ISSUE No.3/ SPRING 2015
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Photo: Maloy
Jack Bevivino - Back 180
Issue No.3 Spring 2015
Rants & Raves.............................................p22
Savannah DIY: A Brief History..................p32
RBZ #2 / Page 32 / Name should appear as “Bhavik Paryani.” Our Deepest apologies go out to Bhavik Paryani. Cover: Keith Saunders - Blunt fakie Editor/Publisher - Todd Maloy Contributors - Boe Parries, Ian Abineri, Jackson Rude, Andrew Brodhead, Cody Reigle, Wes Burnley & Andrew Greenbum Special Thanks: Ben Maher, Fabio, Keith Saunders, Boe Parries. Contact/Submit - redbrickzine@gmail.com Copyright © 2014 RED BRICK ZINE all rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form
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Photo: Abineri
Miles Marquez - Front Crook
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Photo: Maloy
Photo: Maloy
Right: Todd Maloy - Tre Below: Miles Marquez Front Shuv
Photo: Burnley
Photo: Maloy
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Keith Saunders - Wall ride
Photo: Maloy
Benjamin Maher
We Need your help! We have been working since 2009 to make this skatepark at Lake Mayer a reality. The skatepark has been approved, permitted, and ground has been broken but we still need help securing the rest of the funding! Team Pain Skateparks will be here to build this park in early 2016! Please support our cause and help us build the first free public skatepark in Savannah, GA! GOFUNDME.COM/SAVANNAHSKATEPARK
David Gladkowski - Front Board
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Sean Roberts - Front Blunt
Photo: Burnley
Photo: Brodhead
So like, who are you sponsored by?
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This is a good topic for all you young kids out there who see skateboarding via the interwebs and television, and say, “oh boy I wanna be a pro skater when I grow up.” But do you really want to? It’s not all the glitter and glory you think that it might be. For starters there really isn’t that much money to be made unless your winning the contests EVERY time. Take Nyjah Huston for example this kid is winning just about every contest on the run and his net worth is 6 million! If you don’t know what net worth is look it up. Now that will make your eyes light up! ohhhh 6 million, that’s a whole buncha money to spend on all kinds of useless shit but compared to Jay-Z that’s nothing ( net worth of 560 million ). Now you might be saying, “what does Jay-Z have to do with Nyjah?” Lets put that into perspective real quick by comparing Nyjah to a less known (to the current generation) pro skater Jeff Phillips ( all you old school guys should know who Jim talking about). His net worth is only 100K and he has been pro since the late 80’s. So back to the topic unless
you’re constantly winning shit you aren’t going to be able to make much of a living off of being a pro skater. Some of you might be thinking all of the free swag is worth it. I’m going to give you some advice in life that my mother taught me when I was but a wee boy. “ NOTHING in life is free”, it truly isn’t. If you think breaking bones, taking ice baths and beating on you’re own body for a few decks, socks and shoes is free you’re absolutely insane! It took Chris Cole 68 tries to 360 flip the Wallenburg 4 Block! That’s 68 bone crushing body slams down a huge set just to make one 10sec video clip. There are definitely pros to being a pro, no pun intended, but since I’m no pro I enlisted a good friend of mine to fill me in with some of the good and bad. Kristian Svitak has always been one of my favorite pro’s in the game. He’s about as down to earth and hard working as anyone in the game today so I decided to hit him up with a few questions.
Photo: via Google
Kristian Svitak
Professional skate rat, Drummer and other things. Owner of: KILLTHEKOOL.com 1031skates.com Landsharkwheels.com Regulatordist.com Sponsors: 1031 skateboards, Landshark wheels, A.S. footwear, Rewind clothing Negative One grip tape,Bull Taco restaurant, Gullwing trucks, Speed Metal bearings,Tri Star skate shop, Aura training facility
Boe Parries: Hey, I’m writing a little article for my buddy’s local skateboarding zine, would you mind answering a few questions? Kristian Svitak: Sure Boe: Does it pay the huge income that kids always see on TV? Kristian: Yes it can. But not everyone does. More pros make a little than a lot of money. There are a lot of different factors. And if you are in it for the long haul it can be a financial roller coaster. Boe: What happens when you get hurt ? Kristian: You heal up. Also, this depends on where you are at in your career. Some guys have more immediate pressure from sponsors than others. Boe: Do your sponsors cover travel costs like food hotels and what not? Kristian: Yes Boe: Do you have a normal job or have you during your career? Kristian: No. Boe: What did your parents think when you started making a name for yourself? Kristian: They were happy and proud. And I think a bit shocked. Boe: Other pros or cons of being a pro skater?
