Photos: Mike Ridout
Words: Don Irfan
‘Bug vs Snake’ is the perfect summary of the Cardiff Skateboard Club trip to Mallorca last September. Why ‘Bug vs Snake’? Well, a bug landed on Oscar Evans’ head on the first day, and, because of that, Jake Collins decided to rebrand him Bug ’Ed. Oscar is Bug ’Ed for life now. After driving past the snake - which was actually a mega slide in a waterpark - in the van a few times, Ed Carter (not Bug ‘Ed) came out with the phrase ‘Bug vs Snake’, and that became the motto of the trip, with Ed not being able to sleep one night because he couldn’t get Bug vs Snake out of his head. The snake needed to be skated…
The lineup for Bug vs Snake consisted of three main heavy hitters: Jake Collins, Oscar Evans and PJ aka Paul Jenkins, while Trix (Mike Ridout), Ed Carter, Harry Deane, Mike Hellier, Alun Webb and myself were also in the van for the seven day trip. Most of us were injured, meaning there were more mascots on the trip than people actually skating. It’s usually said that, “what happens in Mallorca, stays in Mallorca”. Not skating-wise however. Surprisingly, it turned out more productive than I thought it would be, and luckily we had Trix the Gaffa and Harry the Deane with us, to provide visual proof of what the three main Dragons got up to!
Jake Collins - Frontside Ollie.
Dragon vs Snake: this is what went down on the final session of the trip. This Welsh Dragon had already won the first round of the serpent battle earlier that day with an entirely different weapon of choice - a dinghy - by small margins. In order to secure the victorious bag, we had to sneak in after the waterpark was closed for the second round of combat. With this massive frontside ollie over the divider that sits inside the King Cobra’s mouth, Jake KO'd the snake and took the crown home for the boys. Although this may sound or look easy due to Jake’s immense skill level on a board, believe me, it’s not. Everyone was quietly shitting themselves to death witnessing Jake rolling down the terrifying man-child waterslide, as well as having to be stealthy and not attract attention. He wears his carve on his sleeve, that one.
Oscar Evan - Beanplant.
This spot is by the beach and overlooks the Mediterranean sea; the view is really spectacular. Because of this, the area also attracts a lot of tourists, and was quite busy at times. Bug ‘Ed took a less orthodox approach and threw a beanplant down onto the narrow bank. I remember Oscar telling us after landing it, that he almost sent himself into a tantrum on one of the attempts because of how annoyed the attention from the tourists was making him. Bug ‘Ed kept his cool, though. Maybe beanplants should be called bugplants from now on?
Oscar Evans - Pulley Grind.
This classic Mallorca bank has always looked perfect on footage; seeing it in the old Blueprint videos always made me want to check it out. When speaking about skating in Mallorca, this spot was one of the first things that popped into my head. In the flesh, it is exactly how it looks in footage, which - in my personal experiences - I’ve found happens very rarely. Bug ‘Ed pulled off the frontside 180 to fakie nosegrind easily. This trick is more commonly known as the Pulley Grind, named in honour of Carve Wicked CEO Sam Pulley, who popularised its usage in modern times. In performing the Pulley Grind at this spot, Oscar was also paying homage and respect to the bank G.O.A.T. Danny Brady. Danny’s original rendition of the trick can be seen in Palace’s video Beyond the Third Wave.
PJ - Backside 360.
PJ twirls like a master tumbler with this manoeuvre, traveling from one bank to another like it was nothing, thanks (probably) to the gymnastics training he received during his early years. PJ - also known as Peej, or the Cardiff Panther to some - is like a magician. He’s one of those skaters who always catches you by surprise, and I don’t think his footage does him justice at all. In many aspects. At the Airbnb the night after he shot this photo, PJ bit into a small can of Heineken like a snack, because he couldn’t shotgun a can. He did it in the end though..his hard work paid off.
PJ - Wallie.
The Cardiff Panther wallies down the set, like only the Cardiff Panther could. During the session at this spot, the Gaffa almost lost himself due to the extreme heat conditions he subjected himself to in order to get the photo, but Dragons are tougher than the sun and managed to find some shade after securing this solid image. I like it. PJ also filmed this wallie in a line, which is probably my favourite clip from the trip. But don’t tell anyone.
The full Bug vs Snake edit, filmed and edited by Harry Deane: