BBC HomeExplore the BBC
This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving.

16 October 2014
Airtight

BBC Homepage
Scotland
Sport Scotland
»Airtight
BMX
Features
Interviews
Tech tips
Tried & tested
Maps
Inline
MTB
SK8
Snow
Surf

E-mail Airtight
Competition
Downloads
Links


Contact Us

Features: - Shops - OBM
OBM (Odd Ball Mall) Mk. 2 has been opened a little while now, so we spoke to Euan and Neil about the highs and lows of trying to balance work, drink riding and hot sales assistants:

How long has the shop been open now?
Euan:
About ten weeks.

Has it flown or dragged by?
Neil: Flown by.
Euan: It has kind of flown by. It's been ten weeks, but it just seems like a couple really.

What's been the hardest thing so far about getting the
whole thing up and running?
Euan:[Expletive deleted] lawyer's bills! [laughs]

What for?
Euan: Setting us up as a limited company.
Neil: And lots of other silly things

What have been the good things about starting up the shop? Headsets with carbon fibre spacers?
Euan:
Aye, but I picked that up at trade [price] off one of my mates.
Neil: There have been a lot of new riders appearing as well, from Edinburgh, that we've not met before.

I suppose things will get even better when the skatepark finally opens.
Euan
: Aye - we're getting some trails built as well, in the south side of Edinburgh, in Gracemount.

OBM
click to enlarge
Is that an official thing?
Euan
: Aye - he's supposed to be getting a JCB next week. So that should be all right. There's going to be three runs: a beginner run, a medium run and a 'Melville' run.
Neil: The part of the land that it's getting built on is downhill too, and it's got a dog-leg.
Euan: It's a youth centre, and they've got about three acres of land. They're also talking about getting some concrete down so they could put ramps on.

Like a bowl?
Euan
: No - just a slab with ramps on it.
Neil: It's a really nice site for it all as well.
Euan: It'll be like a massive run - the main one will probably be about 200 yards. There's gonna be a lot of jumps in it, like.

Berms?
Euan:
Big berms. There'll have to be berms and rollers 'cos of the way the land lies.
Neil: They'll have to be built around the trees as well.

That'll make it better though, eh?
Neil:
More interesting, yeah.

OBM
click to enlarge
When's it due to be finished then?
Euan:
I'd say within a month there'll be something to ride. We've also started this 'Scottish BMX Association', which is £3 to join for the year and it's just so we could stick money together..
Neil: ..to buy shovels and hire diggers.
Euan: Aye - stuff like that. But it'll also mean that we'll have a voice that we'll be able to apply in sports councils and to the Lottery and so on.

How long has that been going on?
Euan:
Well we had the constitution meeting a few weeks ago. I'm on the committee, but I didn't want to put myself forward as chairman or anything like that.

So how many people are involved [noticing Euan's strangely shaped/coloured elbow] what happened to your elbow?!
Euan:
Broke it off, man! [laughs]

Sorry about that - how many people are involved?
Euan:
I'm not sure, but anyone can join. We got the application forms done last week and we're going to have a big pile of them in the shop, so hopefully we'll get lots of people signing up.

icons

Mountain Biking
BMX
Inline
Skate
Surfing
Snowboard
Tech TipsFeaturesMap
InterviewsTried and Tested

Tech Tips






About the BBC | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies Policy