Max Couling and Neihana Tonkin have come out with a new product called Polly Repair Co, which is a gap-filling compound specifically formulated for fixing street spots. You’ll know Max as a Melbourne-dwelling street skater from NZ, who rides for Lovesick, Nike and RVCA, and Neihana as the filmer who made Bread & Butter, along with endless clips in all sorts of international skate videos. The pair came up with the idea of Polly about a year ago, after using Knead It and other generic Bunnings compounds to fix up spots they were trying to skate. Part of the idea behind Polly was to make the product more accessible to skaters and to encourage more people to get out there and take the initiative to patch up their local ledge, backyard pool or DIY spot. As Max explains, the more skaters out there fixing spots, the more spots there will be.
Interview by Nat Kassel.
Photos by Paul Battlay.
How did Polly start?
Polly started because we were always using the Bunnings version of this shit when we were out skating. We were stealing it, and everyone was using it. We realised this stuff’s pretty sick; it’s pretty handy. We thought we should get our own formula and market it for skating. Everyone was using it, so why not? And we wanted to have our own style of doing it, our formula, and control of the brand.
What sets Polly apart from the other products?
Polly’s got steel fragments insideit, so it’s more like steel when you harden it. It goes super hard because it’s got industrial steel shavings in it. We had samples made to try them out. There are so many different compounds out there, so we had to get the right prototype and change a few things. We spent about a year testing out different compounds and getting it right.
How do you use it?
Polly is for filling gaps and cracks in a ledge or any other spot. I will usually grindstone the ledge first and make sure the dust is completely clear. You break off a bit of the compound – however much you think you’ll need to fill the gap. Then you mix it together with your fingers. It comes in a log, and the inside of the log is the hardener and the outside layer is the steel. You mould them together and it heats up and expands. Then you push it into the ledge, shape it the way you want it and leave it to dry. I usually go over it again with a grindstone or clear coat, depending on how rough the ledge is, but if you’re in a rush, you could chuck it in there and it should grind though.
There are other uses for it too. I’ve done a lot of tampering with spots. I’ve put it on top of little bumps or caps or kinks on a handrail. You can shape up a little ramp to the cap or the kink, easing the friction so that you can grind or slide through it. You could use it on a broken up pool as well. I’m sure DIY spot builders can find uses for it, just for little finishing touches on what they’ve already done. I mostly use it for plazas or street spots that need fixing.
Is Polly going to have a team?
The plan is to get it out to skaters that we like. I have some American friends and I like the way they skate, and I know it will be a good asset for them to have. We’ll probably try to give a bunch away to skaters. If there are more spots for everyone to skate, that works for us as well.
Beyond Polly, what other tools are in your arsenal for fixing spots?
I have everything in my arsenal. I have sabre saws, bolt cutters, clear coat, paint, a grinder, grindstones, chains and caution tape. I usually go and do it in a real serial killer way. I’ll stalk it, and then I’ll go and prep the spot before I skate it. I usually like to go and do it by myself, then go back later, when it’s ready. Maybe if I were cutting something in the middle of the day, I’d rock high vis, but I don’t usually. Sometimes I’ll do it blatantly. If I’m just fixing a ledge, I’ll sit on it and go about my business like it’s not illegal and not a problem. But if it’s something that involves grind- stoning or breaking something, I’ll do it stealth, sometimes in the middle of the night.
Have you ever been busted for fixing up a spot?
I’ve nearly been arrested a couple of times. One time we were trying to pull this rail off this big old St Kilda Road Hubba. We got caught red- handed. It was the middle of the night and we were just ripping at it. The cops were standing above us; someone must have called them. They were like, “You guys are fucked. Get in the back [of the cop car]”. We were like, “Fuck, we’re busted.” They asked us for ID, and we said we didn’t have any on us. They said they were going to take us home and grab it. We thought we were fucked. Then the radio goes off and it’s like, “Shots fired, Footscray, all units, something something.” The cops told us to get out, and we were like, “What?” They said, “Grab your shit, fuck off!” Then they opened the door for us, kicked us out and sped off real quick. It was insane. I remember I just grabbed a beer out of my bag and we started walking back to the city like nothing had happened. It was wild. I feel like I’ve gotten away with so much stuff like that. Now I think you might as well just go for it if you want results. I don’t condone destroying shit, but sometimes you’ve just got to do it.
When it comes to Polly, is part of the motivation to make the product more available and to encourage people to go out and fix up their local ledge?
Oh, for sure. It’s also a way for people to have originality, instead of skating the same stuff that everyone else skates. That’s the way I look at it. I fix up spots because I want to skate spots that haven’t been skated, and I want to get stuff out that hasn’t been seen before.
Max reaps the rewards of the fruits of his labour with a switch crooks.
