in the crowd
For
many skaters,
the ultimate road trip
would include
a skateboard and
a stop in every skate.
town across
the U.S.A. Top
English vert skaters
Bod Boyle and Steve
Douglas.
having already explored
most of Europe
by skateboard, set
out on such a journey
in hopes of making
new friends
and taming uncivilized
terrains. When these
skate bums
reached San Francisco.
they dropped by our
offices for a
friendly chat.
recalling their recent
adventures and
detailing their future
plans...
We are talking with Bod Boyle
and Steve Douglas. What's your
real name, Bod?
Hugh.
Where are you guys from,
exactly?
BB: London, in England. The
capitol. The only place in
England. The rest of England is
stale.
SD: And very cold.
The big question is why aren't
you there now? What are you
doing in America?
BB: It's minus fifteen degrees in
London, there aren't that many
good ramps, and it's boring stay-
ing at home.
SD: The main thing is there are
no ramps.
So the main deal is the skate
scene. Is there only so much
you can skate, or what?
BB: Well, there are only a few
ramps and the weather's a big
factor because most of the ramps
in England are outdoors. So you
can't say, "I want to skate on
Wednesday." You say, "I hope we
can skate on Wednesday"
SD: Plus, usually you work during
the week, from Monday 'til Friday,
and then after you finish, it's like
an hour and a half to the nearest
skate place. On Saturday I go
down to the Crystal Palace. It'll
take two hours to get there and
by that time it's either raining and
no one's there or it's windy or
some of the kids have mucked up
the ramp, cracked a big hole in it.
BB: The final thing, though, when
I left England, was that there was
no Crystal Palace. They tore that
ramp down. There's no ramp near
me so I had to leave.
Are you guys card-carrying
tourists, or what?
SD: Pass.
BB: I've got six months. I've
only just come in.
You re-upped your
status, right?
You went home
after being
here.
BB: I went home.
Now you're back.
Left: European Ripper
Bod Boyle takes to an
evening boneless at the
chicken ramp, Livermore, CA
Right: Bod and Steve Douglas
set their sights on girls,
weather and skating.
BB: Now I'm back.
So you're legal. I know Douglas
over here is on the lam.
BB: He's very legal. He got his
passport stamped in Canada,
didn't you?
SD: Yeah.
BB: A nudge is as good as a
wink to a blind man.
What kind of problems do im-
migration laws present to you
guys?
SD: It means we can't get the
police on our ass.
BB: And, if you hurt yourself...
SD: Well, you can just give a fake
name and go to one of those free
clinic things. I'll take his name
(points to Bod).
So it's something to think about
anyway. It's on your mind.
SD: Yes, but it's worth it. The
worst thing is the contests,
though. You know, we came over
and wanted to enter contests.
They wouldn't let me enter
Chicago because they said, 'Oh,
you're not a citizen. I come over
to skate, I'm risking my life, and
they won't let me into that. So it
messes us up for contests. That's
the worst thing about it.
What's the best thing about
being in California?
SD: Girls.
BB: Girls. Girls, weather, skating.
Seeing all the skaters is good.
SD: Yeah, meeting with the
skaters is the best. To go around
with some guy we've never heard
of who's ripping.
BB: I got blown away more by the
amount of rippers around here.
There are so many people that
are so good and no one's heard.
about them.
SD: Because, like, in England you
skate with the same fifteen peo-
ple. Every week we skated with
Danny Webster, Sean Goff,
Lucien, us, Barry. We'd all go
together, we'd all skate the same
ramp. So it's funny seeing this
BB: But European competitions
are really good, when all the
Europeans come over or we all go
over there.
So the people we've seen in the
coverage and the photos are
the guys in England.
BB: Yeah, in England.
What are some of the best
places that you've been to
since you've been over here?
SD: The most fun for me was
probably Florida.
Where in Florida?
SD: Ft. Lauderdale. The
Cambodia ramp. That was last
year. I really enjoyed that place, it
was a lot of fun. And Texas is
good. And San Francisco is great.
Nor. Cal. is a lot better than L.A.
BB: Yeah, it's a lot better here.
Why do you say that?
BB: Because L.A. is too spread
out.
SD: This is more like home. San
Francisco is more like London,
It's more convenient for getting
around on the trains. I mean, if
you haven't got a car in LA.
you're
BB: Up here we can just go out
Cum
AF WE CANT
THE DIR
and do what we want. If Joe
doesn't want to drive, we can just
hop on a bus.
SD: Joe never wants to drive
anyway.
BB: I liked Santa Cruz. Except
you can't skate the ramps in San-
ta Cruz because no one will let
you. Unless you're with Ffej or
Keith Meek or something.
Good observation. They're very
local, surfer localism.
SD: 1 like the East Coast for
skating because it's real. You
know, they haven't got the
magazines, which makes
everyone more real. There are
some real good rippers there.
What are your future plans
here?
SD: I want to travel as much as
possible, skate around America.
BB: In as many places, with as
many different people as possible.
I hope to find someone who can
maybe help me stay for awhile. I
don't want to stay in California all
the time. I'd like to stay maybe in
Texas for awhile, or...
How much time do you have?
BB: I've got six months. But prob-
ably longer.
SD: 'Til whenever, really. 'Til
someone calls my number
Where are you guys off to now?
SD: We're going to Visalia first,
then we're going to L.A. And then
we're going to go to Arizona.
Phoenix. We're going to go to Las
Vegas. We're going to see the
Grand Canyon. A bit of sightsee-
ing. Then into Dallas, Houston
and then head back up north
through Sen Diego.
BB: There are no strict plans,
though. If something turns up.
we'll just go where the wind
blows.