Franklin Stephens

[lowline]

dude was a powerhouse. how come he never tried to make it in the states back in the day like the flip guys?

13:00

[Windsor Knot]

Going pro for Cliche for a short stint is a good achievement.

I was a big fan also. Let's be honest though he's not USA level.

[lowline]

Going pro for Cliche for a short stint is a good achievement.

I was a big fan also. Let's be honest though he's not USA level.

then or now? other than the lack of nollie tricks or flip-in flip out shit, he made up for it with a distinct style and also a ton of gnar. i think he could of had a spot on something

[Windsor Knot]

Then. He was never on the level required I don't think. Not hate he's good not saying he's not.

[work_lurker]

Blame it on the economy.

[CrappybsflipDownthe5stair]

Loved his part in playing fields

[lowline]

Loved his part in playing fields

this one rules too. i could have seen him riding for foundation in the "nervous breakdown" era pretty easily

[dapurge]

dude was a powerhouse. how come he never tried to make it in the states back in the day like the flip guys?

13:00

skating to the band South was a good wave.

[xrossings]

i love these late 90s early 2000s UK guys

[lowline]

that rooftop line with the kickflip in the unabomber part is pretty nuts, even by today's standards

funny to think the first time i ever heard of this guy (as an american) were his guest tricks in "pj ladd's wonderful horrible life" during southies part, i believe. and after that it seems like he barely made a blip over here coverage wise

[Cheshire Cat]

that rooftop line with the kickflip in the unabomber part is pretty nuts, even by today's standards

funny to think the first time i ever heard of this guy (as an american) were his guest tricks in "pj ladd's wonderful horrible life" during southies part, i believe. and after that it seems like he barely made a blip over here coverage wise

Yeah I never came across anyone who didn't at least respect his skating.
Rooftop lines were certainly not happening often in UK skating at the time.

[Jim and Dan]

I remember hearing from an American that was close/adjacent to the Blueprint/Cliche teams that he may have been difficult to deal with in some regards. If memory serves me correctly, after Freedom Fries, he moved to some rural area, was pretty much absent and would only film with his girlfriend, hence the footage they would get has not on-par with what they were trying to do at the time. 

But regardless, always really liked his skating and his First Broadcast part will always have a special place in my heart, it's still one of my favorite videos of all-time. He seemed to really have a good thing going with Cliche but it seems that he wasn't the type of person that was "built" for professional skateboarding and that's fine with me, it's not for everyone and may just take the fun out of it for some.

[backtailPJ]

that rooftop line with the kickflip in the unabomber part is pretty nuts, even by today's standards

funny to think the first time i ever heard of this guy (as an american) were his guest tricks in "pj ladd's wonderful horrible life" during southies part, i believe. and after that it seems like he barely made a blip over here coverage wise

dude I was just coming here to say this exact same thing! I make a lot of PHLWHL references on here so I’m happy that I can reference his guest tricks. I’m gonna make my way down the entire lineup eventually but so far I’ve knocked out jereme, Alexis, and Mark Gonzales. I love that video

[benboardbreaker]

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Loved his part in playing fields

[close]

this one rules too. i could have seen him riding for foundation in the "nervous breakdown" era pretty easily

loved that whole video. its my favorite part of his

[Cheshire Cat]

dude was a powerhouse. how come he never tried to make it in the states back in the day like the flip guys?

13:00

Just rewatched that Unabomber part for the first time in two decades. It’s still so fucking heavy.
-Some of those spots are just ridiculous. Just mad roof drops, big stairs and gaps.
-Bristol 3 ledge trucks were stellar. Bs 360 and front shove.
-I don’t think many uk skaters were bs noseblunting handrails in 2000 / 2001.
-Hippie jump to bs flip the stairs!- just as good if not better than Rattray’s straight kickflip, 5 years later.

[botefdunn]

He had a short part, maybe an intr to cliché at the end of one of their videos, that I always really liked. My friend said he had magician arms, which I agree with.

[jonnysheen]

I remember hearing from an American that was close/adjacent to the Blueprint/Cliche teams that he may have been difficult to deal with in some regards. If memory serves me correctly, after Freedom Fries, he moved to some rural area, was pretty much absent and would only film with his girlfriend, hence the footage they would get has not on-par with what they were trying to do at the time. 

