Vague Mag Issue 10

Guy Jones Heywood Ward Ben Powell Ryan Gray Fraser Doughty

Reece Leung DVL Leo Sharp Joel Peck Rich West Josh Rose Rafal Wojnowski Cameron Markin James Griffiths Ian Williams Maciej Kawka Laura Meek

Hannah Martin Nick Jensen Tom Harrison Ollie Shaw Stefan Marx Ben Cooley Will Harvey Max Whetter Brian Mountford

Cover Photo: Paul ‘Wapo’ Watson - Frontside Smith Grind - Reece Leung Cover Artwork: Nick Jensen www.vaguemag.com vagueskatemag@gmail.com Instagram @vagueskatemag

ide Luke Fletcher - Backs Wallride Photo: Reece Leung

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CONTENTS Danny Wainwright - Frontside Ollie Photo: DVL

PAUL ‘WAPO’ WATSON UNDER REVUE: TNSC X VANS NICK JENSEN UPSET STOMACH INWYF: EDINBURGH NORTHERN MONK X VAGUE x GIPSY HILL

ON ’ WATS ‘WAPO PAUL

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On a scale of non-ironic benihana fly outs for a captive audience down the skatepark to a moody ledge purist - how much of a skatepark rat are you?

(Laughs), that’s the first question? Jesus…I’m probably about 80% skatepark rat to be totally honest. So definitely closer to the dude flying out of kickers into beni’s than the other. I just love skating Thornes skatepark; (Paul’s local concrete park in Wakefield), it’s just an amazing place to skate. So, I’m a skatepark rat by choice really but if I was to be specific, I’m a ‘Thornes skatepark rat’ – that’s where 99% of all my ratting has taken place. My very first Instagram name was @Thornesrat so work it out for yourself…

Tell me that story about getting into a fight with an ADHD Terminator because he threw your first set up into a paddling pool again…

(Laughs), it was my first proper board, an Ortega deck that you’d given to me, and I skated it without grip for weeks because my mum refused to buy me any griptape for some reason. I can’t even remember why, but I fully skated it with no grip for ages and I loved it, as you’d expect with it being the first proper one I’d ever had. Eventually after watching me slam constantly trying to land shove-its out of the Rampage, my mum consented to buying me some grip and I got hooked up with a sheet of electric blue grip. I was hyped. Anyway, the day after that I went to my mate’s house and they had their paddling pool out. I turned up with my board and his next level ADHD brother just picked it up and threw it into the paddling pool for no reason. At the time I think it was the gnarliest thing that anyone had ever done to me – I was fucking raging, like totally lost my shit. I’m like, “Right, out on the street now! Me and you are fighting!” His brother, who was my mate, immediately tried to stop me, saying, “Please don’t fight him, he’ll actually kill you – he’s psycho”. I was so incensed that he’d done that to my board that I didn’t listen. I clearly remember him taunting me, “Yo, what you gonna do then?”

So I threw the strongest punch I could render up, gave it everything I had with my right arm and smacked him as hard as possible. His face didn’t even move. It was like punching a wall. (Laughs). “Is that all you’ve got?” At that point I panicked and sprinted home with the sopping wet set up in my hand. Straight home like, “Mum, mum I think Chris’ brother is going to kill me. I think he might smash the door down and smack you and your boyfriend...we’re all fucked, I’ve put the family in a bad spot.” (Laughs), I guess I was passionate about that blue griptape. That was my first fight - well it wasn’t really a fight was it? I punched an android and shit myself, (laughs)…

So going back to what we were saying before – has Thornes skatepark basically shaped you into the skater you are today? Considering that before that you were a gap lemming…

Yeah definitely. I got into riding bikes for a couple of years after first starting skating, building dirt jumps and all that, and kind of slacked off on the skating for a while. This is when I was around 14/15 – I started skating again and then kind of got caught up in the M-Kat bullshit that was heavy around here just as Thornes opened, so probably 2009 ish. I don’t want to go into it too much because my grandma is going to read this, but let’s just say I went wayward for a while, lured in by the early days of the ‘well it’s legal so it can’t be bad for you’ thought process. One day Morgi (Dave Morgan) told me to look in the mirror when I was at his house – like, “Look at the state of you man, you look fucked. You need to give that crap up and just come skating.” Luckily for me, I listened to Dave and that’s what I did – just started to go down to Thornes everyday.

Your generation all got good really fast too, I guess because that place has a bit of everything in it. The learning curve was definitely steep.

Yeah for sure - there’s loads of tranny, ledges, drops, rails – everything really. We were lucky to grow up with that on our doorstep. Not just for skating either – for all of life’s lessons. You had the ‘sexy 6’ who lurked there – so we had girls that dug hanging around

sweaty skateboarders long before the current boom of women actually skating too.

One of the sexy 6 claimed that she was keen to get down in the cereal bowl there too man, so gutted that it never happened, (laughs).

A lot of older skaters are dismissive about ‘skatepark kids’ in the sense of them growing up in a safe space where they don’t get any grief like earlier generations did on the street but Thornes wasn’t like that, was it?

Fuck no; it was like the Wild West down there for the first few years. Definitely not a safe space at all. One of our mates, John Sykes, got chased out of there by a horde of like 20 full grown adults when it first opened. He was probably 12 at the time and there were fully grown men and women chasing after him for nothing more than skating the park.

To give you an idea of how gnarly that place used to be – as John was running away from this baying crowd of gnarly chavs, he ran past a guy pushing a pushchair who’d obviously clocked on what was happening. As John ran past him, the guy pulled out a baseball bat from his kid’s fucking pushchair and starting charging the chavs who were chasing John. Absolute carnage man. That wasn’t an exception either. That was a regular thing – people sending pit bulls into the park trying to get you, people turning up with bats sitting on the funbox daring you to go near them. Mental. I got beaten up there more than once too. I once got into some fight with 8 guys, I punched one of them and then the rest started screaming ‘stab him’ so I knew I was fucked. At that point two older dudes piled in, pushed everyone off me and dragged me away from the park into the woods. I’m relieved, shaking and thanking them for saving me, “Thank you so much man, I just need to go home.” then those two turned on me too, like “You’re not going anywhere” and starting beating the crap out of me too whilst the first lot of dudes had time to catch up again. That one was gnarly, I ended up leaving my bag and sprinting off and hiding near the aforementioned sexy 6, that was when I realised that my tooth had come straight through my top lip, like ripped it open. That’s why I always rock a tache now because I have a huge scar from that incident. So yeah, we were ‘skatepark generation kids’ but we definitely didn’t have it easy. Wakey was fucking brutal back then.

