Another gorgeous day in “The Land of the Sun”, Tsawwassen. August 5, 2012 was the date of the Tsawwassen Sun Festival and included in the promotions was the annual Skateboard Contest presented by Michael Ray and MC’d by Shadd Trepp. A lot of familiar faces who have localized the Tsawwassen Skate Park over the years – myself Hippie Mike, Cisco Gooding, Justin James, Graeme Betts, Andrew Classon, Cole Thodus, Luke Thodus, and many more…
All categories were filled with lots of talent including Beginner. Chuck Bailey local Adam Lewis took the cake in Beginner with a close Parker Sherwin in 2nd. Both these kids have fat bags of tricks, so you know it was tight for the judges.
The Intermediate Category was pretty sick. Team Protest showed up during first runs in Intermediate and it was awesome how people were asking if this was Advanced. That’s how crazy the talent level is in Tsawwassen. You know little 10 year old Luke Thodus was trying his hardest to win 2 years in a row, and I’m sure his big brother Cole Thodus did not want to let that happen. These 2 can really battle for their ages, and they both probably would have done well in Advanced too. Luke came through with another victory!!
Advanced was packed with competitors of all ages, including myself as the oldest at 33 years of age. Gilbert Turenne was first to go laying down some sick ledge tricks and 3flipping over the 3 block like butter. Fighter was hot, and hitting some nasty tricks down the biggies, crooks and smiths on the red rail, and even a benihana over the 3 block in his second run. Cisco did his usual switch, nollie and combination tricks all over the park, staying low but keeping it tech, and even Jaden competed grinding all the ledges and flying over the cans. Protest always represents wherever we go but this was a tough one to win, Andrew Classon came out in his first run with complete control and determination to win. I’ve hung out with this kid since he was about 8 years old and he’s always been super creative and super solid. He actually rode for Protest Skateboards when he was 10-11 years old. I love the way Andrew gets annoyed about how long the runs are too. He usually lands enough tricks in the first 30 seconds to win, so why should he continue?? Mick Bey was another young dude I was super proud of out there. I met Mick when he was 10 years old working an afterschool drop in program at his school. He was a super talented sporty kid that had a lot of confidence. He moved out to Tsawwassen a few years ago and grew about a foot and a half taller which really helped him with learning all these ledge and rail tricks he has on lock. It’s sick to watch these kids grow up from so young, and then actually compete against them. Mick was close to Top 3 but didn’t quite make it, but the other really tall dude from Tsawwassen did, Aleka Lang. And John Purcell was definitely representing his skills. This kid likes the rails and has a lot of switch skills. Visiting from Nova Scotia he has taken the opportunity to get his name out there since he’s been here, placing in Top 3 in a few contests and winning the Element Make it Count Qualifier at Chuck Bailey a few weeks ago. Good luck on the next stage of that one buddy, hope you do well. And I hope we hear more about this up-and-comer in the future.
So many people to congratulate and compliment from this contest, but I have to throw mad props out to Shadd Trepp on the mic for being the most enthusiastic MC off all time. Such a fun guy to be around. Shadd gets just as excited about a powerslide as he does about a 3flip lipslide. So awesome buddy!!
And best I saw all day was Graeme Betts nosebluntslide and switch lipslide a table out of the smallest bank in the park, both like butter. Graeme didn’t compete, but he doesn’t need to. True Blood Park Local forever brother.
That was Tsawwassen for this year, here’s the results
At the end of June, my awesome filmer/team rider Jordan Strong emailed a link to this online contest that Lucky Surf and Skate Shop was having where you film, edit and enter a video part up to 3 minutes long. I tortured Jordan by taking him to some of the nastiest street spots around every day when he got off work and getting him to film me, but that’s the way I skate. We worked hard together to make this part, and of course we filmed way more footage than we needed to. From bare foot skating to riding the yellow slide, and I even pulled out the 2×4 skateboard for the first time n years, it’s a must see for creativity.
Jordan and I also went out a few times with Andy Anderson and we got enough footage to put a part together for him too. This one really shows Andy’s ledge and rail skills.
We all worked hard and the parts were submitted the day before the deadline. Then we received word that only 4 people submitted videos to the contest, including the 2 of us, so they are hooking us up with $150 each to spend at the shop.
Thanks Guys!!
And thanks to Jordan for workin’ hard last month. At least we had fun making them.
With Hippie Mike’s Tour de Surrey being such a popular and long running event I usually get approached by at least one local media outlet each year to discuss it. Last year I was on “Gen Y” which is a segment on the Shaw Cable show The Express. This year, The Surrey Now requested an interview. I was all for it, it’s a great way to let people know about the acceptance of skateboarding into our society now, and to promote the event in a positive way for those who might not know about it.
