Table of contents for 237 Autumn 2023 in Slam Skateboarding

Most skaters are known to have at least one trick that they have on absolute lock. Even those allrounders who have an endless bag of tricks, there's still that one unwavering sure shot they can pull the trigger on almost anywhere and anytime. Think Andrew Reynolds with the frontside flip, Chima Ferguson and the back three, or Jamie Foy pinching a front crook. What makes these tricks come so easily? Repetition over time sets in the sweet stillness and a high confidence level that can make a trick feel like second nature. What's your go-to? Think of your staple – the trick that rarely lets you down. I remember back in the day when I was judging a comp in Sydney city and one of the competitors wasn't happy with…

In 2000, a 16-year-old kid named Shane “Shazi” Azar had a Focus in Slam. The portrait showed a cheeky-looking lad in an Etnies hoody sitting in a wheelchair, comfortably leaning back into a wheelie. The skate photo is a “flat stick” 50-50 on an out-ledge at Manly, in Sydney's Northern Beaches. Azar already had a long list of sponsors at that point, but this was his introduction to the mag. Over the next decade, he would have an insane amount of coverage in Slam, and other mags, alongside a steady succession of heavy video parts. In Slam's very next issue, Azar can be seen “boosting” a frontside air in a very funny ad for Boost, the phone service company, alongside a classic photo of a bright blue Motorola phone with…

The majority of these photos were shot in the final few days of filming for Pleasure Avalanche, the upcoming video from Sydney's Personal crew, which is due for release around the time this issue comes out. With the video deadline looming and uni commitments beginning to pile up, Noah “Nog” Smith was determined to finish off his section and shoot a photo feature in the process. 1. “I always get a burst of motivation when everyone starts talking about the premiere or video release”, Nog says of the situation. “And for this video in particular, it's all of my best friends involved. It's all tight-knit, and I just feel like I need to have good footage in there to do it all justice.” With the whip cracking, Nog stuck to…

I've been working on a book about the history of Australian skateboarding magazines, and I end up scouring my archives on a daily basis. Now with 237 issues (and counting) my Slam boxes take up more space than all the other Australian magazines combined. Slam has literally been there throughout my entire 32 years as a skateboarder. When I grab an old issue, it brings back memories; what tricks I was learning at the time or what board I was riding. But there's more to it than that. The mags themselves are printed storage devices of our history; we can use them to study what was happening during a particular era. They keep a record of what has changed and what hasn't.. I thought I'd grab an early issue from three…

Prior to this interview, Rome Collyer had a busy couple of weeks. He spent a week in Jakarta and Bali with the Vans APAC team, destroying demos and hitting rough street spots, then took an overnight flight to Sydney, where he linked up with the US Vans crew for the Make It Count trip. This was followed by more demos and street skating, along with a big weekend in Canberra for the infamous Belco Bowl Jam. Rome turned 17 mid-way through this succession of trips, which is surprising, because he carries himself with a maturity well beyond his years. I met Rome on the flight to Jakarta, and although he's about 18 years younger than me, we got along great. Rome is as easygoing as can be, and his confidence…

At just 15 years old, Noah Bardas is the youngest skateboarder in recent memory to take out New Gen of the Year, and he's a quintessential cheeky grom. In his New Gen interview, he explained that he prioritised skating over going to school, so his dad had sent him to a life skills camp that was “like juvie” – as in, jail for kids. On his first proper skate trip with Santa Cruz, Noah's teammates reported that during those long stints in the van, he killed time by burning peoples’ arms with a jet lighter. When we reached out to Noah about winning New Gen of the Year, he took a while to get back to us, eventually revealing that he'd seen the news while he was at school. “Nah,”…

Sean Ryan is one of the best skateboarders in Australia. He has an absurd amount of pop, can basically do every trick, and is both a backside and a frontside guy. Hot off the heels of his last part in New Balance Numeric's 2021 video Gazette, Sean has spent the past year and a half filming for Cameron Fraser's upcoming masterpiece, Arcadia, set to be released extremely soon … so stay tuned. Sean has had a few interviews come out in recent times, so instead of going for a traditional Q and A, we thought we might as well play a game of pub trivia. You can play along at home, too, if you please. If you want to know a little about Sean before we get started, here you…