Farran: As we’re covering your fighting career, I might as well ask you to tell us the story of how you got your pretty little nose broken too…

Well you know, it was an average day - we were chilling in The Ridings (Wakefield shopping centre), I went for a piss, just minding my own business. We were there with a big crew and these two massive chav dudes came past us with their birds and one of the girls just screamed, “You just called me a fucking mosher!” Obviously, I’d done no such thing but she wasn’t having it and launched herself at me and started punching me in the face. She was fucking hard man; what could I do? I can hardly square up to a girl and start exchanging punches can I? So I just sat there whilst she screamed, “I’m not a fucking mosher” and punched me ten or so times straight into the face and broke my nose. Another random Wakey experience.

Despite being from the skatepark generation – you all still followed the Yorkshire road trip path early on – didn’t you all used to go to Livi once a year back in the day?

Yeah, I never knew until recently that going to Livi was a Wakey tradition from earlier generations, but yeah we’d do regular Scotland trips. Just convoy it with the whole crew and camp out at parks across Scotland. Dunblane was the best man; every time we camped there something funny would happen. One time we were there and everybody apart from T-Bone and Morgi went to get beers. When we got back Morgi was on the floor, pretty much in tears. He’s like, “T-Bone fucking smacked me because I was on my phone.” T-Bone piped up with, “Yeah, no phones allowed dickhead, this is a road trip, you’re not allowed to ring your fucking bird.” (Laughs), I’m pretty sure Morgi didn’t even

Frontside No-Comply

have a bird at that point either. Another time we camped there and in the morning we woke up to some old guy going (adopts Scottish accent), “Excuse me son, can I speak to you a sec?” I crawl out of the tent and he goes, “There’s been mention of a poo on the path – I want to get to the bottom of it.” I said, “It must’ve been a dog mate…” He replies with, “Well it must’ve been a pretty civilised dog son, it’s left toilet paper all around it…”

Fucking schoolboy error right there, (laughs).

So you’re from Wakefield Paul – explain what that place is like for people unaware of it?

(Laughs), what a question. Wakefield is raw basically. It’s a pretty big city but it has the vibe of a village kind of, everyone knows everyone even though there are tens of thousands of people here. Over the last few years loads of rad creative things have been happening too – lots of art stuff going on. The music scene is sick here as well; it’s always had a strong DIY music scene since we were kids. Wakefield is essentially based around getting pissed but with a heavy creative scene to back up the boozing. I think we’ve kind of completed Wakefield to a sense, so you just add in loads of booze and carry on.

What’s WUG? Is it local pride?

See, it’s that underground that nobody really even knows what WUG means. It stands for ‘Wakefield Underground’ and Horbury Ben started it right?

Wallride Nollie Into The Bank

Yeah.

See we had no idea what it even meant when we were kids but it just connected with what we were doing. Like, nobody ever filmed anything really – even in the generations beforehand, like your generation. Yeah people would come here from other places and film because we have sick spots but the actual locals never really bothered to capture anything. It was just skating for the sake of skating. People shred here but they do it quietly. I guess before my time too, there was Rehab skatepark, which was one of only two decent indoor skateparks of the time so it’s always been on the map in terms of the national skate scene, but the locals always kept it underground. It has deep skate history but unless you know, it’d pass by you. I mean Lance Mountain shot a photo wallriding on the dole office in Wakey for fuck’s sake. It’s nice how the WUG thing really fits with how the scene is here.

Aside from skating, you’re heavily involved in playing music – what instruments do you play and where did that side of your life come from?

Yeah I’m massively into listening to music mainly, more than anything else: I’m obsessed by it. That’s why I love driving a van around all day for work because I can just blast the tunes. I’ve always been like that, my mum still jokes about my college days because I’d

often leave the house, only to reappear ten minutes later having missed the bus to get there on time because I’d forgotten my headphones. I refuse to use public transport without music…who does that?

You play instruments too though, right?

Yeah, the drums are my main one and then I piss about with everything else. I’ve been in a few bands over the years but mainly just jammed loads – that’s how I’ve learned to play properly.

Your sister is a professional musician too though so it must’ve come from somewhere…

Yeah, it’s all from my dad, him just blasting Queen at me from a young age. Queen, Bowie, Thin Lizzy, all the heavier stuff. I’d sit under my grandma’s kitchen table with a personal tape player listening to my dad’s cassettes from a really young age.

Your sister has made it in the music world hasn’t she? Tell us about Sarah…

Yeah, she’s killing it. She makes a living from making music, which is the coolest thing ever. She’s pissed me off by singing at top volume in the house since we were kids, probably pissed your family off too since they lived next door, but it’s worked out really well for her. Check out Sarah Watson if you’re interested, she has loads of stuff online.

She travels the world singing now – cruise ships around Tahiti, islands in New Zealand, everywhere. She’s off to Nashville again soon for her second trip – not to necessarily get picked up by anyone but the last time she went she ended up getting asked to get up

Ride On 5-0 Grind

on stage with all kinds of established musicians there and play with them.

Wasn’t she in a bunch of West End shows too?

Yeah, she’s done loads of those. She did the X-Factor one year as well, went to Kelly Rowland’s house and all that. Dave and I went to the X-Factor in Manchester to see her.

I thought it’d be funny to go with him but when we got there he refused to take off these neon green Krooked sunglasses, even when we were inside, (laughs). At some point we decided to go off and buy crisps and as we didn’t know where we were going, we ended up walking backwards up the red carpet and bumping into Olly Murs. I pointed him out to Dave who responded by asking, “Who the fuck is Olly Murs?” directly into his face, (laughs). There was this weird stand off moment where it looked like Olly Murs was going to kick off. I think he said something like, “What the fuck did you say?” Dave just waddled off with his dandy walk leaving Murs well pissed off…

Have you ever played music with your sister?

