Dan Gemmell, ollie.

For many years Raglan has been firmly on the radar, famous for serving cups of tea to the surf culture in Manu Bay’s green room. Now the masses that migrate west for the summer have something new to write home about. Postcards are going to spread the news with buzzwords like “rad” and “gnarly”, referring to how great the add-ons to the Raglan Skate Park are. Once again Jason Parkes and his crew at Premium Skate Park Designs have come to the rescue, producing a quality extension to the existing cookie cutter skate park. They have even fixed Tom Smithers’ mistakes on his 2002 design that lacked craftsmanship and originality.

The 240 metre squared expansion is designed as a snake run fit for the new decade. The foundation is made up of a black marbled concrete, imitating Raglan’s West Coast black sand. The transitions are well designed for speed and tie in with the West Coast theme emulating the ocean swells. The park lies on the edge of the Raglan harbour, constantly smelling the ocean’s salty breath. While this makes for a pleasant skateboarding experience, don’t let it catch you out. Keep wax handy, as the coping is known to stick due to the salt air. It is a well-calculated layout with a good flow for runs; just watch the busy holiday traffic.

Just a quick note to the greater public on behalf of skateboarders, young or old, local or vagrant: please be considerate. Use the seats as they were intended. If you’re inclined to sit on the ledges, don’t be offended when asked to move and use this as an excuse for your dad to come down and start Royal Rumble 2011.

On a lighter note, get a crew together and make one last summer road trip to Raglan.  Hit the fresh turf and end the day in the surf. You will not be disappointed.

How to get there
If you’re travelling North or South you want to hit SH39 until you meet SH23, which runs all the way from Hamilton to Raglan. Once you arrive in Raglan SH23 will turn into Bow St. Take a left down Wainui Road. After the one-way bridge take a right down Marine Parade. Hold it out and before you know it you’ll be ripping.

Closest skate shop
GagRaglan down on Volcom Lane is located in the township of Raglan. Keep an eye out, as it is signposted off Bow Street and Wainui Road. They will have you sorted for all your skateboard needs. Heck, they can even give you your caffeine fix too.

Parks nearby
If you detour down Te Mata road off SH23 you’ll find a primary school with a Mini ramp. If you want to check out a scenic waterfall, Bridal Veil Falls is a short drive past the school. If that’s not enough for you then head back to Hamilton to get a dose of what it has to offer.

Text and photography by Tim Carter

First Published in Manual #41, March 2011.

Dan Gemmell’s company Grace has taken on Flynn Gough, welcome clip above.

RPM, with the help of editor/filmer Jereme Aubertin, have produced this sweet little ‘day in the life’ clip featuring Dan Gemmell. Set to the lush tones of Justin Townes Earle this clip is full of warm fuzzies. Good skateboarding too…

Dan Gemmell, alley-oop frontside five-0 to fakie, Lynnfield

Dan seems to be able to do the most difficult things with effortless style. Here’s another example.

Here’s a little clip I found over at RPM. Scotty Lai and Dan G shredding the Waikato and abroad.

Te Awamutu’s finest son Dan Gemmell.

How old are you?
23 years young

Where do you live?
Te Awamutu

Who makes it possible?
Element Skateboards! Rpm Clothing and Backdoor Vert Skate shop!

Who is up and coming?
L.P. and Liam Campbell are ripping!

Who are your favourite Ol’ Top Dogs?
Kev Dog! Lee Ralph!

What can’t you live without?
Faith, love, hope

When you’re not skating you are?
Eeling, playing cards

Tuck knee at the Te Awamutu skate park. Photo: David Read.

What are your favourite five albums?
They change all the time aye…
Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club
Toots & Maytals – Reggae Greats
Lauryn Hill – MTV Unplugged
Ray Barbee – In full view
Hillsong United

What are your favourite five video parts?
Ray Barbee – Ban This
Guy Maraino – Video Days
Ethan Fowler – Art Bars
The Search for Animal Chin – It’s a funny old video to watch. You should check it out, all the cool kids are

What are your favourite five books?
Word For Today
The Bible
I read “True Red” the other day that was a good read

Who do you look up to?
Friends and whanau

What are your bad habits?
Thinking too much, getting distracted easily, getting influenced easily, there’s plenty more

What’s the worst thing about skateboarding in NZ?
Serious skaters who skate like it’s a job or no fun

What’s the best thing about skateboarding in NZ?
Pretty tight community, parks in every town pretty much, beaches and rivers are close by!

Polaroid courtesy of Dan Gemmell, interview by David Read.

The Rollercoaster event went down on Saturday 19th at Auckland’s North Shore Stadium. It looks like the event was a total hit. We just got a few pics and the results through from Sophie Allen. We’ll be back with more in-depth coverage soon.

Above: Dan Gemmell, frontside boardslide.

U12
1st Joel Campbell
2nd Elliot Mangos
3rd Seamus

U16
1st Chase Collins
2nd Christian Mauer
3rd Harry Maclean

OPEN
1st Mike Bancroft
2nd Reuben Baker
3rd Christian Low

Rua Nelson, ollie.

The Irrom dudes did an impromptu demo at Back Door Vert in Hamilton last night. The crew was Justin Keeley, Mike Bancroft, Ruben Baker, Morri, Tim Schmidt, Nick Mitchell, Dan Gemmell, Tom Kelly, Jamie Cook and Miles Ratima.

And here’s a few pics from another session with Tom Kelly, Jamie Cook and Dan Gemmell that I shot earlier in the year.

Dan Gemmell, crailblock.

Tom Kelly, backtail revert.

Jamie Cook, five-0 fakie.