Kev's Skate History (the adventures of Mr Whippy!)

Skateboarding for me was the usual. From polyprop, to 27" Benyboard white lightning, to a proper style 31" x 10" Benjyboard John Sablosky. Living in the North we were skate starved. I experienced Halifax skatepark once or twice, & while on holiday in Cornwall, skated Watergate Bay & Hollywell Bay skateparks. It was at Hollywell Bay in 1979 I met & became friends with Steve Martin. He lived in Milton Keynes & invited me to stay with him at his parent's house. An offer I couldn't refuse. I was exposed to the world of proper skateparks, of which some were better than others. Hemel Hempsted, Harrow, Knebworth, & the glorious Rolling Thunder to name but a few. Within a year of these trips, skateboarding had hit the dark years, where it was declared officially dead. I lost touch with Steve & got in touch with alcohol. That was the end of the first generation of skating for me.

Seven years later Steve got in touch saying "get on yer board again!". What I thought was a dead scene, was up & running again. These were the glory years for me. I now had a car & could travel the whole country. I found out about the Preston, Warrington & Wigan ramps, & got friendly with the Barrow-in-Furness crew. There were some great skaters there, & a lovely vibe. I was about 24 at this time, & met some young local Kendal lads who have gone on to become life long friends. Potty, Hodgey, Chaz, Chogsey, to name but a few. I also had a hardcore skate band around this time, called "The Paps". We were having quite a lot of undeserved attention. For four years or so, the skate scene was great, & then the second crash came. I lost touch with most of my skate friends. Once again it was over. This was around 1990, all the Northern places had shut up shop, old concrete was being dozed or filled in (Skaterape!), & that was that.

Nine years later, Steve got in touch again. He'd been moving around a bit & we had lost touch. So, of course, skate trips started again, & I was introduced to a lot of new skate friends, most of whom are on this site. I'm a bit of a woman nowadays. I seem to have lost my balls somewhere along the line. But I love watching my friends from the sidelines, & throw a few runs in for myself now & then. Skateboarding to me is a feeling of belonging to something special. Many people will never understand how grown men could be interested in what they see as a child's toy. What I love about skating most is how it automatically bridges the age divide, & beats the golf course hands down!

In the words of "The Paps",

"Some say that skatings for kids, & its way out of date, but you need big bertie bollocks to skate!"