Photography by Leo Sharp and Ike Colman
Interview and Illustrations by Bella Warley
Alexis! Tell me about your skating, how you got into it, when you got into it.
Sweet, I got into skating when I was 14, using my brother's hand-me-down board, massive cruiser wheels, which I used to go to and from school. I didn’t start properly skating then until a few years before lockdown, which is when it really set in and I became obsessed with it. Back then I skated mostly in a skatepark called Witches Hat in Yate.
Were there people that you could look up to skating Witches Hat? Anyone you admired?
No, there was no-one; it was literally just me and my four mates, and we were just all as good as each other. There was no-one to look up to and think, ‘that’s how you do it’.
Did any videos inspire you that time?
I wasn’t really into it that much. When I first started to look at skate videos, and I’d see they were being filmed on a VX, I used to turn them off because I mistakenly thought they were old videos that had been reposted, and I was on the lookout for new videos! It took me a while to realise it was just the style of skate videos. Again, it was really in lockdown that I started to go down the rabbit hole of old videos, watching everything because all we had was time.
I know you to be a bit of a collector of skate media. How many magazines are we talking?
I've also noticed archiving over the years, such as your YouTube playlists of all Bristol based skateboarding vids.
Are you quite obsessive about things like that?
I mean, my collection isn't massive, but I have at least 200 mags and a few videos here and there. I also have a few weird things, like a piece of wood from the M32 ramp, and a rock from LES in New York. I am a little obsessed, especially when it comes to the local scene; it's great to be able to share some of the videos that people have forgotten about. It's also great inspiration for street spots.
Pre-shift full-length frontside air transfer, all the way to the bank. Photo: Leo.
You started working at Campus Skateboarding right out of lockdown… Can you tell me a bit about Campus, what you do there, and the events you’ve been involved in?
Yeah, it's great! I do a range of roles at Campus, but mainly I do skate tuition, events and social media stuff. I'm involved in many of the events, but most recently we had the women's filming night which was great fun to film and be a part of. The end product from that one session was incredible - go and watch on Campus' Insta if you haven’t yet - seeing it all come together and some of the tricks that went down in the end made it so worth it.
Yeah! Some of what happened that night, I don’t think any of us were expecting, the session on the 8 foot especially… it’s quite special to be there when the women and girls scene seems to evolve in front of our eyes, and to use your filming skills to help grow that it is pretty sick. Which brings me nicely onto PETTICOAT. Please tell me more about that, from filming the first video, to establishing it as a brand.
So PETTICOAT. is my little skate brand. We're focused on supporting and developing women's and queer skateboarding in Bristol and the U.K. Whilst the brand’s focus is on women's and queer skateboarding, the brand is for everyone. We are currently running the first round of products for pre-order, and it will be released on August 1st officially.
Sick. Tell me what your motivation was for starting PETTICOAT.?
PETTICOAT. started as my uni project; the original idea was to create a brand that made women's clothing designed to be skated in. I was tired of seeing brands produce the same stuff over and over and never create something new and exciting, but most importantly never any women's clothing. It's hard to feel included in an industry that only produces clothing for men, so I want to change that.
It’s hard to feel included in an industry that only produces clothing for men, so I want to change that.
In a practical sense, starting a business can be daunting. Have you had any good bits of advice or mentorship?
Everything you need is already out there, you just need to do your research and find what works for you; finding someone who's done it before is a great help, but is not necessary. That being said, without Harry Chilcott I'd be completely lost right now; he's been a massive help with helping me learn how to screen print, and getting to grips with the industry. For those wanting to start their own brand, I think a unique selling point is integral for a brand to do well in the long run. There are a million skate brands out there and you’ve got to set yourself apart from the others. In my opinion, the skaters on your team don't matter anymore; it's not about tricks or the gnarliest spots, but now it's about creating a story and offering something different. That's the only way skateboarding will progress and stay interesting in the future.
How was filming the first video? What were your favourite moments from that project, and what did you learn along the way?
The first video was super fun to film, and it was a pleasure to work with so many talented people and watch them push their skating. My favourite moment during filming was when me and Ollie (Slade) bombed Park Street and he took that gnarly slam! I definitely learnt a lot during the production of the first video. It's the first skate video I had filmed and edited, so there were some steep learning curves along the way, and I'm glad with the way it turned out. It's definitely rough around the edges, but I’m grateful for the chance to learn.
This divine Gloucester Road set up gets the noseblunt pull in it was made for, from holy steel to 100 year old crazy paving ride out. Photo: Leo.
