Interview with former SIMS team rider Marc Hollander. Marc grew up in the Santa Barbara area of Mountain Drive and was one of the early adopters to skate The Tea Bowls. Marc was at the forefront of skateboarding during the late '70s and early '80s and touches on his skateboarding journey and involvement with Tom Sims and the SIMS Skateboarding Team.

Marc's YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@AFOProductions/videos

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Link to the trailer
Link to book a seat at the premier in Malmö!
Link to our pilot episode on the Automobilen Snakerun

"Nestled in a thicket along the old E6 outside Falkenberg Sweden lies a peculiar sight – an abandoned concrete skatepark, which over the years seems to have lost its former luster. However, this is no ordinary park; it is actually one of the world's oldest.

This concrete oasis has aged like a living book, where truths dance with untruths, hidden in its concrete cracks. Its existence is not merely a local curiosity but rather a vivid portrayal of a time when skateboard culture was taking its first tentative steps.

Among these enchanted souls is the skateboarder John Magnusson. Upon learning that a new residential area plan is being devised, potentially delivering the final blow to the skatepark, he takes matters into his own hands in a desperate attempt to save this unique piece of history.

With images and archives emerging for the first time, Automobilen takes us on a road trip to the "Las Vegas of Halland, Sweden" in the 70s, a place that was anything but abandoned. Stories from both past and present are woven around the big question: What really constitutes cultural heritage?"

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Recently I caught up with two academics, Iain Borden professor of architecture and urban culture and Patrick Sean Quinn who is an archeologist. Both Iain and Patrick have been involved in skateboarding heritage, in particular the research and preservation of second wave skateparks from the late 1970's to early 1980's.  I wanted the to get their opinion of the Automobilen Snakerun, focusing on why this skatepark is an important structure to preserve. We also dive into a range of different skateparks, including Rom, Carslbad, Bro Bowl and much more. 

Be sure to check out Iain and Patrick's latest article on 1970's skateparks that should be protected along with his largest research paper. 

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During 2014 the Lake Tahoe floating ramp, was created as part of The Dream 365 project, working with Visit California and Bob Burnquist to showcase different stories to boost tourism in California. What ended up being created was a 8ft tall wooden bank ramp, accompanied by a smaller 5ft secondary half-pipe. Both wooden ramps rested on top of a 35 ft long floating platform.

Article, including all images and videos

 Part2

The Brooklyn Banks . Starting in the late 1980’s this spot provided one of the only skateable banked areas in the city. The Brooklyn Banks is the unofficial name for the area under the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Now this place for decades has been an extremely popular spot for skateboarders and is one of the more famous skate spots in the world.

Article, including all images and videos

Other links

Save The Brooklyn Banks
Gotham Park

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Cascade skatepark, is located off Route 40 in Catonsville, Baltimore County. The remanence of parts of this skatepark still remain, yet today it is hidden amongst bush, dirt and scrap. A very cool spot that was once a huge part of skateboarding history in Baltimore.

Article, images and video can be found here

The Charnwood Bowl is regarded as Australia’s second oldest skatepark. Lucky enough this skate park still exists today, even though it is a bit rough around the edges it is very rideable. The story of this park begins in 1979 and it seems like it’s always been a bit of a controversial place that has been scrutinised from the very beginning.

Article, images and video can be found here

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Hi guys, just a quick update to let you know that we have launched a new website www.skateboardingcrucible.com 

As we have been diving into a lot of research about skate spots during our 1st Season we decided to launch a site and put all of our research into article form. This way we can also collect all the images and videos that we have been able to gather on these skate spots. So please take a look and let us know what you think!

In regards to Season 2, we are looking to release the first episode over the next coming weeks! Don't miss out on it's release, if you have not already done so please follow our podcast on any of the streaming services that you use. 

Website - https://www.skateboardingcrucible.com
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Skatepark Arenys de Munt

The first skatepark to be built in Spain was in the mountain region of Arenys de Munt. Skatepark Arenys was buried by the owners in 1984, leaving no trace. During 2010 an excavation mission was undertaken to find the buy skatepark which was successfully excavated over a two year period and the park was reopened on March 7th 2012.

Link to photos and videos here

Speed World
 
Speed World, in Coos Bay Oregon was the first concrete park to be built in the state of Oregon. Constructed during 1977 it was a horseshoe bowl that had 6' vert sections. It was unfortunately buried in either the late 70's or early 80's. This park still resides on the property today buried and lost for its recognition to skateboarding history.

Links to photos and videos here

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Chinese Peak, located in Pocatello, Idaho was completed during the summer of 1978. It is a 4 section skatepark that still exists on a piece of private land in a very rural part of the world, that is surrounded by the high mountain ranges. The surroundings are very desolate and the fact that a place like this exists in this part of the world is quite mind blowing.  This place closed it gates in 1983 and that park has been left intact and unused for decades.

Apologies to any Boise locals, I got a crash course in its proper pronunciation after this episode was released! Also a slight correction, Chinese Peak summit had its name changed in 2001 not 2017

All images we talk about can be found here

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Skatepark Mikasa, Japan

Located in Mikasa on the island of Hokkaido Japan there is the jurassic park of skateparks, it is nestled in between high lush mountains, in a really raw and untouched part of the world. This park is fucking gnarly, we have included an arial shot from Google Maps below.  We have never seen anything  like this to be honest.

Images and videos can be found here

PARCUR Chapultepec, Mexico City

Touchdown in Mexico City and we will be looking at a modern skate park that was completed last year called PARCUR Chapultepec. Located in the third quadrant of the Chapultepec Park. Now don’t let the fact that this place was finished last year fool you into thinking that it holds minimal history, as the surrounding area is home to a very interesting story that goes back a few decades starting in 1979.

Images and video can be found here

Website - https://www.skateboardingcrucible.com
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Jungle Skatepark Malaysia

The lost jungle skatepark of Malaysia. In the forests of Shah Alam lies a lost skatepark called Bukit Cerakah. Built in late 1989 and completed in 1990, this park was the first concrete park built in Malaysia.

All images and videos can be found here

Tony Alva Mystery

We have a bit of a skate mystery to tell you about today and this involves Tony Alva and the story begins during 1978 as he undertook his first European tour.

Confusion Skateboarding Article
Tony Alva Mystery Video on The Skateboarding Crucible
Banana Bowl Video on The Skateboarding Crucible

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