a brief glance issue_34 by a brief glance skateboardmag

issue _34

GINO IANNUCCI / INTERVIEW

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VANS X REAL TEAM RIDER CHIMA FERGUSON

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Nike Skateboarding presents the third film in the SB Chronicles series.

Featuring

Trevor Colden Karsten Kleppan Omar Salazar L a nce Mounta in

Eric Koston Kevin Bradley Brian Anderson Cory Kennedy

NIKESB.COM

#CHRONICLES3

GINO

IANNUCCI

NYC, december 16th, 2015.

Photo // Jonathan Mehring a brief glance

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THE C O L E

LITE 3

WITH DUALLITE \ SUPER SUEDE \ SUPER STITCH \ ORTHOLITE®

SEE CHRIS COLE’S NEVER BEEN DONE V I D E O AT D C S H O E S . C O M / C O L E L I T E 3

C A L I F O R N I A S P O R T S - T E L 0 1 1 9 2 7 7 9 4 3 - W W W. C A L I F O R N I A S P O R T. I N F O

CHRIS COLE \ BLABAC PHOTO DCSHOES.COM

EDITORIAL // 34

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Please hurt yourself kids !!! If at the end of the day your hands are dirty and you are bleeding, it means it was a good day. (Julien Bachelier) a brief glance

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CONTENTS // 34 Fragments

a convesation with_Gino Iannucci Shredding Athens_DC Italy in Greece Packin’ / Leavin’_Willow, Axel, Albert

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Tom Knox_interview

Karsten Kleppan_Golden days Into The Van_Julien Bachelier Places_Canada/US

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MURDER SKATEBOARDING//CINE

ECITTA’ ON WHEELS OUT SOON

WWW.MURDER.IT

EDITOR and CONCEPT_ Davide Biondani.

(davide@abriefglance.com) ASSOCIATE EDITOR_ Guido Bendotti.

(guido@abriefglance.com) ASSISTANT EDITOR_ Andrew Zolin. TRANSLATIONS_ Jonathan Levin. PHOTOGRAPHERS_

Leo Sharp, Jonathan Mehring, DVL, Fred Mortagne, Craig Dodds, Brian Gaberman, Marcello Guardigli, Davide Biondani, Friedjof Feye, Marcel Veldman Giulia Romano, Bertrand Trichet, Jacob Messex. CONTRIBUTORS_

Nick Jensen, Mario Torre, Francesco Paolo Chielli, Jerome Campbell, Mark Baines, Ale Martoriati, Massimo Bod Ciceri, Mauro Peduto. DESIGN_

Fake Donkey Lab.

GET ALL THE INFOS at: info@abriefglance.com

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FRAGMENTS

Danny Sommerfeld, Bs noseblunt Photo_Friedjof Feye Berlin, Germany.

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FRAGMENTS

Dion McGarrity, Ollie Photo_ Craig Dodds Dublin, Ireland. a brief glance

Michal Juras, Fs smith grind Photo_ Marcel Veldman Warsaw, Poland.

FRAGMENTS

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FRAGMENTS Chris Jones, Crooked grind Photo_ Marcel Veldman Warsaw, Poland.

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NYC, December 2015

A CONVERSATION WITH

GINO IANNUCCI a brief glance

Photography_Jonathan Mehring Interview_Guido Bendotti, Mario Torre, Davide Biondani.

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There are few people who leave indelible and eternal marks in history; artists, painters, poets, or geniuses. The same thing holds true for skateboarding: very few people have left their mark forever in our world. When it comes to skateboarding there is only one thing that makes the difference, and it’s not the number of stairs that one can ollie or the number of tricks that one can do. The difference lies in one simple thing: how you do it. We call it style, and it is the thing that distinguishes one person’s way of doing things from another’s, it is the personal and habitual way one acts, thinks, expresses oneself and lives. And when you talk about style in skateboarding there are no objections, the first person that comes to mind can only be the one with “the best style ever.” Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Luigi Giovanni Marco Iannucci, better known as GINO. ( Mauro Peduto )

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Hi Gino, the very first photo I saw of you was in an Italian skateboard mag, it was 1990/91 and it was a one-foot over a wooden stool. You were very young and in the same article there were some photos of this other skater whose name was Erik Rossetti. Do you remember the day you shot that trick, and what else do you remember about that time? Yes, I remember my good friend Erik Rossetti had Marco Contati (an Italian photographer) come and stay with him in Long Island, NY. I guess they both met sometime in Genova when Erik would go visit family there. I just remember us three going out skating and Marco shooting photos. The one foot over the bench was in front of Erik’s house. You have very strong Italian roots, your dad is from the Naples area, do you come to Italy very often, and when was the last time you came? What was growing up in Long Island in an Italian family like? There was a photo of you for Nike’s “First Sponsor Campaign” shot by Todd Jordan and your dad was reading the Gazzetta dello Sport which is the main Italian sports newspaper (the pink one)... Do you feel your Italian roots? I do make it over to Italy occasionally. Last time I was there was back in Feb 2015 for the Edios Napoli campaign. Growing up in Long Island I had a large Italian community in my town. All from the south of Italy, so I knew many Italian kids and our families all knew each other. Growing up we

all played the usual sports like soccer and hockey but I was the only one that rode a skateboard, so right away I was a bit different from the other kids. Mainly because of the way we dressed. Back in 1987/88 there weren’t many skateboarders in my town, I was one of a handful so of course we stuck out like a sore thumb. Yeah, I feel my Italian roots. Growing up surrounded by my father’s family who all migrated to the States I always felt like the odd ball American mainly because I couldn’t speak Italian and I rode a skateboard. My mother is from England, so the language was never spoken in the house, leaving me and my sister the only two in the family who couldn’t speak fluently. But we always spent holidays and birthdays together. Family is extremely important and we were always together. I love Italy, it’s so beautiful north to south. Rich in history, I feel it’s my favorite place to visit. You have a spot with your name in Roma! Gino’s Gap at the Stadio dei Marmi (the one you nollie bs heeled). Yes, such a nice looking spot, beautiful marble, and if my name is used there then I am honored. What Italian dish are you a master at cooking? And the Italian word you say most often? (swear words included) ha ha. I can make a nice minestrone soup. I’m not a big cook. It’s hard to say, I never say anything in Italian when here in the States but if I were in Italy I guess it would be “grazie,” and all the bad words.

