Inside Out went out on the streets of Liverpool to ask if people had heard of Geoff Rowley only to get blank looks in response. When the same question was asked on the streets of Huntington Beach, California they found the opposite.

Geoff Rowley, who is originally from Liverpool, is one of the world’s top skateboarders. He developed his early skills in the city centre from the age of twelve and it wasn’t long before his daring technique and talent became widely recognised. He is now described as ‘the top street skateboarder of all the time’ and is as well known in the US as any premiership footballer in the UK. Geoff now lives and works in LA where he has his own range of skateboard wear with his name appearing on boards sold all over the globe.

Inside Out looks at his life in LA and his early years in Liverpool where he began to perfect his art on the streets of the city.

This edition of Inside Out is being shown on BBC One on Monday October 3 at 7.30pm.
The programme is being shown in the North West but it can be seen anywhere in the UK by digital viewers tuning in to channel 101 - 948.

The presenter of Inside Out bugs me

im going to watch that, i cant believe how unknown to liverpool geoff rowley is.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/northwest/index.shtml

Check out who is top link under the article!

so you cant watch it on normal analog tv?

I can.

The BBC broadcast a slightly changed channel throughout the country.

Its how they do local news, this is only being shown in the north west area on analogue tv or if you have digital you can change to the BBC north west channel and watch it.



The BBC loves us because we have that magical UK next to Skateboard.

I found this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/content/art...y_feature.shtml

Probably doesn't say anything any different than what was on the program, but there might be some people out there that missed it.

nice article....

Taken from The Times newspaper:

Skateboarding: Rowley keeps himself streets ahead
The Liverpool-born skateboarder is a millionaire after becoming a superstar in the US, but he still craves the challenge of street skating. By Brian Doogan

“GEOFF ROWLEY is the god of skateboarding,” says the 16-year-old kid in the park. “He makes it look so easy. He doesn’t think twice before jumping down huge flights of steps and steep grinding rails. If you ain’t seen this guy skate, you ain’t seen skateboarding.” His friend agrees: “Check him out on Really Sorry (the latest video made by Rowley and the members of the Flip team, with whom he moved from Liverpool in 1994 to skate on the US street circuit). He jumped off that highway bridge at the start of his section — it was sick, man!” It is a sun-soaked late afternoon in Huntington Beach on the southern California coast. Murdy Skate Park, with its rails, steps, banks and ledges, is a haven for young people on skateboards. Rowley and his mates used to gather around the law courts in Liverpool, looking for the “rush” and the “freedom” that only skateboarding gave him. Now he is a millionaire, one of the top 10 most-recognised names in his sport, a star of videos with his own range of skateboard wear and equipment. Boards bearing his name are sold all over the world. He is even featured in a mobile phone game called King of the Road (Djibril Cisse and Vijay Singh, in their respective sports, are associated with the same software company) while his peers recognise him as maybe “the most stylistic skater to skate this earth”. Certainly he is one of the most daring.
“When I’m afraid to try something, I always think that if it were Geoff, he wouldn’t hesitate. He would just attack,” says Jamie Thomas.



Rowley’s motivation has remained the same since his earliest days on a skateboard. “For me, the contests are not the most important thing,” he says. “My terrain is the street, jumping across maybe 25ft roof gaps and huge handrails, doing different tricks, performing them with friends. That’s what I grew up with and that’s what still appeals to me, travelling to some place, sleeping out under bushes if I have to and enjoying the freedom of doing my thing.

“Living in Orange County, everyone gets booted out of everywhere. So many kids are skating today — it’s the fastest growth sport here in the US — and the cops will give out tickets, even handcuff kids for skating in the wrong place. But I’ve always liked that, being able to grab a bottle of water and go out on a mission. That was always fun to me, to find new spots and skate and not get booted out. I’ve found all this stuff that people aren’t really looking at and that’s fun for me, to skate stuff that not everyone’s interested in.”

Rowley, 29, was named Skater of the Year by the trade magazine Thrasher in 2001 and this year was listed among their 15 Most Loved Skaters of All Time. His videos have attracted a cult following. The biggest skateboard stars are now regular performers on the sports network ESPN and on MTV. The elite have become millionaires out of the sport. Still there remains a renegade element to the street circuit scene.

