Aussie State of Mind: Girl Does It Down Under Article
8/03/2023
Three Canadians, six Yanks, and one ex-pat ventured to Australia to join two Aussies, one of whom had a nice surprise in store. We landed in Sydney, spent a few days ripping about and getting acclimated. Next was Newcastle, home to Rowan Davis, where an intimate viewing of his latest Thrasher part was planned.
Rowan made it into the big leagues the old fashion way—pure fuckin' ripping. This part proved it
Rowan was well aware of his video part, he actually edited it himself. While he was being a bit bashful, he knew the screening was happening, but he was clueless as to what the afterparty agenda included. Thanks to the incredible crew of Newy locals, a coordinated scheme was in place to reveal Rowan’s pro-model Girl deck at video’s end. Immediately after his last trick, a quick cut to black; his first board graphic appeared on screen. The hoons hollered, piss (beer) was sprayed, McCrank lifted Row to his shoulders as the team leapt from backstage with Rowan Davis boards held high! Rowan appeared a little misty eyed, while his mum and dad smiled wide.
A tour told in four parts with heartwarming homie clips between the street action, this is Crailtap's sweet spot
The art of the opener, Sean Malto kicks it off with a marathon nose manny nollie flip
Simon flies a high FSA for fans of all ages
After a couple days in Newy enjoying Rowan’s local Civic Center, we were bound for Canberra. It being winter in OZ, Australians were bundled up in puffy coats and dining under heat lamps whenever possible. While it was merely a brisk 70 degrees in Newy, they all warned us Canberra gets “bone cold.” We should be concerned. While it might have dropped a good ten degrees, it was totally manageable for our guys. At the famed Cardiel Brick Banks hoodies came off after a couple carves.
Tyler Pacheco bigspin back tails in Canberra. If only his “Boyz n the Hood” karaoke performance was as clean
Civic is like Rowan’s EMB, only skating is actually permitted and encouraged by the museum on site. Griffin had all the time he needed for this technical maneuver. No Walrus Man or security to interrupt the grind-to-grind flow
The ever-accommodating Newy locals made sure we had a skateable rail for McCrank to front board. They propped it up and secured it the day of our arrival
Our demo in Albury drew a crowd, with some attendees driving in from as far as Sydney. I couldn’t help but notice a good deal of the spectators skewed a fair bit older than the usual groms thirsty for product and autographs. As demo fury started to calm, they approached with DVD copies of Yeah Right!, T-shirts they saved from high-school and Thrasher mags with McCrank on the cover. These guys grew up with Girl. After they gushed about the memories of their adolescence, they reassured us they were still the biggest fans today and that our current crew properly reflects our legacy. They were totally cool, and respectfully didn’t dominate the product toss.
Only the first turn on this half-a-block-long wallride wave. Simon surfs it all
Strictly top-shelf 50-50 for Breana. Missed seeing this live, because I was getting a meat pie. Delicious, with beef and gravy. Breana’s vegetarian. Damn, I should’ve been there
Melbourne was our last stop—a familiar city for most of the crew. After two weeks on the road we sought out comfort food and the bars we knew. After a late night, back at the hotel I jumped on IG to see my friend Javier Nunes was also in Australia on the NY State of Mind tour with Nas and Wu-Tang in tact.
This was Rowan’s last photo as an amateur. While this gap to 50-50 in Sydney looks like the work of a professional, his welcome to the pro ranks actually came one day later
Checking their tour dates, I realized they were performing in Melbourne the very last night of our tour. I messaged Javs and he confirmed he would be there and could line up 13 tickets. The next morning, the team was elated with the news. Not only did we make it in, but we were treated to VIP access, up front and beside the stage: the perfect place for us to rap along with Nas, represent Wu and cap the trip with an epic night… together.
Who got the scoop on the wallie alley-oop? Simon rotates 180 over both rails. This tour needs an encoure
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