Innehållsförteckning för 215 från Slam Skateboarding

“DAD WOULD RIP ON ME A FAIR BIT FOR SCOOTERING.” So you’re almost 20, what have you been doing since you finished high school? Pretty much nothing, hey [laughs]. I dropped out in year 10, or maybe even before year 10. I just stopped going. I was working as a car detailer for a bit, but that job sucked, so now I’m doing full dish-boy shit at the Crowne Plaza in Terrigal, which is sick. I’m still living with my parents. They’re the best, they’re chill as hell. I think I’ve filmed four video parts since school. The Grim Ways video was a whole heap of fun and the video I filmed with Jarred McElligott – Two – was definitely one of my favourites. He’s a real good mate doing…

So you just scored a place on the Pass~Port team, how does it feel? I still feel like I’m in a dream. I can’t believe it. I’m over the moon. I woke up on the Sunday morning after the premiere still in shock! I’m really excited for what the future holds. Tell us about the surprise at the Cumberland County after party. I had no idea it was happening. We were at The Cricketers Arms and my good friend Zoolz [George Kousoulis] kept wanting me to stay upstairs. I wanted to socialise downstairs, but then someone said that the Nike guys had to get a photo upstairs, so I went up there. I went to the bar and Wade Burkitt approached me and asked if I wanted to ride for…

The Niagara Hotel, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. It’s 4.30pm on a regular Friday night. Sam Atkins, the Geelong-born 19-year-old skateboard extraordinaire, is drinking a beer and eating potato wedges. I’m sitting opposite Sam, watching him drink a beer and eat potato wedges. The after-work boozers are beginning to trickle in. They’re keen to kick-off their weekends (or forget their week) with an appropriate amount of intoxication. By the time I’m finished talking to Sam, we’ll be almost totally engulfed by a cacophonic swarm of nine-to-fivers, barely able to hear one another over middle management slurs and talk of what’s on for the weekend. Having never met Sam before, one thing I gather during our hour-long chat is that Sam is what is technically known as a damn good kid. There’s no…

“What he lacks in height, he makes up for with cheeky comments. He can dish it out just as well as he can cop it, which is super rare for someone so young. Reef is definitely one to look out for in the next generation, and at 13, he’s already making waves. The kid skates like a dude.” – John Green “Imagine being a 30-year-old man trapped in a 13-year-old boy’s body and still wearing Mapstonesized jeans. Your only option is to be fucked-up good at skating, otherwise you’ll get eaten alive by your mentors and peers. Having said that, I think Reef is doing a pretty good job of holding his own. One day he’ll be able to come to the pub for a post-skate beer with me, but…

Cameron Sparkes has been interviewing skateboarders for more than a decade and he can certainly attest that it’s a trickier business than it sounds. Chatting with skaters is always a bit of a potluck, and it’s a gig that doesn’t necessarily get easier with time, age or experience. Each person is a new challenge: a unique and (hopefully) interesting character with their own quirks, stories and reservations. Sparkes reckons he’s got somewhere between 50 and 100 interviews under his belt, having questioned the likes of Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi, Austyn Gillette, Ryan Sheckler, and even his childhood hero Rhys Grogan – just to name a few. I’m on the other end of the spectrum: just finding my feet in the business of interviewing skateboarders for print. So, with an aim…

I appreciate that this is a busy time in your life. Is it pretty hectic at your end? You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But it’s not that hectic. It’s just that my girlfriend is pregnant and she’s ready to pop. She’s kind of over it, but everything’s still kind of the same, you know? We’ve just got a baby on the way, aye. I guess that’s a pretty relaxed way of approaching it. Is there a feeling that it’s the calm before the storm? Oh, for sure. Everyone’s like, “Your life’s over!” and I’m just like, “Righto.” It’s just a new chapter in my life, so I’m not worried about that. Have you made a lot of preparations? Oh yeah. The baby’s room has been done for ages now; we’ve…

“All I know is that he’s gnarly. Grinds some hectic rails.” That’s all I’ve been told about Rob Pace. Just 11 words. I’ve never actually met him and this interview is to be our first encounter. A Facebook group chat with a bunch of Rob’s mates reveals that his name is actually pronounced Roberto Parchay, he owns the same model BMW as Ishod Wair, and he has an appetite for whole tomatoes. As the boys recount anecdotes about Rob’s Tinder adventures, his ability to skate triple-kink rails in the rain and his famous left, right goodnight, I can’t help wondering if they’re taking me for a ride. They send through a picture of Rob posing with a bottle of Maker’s Mark, a jar of buds and some gaudy gold chains.…

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