark attacks. Bethany’s

cautions that she doesn’t “like to talk about the shark attack”.

religious beliefs are integral to its work. “I’ve had faith since I was a little

We’re sitting in an auditorium of the Lighthouse Cinema in Newquay,

girl,” she says. “It helped me deal with the attack.”

before Soul Surfer’s UK premiere. I ask what Bethany thinks of the Disney

But isn’t it frustrating, always being perceived as the surfer-girl who

film. “The shark attack scene is very accurate,” she says. “It’s done really

was attacked by a shark? “Sometimes it can be overwhelming,” she

well. I wanted it to be realistic. I’m very proud of the film. I hung out on the

admits, “I like to be treated as normal – as who I am.”

main set a lot and it was fun to meet Dennis and Helen. They both went

As the interview comes to a close, I wonder if the gracious young

surfing – Dennis got really into it, he was always asking my dad what the

woman sitting in front of me will ever be able to evade what happened in

surf was like.”

October 2003. This is a story that will run and run. But if so, Bethany will

Bethany seems happy enough to talk about an event that might have

cope. She has a strength of character that many of us can only dream of.

traumatised a lesser person for life. “I’ve been surfing again at Tunnels,”

Or, as she puts it: “People who’ve been in car crashes don’t stop driving.”

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Why do pro snowboarders go into business? For some, it's a creative outlet; a way to reclaim control from industry-heads who don't know their frontside from their backside. For others, it's simply about paying the rent.

Whatever their reasons, more and more pros are starting business ventures of their own.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY LIZ & MAX HAARALA HAMILTON

Airhole

Sterling Socks

Hot breath, a sodden facemask and steamy goggles do not make for a

“Everyone's got a clothing brand, a hat brand or something, but socks

good day up the mountain. It's a feeling pro snowboarders Kale Stephens

are good because they're a low-risk product,” says UK snowboarder Dan

and Chris Brown know only too well. So, with a little help from Kale’s

Wakeham about his new company, Sterling Socks. “They're not overly

grandma’s sewing machine and a bit of imagination, they found a solution.

expensive and not a lot can go wrong with them to start off with.”

Airhole, the pair’s brainchild, is an innovative new kind of facemask with

Wakeham’s quest to keep snowboarders' feet warm began in early

a hole for your mouth. It’s really as simple as that. “We were snowmobiling

2011 when the twenty-nine-year-old former-Olympian joined forces with

one day in minus-twenty and needed something to keep our cheeks warm,”

photographer and long-time travelling companion Nick Atkins. The pair

explains Chris. “We decided to sew a couple of rags together... We really

put together a small number of samples and did the obligatory tradeshow

did it as a bit of a joke, but Max [Jenke, of Endeavor Snowboards], saw the

circuit, only to sell-out their entire range in their very first season.

potential and turned it into a business.”

“Being a pro snowboarder subconsciously taught me how to be

The quirky name may have got them noticed, but it is the masks’ gnarly

good at marketing, how to deal with brands, contracts, all sorts,” says

designs that have become their signature trait. From killer doo-rags that

Wakeham, whose first range included pro model socks for UK riders Ben

feature sharks, skulls, tigers and bandit-style paisley graphics to cashmere

Kilner, Jamie Nicholls and Aimee Fuller. “It's actually easier to promote a

masks and wallpaper flower designs, the range is extensive and offers

brand than it is to promote yourself; if you promote yourself too much,

endless opportunities to express yourself on the hill.

everyone thinks you’re a bighead, whereas you can big-up the socks all

Chris and Kale may downplay the creative side of their homegrown

day long!”

brand with a tagline that reads, ‘Face Masks You Idiot,’ but they design

Indeed, a pro snowboarder's raison d'etre may be to get media

every graphic in-house. “We just come up with stupid shit all the time and

coverage for their sponsors, but in doing so they pick up indispensable

put it on the masks,” says Chris. “It’s a bit like skateboarding's pro models;

skills. For those riders who want to slip into the business seat when

the ideas are endless.”

their knees start complaining, a little marketing nous can help them stay

Airhole is now a successful business and Kale and Chris have found a way

connected to the sport they so love. “I can't go back to a nine-to-five

to stay relevant in snowboarding beyond their professional careers. What's

because it will drive me mad,” says Wakeham. “This helps keep me away

more, there's never been a funner way to accessorise your face. Zoe Oksanen

on snow and keep the lifestyle that I'm used to.” Ed Andrews

airhole.ca

sterlingsocks.co.uk

19

YNIQ

MIZU

As far as ski and snowboard goggles go – from day-glo wrap-arounds

After a long week driving in Alaska, with a sea of plastic piling up in their

that have blinded us since the eighties, to those sleek windshields that

snowboard truck, pro snowboarder Jussi Oksanen and filmmaker Brad

make your face look like the back end of a Maserati – we’ve seen little

Kremer decided to take action.

subtlety in style over the years. When professional freeskier Jon Olsson

“The realisation kind of came around all of a sudden,” says Jussi.

clocked onto this, he decided to start his own line of goggles under the

“Brad and I were looking at the plastic trash we accumulated in just a

banner YNIQ, to offer an alternative to the “pink and flashy” mutants

few days and it was so wrong. We knew we needed an alternative to

we’re so familiar with.

plastic water bottles, but nothing out there spoke to who we are and

Combining his personal passion for design with the inherent creativity

the lifestyle we follow.”

required by his profession, Olsson took the entrepreneurial reins and ran

Inspired by a desire to lessen his plastic-bottle habit and encourage

with an idea. “Goggles have always looked extremely sporty, but I never

others like him to do the same, Jussi decided to start a reusable, stainless-

wear sunglasses that look like that,” he explains. “So, I thought there was

steel water bottle brand that would appeal to a youthful, lifestyle-focused

a market for people who want a pair of goggles that are more geared

demographic. Essentially, he thought, “doing the right thing” could be a hip

towards what they’re wearing in terms of sunglasses.”

and stylish choice.

The results are not surprising considering the developer is a self-

Backed by a plethora of world-class athletes and artists – from skater

proclaimed perfectionist and someone who has to wear goggles for “about

Arto Saari to Brooklyn-based graffiti artist Stash, many of whom have

200 days a year”. With little in the way of flagrant cosmetics, YNIQ goggles

signature products coming out soon – Mizu is now finding solid ground

look distinguished and solid – like your favourite pair of aviators.

within the action sports community and beyond.

It’s little wonder pro riders like Jon Olsson are best placed to design

But don’t expect Jussi to give up the snowboard game any time soon.

their tools of the trade, given that they rely on them day after day. In fact,

“The more I snowboard at this level and continue to have a lot of exposure,

Olsson already has another business venture in the works. “I'm actually

the more people I can convince to cut down on the pointless cycle of

just about to launch a ski bag company in the next couple weeks,” he

plastic waste,” says Jussi. “And I won’t even start on the health issues of

explains. “You know, I travel 300 days a year and I don’t like the ski bags

drinking from plastic!”

I'm travelling with. So, that was kind of a passion start-up project as well,

If protecting the environment and your health doesn't convince you to

which has turned into a product that’s better than anything I could ever

ditch the plastic, Jussi has a few final words about water that might: “Why

imagine.” Shane Herrick

pay for something you can get for free?” Zoe Oksanen

yniq.se

mizulife.com

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© Oakley Icon Ltd, 2011

SHAUN WHITE snow

Rise above The Shaun White Signature Series AIRBRAKE™ with SWITCHLOCK™ TECHNOLOGY for Quick Lens Interchangeability

No More Hate Berlin-based pensioner Irmela Mensah Schramm is fighting fascist propaganda.

Text Cinnamon Nippard & Photography Daniel Rosenthal

Schöneweide in East Berlin is a neo-Nazi hot spot. Known for its clashes

Irmela says the authorities don't seem interested in cleaning the streets

between right-wing extremists and left-wing activists and police, some

up. The police show little interest in her work (although they have accused

commentators have dubbed it a ‘no-go area’. But it’s here, in the former

her of defacing property), but the neo-Nazis are more pro-active, spray-

Soviet industrial district, that we meet sixty-five-year-old Irmela Mensah

painting threats to her on walls.

Schramm, otherwise known as ‘The Hate Destroyer’. For the past twenty-

“I am known to them by name,” she explains. “They sprayed on the wall

five years, this strong-minded pacifist has been resisting the far-right with

of a building, ‘Schramm, we will get you.’ I have already called the police a

nothing more than a metal oven scraper.

few times, because they have threatened me. But nothing happens.”

Irmela points out a local bar that she claims is one of the most important

It seems that things are getting more dangerous for this silver-haired

meeting places for Berlin's right-wing scene. We walk five minutes from the

activist. Just recently, in Schöneweide, Irmela was chased by five, masked

station and find a street with fascist and racist stickers on every available

neo-Nazis. But she remains undeterred, having removed over 40,000

surface – drainpipes, signposts, bike stands, electricity boxes, walls, doors

stickers since January 2007. So, what compels her into action? “If you keep

and phone booths.

silent you are complicit,” she says. “And I just don’t want to be complicit

Irmela gets to work scraping the stickers off. After each one is destroyed, she smiles broadly. “Freedom of expression has limits,” she says. “It ends where hatred and contempt for mankind begins.”

when the social climate is tainted by hatred.”

Irmela may be leading the charge in her “full-time job against intolerance” – spending around 100 hours of her time and 300 Euros from

According to the German Federal Office for the Protection of the

her pension every month – but Berlin is starting to catch on. As Irmela

Constitution (BfV), there are approximately 26,000 right-wing extremists

gets to work on some fascist stickers at a train station in South Berlin, two

– 5,600 of which are fanatical and violent neo-Nazis – living in Germany

boys shout out, “There’s the taker-offer!” A man tells her she's vandalising

today. Last year, reported the BfV, they were responsible for 16,000

property, but another comes up and helps her with a sticker beyond her

incidents of crime, from vandalism to aggravated assault.

reach. Some people even hug and thank her.

Although German law forbids swastikas and other neo-Nazi symbols,

When she is satisfied she has removed every last inch of offending

fascist groups push their racist ideology in places like Dortmund and Berlin

material, Irmela gathers her things and heads to the next place on her list.

through stickers, posters and spray-painted slogans such as ‘Foreigners Out’ and ‘Berlin Stays German’.

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thehatedestroyer.com

SPRING SUMMER COLLECTION 2011

franklinandmarshall.com

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A Simple Solution Former pro surfer Jon Rose is sidestepping the bureaucracy of aid organisations and providing clean water for the people who need it most.

Text Giuliano Cedroni & photography Vavá Ribeiro

Jon Rose looks like a regular surf dude: tan skin, pale blue

subsidiary, or humanitarian organisations such as Red Cross,

eyes, and a friendly smile on his face. But for over a decade

Jon and his staff buy the filters in the US and fly to the ground-

this former WCT top surfer mingled with the ‘Irons’ and

zero areas where they hire local people to help distribute them.

‘Slaters’ of the professional surf circus in search of great waves,

“I’ve learned everything from surf,” Jon acknowledges. “Like,

trophies, girls and cash. Even though he never made it to the

how to be able to adapt; to be out of your comfort zone and yet

very top, young Jon travelled the world looking for action in

manage to deal with it.”

the remotest places. His passport is a collection of exotic stamps:

After dropping a couple dozen filters to people during

Indonesia, Hawaii, South Africa, Brazil, Peru, Tahiti. But knowing

the flood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last January, Jon and

he would never make the big-time, Jon retired at the age

photographer Vavá Ribeiro joined forces with a few other

of thirty-one.

surfers such as Guga Ketzer, a creative director from Loducca

A bit lost after the dreamy lifestyle of the surf circuit, Jon

ad agency, and set up an expedition this summer to the Amazon

took inspiration from his father, Jack Rose – who had worked in

River. Their mission? To check the quality of drinking water for

Africa helping people catch and filter rainwater – and travelled

the people living around the largest water reserve on the globe.

to Sumatra Island, Indonesia, with some simple filters in his

“What the Amazon people don’t realise is that the water from

backpack. It was during this surf trip, in 2009, that Jon felt a slight

the river is not clean,” says Jon. “At least not clean enough to

shake on his boat – an echo of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that

drink it. So we got there, filtered a few glasses and showed

caused a tsunami killing over 1,000 people, and leaving 100,000

them the results. They were astonished.”

homeless. Surviving without a scratch, Jon decided to go inland

Jon and his small team have delivered over 100,000 filters

to deliver the filters where they were needed. He didn’t know it

so far to places like Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan, Indonesia, Japan,

yet, but this was the birth of Waves 4 Water.

Brazil and Haiti. “The idea is to get in, act, and get out as soon

“After helping people in Sumatra, delivering filters and

as we can, so the local authorities don’t even have the time to

teaching people how to use them, I knew that this is what I

tell us what we can and what we cannot do,” says Jon about

wanted to do with my life,” says Jon, comfortably seated in

their guerrilla approach. “Sometimes we have sixty people

the open garden of Loducca, a fancy advertising agency in

working with us and it blows me away!”

São Paulo, Brazil. “We’re the black sheep of NGOs, because we

Each filter delivered by Waves 4 Water costs fifty US dollars

don’t operate like them, buying cars and trucks, spending a lot

and provides clean water to 100 people per day for up to five

on infrastructure and personnel, hiring foreigners to do the job.

years. The device can be used with any plastic bucket by making

That’s an old model, a ridiculous model, if you ask me. They

a whole in the bottom and the filters are easy to transport. Jon

hire a guy from Ireland to do the transportation in Haiti, and an

may have already worked side by side with the Red Cross and

Australian to do the security in Uganda. Why not the locals?”

the UN this year, but he plans to grow his outreach significantly

Waves 4 Water is an NGO that delivers water filters to people who need them. Whenever there’s a natural disaster, such as

in the future. “One in six people still don’t have access to clean water,” says Jon, “and that’s ridiculous.”

the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, Jon and his two employees go to action. Getting funds from brands like Hurley, a Nike surf

wavesforwater.org

25

Keepin’ It Straight Baker pro Theotis Beasley is one up-and-comer who refuses to veer off track.

Text Oliver Pelling & Photography dave chami

Some people refuse to settle for the hand life deals them. And Baker

Today, Theo has a list of sponsors that would make a professional

pro Theotis Beasley, who was raised in Inglewood, California, is no

footballer jealous. But unlike most of his peers, who hire managers and PAs,

exception. “Inglewood was crazy,” says the twenty-year-old. “I had homies

he handles all of his sponsorship deals himself. “I think being on Baker has

that gangbanged, but I was smarter than that. You’d hear gunshots

helped me a lot,” explains Theo. “Drew’s always had my back and helped me

every night, you couldn’t wear certain colours to certain places. If you

out. That’s why Baker’s home, I’d definitely never leave.”

ended up going somewhere with the wrong colour on, you could end your life.”