AGE: 18 LIVES: Surry Hills, Sydney RIDES FOR: Personal “Astro's got some fucked up outfits. On a trip to Melbourne, he stayed with us and we were sussing out all the clothes he bought. Gary [Almeida] was like, ‘Bro, what is up with this shit? Doesn't Tim give you clothes?’ He owns this Portugal polo shirt that I reckon is up there with one of the ugliest shirts I've ever seen. But I love Astro and I miss him.” – Anthony Gotsis “Astro is so gullible that he still thinks Beau Reid is the Cons TM. In all seriousness, though, Astro is a really good kid. He's super polite and skates sick.” – Tim Cobden…

Summer is a great time of year, watching standout skaters from all over the country run for the title of Slam Skater of the Year. In the past, I've had the honour and pleasure of seeing some of my closest skate-homies be nominated, and in other years, like 2010 and 2016, I celebrated with my friends Dane Burman and Jake Hayes when they each won this incredible award. I vividly recall the week after Dane won the Slam SOTY award. He visited my home and was kind enough to hang his oversized-novelty cheque on the wall in my room. I remember staring at the cheque with Dane's name on it and the words “Skater of the Year”. It got me thinking, what makes someone Skater of the Year material? Is…

Back in 2021, when nobody was really sure how long the pandemic would hang around for, Noah Nayef had a Six Pix feature in this magazine. In the accompanying interview, Nayef revealed he was working on a new April part that would be out before the end of 2021. Of course, this deadline came and went, along with so many others during the pandemic, and skateboarders were left wondering when we might get to see the footage Nayef had been putting away. Nayef's April part wasn't released until November 30, 2022, but the voters agreed: not only was it worth the wait, it was the best Australian part of the year, earning Nayef Video Part of the Year for 2023. Nayef's part opens with a back lip down a rail…

THE GREAT EQUALISER IN SKATEBOARDING IS THAT EVERYBODY GETS SMOKED. NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, OR HOW GOOD YOU THINK YOU MIGHT BE, AT SOME POINT, YOU'RE GONNA COP IT. IT COMES WITH THE TERRITORY. IT'S A BIG PART OF WHAT MAKES SKATEBOARDING SO GREAT, KNOWING THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH FUN YOU ARE HAVING, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO PAY. NOT TOO LONG AGO, JAY RUNCIMAN HAD TO PAY. HE MUST HAVE BEEN ENJOYING HIMSELF A LOT BECAUSE HE WAS OVERDUE. IT WAS TIME FOR JAY TO PAY HIS TICK. THANKFULLY, JAY'S TOUGH. HE'S NOT NEW TO SKATEBOARDING. HE KNOWS THE DEAL. JAY PAID HIS PRICE, SKATEBOARDING WAS APPEASED, AND NOW HE CAN GET BACK TO HAVING FUN ON HIS SKATEBOARD, DEBT FREE. Tell me about yesterday and the…

AGE: 22 LIVES: Melbourne RIDES FOR: Vans, Pass~Port [flow] You're French but moved to Christchurch in New Zealand when you were young, right? Yeah, my mum is French, with her side of the family all living there. I was born in Leeds and moved to Christchurch when I was seven. What was it like growing up there? Christchurch was a great place to grow up. My parents lived close to some nice walks, which is something I miss about NZ. With skateboarding, I think the scene goes through waves. As with most quiet places, people from Christchurch often move to bigger cities when their career starts gaining momentum. Wash [Washington Way] will always be my favourite skatepark – as it is for most people who've been there. Are you a…

I was back in Sydney for a few weeks with just a couple of film cameras at my disposal – the trusty Hasselblad 500cm and Hasselblad XPan. I tagged along with some of the Personal crew for a day: Tim Cobden, Gary Almeida, Noah Nayef, Sam Sutton, Jarrad Carlin, Ben Hennessy, Felix Donnelly and Astro Marty. A couple of hours lurking around Central Park in Sydney, and we probably only moved about 100 metres the whole time. Often the best plan is to have no plan, and the city will provide. If you don't like it, then take it Personal.…