It's The Friday Film Extravaganza!

It's been a busy week this week what with the sale being launched, so there hasn't been much time for blogging, but don't despair, the Friday film extravaganza is here to save the day! So sit back, relax and enjoy the cream of this week's web vid's.

It was Go Skateboarding Day last weekend if you hadn't noticed, if you don't know, it's basically an excuse (like, who needs one?)for the whole world to go skating. Some people took it further than others, none more so than this "unknown" skater...



Continuing the GSD theme, here's a video from slightly closer to home, featuring none other than our very own Manhead doing his stuff in Manchester. Checkit.


More Skateboarding Videos >>


Back to the States, with the Supra crew (Muska, Ellington, Lizard King, McIntyre and more) riding the mini ramp in sunny LA. Tough life eh?



More fun in the sun in the states, with some more pros larking about. This time, it's empty water park Raging Waters getting the treatment - how much fun does this look?

NASS Report By R1 Rider Sam Bruce

Although it was at short notice, I managed to arrange a girls comp at this years NASS.
The earliest slot we could have was on the Saturday at 10.30pm, after the Snake-Boarders comp. (??!!) As late as it may have been, people didn’t actually stop skating until midnight for the whole weekend and people weren’t sent back to their camps until 3am after all the partying had been done, so in turn, it didn’t seem that late.

There had been a list of 10 girls to enter Saturday, coming from all around the UK, and even more importantly travelling from another comp earlier that day in St Albans, for the annual jam.
So, later that evening 3 car loads of girls arrived, rocking up with all their camping gear, compiling what energy they had left to set up their homes for the night.
By this time it was 10pm and only half an hour left to get themselves ready for the Jam. Setting up camp, we were literally running across the field to the street course, meeting up with all the judges before stepping foot on our boards.


Click below for the rest, plus some footage...

The set up was a 10 minute warm up followed by a 10 minute jam. The course itself was huge! Built for BMX’ers and not so much for skaters, but we made the best of a bad situation and gave it our all.
All skating in a jam format we were skating different parts of the park. Hitting up the Wembley gaps, rails and boxes.
In the end there were only 3 of us left standing; also known as the Vans girls. Helena Long, Sam Bruce and Lois Pendlebury. All sessioning the Wembley gap and rail combo to death!.
Highlights of the night were Helena and Sam’s boardslides down the rail, Lois’ backside flip and kickflips up the gap and Fran Stroud’s double flip on the bank, as well as the other girls strutting their own tricks and just generally looking swish! (Sorry for not naming anymore tricks as I was skating myself!)

In the end, the results were as follows:
1st- Helena Long
2nd- Sam Bruce
3rd- Lois Pendlebury

Best trick:
Sam Bruce (Frontside boardslide on the rail)



Next year I’m expecting the turn out to be a lot bigger, including girls to come over from Europe, with hopefully big names such as Evelien Bouilliart, Candy Jacops and Lisa Jacobs to make an appearance. If you’ve never heard of these girls, then get on youtube and check them out! They are on another level!

Peace.

Good work Sam, you can read her profile here.

NASS Report By R1 Rider Amir Williams

Last weekend it was NASS 08 at the Royal Bath & West Showground in Shepton Mallett, somewhere in the beautiful Somerset countryside. The weather was all good, which was a massive relief and there were tons of cool peeps to skate with. The course was a lot better this year than last years, however it still definitely had a BMX slant to it, it was massive!

It was good to meet up with the rest of the Route One Team and put some faces to the names I’ve been hearing so much about. Check out Manhead he has mad steez on the board of wood and killed it in the comp, coming fourth over all – absolutely unbelievable – Big up the Route One Team! Myself, I was flying around with a broken arm unfortunately, but I had a real fun time. It was a dope two or three days of madness so check out Mpora for the footy. Now we all have to wait till next year to do it all again, oooh I can’t wait for it.

Route One gave out a lot of stuff for the kids which is all good, keeping it real an all that. We need love between shops and skaters, so keep the flame burning an' the new kids lurning. Peace out.

Cheers Amir you brave skating legend! You can check out his profile here.

NASS Report By R1 Rider Andy Spary

I got to the Bath and West Showground about midday on Tuesday, three days before anything major kicked off. Bit eager, but there was a reason for it. I was helping out with the ramp building crew to knock together the course before the event began on the Friday. This gave me a little bit more time to skate the course and see how everything was getting set out. I heard some mixed views over the weekend about the course but personally thought it was pretty good and had some really good lines for flowing about. There wasn't a huge amount of stuff to grind but the ramps made up for it. They had perfect transitions and were really good for going big.



NASS went all out this year for riders with their own athlete lounge: for anyone that managed to hustle a yellow wrist band that is. This included big bean bag style sofas, a fuss ball table, Xbox 360s, enough free Relentless to send you loopy, a jacuzzi and a massage area (although I didn't actually see anyone getting massages). Also at designated times throughout the weekend they gave out free booze and nandos. This was hard to get your hands on as everyone clocked that you could basically go up as many times as you liked, and if you got there early you could rinse them for all they were worth. I'm long and missed out on all the free booze, but it was funny to see everyone who got in on it absolutely rat-arsed. Outside the athlete area they had a tent selling Somerset cider, which seemed to do the trick for me over the weekend.


