BA. KU.: Kult Skating/Dark Rituals by Anthony Tafuro (powerHouse Books, 2015)
The Barrier Kult is a ritualistic crew of anonymous professional and amateur skateboarders based in Vancouver, BC, who draw inspiration from black metal.
Some BA. KU. members skate professionally, but all adopt fictional names when skating as Barrier Kult. The group's founding members are Depth Leviathan Dweller, Deer Man of Dark Woods, and Vlad Mountain Impaler.
From a 2015 Vice interview with Depth Leviathan Dweller by Chris Nieratko:
Nieratko: What is your take on the current state of skating and the infiltration of the jock-mentality? DLD: WHEN STRIPPED DOWN, ESSENTIALLY SKATEBOARDING IS AN ACTIVITY, ‘A FORM OF GAME’ THAT ALMOST ACCIDENTALLY TRANSLATED INTO A PUNK ETHIC IN THE EARLY 80S. YES, THE CRIMINALITY OF SKATEBOARDING—FENCE HOPPING, DESTROYING ‘PROPERTY,’ AGGRESSIVE MOVES, ETC. MAKES IT TRANSLATE INTO SOMETHING MORE HARDCORE / AGGRO—HENCE THE INEVITABILITY OF PUNK CULTURE, BUT WE SEE THE 1990s+ CONTEMPORARY ‘FREESTYLE TRICKERY’ TRANSLATED TO THE STREET ADDING A COMPLEXITY TO THE ACTIONS THAT HERALD THE CONSEQUENCE OF JOCK CULTURE. WE SEE NO COINCIDENCE THAT COMPLEX TRICKS LEAD TO JOCK MENTALITY, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY CAN BE STRUCTURED AND LANDED IN FRONT OF A CROWD OR ON A TELEVISION. THE ANONYMITY ADDS TO THE STRUCTURE OF THE BARRIER KULT AND ITS DISDAIN FOR SKATEBOARDING’S OBSESSION WITH SUPPOSED CREATIVITY AND CHARACTER. JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN LAND A ‘HARD TRICK’ ON A SKATEBOARD DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU ARE A CREATIVE BEING, OR A PERSON THAT I SHOULD LISTEN TO TO HEAR POTENTIALLY MISDIRECTED AND UNEDUCATED VIEWS ON DIFFERENT SUBJECTS. THERE IS NOTHING MORE POISONOUS THAN SKATEBOARD PROS THAT USE THE PUBLIC APPRECIATION OF THEIR ‘SKATEBOARD TRICKERY’ TO PUSH SOMETHING LIKE RELIGION, FASHION, OR TRICK TRENDS ON OTHER SKATEBOARDERS. Nieratko: I’m from New Jersey, home of the Jersey Barrier. I’m curious why you’ve chosen the barrier as your main canvas? Don’t you feel limited by only skating one thing? DLD: THE JERSEY BARRIER ACTS AS AN ACCESSIBLE ALTAR TO TIGHT TRANSITION SKATEBOARDING. BEING ABLE TO NEGOTIATE AND KNIFE [SKATEBOARD] THE VIOLENT TRANSITION OF A JERSEY / K-RAIL / RITUAL BARRIER RE-ENACTS THE CULT AND APEX FEELING OF SKATEBOARDING THE SHALLOW END OF A POOL OR SOME OBSCURE TRANSITIONS FOUND AT AN ABANDONED WATERSLIDE PARK. THE ELLIPTICAL TRANSITION OF THE HIGHWAY BARRIER ALSO HERALDS BACK TO THE TIME OF EARLY 80s HALF- AND QUARTER-PIPES AND THE VERT CULTURE THAT REVOLVED AROUND DUPLICATING TIGHT POOL TRANSITIONS INTO BACKYARD RAMPS. THE CONTROL AND RITUAL OF THE OCCULT AND ELITE BLACK WAR METAL KEEPS THE BARRIER KULT MILITANT IN ITS DEDICATION TO THE RITUAL BARRIER.
