What the hell is “the Curb”? You all know h2o mud ‘n’ snow, you all know Jim. Curb Industries is the next step in Jim’s saga, a new venture to try and break into a new groove, a change of image to attract a slightly different crowd, but still remembering all the homies and shop whores out there... See you all soon!
www.curbshop.com Published by The Curb Magazine. Made, Printed and Distributed by Rupert K. rupert_k@hotmail.co.uk rupertk.tumblr.com The views and opinions expressed in editorial and advertisements within The Curb do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Curb or any of its associates. Curb Boardsports, The Curb Magazine and everything contained within is copyright Curb Boardsports. No material may be reproduced without written permission.
09. Local Knowledge - Winchester Skate Spots 15. Good Ideas? - 54 Longfield Road 21. Feature - TRUCK VS. SOULPLATE VS. CRANK 33. Best Ever - Dieter Van Der Eyken 43. Holiday Guide - Dahab, A bit grubby round the edges 49. Luminary - Jim Liddiard 52. Essay - The Thrill Seeker in Modern Society
So Winchester is no Inner-city skate paradise, there are not hundreds of secret street spots, no massive underground culture and no major skate comp’s to speak of. However skating is far from dead in the 2000 year old city, you just need to look a little harder and know where to look... Skating worldwide is on the rise. In recent years the profile of the sport has grown massively, with its emergence into mainstream culture it is now pretty impossible for people to ignore or dismiss its existence, as they might once have been able to do. Pro skaters are now idolised by todays youth as much as any film star or superhero. Regular kids become celebrities overnight by uploading footage of themselves on you tube. Large companies have stood up and started to take notice of this youth culture, social networking has exploded. As with any big event in social history there is always a corporation that wants a slice of this. This is not always a bad thing, skating has definitely benefited from this social media revolution. Through blogs, video’s, articles and websites the sport is now so accessible to so many people. Even councils have started to take notice of this, putting more money into funding skate parks. With Gravity completing the construction of over 50 new skate parks last year in the UK alone. A lot of these in the south of England. These are just a couple of spots that i know about and have skated. Some of them are sweet, some pretty gnarly and some of them are just toilet. But you live somewhere, you make do with what you can get and it is a testament to skaters and skateboarding that these spots still get skated!
Words: Rupert Knowlden Photos: Rupert Knowlden Extract: Hampshire Chronicle, Andrew Napier
Friday 30th March 2012, New skate park idea backed by Winchester councillors
Previous: George Lavender, Ollie Chesil Street car park, SO23 0HX Left: George Lavender, 4 Stair Winchester School of Art, SO23 8DL Below: George Lavender, Frontside No Comply Riverside Leisure Centre, SO23 7DD
WINCHESTER civic chiefs have expressed strong support for plans for a new skate park at North Walls. Councillors on the town forum last Wednesday backed the idea for a new muchimproved concrete structure to replace the antiquated and deteriorating steel ramps. The forum was unhappy about a suggested site at Hillier Way in Abbotts Barton as being too remote and at up to £400,000, around twice the price of staying at North Walls. The downside would be the removal of the Multi Use Games Area. Damian Offer, head of landscape and open spaces at the city council, said the MUGA could relocate to the nearby former putting green. Mr Offer said the Riverside Indoor Bowls Club had inquired if the putting green could be used for expanded car parking, an idea met with guffaws by several of the city councillors. On the skate park, Cllr Dominic Hiscock said: “The idea of an enhanced skate park is a good thing.” An informal working party of councillors to advise officers will be set up, with a view to definite proposals being submitted in the autumn.
54 is a small, local project between three Winchester School of Art students. An unlikely trio maybe, two Skateboarders and an Inliner... What is it about? Well we are not really sure, we just want to make some cool stuff, maybe make some millions, maybe get uber famous, maybe just have some fun. The point is pretty much that there is no point. We all love and want to support skating on a local and worldwide level. We are all brand whores and suckers for a sweet back print, or something hand printed. So why not make some sh*t ourselves? At the moment I guess we are all just super involved with University stuff and are struggling with time to get some stuff done, but we have sold a hand-full of tee’s and everyone was really keen to get involved and interested in what we where doing. We have loads of designs and ideas of stuff that we want to do. We just need to pull our collective finger out of our collective arse and make some gear, watch this space!