If you weren't skating or chilling out, you could take a wander and check out the various types of sports being performed for your own viewing pleasure. From wiggle boarders to motorcross to slalom skateboarding they had it all. In the trade show area there were also some very strange looking contraptions which were the so called 'future' of extreme sports but i stayed well away as they looked like death traps on wheels.

The skate sessions were fun, with everyone tanked up on free Relentless, it was going off! Sam Tuffnell is a force to be reckoned with: going huge on everything and the only person of the weekend to attempt the mental drop from the rafters into the elvis ramp. Some Americans showed up too to try their luck such as Haffey and Aragon and were also showing how it should be done with effortless 900’s and massive airs. Frazer though, was on another level and murked the course left right and centre, finishing in a well deserved 1st place.


Overall the weekend was a complete session. It made me realise I really need to get fit and actually sleep the night before a comp as I nearly gipped after my run ahah. It was great to catch up with heads that I hadn't seen in time, meet a load of new people, skate and get messy. Definitely looking forward to next year!

Cheers Andy, check out his profile here.

Full NASS Report by Alex Winstanley

As I took my seat on the 6.05 am train at Leeds, bound for Bristol, I found my mind wandering what NASS 08 would have in store. Would the previous years riots be returning? Would I even have a tent tomorrow morning? The next seven hours would leave me plenty of time to ponder the possibilities of what lay ahead at the countries leading action sports festival weekend.
I knew I’d eat well, probably not sleep too much & perhaps fear for my sanity in a Relentless energy drink fuelled stupor but in return I would get to see some great skating from the cream of the UK’s new breed & the legends of the British scene that were sure to be in attendance.
Two train changes & one very expensive taxi ride later I found myself trudging, over weighed with far more clothes & camping accessories than any 28 year old guy actually needs, past a queue 3000 deep of revellers awaiting entrance to the festival site. Many too carrying more camping attire than would ever be necessary. I wondered, did these people share my inhibitions of what was in store or were the many bottles of cheap cider on display more likely to be the core of this crowds immediate thoughts?

I needn’t have worried. Upon entering the Bath & West showground it was clear that Sport Vision, the people in charge of running this years event, had certainly got to grips with the problems that had blighted this site 11 months previously. Security guard were regularly visible, a late licence had been secured meaning the kids (whilst high on a cocktail of excitement & Relentless energy drinks) would be entertained until they passed out as opposed to creating the carnage seen in 2007. And best of all there was secure camping for riders (Athletes?) & exhibitors! Meaning my aging bones could get a good nights kip without the constant noise of drunken kids tripping over the guide ropes of my tent (it’s a party all the way with me!). As it was, I didn’t have time to be thinking of setting up my bed for the night quite yet…
Photographer Doug Tonkin, who had travelled with me, & I dumped our belongings by the Route One stand that was already bustling. These guys had been on site since 7am setting up & now, seven hours later, here they were running around like the proverbial blue-bottomed flies serving all & sundry with skateboards, T-Shirts & a particularly popular line in flat peak fitted caps. I felt guilty that here I was, observing their toile but would soon be outside sat atop the fabled mini ramp perhaps enjoying a hotdog or a banana milkshake whilst they carried on serving & selling for the next 6 hours…
Eastpak’s travelling mini ramp has seen better days. After 5 years of travelling around the country brining real skateboarding to the masses (none of that MTV / ESPN nonsense) this black beauty seemed more than a little rough around the edges. The only word that came to mind as I warily positioned myself on the platform fencing, video camera in hand, was “janky”. Not that you would have known it if you were watching from the sides. Brought together under the team managership of Nic Powley, the aforementioned ramp also saw sessions & demos from the UK Vans team. Amongst this rowdy crew regularly seen tearing it up were Creature & Vans’ Marc Churchill & Route One’s own (along with Unabomber, Vans & Eastpak…) Josh “Manhead” Young.
Manhead scares me. I work with this lad every weekend & skate with him two or three times a week & yet every time I see him skate I can’t quite believe what I am seeing. His nonchalance whilst laying down runs of tricks on a mini is quite astounding & today was no exception. Head high kickflips to fakie, switch front blunts every go & a multitude of tricks that Daewon, Haslam or Bachinskey would quite happily have put in recent mini ramp parts. This session went on for quite some time & only ended when word got about that the street course had now opened to skateboarders.
We slowly mooched over to the show building that was this year housing the main “street” events. I use the term “street” loosely. Although a vast improvement on last year (smooth ground this time & lighting that meant you could see what you were doing) the actual ramps themselves did lend themselves much more to BMX or guys that weren’t afraid of very large transition. Hardly the kind of obstacles you would find situated down Castleford high street
I wandered around the layout, my exhibitor’s wristband allowing me access, & had a bit of a roll. This is what the first experience of the course would be for most of the guys here to enter. Roll around, chat with old friends & see if there was anything you fancied trying. Some people got straight to it though: Joe Lynskey knocking out a perfect B/s nollie bigspin on a wedge to wedge driveway style contraption with no flat top that I could barely kickflip. Amir Williams textbook frontside flipping out of an eight-foot high quarter, Andy Makepeace getting really close to a half cab nose grind revert on a picnic table & Josh Young, doing tricks I’ll never land, whilst in cruise control looking as though he skated this park everyday. The next two hours carried on like this, giving many people an idea of who to watch out for during the following days qualifiers. Sometimes, just watching people like Ben Grove, Chris Oliver, Dave Snaddon & the like can psych you up as much as landing something decent yourself. As I left the main hall in search of refreshment I felt a twinge of excitement for what I might get to witness in the qualifiers the next day.
I grabbed my belongings from the still heaving Route One stand & embarked on my quest to find a suitable place to set up camp. 45 minutes later, after much swearing, sweating & a lot of help from Manhead, I was all set up in the middle of the area that the UK skate scene had decided to call its own. There was Churchill & his crew to one side, Manhead to the other. Rodney Clarke just to the left &, perhaps most worryingly, Dainton & his band of Welsh rippers a few meters the other way. I need not have worried though as he was on team manager duty, with Pritchard nowhere in sight, so the mayhem was kept to a minimum (although the stories of Porno Paul & his camera based antics later that night would go down as legend in NASS folklore).
The evening of the first day was a simple affair – some people choosing to witness Pendulum play a live set on the music stage whilst others retired to the Relentless energy garden for free Nandos chicken & general merriment into the early hours. By 11pm the day’s early start & hours of travelling had taken their toll & I retired to my tent for a well needed kip.



