SKATEAIRZSouth West of England skateboarding Magazine

Skateairz

skateboarding magazine

Aaron Prout, the photographer and creator of SKATEAIRZ skateboarding magazine.

Skateparks visited in Cornwall:

Mount Hawke, Newquay’s Wooden Waves, Bude skatepark, Launceston’s The Unit, Callington Skatepark and Saltash’s Saltmill skatepark.

Skateparks visited in Devon:

Plymouth’s Central Park, Plymouth’s Prime indoor skatepark, Hatherleigh’s skatepark, Okehampton’s Skatepark and Exeter’s Flowerpot Skatepark.

Other places visited: Bude’s Street spots, Plymouth’s street spots.

In this issue:

So what is it all about? SKATEAIRZ?Aaron ‘Airz’ Prout is a student at Plymouth College of Art who has just finished his BA honours in Photography.For his final major project he wanted to produce a magazine that was all about the Skateboarding culture within the regions Devon and Cornwall... and that is exactly what he did. He called the magazine ‘SKATEAIRZ’ connecting the nature of this project with his nickname and personal photography brand name ‘Airzphotography’.

Aaron has always been interested in skateboarding since a young age and used skate on the streets of his housing estate. Along with his two brothers, Aaron had to make do with creating his own ramps out of oldpallets and pieces of wood because his town didn’t have a skatepark or anything associated with the activity.The closest that his town ever got to a skatepark was a temporary skatepark that was set up in the local leisure centre’s tennis courts for one weekend in the summer. After a few years of this annual weekend of skateboarding enjoyment it all stopped and the park never returned. As Aaron went through his teenage years, music becamehis main focus and began playing the guitar instead of picking up a Skateboard. It wasn’t until Aaron was 18years old and focusing on his academic future that his home town did finally get a skatepark which alsorevolved around the youth of the local area.

Aaron was disappointed that his generation of skateboarding youth had missed out on this skatepark as it would have intregued him to carry on with skateboarding but on the other hand he waspleased that the youth of the town have the opportunity to skateboard in an environment that was built forpurpose and most importantly a safe area to skate.

This project that Aaron set himself to find out about the skate culture within Devon and Cornwall stems from the moment when his home town recieveda Skatepark after 18 years of waiting. He wanted to visit a range ofdifferent towns and cities that are in Devon and Cornwall and by doing so documenting their skateparks and meeting skateboarders that were willing to have their photographs taken, showing their skateboarding talent and interviewing themto hear their personal views on the South west of England’s skate scene. Aaron thoughtthat this idea would be a strong photographic study with the interesting discovery to seehow much this overlooked part of the United Kingdom has to offer in regards to skateboarding.

Aaron while photographing skateboarder Will Stroudley in Hatherleigh.

Cornwall

In the year 1982, Mount Hawke Youth Group was formed to meet the needs of youth living in theimmediate and surrounding rural communities. It is a voluntary managed organisation, governed by a constitution, and has been registered with the Charity Commission since 1992. Mount Hawke Youth Group initially started as a small village youth group. The youth would meet one evening per week in the local village hall. As the group began to develop and grow, the young people were encouraged to provide their own ideas towards improving their youth group, which resulted in the establishment of the skatepark project in 1989.

Address for the skatepark:

Gover Waterworks, Mt Hawke, Truro, Cornwall TR4 8BQ

Mount Hawke indoor skatepark

For more information Visit:

www.mounthawkeskatepark.com

TIMES & PRICES

Saturdays & Sundays (holidays the same)

10am - 12:30pm Under 11’s Only1pm - 8pm 11+yrs Only

Mondays10am - 3.30pm Over 11s (holidays only)

4pm - 8pm Under 11’s OnlyTuesdays

10am - 9.30pm Over 11s (holidays only)4pm - 9.30pm Over 11s

Wednesdays10am - 12.30pm Under 11s (holidays only)

1pm - 9.30pm Over 11s (holidays only)9:30am -11.30am Under 5s 12pm - 9:30pm 11+yrs Only

Thursdays10am - 3.30pm Over 11s (holidays only)

4pm - 9.30pm Bikes & Boards 11+yrs OnlyFridays

10am - 9.30pm Over 11s (holidays only)12 - 9:30pm 11+yrs Only

Members Entry: £3.50

Day Entry: £8.00Under 11’s/5’s Entry: £4.00

12 Month Membership £50.00

Event Prices: Varies per event

I had heard great things about Mount Hawke skatepark and was intregued to travel down to photograph what the indoor skatepark had to offer for the local communityand whoever wanted to use its facilities. When I arrived at the park I noticed that the building itself was a lot bigger than I expected, with a generous amount of parkingspace suggesting that a lot of people must use the park on a regular basis. When I first walked through the entrance to the skatepark I was literally blown away from what I saw. It was massive. The layout expanded from wall to wall with a maze of ramps, rails, half-pipes, it was really quite impressive. If you are looking for a park with diversity then this is it, there are areas around the park better suited for different levels of skateboarders. For the Beginners or younger children using the park, smaller ramps and obstacles are avalible with ease of access for parents to support them. For the more advanced skateboarders then the rest of the park has individual sections that would satisfy their needs. A key feature to this park that I thought was very appealing wasthat dotted around the whole park were chairs, sofas, stairsways and balconies for spectators to watch in comfort and have a great view of everything. These little additions to the park really made the environment of the park seem safe, friendly and welcoming with a lively atmosphere.

The size of the park allows the area to be filled with a whole range of different ramps, gaps, rails, and obstacles. The walls of the park are covered in graffiti which adds colour and creativity to the atmosphere of the park. Each area of the park has a different mural or graffiti design which is unique.

Drop-ins that make your heart skip a beat just from looking down from the top!

The biggest half pipe you are going to find in the south west is in Mount Hawke’s indoor park. You can kind of get an idea of the size of the half pipe by the skateboarders using it in the image to the left.

BMX, scooter and skateboards are all compatible with this half pipe but you need to be very confident that you will make the drop in as it is a long way to fall! The half pipe also has two roll in areas for bmx and Scooter riders in particular for an easier entrance.

Mount Hawke is definitely not short of ramps...

Ramps cover the majority of the skatepark withhalf-pipes and quater-pipes fitted with coping flow throughout. The build of the skatepark itself isclose to flawless with every single obstacle linking together with another. As well as the half and quater pipes the park also has other obstacles including, kickers, banks, rails, bank to flat, roll-ins and fun boxes.

Areas for the advanced and for the beginners...

The park is as much for the youth of the local community as it is for the more advanced users travelling to use the park. From what I could see from my visit to the park is that the youth seemed to prefer riding scooters rather than a BMX or skateboard. Scooters are noticably easier to control than a skateboard which requires a lot more balance, so it seems a scooter is the best way to learn how to get around a skatepark...

This young scooter rider certainly wasn’t scared of using the biggest ramp in the skatepark ... (to see just how big that ramp is see the image below!)