Let’s talk more about skating with the PETTICOAT. crew. What’s it like skating with people whose life experience is more relatable to your own. Do you have any memorable moments, or any stories to share?
It’s damn fun; sessions are easy going, and the hype is the best. I love seeing people like me push themselves and get footage. It's nice being in the streets with a crew; it feels more like a little family than anything else. There was that time we were at Bird Shit Banks, it was pissing it down and that guy on the dirt bike sprayed Fern (Cory) in the back with a tonne of mud. I think about that at least once a week.
What's in the works for PETTICOAT. now? What have we got to look forward to?
At the moment we're working on the new video, PETITE., and of course the video premiere, but apart from that I don't want to make too many promises; there’s definitely more to come!
I love seeing people like me push themselves and get footage. It’s nice being in the streets with a crew; it feels more like a little family than anything else.
Where has skating taken you so far, geographically? Do you have any places in your heart because of skateboarding, or any dream locations for a trip?
I was lucky enough to travel quite a bit last year. I went to Ronda, Berlin, Copenhagen and Malmö, and also managed to get to Manchester for Outbreak Fest. I definitely fell in love with the skate culture in Berlin and can't wait to go back, for that and for a techno spa!
What on earth is a techno spa?
They play techno through the water, so when your head is underwater, it’s louder, and when your head is above water, it’s quieter. It’s really relaxing though. And they’ve got a nudist sauna and ice bath, which is cool. I'd love to go to Barcelona also; it's definitely top of my list to visit next.
Can you enlighten us all into your goofy and regular combination of skating?
(Laughing) Well, yeah, I skate goofy, but I prefer to pop tricks in switch. So it’s like ollies, kickflips, bonelesses and beanplants feel easier to pop in regular, but I skate in goofy. So in transition I skate goofy. It’s difficult though, because my regular ollies suck, and I can switch flip but I can’t kickflip, and then doing a boneless switch on transition feels weird, because it still feels like I’m landing in switch.
Out of the techno spa and into the Berlin bowls. Swift sweeper at Gleisdreieck.
Photo: Ike Colman.
Onto broader topics, do you have any advice to young ’uns who want to do something like what you’re doing?
Just get started. Everyone's heard it one million times, but no one is going to do it for you; start making whatever it is you want to make and just see where it goes. Failure is all part of the process.
I definitely fell in love with the skate culture in Berlin and can’t wait to go back, for that and for a techno spa.
What challenges do you think women’s skateboarding still faces today?
Whilst women's and queer skating has definitely found its footing in skate media over the past few years, there is still a long way to go. I think queer individuals and women are struggling to find representation and sponsorship within the industry. It's still common to pick up a magazine and it only has male representation within the mag. It would be nice to see magazines and full-length videos become more equally representative in the future.
As you say, intersectionality and inclusivity is starting to blossom in the skate media; do you think there are some traps that it can still fall into though?
I think it's easy to point fingers and throw blame around to certain skate media outlets and collectives for not being inclusive, but what's outright bad is when an interviewer interviewing a queer or female individual focuses on gender or sexuality, rather than the skateboarding. Questions like, "so have you got a boyfriend?”, really rub me the wrong way; it shows that the focus isn't on them as a skateboarder, but based on attributes that aren't entirely relevant to the individuals personality or skateboarding. Of course, talking about issues and personal anecdotes is important, but it shouldn't be the main focus. I also believe that male gaze has a genuine part to play in whether or not people get picked for video parts, or other forms of skate media. As the industry is generally run by white cis straight males, this can often be a problem that's overlooked.
So, in terms of your own skating, there have been a lot of missions to Wales recently in pursuit of Spit’s holy vert offering… can you tell me a bit more about vert ambitions?
Vert is really what really inspired my entry into skating. My dad took me to NASS and I watched Tony Hawk and the Birdhouse team skating it there. That’s when things properly changed for me, the eye opener. I searched everywhere for a vert ramp and there just wasn’t anything close to Bristol. I obviously still continued skating and still loved it, but I never had that foot in to go and skate vert. And now that I’ve got a little bit of money and can get myself to skateparks, I’ve got to just go do it or I’ll never learn it. Hopefully one day I’ll get one here in Bristol.
Yes! And you can help raise the next generation of Bristol vert skaters! Now, is there anything else you'd like to add, any last words?
I'd like to thank Ollie, Jason, Mum, Dad, Milo, Leo and yourself! X
Follow Alexis - @ay.lew
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