OBM (Odd Ball Mall) Mk. 2 has been opened a little while now, so we spoke to Euan and Neil about the highs and lows of trying to balance work, drink riding and hot sales assistants:

How long has the shop been open now?
Euan: About ten weeks.

Has it flown or dragged by?
Neil: Flown by.
Euan: It has kind of flown by. It's been ten weeks, but it just seems like a couple really.

What's been the hardest thing so far about getting the whole thing up and running?
Euan: [Expletive deleted] lawyer's bills! [laughs]

What for?
Euan: Setting us up as a limited company.
Neil: And lots of other silly things

What have been the good things about starting up the shop? Headsets with carbon fibre spacers?
Euan: Aye, but I picked that up at trade [price] off one of my mates.
Neil: There have been a lot of new riders appearing as well, from Edinburgh, that we've not met before.

I suppose things will get even better when the skatepark finally opens.
Euan: Aye - we're getting some trails built as well, in the south side of Edinburgh, in Gracemount.

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Is that an official thing?
Euan: Aye - he's supposed to be getting a JCB next week. So that should be all right. There's going to be three runs: a beginner run, a medium run and a 'Melville' run.
Neil: The part of the land that it's getting built on is downhill too, and it's got a dog-leg.
Euan: It's a youth centre, and they've got about three acres of land. They're also talking about getting some concrete down so they could put ramps on.

Like a bowl?
Euan: No - just a slab with ramps on it.
Neil: It's a really nice site for it all as well.
Euan: It'll be like a massive run - the main one will probably be about 200 yards. There's gonna be a lot of jumps in it, like.

Berms?
Euan: Big berms. There'll have to be berms and rollers 'cos of the way the land lies.
Neil: They'll have to be built around the trees as well.

That'll make it better though, eh?
Neil: More interesting, yeah.

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When's it due to be finished then?
Euan: I'd say within a month there'll be something to ride. We've also started this 'Scottish BMX Association', which is £3 to join for the year and it's just so we could stick money together..
Neil: ..to buy shovels and hire diggers.
Euan: Aye - stuff like that. But it'll also mean that we'll have a voice that we'll be able to apply in sports councils and to the Lottery and so on.

How long has that been going on?
Euan: Well we had the constitution meeting a few weeks ago. I'm on the committee, but I didn't want to put myself forward as chairman or anything like that.

So how many people are involved [noticing Euan's strangely shaped/coloured elbow] what happened to your elbow?!
Euan: Broke it off, man! [laughs]

Sorry about that - how many people are involved?
Euan: I'm not sure, but anyone can join. We got the application forms done last week and we're going to have a big pile of them in the shop, so hopefully we'll get lots of people signing up.