Peak Times – Polar in England
Oski Rozenberg, frontside ollie to 50-50, Bradford.
Words by Ben Powell
Photography by Rafal Wojnowski
There was a very clear epiphanic moment during the hectic finale of the UK Polar tour that focused on a teenage girl learning 50-50 shove-its out on a ledge emblazoned with the name of Polar’s latest (and Sirus F Gahan’s first) video, Everything is Normal. Oftentimes, these skateboarding epiphanies happen with little foreshadowing. One minute you’re blithely watching somebody trying a trick amid a demo and the next, you’re experiencing a sudden, intuitive perception of, or insight into, the essential meaning of something. Or to put it in a less convoluted manner: watching teenage skateboarders learning new tricks in a pub, cheered on by dudes from “The Olympics” was really something. If there was one definitive take home from the past week’s Polar-shaped adventure then, for me, and for most of the other regular skaters who turned up to soak in the proceedings, the above probably nails it.
Obviously, said statement is somewhat reductive, young Oski is far more than just “a dude from The Olympics” and the Project House demo/happening in Leeds was more than just a “session on a ledge” but if you’ll indulge me, I’ll attempt further ruminations.
As a thought experiment, it’s interesting to consider what the purpose of a skateboard tour is. On a surface level at least, the answer is simple: brands go on tour to promote the products associated with their skaters; to promote the act of skateboarding itself to anyone intrigued enough to follow the Instagram breadcrumb trail; and thirdly, to collect photographs and video footage in locations outside of the everyday experiences of the brand’s riders. So far, so obvious right?
Dylan Mills, crooked grind, London.
By my reckoning this must be the third UK Polar Skate Co tour. The first, way back in 2013, came at a point where Polar had already sunk its fangs into the neck of global skateboarding and was part of an emergent movement of new, completely skater-run brands inspiring a younger generation who were less concerned with bowing to the gods of old and more inclined to follow those championing a shift in both theme and in form which reminded them of their own skate scenes and friends.
Eleven years ago, Polar was popular but it hadn’t yet ascended to the position it holds today as indisputably one of the most influential skate brands of the last decade. The fact that all ten of the riders/filmers/distro heads who made up that inaugural 2013 tour slept in my two-bedroom house ought to tell you a lot about the brand’s trajectory since that first visit to Yorkshire. Of the crew who came the first time, only Oski was present in 2024, (although ex-Polar pro Jerome Campbell did turn up for the Project House demo), but the vibe was the same. In 2013, led by Polar founder and general lunatic Pontus Alv, the team attacked demos and crusty street spots under the clarion call of “Charge!” This time around, even without the physical presence of Pontus, an equally industrious attitude was evident: made especially impressive by the fact that of the six riders on the tour, only two could really skate by the last two days due to injuries.
Oski Rozenberg tailgrab over Jamie Platt, Tottenham DIY, London
Alongside the unexpected mirroring of my presence on both tours, the fact that Polar once again found themselves on demo duties in Leeds (in the north of England) speaks of an existing relationship between the brand and that is via the curated mediums of magazine articles and skate videos, I say this: being a sponsored skater most definitely has its upsides but all the free shoes in China can’t obscure the downsides. Imagine being Dylan Mills on your first trip outside of the States, keen to drink in the experience and to fill your brain with novelty and culture, only to end up breaking your ribs a few days in, on a drop-in to 50-50 that you’d pulled perfectly on your first attempt. Not that this dampened his enthusiasm too much though. “The ribs are worse than I thought, I’m not even able to imitate skating right now, but whatever, that’s on me for doing the trick first try and then assuming that I’d be able to do it again ‘easily’. The golden rule is, if you do it first try then just accept the good fortune and walk away. Even with that though, I loved this trip. Coming from LA, everything I experienced was completely new: even down to the fact that we could ride bikes around London to spots or walk to spots in Leeds. Back home you’re stuck in cars for hours and then generally you get kicked out immediately whereas people really didn’t seem to mind us skating in the UK. The biggest surprise for me though was the architecture that I saw – Big Ben in particular, California just doesn’t look like that. Likewise, when we drove part of the country.