It’s the 9th year for this series of skateboard competitions and I love that I still see a bunch of the same faces as the first year. I kicked off the Tour for 2012 at Kwantlen Park. It’s a tough park for lines, but always a good park for contests. It seems like everybody lands so much in their runs at this park, maybe because the obstacles are basic and small, not sure why. But either way, it worked out great.
The sun was blazin’ hot and the humidity was definitely hanging around, but it was still bearable enough to skate. Surprisingly for the first time in many, many years, there were more Advanced riders that Beginners. I assume because it was Kwantlen. When I started seeing some of the faces showing up for the Advanced Category, I knew it was gonna be a good show, and a tough contest to judge. With Surrey Locals like Calvin Dignard, Jay Mykyte, Andy Anderson, Jordan Strong, Brad Muscat and Ryan Barron, they were all in the running. But they would have to beat the guys that travelled there, like Ryan Prasad, Lil’ G and of course, “The Dominator” – Dominic Devries.
It was anyone’s guess who was going to come through on this one, only time would tell.
Only 4 kids in Mini this time around, but I knew that JR Barron was pushing hard for this win, since it was his final Mini Contest ever. He turns 11 years old next Sunday, so time to move up buddy! He took advantage of his skills and tore up the park landing almost everything he tried, including the only kickflip in the Mini Category. Parker Sherwin was right on JR’s heels though with a huge bag of tricks of his own and tried really hard to not let JR win. It was a close call…
The Beginner Category was just as tough with Kai Searle on board. This kid has some serious talent for his young age and lands a lot of tough tricks, with style. There was actually a 3 way tie for 4th place, just to tell you how close this competition was. The surprise of the day though was Dante Gullickson who came out strong in his first run and then blew the crowd away with a flawless second run which was one long consistent line. Awesome!! That doesn’t happen often in Beginner. He almost won but Kai’s tricks were just too good and scored way bigger points. It was tight.
The Intermediates wasn’t so tight. Tyler Olson killed it all day during warm up, I can’t even think of a time a looked over at him when he didn’t land a trick, and was trying some pretty technical tricks. But sometimes when the helmet goes on for your run and the pressure of having the park to yourself happens, people choke. I think the rest of the category was happy Tyler had trouble, because I thought he was gonna win it for sure after watching him in warm-ups. But the prize went to 12 year old Mathew McCauley who landed a ton of rail tricks and gap tricks wherever he could squeeze them in. This kid knows how to skate hard, and takes it very seriously. He can bust tricks down huge gaps at any time, but also has a pocket full of tech tricks too. It was a blow-out win for him.
The ladies were hyped up too, Brianna Palmer is just starting out in the contest world so I’m sure she was nervous when she saw the competition that she was about to face. Carrie Williams is finally back in Contest Mode after a few years of missing out, so she brought out all her shovit and 180 skills and landed a ton of tricks. And then Heloise Wathelet showed up with Lil’ G, she’s visiting for the summer from Belgium. This chick’s got some serious talents and it looks like they might take her somewhere. Flip Tricks and Ledge Skills. Check out this video I found of her on Youtube.
It was close but Heloise took first. Hopefully we see her at a couple more of these events.
Then came Advanced. Like I said earlier, it was anyone’s contest to win. Really depended on who landed what. It was very close between the Top 5 except for how obvious it was that Dominic won. This kid has constant flow combined with super solid style and lots of hard tricks. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it over and over, watch for him in the big leagues in the future. I’m gonna be hosting a segment of Glory Daze with Hippie Mike on Dominic soon.
My favorite tricks that went down in Advanced were Calvin Dignard’s nollie tailslide 270 on the flat ledge, Andy Anderson’s bluntslide fakie on the down rail of the pyramid, Ryan Barron’s feeble 180 up the same rail, Fighter’s Benny Hanna over the quarter pipe and of course anything that Ryan Prasad landed. There’s another name to watch for in the near future. Sick skater!! Cisco Gooding came out and had 2 solid runs too, but they weren’t of his usual “Flawless Run style” so he didn’t make Top 3, and the surprise of this category was that Jay Mykyte didn’t place at Kwantlen Park. I guess there is a first time for everything. Better luck next time Jigga…
We did have a Best Trick Contest on the big pyramid rail and it was a 3 way tie all going up the rail – Ryan Barron Feeble 180, Andy Anderson Bluntslide and Dominic Devries with a frontside tailslide fakie. Sick. Ryan was close to taking it all with a Boardslide to Feeble, but just couldn’t quite put it down. RBS…
Results:
Mini: 1. JR Barron; 2. Parker Sherwin; 3. Aiden Eastman; 4. Ry Forrester
Beginner: 1. Kai Searle; 2. Dante Gullickson; 3. Riley Allen; 4. Nick Bachmeier, Weston Huchkinson, Matthew Major; 7. Bishop Rosie; 8. Patrick Jonas; 9. Andrew Goodlet; 10. Ethan Tessier; 11. Ben Walsh; 12. Cameron Nelson
Intermediate: 1. Mathew McCauley; 2. Andre Bissonnette; 3. Eric Pedersson; 4. Malek Salem; 5. Tyler Olson
Advanced: 1. Dominic Devries; 2. Calvin Dignard; 3. Brad Muscat (Fighter); 4. Andy Anderson; 5. Cisco Gooding; 6. Jordan Strong; 7. Allen Handley; 8. Ryan Barron, Sean Cuddeford (Lil’ G); 10. Alexander Savage; 11. Jay Mykyte; 12. Shadd Trepp
Best Trick: 3 way tie – Ryan Barron, Andy Anderson, Dominic Devries
Alright, Welcome to GLORY DAZE with Hippie Mike. We’re here at the Monke Warehouse and Dry Spot with owner and chief – Ben Chibber.
