Get your bearings: Brian Sumner talks to Hooked

Legendary Englishman turned US big hitter tells us how it's hanging after The Beginning, The End and everything in between.

Hooked:

Brian - you're an Englishman who's living the dream - tell us a bit about where you're living

and who you're representing at the moment.

Brian:

I am an Englishman and I lived the dream, Living in Huntington Beach california in USA. It's a surf town 40 mins south of LA and 40 mins north of San Diego.

Hooked:

You're an American Citizen now, how much do the skate spots there differ from the ones

here in England?

I have been a citizen for about 2 years. Honestly the spots are hard to skate here in Huntington Beach, almost everything has been skated for years and so its a bust. Mostly parks and such. But when there are spots they are great. perfect run up with nice sized objects.

Hooked:

You rode for Birdhouse for years, there must have been some serious $$$ in that. What

made you leave Birdhouse?

I had been there 12 years, and so as I became a Christian I wanted to use skating for what it is given for, sharing The Gospel. So I switched most of my sponsors to ride for Christian ones.

Hooked:

You've been skating for a long time now, what keeps it fresh and what's your all time

favourite trick?

Trick? I like nosebluntslides... What keeps it fresh? Just looking at things differently. Honestly I just enjoy a nice smooth ground with a good sized ledge... To go out and do stuff I just have to want to do a certain trick.

Hooked:

Are there any tricks you feel you should have down but don't?

Lol, front feebles and backside smiths for sure. They are awesome and its a rare occasion I have them.

Hooked:

Are you filming for any video parts at the moment?

Just finished a project entitled "Foolishness". Have about 30 tricks in it but its a Ministry tool. 60 mins with 40 mins extra footage. Am about to start a new project soon.

Hooked:

You have a project and show called Uprising on American television, how did that come

about?

Well originally I wanted to work on a movie around the three of our (Pastor Jay, Pastor Christian Hosoi and myself) lives. I spoke with Ben Cerrulo who is over Steelroots which is an offshoot of INSP. He wanted to get involved and soon after Pastor Jay having an outreach we are part of us called The Uprising and then Hosoi wanting to also do something it ended up being a reality show. It came together by the networks openess, a name Pastor Jay had brought together and us all just wanting to do something. 1st Season was 8 episodes, 2nd one is 10.

Hooked:

What other big names in skateboarding appear on the show?

Many, Josh Harmony, Chad Tim Tim, Paul Rodriguez, Richard Mulder, Richard Jefferson, Darrell Stanton and more...

Hooked:

So would you say your skating style or technique has changed as you do many more demos

than a lot of pros out there? Has this had any effect you your skills, for example are

you more consistent under pressure?

Lol, well I toured for many years, and I also spent time focused on tricks. Today my focus is sharing The Gospel so as of now its demos and tours but I also would like to make a serious video focused on skating. Truthfully though people who aren't even sponsored are doing just as gnarly stuff as pros...

Hooked:

Most people would call it an honour and priveledge to skate and hang out with

Christian Hosoi. You two are great friends, how did that come about?

Have known him for years. When he got out of jail I was searching for The Lord. He had done so while in jail. That was about 5 years ago and we hang out almost everyday... My wife and his actually hang out more than we do. But we have kids and are always in Ministry together. †

Hooked:

Do you have any advice for any young and talented skaters that may be thinking of

emigrating for a future in skateboarding?

Yeah, skateboarding is amazing, it is neutral. It isn't owned by anyone, but probably the influence which comes from skating may well lead you into following the crowd into what most of my friends and the most known skaters have fallen into. When it finally settles down, for them, the false attention and the need for medication of some sort daily has robbed them of anything worthwhile. To me, I would give it all up for what Jesus Christ has done for me. Skating will pass, Jesus won't.

Hooked:

And finally, what's next on your horizon?

Serve Him. Love my wife, raise my kids, be a light. Life had so much in it but I was so empty, now after it seeming to be empty to so many it is full of joy and satisfaction the world can't give. Have a premiere this weekend, build the saturday night service I preach at, work on some DVD/TV projects, write a book and await His return.

Hooked:

Any thanks that you want to give?

I thank My Lord and Savior for dying on the cross for my sins. My marriage, was failed I didn't care about living while having 100 of thousands of dollars in the bank and in things, face on cover of this or that, name on this or that but not knowing the hope I now have. I thank Jesus, my family, my friends and all that is taking place. † Thanks for the interview.

No problem, thanks for talking to us. Keep up the good work, and those trick tips you did helped us out loads! Cheers.

Check out Brians video part for The Beginning.

The Big Push

Sooooo, we've all watched The Big Push by now, and probably all noticed our epic spots making it into the edits. The Adidas UK team obviously enjoyed them... awesome to see! Also check the Adidas Skateboarding blog to see some other shots of the lurkings.

Yessss

Chesterfield getting some action and thus the epic Hooked stencil

Everyone flips into the shallow end

Stepping it up with manny action

Global video / Lidle bank to rail takes a pasting

Nice one Adidas, you're welcome anytime at Derby's solid spots. Now let's go skate em.

Here come the girls...

If you've not already seen this, thought I'd post it to show some respect to the girlys!

Check it - Ladies Night At The Berrics

6 Tricks on the Sabbath: Back to the bar

So this month Dave zips to the flatbar to nail some new tricks for it, the sort of thing you need a flatbar for.

Backside feebles

Fiddy fiddy shove

Front board shove

Crook shove

Shoves are in this season

Late Skate Lock-in: Roundup

The battles, in order.

Hooked in Sidewalk Mag

Looks like the Late Skate Lock-in we organised went down such a storm Sidewalk even mentioned it. Nice one guys, we appreciate the coverage!

