SKATE HARD OR GO HOME..............

12 years old, “it’s just a phase, won’t last long” I’d been told.

Seeing one of the older guys in my school cruising from the North wing to the south, by himself on his skateboard, I had always had a small interest after watching ‘Gleaming The Cube’ and ‘Back To The Future’ as a kid, and seeing it again flicked a switch in my head.

That day I bought R.A.D magazine from ‘Dods’, my local newsagent, this was the first glimpse into the massive world of skateboarding I was so unaware of. At this stage I had no one to share this new found interest with, and no board to ride! I used to stare at the shop adverts dreaming about owning an 'Acme' slick deck with Thunder trucks and spitfire wheels.

Cantaloes skate spot in Camden was the only local place designed for skating I new of at the time, and me and Glenn would go down on our own all the time, and watch little Stevie ollly the hip again and again. When it rained, we would skate to ‘Insane’ skateboards, a shop in Camden that would let us chill and watch videos while it rained, this was were I bought my first ‘Pencil’ deck for £1.50, It was mashed up, but I was so pleased just to have a deck that was shaped like the pro’s.

Me and Glenn started wearing Vans skate shoes at school, even though every day people would dis them, even my so called friends took the piss, "Ha! I could make them in Textiles class". This was one of my first lessons skating gave me, be yourself no matter what people say! You learn to get along with people who you otherwise thought were ‘different’ because of a shared passion for something, and you soon learn that your not that different at all!

Into my second pair of skate shoes, ‘Duffs’ to this day my favourite pair, blue suede with white and a toffee sole, I bump into a guy wearing a pair of Ellesse that were shaped like skate shoes, a chubby kid called Jasper, we asked each other if we skated, he said he was getting into it and that he had a board at home. Slowly, baggy trousers, hats, big chain wallets and crew neck jumpers spread through the school.

That was the beginning of my social life as a teenager, and come to think of it my adult life. When I started skating, it shaped my whole outlook on life, we would travel further than any other kids in our year, to find spots or skate parks, whilst they hung out around the local 7/11 on the Broadway. When we fell, we got up and tried again, an invaluable lesson that I apply to everyday life with my music.

The friends I have, my style, the life I lead, the music I make and listen too, is all thanks to a piece of wood and wheels.

I am forever indebted to skateboarding, and that guy skating from North wing to South at Fortismere School.

Here's some footage of a guy an old friend of mine used to skate with before he went to USA, some of you might have heard of him, Tom Penny.