Day 2

I awoke, sweltering as the sun’s early morning (well, 9am – early for a skater)
rays pounded down on the exterior of my tent, forcing me outside – into the fresh air & to the stories of what foolishness & revellery had gone on a few hours previously. None of which are suitable to be retold in this article!
A quick breakfast consisting of a bacon & egg baguette was followed by a visit to the Route One stand to see how things were going, to catch up with the guys & to find out what they had got up to the night before. The sight that met my eyes was a foreboding one. 10am & the crowd in front of the stall was already 10 deep. I knew I didn’t have to be anywhere until 2.30pm for the street qualifiers &, by the looks on the faces of Nick, Sabine & the rest of the guys running the stall, they could do with all the hands helping they could get. Ok, it would appease my guilt from watching them work so feverishly yesterday. “Do you want that board gripping mate…”
2.30 pm comes & my arm aches from gripping so many boards. I grabbed my camera bag & headed out towards the main hall & the street qualifiers. No chance to say anything to the guys on the stall as the past four hours had done little to diminish the size of the crowd, hunting for bargains.
After a quick stop to grab a milkshake I wandered into the hall housing the street course to try & film what I could of the warm up & subsequent qualifying rounds of the skate comp. I struggled through the crowds, trying to find a suitable angle from which to film. The amount of people watching wouldn’t make it easy to find a good vantage point. By the time I did manage to get my camera out I had seen, but not filmed, a quite amazing session. Joe Habgood & Marc Churchill were comping each other for a frontside wall ride around some god forsaken BMX inspired monolith that no one else other than Rob Smith touched, Grove flip backlipping the high flat bar & Amir Williams skating like a man possessed. It was pretty much full on, all out skating & as I set up my camera high on the balcony above the level of skating just seemed to get better & better.
The qualifiers got underway & the guys entering were split into seven groups, all having a six-minute jam style session. I could write for the next 10 paragraphs about what went down but, after all the runs were done, only 10 people could qualify.
The top five was as follows:

1. Dave Davies
2. Ben Grove
3. Chris Oliver
4. Manhead
5. Dave Snaddon.

Joining them in the final were Marc Churchill, Rob Smith, Awadh
Mohammed, Jess Young & Ged Cullen.

