Lewis Marnell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
3 December 1982
Lewis Kristian Marnell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Lewis Kristian Marnell 3 December 1982 Melbourne, Australia |
| Died | 18 January 2013 (aged 30) Melbourne |
| Other names | Jah Lew |
| Occupation | Professional skateboarder |
| Spouse | Nami |
Lewis Kristian Marnell[1] (3 December 1982 – 18 January 2013)[2] was a professional skateboarder from Melbourne, Australia who was Slam Magazine's 2008 "Skater of the Year".[3] Marnell died in January 2013, following complications related to type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, a condition that was diagnosed when he was 10 years old.[4] Numerous tributes were published following Marnell's death and his longtime skateboard deck sponsor, Almost Skateboards, continues to use the hashtag "#LewisMarnellForever"—on 15 and 29 July 2014, the company published the hashtag with 2006 video footage of Marnell skateboarding in Japan.[5][6]
Marnell was born in 1982 in Melbourne, Australia and grew up in both Australia and Sweden. His parents were Janet and Jan, his brothers were Andrew and Jonas, and his sisters were Jessica and Ebba Louise. Marnell's older brother Jonas was an early skateboarding influence.[2]
Marnell dropped out of high school in Sweden and moved back to Australia to pursue a career in professional skateboarding. In 2008 Marnell provided his perspective on leaving school: "I actually do wish that I just did it, straight up and got it out of the way. I ended up just dropping out. I went to a bunch of schools and was always behind. It became really repetitive, go to year 10, drop out, start year 10 again, drop out." Marnell continued to travel between Australia and Sweden before finally settling in Australia in 2002.[7] Dustin Dollin, Marnell's friend at the time and now a popular professional skateboarder (his primary sponsors are Baker, Vans and Volcom), provided Marnell with skateboard decks from the Baker company during his early years skateboarding in Melbourne.[8]
Marnell also spoke about his time living in Sweden with his father, who was a television and film producer[9][10] at the time, a role that Jan Marnell continues to fulfill:
Sweden, I moved to Sweden in '96. My dad is Swedish, he moved over there from Australia, lived there for 6 months and after 6 months he asked me if I wanted to come out there and live there for a bit. It was only supposed to be a year but it ended up being 7. I ended up staying there for a while, did some school, did some skating, and tried the Swedish food. It was good.[11]
Marnell also discussed the Swedish climate in relation to Australia:
Sweden has long winters, but their short summers are amazing. Australia is easy living, but so far away from everything ... It's pretty hard for anyone to deal with long cold winters, but being a skateboarder and dealing with it is way harder. I used to play a lot of video games and skate the local indoor park. But you get bored of skating the same old park every day for like nine months. I tried snowboarding a couple of time; it was pretty fun. My homie's dad owned a house in the hills and I would get to go kick it there sometimes and snowboard.[12]
Professional skateboarding
Marnell was initially sponsored by Menace Skateboards and Axion Footwear, before signing with Nike SB, Volcom and Almost.[3] Prior to his promotion into the professional ranks of global skateboarding with the Almost company, Marnell was featured on the inaugural cover of the publication Pop Magazine.[13]
Marnell was featured in the Volcom videos Chichagof, a part that he shared with Dollin, and Let's Live.[14][15] Marnell was also a resident at a Volcom-owned house that was located in Newport Beach, California. Australian skateboard photographer Andrew Mapstone wrote a series, entitled "Now and Then", for the Volcom website, in which he recounted: "Joe [Pease], Lewis, Shane [Cross] and I spent months away from home in California's Newport Beach living at the Volcom Surf House on the sand. We had the most amazing time and we really lived life to the fullest."[16] In 2004 Cross, who died in 2007,[17] and Marnell filmed together in Melbourne at the time that the Globe World Cup was held.
