Vice Aus – Rolling in the 2000’s

Vice_LogoVice Media are not generally known to be open minded toward rollerblading but it seems that in Australia things may be different. As someone who has been skating from the early 90’s I have to say that a recent article published on Vice Australia is pretty much spot on. The views of a rollerblader without any negative dogma. Even going to the level of calling out the skateboard industry for their unnecessary and cynical division of the sports.

Get over there and read. I definitely support this attitude towards our sport and will be keeping an eye on the Australian section of Vice from now on and hope that this trends over to the main Vice site. No breath will be held in the meantime though…

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Winterclash 2015 Saturday Photos

Still working through all of the photos I have amassed at the end of last month. I had also forgotten that I got shots from three days at Area 51, not just the two of Winterclash so the third instalment of the Dutch trilogy will be coming soon(ish). For now though, the second day of skating in Eindhoven for Winterclash 2015.

Winterclash 2015 Friday Photos

Slowly working through the hundreds of photos I took over the past two weekends. Here’s the first batch done – Friday session at Area 51 for Winterclash 2015. Working through these I realised a couple of things. First I don’t like skaters who wear all black. You make my life difficult. Second I spend far too much time watching the girls skate.

A few shots in Manchester

After the first decent session in Manchester with a load of skaters meeting up to skate throughout the day, the cold eventually got the better of many. As the evening wore on those who endured moved to somewhere that could be skated in the dark nights of Northern England and I took a few shots…

Edit from UK History

Rollerblading Is Easy.

We all know that, but in this case it is specific to a rather major UK point in history. At the height of its popularity in the UK, a number of “real” street comps were organised. This was one of these. Arranged by a group of skaters with no real interest in marketing, profits, fame, or whatever else seems to be needed to get people interested in a competition these days, this was amongst a few big gatherings we’ve had outside of skateparks in the UK. Arranged and publicised only through word of mouth and the ubiquitous UKSkate forums, skaters turned up from all over the country.

Well, as luck would have it over a decade after the event I found an old edit sat in an archive I have of old skate edits. More may be posted as I look through them. Enjoy:

And for my own perspective on the day, check out the gallery of photos I took at the time:
Continue reading Edit from UK History

Laced 2014 – Catchup

Laced LogoOK, it seems I’ve been a little negligent. I appear to have forgotten to upload some photos from previous events. First and foremost amongst these is Laced from earlier this year. Only one of the biggest events on the year, so nothing important like.

So I’ll shut up now and post the photos…

King Of The Park – Blade Jam

MagsBlade LogoDue to injuries I didn’t take my skates to this event put on by Blade Life. It was a fairly chilled affair up at Mags on Ramps in Halifax with mostly locals and a few youngsters trying out the park on skates. The park is pretty basic but it’s clean, dry and the staff are great. Worth a visit next time any events are on there I’d say.

Due to lack of skating options I only stayed for a short time to shoot some photos and get out before the storms made the motorways impassable…

Slamm Jamm 16 photos

What needs to be said? In its 16th year and still going strong. It took a while but the photos from Slamm Jamm 16 are now here for you to view…

There are a few edits too:
Continue reading Slamm Jamm 16 photos

UrbanLikes

500 FB LikesWell, it’s not a lot compared to some but for a site that simply grew out of a place to dump my skating photos of mates it’s a fair milestone. 500 likes on Facebook may not sound like much but I’m happy with it. As this site and the Facebook page have never received any funding, external contributions nor marketing I think it’s quite an achievement. Over a decade of rolling history in photographic form. It’s not about the self promotion. It’s all about putting in what you can and appreciating those who help you along the way.

So, to each and every one of you that I met through skating; Whether you roll or not, whether we’re still in touch or we’ve moved on I want to say thanks. You were an integral part of my journey. It’s you and the community that we have that have kept UrbanLines going for 11+ years. Let’s see what else we’ve got now shall we?

One City One Shot Episode #8

It was good to see John Goodman back out on skates. In celebration we decided to have a fun session around his local area. After a quick warmup at the ghetto council park we checked out this evil beast. It’s not much to look at but it’s rough and the autumn leaves weren’t helping a lot.

To be honest we only stayed a short time as Kyle and John landed a few tricks and we then moved off for more fun little spots. I grabbed a few shots here because there was no way I was going to even look at that rail with wheels on my feet. This was my favourite of the day.

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