Little extras that make this skatepark stand out from the rest...

Having selected seating areas all around the skatepark where spectators could go to sit and watch whoever is using the park was something that impressed me the most. What was even better was that the provided seating areas had their own unique style. For example, positioned on top of the biggest half pipe in the park were two living room style armchairs with a big speaker system so the spectators can put their own music on whilst they watch. (above)

There are a few movable objects around the park, one that I noitced quite a lot of the skateboarders liked to use was the American Style fire hydrant. The hydrant is position by the skatboarder so they can jump over it which is shown in the image. (left)

These seating areas around the park are for the parents and spectators who come to watch.

Photographs of the park being used by BMX and Skateboarders

A skatepark which is all for the Youth!!

Sure the park is open for anyone to use; but the youth of the surrounding areas are the reason for the skateparks existance. Since 1989, this youth group project has been expanding and updating its features and facilities and now in 2014 Mount Hakwe skatepark is much more than just a skatepark.

Next door to the skatepark itself is a room which is all for the youth of the area and hold some really creative facilities for the children to use:

• Two table tennis tables • Wooden benches seating area to eat and chat• A selection of armchairs and sofas positioned around a television• Apple iMacs for the youth to play games or use social media• Two pool tables... everyone loves to play pool! • A canteen which sells hot and cold food & drink

As well as the main function room there is another room situated at the back which can be hired out to be used for birthday and events. The park also has a skateshop which allows skateboarders to purchase anything they need to make their skating experience as good as it can be.

Jon - A very satisfied skateboarder/BMX rider.

The main function room for the youth to hang out in...

The main function room equipped with table tennis and pool tables.

Ben Wood

Name: Ben Wood

Age: 24

Occupation: Works at the Butchers.

Has been skating for: As long as he can remember.

From: Cornwall, originally from Oxford.

Ben is from a small town called Launceston in Cornwall. His local skatepark is called ‘The Unit’, an indoor skatepark established in 2010.

“Skateboarding makes me feel like a kid again”

- Ben Wood

An interview with Ben Wood.

How did you get in to Skateboarding Ben?“When I was young I played on the playstation one game Tony Hawk pro skater, it was amazing and I soon found myself getting a skateboard to roll around on. I bet that game got a lot of kids into

skateboarding not just me!”

What do you think of the South-west of England’s Skateboarding scene?

“Skateboarding may not be as popular down here in the south-west as it is in other parts of the country but I think the scene is much more layed back, everyone’s

friendly and everyone’s in it for the fun.”

What does skateboarding mean to you?

“Skateboarding is an extention of my personality, I find it helps me relax and learn how much I’m capable of.”

“Skateboarding is an extention of my personality”

- Ben Wood

Do you still see yourself skating in 10 years?

“I hope so! I’ll see if my body will let me!”

How does skateboarding make you feel?

“Skateboarding makes me feel like a kid again, I love it every time I get on my board I can remember rolling around as a ten year old!”

Jon Small

Do you think that your home town of Launceston has good skateboarding

community?

“Definitely, the Unit is probably the friendliest skatepark around, there are very few skateboarders in Launceston but they are all sound, sadly most of the locals ride scooters, that seems to be the new craze, but I’m still reppin the old boys hard and hopefully I can convert some of them!”

24 year old Jon Small is an experienced BMX rider who has only recently got into skateboarding. Jon and Ben often skate and BMX together around the main skateparks in Cornwall. Mount Hawke is one of their favourite

parks to skate because of the various facilities it has to offer. Their local park, Launceston’s ‘The Unit’ indoor skatepark is the place

where they go to hang out with other skateboarders where there is a growing skateboarding community which is increasing in size every year.

Newquay Wooden Waves

The use of wooden wave’’s outdoor skatepark is freE.

Open: 9am - Late

The park is always open unless the ramps are too wet to be used.

The park is situated just up fromNewquay zoo’s carpark.

Newquay, Cornwall.

Wooden Waves

Trenance Park, Edgcumbe Avenue, Newquay TR7 2LZ

sun is shining, weather is sweet. Newquay Zoo’s carpark winds up and around to the entrance of wooden waves outdoor skatepark.

the park is made completely out of wood with the addition of rails and fun boxes.when i came to photograph this skatepark the weather was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky, The park is closed when

the weather is bad for health and safely reasons.i was suprised at the size of the park when I first arrived, it was a lot bigger than I expected.

I loved how just like at mount hawke’s skatepark the graffiti artists have been busy and made the area really look like the park belongs to the community.

The park is free to use which gives the youth of newquay the freedom to skate in a friendly and safe environment whenever they want to (weather permitting).

Bude Skatepark Bude is a small seaside town situated in north Cornwall. It is a hot spot for surfers and is surrounded by beautiful coastlines and alluring countryside. Just up from the Crooklets beach on the north side on Bude is a small skatepark. I have always visited Bude since I was young so I knew that this skatepark existed but I had no idea what the skateboarders from the area thought of it. The skatepark has been around for quite a while and has evidently been used a lot. When photographing this park for the first time I managed to have a chat with some of the Dads who had taken their children to the skatepark. What was quite clear was that they feel that the park needs to have some work done to it, one of the Dads even said if they ever won the lottery they would build a whole new park for the skateboarding community of Bude. I can see where they are coming from when they say that the skatepark needs updating but at least there is something here for the youth of the town to use for skateboarding and to be able to do it safely. The park has a half-pipe, a grind rail, a few grind boxes and a kicker which is avalible for the skaters to freely use. It was good to see a lot of the youth using the park when I was documenting the area as these areas are set up for their benifit just as much as advanced skateboarders.

To get directions to the skatepark via sat nav use: Crooklets Beach, Bude EX23 8NF

Will Stroudley

How did you get into Skateboarding?

“I started skateboarding by going surfing in Bude. I would regularly go down to the beach which was next to the local skatepark so I always knew what skateboarding was. From what I saw from the skateboarders who skated there I thought the scene was really cool and I was interested in giving it a go myself.”

So do you recon that being brought up in Cornwall helped you get interested in skateboarding?

“Yes cornwall has been a good area to learn to skateboard but I recon I would have got into skateboarding wherever I would have lived. I guess surfing helped me go into the direction of skateboarding because they are both along the same lines.”

What was your first set-up when you first started skateboarding?

“I got an enuff board with some enuff trucks and some wheels of my friend.”

What was the first trick that you learnt?

“When I got my first board I would spend ages trying kickflips outside my house before school and I managed to learn it pretty quickly.”

What do you think of your local park now that you have been skateboarding for a while?

“Skating my local skatepark was good for learning the basics in skateboarding but it’s not that good for advanced skateboarders, it needs re-building. I see the park as the foundations to where I am now as a skateboarder so I do owe it a lot.”

What do you think of the surrounding skateparks in Cornwall?