A few times yeah, when we were younger but not since she’s been doing it professionally, or my dad really. Most of my music playing has taken place at the Unit in Wakefield – need to get a Footsy mention in here…

What’s that?

It was formerly called Audio Zone, it’s a unit run by all the old Wakey Rastas: it’s at the bottom of a hill and at the top of the same hill is Harry’s bar where I work sometimes. So we can get a pint, skate down the hill and then just listen to tunes or jam whenever we want. Clink, the guy who runs it, is a Wakefield legend.

It’s still an active recording studio too though, right?

Yeah but it’s also kind of a hang out for anyone interested in playing music in the city.

We all chip in, we never get bothered for making noise or anything like that: it’s just the most creative, welcoming place basically. Most of the bands in the DIY scene here have recorded in there. The people that run it are incredible musicians too but keeping it true to the WUG ethos, they never chased after fame or anything and are content to play all these little festivals around the country. We have a music festival in Wakefield every year too, called Long Division – Fat White Family played, tons of other sick bands. It’s just low key but it’s a really good thing for the music scene here.

Didn’t you just play a gig with Damo Suzuki from Can in Dewsbury of all places?

Details please…

Yeah, that was pretty mental - our friends who used to own this vintage shop in Wakefield where they put on gigs invited us. They moved to Dewsbury, which is nearby, and they now have this big Victorian building, they live on one floor of it, they run their vintage store out of it and they put on various events in there. Damo had played there before and wanted to come back so they sorted it. Natalie who runs the place put on this big meal for him and we all got invited over to meet him. Damo has been doing this thing since the 80’s where he’ll come to a venue and the venue will sort out a collective of local musicians to play with him and then he’ll just jam and sing over the top of whatever happens.

Was he cool?

Yeah, super nice – he had his own bodyguard with him – well not ‘bodyguard’ but this other dude who travels with him because he’s getting on now, like late 70’s probably.

And you’re a fan of Can obviously?

Oh yeah, big fan. I turned up late to the sound check so Aiden (Blaymire – another Wakefield skater/musician) had already tagged himself in to play drums with Damo, we were still supporting but it turned out so much sicker to be able to sit there and watch my mates jam with Damo Suzuki. I was buzzing, it sounded so rad – he just kind of groans over the music – his voice sounds like a didgeridoo. We’ve been invited to play with him and his mate who came with him again too, at some place in Brighton later this year so I’m hyped on that. We’re going to go and support them – me, Matt Knee and our mate Stu. I’m guessing that slamming like a sack of crap from skating and playing drums don’t go together too well…

No, not massively, (laughs). I’m not trying to ballbag here but I can say that all of the skaters who play music here, we all slam like bastards constantly so yeah, that does cause problems at times. I mean I slam like a bag of shit and my wrist is totally fucked, it was broken for a year and I didn’t even realise and I’m sure you can imagine how much

fun playing drums on tracks that can last for an hour with a broken wrist isn’t.

How did your wrist saga begin?

I dunno really, I just remember slamming one summer and having to change gears with the wrong hand for a couple of weeks at first. It felt better eventually, just a bit stiff, so I just carried on. Left it for a year whilst everyone was nagging me to go and get it checked out and then when I finally did go to hospital they told me that because I’d left it broken for so long that the bone had died. So I had surgery, had a bone graft, then got it pinned but because the bone around the break had died there was no way that my body could fix itself. I stopped playing drums for ages, tried to stop skating for a while.

I did pretty well with that but I just got so pissed off not doing the two things that I enjoyed the most that I started playing and skating again regardless. It hurts more since the surgery I reckon.

Did you have to learn how to play drums and skate differently?

I can still play drums, just no rolls or anything with my left hand. As for skating, I just had to learn how to slam differently. I can’t put my hand down so I just have to take every slam on my shoulder.

What advice do you have to offer then?

If you’ve got a poorly wrist, go get it checked out or you might end up in a situation like me where I won’t be able to hold my (future) baby with joy, (laughs). Seriously though, just don’t do what I did and ignore it.

Farran: As a former skateshop (Subvert) manager, what are the pros and cons of working in skateboard retail?

The pros – you get to meet a lot of rad kids where you see that same spark that you had as a kid – you can’t really beat that. It was annoying to see the kids there whose parents wanted them to learn who just weren’t into it. I saw that a lot through the skate teaching aspect of that job. You know how it is, if a kid doesn’t want to do it, it’s not happening.

But then you get the kids where you could tell the slams didn’t phase them and that they were fully buzzing off it – that was ace. It gave me hope for the future. It seems to have died off a lot, at least locally, like in terms of young kids being obsessed with skating like we all were – maybe because it’s a ‘cool thing’ now, so kids don’t get into it so passionately. But when you meet those kids that are still obsessive like that, it’s sick.

Like little Harry (Townend)?

Yeah he’s the don – and his brother Joe too, I’ve never seen a fire burn like that in a kid so young. He’s obsessed. He’ll tell me the names of tricks that I’ll do that I have no idea about. It’s nuts, he’s so young but he just absorbs everything about it. I’ll learn all these obscure footplant tricks off him, and learn their proper names and he’s 12! He’s modest too, which is essential. Seeing that happening is really refreshing. He looks up to Blinky (Sam Hutchinson) so much, rather than any pros or whatever. That was just like me too,

I never really cared about pros, I looked up to Brenna. I think it’s cool to be inspired by people that you actually know.

Despite working at Subvert, you are now and always have been deep with Wakefield’s SOS shop Division 24 – tell us a bit about your first experiences of going in there and meeting Wayne the owner.

It’s a proper OG skate shop; you don’t really see many like that any more. The first time I went in there I remember complaining to Wayne about snapping boards all the time and he just said “Mate, you need to land on your bolts.” Just raw and straight to the point: kind of daunting but in a good way, (laughs). He’s still like that now, I see kids come in sometimes and he’s friendly but straight to the point about everything. The way Division 24 is, that’s my vision of how a skate shop should be, more so than the more modern kind of boutique-style shops. Whenever I go in them I always feel like

Backside Noseblunt

I can’t touch owt, mainly because I’ve got dirty fucking hands. Whereas you’ll go into Wayne’s with dirty hands and he’ll go “Whoa mate, your hands are filthy - I’ve got some soap here, go wash your hands then we’ll have a brew.”