Marnell was one of the first skateboarders to be sponsored by the Nike SB brand and, in 2007, he was the only 'official' Australian skateboarder on the international team. Marnell explained that he was recruited to the team when "they kinda rang me out of the blue one day when I was in Melbourne in 2004, asking me if I liked the shoes to skate in and it all just blew up from there."[18] Marnell remained with Nike SB for the entirety of his time as a sponsored skateboarder and explained his experience with the brand in an interview:
You get treated like a professional athlete with Nike. And that's a good thing. Its weird cos I'm just a skateboarder….but I guess we are athletes in one way or another. The fact also that they are a massive company allows them to give us a lot more support than most others. Things are always sorted and there are very little hiccups when we're on the road or at events.[18]
Marnell was featured in a promotional Internet clip for the re-engineered Nike SB 'Dunk' shoe, a model that he favoured and frequently wore in skateboard video footage. A print advertisement for the re-engineered model was also released and featured Marnell performing a trick at the Melbourne Museum,[19] a famous international skateboarding location that had been used by professional skateboarder Daewon Song in his Skate More video part.[20] In 2008 Marnell appeared with fellow Australian professional skateboarder Alex Campbell in a promotional video for the Australian Nike SB team that was filmed by Middlebrook.[21] Marnell appeared in the Nike SB videos Nothing But The Truth,[1] Don't Fear the Sweeper[22] and SB Chronicles Vol. 1.[23][24]
Marnell's inaugural video part for the Almost company was in the Song/Chris Haslam miniramp video project Cheese and Crackers—Marnell was introduced as a new team member through the inclusion of his part in the "Bonus" section of the DVD release and Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up" is the soundtrack to the part.[25] Marnell achieved professional status for the company in January 2008[13] and Song (co-founder and co-owner of Almost) and longtime videographer Socrates Leal[26] filmed a spoof video part to welcome Marnell. The video, entitled "Almost Filmer Asshole", is shot through the lens of a "poacher" (someone who is attempting to film footage of another skateboarder—usually a professional skateboarder—when that person has not been given permission to do so) who throws Marnell's first professional Almost skateboard deck into the view of the camera, upon being caught by Song and Leal; the video was published on the Almost website and YouTube. Marnell's first board graphic featured a lion waving a Rastafarian flag.[27]
Marnell appeared in numerous promotional features for Almost, both in video and print form. In August 2010, he was interviewed in relation to an Almost advertisement that appeared on the back cover of Transworld Skateboarding magazine, in which Marnell executes a switch frontside flip at the Melbourne Museum location. Marnell explained that the trick happened during an informal skateboarding session, at which filmers or photographers were not present, and revealed that the trick was filmed by Japanese and Australian friends.[28] Marnell's closing trick from his part in the first instalment of Nike SB's Chronicles series was also used for a Transworld back cover (another Almost advertisement) in 2011—Marnell executes a trick known as a "nollie 360 flip" over a model of picnic table that is typically used in the US.[24][29]
A cameo appearance from Marnell is featured in Song's 2011 solo part New Year's Dae that was released through the Berrics website, and a full video part from Marnell is featured in the 2012 Almost video 5 Incher.[30][31][32]
Marnell was sponsored by the Deluxe Distribution company that is based in San Francisco, and rode for Deluxe's Thunder skateboard truck and Spitfire wheel brands.[33][34]
Marnell was the first sponsored skateboarder for an Australian skateboard ointment product "The Cream" that was started in late 2012 by Duncan Ewington and Kris Whiting.[35][36] Marnell produced a promotional video for the product in which he predominantly skateboards in Sweden.[37]
Sponsors
At the time of his death in January 2013, Marnell was sponsored by Almost, Thunder, Spitfire, Nike SB, Modus and The Cream.
