Photo Simeon Patience

Heart of Gold

Daniel Gemmel Interview

Text by Simon, Jono and Josh Gemmell, photography by Simeon Patience

First published in March 2007.

Feeble grind. Photo Simeon Patience

The journey so far: 21 years of action-packed fun, fire and feisty skating. Right from the start Dan had the ability to throw himself into whatever the situation called for. Even though people, especially teachers, have used words like ‘exasperating’ and ‘exhausting’ to describe him, Dan has always been entertaining and enthusiastic. His energy and determination is infectious, and his commitment to skating is equalled only by his love for his friends, family and faith. And we wouldn’t change a thing. | Mr & Mrs Gemmell

Stalefish. Photo Simeon Patience

We laid down plans for a Dan Gemmell interview many moons ago, but it wasn’t until January that photographer Simeon Patience and I ventured deep into the Waikato to actually work on it. Aside from skateboarding, Dan treated us to cliff jumps and chasm-crossing swing bridges, chip butties and the homemade ramp out the back of his family spread – not to mention the rest of his band of brothers, parents and their awesome dog Tessa. I hadn’t spent much time with him before this, but Dan’s consistent humility and mellow manner was a revelation. He smiled the entire time, and shot this article in three days. | Dan Kircher

Blunt to fakie. Photo Simeon Patience

What was it like growing up in the Mighty ‘Mutu?
Te Awamutu was a pretty cool town to live in, people are generally friendly and everyone knows each other – it’s a real community-style town. I’ve always preferred being in a small town like TA, rather than the big cities. It’s Mabo, it’s the constitution and it’s the vibe. Basically it’s just the vibe.

How were your school years? You’ve always
been the most hyper out of us.
I live fast – yeah, too bloody fast sometimes. School was tubular dude, I stayed right through ‘til seventh form I liked it so much. School’s one of the only times that you get to meet up and hang with your mates every day. I didn’t understand why people would want to leave and grow up so quick.

How was it growing up with all four of us all brothers?
We had so many awesome times growing up.
We were pretty loose back then, always fighting each other. Remember the one and only time we both managed to give Jono the beat down? He was always way stronger and bigger than us, so me and you (Simon) had to grab our hockey sticks and we showed him what The Rock was cooking. Another time we had some dodgy sledge being towed behind the bike, over a ramp and off the hill down the back. Josh was a lot smaller than us so he was always pressured into being the crash test dummy. Jono fanged so fast on

“My burns have healed up really
well now and I even managed to grow my nipple back.”

the bike that Josh ended up back flipping and breaking his arm fully in half, it looked so gross. Poor little bugger came home from the hospital with a fluoro pink full arm cast. Mum pulled us all aside and said, “Now guys, Josh is really upset about his cast so can you please tell him that it’s really cool, and that it’s not even pink, it’s red.”

Nollie bigspin. Photo Simeon Patience

Tailslide. Photo Simeon Patience

“I haven’t really liked skating in Auckland yet; always seem to spend most of the day in traffic. I guess you’ve got to be local, though.”

Spade jam. Photo Simeon Patience

Yeah man, that was nuts. And then when we got a bit older we all started rollerblading.
(Laughs) That’s right, I think I started rollerblading when I was about nine. Then Jono got us all into skating. I would always ask to use his board and on very special occasions he would let me tick-tack down the driveway. I think my parents got sick of all the fighting over whose turn it was and they got me my first Edwards complete when I was 12. A few years down the track you and Josh threw in the blades and got your boards. We’ve been so lucky to all get along skating together and even just hanging out. It’s funny ‘cause we all used to be too shamed to be at the same party with your brother. But nowadays we all party together hard, even brother Josh has been raging harder than any of us brothers these days! (Laughs.)

Do you like getting loose on the juice, then?
I’ve gone off it this year. I get loose without the juice – can’t show weakness in front of the boyz.

