Alex Campbell – The 4 Skateboard Company In Good Company (2011)

If you want to get noticed in skateboarding you have to come hard from the start.

Alex Campbell knew this when he opened In Good Company by Australian brand The 4 Skateboard Company. I had never heard of Alex before but suddenly I wanted more. He was on my radar and I kept my eyes peeled for any future sightings.

Why? Well, Alex skates with power. His tricks are done at speed, his energy seems relentless and his demeanour is all business. You get the impression following Alex with a camera is a cardio workout and a test of nerves at the same time. A lot of tricks are done down hills and if they are not down hills then they are done at the speed of bombing down hills. The backside lipslide across a concrete ledge, through the steep kink and them some is a good example.

The opening line performed on unforgiving asphalt and topped with a 360 flip is brazen to say the least. In the shade of a corridor Alex launches over a big bench – not a Euro/US bench, a hench Aussie bench made of wood and concrete. Then he stomps a half cab flip and then frontside noseslides the top of another of the aforementioned big benches. Alex clears almost 5 feet coming out straight from his noseslide! Finally, the downhill line to lock into a backside tailslide atop a step ledge is exactly what a lot skaters weren’t doing in 2011. Alex does it twice.

Forgive me for not knowing who Alex Campbell was before In Good Company dropped. That’s what comes from living on the other side of the world. But I sure as hell know now and I’m always on the look out for more.

I was actually looking for a clever gangster quote along the lines of coming out all guns blazing to describe Alex’s skating but I couldn’t find one. Instead I’ll settle for Frank White opening statement to fellow gangsters repositioning himself at the top of the table in King Of New York.

“From now on, nothing goes down unless I’m involved. No blackjack, no dope deals, no nothing. A nickel bag gets sold in the park, I want in. You guys got fat while everybody starved on the street. Now it’s my turn.”