Joleon Pressey
Posted on July 10, 2007.
'Just Human Energy', I love that. Way to perpetuate your cosmic dope reputation. So what do you not like? - I really don’t like when jaded people in the city say ‘you’re too old for that’, which is a very regular occurrence. They’re either narrow minded idiots who’ve lost touch with reality, or they secretly spend their time standing around in skateshops talking about it too much: one or the other. Both things produce the same mentality.
Who do you like to skate with? - I just dig skating with people that genuinely enjoy doing it. Dudes like Lev the Mayor of Southbank, Snowy the Graceful Swan-Potato, Edson the Ancient Spirit of Evil, Brady the Gifted little Otter-boy, Guy RZA because he skates/slams so hard every time, Nick the Wizard, you and your bandy camp style, Fos because he still skates like a kid, Charlie Twinkle-Toes, Robbleyard Every Trick in the Book, um... Rory - he’s so polite and cheerful all the time. Those dudes. And of course with good old Gabriel ‘Nugget’ Pluckrose too. And the gazillion other people I love skating with, but just can’t think of right now.
Oh are you still talking? I stopped listening after you got to me. So anyway what about that tattoo you got there? What a beauty. - Oh yeah this. It’s for the Choir, this one. The P.W.B.C: Palace Wayward Boys Choir, est.’ 2006 AD. I got it in Rio for the equivalent of 5p.
Ah the Waywards! I’m welling up over here. There’s a passage in an Edna O’Brien story called ‘A Journey’ that always takes me back to the Waywards: “Also these were townspeople, they all had lived in small steep houses, slept two or three or four to a bed, sparred, lived in and out of one another’s pockets, knew familiarity well enough to know it was the only hope”. Oh for f**k’s sake just spout some bullshit about Landscape and Nike and all that here if you have to: - Firstly I have to thank Fos for the support he’s given me from day one I dunno what I’d be up to now if I hadn’t had the help I’ve had from him. Cheers. Huge thanks to Sebastian at Nike for investing his time and energy and trainers into me and helping my sorry ass get around. Also thanks to Mathieu and Revival Distribution for the Matix hook up.
Joleon Pressey is a bang bang skateboarder.
Some people do so many flip tricks and crook grinds they forget the ‘skate about’ bit of skateboarding. Skating with Joey made me realise that it’s often more fun to zing about and do a powerslide than to practice my switch 900’s. Joey is kind of on a really skinny surfboard riding the concrete wave, but not in a Gaylord surfer luminous short dude hang ten way, you know? Talking of surfing, he’s also good at doing that on other people’s sofas. One time I saw him get about 5 feet of air on the of the lip of the old Brixton Palace couch, it was radical. Chances are someone else will make reference to Crack’s legendary golden touch when it comes to good fortune so, rather than spout the same old shit I’m going to tell you about one of the rare occasions when Joey’s infamous luck failed him. I was in a taxi with Edson and this girl who was paying for our taxi so she could come to the Palace and hump Joey. We were driving over Waterloo Bridge and she was trying and trying to ring him with no success and getting more and more anxious about it with every aborted attempt. “I think his phone’s broke, it keeps cutting off”. She was still trying to get through as we drew up to the Palace and looking out the window of the cab where we all saw him clearly looking at his phone and darking her calls. She screamed “STOP THE TAXI “, jumped out, ran over to him and threw his phone off the bridge and straight into the Thames. Unlucky mate.
Lev Tanju
