Read an exclusive interview with Lev Tanju. Lev paid us a welcome visit the other day and we caught up over a quick interview about current affairs, days gone by, and future projects…
Interviw by Jacob Sawyr. Photo: Sam Ashley
What for you was your favourite time in skateboarding?
Probably the end of the 90’s, I was young and had nothing to do except skate every day. Southbank was all open and the best spot ever, and I just used to chill there for 12 hours a day skating.
Does Southbank still hold any of it’s former magic?
Yeah it does because people are still there holding it down. Sometimes when I go there I see the old magic still happening and I get jeal that i can’t be there all day bunning and playing skate.
Does any one memory stand out of one person completely dominating down there?
I’ve skated SB for a long long time and seen some fucked up shit happen but Chewy is the best person I have ever seen skate that place to date followed by Brophy for actual ability on a skateboard and I’ve seen a lot of people pass through.
That LA edit has had a good reception but there’s been a trip since. Can we expect to see more footage soon?
That’s nice to hear Jake thanks. Yeah we have loads of footage to come later this year and a full length video. We even have a filmer on the motherfucking bankroll! So now me and Morph be filming. We have an Armada of six VHS’ in the Palace. We have been saving footage since we started Palace from the beginning. We’re about to knock First Broadcast off the top spot-hahaha jus’ kidding, not sure about that but there will definitely have never been another London video quite like this. It’s the Gangster version of Jim Greco after dark hammers with all these new riders that nobody knows about. Raw street skateboarding!
There are a few people now riding for Palace that kids don’t even know about. Who should they be looking out for?
You’re gonna see them all dominating in Palace clips to come. You’ll see them all then.
What does 2013 hold for the Palace camp?
Expansion,we’re gonna have the best team on the planet soon, but not in a bait way where you sponsor 1 dude in every country to sell boards. A proper real tight team. We are also gonna make those one leg red, one leg black trousers Garret Hill was running back in the day. Juuuuusst kiiiidin!
Are we gonna be seeing Lev appearances on the streets/ mayor of Southbank status revival?
I’m out here! I was skating SB the other night, me and Rory collided and he broke my nose. Had to kick him off the team now he’s on ICON.
Classic Lev shapes on this Nollie Flip at Southbank. Photo: Sam Ashley
Top 5 London Styles?
Toby Shuall
Clive Daley
Charlie Young
Will Bankhead
Jon Knight
That recent LA edit received some static on the message boards about use of the “N” word? How do you feel about this and why wasn’t there any NWA in the edit?
It would have been so bait to use NWA on an LA edit when you’re white and from London-too obvious. Everything we do is tongue and cheek and a joke and when you’re white and in LA you’re gonna look stupid skating to NWA-It’s just a bit of fun-I don’t care if you think we’re being racist-we’re not, I just wish I was black. hahaha. If people aren’t talking shit on you you’re doing something wrong plus half the people on the message board couldn’t read the difference between altitude and attitude-that’s how stupid these people are-I guess humour is different in England.
How do you feel about more than a couple of companies taking what seems to me to be a direct bite of your companies aesthetic?
I take it as a compliment, that shit’s always gonna happen. If you’re doing something right everybody wants a piece. Ten years after Coca Cola came out a hundred other people were making panda pop cola. If you want to save a few pence for some second rate shit that’s understandable but the people that know, know original is best! That shit tastes better too!
Thanks to Lev for entertaining these questions. Shop here for Palace Skateboards.