There wasn’t much time after the conclusion of the qualifiers to obtain refreshment before the start of the big game of S.K.A.T.E that had been arranged (enough time to call in on the guys at the Route One stand & help them have a quick tidy though – conscience in check!).
This turned out to be a massive affair, as it seemed that every kid who had ever landed a kickflip entered with dreams of beating a big name pro. I ended up leaving before the end as the blur of a thousand bailed tre flips got too much for me but I did get to witness the flat ground wonder of Darren Nolan – somebody needs to hook this kid up. Instantly recognisable & insanely good on a skateboard; who else do you know that can throw down switch front foot impossibles, shuvit late shuvs, Tre flip late flips & a whole host of other mind boggling tricks every damn go? I later found out he didn’t win the game of skate this time but, my god, it must have been a first…
Another night, another venture to the riders’ relentless lounge. Sponsored kids running around raving on relentless, tattooed BMXers with groupies following their every move. I stood & chatted, espewing the virtues of all terrain riders & Richie Jackson’s trick selection with Nick Zorlac before I took a wander over to the music stage that this evening was being headlined by Florida’s Ska-pop stalwarts Less than Jake. Now, to all you Hip Hop guys & Emo kids Less Than Jake may well be less than cool but to an aging punk, who remembers Pezcore first being released on Dill records & sitting in their tour van due to knowing someone who new someone on their first UK tour, it was a great chance to relive those hedonistic days of youth. Skanking away to Johnny Quest thinks we’re sell-outs as though it were the mid Nineties all over again. While I danced to the older songs & complained about the new ones, unbeknown to me the girls skate comp was taking place. The second hand reports I later received told me that Route One’s Sam Bruce absolutely killed it, as did Andy Scott’s better half Lois Pendlebury.

The results of the girls’ competition were as follows:

1. Helena Long
2. Sam Bruce
3. Lois Pendlebury.

Feeling bad about missing the girls’ competition I decided it was time for bed – I needed to make sure I didn’t miss anything tomorrow. I dragged my dance weary legs & waddled back to my tent. A few chapters of “Them” by Jon Ronson later & I was fast asleep. My dreams of the Bilderberg group & world conspiracies interspersed with visions of Chris Oliver’s front blunts & Darren Nolan’s video game style flip trickery…


Day 3

10am & my alarm wakes me, much cooler than 24 hours earlier &, by the looks of it, a chance of rain. I slowly gathered my belongings, intent on packing up before the heavens opened. My tent, for all its trouble to erect, took no time at all to put away. If only the same could be said of the one belonging to Manhead. One hour & 10 people later we finally got it put away &, after another bacon & egg baguette breakfast, it was time to go & catch the Vert finals as It looked like the rain might just hold off long enough.
As many of you are no doubt aware, the UK vert scene is seeing a resurgence
in a big way at the moment with kids skating it so well that it’s going to a whole new level for the first time in over a decade. This new breed was here for all to see & the cream of the crop must be the two Sams (Beckett & Bosworth) & Paul-Luc Ronchetti. Unperturbed by the winds & the potential for rain the vert finals went off with a bang. Sam Beckett floating every air six feet above the coping & not afraid of a few lip tricks, as his B/s crail slide & sugarcane variations showed.
Young Sam Bosworth appears to eternally be a 13 year old trapped in the body of a grown man & boy does he take advantage of it. The kid learns a trick & then has it, dialled, forever. His runs included ally-oop judos, B/s Christ airs, McTwists well above the platform and the occasional heel flip gay twist for good measure. Both Sams skated ridiculously well & placed 2nd & 3rd respectively.
First place went to France’s Terence Bougdour & deservedly so with B/s body jars sailed to head height, loads of nollie heel variations & what can only be described as an ally-oop sack tap (check the Tony Hawk Pro Skater video game). First place &, quite rightfully, £1000 in his pocket.
Again, in need of refreshment, I wandered over to the now familiar faces of the milkshake stand & parted with another £3.50. Banana milkshake in hand I quickly made my way to the viewing gallery for the street skate finals. After missing so much yesterday I needed to make sure I got as much as I could on film. Drink to my left, lens clean & dust free I positioned myself as the format for the finals was announced. Each rider would get a one minute run followed by an eight minute jam. After an hours warm up you could see some people were getting tired as tricks made all weekend were being missed during the one minute runs. Allowing for a jam format gave a much more realistic view of what these guys were capable of as it seemed to remove the pressure & allowed them just to skate. Awadh perfectly spinning a B/s 360 lien over the BMX launch bit, Grove cruising & Chris Oliver plainly taking the piss – the guy was on a whole other level, finishing with a flip to fakie from 1 qtr, over a sizeable gap, into a hellish looking steep bank with a whippy transitioned bottom. Pure piss take…
I sat & chatted with Harry Scott whilst the judges made up their minds. The skating had ended up being pretty ridiculous & I had plenty of it captured on film. 30 minutes of deliberation later & the results were announced. Route One rider Josh ‘Manhead’ Young came a very respectable fourth with his Unabomber teammate & manager Ben Grove finishing just above him. Dave Snaddon came in second & first place went to Vans’ Chris Oliver. Nobody could deny that he was a worthy winner, all weekend he had consistently skated that little bit better than everyone else & killed it in the final jam. £1200 in the form of a comically large cheque & a bottle of local scrumpy cider were his prizes & very well deserved they were too.
I congratulated Manhead & cursed when he reminded me that I now owed him a full English breakfast when we returned to Leeds – the consequence of me earlier making him an offer by way of a bonus should he finish in the top five. That boy can eat & eat so it’s sure to cost me a fortune.
I spied Doug Tonkin, amongst others, taking photos of Chris Oliver slurping his cider 7 being congratulated by all. It was time to be leaving & as he was my travelling partner for the weekend I suggested we head on back to the Route One stand & see about getting a lift back up to Bristol. We arrived just in time to find out we were needed to help with the packing up & no small job it was too! Two hours & lots of sweat later the two vans were full & ready for the off.
A 45 minute fright filled journey later I waddled with my under used, over packed luggage in through the front door & down the steps towards my platform at Bristol Temple Meads train station. It was 7.30pm, I’d be home in four hours or so & a bath and Sunday roast would be awaiting my return.
Except it wasn’t four hours. At 4am I staggered through my front door, laden with enough unworn clean clothes for a week by the coast. A delayed train, 3 connections, 2 hours sat in the deserted Piccadilly train station in Manchester & a whopping great taxi fare was what was needed to get me home. But, as I plopped my stuff down, I saw that the boiler was still on - I could have my bath & there was a roast dinner in the microwave, even if my gravy did now have a skin on.