The Baker team are renowned for their balls-to-the-wall partying antics, but Theo takes a more mellow approach. “Drinking and smoking ain’t too

Being smart paid off this May, when Theo’s pro status was announced

bad,” he says. “It’s just something I choose not to do. People that drink and

at the Transworld Awards. “I was walking around with tears in my eyes

smoke a lot can’t maintain and still kill it. I respect all the dudes on Baker

the whole night,” says Theo, who puts his success down to “being in

because they’re my boys. I love them, they love me, and at the same time

the right place at the right time”. All it took was a chance meeting with

they respect that I don’t do any of that stuff.”

Baker founder Andrew Reynolds at his local skatepark – and the chance to

So, where does this staunch commitment to clean living stem from?

show off his next-level skills. “He wanted to hook me up with some boards.

“When I was about nine or ten I tried [marijuana] and got caught by my

It was a dream come true,” smiles Theo. “More and more boxes came each

cousin,” he says. “He told my mom and I got a whoopin’. I haven’t touched

week. It was like Christmas. I made sure I hooked up my homies on the

it since.”

block, too.”

On top of turning pro this year, Theo’s racked-up a killer section in

Soon Theo had a shared part with Rammy Issa in 2006’s Baker 3, and

Not Another Transworld Video, is currently filming for the Shake Junt

was joining the team as an official am. But the violence in his community

video Chickenbone (due out in October), and has also been working on a

still posed a threat. “Even if you’re just a skateboarder, not a gangbanger or

signature line for Altamont Apparel, which will drop late next year. But it’s

nothing, they’ll still mess with you,” says Theo, who recently moved to the

the lessons he’s learned that resonate the most. “You could be around some

nearby suburb of Gardena. “They don’t care. If you’ve got those colours on,

crazy stuff, but know your limits,” says Theo. “Stay positive, stay humble

they’ll shoot you. It’s crazy man; it’s wild. Thank god I got out.”

and if you know what you want just keep going for it. That’s it.”

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L E V E L : N L E VE E L : N E X X T T 28 HUCK

29

Text Natalie Langmann & Photography Rafal Gerszak

and founder of online art gallery Asymbol – was catapulted to celebrity status. Why? Because through the aforementioned Brain Farm movie, Rice and his handpicked crew of contest killers, Olympic champs and big-mountain riders helped shake audiences from their X-Games fixation, and took them flying, spinning and bouncing down near-vertical peaks as far into the backcountry as their freaked-out pilot would agree to fly.

Less than a week later, and a packed-out crowd is buzzing around the Whistler Conference Center. Worldtour posters adorn the walls, and Rice skirts through the masses over to Asymbol’s on-the-road gallery space, which he shares with surreal pop artist Mike Parillo, who also happens to design his Lib Tech board graphics.

A line-up of blown-up images from four photographers – Scott Serfas, Cole Barash, Danny Zapalac and Oli Gagnon – provide a behind-the-lens glance into the past two years of their sideways-moving lifestyle, and I find myself flipping through one of the coffee-table photo-books that accompany the film, wondering out loud what Rice’s deal is with this twodimensional world.

“I’m trying to preserve a little bit of the cultural heritage of snowboarding – the art behind it – because it goes hand in hand with its creative spirit,” says the Jackson Hole local, looking rather Western-esque in a string tie. “I just felt there was a real missing link between the creators and the appreciators.

And I figured I had a lot to offer, being a fan myself, as far as organisation and helping people market their work.” n a prematurely chilly, wet September night, The Art of FLIGHT

Rice’s girlfriend, Evan Mack, leans over, adding: “Travis

(TAOF) premiered to a sold-out crowd in New York City. Travis

sees the world through an artist’s mind, and it shows in his

Rice pulled up to the red carpet by way of a Rolls Royce, Owen

snowboarding. It’s like in TAOF when Nicolas Müller says,

Wilson partied, Justin Timberlake tweeted, and suddenly there

‘Snowboarding is more than just a sport. You pick your own

was much talk about snowboarding – well, big-mountain riding,

line; it’s your soul that does that.’ I think that Travis has a

to be precise. Overnight, Rice – a two-time X-Games gold winner

childlike way of viewing the world. He’s always liked discovery – exploring how you can see things new. Kind of like wiping the slate of his mind clean and being present.”

30 HUCK

31

Despite being at the epicentre of the posters, book, gallery

Before riding gnarly Alaskan descents, Rice was an unknown

and films, Rice takes a modest approach. He insists that it’s all

in his late-teens; that is, until 2001 when he rocked up to

been a collective effort, giving credit to all the riders who were

Snowboarder Magazine’s Superpark – where an invitation is

there, shoulder-to-shoulder, through all the shots. But that’s not

tantamount to playing main stage at Glastonbury before signing a

to say he’s not feeling the spotlight’s heat.

record deal – and busted a backside rodeo off a 110-foot gap jump.

“I was always kind of pumped on the notion that snowboarding

32 HUCK

Absinthe Films noticed, leading to parts in Transcendence, Vivid,

was kind of niche. Unless there is that die-hard, snowboard mag-

Saturation, Pop, More and Neverland. Notably, while filming for

reading kid that religiously watches the videos, you don’t get hit

Pop in 2004, Rice was the first snowboarder to switch 540 over the

up in the streets,” says Rice as he offers to buy me a drink, while

infamous 120-foot Chad’s Gap in Utah.

also taking time to exchange words with each autograph-seeking

Between 2001 and 2009, Rice continued to up the ante at

fan. “With this film, it’s gone to the next level; I can’t hang out in

contests from the US Open to the X-Games with never-before-

the lobby of one of our normal film premieres.”

seen tricks – like the double backside rodeo 1080 he landed at

Beyond the hubbub, however, Rice points to the positive

the Icer Air in 2007 – and is often credited for making double

fallout of fame. He insists that if people become more aware of

corks a contest staple by stomping 1080 variations throughout

big-mountain riding through TAOF – if it leads to more support

TTR’s (Ticket To Ride) 2007/08 season. But around 2005 his

from companies, more projects, more employment, more kids

attention turned to filming, and joining forces with production

heading out into the backcountry – then he is winning. “Go

house Brain Farm, he started making movies on his own terms.

outside, get off the computer, put down the video game, and

While most snowboarders save their arsenal of technical tricks

go experience a bit of this world in three dimensions,” he adds,

for major contests, Rice redefined backcountry riding by taking

“because it makes everyone that immerses themselves in nature

his progressive style into a world of pillow lines and razor-sharp

happy. The more happy people there are, the better we all are.”

ridges. In 2008’s That’s It, That’s All (TITA), Rice threw down

The cast is soon called on stage. Rice bounces up. Winter

the first double cork 1260 captured on film. It’s little wonder,

junkies cheer like they’re getting fresh tracks. Lights fade to

then, that his closing words in TAOF bring Whistler to its feet:

black, and suddenly you can almost feel the chopper blades

“Adventure is what you make it; and, whether it’s the travel, the

turning, as if you’re standing on the plateau of a powder-coated

discovery, or just the feeling of letting go, the only way to find out

cornice, ready to straight-line down a narrow chute.

is to go out there and do it.”

ast-forward a day, and a wisecracking dude

how you spend your money is your voice – that’s the loudest thing

with the legally changed name of Modaddy –

that you can do.”

Quiksilver’s driver for the likes of Tony Hawk

Popping a cherry tomato in his mouth, he explains how, over

and Kelly Slater for the past ten years – is sitting

the past five years, he’s taken his diet to extremes ever since a blood

behind the wheel of a forty-two-foot-long tour

test showed pistachios swimming around in his bloodstream.

bus about to depart south. With the sound of

“What happens when you eat a Big Mac?” asks Rice, adding that

Modaddy firing up the rig, I get ready for this

he’s recently become an advocate for local, organic produce and

rock-star crew to start partying and guzzling

sustainable farming.

booze to the sound of Rice’s playlist of moody

With the sun hovering over The Chief, Squamish’s ginormous

tunes – the occasional country, some weird ashram chanting, metal

granite climbing wall, the bus pulls up to the home pro

and random hip hop – and imagine myself “taking notes with my

snowboarder David Carrier-Porcheron (DCP) shares with his wife

eyes” like Cameron Crowe in Almost Famous. I couldn’t have been

Meghan Pischke, daughter Leighli and newborn-son Reef. “I want

more wrong, as I watch Travis pull out some biodegradable forks

to ride with my kids when I’m forty,” says Rice, smiling, holding

and a couple of salads.

Reef deep within his arms. “I don’t want to be like an ex-NFL

“Do you try to live a more sustainable lifestyle?” I ask, thinking about the Brain Farm crew bouncing around the globe with the same kind of film equipment used in Planet Earth and a budget rumoured to be in the millions.

athlete, beaten, bruised, riddled with arthritis; I want to treat my body as well as I can.”

While DCP glides back and forth over the ramps in his backyard, Mark Landvik and Rice both hold off skating due to their injuries.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s a little difficult filming with Brain Farm,”

“I worry about other peoples’ injuries more than my own,” Rice

he says, giving the salad a shake, “there definitely wasn’t much of

admits. “When we did TITA I was like, ‘Wow, we did it right; we

a message behind [TAOF’s] making. What you do with your dollars

made this insane movie and no one got hurt,’ but this time around,

is your voice in the world as far as voting for products that are

Scotty [Lago] broke his jaw, Landvik blew his knee, and I had to ride

done for the right reasons. Showing support by paying two dollars

with this weird, little ankle injury throughout the whole season.”

more when you can buy one thing or the other, you are essentially

Rice describes how he re-inflamed an old injury. He speeds

casting a vote in the realm of consumption and consumerism. In the

through his regime – a carefully calculated mix of stretching,

civilisation where you live, you might not have much of a voice. But

surfing, stand-up paddle boarding and swimming – then recalls

33

34 HUCK

how the tiniest piece of cartilage on his talus bone flicked up and popped out while doing yoga on the beach–beyond diet. “I would be doing fine and then some dumb little thing would nick the little flap causing inflammation, and I couldn’t do anything but lay on my back. It’s fine now,” he swears, “but I kind of willed myself through the winter.”

Getting back on the bus, Rice immediately starts to talk about life within Jackson’s Tetons. He credits his father – a retired ski patroller and a fly fisher/backpacking guide – for being a great role model in his “needless ways” and the reason for him feeling so “present” in the mountains.

“My dad enjoyed his work, but definitely was never working towards financial goals to come up in the world,” he explains.

“Yet, he is one of the happiest people I know. In the summer he lives out of his old camper van. It’s funny; he’ll come and stay at my place, and I’m like, ‘Dad, I have a guest bedroom,’ and he’ll claim to sleep better in the truck.

“Jackson is such an outdoorsy place with such motivated youth,” continues Rice, who admits to having a keen interest in badgers, and recently spotted ten living in his backyard. “I think it rubs off on people. People that leave, take with them a very sky’sthe-limit attitude.”

There’s little doubt that a sense of self-belief has fuelled Rice on his trajectory of success. But if anything is possible, can anyone aspire to ride the crazy lines tackled by his crew? “Just hike off your local resort,” says Rice staring out the window at the endless Coast Mountain peaks begging for his attention as they fade to green into the Pacific. “There are so many lines all over the place.

Granted, to get some of the bigger lines in AK [Alaska] you may need more funds, but look at Deeper [Jeremy Jones’ 2010 hikeaccessed big-mountain documentary]; that is a prime example of how anyone can get out on a budget.”

Few riders command the kind of respect that big-mountain charger Jeremy Jones enjoys among his peers. So, when Jones calls Rice “the best in the world” – as he does during his TAOF segment – or praises his positive attitude by labelling him Deeper’s MVP, it paints a certain picture. Rice, however, flicks the compliments away, and diverts the conversation back to the month he spent alone with Jones on an Alaskan glacier – twenty-eight days that he claims changed his life.

“So many people are so out of it from letting super benign things really get to them, from social bullshit to getting pissed off at traffic, to distractions on television and the internet in the day-to-day circus,” he explains. “But when you separate yourself from this chaos, you realise that it’s just a flaw in thinking, a distraction from the present moment. After coming back, I was at a zenned-out state of mind and I just kind of laughed at how caught up people get in unreal concerns. Being able to take a month to just camp on a glacier and be present was such a reminder of what is real.”

We delve further back in time to when Brain Farm founder Curt Morgan and Rice were both riding for the same Rossignol team. Morgan broke his back a few times, gave up trying to be a professional, and went to film school. For a while he filmed for Danny Kass and Grenade, but in time got burnt on trying to make ends meet, called it quits, and went back home to New York. By

35

“In the civilisation where you live, you might not have much of a voice. But how you spend your m o n e y i s y o u r v oic e – t h a t ’s t h e loudest thing that you c an do.”

then, Rice had five seasons of video parts under his belt and was riding for Oakley, so he enticed Morgan back to Jackson saying, “Let’s go make a film ourselves.” Rice bought a few cameras, paid Morgan out of his own pocket, and together they went for it. By 2005 they’d sold their first film, Community Project, to Oakley,

200-foot-wide kicker into a powder landing, followed by 700-800

which lead to That’s It, That’s All and now, The Art of FLIGHT.

feet of jib features. You have to be able to ride a mountain, but you

“Those projects were not going to get thrown on our laps,” says

also have to be able to stay progressive with tricks, so Müller or

Rice. “The first six months of TITA, I invested a huge chunk of

Jake Blauvelt may dominate the pillow lines on the top part of the

my own money. Then we made a full-teaser reel and books that

mountain, but a quarter of the slots are reserved for the top TTR

said, ‘Check this out, it will be the next film. This is the future.’

riders, so someone like Seb Toots, who can stomp any double cork

And we presented it all to Red Bull. Luckily, Red Bull is just very

over a kicker, will even out the playing field.”

progressive, and a willing-to-support-business, down-for-thecause type of company.”

