Article by Tony ‘Beanie’ Richardson
Slowly they arrive… drifting in not only from Brighton but also from places further afield, they come from work, from home, from Eastbourne, Hastings, London even. Some are seasoned veterans for others it may be their first time… all with one thing in common…they have waited a week for this… eagerly anticipating this day…Tuesday, hoping for good weather and calm winds… hoping to see old friends and meet new ones… Why have they come here to meet in front of the ruins of the West Pier? Simple… They have come for the Brighton Skate…
Brighton Skate
The Brighton Skate, now in its second year and modelled on the other Street Skates such as ‘The London Skate www.londonskate.com and The London Friday Night Skate, www.lfns.co.uk and it has grown from a few friends wanting to meet up and skate the streets to a regular 20-30 people skating the streets of Brighton along the promenades and streets of Brighton & Hove, through to the Marina and many streets in between…
The Brighton Skate is a collective of likeminded people brought together by their love of skating the streets. It’s founder members Kris Ward and Liam Boraman started this skate in 2010. It is an eclective mix of people of all ages, colours, creeds, cultures and backgrounds. A place where Quaddies and Inliners meet and skate together “ I like the people you meet and the Freedom to skate where you like” Kris, one of the founders of the skate explains Ooh and of course the sound system is the nuts!”
The ‘Sound System’ is pulled by the bike, ably ridden by Colin or Simon pace their riding perfectly up hills and down fast slopes and skaters dance along behind it. The music is loud and pulsing and Mick Brown, who is a veteran of many street skates and the builder of the sound systems you see all over the London skating scene says.. “ there’s an informal vibe, an even mixture of Quaddies and Inliners, people are much more into dancing along than on the big street skates.”
This is one of the important thing within the Brighton Skate,.. The music… People have different musical tastes but all love to dance behind the bike and its flashing lights… They recently held a ‘Spotify’ night with skaters choosing their favourite tunes to play during the skate.
Bystanders and onlookers applaud and cheer as the skaters go past. They take photos and sometimes ask to pose with the skaters. People on buses point smile and wave. People come out of shops to see the skate and even the usual busy commuters honk their horns when they see the skate pass by. Vlad says “there is a freedom to skate anywhere we like, I love the vibe and cheering when crossing through the town, I like the choice of music on our cool sound system”
One of the features of the Brighton Skate is it tries to encourage all skaters no matter what their ability. “Kristian ‘Bub’ thinks “there is a great mix of skaters of all talents on Quads and Blades, great music system, fun routes and plenty of help and advice to top up your skating style, wish I could make it every week”
While not everyone can race the big hills or jump walls or kerbs, everyone likes to feel part of the scene and as Michelle explains ”Before I went the first time I was nervous that it would be intimidating but it’s really friendly and welcoming to beginner skaters with lots of opportunity to learn from the more experienced skaters with all their amazing dancing and tricks. She goes on to say “There is an increasingly active Facebook page and plans to continue skating through the winter, it feels like a community rather than just a weekly street skate which is great!”
Kris agrees and says” I totally agree with Michelle. It’s a really welcoming and supportive group that doesn’t exclude people based on their level of skating. There’s always someone willing to skate, be it a beautiful July midnight, or a blustery afternoon. Small victories are celebrated just as much as more advanced ones. A community that just loves to skate.”
The Brighton Skate usually meets each Tuesday and skates the streets, however alternative skates have taken place. The Brighton Skate made an appearance at this year’s Brighton Pride parade and even held a Midnight Skate in July. With a fancy dress skate night planned for the end of the Summer and attendance at other street skates the Brighton Skate seems set to continue and grow throughout the Winter…
They even have plans to meet indoors during the winter at G.Y.S.O. “Roller Central” www.gysodisco.co.uk/roller-central and keep the Brighton Skate vibe going all year long…
Tony ‘Beanie’ Richardson – Sept 2011
Brighton Skate
If it’s Tuesday evening it must be time for the Brighton Street Skate! ‘Brighton Skate’ is not a formal organisation, it’s just the name given to a gathering of individual skaters who meet up for a skate each TUESDAY evening (weather permitting) from May to September, in Brighton. Rules and guidelines are available on www.brightonskate.co.uk
MEETING POINT: West Pier Skate Pad – Map
TIME: 7.30 pm
SET OFF: 8.00 pm
RETURN: 9.30 pm (approx.)
The Skate Pad is the large area of tarmac on the beach front adjacent to the old West Pier (the derelict one). Weather call is made through the Brighton Skate Facebook page, here: http://www.facebook.com