Wallride. Photo Simeon Patience

You used to roll with only one nipple, now you’re back to two; you want to explain how this came about?
We were all down in the backyard playing with petrol and matches, just mucking around lighting tennis balls on fire. My foolishness caused the petrol can to explode on me; I ended up being burnt from my stomach to my neck. I showed real weakness that day. I ended up losing a nipple, had skin grafts, was in hospital for three weeks, in and out of physio for two years and had to wear a full upper body pressure suit for three years. My burns have healed up really well now and I even managed to grow my nipple back. I still have some scarring under my right arm though, up to my armpit.

“I think I started rollerblading when I was about nine.”

Well, that was your younger years. You’ve seen a lot since then, what are some of the more important lessons you’ve learnt?
I’ve learnt so much from all of my life experiences and am still learning. The biggest lesson I learnt was when I found God. After that experience I started to realize just how blessed we have been to be a part of this life. I started to figure out how amazing God has designed this world, and how everything God has created has meaning and a purpose. I can’t believe now just how blind I was to life, but it happens to us all! I realized that we are the ones creating the problems for ourselves.

Ollie. Photo Simeon Patience

“Good times, just a good group of mates out taking care of the streets of TA.”

Smith grind. Photo Simeon Patience

What do you do in TA if you’re not out shredding?
There’s a mint swimming spot out at Arapuni that we all hit up most Sundays in the summer. Other times we get all the ghost riders to meet up at our good friend Leyton’s house and all go on a biking mission, either out to Yarndley’s Bush or Lake Ngaroto. They’re good times, just a good group of mates out taking care of the streets of TA.

What do you think about the skate scene in
New Zealand?
It’s a pretty good scene. I love Wellington the
most though, because the people aren’t too serious, just keen for a good time. I love skating with Kev, Clarkey, Die Sam Die, Jade, Bennett, Mosey, Harry and all the other Welly cats. They have definitely got a good thing going. There are a lot of other good scenes around NZ; the Naki is cool – Lucas, Smiley and Steele. I haven’t really liked skating in Auckland yet; always seem to spend most of the day in traffic. I guess you’ve got to be local, though.

Favourite skaters?
Ray Barbee, Nate Jones, Louie Barletta.

Rowley or Reynolds?
Rowley.

Keith Moon or John Bonham?
Moon the loon.

Melville skate park or Melville flat rink?
Flat rink.

Lennon or McCartney?
Lennon.

Surfing or snowboarding?
Snowboarding, ‘cause it’s easier, but surfing’s cool.

Hugs or drugs?
Hugs.

The money or the bag, Daniel? Money or the bag? What’s it gonna be? Time’s running out!
The bag, the bag!

Any words of wisdom?
Here are a few of my favourite quotes. When you can’t have what you want, it’s time to start wanting what you already have. Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. Teach us how short life is, so that we may become wise. If you want to stay out of trouble, be careful what you say. Oh, and if you get the chance, read some of Proverbs from the Bible, plenty of wise words in there!

That’s about all the questions I’ve got for you.
Shout outs?
First of all, before anyone I would like to give thanks to the Lord God for creating this amazing life and for being so forgiving to me for the consistent bad decisions I make in life. I would also like to thank my family. All my friends, past and present (I’m not going to name drop in case I miss anyone out), but thank you all so much for being such good people. Globe/Hardcore (Hatton) for supporting me with my skating over the years. Manual Magazine (Sims, Dave and Dan especially). Craig from CBR for always being so friendly and helpful. And thank you to all the positive, friendly people out there. Peace.

Thrasher have just released an amazing part of Habitat rider Mark Suciu, aka Twinkle Toes.

The more I see the more I like, this is the latest offering from Mr Puig, from the French vid Kurd are my Heroes.

Stereo have just released a fresh clip of Tommy skating at the studio. Double or Nothing!

