A call has gone out to all skateboarders to “drop-in” to a skate jam next month in memory of a prominent skater and tattooist who died of cancer.

The event on Saturday, December 9 will be a Falmouth Skatepark fundraiser but will also be in memory of Christian “Hold Fast” Forrester who was diagnosed with cancer during the lockdown.

The event from 7pm to 10pm will be held at the Love Park indoor skatepark in the former Argos Falmouth on Berkeley Vale.

Falmouth Packet:

Christian's mum Helen, with the help of Simon Van Evelingen from Sessions Surf and Skate Shop, have produced a range of skate decks, hoodies and T-shirts using Christian's Tattoo artwork.

These are all to be sold and all of the proceeds to be donated to the Falmouth skatepark project at Dracaena Playing Fields.

The event’s organisers are calling out to all skateboarders and anyone that knew Christian to come along for the evening whether skateboarding or just coming for a chat with Christian’s family and friends.

For those that knew Christian that aren't able attend that would like to support could do so by donating to the go fund me page at https://gofund.me/b1b5feba

Christian’s mum Helen says Christian Rae Forrester ( tattooing under the name Christian Holdfast) was born on June 8, 1974 and grew up with his brother Keith and sister Polly in the family’s cottage in Budock Water.

His mum says he developed a love of skateboarding at an early age and built his first skateboard at the age of 12.

“Facilities back then were few and far between and he built his own ramps which he clattered up and down on- no doubt driving our neighbours crazy!,” she said.

“The big treat was to go out to the little skate park at Playing Place but it wasn’t the most accessible place for a young teenager.”

When he left school he took up an apprenticeship with Westerly yachts and this eventually took him all over the world to work building luxury yachts.

While in Italy working he began to develop an allergy to the resins and he started to develop another passion for art-body art in the form of tattooing.

Again this took him all over the world where he continued to use his woodworking skills to help revamp many tattoo studios.

He eventually set up his own studio in Fano, Italy where he lived for a number of years. A little over four years ago he was drawn to come back to Falmouth having secured a position in Time and Tide on the High Street.

 

“Little did we realise that he was almost certainly already ill when he came back to Falmouth and was sadly diagnosed with liver cancer just as lockdown hit at the end of march 2020,” said Helen.

“He began chemotherapy and I came down to care for him two days after his birthday in the June. The prognosis was poor and we sadly lost him on August 1.”

While he was ill the family says it received tremendous kindness from Simon and also Sarah and Eddie who at the time were running the skatepark at Mount Hawk.

“I have never forgotten these kindnesses,” says Helen.

She says in the summer she was visiting Falmouth and went in to see Simon with an idea that she wanted to run past him - did he think we could get some of Christian’s artwork onto skateboards?

It began a fundraising idea to commemorate what would have been Christian’s 50th birthday next June [2024] said Helen.

She said Simon and his technical associate made her little dream become a reality and the boards plus matching tee shirts and hoodies will be on sale at the commemorative skate jam in Sarah and Eddie’s new indoor skatepark.

“The response has been amazing and I am so looking forward to coming down from Scotland and being surrounded by so many people who knew and loved Christian and to be able to make a contribution to a facility in Falmouth that I know he would have loved,” she said.