Alleyway Vacay Etnies Canada in China - Issue 131

issue 131

alleyway vacay etnies Canada in ChinA

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here are many other words I would use to describe China before I would ever refer to it as a pretty sight. It’s alluring, unusual, mesmerizing, thought provoking and captivating. China definitely catches the eye, but it’s not always a pretty sight. However, from a skateboarder’s perspective you can easily find beauty within the endless concrete and marble jungle.

The alleyways definitely stand out. You find yourself staring down a seemingly endless back alley wondering if it goes on forever. Then your attention is drawn to a clutter of marketplaces that are so similar it gives you a constant feeling of déjà vu. The pungent odor of unrefrigerated street meat lingers around each corner along with a plethora of other products being peddled. If you don’t speak the language, then the most communication between yourself and the locals will probably consist of looking at the number on their calculators during your best attempt at price bargaining. If you’re lucky you’ll have Jay Wu, the finest tour guide a group of skateboarding foreigners could ask for. But if you’re unlucky you’ll find yourself wandering down the wrong alleyway, turning up alone and lost on the other end.

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To be lost in China as a westerner is what I would imagine as having faint similarities to being lost at sea. Not being able to communicate with anybody, no sense of direction, and you’re surrounded by fish, sea turtles, unfamiliar sights and even back alley pool tables. But if you can somehow overlook the many distractions China offers, you’ll find a familiar refuge of perfect skate spots—more than you can imagine. Watching every bit of China footage you can find won’t even prepare you for the experience. You arrive at a spot thinking, “Holy shit, this is the most amazing spot I’ve ever seen.” Next thing you know you’re skating down the road and thinking the exact same thing once you get to the next spot.

I hear people saying China has been skated too much, but that’s just nonsense.

So when etnies Canada decided to bring together Matt Berger, Derek Swaim, Cory Wilson, Drew Summersides, and Stacy Gabriel to explore Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Guanghua and Foshan for three weeks, the outcome was predictable.

Spot destruction and alleyway exploration. #sweetandsouretnies

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da in ChinA photos

Rich Odam

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Tyler Holm

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China is such a strange world and the alleyways draw you in with curiosity. This is where we spent a lot of time haggling with locals and checking out karaoke bars.

Having your close friends with you is what makes an odd adventure through back lanes and new spots a lot more fun. For Stacy, it was the perfect excuse to reunite a hometown trio.

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“Having Derek and Matt in China was awesome,” he says. “The Kamloops crew was once again on another skate trip together, so it felt like home. A lot of people put on acts to be the life of the trip, but when you go with your friends it’s like any other day, just in a different place. Trips like this are genuine—just chilling and having sessions at spots as if you’re at a skatepark. It was like we were back at the Kamloops park again, and as per usual Derek and Matt were displaying a level of skating that a lot of pros would shake their heads at.”

DEREK SWAIM

SWITCH HEELFLIP

Staying in Shenzhen, we basically lived in an alleyway. The 7 Days Inn was our home, but instead of the usual one that everyone stays at in the city centre, ours was on the side-skirts that no one fucks with. You step outside of the hotel and you’re in an alleyway. Look to your left and there is a bunch of street meat. Look ahead and there is a karaoke bar. Look to the right and there’s a VIP Player’s Club.

Pretty interesting.

“On skate trips, sometimes you’re stuck rooming with someone you kinda wished you hadn’t, which is usually the case for me,” Stacy leads in to his 7 Days Inn experience. “I usually get the shit end of the stick, but this time I got to room with Cory. He’s a calm and respectful dude, which is great when you come back to the room and just want to relax.”

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And relaxed is a lot like Cory’s skating as Stacy explains: “He brings a kind of skating to the table that quite frankly you just can’t fuck with. Not many people can execute tricks with that photogenic flick we all wish we had. Sometimes he may re-do a trick even though the first time was far better then anyone else could have done, but Cory knows exactly what he’s looking for. Also, coming off a nagging injury not too long ago, it was good to see him back on his board and on this trip.”

cory wilson 360 FLIP

matt berger BACKSIDE TAILSLIDE

stacy gabriel BACKSIDE 5-0

Stacy in no way can be considered a picky eater. Some people go to China closeminded and afraid to try different foods.