DC Riot Tour through Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Cologne, Helsinki and Malmo featuring Chris Cole, Mikey Taylor, Nick Dompierre, Matt Miller, Evan Smith, Wes Kremer, Davis Torgerson, Michael Sommer, Antony Lopez, Josef Scott, and Madars Apse.

On a fresh and wintery Friday morning, the Substance tour rendezvoused at the Wellington ferry terminal. It was there that Ben McLellan, Dallas Marshall (Daliman), Sean Bone (Thug), Gus Curwood, Chris Maessen (Big Red), Jake Mein and Adam Kinsman set sail southward in search of some southern comfort. Video from the feature article of the same name in Manual Magazine #43.

Filmed by Chris Maessen and Jake Mein
Edited by Chris Maessen
Titles by Johnny McCormack

Join the ThirtyTwo team as they tour around New Zealand mid August 2011 shredding up pool tables in ‘Kune, the frigid slopes of Snow Planet, Te Kuiti skate park and the box lines at Snowpark NZ.

Some more Jimmy Wrong footage for your Friday, this time from the recent Adidas Perth tour.

Night time is the right time.

Ronnie Bertino came up in the early 1990s, and by decade’s end had proven himself to be one of the greatest and most underrated street skaters of his generation. First riding for Think and then Blind Skateboards, Bertino made the transition to Plan B sometime around ’93, rounding out an epic team—Danny Way, Colin McKay, Pat Duffy, Pat Channita, Rodney Mullen, Sal Barbier and Jeremy Wray. This clip, from Second Hand Smoke (1995), remains one of my favorite video parts of all time; it captures Ronnie at the peak of his professional career. Looking back on it, several of these tricks were pretty revolutionary.

The ending switch backside lipslide on a 7-stair rail was gnarly and is the most talked about from his part (it would take years for some of the best pros to throw down the same trick on similar-sized rails). There’s also the nollie backside heelflip down the 7-stair at Carlsbad High (another trick Ronnie was way ahead of the curve on). However, it was the switch front-blunt line at Trabuco Hills High School that really sticks out to me. It was easily the best switch blunt I had seen up to that point (likely the only legit one), and it was in an epic line to boot! (This was also the first footage I recall seeing of Trabuco Hills High, which became a hotspot from about ’95 to ’98. Trabuco Hills is located in the Southern California city of Mission Viejo, also home to the infamous El Toro 20).

After Plan B, Ronnie rode for Sal Barbier’s short-lived 23 Skateboards. He then rode for ATM for nearly a decade. To the best of my knowledge, Ronnie had one full-length part while on ATM and some web clips. Alcohol, as Ronnie explained in a 48blocks.com interview, curtailed his skate career and has likely lead to his relative obscurity among today’s younger generation of skateboarders. (Luckily, Ronnie appears to have gotten his life back on track.) Of course, this doesn’t diminish Ronnie’s importance. The footage from this clip speaks for itself.

Or should I say 4.7.11. Just a little teaser of what to expect from TWS’s street skater of the year. T-Pud dropping footage real soon.

We stopped in at the skateshop before the Hamilton demo to cut Ben Raemers trucks off. The Poor kid couldn't handle it by himself...

In part two the boy hit Hamilton’s Melville Skate Park and Wellington’s Waitangi Skate Park.

The Hamilton Skate Park demo was the coldest of the whole trip. Shane and the boys warmed up, with fun tricks like this roll on five-0, for about 30 minutes before they were able to skate properly.

Suski gapped over to a, um, Suski grind. I actually had a laugh later when talking to him saying it was weird shouting yeah, "Suski, you made a Suski?!" - Azar

Collin Provost destroyed every demo. Here is one of the many tricks he did on this obstacle. Gap to nosebluntslide.

Collin, gap to frontside bluntslide.

Ben, frontside blunt.

Azar, nollie backside flip.

Collin ended the demo with this gap over to Howard grind.

Wellington demo! Ben cruising through on a hot lap to scope the bank.

Next time around he jumps up on a boardy.

Collin frontside flipping for the fans.