Farran: It’s pretty crazy to think that Division 24 is Yorkshire’s oldest skate store.

Yeah I know, it’s been there for 15 years as Division 24, and another 5 as Board Riders before it changed names and he’s never had a Nike, Converse or adidas shoe in there and it’s still going strong. Same as with the scooter thing – I know people hate on scooters but the shops that sold them made bare money from it. Wayne just refused to participate in it because he didn’t believe in it and I think he knew that if he jumped on those bandwagons that it’d eventually fuck him up. He risked it and stayed core and it worked. I owe him a lot for sure. We never got free stuff from him because that isn’t realistic – we’d get a free board each when a new range of shop boards came out but nobody ever minded paying for stuff in there because he’s part of our scene. We want Division to survive. I mean all of us are skint bastards, like ‘last tenner crew’ and the amount of tick he’s handed out over the years to keep us skating is amazing. I’ve definitely been in the shop ‘Book of Doom’ many times for outstaying my tick privileges at times but I’ve always paid it off. Without Wayne there’s no way a lot of us would still be skating.

Are you sponsored right now Wapo?

Yeah, by Vans - as well as by Division 24 obviously.

Farran: Tell us the story of how you got on Vans.

I’d broken up with my long-time girlfriend. Woke up the next day and had to ring in sick because I’d got so depressingly drunk the night it happened. So I went to the skatepark instead and Brenna was there. After about half an hour of listening to me moan and mope around he goes, “I can’t handle even looking at you any more; I’ve never seen anybody look this bummed. I’m going to text Manhead (Josh Young – Vans UK TM)

Wallie Crooked Grind

Backside Blunt

and tell him to send you some shoes.” Five minutes later he wandered back over and goes, “Manhead wants to know what shoe size you are…” (Laughs). Just like that.

Brenna’s word is powerful. So yeah, I got on Vans by getting dumped.

You told me once that the only reason you wanted to get sponsored was to have the opportunity to go on skate trips and skate with people who rip – has that happened? You’ve been on a few trips away with Vans right?

Yeah that’s it. It’s happened. I’ve been to London a bunch of times, went to Scotland on a Vans trip even though that was a total shambles as I wrecked myself as soon as we got there. But yeah, that was my motivation to get sponsored – just to have that chance to go away and skate with the people I’d watched growing up. It’s sick – I’m really grateful for the opportunity. If somebody is nice enough to give you something for free then it’s important to appreciate it and try and do something to deserve it.

Weren’t you just in Paris as well – what was the story with that?

Yeah I was out there with Reece Leung, Heywood and Dark Mark (Pritchard). We hooked up with Remy Taveira and Val Bauer – they’re hilarious. I love those two. They’re a comedy force. Remy had been trying this trick and when he slammed he’d made this weird French groaning sound, like “Oooaaaooo!” Val had recorded it and kept playing it really loud as we were wandering around Paris. Really funny man.

Farran: Is that where you did the smith grind for this interview with the 20 foot drop at the side of it? What’s the story there?

Yeah, it seemed like a rad idea until I actually got up there and looked at it. The rail itself was covered in this really thick paint so I had to scrape that off first, then it wouldn’t grind so I had to wax it up which is treacherous enough normally but even worse with a massive drop at the side of it. I just kept thinking, ‘if I fall off this, I’m dead’. Whilst this is happening Remy kept playing this Graham Nash song on his speaker and the lyrics in it kept repeating ‘I might never be coming home’. I had that stuck in my head the whole time like, ‘yeah if I fall off here I might never be coming home either – my mum’s going to be pissed.’ I was stoked on him playing it though; it definitely made me do it.

Tell us about your job at Northern Monk – what do you do?

I’m a delivery driver – I move the beer all over the North. So I get to listen to tunes all day, cruise around and deliver the finest ales to thirsty humans. It’s a sick job, I love doing it and I get to see some crazy skate spots on my journeys. Basically Northern Monk are a really rad company. They do a fair bit with Vague and are down to support any creative endeavour that’s going on in any way they can. They’re a proper independent business, free to go about things the way they want to.

One of your good skate mates works there too right? How is it working with Brenna (Harrap)?

Yeah, just carrying on the extreme banter from when we worked together at Subvert.

I love being around him and listening to the funny shit he comes out with…well, aside from listening to him moan about his chapped arse.

We ought to talk about him a little bit really – his story is truly mental isn’t it?

Yeah it is. For the people that don’t know, Brenna was involved in a horrible accident at a previous job where someone basically drove a fork lift truck through his leg and totally obliterated it. The doctors told him that skating was over completely, and that he might even struggle to walk again because the damage was so gnarly. Then two years later he’s frontside flipping over hips in skateparks. I was there the day he did his first nollie flip on flat after recovering – it was mind-blowing. A weaker person would’ve been crushed by what happened but Brenna is such a strong person that he just dealt with it.

I couldn’t even handle going into hospital when it first happened because I knew that I’d have just burst into tears. He’s been through a lot of shit and he’s come out of it so much better than anyone I could think of. He just never let any of it fuck with him and found something positive out of the situation he found himself in. Defying the doctors and skating again, using his time off skating to get really good at shooting photos. He’s an inspiration.

Let’s finish it off on a traditional Transworld style rundown. What the best trick ever done in Wakefield and why?

Hmmm, there are loads. David Gonzalez doing the taildrop flip at the Post Office bankto-wall that ended up in Extremely Sorry. That was nuts. It’s such a mosher trick but he’s the ultimate mosher so it’s fine. What else? Oh no, I know – Joe Lynskey’s nollie flip over the wall at the Wreck Gap. That is absolutely fucking mental, and he did it twice. That’s the best trick ever done in Wakefield – sorry David Gonzalez.

Best trick you’ve ever seen at Thornes skatepark and why?

That’s a hard one. The Neil Smith 50-50 down the kinked rail to nollie heelflip out that was on one of Rye’s edits. Who was it that did the stalefish over the cereal bowl?

Manhead backside ollied it at the side on the opening day, Rob Smith stink-bugged over the whole thing but there was somebody else who stalefished straight over it.

