The Level Bowl Jam 2017

Paul Jackson visited Brighton's The Level at the weekend. The Jam went off. Here's some pictures, yeah?

#uk #skateboarding #fourwheelfools #brighton #thelevel #jam #new #blog #summer 

Hell Yeah Son in Barcelona

Richard Clark, Jordan Thackeray and Harvey Thompson joined Hell Yeah Son for a few days in BCN last month. Proof below.




Damm Lemon: Thanks For Your Time from Hell Yeah Son on Vimeo.






#fourwheelfools #hellyeahson #uk #skateboarding #europe #bcn #barcelona #spain #video #dammlemon

Potter & Munson at Rumbles with Dave Pettingill

Photos by Dave Pettingill


Dave Pettingill has been pointing his lens at Potter & Munson since the weather took a favourable turn.
These were taken at Rumbles in Colchester on Carl's birthday, last week.

Carl Wilson - hip one foot

Carl Potter - hip ollie

Mark Munson - tuck knee

Carl Wilson getting all leggy

Carl Wilson - f/s feeble

#fourwheelfools #skateboarding #uk #colchester #essex #rumbles #HBD #skatepark #skateboardphotography #photography 

Happy Birthday Southbank

Words & Photos by Paul Jackson

  If you are a UK skater and don't know, you really should!
  The Undercroft was an unused space appropriated as a cultural and recreational facility within the South Bank complex on the south side of the Thames in the centre of London that has been used consistently by skateboarders for 50 years. That's right. This week is the golden anniversary. It feels really odd to write that fact about a skatepark. I mean, how many other spots can you name in this crumbling country of ours that can boast five decades of consistent use?
  It's not been a completely trouble free half century by any stretch of the imagination. I can't comment on the events before 1983 but I can clearly remember my disappointment when the first set of railings went up at the top of the banks back in the 80's some time. And the threat of closure that loomed over the place through the 90s. Not forgetting what felt like the overnight shrinkage of the undercroft in the early 00s. And what was all that guff about closing it recently so the area could be redeveloped? It seems like a lifetime of trouble if you list it like that.
  But now, thanks in no small part to the Long Live South Bank organisation, the Undercroft is safe. Lambeth Council accepted LLSB's application for the Southbank Undercroft to be listed as an "Asset of Community Value" under the Localism Act 2011 on 12 July 2013 following the receipt of 33,000 planning permission objections and after months of negotiations, the Southbank Centre and Long Live Southbank signed a binding deal with Lambeth Council to guarantee the long-term future of the skate spot on 18 September 2014. The joint press release said "Following talks that have taken place over the last three months, Long Live Southbank and Southbank Centre are delighted to have reached an agreement that secures the Queen Elizabeth Hall undercroft as the long-term home of British skateboarding and the other urban activities for which it is famous."

  I visited the Undercroft many times in my teens but my skating changed as I grew and I skated there less and less. And I estimate that the visit that produced these two photos back in June 2014 with Milk Skateboards was probably my first visit in about 15 years. And I haven't been back since. It's on the list. Along with The Spot in Tottenham Hale and Stockwell. You know, I just haven't had, or made the time. As I said, it's on the list.

  No doubt the next 50 years will not be trouble free, but let's hope the support of Boris, the 20th Century Society and Lambeth Council amongst many others will calm the winds of change a little and keep this historic site a spot for many skaters in the years to come.
So raise your glasses, here's to you Southbank and another 50 years. Three cheers for The Undercroft. Hip hip...

Fuller - One Foot

Jasper Pegg - wallie f/s board bigspin 

#fourwheelfools #uk #skateboarding #southbank #50years #happybirthday #london #undercroft #jasperpegg #milkskateboards

Dave Pettingill at Empire Skatepark

Introducing Dave Pettingill. A new contributor to the Four Wheel Fools blog.
Here's a selection of his work, taken at Empire Skatepark in 2016. Expect more from Dave and other photographers and film makers on Four Wheel Fools in 2017.

Empire Skatepark - The Final Session

Although none of us knew it at the time, this was to be the final Skate Night at the longtime home for so many of the Essex Wednesday night session. 

We now know that shortly after this session, Lewis & Harry arrived at the park later in the same week to find the locks changed and a notice of eviction taped to the front door. After immediate negotiations with the landlords and owners of the building, it became apparent quickly that the park would not be reopening at the same location. 

Here at Four Wheel Fools we are gutted. The RAD things that have gone down over the years. The demos, comps, the parties, The Lords Of The Swords Awards Nights, Go Skateboarding Day events, the building and opening of The Out Back. To have it ripped from the skate community in north Essex at a time when the scene is at it's richest in years is a slam we can all do without.

In no small part is the strengthening of the skate scene in Essex (and more widely) due to the constant hard work of both Harry and Lewis, Toby Gozzett, Mark Munson, Elliot Simmons and many, many volunteers and friends that worked to keep the park going. And let us not forget the unquenchable thirst of Jack Kenward alongside Warren to complete the DIY concrete monster out back during last year. The filmers and photographers that recorded the day to day; Warren Munson, Jack, Cerven Cotter, Dave Pettingill. And of course the skaters. The lurkers that come and go, the parents and kids, the ones who've grown up or grown old in the park. Those few that astounded us all with the gnarliest, RADest tricks and lines. 

It never seemed like we were customers of a business although we all paid our fee. More like a subscription to a massive, earth spanning society. All with the same wish; to enjoy the rolling around. Whatever the reason, may it be to escape difficulties elsewhere, to hang out with your mates, to learn something new, whatever. We all, all of us got something great from the park. We all played our part and gave so much. I for one have a catalogue of over 300 photos from 2012 through to this last session to look back on with a great feeling of accomplishment that we did something good. 

The hole left by the closure is huge. More noticeable at this time of year but, from the ashes will rise a phoenix. As soon as the news hit, a petition was started by a regular park user Leo, asking for council help to save the park collecting 2,500 signatures in less than a week. Negotiations are ongoing to ensure that Colchester continues to offer an high quality indoor facility in a property with a more secure future.  

What will be will be. I guess everyone will want to play a part in what is to come as we have done before. And who knows, in a couple of years we might be beginning a new DIY build out the back once the linchpin returns to the fold. 

So enjoy the last memories of the thing that was Empire Skatepark. We'll be sharing again some of the best posts from the last five years over the next few weeks. Keep your set adjusted to this channel.

Andrew Houghton - slob sub box foot plant

Tariq Abdel-Rahim - b/s r'n'r

Ian Clark - sub box foot plant board varial

Thaxx - f/s ollie

Mikey Joyce - f/s boneless (1)

Thaxx again - f/s nose grind tail grab

Mikey Joyce - f/s boneless (2)

Mikey Joyce boneless over Thaxx back lipping the door. Mental.

#fourwheelfools #empireskatepark #uk #skateboarding #blog #new #essex #photography

Luke Jarvis Memorial Skate Night Edit

Skate night in memory of Luke Jarvis - Empire Skatepark on Vimeo.


#uk #skateboarding #RIPinPEACELukeJarvis #FourWheelFools