Slam Skateboarding

Most skaters are known to have at least one trick that they have on absolute lock. Even those allrounders who have an endless bag of tricks, there's still that one unwavering sure shot they can pull the trigger on almost anywhere and anytime. Think Andrew Reynolds with the frontside flip, Chima Ferguson and the back three, or Jamie Foy pinching a front crook. What makes these tricks come so easily? Repetition over time sets in the sweet stillness and a high confidence level that can make a trick feel like second nature. What's your go-to? Think of your staple – the trick that rarely lets you down. I remember back in the day when I was judging a comp in Sydney city and one of the competitors wasn't happy with the…

I've been working on a book about the history of Australian skateboarding magazines, and I end up scouring my archives on a daily basis. Now with 237 issues (and counting) my Slam boxes take up more space than all the other Australian magazines combined. Slam has literally been there throughout my entire 32 years as a skateboarder. When I grab an old issue, it brings back memories; what tricks I was learning at the time or what board I was riding. But there's more to it than that. The mags themselves are printed storage devices of our history; we can use them to study what was happening during a particular era. They keep a record of what has changed and what hasn't.. I thought I'd grab an early issue from three…

Summer is a great time of year, watching standout skaters from all over the country run for the title of Slam Skater of the Year. In the past, I've had the honour and pleasure of seeing some of my closest skate-homies be nominated, and in other years, like 2010 and 2016, I celebrated with my friends Dane Burman and Jake Hayes when they each won this incredible award. I vividly recall the week after Dane won the Slam SOTY award. He visited my home and was kind enough to hang his oversized-novelty cheque on the wall in my room. I remember staring at the cheque with Dane's name on it and the words “Skater of the Year”. It got me thinking, what makes someone Skater of the Year material? Is it…

“I can't really film properly at the moment because I've got a fucked leg,” says Geoff Campbell over the phone from Box Hill skatepark in Melbourne. It's been 13 days since his most recent ACL surgery. He can walk around now, but filming lines is still a few weeks off. Originally from New Zealand, Geoff is one of Australia's most prolific and celebrated skateboarding videographers. He honed his craft filming his friends in Melbourne, eventually becoming the TM for Nike SB Australia, and helping the campaigns of a handful of Australian SOTYs over recent years. Unfortunately for Geoff, he's been plagued by knee injuries since 2017, and just went under the knife for his third ACL reconstruction on the same knee. The silver lining is that Geoff remains a dedicated filmer…

Prior to this interview, Rome Collyer had a busy couple of weeks. He spent a week in Jakarta and Bali with the Vans APAC team, destroying demos and hitting rough street spots, then took an overnight flight to Sydney, where he linked up with the US Vans crew for the Make It Count trip. This was followed by more demos and street skating, along with a big weekend in Canberra for the infamous Belco Bowl Jam. Rome turned 17 mid-way through this succession of trips, which is surprising, because he carries himself with a maturity well beyond his years. I met Rome on the flight to Jakarta, and although he's about 18 years younger than me, we got along great. Rome is as easygoing as can be, and his confidence shines…

Karma Tsocheff is a skateboarder from Visalia, California, who went pro for Dogtown in 1990, then moved on to SMA, before clocking up decades with Consolidated. His third visit to Australia was in vast contrast to his previous times out here in the ‘90s. Back then, it was wild Big Day Out demos and long stints on the road for Kwala Distribution; while this time he was in holiday mode, catching some waves and casually ripping some Gold Coast skateparks. We caught up to chat about his past visits and recent vacation, during which he shared the waters of Burleigh with a burly bull shark. Now at 50 years of age, with three Thrasher covers under his belt and a classic collection of video parts, Karma is a skateboarding legend…