Charlie hits the old faithful with a 180 Nosegrind 180 out from the top rope. Photo by Ryan Bradley.
By this point I don’t need to remind you that this blog is 20 years old this year. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of people come and go, but perhaps the most interesting and exciting thing for me is introducing new faces into Terribleco videos. Sometimes these people have been around the scene for a long time, and been on my radar before, but the pieces don’t line up until the time is right.
For Charlie Kerr, the right time was Ghostface. Charlie became much more involved than just filming a part – forming part of a small review group who basically humoured my stupid ideas and acted as a sounding board for what I was putting together. His involvement was part of the expansion to a “group effort” mentality for the video, trying to make these things more of a shared project than something that is just mine. In fact, really Charlie fulfilled a role that other mates had on many of my earlier videos. Back in the day, the likes of Rosko, Chris Mander, Joxa or my wife Emily would watch various drafts of the video before release to “sanity check” and feedback on them, and Charlie and Harry Myers were the guys who did that for Ghostface.
His inclusion in Ghostface brought something collaborative to the project that made it feel very much like one of my earlier videos. He didn’t just film the opening full part for the video, he brought back some of that OG Terribleco charm and was a hype man to keep me stoked on it when I was getting tired with it. So, as someone who opened the very latest Terrible Company video, I spoke to him about everything else that has come before.
How did you learn about Terribleco?
Moose introduced me. I believe he showed me Batface on Vimeo at his house one day. Then you were all filming Cannonball Holocaust around me and I was hearing all the stories about trips and what not.
What was your opinion of this whole thing at the time?
I couldn’t believe something like this was happening in Cov, and being filmed so close to me. Thought it was amazing straight away, and needed to watch everything from the blog.
How do you think the Coventry scene has changed in the time you have been skating?
Mainly the people, and sadly, the spots. People have always come and gone in Coventry, either people here for Uni or people who just phased out occasionally. The Uni improvements over the years definitely increased the amount of students coming through the skate scene.
And in regards to spots, we have lost so many and only got a few back, mainly wallride spots that have vanished as well.
The groups have changed a lot as well as it used to be way more cliquey. There were a lot of smaller groups, now it’s all pretty close knit. Well at least a lot less commotion, it’s at least the skaters getting in the way of everyone by playing football.
Navigating cobbles and that dirty mossy Cov ground with a wallride to fakie at the Transport Museum. Photo by Ryan Bradley.
What did you know about skateboarding in Coventry when you first got into it?
Hashem Almajdub was the first person to introduce me to skateboarding and he was always telling me stories about the Herbert and things that had happened there or around at spots. I knew a little about the older lot at the time, like Ralph Cooper. I knew about you of course, Ant Smith was a name I’d heard as well, and of course Harry Myers.
I knew Herbert was the place to go, but it was very daunting at first. I got welcomed in pretty quickly by Moose and Lewis Evans.
Who are some of your favourite skaters in the city?
Lucas Healey is a god of course: BS Noseblunt on the Herbert ledge, going through the gap after… madness. Of course, we have been lucky to have some great skaters come through though, like Tony Lui, Duffman, Pro Marky and Stan Byrne. We have to claim a lot of people. If you’ve skated here for longer than a week you are now a Cov skater, haha.
How would you describe skateboarding in Coventry?
Herbert is the best description really: a bit tech and a bit gnarly. There’s always been a good mixture of styles and trick bags coming out of one spot.
Do you think Ghostface matches up to that?
I think it matches up perfectly. Loads of the same spots skated, but everyone skating it differently. Finding the crusty random spots, and still some clean lines. A lot of personality shows through as well and shows how weird we all are, haha.
Judge Dredd might be "The Law" but Kerr shows off a different kind of Law for my lense at the Magistrate Courts banks. Photo by Ryan Bradley.
How do you think The Terrible Company fits into Coventry Skateboarding today?
It pretty much is Coventry skateboarding, whether it’s just the Instagram page keeping everyone up to date and sharing the hype, or filming the videos and making others want to film and make videos.
Do you have a favourite Terribleco video?
I am definitely biassed, but it has to be Ghostface.
If you were to make your own video right now, who would you give the last part to?
If it is Cov skaters, then it’s always Lucas Healey. If it’s anyone, I want a Gonz full part. All the chunky boards, all the wallrides, all the New York.
The Terrible Company has seen Coventry’s scene change a lot during it’s lifetime. What will Coventry Skateboarding look like in 20 years from now?
Hopefully, it grows more and more. A lot of people of all ages are around at the moment. I really hope the council eventually stops seeing skateboarding as a negative and sees the positive it can do. Improving the Memorial Park skatepark or maybe having something more secure for us at The Herbert would be incredible. Even if they just accidentally build a few new spots I’ll be happy as well, haha.
The Charlie Kerr classic - A Frontside Noseslide. Photo by Ryan Bradley.
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