Hippie Mike: How’s it goin’ Ben?
Ben Chibber: I’m good, how are you?
HM: Good, Um, just to start off, give us some history about Monke Skateboards. Number one, how old are you right now and how long have you been skateboarding?
Ben: Uhhh, I’m 40 years old now and I’ve been skating for I think 27 years now. On and off for 27
HM: What made you wanna start a skateboard company?
Ben: What made me start? Well, actually… I was sponsored in California, and then I didn’t really like California so I didn’t think I could live down there, so I was up here trying to figure out what to do and I went to college and I wasn’t really into the college thing and I was just like, I gotta get back into skating, what can I do? And the first thing I did, actually I started, or was in partnership with a Skate Shop (Ground Level) up by UBC
and I was importing Girl and Chocolate skateboards and basically just carrying that stuff in that skate shop and after that I was just like, wasn’t really into the retail thing so I went for the wholesale, distributor thing. And I started a Skate Company
HM: That’s Monke Skateboards
Ben: Yeah
HM: What’s the hardest part about a skate shop?
Ben: What’s the hardest part of a skate shop is just basically sitting there all day long. And just trying to market the skate shop. I’m into more moving around and being active so it didn’t really fit what I wanted to do in life…
HM: So what year did you actually start Monke?
Ben: Uhhh, well I was thinkin’ about it for a couple of years. Actually I think I started thinkin’ about it in like ’95 and then I was going through different concepts, but I didn’t actually choose one until like ’98
HM: Why “Monke”? Where did “Monke” come from?
Ben: “Monke” came from, ‘cause we’re basically monkeys just fooling around on our boards. You know, like a lot of parents call their kids monkeys, right? When they just like climbing on stuff and playing around and that’s basically what we do, we’re just a bunch of monkeys foolin’ around on a board
HM: Did you create the design?
Ben: I came up with the concept, and then I brought the concept to my artist, and then we worked on it together
HM: Okay, ummm, Spring Clean Up…(laughing)… What d’ya got? Let’s see some Old School here
Ben: Okay, well, this here is the first Monke Video (Pulls video off shelf and shows camera)
HM: Monke Madness
Ben: Monke Madness. I took my time to figure out how to film, and bought a camera, and…
HM: What’s your favorite part when you watch Monke Madness?
Ben: Oh, my favorite part would be, obviously, Ted DeGros. Just his skating back then. He was only 15 or 14 in this video, and he was just such a rad skater. Had a bunch of different guys in this video…
HM: I know a guy named Ben Chibber that’s in that video and he skates Langley Industrial. That’s the old Langley. I think your part starts there
Ben: Oh yeah, yeah that’s right. But uhhh, yeah, Ted DeGros’s in this, Russ Milligan, Geoff Dermer, Trevor Houlihan
HM: Jason Bailey
Ben: Bailey. Infamous Bailey, from Tsawwassen. Can’t forget him. Bunch of other guys. Oh and in the friends section, I had Keenan Milton, Jason Dill, Tony Ferguson, and uhhh, a couple other locals like Cyrus and… I can’t remember who else. I haven’t seen the video in so long. I only made a thousand copies, and this one’s actually still sealed
HM: What year is this, like 2000?
Ben: Yeah it was, it was 2000. It took me 2 years to film this video and then I put it out, and Jeremy Petit – Big Guns…
HM: You know that I moved here in ’98 from Ontario and I knew Monke Skateboards before I moved here?
Ben: Yeah I was workin’ hard back then (laughs), tryin’ to get it out there. That’s sick. It was actually easier to get product out there, but now a days, I mean back then a video was cool, like how many videos came out? But now we got the internet and the so much skate footage out there that you know, you start a skate company and put a video out there, no one even cares
HM: (Holds video up to camera) Do you kids even know what one of these things is? (laughs) It’s a VHS
Ben: I don’t know what else I got here… Oh, I got Russell milligan’s promo tape… I got Brian Weary’s video. People know Brian Weary, 403… Current sponsors: Source Skate Shop, United Riders, 403. I liked Brian Weary, but we just had already too many people on the team. You can only commit to a certain amount of people
HM: So whad’ya think, lookin’ back in time, what was your favorite experience in the 1990’s?
