Rider Update - James Woodley
Skateboarding was my life from 8 years old and it came to an end when I was 20 in 2006.
It was all I did day in day out, until alcohol started to consume me. For years I got away with live fast attitude, but it started catching up with me in my late teens when I realised I couldn’t skate without having a few beers!
The thing is that the booze would turn me into a complete prick and I didn’t know when to stop and when I new I should stop I couldn’t. The final straw was when I was on a third foot big push tour put on by document magazine In 2006, it all started so well but when I picked up an injury half way through it meant I couldn’t skate so all I did was get wasted and with that came me upsetting a lot of people which then came me getting chucked off the tour and consequently losing my sponsors which then led to me eventually getting into so much trouble, I got sent to jail in 2008 all through alcohol.
From going to jail in 2008 I learnt so a lot but still had more failures in me, an outsider looking in would say surely he can see alcohol is fucking him up! After losing my mom in 2010 I started my journey into recovery, and In 2013 I had my daughter Olivia-Kaye who completely changed my life, I should be dead and class myself as extremely lucky and I’m very grateful to be alive.
After some ups and downs over the next few years things started to settle even more and in 2019 my brother Vaughan baker sent me a board and some trainers and after 12 years off not skateboarding we met up at a local park and had a roll it was amazing.
Short lived as this was in October and the weather soon changed and winter was on us! I didn’t skate again then until April 2020 in lockdown and since then I haven’t had longer than a week off, it’s the fucking best!
I’ve met up with so many friends that I haven’t seen for so long and people have been really looking after me which Is so overwhelming! I’ve missed skateboarding so much and it’s like the passion is there again, it’s totally different skating sober ha ha it hurts more and it’s a lot harder but that’s the way it is. Much love to all my brothers and sisters forever xxx