Farnborough
is a small commuter town about 40 miles from London. The Fboro Massive
are a small group of friends from Farnborough, and this is their
story.
Back
in 1997, the only two members of the now Fboro Massive who had never
been inliners (Blakey and Seen) were talking about an episode of
the 11 oclock Show that had been on the night before. On that show
was a character named Ali G, who has since become a major league
british comedy talent.
Inspired
by the character and his gang named 'the Staines Massive,' and wanting
to start their own version of the Ashot Ghetto, they came up with
the Fboro Massive. (See how we steal our ideas).
The
original members were all skateboarders who frequented farnborough
regularly: Seen, Blakey, Jez, Metal, Bart, Ben, Matt, Dave, Adam
and Mike. About a year later, a new recruit, Mole, was initiated
into the Massive.
Now
11 strong, the massive did sod all other than skate and drink for
a couple of years.
By
2000, Dave and Ben had given up skating, Matt had slowed down considerably,
and Mole had moved to Wales. Not all was bleak though, as word of
the massive was spreading, and we had two more recruits, in the
forms of Dunk and Nutbag.
In
recruiting Dunk, the massive opened its arms to the world of bmx.
We had many rider mates, but Dunk had broken us down to become an
official member.
Rumours
had surfaced that the Council were discussing the possibility of
Farnborough getting a skatepark, so one rainy day in late 2000,
Blakey and Seen went to the council to see what was up.
Nothing
was.
We
left our details with the council and went home.
In
may 2001, after Merlin broke Blakeys shin for him. Blakey decided
to spend his recovery time completely remaking the Fboro Massive
website that Ben had started but never quite managed to make worthwhile.
Together with Seen, they made the site that was the backbone of
the Farnborough scene. Small and for a laugh at first, soon it would
become very handy indeed.
Two
months later Blakey and Seen got an email from Andy Ford at Rushmoor
Borough Council about a meeting to discuss a new skatepark in Farnborough.
Delighted that someone had finally taken notice, the massive went
o meet the councillors.
They
were told that Lottery funding was to be sought after, and that
a club may have to be formed as part of the application. In response
to that they said 'Weve already got one.'
Although
technically the Massive was not a official club, they told the councillors
that they were to rush things along. They gave details about the
massive, and the website address to the Youth Projects Officer that
they met, Simon Venn.
After
a few meeting with Simon, the Massive appeared in no less than 3
local newspapers and a magazine, and became a local phenomenon (sic),
to the point where they started to get recognised on the streets,
in pubs and all sorts of places, on or off their boards / bikes.
Young
hopefuls beckoned 'Can I be in the Fboro Massive?' It started to
go beyond a joke. A name that a couple of skaters came up with one
day was becoming recognised by a community. So much so, that a few
of the newer skaters in Farborough, dubbed 'the Fboro Minis' started
their own crew and website, and are still going. A smaller group,
known only as the 'F-Boyz' were about for a short while also. Three
crews in one small town without a park.
On
Halloween night 2001, at the now famous HELLoween party, the latest
member of the Massive, Rich, was initiated in the way that all new
members are, by doing a Stuntman, but using gin instead of
tequila. Brave indeed. Now back to ten full members, the Massive
were stronger than ever.
A
few days earlier,on the 23rd of October 2002, after several meetings,
and after it had been decided that an official skateboarding and
bmx club for Rushmoor had to be started, a 'meeting' in the pub
gave birth to Regiment 36.
It
was decided that the Fboro Massive, as popular and well-known that
it was, should remain a locals-only deal. It started out as a group
of mates, and thats how it would remain. Regiment 36 would take
over as the coucil-backed club that would be the first of its kind
in the uk.
One
year on, in October 2002, the word of Regiment 36 has grown. It
has a database of 200 interested members, has hosted 2 successful
competitions, been present at a number of events, and appeared in
several publications.
As
for the Fboro Massive, the ten core members still skate or ride
regularly, and our group of honourary members is bigger than ever.
At the time of writing this, the park which theyve worked for for
two years is two weeks away from being completed, the website (version
4) you have the current pleasure of viewing is well into its second
year and averaging over 200 hits a week, and their first full-length
video: 'Come This Far' is about to be released.
Not
bad for a bunch of skaters.
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