Alexander Winstanley.

It's A NASS Friday Film Extravaganza!

If you weren't already aware, there was a small gathering down in Somerset last weekend that involved some rather talented young people doing all manner of crazy, gnarly stuff. We were there and we no doubt saw plenty of you there. If you weren't (really? What else was going on that beats NASS?) then don't worry, we've grabbed a load of the best videos from the weekend and stuck them all in one place for your enjoyment, so as usual, get the volume turned right up, sit back and ENJOY!

First up is a is a great weekend highlights package:




Next is a compilation of the Street skate finals, keep an eye out for Route One Team member Josh "Manhead" Young who came fourth overall - good work son!



Next is the Skate Vert finals, with some good air being shown, this was one biiiig halfpipe...



Here's a good BMX compilation from all the events:



Finally and most impressively we think, is a fantastic edit showing the Route One Inline Team in action, what skills, what drama, sheer class!


Routeone Inline team at NASS 08 from Routeone.co.uk on Vimeo.

NASS Report By R1 Rider Keir Lindsay

NASS 08 was, as expected, a riot! After a quick 8 hour train journey from Glasgow, Scotland we (Me and my friend Stu) arrived at Shepton Mallet Showground on Friday evening at around 8 O'clock.

After signing in we went for a wander and were swiftly diverted to the 'Relentless Athlete tent' where we were assured we would be 'looked after'. On arrival we were pointed to the bar where we could get some refreshments and the best part was they were free!

I met up wth a few of my mates from Leicester; Cal, Jock and Dan Mac. Big Jock had already had one refreshment too many by the looks of things and everyone was in good spirits chilling on this big balcony. At this point I was introduced to Sam Currie and Lee Mainland (both Route One Riders) for the first time. With them I also met Paul Bates (Route One Rider) who I had met briefly in London at the Chris Farmer DVD premiere. All very pleasant gentlemen! Zak Buys (Route One Rider) was also there with the young Jamesy, both holding it down for the Kingdom of Fife.


After a pretty good night we went to the Route One Stand in the morning where we got to meet all the staff working at the stall, which was packed to the gunnels with bargains and all sorts of goodies. Loads of people had also been signing up for the shoe competition which was happening every hour.


Rich Barber (Route One Rider) and I decided to start stacking boxes to see what the limit was that we could get to to jump. I think the highest we got was 6 boxes and about chest height! I’ve never jumped that high and I’m sure it was because it wasnt a brick wall or metal pole so I wasn't suffering from the fear factor. Shows you how much skating is in the mind.

Then at about 10 o'clock we headed through to the skate park where the competition was being held. Stu Game was trying to get a few clips but it was pretty hard because there was like 300+ people everywhere, most on bmxs. 1 or 2 bmxers kept going and just doing massive tailwhips and tail 360s: it was intense. A photographer for Route One was also there taking photos of the team.


At 11.30 the rollerblading started to take the course and we got about a 1 hour session before the am comp started.

My 1st run consisted of 1 540 then I fell and walked off. It must have looked like I threw a right wee hissy fit but the truth be known you have to be super consistent in these comps and one fall is not really allowed. So for my second run I was intent on not falling. I had a pretty good run; 540 the litte picknick table box 360 the lunch box front farv to flat on the far quarter, backroyal the driveway to flat then over for a cab 5 then a we 360 over the hip beside the wallride finnishing with a 270 backackslide on the rail.


Loads of sick American skaters were there and I found myself liaising with Brian Aragon on the little rail but he only did a few tricks because he was obviously quite limited on it compared to me.

Chilling with Eric Bailey and Stockwell is always fun because these guys have some good banter. I also got to meet Brent Hicks and Demetrious George for the first time, so thanks for making the long journey over guys.

Look out for me and my boy Dre Powell negotiation the size of the Vans tour bus in the next razors podcast: gotta love Dre man - he's such a cool cat and possibly one of the most friendly people I have ever met.

Then we went and skated the Gibbon Slackline out at some pavillion, with Paul Bates, Rich Barber, Zak Buys and Gibbon Slackline world champion Scott Quinn. Much to the amusement of Chaz Sands!!


After that we went and skated the rail outside a toilet then we skated a drop rail with a 2 inch run up. Then it was about 10 o’clock at night and I still hadn’t had my breakfast. Oops!

When I woke I watched the pro comp, ate a bit of my friends cornish pasty and started to feel sick. Then I had a 12 hour drive up the road being sick out the side of my mate’s car. I had to go to hospital and have been here for 2 days. I'm still in here and writing this from the hospital. Stay away from pasties kids. Nass 08 sick as ever!

Thanks Keir, you rock, check out his profile right here.

NASS Report By R1 Rider Sam Currie

We're back from NASS and here’s a little post to let you know what we've been up to. We didn't do too good on the photo front I'm afraid, there were loads of good friends there we haven't seen for ages, so our time was consumed with good conversation and many a brewski. There was a massive turn out this year and they had really hooked it up for the riders too, we had a massive athlete lounge complete with X-Box's, foosball, tiger skin rugs, massive couches and bean bags everywhere, free fruit, free beer, free nandos, a DJ and a hot tub.


The competition was fun, the park was pretty tricky but everyone managed to squeeze some nice tricks out of it. Lee (Mainland) decided he couldn't be arsed to compete and when they called his name he scampered off and we didn't see him for three hours. I enjoyed watching the bmx guys shred the course. (it was designed for them as usual…)

We hung out at the Kingdom booth and mooched around the trade stands a bit, this is where Lee discovered his natural talent for snakeboarding. He couldn't quite master the random roller skate style skateboards though.


The nights were wild, we kept ending up in some random drum and base barn. Lee also spent half an hour trying to convince a bar lady to accept a completely ripped in half fiver and eventually succeeded by taping it together with stickers he found on the floor.


We managed to leave just in time because it p****d it down pretty much as soon as we got in the car. The journey home was super slow with loads of traffic on the motorways. We hit up little chef for some traditional bad road food and when we eventually got back we hung out with Lee's dogs for a bit and then parted ways for some much needed rest.

Cheers Sam, check out his profile here.

All taken with much thanks from the excellent Dirt Box website

NASS Winners Announced

For those of you that came to NASS on the weekend, you'll know we were running a rather tasty competition and we've got the winners right here. All you had to do was fill in a card and slot it in our massive golden box and you were in with a chance of winning a pair of shoes EVERY HOUR!
So here are the names, a massive thanks to everyone who entered and congratulations to those that did, you'll be getting your free shoe invite any time now!

You're a winner!
Aaron Roberts, Adam Skinner, Adam Winchester, Danielle Arund, David Davis, Elliot Stock, James Gibson, Gary Roper, Jack Turrell, Jake Harris, James Robinson, Jo Foy, Joe Johnstone, Josh Gideon, Olly Beha-Burr, Owen Jones, Sam Barnes, Simon Rose, Stacey Smith, Thomas Rees, Tim Bickham and Wayne Norton-Hill.

New In: H2O Audio Waterproof Music

If you're the kind of super active person that has to have music wherever you go, the H2O Audio Waterproof iPod cases and headphones offer you the freedom to do just that. Whether you plan to surf, swim, or just soak in the bath, these cases fit your 'pod snuggly, securely and most importantly dryly. Attached to the armbands/swimbelts, you are then able to take your tunes with you whatever you're up to.
We think these are brilliant and can't wait to go on holiday to try them out. 1 extra bonus: they're great for people with very sweaty ears...

What A NASStastic Weekend!

Well, that was a bit knackering wasn't it? If you've made it home from the Mallett, then you will be beginning to reminisce, (once you've woken and cleaned up) on what was a truly awesome weekend. 3 days of sunshine, sports, sounds and sweaty yoof, combined in a beautiful way to make NASS 08 one to remember. (I especially remember the lovely ladies walking round menacingly with shavers in their hands...)
We're all struggling to remember exactly what went on, (our brains may be permanently damaged) so the detailed write-ups will come later on in the week. For now, we just want to say a big thanks to all the peeps who came along to our stall, entered the competition and cheered on our teams in the skate and inline competitions. We all had a mint time, hope you did too!
Here's a few photos we found, click through for some more.


Some more gnarly photos.

Look ma, no hands!

Umm...

The fantastic Route One stall

That's going to hurt...

Nice

Where's ET?

Friday Film Extravaganza!

Friday again, and for those of you not enjoying the action at NASS this weekend here is something to keep the skate love strong in you. 3 videos and 15 minutes of your time, it's not too much to ask, so turn the lights down low, sit back and enjoy!

First up is a brilliant edit by the Chocolate team, rather than a series of clips, this one is slightly different, with a sweet 5 minutes rolling edit. Check it out:




Next up is an interview we found with legend Keith Hufnagel. Mostly concerned with his shoe store in San Francisco, there is some great footy in there as well. Keep your eyes out for the new Huf shoe due here later this year. (Click here to see our last few pairs of Huf 4's)


Interview with Keith Hufnagel from Hypebeast TV on Vimeo.