Shin Sanbongi, ollie, Leeds
As Seth Curtis, brand development manager at Keen Dist (Polar’s distro) put it, “We have a great relationship with Welcome skate store (Leeds-based skater-owned-shop). They’re very proactive, the local skate community is a very diverse and young scene and, looking in from the outside, is one of the strongest in the UK. Geographically it makes sense too as anyone from either end of the country can get to Leeds relatively easily so, given that the tour is ultimately there to promote the new video, it was a no-brainer to come here again. Plus, although we did spend time in London first, by moving north we avoided the pitfalls of being stuck in an area where everything has been skated to death already.”
Again, in an echo of the first Polar UK tour, the riders were exposed to the stark contrast between the leafy suburbs and grandiose architecture of London and the somewhat dystopian environs of northern England’s post-industrial landscape.
Oski Rozenberg, grasser, Stockwell, London
You see that crazy looking sculpture that Oski is ollieing to 50-50 on? Insane looking spot, right? What you don’t see in Raf’s shot is the fact that the space around it also comprises a homeless encampment/hard drugs blind spot. Looking at the photo, you’d be forgiven for assuming that these sculptures, (“Fibres” by local artist Ian Randall) were the centrepiece of the space whereas in fact they serve mainly to signpost the place where you’d go to shoot up. This would be a repeated theme of this trip (and indeed of nearly all skate tours) in so far as the reality beyond the photos and footage is generally much less glamourous than you’d expect. Rotherham in 2013, Bradford in 2024 – which salubrious location will provide the next backdrop to Oski’s supernatural ability one wonders…
The other persistent themes of the trip were rain and injury. Seth again, “It rained constantly. In London. In Bradford. In Leeds. The attitude of the lads made this less of a downer than it could’ve been though. Their willingness to get the job done was amazing. Given the adversity we faced in terms of injuries sustained both before the tour started and during, plus the constant downpours, this trip could have easily been a non-starter in other hands…”
Oski Rozenberg, grind up to tail block, Tottenham DIY, London
To those of you whose main interaction with capital ‘S’ skateboarding is via the curated mediums of magazine articles and skate videos, I say this: being a sponsored skater most definitely has its upsides but all the free shoes in China can’t obscure the downsides. Imagine being Dylan Mills on your first trip outside of the States, keen to drink in the experience and to fill your brain with novelty and culture, only to end up breaking your ribs a few days in, on a drop-in to 50-50 that you’d pulled perfectly on your first attempt. Not that this dampened his enthusiasm too much though. “The ribs are worse than I thought, I’m not even able to imitate skating right now, but whatever, that’s on me for doing the trick first try and then assuming that I’d be able to do it again ‘easily’. The golden rule is, if you do it first try then just accept the good fortune and walk away. Even with that though, I loved this trip. Coming from LA, everything I experienced was completely new: even down to the fact that we could ride bikes around London to spots or walk to spots in Leeds. Back home you’re stuck in cars for hours and then generally you get kicked out immediately whereas people really didn’t seem to mind us skating in the UK. The biggest surprise for me though was the architecture that I saw – Big Ben in particular, California just doesn’t look like that. Likewise, when we drove through the Peak District on the way to Leeds – even in the rain everywhere looked pretty.”
Dylan Mills, ollie, London
One example of the general public’s embrace of street skating in the UK, (looked at from Dylan and Shin’s perspective particularly, with them both being from places generally hostile to street skating) was an interaction we had in Millenium Square in Leeds. Whilst Shin was filming a line ending on the backside 5-0 on the banked wallride, an older lady who bore more than a passing resemblance to a British TV doctor who used to host a show examining people’s shit, (Dr Gillian McKeith if you’re interested) took an interest in what was happening. Bearing in mind that the spot lies on one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city and that we were skating there at rush hour on a Friday, you’d be forgiven for assuming that people would’ve been wholly unstoked on a svelte Japanese man firing himself into the pavement repeatedly. But not so. Instead, our middle-aged spectator took to whooping encouragement, filming Shin on her phone and then, when the friend she was waiting for finally turned up, regaling said friend with tales of the amazing things that the “Japanese boy” was doing. Very wholesome.
