Table of contents for 218 in Slam Skateboarding

It’s late February – a balmy Friday arvo in Melbourne – and a group of Alex Lawton’s closest friends are gathered around the corner from the apartment complex where he often knocks the week off swilling beers and grilling a barbecue. This afternoon isn’t much different, except that everyone in the loop has their own agenda: to surprise our new Skater of the Year. We wait until word comes through that Alex has ducked out to a convenience store down the road, and I swiftly sneak in and post up in Quade Baker’s bedroom. Soon the squad of Alex’s homies saunters down the street and gathers beneath the front balcony. As Alex emerges, cheers erupt and calls of SOTY are hurled up as I sneak out to hand over the…

Place to stay while in Sydney: I’m not sure. I was never really aware of where I was at any given time [laughs]. Trick to try at Waterloo: My favourite trick is definitely the Waterloo Grind – a back 180 to fakie front crook. Australian skate brands: My favourite Australian brands are probably Pass~Port and Sunday. I ride for Sunday bearings now after we figured out some minor complications [laughs]. Australian animal: Definitely the koala. It stood out to me seeing it face-to-face. I think it might be my spirit animal [laughs]. I got a koala tattoo while I was here by Stipo [Nik Stipanovic]. But the penguin is still my favourite animal. Australian beer: Victoria Bitter was definitely the go-to beer. Australian food: Maybe the meat pies, and Gaytimes!…

Between his monster pop and ninja flip-trickery, Jake’s part in Deathwish Part One is two-and-a-half minutes of stylish, hard-hitting pop, propelling him into the title of Video Part of the Year. The terrain he can hit is no joke, proving once again that this dude’s not afraid to step up to some serious shit. The footy pairs nicely with Dre Dog’s pure-gangster beats and rhymes, giving the edit the distinct flavour of a Beagle [Ryan Ewing] production. After rolling his ankle at the beginning of last year’s King of the Road and being unable to skate for the majority of the trip, it’s refreshing to see Jake back in a routine of his awe-inspiring mega-pop skateboarding. He’s definitely a dude who can sail over any wheelchair ramp with ease. Between…

J-Pat is a skinny, pale 19-year-old from the north side of Sydney with a sincere laugh and a big tattoo of a scorpion on the side of his head. But depending on the day, he’s either the super chilled guy doing body varial tricks and bombing hills, or the dude punching himself in the face trying to get a line. Sometimes you can’t quite tell if he’s being straight up or subtly taking the piss out of you. He’s J-Pat, the enigma, but he wasn’t shy to talk about his first green whistle; the time he got arrested in SF; and his front feeble down the Suicide Towers rail. As far as I can tell, J-Pat is the sort of dude who gets himself into shit, then runs away laughing.…

To introduce our newest model the 255, JORDAN TAYLOR chose the not-so-subtle palette of Clear Sky and Laser Blue, with highlights of Solar Flare Orange, to reflect the unique set of characters that inhabit the far corners of his mind. Jordan finds the 255 is a go-to skate shoe that’s ready to roll right out of the box, wherever the day may take him. Featuring an updated heel fit, tongue construction and redesigned foxing tape, the 255 retains the same dependable support, durability and grip from its predecessors. The 255 is reassuringly utilitarian for whichever role you want to assume.…

Matthew Boggis isn’t your typical teenage skateboarder. While today’s young up-and-comers generally seem to survive on a steady diet of cheap beer, fast food and trap music, Boggis is a guy who seems to be cut of a different cloth. He meditates, eats bush tucker, and can start a fire with a flint and steel. He spent his schoolies break out in a national park, chilling in a hammock and “finding cool animals”. He also plays drums in a punk band called The Chats. This clear and confident divergence from the mainstream is refreshing to see in someone so young. And as you’ll see in the following pages, his skateboarding speaks for itself. Boggis definitely does things his own way, both on and off the board. In light of his…

My journey into filmmaking began 15 years ago when my wonderful parents bought me a Panasonic 3-Chip video camcorder. From there, I got really into making skate edits and uploading them to file sharing sites. For context, this was an era when DVDs were all the rage and even the concept of YouTube would have been mind-blowing. I bought my first VX a few years later from a disgruntled wedding videographer. It was a thing of beauty and, accompanied with a big Century fisheye lens, the footage turned to gold. Everyone around me was getting really good and I really enjoyed filming, editing and working towards something grand. I soon made my first feature, a video called Positive Energy. The premiere was at Federation Square in a 300-capacity cinema, and…

In 2017, Jack ‘Squish’ O’Grady got his P-plates, a fake ID and a chocolate cake with his photo on it. When you’re 17 years old, it doesn’t get much better than that. But it did get better: the cake had a message written in the icing, informing him that he was now part of the Pass~Port team. “Are you sure?” he asked Trent Evans, the owner of Pass~Port. “Of course, mate,” Trent laughed. When O’Grady got his first Slam cover (Issue 216), his reaction was similarly disbelieving. “What’s that?” he asked when he was handed an iPad displaying the digital version of his cutty five-o transfer under the Slam masthead. “It’s you on the cover of Slam,” Cameron Sparkes had to tell him. To ensure this sinks in, we’ll be…

Big Boy Foy came to Melbourne with Thrasher and crushed every rail in his path. I heard stories while Jamie was here about some of the tricks he fired off on many of Melbourne’s most prized rails – and invariably, he landed everything first shot. I caught Jamie on the line a few days after he had returned to his home in Sherman Oaks, California – we talk about how Australia’s handrails compare to The States’; what goes through his head when he jumps on a big sucker; his rail-rivalry with Zion Wright; his love for chicken parmies and what future goals a 21-year-old could have after already winning skateboarding’s highest accolade. You just got back to The States from your SOTY trip in Melbourne, and I saw a token…

AGE: 17 // HOMETOWN: KINCUMBER, CENTRAL COAST RIDES FOR NEW BALANCE (FLOW), UPS SKATE SHOP Your real name is Noah, but everyone knows you as Nog. Where did that nickname come from? Strangely, I don’t get asked this question often. The name came about after I shaved my head a few years ago and I was pretty much bald. I was sitting at the local park with a bunch of mates and everyone was ripping on the new cut. My friend Owen was running these chat wheels that were pink or something, and were super small and whack, so I said something smart-arse to him and he just said, “Mate, look at your fuckin’ noggin.” Noggin became ‘Nog’ and I remember him saying, “You look like a nog,” and everyone…