Post-death
Lewis Marnell family memorial fund
In late April 2013, a public announcement revealed the problematic financial situation that remains following the death of Marnell. The news emerged together with a fundraising initiative for the "Lewis Marnell family memorial fund" that involved the musician Ben Harper, who reunited with The Innocent Criminals—a band that Harper recorded and performed with for numerous years—for a special re-recording of the song "Jah Work" from the 1997 album A Will To Live.[38]
The organisers of the initiative explained that all of the proceeds from the iTunes[39] sales of the song would be donated to a fund that will financially assist Marnell's family. A YouTube music video was also released at the same time and Harper is featured playing a guitar that was owned by Lewis Marnell—as another fundraising initiative, the guitar will be auctioned in May 2013.[40] As part of the announcement, Harper stated: "Lewis was a brilliant artist and athlete not to mention a truly beautiful soul. We loved him and his contributions to skating, and we thought a song would be a wonderful way to celebrate his life and help his family".[41]
Additionally, Almost released a skateboard deck onto the retail market specifically for the memorial fund in mid-2013. The deck design features a photograph of Lewis Marnell riding a bicycle with two skateboard decks strapped across his back—"Never Forgotten" is written above the image and "Lewis Marnell 1982–2013" is written below. On 4 June 2013, skateboard photographer Seu Trinh (TransWorld Skateboarding magazine) appeared in an Instagram post holding the skateboard deck.[42]
JDRF fundraiser
A January 2015 tribute to Marnell, organised by the Berrics, Nike SB and Almost, was used as a fundraiser for JDRF (formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). The event was held at the Berrics skateboarding facility in California, and was attended by Marnell's family, fellow skateboarders and his Almost teammates. In addition to a silent auction, a limited-edition "Lewis Marnell memorial" skateboard deck, signed by Song, Haslam, Mullen and Youness Amrani, was produced to raise funds for the event, with only 100 made available—the artwork on the deck was designed by Marnell's brother, Jonas Marnell.[43][44]
Awards
Influence
Personal life
In a 2011 video interview, Marnell identified Guy Mariano as his favourite skateboarder.[47]
Others
Luke Croker, a skateboarder who is sponsored by Krooked—a skateboard brand founded/owned by skateboarding pioneer Mark Gonzales—was a long-time friend of Marnell and explained: "He didn't half-arse anything. Everyone's vibe was better around him."[2] Staff photographer at Transworld Skateboarding magazine Oliver Barton dedicated his weekly column "Oliver Barton's Top 5 YouTubes of the Week" to Marnell, stating that "It still seems too surreal to believe that he is not with us any more." Barton featured the Manolo compilation, Marnell-related Dollin footage, Marnell's Australian skateboarding peer Chima Ferguson and a tribute to Cross, who also died in Melbourne.[8][17]
Following his death, a designed portrait of Marnell appeared on the cover of edition No. 193 of SLAM magazine (released on 10 April 2013), together with a corresponding feature article. The portrait was produced by New Zealand-born self-taught artist Gimiks Born[48] and Marnell is described as a "legend" by the publication.[49] A photograph of Marnell was then used for the cover of the 27th edition of The Skateboarder's Journal publication—the edition also featured a tribute article on the skateboarder's career and legacy.[50]
In an April 2013 interview, Nike SB team-mate Paul Rodriguez explained that Marnell's death was unexpected and that it was especially sad to lose someone "so young and vibrant". Rodriguez revealed that he experienced "some good times" with Marnell, who he believed was "a great guy".[51] A "R.I.P." article in memory of Marnell is the closing piece of the Skateboarder magazine's April/May 2013 issue and consists solely of a reflection from professional skateboarder/Dwindle Distribution team manager James Craig. In regard to Marnell's skateboarding, Craig explained: "His presence is undeniable and his skateboarding is a thing of beauty with pop unlike most. His way of floating tricks and the style with which he skated made him so amazing to watch and witness."[52]
Professional skateboarder Shane O'neill, who is also from Melbourne and sponsored by Nike, nominated Marnell's part from the Nike SB Chronicles Vol. 1 skate video as his favourite. In November 2013, he introduced the part, edited without the musical accompaniment, for the "SB Chronicles Unplugged" series of online videos.[53]
Professional skateboarder Morgan Campbell includes a tribute to Marnell in a 2014 music video for Scottish band Whilst. Campbell filmed the video while skateboarding from the Melbourne, Australia suburb of Brunswick to the central business district of Melbourne, and shot footage of an aerosol-paint mural that depicts Marnell's face during the trip.[54]