Jude Harrison ‘DAYRATE’ Video & Interview by Al Hodgson

After kindly letting us host Dan Fisher-Eustance’s part, Jude Harrison’s full visual masterpiece ‘DAYRATE’ is now live and anyone who is a fan of exquisite filming, choice spots and a broad cast of charming skateboard enthusiasts will no doubt be rejoicing and pressing play several times well into the future.

Featuring Dillon Catney, Eddie Da Rocha, Luka Pinto, Jakob Icke, Jamie Manning, Harrison Woolgar, Evan Johnson, Cal Dawson, Vlad Kalynin, Joel Banner, Joshua Mason, Isaac Gale, Finn Mccormick, Jasper Pegg, Dan Fisher-Eustance, Dougie George, KJ Thomas, Danny Abel, Conor Charleson, Daniel Tabakin, Cass Doig, Greg Conroy, Zane Crowther, Olivier Durou, Al Hodgson, Andréa Dupré, Pat Coghlan, Rocco Brivati, Harrison Marshall, Albie Edmonds, Tom Delion & Tim DeBauche.

Enjoy the interview conducted by Al Hodgson and photos from during the filming process taken by Jude, Chris Dale & Reece Leung. A huge thanks to Jude and everyone involved in this banging project.

You’ve contributed to a lot of projects the past few years (Serious Adult, LP, Baglady, Dan Fisher Eustance’s ‘Rotating Asset’ and ‘Centrifuge’ parts, O.W.L projects, and even a couple clips for HEADZ) but ‘DAYRATE’ is your first personal project since you moved to London, right?

Yeah mate, the first project I have had creative control over since moving into London. 

Before that it was all Tunbridge Wells scene projects like ‘CONSTANT SEEKER’, ‘IJWTTBT’, ‘FOUR’, etc.? 

Yep pretty much! 

I guess that’s a good place to start actually. You grew up in Royal Tunbridge Wells, a town with a deep and surprisingly prolific skate output the past 20 years. Tell us a little bit about what it was like growing up in that microcosm with the skate history it has. 

T wells gets a pretty bad (and good) rep depending on who you chat to. Focusing on its skate scene, it’s sick. I feel like it’s pretty rare for a small town (with very little in the way of legit spots) to have had such a thriving scene for such a long time. I started skating the same month the last skate shop closed down. I’m pretty sure there were three at one point. So as much as I heard tales, growing up skating there I never experienced having that hub that some of the older lot would have experienced. My early memories of skating in Twells are finding curbs on a slight incline with my best pal Toby Raj and calling it a bank to ledge. I really loved that period.

You were pretty obsessed with your local skate history when I met you (which is saying something coming from me…) Do you feel as strongly about it these days? 

No I don’t, but I think it’s a natural curve as I was SO OBSESSED with my local skate history at one point, I think it was borderline unhealthy to be honest haha. It’s great to know your stuff and to appreciate the people that paved the way before you but I was on some dumb stuff in my teenage years. I remember watching ‘Trust Thy Crust’ over and over and over again. I can’t listen to any of the tunes that feature in that video now because I can hear the tricks in my head. It’s important to note that I’m still stoked on the local history, I just have other interests too now.

Who are some T Wells skaters or scene figures (past and present) that you feel deserve a shoutout? And any videos that stand out to you? 

Again shoutout Harry G, always. There are loads of dope edits to choose from, but Red Brick Rascals is probably the best. Also, shoutout Cass Doig for being one of the best, if not the best skaters to have come from skating Twells. I love Cass & footage of him is gold dust. Alex Malcolm obviously too, I really bonded with him filming for ‘Constant Seeker’. Lots of late nights trying to skate really shit ‘spots’. Danny Abel has always been a prominent local figure and he’s still tearin’ semi-locally, so big up. Last one, Ali Drummond’s nollie frontside flip. Need I say more? 

Other than having the best manual pad and bank spot in the South East, do you think growing up skating in a town that’s somewhat limited spot-wise made your perception of what constitutes a ‘spot’ quite, shall we say, liberal?

Yes. But boy have I had fun with it. I think this is maybe my favourite part about making a skate video. Going for a wander on a rainy day, exploring every nook and cranny the area has to offer, and I mean every nook and cranny, leaving no red brick unturned looking for that gentle incline. My friend Noah was saying to me the other day that someone told him a story of when I’d taken them to a spot and we arrived and they were literally like “Mate, where is the spot?” haha. It’s all part of the fun though, and I’m stoked that a bunch of my crap ideas have made it into clips over the years.

Long live the ‘Jude Spot’. Has that persisted since you’ve moved to London? And did it play into filming for your latest project?

I found it so hard to find spots that I really liked when I first moved to London. I knew the crust was there, I just didn’t know how to find it yet. I filmed mainly at St. Pauls or Fenchurch when I used to travel into the city, so I was stoked to finally wander into the estates and backstreets of SE London and stumble across red brick banks. This video has mostly been filmed in the past 6 months and I’ve tried to keep it all within cycling distance of my gaff in Deptford haha. This makes it feel more local. If you limit yourself to a few postcodes you can find some pretty dope stuff. As I’ve gotten older, my view on spots has changed. I still love a shit spot, I’m just a bit more realistic now. 

