Livi’s very own Adidas wearing Death Skateboards pro Benson landed the second transition based cover of the year, front rocking a proper pool in a proper backyard. As if that wasn’t enough, this also doubled up as Rob Shaw’s first cover shot. Props all round!
Read on to find out Benson’s thoughts on his cover and the rest of 2011 now…
Back in August, yourself and Rob Shaw treated us to a South Coast front rockslide of California-eque proportions. Did you know this was going to be a cover?
Nah I didn’t know it was gonna be a cover. I was really stoked when I saw the mag, Rob did a good job!
This was shot on the Death tour earlier in the year, right?
Aye, we did a little tour kinda thing to get a bit more footage for the new video, it was pretty rad.
Was this another one of Cates’ amazing hook-ups, and how was it to skate something so rare here in the UK?
I’m not sure who put us onto it, I just remember Nick saying we were gonna skate some swimming pool, so I was looking forward to it for the whole trip.
So after a week of camping and living out of the van, you finally got to skate the pool. Are you stoked to be featured in Rob Shaw’s first cover shot?
Aye, I’m stoked on the cover and Rob shot it really well. I never really thought about it being his first cover, I guess that’s pretty rad though.
Often the tranny guys take a bit of a back seat on trips, as street skating always seems to dominate. Was it a nice change to go on a trip where the emphasis was on visiting and unearthing a variety of gems like this pool?
Fuckin’ right mate! It bums me out when we just go to street spots all day but I’m not the only one in the van so I just need to go with it. We went to loads of different stuff on this trip though; we hit that pool and some wooden quarter pipe in the woods as well as some street spots. It was a good trip!
Who should we be looking out for on the Death video from what you have seen on your travels with the team?
I would say either Boots or Adam “Moss Man” Moss, those fools are really good!
2011 has been pretty busy for you right? Big Push, Death trips around the UK and mainland Europe alongside a fair amount of hard graft to pay the bills. What are some of your highlights from this year, and what are you planning for 2012?
Aye it’s been a rad year! Highlights would have to be when we all went to the one-pound strip joint, and any time Rob Smith is around. Hopefully next year will be even busier, I’m looking forward to seeing where I end up. Preferably somewhere hot!
Witness Benson and the rest of the Adidas UK team in their 2011 Big Push submission:
