Where are they now? Off Radar with Scott Palmer

Last Friday, an after hours session took place at Hull’s Rockcity skatepark in honour of Scott Palmer receiving a homage board from The Story Collective. The board in question features a photo of Scott, shot by Andrew Horsley, planting a 360 flip on a bafflingly steep flatbank located near Bristo Square in Edinburgh.

Despite stepping away from professional skateboarding in the late 2000s – Scott is still every bit as good as his last trick; immediately (and fittingly) 360 flipping on the steepest flatbank Rock City had to offer upon his arrival and delivering everything else in the same mach-ten manner you would expect throughout the whole evening. Having honourably discharged himself from the professional ranks over nearly a decade ago – let’s hand it over to The Yorkshire Don himself for some insights into one of the best time periods UK skateboarding has seen.

The Palmer 360 flip fakie. Text book. Photo: Horse

Frontside lipslide, Hull tidal barrier rail, 2002. Photo: Oliver Barton
(This photo was used for a Blueprint ad with the byline ‘Rose on’t heart’ in reference to Scott’s love of Yorkshire. You can see an archive of some of Blueprint Skateboards classic adverts here.)

You and Baines were friends before you got on Blueprint, although Mark was on from the beginning, how did you two first meet?

Baines: I feel like it was at Rehab in Wakefield. That’s where everyone used to meet back then.

Yeah, definitely. We probably skated together for a long time, in the same sessions, but never really spoke. People went down there, you got on and you knew of everyone but didn’t necessarily know everyone.

Mark also claims, and this is in his own words, he got on you Blueprint because he wanted another Northerner on the team. What’s your take on that?

(Laughs), I’d imagine that’s about right. But I’m sure Bainesey had to fight a good one there with Magee. I can imagine his scrutiny: “I don’t want another northern monkey on!”

Baines: I don’t want to claim it – but I feel like Magee knew. But in those Wakefield days it was sick and it was rad to get someone close to you on the team. You got yourself on but… Maybe I am just claiming it, (laughs).

No, I’m sure you had a big part to play in that but Wakey was just a meeting point for everybody. Before that it was Northampton [Radlands]. It wasn’t like now where there’s a skatepark in every city that’s undercover. Back then there was like one in the whole of the UK. It was Northampton, then it was Rehab and it just happened that as one would close down another would open and it would be the same crew going to it.

Ollie at Rehab Skatepark, Wakefield, 1997. Photo: Wig Worland

I imagine that filming with Neil Chester around the same time for Through The Eyes of Ruby [1998] and Hating Life [1999] would have already put you in good standing for getting on Blueprint too.

Did it all come together at the same time? Because I think I was on Blueprint before I was on Sumo.

Baines: I’m pretty sure you were because there wasn’t a shop in Hull.

Obviously, I knew Mark and [Carl] Shipman but I didn’t properly know them. It was just when I got on Blueprint I would come through to Sheffield more often and it was to meet up with Mark – not just going to a skatepark and us being there by chance.

Baines: It was quite natural.

It was. When I was growing up you thought it would be rad to be sponsored but you didn’t physically go searching for it. It was totally different to what it is now. Whereas now there’s almost an expectancy or there’s a route or there’s a ‘career path’.

I remember there was a conscious effort at Blueprint, and there was no deal made of it, but you earned your stripes before you got your dues. That was certainly passed down to the younger generation and you had to prove it. It wasn’t just a one trip wonder thing where one trip makes it and you’re ‘on’. You had to pay your dues but it’s about skating and doing it correctly. Doing it well and for the right reasons. When I say that – I don’t feel as if I had to prove myself too much but we were from that era where it was about doing things and doing things right. There was no quick fix to getting sponsored and becoming pro.

Baines: You can self-promote now whereas Magee was basically in control of our destiny, (laughs).

Double-set kickflip 1999. Photo: Wig Worland

“I remember there was a conscious effort at Blueprint, and there was no deal made of it, but you earned your stripes before you got your dues. That was certainly passed down to the younger generation and you had to prove it. It wasn’t just a one trip wonder thing where one trip makes it and you’re ‘on’. You had to pay your dues but it’s about skating and doing it correctly.”

Neil Chester’s 1999 A4 Distribution video ‘Hating Life’ – Scott’s part begins at 13:27

Did being slightly older than most of the Blueprint riders ever make you feel distanced in the last few years you skated professionally?

I was moving onto the next phase of my life and skateboarding wasn’t going to fit around what I wanted to do. I wanted to have a family so I just got a job back at the council. It wasn’t distant but there were times when there were certain trips or things I couldn’t go on – but it wasn’t an issue. I was doing what I wanted to do and like I say, when I did have that opportunity to have a bit of time for me it didn’t really work. But I think that’s possibly because it was coming to the end and I’d already made that decision in my head.

When you’re skateboarding all the time and, without realising, putting your body on the line – once you reach a stage in your life where you think, ‘I could hurt myself now’, then it feels time to wrap it up. When I called it a day with skating professionally it was purely because I was just moving on, that’s all it was.

It wasn’t like I wanted to continue with skateboarding in that sense. I tried with the shop, that didn’t happen, and I learnt a lot through that. At the end of the day once you open a shop, no matter what your passions are, it all comes down to commodities and skateboarding means a lot more to me than a commodity so it kind of doesn’t work. Skateboarding now – it’s something that’s special.

