Ryan Cunningham Up interview

Portrait: Kembery
Interview & photography: Genualdo Kingsford

Who are your sponsors?
Subterranean Skateboards, Pillo Wheels and Consume Store. 

You’ve ridden for Subterranean for a long time, right?
Yeah. Karl Payne hooked me up when I was 14 or 15 years old. Since then, he’s just been amazing. He always made sure I had product. He’s done so much for the scene and for other people too, so hats off to Karl Payne.

How did you start skating? Luka (Pinto) told me that you grew up in the same area, were friends at primary school and skated together back then. 
I got into skating because I saw this kid skate past my flat and instantly, I was like: “Oh mate, that’s sick. I want to do that.” I lived around the corner from Luka, in a council estate called Le Geyt. That’s where I first met him, when I was nine or 10. Funnily enough, half the estate was getting refurbished and they built a few different things you could skate. There were these little sets of stairs – a three, a four and a six – and as soon as I started getting into it, I remember thinking: “That’s what I like.”

You took to stair skating early on.
Yeah, straight away. I loved stairs.

You moved to England at the age of 10. Tell us about this period.
To be honest with you, I was back and forth between Jersey and the UK from a very young age. This time, I moved over to live with my mum. She wanted to get out of Jersey and obviously I wanted to be with her. We lived in Bridgewater, then near Taunton, and then another place called North Petherton. It was a different experience, but I’m not going to lie, I enjoyed Jersey when I came back. It was good to see my old friends. 

I guess your skate crew was back in Jersey.
Yeah. Even though I met certain people (in England), I didn’t really have a solid crew. I skated a little bit, but it was only when I got back to Jersey that I properly got into skateboarding. I had Luka, Glen (Fox), Dillon (Catney), Dylan (Powell), Damen (Garcia) and obviously the elders as well: Karl Payne, Jake Hipwell and Steve Harben. That’s when I really found the love for skating. I didn’t realise how much I’d missed it.

Luka said that a lot of these people were living in the same area – Georgetown – and that this was a special time for all of you. 
Yeah, that’s it, mate. Jersey’s not a big place, but still, I’d say that 75 per cent of the skaters back then all lived on or around the same estate. I was down the road, Dillon, Dylan, Damen, Damen’s brother Joe and Ryan Gabison were all on the same estate, and then Luka lived over the road, next to Georgetown Garage. On the weekends, as soon as you were five minutes from home, you’d have a crew of six or seven people. Good vibes, for sure. 

Were you guys working on video projects during this period?
We made one called Hello Mr Camera-man, a proper old-school project. To be fair, Luka’s footage in that video is still sick today. There were a few projects, but it was just young kid skate vibes – someone would have a camera and we’d just go out and film skateboarding and piss people off (laughs). People didn’t take too kindly to us skating, but we got used to it. We used to have some crazy encounters growing up, but I feel like if it wasn’t that hostile, there wouldn’t be so many good memories. 

Moving on a few years, you lived in Bristol for a period. What drew you to that city in particular and how was your time there?
I was just sick of Jersey and I had a tiny bit of money, so I spoke to my mate (Hugh Blaine) who was living there, and he said: “You can stay here.” I had about £300, and 48 hours later, I lived in the UK. It was just last minute, spontaneous. I managed to get a job pretty easily and stayed for three years. Bristol’s an insane city. It was nice meeting loads of new people and watching them skate. Some of the locals absolutely killed it. Big up Korahn (Gayle) and Layth (Sami).

You hung out with PaulCarter quite a bit during this period. Tell us about that.
Oh yeah, big up Carter as well. I actually lived with him. Carter’s a G; he’s spot-on. He always helped me out and he gave me some of the most memorable times of my life. I definitely didn’t think I’d be smoking bongs with Tom Penny over a weekend. We had some mad nights over there.  

After Bristol, you lived in London. I wasn’t sure if that was directly after, or more recently… 
I moved back (to Jersey) from Bristol because my gran’s lodger had to move out. They were quite close, so I thought moving back to help and keep my nan company was the right thing to do. I’d been away for three years, so I felt like going back to spend some quality family time with her. I was only meant to go back for a year, but I ended up staying for four.

Where did you live in London? 
I got a flat in New Cross through my mate Omar (Allsop) with an Essex lad, Tommy G (Gleadell). I was there for about a year, then I moved in with my girlfriend Lucci in Lewisham, stayed there for another year, then I had to return to Jersey. 

