ESPN Skateboarding

The Palace Waywards—what was once just a crew of wayward roommates who lived in a slew of crappy flats in London and the friends, with whom they skated and chilled, has since expanded into countless lo-fi Internet videos, been featured on limited edition Lakais, become the PWBC (Palace Wayward Boys Choir is the full, ironic name of the crew) news on the growing grassroots site, Don't Watch That TV and most recently spawned into the London-based board company Palace Skateboards.

The man behind the PWBC skate news, the lo-fi vids and Palace Skateboards, Lev Tanju, has no qualms about speaking his mind, making tongue-in-cheek commentary about skateboarding worldwide, knocking different trends in London and advocating for black skateboarders. But, it's all in hopes of making skateboarding lighten up. It's the kind of humor where, if you're offended, you're taking it too seriously.

Out of that comes Palace Skateboards, which made former Stereo pro, Olly Todd, their first pro rider. One of London's best skateshops, Slam City Skates is behind the project and it already seems to be picking up momentum with legit graphics and product. I had a chance to ask Lev about PWBC and Palace Skateboards, which, while it might sound silly to call it a movement, has grown greatly with Lev's recent company and seeped into skateboarding's collective conscience, with members of the crew, like Andrew Brophy, Chewy Cannon, Nick Jenson, Danny Brady, Lucien Clarke and others, carrying the name to world-recognized skate companies. Read on to find out more about PWBC.

You just announced the debut of Palace Skateboards. Could you tell me where the name came from?
PALACE is the new British skateboard company that's set to be available everywhere legit from here on in. The name is one we've always given to the skate houses we've lived in over the years. It's an ironic one, of course, in that they've pretty much all been fairly grubby s**tholes.

Could you tell me a little bit about what the Palace Waywards crew is and who is in it? Or is everyone kind of a part of the Palace Waywards crew?
NO WAY HOSAY. The Palace Waywards, or the PWBC is an ultra-tight skate gang of about 10-15 guys. Here they are: Andrew Brophy, Billy Bernard Baxter, Chewy Cannon, Stuart Hammond, Rory Milanes, Lucian Clarke, Danny Brady, Nick Jensen, Benny Fairfax, Joey Pressey, Snowy, Charlie Young, Oliver Todd, Oliver Mackintosh, Rumcoke Thomas, James Edson, Robbo Mathieson, Gabriel Pluckrose, Happy Ben. There are other Waywards too actually but that list's the A team skate gang.

You said Palace Wayward started with homies living in a house, but are there friends that didn't live in the house that are in the crew?
Bestest homies pretty much...we don't live with people for the sake of it.

Where was the Palace Wayward house located?
Well, at the moment PALACE HQ is in Waterloo, the centre of the universe, right near South Bank. Stuart, our head librarian, Brady, Joey Crack and I all live there. We have a lot of refugees pass through, though. At the minute Benny 'The Pilemaker' Fairfax is staying, 'cause he's doing some crazy Adidas advert with David Beckham.

When did PWBC start?
About 3 years ago I guess, when we started getting PWBC tattoos and group male bonding sessions. I also started filming them all on camera phones around that time.

How does the PWBC fit into the English scene, which, on this side of the pond, is often seen through Blueprint and Landscape riders and the Royal Family wing of Lakai?
I mean we're about and people know that we all live together and share girlfriends and stuff. Obviously, people like Jensen and Brady get a lot more attention because people notice them more when you put s**t out on the web of them. Brady had a Lakai Waywards shoe, so he's quite a powerful member of the crew, even though his tattoo is way smaller than everybody else's. I don't know really where we fit into the English scene? Give it 6 months and it'll fit perfectly, right at the top there.

Palace Waywards has kind of become it's own movement or entity or whatever. Could you tell me about the Palace Wayward Boys Club videos?
Movement...Ha! It's just stuff that we're into, like real street skating. And, it's a way to show other people s**t they should be backing, because the Internet's so full of crap and Ryan Sheckler doing massive backside flips. I like taking my friends who are really mind-blowingly good at skating and then filming them on crappy low formats. It just gets a different kind of feel of footage. Less showboaty and more like how it really is.

What is dontwatchthat.tv and how did PWBC become a program on it?
What is dontwatchthat.tv? Man, that is a good question. It's just getting started, but it's basically a bit like VBS, but with real life s**t in it and less articles about how to do coke with a cool haircut. It's like an online TV thing where you can watch different clips when you're bored at work, that might help you earn yourself some street credibility. My friends TIM and BARRY do it. They hype up all the Grime and Rap dudes around England, take photos of them for magazines and stuff and hang out with Giggs and Dizzee Rascal. I've known them for years and they asked me to do something for the station, so I said yeah because I want to hype everyone up on how cool skateboarding is and always will be.