Kristian: It’s amazing! It’s a dream come true. Even if it’s not always lucrative. You gotta roll with it. You just better be really good with the money you make so you can take care of yourself when times get tough and for when you get older. Nothing is guaranteed in this world so why not at least spend the majority of your days having a blast. Boe: Awesome man I really appreciate it I hope all goes well with you new venture with the street plant brand! Kristian: Thanks man! Well there you have it, straight from a pro himself. The big point to get across here is skate, have fun and if it happens it happens. Just keep on pushin kid! Remember its all about the money not the fame, stop worrying so much on getting hooked up and enjoy the bounties of self happiness.
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Photo: Abineri
Todd Maloy - Tre Flip
Photo: Reigle
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Brennen Harkins - Backside flip
Photo: Maloy Photo: Kaiffman
Jordan Anstatt - Feeble
Jackson Rude - Kickflip
DI
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IY in Savannah
a brief history
Jersey Barrier
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Photo: Maloy
Pat Norris
Marvin Reilly
Photo: Maloy
What do you do when your town doesn’t have skate spots? You make them! Back when Savannah had OuterLimitz (R.I.P) and I lived in the sticks. I got together with Marvin and Pat to build some DIY. We set out to make a pole jam on the foundation of the HIV gap (well known Savannah skatespot) over by Frozen Paradise. 24
After we unloaded all of our concrete and tools we were greeted by somebody who worked in Frozen Paradise and his goons. They told us they owned this piece of land, which we thought it was bullshit, and we couldn’t build anything on it.
Photo: Maloy Photo: Norris
On This Page: Pat Norris, Marvin Reilly Todd Maloy And the Homie
After getting the boot, we didn’t want to give up and go home, we just needed a plan B. We hung around the same area and eventually agreed we would ditch the pole jam idea and work on making the jersey barriers skate-able. Not having any water we used some of the neighboring ditch water right behind jersey barrier. Soon after a homeless guy crawled out from under the bridge and offered to help up mix concrete for a few bucks.
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Marvin Reilly - Wallride
Adam Williams - 5-0 Nose grab
We where able to get a good bit of the Barrier patched up that day but it wouldn’t of been the same if Ben, Jerry, Matt & Adam didn’t come after us and really put the icing on the cake. They made it into a real quarter pipe! There’s no doubt in my mind that people wouldn’t of skated that spot without the help from Ben and his crew.
Graham Wallace - Blunt fakie
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Photo: Maloy
Patrick Norris - Wallride
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From left to right: Eli Syed Wes Burnley Miles Marquez Ian Abineri
Keith Saunders - Nollie back tail
Bike Trail I heard about this place when I worked for Outer Limitz .Somebody told me about the bike path and how they built a bunch of Ramps and boxes you can drag on the path and skate. Eventually, everything got busted up. I heard someone tried to rob some skaters and they came back and destroyed everything. That’s just my version of it.
Years after this, and the lack of anything in Savannah brought me back to this spot. I always enjoyed skating on bike trial, it’s even where I learned back tails. We ended up building a ledge. Pretty simple build, and no concrete needed! We also tried to make it look decent so the city wouldn’t tare it down (Fingers crossed). I’ve even seen some runners use it to rest. It would suck to see it go but with any diy build that’s the risk you take. Here today, gone tomorrow.
On this page: Jayeson York, Cruz Salinas, Sean Roberts & Ethan Jones
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DIY 1 One thing to look for when you’re trying to find potential spots, is to make sure it’s not very public. Chances are if you start to build in a high traffic zone you’re gonna get more attention then you need. I can’t remember who found this spot, but it’s located on Henry and Waters right behind the boarded up school. We were lucky enough that others pitched in with labor and money, even the neighbors let us use their water to mix concrete.
Todd Maloy - Nose grind
The first piece built was a ledge/manual pad combo. The ledge was a little to tall and the manny pad was a little short but it was still fun to skate. After a while the excitement from the first build wore off and we were craving to build something new. We decided on a spine with a parking block for the coping. In my opinion it was the funniest thing to skate there.
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On this page: Cruz Salinas, Sean Roberts & Laura Hardie Left: Jack Bevevino - Back Fifty Below: Mack - Front Tail
Eventually, like almost every other DIY spot it was destroyed. I thought that finally someone had bought the school the diy foundation was on. But they didn’t. That school, to-this-day is still boarded up, falling apart and for sale. It’s a shame it had to go. It gave skaters and local neighborhood kids somewhere close to go and not be harassed.
From Left to right: Cruz Salinas Sean Roberts - Front Blunt Tyler Hutcheson - Nose slide 2013 Go Skateboarding Day
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Lincoln Bank The Lincoln hip is something I wanted to build for a while. Recently they repaved the parking lot making this a no brainer to build. The hip was already shaped by the parking lot. It didn’t need any fill, just a smooth layer of concrete. We tried to knock this out night and even got help from a local. There is still some room for improvement. It could be extended to make it longer and patched up and made smoother. But for less than $20 bucks or 5 bags of concrete you can’t complain. You probably spend more on red bull in a week than it would take to make something skateable.
