Indholdsfortegnelse for 246 Winter 2025 i Slam Skateboarding

Winter is here, and while the chill might bite a little harder with each slam on the cold concrete, this issue of Slam is packed with enough fire from the best in Australian skateboarding to warm your blood and ease the sting. In this edition, we feature Melbourne’s Raphael Langslow, whose skateboarding is a beautiful blend of unpredictability and precision. The former art-school student always brings an air of cool when he’s in the streets, and the photos in his feature are all class. Wheelchair ramp covers were all the rage through the ’90s, but an ollie or 180 doesn’t quite cut the mustard for a cover-worthy shot these days. Rolling fakie up a ramp before a high bar is no easy feat, but Raph takes a Cab for a…

Landing in Baghdad with a bag full of tools and skateboards, I had to try to explain my application for a tourist visa. I quickly noticed the absence of other foreigners. Then we left the dishevelled airport and headed into the city, where we were stopped at one of the many military checkpoints, which consisted of heavily armed guards, anti-aircraft weapons and a reminder that, due to various proxy groups, safety in Baghdad can be volatile. But this was not my first trip to a previous warzone, or Iraq, nor was it my first encounter with armed checkpoints. I’ve been doing this kind of thing for a while. Back in Melbourne, I own a skatepark design company, Eastbywest, and run The Skatepark School with my dear friend Darren White of…

The cold weather has hit Melbourne, but it did not discourage a bunch of heads who made their way down to Candy in Thornbury on a Wednesday night to check out the latest video from Hoddle Skateboards – filmed by Geoff Campbell. A firework-fuelled Summer tour video in Tokyo, Japan, it features Reef Condon, Digby Luxton, Caeylen Norris, Shaun Paul, Ben Lawrie, Raphael Langslow, and more. Bryce, Mappy, Greg, Howard and Kirksy.…

From screen printing shirts to knocking up mini ramps out of stolen wood or pouring entire skateparks out of concrete on illegal land, skateboarding has always had a do-it-yourself attitude. But there’s one DIY aspect that’s often overlooked, and it’s one of the most essential: the boards themselves. In the beginning, it was a necessity. You’ve heard the story from a million old surfers; roller-skate wheels nailed to planks of wood and ridden barefoot. But, as skateboards became more refined, the art of handmaking them was lost to mass production. There is, however, an underground network of skaters handmaking and riding small-run, boutique skateboards and skateboard parts. One of these makers is Chris Buttery, who started making his own boards back in 2020. I spent the day in Chris’s workshop,…

I’ve been on enough skate trips to know that every tour takes on its own weird rhythm. Some are heavy on skating, some are more about survival, and every now and then, you get one that feels like a bit of everything. This trip to Australia with the Real crew started in Melbourne and never really let up. We turned Hayley Wilson pro in her home city, hit the chaos of The Bunt Jam, and then rolled our way up the east coast – Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, Byron Bay, Brisbane – logging miles, stacking clips, and eating more meat pies than anyone should admit to. Between demos, shop signings, and dodging rain, we still managed to stack a surprising amount of footage. Somehow, we had time to take it all…

AGE: 16 LIVES: Williamstown, Melbourne SPONSORS: ASICS [flow], Suzy and Western Cathedral “Sometimes I forget Max is a kid still because he’s the size of a giant. That’s until I hear him spitting brainrot quotes and then I remember he’s only 16. He’s got the style of a grown-up and he’s still a baby.”  – Tai Wepa “We call him Baby Rhino. He plays Elden Ring and likes The Sundays. What a beast. Keep it up, Max!”  – George Bidgood “Each time I hang out with Max, he impresses me, whether that be with something he says that is wise beyond his 16 years or with his skating that progresses by the day. Max is a rare one. I’m lucky to know him, and I’m so excited to see where…

The scene flooded to fill the floor at Lo-Fi Store in Collingwood for the Type A video by Aaron “Ronny” Brown. It is a solid video with a stacked lineup with the likes of Harrison Seccombe, Tynan Williams, Tai Wepa, Shaun Paul, Jordan Mcstay, Anthony Mapstone, Hunter Moore, Simon Zuzic, Bill Emmanouilidis, Matthew Boggis, Hunder Landersmith, Brad Saunders, Reef Condon, Ben Gibb, Ollie Hunder and Danny Fish. Tai’s switch backside noseblunt is just one of the bangers you can see in the Type A video. The crowd loved it. Tai and Harrison.…

Fast Times on Swanston Street had the beers flowing for Gorm’s [Tom Lillingstone] premiere for his latest independent production, We Are Better Than This. Gorm went all in on the edit for this one. It’s an exceptionally well-put-together production with tasteful graphic animations, well-crafted cuts and a banger soundtrack to tie it all together. The party continued to Workshop Bar into the later hours of the night!…

If I had to ask you how the best version of you shows up in life, how would that appear to you? How would it feel for you to imagine and embody your best you, on board and off? Is this best version of you something to be proud of? Perhaps your best-self is getting things done and is progressing steadily in all areas of living? Skateboarding rewards the courageous and those who are brave enough to step on board and push with their best foot forward. It can teach you to be mindful, have an intention and understand the purpose behind what you’re doing and why. This can go a long way and develop into a very beneficial skill and mindset that carries over into everyday life outside and…

From the first time I saw it, I thought about the boardslide. The wall hugs a suburb I’ve lived in for years, so I’d drive past it all the time. I think the scale of the prep was what kept me from trying it straight away. We went back and measured it after I landed it and it’s 119-metres long, but who’s counting? A big part of the challenge was not knowing if the speed I had would carry me to the end. And each time I got further, it felt like new territory. Each block felt different from the last. The longer the slide, the longer the walk back up the hill – the walk of shame. Each attempt was physically exhausting. The prep was demanding, too. The gaps…