As Hild Bede Cheer Captain this year, Sol Lawes is my saviour. A perfect role model for my new male recruits; Sol has proved that cheerleading is far from a ‘girls thing’ and has definitely changed the image of cheerleading around Durham. A physics student, DJ, Captain of Trevs Cheer and a Diva, we couldn’t wait to interview this busy second-year student!
Hi Sol, tell us a bit about yourself. What do you study? What year are you in, and what college?
Hey, howâs it going? I am a second year physicist from Trevelyan College.
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Whatâs your favourite thing about Durham?
Thatâs a hard question , but Iâd have to say the thing that stands above the rest is the people! I love the range of people that Iâve been exposed to since coming to university.
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Weâve heard that youâre into DJing, what kind of music do you like best?
Ahh, I hate answering this question, because I always feel like a clichĂ©. But my favourite stuff to listen to and mix is deep house, garage and drum and bass. But I also like to listen to some more chilled out stuff too when Iâm relaxing. I do enjoy the Durham nightlife too, a bit of cheese never hurt anybody!
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What events do you DJ at?
I DJ a lot at Trevs but also do other colleges events such as Greyâs Informal Ball. Iâm also part of Durham University DJ Society, Â who I have done live gigs for on Purple Radio. In fact, we have a gig this Thursday (29.10.2015) in collaboration with Hip Hip Society at Loft, which will be offering something a bit different to the usual Durham nightlife!
Photo Credit: Charlie Smith Â
 How long have you been doing it for and how did you learn?
Iâve been DJing for about a year now. Just before I came to uni I bought some basic equipment and just got to it! With this sort of thing, practice makes perfect, so itâs just about putting in the work hours and finding out what works for you; trial and error. A few YouTube videos have helped expose me to different techniques too. I have a real love for music though, so Iâm constantly listening to new songs that Iâve found from various places and thinking about ways I could work them into a set.
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We also heard that youâre a cheerleader, who do you cheer for and what made you decide to join?
Haha! Well it all started off as a drunken dare during my freshers week, which resulted with me and a few friends going to a Trevs Cheer training practice and I immediately grew to it. I think what captured me about it, was the fact that I was able to get a really good work out, (lifting people can be pretty tiresome at times), but in a really social environment! I am now Captain of Trevs Cheer and am really looking forward to the year ahead. Iâm also Social Sec for the Durham Divas co-ed squad this year too, (Iâm pretty sure I do more cheerleading at uni than physics). I joined the squad during the first term of my first year; a friend told me about it, so I went along to try outs and loved it! Iâve met some of my closest friends through cheer, so Iâm very glad that I tried something new.
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What sort of things do you do, as a guy, in cheerleading routines?
We tend to be bases, so essentially, we do the lifting, throwing and catching. Although we do occasionally get lifted in the air during training! My favourite part of cheer is the stunting, when weâre lifting and throwing someone, but there is also dance and various other bits of gymnastics which the whole squad is involved in and I really enjoy these tooâŠespecially the dance, I like to get sassy! Since being in the team Iâve been fortunate enough to receive gymnastics coaching and develop skills that I never would have had an opportunity to develop had I not done cheer.
Why is it beneficial to the squad to have guys in it?
It adds a different element having guys. We are able to bring some more strength to the table which means we are able to hit harder and more impressive stunts. We also provide a lot of support when people are learning or trying new stunts, we are able to provide a sturdy platform for them to develop their skills. I also think that it is beneficial having guys in the squad for moral. I believe that there are some really positive social benefits having a wider mix of people in the squad.
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What do you enjoy the most about cheerleading?
I really enjoy the physical side of it. Cheering for Trevs, the Co-ed Squad and also University Group Stunt means that Iâm training a lot. Not only that but we do a lot of conditioning too which has helped me as a sportsman in general, my improved flexibility has really aided my squash game.
A lot of people say cheerleading is for âgirlsâ, what do you think about that?
I think that when people say that, theyâre imagining girls dancing around with pom pomâs at American Football games. That couldnât be further from what we do. Cheer is essentially gymnastics, but instead of using aparatus, youâre using humans. This means that you have to working in complete synchronicity with everyone else in your group, and for that it doesnât matter what gender you are.
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What would you say to âcheerleading isnât a sportâ?
You clearly havenât seen what cheerleading actually is, come along and try it, then weâll see if you still think it isnât a sport.
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Whatâs your favourite cheerleading memory?
Competing at competitions with the whole squad probably wins this one. There arenât many things that can match the thrill of competing in front of hundreds of people with the people that you have trained with all year for this moment.
Have you had any embarrassing cheerleading moments?
Well, at college comp, a friend and I had to wear some old female tops, (there wasnât any spare uniform), so we went out in what were essentially crop tops! We thought we may as well go all the way though, so to top it off, we put bows in our hair too!
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 Sum up in a few words why other guys should join college or uni cheerleading?
If youâre looking to meet new people, do something a bit different or get a good work out, why not try cheer, itâs a lot less boring than a gym,
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Cover Photo Credit: Charlie SmithÂ
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