Been a while...

Well Ok I actually forgot about it full stop... Not a lot of surfing or skating to be reported anyway to be honest. Carver deck and trucks purchased which is wicked and also a street sweeper for land sup.

Someone in Italy is making a prefab wave for the carver boards - but they are of course very expensive - then remembered that it looks just like Meanwhile II -

So come the hols I'll have to have an early morning visit :)

This place was the site of many a miss spent day in my early-mid twenties - the days of skating being underground. You could only buy skate gear from about 3 places - Rough Trade Records being one of them (in Portobello at the time), Thrasher Magazine was like a photocopy version and only Tower Records had them. The ROM was still going but everywhere else was real derelict - Brixton was rough as shit, Meanwhile was very dodgy - where the fence is on the left was a gap where every homeless bod there used to piss in - let your board go down the back and you paid for it - there were some fine dives to save the boards going down!

Arrrr memories.....

Must visit Kennington as well as this has been resurfaced a few years ago. Basically the same prefab blocks but bigger and no lip. There was a smaller bowl somewhere as well - can't remember where, it was in a skanky estate and we always had to cut the fence to get in as it was under a permanent demolition order. 10 skaters forever carving around it was awesome but often ended in chaos - wish I knew where it was taken...

Anyway let you know when we have been down to them both - if I survive.

SUP at Park from a while back - Skate at the weekend on the Pinger...

Well, what do you know my first foray into Final Cut Pro...
First one is me on the Hamboard Pinger for the first time. Its going to take time to get used to the Original trucks and there awesome turning on such a big board. But it will happen with practise. To be honest the pictures do not do the bamboo board justice...

The second video is one I found on the Gopro while downloading the skate footage. It was the first time I took the NSP SUP for a surf a couple of years ago.

This is the Pinger out and about...

And this is the SUP video

Xmas and New Year at Park

SURF, SUP, SKATE - my release from life.

Long, long time between posts, mainly because I forgot about the blog! Two years + of hell since Juni departed but the three Ss are saving me from total destruction - just got to do more!

SUP in Tassie - the closest local lol !

Must try and get over in Tassie winter to take the sup out at the points - would be awesome, especially at Lauderdale or Swansea where the inside slow section is made for SUP.

 Meanwhile - back behind my house in the local park - this is about as close to carving over the death box I am likely to get nowadays!

Anyway - promise to update more often - if only for my own good !

Long time no post...

Promise to try and update more...

Great time in Tassie at Christmas and bought a SUP for those small days which is good fun and harder in the surf than it looks.

Since coming back and the news about my lovely wife Juni and the dreaded C word our plans and life has changed quite a bit... skating has become a release in my life yet again. 

Started shortboarding at parks again and longboarding with a Big Stick on the streets.

More later broh... eek what am I saying?

Hog Hill Slalom ...

Took Khally-chan to her first slalom/downhill experience with the British Nationals at Hog Hill ... good fun had by all.

We spent a lot of time watching the Giant Slalom and the Down Hill dudes in the distance... made me really want to get back into GS ... too old for the serious downhill event now I think, too much of a chicken!

When the racing was over and people had migrated onto the other hill, we even had a go!

Original trucks are a bit sketchy on the speed side, but good on the turning ...  yes  I would have come WAY last!

Khally's first ever slalom cone run!

Hog Hill is a great place - next skate event is October though I think :(

Article by Cliff Coleman from my Toes Over page in 1999

One of the first 'guest articles' for Souled Out and Toes Over was a column by Cliff Coleman ... 


Stopping at speed :
There are two ways of stopping at speed. One is to fall off or hit something.... the preferred way is to slide. A Coleman slide is the best way to stop and below is a description of how to do one from Cliff Coleman himself. If you want to use the description be aware it is his copy right and I have permission !
Best learnt in a controled environment and with harder wheels than the 78a I always say are the way to go.
SLIDING
Everyone young, old, male or female who intends to ride a skateboard on the public roadways should learn how to slide their skateboard. Then use this technique to safely slow your speed or stop completely if necessary.
WHY.... SAFETY !
Have you ever been chased by a dog while skating or had a car suddenly pull from a driveway right in front of your line of descent? Maybe you just took off on a speed run and your trucks start to wobble before you've reached the level or uphill run-off. If you've encountered any of these or many other frightening situations because you happen to be going too fast to run it out, then learn to slide and eliminate or reduce the severity of these problems permanently.
HOW TO :
Assume a sidestance position. Feet should be about shoulder width apart and pointed to about one o'clock and eleven o'clock. Now crouch all the way down and put your knees together. I call this position a surf-tuck. This is a very stable position. With your body centered above your legs there is equal weight directed towards both the front and rear trucks. To ride in the surf-tuck you will have to balance slightly on the inside of both of your feet. This is the position to assume for stability whether going forwards or riding fakie. Simply do this before and after your slide to eliminate wobbles. You will master this rapidly. Now you are set to slide. Assume the surf-tuck. You have an uphill hand and a downhill hand. Drop your back knee towards your front foot. Place your downhill hand on the ground, right next to your body. For this you must wear cliffslider gloves with plastic sliding surfaces or the equivalent! Now that you have dropped your back knee forward it should rest almost on top of your front shoe, pointing downhill. As your knee drops, your uphill hand should swing forward, reaching out in the direction of the slide. As you start this maneuver, you will lean your weight to the inside of your board and start a right or left turn depending upon whether your regular or goofy-foot. The board will begin to slide. Keep your downhill hand on the ground beginning close to your side and then drifting out to a place of balance as you slide. Your uphill hand should continue reaching in the direction of the slide. After sliding 180 degrees, you will be riding backwards, actually sidestance in a surf-tuck. This position will have you riding opposite of your normal or goofy-foot stance. To deal with this properly, maintain a crouching surf-tuck with your knees together, once again centering your weight equally between front and rear trucks, giving stability.
Whether you begin your slide regular-foot or goofy-foot, remember, keep your downhill glove on the ground, your uphill glove in the air, in the direction of the slide and stay compressed.
To close, I'd like to point out that there are many variations to be learned. However, these two basic slides can allow the skater to descend any hill and in the skater's own lane.
Good Luck,
Cliff Coleman
Copyright, Cliff Coleman, 1999