Suski, bump to noseslide.

Ben absolutely kills all terrain. Backside boneless in the deep end.

Followed by a backside Smith grind.

Collin with a picture perfect Howard grind.

Another donation for the homeless... Good work!

A product toss always makes for funny pics.

I thought we'd end the post with more Ben in the pool. Frontside invert.

Frontside Air. Enjoy!

Jason recoating the blocks at Upland Road Bowl with 'Salba Sauce'.

Hooked up with Jason Parkes and Josh Malthus, who’s just made the move from Duds, on Saturday at Upland Road bowl. Jason recoated some of his special ‘Salba Sauce’ on the coping and the session began. All text and photos by Andrew Morrison.

Josh was shredding, I was trying to get him to do these as Hosoi as possible. Layback Smith grind.

Then Parksey learnt a new move, well re learnt an old one one actually. Judo tailblock.

Then we found this puppy, the boys were pretty excited.

This was crazy. He actually made this although it looks like he was gonna bail. The boys were charging.

Here's another angle: PS: don't ask me where this is.

The DL Posse. All photos: Luke Browne

Eight Days of North Island Trippin’
Daylight Skateboards

Text and photography by Luke Browne

It was the first ever tour with all the Daylight riders together, we had hired a 12 seater van and had no actual idea where we where heading. It seemed like bit of a crazy idea but we went for full attack.

Van days begin.

Sam Grabtree, Sam Allen, Yasha Klyanchin, Joel Skelton and myself departed my placed with a packed out car on point to Palmy where we met with all the other boys. We hired what was to become a skate rat party bus and made our way up to New Plymouth. We ended up crashing in a three bed motel in Hawera, where they hooked up the mattresses and milk. This lead to a night skate at the park followed by Sean Cupples, Sam and Yasha shredding the only rail in town while Emily Rose watched from a window above.

Yasha Klyanchin, backside feeble grind, Hawera.

In the morning Crabtree scuttled his way into the motel snapping his pincers with delight from the night before, then we made our way up to New Plymouth where Chad Hoskin and the locals took us to a few spots after skating the new bowl. More hammers went down then inflatable Lilos where bought for our accommodation that evening. Fish ‘n’ Chips, and beers, where consumed at East End Skate Park until dark. The decision was made to make our way up to Auckland late that evening and to find a ‘suitable’ sleeping spot on the way. That ended up being a sketchy pull in bay an hour out of New Plymouth. We all roughed it on the side of the road where Joel’s Lilo completely deflated leaving him lying on gravel until the morning.

Joel Skelton, crooked grind, New Plymouth.

Lilos.

We set off early and stopped at the first town we came to. We found a quiet campground where the dude let us all have ‘quick’ showers for $20. That lead to 2 1/2 hours of chilling on the grass. 20 minutes up the road Neihana realised he had left his camera on charge. Crumble. We finally got to Barry Curtis for a jam where Boltsy (Joel) flew all over the place as usual. That evening some of the boys hit town while the rest of us where left to pussy-lap and skate the city. Sam Allen, age 13, who was the youngest on the trip manned up to a front feeble at 2am.

George Rowe, frontside five-0 to switch frontside crook shuvit out.

Justice and Sam on Shortland Street.

Stories where shared the following morning and that is where they will remain. After a warm up session at Owairaka we ended up at a four meter run-up rail where Cupples rolled his Ankle. Back tattoos where drawn on and the good vibes kept on pumping. We then met up with some of the Souf boys and skated the Vodafone eight stair. The afternoon ended with a quick jam at Vic Park then we chilled at the backpackers. We skated the city again that night, getting a few shots at Aotea Square. Queen Street hill bombs consumed the rest of the night.

Sam Crabtree, nosemanual nollie heelflip, Auckland.

Sam Allen power-napping.

