Sunday, May 7, 2017

5 tricks in Canberra that blew my mind (Skateboarding)


Sometimes tricks happen or unlikely spots get skated that are so ridiculous that it probably won't ever happen again. Here's a few old clips from local Canberra spots and parks that still blow my mind when I watch them.

Grant Taylor - Scrivener Dam Drop-in


Source: Grant Taylors "Nike SB Chronicles Unplugged" part. https://youtu.be/GsdAArPhckg

No footage or photo can do really do this spot justice. The dam is huge and before this happened a lot of people wondered if a drop-in was even possible. There was no margin for error and if he'd missed the gap between the concrete teeth at the bottom it would have been game over. 

Jack Fardell - Kink Rail at Marist College


Source: Thrasher

This one was a full page photo in Thrasher for the "Lizard of Oz" tour way back when Jack Fardell was still living in Queanbeyan. There used to be a clip of it on YouTube but I haven't been able to find it. That's a lot of kinks to 50-50 through and I'm doubtful anyone else will mess with that rail. 


Grant Taylor - Kambah U-Pipe Channel


Source: NikeSB Belco or Bust https://vimeo.com/16962164

Anything on Kambah U-Pipe is gnarly. The part of the ramp that Grant Taylor had to roll up was literally only just wide enough for a skateboard to fit. His body was inches from the wall. If you go see this thing in person it's hard to believe this was even do-able. 

Mike Vallely - Weston Creek Axel Stall


Source: Sk8parx.com - Bangers'n'Trash https://youtu.be/z2F_uz8mOXM

This must have been at least 15 years ago. The railing is gone now but even if it was there I doubt anyone else would think of something this nuts. The clip is from the old Sk8parx.com (now skateboard.com.au) video called "Bangers n Trash". The whole video is definitely worth a watch. 


JoJo - Woden Structure Drop 


A post shared by Mat Casey (@matdarat) on

JoJo is a french guy who was road tripping through Australia and skating things that nobody else was crazy enough to consider skate-able. Rolling off the massive shade structure at Woden skatepark was straight up stuntman skating at its finest. Source: Mat Casey's Instagram @matdarat



There's probably way more tricks that I forgot about but these are the ones that stood out in my memory.