“The Unit in Launceston is awesome. We live in England and the weather sucks most of the time so it’s really good to have an indoor park that I can go to when it rains. I started going there a lot and hanging out with the owners of the park, they are really nice people and two years ago they decided to sponsor me as a skateboarder for their skatepark.

So what does being sponsored by the Unit skatepark mean?

“It means I represent them when I skate, I wear their own branded clothing and merchandise. I skate the unit skatepark for free and can stay after the park closes and hang out with everyone for longer.”

You now live in London, how does that compare to living and skateboarding in the south west of England?

“London is really good because the transport is a lot easier to get to skateparks in the area. I don’t drive so the public transport allows to to visit a number of parks in a day rather than travelling for hours and only skating one park at a time back in Cornwall.”

Age: 17

From: Bude, Cornwall.

Current Location: London

What do you think of the skateboarding culture here in the South west of England?

“The skate culture in the South west is cool, in Bude it’s a bit quiet because there are only a few of us who skate but if you go to places like Exeter or Plymouth the scene is massive with a great Skateboarding community.Central skate park in Plymouth is great when it’s good weather, it’s a nice environment to hang out and meet new people through skating. Exeter Flowerpots is an impressive park with a lot of great features that make skateboarding there really enjoyable.”

What is your favourite trick?

“Front 360 flips are my favourite trick at the moment.”

Do you prefer skating in parks or on the street?

I go to skateparks for the certainty of having a good skate but if I want more of a challenge then finding streets spots to skate. At some of the skate spots you can get into trouble if caught skating there but it’s part of the fun I guess.

“I see this skatepark as the foundations to where I am now as a skateboarder, so I do owe it a lot.”

- Will Stroudley

Will Stroudley - Golf course grass gap.

“If there is a car coming around the corner don’t worry, i’ll make the gap in time”... ok Will, you are the one skateboarding after all! Crazy guy.

Air off the shelter in the grounds of Bude castle, maybe next time Will can gap the Castle’s towers instead!

Judging where your trucks are going to land when grinding is wise ... else you may end up eating gravel.

Will - feeble grind after a decent amout of air off the shelter...

The Unit Skatepark

Launceston’s Indoor skateparkThe unit

The Unit Skatepark, Unit 1 C, Pennygillam Industrial EstATE, Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 7PF

Times & PricesMonday

Closed

Tuesday 3:30pm - 7pm

Wed-Fri 3:30pm - 9pm

Saturdaysession one: 10am-2pmSession two: 2pm-6pm

Sunday2pm-6pm

Members: £3Non-members: £4

Holiday timesMonday: 9am-1pm, 1pm-5pm, 5pm-9pm

Tuesday: 9am-1pm, 1pm-5pm, 5pm-7pm, (7pm-9pm is free)wednesday-friday: 9am-1pm, 1pm-5pm, 5pm-9pm

saturday: 10am-2pm, 2pm-6pm (6:30-8:30pm is available for private booking)sunday: 2pm-6pm

Members: £4 non-members: £5

contact the skatepark on: 01566 773637

Launceston is a small town in East Cornwall and is home to a converted warehouse which is the unit indoor skatepark. The park was established in 2010 by a group of youth workers from the local methodist church who wanted to use the skatepark as a way to interact with the youth of the town and give them an area they can skate in a safe environment. As well as offering the youth of the town and surrounding areas a safe place to skate, the unit skatepark also sponsers a selection of scooter and skateboarders to represent the park when they skate and also give them free access to the park and give them the park’s own branded mechendise. More details about the Youth sponsorship are found in the Sam beazley interview. As well as offering sponsorship towards the youth, there are four coaches that teach skating programmes on a saturday morning which is free with the session. this is a one to one tutorial to go through specially designed programmes or just to help them learn a trck that they are struggling with. The skatepark stocks a wide range of skate and scooter hardware which can be bought instore or from the skatepark’s website: www.skatetheunit.com.

The skatepark has gone through a lot of changes since its opening back in 2010 with the skatepark organisers opting to change the layout of the park every six months to keep it fresh exciting. Before they change the layout, the organisers ask the youth what they would like to see at the park to hopefully improve on what was there before. The park has two entrances; one straight into the park itself and another from the shop which is situated at the front of the park. (left) The shop also has a seating area for the youth to use. it is mainly there for the parents who bring their children to the skatepark to have somewhere to sit and watch. different events are held throughout the year to give the youth of the town something to look forward to including Easter and Christmas skate jams and competitions. Skateborders from all around cornwall and devon see the unit skatepark as a place to go to be able to skate when the weather is bad which gives the park a great atmoshere.

one of the Unit’s most recent additions is their foam pit.The foam pit allows all users to try out new tricks in a safe manner which is ideal for those who are a not yet confident enough to try the tricks out on the ramps. keeping safe and meeting the needs of the youth of the surrounding communtity is something that the unit really puts as a priority as a skatepark which I think is why the project has been such a success.

The shop at the unit skatepark stocks a wide range of skate and scooter hardware, selling top branded items such as decks, skate shoes and scooters. they also sell their own “the unit” branded items and let their sponsored skate team and scooter team wear them to represent the skatepark. they have recently added their own brand of balance bikes for the little ones to encourage them to get active with a hobbie such as skating, scootering or BMXing.

I visted the unit just as the work team where stocking up their own branded ballance bikes. I thought they were a great addition to their expanding in-park skate shop as it encourages parents to bring their young children along to experience something new.The future plans for the park are very exciting with a new build hopefully in the near future. AS well as a skatepark, the unit want to be able to reach out to all youth not just the skateboarding community and hope to create many different a ways to increase their already growing community within launceston.

“the youth of the town had been asking for a skatepark for about 15 years so as a church we decided to give them what they wanted.”