Finally, we have a great video from YouTube. This is the video that Zero Pro Tommy Sandoval sent around as his sponsor me tape. That's right this isn't a pro film he did when already signed up, but footage of him as a raw amateur. Awesome!

Route One Riders Have Arrived!

Why we haven't done this any sooner is a bit of a mystery, but finally we're giving the Route One Team Riders the spotlight that they deserve!
If you didn't know already, Route One has two teams, one skateboard and one inline, both rammed full of the best skaters we could get our grubby little mits on! On the profile pages you will discover a bit of background behind the riders and see some sweet shots of them in action. The profiles will be updated all the time, with new videos, photos and information for you to peruse at your leisure. NASS should give us some great footage, so keep an eye out for updates.
So if you've got some spare time, give it a look and find out a little more about some guys (and girls) with a very bright future.
GO TEAM!

Coming Soon: Supra 413 Skytops

UPDATE: They're here at last! If you want some get down to our Brighton store on Saturday the 14th from 9am. Strictly a first come first served basis, so get there early or prepare to be disappointed!

2008 seems to be the year of the Supra Skytop, and if you're ready for them, we've got more for you. Strictly limited to 60 pairs nationwide, the new Supra Factory 413 Skytop is on it's way!
Named after Muska's Factory 413 store in LA, these shoes come in a sweet silver/turquoise colourway and look seriously special.
Unfortunately, due to supplier demands, we're unable to sell these online to begin with, they will be exclusively available in our Brighton Store for the first week, and if there's any left, (which we seriously doubt) they will then be up online. We're also still waiting for a launch date, but mid-June is the educated guess, check back here for updates.

Continue after the break to see more of the 413's, plus photos of the US launch...



More images of the 413


For those of you with an eye for something a bit special, check out this link to see how they're doing on eBay. That seems like crazy money to us, but people want these shoes and someone's definitely making some dollars out of them...

The shoes were launched week in the US and the images below are of the launch at Ubiq in Philadelphia. Have you ever seen a launch queue for a pair of shoes? Crazy guys. If this isn't the scene outside Route One Brighton on the launch, I'll be seriously p****ed.

The guy above is "lineguy" he starts every one of ubiq's ltd release lines at 4:30am. That's the kind of dedication we're looking for in Brighton, you've been told.

Just Arrived - Route One S2 Maple Logo Deck

We've just had a delivery of our brand new Route One Logo Decks and boy do they look good. With a fresh and clean design for Summer 2008, these American Maple decks have been lovingly crafted in Europe's top board shop to ensure the highest possible quality, and at a penny under £30, we reckon they're about as good a price you'll find ANYWHERE!
3 colours, 3 sizes, choose your favourite, get some trucks and wheels (plus the free any deck set-up deal) and get rolling. We reckon if you go budget, you can get a complete (and assembled by us) American Maple set-up for under £60, including delivery!
GET IN!

Leeds Is Where It's At

Either there's not a great deal to do in Leeds, or it is rapidly becoming the hub of all things good about British skating. I reckon it might be the latter as we're beginning to see a lot of good things coming out of the white rose town, (i guess with the lack of decent football in the city, skating now rules...)
Anyway, after recent hits, such as Yorkshire Puddings and Baghead Flats, the Leeds scene is at it again, with the forthcoming premiere of Friday The 13th, on, you guessed it, Friday the 13th.
Featuring the likes of Route One Team riders Joe Lynskey and Avid, along with Tom Brown, Rory McKenzie and Tom Harrison among others, this promises to be unlike any other skate video, and from the trailer below it does certainly look different.
If you want to go to the Premiere, and who wouldn't, get yourself to The Faversham near Leeds Uni at 8pm. Good work lads!


More Skateboarding Videos >>

The BBC Invade Route One Southampton

The Beeb came to our Southampton store on Saturday to film some stuff for a CBBC program called "Help! Teach is coming to stay!" It sounds like it's a program in the same vein as Faking It, but in this one, a teacher stays with a kid and learns the kid's hobby/skills. In this case the kid's hobby is skating, which the teacher will have to get involved in. What could possibly go wrong?
Anyway, the show is apparently aired in July, so we'll be keeping a look out for this one to see our store and great staff on TV!
Wow, we're famous and everything!

Route One's Gone Social Networking Mad!

UPDATED: After a slight technical hitch, Route One's Facebook is back!

In an effort to reach out and touch (not in that way) all our customers, we've been setting pages on all the social networking sites. From Facebook, to MySpace, bebo to Skatebook, Route One is now there.
If you want to be our friends, and we'd love it if you would be, then get over to your network or networks of choice, find us and add us, as we're a bit low on buddies at the moment!
These pages will be updated pretty much daily with new stock, new and exclusive competitions, news, videos and much much more, so they should be your first port of call if you want updates on the wonderful world of Route One!