Oski Rozenberg, ollie transfer, Leeds
As we’re on the subject of “wholesome”: the upside to Dylan’s disastrous attempt to redo the drop-in to grind was the fact that he encountered socialised healthcare first hand. “That was a very different experience – the fact that I could just wander into a hospital and get seen for free like that was amazing. I guess that almost made up for the slam as it’s not an experience that I assume your average American tourist would encounter. The doctor was lovely to me, she checked me out and made sure that my lungs were still inflating and then sent me on my way with some pain meds. All for free too. That’s something I’ll remember for sure…”
Dylan Mills, taildrop to 50-50, Leeds
The day after Dylan’s hospital adventure saw more rain, an exhibition in the art space above Welcome Skate Store (shout out Village Books) to promote the book of amazing skate and street photography that accompanies the Everything is Normal video and, ultimately, the demo in the pub/ performance space/restaurant AKA Project House. As intimated above, this demo was a deliberately chilled out event with limited obstacles that spoke directly to Polar’s aesthetic and history. What better demo set up for a brand that announced itself via a video entitled No Complies & Wallrides+shuvits than two wallride ramps and a ledge built by the skaters of the city hosting the demo?
Det är väl perfekt?
For those who don’t know, the venue ‘Project House’ is an events space and bar just outside of Leeds city centre, which is co-owned by the skaters behind Welcome, along with several other proselytisers of indie culture. Drink independent beer, listen to live bands, eat fancy but locally sourced food and, in this instance at least, watch Oski do his best Spiderman impression. With the rain falling hard on the humdrum town outside, a very heated session quickly developed with the still mobile members of the Polar team (Shin, Aaron and Oski) joining forces with crowds of local heads to give the walls and ledge a seriously joyful kicking for what felt like hours. Look at that picture of Oski vertically nose-bumping the pillar and ask yourself this simple question: is it any surprise that his shoe has a shark on it? My guy chomps the impossible for breakfast. Outstanding.
Day turned into night, product was awarded for locals getting involved and Polar’s new Japan-based video ‘Everything is Normal’ was premiered on the big screen to choruses of approval. Lots of kids went home with free stuff and memories that will never fade. Much has been said in this magazine and elsewhere of late about the cultural importance of in-real-life demos and happenings. Yeah, you can watch it on your phone screen almost as soon as it’s occurred whether you’re there or not but that is no substitute for getting a high five from Shin Sanbongi for your back lip. You get me?
Shin Sanbongi, slappy backside 5-0, Leeds
Very little else to say really, so let’s sign off with the Seth Curtis perspective on why demos and events like this matter more than ever in 2024.
“Relationships between stores and distributors and brands are vitally important and are something that Mike (Halls) and Pontus really value. Doing things like this tour are a way to champion and support the stores that support us. It’s all well and good paying lip service to that idea but you need more than that. This year, where skateboarding is in a difficult and strange position retail-wise, I think it’s even more crucial to be proactive and to try and make things happen rather than just sitting on your hands and waiting for the wind to change. If you want people to be hyped on your brand or your skaters or your product then you need to give them reasons to be hyped. Whether it’s 1975, 1985, 1995 or 2025 the principle is the same: the demo is always a hit.
It may have been on the wane somewhat, but I think, given the current retail climate, it’s time to go back to the traditions that have kept people excited since the earliest days. You don’t need to build a replica of El Toro – just turn up and skate with people. It’s not rocket science.”
Oski Rozenberg, nosebonk, Project House, Leeds
