CJ got hold of Converse UK’s Harry Lintell and Rory Milanes to see what they made of their 2011 Big Push experience.

Get reading below now, then head on back on Monday to see what the Nike SB boys have got to say…

Harry Lintell – backside tailslide. Photo: Sam Ashley.

Harry Lintell

So Harry, this was your second Big Push. After a pretty heavy hitting part from yourself in last years Ipath edit, did you feel under pressure to be the kind of ‘gnarly one’ this year with Converse?
Yeah man, it was my second year. I’m so stoked on getting the chance to go on two Big Pushes, they’re rad. I didn’t really feel like I had to jump off things as the Big Push is such a rush and you always end up having too much fun to feel under pressure. But yeah, there is a nice thrill of thinking sometimes, “I wonder what or where is everyone else skating. Is it raining?”. It was just really good to get to skate some spots that I had never been to before and get the chance to meet skaters.

It’s fair to say that everyone one was pretty hyped to see Yann and Clint in the footage and article. How was it having a few guys form overseas on the trip?
Yeah it was really good to go skate with them. Both are killer dudes who shred! It was sick to hang out with them the whole week. Good dudes to get stuck in a van with and it was good to get a chance to hear about the cultures and stories of both America and South Africa.

It looks like you guys travelled all over, what were some of your favourite spots and sessions?
Oh man, I wouldn’t be able to say, ha-ha! There were so many good spot on that trip! The spot in Wolverhampton was amazing. I had heard a lot about that spot but that was the first time I had ever been there and it was amazing! Newcastle was cool too, and I had not been there either.

You won the ‘No Fear stair count challenge’ and 500 quid along with that. Were you worried about having to try this, and did you have any problems or slams trying to do it?
It was in the back of my mind but I hadn’t though about it too much. It was like the fifth day of the trip or something and we were in Sheffield and I’d seen the stairs already. We were pretty knackered from travelling so much and just being stuck in the van for long period at a time so we went there anyway to have a look at it to see if anyone might giving it one. It’s the Big Push, you might as well give it a go. I was scared, cold and tired, so I just kind of went for it and it happened! I was well stoked! It was one of the biggest things I have tried.

Whilst watching the edit, you seem to have a corker of a slam on the Gaz Jenkins rail for the recreation of the cover. How come you had to skate it in the rain? Was it a “now or never” situation?
Yeah, that was pretty much it man. It was the morning of the last day and we were hoping for some good weather but it was raining solid. It was like the last spot that we could think of skating that might be dry to try and get the last challenge. When we got there and it was well busy and wet. But it’s the Big Push so it’s worth a go, ha-ha. I ended up taking some slams ‘cos it was wet but I stuck one and got the last challenge just in time, which was sick!

You guys ended up at the Wednesfield/Wolverhampton big three for the NBD challenge. Did you have any problems with the switch big heel or had you got it in your mind that you were gonna do it before you went there?
Nah it was one of them thing that you just think of when your there. I had though of some tricks that I had wanted to try at that spot, but that wasn’t one of them. It just kinda happened, ha-ha. Couldn’t be more stoked that I had landed too. That spot is amazing and would love to skate it again.

Rory Milanes – ollie. Photo: Sam Ashley.

Rory Milanes

This was the first Converse Big Push. With Sam (Ashley), Chez and Hold Tight Henry all seasoned pro’s at the Big Push game, did they organise where you guys were gonna skate everyday or was it a case of just heading to wherever was dry and not a bust?
We had the route planned and most of the spots, but we found a few extra things. Chez wasn’t on our case to get footage really, I think this hyped the team to get stuff done because there was no stress at all, he just let us get on with it!

Did you travel to any parts of Britain that you’d not skated before?
Not really to be honest.

What were your favourite spots and sessions?
The pool in Oxford was a so sick, it was in the middle of the woods. I remember the weather being amazing and we were drinking beers whilst skating.

I think it’s fair to say that everyone out there was pretty gutted about not getting to see Jerome skate. What happened to him?
Yeah it was a shame but his ankle was mash up. It’s hard to go on a skate trip when you’re the only one that can’t skate, but he held it down!

