Rad City

THEN AND NOW….

Having grown up in Benfleet I left for pastures new in 2001.

Now over 20 years later, here I am, back in my home town,

with my own business and reflecting on my youth!

2024 – I’m sitting in my crystal shop at the back end of Shafers Centre at Tarpots, looking through the doors onto the Tattoo shop that now resides there. There have been a lot of changes around here since I left and my mind wanders – I go back, way back, to my childhood, back to the 80s… the Tattoo shop fades and I see a quite different scene……

If you were a youngster in the 1980s, there was one mode of transport that you lived for – your BMX bike! For those of you that had a BMX bike in the 80s, the place to go was Rad City…. the best BMX bike shop around. Rad City was located at the back of Shafers – where the Tattoo shop is now!

Growing up in Overton Road, Rad City was the place to go to check out all the amazing bikes and accessories. Me and my mates would go for a ride to Shafers to just look at them.