Maybe Ben Nordberg doing the blunt tre flip out on the big side of the jersey barrier that was in that Vans ‘Powley’s Angels’ Big Push edit. That was amazing. Actually no, fuck that – Dean Greensmith’s transfer out of the hip over into the bowl extension. He did a frontside tailbone over that. I lost my shit when I saw that footage on Welcome’s Elijah Berle shoe edit. That’s the best thing ever done for sure.

Best thing you’ve ever seen Dr Tre do?

I saw him tre flip the bank to flat at Boom skatepark 5 times in a row recently. That was insanity – pure Terminator skills. As for other Dr Tre classics – I’d have to say his “Nice jeans Brenna…” comment. (Laughs), Brenna responded with, “They’re chinos Alan”, to

Backside Ollie Over The Hip To Thin Landing

Roll In

which he replied “Oh, sorry man. Nice chinos Brenna.” (Laughs). Alan is the best guy. So modest, so nice and so, so good at skateboarding.

Best skate spot in Wakefield?

College banks, or ‘purple banks’ depending on which generation you’re from.

Best pub in Wakefield?

Harry’s bar: they don’t give a shit if you’re outside skating, even if you work there.

Top 5 Wakefield characters in no particular order with reasons why…

1. Eddie Cowie – name any skateboarder to him that isn’t Tony Hawk and he knows absolutely nothing about them and doesn’t give a shit but he loves it as much as anyone you’ve ever met. The story about him getting slapped and bursting his ear drum only for that to go on to save his life needs to be in here too. Two weeks after perforating his ear drum he fell down the steps at this pub called The Fenton and died twice. If his ear drum hadn’t been perforated from playing slaps he would’ve died because all the blood on his brain from the fall was able to seep out through his burst ear drum.

2. Aiden Blaymire AKA Lobo Scroungebird (laughing). Only joking. Mainly just because he’s the most positive, up for doing anything creative guy ever - when you have a friend like that, the love is real.

3. Clink – the guy who runs the music unit I talked about earlier. He’s one of the best drummers I’ve ever met and he just enables so much good creative shit in Wakefield. He’s kept that street alive since the 90’s and kept the creativity rich.

4. Jal – the cannonball man. He should be number 1. He can cannonball into anything. I’ve seen him try to cannonball huge gaps after ten pints, just ripping his hands open and not caring. He’s the nicest human being in the world and the best cannonballer in the world aside from the guy who did it down El Toro. He told me, deadly seriously, that the El Toro guy is his hero in Barcelona too, (laughs), “I’m not joking Wapo, I live to cannonball and that El Toro one is the most serious one of all.”

5. Rob D – another guy responsible for keeping the music scene alive in Wakefield.

The owner of local record label Philophobia and a man prepared to spend his own money to make creative things happen. Big up Rob D. Who are your favourite UK skaters and why?

Brenna because he’s the boss. Ben Broyd and Blinky for the same reasons because they’re both so energetic and amazing to watch. I can’t think of any other people that have their Dragonball Z energy when they skate. Joe Howard, Dean Greensmith and Jordan Thackeray for the same reasons. Dangerous, loose and nice people.

Give the people out there in Vague land the benefit of your wisdom Wapo.

What’s the most important life lesson you’ve taken on board in your 26 years of living?

Take positives out of every experience in life. Don’t waste time, never take anything for granted – appreciate, love, live, listen and laugh. Those are the most important things in life because you never know what’s around that bastard corner.

NICK EN

JENS w how ’ll kno ene y e h t , UK sc ir salt rth the t just in the abulous o w is o ge ,n le, f nowled k Jensen is owner of Is only k e t a an has his coe sk r Nic m s e w o e t o c h h t a N w r in ved. t cha yone rent ticker For an a significan dged and lo ible shred s s is transpa his kids g f le d o ow cre thin nges much y ackn bsolutely in k’s eye for I bet he cha owcase the ll a b lo to sh but g d still an a n of him. Nic o day life ( t noured io an y t o a t h ia d is c e t e r ’r ly r a e p ab our ap ) and w k. resum upped ating and p st of piz-azz ks again Nic k o n s a m , work the ut ir pages. Th s with a nappie lent on our f a t ’s man nes Guy Jo en y b w s ie Interv by Nick Jen Leung k ce r e o e w R Art by y h p a r g Photo

Yes Nick, how’s it going? What are you up to right now?

I am in my studio listening to Neil Diamond (laughs).

Thanks again for doing this, could you please tell me how many people know your name is Simon (my brother uses his middle name as a choice first name also), is Nick your Bowie stage name equivalent to exceed further in the art world?

(Laughs) no man I wish. I also have a career in America and this is how I manage it. Just kidding. My mum and dad changed their mind after my passport was made when I was a baby.

Going back, you were formally trained in the old brush stroking, do you think you benefited from this route and what are your current thoughts on creativity through education and taking this path to pursue art?

Really good question. Art school gave you 0 brush stroke training. Basically the one I went too just said painting is kinda dead and so we should pick up a video camera. It’s weird how much an art school is based on the group of teachers and their own beliefs. None of my tutors painted, so how can you really have a critical

eye and understanding if you don’t actually do it. However this makes you really fight for it, and pursue it no matter what. Eventually I met more friends that felt the same way and so I just aligned myself with these people who were so much more enthusiastic. Painting has come back into trend now. Especially figurative painting.

If ever I learned a lesson, it’s that fashions swing roughly every 5 years, so stick to your guns and don’t be too swayed by the hype.

Your exposure of skateboarding and the art world must have a delicious balance between charismatic scumbags and eccentrics. Who has surprised you most with their art appreciation from a skate perspective and skate appreciation from an art perspective?

I would say it was when Alex Klein and Tony Vitello came to London for a week mainly to skate and see Tottenham Hotspur play. They were both really into it, And still now Tony comments on my paintings. Stokes me out. In reverse - I guess when I worked with Oliver Laric on his artists series. I had no idea he had an interest in skating. He loves Tom Knox and the Thrasher comedy news round up guy (Skateline). He knew more than me about most of it (laughs).

For those of you unfamiliar, you co-own the glorious Isle Skateboards, whose output is absolutely faultless. Prior to Isle had you done any skate graphics or had you kept your art separate from the skate world?

No I had never done graphics before.