- Sam beazley

Hi, My name is Sam and I’m a youth worker.The Unit skatepark came about from the thought and desire of meeting the young people more regularly than just on a friday night for a couple of hours at our youth club based in Launceston. I took a trip down to the train station in Polzeath where I met up with some guys who ran a skatepark / café down there, really just to see how they went aboutsetting up their business, how it works and how they run it.I got everyone involved with the youth club together and went out looking for possible buildings that could be used as a skatepark.We knew we wanted somewhere that was big. We went looking around the local industrial estate and it did take us about 6 months for us to find an ideal building. Within that time we did manage to have donated about half the ramps that fit into the Unit skatepark and used another 6 months to build the skatepark into how we wanted it. The park officially opened in July 2010 and since then we have tried to renew the layout of the park every six months to keep things fresh, recently being the skate park having the arrival of a foam pit. We run a lot of competitions throughout the year along with some skate jams with the help of some very good skateboarders from around the area. We have a shop in the park which has recently expanded to offer a lot more products on sale and and a lot more services to interest people to come along and get into the sport which is quite a positive outreach for us.Before we change the layout of the parks we usually ask the youth their opinions on what they want to see at the park and what they want to improve on for the future as it is essentially for them. A lot of the decisions are made by the youth, even what we have brought in to sell in the shop.I’d say the scooter scene has been the biggest increase within the users of the park in recent times, when we first started you would see the skateboarders and the BMX riders but not until recently has the scooter scene really taken off which has been crazy to be honest. We sponsor some of the youth that come here to skate. we have two different teams, we have the skateboard team and we have the scooter team.They may not be the best skaters and scooter riders out there but we are here to encourage and support them in the best way we can. We never put any pressure on them like most sponsorship deals would, we offer coaching for the younger kids for free on a saturday morning.We are a christian based skatepark, we want to serve the community that we are in. This does not mean that we smack Bibles over their heads, basically we are here to tend to the needs of the youth. One of the needs that was so clear to us was that the youth of the town had been asking for a skatepark for about 15 years so as a church we decided to give them what they wanted. We offer week based activities for all the youth, run by the youth pastor of the skatepark Tim. We also run a thing called ‘sunday sessions’ every six weeks which is like church but in a different way. We get together at 9 o clock in the morning, do some readings and then mix it up with some fun and games in the afternoon and do loads of fun activities like sumo wrestling in big sumo suits for the youth to enjoy. For the very small children we have started up a thing called “little rippers’ for the 3-5 year olds who want to walk around the park with their parents, we bring a bouncy castle into the park that gets put up aswell. For the older teens we have just started up a session on a wednesday which is a photography lessons club which is free, they come and get some free pics done. we try all we can to engage with every age group. Hopefully all being well we plan to maybe move out of this building and build something that is a completely new park which will be purpose built for exactly what we want. At the moment we rent this building so we have to make do with what we can achieve out of the space and make the best out of what we got, I am very excited about the future plans for this park. What we also want is a youth suite that will be attached to the skatepark which will have the table tennis tables and the pool tables because we realise that not all the youth are interested in skateboarding so we want to engage with more of a range of youth that are based in our area.

sam beazley - The unit skatepark maNager

Pete Pickford

Pete PickfordMedia & promotion at the Unit skatepark

Pete is from Pembrokeshire and studied at the University of Plymouth. When his time at university finished he was offered a job in neighbouring Cornwall to be a web designer and be part of the managering team at The Unit skatepark in Launceston.

“I started Skateboarding when I was about 12 which was about 11 years ago. My older brother skateboarded at the time and I really looked up to him and kept it up throughout school life and even through university. I got really involved in skateboarding while at university because so many students did it. This was in Plymouth. The city had a couple of skateparks that I went toregularly which were Central park (the outdoor one) and Prime (the indoor park). Back where I am from in Pembrokeshire there was nothing like this for skateboarders, we had to put with the ‘do it yourself’ objects to skate, boxes and planks of wood, anything we could find really. We managed to make a mini ramp in a mate’s empty house which was our only place to really skate, there were no skateparks or anything like that unlike the variety there is down here in the south-west.

After university I got a job working here at the Unit and I still skate. My position at the park is doing all the media side of things,I do a lot of web based promotion work, a lot with photographs and videos, all things technical. I obviously steward here at the park which takes up all of my nights. The main guy who runs the park is Sam Beazley, he is in charge of the finance side of the park and makes sure everything is run correctly.I guess the unit as a skate park is a bit different to the rest which was set up about 4 years ago now, primarily as a youth project, to help the youth in the area. Being in Launceston which is in the middle of nowhere it was set up to get the youth envolved in something other than just playing in the streets.Unlike most skateparks which are just set up for the public to skate on, the unit was set up to help the kids within the community which I hope really shows and that they all appreciate it (laughs). We do a lot of activity based skateboarding and invite skateboarders from around the southwest to come and be apart of the growing skateboarding community that is happening in this small town. We invite a range of people to come and use the park like BMX riders, inline skaters and scooters riders. We sell a lot of safety equipment and products for scooters especially because scooters are what the majority of the youth bring because of it easy handling. We like to think of the park as more of a community than a business as such.We have weekly events in which we all get together, we have a monday group which is a sign up thing so we know who is coming, we play games and stuff like that. I do a lot of filming with the local skaters which is a lot of fun. We sponsor quite a lot of the kids who come here to skate, we try to keep an eye on those guys and try and keep them out of trouble as well as help promote them. From what I gather there is no where else to skate in Launceston so this park is definitely a worth while place to have.From my experiences of the south west skateboarding scene I’d say that Plymouth has a strong group that skate around the civic centre and at both the parks. Okehampton has quite a good skate scene with a couple of the guys who skate the unit have associations with that place and the skate warehouse company that is based there. Exeter apparently has a really good park, haven’t been there yet but I have heard good things, I plan to go there soon. Paignton has an amazing skatepark, it’s like a skatepark from America.”

- Pete Pickford

Nathan Gathercole

N a t h a n G a t h e r c o l e

Nathan Gathercole2 6 ye ar s ol d - S a l e s m an a ger - Sk ate ware h ou s e - Oke h ampton

What first got you into skateboarding?

“Tony Hawks Pro Skater on PS1. Spent so many hours on that! Best soundtrack too!”

What do you think of the South-west in regards to skateboarding?

“It wasn’t great when I first started skating, but in the last 5 or so years we are getting some really good parks pop up like Truro Plaza, Flower Pot in Exeter and my old local The Unit in Launceston.”

What does Skateboarding mean to you?

“A lot, ha. I’ve been doing it for so long now it’s ingrained in me. Don’t know what I would be doing if I wasn’t skateboarding.”

Do you still see yourself skateboarding in 10 years time?

“Yeah I will always skate, might have to lay off the stairs though.”

How does skateboarding make you feel?

“Skating can be amazing, the feeling of accomplishment when you land a trick is so satisfying, but it can also be the most frustrating thing in the world! ha!”

Do you think that launceston has a good skateboarding community?

“With the skatepark now in Launceston there seems to be more of a skate scene. There’s a few locals that kill that park.”

Could you tell me briefly about what the skate warehouse company is and what your role is at the company

“Skatewarehouse has been running for 10 years now. It is a skateshop in Okehampton, its mostly online (skatewarehouse.co.uk). We also do local comps and go festivals like NASS etc. My role is sales manager, that mainly consists of ordering new products and uploading them to our website, as well as load of other bits and bobs. I am also on the skate team.”

Where is your favourite place to skate ?

“I’m really liking Flowerpot in Exeter, but you can’t beat skating a ledge in a carpark. Smooth ground and a grind box I’m happy.”

N a t h a n G a t h e r c o l eT h e U n i t S k a t e p a r k - L a u n c e s t o n

The Tamar Bridge, connecting cornwall to devon. taken from saltmill skatepark.

