Hangup Zine 17 Preview: Josh Whitehead Interview
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Hangup Zine 17 is out Now!
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In this issue:
An in-depth interview with longtime Huddersfield local Josh Whitehead, conducted by Mash Life’s Nathan Page with photos from Tim Smith. They cover the beginnings of the ever-productive Mash Life crew up to the filming of their latest full-length, Foothills, the evolution of the Huddersfield skate scene, the attraction of staying in Meltham and more!
The usual Europe-spanning gallery section, including photos from Barcelona, Bologna, Sheffield and Nottingham. Featuring photos from / of; Jake Sparham, Klavs Laivenieks, Dan Katchi, Tom Quigley, Chris Thorne, Philippe Da Rosa, Alfie Crane, Ofek Shavit and Alon Shavit.
And an introduction from the always stoked / stoking Morgan Gleave. (Pick up a copy of his Eggs for Breakfast zine here!)
On the cover is Eric Osterberg with a fully-committed Smith grind at the incredible Farm Bowl shot by Alfie Crane.
Our second preview focuses on Nathan Page’s interview with Huddersfield local Josh Whitehead!
Josh Whitehead Interview Preview
Words: Nathan Page
Photos: Tim Smith
Josh is my best mate, favourite skateboarder, Mash Life co-founder and often the most frustrating person I know all rolled in to one. I’m pretty sure I only know what he’s on about less than half the time I spend with him and he’s usually without a plan, phone and/or bank card but he always makes it work and that attitude definitely comes across in his skateboarding. Reservoir, woods, cobbles, switch, raining - you name it, he’ll have a go at it. Love you mate.
Pretend we don’t know each other mate, tell us about yourself.
Hello, I’m Josh and I’m from a little village called Meltham in the hills near Huddersfield.
You’ve lived in Meltham most of your life, except a few years in the middle, what keeps you up there?
I always had the freedom of being allowed out as young ‘un, I could roam in the woods and the moors when I wanted. I’ve always found these spaces interesting and in later years, I still find it refreshing that I can walk a short while and be surrounded by the colours, patterns and sounds of the Peak District. We got a skate park semi recently and it’s a decent area to bring up a child, I guess it’s a winning combo. Not the worst street spot wise either, but it requires optimism to get a spot working.
Hippie Jump
Meltham is one of a few parks that have sprung up round here recently, mostly in rural areas too. How important is it that parks get built in these areas?
Yeah, super important, I’m sure there are a lot of villages out there that are in dire need of a skatepark or equivalent. Their span of joy can be wide and I see a lot of groups coming from far and wide to the park, enjoying the space and shapes and I enjoy seeing the diversity of different groups mixing with the locals. There are a few young ‘uns from the estate, the same one I grew up on and don’t get me wrong, they can be shits, but they pick up the general sense of respect and get to flex their social skills. It’s also good to chat and feed back to the youth workers that pass by.
You’re right, I’ve never seen any bother up there before. Can you explain what Mash Life is in your own words for the people that don’t know.
Me and you started it in Media College. I could tell you were a weirdo and wanted to start filming.
That would have been about 13 years ago, I was definitely a weirdo!
We started to hang out and had similar friends, then you invested in a camera and it developed from there. It’s changed over the years, but it’s the same fundamentals - skaters from the local area sharing the same passion for skating and hanging out, ability has never mattered.
Couldn’t have put it better myself. I can’t actually remember how we got the name for the crew you know, can you?
Many moons ago when you first got your camera, I remember we went out with our day riders to Holmfirth, hitting out of the way spots.
Back when you could get a day rider and travel anywhere in West Yorkshire for a quid, wow.
I remember we wanted to start a crew and we played with some names. I think I mentioned Sausage Crew, but everyone turned on me for that one.
Glad we didn’t call it that!
My pal Jake mentioned Bangers and Mash and then Frank wrote Mash Life on his board, it’s stuck since.
Fullpipe Carve | Near Barrow-in-Furness
See, I couldn’t remember that! We started making full length edits pretty much straight away and held premieres for most of them. How important do you think full lengths and filming full parts is for skateboarding in today's social media age?
It has two sides but it has the importance to the crew - having a focus and group consciousness to get out and about. A full length is a good incentive for the best parts of skating - trips, supporting your mates to get tricks and socialising, which is becoming a bit of a dying art. It’s definitely important to local scenes and the footage doesn’t get lost as much. I think there should be a website, like a map of Britain and when you click on the area, it shows all the scene videos, past and present. That would be rad, especially for areas without shops that don’t get the common word of who is coming up in their areas.
To read the rest of the interview:
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