What's up with SBL

2009-12-30

Hey Guys, It's been a while but here's what's up, so things are going to be pretty in active for the winter because of the lack of skateboarding and the abundance of snow we will probably be receiving. I want to give a shout out to my buddy Pedro for checking back all the time and hooking us up with some drinks at Subway. I have added a video by Andrew Wyton with some Barrie skateboarding. He did a good job filming it, so check that out. That's all for now,SBL

What's been goin on

2009-08-06

Hey guys, So not many updates lately my filmer went back to to work, but were getting a bunch of clips from other filmers around London, which equals good because variety is important. Also I was recently hired at the boardshop so thanks to them for that, you guys should defintally come in and check out the vast selection of new shoes, clothing and boards that are coming in daily. Also don't forget the tent sale is coming up on August 13-16. So make sure you have your money ready for some great deals!. This weeks Montage is from Andrew Wyton; a bunch of us went and skated all over town last Monday. So in conclusion, enjoy the montage, watch me get destroyed at the end and come stop in at The Boardshop and say Hi. The photo of the week for this week is Andrew Silaidis with a non landed hard flip, but nevertheless still a great photo. That's all for now.SBL

What's up with SBL...

2009-07-09

Hey guys so sorry about the lack of video lately, we are trying our best to find some cool clips, I will hopefully have one by the end of this week. Jordan Guzyk has released his first promo for his film entitled "Kbye" it's an enjoyable teaser so enjoy it. You can watch it here SBL

Hamilton Skate Trip

2009-06-22

Hey guys, a few of my buddies and I hit up the Hamilton skate plaza today, it was super fun. Saw a lot of good skating go down from both our crew and some of the locals. The Photo of the week is from Garret Gardiner doing a gnarly staylfish down the big set at the park. A montage from the park will also be coming in the following days. Enjoy the photo and this weeks gunna be a hot one, so try and skate...don't get heat stroke though. SBL

What's up in London Lately...

2009-06-20

Hey guys, hope the skating has been going awesome getting lots of footy, photos and tricks. For most of you high schoolers your pretty much done school, so congrats on the start of your summer. Us college kids have been out for about 2 months now. There is a cool event coming up tomorrow, the board shop king of the road. It starts at 11 O clock tomorrow so show up with your team of 5, 4 skaters 1 filmer. You will have until 6pm the following day to submit your footage on a dvd to the board shop. This competition is open to all applicants as long as you have a camera to film it (Camera quality does not matter). Wearing a boardshop shirt gets you 10 extra points. See all of you guys out there tomorrow, also enjoy the COTW from Michael Scolaro him and his buddies filmed themselves eating 40 Mcnuggets of doom each. Pretty funny stuff, that's all for now. SBL

BANGIN

2009-06-10

Hey Skate rats, we have a sweet clip of the week from Michael Scolaro. Andrew Costello does a gnarly pole jam, so props to him for that. Keep up the good skating Andrew. Other than that I hope to have a new photo of the week coming to you this week so sit tight. The rest of the week is going to be nice so enjoy it. SBL

What's New...

2009-06-07

Hey guys, we have a temporary clip of the week until we get our new clip on vimeo, it's just some funny stuff from some local skaters. I have currently put up a clip of a line from last week that I did at Victoria Park with the lack of benches. The new clip will be up early next week, I will have another photo coming for you guys really soon. SBL.

New COTW

2009-06-02

Hey guys, so we have a new COTW from our adventure to Toronto this past weekend. As you can see we didn't film a whole lot but we got enough stuff to make a nice little montage. There will be more clips coming weekly so sit tight and check back often. SBL

New Column up from Andrew

2009-06-01

Hey guys, So Andrew jones has made us a new column for the site. It is very well written and he makes some very good points that I know will make a lot of sense to many of you . So enjoy what he has written and maybe give your thoughts and opinions to his writings in the forums. That's all for today, the Toronto montage should be up soon. Don't get your hopes too up it's nothing huge!!. SBL

Weekend Recap

2009-05-31

Hey yall, so we just finished a great weekend in Toronto got some pretty sweet footage from Ching park, Downtown Toronto as well as Iceland in Mississauga. We didn't go to over the top with tricks, but I think we got enough to make a decent montage. It should be up in the next couple of days. The photo for this week is of Andrew Silaidis a great skateboarder for his age, if you see him around give him props for this photo because it turned out great. Check back soon, SBL

Checkin in

2009-05-29

Hey guys, this is the second acctual day this site has been up. I am very pleased with the outcome, a great number of you have joined the facebook group and seem to be checking out the site. I'm going to be taking advantage of this great weather today and going out to skate downtown London. Maybe I'll get some nice photos I can post. I'm stoked for this weekend the weather is looking perfect(knock on wood)let's hope it stays that way. Like I meantioned on facebook the forum is open so anyone can comment don't be afraid to sign up and post some stuff. Oh and last but not least my good friend Jordan Guzyk one of the Filmer's here in London has a sick video blog. He updates it almost daily so check that out too!. There is a link to it on the home page Enjoy the site. SBL

