Crew profiles
Edits/
Videos
Message
board
Reviews/
Articles
Links
The whole idea of this article is to try and get vert skating and skaters some exposure once again. Back in the day there use to be a 50/50 spread of vert and street skaters, with videos mixing vert and street sections equally, but somewhere along the line video's stopped the vert sections and magazines quit doing coverage of vert events and skaters. It's probably got a lot to do with people trying to conform to a "cool" street image, portrayed by all the pro skaters over in America. Well, and the fact that there aren't that many vert ramps around in the UK. But common, there are some, it's just a case of travelling a bit.
Vert is more difficult to get into at a lower level and its not as accessible as street to new skaters. At skateparks that have vert ramps you will see little kids rolling a couple of feet up and down each side of the ramp, soon to get bored and then they go and play on the little grind box because at least they can soul that. But if you just stick at it you will start to really get into it and you will find that it's not confined between two walls as appears, but its limitless and amazing fun to ride. It also can suit any type of skater, the proper big airs and tricks are there for the pure vert riders, and for the street skaters it is a new challenge learning to pull those technical grinds that you first learnt on mini ramps and rails.
I think for the UK vert scene to really pick-up again we need more and better comps with proper vert categories. The only comp I have been to for a while that actually had a good vert comp was last December at Peterbourgh. This was a really good event and the vert category had a surprisingly high turnout. The potential is there, we just need more comps so people can show off what they have been working on and push the other skaters too.
There have not been many vert skaters to emerge out of England, but there are some, including Joey Egan who now works at PlayStation everyday, and is one of the lucky one's who gets to skate that much. He has also now qualified as an ASA pro on vert. The Bristol area has seen a fair few skaters come out, with Doug Peel-Yates who is currently doing his second big tour doing demos. Rich and myself are also out of Bristol and I also get to do some demos with Doug and the rest of the guys on team extreme, which is a great laugh. Just across slightly from Bristol is Bath, which has produced Sam Bishop who at the moment is working towards college and university so hasn't been skating as much, but watch out for him soon making a comeback!
I managed to hook up with a couple of other vert skaters to find out their own reasons for getting into vert and what advice they have for people out there.
"Loads of people like Doug and Sam started skating vert so I just skated with them, I just started to like it basically. I skate vert almost everyday down here at playstation. To all the young skaters, don't be afraid of it. Even if other people go and skate street, skate vert if that's what you want to do, don't be afraid of being the odd one out" - Joey Egan
"When it was my 16th birthday I saved up my money and bought a pair. I had those skates for about 4 years going to roller discos, playing a bit of hockey. I didn't really get into ramps until I was about 20, when I went to university in Bristol, just grew from there really. I recommend travelling to anyone, its really good fun" - Doug Peel-Yates on his travels.
"When I first started, the vert scene in Bath was really big, people were influenced by the video's out at the time like hoax 3, with Rene Hulgreen and that, and as soon as facilities became available I just took to it. I think kids should defiantly look into it, I get the most fun riding vert. Street is the roots of the sport and I love skating it, but for me vert is the most
fun" - Sam Bishop.
Internationally, vert has never been better. There are new skaters stepping onto the scene and the boundaries of vert are been pushed to a higher and higher level every year. Cesar Mora has been at the forefront of progressing aggressive in-line vert for many years now. He was out for most of last season with an injury, but this year he's back and has kindly taken some time to send across a his thoughts of today's vert scene and how he originally got into it:;
-After starting on street and really having fun with it, "oldskool" style, like hanging on the back of buses, jumping and riding stairs, downhill's, and eventually doing rails a friend asked me to ride the mini, I hated it at 1st, then I learnt a cab 360 on the 2nd day and just started to love the transition side of skating, because I have always been athletic and loved doing jumps and flips without skates so I saw what was possible on a ramp and it blew me away. The 1st time I saw Tom Fry, micro, the manly blades team and others on a ramp, I knew I wanted to do that. I still went for street skates especially when rails came in strong, but always found myself wanting to go to a ramp and ride, I then took up vert and it scared me, it was really intimidating, but I took it as a challenge and flew with it. I got nailed but persisted, and found my passion. After all these years I still ride vert because I love to have a good session, it makes me happy, the air aspect is so awesome. Nothing compares, I know it feels great to ride out a rail or launch a gap but for me personally the feeling of flowing trick to trick in the air and spinning with all the varied ways possible, is my high. I love it, and when I get that odd good ramp, I am the happiest man alive, I love it. It's my high, it doesn't happen that often but when it does, it's so good to be on and in touch with your skating on a near perfect ramp and pull off tricks at will, the way you dreamt them. It's air it's flowy, carvy, smooth and exciting. I'm not so worried about the trends of wearing certain pants or fat tongues etc, I wear my shorts that are comfortable, I wear my pads that protect my knees so I can walk when I finish skating and I do my thing, my style, my way. I don't copy or imitate. The ramp is my release, my own time, it's something that not everyone can do which is why it provokes such a public interest. It's using the full curve of the ramp to bust out the future tricks that kids will be doing in time to come. Don't get me wrong I like street, I like watching it etc, but at this point in my life, I personally choose to waist all my energy on a vert, it's as simple as that. But to me it is all just rolling, we are all one and anyone that tries to separate us as different species should be kicked hard in the head and be made to understand that without one there cannot be the other. We are all rolling, that's
Part 2>>>>>>