Keith Saunders
Bhavik Paryani - Ollie
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More recently Woodys has expanded, adding some DIY to the park. Throughout the years they always do a good job with changing up the routine. Wether its switching up the park layout or getting everybody involved in their diy efforts. Woodys has held it down for years, they have managed to stay alive while places like the yard, diy spots and local Skateshops get shut down. Woodys is a huge supporter for Savannah skateboarding. Support those who support you.
Photo:Brodhead
Photo: Maloy
Woodys
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Photo: Brodhead
Miles Keller - Eggplant
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Photo: Maloy
Bill Griffin - Goes both ways!
Victory Ditch
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This started out as a good idea, but if you’ve ever been there, it’s pretty shitty. There are concrete banks that line the back side of the movie theaters down past some of the other stores. You can’t skate these banks as they are so we decided to fill up the bottom and pour some concrete. Hindsight is always 20-20, there are some things we should have done differently. We could have started earlier, it’s no fun trying to smooth concrete in the dark using your phone’s flashlight to see. We should of used more dirt for fill and picked a better location. The runup was like pushing through gravel. But there are no mistakes only lessons.
On this page: Bill Griffin Noah Duran Todd Maloy & Joe Harrison
DIY 2
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Shorty after the Henry & Waters spot got destroyed I got a call from Bhav and Bill with some good news. They found a new spot! (All credit goes to Bhavik and Bill for finding this location.) We Spent a while trying to figure out what we wanted to build first and somehow ended up on a quarter pipe/ledge. The hardest part of building a spot is getting all your friends together to help. So the first day it was just me and Bhavik working. We tried mixing concrete in 100 degree weather and didn’t really last long. If you ever wondered why there was a seam in the middle of the ramp, there you go. Some days later Wes was able to help and we finished this pile up.
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Photo: Abineri
Todd Maloy - Overcrooks
The wedge to wedge was built next. This one was planned way better. We had a bunch of dudes there to help mix and had forms built for the wedges! Â
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Andrew Brodhead
Keith Saunders
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Photo: Abineri
Todd Maloy - Kickflip
Photo: Maloy
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Wes Burnley
Way Up
When we finished the first wedge we realized we didn't have enough concrete to finish the 2nd so we improvised and made a small boob. It worked out great because it got rid of a hole in the foundations and made new obstacle. A week or two later the second wedge was complete, a little less pretty than the first one due to the forms falling apart In between pours.Â
On this page: Andrew Brodhead Keith Saunders Ham Smith & Wes Burnley
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Photo: Maloy
Wes Burnley - Tre
At some point the ledge and rail came next. We went a different route for putting together the ledge. We used a special type of Loctite that activates when water is applied. This eliminates all the heavy weight of lugging bags of concrete and water to the spot. And when you build your ledge you'll be able to skate it in a half hour!Â
Special shout out to Kessler and his goon squad for putting in the rail and everything else. More people helping out the better when it comes to diy. I urge you to get all your friends together when making something, it'll come together much faster.Â
On this page: Bill Griffin & Miles Marquez Right: Todd Maloy
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When I found about the location, before anything was built we were trying to decide what we should make first. Bill said something about a bank to ledge. This was the last thing built here. It's hands down the biggest build I've been a part of. The bank was around 21' feet and the ledge was around 16'. I cut forms for the banks and we got the crucial piece of angle iron from Keith.
We finally got together at Home Depot to pick up concrete and headed back to the spot for the pour. Â Mixing concrete is a bitch but not when you have some friends to help. While some dudes mixed, others were working on smoothing out the new banks. Half way through, we ran out of water. Some people went on a scavenger hunt looking for a water faucet. Luckily all the under developed properties had one. With enough water to finish the pour we finished up and started on the ledge. Using Loctite instead of concrete we were able to bang this out in a jiffy. We had to use the headlights from our cars to shine a little light while we finished it up.Â
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Bhavik Paryani, Boe Parries, Bill Griffin, Miles Marquez, Keith Saunders & Wes Burnley
Repairs Two or three weeks before we got the bad news, we made some repairs to wedge to wedge and made a little wallie object out of some broken concrete.
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All good things end. After about a year or so of building we got the bad news. The city planned to makeover President street and that meant leveling our diy skatepark. Something the city couldn’t do, still to this day, we were able to accomplish in less than a year. I try not to get too butt hurt about this. Any diy build you do, you must go into it thinking this won’t Last forever and just enjoy the time you get to skate it. I think there’s a lesson in that.
Final Days
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New Beginnings?
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Photo: Maloy
Ian Abineri - Crook
Photo: Maloy
Keith Saunders - Heelflip
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Photo: Brodhead
Weston Vickers - Back Tail
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Photo: Maloy
Bill Griffin - Wallride
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Plainview Games of Skate
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