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Oct 08
Love0

It took me 17 years to conquer my fear.

By Lifestyle Motivation Photography Skateboarding No Comments

A few months ago I wrote this post on my lost love for skateboarding and how I rediscovered it.

Yesterday I managed to complete my dream and pull off a pretty basic trick (with not much style) that had eluded me my entire life.

I just want to reiterate the fact that at no point in your life should you give up your dreams and ambitions. There are few feelings as pleasurable as completing a goal that is only for yourself and not being done to prove anything to another person.

This is a backside 5-O grind on the quarter pipe at Stoneridge. Again I want to thank Tim Moolman for the encouragement & patience of God.

My knee is blue but it was totally worth it!

@Spillly

 

 

> image taken by Phil. follow him on twitter.<

Aug 19
Love0

One in, (2) One out.

By Lifestyle Motivation No Comments

I have been financially fortunate over the past 17 years. I have really not wanted for much from as early as my late teens. Clothing, fast cars and brands have come & gone with my disposable income, but throughout this period of my life, I have maintained one rule:

With every piece of clothing I buy, I must give one away. I call this the “ONE IN, ONE OUT” rule.

This rule has always kept my sneaker & t-shirt fetish in check. The rule has now started rolling over into every aspect of my life when it comes to my worldly possessions. Its nice to know that someone else, who really needs a pair of shoes, will appreciate them more than the bottom of my cupboard will. Its a simple structure that also makes me question myself when buying an item, as I need to know that I’m ready to part with an older item, before I can commit to the new purchase.

BUT something has started to happen. It relates back to this blog post which I wrote a while back. I have started giving TWO items away with every new one I purchase. I know that its not a sustainable system as eventually I will be left with nothing, but as a long term “un-cluttering mechanism” it works very well.

I will slowly eradicate the things I don’t use or need and slow down my incessant need to but new unneeded things. It also leads to me the discussion that I have briefly had with my mother, who lives alone. I joke that when she passes away, I don’t want to spend weeks sifting through the hundreds of random items and old clothes and deal with getting rid of all the junk she is unwillingly collecting. With my ONE IN, TWO OUT method, my life will be cleaner, greener and far less entangled and I love that. I figure everyone should go through cycles in their lives of over-consumption, excessive shopping followed by a slow down and eventual thinning out of goods.

Its possibly an age thing, or a wage thing, but none the less I’m at the point in my life where simpler is better and less is very, very, much more.

@Spillly

 

Aug 06
Love0

The pool I never wanted.

By Lifestyle Motivation No Comments

Eight years ago, I built a house with my ex-girlfriend. I was living in an architecturally wonderful Parkhurst home, at the time that I bought when I was 20 years old. My Parkhurst pad had a pool, which was amazing for a 21 year old who was all about partying. But when we were in the process of design and building the new house, I never wanted a pool, but my ex-girlfriend did as she was the sun worshiper and I was & still am, a ginger. There was no compromise, even on the size, and the pool was dug and filled.

To this day, I hate the pool. It costs me money, takes up space and is never used. And by never, I mean never. It’s the symbol of my excessive lifestyle from 8 years ago. I look at it and just want to fill it in and cover it with Grass. Pools are unnecessary and are only good for “property resale” as far as I’m concerned.

I want to eliminate all the assets that cause me headache and cost, from my life. I want to return to what core things I need to survive and keep me happy and comfortable. After mentioning this to a few friends and colleges it’s become clear I am not the only one who feels this way at the moment. Its become apparent that my generations over-consumption and lack of inner peace is bubbling to the surface of our consciousness’.

Now, I’m no way saying that everything you do must be green (even though it should be) and I’m certainly not saying that you should become a hippy and grow your own vegetables. What I am saying is you should start questioning what & how much you consume, what you think you want to keep yourself & family content & how much chaos you have in your life. I’m saying it’s time to unclutter your existance. From the car you drive to the body lotions you apply, all should be simple, economical, friendly to the environment, not flashy and not an eye-sore to your neighbours and fellow country men around you. You don’t have to consume less, just consume quality & consume art. Always consume art.

Replace your clutter with space. Cut back on advertising exposure and listen to more music, more often. Spend time alone. Spend time with friends that enrich your mind and make you think and laugh. Spend time outdoors. Spend time with your five senses. Cut back on your commitments to unnecessary events and meaningless chatter. Say no. Sit down & eat slower.

I now ask myself “will this bring a smile to my face?” before committing to anything. It may seem selfish at first, but sometimes doing something I don’t want will lead to someone close to me smiling & that in turn will bring a smile to my face.

With physics, every action as an opposite and equal reaction. But with life-simplification, every action will have a larger more positive reaction in your life & those important to you. Swap Chaos for peace, one step at a time. Eliminate Brands, eliminate world news, eliminate ego. Add exercise, add greens, add family & friends.