by Rupert Knowlden, Daniel Green, George Lavender Words: Rupert Knowlden Photos: Rupert Knowlden, George Lavender
For as long as i can remember there has been an pretty intense rivalry between skateboarders, BMX riders and inline skaters. This rivalry hit is peak in the 90’s, when these sports began to emerge from the very fringe of the sports world and into mainstream culture. With the emergence of extreme sports channels and events, society started to take notice. Seemingly overnight inline had been put on a par with skateboarding and a generally uninformed mainstream audience lapped it up. This type of mentality complied with blatant commercialization and exploitation of skateboarding. A slap in the face to skateboard culture. Skateboarders demanded to know how it had gotten to this point and began taking out their frustrations on the inline community. They demanded to know where the history, legacy, culture and tradition from aggressive inline had come from. Roller-skating does have an extensive history. Roller skating goes back before the 50’s, before Gene Kelly tap danced in metal roller skates in “It’s Always Fair Weather.” After all it was the steel roller skates that were first taken apart in order to invent scooters and skateboards. So the roller skate predates the skateboard, But surfing predates the roller skate so it is a circular argument. The history, culture and tradition of roller skating were the foundations for inline skating, it was only in the past decade that aggressive inline took more from skateboard culture than pre-90’s roller skate culture. In the early 80’s the Bones Brigade was traveling though Europe and they stopped in Sweden for a skate camp. At the camp pro skateboarder Mike McGill was watching a demo from Fred Blood, an aggressive roller skater. On a backside air Fred managed a flat 540. Mike studied the position of Fred’s feet and the way he shifted his weight, rotated his shoulder, tucked in and made the spin/flip complete. Mike wanted to pull a simillar trick on a skateboard and practiced untill he was able to pull the move in competition. Fred Blood, a pioneer of aggressive roller-skating, had sparked the evolution of skateboard vert progression.
Words: Rupert Knowlden Photos: Daniel Green
In the same way that better technology helped make skateboards take off in the 70’s, inline skate construction helped start a new craze in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Inline skaters began jumping on handrails and ledges similar to skateboarders and invented “street” aggressive inline in a few years. A whole new industry was formed around all that practiced inline skating. There were clothing labels and magazines being started everwhere. The mainstream audience was treated to videos of inline skaters whose tricks, vocabulary and fashion were heavily borrowed from skate culture and assumed to be “on-par” with skateboarding. I know that not all skateboarders hate all inline skaters and all BMX riders; it’s just a gross generalization. Can we all just get along? This “BEEF” between skateboarders, BMX riders and inline skaters all simply stems for the fact that they are placed on a par by society, when in reality they are very much completely different sports, combine this with the obvious problem that they are forced to share the same space’s when they want to skate and it is no wonder that they all think each other are shit, image a cricket team pitching up and trying to play a game of cricket in the middle of a rugby match... I think that people that are really dedicated to these sports, their ideals and are really aware of the history of each of these sports are pretty accepting of all of them. So it becomes more of a statement, if an inline skater turns up to a park full of skateboarders he can expect to be ridiculed, and visa versa, but in the end today it is really all just giving each other shit, and if you are good enough then no one cares how you roll. Long live the plank pushers, the fuit booters and the one geared w**ker’s.
Here: Rupert Knowlden 180 Mute, XC Hemel Hempstead Next: Ollie McAinsh Rail, Love Lane Petersfield
Here: George Lavender Boneless, XC Hemel Hempstead Next: George Lavender Backside 5-0, Midsomer-Norton
Right: Ollie McAinsh Tuck No-Hands, Midsomer Norton Below: Rupert Knowlden Zero Spin, Midsomer Norton
The Belgian freestyle windsurfer entered the PWA freestyle scene two years ago at the age of 18 and immediately finished 9th, in the midst of the best freestyle windsurfers in the world. By now Dieter has become a fixed top 10 rider on the tour and has improved his 2011 overall ranking, finishing 8th. For 2012 Dieter has already set his goals. He wants to push into the top 5. We caught up with deiter to ask him a few questions, and find out a few of his favourite things! Best windsurfer of all time? Bjorn Dunckerbeck, because of the length of his career. Best guy of all time? Don’t know I think Philip Koster will be, in a few years.. Best girl of all time? Sarah-Quita, friendly, sick sailing and always has a big smile!! Best song ever? Foo Fighters, The Pretender Best food ever? Pizza for sure!! Calzone especially! Best place ever? Coronation beach Western-Australia (the spot has it all) Best piece of kit ever? My Enigma boom from Severne! Best sport after windsurfing? Normal surfing (nothing better than being in the water enjoying nature!) Best thing about 2011? Getting 5th in Vietnam What is going to be the best thing in 2012? No idea, time will tell. Ask me again at the end of the year! Cheers Dieter, and good luck with your 2012 PWA tour, see you in the top 5...
