Category Archives: DIY

Dils’ Corner at Marginal Way DIY


On Saturday March, 5 2011 a group of skaters got together and built a new section of the Marginal Way DIY skatepark. Mixed with the two trailer loads of concrete that make up the updated corner of the park are the ashes of John Michael Dils who passed away in June of 2006. I don’t think I ever met John but I know of him from stories that I hear from others and photos I have seen. I’m genuinely sorry I missed meeting him.

I always feel a great sense of accomplishment whenever I get the chance to do some work down at Marginal Way because it’s so opposite the work I do in my regular job and it feels good to get my hands dirty and make my muscles sore from the effort. So many get to enjoy the place and this new corner is going to be great. A big thanks for the people who know what they are doing indulging my interest in learning how it all works and being so patient with all the questions I have about the process. Big ups to everyone that came out and helped. The skateboarding community is like no other that I know putting in countless hours creating places like Marginal Way to skate. Make sure to go to the Marginal Way Skatepark Association website and make a donation to the park.

In search of….

In this age of 3 minute “I’ve got a new-lace-colourway-collab-shoe-insole-online-Itune-only” download video clip it’s refreshing to find some independent videos out there that are just around for the pure love of skateboarding rather than a marketing tool. In Search of the Miraculous is one of these and fuck me is it is a refreshing jolt to the mundanity of current skate flicks.

To give a bit of background it’s the 2nd film from Swedish art-tweaker, and ex-US based pro, Pontus Alv. Following on from the excellent Strongest of the Strange it mixes the artistic with some incredibly amazing and creative skating. And it works, wether it’s watching old cinefilm of Pontus’ family (which provide the inspiration for both films, in this case his grandparents) or Swedish rippers taking apart some jank spots there is something that holds it all together without losing the viewer.

The Swedish fellas in it are also heavily involved in the building of DIY spots and the film takes you through the highs and lows of a number of their projects. You will want to go grab a few bags of concrete after watching this and get busy somewhere.

As for the rest of the film it will without doubt get you stoked to skate. It has something for everyone from handrail bangers to Salba skating the pool at Malmo skatepark. Heavy on the creative side of street skating too there are some lines that are fully “whatthefuckrewindthat?!?!?!”.

Please support independent films such as these and order a copy from Pontus’s website. Not only will you recieve one of the raddest skate films it’s more than likely Pontus will send it to you in homemade envelope, with a handwritten note, some stickers and a personalised picture.

ps. You might get a little freaked out by him dancing around in the nuddy with an American flag but I’m sure it means something to him and – hey it’s art!

A Rainy Sunday

It was raining and I got a call that the session was on at Jeff’s house. Jeff built this rainproof mini ramp for his son Carter a few years back and they both learned to skate on it. We had a great mini ramp session even though it was raining. What could be better than that?