Right hand column of the Folklore, nice write up by Ed Bowen

All of you lot are now Mall Monkeys

Jacob and Smedders get some crip shots in!

Get a load of the write up.

Cheers to everyone who came / rode / organised / filmed / lurked

Cheers Sidewalk

In House Studio

We caught up with our friend Phlegm in his studio in Sheffield recently.

He's been working on a mural that will eventually appear in the elevator shaft(the elevator is glass) of the Childrens Hospital, Weston Road in Sheff.

Shit dam complicated and time consuming, this work will help to brightens up what may otherwise be a fraught and scary experience for a youngster hittin the halls of this Infirmary.

Phlegm... mural mistro.

Studio and visitors.

Final sketch for shaft wall!

Sketching on mdf.

Poker work by hand.

Once the poker works done, the painting next and finally sealing to finish.

Lots a stuff to do yet, but it be worth it!

For lite relief a game of Skate... Gotta have your priorities rite!

Same Spot Slam

Get the medics we got a man down!!(were playin COD MW2 far to much these days)

Ever had that session, were you try a trick and effed it with a hit- and every time you try the trick again you take a hit in the exact same place.

That happen yesterday, may have to heal and try again later...Pissin ell!

Big Push 09

With the demised of the much loved Document skate mag last year, its fallen on Sidewalk mags shoulder to support the epic Big Push. A classic and often fraught battle between some of the best skate teams around-this year includes Adidas, DC, Ethnis, Nike, Shiner, Vans. (shit only one GB company representin)??

This months Sidewalk will have a DV pasted to the front, watch it and cast you vote on line for the team of the year.

☻Also look out for Hooked in the Folklore pages. The Westfield session maybe in there.☻

✌ Keep shreddin ✌

Filming trip, Sheffield

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and our filming trip around Miles' favourite spots was going well on the drive up to Sheffield...

Until the torrential rain up there showed no mercy

Dave unpacked the kit from the UAV

Perpetual wetness forced us to shelter

Chris Gair back feebles for the kids, RadDad approves

We got some footage, and when Unabomber rider Will Golding and friends rocked up, we got a bit more

Adam nose mannied the box for a laugh

Rad Dad hid from the rain

Got to keep capturing the tricks for the Hooked video, and if you're a friend of Hooked, you might be on it. Dodge the puddles lurkers.

Featured trick tip: Full Cab

The Full cab is simply a fakie 360 ollie, and if you can get confident enough put them down anything but flat, it's going to look good.

01

For this trick you'll need to be comfortable with bs halfcabs (fakie bs 180). Start rolling fakie at a slow speed at first, with your back foot more over the toe edge of the tail, and your front foot in the middle of the board behind the truck bolts.

02

Crouch down for the pop, and crouch down low. The more height you can get on the pop the better your trick will be. Coil the opposite way to the way you'll be rotating for the full cab, and go further than in a normal half cab.

03

Pop and uncoil. You might need your arms out to balance, but the less your arms stick out the fast you'll be able to rotate. That's not to say they should be by your side...

04

As you rise up continue to uncoil, aim for your upper body to be facing the way you are moving as you leave the ground. The key to this is power in the rotation, so the more you can blast it round the better.

05

As your in the air it will be a bit of a blur but the longer you can hold out before putting a wheel down the better. Pop is crucial, so stay high!

06

Chances are your front wheels will hit the ground first, and the first few times you might have to slide around the second 180. Again, it's better if you can get most of your 360 rotation done in the air, so try and make and sliding action as small as possible, i.e. last 90 degrees. You should still be over the bolts - but if your board is leaving your feet simply start smaller. with a bs halfcab, and slide round the rest of the way. Don't give up.

Now watch the footage

"Sage Derby and Riveta"... Not quite "Cheese and Crackers" but close!

Mini Mayhem

When someone says, "oh I've got a ramp in the shed in my back garden" we always think- small, dingy, whippy, with numerous cob webs and screws sticking through the face of the ply.

And when you want to skate you have to remove the kids discarded bikes a few plant pots and a rats nest or two... but in this case we were overwhelmingly surprised.

When we were first shown this build it was it was like a shining beacon of hope in an other wise over cast Derby suburb. The steel clad structure seemed to produce its own radiance and feeling of well being, one could only bask in its reverence and inherent beauty with the... oh cut the crap and get to the point!!

Professionally done and using all recycled materials this place is wicked and nothing like we've ever seen before in a back yard- the minis a 3 footer rising to a 4 foot metre length on the far right corner. The ramp itself has the perfect transition for its size as verified by Craig Smeddly and everyone else that skated there on the night.

The Build... Sweet as Honey!

Recycled shelving

Lovely lights

The Builder.

Mark representing.

The Shed Shredders

Craig cracks out a switch tre on the 4 footer.

Darrell W and Toby B... Daz getting ready to drop.

This board was jealous Beans wasn't riding it.

Rad Dad films.

Seen the light!

Peeping Tom shoots Gair.

Lurkers

Ready for anything position

Through the fishies eye

Chris Gair... getto stylin.

Daz crux.

JB on a charge, his classic big air frontside flip indy

Toby B, lashing of pinash.

Trouser Takes.

Blunt

Rock

BS fiddy

Roll

Shiiiiiiiitt

5050.

Ryan N blunt.

5050.

Crux

The Shed Shredders... Part Deux

Ryan N... 5050.

Daz no comply to tail as Tobys look on.

Rad dad... far too close for comfort.

JB on the going for the elusive 360 hardflip.

Smeders throwin one.

And again

Mr Dave cam loitering!

CS eyein up the big one.

Smeders on the move, "I can't believe its a f...in shed"!

**Footage coming soon!**