Photos in order or appearance: One Handed Spock 540 Egypt, Blue Lagoon Back Loop Pozo, Gran Canaria Photos by: Carsten Puth
Left: Air Spain, Delta Del Ebre Below: Goiter Spain, Delta Del Ebre
Dahab is situated on the Sinai Peninsular, about an hours drive from Sharm el Sheikh Airport. It essentially consists of some mountains, some sea and large amounts of sand! There really is nothing here, not a sphinx or pyramid in sight. There would at first sight appear absolutely no reason to come here at all... That is until the wind kicks in, and this once small bedouin fishing village is turned into a windsurfing paradise! With the wind being as mentally strong as it is regular. With completely flat water spots for freestyle, and mental waves for wave surfing. Put simply you have to go here... Wether you are chasing vulcans, perfecting burners, trying to nail that first carve gybe, or if you have no idea what any of the above things are but you want to go and get involved with windsurfing anyway. Those expecting western luxury will be severely disappointed, but the local culture is addictive. Everything is covered in sand and dust, the people, the shops, the food, Nothing is new or clean, rather repaired a thousand times, when really it probably should have been thrown away. The locals see a white face and everyone wants your money but everyone wants to be your friend too. The important thing is to not look too much like a tourist, no flowing shirts, and no linen trousers or sandals with socks! Just a few bits of Arabic will make you look like a little bit more of a local and a little bit less of a tourist. Bartering with a bit of Arabic on your side is much more likely to produce results. Laa - No Iowa - Yes Aasef - Sorry Shokran - Thank you Habesh - My Friend Hamsa - Five Asha - Ten Ginea - Pounds Kabeer - Big Sagheer - Small Salam - Hi Ma’a Salama - Goodbye
Words: Matt Harbour, Rupert Knowlden Photos: Rupert Knowlden
It is definitely a little grubby around the edges, and more than a bit ropey in certain areas, but a place with better windsurfing and more friendly locals is very hard to find!
Previous Left: Cooking Utensils, Medina, Egypt Previous Right: Vulcan, Baby Bay, Egypt Left: Matt Harbour Water start, Baby Bay, Egypt Below: Some random Grubbyness, Club Dahab, Egypt
Would you buy sh*t from this man? Creator, Manager, Director and general shop B# at H2O Mud ‘n’ Snow, if you do any crazy sh*t in Winchester then chances are you know Jim. If Jim doesn’t know about it, then it isn’t worth knowing about. You will see him strolling around Winchester in the finest branded seasonal fashion. Always dressed to impress and happy to help, sell you stuff or just chat. Complete Genius or Clinically Insane, I’m not really sure how to sum him up, so instead I leave you with some words of wisdom from the man himself... About ASDA, “sorry if this offends u......but..... Jesus christ ASDA seems to be a clinic for FAT women..... Its un real.... Ps..i am deffo not including my wife in that?!” About his Daughter, “Not even messing with you... apparently my nearly 2 year old daughter held out her fist at bed time and ask mummy for ‘bumps’... Followed by the open hand and Tsssshhh noise!! Legend...” About appointments with a heavily pregnant wife, “It would seem that a consultant and a mid wife come from different planets?! Both of which i might take a quick shuttle to curl one out and return home......Bumders?!” About time with his kids, “cheesy muffins and peppa pig....does life get any better!” About Winchester Marks and Spencer, “wow...thought i would pop in to M n S to grab a soup for lunch.....its insane...the attack of the Zimmer Frame hobbling un-dead!! Freaky.....” About watching TV with his son, “enjoying watching my 1st match of the day with my SON !???!!! a bottle for each of us as well... i out drunk my boy.... but he vomited 1st...proper night in front of the Footy” About life in general, “I think a little bit of poo just came out” About Mamma Mia, “is thoroughly ashamed to admit that i am quite enjoying ‘mama mia’ on tele!!! I feel i have to make it public to get the ritual humiliation i deserve!! Sorry!!” H2O Mud ‘n’ Snow, come check us out!