You’ve mentioned artists such as John Finneran, Ted Gahl, Matthias Weischer, Christian Hidaka and Sam Windett in your stimulus interview with Ben Powell for Slam City Skates. But do you take inspiration from more inanimate and circumstantial occurrences, for example when a lamp post gets knocked over then becomes a bin, or a social movement perhaps?

Yeah I mean I think it’s the same as skating, I wasn’t sure if your sentence was going to say ‘when a lamp post gets knocked over and then becomes a pole jam.’

I think I am sometimes a bit tight and then skating opens up my imagination. It’s good to always keep an open mind and I try to encourage myself to be more playful with my approach to painting.

You’re obviously a fan of surrealist art, but does this leak into literature and musical stimulus also? If not, what gets you juiced?

Do you think I am obviously influenced? I suppose my new works could be seen as dreamy. I don’t know, I love the cubist period in art and how this developed through various artists. Like how Paul Klee was in that territory and yet his works feel so different. And I love the period around 1913-17 of Matisse when he made some of the most ambitious paintings - collaging space and time in a way never seen

before. I still look at this stuff all the time.

Did you get a free Skype account from that advert you and Shier did? How did that come about?

(Laughs) no. I got 600 quid I think. Can’t remember actually. Shier sorted it out I think.

In regard to Isle graphics, every time it couldn’t be more on point. Do you approach other artists for a guest series? What can provoke a series and is it hard separating your own work from the identity of the brand?

Thanks mate, I feel like my main focus is my painting and then as a by-product these other urges and desires come out through the graphics. It’s a nice balance.

Graphics are so fun, I never over think them like I do my paintings. Artists series are so enjoyable, I just approach people whose work I like and I can see a link to Isle. It’s all very unprofessional, I am basically a fan/stalker disguised as a creative director.

How does the process of producing a graphic for Isle compared to one of your own works differ. I’ve noticed how some of your own delightful work has found its way onto the underside of Canadian maple before.

Both processes take an initial idea that gets half worked then reflected on and then finished. Painting just takes much longer, it’s a slower, subtler process. Boards are thinner canvases too so it’s easier to make small exciting colourful images to fit them.

The Isle x Carhartt x Raphaël Zarka collab was incredible. How did this come about and is it a style of project you’d like to do more of?

It was because Sylvain (Tognelli) knows Raphaël Zarka and skates for Carhartt WIP, we all discussed doing a collab and Raphaël was up for it. Carhartt funded the production of his amazing art work and produced the film Dan Magee made. I would love to continue working on collaborations similar to this, not everyday you get to skate inside a museum.

Would you ever do a new spin on a spray heart graphic?

No way I would fuck it up.

Do you feel the consistency of graphic releases helps you produce or do you feel it can compromise significance from your own perspective (I definitely don’t think their diluted). The 21st century curse of releasing something to just over ride it essentially.

I think because we don’t do that many releases it’s ok. I know what you mean though. It’s hard to keep up with new and interesting ideas if they need to be turned over too frequently. At the moment I think we have a good balance.

Do you feel paint on clothes blends the middle and working classes?

(Laughs), yeah but the middle classes probably have posh oil paint on themselves.

Have you any OG Blueprint garms and do you still own that skeleton hoodie from MFWTCB? I moved house and lost that skeleton hoodie! Gutted! I only have some Blueprint boards and 1 t-shirt that I keep. The ‘abuse your architecture’ one.

You’ve emailed Ted Gahl drunk and got a positive response, have you had any failed attempts with other artists, be it cyber or in person and by the same token, have you been on the receiving end of a drunken fan?

Luckily I haven’t been on the receiving end. (Laughs) I have had a couple of no replies and also people asking for money that I don’t have. I try to be honest and offer the option to do some boards more as an extension of their work and not something that will bring in loads of money.

What’s your favourite household plant?

I have a cool spider plant.

In the current climate of conservatives making it harder and harder to get art funding, and even charge more for exhibitions making it less accessible, how do you feel we can combat this?

I know, it’s definitely not very recognised as an important enough contribution to our culture. I just live in a bubble and try not to think about it, which is also a bit stupid.

How passively high do you get going for breakfast with Kyle Wilson, my mate Matt says he lives opposite your studio.

(Laughs) I bumped into him a couple of times. He is my favourite skater and the nicest dude.

With a heavy back catalogue of stand out parts you’ve always stayed true to your style and preferences whilst adding a fresh twist and evolving What are some tricks you are most proud of and is there a section which

Ollie

bears particular significance to you and why?

I like my Vase part because I feel like it was a massive challenge to make an interesting section as company co-owner. I am always worried about being the dude who is over the hill and too self involved to realise. So maybe this is my last good section (laughs)?

Mate far from it, but we all adore that part! Tom Knox and yourself are not only team mates, real mates but you have had children on exactly the same day, is it your friendship that induced this synchronicity? How did you react when you found out and are joint birthday parties now mandatory?

Yeah, it’s one of those wicked things. Totally out of control, and I am so happy to always have these memories with Tom and his family.

When was the last time you snuck out in the middle of the night and skated to Kristin Hersh ‘Your ghost’?

Mmm, I will get back to you.

Is there a particular show you were a part of that trips you out?

Doing a show with Brian Anderson is definitely my proudest moment. He bought one too. He is such an inspirational dude and I looked up to him as a kid and rinsed his ‘Welcome to Hell’ part.

By the same token is there anything collective or individual wise coming up for in terms of showcasing work?

Doing a group show in August in aid of the mental health charity Papyrus.

Where can the public appreciate your work?

I have a website site: www.nickjensen.co.uk and in 10 years you can see my work at the Tate at my retrospective. Just kidding.

You kid but we’ll see!

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Aaron Jago - New Deal

Ben Broyd - Backside Hip Transfer

Cam Barr - Boardslide

Cam Barr - Hippy Jump Josh Young - Frontside Wallride

Marius Chanut - Backside Lipslide Josh Gregory - Nose Manual

Michal Juras - Boardslide Michal Juras - Gap To Backside 50-50 Grind

Sam Roberts - Frontside Wallride Daryl Dominguez - Double Ollie

We’d like to extend a large ‘thank you’ to Ollie Wright and everyone at Vans for making the tour happen, to the many top tier humans we bumped into whilst on the road, Northern Monk for graciously providing us with a wealth of free beers, and to the sterling guys at Welcome, Drug Store, Forty Two, Flatspot and Slam City Skates for their assistance with the jams.

