Connie Gascoyne – Issue 35 Interview

With Hilda Quick releasing her new video Drafts: Vol.3, featuring a belter of a Connie Gascoyne part we thought it would only be right to publish Connie’s Vague Issue 35 interview by Guy Jones to the web. Find out more about this humble human below! If you would like a physical copy of Issue 35 search one out at your local SOS or order a copy for free here.

Introduction & Interview by: Guy Jones

Photography by: Reece Leung & Ash Wilson

Portrait by: Erin Cooper-Jones

As I’ve gotten to know Connie more over the last few years, it’s clearly apparent how beneficial she is for the skateboarding scene, but also for society. Determination to achieve her goals seems to be one of Connie’s many stand out and positive traits. Have you ever seen that photo of her in The Skateboarder’s Companion where she’s skating that Mancunian DIY? A bleak autumnal day where most people would prioritise keeping their griptape and arms clean, but Connie and her board probably temporarily doubled their weight that day just by being covered in absolute filth. This photo induced a mentality which definitely served as inspiration for the next time I went out skating. Who’s arsed if I fuck my griptape and get covered in shite? The end goal of getting the trick should come first and I feel often it’s easy to lose sight of that. This passion and energy seems to be pertinent to the wonderful person Connie is, who we very much admire.

Hi Connie, first things first – how rad is the glass factory in St Helens?

The glass factory is amazing, last time I went I paid £4 for a glass blowing demonstration and it was the best £4 I’ve ever spent. Go to St Helens for the spots, stay for the glass factory.

I strongly associate you with the M62 and it seemed for a while like you were a freelance shop rider for Note, Welcome and Lost Art, but am I right in saying Lost Art won the bidding war?

Haha, yeah no one really knows where I live because I’m always on the M62. But for real, I just made so many great friends in all those cities so I try to visit them all as much as possible. All those shops have been so supportive, I owe them everything. Mackey asked me to ride for Lost Art not long ago, I still can’t believe it. It’s a literal dream come true. Shout out to the Lost Art family, they are the best people and I’m lucky to be associated with them.

Staying geographically relevant for one moment, you moved up to Manchester from Gloucestershire before coming to Liverpool, right? Was this through studying?

Yes, I moved to Manchester when I was 18. I’m from a tiny rural village and I was super fixated on the idea of moving to Manchester, I had the best time there and that’s where I started skating. Then in 2020 I got accepted into Vet School in Liverpool, moved here and fell so in love with this city. I feel so at home here.

Do you like animals because they’re less likely to tell you that you’re a knobhead/you feel more accomplished earning their love and trust without using verbal language? Could you also talk about your animal-based career goals, if you’d be so kind?

I like animals because they support us humans in so many ways. Whether it’s a dairy cow producing milk or a little yappy dog that keeps an old lady company, they do a lot for us and I just like the idea of having a job where I can help them stay healthy and happy. I’m still undecided on the career direction. I’ll be graduating in 2026 as a vet. I thought I just wanted to work with cats and dogs but I’ve had such a good time on my farm placements, so who knows, maybe I’m a farm girl…

Aren’t you also training to be a St John ambulance first aid responder for events, and haven’t you already started your CV with this at a previous Vans Shop Riot?

Haha yes, St John approved me this week. I always have a first aid kit in my backpack and everyone takes the piss out of it, but I think they are mad for not having one. The only thing that is certain in skating is getting hurt. Also, farms can be really dangerous – I’ve seen a man get hospitalised by a feisty pig. The St John stuff is very tame though, it’s mainly giving out plasters to kids at village fetes.

Dale tells me that before you got your massive rabbits you were trying to get chickens. Is what still on the cards and what do you like about this type of bird?

Ah that’s the dream, to own my own chickens! One day, for now I don’t have the space for them. I love poultry birds so much, I recently became a member of the BVPA (British Veterinary Poultry Association). We meet four times a year to discuss the issues facing chickens, ducks and turkeys and I bloody love it.

I saw that you’ve recently been doing up your roof. Is DIY something you’ve recently got into, or do you just have a general enthusiasm for productivity? Do you feel your efficiency is part down to not boozing and do you also binge on relaxation (tips welcome)?

I have become a bit obsessed with roofing, now that I have started I can’t stop. I replaced all the waterproofing membrane on the back of my house and it was so rewarding. It came out of having a leaky roof and no money to pay a roofer. I have always been into DIY. I grew up watching my dad build everything in our house, and my grandad was an amazing carpenter, so maybe it’s in the family. And yeah I binge on relaxation hard, it usually takes the form of rewatching episodes of Geordie Shore and smashing Diet Cokes.

Do you want to discuss why you stopped drinking? And is your new vice royalist crockery?

Yeah I’m pretty open about it, I had a really bad relationship with alcohol. I basically used it as a coping mechanism when I was younger and not in a great place, I’m thankful to have had good friends around me at that time who helped me realise this. I knew it was all or nothing for me, and I’m proud to say I haven’t had a drop of alcohol for over 6 years. Stopping drinking is the single best thing I have ever done.

