Why freestyle?
Grew up in Vancouver Canada [where it] rained a lot so we started skating in our carport. That made us concentrate on freestyle due to the confined space, although we skated everything on dry days.
What was the freestyle scene like when you were in Canada?
1975 was early days for skateboarding so everything was just starting out. 360 spins were what got you noticed. I grew up skating with Kevin Harris who would eventually become Canada’s first professional skateboarder.
He was always spinning more than I. I would get dizzy easily and fall off. He ended up doing 105 spins on one board and 1032 on two boards (a world record still) back in the late 1970s.
Did you ever figure out the not-getting-dizzy part of multiple 360s?
No, [I] was never able to get over [it]. I could do six and that was it. Even just a few years ago, same thing happened when trying [spins] so I just concentrate on daffies, pogos, and other tricks.
Are you freestyling much nowadays?
Not as much as I would like—busy at work and life getting in the way at the moment.
Indeed, Maple Road Skateboards and Aikenheads must be a lot to juggle. Which one out of the two is the current fave skate child (and why)?
Maple Road is my favourite because of the history behind it. Aikenheads makes the money to finance the Maple Road brand so really…[one] can’t exist without the other.
Word on the street is that Maple Road is bringing out a new freestyle deck. Can you tell us a bit about how that is going?
Yes, we are working on it. Had some prototypes made that are being tested by a freestyle skater in California at the moment. I won’t see them until I get back to Canada in August. They are produced by Control Skateboard MFG in Montreal.
Any hints on what it will be like?
Double kick 7.4″ wide, 12.75″ wheel base. Nose 5.75″ and tail 6″. Mellow concave. Graphics done by Shane (IG: @graphicaddiction).
Exciting times for Australian freestyle. Hopefully we’ll be seeing this board around soon.
It’s also great to see Maple Road sponsoring freestyle skaters as well: Rohan Cowley, Josh Dunstone, and the late Micky Bluebird. The tribute deck had a beautiful graphic. Can you tell us a bit about that one?
Micky was a very special lady. So passionate about skateboarding, wild life and ‘I Dream of Jeanie’.
I thought it would be a fitting graphic to remember her by. I usually let my graphic designer run with stuff with a short brief and he knocked it out of the park as usual.
Apart from Maple Road, you also stock some Waltz skateboards and other freestyle goodies at your shop, Aikenheads. Is there a lot of interest from the walk-ins?
A few walk-ins purchase freestyle stuff but the majority goes online shipping across Australia including Tasmania.
Final (random) question: ‘Saran Wrap’ or ‘Glad Wrap’? What sounds better?
GLAD WRAP.
Connect: Glen Billwiller is the owner of Aikenheads Skateboards (Wangara, Perth, Western Australia). It is pretty much the only brick-and-mortar store in Australia that carries a range of freestyle parts—check out the website for gear sans international-shipping costs. He’s also the founder and owner of Maple Road Skateboards, which sponsors Aussie freestylers like Rohan Cowley and Josh Dunstone.