Melbourne’s locked down for the sixth time when I speak to Brad Saunders, but he has not been deterred from hitting the streets for his ‘daily exercise’. Later today, he’s planning on meeting up with Jeremy Corea to skate, and then tonight, he’s hoping to shoot another photo for this interview with Wade McLaughlin. Brad is a certified rail chomper, and he’s not afraid to step up to some pretty formidable spots. It would be tempting to say Brad’s got balls of steel, except that he got sacked on a kinker a while ago, an incident which disproved this description. Brad actually ripped his scrotum open. But after a few needles in the nads, some stitches, and an overnight stay in hospital, he was back in the streets doing what he does best.
At the tender age of 19, Brad lives in Melbourne, works at Fast Times and recently got his first car – a little Mazda 3. If it weren’t for the pandemic, Brad would probably be in the US right now, knuckling down filming for his next video project and grinding ridiculous rails. As it stands though, he’s making the most of the opportunities Melbourne has to offer. And as these photos confirm, Brad is on an absolute tear.
West Sumatra
I moved from Indonesia to Australia when I was two, so I don’t remember much before it – pretty much just mie goreng every day. Before COVID happened, I used to go back at least once a year. It was always good to go back because it disconnects you from everything. Over there, you don’t really worry about things. Everyone’s just having fun and stoked to be around each other. You can ride motorbikes without a license. You can do whatever you want.
There are three famous skaters from Bali, and there are two from where I’m from, West Sumatra. Indra Leonardo and Sanggoe Tanjung are two of the most known skateboarders in Indonesia, and weirdly enough, we’re all from the same small town in the middle of nowhere. It’s pretty strange that we’re all from the same area – there’s no concrete. When my mum would go back to see her family, I would go and skate with Indra and Sanggoe.
They make a way bigger deal of contests over there. They’re always held at festivals, so there’s usually a massive crowd and music and huge stages. I won a little bit of money doing them, back when I
