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SUNBURN TO SNOW IN 48 HOURS

In and around the 2020 West Hobart Bowl jam with Vans Australia

    Photography by
  • Wade McLaughlin

Extreme weather, good spots, exceptional Bahn Mi’s and unapologetically drunk locals is pretty much what you can expect in the couple of days around the iconic West Hobart Bowl Jam, in this beautiful little ‘country’ called Tasmania.

In the words of Zepp Heyes “It’s so nice to get out of Australia for a bit”. Read through to see what this bunch of ‘mainlanders’ from the Vans Australia contingent got up to amid 42 degrees and snow in the same weekend in this weirdly wonderful neck of Australia.



After we had to reassure Zepp he didn’t need his passport to get into Tasmania we headed straight for CSP HQ. Which is what we dubbed our AirBnb that Rob from Concrete Skateparks booked as a place for all us mainlanders to crash in support of this rad comp that he also puts the prize money up for every year, a selfless and commendable act, hats off Rob. Wouldn’t happen without ya.



‘Jimmy’s Skate and Street’ organise the event every year along with a big hand from his brother Pog, a couple of genuinely nice blokes that do everything they can to keep the Hobart scene flourishing. This year saw the in-shop mini ramp cop a beautiful facelift for a Friday night cash grab jam.



Local brews flowed a little too heavily which left a couple of the crew a bit dusty on comp day. Vietnamise restaurants are on every other corner in Hobart and top quality, we had group sittings of Bahn Mi’s three times in the first day and joked we’d eat nothing but for the remainder of the trip and call ourselves the Bahn Mi army. What started as a joke became the reality.



 


“I just signed up to tinder and it says choose your country… …but I can’t find Tassie”


Thanks Hobart, Concrete Skateparks, Vans Australia, Jimmy & Poggers. This iconic piece of concrete makes for a timeless bowl jam each year that seems to only get better with age, that coupled with the lovely experiences that Hobart has to offer make it one of my most favoured events of the year.