Why freestyle?
[Firstly,] I was totally spellbound the first time I saw footage of pure (‘not hybrid’) freestyle. I’d seen Rodney Mullen on a bootleg VHS of 411 Video Magazine and could not believe my eyes.
Not long after that, I found Powell-Peralta’s Future Primitive in a bargain bin at my local video store for like one dollar in about 2001. I saw Rodney’s name on the back, and then the year it was made (1984), thinking ‘surely it’s not the same guy’. When I watched it and his part came up, it blew my mind into tiny pieces. I was like ‘THAT…I wanna do that’. It also seemed a bit ‘left of centre’, a bit obscure, which I think fits my M.O. a bit.
Secondly, I can’t afford to hurt myself too badly as I work for myself…[With] freestyle, while you can hurt yourself (in an interview with Don Brown, he talks of smashing all of his teeth out on a pogo), it’s not anywhere near the same as street or vert.
Besides…nothing gives me the same feeling as freestyle skating.
You found freestyle during the ‘dead’ period. Did you try it then, or was it a bit later? And if it was then, how did you find hardware?
Ha! Exactly!! Back then, it was virtually impossible to get ANY dedicated freestyle gear, especially in the most isolated capital city in the world. Even on the internet.
Around the same time, I ended up getting one of the very first Enjoi Mullen decks and Tensor trucks…to reach Aus and was doing some approximation of ‘hybrid skating’…although it was more ‘streetstyle’ for sure.
It wasn’t until about 18 months ago that I found Decomposed, got right back into skating and the rest is…
Video tutorials in 2001 would have been in their infancy. How did you learn tricks???
Back in 2001, they did not exist…at all. Everything I knew and cared to try I learnt from the 1997 411 tape and not long after, Globe ‘Opinion’ (2001) and Daewon vs Rodney Round 2.
As for the current day, there’s a plethora out there. Mike Osterman’s trick tips have been very helpful.
We are so lucky with the internet. We can see freestylers from around the world and get inspired. Is there a particular skater who influences you (apart from Mullen)?
Agreed! Omg yes, fanboy or not, Mullen is not by any means the whole picture. I’m totally stoked on ANYONE who freestyles. Just a few names: Mike Osterman, Yuta Fujii, Masahiro Fujii (Yuta’s dad), that kid Orson blows my mind (basically all the Waltz skaters are beyond sick), Jamie Chalmers, the ‘Iceman’ Kevin Harris and Per Welinder. Honestly I could go on and on. Oh and Isamu, Kilian…
OK, I’ll stop. Whoever might read this, then them too haha.
That’s an epic list with skaters from all around the world. There are not so many local freestylers though (amateur, professional, or otherwise).
Yes! And I am so stoked that, for such a small community, the reach is so far and wide now. Truly amazing freestylers are coming from the most unexpected corners and pockets from every continent.
And as I have read this, I feel shamed that I didn’t include one of the most unique and talented skaters in the F.S. world, our own Josh Dunstone!! That’s a guy who truly takes his own path and as such, he is one of a kind!
Is there anything you think that can be done to change the lack of a local community?
That’s a great question, and something I’ve long given thought too…
This shirt comes to mind!! Before I met Glen at Aikenheads, you would have no idea how many confused, sideways, or otherwise dumbfounded looks I’d get asking other shops about anything freestyle.
So I can’t say enough how cool it is to have such a mecca here. As far as a community of F.S. skaters beyond that, I’ve given up. There’s nothing more I’d like to do than go to meet-ups, etc. Actually skate with, trade tips and ideas among other people who share our passion. Would be so awesome.
But our country’s geography, and sometimes stale ways, makes it a prospect closer to fantasy then probable reality.
Then again you never know.
Indeed, you never know. Maybe we’ll have a national meet someday soon (fingers crossed).
Okay, last question: if we have a competition/meet one day, which city should it be in and will you be there?
In Australia?!?! Just the idea makes me giddy. Have to say Syd or Melb. And you betcha.
Connect: You can find Dean Wedgwood on Instagram (@dnobambeano). Ask him nicely and he might just tell you where the good flatground is in Perth, Western Australia.
Even if I don’t freestyle very much, I will still come to the meet ups when they happen! Nice interview! 😃 Dean seems really passionate about freestyle 😀
It’s great to see such enthusiasm in a fellow skater isn’t it? Irregardless of what discipline they prefer.