Aberdeen Skateboarder carpark fall death

[Penny]

All I'm gonna say is' date=' if you play with fire, sometimes your fingers get burnt.[/quote']

don't be disrespectful. this isn't the kind of time to play the 'i told you so' card. it was a death of a young man, not exaclty a minor incident.

[succubitch]

Yes' date=' strangely enough I have been in that carpark. I didn't realise I said anything against skaters... just skating in that area.... it is a carpark... not a skatepark thus isn't designed to be used by skaters.

When you skate at that level above the ground there is always a chance you will go off the edge, to my recollection the sides aren't caged in (like I pressume it would be if designed for skating).

I was simply pointing out that when you use something outwith the purpose it's designed for things will eventually go wrong. That's why people go flying down those stairs above the St.Nicholas centre breaking their legs at relatively frequent intervals.[/quote']

totally agree

[threeornothing]

I don't feel that speculating on the cause of this tragedy is in any way helpful' date=' and until all the facts are known then I would ask everyone to restrict your comments to messages of sympathy and condolence.[/quote']

...only when it happens to someone in Aberdeen mind. (see. man dies stage diving thread)

[Hog]

Poor kid didnt deserve that, RIP

[Chewbacca]

poor kid,i didnt really know him but R.I.P Sean,i send out my sympathy to friends and family.

[Guest MDP]

poor guy, met him a few times, seemed like a good guy!

R.I.P.

[Guest Logan]

I heard about this from my girl, apparently she knew him too.

It's so tragic. Thoughts go out to his family.

How long had he been working in Elements? I worked there last year for a very brief stint and was wondering if he was still working then.

[Tav]

I am sure he worked there for quite a while. Certainly remember him from we used to hang out on back wynd back in the day.

[Alkaline]

Didn't know him, but thoughts go out to his family.

[Daniel]

I heard about this from my girl' date=' apparently she knew him too.

It's so tragic. Thoughts go out to his family.

How long had he been working in Elements? I worked there last year for a very brief stint and was wondering if he was still working then.[/quote']

well it was at least since christmas

[Guest MerryChristmas]

I owed sean and smiler a bottle of jack

didnt like sean that well or knew him

but still no way did he deserve this

it hits you when its close to home

i just hope his family are strong and his friends

paul

What a change with his head shaved, he looks much better, still taking the piss out of him for smiling all the time

[Penny]

What a change with his head shaved' date=' he looks much better, still taking the piss out of him for smiling all the time [/quote']

unappropriate

[turbodude]

The facts

Sean wasnt trying to rescue a girl from the edge, there was a girl walking on the edge about half an hour before he fell but she wasn't involved. He wasn't skating when he fell, he was sitting with his friend and just leant back to far probably because he was so drunk at the time. His friend gabbed his hand before he fell but seans hand had severed tendons and nerve damage because some asshole hit him with a glass a couple of months ago, he really only had 2 properly functioning fingers which made it impossable to grip his friends hand back. There was no way that his friend could have pulled him back up.

He was uncontious but still breathing whan they found him at the bottom but he had a fractured skull and lost a lot of blood. The paramedics tried their best but he eventually suffered a cardiacarrest and couldn't be revived. thats everything

There is a memorial site on the bottom floor of the car park for anyone looking to lay flowers or gifts.

Sean was a good friend of mine. He will be sorely missed but remembered fondly as the kind of guy who would do anything for his friends, always up for a party and the guy who would make you laugh untill you coughed up a lung.

Rest In Peace Bro.

We'll never forget you. x

[Guest MerryChristmas]

unappropriate

That should read inappropriate

and shut up because it is not inappropriate

[Rachie]

Has the P&J article been put on the web yet? Anyone got time to type it up? I hear it's been quite damning towards skating :/ nae good.

[Chris]

the p&J article was ok actually. the tabloid's ones were utter shite though.

here's one of the P&J articles, not the main one I'm afraid:

http://www.thisisnorthscotland.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=149235&command=displayContent&sourceNode=149218&contentPK=13092760&moduleName=InternalSearch&formname=sidebarsearch

[keith_moon]

Defence Against Skateboarding

The discussion so far between Ross and Lester Burnham has made me need to post a reply to this topic, but before i do i would like to say that although i did not know sean that well he has always seemed to be a decent guy the few times ive been around him and my deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends, this isnt only a tragedy for those closest to him but a horrific incident that affects all of us on some level.