Rice ran a similar one-time-only contest in Jackson four years back called The Natural Selection, and has since wanted to take it

Rice pauses then adds: “Now that I think back on it, this is what

out of a ski area, find a blank canvas, and build his dream course. He

I have had to do my whole career. I think I’ve gone at least double

went searching, ready to get a logging permit into unknown wildness

over my travel budget every year of my life and have paid out of my

and work throughout the summers, but needing infrastructure,

own pocket because I kind of always thought it was an investment in

he turned to cat-skiing operations and soon discovered “the run”

myself. Some riders go through a winter and when their funds run

on Baldface. Since then, Rice has returned to the spot at different

out, they don’t do anything. They say things like, ‘Yeah, I don’t have

times over recent winters. This spring, his crew walked the course

a travel budget, I’m not going to go on that trip.’ I’m always kind of

repeatedly and, using flagging tape, they wrote detailed instructions

like, ‘So fucking what? Do you believe in yourself?’”

on every tree on the entire face. It was a lengthy process, but Rice

Of course, when a movie starts blowing minds, naysayers will

insisted it had to be right; the construction crew couldn’t come in

always be quick to throw comments starting with the dreaded ‘if ’:

and do anything without exact detailed instructions. Right now,

‘if I had that kind of budget’; ‘if Red Bull sponsored my movie’; ‘if I

there is a twelve-man-strong logging crew working away, with the

had that camera gear, I would have...’ But truth is, Rice and Morgan

Baldface locals doing the heavy lifting. It’s a busy old time. But what

are the ones that literally grabbed the bull by its horns and made

happens when it’s done? Will more outside-the-box ideas come to

it happen. Not an easy feat. So, with that in mind, it comes as no

Rice when these ones trail off?

surprise that Rice calls Richard Branson his hero. But what’s next?

Snowboarders in space?

“I look forward to the next, next phase of my snowboarding career,” he says, as the bus pulls into North Vancouver. “If things

While Brain Farm has many projects in the works, Rice is moving

work out with my goals over the next few years to reinvigorate the

on to what may be his most creative project to date: The Super

snowboarding contest, which I want to take outside of BC, then

Natural, a big-mountain-extreme-meets-slopestyle-park contest

who knows? Not me.”

coming to Baldface, Nelson, BC, in February 2012. With Red Bull’s

Before jumping off the bus to sign 100 more posters and load

support, Rice is determined his contest will be like “something out

up on books for the following night’s premiere, Rice talks about

of a snowboarder’s wet dream”.

sailing around the Bahamas for the past ten years with his father

“The reason this event is so necessary,” enthuses Rice, “is

on their thirty-foot catamaran.

because the current state of competitive snowboarding is getting

“I am kind of totally addicted to surfing, and one day I will be lost

amazing – young kids are linking four double corks back-to-back in

somewhere on a sailboat in the Pacific looking for waves,” explains

slopestyle runs – but I still feel like much of the voice and characters

Rice. “There’s no other needless lifestyle than living on top of an

are legend-type riders, like Nicolas Müller, DCP, Gigi Rüf and John

ocean with a sailboat, using hardly any petrol and catching your

Jackson. Therefore, the first half of this 600-foot-wide run will be

own food. It’s my light at the end of this three-months-on-tour

about choosing your line down a forty-five-degree pitch, knowing

tunnel. I’m going sailing for a month, turning off my phone and

how to ride pillow lines, and how to deal with adverse snow

saying, ‘See ya later world! I’ll be back for Christmas.’ Then I’ll go

conditions and stuff; then it will lead up to a groomed-out perfect

fall off the face of the earth and go surf.”

The Art of FLIGHT world tour continues throughout November. For details, see artofflightmovie.com.

36 HUCK

No Other When four legends from punk’s halcyon days joined fo rces as OFF!, they helped the world reconnect with their ener getic roots.

W ay Te x t S h e l l e y J o n e s Photography Nick Ballon

eith Morris is feeling a bit sore.

XOYO in Old Street, London, where Morris

He slipped and fell in a shower

and his band OFF! are playing a show tonight.

in Amsterdam yesterday after

Although thirty-five years and 2,000 miles

ignoring

the

separate us from the garages of Hermosa Beach,

door. “Nooo fuuucking waaay,”

California, where Morris and Greg Ginn formed

he says in his famously drawn-

their first band, Black Flag, traces of that legacy

out way, peering at me through

are blooming all around us. “This is a good, little

John Lennon-style specs. “I’m gonna shuuut the

happy scene,” he says, looking around the space

showwwer off wherever I waaant.”

that awaits his UK fans, apparently unaware that

instructions

on

We are sitting in the lobby-cum-gallery of

38 HUCK

he helped create it.

Keith Morris.

39

Steve McDonald.

Mario Rubalcaba.

40 HUCK

Dmitri Coats.

Since the Hermosa days, punks have grown up, got suits, mortgages and

Black Flag, music journalist Stevie Chick quotes Morris remembering his

babies, or fallen through the cracks and met sticky ends (Morris wears a

youth. “I’d get off work, and we’d get up to trouble,” he says, “smoking angel

Gun Club tee in homage to his late-friend Jeffrey Lee Pierce, who died of

dust, snorting elephant tranquilisers. Just real goofy, ‘why-would-you-

his excesses aged just thirty-seven). So why does this fifty-six-year-old act

want-to-do-that?’ kinda stuff, the kind of things you get up to when you’re

like no time has passed? And how is he still keeping it real? “Well,” he says,

young, and into experimenting. If it was a good experience, then cool; if

leaning back. “Because I’m an idiot and I don’t know any better? There are

not, well, then it was just a real hard lesson learned.”

so many phony, fake, plastic bands out there... A real band is just a real

Those days may be gone – “Hermosa Beach is horrible now, full of

band. People who are true to their heart and what they do. People who

yuppies” – but OFF! marks a return to that spirit. “The other [Circle

don’t put up with bullshit. People who follow their path, even if it’s the

Jerks] were stuck in their ways,” says Morris, who parted ways with them

blind leading the blind, because sometimes that’s the best path to follow.”

in 2009 while trying to record a new album. “They were like, ‘We can

Bassist Dmitri Coats has another theory. “A lot of it is Keith,” he says.

record whatever we want and everybody will love it because of who we

“Listen to the way he talks, I’ve never heard anyone talk like that. He’s a

are.’ Which is just a horrible mentality. With [the guys in OFF!], the vibe

total individual. And I don’t think he could do what he does any other way.”

and mad energy acts as kind of a bridge back to a place where everything

The members of OFF! have histories, like strands of DNA, that intertwine

was wonderful, brightly coloured like a fairy-tale, and all the little kids

to form the current all-star lineup. It began when Morris left Black Flag

skipped and jumped and were happy. But it’s also going back to a more

to form Circle Jerks in 1979 (the band he would continue to play with for

chaotic time when we were basically the blind leading the blind. That is,

nearly thirty years). By the early eighties, Circle Jerks were rehearsing in

we didn’t know what we were doing; we were just doing it.”

‘The Church’ (a legendary venue in Hermosa Beach, birthplace of SST

Critics were quick to compare their debut record, First Four EPs, with

Records), which is where Morris met

early Black Flag. But if Morris had

a teenaged Steve McDonald playing

gone on to make a new record with

bass with his Exorcist-referencing band,

Circle Jerks, instead of breaking away

Redd Kross. At the end of that decade, down the coast in San Diego, a kid called Mario Rubalcaba was discovering skateboarding and joining Team Alva.

He shredded sidewalks professionally until the early nineties when he picked up some drumsticks and adopted the nickname ‘Ruby Mars’, drumming for legendary

post-punk

bands

Rocket

From The Crypt and Hot Snakes, finally forming his own psychedelic rock band Earthless in the early noughties. At the same time, across the continent in Philadelphia, a curly-haired guitarist called Dmitri Coats was shaking up the East Coast with his stoner rock three-piece, Burning Brides. But their

“It’s also going back to a more chaotic time when we were basically the blind leading the blind.

That is, we didn’t know what we were doing; we w e r e j u s t d o i n g i t .”

to form OFF!, would the result have sounded just the same? “No. This is a whole different set of circumstances,” says Morris. “When I mention the Circle Jerks I wanna say really horrible things, but at the same time I want to thank them for allowing me the opportunity to be doing what I’m doing now, because this is really exciting.” So he’ll never go back? “Not at this time.

I’m having too much fun. I’ve got too many other things to do... Those guys can all go off and purchase e-tickets for the rides at Disneyland. They can all ride on the Matterhorn together and get their picture taken with Goofy and Snow White.”

record label collapsed, so they uprooted

There is a latent rage in OFF!;

and moved into the studios of Los

a pure dissatisfaction with the way

Angeles, which is where he met Morris

the world is. They all, apart from

attempting to record a new Circle Jerks album. The Jerks fell out, Morris

Morris, have kids now, but they’re not proud to pass this planet on.

and Coats recruited McDonald and Rubalcaba, and OFF! was born.

“We live in really horrible times,” says Morris. “It’s always a handful

It’s a meeting of great minds with a myriad of different influences. So

of people that fuck it up for everybody else and that also equates to our

what’s the common ground? “Well, we hope that the time you spend at our

world situation. A perfect example would be Libya. It’s great that the

show, you’re jumping up and down, screaming and yelling and making

rebels are overthrowing Gaddafi, but what’s going to happen after

new friends, having a few drinks and becoming part of our party scene,”

Gaddafi’s gone? All of the oil companies are going to race in there and

says Morris, who rarely pens songs longer than a minute. “For a little

all of the people who live there are probably going to be even worse off

chunk of your life, you can actually just blow off some steam and be angry

than they were before. They’re getting a million barrels of oil out of Libya

without smashing and breaking things. It’s the same as skateboarding;

every day, and there has to be some guy in a business suit, sitting behind

the mentality, the speed, the aggressiveness – the gung-ho, go-for-it,

his desk somewhere, just salivating. He’s just filing his teeth waiting to bite

let’s-do-this state of mind. And if there’s skateboarding, there’s surfing,

off his bit.”

there’s snowboarding, there’s water skiing, hand gliding, sky diving.

With that, Keith Morris must go. It’s true, we may be thirty-five years

There’s the pie-eating contest, the hot dog-eating contest, there’s the

and 2,000 miles away from those halcyon days of punk’s outrageous origins,

all-you-can-eat buffet.”

but as we get up, shake hands, and descend into the basement of XOYO for

Keith Morris’ thoughts bounce around his head like firecrackers. He exudes his experiences – from the lines that run deep across his face to the

a couple of hours of fast, dark disruption, it still feels like we could be a part of something different

long dreads that fall down his back – and to sit next to him is to soak up some of that star-spangled history. In Spray Paint the Walls: The History of

First Four EPs is out now on Vice Records.

41

F u l l y

42 HUCK

R o g u e

I s m o u n ta i n b o a r d i n g t h e e c c e n t r i c k i d at s l i d i n g s c h o o l o r t h e l a s t r e m n a n t s o f a c o u n t e r c u lt u r e i n a w o r l d o f s u p e r b r a n d s ? HUCK h e a d s i n t o t h e E n g l i s h c o u n t r y s i d e a n d d i s c ov e r s a s c e n e t h at j u s t i s w h at i t i s .

T e x t L a u r i e B ar n e s Photography Richie Hopson

sliding effortlessly over the wet grass. This is

So what have we just been watching? The term

Bugs, one of many mountainboard centres that

mountainboarding – also called dirtboarding, off-

have popped up across the UK over the last ten

road skateboarding or all-terrain boarding – was

years. They offer people the chance to hire boards

coined by Californian pioneer Jason Lee (not of

and have a go, but also act as a focus for groups

My Name Is Earl fame), but where the idea came

of local riders developing their own scenes. It’s

from is still somewhat contested. Off-road wheels

a low-maintenance, muddy endeavour. Creating

for regular skateboards have been advertised in

something new to ride is as easy as moving a load

the back pages of skateboard magazines since

of dirt and shaping it with shovels.

the seventies. But boards featuring pneumatic

As the sky clears, the serious riders emerge

tyres and secure bindings only began to emerge

and make their way up the hill. The weekend

in 1992, when brothers Dave and Pete Tatham

has attracted some of the most prolific media

started developing boards for mountain terrain

crews in the sport: ATC Productions, Remolition

under the name noSno. Around the same time,

and Project Document are all here to build

brothers Jason and Joel Lee started making

new features and ride. A session quickly gets

boards for themselves and their friends in the US,

underway with a number of different obstacles

under the name Mountain Board Sports. These

to jump off, or down, and rails to slide or grind.

early creations sported metal frames under the

Riders learn through experimentation and trial

deck and weighed a ton. By 1998, the frame was

and error, but they also get inspiration from each

gone and an estimated 1 million people were

other. It’s gatherings like this that really push the

getting behind the sport. More manufacturers,

sport. “Competing can take the fun out of riding,”

such as Scrub and GI, have since joined the

explains the UK’s Tom Kirkman, a world champ

fray and boards have developed monumentally,

in both freestyle and downhill. “I like pushing

getting lighter and more stable over the years.

group of friends are sheltering from the rain in a

myself, but in a direction I want to go. Just having

Now one of the fastest growing boardsports in the

van, huddling around a laptop as if for warmth.

a fun session with some friends is where I ride

world, mountainboarding scenes are cropping

They’re gawping at a video in which one of them

best and learn new stuff.”

up everywhere, shaped by whatever bumps and

is the star. A silence descends. Mouths gape. Then suddenly they erupt in hollers and high-fives.

This hunger for “new stuff ” means that new

boulders riders can find.

tricks are being landed all the time. Riders are

Being able to charge all kinds of terrain is,

Milenkovic

pushing for bigger and bigger spins on multiple

for stalwarts, what makes mountainboarding so

become the first mountainboarder to land a clean

axes, incorporating all manner of rotations and

special. In the US and across Europe, riders can

double backflip. In a homemade video shot just

flips. More and more riders are throwing down

be found chucking themselves down backcountry

days before, the Australian performs the rotations

one-footed airs and incorporating spins in and

lines during the summer months. For those

with gymnastic ease, wearing neither pads nor

out of rails. Mountainboard bindings provide a

looking to take on challenging gradients in the

a helmet, on a jump built in a back garden in

lot more flexibility than those on snowboards,

UK, lines on an Ordinance Survey map can be a

Cornwall. Those seeing it for the first time slap

so tricks and grabs can be seriously tweaked.

thing of beauty.

Andy on the back. When the noise dies down

Veterans seem to revel in the fact that they’ve

But this love affair with the countryside has,

someone asks him how it feels, and modestly he

helped shape the sport since its inception.

in many ways, forced the sport underground.

replies, “Yeah, I’m pretty stoked, I guess.”

They’ve

just

watched

Andy

“It seems like it’s the last but not the least

Existing as it does away from urban centres, with

Outside, the rain is still pelting down,

[important] board sport to be invented,” says well-

riders dodging trees in woods and riding dirt

hammering a field in the idyllic Gloucestershire

known competitor Joe Dickson. “It’s great being

jumps and tracks, mountainboarding seems to

countryside. Scarred by huge mounds of dirt,

able to innovate and do things that have never

have escaped the public eye. What little media

this little patch of land is home to some of the

been done before.”

coverage it does receive is usually dumbed down,

largest jumps in Europe. On the far side, a group

Today, half a dozen wide-angle lenses are

with a fully padded-up Blue Peter presenter

of school kids are having a go on mountainboards

capturing all the action going down. Variety is the

carving down a gentle grass slope, or some

for the first time. As they wobble around giggling,

flavour of the day, as riders incorporate different

Jackass-wannabe posting a video on YouTube.

a patient instructor shows them how to turn and

kickers, step-ups, quarter pipes, drop-offs and

carve down a long, gentle slope, their back wheels

rails into their runs.