Until next time…

UPSET H

C STOMA band’s me, the r o f , d current s an wo year ever gain in our t t s a p across ln the prawled s we wil ach for s g m ls in o a h t t d S e r t o p to then gf of pse amount rity only owing U -inducing longin u ll s c o u f e o s n m ic e r ll e ty eno his isn’t idy I’ve b arted. T the anxie esented by the sense of t s s e e n ls o e a h f v c e a e ment r y o name is best p ; looping you int ering where the struments, equip eir is h T . le n d c in r in th do won hat life cy e’re lost ssive ge they a ses leaving you tilises w w a u t t s s h c r il e a h v w m e e o what our sen f us miss sult of their obs Upset St attack y e n most o r they do, io t a a is d h c n e w brashly a r p e way from it with a curated with lov to take a ey have and do y ll u f e r a . c th by which is thralled and skill . It’s one to be en ld t r o o n w r le e neth possib hich is im nature w ughty raser Do F y b w intervie g Intro and y by Reece Leun h p a r g o t Pho

Can we get a breakdown of the band for those hearing about you for first timer?

We’re Laura Fitton, Bradley Shemmell, Ed Hitchman and Helena Long - four people who think they’re in different bands who play like they’re in the same band.

We’ve got Fitz on bass ukulele with a bunch of bizarre pedals, Ed plays bass with the most modest amount of pedals which are as weird as Laura’s. Brad also plays a serious amount of pedals with a bass. Then there is Helena on the drums.

How did this band even start? The so-called melting pot of London obviously plays a part but you’ve seemed to have acquired each other in different ways.

Fitz and Brad met in Boston (see Rob Lowe for details) and they bragged about having Joanna Newsom covers and both of us ended up in London with a plethora of covers ranging from Kelly Clarkson to Tatu. Ed was at one of those New Cross Inn gigs where Brad was schmoozed into an almost-existent band. This was perfect timing for Helena who they went to uni with in Norwich. She ended up coming into the fold and Helena was yearning for a band in the first place. If anything it was truly fate and fortune.

In regards to the previous question. When did you truly think: “This music works. I want to play this music with this band”?

After a few of our first practise sessions we felt that most things came naturally.

Lengthy songs such as ‘You Probably’, ‘Emo Calypso’ and ‘Miss Honey’… Laura’s ‘Lost Love’ really pulled us together. The first version was written eight years ago and the song has come full circle. Some of our hair may have been shaved by choice but due to some of our receding hairlines, it has come full circle.

You’ve described yourselves as ‘Shoegazey emo-disco meets a hysterical woman, by way of Fate and Fortune magazine.’ Does your primary hysteria disperse itself from Laura’s looped lyrics?

The hysteria is in the lyrics for sure, and the stress of the loops going wonky, but I feel like our atmosphere on stage is generally hysterical on a personal level. It’s like a roast, you never know whose turn it is.

What makes your stomach upset and how upset can a stomach get?

Fritz truly worries amount the circulation of worrying. If anything that’s what makes her stomach upset. This in turn effects Helena’s stomach during ‘Spilt Milk’. As for Ed and Brad it’s a mix of tinned pineapple and rye bread.

Could you break down an idiots guide to putting together an Upset Stomach song?

Lyrically it’s usually about choruses, which are mostly stupid phrases or ear wormy

things Laura has heard, like thinking of characters for each song, who that person would be and what they would say. Then we just add as many stupid noises as possible.

Your last tour spanned across the UK from The Victoria, Derby based studio Dubrek to your hometown Boston. What were some of the highlights and negatives of back-to-back travelling and gigs?

Highlights totally included a pilgrimage back to Boston where it all started but there has also been the great people we’ve had the chance to meet. We’d semi navigate through different towns with skateparks and bully Brad into doing kickflips. Another powerful thing about playing in Boston was that we performed at the ‘Practice Shed’ in front of probably 20 people. That’s 20 people along with ‘Bedbound By Summer’ who we love.

I’ve had the chance to see you at smaller clean venues as well as sticky London bars but do you have a personal preference in where you play?

Like anyone in a hard-to-define band with little mainstream potential, made up of people that are a bit too old, we can say with confidence it’s 100% about the money.

Being based in London, how often do you all get together and work on the music itself?

Executive Ed, our in-house producer and bassist extraordinaire runs a tight ship.

We practice once a week, and since three of us lost our jobs around the same time (guess which three are the losers) we can do brutal eight-hour daytime sessions.

When I last saw Upset Stomach, Laura in particular was the least assuming and most self-loathing about plugging the band onstage. I’m pretty sure you had a self-sustained merch stand for the whole gig too. Does the band have a conscious ideal of not enforcing the audience to find the band? If not at all?

Butt plugs, bath plugs, band plugs. The three pillars of society. It would be nice if people found us, when people ‘get it’ it’s fucking joyous. But we are a bit niche, and also un-google-able so perhaps it’s subconscious self-sabotage. It’s also not that we don’t find it insincere or part of ‘playing the game’, we just want the music to do the talking as much as possible.

Who’d be the first band member you’d kick out? Do you already have a backup?

Fitz: Bradley, 100%, but I’m not sure why. We would replace him with a cut-out of Bjork and an mp3 of all the Final Fantasy soundtracks playing at once.

Helena: I want to say Bradley just because I know Ed will say that and it’s a running joke with Ed that we can just play without him. But also because Brad has his own projects he just doesn’t need us, so I think it’d be more of a loss for us than him.

Seriously though, we’d have no music vids or riffs without Brad - so no back-up and no kicking outs preferably!

Ed: Bradley. He plays like trash and is unpleasant to be around. My brother Tony is better at guitar, knows all the songs and is waiting for Bradley to give us an excuse.

Brad: Probably me, I’m a very sloppy guitarist and have only lasted this long on swag and pedal effects. Ed’s brother Tony is a much better guitarist and man than me.

How did the ‘Lost Love’ music video at House of Vans come about?

It was our one true pop song which deserved a Warped-Tour style video mixed

with a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 aesthetic. As we were saying before, ‘Lost Love’ was our baby, this was the best way to celebrate an anthem including VX footage, backstage-ish antics and on stage performance based band nostalgia.