Saltmill skateparkOUtdoor skatepark situated in SAltmill park, Saltash - South east cornwall

“I’ve visited ‘Saltmill’ skatepark in Salash

which I really enjoyed skating although I feel the

surface should be redone, it needs to be smoothed out.

The best part is the views, they are incredible,

it’s a nice place just chill out.

- James Scott

The name ‘Saltmill’ always popped up in conversation in my teenage years

by my skateboarding friends who regulary travelled to skateparks in the cornish area.

i had personally never taken the opportunity to check the skatepark out for myself,

until now as a 22 year old photographer.

The Skatepark lies at the far end of saltmill park just off from the center of the

town of saltash which is safe a area for children and young teenagers to use.

graffiti covers the majority of the surface area with the construction of the park being made

out of concrete. The skatepark does show a lot of wear and tear which suggests that it has

been put to good use over the years.

calvin thomasmusic ian - perfomer - Skateboarder

“The reason I got into skateboarding was because my Dad used to skate and I grew up around that sort of

crowd”

- Calvin Thomas

Jamie Yost Saltmill skatepark.

Devon

T o m K i r k m a n

“The Fact that I lived in the woods and always outdoors was one of the main reasons I got into skateboarding.the adrenaline rush and a bit of pain would motivate me when a trick went wrong and the feeling after it going right was amazing.It was a time when all my mates were looking for something to do, to progress on from climbing trees and that sort of thing. I think the fact that there was a big group of us is why I still skate now, we have a community of skaters that meet up on a regular basis (usually at central skate park) where we got as joy out of someone landing a trick as you doing it yourself. I progressed onto mountainboarding from skateboarding which I found easily being it essentially and skateboard strapped to your feet. As a skateboarder I look for terrain in a certain sort of way other than mountainboarding where you just look at hills you can go down, all the little lumps and bumps you can jump off and rails and that sort of stuff with skateboarding.As far as the skate culture in Plymouth goes I recon it has a pretty good scene, all it needs is a bit of a better indoor skatepark that isn’t so much into money. One of the best aspects of Plymouth’s skate culture is that there are so many really talented skateboarders in the area and there is a nice vibe when they get together at central skatepark in particular, there is no competition, no looking down on those who can’t really skate just the standard scooter vs. skateboard banter.The scene of the city lend itself nicely to skateboarding, there are loads of little street spots everywhere you can skate with the most popular area being around the civic centre. Civic is a nice flat area where the council used to confiscate your skateboard if you were caught skating but now it has almost been given to the skaters in a way.For me, coming from a little village where there was only about four of us skateboarding to now seeing twenty plus people skating every other day is great and them being so friendly. If you feel a bit creative and look around there is so much to work from regards to skateboarding especially at night when there are no cars and pedestrians.” - Tom Kirkman.

“The scene of the city lends itself nicely to skateboarding. there are

loads of little street spots everywhere that you can skate.”

- Tom Kirkman

“If you feel a bit creative and look around, there is so much to work

with regarding skateboarding especially at night when there are

no cars and pedestrians”.

Tom made the cover of the magazine with this tweaked air that he got under the stone railway bridge, one of my favourite shots from the whole project.

Tom grinding the top of a tiny car...

Tom can find skateable obstacles all around the center of plymouth.i came along with him to photograph as many spots as he could find...

being an experienced skateboarder, tom has no problem with being able to produce tricks that just look awesome within the surroundings.

i’d advise the younger / less advanced skateboarders reading this not to try street

skateboarding until you know skateboard like it’s an extra limb!...

Central Skatepark

Established in 2004 & Refurbished in 2011

Plymouth

Central Skatepark

One of the best aspects of Plymouth's skate cultureis that there are so many really talented skateboarders in the area. There is a nice vibe when they get together at central skatepark in particular. There is no competition, no looking down on those who can't really skate, just the standard scooter vs. skateboard banter.

- Tom Kirman

This £160,000 park was part funded by a £100,000 grant from Sport England and officially opened on July the 3rd 2004.it was refurbished in 2011 and is free for anyone to use who skateboards, rides bmx, rides scooters or inlinerollerblades.

The skatepark is located on the edge of central park which neighbours the new impressive Life center building.Every skater that I have interviewed to and have worked with say positive things about this park and since my visits to the park for the photoshoots I have to agree with them. The size of the park is ideal for what the community of skateboarders want.The park is layed out with rails, steps, grind blocks and and selection of decent sized ramps for all levels of users to enjoy from beginners to the advanced.

“I live in Plymouth and the best places to skate would be either the outdoor skatepark at Central park or the indoor skatepark ‘Prime’ because it is easy and convenient to go to either of them.There are also some good street spots to find in Plymouth.I would choose to skate at central park if I had to pick one though.”

- Stefani Nurding

Tom KirkmanC e n t r a l P a r k - P l y m o u t h

James scott3rd year graphic designer at Plymouth college of art - originally from the ilse of wight

“My name is James Robert Scott, i’m a Skateboarder and i’ve been skating for 7 years.I’m originally from the Isle of Wight which has 6 or 7 skateparks and is no bigger than Plymouth, so plenty of choice on that island. Seaclose skatepark is my favourite park on the isle of wight, it used to be wooden and that is what i learnt to skate on.The park got worn, there were holes in the ramp to the point we couldn’t skate on it any more.The wooden ramps did get replaced with metal ones which isn’t too bad but it isn’t ‘my’ skatepark any more. Tony Hawks pro skater playstation games were probably what got me into skateboarding.I was given an action man fish board as my first deck which I used to just cruise around on.The way I got my first proper skateboard is a bit different to most to say the least. I found my first skateboard when I was on the beach, it was floating on the shoreline,it was a really good skateboard as well!Living on the Isle of wight there really wasn’t that much to do so skateboarding was just a way to be active with my friends, else we would of ended up just drinking and being drunk all the time and being only 14 or 15 that would have lead to big problems. In a way skateboarding saved me from that. Skateboarding brought all of my friends together which was just the best thing, it created a way of life for us. If I was angry I would go for a skate, if I was annoyed I would go for a Skate if I was happy I would go for a skate, If I just wanted to chill out I would go for a skate, you would just loose yourself in it, it was like escapism. I want to be still be skating when i’m in my 40’s and beyond. When I first got to Plymouth I went to the Prime indoor skatepark and was blown away because it had everything. It was the first indoor park I had been to as well. Central park had just been finalised when I turned up and that was the first concrete park I had skated too.Prime as a park is great but the price is way too steep. It stops me skating when it rains because its just too much money, It would have been reasonable if it came down in price slightly. The facilities are well worth it but I just can’t afford it on a student budget.Central on the other hand is good, just not when it’s windy. I would change a couple things if i could, maybe just rearrange some of the objects they have there.I haven’t found many street spots to skate in Plymouth, probably because I just stick to ramps in the skateparks. I don’t think I would still be able to walk if I kept up with the street side of skateboarding,I do to many crazy things. I’ve visited the neighbouring skatepark “Saltmill” in Salash which I really liked although I feel the surface should be redone, it needs to be smoothed out.The best part is the views, they are incredible, it’s a nice place just chill out. I’ve heard great things about such parks as Exeter’s Flowerpot, I really want to go there. I have also heard that Mount Hawk near Truro is supposed to be awesome, so maybe in the next couple of months we could visit those. I’ve been in Plymouth for about 3 years now and I think that the Skate culture has a great community within it. I was introduced to the Plymouth skateboarders by a local skateboarder on my university course and they were all so welcoming in the skateboarding community. There is quite a lot of banter up at the parks, especially with the scooters but it’s only play, they are really nice people.”