I remember going to work on that first day and I was stoked to be back there. It’s funny how it all just worked out right.

Scott’s short First Broadcast part featuring Blueprint friends.

You left before shit hit the fan with Blueprint. How did it feel seeing the company crumble from an outsider’s perspective or were you too busy with family life by that point to pay attention to skateboarding drama?

I was busy, because when Charlie [Scott’s son] was born – for like six years I didn’t skate that much at all. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to skate, I just didn’t have time. I was aware of the way Blueprint was going. After the good times I had and everybody else had and all the friendships that were made – to see it all come to nothing was a real shame. Then the way it broke out, in some ways I think it fractured a few friendships as well and that’s never nice to see.

Backside nollie, Victoria, London. Photo: Wig Worland.

“When you’re skateboarding all the time and, without realising, putting your body on the line – once you reach a stage in your life where you think, ‘I could hurt myself now’, then it feels time to wrap it up. When I called it a day with skating professionally it was purely because I was just moving on, that’s all it was.”

Frontside tailslide, Livi Fun Day, 2000. Photo: Wig

Being a sponsored skateboarder in this country hasn’t really offered the same privileges to current generations as it did when Blueprint and Unabomber were at their peak. How do you feel to have been so predominantly involved in UK skateboarding in what I feel a lot of people would consider a ‘golden age’?

It’s just an honour when I look back. With everything in life there’s a few things; you’ve got to put the work in but then the timing has got to be right and you’ve got to just have that little bit of luck. As it happens I was born within a timespan when Mark was born, [Paul] Shier was born and [John] Rattray was born and we all came together.

Baines: It’s mad how it clicked. There’s been stuff since that’s been good but…

But nothing that unifying in terms of a British skateboard company.

Baines: Yeah, not at all and I think at the time we had to fight quite hard to be taken seriously. It’s crazy – in Liverpool they had a fucking dartboard with Rob Selley’s head on it, (laughs).

Scott: Yeah, people were hated! Thinking back about Blueprint when I first got on it was a bit of a joke company in the north of England. Like with Panic – people just took the piss. The majority of the footage, skating and feel of it was sort of viewed like it only came from London and Milton Keynes I think. When I got on there I appreciated and understood all the work people were putting in to make it legit. Over time, by getting people further past the M25 – Mark and Colin were on from day one – but through growing organically and spreading its wings it brought everybody on board from the UK and Ireland. Everybody just got behind it and it and blew up and then it did become a legitimate company.

It kind of united everyone in the end and during the time I didn’t think much of it because we were just skating. But when I look back now, we would go do demos and it would be absolutely rammed. I remember going on an éS tour that had all the big hitters from the US but people were as stoked to see the English and Blueprint guys. I probably got as much attention as they did, and I wasn’t on their level in terms of skateboarding ability, but the impact and presence from being a part of Blueprint and everything that came off the back of that was all grown from England and doing it within the UK. It wasn’t like we branched out.

Baines: It’s one thing that Magee did right. I think most people in the UK felt quite proud, not just of Blueprint, but all those companies at the time. It was so spread out that it represented everyone in a way.

Frontside melon during the UK leg of the éS footwear tour. Photo: Leo Sharp.

Scott’s section from Blueprint Skateboards ‘WFTW’ released in 2000.

So, getting more up to speed, how have the recent years been treating you?

It’s rad, I can’t complain – work is busy but that’s life. I go through phases – through the summer I don’t skate. It has totally flipped on its head. When I was skating all the time you would skate in the summer because you loved it and then you’d be scratching about for skateparks in the winter. Now when it’s summer I’m busy with my family and in the winter, when it’s dark nights, we’ll get the kids sorted and then I’ll come down here for a couple of hours or so.

Having spent most of your life in Hull what’s your take on the city’s intention to become a skateboarding destination following being named European City of Culture?

Man, that’s rad. Mark English, the owner of Rockcity, has had a massive part to play in that. He was the one who kind of instigated it all because his ward councillor is Daren Hale – who is the deputy councillor for Hull City Council and it’s through Mark’s involvement with Daren Hale that he has pushed it through to make Hull a skateboarding friendly city.

Any new builds that go up in public spaces aren’t going to be built for skateboarding – all they’re going to do is make it so it can withstand skateboarding and actively encourage it. There’s a new venue, called ‘The Venue’, it’s a big concert hall and we were just at a meeting on the site while they’re building the plaza outside of that. They’re going to be working on the plaza now and we were there talking to all the bosses who are running this site explaining to them what they need to do so it can withstand skateboarding. Such as putting metal edges on ledges, getting away from having wooden benches and making them solid, things like that. I’ve just chipped in here and there but I’ve gone to the meetings.

Finally, when was the last time you tried to be dope?

Baines: 1998 on Bridlington Seafront, wasn’t it?

(Laughs), is that when it was? I get reminded of it enough! The last time I tried to be dope? Fucking hell, there would have to be first time I managed it – I’ve never landed a switch hardflip! On the footage does it look like I’ve actually got a clue what I’m doing?

Scott Palmer – "Through The Eyes Of Ruby" (1998) a Skateboarding video by Sidewalk

Backside 5.0 to fakie around the disk at Rockcity, 2017. Photo: Horse
Where are they now? Off Radar with Scott Palmer.