SS20 - FOR THE LOVE OF IT

WEARESS20.COM

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20 - THE BIRTH OF A BRAND BACKGROUND Founded in 1988, SS20 was a true pioneering skate shop which in time grew to cult status. It followed in the footsteps of other pioneering shops such as Alpine Action, M-Zone, Faze 7, Surrey Skateboards and Slam City Skates.

Originally set up by Dave Furneau and Mon Barbour as an “action sports� shop. They employed Sean Goff, who was a skater already basking in the spotlight of the resurgence of skateboarding. He subsequently bought into the company 10 months later and SS20 became a limited company. At the time Sean was British Skateboard Champion, while Dave was the first British Snowboard Champion. With this combination, SS20 had a solid head start into the emerging snowboard industry.

Before SS20, Mon had enjoyed early success with one of the most famous vert ramps (inspired by Joe Lopez’s backyard set up in the States) on his parents’ farm. He held annual skate and BMX jams which became legendary in time. He’d also built the first portable half pipe when he was 17 and toured it around the country. By 1991 the two ramps had been combined to create the first and probably only spine vert ramp set up in the UK. Ramp under construction / Photo: Derry Thompson

Barry Abrook going for the Mudskipper / Photo: Chris Harris

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

Mon’s Ramp Jam overview, 1987 / Photo: Kenny Omond

SS20

THE Neil Danz, Frontside Air on Plymouth Hoe BIRTH OF A BRAND

Invert, ’86 Jam / Photo: Chris Harris

Adrian Demain, Judo air / Photo: Mon

Trawler, Sweeper on Plymouth Hoe

The Sticker Toss in full swing / Photo: Mon

Sketchy Zine Mon at Mon’s / Photo: Derry Thompson

Barry Abrook, Frontside air / Photo: Mon

Bone Idle and the Layabouts in full swing / Photo: Mon

Let it burn! / Photos: Mon

On the left: The first sales receipt from SS20’s first day on 1st December 1988

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

A younger Mon. The boss!

ACHIEVEMENTS AND THE BUILDING OF AN INSTITUTION In the early days, SS20 boasted one of the strongest skate teams in the UK. Riders included Tom Penny, Alex Moul and Danny Wainwright, who all went on to gain massive success in their own right.

In later years there were other notable SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

team riders including Tom Watts, Tom Knox and Jason Cloete. SS20 continued sponsoring up and coming talent until

Tom Penny, Botley Street Comp, 1990

the shop finally closed its doors. There were also a large number sponsored snowboard team riders over years including Jake Binne and Sparrow Know.

Not only did we sponsor riders but we also sponsored pretty much any skate and snowboard event they had a request from. Their aim was to always support and nurture the scene that they were so passionate about. The Independent newspaper once described SS20 as the social services of skateboarding.

Tom Penny / Photo: Ricta Wheels

Alex Moul

SS20 were approached in the mid Nineties by the main skateboard distributors at the time to organise the first British Skateboard Championships that decade at Radlands skatepark in Northampton. They had already been supporting Radlands by

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

providing surplus skate products on a sale or return basis for a period to help them keep the park going.

The championships held in 1995 was heralded as a major success with a large contingent of American and other international skate stars attending. The event helped cement Radlands as one of the biggest influences on the UK skate scene.

Chris Miller, Swansea. Front cover of Skareboard! magazine

SS20

SS20 trips are an annual occurrence

Distributors constantly held SS20 in high regard and they’d been seen as the main shop to launch new products and lines. This was a constant throughout the Noughties and resulted in collaborations with DVDs and

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

with several brands including Carhartt and Cliché. The launch of Nike snowboard boots was exclusively done through SS20 in its first year, a sign of how prestigious working with SS20 had become.

Within the snowboard scene also SS20 supported and sponsored numerous instructors, seasonaires and competitors, many of whom have continued to be part of the UK snowboard scene to this day. The list includes Ian Sansom, editor of The Reason Snowboard magazine, and previously editor of Snowboard UK.

Budd with the Cliché/SS20 collab board

From day one SS20 was trying to help provide facilities and advised on many skate projects before there were specialist companies constructing skateparks and ramps. This included serval facilities including the now defunct Botley bowl in west Oxford. A second branch of SS20 also sprang up in the early Nineties in Leamington Spa. Here they helped construct and run the legendary Boys’ SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

Club ramp complex where demos from skate legends, including Chris Miller and

Botley Bowl, Oxford

Buster Halterman were held. They also had a Bones tour demo there that included Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero and Lance Mountain.

The launch of Sidewalk Surfer and White Lines magazines was a seminal moment in the continued rise in the popularity of the shop. The magazines were based in Oxfordshire and all the main staff of Sidewalk lived opposite the shop. This led to countless visiting skaters from all over the country and abroad. Adverts were created with the designer of the magazine and a deep and close relationship ensued.

They helped grease the monkeys and supply various refreshments in exchange for new and creative adverts. To start with fairly stupid and funny adverts were designed that consistently caused a buzz in the industry.

