 | | | | | | | | | | You said before that you're planning on moving away from Stranraer before the train station and ferry port get removed. What's going on with that?
I just want to get away from Stranraer - it's rubbish [laughs]. Probably go to a college and do a course in graphics or something like that. That's the only thing I can really do with my qualifications from school. The ferry port thing - I don't think it's going to move for a couple of years yet, it's just rumours, but it will happen eventually.
What do you do for a job?
Job? Ach, it's just a temporary thing. Well, it's not temporary, but it's not a proper job - I work at an alcoholics bit, where they stay, and I just watch the place really and make sure they don't cause any trouble or anything like that.
Is it rewarding, or boring?
It's OK. It's not hard or anything. I get to ride my bike a lot 'cos I'm only there three nights a week. That's why I do it really.
Where would you like to see yourself in five years?
Anywhere but Stranraer [laughs]. As long as I'm away from there I'm happy.
What tricks are you working on at the moment?
Flairs. They bug me - I can't really get them and I've never rolled away from one. I break wheels a lot doing them so I don't really try them that often. Just flip tricks I want to learn more. Flip to manual, I want to be able to do that better and maybe tailwhips if I can be bothered with them.
You were saying about doing a double flip as well.
Aye, it's just a 720 but going backwards really, so I don't know. If I get in the right mood I might try one, but I might hurt myself, but that doesn't really matter so I'll try one of them sometime.
How far do you have to travel to get to a decent skatepark?
Well I normally just go to Dumbarton or Kelvingrove or something, so that's just like a couple of hours on the train from Stranraer.
The North Ayrshire one will be closer to you when that opens wont it?
Aye, I'll probably go there quite a lot when it opens up.
Who are your favourite riders?
I don't know, really. I just like Ruben and, I cannae think really. Kevin Porter - he's really good and interesting. Just a lot of people really, it depends what I'm into at the moment. Probably at the moment it's Kevin Porter and Dan Hickerson - they're really impressive.
What kind of riding gets you excited?
Anything really. I don't really like watching too much trails stuff. I've never rode trails, but it gets kind of boring to me. Like the new Ride video - I think there's too much trails in it for my liking. I like watching street and ramps. I like watching vert as well - I'd like to ride more vert, but I don't get the chance.
If you lived somewhere where there's a lot more street to ride do you think you'd still ride skateparks more?
Probably about half and half. I'd ride as much street as I could and ride as much skate...I just ride anything really. Ride curbs back home at Safeway a lot, so it doesn't really matter, as long as I'm riding about.
What's the best curb trick?
Oh, it's just like spinning manual things - jumping up, 360 onto them and then 360 off. I've done it for years - it's just something to do.
Is getting free products from Grant going to help feed your product fetish?
Aye, it's good, aye [laughs]. I could'nae believe it when he asked me if I wanted some free stuff. It was really good, aye. My mum thinks more of BMX now that I get something for nothing - she doesn't moan as much about me riding all the time.
What do your parents think about your riding?
They quite like it. They've never really been that bothered about it. They used to hate it and get annoyed that I never got a job or anything 'cos I just wanted to ride my bike all the time. When I went to college I used to just skive off and go and ride street in Glasgow all the time. So, ach - she's OK now though. Now that she realises that I'm going to be doing it for a long time.
Are you a hoarder or a seller? You said your house if full of parts.
I try to sell them! But no-one really wants them in Stranraer. I'm selling stuff all the time but no-one ever gets round to actually buying it off me. I've just got a lot of stuff - I've got a lot of sprockets, I found a TNT Retroblade the other day that I've had for about five years, [I've got] Tree sprockets, loads of old Hoffman parts - I've got some Hoffman forks that weigh about four pounds. They're green with peg bosses. I've got a Hoffman Deebo frame as well - it's ridiculously short with really fat tubes and it weighs about eight and a half pound or something.
[Doig] I'll buy it off you.
Alright, OK [laughs]. It's been welded up - I cracked it on the bottom wishbone and then I cracked the top wishbone and then I just got a new frame after that.
[Doig] Forget it then.
[laughs].
What's your favourite part then?
Well I like the MacNeil seat the now - the Capitol seat, the new design for it. It's good for anything really. It gets out the way, it's light and all that. It's good - good design.
Is there anything else apart from riding that puts a big smile on your face?
Ach, I dunno - just whatever's happening on that day really. I just ride all the time [laughs], I dunno, I really don't.
You were saying that you quite enjoyed photography when you were doing that at college. Is it something you'd persevere with?
Well it was the only thing at college that I actually liked doing really - everything else was rubbish, but I done ok at the photography thing. I'd do it again maybe.
That would require a whole new set of shiny gear.
Aye - I'd probably have all of that stuff. Save up and buy it all. Probably wouldn't even use it much but I'd get it anyway.
Cheers, Dean.
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