That was not the case with Stacy. He’s always stoked to find a good deal.

“I’m pretty well known for my budgeting, even though the Chinese RMB [Renminbi] to Canadian dollar is six-to-one,” he explains. “However, even the nonbudgeters know that the good food spots are in the alleyways. It may not be sanitary up to our standards here in Canada, but the food is amazing. When you turn the corner off the main drag you can already smell the dumplings and Chao Fan [fried

rice] being cooked up by a local—a scent that is just strong enough to overcome the rotting swamp smell. Look for the green sign and the Chinese Muslim wearing the little white hat; I can guarantee that it’ll be your favourite thing to eat there, and it’s far better for you than eating the pink sludge at Rotten Ronnie’s. Alleyways in China are home to some of the best food I’ve had, but also home to some of the worst smells I have ever encountered.”

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drew summersides FRONTSIDE BLUNTSLIDE

Drew was on this trip with a beat ankle. To help get himself through the depression of not being able to skate all the spots he could have destroyed, he bought himself a pet turtle in an alley market.

“Always a weirdo doing something, Drew is good at making the best of being hurt and he’s one of my favourites to have on a trip,” Stacy explains. “It was a bummer watching him hot pocket his ankle when he tried to skate, but he was super good at holding back the majority of the trip.

I’m glad he was able to pull a photo for the article. You’ll be able to spread your wings and fly next time little buddy!”

Back to the spirit-lifting pet turtle, Berger also bought one so Drew’s would have a friend to kick it with. Known as Freddy and Terry, they hung at most sessions.

Drew built them a pretty impressive terrarium that they found comfort inside, but towards the end of the trip he knew he’d have to let them go. So we stopped

at a really scenic pond to release them. At first I thought he would gently place them in the water, but instead he underhandlobbed the turtle about 20 feet in the air and into the water. The second turtle I thought would maybe get a more gracious send-off, but no. It was pretty much slapped out of Drew’s hand and into the water. In the end he shed a tear when I showed him the video I edited of Freddy and Terry—our Chinese turtle homies.

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stacy gabriel CROOK NOLLIE VARIAL FLIP

I can’t understate that food is a little different in China. Most likely, you’ve heard enough horror stories about the food poisoning that’s happened to those who visited for the first time, so all you’ll want to eat is rice and noodles. Even the McDonald’s experience tastes a little bit different. Hopefully you choose to enjoy some of the more cultured options, but I wouldn’t recommend following your nose while rolling through the alleys.

“With skating any Chinese city you’re bound to find mind blowing spots,” Matt begins explaining. “Even though I got so wrapped up in the idea of finding perfection, we would find ourselves checking out back alleys all the time. Cruising the alleys is 74

matt berger

SWITCH BACK OVERCROOK

great, as long as you can handle the stench of overflowing garbage cans while dodging the odd pile of feces.”

Matt continues: “The irony is that our guide, Jay Wu, would take us to restaurants in alleys all the time. The common westerner’s state of mind wouldn’t even register the thought of eating in these conditions. It took some adjusting, but soon we realized that the people cooking our dinners are trying their best to provide for their families. This was my fourth skate trip to China and I have yet to get any food poisoning or sickness.

This place wouldn’t be half the experience without the grunge of its alleyways.”

In China you’re often greeted by smog that seems to engulf the entire country.

I’m pretty sure it was just a thick layer of pollution flowing from the many industrial facilities. However, that didn’t deter us from checking out the spot-sights, such as the famous Red Ribbon in Guangzhou, where Derek put in good work.

“Derek is usually pretty tech, but I noticed he seemed to struggle when it came to skating ledges on this trip,” Stacy mentions. “Sounds unusual, I know. But if you’ve ever seen him skate a Crailtap board you know that under any circumstances he can flip his board on any terrain.”

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It would probably take a hundred years of skating to uncover all the spots in this country. During our three-week span we encountered places that none of us recognized from any video, and that’s saying a lot. On one occasion, Jay Wu brought us to a jaw-dropping plaza and mentioned that it had never been skated by white people before. I still find it hard to believe, and the locals were stoked.

Does China intentionally build cities for skateboarding? It’s a strange and inviting world, from the pristine marble spots to the dim back alleys.

derek swaim

FRONTSIDE HEELFLIP