skate Archives - Blackpool Social Club

03 Sep

Gallery: Ralphfest day one

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsLocal Newscommunity, skate, skateboarding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Ralphfest23 A festival of art and skateboarding is popping up in various locations this weekend. Claire Griffiths captured the days events at Park View in Lytham on Saturday. The festival continues at Stanley Park on Sunday 4th September 2023. “Overall the plan is to put lots of smiles on faces,” said Neil Roberts, father of the late Ralph Roberts who sadly passed away in January 2021, of a rare condition called Sarcoidosis that was not diagnosed until post-mortem. Roberts set up LiveLikeRalph in his son’s name, a charitable organisation that aims to provide skateboards and any necessary equipment to…

26 May

Disorder – Blackpool Skate Film release

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsFilm, Local NewsBlackpool, Film, film festival, filmmaking, skate, Skateboard, skateboarding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Blackpool Social Club bangs the drum for skateboarding and its close relationship to creativity. With Star Wars being filmed in Cleveleys and the recent Netflix nod on The Comedy Carpet we had a look at Blackpool filmmaker Jake Powell and The ATB collective latest offering: Disorder. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While skateboarding might often get a bad rep, seen as anti-social and rebellious. Blackpool Social Club has been exploring how Blackpool and alternative creative approaches like skateboarding can benefit a traditional tourist town like Blackpool. With the town often compared to a film set, it is no surprise that Tim Burton has made…

14 May

Bella B: I learned to skateboard, but this is what skateboarding taught me

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsSports & Wellbeingskate, skate culture, Skateboard

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] As Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 draws to a close, we're pleased to bring you this brilliant guest article from mental health advocate and skateboarder Bella Borgers [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]I’ll be honest – some days I think: wow, I really shouldn’t be on a skateboard. I’m terrible at looking both ways before I cross the street and I feel genuinely guilty about the number of times I’ve literally stepped on my mother’s toes – I’m that clumsy. Not to mention, I burst into tears when I’m afraid (even at the sudden whisper of BOO!) and I’m completely anxiety-ridden when I feel…

03 May

Skate Stories: Hidden skateboarding spots and creativity

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsLocal NewsBlackpool, creativity, skate, skate culture, Skateboard, skateboarding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Blackpool bods whose skateboarding activities feed into their creativity. In this article, we talk to a chap known as "Sandy" to his pals. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tell us who you are: My Name Is Rob Sanderson, most skateboarders and artists know me as Sandy, I'll be turning 32 this year, born and raised in Blackpool. I've been skating for about 17-18 years now which doesn't feel that long ago, I'm starting to feel the ache now though, having to stretch and get warmed up more each time I go out. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What came first skating or creativity? Skateboarding definitely came first, I was sketching things…

07 Mar

Blackpool Skateboard Stories: Curb Culture

Catherine Mugonyi0 CommentsSports & Wellbeingenvironment, skate, skate culture, Skateboard

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] If you follow BSC on Instagram, you may have seen @curb.culture pop up a couple of times. The profile is full of vibrant images caught on 35mm film and video clips showing a variety of skaters honing and showing off their skills, but more importantly having an awesome time doing it. Continuing BSC’s skate season, I had a virtual meet-up with Adam Hopkin, skater, journalist, photographer and founder of Curb Culture: A zine that highlights independent skate culture.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]How did Curb Culture come about? Despite being in Blackpool for so long I've never had any contact with any of the creative…

07 Mar

Blackpool Skateboard Stories: Big Woody

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsEnvironment and Natureenvironment, health, skate, Skateboard, skateculture

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] I wonder a lot about skateboarding after studying Fine Art in Northampton once the home to the largest skate park in the UK, Radlands. It was there I found a peer group making work about skating and it felt like the very fabric of Northampton was made up of the sights, sounds, and musical influences of four wheels and a board. I remember speaking to a tutor who told me about a student in a previous year who painted landscapes, works depicting how he saw the world as a skater - a series of flat surfaces and potential spaces…

07 Mar

In Her Place: Urban Skateboarding

Stephanie Cottle0 CommentsColumns & Opinion, Sports & WellbeingBlackpool, community, Place, skate, skate culture, Skateboard, women

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] In another instalment of In Her Place Stephanie Cottle looks back before skating into the future. If I was asked as a kid to imagine what the year 2020 would look like, I can guarantee that I would have envisioned the fun, futuristic depictions from my favourite childhood films. I’m talking teenagers on hoverboards and self-lacing trainers – the really important stuff. We all know the rather less exciting reality of 2020 was that instead of jetting off to have silver suit adventures in flying cars, we’ve faced extraordinarily tight restrictions on our movements. No planes, no trains, no automobiles. Back in March…

24 Sep

Our Time and Our Turn – Female skateboarders return to the ramps

Antonia Charlesworth0 CommentsFood and Drink, Local News, Sports & WellbeingRampcity, skate, skate culture

Blackpool’s female skateboarders are set to return to Ramp City for the popular girls’ nights launched shortly before lockdown. Chris ‘Woody’ Wood, a well-known fixture of Blackpool’s skate scene and owner of Big Woody’s skate shop was inspired to start running female-only skate nights after noticing a growing number of girls buying boards while the ramps in Blackpool’s renowned indoor skatepark remained largely dominated by men. When over 40 females of all ages turned up to the inaugural event in January, it was clear they had just been waiting for permission. Two successful nights were held before lockdown was imposed,…