Adrian Rubi-Dentzel 43

Luckily, this lack of attention is, for many,

the slightest mistake it could be game over. The

have been subverted by loose-knit groups

a blessing in disguise. Away from the spotlight

crowds become insignificant blocks of colour –

of people getting together to just enjoy the

the sport has been able to develop organically,

you become focused entirely on the track.”

ride. Perhaps in a sign of the sport’s growing

finding its own identity and style. Kirkman

Despite this competitive element, there are

maturity, riders are bored of trying to explain

explains: “It’s a young, fresh sport, you can be

currently no glossy magazines or huge prize

it and aren’t bothered about the acceptance of

creative and do something different. There’s a

purses attached to mountainboarding. But

the skateboard community or, for that matter,

lot of experimentation going on and every year

you’d be hard-pressed to find a rider who’s in

any other clique. “People used to try to emulate

the level of riding progresses massively.”

this for the spoils. “Getting recognition for

snowboarding or skateboarding, but that’s

Like all nascent sports, signs of structure have

what we do would bring sponsorship for riders

changing and people are doing their own thing,”

also emerged. A national mountainboarding

and make for bigger events,” says photographer

says up-and-coming rider Rory Perkins. “I don’t

competition series, run by the All Terrain Board

and filmmaker Theo Acworth, “but it’s just cool

like having to compare it to other boardsports to

Association, has been held across the UK since

having the kind of close-knit community that

explain what it is.”

2001. Slopestyle events see riders spinning,

riding a mountainboard introduces you to all

flipping and riding rails, while boardercross

over the world.”

Back on the field, the riders are careering around the features they helped build. Tom

takes place on hard-packed dirt tracks with

Dylan Warren, an Australian rider currently

Kirkman front board slides the down rail at

steep inclines. It’s an intense spectacle with four

visiting the UK, is quick to agree. “You can sofa

speed and then nonchalantly front flips the

riders sliding around banked corners, kicking

surf and stay anywhere,” he says, “just through

step-up. His friends go wild. Cheers erupt every

up dust clouds and fighting for position straight

this common interest.”

time someone drops in – whether they’re making

out of the start-gates. “I don’t know if it’s nerves

So, what does the future hold for this rogue

or the desire to win, but your senses become

and muddy off-road world? Is it destined for the

almost

same commercial journey its heavily branded

supernatural,”

says

under-eighteen

boardercross champion Joe Knight. “Timing is

cousins

key in every manoeuvre and it’s all happening

types have tried to sanitise mountainboarding,

so fast, you barely have time to think. In the

introducing over-the-top protective clothing,

back of your mind you know that if you make

rankings, teams and race jerseys, their efforts

44 HUCK

have

faced?

While

some

industry

history or simply having fun

R E P O R TA G E G R E G H A R D E S & P O R T R A I T S R O B I N M E L L O R

46 HUCK

The young people of London get a bad rap. Since riots spread across the city at the beginning of August this year, images of looting, arson and violence in the divided capital have dominated the mainstream media like a virus. What started out as a peaceful protest against the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by Metropolitan Police, soon descended into a state of nationwide chaos as riots spread across the city and then the country as a whole. Suddenly out of nowhere, everyone had an opinion on who and what was to blame for the breakdown of our society. And the overarching message was that ‘the kids are not all right’. But while politicians, police, journalists and activists thrash it out on late-night news programmes, young people in London are simply getting on with their lives. HUCK reached out to a bunch of teens and twenty-somethings s a y. from Hackney to get their take on the summer of hysteria. Here’s what they had to0000

47

T y rel J ean - B a p tiste | 1 6 “Just because a person’s wearing a hoody, it doesn’t mean he’s a criminal. I think that’s wrong. I hate it when people judge, and they don’t even know! I think England is a show-off. Young people get bored, that’s why they do silly stuff... But if another person dies like that, I think things could get worse.”

Q u in c e y Cassell W illiams | 2 3 “Whatever images were caught in the heat of the moment have come to define what the riots were and who was involved. There was a mixture of people involved and I don’t think that was stated at all. It came from a peaceful protest. Young people have more materialistic aims these days, but because of our financial situation they cannot afford as many things.

That’s why you saw places like Foot Locker being targeted.”

R onald H u tton | 1 7 “The way the media portrayed the riots made them look so much worse than they were. They only showed young people, when there were adults out rioting, too. The whole thing got taken out of proportion.”

T erri H arrigan | 1 9 “You can access everything in this community if you pay for it, but I don’t think you should have to pay so much. Even after-school clubs are expensive now, which creates a divide, because the children whose

F ela M aslen | 1 5

parents can afford it get to go, and the other children get left out... The government will listen to young people because it looks good, but I don’t

“The government has a responsibility to spend money on people in poverty

think they take on anything you have to say. We’re not all ‘rude and

and they’re not doing that. They’re creating a society for the rich, run by the

disrespectful’.”

rich. If you don’t want riots, you should close that gap between rich and poor.”

48 HUCK

K ell y L o u ise E dwards | 1 9 “The government just seems to pump money into the wrong things. We did a film with young people in London, and they said they wanted the Olympics’ legacy to be festivals and concerts and young people having access to the venues. But those voices were ignored... I think there are opportunities in Hackney, but they are only targeted at certain people... loads of different people.”

O l u da y o K oleosho | 2 7 “I don’t know about living in Hackney forever. I just focus on what I’m going to do in my life now. But I have had some wonderful opportunities living here; thanks to [drama group] Access All Areas, I’ve been on TV twice. There are lots of opportunities, you just have to make the most of every one that comes along. Hopefully parents can help their kids to make the right choices.”

S an c he z R oberts | 2 1 A gnelo D a c osta | 1 5

“Hackney is home. But I have an issue with some of the people who live here. It’s just the gang culture, people saying, ‘Don’t come to these ends.’

“I think the punishments for the rioters are really rough; people getting

Image plays a really big part in that. If you’re going around wearing

deported and prison sentences... Things just got out of hand. There were

tracksuits down to your kneecaps and clothes that they would wear, eight

police just standing and watching, I think they could have done more...

times out of ten, they’ll think you’re in another gang and they’ll stop you.

Hackney’s a good place, I don’t think people see that.”

The majority of people are not like that.”

49

HUCK would like to make it clear that none of the people interviewed were involved with the London riots. With thanks to: Mouth That Roars, Access All Areas, Iniva.

It’s such a multicultural and diverse place. You can really learn from

50 HUCK

In the uptight world of aggressive s u r f c o m p s , t h e B e l ly b o a r d i n g W o r l d Championships is rescuing fun.

T e x t A l e x W a d e & P h o t o g r a p h y J o h n I s aa c

Sally Parkin, founder of the Original Surfboard Company, is insistent. “It’s not bellyboarding,” she says, blue eyes intense and ablaze, salt water dripping from an allin-one 1920s woollen navy bathing suit. “It’s surf riding. And it’s just as much fun as stand-up surfing.”

I am not convinced. How can lying prone on a four-foot piece of wooden ply compare to carving on a longboard or slashing on a shortboard, still less slotting into a barrel on whatever kind of surfboard you choose to ride? Sally answers with evangelical conviction.

“You wait. You’ll be a convert by the end of the day.”

Sally is at the vanguard of the renaissance of bellyboarding (or, if you will, surf riding).

The past few years have seen the Original Surfboard Company grow from emblem of British eccentricity to flourishing business with clients in Australia, France, Spain and South Africa. There are other contemporary bellyboard manufacturers, too, but while their collective drive and energy has undeniably helped bellyboarding’s re-emergence there must be more to the rise of a pursuit that, superficially at least, scores low for cool.

To find out who’s into bellyboarding, and why, I gingerly clasp one of Sally’s boards and enter the World Bellyboarding Championships (WBC) at Chapel Porth beach in north Cornwall. The event is held annually on the first Sunday of September, and was the brainchild of local surfers Chris Ryan, a Chapel Porth car park attendant, and Martin Ward, an RNLI lifeguard supervisor. They set up the event, first held in 2002, in honour of the late Arthur Traveller, a Londoner who used to come down to the beach every year with his wooden board.

Fast-forward nine years, and the WBC is packed. Apparently, the ply boards from the 2010 event would have measured 240 yards, if laid end to end; this year I fancy it’d make half a mile, thanks to the 300 or so competitors who’ve signed up. I take a look at those who’ll be taking to a messy, onshore Atlantic over the day, and one thing is obvious: this is a surf comp for all-comers. They range from Anne Shipley, sixty-nine, the 2006 Over Sixties Ladies’ World Champion and perennial competitor, to Ed Isaac, who’s four and making his debut. There’s a sixty-five-year-old solicitor called Thurstan, an octogenarian

Charmian, eighty-six, has been surfing and bellyboarding since she was a kid.

51

“We’ve reached a point in our surfing evolution where we recognise that we’re not all pros, busting the lip and getting shacked. We’re reassessing how to h a v e f u n i n t h e w a t e r.” couple who live in a house overlooking Chapel Porth, and a man

bellyboard, every wave is overhead. You’ll have way more tube

who’s parked his restored Ford Model A in pride of place just

rides than on a conventional surfboard.” There’s more. “Stand-up

above the beach. But for all the retro, not to say vintage, cool,

surfers take everything so seriously. Bellyboarding is hilarious.”

there’s a younger crowd, too, a surfie-looking crew who aren’t present to please their sponsors. What brings them here?

52 HUCK

A cursory glance is enough to reveal that seriousness is not what the WBC is about. The retro vibe is all around, with

“What’s not the appeal of bellyboarding?” says twenty-

competitors sporting swimsuits from yesteryear and amiably

three-year-old James Booth, who works at Newquay’s Revolver

discoursing on sartorial choices, not to mention provenance

surf shop. I’d wager that even within Revolver’s avowedly retro

(Cannes-based American entrant Scott Bell proudly declares

walls, Booth sports a different look to the one-piece, dark

that his costume is a 1934 Jantzen all-in-one with a ‘modesty

blue and white-hooped creation he’s donned for the WBC.

flap’), rather than tactics in the water. Of the latter, though,

He’s all smiles, as he argues that bellyboarding is “the simplest

bellyboarding offers more than merely proning to the shore

thing in the world. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are,

ahead of a surge of white water. I watch as hotshot Sam Boex, a

or what shape or size you are, you’re guaranteed to be smiling

highly rated sponsored surfer from Porthleven, tears it up with

within seconds”.

360 turns and huge carving cutbacks.

Booth has an ally in Newquay-based surf instructor Laura

Boex is not the only top-rated waterman to compete in the

Hamblin, twenty-five. She travels the world surfing – and takes her

WBC. Last year’s event was won by pro bodyboarder Jack Johns,

bellyboard on every trip. “Bellyboarding is so much fun,” she says.

widely regarded as the best bodyboarder in Britain and, thanks to

“When I first started riding a bellyboard, local surfers thought

his exploits among the slabs and reefs of the west coast of Ireland,

I was mad. But then a lot of them got into it. On days when the

a man with a growing international profile. And as I watch the

surf isn’t so good you can still go out and have a blast, and on a

action at Chapel Porth, it’s clear that if the majority are content to

Photographer John Isaac finds time to don a retro outfit. His son Ed gets in the spirit, too.

53

Young dudes ride bellyboards: James Booth, twenty-three, is one.

54 HUCK

catch a white-water, straight-line ride to the shore, there’s a more

generally. We’ve reached a point in our surfing evolution where

radical group who really are ‘surf riding’. With swim fins, they’re

we recognise that we’re not all pros, busting the lip and getting

quickly in the line-up and carving lines with grace and fluidity.

shacked. We’re reassessing how to have fun in the water, what to

I doubt this will be my fate. The expression session, when

ride, where and when.” Matt tells me he surfs New York’s breaks

everyone dashes to the ocean for a freestyle warm-up, proves

on stand-up boards and bellyboards, depending on his mood and

that yes, straight-lining shorewards is, well, straightforward,

the conditions. “Pound for pound, you can have more fun on a

but catching a decent wave without fins isn’t so easy. But even

bellyboard than any other kind of surfcraft,” he says.

so, Booth is right – bellyboarding is fun, especially on a day

It’s time for my heat. I enter the water, sans wetsuit (neoprene

like this. Where ordinarily onshore surf offers little for stand-

is banned at the WBC), with dreams of a world title. They

up surfers, on a bellyboard every wave is rideable. Moreover,

prove delusional. I catch a few white-water rides, but there’s a way

there’s something deeply satisfying about being so immersed in

to go before I’ll be surf riding like Boex or Johns. Ultimately,

the sea, something truly egalitarian, too. Hence, it strikes me,

history records that the WBC 2011 is won by Naomi Perkin from St

bellyboarding’s enduring popularity. This is a pursuit known

Ives, but, of course, what the judges say at the WBC is neither here

to the Hawaiians, who, in the early 1900s, rode ‘Paipo’ wooden

nor there. It, and bellyboarding, puts a premium on fun, devoid of

bellyboards; but it is also a peculiarly British pastime, with a

ego, angst or aggro, and for that, I and many other surfers should

1950s heyday that means that many a coastal garage is likely to

take note and be grateful. As for whether bellyboarding beats

have an old wooden bellyboard, hidden away.

stand-up surfing, Gywnedd Haslock, sixty-six and a multiple

Advertising executive Matt McGregor-Mento has travelled

British surfing champion, echoes what I’ve come to feel by the

from New York purely for the WBC. “Bellyboarding is cool,”

end of the day: “It doesn’t matter, so long as you’re in the sea and

he says firmly. “It chimes with a rethinking of surf culture

having fun”

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56 HUCK

H u n t e r r e G a t h e r I n a w o r l d o f c a r i c at u r e s a n d fa c s i m i l e s , p r o s k at e b o a r d e r G e o f f R o w l e y i s s ta n d i n g u p f o r g r i t t y a u t h e n t i c i t y.

