Lodge Guest, Jim Langran

What is your name ? Jim Langran

Where do you live and where are you from ? Birmingham, UK. Born and bred.

What size set up do you currenltly ride ? 8.5 deck, 58mm wheels.

Any sponsors ? Ride SkateShop, in Coventry.

Family status ? Firmly single.

School, work or both ? Work, managing a bar.

How is a great normal day looking for you ? ( start from morning til late night) I work late, so I’m usually up late. I usually grab food and coffee around 11am, then work until around 6pm. The local vert ramp is really close by, so I skate there most evenings. Finish skating at 10pm, grab some more food and a beer, skate home.

Tell us how a good long weekend is looking for you Usually if I take time off from work it’s to get to a skate event. I usually try to arrive a few days before the contest, see a bit of the city, get used to the ramp, etc.

How is your fall coming along and how has it been so far ? This autumn’s been full of events and great skating. We raised funds to get the vert ramp in Birmingham re surfaced, and the sessions there are crazy now. Been lucky enough to attend a bunch of comps around Europe, and of course the UK vert series events.

Any projects you got going you wanna talk about ? We’re hoping to host a vert jam in Birmingham mid-December, details to be released shortly, with the aim of raising funds to further improve the ramp

Do you read books ? if so, what do you read ? I studied languages at university but don’t get much opportunity to practice, so I like to read as much as I can to keep them fresh. Currently going back through Nada, by Carmen Laforet.

Who are you hanging out with at the moment ? Our regular sessions right now are huge, too many people to mention. But I skate most with Paul Atkins, Chris Harris, Dave Allen,Jesse Thomas and Joe Atkins

Tell us about the great crew you are bringing to the session next time… The next session is gonna be tonight, Paul Atkins, Chris Harris, the Worcester boys, maybe Led dyadic some other heads from Oxford, and Leon Adams if we’re lucky

How great is your crew really end of the day ? We’re super lucky to have the ramp and the skaters we have. 4/5 sessions a week, 15 skaters deep at times.

Do you plan any fall or winter skatemissions ? There’s talk of a trip to China at the end of November, but I still need to sort my visa. Then we’ve got the comp at creation, and that’s about it until the new year.

Who and what is your motivation at the moment ? Everyone I skate with on a regular basis, who’ve been going at it for years, even through the shitty UK winter. I love the idea of finding new tricks on vert, and that’s my main mission at the moment. Not necessarily super difficult stuff, just new stuff.

How do you think your future will look like ? Hopefully it will feature skating for as long as possible. Watching older friends who are struggling with injury but still staying involved with the scene has been encouraging.

What else is going on ? Work occupies a lot of my time, but I get to work with a really interesting group of people, so I don’t mind that

What do you do besides skateboarding ? Not enough! Reading books, seeing friends, drinking beer.

What is your to go to resturants ? I try to cook as much as possible, but I’m becoming more and more a slave to Deliveroo. Preferably something spicy.

Whats your top 3 favorite meals ? Mac’n’Cheese – steak – curry

Whats your top 3 favorite drinks ? Coffee, beer, water

How do you see the future of skateboarding ? I don’t think it’ll ever really change. People are always going to enjoy rolling down the street on a board. Even if the industry becomes unrecognizable nothings going to change that

Do you you have other hobbys besides skateboarding ? Skating has kind of taken over my brain, to be honest. Traveling and learning languages is something I’ve always enjoyed, and skating helps me to do that more and more.

Who do we need to interview on the lodge ? Sean Goff, Dave Allen, Andy Scott, if you can track him down

Last Question…what you got ? Just learnt laybacks the other day. Would like to try and see what variations of that would be possible

Come on, tell us a slippery story. R.I.P Hank the big red dog

Thank you to ? Jim the Skin, Sean Goff and all the locals at Epic/Creation. Jesse and his family for letting me tag along to all skate sessions this year