Vancouver winter is like spring anywhere else. Seemingly endless days of rain and wet weather. Luckily we have a nice “Dry Spot” to throw down at on the nasty days and evenings this beautiful city can throw at us.
I needed a subject for a mock magazine spread I am working on for University and Adam volunteered himself to be subjected to the documentation which I required. Luckily, because I had no back up strategy. With plans made, we headed down to Dry Spot to snap a few shots. Around 1500 that is. For this article I hand picked the nicest and juiciest pictures.
Adam’s attention to detail and constant pursuit of perfection was ever present throughout the evening. Even though we were taking shots for the mid air action, he wouldn’t be content to move on to the next trick without landing the current one cleanly. It’s only due to this sort of mindset that Adam has been able to advance his skateboarding as far as he has. He may not have been very impressed by the outcome of his attempts but I was extremely impressed none the less.
After Adam had been skating for a while alone his friend Jim showed up, who was a wicked surprise to me. Without a second to think, Jim was already sticking grinds and flip tricks. After getting warmed up he headed to the mini-ramp where he absolutely crushed it. Skating hard, stomping every trick, you could hear the reverberation throughout the entire building.
Soon before I left, Adam’s other friend Ron showed up. Ron, 60 years old, started skating last year. I didn’t get to talk to him too much about his motivations to get into it at an age where people typically pursue other hobbies. But I didn’t need to ask him, because it was painted all over his face. He was brimming was happiness and excitement. Even something as “simple” as riding around the park, up and down the various ramps, was enough for him to really enjoy himself. Whatever your age, riding a skateboard is damn fun, that’s the bottom line.
This was the first time I have done proper skate photography, and I really enjoy how the pictures turned out. I think I will be doing some more in the near future! Thanks Adam and Jim for being such willing subjects, and thank you Dry Spot for always being rad!
Written and photographed by:
Brandon Hoare
https://youtu.be/3KGeh5Jtht0