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COME-ON! TOM CUTHBERTSON
INTERVIEWED BY: CHOOK WILSON
�There will be no front foot pushing shenanigans in my dojo!�
Where have you been Tommy C? In recent years you have been an illusive man indeed?
Right now I�m living in Phuket, Thailand. I�ve been a here a bit over a year. I originally just came over for a holiday and to stay with my girlfriend. She had been working as a receptionist for a boutique hotel.
photo: @gregsie
And now you work there too?
Yeah, It was the rainy season when I arrived, so there wasn�t much else to do, so I just started helping out with things around the hotel. Nek minute!... I�m running the joint.
It�s not a Benny Bodnaresque boutique hotel by any chance is it?
Nah, from what I�ve heard/seen I�d say Benny spends his time out and about in Phuket�s nightclub/sex district, Patong. I don�t think there are too many Bodnar antics in our hotel; most of our guests are families.
up to 5050 photo: @gregsie
What does your job involve?
A bit of everything; handling bookings, accounts, dealing with on-line agents, buying hotel supplies, paying bills, maintenance and working on my tan by the pool.
What activities could one partake in if visiting your establishment?
It�s pretty mellow, located in a quiet town on the southern tip of Phuket. You can go swimming or snorkeling at the local beaches. There�s plenty of touristy stuff like elephant trekking, snake shows, ATV tours. As far as nightlife, there are a few seedy bars that mainly cater to retired foreigners.
As in big fat, sweaty, creepy dudes in polyester shirts?
There are plenty of them around. There�s also been a recent increase in big Russian guys cruising around in budgie smugglers. I usually just spend my nights eating out and drinking at the local beachfront restaurants as far away from them as possible.
Do you have any Thai skate homies?
There�s a small scene, some of the local guys meet once or twice a week in a car park in Phuket Town and skate a ghetto set-up with a ledge and some flat-bars. I guess the scene here is pretty much on par with what we had growing up in Tassie, only here there are no skateparks. Phuket is in desperate need of one. The locals have been pushing the council for years, but they never have any luck. Local governments can�t really be relied on over here, mainly because of the high levels of corruption within the system. I think the only chance they�d have of getting one would be through private sponsorship or funding.
fsflip photo: @gregsie
You built a ramp a little while back, right?
Yeah, by the second month of being here I was having serious skate withdrawals. The hotel owner owned an international school just up the road. I suggested it to him and he gave the thumbs up and handed over the cash. I began building it in a shelter next to the hotel, with the help of a local Thai carpenter. Then we transported it to the school and built a basic shelter for it to keep the rain out.
From what I�ve seen of your Todd Falconesque footage, it looks pretty good.
It turned out to be a bloody little ripper � 4 foot high and 16 foot wide. I�m pretty happy I can get my shred on everyday now, after schooling the kiddies, and let me tell you, there will be no front foot pushing shenanigans in my dojo!
What about street spots?
There�s a bunch of really good spots here, but it�s never really that easy to skate them. Either they run straight onto a busy road riddled with motorbikes, crowds of people or there�s security to deal with.
Do you ever slip security or the 5-0 some bills to let you keep skating?
Not really, when I skate with the Thai guys, they tend to more respectful of security than westerners might be; they tend to just pack up and leave. That being said, I have managed on quite a few occasions to bribe my way into a spot for a few beers.
manny tre photo: @gregsie
Thailand has a reputation for being crazy�
Yeah, I seen so much crazy stuff it�s hard to know where to start or what I should or shouldn�t mention. On a daily basis, you can�t get much crazier then the motorcyclists on the roads over here. The other day I saw a guy riding with no hands, his mate on the back, with his throttle locked down, all while being deeply involved in his iPad.
What about the things you shouldn�t mention�
They�re seriously too sketchy, but all right here�s a couple that happened in the span of a few days;
*Our night receptionist getting beat the fuck up by 10 masked Burmese guys armed with knives and whacking sticks, all while a busload of terrified Chinese guests arrived for check-in.
*A Burmese suit salesman, acting weird and nervously pacing up and down the street. A few hours later I see him hanging by his neck from a mango tree.
That�s pretty real.
Yeah, and that�s just in the space of a few days.
fs5 photo: @gregsie
Do you eat any of that crazy Thai tucker?
Nothing too crazy, just the usual fried bugs and grasshoppers. The Thais munch them down like potato chips. Last week I was offered a grilled rat, despite how appetizing it looked, I decided to give it a miss.
Do you keep up with Australian skateboarding?
Yeah, mainly through, FB, Instagram and skateboard.com.au, they usually keep me in the loop.
Any plans to return to our shores soon?
Yeah, I�ll definitely be back at some point. There are so many new parks I want to check out, like the new one in St Kilda and the new stuff at Reservoir.
What are your favourite memories from the XEN days?
Damn! There were so many good times. Never a dull moment hanging with that crew. The best memories are just going out skating every day and every night and not having a care in the world.
That was so sweet, TC is one of my favourites - I wish Tristan had a trick or 2 in there though!
