“Rom Boys: 40 Years of Rad” (2020) Review
“Rom Boys: 40 Years of Rad” is a beautifully raw and inarticulate prayer for London’s concrete shrine to 70s Californian Skate culture; the ROM Skatepark. Director Matt Harris compiles a crew of some of the world’s most prominent skaters and BMX riders to shed light on the 40 years that each unforgiving undulate of this concrete playground has shaped generations of English skaters.
Harris mines decades of archival footage and enlists a series of famous skaters, BMX’s, fashion influencers and sub-culture experts in a feature-length documentary that in essence is an illuminating plea; don’t let waves of gentrification consume this suburban beacon.
“Rom Boys” spends a large part of its run time, establishing the unique British cultural significance of this recreation park. In many ways, the participants in the film see it as a monument to the multi-generational footprint of adventure seeker outsiders, that felt called to the increased risk of adventure sports. Harris continues to advocate for ROM in his composition. He sees the grace and the majesty in every grind, ‘vert and slide through this full-set of 70s style obstacles including a pool, moguls, clover and half-pipe. It’s in the moments when Harris appraises the modern skaters gliding through the ROM that the film connects the acknowledgements of the past, and the hopes for the future.
Harris’ documentary registered when it allowed the audience to intimately connect with the warriors of that earlier generation that found, and continue to find, peace in the kinship and the concrete chaos that the ROM provides. Seeing the characters whose grit, work ethic and positive attitude were shaped by every gasp and adrenalised slow-mo stack on this rough ground, personalises the struggle.
“Rom Boys” can convey the lure of such an epic skater stage in your youth, and what kinds of men and women emerge from this kind of life. I continue fondly remember a University professor who off-handedly expressed that he never worried skater-kids about finding success in later life. In my experience, the same can be said about surfers and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu players. Amongst all these groups are guys and gals on the mat, in the surf, or the concrete playgrounds and streets is the innate understanding that time, dedication, focus, flow and fearlessness is the pathway to mastering any of those crafts. No one magically can excel at any of those arts. Hearing some of the diehard ROM boys talk about their resolve to overcome a litany of injuries to “get back out there” is inspiring.
“Rom Boys” is a documentary dog-whistle; for some, the message of the ongoing importance of a space like this is likely to fall on deaf ears. For anyone who has ever been a skater or a BMX-er, this critic included, you’ll have another sub-cultural mecca to add to the list of places to see before you die. Long may ROM reign.