But regardless, always really liked his skating and his First Broadcast part will always have a special place in my heart, it's still one of my favorite videos of all-time. He seemed to really have a good thing going with Cliche but it seems that he wasn't the type of person that was "built" for professional skateboarding and that's fine with me, it's not for everyone and may just take the fun out of it for some.

He came from Suffolk /Norfolk area and if you know the UK, that part is way out in the stix.  Thats why the spots in freedom fries are so unique.  Heard he did try and go to the states and stay with people but it didn't work for him.   Once met him at a squat party and we chatted while being wasted on pills.   That was in London, but not sure if he was living there.

[jonnysheen]

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Going pro for Cliche for a short stint is a good achievement.

I was a big fan also. Let's be honest though he's not USA level.

[close]

then or now? other than the lack of nollie tricks or flip-in flip out shit, he made up for it with a distinct style and also a ton of gnar. i think he could of had a spot on something

Yeah he was at a high level in his prime. If Alex moul made it, he sure could have.

[lowline]

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Going pro for Cliche for a short stint is a good achievement.

I was a big fan also. Let's be honest though he's not USA level.

[close]

then or now? other than the lack of nollie tricks or flip-in flip out shit, he made up for it with a distinct style and also a ton of gnar. i think he could of had a spot on something

[close]

Yeah he was at a high level in his prime. If Alex moul made it, he sure could have.

or olly todd for that matter.

(nothing against olly todd though, he ruled)

[Windsor Knot]

I always thought olly Todd sucked.

[Cheshire Cat]

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Going pro for Cliche for a short stint is a good achievement.

I was a big fan also. Let's be honest though he's not USA level.

[close]

then or now? other than the lack of nollie tricks or flip-in flip out shit, he made up for it with a distinct style and also a ton of gnar. i think he could of had a spot on something

[close]

Yeah he was at a high level in his prime. If Alex moul made it, he sure could have.

[close]

or olly todd for that matter.

(nothing against olly todd though, he ruled)

https://youtu.be/AM_qZOe_VIU?si=bHOCbHeSNdCWhZpU

The bs 360 towards the end of this is what we all wish we could do.
Apart from everything else he did that was beautiful, he also nollie FRONTSIDE 360 Heelflipped the well known 7 stair at Southbank.Didnt he? Someone did.
Olly has some of the finest bootcut footage we will ever see.

[aguanewyork]

First Broadcast, what a piece of work! friend in London sent me a PAL dub that i converted to VHS, the soundtrack alone did my head in. solely British artists and that signature melancholy Magee energy & aesthetic. port moody blues struck me as a similar vision, also DANY and Chapman's Short Ends. all very special, FB being the finest example. Magee is possible the most talented skate video maker ever, a cohesive vision leaving no room for criticism.

i'd imagine the amount of dick riding/politicking/vibing would be troubling in the US industry for international skaters, if that played a reason for Franklin Steven's issue with coverage in the states. at any rate, most of those UK spots are shocking to skate IRL.

[lowline]

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Going pro for Cliche for a short stint is a good achievement.

I was a big fan also. Let's be honest though he's not USA level.

[close]

then or now? other than the lack of nollie tricks or flip-in flip out shit, he made up for it with a distinct style and also a ton of gnar. i think he could of had a spot on something

[close]

Yeah he was at a high level in his prime. If Alex moul made it, he sure could have.

[close]

or olly todd for that matter.

(nothing against olly todd though, he ruled)

[close]

https://youtu.be/AM_qZOe_VIU?si=bHOCbHeSNdCWhZpU

The bs 360 towards the end of this is what we all wish we could do.
Apart from everything else he did that was beautiful, he also nollie FRONTSIDE 360 Heelflipped the well known 7 stair at Southbank.Didnt he? Someone did.
Olly has some of the finest bootcut footage we will ever see.

i think that was toby shuall? definitely a great clip.

it's not in any of the parts posted either (saw it on instagram i think) but franklin also back 360 kickflipped the southbank set absolutely perfectly in like.. 1995 or something. not to mention the full cab flip years later. guy was on one