Beyond Boards

Episode 87 with Paul O'Connor, skateboarder and academic from Exeter, England.

Together we discussed him growing up in Devon and picking up his first board in the late 80’s, developing an interest for research early on which eventually led him to start his academic journey in the late 90’s, moving to Hong Kong in 2001 where he spent the next 15+ years exploring among other exciting things the sociology of religion and in particular Islam, transitioning into skateboarding-focused research projects from 2014 onwards, his book “Skateboarding and religion” which came out in 2019, moving back with his family to the UK in 2020 to teach Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Exeter, his upcoming projects…

(00:13) – Intro
(01:25) – Growing up in Devon
(04:55) – First skate video
(07:57) – Beginning his academic journey
(11:38) – Moving to Hong-Kong
(12:11) – PhD with the University of Queensland
(14:11) – Starting to teach in Hong-Kong
(18:56) – Adjunct lecturer at Charles University in Prague
(22:00) – Transition into skateboarding focused research
(27:20) – Skateboarding related projects he’s worked on
(34:13) – Friends questions
(34:20) – Iain Borden
(37:47) – Brian Glenney
(42:15) – Maurice Crandall
(45:56) – Dani Abulhawa
(48:56) – Candy Jacobs
(50:45) – Patrick Kigongo
(56:20) – Esther Sayers
(01:00:32) – Benjamin Duester
(01:04:05) – Chris Giamarino
(01:09:00) – Tom Critchley
(01:15:05) – Stuart Maclure
(01:17:19) – Lizzie Heath
(01:20:42) – Ryan Sherman
(01:27:28) – Cole Nowicki
(01:30:43) – Harry Meadley
(01:34:23) – Indigo Willing
(01:36:44) – John Dahlquist
(01:43:16) - Conclusion

For more information and resources: https://linktr.ee/beyondboards

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