As per usual, a few people lost some time to the dodgy British weather. Did you loose out on any photos or footage because of this?
I don’t actually remember it raining that much to be honest. We must have missed a lot of it!

It must have been rad to have a couple of out of towners (Clint and Yann) on the trip. Did you feel like a tour guide to British skate spots and culture?
Not really, if it was in London then maybe I would have felt slightly more like a guide. I think they really enjoyed it though, they got to see a few places in England and it must have been interesting for them to notice the contrast in some of the places, like from Oxford to Liverpool.

What are you highlights from the week and is there anywhere you like to explore in particular next year?
I liked spending time in Sheffield. Everyone is very friendly there and there is a sense of close knit community amongst the skaters. Next year I really want to go back to Scotland, I like it there because there’s loads of stuff to skate and the scenery is incredible. There’s always lots do in Glasgow, there’s a good music scene there and I want to go to that record shop – ‘Rubadub’.

Today’s installment of Big Push 2011 recaps sees Daryl Dominguez, Shaun Currie and Jake Collins reminiscing about their experience as part of the Vans crew on last years cross country jaunt.

Read on below, then head on back tomorrow for more…

Daryl Dominguez – hardflip. Photo: CJ.

Daryl Dominguez

This was your first Big Push, right? How did it compare to your preconceptions of what is expected of you on a trip like this?
I try not to have preconceptions of things as that generally spoils the beauty of it, but you couldn’t help it on the Big Push. Good people, good energy, all sharing the same love for skateboarding, new spots, getting wankered, getting blazed, partying, and kung-fu treachery. It was all those things and more man, what can I say? Shaun Currie was there, nuff said! But from a Big Push virgin’s eyes it was rad!

When someone mentions your name, most people will think of West London and the UK comp circuit. Had you travelled much around the Midlands and the South West before this trip? What were your impressions of the places you visited?
Yeah man I’ve been to a couple of the places before; Nottingham and Derby have some sick shit, so when I get some time off I’m definitely going to head that way again soon. Bristol’s’ incredible! Definitely hitting that place back up soon. The block five in the park that Barber nollie flipped is so good, wish we didn’t go there on the first day though! I’d been to Wales before but not really the cities more like the Valley’s.

Despite all attempts to avoid hitting the hammer spots early on, Vans ended up at Lloyds on the first day, right? I hear you got pretty broke off jumping down them. What affect did that have on the rest of your week?
Yeah man, I like a good leap so we ended up at Lloyds and I had something in mind so ended up thinking “try it three times and see how it goes”. Turns out I was feeling it, right there in the moment I just had to keep trying it. But, it didn’t work out, so I had to leave it. Felt it the next day for sure but that’s skate trips; win some, loose some. There was loads of shit that f**ked me up though, my board fell in river on the second day for one….

This must have been a good team building exercise for you guys, as a few guys were fairly new to the team. Who stood out for you and who do you reckon impressed you the most?
Well yeah man, it’s family. I can say that about the whole team for sure. It was sick and a really good experience. Everybody stood out for various reasons. It was sick seeing ‘Street Collins’ handle business, properly too! Shaun Currie’s ‘Twuan steeze is too sick, Dlynn can stack clips better than builders can stack bricks, Remon is an absolute retard, UK’s answer to Trapasso. Everyone just got on with it and was super cool. Here’s to another one!

Shaun Currie – heelflip. Photo: CJ.

Shaun Currie

You’ve obviously spent the last summers watching a fair few of your mates from Sheffield go off on the Big Push, how did it feel to finally get a chance to take part in one yourself?
I felt really lucky to go on something like the Big Push. But, mostly I felt like I was on a constant hype all day and all night playa!

Vans started off in Bristol and South Wales and then set up a base in the East Midlands – how did you find the spots in each area and did you have a favourite?
Bristol was bangin’! We stayed in an Ibis hotel right next to a perfect seven set which Nev, Jirka, Jake and Nick smashed. Dean Lane skatepark was so good, it made me feel like Omar Salazar or something. I think my favourite spot has to be the bank to stall in Leicester, it was perfect!