rest in peace

In relation to skateboardings part to play in this tragedy i just want to echo what Ross said and hope that the council and newspapers do not spin this into an anti skateboarding campaign and begin to bring in all manner of bans and fines, it has happened in far too many citys already. In response to Lester Burnhams post i dont think you have been on top of the car park because there is no way that anyone could honestly say that the car park is unsafe for skateboarders since it is surrounded by approximtely 4 foot high walls right round the perimeter and the fact that all good ledges and manual blocks are in the centre of the car parks top floor. I do agree that we are lucky to have gone this long without an accident like this happening but you must admit that along the edge of those walls you would have some sort of other barrier wouldnt you, with a fall thats great you would want maximum protection to users of the car park, skateboarders included. This also, as said by others, does highlight the dire need for a decent skate/teenagers facility in Aberdeen and unfortunatly this is what had to happen before the council would realise this.

One question i ask is what would the reports be saying if this tragedy had happened on any other night? Skateboarding has given me and most of you guys some of the happiest and most amazing memories of our lives and some of the best friends we could ever hope for, including sean. I just dont want to see something so right in the world dishonoured in this way.

for sean and skate culture

Jon

[keith_moon]

additions

Forgot to mention that tv_tanned and spell checker are also highlighting my point and i fully support what they are saying.

Jon

[helveticabold]

Things like this will always happen, i mean my thoughts go out for the guy's family and friends but there's not really anything you can say or do to prevent this happening in the future. After all when something like this happens by pure accident then there is no blame or responsibility, just an aftermath.

I echo hopes about the council not turning this into an anti skating policy.

I suppose it could create a drive for safer facilities for skating, but as a former skater myself (and i'm sure many will back me up on this) i happen to know that nobody likes to skate parks. I just hope that this isn't turned into some crazy attempt to change the unchangeable.

[spellchecker]

... but as a former skater myself (and i'm sure many will back me up on this) i happen to know that nobody likes to skate parks. I just hope that this isn't turned into some crazy attempt to change the unchangeable.

eh? speak for yourself! if the sentiment you are trying to put across is that people can get bored easily of skateparks - then fair enough, i agree....

BUT

a skatepark is always better than no skating because of mental rain, cold or snow. if what you said was actually true, then the westburn would be empty most days... which it isn't.

[Munky_Rules]

Well Sean was one of my best friends for the better part of 10 years now, and i was fucking devestated when i heard. I spoke to his grandad last night and he told me seans mum is coming back from australia sunday then they are arranging the funeral at aberdeen crem, And he says it's open to anyone who knew sean.

Rest in Peace dude you will me missed

[keith_moon]

Skateboardings Defence Continued

I really dont want to be pursuing a point this badly but i intend to continue to defend BT as a skate spot since i believe for skaters it is still a perfectly safe arena which although it is not designed for us it is still the only decent place we have. I really dont want to get into a debate over this but i will always consider BT to be my second home for skateboarding and learning to skate (the first being Broad Street but we all know what happened there). What happened is tragic but i dont want BT to be disgraced because of it, sean will naturally always be remembered but i still believe BT to be a natural haven for skateboarders because it was somwhere out of the way where we could be left alone to do what we love and that was why so many people came there and respected it. If BT gets cut off for skaters by skate stoppers like Broad Street did then the skate population will be literally suffocating from lack of a place to go.

I would also like to merit helvetica point about skate parks since i am first and foremost a street skater but at the same time spell checker makes a good point about having a place to go all year round. Concerns i have with a skate park are firstly cost. In dundee the new factory skatepark is an amazing park but a 5 for a two hour session it is a bit steep for students with limited cash flow. A large part of street skating is being outside and enjoying your surroundings as you're skating, there is a major difference between skating in an enormous warehouse and skating out in the blazing sunshine all day for free. As much as a i would love a skatepark there is the abvious fact that unless it is an astounding park with everything we could ever need then people are still going to skate the streets. The dieal would be a park with both in and outdoor sections that isnt solely a ramp park. I think that im just wishing for the impossible but i am going to push for the best we can have and continue to support and love skateboarding to the fullest.

for sean and skate culture

Jon

[keith_moon]

Another brief afterthought

In relation to Lesters comment on people getting injured in skateparks, people get injured on BT aswell but the majority of the time it is all done in a sober state of mind and this incident was simply a combination of factors that unfortunatly lead to the unthinkable.

What would the papers be saying if it had happened any other night?

Jon

[Rachie]

Perhaps the council could take views like this into consideration, and land that is being wasted by sitting idle not being used and being allowed to become overgrown could be made into some sort of outdoor skate park?

[Hardcore Mel]

yeah like the large brush area between the seaton highrises and the beach.