I still fan out over all those XEN dudes
be sick if Tristan interview/clip was next, even if it was old footage and a new interview
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TOMMY C INTERVIEW + VID
COME-ON! TOM CUTHBERTSON
INTERVIEWED BY: CHOOK WILSON
�There will be no front foot pushing shenanigans in my dojo!�
Where have you been Tommy C? In recent years you have been an illusive man indeed?
Right now I�m living in Phuket, Thailand. I�ve been a here a bit over a year. I originally just came over for a holiday and to stay with my girlfriend. She had been working as a receptionist for a boutique hotel.
photo: @gregsie
And now you work there too?
Yeah, It was the rainy season when I arrived, so there wasn�t much else to do, so I just started helping out with things around the hotel. Nek minute!... I�m running the joint.
It�s not a Benny Bodnaresque boutique hotel by any chance is it?
Nah, from what I�ve heard/seen I�d say Benny spends his time out and about in Phuket�s nightclub/sex district, Patong. I don�t think there are too many Bodnar antics in our hotel; most of our guests are families.
up to 5050 photo: @gregsie
What does your job involve?
A bit of everything; handling bookings, accounts, dealing with on-line agents, buying hotel supplies, paying bills, maintenance and working on my tan by the pool.
What activities could one partake in if visiting your establishment?
It�s pretty mellow, located in a quiet town on the southern tip of Phuket. You can go swimming or snorkeling at the local beaches. There�s plenty of touristy stuff like elephant trekking, snake shows, ATV tours. As far as nightlife, there are a few seedy bars that mainly cater to retired foreigners.
As in big fat, sweaty, creepy dudes in polyester shirts?
There are plenty of them around. There�s also been a recent increase in big Russian guys cruising around in budgie smugglers. I usually just spend my nights eating out and drinking at the local beachfront restaurants as far away from them as possible.
Do you have any Thai skate homies?
There�s a small scene, some of the local guys meet once or twice a week in a car park in Phuket Town and skate a ghetto set-up with a ledge and some flat-bars. I guess the scene here is pretty much on par with what we had growing up in Tassie, only here there are no skateparks. Phuket is in desperate need of one. The locals have been pushing the council for years, but they never have any luck. Local governments can�t really be relied on over here, mainly because of the high levels of corruption within the system. I think the only chance they�d have of getting one would be through private sponsorship or funding.
fsflip photo: @gregsie
You built a ramp a little while back, right?
Yeah, by the second month of being here I was having serious skate withdrawals. The hotel owner owned an international school just up the road. I suggested it to him and he gave the thumbs up and handed over the cash. I began building it in a shelter next to the hotel, with the help of a local Thai carpenter. Then we transported it to the school and built a basic shelter for it to keep the rain out.
From what I�ve seen of your Todd Falconesque footage, it looks pretty good.
It turned out to be a bloody little ripper � 4 foot high and 16 foot wide. I�m pretty happy I can get my shred on everyday now, after schooling the kiddies, and let me tell you, there will be no front foot pushing shenanigans in my dojo!
What about street spots?
There�s a bunch of really good spots here, but it�s never really that easy to skate them. Either they run straight onto a busy road riddled with motorbikes, crowds of people or there�s security to deal with.
Do you ever slip security or the 5-0 some bills to let you keep skating?
Not really, when I skate with the Thai guys, they tend to more respectful of security than westerners might be; they tend to just pack up and leave. That being said, I have managed on quite a few occasions to bribe my way into a spot for a few beers.
manny tre photo: @gregsie
Thailand has a reputation for being crazy�
Yeah, I seen so much crazy stuff it�s hard to know where to start or what I should or shouldn�t mention. On a daily basis, you can�t get much crazier then the motorcyclists on the roads over here. The other day I saw a guy riding with no hands, his mate on the back, with his throttle locked down, all while being deeply involved in his iPad.
What about the things you shouldn�t mention�
They�re seriously too sketchy, but all right here�s a couple that happened in the span of a few days;
*Our night receptionist getting beat the fuck up by 10 masked Burmese guys armed with knives and whacking sticks, all while a busload of terrified Chinese guests arrived for check-in.
*A Burmese suit salesman, acting weird and nervously pacing up and down the street. A few hours later I see him hanging by his neck from a mango tree.
That�s pretty real.
Yeah, and that�s just in the space of a few days.
fs5 photo: @gregsie
Do you eat any of that crazy Thai tucker?
Nothing too crazy, just the usual fried bugs and grasshoppers. The Thais munch them down like potato chips. Last week I was offered a grilled rat, despite how appetizing it looked, I decided to give it a miss.
Do you keep up with Australian skateboarding?
Yeah, mainly through, FB, Instagram and skateboard.com.au, they usually keep me in the loop.
Any plans to return to our shores soon?
Yeah, I�ll definitely be back at some point. There are so many new parks I want to check out, like the new one in St Kilda and the new stuff at Reservoir.
What are your favourite memories from the XEN days?
Damn! There were so many good times. Never a dull moment hanging with that crew. The best memories are just going out skating every day and every night and not having a care in the world.
Bombzigty. 16:40 19/Jun/13
That was so sweet, TC is one of my favourites - I wish Tristan had a trick or 2 in there though!
yamumsyadad 23:09 19/Jun/13
I still fan out over all those XEN dudes
be sick if Tristan interview/clip was next, even if it was old footage and a new interview
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