5 minutes with Rohan Cowley

Rohan Cowley freestyle skates during COVID-19 lockdowns (May 2020)

Why freestyle?

I chose freestyle because I wasn’t allowed to skate at the skate park or in the street without a parent. With both parents working, they never had time to take me to skate so I skated out the front of my house on the footpath. Also, I came from a ballet background so I found skating to music really natural.

So access and music were key?

Yeah, access was a massive thing for me. I wanted to skate street and park and try all different types of skating. However, freestyle was perfect for my circumstances.

Does the ballet background help with tricks/footwork?

Ballet definitely helped in choreographing lines and routines. Footwork however, was just hard to learn but knowing how to shift my weight (which I learnt in dance) was a massive help.

Is there a favourite trick or combo?

I love trying all tricks. Truck dancing is a bit weird though and truck stands are wild, only landed a handful. But [I] love toeside rail to rollo to Cooper stance and Cooper flip out. Such a satisfying trick if done quickly and cleanly.

You mentioned on Instagram that you’re from Inverell. What is it like trying a niche style of skating in rural NSW?

Yeah I’m from Inverell. Pretty small regional town with a heavy agricultural industry which made its way into everyday life. Growing up you were either an agricultural kid or a sports person, nothing in between. I was one of only three skaters in the town, with my mentors Dakota and Taylor being heaps older than me when I started at fifteen.

I got a bit of backlash for skating. However, when I started freestyle, people would stop hating and just got hyped. That pushed me heaps to keep going even when the homies quit or moved away…

You’ve moved to other forms of skating since starting your Instagram account @australian_freestyle_skate. May I ask why?

I still freestyle and I love it, but when you are by yourself it can get super frustrating regarding progression. I found myself getting pretty good and then, boom, I hit a wall and just got angry that I couldn’t progress.

So, to make sure that didn’t happen, I moved to transition and park skating which I love. If I had more friends or connections to freestylers in Australia I would have just stayed doing freestyle. But, I believe as a skater you should try every style you can and just have fun.

Also freestyle equipment is super hard to find and buy in Australia but now Aikenheads stocks it which is great and they are one of my sponsors so they support me and other freestylers heaps.

[I] got plans to actually cop the new Mike Osterman pro model from Waltz once it enters our shores. Daddy Mike is awesome and a massive help for the progression of freestyle in Australia which was never a thing when I was younger.

Osterman has been very good with promoting freestyle and getting gear to Australia. Is there anything else you can think of which may help freestylers here?

The one thing that would help freestylers and freestyle in general is the recognition from the core community. We are all skaters. However, there is definitely a preconceived notion that freestyle…[is] dying and that it is some weird offshoot of skateboarding. No matter what board you ride, it’s skateboarding and we all deserve some support to make sure our passion and future of freestyle continues.

CONNECT: Follow Rohan Cowley on Instagram (@australian_freestyle_skate and/or @roast_beef_boy). Alternatively, if you’re heading inland from Coffs Harbour along the B78, have a skate break at Inverell park (NSW) and maybe you’ll see each other there.

The ‘yeah, nah, yeah’ guide to freestyle skateboard setups

Maybe you saw Daniel Popescue the other night. Or maybe you didn’t because he wasn’t on Australia’s Got Talent, he performed on the Romanian version:

And after seeing Popescue rock some freestyle tricks, you’re thinking of adding freestyle to your skate repertoire.

Or maybe you’re just puzzling over his setup: ‘What ARE those black things on the kicks?’ and ‘What is with that extra griptape?’

Anatomy of a freestyle skateboard

Freestyle skateboards differ from the standard popsicle setup.

Popsicle setup (left) versus freestyle setup (right)

Firstly, freestyle decks are usually narrower (7.25″ to 7.6″) than their counterparts for fast flips and stable rail work. Smaller wheelbases (between 11.5″ and 13.75″) help speed up footwork. Concave is nonexistent or extremely mellow; no one wants to catch their foot on the concave while walking-the-dog. And at least one kick is squared off for optimised pogos.

Offset wheels, sometimes paired with extra bearing washers, protect the axle nut while in rail (aka ‘primo’) and are essential for rail stability.

Trucks are one size narrower than the deck, with the standard bushings swapped out for stiffer bushings. Tight trucks, often derided by street skaters, are the freestyler’s cheat for consistent rail tricks and precise footwork.

On the graphic-side of the kicks, griptape is often added for extra traction and control of casper tricks.

Then there are wooden or plastic skid plates that protect and reinforce the kick(s), allowing freestylers to perform truck tricks and nose or tail stalls and scrapes without destroying their boards.

Freestyle bushings and bearing washers.
Decomposed Honey Drips: ‘for those who love it ultra hard’
Freestyle trucks are slightly smaller than the decks they are paired with.
7.3″ Denny Riordon deck paired with 7″ Paris 108 trucks
Various skid plates.
Plastic skid plates from Sk8kings, Seismic and Waltz Skateboarding

More on freestyle skateboard anatomy from the WWW

The above is a basic breakdown of a freestyle skateboard setup, written with the typical park/street/transition skater in mind.

