Doesn’t ring a bell but maybe, might come back to me later
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Bevan does the Happy Going Nowhere zine as well. Top guy and always up to something creative.
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Under the alias “uncle someone”, wasn’t it?
The Eiffel Tower heist plan was a cracker.
From what I remember:
Do it on New Year’s Eve when the tower is always lit-up with fireworks.
Start a fireworks company and get the contract to plan the Eiffel Tower display, then use the cover of the sparks and explosions to mask the fact that you’re chopping the top 3rd off the tower with angle-grinders.
Then, in the early hours of the morning (when folk are all either too drunk to notice, sleeping, or away at an indoor party), dismantle the top part of the tower into manageable sections which you load into many different “New Year’s Day Refuse Collection” trucks (again, your company). Send these trucks away in lots of different directions, with each truck unaware of where the others are off to. Then bury the bits, or stow them in haylofts or something.
It would be more of an indignity to the French nation to lose the top 3rd of their tower than for the whole thing to go (a big insult to the implicit phallic symbolism so central to Parisian pride). So you can claim a massive ransom cos only you know where all the pieces are buried.
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no idea why that was in a skate mag but I thought it was ace.
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That’s the one!
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Ah if that’s who you meant then yes, the man behind it is still around. Saw him recently (ish) at Street League (lol). From what I remember he values his anonymity but does occasionally post on here (or possibly just the OG/cundall interim forum) under the Uncle Someone name. He is a fantastic writer.
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I’m just going to happily assume it’s Tom Penny
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Fuck it, seen as requested… Most of my stuff is Q&A based but when there’s an opportunity to do more longform storytelling, I always really enjoy it. You don’t get it that often in skating and I think the reason why is because longform creates a certain - somewhat serious tone - which most skateboarders’ stories/interviews wouldn’t translate well to.
Anyway, this Jon Mehring piece on Jake Johnson, even though it’s Q&A, has a lengthy prelude in that vein.
This profile on Greg Hunt is one my favourite interviews, ever.
And I wrote about Dylan’s Gravis part for this Quartersnacks thing last year, which features a bunch of really great writers. Boil The Ocean’s piece on AVE is banging.
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Sporadically, GQ has some of the most enjoyable skate writing I’ve ever read. Their style editor skates, a dude called Noah Johnson, and he’s really good at telling a skate-based story in a professional, journalistic - alongside making skateboarding accessible/understandable to people who don’t skate without dumbing it down to the point where it would alienate a skater.
Also by the same guy:
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This piece Build wrote for the recent Slam X Vans collab is really insightful and thought it was clever how used scans of images, related to the story through tangents, to help tell it. It worked seamlessly too.
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This side project of Anthony ‘The Writer’ Pappalardo is updated pretty frequently and has a good ‘current affairs’ approach through a skateboarding lens.
His more interview based-stuff is great too. As is everything he writes.
Kyle Beachy (who wrote the Free piece on Jason Jessee a while ago, and co-hosts Vent City) also has a similar-ish, verbose approach like Boil The Ocean, albeit not as lighthearted. This essay on Reynolds ran as an early Jenkem piece and it’s really, really good.
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Boil The Ocean posting 10 notable parts of 2020. the part with Soul II Soul was new to me
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BTO pondering on repeated routines and NBDs
Started reading No Beer on a Dead Planet last night - superb so far, kept me up way later than it should have. Recommended.
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Nice piece on the ten year anniversary of LES Park by Ian Browning (who does the brilliant ‘Rules of Skateboarding’ interview series for Village Psychic) told predominantly with/via an old fella in the Parks Department who helps maintain the skatepark.
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a humourous ode to forgotten treasures
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from the New Yorker. a funny piece combining skate nerd tech specs and a Mad Max future
“Skateboarding After the End”
Hey, guys! Let’s jump right in.
I get the same questions from all of my coastal viewers: none. They’re with God now. But the ones far enough inland to keep skating ask, “What’s the best board for riding a dead planet?”
