MCR Street Jam 2014

MCR_Street_Jam_LogoIn planning the second of what could become the UK’s primary street skate event, local boy and international rollerblading legend Alex Burston could never have guessed it would be right in the middle of the hottest weather of the year. Which would have been perfect, were it not for the biggest summer thunderstorms the area has seen for a generation landing right at the same time.

Was it a washout though? Did the street skaters pack up and go home? Of course not. Everyone still came and converged on Castlefields Arena as you would expect and when there was a break in the rain long enough to clear some of the puddles, mayhem commenced. The MCR Street Jam was on for another year.

Filmed by Scott Hallows and Tim Darker for The Booted

I however set off late and having nearly been washed off the M6 on my journey North decided to play it safe and went straight to the “after session” organised at Bones Skatepark. Here I got my camera out and took a few shots of the very hot warm-down session that occurred.

Livi Skate Party 2014

It’s back. Having taken a break from the scene since 2007 the Infamous Livi Skate Party has returned. Though I can never imaging it returning to the parties of old, with drinking, camping, skating, barbecues, more drinking a bit of skating and a bit more drinking, it’s definitely back. A much more family friendly form has returned this year, including a full under 16 competition to not only win prizes on the day, but also to qualify for entry to the Slamm Jamm New Blood comp held at Rampworx later in the year.

From my first visit to Livi in 2005 I have always loved the atmosphere at this park. Since the event stopped a couple of years later through lack of support (though no lack of effort from organisers) the park has undergone a rather extensive and controversial expansion. This has however added more variety to the park and helped the event to be a little more rounded in the competition capacity. It has still however managed to retain the relaxed and fun attitude that makes it one of my favourite events in the UK calendar.

Anyway, what you came here for – the photos I got on the day. There’s not a massive number due to the 13 hours of driving needed to get there and back in a day, but you get the idea…

Rampworx Inline Only June 2014

Rampworx-LogoJust some photos I shot at the recent Inline Only session at Rampworx. They run regularly so you should get down to the next one if you can make the journey.

This time I was feeling particularly lazy so not only did I not skate (I skate there most weeks anyway) but I also only took photos of the main driveway section. I hope you enjoy the few shots I got anyway:

SummerClash 2014 Photos

Summerclash LogoSo, it was an adventure, that’s for sure. Driving a 1972 VW camper from the middle of the UK to Berlin for the weekend was always going to be eventful. It didn’t disappoint.

Due to a number of issues, I missed a lot of the event, turning up on the Saturday just as the girls final was starting on the spine. Grabbed the camera, no flashes, took some shots. I managed to cover a lot of the skating that day with limited resources, and returned later to get some pictures from the on-site afterparty. The photos will take a while to get in the gallery due to other adventuring. However, here’s what the event looked like to me.