As there were so many of you young guys on the trip, every spot ended up being a session pretty much didn’t it? What was the best session for you?
Yeah, no matter what spot we went to there was at least a couple of people who wanted to session it ‘cause there was such a wide variety of skaters. My best session was that brick bank to stall ‘cause everybody filmed something. Good work Black Dynamites!

Was there anyone in the crew that you’d not skated with before and who was your MVP of the trip?
That has to be Denis Lynn ‘cause he’s just a massive Irish skateboarding warrior and as soon as I met him we got along like creamcorn! Jake Collins was rad ‘cause he knows how funny Will Ferrell is and I never really see him street skating and it was amazing to see it first hand.

Jake Collins – flaming front blunt. Photo: CJ.

Jake Collins

Vans decided to move away from last years theme of ‘park and tranny’ skating and concentrate on the younger, street guys. Being (falsely) regarded by most as a comp and skate park skater, did you feel you had to kind of prove yourself on street?
Ha-ha! Yeah man sort of, but it was all good and the spots we went to were amazing! Not too much tech manny/block stuff, just loads of variety which was rad.

Vans spent the majority of their time in the East Midland, Derby in particular. Had you skated anything up there before and how did the spots compare to those in South Wales?
The spots we went were sick man and I was stoked because I’d never been to any of them before. I’m not sure man Wales had got some good spots and the Midlands spots are dope as well. Anything new is always good!

What were your favourite spots and sessions of the week and who had you not seen much of before the trip?
My favorite spot was the two rails in a row I think it was in Derby. I dunno about my favorite session as pretty much the whole week was one long session! Everyone on the Big Push was pretty much a stranger to me beforehand apart from Denis and Remon. By the end of it all, we were a super tight crew all good mates.

With the knowledge of one Big Push behind you now, how would you approach it differently if at all, if Powley asked you to do another one?
If I go on it again next year, I’ll just do the same I guess and have a good time!

Shiner’s roving gang of skateboarding madmen are up next in CJ’s Big Push 2011 recaps, which sees Robbie Brockel, Nicky Howells and James Coyle dishing out some stories from their week on the road.

Get your read on below then head back tomorrow for more of the same…

Manhead – kickflip. Photo: Jerome

James Coyle

Like quite a few riders on other teams this year, this was the first Big Push for you right? How did you get on and was it everything you expected it to be?
Yeah this was my first Big Push so I was really stoked to get the chance to go along on it. I had done a few little trips with Nicky and knew Josh a little so was pretty hyped to meet everyone just to get out and skate around the UK as I love getting the chance to skate new spots. Thanks Jerome.
The rest of the Big Push was what I had expected really, Travelodge’s, long drives, Tesco meal deals and hopefully get to hit some sick spot on the way and chill with new people.

With a week long trip like this, it’s always hard to know how to pace yourself. Do you go big and gnarly early on and risk writing yourself off, or try and pick your battles? You had a pretty rough old slam whilst skating over that rail into the sloping bank. What happened there and was that the end of skating for you that week?
To be honest, when I found out we were skating up north the first few days I was hyped as I could take people to spots I knew and hopefully everyone else would get stuff, and I had planned to just do whatever until we got to spots that were new to me.Although it never ends up the way you plan…
I met everyone on the first evening in Darlington and went and had a skate around Middlesborough and then we went into Newcastle the next day via Sunderland, which was a good day; it ended with fish and chips by the beach, which is always good.
Next day we started at Five Bridges where I bust my right ankle so the trip was pretty much over then for me then. I decided to take everyone to that rail into the bank and nobody was into it, so I kind of felt I should maybe try it which was crazy with my ankle like a balloon. I ended up taking that slam which sprained my left ankle and twisted my knee which I thought it was then completely over to be honest (skateboarding in general, not the Big Push). I only started skating again about a month ago; the Big Push took out my ankles so I am just hyped to be skating again.

