Sidewalk Skateboarding Christopher James Massey - Sidewalk Skateboarding

Christopher James Massey Christopher James Massey

November 7th 2015 saw the passing of a truly beautiful human being.


To those who knew Christopher James Massey personally, he was a beaming ball of positivity and humour who could find a way to make any situation ripple with laughter and good will. His humility and love of life was as infectious as it was all encompassing, and everyone who crossed his path would receive the same treatment regardless of who they were.

Massey wasn’t happy until everybody around him was smiling.

To those of you who know his name but didn’t have the privilege of knowing Chris on a personal level, you will still have felt his life-affirming presence through his contributions to global skateboard culture.
Aside from being a dope skater in his own right, and a face on the UK scene from the late 80’s onwards, Chris contributed footage to every Blueprint production over the years, filmed the vast majority of the UK footage in the early Static videos and, most notably, was the man behind Landscape Skateboard’s seminal ‘Portraits’ video.
In many ways Portraits, (which is rightly still hailed as a classic over a decade after its release), stands as a testament to Massey’s single-minded vision of how the beauty of our beloved culture should be presented.
Simple, unfussy, humble and teeming with love for the act of skateboarding and for all of those who choose to partake in it – Portraits was a perfect encapsulation of the sheer loveliness of the man behind the lens.
You can feel his warmth and personality oozing through every second of the video and that makes me smile, even at this most sad of times.

Chris moved into the world of commercial production later in his life, working for many of the most prestigious production companies in the industry and garnering respect for his talents, and love for his infectious enthusiasm, just as he had within the skateboarding community. Humble to a fault, Chris also saw fit to share his success with his friends from the skateboarding world and helped the likes of Dan Magee, Stuart Bentley and Percy Dean make their first moves in the world of production. Generous to a fault and fiercely loyal to his friends, Chris would find time to help anybody who asked simply because he was that kind of a person: truly, genuinely, lovely...

Our deepest sympathies go out to Chris’ wife and daughter Lucy and Amelia, to his mother and father Tricia and Dave, to his brother and sister Jonathan and Anna and to all his innumerable friends across the world.
We miss you Mass – take care my friend.

Until we meet again x