Building your own DIY spot with a crew is one of the most rewarding parts of skateboarding that doesn’t actually involve stepping on a board. While recent years have seen good (or at least passable) concrete parks thankfully becoming more common than the godawful metal or plastic jobs which blighted the 90s and early 2000s council attempts at ‘catering for the youth’, there is still not much better than working out just how to skim a top layer of concrete or matching up various quarters and obstacles to make your wasteland creation flow the way you want it to.
Philippe Da Rosa earns his BBQ food. Photo: Monkeyglove Matt
Even a pile of bricks hastily piled up and topped with a metal edge can give you a ledge spot without the hassle of security, skate stoppers or pedestrians. While many of these labours are short lived, especially when close to city centres or on land bought by fucking Tescos, some have stood as monuments to the creativity and drive of their builders and on the rare occasion have even been granted the seal of legitimacy by the council, saving them from the unstoppable encroachment of supermarket chains.
We’ve compiled some of our favourite’s to tip our hats to those who created them – browse through for some classics both past and present, then start scoping out free space near you…
Sam ‘Set Roy’ Neil front pivots, somehow avoiding catching wheel in netting and plummeting onto his face. Photo: Tom Halliday
Brendan Watson back lips in the background of a banging looking BBQ. Photo: Josh Rose
Classic Dougie back smith shapes, peep the back foot and knee on that!
Owen Godbert front smiths by the water. Photo: Charles Myatt
More DIY with more classic Doug McLaughlan shapes thrown in! Photo: Horsley
Joe Howard backside bonelesses over the hole. Photo: Paul Graham
More Taylor Jones flying shapes, this time with a frontside ollie (over the not-visible doorway) for Monkeyglove Matt’s lens…
