When We Was Rad:
Skateboard History from UK Vintage Magazine

The freestyle end of things, 1989


Sam Lewis Varial to Caspar 50/50 South BankThis was the freestyle aspect of F.I.S.T in evidence: the type of thing which disappeared from view over the next few years. Hands involved, not just feet. Taking in the longer perspective, from the seventies onwards, that seems to have been one of the fundamental movements in skating. Hands gradually stopped being used to hold on to boards, to drag on a bank or plant on ground or coping — but it was a very gradual move and for all I know hands are back.

Caption: Sam Lewis: Handstand Varial to Caspar 50/50

F.I.S.T

Freestyle In Street Terrain is an organisation which doesn’t want to organise anyone, just put freestylers in touch with each other and flow information on tricks and equipment. It began with a small announcement last July and since then they’ve been swamped with requests for information.

The contact bit’s important: most freestylers think they’re on their own. They are not — as the crowd who turned up for F.I.S.T’s first NON organised jam at South Bank proved to themselves and the amazed onlookers. F.I.S.T are also keen to encourage more people to open their minds to freestyle and to get rid of the notion that it’s just a weird specialised form of skating practised by a few diehard freaks. That’s why they are so keen to take freestyle back to the streets and the banks and out of the competition arena.

If you want to know more, write to David Tring, c/o –. You’d better include an sae: running F.I.S.T is starting to prove an expensive hobby.

THE DREAM

You’re at South bank by the low board slide. You do a Pogo routine then you do a Kick-flip Ollie, get some speed up, Ollie Impossible, then you Ollie Rail-slide that wall, slide along, kickturn off it, do a 360 Shove-it and go down the banks backward, kickturn, do an air over the little hip bit, wall-ride and come back down again. That would be just crazy: the Best combinations. But a lot of people just think freestyle should be on the flat…


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