Words: Rupert Knowlden
Above: Jim Liddiard, Switch Super Cork Hand-Plant Calshot Photo: Jack Labett Right: Jim Liddiard, Tail Stall Secret Spot, Wichester-ish
The word extreme is relatively new; it has begun to creep into modern society only over the last few decades. For many it is synonymous with these extreme sports, with sky diving, snowboarding, rock climbing and other sports associated with an intense adrenaline rush and the very present threat of danger, serious injury or death. All of these sports are associated with the cutting edge of technology and as such are considered new ideas. My research has shown that these extremes in fact date back many thousands of years; Tribal cultures are as much ambassadors of these extremes as any modern day athlete. These Ancient Societies have no word for the idea of leisure. These extremes exist as deeply ingrained parts of their culture, and play a very integral role in many rites of passage. To modern society these rites of passage, which span from the use of narcotics to the mutilation of the human body are all highly important parts of becoming a man or a woman. To display that you are able to cope with this pain, or this fear, is at its core a demonstration to others that you can deal with anything, that these experiences of pain and fear will improve you as a person. And as such I have come across the very core of what these sports are about. They are about a conquering of fear, but to go above and beyond this fear, to embrace it and to tame it, it becomes almost exhibitionist, a very public display of the individuals mastery of fear, and a physical prowess or expertise developed in the process. To conclude that all extreme sports no matter how deep you go, are essentially elaborate forms of impressing others, and earning your place in modern society as a hero, reckless maybe even dangerous but a hero none the less. Modern society has a very established but also very incorrect pre-conception of this thrill seeker. It is these trill seekers that I want to target within my FMP and establishing exactly who they are is paramount. They are not, as many people think anxious, depressed and suicidal. They are however able to accept and understand death. Most display symptoms of counterphobia, or the idea of actively seeking out situations and activities that scare them. This is a very similar idea to the conquering and mastery of fear that is involved with such extreme tribal rituals. However it is more closely linked with life and death than it is with pain and ritual. It begins to contextualize death and the experience of being so close to it. The experience that these extreme thrill seekers feel when they are so close to death, but then when they pull through, they come out of the other side and they have survived, the very nature of their survival makes life itself more vivid. I believe that essentially this ability to risk life in search of an extreme rush is essentially a mastery of ones own death, a realization that death should not be thought of as a purely biological event. Instead of fearing death these athletes
Essay: Rupert Knowlden
embrace it, an acceptance that the only thing in life that is certain is that we will all die. However these thrill seekers take this idea further than meager acceptance and use it as a motivating factor, to risk death is to cheat death, and the relief of having cheated death time and time again is as addictive as any drug. Essentially that death is defined not by itself but by life and this proximity to death and extreme risk, amplify and focus life and our perceptions of the every day, this is what makes thrill seekers do what they do. It defines their sport; it defines them. To fully understand the effect that these extreme sports have had on the world is to look at modern society and the way that they interact. Sport and extreme sport in particular was once considered this activity that was merely something to be indulged in by children, that people grew out of the idea, that it was not an important part of everyday life. Where now the effect that sport has is world changing. I believe that it has filled the void in society left by religion. That religion was at one point an essential part of life; in a world that we did not fully understand we needed some way to quantify our own existence. With the rise of capitalism and the vast fountain of scientific knowledge that has come with it has essentially created a new world where questions have been answered and the world is no longer full of god fearing individuals but mature logical people, who have little or no time for religion. Worship once reserved for deities is now showered upon these new messiahs of sport. I embrace this independence, but at the same time I believe that sport as a whole has helped to fuel this capitalist machine and aided in creating an in-sustainable consumer culture. My hope is that the extreme sports remain as they do, independent from major moneymaking corporations and is still able to remain about the individual, I hope that they are able to retain their independence and I hope that people will still look with distain at skateboarders and other extreme athletes, as to be truly accepted by society, to lose any form of rebellion is to lose the power to change and challenge, to lose the very essence of the extreme. Rebellion has become almost a clichĂŠ of modern popular culture; one could argue the point that by rebelling you are actually conforming, the chance that you are going to be saying something truly new and revolutionary is very small indeed. This does not mean that I think revolution is bad, I believe that the act of trying to rebel against something purely because you are unable to come up with an idea of you own is all too common. Where rebellion manifests itself as simply a reaction against something existing rather than the generation of something new. I wholeheartedly agree with revolution that encourages a re-construction of ideas and thinking, which pushes new ways of thinking and highlights and or eradicates problems that exist in the world around us. I agree with people proposing new answers and ideas, I do not agree with those that are rebelling because those around them are rebelling, those that rebel against society because they want change but are unsure exactly what that change is. However I believe that this rebellious culture has been a force for good in terms of capitalism, corporations and companies having been introduced to the fact that people will not lay down to the large corporations anymore. My only worry is that these corporations are becoming aware of this and are reacting by marketing this non-conformity, and I worry that by rebelling we are actually conforming. I believe that Extreme sports and the athletes and thrill seekers that partake in them have come to (intentionally or not) shape the world that we live in today, they have become a modern equivalent to gods people aspire to do the things that they do and to be like them. But I still think that the most important part of this extreme is the way that it is able to react rather than be consumed by this society, that it deals with extremes of death and injury but that it is also able to celebrate the beauty, imperfections and the ephemerality of life.
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a.Fourstar Snap-Back b.VANS DOREN BACKPACK c.STEREO VINYL CRUSIER d.OX-FAM SKATE DVD e.HEROIN PRO WHEELS f.VOLCOM CREW FLEECE g.PASSPORT CONVICT BAR h.STEREO SHADES i.FOURSTAR FLIP FLOPS j.VANS LOGO TEE k.GIRL GOLD REVOLVER BEARINGS l.CHOCOLATE WALLET m.ROYAL RAW/FOUR TRUCKS n.SPITFIRE LOGO HELMET o.VANS ERA DISTRESSED BLUE p.CHOCOLATE SNAP BACK q.CHOCLOATE CURB WAX