New Skateboard 2024 – Death Blinky

Yes, it’s new skateboard time! Though with the disgusting weather we’re having – and more set to continue – skate time this summer looks limited…

Anyway, let’s crack on, ‘cos these blog posts are really only for me – no one else reads them. I just like to document different decks and set-ups for the sake of posterity.

No surprises, I bought a new Death Skateboards deck again. This time it’s a pro rider model, for Sam ‘Blinky’ Hutchinson. It’s 8.25″ wide, great shape and concave, with a weird graphic that I kinda like.

My previous Indy trucks have been carried over to this model, together with Independent truck bolts.

New wheels though: I went for a slightly softer durometer and got some Santa Cruz Slime Balls “Snot Rockets” – 95a, 53mm.

All bought from good ol’ reliable Native Skate Store (with free grip applied), but otherwise built by me.

I also bought some yellow Pig Wheels rails, which need to be fitted on still.

First sesh has proven this to be an excellent set up – I even learned a new trick: blunt to 5050 stalls on a curb. A small curb, but who cares? I’ll move to bigger curbs in the future.

Stoked!

Stats for anyone interested (probably just me):

  • Death Skateboards ‘Blinky’ 8.25″ deck (with free griptape)
  • Independent Trucks 144 Mid Stage II
  • Santa Cruz Slime Balls “Snot Rockets” 53mm 95a
  • Independent Trucks GP-S bearings
  • Independent Trucks allen bolts 1″

The Death Skateboards website is here.

The Native Skate Store website is here.

Photo Mission: The Fun Ship

When I was a kid, a day trip to Rhyl was a major event.  It was exciting.  The drive along the bottom road through Flint and along the coast was a drag, though.  It seemed to take forever.  One game we all used to play was “who can spot the Fun Ship first?”.  Sooner or later, the huge white abandoned carcass of the Fun Ship would appear – and the first person to shout was the winner.

Simple times, eh?

The Duke of Lancaster has been moored near Mostyn for as long as I can remember.  Once it was a popular tourist attraction, now it’s a relic.  Adorned with graffiti like the tattoos of an old sailor, now land locked.  Will it be sold for scrap?  Or will it be saved?

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