How was it having a big US name like Robbie coming over to join you guys this year, and did it put the pressure on for everyone else to go hard and try and get to some of the better spots to show him what we had to offer?
It was sick having Robbie with us. I made sure we headed to a bunch of spots in my area which I wanted people to skate, he would just hit it and we would get in the van and hit the next spot. I’d never seen him skate before so I was hyped when I skated with him the first day. He pushes fast!
I don’t think it put on any pressure really, well I never had a chance to think about it to be honest before I hurt myself, but everyone is well capable of killing it anyways so I don’t think so. Robbie is cool and can just skate whatever you take him to.

Is there anywhere, which you guys missed out on or got the boot from along the way that you’d be keen to head back to, and are there any particular areas of the country you try and get to if you were asked to do the Big Push again?
It was gutting going to loads of sick spots and only watching because I was injured, but at the same time I was so hyped to see everyone skating.
If I was asked to do the Big Push again I would like to start in the south and work my way up to my bed in Newcastle, I’m sure I will have hurt myself enough to just get dropped at the door on the last day up north. We went to that DIY spot in Sheffield and the one in Liverpool too. There were spots on the Adidas one that looked rad too with the blocks and the big three, we would have loved to go there too but all in good time.

Nicky Howells – gap to back lip. Photo: Jerome

Nicky Howells

With the Sidewalk ‘In Progress’ and Kill City ‘Rookies’ deadlines only round the corner from the end of the Big Push, how much pressure did you feel to firstly not get hurt and write of any last minute stuff with those DVDs and secondly still skate as hard as ever on the Big Push with all of that in the back of your mind?
I’d hurt myself, well my ankle so much filming for the Sidewalk DVD that it just seems normal that I fuck my ankle every now and then. The Shiner Big Push was the first time I’d skated in two months after messing my ankle up trying to get something for ‘In Progress’, which meant I couldn’t get any of the last bits I wanted. I didn’t feel much pressure on Big Push, the only problem I had was getting my confidence back and I was such a pussy on that trip. It was kind of the same for the Kill City DVD, I always seemed to be hurt when there was filming missions on so my part in that isn’t as good as I would of liked but I think me and Daint are gonna start working on a web part to come out in the next few months or so.

With your housemate and partner in crime, Dave Snaddon, on the DC Big Push, was there any on-going Facebook or text wind ups and beef throughout the week in the name of a bit of friendly rivalry?
I don’t think I spoke to Snadz the whole week ‘coz, to be honest, I can’t stand him! I see him enough at home, so a week without having to talk to or see his stupid face was very refreshing, ha-ha! Only jokin’, Snadz is the best! I rung him up one night to show everyone on the Shiner trip how good Snadz is at whistling, as he’s absolutely amazing at it!

The cross section of riders on the Shiner Big Push this year obviously called for a wide variety of spots and terrains. How did you find going from skating blocks, gaps and other street spots and then the next day skating a backyard bowl or DIY spot?
I loved it! I think changing the spots up makes it loads easier to get shit done, if you just keep going to block spots your heads gonna explode. I loved skating all the DIY spots we went to especially the one in Sheffield that I think Baines started, that was so good! The backyard pool in north Wales absolutely piss take so it was good mix bit of street and a bit of tranny. I love a bit of tranny I does!

With a fair amount of time spent around the North East this year, was there anywhere that you visited that you want to head back to skate?
All of my favourite places to skate are up north! I absolutely love Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. I’d like to live in Sheffield or Leeds one day but defo wanna go skate Sheffield DIY spot again soon. I think I could skate that place for the rest of my life!

Robbie Brockel – stalefish. Photo: Jerome

Robbie Brockel

After re-watching the Shiner edit just now, it looks like you had no problem with jet lag or adapting to the often less than perfectly smooth surfaces over here in Britain. How did you find the terrain which Jerome took you guys to and was there any where in particular that you were super stoked on?
I was really stoked on all of the D.I.Y. spots we skated. I live in Phoenix, Arizona and anytime we build anything like that it gets removed immediately. As far as the all the rugged terrain, I adapted pretty well to that because we are always skated rough ditches in Arizona too.

