In our goal of trying to serve the community as a source of Singaporean skateboarding news and information here is a post about Rock N Roll skatepark which may have been Singapore's first skate park.
Over the years a total of 3 Rock N Roll skateparks opened and closed. Here is what we know.
All 3 parks were opened by Remi, a French guy married to a Chinese Singaporean lady. The first was located at Petain Rd (Jalan Besar), and when this closed down he opened another at East Coast Park inside the Big Splash water park. When this park closed he opened yet another in East Coast Park.
It is rumored Remi ran away from Singapore when he could not make payment for the third Rock N Roll skate park located next to McDonalds in East Coast Park. Shortly after his disappearance the park closed and the space was later converted to a mini-golf course.
Rock 'N' Roll Skatepark #1
Block 21, #01-45, Flanders Square, Petain RD, Singapore 0820
Around 1987-1988
This was the first Rock N Roll skate park Remi opened and it was apparently the most entertaining of the parks as it was located right beside a row of Singaporean brothels (a house where men can visit prostitutes). The entrance to these brothels was directly infront of the park so it was common to see male patrons and female prostitutes standing around.
Rock 'N' Roll Skatepark #2
902 East Coast Parkway, Singapore 15-44
"After skating, in the evenings, skaters would go swimming in Big splash. We were also allowed to blast the speakers after the skatepark closed (Rock & Roll closed at 10-11pm). The sea breeze was great and we used to hold BBQs and birthday parties in the skatepark. It was like one big family. Our fav was the chin ramp and the half pipes. Many ppl also liked the launch ramps and street obstacles." - Valerie
Remi, the owner of Rock N Roll skatepark.
Inside the shop. Check out the shape of those decks! Old school!
"When I first started, we used rails for the decks and Powell was huge.. later, we had New Deal Haverslick and later normal decks with no rails. The trucks and wheels kept changing too. Being a skater then was tough, we had limited facilities, we were always chased by cops, there was limited access to any info and all we had was learning from US magazines and skate videos. However, we still had competitions." - Valerie
Ramli, Valerie, Yusri, Ashik, Tico and ManToyol
"Some of the local legends are in the above photo. Kenneth Chuang with the Vision Danger Cap, Yusri Yusoff wearing pink, Rosley Karim in blue, Jean-Baptiste - about to go and Stephen Honegger- bent over with a deck in his hand." - Valerie
How fun does that double barrel flatground rail look!
Demo by Satoshi, a Japanese skater sponsored by SK8 KULTUR.
"There were several pros from Japan that came down to the McDonald's East Coast skatepark. One of them was Satoshi (think he was featured in some ad that was hung at Orchard MRT Station, another was Suyon and Hirochiro (model back in Japan) but I can't remember all their names. I think there was like 9-10 of them. It also included Hiro who was giving out tee-shirts for 100% Alva and Nishi who was a photographer for Surfing too." - Valerie
Jason Janes doings a little back side Ollie Front side grab.
Jason Janes doing a Stale fish over the channel.
"This was taken during a contest in 1992 or so, Mantoyol won the street contest because he landed a 360 on the launch ramp! I turned 5th and was offered 3 cans of 100 Plus to bring home...Sooo Sedap!" -Jean-baptiste Fournier
The mini ramp in the top right photo looks amazing!
Rock 'N' Roll Skatepark #3
East Coast Park next to McDonalds
The 3'rd and final Rock N Roll skate park was located right beside McDonalds at East Coast Park.
"It was less private and we sometimes felt like animals in a cage for display. There were also more players like BMX and Mountain bikers that would hang out with us skaters. There was a 10 feet half pipe that was huge and damn steep. This park was more steep and the flooring was covered with stones. So it wasn't fun when we flew out off the ramps."- Valerie
Photos by Eric, Ashik, Valerie, Jean-baptiste and Ian
If anyone has any photographs or information about Rock N Roll skatepark they wish to share with us please e-mail us at lioncityskaters@gmail.com
8 comments:
best 3 skate parks ever?
1- in front of a brothel - can relax after sk8
2. in front of a huge swimming pool - can relax after sk8
3. in front of macdonalds - can relax after sk8
LOL. Relax at the brothel after a session.
The best article I've read so far....well done keep it up!!
Amazing fine guys. Very well written. Never knew the skateboarding scene in Singapore was this active back in the late 80s and early 90s. Fantastic stuff. The second park looked remarkable. Hope to see more stuff like this.
sick!the one beside wave pool/big splash.and look how they dress!samesame aft 20yrs!guess "fashion" doesnt change afterall....and thats hell load of old sch decks!and we should learn to wear protective gear like them XD
I was just a primary school kid back then when the skate park at Petain Road opened. I had to beg my parents to bring me there. I still have the Rock n Roll Skate park sticker plastered on my cupboard door.
After they moved to East Coast park, my visits became less and less frequent due to the distance and then time just passed so very quickly.
This article brought back plenty of memories. Thanks.
-Johnny
My Dad opened those with my mom we had to close because of other opportunities in France.
Rick Roqueirol
I was so pleased to find this article about Rock n Roll Skate Park. I used to ride for Remi's first skate team wen he first started the park. This takes me back to Sentosa Island doing skate demos for the public and just haveing fun with my friends. Skating and living in Singapore in the 80's was amazing and the best time of my life. Love to see more stuff about skating in Singapore. Thank you!
Post a Comment
Comments that are abusive, off-topic, use excessive foul language, or include a verbal attack on an individual will be deleted. Please post in English only.
Readers that leave constructive comments will be rewarded. Please stick to one user name when commenting.