“I found my first skateboard when I was on the beach, it was floating on the shoreline...” - James Scott.

“If I just want to chill outI will go for a skate,I will just loose myself in it,it’s like escapism.”

- James Scott

“Skateboarding brought all of my friends together,it created a way of life for us.” - James Scott

James Scott full image

“My little brother had a skateboard and I used totake it, pick itup, slam itto the ground and notreally skate on it for ages.Before this, I used to climbtrees and jump out of things,play in the woods and stuff like that and I think that was asimilar feeling to skateboardingwhich initially got me interested.I went traveling for seven monthsto lots of different countries aroundthe world including Australia, americaand New Zealand.I remember New Zealand had a lot ofskateparks, this was when I was about ten or eleven so being young and havingall these skateparks around got mehooked and i’m still skating today.Skateboarding is still as important to me aswhen I was younger but obviously I have a lot of new interests that limits the time toskateboard. I used to get lost in the world ofskateboarding, it was the only thing thatmattered. It’s hard for me to comment on theskate culture in Plymouth because i’m not originally from the area, I grew up in a part of Wales where skateboarding was pretty much nonexistent so to me it’s amazing. I can skate as much asI like here, anytime of day, whatever the weather, there is an indoor park, there is an outdoor park,I think people don’t seem to value the skate scene thatmuch and I don’t think it is as good as it could be. The indoor park isn’t doing enough to bring skateboarderstogether and I personally think there should be morecommunication between the park owners and the local skateboarders. As Far as scooters are concerned I don’t reallyhave a problem with them, it’s good that they are out anddoing something.”

- jamie johnstone

jamie johnstone

“I used to get lost in the world of skateboarding, it was the only thing thatmattered.” - Jamie Johnstone

S c o o t e r s v s . S k a t e b o a r d e r sare Scooters just a noucence in skateparks? lets see what the skateboarders think about them!

As far as scooters are concerned I don’t really have a problem with them, it’s good that they are out and doing

something.”

- Jamie Johnstone

S c o o t e r s v s . S k a t e b o a r d e r s

“There is quite a lot of banter up at the parks, especially with the

scooters but it’s only play.”

- James Scott

“I think as long as they are doing something active then it’s fine, I would rather if they

skated but I think it’s good that they are at least keeping healthy.”

- Stefani Nurding

“Well the way I look at it is there are a lot of over weight kids that just sit at home and play computer games and watch television so at least if they are riding scooters around they are keeping active and healthy. If there are any scooter riders reading this magazine then they should make the transition to skateboarding because it’s a lot more challenging. I think scooters are great for younger kids but when they reach the age of about 12 then they should really think aboutpushing their skills further with a skateboard but that’s just mypersonal opinion.”

- Will stroudley

jamie johnstone

Uskate - The community interest company based in devon

info@uskate-circus-shop.co.ukuskate@zoho.com Tel: 01822 258597mob: 07456818069

run by: Joni Rainbow & Mark Roberts

1 NEARDALE TERRACELAMERTONPL19 8RT

Uskateare a community interest company run by volunteers, teaching extreme sports and circus skills to children and young adults across the south west of England.they have been teaching at Horrabridge primary school for over three years, and have now started at lamerton primary school too (in Devon).The company do weekly workshops in tavistock teaching circus skills to all ages on Tuesdays (1.30-2.30) and Saturdays (4.30-6.30),after july they will be also doing weekly extreme sports and circus coaching in the elliot hut at saltash (saltmill skatepark).

Their missions is to work with as many young people as possible and help them grow themselves through positive learning of fun activities, to help them become well educated and confident adults.

Extreme sports and circus are activities that teach all ages they can achieve anything with commitment and hard work. Ukate also aim to be a support for all ages and for them to be able to come to a safe and controlled environment with good role models helping keep them away from drink, drugs and ensuring they learn how to be healthy with regular exercise and healthy food....

Over the years they have built a good support of volunteers that work with ukate and many more want-ing to join. uskate are willing to allow as many people as possible to be involved in all aspects of the company and we welcome feed back and input by everyone involved...

The company have set up a website at www.uskate-circus-shop.co.uk on here are information of all their activities, a circus shop (where they have some amazing stock available) and party packages where uskate can be booked for festivals, events, fundraisers and try to be available to anything that comes their way...

Uskate will have an online skate shop soon too called ‘uskate-skate-shop’ and planning to start uskate brand of clothing, plus they are trying to locate a premise where they can have a shop and do regular workshops teaching extreme sports and circus skills.

All money made into uskate supports the company being able to continue doing free after school clubs, pay all their expenses and be able to send their volunteers on regular training to help build them in as many fields possible...

Uskate are also starting work experience with children having their first starting in July of this year.uskate have been booked for many events this year and all volunteers who want to be part of theseexperience will be picked based on who gets forms back to us quickest as they have so many people who are part of uskate... these activities will ensure more can happen locally to the company...

Directors of the company are: Joni rainbow, Rachel Fairfax and Sid Hill.

Share holders are: Joni rainbow and Mark roberts

Secretary is: Joni rainbow

Managers are: Joni rainbow and Mark roberts

Assistant manger is: Toby colvert

Some of the main Coaches that have been involved the most over the last three years are:

Mark roberts, Joni rainbow, Josh Douglas, Toby colvert, Cal earl, Christian Bilton, Sid hillluke lewis, Will Markwell, Laurence harrison, Mat Howard, Will Humphreys, Ash Dixon, Chris lorneGeorge chegwin, jordan everett, Steven Attfield, Donna washington.

lots more voulenteers are joining the team and are just starting to do things with Uskate to become uskate members...

Photographers who work for uskate: Jaz Barlow and Royston stone

Prime Skatepark Prime indoor skatepark

As well as an outdoor park which Plymouth offers for skateboarders, there is an alternative indoor park called Prime that is quite popular with the local skateboarding community. Prime is a community interest company. I first came to Prime when I started university back in 2011 and I can safely say that it has changed a lot since then.The skatepark recently added an extra room to skate in which you can see on the next couple of pages.The park is great way for skateboarders in the surrounding area to be able to skate when the weather is bad. It is also a place for the skateboarding community to get together and meet new people through their sharedpassion for skating. Prime also has a skateshop situated in walking distance from the skatepark which stocks a wide range of skateboarding clothing and hardware.