Who does the content on the PWBC skate news?
That would be me.

Are the opinions real or just stirring the pot?
Of course they're real! Kinda exaggerated at times. We love stirring the pot whilst on pot. Skateboarding is too serious, though. It's good to laugh.

The PWBC skate news is really unorthodox. It's kind of A.D.D. and has some repeating themes. Who came up with the style of the PWBC broadcasts?
HAHA, A.D.D. GOOD ONE. Yeah, the themes get repeated a lot partly because I have to make a new episode every week. Well, I dont have to, I suppose. I want to! The style kinda came about from me just getting into the look of fuzzy regurgitated footage.

PWBC has some recurring themes, like the hate on free running. People in the US might know free running from some action movies or youtube clips, but can you tell me it's popularity in the UK and how it ties into PWBC at times?
Its getting pretty big in the UK, dunno why. Its so stupid and narcissistic. We are never tied in. We just laugh at those weird dudes hanging out topless in big groups.

Fixed gears are another fad that PWBC takes the piss out of. Where does that come from? Is that a big fad in the area where Slam City Skates is located or London in general?
YUHUH! The s**t has hit the fan in London. Every tw*t in town has got one! All these losers keep getting them, because they think it's cool and because they were never any good at anything you have to put more effort and time into, like skateboarding. So they spend a few hundred pounds on a bike, park it outside the bar, don't drink, then cycle home thinking they're the best thing since sliced bread.

You—or the PWBC—have a fixation with black skaters. I saw you had Obama's top five black skaters on your site, but who are your top five?
Haha. We all do! But come on, everybody loved Kareem back in the day. I'm just fixated with GOOD skateboarding. I rate a hick like Lizard King being drunk and doing a tail drop as much as I rate Stevie Williams' 411 thing back in the day. Well maybe. Erik Ellington is white and he's obviously the sickest skateboarder ever. Maybe.

Do you have a top 5 black skateboarders?
Errm...Bastien Salablanzi...Tyrone Olson...Terell Robinson. I don't know? All the black guys that skated Pier 7 in its hay day, including Rob Welsh and Mike York. Definitely: Lavar McBride and Jovantae Turner.

If worse comes to worse, who would you say is your top black skateboarder?
My peoples come first: Benny Fairfax.

What are your thoughts on Reynolds saying TK is the best black skateboarder?
Did he relapse when he said this? Ha, just kidding. That's lame...Reynolds knows what he's talking about and I think he's a legend. But, TK isn't the best. He may be the most marketable black skateboarder. I'm surprised he didn't say Antwuan actually.

When you did your spoof of Epicly Later'd in PWBC episode one, did you get some backlash?
No way! People thought it was great, except some forum dudes that actually thought we were being serious and trying to bite Epicly Later'd. Patrick O'Dell had a screenshot of the head on his facebook.

What made you decide to start Palace skateboards now? Did it have anything to do with Blueprint going to an American distributor?
Nah, not really. I had plans to do it way before. I just wanted to start an English company that in good time would be the best in England and on point or above all the other stuff around the world.
England, California and New York are the three places on earth that get respected globally in skateboarding to a certain degree, I think, and I just felt like London and England could do with something really strong and proud, but not cheesy.

What role does Slam City Skates have in the company?
Distribution and stuff—they got my back basically.

Who is designing the product?
Me, basically, but I got my homeboys Fergadelic and Bankhead to do me a graphic on the first line.

Your first rider is Olly Todd. He recently left Stereo skateboards. Did he leave specifically to join Palace?
Hell yeah, he did! People don't believe it either! He quit because he thinks ahead good and knows that PALACE is gonna be the best.

Was he part of the PWBC originally?
Oh yeah, for sure. We worked together when he first moved to London, years ago, and we've been good friends since. We're family.

Can you say who you plan to add to the team in the future?
Yeah sure. Basically just all the best ones: English, Australian and American.

Any plans to add any "all-time best, blackest, baddest" skaters to the team?
Hells yeah. Just you wait!

Any other info that might help people who don't know as much about PWBC and Palace skateboards understand what it is?
PWBC is real skateboarding. Come to London and we'll take you to free drink parties full of fit birds and then you can throw up in our kitchen.

PALACE is a global link to riding real skateboards that stand for some s**t, whilst looking cool and attracting fit girls. You won't be able to miss it. Even if you live in America.

Thank yous?
Thanks to Keenan Milton for switch flipping that table, Olly Todd for quitting Scientology, Slam C Skates for giving me that pair of Converse and skateboarding in England being ready for something that's going to change everything. And to Stuart Hammond for correcting my spelling. Check www.palaceskateboards.com or Slam City Skates. Peace out.