For more than 3 decades the now huge lump of concrete that is Livingston Skate Park has been hosting a yearly gathering to celebrate all things gnarly.
The park is aging hard but I think that’s what makes it so good, recent additions have made this place look huge and as always, quite intimidating. Once you get in and skate…it’s easily some of the most fun you can have.
Some Skate Party’s have been monumental not only in the crazy level of skateboarding on display but with the wild party that goes on around the whole weekend. Livi locals are well known for their red eyed, drunken skate mastery and alongside brethren from all across the country it can all get really messy. The skate party always provides memories, good and bad, and this year was no different, it was all really really good!
The forecast was good, the park dry and clean with new paint on the walls including a sweet homage to the locals – ’Livi Scum’ The park has seen work over the last year and the ‘wee bowl’ that runs in to the mighty Livi big bowl has had a face lift and returned back to its original state with a fresh new lip to shralp and a new waterfall into the big bowl. The controversial new build with the full pipe and three bowls attached was completely ignored until the end of the day although the weird little mini park/street area got rinsed by Devo, William Bacon and Lewie Wilson, who seemed to find lines everywhere. It was actually the old back wall and the ancient half pipe that saw the best sessions. Benson nailed a frontside wallride and sent a 5-0 along the lip of the wall, sick. He then destroyed the half pipe with monster allyoop melons and tail slides forever. Kyle Mannifield put his Indy trucks through hell with almost full-length frontside stand ups along the lip of the half pipe making a noise oh so good. Youngo, Colin Adam, Rawdawg, Arron Wilmot, Wu-Tang and a host of others joined in and a gnarly session went off. Mark Burrows and Colin Adam got involved with the back wall rides while Colin Taylor, Kyle, Scott Walker and Sprocket sessioned the ever popular ‘Livi Line’ all of them pulling some big fat juicy airs, Kyle now goes over the corner railing…its nuts! The session moved over to the new newly built full pipe and bowls, Rawdawg and Adam Paris had found a NBD transfer line from the new to the old, the landing in the cock and ball bowl was nasty and the distance was pretty huge, both were on it, just bailing out in the landing. Then Rawdawg pulled it with a huge floaty frontside grab and skated away into hysteria.
It was great to see our lord and saviour Kenny Omond at the party, he had a dope tent set up for the PA and had a treasure trove of old photos and magazines showing off Livingston skateparks pro visitors and colourful history, massive thanks Kenny and Brian Sivess, old school livi local who organised the whole thing, well done, bigger and louder for next year eh!
THANKS TO THE DOPEZINE, BAWBAGS and CLAN SKATES.