It's The Friday Film Extravaganza!

By now you really should know what this is all about, so just watch these and enjoy!

First up is a nice compilation of Mike V footage celebrating his 21st anniversary as a pro skater. Starting as a pro on Powell-Peralta in 1987, Mike has pretty much been there and got a lot of T-Shirts in the process, whilst growing a helluva lot of hair! This video shows a lot of awesome skating through the years and is well worth a look.



The next and final 3 videos are all of the new Girls Pros mentioned in an earlier post These are a taster of what we should all expect to see in the next few years of Pro goodness.

First up is Malto:



Next we have Alex Olsen's part in Fully Flared:



And finally Mike Mo:

Inline NASS Details Announced

Some details have been announced regarding the Inline events at this years NASS and it's looking pretty special so far. With the likes of Chris Haffey, Brian Aragon, Erik Bailey, Chaz Sands and Oli Short, all battling it out for their share of the £4.5k prize purse, it's goona be huge.
Route One also has a large team in attendance and these are the guys you really want to be looking out for: Andy Spary, Keir Lindsay, Paul Bates, Lee Mainland, Sam Currie, Zak Buys, Rich Barber and Tom Portas. (Sod the big names, everyone's seen them before!)
Route One will also be in the main retail hall; selling all kinds of discounted inline hardware, the team will also be hanging around so you can meet them and show the love, we'll also be running some sweet competitions, so come along and enter. It will be worth your time!
Click through to see the street course layout, which you'll be able to skate for at least 2 hours a day! Result!


Street course map:

Inline Promo Vid:

Girl Makes Boys VERY Happy

Girl have just announced that they're making Sean Malto, Alex Olsen and Mike Mo Capaldi full pros on their team, about time too we say, especially after their star turns in Lakai's Fully Flared. Malto, especially, has been ripping up the Internet and is surely the way skateboarding will be heading in the next 10 years or so.
In case you were wondering, Alex Olsen is the son of the mighty Steve Olsen, and becomes the first son of a pro to turn pro himself.
Good work boys, we're looking forward to seeing their boards, due in the summer apparently.
Click through for the new Girl video, Yanks On Planks, featuring the new pros, filmed recently in Australia.




Go here to see a high-res version on the Girl site.

NASS - So Close You Can Almost Smell It!

It's just over a week away and boy are we getting excited! That's right, NASS '08 is just around the corner and the anticipation is almost too much to bear. The Route One stand is coming along nicely (sort of), the R1 teams are getting prepared and the long range weather forecasts look promising, all we need to sort out now is what we're sleeping in, tent, car, hotel or ditch...
Anyway, if you haven't got your tickets to the UK's biggest and craziest action sports and music festival, what in God's good name are you waiting for? It really doesn't get any better than this! Pro skaters, live music, mad happenings and Route One of course, all set in the beautiful rolling west country hills.
Perfection!

We Have A Winner!

A little while ago, we ran a sweet competition in Sidewalk Magazine for a whole bunch of cool Mike Rusczyk gear, and finally a winner has been named...
The lucky chap is David Murphy of Cork. David will be receiving all of these goodies:
2 Foundation team decks; a Mike Rusczyk deck, doodled on by the man himself; a set of Indy 139's; 2 sets of Pig Wheels; a foundation Testament DVD Box Set and a copy of Cataclysmic Abyss.
All for answering a ridiculously easy question. Not bad eh?
So if you fancy getting your hands on some free stuff, head over to our competitions page where there's always something going down.
Well done David!

Element & Tosh Part Ways

Element has decided to part ways with twenty-three year old Huntington Beach pro skater Tosh Townend.
Joining Element as a fourteen year-old he turned pro at the early age of sixteen with his first pro skateboard deck and eventually was instrumental in the launch of Element’s shoe division with the design and introduction of the “TOSH PRO” model shoe, leaving his long relationship with Emerica to do so.
Tosh is now a free agent able to pursue new opportunities in skateboards, footwear and apparel while maintaining his current endorsement relationships with Independent Trucks, Boost Mobile, CCS, Map Cargo, Upful Hardware.
This decision comes on the eve of Tosh’s second independent skate film release “The Weenabago Projekt II/Crossing America” this summer. Along with touring on the Independent 30th Anniversary Tour.
From skateboard.com.

Vision Streetwear, Now In Stock!

New in stock this week is a nice little range from Vision Streetwear, one of the forefathers of skating as we know it. Retro as you like, but still contempory in an 80's revival kinda way. Funny how that works eh?
If you didn't know, Vision was founded in 1976 and it's Pro Team represented some of the sickest and most innovative skaters at the time , including Mark Gonzalez , Lance Mountain, Tas Pappas, Duane Peters and Mark "Gator" Rogowski.
Anyway, we've only got a few choice lines in, but if these prove to be popular then expect to see a lot more from Vision in the future.
Click here to see the Vision Streetwear products page.