COXIE’S BACK GARDEN SETUP Words: James Cox | Photos: Daniel Benson
The idea to build a ramshackle arrangement of pallets and salvaged wood at the bottom of my garden was a passing thought one morning, during my ritualistic 9.00 a.m black coffee. As summer was fast approaching, I had decided to sit outside for a change. I was blankly staring at the fairly large mini ramp at the end of the lawn, which I had watched slowly rotting for the past year or so. For a lot of people I suppose a ramp at the end of the garden would be a dream come true, but for me it seemed more of a burden. I felt like my reluctance to ride such an obstacle was not only an example of my laziness, but also a middle finger to my childhood self, who would have given their best Poor Boy T-Shirt for a ramp in the comfort of their own home. Unfortunately I just don’t like ramps. I haven’t liked ramps for years, but this structure at the end of the garden was beginning to make me feel obliged to dredge up a tired old bag of tricks from the late nineties just for proximitiy’s
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sake. Something had to be done. What if I could squeeze something back there that I actually wanted to ride? Maybe the feeling of ungratefulness would subside. You never know, I might even enjoy myself. The notion of being able to have a few sketchy obstacles in the privacy of my own home was a very appealing thought, as there isn’t an abundance of street here, and Hastings skatepark is uncannily close to my idea of hell. The huge concrete transitions, razor scooters, noisy, tunnel visioned children and a whole host of other nasties add together to make a location that I will only visit if forced to do so. With this in mind, construction began... The main aim of the setup was to make something fairly unique and quirky to ride. In favour of the perfect six foot transition on the mini ramp, I cobbled together crudely angled pallets covered with pieces of salvaged ply, which instantly kinked into a 50p shape upon being screwed down. Probably the