Prime Skatepark CIC23 Commercial RoadCoxsidePlymouthPL4 0LETel: 01752 224360 Email: info@primekatepark.comCompany No: 06942810

Prime indoor skatepark

Opening Times:Monday - Friday:

9am-2pm: Private Hire

2pm-6pm: Open

4pm-10pm: Open

Members: £6 Non-Members: £8

Saturday: Sunday:

9am-11am: Skateboard Club 9am-11am: Scooter Club 11am-2pm: Open 11:am-2pm: Open

2pm-5pm: Open 2pm-5pm: Skateboard only

5pm - 9pm: Private Hire 5pm-9pm: Private Hire

Members: £6Non-Members: £8

*Holiday timetable has slightly different session times so check the website for more information!

www.primedelux.com/skatepark

The new additional room to the Layout of the indoor park for use before and after use of the main area

Lots of ground space for practicing flat land tricks, less confident skaters would benifit from using this room first

prime has included a foam pit in its newest additional room which is great for learning new or advanced tricks

The access from the new smaller room to the main skatepark area is through the door to the right

Prime has a great selection of ramps, the biggest being this massive half pipe which covers half the skatepark

This is the other side of the skatepark which has individual obstacles including rails and quater pipes

Prime indoor skatepark

Mick Kirkman

Tom Kirkman

Josh Donaghy16 years old - college student - from plymstock

“It was in year 7 when I started skateboarding, I borrowed my friends board for the first month until I could buy my own deck. We skated in Lidl’s car park, about 5 minutes from my house. There was a little ledge in the car park which we performed tricks on,we used to wax up the pavement kerbs to be able to grind on them, I hated that part.I’ve been skating for about 4 years, I never liked skating in town, I was always skeptical because of how many better skateboarders there were than me, I felt a bit intimidated. Once I improved we ventured out of the town area which gave me such more freedom. Instead of skating within one little spot I am now able to skate all over plymouth. Civic centre was the main area we used to skate because it’s known for its flat ground and skateboarder reputation. The marble block was our favourite spot, we used to skate there for hours. Plymouth’s outdoor ‘central’ skate park and indoor park ‘prime’ were also favouritesto skate. Central is free so we spent most of the time there but if it was raining then we would go to Prime.When I first went to Central skatepark I could not stand it, I think that was because it wasn’t a “flowing skatepark” and back when I was still getting the hang of skateboarding it wasn’t “learner friendly”. Now that i’m improved I think it’s a great park, if you fall off you don’t just stop, you slide. Prime on the other hand was a park I used to love, I went most weekends if it was raining but since they have changed it’s layout i’m not overly keen. A main reason that I don’t skate there much anymore is the price, I just can’t afford it, if the price goes up much more then i’ll probably just stop all together. I think the price is putting people off going to prime, it’s supposed to be building a skateboarding community, supporting skateboarders, but in my eyes it seems like they are just trying to get as much money as they can out of it, not giving much back in return. It shouldn’t be about the money. If it was up to me I would make prime skatepark bigger, lower the cost of the timeslots and make it more friendly towards skateboarders and be more interactive. My favourite spots are around Devenport. There are a lot of new buildings round there with a lot of new stair sets and hand rails. If people walk past some stairs or a bench they see it for what it is, I see it as an object to skate on. My favourite skatepark in the south west would be Paignton skatepark, so much to skate in that park!I would ideally like to keep skating for as long as I can really, it’s freedom to me. My favourite style of skating would be street because I find something new to skate on a regular basis. If I could skate anywhere in the world it would have to be venice beach.”

Stephen Frapwell

Stephen FrapwellPhotographer - Musician - skateboarder

“Skateboarding means everything to me. It’s something I started as a young kid so it’s

in my roots to carry on. the community and relaxed vibe is what keeps me coming back.”

- Stephen Frapwell

Stephen Frapwell

Stephen FrapwellWhat first got you into skateboarding?

“I found a mini skateboard in a skip on my street, tried rolling around on it then started cruising to school on it every day. Haven't stopped cruising now for almost 10 years.”

What do you think of Plymouth in regards toskateboarding?

“Plymouth has a really decent skateboarding scene with a ton of local talent. We’re lucky as a city to have such great parks like Prime and Central Park as they offer everything a skater could want.”

What does Skateboarding mean to you?

“Skateboarding means everything to me. It’s something I started as a young kid so it’s in my roots to carry on. the community and relaxed vibe is what keeps me coming back.”

Do you still see yourself skateboarding in 10 years time?

“I'll definitely be skating in 10 years time. Im sure every skater you ask would answer in the same way. Its rad when you're skating and you see a 40 year old still shreddin'. I’d happily still be skating then as long as my legs will let me.”

How does Skateboarding make you feel?

“Skateboarding makes me feel free and alive... Oh and pain!”

Do you think that Plymouth has a good skateboarding community?

“Plymouth has an awesome skateboardingcommunity. Everyone is so friendly and open.When I came to Plymouth in 2011 I didn't knowanybody. The skate park was the first place I went to meet people and make friends. Three years later and Im still skating with those same good people now!”

stephen frapwell

Creative aperture priority imagery working with frappers!

“Er... is seaweed a fruit?” - A classic quote from S. Frapwell!

PLymouth Street skateboarding spots

“Someone might think “a handrail for getting down stairs”, a skateboarder will think “something to grind.” - Jamie Yost.

“My favourite street spots are in Devenport.There are a lot of new buildings around there with a lot of new stair sets and hand rails. If people walk past some stairs or a bench they see it for what it is, I see it as an object to skate on.” - Josh Donaghy

PLymouth Street skateboarding spots

Tinside Colonnade A popular street skateboarding spot just along from the historic waterfront Lido which looks out over the tranquil Plymouth sound.

“Plymouth is a great place to skate with two great parks. I come from a mountainboarding background but skateboarding has always been a past time since I can remember. The surrounding areas of Plymouth also have amazing parks that are most of the time free to the public to skate. Paignton is really close to Plymouth and has an incredible skatepark. The Unit in north cornwall is also really easy to access on public transport and is a great indoor park, I used to go there all the time. It wasn’t until I went to college that I got better at skateboarding. I couldn’t really do a boardslide until about a year and a half ago which is crazy. When I was in college I used to rush my work so I could go to the skatepark early, it’s stupid but it’s all I wanted to do. My inspiration for skateboarding is my brother Tom, he has always been good, we were both in the mountainboarding scene together, we got pretty far in it, got our images in magazines in the stores but it ended up going a bit too far in the direction we didn’t want to go, my brother especially didn’t want to get famous, we just wanted to ride, have a laugh and wrestle in the mud, it got way too serious. Just before we all left the mountainboarding scene we went on a month’s trip around Germany, Belgium and a bit of England just mountainboarding which was sweet.” - Mick Kirkman.

