A while back we had a Shot of the Week taken in a living room bowl known as the Blue Tile Lounge. It’s located in Charleston South Carolina, which is my new favorite part o f the country, even though I haven’t been there in about 20 years. I dunno, it seems like something is brewing down there. If you’re not moving to Oregon to skate, consider South Carolina. Steve Aycock, the photographer, put together a short interview with the proprietors, which I’m liberally sprinkling with his photos.
Photos and Interview: Steve Aycock.
Hey Bob, Jon, sup ?
Sup man? Diggin on the Blue Tile Lounge…
(EDITOR”S NOTE: Before Steve gets in over his head channeling Juice… Let’s introduce Bob and Jon.)
Bob Hart
Jon Home
Q: I know that one of the first things people want to know when they see the photos of this place… is where is this ?
A: About 20 mins from Hanks (the legendary Hanger Bowl) place, here in Chucktown. (Charleston, SC)
Q: By most peoples standards having a bowl in the house would be a stretch, but you guys went much futher than that. WTF prompted you to build this thing ?
A: It started out with just a couple of quarters on the porch outside, but that didn’t work out because the porch floor has a slant too it. We cleared out some space and moved the ramps inside.
Q. Jon didn’t live here back then did he?
A: No, but he was into it.
Q: So you moved some ramps inside, when did the wall come out, how did you make that decision?
A: We had a ramp in each of the two rooms at first and we were going to put a mogul in the doorway, but before we got too far with that idea, Jon had already drawn up plans for what we could do if the wall was removed.
Q: What you guys built is pretty phenomonal. I was here taking pics at the first shin-dig, the bowl was here but there wasn’t any paint… how did that come about?
A: Bob mentioned that it would be cool to do a mural… just a random idea, we were already planning a party, thought about how cool it could be and the next thing I knew we were painting.
Q: How long did it take?
A: Over nights and weekends, about 2 months to build and two more weeks for paint.
Q: @ Jon, Bob said you drew up some plans, how much of it was seat of the pants and how much was really drawn out, I mean, did you scale things up on paper first?
A: I drew some stuff that I thought was pretty tight, but once we really started building we had to make some changes to allow for more flatbottom and some deck space.
Some things had to be worked with… for instance we kinda knew the fireplace was gonna have to be a hip and we were going to need access in and out of the house and our rooms.
We weren’t sure how to make all that happen at first, but it turns out, the animal chin style pullout section was the way to go.
Q: The cieling is right there… has anyone banged there head?
A: The clearance from the deck to the cieling is 6 ft. I haven’t seen anyone hit their head but we did have someone try to ride some of the art on the wall that he thought was real. Twice.
On a side note there is some kind of a bet going on with the chandalier like lights.
Q: So do you think you’re gonna get your deposit back?
A: No one gets their deposit back, we’re ahead of the game.
Bob Hart and Jon Horne built and are current residents of and at the Blue Tile Lounge. Charleston South Carolina
Thanks to Steve Aycock for the photos and interview. You can see more photos from this set and another one on Flickr.
20 comments
Meth Head
That’s Blink 182 Bob,Pffft.Hey Come Some,i’m pretty sure those shops sell more than Real skate product…that’s just bad business.
Red Foreman
Blink “187” means he wants them murdered, dumbass.
pee blanket
i too have strong, virulent feelings about pop music that was marketed to the tween set over a decade ago.
Barney Rubble
Yep, cuz when a character from “That 70’s Show” says someone wants somebody murdered, it’s on… dumbass.
kilwag
Oh man, you’re killing me. If I was drinking when I read that I totally would have done a spit-take.
WINNER: pee blanket!
comeupwith somethingoriginal
Don’t you already know there is a Real Skate shop in Columbia South Carolina called Bluetile and a Real Skate Shop in Canada called Blue Tile Lounge…stay off the meth and DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!
jeremy
fucking posers
kilwag
I’m sending Johnny Rad to mediate this disagreement.
bob
i doubt he even knows who that is !
bob
and dont “you” know the blue tile lounge is from a powell video from the 80’S – so tell the fags at the columbia skate shop to suck it !along with everyone in canada! what have you ever built in your entire life – so do your homework , then come to chas . so i can give you an F ….. let me guess you were tight pants and listen to blink 187 , typical poser………bob hart
jesus crust
!!! YES !!!!
kilwag
My favorite quote: “No one gets their deposit back, we
C.Lowe
Man when I first skated this thing I tryed to ride into the deep end about 2 times. I wasn’t even really that drunk. Once you get the hang of it tho its one of the best places to skate.
bob hart
its funny how i walk threw the bowl in my house everyday , but its the pictures that make me really want to skate the place..good job steve
bobcat
i’m heading down there (Mt Pleasant) in October for my 20th high school reunion – it’ll be nice to see the old stomping grounds and check out some new spots.
jakeandannoy
Good shit, SCphotog, Randy. Best post all month and great photo’s with this…keep it up,and you could have yourself an on-line magazine some day!
SCphotog
Folks have often tried to “ride” the graphics.
nweyesk8
the illusion of a deep end is really awesome too, I could see being drunk and trying to go into the deep 🙂
JM
Wow the painted ladder & coping block to painted look like coping block are sick too!!
Chip
Dig the stenciled tile work.