To look after your nan?
Sadly, yeah. When I was back visiting, I noticed she was quite unwell. It had to be done. I didn’t want her to be on her own. You’ve met the G-ma, haven’t you?

I have. 
I’ve just been chilling here ever since. I’ve been back and forth to London, skating a bit, and then just holding down the fort here. I’m planning to move out soon, into town (St Helier) with my girlfriend.

If you’re OK with it, can you talk a little about caring for your nan? Has it been difficult balancing this responsibility with your job?
When I came over from London to spend a week or two here, I cared for her instead of having a carer in, but since I’ve moved back, I’ve been working flat out. I was a scaffolder here before I moved away, so I went back to doing that with my old boss, and I’m also working with my mate Jake (Hudson), who does roof and gutter maintenance – big up JTH Access. We had to look after her quite a bit in the evenings, and then we’d have a carer throughout the day, when I was at work. Then it got a bit more severe and we ended up having to get a 24-hour carer in. Well, they say 24-hour, but it’s a 22-hour carer. We couldn’t do that level of support day and night. It’s a bit much, especially when it’s a close family member. So since then, Lucci does two hours on Thursday and Friday when I’m at work, and if I’m not working, I’ll do Saturday, and then Sunday as well. 

How have you found the care system in Jersey?
There were a few mishaps with previous carers. When it was like a rota, a health agency sort of thing, it was quite tricky – kind of hit and miss – but now we’ve got two carers and they do two weeks on, two weeks off, so they’re always in the house. We know them really well; they’re pretty much like family. They’re lovely people and we’ve grown quite fond of them.

How do you feel about moving out? 
Because Jersey’s a very small place, I can walk from our new flat in town to my nan’s in 15 minutes, so I’ll still see her every day, or every other day. I’ll be able to spend time with my nan and still have my own sense of freedom and space as well.

Luka told me that your nan brought you up after your mum passed away. I guess you have a pretty strong bond with her. 
Well, without getting too deep, after my mum passed when I was 13, my gran was everything. She did everything for me. If it wasn’t for her, I’d be fucked. So, even though I was gutted to leave Bristol and London because I loved skating in those places so much and met a lot of good people, it was very nice to have the opportunity to do the same thing for her. I’ve spent a lot of quality time with her. It’s been amazing. I miss the homies and skating the best spots, but at the end of the day, family comes first

Thanks for that. Which skaters influenced you, growing up?
I remember watching some of the Puzzle videos and the Lordz video They Don’t Give a Fuck About Us when I was younger. All those boys are sick. I went on holiday to Bristol to when I was 10 or 11, and I got a copy of Bristol in Bloom from Fifty Fifty. That was sick; I watched that a lot. All the Bristol videos were really good, the Hold Tight (London) edits as well – I loved all the music, like UK rap stuff – and Danny Brady’s part in Lost and Found was definitely a Jersey favourite. 

Who are some of your favourites to watch today?
Mate, everyone in London kills it, like the On Tick boys and Nick Richards’ crew. As much as I hate to big him up, Ranga (Josh Harper) is actually all right sometimes (laughs). Also, big up Jules (Cochrane).

Are there any younger, up-and-coming kids in Jersey people should look out for?
There are, actually, and funnily enough, one of them is Glen’s little cousin, Danny (Richardson). I skated the 10 set at the park (Les Quennevais) with him the other day. Freddie (Mayer Smith) is pretty sick as well. He’s quite well-rounded. He can skate rails and ramps and stuff. 

Late last year, much-loved Jersey local Danny Cram took his own life. If you’re OK with it, can you talk about how this affected you personally and the skate scene in Jersey more generally, in terms of awareness about mental health?
He was everyone’s homie. He was the nicest kid, a real good lad and he was sick at skating. He was our only bowl skater. One thing I always respected about that boy was that he just didn’t care what people thought; he was just doing his thing. Obviously it’s really heartbreaking for everyone because we lost one of our own, but people have really stepped up and started to ask a bit more about each other, taking that extra step to make sure their friends are OK, if you know what I mean. And hats off to Eddie Da Rocha for doing the foundation (Danny Cram Foundation, founded by Eddie, Alfie Ashpole and Danny’s mum, Louise to help support Jersey young adults and their families). That’s really positive, so well done Eddie.

Thanks for talking about that. What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
I just want to try to skate as much as possible. Me and Dillon are going to do a part together with a filmer called Luis Pestana, which I’m really looking forward to, and I’ll try to come over and see you lot every now and then to get some clips and chill with the homies. Then, to be honest, just chill, work, look after my gran and spend plenty of time with her – just Jersey life, man.

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