For more on freestyle parts and how they come together, we suggest checking out Sarah Park-Matott’s video ‘What Makes a Freestyle Skateboard – a set up deep dive’:

If you’re unsure what wheels to choose, Mike Osterman’s article ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Freestyle Skateboard Wheels’ might help. Not only does it explain the difference between offset and regular wheels, it also goes through wheel shapes and durometers.

YouTube viewers will be pleased to learn that Osterman elaborates on his freestyle truck + wheel rule mentioned in the above article in his video ‘How to Choose Trucks for your Freestyle Skateboard’:

If you’re rusty with your deck terminology and need a refresher, Mike Osterman (again) has written ‘Freestyle Skateboard Decks’, explaining features such as ‘concave’, ‘wheel base’, and ‘single-kick’. It’s an easy read, albeit with the obligatory Waltz Skateboarding plug.

But if you want to really nerd out over how deck features affect tricks, Tony Gale’s ‘The Freestyle Deck Guide’ is as in-depth as it gets. It also links to Rodney Mullen’s thoughts on the matter—‘Freestyle Board Notes’ originally published in the March 1989 issue of Thrasher.

Finding freestyle gear in Australia

Not all freestylers subscribe to a specialised deck with all the trimmings. You can certainly ‘hack your popsicle’ for the service of freestyle; it’s a topic that we’d like to discuss at a later date.

But for now, let’s assume you’ve set your sights on a freestyle setup. If you live in the U.S., Europe, or Japan, it’s relatively easy to get one. However, if you call Australia home, it’s a ‘nah, yeah, nah’ situation. Most local shops do not carry freestyle goods and the overseas ones either a) don’t ship to Australia or b) ship to Australia for a hundy or more.

Thankfully, we are not completely without freestyle gear in Australia. Most Powell-Peralta stockists will sell Per Welinder deck reissues and Andy Anderson Nano Cubic wheels.

The Nano Cubics are freestyle-street wheels which were designed to complement Anderson’s hybrid-skate style. They range from 52mm to 60mm in wheel diameter.

Nano Cubic wheels
54mm and 56 mm Nano Cubic wheels

We recommend using a 54mm to 56 mm on a freestyle setup. Opt for the harder 97a: the axle nuts will be protected for longer with a harder wheel.

In addition to Powell-Peralta, Perth’s Aikenheads Skateboards sells decks from Waltz Skateboarding and Maple Road.

Founded by Americans Mike Osterman and Daniel Trujillo, Waltz Skateboarding is a freestyle-focused skate company. It currently produces 3 deck shapes:

  • the Huntington – a modern interpretation of the 80s single kick
  • the Yuta – a symmetrical double kick
  • the Bixby – an asymmetrical double-kick allrounder

For traditionalists wanting an 80s board with modern dimensions, Aikenheads-affiliated Maple Road has released a zero-concave, single-kick deck with Kevin Harris.

The Perth skateshop also carries skid plates, unbranded freestyle trucks, and offset wheels from Waltz, Sk8kings, and Momentum.

In Melbourne, OCD Skateshop stock bearing washers and a variety of trucks from Ace, Bullet, Independent, Mini-Logo, and Tensor. They do not carry Paris 108s, unfortunately, but these do occasionally pop up elsewhere.

There’s (surprisingly) a lot of truck models available in Australia (if you look hard enough):

Truck ModelHanger widthAxle widthBoard fit
Ace 00 Classic198mm6.50″7″
Ace 11 Classic1117mm7.25″7.5-7.6″
Bullet 1102108mm6.9″7.25-7.4″
Bullet 1202116mm7.2″7.5″
Independent Stage XI 1093109mm6.9″7.25-7.4″
Mini-Logo 7.134116mm7.13″7.5″
Paris Street 1085108mm7″7.25-7.4″
Tensor Alloy Raw 4.256108mm7″7.25-7.4″
Unbranded7 117mm7.25″7.5-7.6″
Table: Freestyle trucks available in Australia
  1. https://www.acetrucks.com/sizing-chart (accessed 2 March 2024) ↩︎
  2. https://www.tactics.com/bullet/standard-skate-trucks (accessed 2 March 2024) ↩︎
  3. https://independenttrucks.com/trucks (accessed 2 March 2024) ↩︎
  4. https://www.facebook.com/minilogo/photos/a.273075179383196/3946446108712733/?type=3 (accessed 2 March 2024) ↩︎
  5. https://www.paristruckco.com/collections/trucks/products/street-108mm-raw-orange(accessed 2 March 2024) ↩︎
  6. https://www.skatedeluxe.com/blog/en/wiki/skateboarding/skateboard-wiki/trucks/(accessed 2 March 2024) ↩︎
  7. Unbranded trucks used in Waltz Skateboards’ beginner completes. Measurements supplied by Aikenheads Skateboards. ↩︎

‘Out of stock’ (a final note)

We were hoping to add Hopkin Skate to our list of freestyle stockists. They sometimes have Seismic skid plates available. However, at the time of writing this post, the Seismics were sold out. There’s hints of another shipment coming, containing Seismic Focus wheels, but we don’t know when that will be.

