Mad Tech, the ledge and the art of the no-comply.

Yesterday after taking in a bit of soul-searching at Cramond I couldn't resist returning to the spiritual home of Edinburgh's street skating scene. Bristo Square.

Bristo Square at Edinburgh University.

 I had the place to myself when I arrived, no other skaters were there, which produced mixed emotions. But with the amazing Edinburgh skatepark at Saughton having been open for some time now, I can see why.

I've found skateboarding, like economics, to be cyclical. Small diameter wheels gave way to big wheels in the days when everyone wanted to be like vert heroes Christian Hosoi or Gator; or closer to home, Sean Goff and Pete Dossett (what I wouldn't do for a Deathbox teapot t-shirt).



In the early to mid '90s  big wheels went back to being small with some skaters even using lathes to cut down their already microscopic urethane.

Sanding down already small 45mm wheels until they only just covered the bearings and no more seemed crazy to me. I'd be lucky if I got a new set once a year, so I needed plenty of urethane considering how much i was skating at the time. They needed to last.

Street skating got more and more popular thanks in no small part to this video part which is still one of my all time favourites:



Consumerism is something I'm struggling with just now, noone needs reminding of the current state of the global economy. With utility bills and even food prices spiralling upwards, more and more in the UK we've become a nation of scrimpers and savers. Seperating what you need from what you want is difficult when we're bombarded with marketing at every opportunity.

Capitalism exists in skateboarding as much as it does in the wider marketplace. Everyone is told they need a brushed aluminimum gadget; only to find that they then need the new version a year later, even though their current gadget is far from being obsolete! Parallels could be drawn to skate products: gimicky shoes and decks (remember boneite?!) come to mind.

Capitalism isn't wholly bad though, unsurprisingly if you know my history in the business, I admire the skater-owned shop ethos. Supporting skateboarding at a grass-roots level first and foremost. They make a buck or two out of it, sure, but it's never going to make them rich.
 
I find it difficult to skate, or indeed do almost anything outside when I'm on my own, without background music. Perhaps it's paranoia, slight agarophobia maybe. Maybe I just like listening to music. From portable tape players to CD to minidisc and now mp3 players/PMPs, I've owned a lot of pocket-sized audio hardware over the years.

Sansa Clip Zip, a wonderful piece of technology. Must stop smoking!

Having recently lost an iPod classic to the washing machine (all attempts at repair failed) I denounced Apple and purchased the Sansa Clip Zip, it's incredible for the price and the size.

As technology gets smaller so too does the world, I'm travelling slightly further tomorrow and I'll be rocking some good tunes on the journey and during thanks to this marvellous device.

When it came to concluding yesterday's skating, after attempting a fair few rolling FS 180 no complies and failing miserably,  I briefly returned to a favourite trick of mine, a FS no-comply to tail on the smallest ledge. It's so simple, but yet so satisfying. The no-comply has it all, the sounds of the initial pop of the tail, the scrape of the wheels and the resulting slap of the tail on the ledge are almost instantaneous but distinctly separate. I love the no-comply and I'm anxious to try it on transitions in the future.

I got talking to a fellow skater named Joe who rolled up with his mate just before I left the square because I was just too tired to continue any longer. A few friendly words were exchanged along with a handshake and the deal was sealed...

I am a skateboarder.