I just watched it back. He said: ‘my dad was born down the street in Luton and my grandad was Swiss so yeah…im British’.
Its the same thing as when we say Africa i guess. It’s all from the same blob.
3 Likes
Yeah, it’s the same with Bombette, right?
Rules is rules. Someone mentioned that this is exactly what happens in football.
I can imagine a lot of people in a similar situation as Andy Mac would do that same…
1 Like
I know I’ve probably come across a bit BNP about this but I’m only taking the piss out of Andy Mac suddenly wanting to represent Great Britain. It’s just come out of nowhere.
This ‘issue’ rears up in almost every sport i know.
When you boil it down, even the definition of a ‘country’ isnt as solid as you might like to think (Kosovo, Palestine etc).
The world is a smaller place than it once was.
South Africans have always been in most northern hemisphere Rugby and Cricket teams. The Welsh football team is basically the England C team etc.
How do you decide what country a person can represent? When you look at individual cases it’s actually miles more complicated than it might seem.
A lot of people say you should represent the country you were born in but that’s a mad criteria. That would mean Cliff Richard is an Indian. My friend has a baby in Qatar. My wife was taken over the border to be born in England before going back home to the correct side of the bridge 2 days later.
What about military children? Could be born anywhere on earth and travel to 5 different countries before they’re teenagers. Citizens of nowhere.
The issue i guess is if some interloper who’s claiming to have Swiss heritage as justification for riding for the GB team is taking someone elses spot. Dont think he is though…
1 Like
Skateboard GB would never provide funding for him. He’s way too old. The danger is if he competes for Britain, and his sponsors pay for him to fly to all the comps, he might qualify simply by racking up more points than other better, but less well funded and travelled, competitors.
1 Like
144 posts in and nobody has been able to answer this
1 Like
He used to ride for Powell for the longest time. 96 until whenever… then he had his own budget brand done through powell/skateone. Now he lists Skateone as one of his sponsors, so I guess he just gets blank Powell boards for maximum sponsor sticker job placement.
1 Like
According to wiki:
As of September 2013, Macdonald is sponsored by Positiv Skateboards, Airwalk, Amazon.com, MovieTickets.com, Clif Bar, GoPro, Bern Unlimited, Killer Pads, PushWood skatepark locator app, and Theeve Titanium Truck Co
Impressive!
He also invented the Flybar 1200 extreme pogo stick, which allows riders to propel themselves up to a world record 8 feet 6 inches into the air.
It utilizes in place of the usual steel spring in a regular pogo stick 12 elastic bands used for propulsion, also known as thrusters. It weighs 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and is capable of producing up to 1,200 pounds-force (5,300 newtons) of thrust.
2 Likes
100% with you here.
I really don’t have an issue with Andy Mac being there last w/e. It’s fine. If he qualifies and becomes part of team GB, then sure. Why not? He’s just working within the boundaries set for everyone in all these sports.
‘We’ entered the sport zone so this is part of it.
Maybe…possibly…it all begins to add in as ‘we’ have riders placing higher and higher to sort the infrastructure for skateboarding in the UK out a bit. We’ve still got too many tiny, shit skateparks…if it helps that, then rad.
1 Like
Thank God for the rational minds on UKSkateForum.co.uk - here was me thinking Andy Mac riding for Team GB was wack but it’s actually totally brilliant!
4 Likes
I think it’s just more a case of:
a) people understanding that with the rules in play, this is perfectly normal.
b) not really giving a shit who reps us at this point because the people we’d all love to rep us just aren’t going to be anywhere near the olympics.
1 Like
Re the whole ‘letter’ incident. Was the backlash because it was a kooky thing to do but he was at least as good as he was making out, or, it was a kooky thing to do plus he wasn’t half as good as he was making out?
I’ve got nothing against him, he’s just a miscellaneous contest vert skater - I just don’t really know much about him. My mate had his autobiography when we were like 14, but I borrowed his Hawk book instead
Writing a letter telling an industry you are about to arrive and they best get ready is kooky no matter what.
He was never really a misc. vert skater. He was constantly podium in the 90s and a Powell pro for a long, long time.
Random side note: Hows this for crossed swords? I once wrote a letter under an alias to Big Brother. The contents of which were “watch out. I’m coming. From Europe.”
I’d heard rumour of the Andy Mac letter, but didn’t think much of it so had some fun with my own.
It got printed and there was a response.
The alias I used was Mark Anthony. The very same name as the innocent murderer Oblow was banging on in his Nine Club which was being filmed whilst ol’ Yellow Lid was holidaying in Hemel.
2 Likes
No, it’ll be registered as a British birth straight away and usually born in a British Military Hospital (so sort of on British soil abroad), also in most of those five other counties say, they’ll be living on British Army bases/camps (so again sort of on British soil abroad).
2 Likes
No one on the business side of skateboarding likes arrogance
Just had a Google. Was actually pleasantly surprised by this part. Nollie heel game is strong! The Police track is rad! He had a fireman’s pole in his house! I am a convert. Mac for gold in 2024!
5 Likes
Are there any other ‘almost 60 year olds’ competing in any other top level physical Olympic events? Maybe ones involving horses and that Winter shuffle board one, Curling?
A 46-year old Rune Glifberg competed at last year’s Olympics and came last.
Alright clever clogs.
But actually good to know.
1 Like
Nice. I had a look on youtube and only found rock fakie tips and the like. His foot placements for the nollie heel assaults are so weird.
And fuck yes to having a firemans pole.
Masters BJJ comps are pretty common. Santa Cruz Tom Knox is still (or was recently) actively competing as a black belt in I guess Masters/Seniors
2 Likes
