Keep Pushing
The fifth in the series, our latest blog post is a conversation with skateboarder, train driver and poet Tony Wood. Tony has just written his second anthology Coping Mechanism, which as the title suggests focuses on the subject of mental health, a smooth transition from his skate related poetry collection Procrastiskate.
Where Procrastiskate bemoans the physical injuries that the body endures after many years of skateboarding, Coping Mechanism places emphasis on the things in life that sustain us. There is a warmth to this brutalism that is genuinely felt. Tony’s writing is honest, humorous and relateable. I first became aware of his presence as the creator of the Family of UK Skateboarders Facebook (FOUKS) group and only heard good things. An all round good guy, a champion of many and a critic of none, I was ‘super stoked’ when he agreed to be part of our blog sequence.
Humble beginnings
“I’ve always loved reading and making up stories. Song lyrics were a huge influence on me starting to write rhymes and poetry. When social media became a thing it meant I had a platform on which to inflict my stuff upon friends!
One of the great things about poetry is that you don’t need a budget to do it at all.
About eight years ago I rediscovered my love of skateboarding and started posting the odd poem on Facebook skateboarding groups. I assumed I’d get the piss ripped out of me but I underestimated just how lovely and creative most skateboarders are. The majority of the feedback was really positive so I just kept posting stuff. It was primarily poetry but also a few ‘opinion pieces’ and occasional short story.
Fast forward about five years and Carl Mynott, who I met and became friends with through skateboarding, set up a publishing company and sort of bullied me into collating an anthology! That was how Procrastiskate, my first book, came into existence. I would love to say I was a tortured writer hunched over my desk with an overflowing ashtray and piles of rejection letters but it couldn’t be further from the truth! I never really wanted to put a book out but kept being told I had to. The second book, Coping Mechanism, followed and is a far more varied collection that deals with love, loss, grief, dogs, mental health and a bit of the old skateboarding.”
Notes on the go
“I exclusively write everything on the notes app in my iPhone. It’s so easy and convenient when something pops into my head to be able to whip the phone out and get it down before it pops back out.“
Favourite piece
“Ah man that’s such a Sophie’s Choice question! I’m gonna say ‘As A Free Man’ because it really seemed to strike a chord with other skateboarders about my age. “
“It was this piece, more than any other, that people seemed to respond to and made me want to try and tap into just why we, as skaters, do what we do.
Having said that, if you ask me tomorrow I’ll probably have a different answer.”
Staying balanced
This might seem a bit weird but I don’t really think my ‘art’ does anything for my mental health. I think I’d be fine if I never felt a desire to write again.
What I do need is skateboarding, dogs and my missus. Nothing gets close enough to skateboarding for being entirely in a moment. Thinking about anything other than what you’re doing in that split second will lead to falling off and probably getting hurt!
Taking the dog for long rambling walks is another must for me. I don’t really understand how people cope being indoors all day as I go stir crazy! I’m a train driver by way of a living and I’m very grateful that I’m not stuck in an office.
This is ‘Sit’ from coping mechanisms and was written during a five minute rest whilst walking the pooch
Sit
For a bit
Rest, become whole
Sit beneath me
For I’m not leaving just yet
I was here then
I’ll be here still
But I’m here now
With you
So rest
For a bit
Lean against me
Feel me
Hear me
Sense me.
Become aware of what I offer
Shelter to the feathered
Food to the hungry
Rest for the weary
Breathe me in
Absorb me
And simply rest.
First, hear the silence
Next, hear the rustle
Feel me breathe
And rest
My toes beneath you
My arms above you
Rest into me
That bend in the stream
The mud upon the bank
The dog fetching my cast offs
The buzz of an unknown being
The twitch of a nose
The feel of the earth
The scent of peace.
And rest.
Rest beneath me and I’ll be here now
I’ll soothe your battered soul
Calm your tortured mind
Forgive imagined sins
Just rest
I ask only that
Just rest
Creative advice
Never do it for money, recognition or fame! Do it because you love it and try not to forget why you started doing it in the first place.
Keeping it real with the self care
“Umm…I dunno really. I guess skateboarding and long walks is the truth. I suppose I sort of ‘purge’ my thoughts into my phone as well and perhaps that helps? I’m quite boringly level headed despite a gambling addiction from which I’m eleven months clean from so far.”
Well, thanks Tony! We have enjoyed both your poetry and your insight into how dealing with challenges to our physical health can impact greatly on our mental health, which is really important to acknowledge.
And whilst it does feel like the season to ‘rest’ we are also looking forward to springing into action when the seasons change.
Debra Thortify