Mick Kirkman

Mick Kirkman

Prime Indoor Skatepark

Stefani Nurding

Jamie Yost

Civic CentrePlymouth’s Skateboarding HQ.

This flat ground area outside of the Civic centre building has been home to thestreet skateboarders of Plymouth for many years because of it’s open space and growing reputation. The area also has a number of obstacles the skateboarders can use such as carved stone benches with marble tops and angled walls they can perform tricks on. The council have tried to ban skateboarders from this area over the years but without great success.The area as it is today has almost been given to the skateboarders because of how much attention the area gets from every new wave of skateboarder that come to Plymouth.

“Civic centre was the main area we used to skate because it’s known for its flat ground and skateboarder reputation.” - Josh Donaghy

“There are loads of little street spots everywhere you can skate with the most popular area being around the Civic centre.Civic is a nice flat area where the council used to confiscate your skateboard if you were caught skating but now it has almost been given to the skaters in a way.” - Tom Kirkman

Jamie Yost

“To me skateboarding is freedom. No rules, no one telling you what to do. Its not just a hobby, its a way of life. Skateboarders tend to look at things a lot differently to other people. Someone might think "a handrail for getting down stairs"

a skateboarder will think "something to grind". To me skateboarding is a way to express creativity and when you get in the zone, nothing else really matters. I got into Skateboarding when I was around 11 or 12. I saw someone I looked up doing some really amazing tricks and I instantly knew I had to learn how to do it. Its not something you'll pick up easy, At least a good few months of a lot hard practice before you really get anywhere. But the fact that its challenging and dangerous is what makes

for the incredible rush when learning something new or hitting a new spot.” - Jamie Yost.

Jamie YostJamie yost

Civic Centre

Plymouth Sound and Plymouth Hoe.This area is Ful l of street skateboarding spots, you just have to f ind them!

Stefani Nurding

Stefani NurdingFashion - Modeling - Surfing - Skateboarding

What first got you into skateboarding?

“It was when I was in Cornwall, I worked in a hotel in Newquay and a lot of the skateboarders from theBoardmasters festival came down to stay at the hotel. The hotel had a mini ramp and I saw them skating on it one day and I instantly wanted to be able to do that as well.”

Where was the first place you skated?

“It was probably in Saltash in Cornwall. I remember when I was really young and my brother and I would go to theSaltmill skatepark and that is where I learnt how to drop in on a ramp and learn the basics.”

Where is the best place to skate where you live now?

“I live in Plymouth so the best places would be either the outdoor skatepark at Central park or the indoor skatepark called Prime because it is easy and convenient to go to either of them. There are also some good street spots to find in Plymouth. I would choose to skate at central park if I had to pick one.”

Do you think the Plymouth has a good skateboarding community?

“Yes I do think that it has a good skateboardingcommunity because each skateboarding area is quite small but I do find wherever I go to skate I see people that I have met through skateboarding and the atmosphere is always really chilled with nice vibes.”

Do you still see yourself skateboarding in the next 10 years?

“Yes definitely, I want to be able to skate as long asI possibly can.”

Would you like to be able to include skateboarding as your main Job?

“Yes, I am studying fashion at the moment so if I coulddesign clothing around the skateboarding scene that would be ideal for me.”

What is your view on Scooters?

“I think as long as they are doing something active then it’s fine, I would rather if they skated but I think it’s good that they are at least doing something.”

Stefani is sponsored by ‘Animal’, the action sport lifestyle brand.

Stefani Nurding

Plymouth

HatherleighOutdoor skatepark - west Devon

Hatherleigh’s Skatepark is the newest skatepark that I have visited during my time investigating the skateboarding culture of Devon and Cornwall. Hatherleigh is situated in west Devon with its Skatepark built right in the center of the town. The park officially opened on the 23rd of December 2013 but because of absolutely horrendous weather it wasn’t a great success. The skatepark on the other hand has been a great success and when coming to shoot the park with Will Stroudley in mid April I could really see how this small town has benifited from its arrival. When we first arrived the park was packed with youngsters riding around on scooters which was great to see the youth of the town making the most of what is available to them.

The skatepark has a massive bowl at the end with a selection of obsticals to do tricks over to reach it. The park is small but ideal for a small town like hatherleigh, at least it now has a place built for purpose so the youth don’t have to skate along the main roads that flow through the town.

Will StroudleyHatherleigh Skatepark- West Devon

I had noticed when photographing Will Stroudley that he was constantly looking for a street skateboarding spot to skate ... then he saw this hole within the main bridge in Hatherleigh...

‘Stroudley Tunnel’

OkehamptonSmall Skatepark found in West Devon

Okehampton skatepark wasn’t on my list to visit originally but when outphotographing with skateboarder Will Stroudley he suggested travelling to this park on the way to Exeter’s Flowerpot skatepark. This park is small but offers the right amount of skate objects for thesurrounding community to be able to skate safely in a purpose built area.

Exeter Flowerpots Exeter Flowerpot

Flowerpot Playing FieldsFlowerpot LaneExeter, Devon EX4 1DH

Exeter Flowerpot skatepark is a newly established park which opened to the public on the 28th of september 2012. The skatepark was designed in conjunction with a working group put together with the assistance of local skate shop ‘The Boarding House’. Experienced locals representing the skateboard, BMX and rollerblade communities came together to work with Exeter City Council throughout the design and planning stage of the project.

Many of the Skateboarders featured in this magazine have either visited this skatepark since its opening or plan to skate it as soon as they can.

exeter flowerpot is great addition to to the city as it brings the skateboardingcommunities from all around the devon and cornwall together... I’ve seen this happen.

The build of the park flows nicely from one side to the other with different areas for different types of user. The park has facilitated for the needs of Skateboarders, Scooters, Inline skating and BMXing.

Exeter Flowerpot

Nathan Gathercole

Adam Keats

Will Stroudley at Exeter Flowerpot Skatepark

‘Skateboarding = Freedom.’

SKATEAIRZ The Devon and Cornwall Issue #1

Cornwall’s Skateparks:

Mount HAwke (Indoor) Newquay’s ‘Wooden Waves’ (outdoor)Bude (Outdoor)Launceston’s ‘The UNit’ (Indoor)Saltash’s ‘Saltmill’ (Outdoor)

Devon’s Skateparks: Plymouth’s ‘Central’ (Outdoor)Plymouth’s ‘Prime’ (Indoor)Hatherleigh (Outdoor)Okehampton (outdoor)Exeter Flowerpot (outdoor)

Featuring Street spots from both regions.

Skateboarders in order of appearance:

Ben woodJon Smallwill stroudley pete pickford nathan gathercolecalvin Thomas tom kirkman james scottjamie johnstonejosh Donaghy stephen frapwellmick kirkman stefani Nurding Adam Keats

In association with AIRZPHOTOGRAPHY.