Sean remained crashed out in the backpackers the next day while we skated Barry. We dragged him out when we got back to town and went straight to Ponsonby Primary where we watched Mr Allen fly over us down the big four several times. Soon after we realised Sam had his own special technique. He would be the last person to go to bed at night, and the last person awake in the morning. In-between spots he would have power-naps then charge up with some sugar and unleash. After a few beers at the hostel we roamed around Queen Street and ended up coming back to Joel and Jordan telling us how a lunatic crack fiend tried to take their drinks then ran away with a board. He left after a punch to the face from a chick.

Neihana Tonkin, 360 flip, Auckland.

The next day we signed out of the backpackers and made a quick visit to Countdown which turned into a session down the red eight stair with a last try hammer by Neihana. On the way out from Auckland a few of us spotted a couple of guys and some promo girls with Lift Plus all over the place. A quick lap around the block lead to a group photo with the girls and as much Lift as we could grab as well as two extra crates of the stuff! An emergency toilet break at K-Fry in Huntly due to Lift filled bladders and a rotten egg being dropped in the front seat. Good times rolled on with multiple arm-wrestle games with Mr Kupe. We met up with Chad Hope in Hamilton and had a little roll at Nawton Skate Park. Too many beverages, a lack of sleep and skating had the toll on Cupples in H-Town but we all pulled together and celebrated with Dominoes and grass.

Sean Cupples, frontside lipslide, Tauranga.

In the morning we made a visit to the pools for showers but unfortunately the three-story diving board was closed so Jordan’s Auckland steeze dive of doom couldn’t be completed. Nothing was going to happen in Hamilton so we made our way to the Mount. We filled up at Wendy’s before hitting the Greerton rails where Sean shut down the session once again. Skinner and Shaun took us to a few spots where George Rowe, Allen and Reid all threw down. McDonalds and beers for tea then home to skinners pad for the night.

Joel and Sean with their fake skux tatts.

Sean Cupples backside flip, Mt Maunganui.

It was an early wake up and some skate videos where shown before a session on the Monster ramp. Shaun then showed us around Tauranga on what would be the last day of the trip. Nothing got skated until we went to a huge eight stair where Sean amazed us for the last time of the trip. Celebrational hugs went all round to enhance the vibes to the max. We then slowly made our way out with a few more muff scans and a final visit to Wendy’s. Crabtree purchased the cheapest dirty mag at the petrol station, entertaining us all with stories on the trip back following a short dip in the natural hot pools in Taupo.

Home sweet home.

We arrived at a Palmy BP at 2.30am Friday morning. After filling up and saying our goodbyes the final hammer of the tour went down: A car full of honies pulled up with one chick leaning out the window flashing her jewels to us all! Nothing better to wrap up the trip.

thedaylightblog.com

We are proud to announce the Wellington premiere of Real Skateboards long awaited video Since Day One. 11th April, at 5.30pm. Screening will commence at 6pm sharp.

We are working through the mountains of footage from the past week. Here’s the first drop: The Open prelim runs. Enjoy. More coming soon.

Once again, Manky Chops Gallery presents Love And Guts. They have a crazy amount of artists exhibiting this year. It’ll be another epic night, the first of many for the BOWL-A-RAMA™ event.

The latest offering from Flipmode, featuring a plethora of NYC shredding. Click read more for part dos.

Red Bull and ABC take it to the road. Check out the action in part two of four as the crew winds it’s merry way into the heaving metropolis that is Rotorua. Just enough time to hit the park, grab some dinner and then take it to the streets in the late hours of the night. Click the pic for the video.

Fresh but classy, fast creative lines, keen to see his new part soon.

Lakai Skate and Create 2010, with Ty Evans as Director and Spike Jonze as Ex. Producer.

Huffer people is having a week of fun … so many activities!. If you haven’t seen ep. 1 click here, there’s some skateboarding in a “secret” location.

Sundown Syndrome from Riley Blakeway on Vimeo.

Bjorn boosting in OZ.

I’m speechless … maybe in a few more years they might even try to kickflip this?