Skate. Rave. Rebel. - Finding Home in Griptape and Basslines

Skate. Rave. Rebel. 

I remember when I first fell in love with skateboarding. I was 9 years old, and my older brother gave me his old setup - a Chocolate deck with a chipped nose and tail. I took it with me everywhere. I'd ride it to primary school and have to stash it in the bushes outside, since I wasn't allowed it. Had it confiscated multiple times during lunch breaks, but I'd always manage to get it back before the bell. 

Then came secondary school. Big school. I was nervous. I was lost. I went from being one of the older kids to one of the youngest. I still took my board with me, it was like a comfort blanket by this point. I remember walking around at lunchtime not knowing where to go, until an older kid noticed me and told me to head to the back tennis courts - that's where the skaters were. 

I recall vividly walking behind the science block to the overgrown courts that the skaters and BMXers had made their own. Kids of all ages mixing together, laughing. I didn’t know anyone yet, but I was welcomed with the love and openness that’s always been part of skate culture. I was home. 

Those were some of the best years of my life. School trousers ripped up from grip tape, chain hanging from my pocket, skating away from teachers down the hallway. Weekends full of watching skate VHS tapes, then heading out to terrorise local spots, or jumping on a train to Bay66 or Reading - skating multi-storey car parks until security chased us down the spiral 'way out'. 

That was my family for years. But after school, people drift. Uni, work, life. We start making our own paths. 

For a while I floated. Travelled. Went job to job. Always felt like something was missing... luckily, I was about to find it. 

I got a last-minute Sunday ticket to a DnB festival where I only knew one person. Little did I know that ticket was about to change my life. When I got there, I had flashbacks to those tennis courts at school. I barely knew anyone - but I was welcomed with the same open arms and love that the rave community is famous for. 

That weekend I met some of my best friends to this day. It’s also the first time I met Kennedy. He won’t remember, but it’s an image burned into my memory: passed out, half in his tent, donning his famous ski suit with the word 'DEBAUCH' stickered across his forehead. Legend. 

The next weekend I was invited to a rave by the crew I met. We got to Bristol, and I remember walking in, feeling the bass coursing through my body, watching all my worries disappear. This was my new temple. 

We went out most weekends after that. Each time, the crew was slightly different, but every night was the best night of our lives. Peace, love, and unity - this was the community I’d been missing. I was home again. I found my tribe. 

Skateboarding gave me family. 

Raving gave me peace. 

And that balance of chaos and connection - that's what Behave Clobber is built on. 

But this isn’t just my story. It’s one that’s played out across playgrounds, skate parks, warehouse dancefloors, and festival campsites for so many of us. 

If you’ve ever felt that same spark then you’re already part of the Behave Crew. 

Behave Clobber is a tribute to those moments.  

The feeling of finding your people. 

The freedom to be a bit feral, a bit kind, a bit lost - but never alone. 

Whether you come from the halfpipe, front left by the speakers, or somewhere in between - you belong here.