Following the re:deckorate exhibition at the start of 2018 we kept in touch with several of the artists and skateboarders involved.
From this we have collaborated with Glasgow skateboarder and illustrator—Phil Wilson.
With a few months of back and forth Phil created a design that we were all super hyped on!
Along with a large donation of some BRAND NEW ( Un Skated Popsicle boards! Thankyou very much for the donation!!!) We spent the next couple of weeks learning to screenprint on Skateboards (A process that is not as easy or simple as it sounds) and created 25 Yellow skateboards hand drawn, hand made and hand printed.
We had our trusty cameraman and Friend Kashif Saghaar documenting the whole process to bring you the promo video and the product pictures.
The Philson X re:ply boards and Tees are available here on our website with 50% of the earnings going to SkatePal.
Designs—Phil Wilson.
Video/Photos—Kashif Saghaar.
Additional Photos—Codeword Zebra
Interview—re:ply Skateboards
How long have you been Skateboarding?
Over 20 years now. I got my first board when I was 3 and was obsessed with it, then I stopped for a few years and started again in primary 6. I haven’t taken a break since then.
Where has this taken you?
Geographically, I’ve been a few places in Europe skating with my friends. Personally, it’s largely responsible for the friends group I have and my approach to life in general.
How did you get into illustration?
I’ve always been into drawing since I was a kid and it’s grown from there. I have a degree in computer animation but patched that nerd-fest in favour of illustrating for fun rather than work. Since then I’ve been painting and illustrating various daft shit that pops into my head.
How would you best describe your artistic style?
I wouldn’t really know how to,it’s cartoony I guess.I like to illustrate for fun and hope that translates into what I do.
I’m inspired mostly by skateboard artwork, particularly the early Blind stuff. I’m stoked on artists like Todd Francis, Joan Cornella, Michael Sieben and Todd Bratrud.
Do you think there is an important correlation between skateboarding and creativity?
I guess there has to be, most of the dudes I skate with do something creative on the side. I’m actually struggling to think of a skater who doesn’t paint/edit/film/photograph or something else. There’s definitely a correlation, if your brain is fucked enough that you decide to skate then I guess there’s bound to be more weird shit in there too.
How did you get involved with re:ply?
I’ve known Danny for years now and love what re:ply represents. After making a board for the Skatepal exhibition re:ply put on at the start of the year, Danny asked me if I’d like to do a colab. I was really stoked on the event and jumped at the chance.
Can you tell us the meaning behind the colab illustration ?
I’ve always loved the challenge of drawing hands, it’s a total nightmare but that’s part of the fun. The re:ply colab represents the hands on, DIY approach of the brand and the physical manipulation of 3D space within skateboarding.
Can you explain the whole process and the past 6 months?
The process has been a lot of fun, Danny had very few design specifications so I was pretty much free to do my own thing. I always try and use yellow in my illustration work and have a theory that the brighter your board is, the faster your eye will catch it as it flips, hence the bright yellow board. It’s been really rad to see the design from concept all the way to the final product, I loved helping out in the re:ply workshop and getting to screen print for the first time. Like any creative endeavour, there’s been difficult moments and setbacks but the whole thing has been super fun and I’d love to do more things like this in the future.
What happened to Kashif?
Kashif Saghar is one of the best human beings I’ve ever met. I know I’m not alone in this thought. He had been filming a promo video for the colab and doing all the product photos. Just before the editing process was set to start he took a pretty bad slam resulting in stay at hospital and a brain injury. Thankfully he’s on the mend now and taking things easy. Shout out to the Glasgow skateboarding community for having his back, hooking him up with a new board for the wall and some coin while he’s recovering. Can’t wait to see him back in the streets filming and look forward to his full length skate video! Get well soon homie.
What are your plans for the future: In skateboarding? In Art ? In Life?
My life is great at the moment, I’m starting a new job soon which will give me time to focus on my illustration work and other things I want to do. I want to create a collection of illustrations to make a small zine or exhibition at some stage too. Also looking forward to the next re:ply/ skatepal exhibition and designing another board for that. With skating, I plan to get out as much as possible and to stop being a shitebag.