In fairness, out of stocks issues are not limited to one skate shop; it is a symptom of an ongoing global supply chain crisis that began with the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, some freestyle stuff is better than no freestyle stuff. So please be kind to the few skate shops that take a punt on carrying such niche goods and try to support them when you can.

5 minutes with Jamie Wong

Jamie Wong works on his no-handed pogos.
No-handed pogos by Jamie Wong.

Why freestyle?

I like the freedom and creativity. Freestyle is so fun because it’s relaxing to do by myself. Also I skate a lot by myself, so I like skating to music.

What is your current setup?

  • Waltz 7.6″ Bixby 2 Escape
  • Waltz Deep Space Explorer wheels
  • 1/4″ riser pads
  • Waltz skid plates

Where is your favourite flatground?

I love skating on tennis courts because of the grip.

Favourite trick?

360 tailstop fingerflips. Toeflips.

Current trick battle?

Carousels. Coconut wheelies.

If you weren’t skating, what would you be doing?

Most likely playing clarinet or volleyball. Anything to be busy and creative.

Your mum sometimes attends the Adelaide freestyle meet-ups. What does she think of your freestyle skating?

My mum is incredibly supportive of me with my freestyle skating. She has been learning all the differences between freestyle and popsicle decks!

My mum likes to see me skate and learn new tricks. She also spends a lot of time driving me to different flatground spots.

CONNECT: secondary school student Jamie Wong is on Instagram and skates with the Adelaide freestyle crew. You’ll find the crew shredding the flatground at SA United Church Netball Association or at Tonsley Innovation District.

What is freestyle skateboarding? (And why haven’t I heard about it?)

…freestyle mostly features technical flatground tricks like wheelies, handstands, flips and spins, sometimes involving more than one skateboard. Fluidity and motion to music plays a big part in freestyle skateboarding.

Skate Australia

Flatground, tricks that use all parts of the board, and footwork—these three elements combined is what defines freestyle and appeals to its practitioners:

Josh Dunstone executes a railstand handstand on his Maple Road skateboard.

It’s you, the ground, and your board. The ideas and possibilities are endless.

Josh Dunstone, australian pro skater for maple road skateboards

‘Probably the earliest form of competitive skateboarding’ (Skate Australia), freestyle was showcased through competitions in the sixties (Late Tricks) which grew in number and prestige over the decades. In the US, inventor of the ‘flatground ollie’ Rodney Mullen began his career as a professional freestyle skateboarder, dominating contests for many years.

Australia had its own scene, with skaters like Rob ‘Wedge’ Francis and his ‘wheelie kneelie’:

Unfortunately, the nineties decline in skateboarding killed freestyle. As UKFSA Chair Tony Gale (2021) would bluntly put it, ‘anything which wasn’t street skateboarding was taken out back and summarily executed’. Competitions ceased to exist. Freestyle boards weren’t being made, and freestyle pros had to find other jobs to support themselves (Mullen and Mortimer 2004).

The style revived in the noughties, though with little to no support from the mainstream industry. It has since existed separate from the rest of the sport, with its own ecosystem of manufacturers, events, and skaters.

Today, Japan is freestyle’s capital, home to many of the world’s finest freestylers, including Isamu Yamamoto:

North America and Europe are also fast-evolving spaces. Fresh competitions such as the Tucson Thunderdome and the Dutch Freestyle Skateboard Open are popping up alongside the World Round-Up and World Freestyle Skateboarding Championships.

In comparison, Australia is a freestyle backwater. Despite enjoying ‘a rocking skate scene’ as per Transworld SKATEboarding (2002) with ‘a plethora of parks, plenty of local rippers, distributors, shops, and even a couple of manufacturers’, Australians are more likely to associate the word ‘freestyle’ with Ian Thorpe than a skateboarder.

We at Flatlandia want this to change. We don’t want to be writing about what freestyle is and why it is a non event in Australia. Instead, we want to be reporting on Aussies going to freestyle competitions, reviewing the latest drop of freestyle gear, or waxing lyrical about that kid who rolled past the other day, shouting ‘do a rail flip’.

So this is us, celebrating freestyle, bringing it back to Australia. We’re not sure where this project will take us, but we’re going to full send it anyway.

REFERENCES

  • Gale T (2021), An Introduction to the UKFSA, UKFSA, accessed 13 February 2024
  • Late Tricks (n.d.), Contests, Late Tricks, accessed 13 February 2024
  • Mullen R and Mortimer S (2004) The Mutt: How to Skateboard and not Kill Yourself, 1st edn, HarperCollins Publishers, New York
  • Skate Australia (n.d.) Skateboarding, skateaustralia.org.au, accessed 12 February 2024
  • Transworld SKATEboarding (2002), Aussie Rules Skateboarding, skateboarding.com, accessed 18 February 2024