Street skating originally incorporated basic tricks such as riding on only the front wheels, spinning like an ice skater on the back wheels (a 360), high-jumping over a bar and long-jumping from one board to another. But the invention of the “ollie” (a no-hands aerial manoeuvre named after Alan “Ollie” Gelfand) brought more exciting possibilities. The trick is no longer simply to fly from one place to another; board and rider twist and flip in assorted ways before hitting the ground. Skaters like Rowley pushed back the boundaries. He no longer competes regularly — last year he placed seventh in the X Games — but the biggest tricks have become his forte.

“I haven’t seen a handrail that’s looked inviting for a while. Show me an S-shaped one that goes around corners and over buildings and I might be interested,” he says. “I’ve always tried to learn and do different things, manoeuvres that I find hard. That’s what I do, that’s what we try to do in the Flip team and that’s why the videos have done so well.

“I’m lucky to be in the position I’m in. I have no typical day. I don’t wake up in the morning, clock in at nine and clock out again at five. Growing up in Liverpool, I used to meet my friend at eight in the morning and we’d skate until five at night, come home, get some food and go out until it was dark every day. I was obsessed by riding my board and being around people who skated. I still love it more than anything.”

Alright,

I grew up in Old Swan Liverpool. I am the same age as Geoff Rowley. Which is wierd I always remember him being tiny. I have read he is 5'9" so he is taller than me now.

In the summer holidays I used to go to Neil Danz's shop every day and hang out 1989 onwards. I was ok but never that good. There was other gourps of skaters who where brilliant it was a bit snobby at times.

I remember skating at the law courts with Geoff and his other mates Barry Wong, Andy and his brother. I remember he turned up once and ollied down the whole stairs. There are a lot of stairs. He was tiny you could never understand how he did it you just had to laugh.

I can't say I hung round with him or something like that. I knew some of his friends to say hello to and I knew him to say hello to. I do remember going to Edge Lane skate Park with him and few others once. He must of had more money than us even then I remember him buying a big bottle of lemonade for us all. We where all about 13-16.

We used to skate the free standing kirbs at a place called Black Snot. Also St Annes Police Station banks even though they where crap.

I think skating in England then was bigger than it is now but it is having a revival. I have was just buying a pair of shoes on eBay and I saw his name. It is wierd to think he is so big. Back then he was not the best out of everyone. I wonder what his other friends are doing who where as good as him. Probably doing 9 to 5's because they did not have his commitment and courage.

I missed this program on him you are talking about. I would of loved to have seen it. Its remarkable some people regard him as the best in the world. I am made up for him. I wonder if he keeps in touch his old friends in Liverpool. It would be well wierd if I ever seen him one day.

They are great memories of skating from back then. I met some of my best friends I have now back then.

Sorry about the nostalgia trip.

Nice one,
Christian
keenan@liverpoolfc.net

That was cool to read about your history with him.

Thanks for sharing.

Damn, i remember that place.. was hardcore. Got quite a bit of coverage back in the day in R.A.D and Skateboard!

[quote name='Wilko' date='Sep 30 2005, 09:39 AM' post='142628']
Inside Out went out on the streets of Liverpool to ask if people had heard of Geoff Rowley only to get blank looks in response. When the same question was asked on the streets of Huntington Beach, California they found the opposite.

Geoff Rowley, who is originally from Liverpool, is one of the world’s top skateboarders. He developed his early skills in the city centre from the age of twelve and it wasn’t long before his daring technique and talent became widely recognised. He is now described as ‘the top street skateboarder of all the time’ and is as well known in the US as any premiership footballer in the UK. Geoff now lives and works in LA where he has his own range of skateboard wear with his name appearing on boards sold all over the globe.

Inside Out looks at his life in LA and his early years in Liverpool where he began to perfect his art on the streets of the city.

This edition of Inside Out is being shown on BBC its shit

I would have liked to have seen that but they didn't show it in Northern Ireland