THE GEOFF ROWLEY SCREEN PRINTING TOUR! 09/09/2009 We hit up the UK recently for a long weekend to go hang out with the geezers, drop by some stores, screen some tee’s and enjoy a bit of their summer with a BBQ or two. Ben Raemers was on hand for the giggles, and was flying the flag happily. First stop was Bored Skateshop in Southsea (or Strong Island). It was right on the coast, so we got to spend some time by the sea. I should introduce you to our good mate Stu. He jumped in the van with us for the trip. You know how much you love Skateboarding? Well, he loves it that much, too. And he loves screenprinting just as much. That’s a lot of love. Hence that smile. The queue at Bored ran way down the street – the other store owners were all hanging out wondering what was going on. The kids were hyped! Best of all, we got to spend some time at Southsea Skatepark. That Snake Run is so much fun. Ben had a tooth removed the day before the trip. Look at the size of it. No wonder it was causing problems. He reckoned it smelt like farts. He kept it for good luck. Geoff is a grafter. He’s the first one in there, setting up and talking with the kids and clearly takes a good bit of pride in each and every tee he screens. After hitting up Bored, we made a quick return visit to Southsea Skatepark at Ben’s request. He had an idea for “Satan’s Toilet” as the deep bowl is affectionately named. I think the frown on his face above shows the feeling that his claim may have got him in too deep. But then again, it isn’t a claim if you make it. It’s a statement. Check the positively excited face after it all went down. Totally fair, too. He now lays claim to two of the gnarliest things to go down on Strong Island. The next day we went over to Oxford and hit up SS20. One kid showed with a fresh cast from shredding… …while another showed with a worn copy of Freedom Wig, claiming that it is pretty much all he watched for two years of his life. He was so into all the bands on there, too. It spurred us on to get a Butthole Surfers LP on once we were back in the van. OG Deathbox/Flip head Sean Goff showed up to say hello. Sean’s knee is on the mend right now – get well soon boss. If you don’t know about Sean, you should The cops also showed. Instead of shutting us down, though (as we’d well and truly spilled onto the streets) they just asked what we were up to, realised it was a good thing and joined in. Check the Volcom shades out. Ha! Next up was Ideal Skateshop in Birmingham. We we’re mobbed! Kris is a pretty accommodating host. Although his weakness is a hot dog. …and we were hungry, too - so we fired up the BBQ. The sausages were on, and the kids we’re keen. Ben and Steve were hard at work drying the tees… …and Geoff found a shred to cruise on. Next up was Endemic in Huddersfield These three turned up looking exhausted. They’d just skated from home to get to the shop. Twelve miles. That’s more pushing on rough British roads than I’d ever like to try. This guy showed up, got his foot signed and then went off to have it tattooed on. Gnarly. Pretty much the entire Rowley clan we’re in attendance. The three missing all live overseas. That’s a fine turnout, eh? Last up was Scene skatestore. Ben was pretty tired by this point. Either that, or more likely had just inhaled too much paint. It rained pretty hard, but we still ended up screening 140 t-shirts for people.. It was a whirlwind tour. In and out. We met hundreds of new faces, though – so it was worth every second. Cheers to Stu Smith for helping out each day and a big thanks to Bored, SS20, Ideal, Endemic and Scene for having us. You lot rule. Keep an eye out for a video from the tour soon!