New CSC goodness on the way? BIG REVEAL TOMORROW.
So it’s that time of year again…the time when Cardiff is plunged into gridlock and chaos by the arrival of ten thousand students. For most of them, skateboarding will be forgotten until the student loan has been completely rinsed. In a state of parentally liberated delirium, the lure of cheap alcohol and the lustful urges of youth will compel them to habitually abuse their bodies in a carnal cycle of despair. Months later, alone, poor and dejected…they will turn their attentions to the discarded skateboard in the corner and, with a nostalgic yearning for the simpler days of their recently abandoned youth, they will roll themselves out of the stinking cess-pit they call home and into the big wide world.
So take note of this web-page dear student skateboarder, and return to it when you are ready. Here is your ultimate guide to skateboarding in Cardiff.
This is easy. City Surf is the only skater owned and run skate shop in Cardiff. It’s in Castle Arcade off the top end of St Mary Street.
They stock a good range of stuff…and if you say you’re a student they might even give you a discount! They’re going to be moving to new premises soon and it looks like it’s going to be AMAZING…so head down to the store now so you can say you knew them when they were old school.
Local brands that are worth spending your hard-earned other people’s taxes on include:
Crayon skateboards
Kill City
Freestyle (best t-shirts in Wales!)
Cardifferent
Who? clothing
Worth keeping an eye out for stuff from the little guys too. Bakery and us here at CSC put out occasional things…
If I missed your brand or company…SORRY! Post it in the comments below.
There are loads of options…Cardiff is pretty much the UK’s drunkenness capital. Buffalo Bar and Ten Feet Tall are skater friendly venues that are often the scene of video premieres and parties. You can get some great deals at both venues by signing up for an Eats, Beats and Treats card. Underneath Buffalo is Undertone, which is a rad basement club with great nights.
If you want to go mental and rave it up hard. The best option these days is probably Backroom, located in a bank vault in Cardiff Bay.
Regular pub fan? Can’t beat a bit of Dempsey’s for that old man vibe or The Pen and Wig for the only decent beer garden in town and cheap prices on food and booze.
Cardiff Arts Institute used to be pretty mental on the weekends and you could easily save yourself the entrance fee by jumping over the fence at the back…but apparently those days are over and it’s going to be shit from now on because the suits at Brains brewery HQ have taken it over and are gonna fuck it up.
There’s one real big meeting spot these days, and that’s the Cardiff Bay skate plaza. It’s a really sick park even though at weekends it’s plagued by little fuckers on scooters. You have to get down there.
Glue Bag Cardiff Plaza edit. Poorly Filmed, Poorly Edited, No slow mo’s from Kane Nugent on Vimeo.
Other than that, there are lots of smaller council parks, and plenty of street spots. Use the CSC Spot Guide to help you out.
That’s it for now. Join Cardiff Skateboard Club on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to date.
HAPPY SKATING STUDENTS!!
…but there is nothing like watching a proud young skateboarder learning fakie rocks like a Jamaican lion learns to sleep under the shade of the coconut palm.

As the only person who sent in an edit of Go Skate Day, James Davies romped home to victory and picked up a new deck and wheels from City Surf on Saturday.
New Cardiff brand Bakery also sent a fat stack of stickers for him…big thanks to them! Good to see more people in Cardiff doing stuff. Check out Bakery here.
…but if you’re in town and you get this…pop into Buffalo. There’s a ‘sneaker’ (trainers to you and I) exhibition on that’s part sponsored by City Surf. Well worth a look.
If you miss this, then there’s also a t-shirt show on tomorrow. The CSC exhibit is posted below for your enjoyment…not strictly speaking a t-shirt, and also possibly the stupidest waste of time in the history of the world…but check it out and maybe take it for a spin at Buffalo tomorrow evening. There will also be exhibits from Godmachine, The Cult of Original Sin and various other Cardiff art masters. See you there!
A pretty chilled out Go Skate Day this year…think we’ll have to bring the megaphone back for next year. The treasure hunt was crazy, a race through town to find people wearing clue t-shirts printed with QR codes that took you to secret messages from Pirate Man. Thankfully, it all worked out and Pirate Man was brought safely back from Boxman’s clutches. He would like to say a big thanks to everyone who helped find him and thanks to City Surf and Ten Feet Tall/Buffalo for the support.
If you didn’t make it down yesterday, see how you would have done by checking the clues below. Would you have found Pirate Man?
Clue 1
Clue 2
Clue 3
Clue 4
Conor, Isaac and Matt were the first to find Boxman, with Katchi being just behind them. Sean Barnes managed to manual the entire length of Boxman’s rope to knock him off Pirate Man’s treasure chest and free the Pirate! He won first pick from the chest and got himself a set of wheels!
Chris Wilson won himself a deck at the Sports Cafe 8 set. His nollie heel held off Katchi who couldn’t quite land his laser flip. Jack ‘Boneless kid’ Isaac landed on a few 360 bonelesses but didn’t quite roll away. Maybe next year Jack!
Everybody then headed to the plaza for a long session in the sunshine.
Some big stars showed up this year again.

Three of the 4 clue guys.

Boxman was back to his old self in the end. Just chilling in the sun with a Red Bull.

Though he didn’t have a great skate.

We all know Cardiff is the original and best Cardiff in the world, but did you know that there are Cardiffs in Australia and the USA too? Yes those uncivilized outposts that were recently colonized by intrepid Europeans have developed a culture of their own…and did you know they even skate over there?
Here’s Jono doing ‘the Nugget run’ in Cardiff, Australia:
There are many Cardiffs in the USA, including Cardiff, Alabama, Cardiff, Illinois, Cardiff, Maryland, Cardiff, New Jersey, Cardiff, New York, Cardiff, Pennsylvania, Cardiff, Tennessee, and perhaps the most famous, Cardiff-by-the-Sea in Encinitas, California:
So there you go. If anyone from any of our fellow Cardiffs is out there…stop by and say hello!
Keeping Cardiff on the UK skateboarding map, Crayon won Best graphic of 2010 for their Super Furry Animals/Pete Fowler collaboration, and CSC won best scene video with ‘Join us’. Crayon also got a mention for their sick Barber ad produced by the legendary Nick ‘the bastard’ Richards.
Check out all the awards on the Crossfire site