T e x t E d A n d r e w s & P h o t o g r a p h y G r eg F u n n e l l

t’s a showery late-August afternoon in London and Old

Thing is, Rowley’s got another, slightly more unusual passion,

Spitalfields Market – a tourist-friendly mix of craft stalls

and the hoody that hangs from his shoulders, bearing the logo

and chain restaurants, just east of the towering totem

‘Predator Xtreme’, is testament to that. “It’s the Thrasher of

poles of finance in the City – is not what it usually is. Today,

hunting” explains Rowley. “I do mostly predator hunting; coyotes,

it’s been transformed into a shiny skatepark for the Vans

bobcats, mountain lions – your apex predators. I really enjoy

Downtown Showdown. The three obstacles, designed by

hunting them on foot or with dogs, calling them in, trying to get

various skate teams, are inspired by Tower Bridge, a ‘Ye

really close. I’ve been lion hunting every year for ten years.”

Olde’ pub and Jack the Ripper’s ghoulish murder alley, all reflecting the iconic mythology of London.

Rowley’s been hunting since his early teens. He was introduced to the outdoor pursuit by a fellow skater, working

In fact, the place is crawling with caricatures; scrawny

as a game warden in the Lake District, who would take him

skate rats, bemused tourists, boozy industry bros and

out to cull badgers and deer, teaching him the ways of the great

nuclear families on a pleasant day shopping. But in this

outdoors. “I find it really intriguing to look at a mountain range

crowd of facsimiles, a larger-than-life character stands

and understand how different animals would use that terrain –

out. He’s a British pro skater-turned-business owner

what they would feed on, where they would be,” he explains. “It

who’s been skating for two decades or more and spends his

keeps me in shape and it feeds me. The meat tastes like nothing

days in Southern California at the helm of his own skate

you have ever tasted. Mountain lion is the most beautiful meat,

company. His name is Geoff Rowley: street skater, Flip co-

no fat whatsoever – imagine a steak that tasted like chicken. It’s

founder, 2000 Thrasher Skater of the Year. “You grow up

really, really good for you.”

looking at skateboarding as the most amazing thing ever,”

Hunting, however, has provoked opposition from those who

he says. “It’s so creative with so many different things

object to killing as sport. Renowned American comedian Paul

going on – so to actually [still be involved] as an adult when

Rodriguez – father of celebrated skate pro P-Rod – once claimed that,

you are not skating is like a dream come true.”

“Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they’re

Even after so many years, Rowley still fits the skate-

in the game,” and Irish writer George Bernard Shaw is famously

pro mould – worn-down vulcanised soles, a skateboard

quoted as saying, “When a man wants to murder a tiger he calls it

with the graphics scrubbed out, tousled hair and a

sport; when the tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity.” So,

hairline moustache – but beneath this veneer is something

where does Rowley stand on this morally ambiguous ground?

much more unique. For a start, there’s the inky mementos

“It’s a very ancient form of providing for yourself and your

engraved on his skin, including a Flip tattoo on his forearm.

family. I see a lot more integrity and ethics in going out and taking

His small yet powerful frame speaks of a man who keeps

down something and eating it than I do walking into a supermarket

himself in shape – a necessity for a thirty-five-year-old still

and buying a shrink-wrapped chicken that was raised in a six-inch

skating street. And his crooked front teeth – “smashed

by six-inch box so it could then be slaughtered,” he says, clearly

out twice” – are just one injury in a long list that he can,

roused into defending what he loves. “There’s a hell of a lot of

and does, reel out like a shopping list. Indeed, Rowley’s

ignorance about the reality of [hunting]. I hunt with people who

ability to take a beating and get back up again has been

have done it their whole life and they don’t just walk out, shoot

well documented in Flip’s Sorry videos. “You can probably

stuff and leave it – you can’t do that. Every part of the body gets

imagine what that feels like when you wake up in the

used for something, and to me there is a lot of meaning to that.”

morning,” he says cheerily, in a Liverpudlian accent that

After a few more questions on hunting, he interrupts. “Hang

hasn’t gone soft despite seventeen years of Californian life.

on, are we gonna talk about skateboarding?” he asks, clearly

“But at the same time, that’s my choice and I’ve enjoyed

keen to get back to his other love. In a world of one-dimensional

every minute of it.”

caricatures, Geoff Rowley is anything but flat

57

T I C K , T I C K , B O O M TIME IS TICKING, SO GRAB A PIECE OF IT WHILE YOU CAN. 58 HUCK

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59

i.

ii.

60 HUCK

iii.

For the Native American residents of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, life is caged by invisible borders.

Te x t & p h o t o g r a p h y M a t t h e w W i l l i a m s

“I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young.

And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream… the nation’s hoop is broken and scattered. There is no centre any longer, and the sacred tree is dead.”

- Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Lakota who was injured in the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.

Like many Indian reservations scattered throughout the United States, Pine

several members of his family. “People are fighting each other, shooting each

Ridge is a place that is forgotten by many people living in South Dakota,

other, someone’s getting beat up every other night.”

and it is virtually unheard of across American society. The Pine Ridge

Over the years, the language and traditions of the Lakota people have

Indian Reservation is located in the Great Plains on the border of Nebraska,

become less prevalent among the younger generations, who frequently turn

bypassed by those travelling along Interstate 90 as it winds its way towards

to gang culture in search of identity and belonging. Unable to get a job, Rich

the Black Hills and Rocky Mountains.

and his brother have both been involved in gangs. In addition to a high suicide

In the late 1800s, Native American reservations were set up throughout

rate and high-school dropout rate, the residents of Pine Ridge face other daily

much of America, creating arbitrary divisions across tribal boundaries. Slowly

battles. Throughout the reservation, the diabetes rate is 800 per cent higher

over time, with the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, the Pine Ridge

than the national average with an average life expectancy of approximately

Reservation was made smaller and smaller, violating the treaties between

fifty years old. The unemployment rate of Pine Ridge hovers around eighty per

the US government and the Lakota people. In 1890 approximately 350 men,

cent, with a majority of the population living under federal poverty standards.

women, and children were brutally murdered at the hands of US soldiers

Despite the area’s history of oppression, the culture and respect running

at the Wounded Knee Massacre. Today, Pine Ridge is in one of the poorest

through the Lakota people’s way of life is unmatched. Throughout the

counties in the United States.

reservation, residents show amazing resilience, respect for their culture and

“A lot of people say [living on the reservation] is like trash – a lot of people

a willingness to embrace the future. Many community elders are involved in

leave, you know? But to me it’s like living in the ghetto; it ain’t no different

ongoing efforts to inspire the youth, involving them in cultural and spiritual

from the city,” explains Rich Lone Elk, who has lived on the Pine Ridge

activities in the hope that they will reconnect with their cultural heritage and

Reservation most of his life, in a small house that lacks plumbing along with

preserve it along the way.

61

iv.

v.

62 HUCK

vi.

vii.

viii.

ix.

63

x.

xi.

64 HUCK

xii.

Appendix i. George Eagle Bull sits with his niece in front of his house in Pine Ridge,

culture on the reservation, which has deep roots in urban hip hop culture.

South Dakota. “I had a lot of relatives that were diabetics, so I always knew

Rich Lone Elk (not pictured) explains the role rap music has come to play: “I

someday it might happen to me,” explains George. Healthy food is difficult

redeem myself every time I rap. Whenever I rap, I release my demon. It’s the

to come by on the reservation and is often more expensive. In addition, the

way I live, ya know?”

commodity food provided by the federal government is largely inappropriate for the highly diabetic population.

vii. A man sleeps in Whiteclay, Nebraska. Whiteclay, population seventeen and just two miles from Pine Ridge, consists of four liquor stores that sell

ii. Jordan Anduja plays basketball in his uncle’s front yard. Theresa Two Bulls,

an average of 12,500 cans of beer a day, mostly to the residents of Pine Ridge

former Tribal President, believes there is a lack of parental guidance across

Reservation.

the reservation. “Parents nowadays aren’t really being parents,” she explains.

“I have always said they need to step up to the plate and start teaching these

viii. Andrea Cortier walks through the kitchen looking for clean water to

children about our traditions and culture – showing them how we lived off of

drink. Many people living on the Pine Ridge Reservation don’t have running

Mother Earth and what good lives we lived.”

water or electricity.

iii. A burnt-out trailer sits tagged with gang signs on the prairie surrounding

ix. Leston Moran, twenty-four, displays the scars of attempted suicide. Moran,

Pine Ridge. Gang violence, unemployment and crime are on the rise

recently released from prison, tried to kill himself while in custody when his

throughout the reservation. As Rich Lone Elk explains: “There’s a lot of

grandmother passed away and he wasn’t able to attend the services.

fear going on nowadays. Young people, they can’t even walk the streets no more.”

x. Rich ‘Junior’ Lame stands at the grave of his sister at their family grave site.

Many of his family members – those who have committed suicide, overdosed

iv. A young girl waits in line for the pow wow, a traditional gathering that sees

or succumbed to health problems – are buried there.

residents coming together to celebrate and honour American Indian culture.

Many of the tribal elders feel a loss of tradition and respect among the youth,

xi. Darlene High Hawk tends to her two daughters, Destiny (right) and

but some of the younger children remain in awe.

Danielle (left), who are fighting for their mother’s attention in a housing complex outside of Pine Ridge. Darlene has six children and doesn’t have time

v. A young girl stands in front of her trailer. Pine Ridge Reservation is located

to leave them to go to work.

in Shannon County, the poorest county in the United States. xii. An eagle from the National Eagle Centre rests after the opening ceremony

vi. Cody Brown (left) and Rich ‘Junior’ Lame smoke a cigarette outside a

of the pow wow in Pine Ridge. Eagles are considered one of the most sacred

house in Pine Ridge. At eighteen, both of the boys have been exposed to gang

animals to the Lakota people

65

H e r e T o Pa r t y C e r e b r a l B a l l z y f ly i n f r o m N e w Yo r k C i t y t o t e a r u p th e s t r e e t s o f L o n d o n i n th e n a m e o f p u n k .

Te x t S h e l l e y J o n e s & P h o t o g r a p h y G r e g F u n n e l l

66 HUCK

erebral

don’t

Maybe a sense of impatience that comes across.

brother Raymond Pettibon who came up with

want to talk about the

Ballzy

That’s something we all relate to growing up here

Black Flag’s ‘four bars’ logo], to the energy of the

why’s and how’s of their

and I think that speaks through naturally. It’s not

performance – we’re abrasive and aggressive.”

meteoric

some deep, thought-out thought.”

rise

to

punk

rock prodigy status. They

And despite starting as a “joke band” three

Their gigs are sweaty melting pots where

don’t want to talk about

“punks,

and

impressive endorsements) from all corners of

chord

or

people who just sing along, bobbing their heads”

the globe. The recent video for their ‘On The

lyrical wordplay because

meet and mix to let off steam. “We’re just here to

Run’ single – which “pays homage to eighties

ballzyness

party,” says Mel, “we’re not here to separate; we just

skateboarding” – features old-school skate legends

want to have a good time.”

Lance Mountain and Christian Hosoi. And in the

progression does

not

translate into neat phrases

moshers,

thrashers,

metalheads

years ago, they’ve garnered fans (and some pretty

and poppy sound bites. This band – made up of five

They get into trouble – “sure, I guess, our

last year alone, they’ve played with some big-dog

skateboarders from Brooklyn, New York, where

drummer Abe is crazy” – they drink, they smoke,

bands, from OFF! and Murphy’s Law to Fucked Up

“most kids were into hip hop and basketball” – are

they shred, they hook up, they let loose and there’s

and Trash Talk.

all about raw experience.

nothing cerebral about it. This is pure sensation;

So during their last UK tour, HUCK decided to

“It’s just a sense of urgency, I guess,” says

an intuitive journey with fun at its heart. “It’s

tag along for the ride. In an immersive throwback

bassist Melvin Honore, a black-trousered, tattooed

music to skate to,” says Mel. “It’s fast-paced. Like,

to the gonzo days of Rolling Stone-style rock

representative of the coffee-drinking Cerebral

imagine if you were carving out a bowl just fucking

reportage, we jumped in the van and documented

gang I meet outside the Fix 126 cafe in Shoreditch

zipping across and doing tricks – it just goes with

forty-eight hours on the road with punk’s young

(where HUCK's journey begins). “It’s a reaction to

the energy. Stylewise, I’d say we’re abrasive. From

and wild enfants terribles.

the immediate environment that you encounter...

the sound to the artwork [designed by Greg Ginn’s

Here’s what went down.

Left to right: Mason Orfalea, Honor 67 Titus, Jason Bannon, Melvin Honore, Crazy Abe.

68 HUCK

69

7 billion people holding hands would go

aroUnd the earth nearly 210 times

T h e g l o b a l p o p u l aT i o n is on The cusp of The 7 b i l l i o n m a r k , b u T w h aT does This mean for each and every individual? huck crunches The numbers To reveal some shocking world TruThs.

Te x t & r e s e a r c h To m E a g a r

At least are expected to live to

53% 103

of babies born in the UK in 2007

Years old

Globally, life expectancy at birth is projected to rise

On October 31, 2011, the world’s population is set to reach 7 billion for the first time. Never before in the history of our planet has a species existed in so many numbers and interacted with its environment in such a dramatic way.

From food production to climate change, energy resources to education, population size influences a variety of current issues. How that growing population is managed, however, is a fairly

From

To

prickly topic. It’s both a personal and global matter, but it’s one that often seems impossible to grasp.

Determined to simplify the figures, we’ve collated

years in 2005-2010

some info that depicts where the people on this planet are at, and where we’re heading.

billion people

Bodies on the planet

70 HUCK

A quArter of the world's populAtion

ARE young pEoplE

Aged 10-24

3.3bn 5.2bn 9.1bn June 1960

June 1990

years in 2045-2050

June 2050

“The UN commissions see world population

APPROXIMATELY 130 MILLIOn bAbIEs ARE bORn

every year Since the iMac waS releaSed in

1998

1billion More People now exist

the next fifty years, and then trending downward.

The question is whether there will be anything left in the world to save by the time that happens.

Practically speaking, it all depends on resource consumption. A hundred Americans do a lot more damage to the environment than 1,000 Sudanese.”

Johnathan Franzen

“The world will need to accommodate 2 billion more urban dwellers by 2030, a rate of expansion equivalent to building about thirteen great cities (each with over 5 million inhabitants) per year, almost all in developing countries.”

Mark Lynas

“Family planning and the education and empowerment of women should be a central part of any programme that aims to secure an adequate food supply for humanity… there is one glimmer of hope. Wherever women have the vote, wherever

By 2028, the population of india is projected to surpass that of china and the two will then account for aBout

36%

peaking, all other things being equal, sometime in

they are literate, and have the medical facilities to control the number of children they bare, the birth rate falls.”

David Attenborough

Of ThE wORLd POPuLATIOn.

the average north american generates

20 tons co -eq

In the tIme It’s taken you to read this article, around

2

1,360

while the average ugandan generates

By 2050, the three least developed countries - Bangladesh, ethiopia and the democratic repuBlic of the congo will Be among the ten most populous countries in the world.

>0.2 tons co -eq

people have been born.

2

according to the latest 2008-Based national population projections, the numBer of people living to 100 in the uK will reach

87,900

by Mid 2034 if current trendS continue

Sources -

World Resources Institute, UN

-

WHO, Office for National Statistics

-

guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/oct/02/100-ageingpopulation-countries-data?INTCMP=SRCH

-

guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/06/jonathan-franzenactivism-overpopulation-birds

-

The God Species

-

populationmatters.org/attenboroughs-rsa-speech

71 71

Hip hop historians are big fans of ‘soul’ – that mythical inner state that makes you realer than real.

But what happens when ‘spirit’ is packed in a box and shipped out to every corner of the globe? Can anyone learn what it means to ‘feel’ the beat? For the lockers, poppers and b-boys of Japan, perfection is as sacred as it gets.

Te x t Te t s u h i k o Photography Noriko Tr a n s l a t o r Joel

72 HUCK

Endo Hayashi Challender

73

74 HUCK

tudio Coast is a grey warehouse in a sea of grey warehouses on Tokyo’s

fix it’ deal of all time, America rebuilt Japan and like most things Americans

waterfront. On a blistering September day, I squint at the club’s facade through

do, they did so in their own image. Economically, it was a success. But these

waves of midday heat and feel sure that I’ve got the wrong place. The parking

types of deals always carry some ticklish fine print.

lot is deserted and a skinny guy with an earphone guards one unassuming

“A pseudo-Japan manufactured from US-produced material is now the

door. But then the door opens slightly and the low, chest-rattling rumble of

only thing left in our grasp,” writes social scientist Hiroki Azuma in Otaku:

heavy bass slips out. I pay 3,000 yen (£24), walk in, and as soon as my eyes

Japan’s Database Animals. “We can only construct an image of the Japanese

adjust to the darkness, I find myself waist-deep in throngs of mini hip hoppers.

cityscape by picturing family restaurants, convenience stores, and ‘love

They are children, apparently, dressed like every hip hop archetype from the

hotels’. And it is, moreover, within this impoverished premise that we have

last twenty years. There are track-suited b-boys shining their Adidas shell

long exercised our distorted imaginary [sic].”

toes; zoot-suited poppers and lockers; enough Crips and Bloods to make a vice

Enter hip hop – a combination of imperialism and artistic expression,

squad nervous; and a couple of kids straight out of Snoop Dogg’s What’s My

stirred together and left to percolate in a teeming, cultural Petri dish. When

Name? video. Then there are the parents – mothers and even grandmothers –

urban beats and funk from New York – one of Japan’s most revered cultural

doting, adjusting outfits and fixing hair. And what hair it is: crimped, braided,

reference points – infiltrated the country in the eighties, the kids in Tokyo

dyed and permed into various amalgamations of African-American styles,

and Osaka started dressing in Hammer pants and listening to Bobby Brown

from Afros to cornrows and dreadlocks, too.

while doing the New Jack Swing on street corners. The first distinctly hip hop

This isn’t some sort of fucked-up beauty pageant. It’s DANCE@LIVE

dance styles came over in 1983, when New York b-boys the Rock Steady Crew

FINAL 2011, one of the biggest hip hop battles of the year. Many of Japan’s best

toured the country and the seminal dance movie Wild Style premiered. But

dancers, kids and adults alike, are here to prove themselves. The main dance

hip hop didn’t catch on as a full-blown trend until the early nineties with the

floor is situated in a room larger than most cathedrals with a stage for the

arrival of American music videos. More popular than any of these was Dance

deejays flanked by twenty-two giant speakers, stacked on top of one another

Koshien, a weekly TV show that aired on Sunday nights featuring embryonic

until they reach the forty-foot ceiling. When the music stops, an emcee greets

Japanese dance crews showcasing different styles of dance, from New Jack

the crowd and explains the setup. Then, with a cry of, “Ikimashooooo!” (“Let’s

to popping and locking. Like Soul Train in America, it was the fashion and

go!”) the beat thunders down on us like a revelation and MC T-Pain belts out:

stylistic benchmark for an entire generation of dancers. By 1996, Stefan ‘Mr.

“Take your motherfucking shirts off!” The kids form circles around groups of

Wiggles’ Clemente, one of the most respected popping and locking dancers in

judges and begin to enter one by one to dance. The grandmothers go bananas.

history, declared that Osaka had one of the best popping scenes in the world.

Japanese hip hop, like most present-day

freestyle (a combination of all three) – have been exported to nations around

Japanese cultures, really starts with ‘Little Boy’ – the thinly veiled codename

the world. But arguably no one has adopted them with the same meticulous

for the atomic bomb that landed on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and sent a

attention to detail as the Japanese. Take for example Tokyo’s godfather of hip

mushroom cloud of destruction up into the air. In the largest ‘you broke it, you

hop, Masayuki ‘DJ Mar’ Imanaga, one of the men behind the decks at Studio

The four most popular street dance styles – b-boying, hip hop, house and

75

76 HUCK

Coast. Mar grew up in the south of Japan and moved to Tokyo in the New Jack

just to battle at these events. The downside of the group is that sometimes

era to study hip hop. He now travels the world deejaying and collecting all things

it encourages people not to try different things because they might be

hip hop. In Tokyo, he runs a shop in a basement in Harajuku – the bleached-

disrespected. It’s not as much about creativity; it’s about finding out what

blonde, fake-eyelashed, designer-bedecked capital of Tokyo youth fashion –

others are doing and following it.”

called Dancers Collection [sic] that is a one-stop street culture outfitters-cum-

This dovetails with a trend DJ Mar explained to me: often, when a

shrine to hip hop paraphernalia. It’s what you might expect Afrika Bambaataa’s

Japanese dancer becomes famous and makes a pilgrimage to an established

attic to look like: old-school hi-tops, most of James Brown’s musical catalogue,

dance capital, like Paris or LA, other dancers may follow him, seeking to

seventies’ blaxploitation films, John Singleton flicks, turntables, autographed

emulate not only his style but his life experience, as well.

DVDs of famous breakdancing battles, giant medallions, three-fingered rings, instructional videos and god knows what else.

“I’m into soul and funk beats from the sixties and seventies, because I

“Originally, kids in the ghetto developed some of these dances as a way of breaking out, of distinguishing themselves,” says Bagsy. “I wish the Japanese wouldn’t mimic so much; don’t just make it Mickey Mouse.”

really don’t think they’ve passed their sell-by-dates,” he says, with a fan-boy

After the adult prelims, a group of foreign dancers gather in the VIP room.

grin when I interview him in the shop. Like many enthusiasts, Mar relishes

They are part of the second generation of Western dancers to come to Japan

the forgotten and obscure. “People don’t always like it, but I tell them, ‘This is

as a way of increasing their personal stocks as performers and teachers. The

what the masters played, this is where it all comes from.’ If I don’t take what

practice dates back to the beginning of the decade when a crew of Michael

the people who came before me have learned and try to pass it on, then hip

Jackson’s backup dancers, called Elite Force, toured Japan teaching classes.

hop will die out. I want people to make new music and progress, but I want

As ‘well-known’ Western dancers – and black men to boot – they found a large

them to do it knowing all the classics. So I see it as my job to pass it on.”

audience hoping to soak up both their knowledge and supposed authenticity.

Respect for what has come before is repeated like a mantra in the Japanese

Foreign dancers, especially those of African descent, still enjoy a sort of ‘magical

dance community, much like Western dancers talk about ‘freshness’ or

Negro’ status among some Japanese dancers as people who get hip hop on

‘originality’. It allows a deejay at Studio Coast to drop a little-played classic

a level that is impossible for the Japanese. It hasn’t helped anyone today,

like Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’ without any hint of irony. Initially I want to sneer, but I

though. They are in foul moods after losing. Their criticisms range from

end up bouncing along instead.

xenophobia to judging favouritism, and most damning: soullessness.

“We are trying to communicate with people from other countries in order to t r y t o u n d e r s t a n d ‘ f e e l i n g ’ a n d ‘ s p i r i t ’ .”

Battling is a game of improvisation – taking

A dancer named Kareem ‘Ten’ Glover, who has taught in Japan for three

skills learned in practice and linking them spontaneously in a way that will

years, sums up the opinion. “We’ve got this aggression in America. It’s what

hopefully please both the crowd and judges. In Japan, technique is learned

we feel. Crazy beats will just trigger you; they’ll turn you on. Here in Japan,

in classes that teach just about every dance form imaginable. The schedule

their dancing is more of a showcase. The kids are often better than the adults

outside a tiny basement studio beneath the eternal neon twilight of Shibuya

because they haven’t had style stripped out of them by teachers. These dancers

lists: LA Style Jazz, Jazz Hip Hop, Hip Hop, Waacking, Commercial Hip Hop,

can technical their lives away, but the feeling and soul are missing.”

Locking, Popping, Punking, Creation, Power Moves, Seto and Rhythm Tap,

Ten is adamant that learning to dance has nothing to do with race, but his

among roughly fifty separate classes taught every week. After class, dancers

words inadvertently touch on that loaded (and ignorant) Western question:

practise what they have learned, sometimes all night long, in front of train

do the Japanese have soul? The academic E. Taylor Adkins, in his essay Can

stations and in parks like Yoyogi Kōen, until they are impeccable.

Japanese Sing the Blues?, calls it a symptom of “the illusion that Japan is a

Impeccable is a pretty good adjective for the dancers battling at Studio

‘nation of imitators,’ psychologically incapable of originality and socialised

Coast today. Many are so technically proficient that personal style almost

to devalue creativity.” The stereotype has famously haunted Japanese jazz

disappears. The notable exceptions to this are the foreign dancers scattered

musicians and is the particular bane of Japan’s dancers due to the int-

throughout the room, who seem eager to bust out never-before-seen moves.

ernational nature of the battle scene. Unlike, say, rappers, they are defined by

But while they progress through the prelims, most fail to crack the semis.

how they rate against their counterparts in other countries. And the ‘soulless’

British dancer Michael ‘Bagsy’ Oladele has come to Japan specifically to

stereotype is so wide-spread that many Japanese believe it about themselves.

dance. “The scene in Japan is incredible compared to London. Where I live

“Japanese people really love to dance and of course, they have a lot

in Osaka, there are parties where you can just go and throw down almost

of feeling, but they don’t know how to use it or express it to people,” says

every night. One of the joys of dancing is being part of this big group,” he says,

Hiroyuki ‘Hiro’ Suzuki, in soft, idiomatic English. We’re sitting backstage

motioning around the room. “One thing I really admire about the Japanese

at Studio Coast where the walls are so well soundproofed that only the

is the mentality they bring to things. They focus on something and follow

bass from the music is still noticeable. Suzuki is widely considered to be

through with it. That’s why you have all these parents here. They put both

one of the best house dancers in the world. If he has a hard time expressing

money and time into it – they bring their kids from Osaka [three hours away]

himself through dance, it doesn’t show. Tonight he’s judging. “We are

77

trying to communicate with people from other countries in order to try to

Simmons one of the founding fathers of hip hop. Russell Simmons isn’t one of

understand ‘feeling’ and ‘spirit’,” he says. “American dancers always seem

the founding fathers of hip hop; he was just the first to figure out how to sell it.”

to have a lot of flavour because they are the originators. Other countries are

The music changes and two new dancers enter the centre of the room,

getting good now, but still they [Americans] have something, like, you know…

which everyone has circled around for the final battles. It’s the b-boy semifinal

original flavour.”

and a short kid dressed in black takes the floor. “Whoa, hold up. See that kid

When I suggest he stop looking to the exterior and simply create something

there?” Colter points. “Beast mode.”

new, he smiles ruefully. “As a dancer I can innovate, but I have to respect what

The dancer is Taisuke ‘Taisuke’ Nonaka. In roughly four years, he has

came before. I have to understand everything about the history of house

battled his way to the very top of the international breakdancing scene and

dancing and bring all that on board with me. So I make something new, but

shattered many of the preconceived notions about Japanese dancers along

not really original. That’s more comfortable for me as a Japanese person – we

the way.

always respect the originals. We are sort of in-between in this way, but making

If dancing is an international language, battling is a dialect that is only

something original is very difficult because of the Japanese people’s identity.

concerned with saying one thing – “Fuck you” – and the tiny twenty-one-

We are always innovating something, but never making something new.” He

year-old speaks it like few others. He glares, he taunts, he imitates – he looks

pauses for a second to think, then says: “We are very good at making one to

like he might just smack his opponent in the head. It’s enthralling to watch,

ten, but we can’t make zero to one.”

but what really makes him stand out are his sets. In a one-on-one battle,

I ask if he feels that way about himself. “Yes. Sometimes I do. Some people

dancers typically get two sets apiece to show their abilities. Taisuke’s are

have said that my style is really innovative, but it wasn’t… from me. Remember

among the shortest in the world. This is a ballsy and rare strategy in the

how we were saying that we have a spirit, but we don’t know how to express it?

international b-boying scene, because it leaves no room for error: a long set

I think it’s because if we stop to think, we think too much.”

gives the judges more to think about, allowing for small errors and fumbles; a short set has to be perfect.

“I kind of Jekyll and Hyde when I’m dancing,” he tells me later, in a

James ‘Cricket’ Colter sits on a balcony over-

dance studio located in the basement of a nondescript apartment building

looking the dance floor. Like Suzuki, he’s one of the most respected house

in the fashionable neighbourhood of Roppongi. “I guess it’s because it’s the

“It’s a mistake to think there is some place you can come from and be deemed authentic. If you’re good, then on some l e v e l y o u h a v e p a i d y o u r d u e s .” dancers in the world. Unlike Suzuki, he’s from New York. Although he’s

one thing that really allows me to express myself. A battle is like a fight or an

already lost, he’s more philosophical about it than some of the others. “I’m

argument. If you are going to fight someone, you have to do it properly, you

almost forty years old, so I grew up in the freestyle era. These kids on street

can’t take any half measures, you owe it to yourself to do it properly.”

corners were literally changing the world every time they came up with new

Like Mar, who mentored him when he moved to Tokyo, alone, to dance

moves,” he says. “Back then, it was all about taking concepts and making them

while still in his teens, Taisuke is an unabashed hip hop nerd. “In the beginning

into your own style. Now these kids are learning the style.”