While studying architecture, 20 years ago, the most important lesson I learned was based on Ludwig Mies vanser Rohe’s quote “Less is more.” This is on what the basis of life should be structured. In all aspects, less is always more. I drive a Vespa scooter. Its small and considered dangerous, but it cuts out traffic (less) and makes me smile (more). It costs me a lot less in petrol, insurance and parking money (less) and saves me time (more).


 

I am not religious, I’m not a hippy & I’m not into saving the environment or sustainable living. I just want my life to be simpler, more user-friendly & kinder to the people who are important to me. I want a smaller home, smaller car, smaller circle of quality friends. I want a bigger music collection, a bigger impact on people, a bigger smile.

Is that too much to ask ourselves?

Spillly

ps. I now want drain my pool, curve the corners and make a skateboarding pool. I will never grow up & You cant make me.






Jul 20
Love0

A Modern solution to the poor mans mid-life crisis

By Lifestyle Motivation Skateboarding No Comments

Lets start off by clarifying that I am not poor and not every 40-something man on a long-board is poor either.

On the contrary.

The vast majority of newly re-adopting skateboarders are well qualified, well traveled and well dressed. They are equipped with the most modern online tools & toys and are reaching a point in their lives where they need a little escapism. Escaping the wife & kids or just work is the common excuse, but for some, myself included, its ruling out any life regrets that we may have one day or have started having already. We all come to a point when we realise that life is ephemeral & fleeting, but most balding-grey 40 somethings buy a Porsche. Right?

At the very rubbery age of 20 I stopped skating. I was a street skater and not a very good one. I stopped cause I knew I had reached the limit of my fears of self-harm and started feeling it in my knees & ankles. Its been in the back of my mind ever since I stopped. I now attend skate events, I buy skate videos, I follow skate channels on Youtube and now even “Like” many Skater pictures on Instagram. It all seems rather pathetic, and my friends who never skated, just dont get the appeal of the flo-jo you get when cruising along on four 50mm wheels at 30km/h. I’m not being overly nostalgic, but Man! those were good times!

I recently read this article in the New York Times which sparked a random conversation on Twitter with my equally aged friends, Craig & Tim who both never stopped skating since their teens. The convo-timeline went something like this:

Tim: This weekend, lets meet, set you up with a deck and thrash the concrete Bowls.
Craig: Im in.
Spillly: Im scared.
Tim: Pussy

Spillly: No, really. I am..

..and so on and so forth, until eventually I ventured to the local skate shop and bought, with my private-bank credit card, a mid-ranged, mid-priced deck, wheels and trucks and had it set up by some grungy, dope infused teenager, who vaguely resembled myself 20 years ago. Right, all set. Except I needed one more thing: bigger balls. That was resolved by buying a helmet and wrist guards, the least I could do to protect my skinny brittle 37 year old frame. Bear in mind that the combined age of the 3 of us is well over 100 years.

Day 1. The Concrete bowl.

The three FOG’s (Fat Old Guys) rocked up on our Vespa’s with our skateboards strapped to our backs and swapped the Bike helmets for sports helmets.
It took a whole 10 minutes before some 12 year old girl, on a board, came cruising up to Craig & I and politely asked how old we were. I asked how old she was & attempted to explain that it was rude of her to even ask. I haven’t been on a board longer than she has been alive. There I stood, in my original converse all stars, my shiny new helmet with my heart in my throat, ready to “thrash!” or at least that was the word us cool kids used 20 years ago. I never fell once, which was easy considering I hardly moved in 2 hours. Squeezing the sweat out from the sponge in my helmet just showed how unfit I was and how much exercise skating is. Tim, who has more patience than God & has “mad-skills,” made me feel less awkward by politely pointing out that I was here, on a board, doing this!

Day 1- mostly successful.

I have been back on the board a few times and vow to continue to do so for as long as my ageing body will allow, which by all accounts, will still be a few good years. I now lie in bed planning the tricks and carves I’m going to do next, like a Olympian winter luger.
   

So if your life is a bore, your career is killing your spirit, you are thinking of cheating on your wife and are browsing the inter-webs for an affordable red convertible sports car, I have an alternative to all of those, which will re-invigorate your life. You may be called a FOG on the streets, but the level of respect from younger kids on decks is growing & that’s the least of your worries. Its exhilarating, its challenging, its counter-culture (again) and its cheap as long as you have full medical aid coverage. Its Skating for the 40+ generation and its awesome. In an age of high consumerism and information over-load, its so refreshing to go back to the basic feelings you had as a kid, in a gang on your street corner, with an attitude and a cheap toy that brings a smile to your face.

Join the movement. Lets skate!

late submission: Check out this video from Erik and tell me you aren’t a little inspired?

All Pictures taken by Tim Moolman , the Legend.