How much information did you have of the concept and format of the Big Push before heading over for it and how, if at all, were those preconceptions altered after a week on the road around the UK?
I had heard of the Big Push before and knew its concept. I was mainly worried about coming out there and meet with a group of guys I had to hang out with for the next week that I had never met before.

Jerome took you guys over to Newcastle and the North of England for a fair chunk of the week. What were the main cultural differences that stood out for you whilst visiting different parts of the UK?
The architecture was the main difference. Other than that, nothing stood out to me to be too out of the ordinary.

With the Real video dropping in the not too distant past, what were you doing over in the States leading up to the Big Push and were you still harbouring any injuries from the ‘Since Day One’ video part?
After the video came out I was still going on trips and skating daily. The video came out in the spring and right after that summer rolled around and I was basically gone all summer on trips.

The next round of CJ’s Big Push themed interviews are now online and ready to be perused below, this time around talking to Joe Gavin, Caradog Emanuel and Taylor Oakley about their Etnies Big Push 2011 experience.

Get reading now, then head back tomorrow for more…

Joe Gavin – switch pole jam. Photo: Jim Walker.

Joe Gavin

Looks like you guys hit a variety of spots all over the North this year. What were some of your favourites and is there anything you wanna go back for?
Yeah we hit up loads of good spots. I wanna hit up Crewe again soon as it’s the new Barcelona!

Etnies had your close friend Sean Lomax on main camera/filming duties for the week. Was it kind of just another day/week for you as you guys spend so much time filming together or did you feel the need to really push it with new people on the team and visiting new spots?
Sean’s always good to have filming you. Rest assure that with Sean’s footage and edit, it’s gonna look good. I was pretty wounded that we were in Manchester for the first few days, skating the same spots as I skate everyday! Nothing really changed as far as how we film together just the same technique “Keep your head down, shut up and land the bastard trick”…Ha-ha.

How did you find the weather this year? Did you guys get lucky and avoid the rain or was there anywhere you got lucked out on and couldn’t skate?
Not sure if it rained all week? Even in Manchester! So I guess we got lucky this year.

You’re credited as being one of the filmers on the edit, how much time was spent skating vs. filming and was it a case of only filming if it was a spot your weren’t gonna skate?
I kinda made a point of not filming the whole trip even when I wasn’t skating just so I could feel more part of it as a skater….. But Sean was kind enough to credit me cause I got a second angle of Axels nose pick! Oli was too busy killing it to film it…ha.

Caradog Emanuel – rock fakie. Photo: Jim Walker.

Caradog Emanuel

This is your third Big Push now. How was it for you and were you stoked to get your boy Taylor on a trip of this scale?
Yeah this was my third Big Push and as always it was just so much fun to be a part of, I love doing them. I always remember when I was younger seeing the Document ones and had wanted to go on one. This was my favorite one so far as we literally had the sickest crew. Everyone was super mellow and down to skate so it was amazing. Plus this was the first trip I’ve ever been on with my homeboy Taylor Oakley, it was pretty mad like, cause I’ve known him since he was like nine and we live around the corner from each other. I’ve known how good he’s been for years, but it was just nice for him to let everyone else in the UK know how good he actually is, super hyped he f**king killed it!

The Big Push took place in the school holiday in order to give everyone a chance to hit up the schoolyards and colleges. Did you guys have any problems with security along the way or did you just adopt that Big Push mind set of just barging in there?
Yeah we didn’t really come across any problems with any schoolyard that we visited, aside from a few gnarly fences to climb over, we were really lucky like. I don’t think it would have stopped us anyways as everyone was too keen to skate and get shit done. I mean we had security hick-ups along the way but I think this was one of the mellowest Big Pushes I’ve been on security wise and in terms of skating, it was the gnarliest.

Your deadline for filming your part on the Kill City DVD was creeping up during the summer wasn’t it? Did you feel a lot of pressure to not get hurt or over do it as you would have to go straight back to filming in Wales after the Big Push?
Well, I think you’re always going to worry a little bit when you go away about hurting yourself, but I was probably more concerned about hurting myself on the trip and not being able to skate some rad spots and generally take part in the Big Push. I had racked up loads and loads of footage for the Kill City video before going on the Big Push, so I mean it was a little worry but I definitely wasn’t dwelling on it. When we were on the Big Push I did actually f**k my ankle bombing a hill so I couldn’t skate for the last few days, so I was pretty bummed out about that. That slam took me out for close to two months, but I still managed to squeeze in a few extra tricks for the Kill City video in the end so I kinda got away with it.

Who was the Etnies MVP for you?
Etnies Big Push MVP for this year is to hard to say as everyone absolutely killed it, but if i was forced to say I’d say Oli Buergin because he was down to go anywhere and skate anywhere, plus he drove us around the whole time and just generally hooked it up. That noseblunt slide he done in Birmingham was serious!

Taylor Oakley – kickflip backside tailslide bigflip out. Photo: Jim Walker.

Taylor Oakley

This was the first Big Push for you under your recent addition to the Etnies UK roster. How did you find it? Was it as you had anticipated?
Yeah it was a really good laugh and I was so stoked to had the chance to go the Big Push! Being able to skate everyday and having nothing to worry about was so rad!

For anyone who’s not kept a keen eye on anything footage based coming out of South Wales over the past few years, this was kind of their introduction to your skating. Were you hyped to get the chance to show the masses what you’re made of?
So hyped to be apart of a team trip and to have the opportunity to do something as big as the Big Push.

How was it getting to travel to a bunch of spots that you’d never had the chance to before and was there anywhere in particular that you want to go back to?
It was cool to go up north and skate Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Wolverhampton and Nottingham. Manchester was dope to skate and I would like to go back to that spot two up and two down ledge there and get the front blunt flip out because I slammed and then it was too dark to do it. Crewe had some sick ledges and spots, and pretty much everywhere else was dope too!

How was it getting to travel to a bunch of spots that you’d not had the chance to before and was there anywhere in particular that you want to go back to?
The challenges were super fun, the sal flip blunt was crazy and all the boys smashed it! I wasn’t to keen on the big stair ollie, ha-ha!

All this week CJ will be bringing you interviews with each of the teams from the 2011 Big Push, starting this morning with last years winners, DC!

Get reading below to find out what Dave Snaddon, Jody Smith and Steve King made of last years mission, then check back tomorrow for more…

Dave Snaddon – Kickflip. Photo: Leo

Dave Snaddon

Never one to shy away from a bit of travel and well in tune with how to cope with the intensity of something like the Big Push, how did you find the spots this year and was there anything that you didn’t get to skate and want to head back to?
This year’s Big Push was my favourite one so far by miles. There wasn’t as much travelling involved which gave us more time to skate. Other years, especially the one when we were in London, we were in the van a lot travelling or stuck in traffic. This year we were missioning around Wales, Bristol and Cornwall so most of the spots were only thirty minutes to an hour away. The spots we skated were amazing!! There are some seriously dope spots in the Welsh towns we visited.
This one spot for example was so different and looked amazing, the run out literally went into the sea! There were a lot of wicked spots that hadn’t been super rinsed either.
I would like to go back to most of the spots we visited like the gap into a bank then drop off into rough as fuck ride out in Swansea.

How did you find the challenges this year? For me, recreating the covers was brilliant and in the case of DC, you guys actually managed to get the original cover man, Flynn Trotman, out to re-shoot the photo. How was that, did it get the group hyped to see history being remade?
The challenges are always good fun, this year there were some wicked ones in there I liked the “make a spot that’s unskateable skateable”, that was so funny trying to glue that piece of angle iron onto a ledge or something, in the end we just duck taped ours to a hubba and we got John “keeeeeeen as f**k” Bell to hop straight on it in the morning ha-ha. Personally, the last thing I want for breakfast is to try and grind down a grizzly old wall with a bit of metal duck taped to it flapping about in the wind! Fair play Bell!
It was wicked to see Flynn killing it again, we used to skate together quite a bit but don’t see him that much these days, he was on it that day too, got straight out of the car couple of flat land tricks then hopped straight on the rail! The photo looked pretty much exactly the same but the new photo was a bit steezier! Sick!