Ben: As a skater, the 1990’s?
HM: ‘ Cause I mean, to me, the 1990’s were what made skateboarding what it is today, because in the 1980’s, skateboarding was huge and then it kinda fell down, and almost fell right off the map, and then the ‘90’s brought it back, and today has fed from those technical days of the 1990’s. So what do you remember the most about the 1990’s
Ben: Oh, just goin’ down to California and meeting everybody that was part of the skate industry, and all the main dudes. I was lucky enough to like meet all those guys and skate with those guys, and hang out with those guys
HM: Like who?
Ben: Well, obviously I grew up with Rick Howard skating here in Vancouver. Now he owns, or has his hands in like 5 different skate companies and he’s done really well for himself. I mean, I remember skating with Jamie Thomas and Ed Templeton, and just being there. I was down there when like World Industries first started and just seeing that. Just seeing those guys kind of doing their thing, like when H-Street was huge, that was pretty sick, right? It was just cool to be down there. And Vision was super big, the company, and just meeting all those crazy fuckin’ ‘80’s skaters. They were just, they were crazy
HM: They were. ‘Cause skateboarding was definitely a different feel back then, like we’re not accepted into society, you know, skate parks if they existed were out in the trees, and really they didn’t exist. So there was Vert Ramps, there was Pools and there was Street
Ben: So you’re saying, what was my favorite, what do I really think about? Well yeah, I guess I think about the first time I ever went down to Cali, and you know, I hung out with Jason Dill when he was like a little kid. And like hangin’ out with the first girl that did a handrail…. Sasha Clark. She’s the first girl to do a handrail. Actually she works for, I think she works for Soul Tech. And just seeing all those people, yeah it was rad. Seeing Gonz down there, that was sick
HM: Yeah
Ben: What little I have, I cherish (laughs) because I don’t have that much, ‘cause I wasn’t that competitive for that long. (Pulls out a skateboard trophy)
Anyways, this one right here is probably my favorite. This is my most talked about skate contest when I was a kid. It was 1989, I don’t know what the day was, I think it was like Spring or something. But we used to go to these contests in Corvallis that were like to qualify for the ones in California. So we’d go to Oregon, and then the next ones would be in California, and then the next ones would be in San Diego, if you made it all the way to the finals. So this was the first one, and I got 4th so that means I would’ve qualified to go to the next one. I got fourth… the first place was this little kid named Chris Brandon, I don’t know how he got 1st, but he beat Salman Agah who got 2nd, and if you don’t know how Salman is he’s the guy that basically made up switch. He did all the first switch ollies, the switch nose wheelies, the switch kickflips, I think. I remember him doing back footed kickflips, I’d never seen that before. He has a Pizza place now in L.A. by the Berrics(Pizzanista!). So anyways, he got second, and then 3rd was this asian guy, I can’t remember what his name was… Yip… no his name was Yip Tat. He got third. And then I got fourth, and then I think Mike Carroll got fifth. And Mike Carroll, obviously everyone know who Mike Carroll is, he was skater of the year before, I don’t know what year it was but I was lucky enough to beat him so… don’t hate me. (Pulls out another trophy) And then there was the mini-ramp contest. So there was the street and then the mini and on the mini-ramp I got 11th.
HM: Nice
Okay tell us about this picture (pointing to a magazine photo on the wall)
Ben: That photo…. I went on a skateboard tour with Vision Skateboards. So they flew me down to California and we went in a van with a bunch of guys from Cali and we went to this Regional Contest. It was an Am Regional Contest, it was the major contest back then, you know. There wasn’t that many things goin’ on back then so that was like the main one. So that was at Phoenix, Arizona. So we all drove out there. This is a really famous spot in Phoenix, Arizona, all the locals know it. And I ended up shooting this photo and they gave me the back of Transworld. And actually I was the first Canadian to get the back of The Skateboard Magazine. I guess that’s a good feat right?
HM: I’d say so
Ben: Actually I want to find the original. (finds it in another room)
I found it. It was sittin’ right there, forgot where I put it. So here it is. This is how everyone knows me, in California. So the Transworld Skateboarding Mag, June 1990, I think the photo was taken in the winter, in Arizona. And on the front cover, here’s Jim Thiebaud (flips magazine over), and here’s me. See Jim Thiebaud’s one of the owners of Real Skateboards, right? And actually at the Real Premiere, I didn’t really know Jim Thiebaud, I had just seen him, like I remember seeing him back in the day doing wallrides in San Francisco. But I went up to him and I was like, “Hey Jim, how’s it goin’? I’m Ben Chibber.” And he’s all like, “Oh I know you.” And then after and I was looking again at the magazine, I was like, oh, maybe he knows me because he was on the friggin’ cover and I was on the back. I don’t know if he got another cover or not, but it was monumental. Back in the day, there was only 2 skateboard magazines and it wasn’t even that thick, so if you were a skater, you would know every single photo in there. It not like now where there’s a million photos and there’s a million magazines, and there’s a million kids, back then there was only a few people in the magazines. Oh there’s Tony Hawk doin’ a 5-0 on a handrail
(Pulls out another magazine)
This is the first Concrete Powder magazine. It’s not even the first Concrete, it’s the first Media Kit for Concrete. There’s Sluggo on part of the cover, and then there’s me. I got the 3rd page. Doin’ a 1 foot.
