Extended: North East Skateboarding
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Digging through back issues of Document, I was reminded of a classic scene article featuring the Newcastle and wider skate scene. It inspired me to write what you see below, various thoughts on what makes skateboarding so rad in the North East!
The first time I can remember getting stoked on North East skateboarding was a long time before I had moved there, Document had a Newcastle scene article featuring Jamie Errington and Scott Cherry amongst others.
Jamie Errington 360 Flips the iconic Law Courts Stair Set. Photo: Kingy. Taken from Document 52, August 2005.
Cherry had a still switch heeling the eponymous Smackhead Double stair set, easily one of the gnarliest tricks to have ever gone down in Newcastle. Not least because of the state of the corridor in which the set is housed; a horribly greasy brick floor alongside the various reasons responsible for naming the spot Smackhead Double, but also the fact that it’s not really a double set at all - the space between the two sets being distinctly larger than most doubles.
The inspiration for this article, Scott Cherry’s Switch Heelflip at the iconic for different reasons, Smackhead Double. See the original caption below… Photo: Kingy.
This is one horrible alleyway, piss and shit and needles everywhere. The roof leaks a bit on the take-off and landing so we arrived there with arms laden with kitchen roll, about fifteen rolls of the stuff! Scott Cherry has tried to switch heel the double set before but had been unsuccessful, so as soon as it was kinda dry he just went for it first go at full speed, he didn’t even try to ollie it first to test it out! After a good few vicious slams he was rolling away, cover in crap, but rolling away. So Gnarly.
This article was definitely part of the reason I moved to Sunderland to study photography. It was here where I really got into skating transition, regularly crossing the Tyne between my local skatepark at Silksworth and the venerable Exhibition skatepark in Newcastle.
During this period I got to know and shot with many of the skaters of Tyne and Wear, who were predominantly street skaters at time… (It’s definitely a lot more well-rounded at the moment…). This focus on street skating shows just how deep the North East’s roots in skateboarding go, at a time after the 80s vert period died a death, skaters throughout the area made do with what they had and throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s produced many scene videos and skaters including Neil Urwin, Harry Bastard, Gordon Skrezka that became national and even international names…
Neil Urwin Kickflips for the intro of the Document North East article that inspired this post. Photo: Kingy.
Krishna “Bish” Muthurangu has been documenting the scene for over twenty years at this point, releasing various full lengths including Bishcam (which really helped me get to grips with the scene when I first moved there), Pigs in Wigs, which I think featured Blinky’s first part, the incredibly slick Northern Souls, and most recently the What Up Wid Dat web series…
Blinky pivots the Bastard Banks wall shortly before the premiere of Bish’s Pigs in Wigs scene video.
Following my time living in the North-East, I’ve always made regular trips back up to skate the various wonders of the area - starting with the various parks including Silksworth, Exi, Whitley Bay and more recently the great park in Stockton-on-Tees, as well as the plenty of unique street spots including the Gateshead brick quarters, Harry Bastard Banks and Sunderland Plaza.
Ben Cook blasts a beanplant out of the Gateshead Brick Quarters back in 2015.
One of the best weekend trips I’ve had to the North East was for the 2013 edition of the annual King of the How Man comp (Newcastle’s answer to King of the Road, hosted by Native) watch that edit below!
Since we started Hangup, one of the most regular contributors to various articles on the site as well as the zine is long-standing North East stalwart Johnny Haynes. The first time I met Johnny was after an evening session at Exi. I’d headed back into town and bumped into a group of skaters including him and a pint-sized Connor North heading down to the iconic Law Courts spot and I decided to tag along. Connor was trying to kickflip the eight stair but didn’t make it on that session…
Johnny has contributed various photos over the years, including a rad, out of the blue interview with Seaghan Crawley, early coverage of The Moon DIY spot in Washington, coverage at various events, including Shred the North’s annual Slam Jam event in Darlington and an interview with Mani Haddon featuring an incredible no comply tailslide photo, the footage of which later appeared in Phil Steavenson’s Thrust video.
Originally seen in Mani’s interview in Hangup Zine 4. Photo: Johnny Haynes.
Speaking of Thrust, Phil Steavenson, owner of the C.R.U.S.T.I.E.S account, got in contact to see if we’d be interested in hosting his scene video featuring a load of the younger North East heads. Given everything you’ve read so far in this post, you might have guessed we jumped at the chance!
In recent years, the Shred the North crew headed by Dave Apomah have put on many events throughout the area, not least the annual Tyne Tees Slam Jam at the well-used 4Motion Skatepark in Darlington. Skaters from all over the North East and a lot further afield on occasion, gather every winter to put hurt on each section of the park, with the street sections naturally getting more use. There’s been some heavy sessions on the miniramp and doorway section over the years though!
Boyler Crailslides at a previous Slam Jam. Photo: Johnny Haynes.