And okay, anyone who has been in my house may notice a fair amount of mugs with the royal family on it. It’s because my Stepmum went through a phase of buying them for me whenever she saw one in a charity shop. She’s from Germany and she used to find our silly British culture very amusing. I promise I’m not a royalist!

As an advocate for passing liquid, my sources inform me that you are good at the street piss. Any helpful tips to our readers?

Haha street piss? I like to call it a wild wee personally. I am great at it alright, I won’t deny it. I am pretty addicted to Diet Coke, and they make me need to wee about once every 20 minutes so I have had to learn to accept doing the occasional wild wee. Obviously I would rather use a toilet, but that’s not always possible. These days I’ll do it anywhere – the side of a motorway, behind a bin, in between two parked cars. Recently my poor friends waited for me while I did a piss in the middle of a busy roundabout at 11am on a Wednesday. It’s gotten to the stage where I almost enjoy it, it’s kind of liberating. And if someone driving past sees my bum for a split second, then I say let them see!

Would you like to talk about your Ben Raemers exhibit at Civic’s ‘Street Haunting’ exhibition?

Sure! When Civic said they were organising an art exhibition I knew I wanted to make something for it and I knew I wanted to make something that got people thinking about mental health. Growing up I was, and still am, very close to my dad and two brothers. I was always super aware of the fact that, as men, they lived in a society where they were discouraged from talking about their mental health. That’s crazy to me, because I don’t know how I would have survived being a teenage girl without being able to pour my heart out to my friends. Anyway, I ended up contacting The Ben Raemers Foundation about making a sculpture in collaboration with them, as that charity does a much better job of discussing mental health than I ever could. As part of the piece I made 250 mini vases with a little flower in each and a little card with some resources on it. The idea was you could take one home, and I’m really happy that over the course of the exhibition every single one got taken away.

Your ender in Hilda’s latest video ‘Drafts 3’ sounds wild, but I hear there’s a story in how it almost didn’t go down. Pray tell.

Don’t even get me started. That 48 hours was so cursed. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong! The spot is two hours from us and we never really travel that far for a clip. The weather was meant to be good, but after a while skating the spot we got rained off so Ash, Hilda and I went on a tourist trip to Ironbridge, we visited a bridge museum and had ice cream in the rain. Ali (Watson) was kind enough to let us stay at his house so we could try again the next day. The weather was only forecast to be dry for a couple of hours in the morning on the last day, but as we were about to set off we managed to get ourselves locked out of Ali’s house, meaning no car keys or skateboards – nightmare. The only option was to get a 30 minute taxi to Ali’s work and back, which was going to be dead expensive and time consuming, and we were on a deadline because of the weather. Then I was like, maybe I’ll call a locksmith? I rang four locksmiths, they were all super busy but the fifth one I rang said he could come and do it so things were looking up. While we were waiting three of Ali’s neighbours came out accusing us of trying to break into his house, which to be fair we were. This guy in a van turned up, I thought he was the locksmith so I said, “Thank god you are here!” and he was like, “Umm, I’m the postman?” The locksmith turned up and let us in, so we finally set off. Five minutes before we get to the spot it pissed it down but we had come way too far and spent £60 on a locksmith at this point so, bless my mates, they dried the spot with all our spare hoodies and it did dry up. I got a chance to skate it, took some horrible slams and nearly gave up, but my poor mates had been through far too much at that point and stayed so positive that they helped motivate me to go for it. Eventually we got the clip, absolute saga.

I assume you like filming with Hilda, as you’ve been in several of her flicks. Do you feel more motivated going to film with her in particular, and does travelling to a different city give more incentive to plan or get a trick? I feel on home turf it’s often easier to slip into the ‘I could skate that anytime’ mentality, which often results in less attempts.

Well Hilda is my friend first and a filmer to me second. I have known Hilda before she really started filming and we are very close, so I am super comfortable around her. She’s so easy to film with because it’s very relaxed and there are no expectations. When it comes to filming she always says she’s still learning, and I am certainly still learning how to be a better skater. It’s so relaxed that some days we plan to film then end up just going for a wander around some charity shops and I don’t even step on my board. Saying that, you are right about travelling to skate; if I get the opportunity to skate something I might not get to skate again for another month, I give it some proper effort.

Would you be so kind to recommend absolutely anything?

I would recommend anyone to go to Diggerland (a digger inspired theme park), there are a few around the UK. I promise you won’t regret it.

Any shout outs or words of advice to end this?

So many people to thank, but I’ll keep it short. Shout out to my Dad and Stepmum, who are the best people on the planet. And to Hilda, she doesn’t realise how much she does for our local scene by producing videos and giving shine to us bunch of muppets. I typically don’t like to give advice, I like to take advice.

Drafts: Vol. 3 by Hilda Quick

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