Once Ian Budd, who now runs Pretend Skate Store, came on board at SS20 they started to create more product based adverts which grew to double page spreads. Many of these adverts were done in collaboration with suppliers and brands, which again cemented our bond with the industry.

Jason Cloete, OWP, Oxford

OXFORD WHEELS PROJECT After several failed temporary structures, including the legendary Manzil way ramp complex where Tom Penny’s brilliance was first noticed, the pursuit of a permanent facility in Oxford led to the formation of OWP (Oxford Wheels Project). This was a charity set up by Mon and other locals to campaign for a permanent free facility in Oxford.

The many faces of OWP

OWP wooden overview

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

Leddy, frontside rocking the old extension, OWP, Oxford

After two decades of temporary facilities and campaigning the council granted OWP planning permission. Within a year, thanks to the sheer will and determination of Jack Richens who took on the job as chairman. Mon had stood down a decade or so earlier. £320,000 was raised and the park was constructed. For Mon, although he wasn’t the one to have raised all the money at this point, it was 25 years after the birth of SS20. He felt he had achieved the goals of why OWP was formed in the first place.

Mon and Jack in the OWP bowl-mid build The finished article

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

Some old duffers enjoying the fruits of the OWP hard labour Leddy grinding the hump Ian Roxburgh grinding the pool

Jon Kennedy clearing the love seat first time, first day!

Tom Kilpatrick, Mayday, close to the edge

Sean Goff, Smith grinds the pool coping

Sasha Barbour enjoying the Cowleyfornia beach

The Globe Team tearing up the OWP ’crete

SS20 was also instrumental in helping with the legendary Cowley Road Carnival that takes place annually. Each year they had a ramshackle street set-up or graffiti walls for local artists. The final year for SS20 at the event was 2015 where they created “Cowleyfornia�, which was a purposed built beach in the back of the local Tesco car park. This was comprised of five tonnes of sand, a mini ramp and graffiti boards, together with sun bleachers to set the scene. It should have been a major success. However, the Globe team organised a demo on the same day. This totally eclipsed the skating at the carnival because every skater from miles around descended on the OWP park to meet Rodney Mullen and check out the rest of the Globe team skate.

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

In 2015, SS20 was shortlisted by an all part parliamentary committee into the top-10 best small shops in the UK, which was no mean feat for a skate shop. As a consequence, Dave Furneau and Mon had a great day at the Houses of Parliament drinking taxpayers booze.

Mon & Dave suited and booted

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

Sticker me up!

Sticker toss

Board toss in full swing

The SS20 booty to win

Doddy rocking the bowl

Mon at Southsea, 1989

Mon in Edge Magazine, Wind & Surf Show, 1987

Mon at SS20 20th Year Anniversary Skate, Corby, 2008

Dave Furneau, f/side air a while back...

Mon at OWP, 2018

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

Mon in the last printed issue of Sidewalk Surfer Magazine at House of Vans, 2017 Mon testing his pads at OWP, 2019

Ian Cocking & Dave Furneau

Ian Cocking & Dave Furneau Mon, Chillin’, Avoriaz, 2010

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

Extreme Terrain, Fernie, BC, 2003

Dave, Tignes, 1989

Dave on his Big Wheel

Mon snow plough dive, Fernie, BC, 2003

Mon, Rome Lodge, 2014 Dave, still goddit!

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

The SS20 shop crew A Nation of Shopkeepers

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

FOR THE LOVE OF IT

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

FINDING OUR REASON TO GET BACK UP AND GO AGAIN A good friend had also lost his uncle and brother in quick succession.

I’d been at his brother’s funeral and he’d told me how he and his brother would, when things went disastrously wrong always use the phrase “we go again”. It may seem obvious but the point was that all skaters and snowboarders know is that you don’t just “go on”. You have to slam often and sometime the slams are severe, disabling and crippling, but and it’s a big but, you get back up, dust yourself down, get strong again and you go again. And again, and again, and again.

This circle never stops, even if it stops for you personally, what you start goes on. Your family goes on and memories of you go on. We can’t stop but equally we don’t just carry on. You need to break down, eat shit with the most horrific slams and then you can go again.

Mon Barbour

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20 - FOR THE LOVE OF IT We’re doing it for the love of it. We made a difference to so many people’s lives in a positive way. Why not go again? This time SS20 will be a stand-alone brand producing high quality products whilst still putting back into our community. The idea will be to produce limited runs of product at regular intervals. Part of the money generated will go into grassroots events and community groups that make a difference.

For more info check out SS20 on Facebook and Instagram.

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

SS20

FOR THE LOVE OF IT

Five Star

Barcode

Cat in the Hat

Fish Bowl

Flip

Heart

Prada

Snowflake

Spray Can

SStussy

Toxic Fish

Truck

Cubes

Devil Bomb

Double Heart

SS20

Laces

Lights

Ox

Spray Drips

SStwenty and Destroy

Stripe Bend

UFO

X-Chevron

X-Barbed Wire

THE BIRTH OF A BRAND

WEARESS20.COM