Just looking through the article now and checking out your 360 flip over the rail into the bank at the Newport Uni. How was it trying to skate that thing with the dodgy wooden run up? I hear you guys might have had a little bit of trouble with the police too?
I’ve wanted to skate this spot for ages after seeing all the photos and footage. I had a few ideas in my head and was nagging everyone saying “when we hitting the Newport uni spot up?”. Sam “Pulldog” Pulley was saying how the week of the Big Push was probably going to be the last chance to skate it cuz the sites getting knocked down any day! We were obviously well keen to hit it before it’s gone!
When we got there, the run up as u said, was absolutely gash! Bits of ply wood and road signs taped together round a corner and it was slippery as fuck as well!
After ten minutes, everyone had ollied over it and the session was on! It was sick when everyone got their tricks, John’s 5-0 into the bank was amazing and Steve King’s front shuv and Varial heel were ridiculous. I defiantly had to work for the tre!
When everyone was done there was one more thing that Pulldog was eye-ing up. He wanted to ollie through this window out of the bank, which would look sick but obviously there was a window in the way. We got stuck in and smashed the window and tried to get the frame out so he would have enough room, obviously that created quite a lot of noise as the smashing probably echoed out quite a bit. Someone shouted “Police!”. We all shat ourselves and ran to the bags trying to pack everything up and before I knew it we were out of the fence into a big open field, so we ducked into the bushes to try find a way out. Whilst everyone was getting out of there I was busy slipping into thorn bushes trying to keep quite and George Nevin had stumbled on a wasp nest and was getting stung all over! I got up and tried getting the wasps off him but we freaked out and needed to get into the open but there were Police walking round so we had to be super careful. Once we were in the open we George was yelling “awe, f**k, get em off me” and I was swinging his t-shirt around him to get them off.
Later we found out that the Police were about fifty yards away from us but couldn’t see us because there was a slope. George and me now had to find a way out but couldn’t bump into the Police, as we would get fucked. We snuck round like mission impossible trying not to be seen only to find Sean Smith hiding behind this barrel. It was so funny cuz we thought everyone got out.
After sitting in the bush sweating for fifteen minutes with someone’s dog barking at us blowing our cover we missioned out through the back gate and onto the main and phoned everyone to see where they were only to find out whilst we were in a bush sweating, hiding from the Police they were in Le Pub having a pint!

Some of the spots that you guys visited looked like they’re in the middle of nowhere and well off the beaten ‘skate tour track’. Where was that spot you kickflipped into the bank near the beach and how did you guys skating there go down with the locals?
The towns we visited were definitely off the beaten track a bit, but there were some gems! That spot was on the sea front in Porthcawl, there’s a new bowl complex there, which is savage so we checked that after. Again, that spot just looked amazing even though it was rough as fuck, it was sick to skate.
There was that and a little drive down was the manny pad, sick! There were some wicked spots in Cornwall too, the Bodmin double set was sick, defiantly go back those ways and Newquay was cool. Always walked past the spots but never skated them, the ollie John did over the hubba was so sick and Dylan’s overcook down the Church rail was insane! We also visited some massive bowls were we met up with Sam Bosworth which was rad. Pulley and Stenty cruised the bowls and racked up the bowl footage.

Jody Smith – switch ollie. Photo: Leo

Jody Smith

This was your first year on the Big Push, right? Your twin brother Leo had been on the previous two DC ones, did he let you know what you were in for and was it everything that you expected?
Yeah this was my first Big Push with DC, I’ve been gagging to get involved for a couple of years but it’s always clashed with a DC European tour so I could never do it. I made sure this year that I was definitely going to get involved even if it meant leaving early from another trip. Leo hadn’t really said to much to me about the Big Push trips, I guess just watching last years edit gave me an insight on what it might be like.

