But are there as many UK skaters able to do this anymore? Feel like this is reserved for the Atlantic Drifters, Barney etc. who can get their shoe sponsors to help them out.
I reckon there are more UK skaters able to travel the world from sponsors purses than ever.
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Think about dudes like Channer, Frank Stephens, etc. They got paid probably a couple of hundred quid a month, if that. They owned sleeping bags and slept wherever they could.
That first era of Unabomber was so fucking sick. All for the love of skateboarding. There was no money.
A few years later, things got easier (globally, for most) but back then, that is how it was.
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So itâs not a legit hook-up then? Okay what is it? Yeah he just seemed happy doing his thing and not to bothered, but what do I know? Like his Blips part was after his Real hook-up, ect though, right? A bit of a hindsighty list in some parts you added. Edit: No a bit of a after the fact list, sorry. So I take it you know him too, so will better placed than most to know.
Sorry. I donât really get what you are asking me.
From my knowledge, Lintell was always from day one directly hooked up by Real.
That doesnât mean âamâ, it just means directly flowed by the US team manager.
I guess at some point in between that 2014 tour and the 2017 Real video part, they turned him âamâ.
I donât really get what âlegit hook upâ means, which is why I put it in inverted commas. It could mean one thing to you and something else to someone else.
I donât understand what you mean when you say âA bit of a hindsighty list in some parts you added. Edit: No a bit of a after the fact list, sorry.â
Let me know and I can try to respond.
Lol yeah I know, that was a weird way of putting it. His Etnies part was wicked. Just noticed he hadnât had a mention yet and heâs still going strong.
Not sure what that 30k thing was about?
Iâm out of touch.
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A list of things (not all of them) after his announcement on the team. Anyhoo, itâs midnight. Officially my birthday, haha. got to get some sleep for the big day. The day you have to defend saying you donât check in with Harry Lintellâs skate dairy as often as maybe you should is a strange one, haha.
Oh, I was just going on a rough timeline as I know when the Sidewalk video came out which for me was the start of him being sponsored âproperlyââŚ
I had to google that Real tour as I remember that being the start of things happening beyond boards being sentâŚlike the ads, etc. and then I also googled the Arson Dept, Spitfire part and Real part as I remember it was around then he was announced on the team.
AnywayâŚHappy Birthday! 
Oh right. Yeah I know that, I wasnât talking about money, was thinking of potential âmodern Rattraysâ as in big in America in their own right, not just skating in America and but only big here etc. But as someone said before, I donât think thatâs the way things work any more.
Ok so doesnât count was apparently bad phrasing oh my part as everyoneâs taken that to mean I donât think Palace count as a skateboard company. All I meant was, my perception is that as a first port of call for a good local skateboarder trying to get a first leg up/board sponsor in the UK industry, Palace are somewhat out of reach (exactly because theyâre one of the biggest board brands on the planetâŚ).
But that apparently seems to not be the case. Which is good!
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What happend to that Sharkey guy? He was good.
Sharkey is on Element. He just put out a Vans part in the past couple of months.
I guess this goes back to the original question of âHow does someone blow up these days in the UK?â
I feel like in 2002, board brands were your first sponsor but that isnât the case anymore.
Shoe brands have pretty much replaced that. Board brands work on such small margins that I donât think they can really afford to take a punt on so many people these days in this saturated market.
A shoe sponsor wasnât that common in the 90s/early 2000s. You kind of had to be relatively hooked up to get one, whereas now it seems like getting flowed shoes is your first sponsor.
So, the expectation of Palace, Isle, National or whoever to be that first stop or leg up is kind of an outdated model.
In my opinion, skaters wanting that leg up get involved with creating crews and montage video projects.
I feel like a lot of people have got bigger hook ups from being involved with the Sirus/Quentin/Hallet/Hogson/Vibeseekers-esque projects or by creating their own.
Doing stuff for your local shop or scene and putting that on the map gets noticedâŚI guess it is exactly what Sidewalk or Blueprint did but off your own back nowâŚ
Ah cool. I think this all goes to show the uk still has a fair bit of talent out there, but you have to keep on top of social media, which I dont. I still miss the monthly paper thing we used to get. I know there is grey/north/vague being published, but I dont go anywhere to pick these up.
I donât agree that you have to keep on top of social media.
Those mags you mention are all free, so even without access to Instagram, the info is even more readily available.
Most skate shops not only stock those mags, but will throw copies in with online orders, too.
Plus, and I think this is the most important part - all those mags plus Thrasher have websites and YT accounts which have all of the above skater names on.
Even if you didnât look at the mags or follow the socials, a quick, regular check of Thrasher and Free and youâd probably be up to date.
The trouble is, I dont. I only come on here 
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Ditto
Sharkey part was posted and talked about in the Continually Updated Footage Thread.
So, you can probably get all the info from here, tooâŚyou just have to be looking in the right threads.
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Was just going to post that.