There’s no universal answer; we all have different goals. Some of us turn dried-out lakes into perfect D.I.Y. bowls. Others weave through silent cities to stay a step ahead of the Moisture Thieves. You don’t need me to tell you that a stable downhill setup is the best way to survive—and enjoy—an approaching sandstorm. And many freestyle skaters thrive as their warlord’s favorite jester-acrobat.
That said, I’m trying out gear reviews. I do a little bit of everything, so I’m in a good position to tell if a deck is right for you. I’m excited to share fifteen years of riding, first aid, and sniper experience.
But I know my fans. You want to see some skating first.
Man, I’m wiped! The Moisture Thieves aren’t playing today.
This deck comes from Temujin Seven-Tooth, the warlord who took over Powell-Peralta’s woodshop. Shout-out to Temujin. This is going to be an unbiased review—I’m under SwiftArrow-clan protection, as both jester-acrobat and friend. Shout-out to Baron SwiftArrow.
It’s called the Temujin Red Eye. Crazy name, right? They really leaned into it. The graphic—a crimson iris—is hand-painted with the actual blood of rival clans, sending a simple message: however far into the wastelands you run, Temujin can find your family.
Honestly, it looks pretty sick. I can see why his man hunters rock it. Showing it off is good motivation to keep living. Along with this new park! Some scavengers turned the Washington Monument into a vert ramp. Let’s do some more skating.
Flash acid rain, right after warmups—figures. Back to business for a few minutes.
The Red Eye’s 8.7-by-thirty-three inches of bone-reinforced maple ply might seem chunky if you’re riding tech. But the medium’s the message: this board’s perfect for escaping a raid.
Or conducting one—I see all the spear emojis in the chat. Shout-out to the man hunters.
And, I have to say, the durability’s crazy. I collected a water debt during yesterday’s session, and one swing laid out the Outsider. One! And the deck’s not even chipped. I haven’t seen craftsmanship like this since the First Drought.
Trust me, that’s an achievement. I was just sixteen when acid rain became the main kind. I thought it would burn, but it just changed the plants. My dad ate one of those scrawny blue tomatoes, and then stopped moving. He’d stolen it from me. As I watched him go, I wished he’d let me have half.
Luckily, I had skateboarding. Time for some grinds! Gotta keep your attention, right?
This doesn’t feel like life, does it? We’re in the aftermath of life—the leftovers of people too bloated to think or care.
I almost wish the old satellites would go down. Recording this feels like d.j.’ing a funeral. If you’ve ever d.j.’d a funeral, leave a comment. Or, if your clan doesn’t remember d.j.s, leave a comment. Just leave something, this is the safest human contact I get.
Sorry—downer. Let’s do some flat-ground tricks. If I land this double flip, you have to subscribe.
All right, feeling good again. Here’s my setup for this. Board: I’m riding SoCannibal trucks, because they’re the only option left. Finding meat to trade for them gets depressing, but I think we can all agree snappy turning’s worth it. I ride the hollow ones.
I’m still in love with this graphic, so I added rails to protect the bloodstain. Rails also give me something to hold on to when I’m too malnourished to ride. That’s pretty often, these days. Either the fall crop’s contaminated, or age is catching up with me.
It’s the crops. Everything that grows here is poison.
Now, a lot of you guys love hard wheels. But most clans don’t have the slave-to-warrior ratio to maintain great concrete. I suggest being a little more realistic, and running softer, ruin-friendly wheels. Less hassle, less falling, and less thinking about what’s left. I’m on 93A SoCannibal KneeCapz, and I’ve ridden over bodies without losing speed.
That’s the review. What do you want to see next? More reviews? A skate park in cannibal territory? Tips for crying without exposing your position? Leave it in the comments.
And keep skating!
switch 360 flips - an origin story
i’ve landed 2 nollie 360 flips ever, and very badly.
switch 360 flips always seemed mythical brilliance to me
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Only landed about 10, all up Euro gaps and most importantly, all absolutely stinking. 
Id always go about 3 foot sideways too lol
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Done about 3 normal 360 flips and about 5 fakie, detest the trick.
Also well jelly
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