On that note, down to business. ‘DAYRATE’. You’ve been working on this on the side for quite a while right? Since before you even moved to London? Did freelance work and other skate projects make it hard to put solid time into it? 

Yeah, this has been something I came back to now and again for maybe 3 years. I got hyped on it again in October or December last year, filming at SB with Evan Johnson, and that gave me the kick up the arse to finish it. It’s been practically impossible to make with my schedule and it’s a miracle I have a finished piece. When I say my schedule, there is no schedule. I’m freelance, in two bands and making a photozine series now too, whilst trying to find time to play Minecraft with my girlfriend haha. I have been filming loads of skating, just not for my video. 

Am I right in thinking you tore something in your knee while filming for it as well? 

I fractured something in my foot and had a little meniscus tear, I believe was the diagnosis. Shoutout Aref for getting me skating again. That was actually the day before my birthday and it fucking sucked. Chris Dale wheeled me into A&E on my board as people stood and laughed and filmed me on their phone. I was trying to Jake Harris-style pop up a curb mid-line and my board had no tail and zero grip left so I just totally slipped off.

And you’ve had some pretty bad luck with cameras too…? 

You could say that haha. I have pretty terrible luck when it comes to kit in general. I have gone through loads of VXs, I couldn’t tell you exactly how many different VX1000s I used during the filming of DAYRATE because it’s been an on and off project. I remember getting out of the car at a spot with Dan Fisher and taking the VX out of the bag only to find that the camera had internally broken on the journey. On the last filming session for DAYRATE last week the microphone got ripped off, I have used audio from a different trick in the clip. I still get bummed when it goes wrong but it’s to be expected with how close I’m usually filming. I have two VX1000s left, both with unique problems that I put up with. 

So all in all, it’s been a bit of a journey… 

I would say so. 

Did you have any influences with this project in particular? 

Not massively, but I will say I re-edited the entire video (the version it is now) after watching about 20 seconds of Quentin Guthrie’s edit ‘NEXT’. It got me really hyped that day for some reason. I think he’s my favourite filmer, and he’s also been really supportive of me, so big shoutout. I have all the usual suspect influences of an aspiring cutty VX filmer. Zach Sayles’ ‘VEIL’ video is incredible. Frank O’Donnell released a video called ‘People Move With Their Hands’ which featured a bunch of homies from Twells amongst other UK dons. I really liked that video and it made a big impact on my malleable brain at a young age, I was revisiting it a bunch whilst putting together DAYRATE. 

And do you have any favourite clips and/or funny stories from filming? 

Dillon Catney’s trick on the New Cross L shaped spot is in my top 3. I am so hyped to film with Dill and very pleased to have him open the video along with the Jersey kings Luka Pinto and Eddie Da Rocha. My memory is pretty vague for funny moments, but one that was pretty jokes was getting into an argument with this lady at this brick toblerone spot in Surrey Quays. Luka was trying a trick and she came out on smoke, threatened to get the locals on us and tried to take my VX. She then proceeded to say that she’s on medication and is going back to take more and get more crazy. We left without the clip & the tape glitched so bad I couldn’t capture any of the footage. Gave me Tunbridge Wells vibes of being kicked out. Another honourable mention would be the 4 hours Pat Coghlan and I spent in the rain trying the hippy jump to kickflip. Looking back that was really funny, he tried the whole time whilst rocking a plastic bag hanging out his back pocket. My back really hurt after that one. 

The structure of the video had evolved quite a bit since it began if I remember correctly? Weren’t you originally planning on an integrated video, one part VX and the other HPX? 

Yeah, I made a trailer with my housemate at the time too. He’s a very talented animator and I wanted to do a collaborative video where a Slap Forum character would pop up and talk shit on the video in real time. It was going to feature footage in both 16×9 HD and 4×3 VX. I think I stopped it originally because I broke that HPX at Baysixty6 hahah. The video was going to be called ‘Stain’. 

Do you still intend to make the HPX video? 

4×3 HD is my next move. Taking after the videos Quentin has been making for Butter / New Balance Numeric. I can’t financially afford to keep the VX1000 going continuously for another project right now. 

Looking forward to seeing that. Am I right in thinking Dan’s DAYRATE part was originally going to be a solo project? 

Yes, we set out to make a part to be released on its own after filming for ‘Rotating Asset’ together. We spent loads of time together for that one and I was stoked on the footage we were getting. Sometimes shit just doesn’t go to plan, and after a while it just seemed to make more sense to release Dan’s footage along with my personal video. Dan’s part compliments DAYRATE really nicely and vice versa. 

Makes sense, it does work really well to tie the video together. Talking of Dan – the question I’m sure many have wondered – was the dual heelflip premeditated, or spur of the moment? 

Dan has a really good bad heel flip and a really good good heel flip. He planned that line out and I think it’s amazing. 

Any shoutouts/thanks you wanna give? 

Shoutout you mate, you have been so helpful time and time again especially with this project. Shoutout to my girlfriend Hani for putting up with my bullshit and crazy schedule, and for giving me the time to go out on endless missions only to come home with no clips haha. Shoutout Harrison Woolgar for going out on missions to help put together the final piece and to everyone else that contributed; Quentin Guthrie, Al Hodgson and Chris Komodromos.

DAYRATE by Jude Harrison