You had a pretty heavy hitting and varied crew this year, what were some of the stand out skate and non-skate comedy moments?
Yep we had the full squad this year and some help from Steve King who absolutely smashed it! It’s hard to think of a standout moment because to be quite honest I was laughing all the time, but I think without question one the funniest moment for me was Pulley’s T-pain song titled “Poo in Donalds”. Basically we’d all been making these funny auto tune songs with this iPhone app, Snadz created an upbeat love song about Dykie which had me in stitches but then Pulley blew us all away with his song! I’m pretty sure the first time I heard it I laughed so hard a little bit of piss came out!

This was the last year that your team-managing predecessor James ‘Stenty’ Stentiford would be in charge. Were you keeping a keen eye on how he was dealing with any problems, as it’ll be you in the driving seat next year?
I suppose knowing that it would be me taking charge next year made me analyse his TM steez and techniques, and I’d be lying if i said I’m not slightly nervous about the next one, but, at the same time, we have such a rad team at the moment I’m excited also. I’m sure I’ll be ringing up Stenty for his advice and some words of encouragement! Ha-ha

We all saw the shocking news about John Bell’s leg and that he nearly lost it due to injury and then infection. Didn’t it all start on the Big Push, and how was it when you found out how serious it had gotten?
Well I bumped into John a few weeks after the trip down my way; he’d tagged along with the Crayon team and was skating some Cornish spots. He was saying to me, with a big smile, about his hip and how it was giving him some discomfort and that he was getting it checked out that day while he was down in Cornwall. Not sure if it was later that day or the next, but Sharpy (Leo Sharp) sent me a horrific picture message of Johns leg! Words can’t describe how bad it looked and it reminded me of that disgusting footage of Charlie Wilkins squeezing all that crap out of this hip from the 1998 Transit promo!
It has definitely made me think about the next time i get a hipper that’s for sure! Get well soon John.

Steve King – Backside 360 ollie. Photo: Leo.

Steve King

Having been recently added to the DC crew listings, this was your first official trip with the main guys. How did you find the Big Push and was it a good introduction for yourself to the rest of the team and the wider skate community?
Hell yeah! I had a great time, saw loads of new places and I can’t think of a better way to get exposure in the UK. Everyone watches the Big Bush!

Did you find that you had to prove yourself on and off your board to a certain respect?
Yeah man, most of them are Pros so there was definitely some pressure. I met Sean Smith and straight away he does a switch backside smith on Welsh Office blocks when I was still trying warm up with kickflips on the flat. But every session was good and chilled out.

Known mainly around the Cardiff and South Wales scenes, how was it for you being able to branch out and skate a bunch of rad new spots all over the country?
Getting out of Cardiff was the best thing about the trip! Most of the spots round here are sketchy and f**ked so it was good to skate some decent things for a change. Even just going to Swansea with the team meant I got to skate spots I never would have known about otherwise. Especially that gap to bank where I stepped in a wasps nest and got stung like 30 times. Ha-ha!

In the edit, you guys skate that manny pad into a bank heading directly down to the sea via some pretty sketchy looking rocks. Where is that, how did you guys find it and what did the local fishermen think of you lot skating there?
That manny pad in Porthcawl was awesome. My mate found it and he wasn’t sure that it was even skateable. When we got there were two old ladies sitting right in the way, but they moved when we asked them to. You wouldn’t get that in Cardiff!

Watch on below then cast your vote for your favourite edit over on the Big Push mini site, where all this years videos can be found. Voting closes this coming Friday so don’t hang around!

Pay particular attention to Manhead’s slam at Hyde Park – brutal…

MPORA Action Sports

Watch on below then cast your vote for your favourite edit over on the Big Push mini site, where all this years videos can be found! More offcuts from the Vans lot soon enough…

Keep an eye out for more from Robbie and the Shiner crew over the next two months as footage from this years Big Push emerges…