skateboarding 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…

25 May

The Vocal Local: I’m joining women in calling out misogyny in skateboarding

Tim Christian0 CommentsColumns & Opinionreclaim blackpool, skateboarding, slag collective

Tim Christian recently returned to his own teenage pastime with his young daughter and he's shocked at the misogynistic attitudes some female skaters endure. In his response to SLAG Collective's Vocal Local piece on the backlash they have received for speaking out against it, he argues that the personal is political and calls for male allyship for women and girls who skate. I’m something of an old man of the Blackpool skate scene these days, having first picked up a board as a young lad in the dim and distant days of around 1999/2000 and, after a significant hiatus to…

18 May

Stanley Park Skatepark official opening

Claire Griffiths1 CommentLocal News, Sports & Wellbeingskate culture, skateboarding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] When you live in the pool' it is hard to navigate a town built for tourists. But this week Stanley Park saw the opening of a new public skatepark - something for the community by the community. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="34955" img_size="large"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You will find the space, right alongside the BMX track and in the old skatepark space. The new skatepark has been a labour of love for local skate legend, Woody and project manager Simon Bennett who raised over £200,000 for the 100 percent concrete park. Sport England is the project's main funder, having put up £150,000 and a further £50k…

16 Feb

SLAG Night Out: female skaters raise money for Women’s Aid

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsColumns & Opinion, Music & Gigs, Sports & WellbeingBlackpool, skateboarding

They were called ramp tramps and skatepark slags and their interest in skateboarding was misconstrued as interest in male skaters. Lucy Lavery explains how reclaiming the derogatory language that surrounds their hobby has empowered her and a collective of women in Blackpool to proudly skate like a girl – and why they want to empower other women too. Photos: Lauren Quarmby Over the past few years, the skate scene has experienced a huge uptake among women, non-binary and queer people. Consequently, a talent surfaced that I find endlessly inspiring. There have been so many powerful communities created, among oppressed individuals,…

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…

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…

28 Mar

Blackpool skate stories – This is skateboarding

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsColumns & Opinion, Environment and NatureBlackpool, skateboarding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] In this chapter of Blackpool Skate Stories, Claire talks to Rick Bailey about a lifelong affinity with skating and his philosophy on why skateboarding is so important to him. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tell us a bit about you. My name is Rick Bailey, I’m currently a 44-year-old PE teacher working at Armfield Academy in Blackpool. I moved back to Blackpool on the 18th December 2020, after leaving to go to Bangor University in September 1995.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Why is skateboarding important to you and how long have you been doing it? Skateboarding is massively important to me as it is more than an activity, it…

18 Mar

Stanley Park Skatepark Project gets off the ground

Antonia Charlesworth0 CommentsLocal News, Sports & WellbeingBlackpool, development, news, Skateboard, skateboarding, skatepark

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Project manager Simon Bennett tells Antonia Charlesworth about plans for Blackpool’s own state of the art skateboarding facility Construction on Blackpool’s own plaza-style skatepark is expected in the coming weeks, the duo behind it have told Blackpool Social Club. Blackpool’s go-to skate expert Woody, of Big Woody's Skate Shop, and project manager Simon Bennett have raised over £200,000 for the 100 per cent concrete skatepark which will replace the existing dilapidated equipment and replicate street furniture, such as steps, rails and curbs. The pair also hope to build a California-style bowl. The planning application for the project is in…

10 Mar

The Skate Escape: Lewis Farley & Plant Skate Co

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsEnvironment and Nature, Sports & WellbeingBlackpool, Film Making, Skateboard, skateboarding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] I met Lewis Farley years ago filming an event at The Grand Theatre, it's interesting how many filmmakers are also skateboarders. In a further instalment of "Blackpool Skate Stories", we talk about a new skate park, making films, mental health and what skating means to him [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Tell me about you - who you are and what you do. Hello, I'm Lewis - a Blackpool-based filmmaker/skateboarder. I'm currently running Plant Skate Co with two of my friends. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Can you tell me what came first film making or skating? Skateboarding came first for sure, I started skateboarding when I…