So this is basically the first print of Concrete. And there I am, I don’t know what it says about me. It talks about the Expo Banks, The Langley Skate Ranch, Rob Nurmi – he was the main photographer. They mention the Richmond Skate Ranch, thanks Kevin Harris. That was huge. And this is how they started the magazine. That’s my buddy Darren at the Langley Skate Ranch, and then I think I got one more. Oh yeah here on the back, right there. And then Colin McKay, doin’ a nose grind tail grab. So sick
HM: Tell me about this picture
Ben: Oh that picture, okay. That’s probably one of the first 5-0 grinds that I ever did. That’s probably ’89 or ’88. See there’s Colin McKay right there (in the background) grabbin’ his nuts. Colin was a funny guy back then, he’s real funny (laughing) he was always up his little antics. I remember that day, that’s in Richmond and we just stumbled across this spot and I ended up 5-0ing, I don’t even know who took the photo
HM: What is that from?
Ben: Someone from the crew just took it and gave it to me. I think that rails still there
HM: Would you 5-0 it right now?
Ben: (laughs) Sure, why not? If I had to, sure…
Oh, that’s my first skateboard right there. (Walks over to a skateboard on the wall) That’s my very first skateboard. I think I have to take it down, it hasn’t been taken down in years. (takes it down) oh my God, it’s got friggin’ dust all over it. Look at that thing. I think I’ve got Craig Johnson’s signature somewhere on here, from like, ’86. Anyway this is my first skateboard. I don’t know how many people you know that they rode their very first skateboard to “the end”… Basically, I had friggin’ no nose, and I had to drill my holes forward for the back truck to even get more tail, ‘cause I had no tail. So I was basically doing my sweepers and stuff, that’s all we did right? We’re doin’ sweepers, and trying to do handplants with these decks, and anyway, I got this deck from Skull Skates. This is a Steve Olson deck, Skull Skates – Steve Olson. And the son skate now and he’s a Pro, Alex Olson, that’s his son. I got it from P.D. Obviously P.D was the man back then, everyone bought their boards form P.D.’s Hot Shop, right? If you were a skater, so…
(Move into Skatepark)
HM: So tell us about The Dry Spot, the indoor skate park, The Dry Spot. Why did you start The Dry Spot?
Ben: Um, I started The Dry Spot because I just wanted to be more connected, locally. With the brand, I was extending myself out into the world and I just felt like I was travelling around too much, and I kind of just wanted to be more local. So I just changed my business plan into more of a Service Type business. And I wanted to collect cash from people, instead of like “bouncing, rubber cheques”. So that’s basically why, because of the down turn of the economy
HM: Has The Dry Spot been successful?
Ben: Yeah, I mean we’re on our third year, and there’s been ups and downs in doing it, so I learned a lot in the last 3 years about people and business… It’s life lessons, but you know, everything’s good.
Do you wanna know what we do at The Dry Spot?
HM: Yeah, Whad’ya do at The Dry Spot? Plug The Dry Spot. How do people come to The Dry Spot? What is it for?
Ben: The Dry Spot is a place that is mostly built for younger kids, so, you know, it’s built for the younger kids, but the older kids are always welcome to come. This is where a parent can drop off their kids, and it’s a safe environment, it’s controlled. We do lessons, and birthday parties, rentals, drop-ins and skate camps.
The Dry Spot
#312 – 8495 Ontario St, Vancouver, BC
604-324-4962
HM: Awesome. I’d like to thank you for coming on GLORY DAZE, and just thanks for everything you’ve done for the skateboard community over the years. I know a lot of people don’t know it, and might not give you the credit for it, but I know what happened
One of the moments I long for all Winter every year is getting the tarp off my ramp. It’s a luxury to be able to float a tarp over the ramp all winter so that we can skate it any time we want but it’s two completely different worlds – tarp or no tarp. When the tarp is up, it feels more like you came out just to skate, not to hang out, and you skate more like you’re on a mission. When the tarp isn’t up, you’re surrounded by the beauty of nature and the atmosphere seems way more relaxed and you just skate to have a good time. Plus everyone can actually see the ramp from anywhere in my the yard and we don’t all have to crowd into the floating fortress. We had a good chunk of the Protest Team come out to enjoy the first tarpless skate session, Jordan Strong, Cisco Gooding, Brad Muscat, Jeff Cole, Jaden Easton-Ellett, Andy Anderson, and of course myself and Carrie were both there since we live here.