Skateboardlondon Done

2009-05-28

Hey guys, I have been working hard on this website these past 2 days (taking advantage of the rain I guess). As you can see things are back full swing and we are hoping to keep it that way all summer long. We will be getting a tonne of footage and photos this weekend as me and Dave are going down to Toronto with a few friends. So that's something to be looking forward to next week. We are aiming for weekly videos and photos and keeping you upto date on local events. Keep checking back. SBL

Website Coming Along

2009-05-27

Hey guys, I have decided I would like to re do the skateboardlondon website. I have slowly but surely been going through it adding new stuff, you will notice some big changes throughout the website. Things we are working toward are more media as well as event updates and more skateboard information through London. SBL

The Skateboarder Manifesto

By: Andrew Jones.

What makes skateboarding so different from other sports? Well first of all, it is barely a sport. There are no teams, no rules, no score. Skateboarders feel the freedom of doing what they want, when they want, where they want. Like other sports, skateboarding is temporal emancipation from life and thoughts; however, unlike other sports, skateboarding is emancipation from the “norms” of conformity. You pick up a piece of wood with wheels and go out into the streets, unbound by rules or coaches. As the skate culture grew, corporations saw the opportunity to capitalize, and skateboarding is now a huge industry. This mass production of skateboards has its pros and cons.

Thanks to the skateboard industry thousands of people are making a living from what they love doing. Companies sponsor good skateboarders for the advertising. If the most glorified skateboarder wears a certain product, there is instantly a high demand for that product. This commodification is true of any industry-backed sport. Because of modern capitalism, a person can pay the mortgage from riding a piece of wood with wheels.

But this is only one side of the story. The commercialization of skateboarding has put a cage around the non-conformism and freedom associated with skateboarding. The whole culture of skateboarding is based on seeing society in an abstract way: rails and stairs are not just parts of the socio-economic life style, they are skate spots, and the irrationality of cops and security guards is exposed allowing skateboarders catch a glimpse of the fundamental insanity surrounding our culture. The problem now is that because there are so many skateboarders, the younger generation of skateboarders are obsessed with conforming to the social norms of the skate-based culture. This peer-conformity is a product of the mental barriers which are produced by a capitalist economy. For example, because the most glorified skateboarder is wearing certain products, these products also become glorified: a certain standard of “cool” is proliferated by those companies who are so whole heartedly seeking profit, and one must have these accessories in order to fit in. This objective standard of “cool” introduces judging and hating into the skateboard culture, which was originally based on the freedom surrounding skateboarding. Although, if one can see through this economic fantasy, skateboarding is as free and non-competitive as ever.

This consumerist corruption extends deeper than the skate industry; it pervades every aspect of North American life. But as I criticize the state of capitalism and the consumerist society, I find myself loving the perfect, smooth shape of my mass produced 7.75 deck. But the point I am trying to make is that skateboarding is not about being sucked into the capitalist, consumerist mentality, but rather it is about penetrating the mental grip that this culture imposes upon each of us, which causes us to see even other skaters as separate from ourselves. Skateboarders of all countries, Unite!

Skateboarding; Art or Sport

By: Andrew Jones.

Humans have manifested various art forms which are based on expression. Abstract thoughts are turned into material reality. This process is responsible for human progress; all things start out as ideas and are put into reality (much like conceiving a trick and then trying it, and eventually landing it). Before surfboards existed, the first surfer conceived the possibility of surfing, then put his idea to action. Skateboarding has evolved from surfing, and now has evolved into a form of expression, or an art. Many see skateboarding as a sport, but ultimately the ideals associated with it are closer to those of an art.

Skateboarding, like art, promotes individuality. It is based on self accomplishment; it is the feeling skaters crave from landing a new trick. Instead of competing against an opponent, skateboarding is a self-challenge. The skater must overcome his fear and learn from his mistakes in order to land a trick. Style is an important aspect of any art. The uniqueness of each individual can be seen in every different skateboard style.

Secondly, skateboarding, like art, alters the skateboarders view of society and reality in general. Humans take in information that is relevant to us. This is why a skater might get excited walking down a set of stairs, and your date is looking at you weird, because really to her it’s just an insignificant part of society, but to you it is a skate spot. In fact the whole culture of skateboarding is based on seeing society in an abstract way.

Art or sport, skateboarding is about fun and progressing. The progression is tangled up in the fun; would it still even be fun if we didn’t progress? Beyond fun or progression, skateboarding can be seen as a form of meditation; the mind is completely focused on the present moment when trying a trick, it has to be or you’ll eat shit. Its not like any of life’s worries are occupying your mind during that moment when your at the climax of your trick.