Has having Helena, the UK’s No.1 Female Street Skateboarder, in the band put pressure on you all to perform harder? Have you all had to go get personal trainers?

Two of us are indoor people, two of us are outdoor people. Two of us go up and down on ramps. Two of us go up and down on their personal weight fluctuation journeys. Life’s a spectrum, and we’re all on it in very different places. Also, fuck off Fraser.

Find more from Upset Stomach at: soundcloud.com/upset-stomach upsetstomach.bandcamp.com/ @upsetstomachband on Instagram @upsetstomachuk on Twitter www.facebook.com/upsetstomachuk/ www.webmd.com/ Or just Google ‘‘Upset Stomach Gastric Band’

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Ben Cooley

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How did the collab series first come about and how has it progressed from it’s seminal inception?

Russell Bisset: We’ve always been close to the skate community in Leeds, whether that’s through the team here and those of us that skate or our ties with Welcome.

When we heard of the plans for Vague we knew it was something we wanted to support.

With this being the seventh and final synergistic liquid incorporating not just Vague, Northern Monk and Gipsy Hill, but also The National Skateboard Co. and Vans. Have you done a brew which combined so many different forces before and are you happy with how it turned out?

Brian Dickson: This was definitely up there with the most chefs in the kitchen, with Gipsy Hill brewery thrown into the mix as well. Obviously there were plenty of ideas going around but the beer we ended up putting together is set to be a winner, and the culmination will of course be a successful launch party at the end of the month.

“The base beer is a clean, smooth Kolsch, a German lager style fermented warmer like an ale. But to give it the punch that the final Vague collaboration deserved, we gave it the Northern Monk treatment, as if it were one of our special IPAs.” Was there a particular favourite for you from this joint series? Be it brew flavourings or can imagery?

Russell: Man, there’s been a lot of highlights from this series. We tend to focus on IPAs and big stouts, so the opportunity to make a series of crushable lagers and pilsners and really explore this style was well received for sure. Highlights were the Citra Lager number 2 and the melon and Raspberry and Honeydew Melon Kolsch.

That was the taste of summer in a can!

Who came up with the peel back labels for your cans? It adds such a good extra layer to the whole experience?

Russell: When you work in beer, your suppliers want to visit you. A lot! A rep from our labelling company came up and we were talking about new technology they had. They talked a bit about what they do for pharmaceutical products and the labels they use. We thought we’d give it a try. It worked. They used to cost 70p each or something (vs 7p for a single layer) but now we make so many that the labels are a bit more cost effective.

Could you give us a bit of background on the type of beer and flavourings for the seventh collaborative brew for the Northern Monk x Vague patrons series?

Brian: The base beer is a clean, smooth Kolsch, a German lager style fermented warmer like an ale. But to give it the punch that the final Vague collaboration deserved, we gave it the Northern Monk treatment, as if it were one of our special

IPAs. We used oats and wheat to boost the mouthfeel and then dry hopped with some big, juicy US varieties, including one called Azacca which was fairly new to us.

It gives the beer a really distinct melon character which we’re loving.

In regards to previous collaborative brews, what has been the most experimental?

Russell: We made a beer out of parsnips once, that was in our early days when we were like kids in a sweet shop. It divided opinion! We haven’t made a beer with parsnips since… We did do a Hendersons relish stout though. Also just about to release a cereal milk IPA. The leftover cereal milk is a highlight of any breakfast, we thought we’d make a beer inspired by it.

Are you hyped for the issue 10 and beer launch at Northern Monk in Leeds?

Russell: Damn right. Let’s go out in style.

PHOT gall O ery Tom Penny - Hippy Jump Photo: Leo Sharp

Billy Trick - Tail Drop 50-50 Grind Photo: Joel Peck Aurora Bullock - Wallie Photo: Rich West

Will Creswick - Frontside Boardslide Transfer Photo: Reece Leung Sam ‘Blinky’ Hutchinson - Drop In, Drop Off Photo: Josh Rose

Yonnie Cruz - Frontside Ollie Photo: Rafal Wojnowski Harry Ogilvie - Ollie Photo: Reece Leung

Helena Long - Frontside Feeble Grind Photo: Rich West

Vanessa Miles - Slappy 50-50 Grind Backside 180 Out Photo: Cameron Markin

Phoenix Luke - Frontisde 180 Pole Jam Photo: Ian Williams Jake Collins - Ride On 50-50 Grind All The Way Photo: James Griffiths

VAGUE MAG ADVERT

E HER OT W M: O IT ’S N E FR R ’ H YOU URG B EDIN

‘SQUARE GO’ Explanation: To invite another person/persons to a physical fight.

Example: “Ah seen you lookin at ma burds arse mate, you wantin a square go?”

This phrase can be used interchangeably with “mon the noo.”

“You just punched ma mum, MON THE NOO!”

‘TOP SHAGGER’ Explanation: This person is a bit of a legend.

Example: “This is Kyle, he’s a top shagger.”

Can also be abbreviated to “shags.”

“What’s happenin’ shags?”

‘JUICY’ Explanation: Refers specifically to a pint of Tennents lager.

‘PATSY’

Example: “Ah just got paid mate ah’ll get the juicys in.”

Example: “Am away to pick up the patsy.”

Explanation: Cocaine.

‘JOBBY’ ‘SHAN’

Explanation: Fecal excrement.

Explanation: Used to describe an unnecessarily mean comment or a small amount.

Example: “That jobby’s pure stinkin’.”

Example: ”That’s a shan portion of rice.” & “Dinny bully that kid man that’s so shan.”

‘COLLIE BUCKIE’ Explanation: The act of giving someone a piggy back.

‘CHORE’ Explanation: The act of stealing something.

Example: “Am too steamin to walk hame, gies a collie buckie?”

Example: “Just chored this bottle of wine fae the shop.”

‘PATCH’ Explanation: To avoid a situation or person.

Example: “Ah patched that job interview bro, ah wis too melted.”

‘WIDE O’ Explanation: A person who is particularly cheeky.

Example: “He asked for ma last slice of pizza man, he’s a pure wide o.”

Top shagger Miles Kondracki on his way to a collie buckie home.

Photography: Maciej Kawka Background image: Laura Meek