Welcome to the very first episode of GLORY DAZE with Hippie Mike!! We’re here in North Vancouver at one of North America’s oldest skate parks – Seylynn Bowl. Today we’re spending time with a true “old schooler” that’s still out here representing on the board. Sponsored by Sector9, he was King of the Bowls in 2004, the original owner of Push Skate Shop and still one of the original NV Locs. He just turned 40 years old a couple of weeks ago but that’s not slowing him down one bit – give it up for Eve Feaver!!!
Hippie Mike: First off, how does it feel to be the very first person ever profiled by Glory Daze?
Eve: Feels pretty good, yeah it’s an honour
HM: How many years have you been skateboarding?
Eve: Well I got my first skateboard when I was 6, so about 34 years ago… Actually skating on it all the time, probably, close to 30
HM: Who were your biggest influences as a kid?
Eve: A good friend John Munro who I skated with together for a long time and had a lot of fun
HM: Who are your biggest influences now?
Eve: Right Now?? My kids are a very big influence on who I am, and my grandfather. He’s living in Ontario, and he’s an artst and a very humble man
HM: Name your 3 favorite people to skate with and why…
Eve: Only 3, eh… I try to enjoy skating with anyone who’s around, but 3 people, I’d have to say – Bushman (Don Wilson). We’ve skated together a long time and we’ve got a lot of great connections and things in our lives in common, and we get along pretty good; Umm, Jamie Sherratt, same thing. We’ve been skating together for a long time and family ties, man. People you know who have families bring you closer together; and uhhh, Surfer Mark. Skates here, and you know usually you pop by for a few minutes after work and there’s only a few select people who are always here, and he’s one of them, a lot of fun to skate with
HM: Where is your favorite place to skateboard?
Eve: Seylynn, without a doubt
HM: Were you here (at Seylynn Bowl) for the Opening Day back in 1978?
Eve: I was not here – I was 6. It wasn’t something that my parents were necessarily a part of, so, I wasn’t a part of it
HM: Name your 3 favorite tricks…
Eve: My 3 favorite tricks? Nosepick. Hand Plants. And I guess, slides of all sorts… powerslides mostly.
HM: What do you do when you’re not skateboarding?
Eve: Family; my kids and wife. Try to do some sports with them, golfing with them, or just hanging out. That’s pretty much it, skateboarding and family
HM: Have you ever got a Hole in One?
Eve: No (laughs), not yet. It’s gonna happen though
HM: are you prepared for the amount of money it’s going to cost you when you do get a hole in one and have to buy the entire golf course a drink?
Eve: I am not… it’s gonna be on my own little, made, backyard, 1 hole golf course
HM: What year did you open Push Skate Shop?
Eve: 2004.
HM: What year did you sell it and why?
Eve: 2007 or early ’08. It was about 3 ½ years. It was hard to have a Skate Shop, a fulltime job and a family. One of them was going to go, and that’s the one it had to be. We wanted it to stay there, it didn’t matter who owned it, as long it was there. Everybody needs a place to stop in and hang out for a second, you know, grab a pop or something
HM: How many companies have ever sponsored you
Eve: (long pause) One. That’s it
HM: Any appearances in Magazines, Videos, Tv?
Eve: I have never had a single picture in a magazine. I have a couple of small parts, like a shot or 2 in one of the Sector9 videos, in a Protest video, and The Seylynn Story – a documentary on the park
HM: One of the best videos ever… Were you ever involved in the planning of any skate parks?
Eve: Yes, one in Coquitlam, in Maillardville, which is being built right now. It’s another New Line Skate Park. We’ve been working on that for about 4 years or so, and it will be ready soon, hopefully in July
HM: Have you ever had any serious injuries?
Eve: Uhh, serious enough, yeah. I separated a shoulder at Hastings, which… sucked. It’s hard to work like that. And I fractured my tibia at the RDS Park. Landed flatbottom on the big ramp and my heel smacked my tibia. That sucked too. But no, I’ve been pretty lucky. A little skin left a the parks, but no real breaks
HM: What is the toughest thing about being 40?
Eve: The toughest thing about being 40?… Um, wondering if I could keep up, and so far I can, although I don’t quite have the air in the lungs as much anymore, but I think I can get there
HM: Do you consider your skills on a skateboard to be better or worse now compared to when you were 20?
Eve: Better. You see, it was “doing” a trick at the start. And now, it’s “feeling” a trick. I enjoy all the small parts about everything I’m doing. I don’t know, it doesn’t have to go by fast anymore. I can take my time. I can still move fast and still enjoy every small bit of every trick
HM: What’s your opinion of having soooo many skate parks for these kids today to access – good or bad?
