Our man Mike met Callum Barrack for a quiet chat and a nice cup of tea:MIKE: You know the formula; remind us who you are, far ya bide and all that?
CALLUM: Callum Barrack fae The Hill, I'm nineteen years old and I've been skating six years and eight months.
MIKE: What are the good, the bad and the ugly sides of living out in the 'burbs of Aberdeen?
CALLUM: Ah it's alright, not much skate spots, a wee park which is half decent and a nice wee mini but on the street side of things nothing spectacular, maybe a few wee gaps, nothing major though. Good down hill bombing spots, plenty of those. As it is Westhill on a hill, a few good parties, pubs are shit, party's are good and ladies are very good!
MIKE: Is Westhill as benign as it appears to an outsider or has it got a much darker side hidden from our view?
CALLUM: Aye it is, there are a few rebels if you want to call them that. Who just think they're f***ing neds basically, they've got their tracksuits on and jump on shop roofs and stuff but that's about all they get up to though, the odd smashed bus window but nothing Ghetto, no stabbings or anything like that.
MIKE: Have you got any interesting local weirdo's?
CALLUM: Their use to be a guy called Mad Mick, he's passed away now but he used to be a nut bar, a proper alky* with a black and white dog. Where I used to live in Henderson Drive he used to walk around there scaring wee kids, supposedly he's really friendly but I used to be scared by him, yeah Mad Mick. He got caught stealing sweets or something from the Bon Accord Centre. There are a few local weirdos that come into the shop where I work too.
MIKE: Has it changed now that most you guys are of legal drinking age?
CALLUM: It's changed a fare bit because now there's really only me and Sam in Westhill who are like the older ones and I've got a few mates from the older generation who've all went down to Edinburgh or somewhere else, and then there's heaps of younger guys like Egg, Mark and Matt and all that, their all a bit younger, so it has changed but its merged into a nice wee posse.
MIKE: In one word or less can you sum up Westhill's skate park?
CALLUM: Ha ha, yeah "Bonza" mate
MIKE: Describe an average day of skateboarding in summer?
CALLUM: Wake up at about half past five in the morning, go to work for six and finish about twelve, go home to get a we bite to eat and a cup of cha, watch a skate vid and go out for a blast, a wee warm up at the park, round up the troops and then go for a mission somewhere, maybe Alford or Kemnay.
MIKE: Describe an average day of skateboarding at any other time of the year?
CALLUM: Wake up, look outside have the biggest bad face on, cause you know it's wet, you know its cold and you know the wind's howling like you don't know what on earth is going on, and then just have your head down and just say "ah lets go!" Take a broom out with you in the car, make sure you get the spots cleaned and sweep the leaves away and try and skate I guess, any spot, even Ellon mini cause that's undercover, Denburn if worst comes to worst. You're normally going to be scrapping for spots in winter kind of time. Summer's the best.
MIKE: How did you get into it, way back when?
CALLUM: Way back in 99, ha ha. I got into it because my mate from Elgin came into my house with a skateboard one day, it had big cruiser wheels, I think they were called honey pot's, they were big golden wheels which were huge and soft, and was like ace this is awesome and I got hooked on wanting one for myself. Eventually I got a skateboard not intending to skate every day just have it for a muck about. I got a set up with Spitfire wheels, Destructo trucks and a Blueprint deck from the Old Borderline on Huntly Street. I went out on Christmas day cause it was dry. Did a few ollies and picked it up pretty easy, tried a few kickflips, didn't land any, and done a few bombs down a few hills. One in particular is called spider hill which is fairly gnarly.
MIKE: Why's it called Spider Hill?
CALLUM: Basically is called spider hill because goes out like a web and goes everywhere, it's a good one.
MIKE: How many Aberdeen handrails have you tea-bagged?
CALLUM: The Aberdeen Uni one, people may have seen in H'min Bam which was pretty nippy and the church rail if you want to call it that, I tea-bagged that before, I tea-bagged it fell off and cracked my head and basically lay on the ground feeling like I was about to faint cause it was so sore.
MIKE: Can you sum up Kev Bell's style in a few words?
CALLUM: On point!
MIKE: Stoneywood has long gone and everyone still remembers it fondly, what did you like about it most?
CALLUM: The flat bank hips, the crazy flat bank double beast that went up then up, theroll-in because it's a roll-in, scary at first, ah just everything, the mini wasn't the greatest but Collosus was awesome, in fact it was all awesome.
MIKE: What do you remember about Wednesday Comps?
CALLUM: Stevie Weevie and winning a plastic pint cup trophy with a bit of silver duck tape and biro pent informed into the duck tape, those were the days.
MIKE: When Transition happens, what should they take from all the skate parks that have failed in the past, to make this the one that lasts?
CALLUM: It's probably less of a priority but Stoneywood had a bar, beer would be great while skateboarding, even a wee G&T, that would be good a bar! But just to get a skate park would be good. Take the decent music from Stonywood as well, a bit of metal to get you hyped. The beach down the beached just failed because the council ran it. I like to see concrete indoor because when I went to Orlando they had a concrete bowl inside and a combi pool, proper pool coping inside and some wood but not like Dundee's first park because that sucked, yeah! No MDF cause it's slidy and it's shite
MIKE: Have you got any stupid tricks you should be embarrassed that you can do consistently?
CALLUM: Yeah pressure flips, they are stupid!
MIKE: Thanks.
If you've got any thing you'd like to say, say it now or forever hud yer wheesht?
whats your favourite:
Q: Doric word or phrase?
A: Coo's Lick
Q: Incarnation of the God Park on the Beach Boulevard?
A: The year before last, 2004 because it was more laid back and I don't think there was as many church goers then and I think I got on for free a few times which was an absolute boost and I didn't have to wear a helmet all the time which is another boost.
Q: Trick on transition?
A: Massive frontside 5-0, I love doing those or a massive tail slide or an ice plant fakie.
Q: Trick on street?
A: Back feble or front smith because there a nice lock-in trick and flow nice.
Q: Part in H'Min Bam?
A: The California vacation thing 99, the Vandora exert!
Q: song or lyric?
A: I wouldn't say i have a favourite song, but at the moment im really into a song by John Frusciante called 'Omission' its a good one.
Q: DJ?
A: i don't really know DJ Shadow is pretty cool quite deep though. mix master mike when he was with the beastie boys. also i have to give Dee J A'la Fu a shout out on this one, local ledgend!
Q: Use of skate jargon in an ordinary situation?
A: Gnarly, rad, awesome. also i like telling people to stop bailing and to get on it, get into it mate!
Q: Thankyous?
A:
my family, natalie, lee, sam, barry, andrew, craig, alex i, alex c, dobson, gary, seb, zee, mike, robbie, harry, ben, kev, patty, egg, nicol, kieron, blyth, patrick, lil craig, ferg, mackey, and to all my other friends. cheers cheers cheers!
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A FEW WORDS WITH CALLUM BARRACK
Our man Mike met Callum Barrack for a quiet chat and a nice cup of tea:
MIKE: You know the formula; remind us who you are, far ya bide and all that?
Photography:
Thanks to