Richard Gilligan captures the collaborative roots of skateboarding culture

Date
21 May 2013

Poor balance and an inability to wear beanies convincingly has always kept me from skateboarding. As a naive teenager I once pinched a friend’s deck for all of five minutes before planting my chin on tarmac and giving up the idea of ollies and kick flips forever (I’ve still got the lingo though, am I right!?). Still, there’s a part of me that’s painfully aware that I missed out on some good vibes by forgoing skateboarding in my formative years and these images from Richard Gilligan rub salt in that smarting wound.

Richard’s DIY series captures the collaborative spirit of skateboarding perfectly, demonstrating the sport’s ability to bring people together for good times in even the most barren industrial backwaters. It seems all you need for a good day out is an empty car park and your board, which is a hell of a lot less than most people require to enjoy themselves. Now if I could just get this beanie over my massive head perhaps they’d let me join their gang…

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Richard Gilligan: DIY

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Richard Gilligan: DIY

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Richard Gilligan: DIY

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Richard Gilligan: DIY

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Richard Gilligan: DIY

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Richard Gilligan: DIY

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Richard Gilligan: DIY

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Richard Gilligan: DIY

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About the Author

James Cartwright

James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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