Eve: It’s great. It’s awesome that they get so much variety. Instead of just flatground type skateboarding, there’s such a mix now. You can decide on any day to go do a completely different type of skateboarding, so yeah, it’s good
HM: In 2009, we experienced the tragic episode involving a head on collision in the bowl right here at Seylynn Bowl Series contest and we lost The Mad Carver – Don Hartley – forever. I know you and Don were good friends and had known each other a long time. How did that day change your life?
Eve: (long pause)… It’s changed it for every day after. I think about him every time I skate; every day, if I don’t skate. A real influence was Don Hartley. Not just on a few – on many, many people, from all parts of his life… That day, I was in the run, it was during our run – all the Locs, everybody that knew each other, and it happened. And it was like the hammer dropped, you know, everything changed from that day on. But he has a very strong family, and you know, they’re great, so, I don’t know how much more to……. you know…. it changed a lot of people, and I am just so grateful to know him at all. I thank skateboarding for that. I wouldn’t have known him otherwise
HM: If you could change 1 thing about today’s world, what would it be?
Eve: That people would care a little more about just everyday life with everybody else. We all gotta deal with all the same problems basically, so everybody’s gotta recognize, you know, and take a second for everybody else
HM: Describe who “Eve” is on the inside, and what motivates you to be that person…
Eve: Umm….. I like to do things… I like to work hard. Whatever it is I think I take pride in what it is that I’m doing. Try to have fun with everything I’m doing…. I don’t know, that’s a tough one. How do you talk about yourself that way? I look to my influences to help me make choices too. It’s not just me. I am other people as well. I am who I came from. And sometimes there are battles, and sometimes you’re thankful for all that you have. That’s me I guess – don’t need too much, just happiness I guess
HM: Do you consider yourself to be a leader or a follower?
Eve: I think I am a Leader, but sometimes I know my place, and can follow
HM: What is the best accomplishment in your lifetime?
Eve: Well, kids are my best accomplishment. I guess that’s the standard one. But something that I’ve done that is only mine…… King of the Bowls (2004)
HM: Who was the coolest Pro you ever got to skate with and where?
Eve: So, at the old Richmond Skate Ranch, I got a chance to build some of the ramps with Lance Mountain, and that was pretty fun. And Neil Blender was there too and me and some of the guys that were there went for a street skate through Richmond with Neil Blender. To see a guy that you only see in the magazine or something and it was a fun time just hanging out with another skateboarder who just happened to be from another place. That was good. But there was also Steve Caballero I got a chance to skate with there. Um, Adrian Demain, but Ray Underhill was one of the funniest, friendliest guys I ever got to skate with
HM: What’s the best beer to skate with?
Eve: Uhhh, Ozujsko??? (laughing, since I had just given him his first taste of Ozujsko during the interview)
HM: Name your 3 favorite skate brands of all time…
Eve: Powell Peralta, Skull Skates and Sector9
HM: What is your most influential Skate Video to watch?
Eve: Seylynn Story – always
HM: And finally –
Do you ever see yourself quitting skateboarding?
Eve: Nope, not for a second. No matter what happens, I gotta roll still, so that’s the way it’s gonna be
HM: So I’d just like to thank you for coming on Glory Daze, especially being the first person ever. One of my favorite people to skate with – anywhere – Eve Feaver…
I went and met up with Team Riders, Andy Anderson and Stu Benoit on Sunday to do a little filming. Andy got tied up on the skytrain for a while and it took him an hour and a half longer than us to get to the first stop – Kensington Skate Park. Stu and I had already played a little game of “Skate” and were both pretty much done with that park by the time Andy showed up, so it was all him. He started to annihilate the pool right away with grinds and airs over the deathbox in the deep end. So I started filming. Andy killed the pool, the mini ramp and the launcher in about half an hour but he blew out a bearing and we had to go get another one. Stu finished off his game of Bocce with the boys and we took off, grabbed a bearing at Stu’s and went to Hastings Park.
Both of them start shredding the bowl instantly. Man I wish I could skate a bowl like these guys, effortless tricks on every section, but nothing easy. Stu threw down his usual blunts, tailslides and lipslides wherever he felt like it, and Andy ripped through the bowl super fast hitting every obstacle possible. I told him to clear this gap from the 6 foot hip over the landing to the other quarterpipe coming back the other direction – it’s about 10 feet. Andy told me there was no way.
He landed it within 4 tries.
Then he did it about 5 times in a row – solid.
We filmed for about half an hour at each park, check out the footage.
It was about 2004 when I built the 2×4 skateboard.