I was learning a lot of different moves, but it wasn’t until 2007, when I was

This isn’t just a Japanese issue, he clarifies – YouTube has single-handedly

sixteen, that I realised I’d been getting it all wrong; in order to be a real b-boy

homogenised the entire dance world. “It used to be that the LA kids danced

you have to learn all the hip hop culture and history,” he says. It’s worth noting

like this, the DC kids danced like this, the Boston kids danced like this, the

that “the beginning” for Taisuke was the first eight years of his dancing career.

French kids danced like this. Now, if you have your own style and it’s embraced

This little anecdote is not unique in Japan: a person can practise a discipline

globally, it won’t be your style for long.”

for a long time, but it’s only when he applies himself to the deep study of

Below us, a girl of perhaps twelve, dressed in Kanye West-inspired preppy

said discipline that he truly becomes a master. In fact, Taisuke’s words are

clothes, is systematically dismantling a teenage jazz dancer in the kids’

strikingly similar to the introduction to The Book of Five Rings, a treatise on

final. She goes by the dance name MU-*. No one is able to clarify how that is

swordsmanship written by the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi in 1645.

pronounced. She knows the steps her opponent is using and copies each one

When I ask him if more traditional Japanese culture can be mixed with

as soon as they’re thrown down. It’s a crushing display of disdain. Her parents

hip hop dancing, he’s unequivocal. “In Japan, we totally have culture we could

are thrilled.

draw on and pour into hip hop. We have the bushido spirit – the code of the

Colter adds: “I’ve always looked at it as a blessing to have been born in

samurai. We’ve been a fighting people for years and years and, if we wanted

America with the culture that we have, but it isn’t being passed down here the

to, we could put that into our dancing. But say a Japanese person put a ninja-

way it should be. It’s partially our fault for the way we have sold and shipped

inspired move into their dancing. In Japan, people would be like, ‘That’s

hip hop to the rest of the world. I mean, dancers come here to teach, but a lot

really wack.’ But abroad, people would be really into it. In Japan people are

of them can’t give much of the culture because they can’t speak the language.

worried about what others will think about them, which is a shame.”

I watched a documentary in the States the other day that called Russell

78 HUCK

The strange paradox of being less Japanese in order to be ‘authentic’ and

79

therefore ‘more Japanese’ seems to plague how people think about many

I’ve been to a lot of bad hip hop events in the United States; we tend to forget

subcultures Japan has adopted from elsewhere. But at the highest levels, it’s

that not everyone is Jay-Z or Kanye. These same American cats say plenty of

a fallacy, says MIT professor Ian Condry, one of those rare and wonderful

Americans aren’t really doing it right. The difference is that in Japan, they coat

people with both a PHD and a working knowledge of Jay-Z’s music catalogue.

it differently; in Japan they say it’s because they are Japanese. It’s harsh to call

“It’s a mistake to think there is some place you can come from and be deemed

this kind of opinion racism, but it’s a misunderstanding of the way race shapes

authentic,” he says. “I’ve always felt that when it comes to good dancers, if

our world. Americans don’t like to talk about race and class, so in the case of

they are really talented dancers, they’ve spent a lot of time working on it. If

hip hop, these notions get filtered through the language of authenticity.”

you’re good, then on some level you have paid your dues, and that’s part of the authenticity question.”

Taisuke puts it slightly differently: “I’d like to be able to identify with American hip hop, but I can never know all the lyrics and get all the meaning.

Taisuke, along with Hiro and dancers like Osaka-based popper Akihito

To put it another way, if foreigners were listening to Japanese songs, they

‘Gucchon’ Yamaguchi, have the rare ability to literally send chills down

would probably understand some of it, but they are never going to get all of it.

your spine. Whether that ability is a product of intense study, innate soul, or

You can only go so far, really, in identifying with another country.”

some combination of the two is ultimately irrelevant. When they dance they become like all great improvisers who, in the words of Jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, are “thinking only of their God”. Taisuke wins the semi easily and

It’s around ten at night when I step out of

goes on to take the final.

Studio Coast, back into the bedlam of Tokyo. The kids are still buzzing about

When I call Takeshi ‘DJ Tee’ Yamamura, Osaka’s go-to guy for all things

the finals, making moves they saw and memorising them for later. The older

dance, to ask about authenticity, he laughs and says, “Yes, we Japanese are

dancers are more subdued, back on their mobiles, arranging rides or heading

good at copying everything,” then he quickly turns serious. “It’s also a matter

for the train. There are no fights, no spontaneous battles, no one rolling by

of respect. When you really respect the originals, you want to dance like them.

in cars with loud sound systems. I stand in the train station and watch the

Gucchon, for example, is one of the best here in Osaka, and there’s no doubt

dancers disperse into the crowd. In about ten minutes, the baggy trousers,

he’s one of the greatest on earth right now. He’s got so much passion and

expensive Afros, and sideways baseball caps have all dissolved into another

expression in his dance… Maybe he’s too special to be Japanese?”

balmy Tokyo night. If you hadn’t been inside Studio Coast, you wouldn’t have

In his joke lies the Catch-22: a derivative Japanese dancer proves the Western stereotype, while an innovative Japanese dancer, instead of breaking the cliche, is somehow not Japanese.

known this world even existed.

What I’ve seen today is hip hop all right, just not as I know it. The casual visitor may feel lost in Tokyo: spiritually and spatially unmoored. Every road

The West cherishes the concept of ‘universal languages’ because it

bifurcates, every staircase leads to another staircase, each hallway is lined with

reinforces the ideal that Westerners are somehow benevolent, cosmopolitan

doors, and for anyone who prefers to stick with what they know, it’s all too easy

types. The truth is that we lecture and command very well in our ‘universal’

to dismiss it as ‘foreign’ and unknown. But it is here, deep in the guts of this

languages, but we aren’t very good at listening in them. “People call hip hop in

neon-lit metropolis – in hidden basement studios, anonymous warehouses

Japan inauthentic because it doesn’t reinforce our Western image of Japan,”

and matchbox clubs – that Japanese hip hop thumps and grinds with its own

says Condry. “When you meet these dancers who say hip hop dancing in

perfectly choreographed vitality. It’s not what those kids in Brooklyn had in

Japan is derivative, you should ask them what they think about how hip hop

mind when they started dancing on street corners some forty years ago, but

is being transmitted in the West. I think a lot of them will criticise that, too.

that’s the point. If it loses something in translation, so too does it gain

80 HUCK

Right now, there are a million little obstacles trying to cloud your view – billboards, pigeonholes, other people’s opinions dressed up as fact.

Hell, even the ad-laden pages you’re holding in your hands! But if you look straight through the blur of perspectives and focus solely on the things you want to see, can any of it really stand in your way?

Welcome to Endnotes, where stories unfold straight from the source.

Engage with us at: editorial@huckmagazine.com

83

84 HUCK

illustRation by matthew hams

filmmakeR moRgan spuRlock isn’t selling out; he’s buying in. oR at least that’s what he tells the sponsoRs that have tagged theiR coRpoRate logos and slogans onto his new documentaRy, PoM WondErful PrEsEnts: thE grEatEst MoviE EvEr sold. steeped in iRony, the film exploRes the natuRe of coRpoRate sponsoRship and adveRtising in film and tv, and sees spuRlock selling eveRy second of scReen-time to bRands like caRmex lip balm and hyatt hotels. heRe, with tongue pRessed fiRmly in cheek, the filmmakeR explains the thinking behind his doc.

85

It was the persuasiveness of advertising that made me want to make this movie.

Every time I get in a cab or on a bus or an elevator, when I pump gas or I stand in front of a urinal, there’s somebody trying to sell me something. When I’m in

The thing that makes this film really great is that the minute you get in with a

the middle of a TV show, it can suddenly feel like I’m watching a commercial;

brand, there’s a 100 per cent chance that they will somehow infect the content

out of nowhere, somebody will say something like, ‘Just Bing it.’ Who talks this

and change the story in some way. There will be something you can or can’t talk

way? Nobody says this. So I think it was a combination of all those things with

about, a place you can or can’t shoot, or something you can or can’t see or show.

the final inciting incident being an episode of Heroes where Hayden Panettiere

You know that we had to shoot on a JetBlue airplane? I could only eat Amy’s

raves about the Nissan Rogue her dad just gave her. It was pretty unbelievable.

Pizza or drink POM Wonderful, drive a MINI Cooper or get gas at Sheetz. The fact that all those things were actually contractual obligations makes this movie work. But in other movies, you obviously wouldn’t know.

The goal behind the film was to pull the curtain back and show you the machinations of the whole sponsorship process; how the whole thing works and why it works. The fact that we were able to get any brand to give us money to make this movie is a miracle. The fact that we were actually able to pull it off is testament to our tenacity, because there were so many months of rejections.

From the time we said, ‘We’re gonna make this movie,’ to when the first brand said ‘yes’ was nine months. That’s nine months of cold calling, pitching, meetings and ‘no’ until September 2009 when Ban Deodorant finally said ‘yes’.

I think that’s an oxymoron: advertising is manipulative. Advertising’s sole purpose is to get you to buy something. That’s the whole idea. And our whole film is about manipulation and getting you to understand how this manipulation works, because when you leave this movie you will want a POM Wonderful – you’ll be thinking about Mane ‘n’ Tail, you’ll be thinking about JetBlue – and hopefully you’ll start to be upset by how much that manipulation works.

Pitching is one of those things that nobody teaches you. The one thing I think kids need to learn, not only in film school but any business programme, is how to pitch. How do you sell an idea? How do you get someone on the other side excited about what you’re doing? That’s one of those things that I learned after I was thrown in the deep end like, ‘Holy shit, what do I do?’

I think the biggest thing is awareness. We live in a time where we have become so desensitised to advertising and marketing. This film is pulling that curtain The average negotiation time for each sponsorship contract was four months.

back. I think that, after watching this movie, you will never look at a Hollywood

It was a lot of give and take, as [Rush Hour director] Brett Ratner says [in the

movie the same way again. You’ll never watch television the same way again,

film], ‘Any time you get involved with brands, there’s compromise.’ Sure there’s

you won’t even walk down the street and look at the advertising that exists in our

compromise, but what do you get out of it? All these brands wanted approval

world the same way. And I think that’s a great thing. Morgan Spurlock

of the final cut of the movie: absolutely not. We pushed back until we found something that we were comfortable with.

86 HUCK

POM Wonderful presents: the greatest movie ever sold is in uk cinemas now.

“

SUPERSELL ME! OFFICIAL SELECTION

ROGUE AWARD

WINNER

MORGAN SPURLOCK ASHLAND INDEPENDANT FILM FESTIVAL

OFFICIAL SELECTION

WORLD PREMIERE

SXSW

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

FILM FESTIVAL

2011

Spurlock does it again” - GQ

2011

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

2011

2011

From Morgan Spurlock, director of Super Size Me “

Immensely funny ” - Clash

“

Wickedly funny and thought-provoking ...

I urge you to see it ” - Aintitcool

“ He

makes you

laugh till it hurts ” - Rolling Stone

Clever, fascinating and funny - dont miss it ” “

- Alan Frank, Daily Star

He’s not selling out, he’s buying in 12A

Contains infrequent strong language and moderate sex references

A SNOOT ENTERTAINMENT/WARRIOR POETS PRODUCTION A FILM BY MORGAN SPURLOCK “POM WONDERFUL PRESENTS: THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD” EDITED ORIGINAL WRITTEN DANIEL MARRACINO

BY THOMAS M. VOGT MUSIC BY JON SPURNEY

BY JEREMY CHILNICK AND MORGAN SPURLOCK PRODUCED CURIOUS PICTURES BY KEITH CALDER DIRECTED JEREMY CHILNICK ABBIE HUREWITZ MORGAN SPURLOCK JESSICA WU

BY MORGAN SPURLOCK

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY GRAPHICS BY

A Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd. and The Works UK Distribution Ltd. Alliance.

© 2011 by Snoot Entertainment, LLC All Rights Reserved. Artwork © 2011 by The Works UK Distribution Ltd. Distributed in the UK by The Works.

AT AND IN CINEMAS NATIONWIDE OCTOBER 14 ODEON PANTON ST 0871 22 44 007

photography BY jenna selby (far right)

Jenna Selby is one of those people that makes shit happen. As the founder of Rogue Skateboards, the co-founder of the UK’s Girl Skate Jam events, and the photographer/filmmaker behind Europe’s first all-female skateboard movie, As If, And What?, she’s helped the world see women’s skateboarding for the awesome entity it is. Her next movie, Scratch the Surface, is set to shine a light on emerging scenes in far-flung countries like China, Russia and Afghanistan. Here’s a little insight into why she does what she does.

I was nineteen when I first set foot on a board. At the first competition I ever

that companies can target. Female skateboarders don’t fall into this same bracket,

entered, I remember the emcee calling out my name, saying, ‘Look everyone

which is why companies have been reluctant to get involved. Brands think there

it’s a girl!’ Looking back, I realise the guys were actually pretty encouraging, but

isn’t a market, but there is obviously an enormous amount of interest surrounding

because of their initial reaction, it made me shy and stand-offish. It also made me

female riders. Just look at the amount of hits female skate videos get.

feel like I had to prove myself.

Last year, one of the big skate companies dropped all its female pros; in the

Later, while studying in Newport, Wales, I met Rowena Brannon and in 2002

X-Games this year, the female vert competition was dropped. As with anything,

we started the first Girl Skate Jam. In one day, I met forty other female riders from

the scene has its ups and downs, but hopefully as more female riders get involved

around Europe that I didn’t know existed – this was before everyone relied on the

in the industry, they will help lay proper foundations for future generations to

internet. It was amazing to see the level of riding, but I’d never seen any coverage

build upon.

of any of these people.

Our all-girl projects – the films, tours and jams – aren’t about creating a

Around the same time I was picked up by Gallaz (sister brand to Globe

separation from the guys; far from it. As long as you approach it in the right way,

shoes). As the first female skate team in the UK, we received regular coverage.

female projects can only be a positive thing. They give other female skaters a sense

The core media were great, but the mainstream coverage only associated female

of what is going on, and provide coverage for riders who don’t generally receive it

skateboarders with health and fitness stories. My favourite quote was from this one

because of the way the industry is.

newspaper article that said, ‘An ollie burns 20lbs, kickflips 25lbs and I do pilates

Remembering how daunting it was when I first started, the aim of the comps is

like [Dirty Sanchez skate nut] Matt Pritchard to keep up my core fitness!’ It was

to provide an environment where girls who are new to the scene can come along

ridiculous. The perception was that girls don’t skate just because they enjoy it;

and get to know other female riders – where there is nothing expected of them.

there always had to be another reason. It was this sort of negative coverage that really pushed me to start Rogue.

