The region of Western NSW where we spent the majority of the trip is known as Orana, which also means “welcome” in the local Aboriginal language.
Along for the ride were Nigel and Dave Cameron, Mitchell Howse (Mashy), Ryder Lawson, Chris Vaughan, George Kousoulis, Jack Paterson, Cameron Markin, his dog Guv, and myself (Nat Kassel). Everyone was hyped to skate and engage with the kids. It was all pretty rad.
The purpose of the trip was to promote skateboarding to the next generation of shredders and show the surrounding communities that our subculture is, for the most part, a positive one.
Ryder Lawson, 180. Despite his ankle injury, Ryder didn’t mind popping a front 180 over this hefty rail in Parkes.
Gilgandra, Population: 2700. Gilgandra was a highlight for the whole crew. The bowl was mellow, the kids were keen, the sausage sizzle was top quality and the local community were extra stoked to have us there. It just ticked all the boxes.
J-Pat and Guv. I don’t think J-Pat usually skates much trannie, but he didn’t mind adapting to what was on offer. Here’ a steezy little backside disaster at Gilgandra’s perfect little bowl. Guv looks impressed.
Chris Vaughan, ollie over to lipslide. After running two events per day, we got a much-needed day off in Parkes. Naturally, everyone wanted to go street skating, but no one was quite as hyped as Chris Vaughan. He destroyed this little rail with a quick succession of tricks, then it was onto the next spot.
Nige teaching. While it was awesome to skate everyday, it was also a real blessing to meet some keen youngsters and educate them a little bit on the basics of skateboarding
Chris Vaughan, 50-50. It took Chris a couple of tumbles to ride through that kink at the end, but it wasn’t long before he was rolling away. This 50-50 in Parkes perked everyone up.
Chris Vaughan and the concrete. “Is this even a spot?” Chris asked before he started skating this crazy contraption. We’d grabbed the grate from a drain and wedged it up against this 12-stair rail. On the first shot, Chris wallied up it, grinded three quarters of the rail and ran out of it. It blew everyone’s mind and we obviously encouraged him to have another go. This was the second shot. Stay tuned for Chris’s feature on Thrasher’s Hall of Meat.
Chris post-slam. Here’s Chris just after getting acquainted with the concrete.
Jack and George. J-Pat got stoked on this expensive ice cream while George recorded his joy.
J-Pat took to the country life pretty quick. Here, he sits on an old yellow tractor in Eumungerie NSW.
Matt Weir’s Ollie, Wagga Wagga. Everyone was pretty rinsed by this point of the tour. All those hours on the road—sleeping in tents, passing out late and waking up early—were taking their toll. We got to Wagga Wagga and some of the local skaters were keen to take us street skating. The spots were all really heavy and no one was in the mood to step up. In the end, this local dude, Matt Weir, ollied from the highway over this fence and into the, steep, cracked bank below.
Backburning. At this highway spot in Wagga, a farmer was doing some backburning so the air was a haze of white smoke. J-Pat catches a casual tre while the boys compare notes.
Burnout. Country people tend to enjoy their cars and this friendly Falcon driver in Leeton was no different. We watched the fella rip a few skids on an isolated open road just before the Riggs Cup started.
Mashy alley-ooping in Leeton. Watching Mashy skate trannie is mind blowing. He doesn’t say much, just kind of picks his line and goes for it.
Mashy taming Wellington Bowl with a front blunt.
Pretty skies. Aussies love the beach, but but the pretty sunsets out west are an equally impressive touchstone of ‘Straya’s landscape. The boys enjoy the twilight hour at Mac Fields.
Nige, Finger Flip. It was a treat for Nige to go back to his old local park in Leeton and throw himself out of the bowl. Here, he launches his board to eye level for a finger flip, before swiftly throwing it back under his feet.
Product pit at the Riggs Cup. The Riggs Cup is an annual skate comp held in Leeton. Nige and Dave Cameron have been running it for 14 years in a row, since before they’d even started Totem, so it’s got some history behind it. It came about after a local legend took his own life and ever since, the comp has run to remember the impact Richard O’Hara had in the country skate scene. It’s a huge deal for the local area’s skateboarding community. Here’s the youngens getting wild in the bowl.
This trip would not be possible with out the help from the good guys at Sunday, Vans and Dickies.