I built it to prove to the kids I was teaching that you can balance on anything. But I made the mistake of taking it down to Bear Creek Skate Park the evening I put it together and realized that I could actually skate it. I even did a kickflip off the bank launch on it that first day. It was gonna be trouble…
I started skating this thing all the time. I kept it in my trunk and pulled it out whenever I thought of something to try. I let the kids ride it every Friday at the Skateboard Camps I was running and they all thought it was awesome. All it was, was just a straight up 2×4 – 36” long, gripped on top and sitting on original Gullwing Pros and Powell Peralta Mini Rats. It’s in my laundry room right now, just waiting for another ride. I think the last trick I ever did on it was a switch blunt – indy out on my ramp, or maybe it was the jitterbug. Either way it’s been a year or two.
We had some good times, me and that 2×4 – kickflipped a roof gap on some portables, pop-shovits, manuals and boardslides, all kinds of craziness. I still remember early grabbing the 10 stair at Brookswood Skate Park on it and everyone going wild. One time I showed up at Brookswood for a contest in 2005 and I only brought my 2×4. 75% of the people there didn’t even know it existed, but they’ll never forget it after that day:
First run, I threw down a solid line to start, Kickflip on flat, then a big pop shovit, and then boardslide down the 4 stair kink rail; turned around and blunt transferred over the spine in the bowl to a 50-50 and then a rock fakie; jumped out of the bowl, cleared the path and early grabbed the 10 stair… Killed it!
Second run, started off with the same line, then went back and forth in the flat banks with a kickflip fakie, a fakie kickflip and then pop-shovit body varial; and of course, one more early grab off the 10 stair.
The crowd loved it, and somehow I got 4th place. Nice! I didn’t do it to win, I just did it for the fun, and I was stoked that I had 2 flawless runs.
I was filming way out in Aldergrove Skate Park about a month ago for my “Show UP Mike” contest and this kid showed up and the first thing he said to me was, “Hey, did you used to ride a 2×4? I remember you from a contest at Brookswood.” I just laughed. Good times.
Another great one was this Volcom – Wild in the Parks thing at Tsawwassen Skate Park in 2006. I had ridden my 2×4 at Tsawwassen so many times it was basic. I kickflipped up the step up no problem, early grabbed both sets with different grabs, and some other stuff, but this was a day for historic moments so I decided I was going to boardslide the Blue Rail down the 6 stair. Anyone that knows me knows that I don’t ride rails any more, but here I was hopping on to this handrail on my 2×4 and making it. So I stuck it down, Blam!! I had never even attempted to boardslide this rail on my normal board, so I have to admit I was pretty stoked that I just did it on a 2×4, maybe a little toooooo stoked. I stuck it down again for my video camera so I could watch it myself, and then I talked shit: “Joyce Rail, tomorrow. It’s goin’ down.” Any locals to the Lower Mainland should know the Joyce Rail – long green 6 stair rails, fairly high, out of a tennis court and you need plywood to land on. About 12 of us went out the next day for me to do this boardslide.
First try, got on it and jumped off;
Second try, slid the whole rail and jumped off;
Third try, came up strong, full commitment, knowing I was going to land it…
Nope.
I clipped my front wheels on the bottom of the rail, leaped over the rail trying to clear it and caught my inner thigh on the end. Smash! Faceplant.
It took me 3-4 weeks to massage out this blood clot trying to form in my leg, but it was worth it. I was getting way to cocky with that 2×4 board and needed a good dose of reality as to why I should not be riding it.
The 2×4 skateboard was built to prove a point to kids, but instead it ended up proving a lot about skateboarding to myself. I learned that I can ride anything and still rip it. It helped me express my inner self and I realized that this board would push my limits to another level, and I thank every day I got on it, and every trick I did. I’m sure someday it will rise again, but can’t say when.
Until then, enjoy what might just be the strangest skateboard video part you ever see:
I’ve been skateboarding now for 26 years, and I would say I have learned quite a lot of tricks, but the best thing about skateboarding is just running as fast as you can on to your board and surfing the concrete. Today’s generation doesn’t always understand that concept. They get dropped off at the skate park, practise their tricks all day, get mad when they can’t land them, and call their Mommies to come pick them up. That’s not what skateboarding is supposed to be about.
Skateboarding is about Freedom – Freedom to express yourself in any way you feel. I can skate for hours without doing any tricks and without ever leaving the ground. Just cruisin’ and carvin’. Some days my favorite thing to do is just grab a couple buddies and hit up the Surrey Downhill 3 or 4 times. You should try it some day. Quit worrying about who you’re impressing and just go skate.
Since the “What the F” video came out in 2010, I haven’t really been filming too much. I’ve kind of just been keeping to myself, riding my ramp at home, slashing around at Chuck Bailey, and just going back to the roots of why I love this sport. But it’s time to giv’er once again. Through all the injuries that have plagued me over the past 26 years, and the changes in my body structure due to some of these injuries, it is still my greatest passion to be out there on my board.
Here’s a little taste of the footage you’re about to get from the old Hippie Mike. Enjoy it, and get ready for a whole lot more….