Every day, I wake up wanting to create new things. I see what the other riders get from the tours and competitions I organise and I also love that experience

So, in 2005 I approached four friends – Lucy Adams, Laura Goh, Maria Falbo

myself. That’s what keeps you involved and makes you want to get better; dreams

and Sadie Hollins. I thought, if we got a group of women together who skated well,

of tricks you’re going to learn the next day, videos that have the same effect, the

we could choose the coverage we felt helped promote female skateboarders in a

people you hang out with and the different places you get to visit. You always

positive way.

want more.

There is definitely a lot less funding for female-orientated projects from brands.

I don’t see what I do as work, but as something I just do. I have a compulsion

Our film, As If, And What?, was completely self-funded. I think the industry is pretty

to want to make things happen; I can never quite explain where it comes from.

confused by female skaters. With snowboarding and surfing there is a clear market

Jenna Selby

88 HUCK

Jordan in the Emerson.

Mark Welsh portrait. coalheadwear.com

On September 17, an emboldened band of disaffected

My background is in architecture and carpentry. I was working for a

Americans moved into Zuccotti Park in the Financial

developer who did green building – very progressive stuff. The financing fell

District of New York City to demonstrate the widening

through and there was nothing in the budget for me. When the economy

wealth gap and conflict of interests between government

crashed, I saw it coming. I quit before I could get let go. So, I went to Brazil for

and corporate entities in the United States. Amid a tarp

six months and went surfing.

village, advocates of all ages have been drawing media attention to economic inequality.

I see this movement as an opportunity to experiment and implement new kinds of sharing and information structures, in the spirit of open source.

Each passing week the Occupy Wall Street movement

My special interest is in currency systems and free exchange. In our current

has grown bigger and more organised, as solidarity

economic system, there’s a monopoly over the issuance of currency by the

movements spring up in dozens of cities worldwide. While

Federal Reserve. Everything comes down from that. Thing is, I believe that we

medical, sanitation, outreach and food committees work

have the ability to build our own systems of currency.

with legions of volunteers, the media have taken the

The whole idea behind the movement is to find practical solutions [to

opportunity to focus on the random drunk or young

economic inequality] that are implementable. But at the same time, there’s no

couple getting frisky in a sleeping bag.

one single solution.

On October 13, Evan Wagner, an architect and surfer from

Right now, our focus is on trying to get this internet café set up so that

Berkeley, California, addressed the movement’s General

people can enter their information on this site that we’re building, especially

Assembly, and put forward the idea of spending $2,200 on a

their ‘gifts and wishes’. Everybody could be integrated, from new volunteers

biodiesel generator to power lights, refrigeration and

to occupiers, so that they can find people who have the skills required or

an internet café. Surf writer Jon Coen sat down with

particular donations that they need. We need power to be running all the time,

Wagner as he grabbed a delicious smelling supper from the

so that we can provide this access to information. I suggested a generator that

makeshift kitchen to find out more about his driving force.

runs on biodiesel, because I drive a 1995 diesel car on vegetable oil, so I feel versed in it and have already done the research. It’s going to be fuelled by B99, a biodiesel made of ninety per cent fryer oil collected from restaurants in New

I’m here with the Free Libre Open Source Group. Our main aim is to help create

York City.

platforms – websites, internet cafés – so that people can share information

For the most part, people who are part of the movement have been good

about the Occupy Wall Street movement more freely. Right now, it’s a work in

to one another. Most people are being pretty disciplined in how they are

progress. But the main website for information about meetings, decisions and

dealing with the bad apples. We have a mini-society down here. This is our

the General Assembly can be found at NYCga.cc.

opportunity to be the change we want to see. Evan Wagner

90 HUCK

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.

photography BY OLI GAGNON | rider: lucas debari

“You can’t download a fifty-stop world-wide premiere tour,” says Absinthe Films co-founder Patrick ‘Brusti’ Armbruster just before the screening of their new snow film, Twe12ve, at the Prince Charles Cinema, London, this September. “It’s not a promo tour anymore. In fact, the tour is slowly helping fund our productions and will become even more important in the future.”

Thanks to broadband, Google and the late Steve Jobs, the world has changed a lot since Absinthe Films put out their first film, Tribal, in 2000. Back then, snowboarders had to mail-order videos from the back of magazines or head down to their local shred store and put down some hard-earned cash to see what the best snowboarders in the world were up to. Today, millions of hours of footage are readily available on YouTube, and the latest films are just an illegal download away. If you want to watch snowboarding these days, you can be chin-deep in your own digital pow heaven at the click of a button.

But for all the benefits the internet has brought, I can’t help feeling that something intangible is being lost. Whenever something becomes abundant and readily available, its perceived value plummets. It seems that, despite all the toil that goes into making them, snowboard films are no longer valued commodities.

We’re constantly bombarded with endless teasers, outtakes and behind-thescenes footage, which only seem to dilute the quality of full-length feature films.

Instead of savouring the moment when a movie is finally released, we’re all too busy getting a quick shred fix through our laptop and headphones before clicking ‘like’ and ‘share’, then forgetting all about it.

But maybe this change is not all bad. For one thing, the download age means filmmakers like Absinthe are hitting the road harder than ever, in order to scrape a living from the films they so obviously love to make. And that’s a good thing for audiences who still want to see riders face-to-face.

That night, when Gigi Rüf hits the giant screen for his opening section, dropping pillow lines to the booming sound of Supertramp’s ‘The Logical Song’, Twe12ve immediately becomes something more than just a movie; it’s an event – a collective, immersive experience. The 200-plus crowd shares in the Is it really possible to download a sense of stoke? HUCK

same gasps, cheers and applause for Dan Brisse’s frightening jibbing, Wolfgang

online editor Ed Andrews heads to the London premiere

Nyvelt’s laid-back, surfy noboarding and Romain de Marchi’s big-mountain

of Absinthe Films’ Twe12ve and finds that most things, inc-

charging. Perhaps it’s thanks to the internet age, but these events seem to bring

luding snowboard films, taste better when they’re shared.

people together more than ever before.

Sure, you can get a pixelated, web-stream of the latest films from the comfort of your desk, but isn’t it better to put your hand in your pocket, watch it on the big screen, and share in the energy and awe of other people’s sense of stoke? Or, at the very least, download the feature-length movies legally so that grassroots companies like Absinthe can be rewarded for their hard work? As Brusti says, “I always hear that people start liking our films more each time they watch them.

This is usually not the case with the shorter web edits.”

Technology and the virtual world we live in may be changing at a rapid pace, but one thing is for certain: quality, and community, will never go out of style.

Ed Andrews

absinthe-films.com

92 HUCK

First st in in SURFING S SU URFING NEWS NEWS First

www.surfersvillage.com Rider: Tim Boal / Photo: Agustin Munoz/Red Bull Photofiles / Design: ID

Tim

Bo al

94 HUCK

photography BY HUMANGUS

Is the blogosphere and social media killing off the art of journalism? Rap and spoken-word artist Scroobius Pip ponders that dilemma in his new track ‘Death of the Journalist’, taken from the album Distraction Pieces. Here, he talks us through his polarising thoughts.

The idea for the song occurred to me when I was looking at the celebrity news section in The Sun one day. It’s a third of the way into the paper, but before I reached it, I had already read stories about Jordan, Kerry Katona and Amy Winehouse. It seemed ironic that the whole paper is celebrity news, yet they also have a section devoted to it. Plus, it was the most insanely poor journalism – their sources were just something someone had tweeted. That’s Twitter, that’s not doing research. If I follow that person as well, does that mean I’ve done just as much research for that story? Also, everyone has a blog now and they often get quoted as a source, but that’s just something someone else has written on a whim. You wouldn’t write a news report about something someone said in the pub, but because it’s written on a blog now it can be a source for a news story?

Traditionally, journalism was something you did at university. But I guarantee that some of the ‘journalists’ working today haven’t done any courses in it. How many people doing these blogs that get millions of hits have had it drilled into them that you need to check your sources and cross-reference? How many are just going, ‘Well, I’ve read that there, so it must be true?’ It’s an instant get-out clause where people can say, ‘Well, it’s only a blog, I’m not claiming to be a journalist.’ But the more the public rely on blogs to get their news, the more important it is that we have some regulation on that, like blogs being approved for fact-checking instead of a bunch of kids in their bedrooms saying, ‘Well, we heard a rumour.’ Newspapers have a news section and a section for columns, but now there’s a blurred line between comment, opinion and just reporting the facts. It’s a messy area.

At the same time, I started to think the death of journalism could be a good thing. It’s given the power back to the people at the source of news. Like we’ve seen in Egypt and Iran, Twitter has been an important source for getting news out of countries that are putting blocks on the media. It’s good because there is no Murdoch agenda, or the agenda of anyone else who owns a media outlet; it’s just the people speaking.

But then you realise that as soon as a human reports something, it stops becoming fact; it’s just a perspective. Not through any slyness, it’s just that everyone does it. The whole course of your life will lead you to look at something that’s happening differently to someone else. I freely admit that I’ve got a natural prejudice against posh people or rich people. I’m not proud of it and I’m trying to deal with it. When I hear someone who’s had a well-off upbringing and had everything handed to them on a plate, I’m instantly on edge and attacking them.

And I shouldn’t be. If I witnessed something happen to a posh person, I would instantly have a bias.

But the real death of journalism is happening because there isn’t the public demand for it. There will still be qualified, great journalists researching great, amazing stories, but those stories aren’t going to get much attention. But then it's not really the paper's fault; it's our own collective fault that trashy, dumbeddown articles are the ones that are getting the most hits and therefore attracting the most advertising money. [Unless we make a change], investigative journalists won't be able to make a living out of their craft because it's easier for papers to just publish a photo of the latest celebrity. Scroobius Pip Distraction Pieces is out now on Speech Development.

95

photography BY LIZ SEABROOK photography BY OLI GAGNON | rider: lucas debari

As the skateboarding, screen-printing and ’zine-making head honcho of London-based indie skate company Lovenskate, Stu Smith knows a thing or two about shred heritage. HUCK teamed up with the energetic dude recently for an exhibition called Rolling Back The Years in Seignosse, France, which saw seven awesome artists including Jimbo Philips and Benjamin Jeanjean customising seven old-school decks. Here, the man who is brightening up the UK streets with his ‘Stay Rad’ positivity pays homage to eighties skateboarding and the hardcore way of doing things.

As a proper company, actually making products and printing our own things, I guess Lovenskate started about seven years ago. But it was ten years ago this coming January that I first put out a little fanzine about skateboarding and travelling.

I started it purely out of a love of skateboarding. I went on a big trip to South America for six months and met all these people that showed me there was a massive world of skateboarding happening outside of Maidstone in Kent. And it just blew my mind! I kept a diary and took lots of photographs, and when I got back I made this little travel guide like, ‘If you’re gonna go to Brazil, you should visit this bowl on the beach.’ I did about 150 copies and distributed it around local skate shops, and it was pretty well received (I think!), so I did another one and I’ve kind of put out fanzines regularly ever since.

Since going to art college, I’ve always loved the photocopied image and stealing text from magazines, and I guess I just took those interests and turned them to skateboarding. I also discovered all these incredible hardcore fanzines and older eighties skateboard fanzines which were on a similar kind of trip – using photocopying and photographs – and even though they looked a bit messed up, or they didn’t have the greatest skate photography, they all had this energy like, ‘Let’s photocopy that, that looks good, let’s put it out.’ It’s just pure skateboarding. I really love that kind of spontaneous look.

The Rolling Back The Years exhibition came from talking with HUCK about how great it would be to get a collection of artists together to represent what eighties skateboarding means to them, by putting their artwork onto old-school boards. We just wanted to give the artists the freedom to do something that captures that spontaneity.

I guess it didn’t really matter whether the artists were skateboarders or not. It was just really important that they were aware of that era and were excited to produce some artwork about it; it just had to mean something to them personally.

Eighties skateboarding is a broad term, but looking at it you do see this huge influence of bright colours and loud and offensive imagery. A lot of it is kind of slapdash, but because the boards are screen-printed over and over again, it kind of looks perfect. I guess they’re slapdash and perfect at the same time. Stu Smith 96 HUCK

1. Punk rock supergroup OFF! released this debut, First Four Eps, with a Raymond Pettibon foreword and artwork on Vice Records in 2010. A new record is in the pipeline. offofficial. com 2. TCOLondon – the mothership of HUCK and our sister mag Little White Lies – recently moved to a new space with a shopfront and gallery. As we packed, we came across this mock-up of the first-ever issue of the mag featuring Shaun White. At a time of moving forward, it’s pretty cool to look back to our roots. thechurchoflondon.com 3. Slides of Craig Kelly shot by Jeff Curtes. These priceless snapshots of snowboarding history were unearthed during our recent office move, after falling down the back of an old chest of drawers. Needless to say, they’re now in a much safer place.

4. It Chooses You, the latest book from filmmaker Miranda July, documents the creative process behind her recent movie, The Future. The offbeat filmmaker mentioned this

98 HUCK

book when we caught up with her for the cover of HUCK 27.

Blending interviews and photos, it sees her crisscrossing Los Angeles to meet a random pool of people posting ads in the Pennysaver, including Joe, the sex-obsessed pensioner and Christmas-card seller whose life story became intertwined in her film. canongate.tv 5. These O’Neill ‘The Bend’ headphones are bass-heavy, shred-friendly cans for the perfect steezy park lap à la Seb Toots. toaheadphones.com 6. HUCK reached out to Iniva – a charity that supports emerging artists from diverse backgrounds – to see if any of their young people wanted to share an opinion on the UK riots. Through them, we met Stooki, a talented trio of ‘craftmakers’ who create masonic bling by hand. These rings and earrings are from their Obscura collection. stooki.co.uk 7. Freedom is the fourth novel from America’s most esteemed contemporary author Jonathan Franzen. It’s not only “an indelible portrait of

our times” – according to NY Times-reviewer Michiku Kakutani – but a literary ode to environmental activism, particularly that related to overpopulation. With 7 billion bodies soon to be inhabiting our planet, it’s as good a time as any to sit up and take note. 4thestate.co.uk 8. HUCK partnered with the inaugural London Surf Film Festival – founded by contributor, friend and surf sage Chris Nelson – to celebrate four days of shredinspired celluloids. This ticket was for the UK premiere of Splinters by Adam Pesce – a social documentary about surfing in Papua New Guinea – which was followed by a Q&A with HUCK publisher and Rio Breaks producer Vince Medeiros. londonsurffilmfestival.com 9. Stu Smith from Lovenskate screen-printed and xeroxed these awesome ‘Davross Pro Model’ ’zines to accompany the deck he designed for our co-created retro skate exhibition Rolling Back The Years in Seignosse, France, October 6-12. Next stop: London. lovenskate.com

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