backyard

Ryan Carpenter. Front smith in the Bird Bath.

The (almost) Complete Guide to Nor Cal’s DIY Spots (part 1)

“I could say I remember it like it was yesterday but that would be a lie – in fact it seems like a lifetime ago. No smartphones, no email, weed was illegal no matter what your doctor cared to write, and the strippers had zits on their asses in Portland. Looking back it seems like 1995 was a completely different world than what exists today. I mean shit was real seedy back then and modern day terms like gentrify just weren’t in the average American’s vernacular. But even without the aid of booking flights and hotels online and the fantasy of transporting legal weed we somehow still made it to Burnside that summer because we fucking had to. “Build it and they will come” may be a corny ass line from a Kevin Costner movie but in the case of the granddaddy of DIY, it’s pretty much the way it was…” – Bruce Rodela

Penthouse bowl – Switzerland

Everything started with this ramp at my parents house we skated maybe three years before I moved into my own house. I rebuilt the the ramp to use the corners again and made something that really looks like a pool.

Oscar Mad. Floripa skatepark

Backyard bowls in Florianópolis – Brazil

“Florianopolis is like no other place in the world. Everywhere you look there are backyards pools built for skating, backyard mini ramps and skate stuff everywhere. Just walking down the street you hear skating in backyards on every block.” – Neal Hendrix

Frontside judo. Carbondale, Colorado.

The John ‘Dana’ Allison interview

Few people are “Classic” at the ripe age of 20. A “Classic” person is someone like Paul Newman in “Cool Hand Luke”, Clint Eastwood in “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”, or a skateboarder like Alan Petersen or John Cardiel. A “Classic” skateboarder will roll up to a spot, pensively smoke a cigarette in the shadow, sip on a beer, and then quietly annihilate every obstacle in his path. John ‘Dana’ Allison is one of those people.

Otis Smith. Invert in his own backyard. Photo: Ken Forsyth

Otis’ pool – Charleston, South Carolina

It was the last session of the season for them before they fill it up for swimming this summer and taking their new rolling hotel / RV on the road. Evidently it is more expensive to keep it drained than filled, the water table is high and the pump runs constantly…

Palmdale Pool Project

“The city (Palmdale) is a suburban dream turned methamphetamine nightmare. A desert retreat for all the misfits, gangsters and drug addicts from Los Angeles to find cheap housing. But as we may all know as skateboarders, these areas make a great destination for back yard pools.”

Behind the Lens: Arto Saari

I think with digital age it’s a lot more accessible and your learning curve can be faster. At the end of the day, it’s not so much about the gear, it’s more about your view and lighting that makes the picture. You could have the best stove in the world, but it doesn’t make you a great chef.