The Rundown - Vague Issue #33 Launch Party

After the fun-filled launch alongside the new Carve Wicked video on Saturday, the latest issue of Vague Skate Mag (Issue #33) is now available for you to get your hands on and it's packed with a whole load of familiar faces and so much more.

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Amidst the rain and typical weekend carnage you'd expect in any major city on a summery Saturday night, last Saturday saw a particularly special event being held in the humble Merseyside town of Birkenhead. Unbeknownst to the unsuspecting local Bargain Booze custodian (big up Kelly’s), the Wirral was set to host a magazine launch of epic proportions with skaters from far and wide travelling for the occasion, meaning this oft-neglected corner shop was about to have its busiest night in living memory.

After a quick stop at Kelly’s, despite the promise of free beers inside the venue (shoutout to Northern Monk!), we managed to time our arrival to miss out on any of the complimentary booze, but luckily there was plenty of other attractions to keep us entertained. With everything from a Lost Art pop-up shop, stick-and-poke tattoos, a DIY skatepark in the yard and an art gallery featuring work from Jasper Dawson-Clough, Mia Roberts and Cardiff’s finest, Lloyd Houston: Birkenhead’s Future Yard had been transformed into a treasure trove of skate-adjacent goodness.

After doing our best Ferris Bueller impressions while attempting to comprehend Lloyd’s cryptic artwork, it was time for Vague to unveil the cover of their latest issue, and this one’s loaded with Welsh pride. Landing the coveted cover spot, we’ve got none other than Carve Wicked commander-in-chief, Sam Pulley, risking it all for a death-defying front blunt on a Mallorcan waterslide, shot by CSC’s very own funnel enthusiast, Mike Ridout. But that’s not all! Surrounding Pulley’s formidable front blunt Vague have enlisted the talents of the space cowboy himself, Lloyd Houston, for a typically trippy painting of Carve Wicked’s First Lady, Poppy, surfing a big fuck-off wave.

It’s not just the cover that’s loaded with Welsh goodness though as the mag itself also includes a full write-up of Carve’s Mallorca trip with words and photography courtesy of The Gaffer detailing all manner of steaming shenanigans from the trip, as well as an interview with Lloyd about his artwork by Vague mega-lej and honourary Welshman, Dai Jones. Safe to say Issue #33 is guaranteed to stir up more Welsh pride than seeing some bird cry while singing the national anthem. Of course it's not all about us though, there's also all the usual good shit including a new Skate Shop Quotes, interviews with Harrison Woolgar and Nora Vasconcellos, loads of bangin' photos and so much more.

Once Pulley was done reluctantly celebrating his first-ever cover, the time had come for what we’d all made the pilgrimage for: the premiere of Carve Wicked’s latest visual experience, 'Old Skool Nokia'. We’re not gonna spoil too much before the Cardiff premiere but expect plenty of hectic drop-ins from Lloyd, even more footage from Mallorca’s best water park, footage of Pulley’s arsehole-clenching cover, a top-quality soundtrack courtesy of Tuff Pintz and an incredible return to acting for PJ.

After the video, the party naturally gravitated back to the curb outside Kelly’s in an attempt to replicate the homely comfort of Cardiff’s all-night bars. Can smashing quickly descended into scaffold fighting and the boys even managed to coax “Kelly” (whose actual name was Joanne) out from behind the armour glass counter to tape up PJ’s mutilated finger (after punching a can in half went wrong) and even posing for a cheeky picture. Safe to say she seemed pretty grateful for the extra business.

Big shoutout to the boys at Vague and everyone else involved for the hospitality and for putting on such a class event! We’ll be trying our best to recreate the chaos at home in Cardiff this coming Saturday (15th July) so make sure you come down to Callaghan’s to be a part of it - it's free entry, don't worry. We'll be kicking things off from 7PM and there'll be pints, live music, competitions, prizes and loads of other fun stuff for you to enjoy alongside the video, you don't wanna miss it! We'll see you there.

That's enough chit-chat though. Shop all things Carve Wicked at CSC and make sure to swing by the shop to grab yourself a copy of the latest Vague mag before they're gone. Or, find out more about the latest Cardiff-related skateboard events on the CSC Blog. Safe.