James Cliff
Age; 33
Sponsors; Omni Boards Australia, Totally Board skate shop Ulladulla.
Set-up; Omni Team deck 7.8, Independent trucks, Omni ABEC 5 bearings, Omni 53mm wheels.
Live; Ulladulla NSW
Years skating; 15 (about 5,000 k’s)
First skate experience; I used to muck around on banana boards and other K-Mart boards. In 1988, age 13 we took a family trip to Sydney to visit cousins. Two of them skated, one had a Rodney Mullin “Freestyler” the other had a Caballero. When I rode those boards is when I found my connection with skating. Bombing hills, grinding gutters and bench slides. I begged my parents for a better board, but they thought my K-Mart board was just fine. By the time I got back from holidays I had enough money to mail order from a magazine called “Skateboard Australia” I got the Lester Kasai model. After that I got a Hosoi
Skating rapidly took over my life, from 13 years of age. I lived in a small town just north of Townsville Qld. There wasn’t much to do except skate. I introduced skating all around there and after a while had a Krew. We spent most of our teen years shredding as much as possible, I also got a taste of skating Sydney and needed more. My parents let me spend every Christmas holidays skating Sydney, staying with what ever relative would have me. Through those trips I met Mona Vale locals Tim Ford, Daniel McKweon and Mark Sneddon. We skated together a lot. I also met many of the Mona Vale Vert krew, many of whom were riding for Omni.
I spent many hours just watching the vert ramp at Mona’s from the dominant local shredders to all the top American pros. 89 – 93….. so inspiring…
In 93 I moved to Sydney permanently and dreamed about skating for a living, I became focused on street skating, although the Terry Hills and Fairfield mini ramps were also favorite spots. I picked up a small sponsor, “The Surf Co” Warriewood. Trips to the city to skate more frequent, hitting spots such as the Prudential double set, the Pit and Darling harbour.
Around ‘95’ was when skating went sour for me. The small wheel, big pants stage had been around for ages. Street skating was split in two with the tech flip skaters and the stair, handrail, gap skaters. I was the latter. But the gaps got bigger, the stairs got longer, and my injury list grew. Fractures, ligaments, stitches, scabs that never healed and the torture of bruised heals over and over again. I forgot about why I skated in the first place and lost the feeling I used to get from skating. The party circuit became my new lifestyle.
‘96” I just drifted from job to job, party to party, trouble to trouble, searching, surfing a bit, nothing life changing, not like skating.
Late ‘96’ I ended up in Ulladulla, and in 2001 I stumbled across Ulladulla skate park and gave it a ride.
I did a rock n slide to fakie in the big bowl and the feeling I used to crave and had lost, returned like a punch in the nose.
The fun was back and I skated until I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
Soon after I met Omni Boards founder Cary Pogson. He took me on in his factory making decks. I learned about board construction and other skate related subjects. After a few years Australian deck manufacturing became unviable and over seas production was sort.
In the follow few years many things happened to me. I took a skate coaching clinic, Married my wife Jodie, had our first child together, Ebony.
My skating dog Monty made small appearances in a few video productions. I met and made many great friends and skated my arse off. More recently I became Omni Boards Team manager.
I owe a lot to many people for finding skating again, especially my wife Jodie who supported me from the start with my born again skater rampage….
I still get frustrated sometimes when I can’t get a trick I want, or just when I skate sub par. But now I remember why I started skating…. For the fun, it must be respected.