The next round of CJ’s Big Push themed interviews are now online and ready to be perused below, this time around talking to Joe Gavin, Caradog Emanuel and Taylor Oakley about their Etnies Big Push 2011 experience.
Get reading now, then head back tomorrow for more…
Joe Gavin – switch pole jam. Photo: Jim Walker.
Joe Gavin
Looks like you guys hit a variety of spots all over the North this year. What were some of your favourites and is there anything you wanna go back for?
Yeah we hit up loads of good spots. I wanna hit up Crewe again soon as it’s the new Barcelona!
Etnies had your close friend Sean Lomax on main camera/filming duties for the week. Was it kind of just another day/week for you as you guys spend so much time filming together or did you feel the need to really push it with new people on the team and visiting new spots?
Sean’s always good to have filming you. Rest assure that with Sean’s footage and edit, it’s gonna look good. I was pretty wounded that we were in Manchester for the first few days, skating the same spots as I skate everyday! Nothing really changed as far as how we film together just the same technique “Keep your head down, shut up and land the bastard trick”…Ha-ha.
How did you find the weather this year? Did you guys get lucky and avoid the rain or was there anywhere you got lucked out on and couldn’t skate?
Not sure if it rained all week? Even in Manchester! So I guess we got lucky this year.
You’re credited as being one of the filmers on the edit, how much time was spent skating vs. filming and was it a case of only filming if it was a spot your weren’t gonna skate?
I kinda made a point of not filming the whole trip even when I wasn’t skating just so I could feel more part of it as a skater….. But Sean was kind enough to credit me cause I got a second angle of Axels nose pick! Oli was too busy killing it to film it…ha.
Caradog Emanuel – rock fakie. Photo: Jim Walker.
Caradog Emanuel
This is your third Big Push now. How was it for you and were you stoked to get your boy Taylor on a trip of this scale?
Yeah this was my third Big Push and as always it was just so much fun to be a part of, I love doing them. I always remember when I was younger seeing the Document ones and had wanted to go on one. This was my favorite one so far as we literally had the sickest crew. Everyone was super mellow and down to skate so it was amazing. Plus this was the first trip I’ve ever been on with my homeboy Taylor Oakley, it was pretty mad like, cause I’ve known him since he was like nine and we live around the corner from each other. I’ve known how good he’s been for years, but it was just nice for him to let everyone else in the UK know how good he actually is, super hyped he f**king killed it!
The Big Push took place in the school holiday in order to give everyone a chance to hit up the schoolyards and colleges. Did you guys have any problems with security along the way or did you just adopt that Big Push mind set of just barging in there?
Yeah we didn’t really come across any problems with any schoolyard that we visited, aside from a few gnarly fences to climb over, we were really lucky like. I don’t think it would have stopped us anyways as everyone was too keen to skate and get shit done. I mean we had security hick-ups along the way but I think this was one of the mellowest Big Pushes I’ve been on security wise and in terms of skating, it was the gnarliest.
Your deadline for filming your part on the Kill City DVD was creeping up during the summer wasn’t it? Did you feel a lot of pressure to not get hurt or over do it as you would have to go straight back to filming in Wales after the Big Push?
Well, I think you’re always going to worry a little bit when you go away about hurting yourself, but I was probably more concerned about hurting myself on the trip and not being able to skate some rad spots and generally take part in the Big Push. I had racked up loads and loads of footage for the Kill City video before going on the Big Push, so I mean it was a little worry but I definitely wasn’t dwelling on it. When we were on the Big Push I did actually f**k my ankle bombing a hill so I couldn’t skate for the last few days, so I was pretty bummed out about that. That slam took me out for close to two months, but I still managed to squeeze in a few extra tricks for the Kill City video in the end so I kinda got away with it.
Who was the Etnies MVP for you?
Etnies Big Push MVP for this year is to hard to say as everyone absolutely killed it, but if i was forced to say I’d say Oli Buergin because he was down to go anywhere and skate anywhere, plus he drove us around the whole time and just generally hooked it up. That noseblunt slide he done in Birmingham was serious!
Taylor Oakley – kickflip backside tailslide bigflip out. Photo: Jim Walker.
Taylor Oakley
This was the first Big Push for you under your recent addition to the Etnies UK roster. How did you find it? Was it as you had anticipated?
Yeah it was a really good laugh and I was so stoked to had the chance to go the Big Push! Being able to skate everyday and having nothing to worry about was so rad!
For anyone who’s not kept a keen eye on anything footage based coming out of South Wales over the past few years, this was kind of their introduction to your skating. Were you hyped to get the chance to show the masses what you’re made of?
So hyped to be apart of a team trip and to have the opportunity to do something as big as the Big Push.
How was it getting to travel to a bunch of spots that you’d never had the chance to before and was there anywhere in particular that you want to go back to?
It was cool to go up north and skate Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Wolverhampton and Nottingham. Manchester was dope to skate and I would like to go back to that spot two up and two down ledge there and get the front blunt flip out because I slammed and then it was too dark to do it. Crewe had some sick ledges and spots, and pretty much everywhere else was dope too!
How was it getting to travel to a bunch of spots that you’d not had the chance to before and was there anywhere in particular that you want to go back to?
The challenges were super fun, the sal flip blunt was crazy and all the boys smashed it! I wasn’t to keen on the big stair ollie, ha-ha!