Bs 5-0 grind nose grab.

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You are a testimonial for the current AW collection for the American/Italian male fashion brand Eidos Napoli. Can you tell us more about this experience? Looking at the photos you look like a real professional! Antonio Ciongoli is the creative director of Edios Napoli. Antonio was and is a skateboarder with an amazing eye for men’s fashion. Being that he is a skateboarder, that’s how us working together for his campaign came about. A long time ago he was spending time in Rome and one day while carrying my pro-model skateboard, my cousin who lives in Rome saw him and stopped him on the street and said, “that is my cousin on your

You were always on the forefront of the ”shoe fashion.” I do remember some footage from back in the days with you wearing some Fila’s or some strange Nike models. There was a time in the 90’s when wearing non-skate shoe brands was super trendy. Yes, of course I remember. I don’t think it was really a trend to wear odd sneakers, I just remember there not being many skate shoe companies making anything that got me siked to wear, but if so I’m sure we would have. Shoe sponsors weren’t that important back then too, nobody was being supported financially, so naturally we would seek out cool stylish

skateboard.” So they spoke for a bit and sometime afterwards, while he was attending USC in LA, I was skating the ledges at USC and he stopped me and told me about meeting my cousin. Now fast forward many years later he’s doing Edios Napoli and thought it would be cool to get me for their campaign. He knew a mutual friend and we got talking, we met, he reminded me about him meeting my cousin and us meeting at USC, and after seeing the clothes and what the brand was all about I was more than happy to give it a try. Since then we’ve become good friends and of course skateboarding brought all this about. The experience was cool, we had a small crew and since we had skateboarding backgrounds we automatically clicked which made it easier.

kicks to skate in outside the skate world. Also because a lot of us were sneaker connoisseurs from the get go.

Are you into clothing and fashion? What kind of brands/style do you like? Of course I love clothing and fashion but probably not much more than the average person who actually thinks about what he puts on his back. I like lots of brands like RL, Brooks Brothers, Faconnable, Eidos, Nike, etc.

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I remember your Axion model, they were pretty good at the time, can you imagine skating in them now with a 7.5-inch board? ha ha. Yes, I remember the Axion Islander. I was happy with the overall look of the shoe back then, and compared to what was out at the time I thought it stayed on the sleek side, but now looking at them they’re still a big shoe, and those on top of a 7.5-inch board, I’d find it pretty hard to roll comfortably. I loved Axion though, Kareem and Guy and myself. It was great when it first started.

What was being a pro skater back in 1994 like compared to these days? It’s completely different. More skaters, more parks, progression is faster, more sponsors, more demand for video and productivity. More outlets for media, websites, websites, websites. More everything, more more more. It’s as simple as this, back in ‘94 you would film a part in Los Angeles or in New York or maybe both, or wherever you were from. Now guys are flying to China to skate a ledge, South America for a ledge, Mexico for a ditch, Berlin for a bump, Barcelona for anything. Just think about the travel budget for a video, it must be insane when in reality all that shit could have

Now it seems the 90’s are very popular and trendy in skateboarding. Have you ever thought, “Hey, I was there and the 90’s weren’t always that great after all…” Ha ha. I don’t think the early 90’s were a dark time in skating, I’m very fond of the early 90’s. After all that’s when I turned pro and everything started. Dark in terms of no money in skating, yes you can say that, but personally I didn’t give a shit about that and that’s why it was such a good time, because if you skated it was all for the right reasons. The purest reasons.

been done in your own backyard. Traveling is fun though, and I wouldn’t hesitate to fly down under for a no comply. Perfect example is Guy Mariano in Mouse. All filmed in Los Angeles and no need to go anywhere else to put together one of the best parts ever. I like thinking about that type of shit.

one of the very first pros, at the time Nike was not what it is today in skateboarding. Why did you choose to ride for them at the time? Was it a good bet? I chose to ride for Nike because it was presented to me at a time when I was not happy with the direction of skate shoes. To me they were all unacceptable. It started off very small which I liked because it seemed clear that our input was important and needed. Also it’s Nike, you know damn well whatever happens you’re going to be wearing the best shoes with the best resources to make them.

What was your favorite time in skateboarding? My favorite times skateboarding were first when I was going into Manhattan all the time and we had a crew of skaters that always skated together. Whether in Manhattan or on Long Island, we all skated together, learned new tricks together, ate, slept, and shit skateboarding. This was around 1990-1992. Then a really good time was first turning pro, living in California, and all the first trips we took all over the world. It was exciting, we were young, and we didn’t give a shit.

You got on Nike in 2001/2002 and were

You co-starred in an advertisement with John McEnroe, one of my personal idols! You are both from NYC and you both play tennis, how was working with him? Do you have the same bad temper? I guess on some days you can say we do have the same temper, but all skaters have that in them at one time or another. Working with him was great, it was quick, not much conversation. He showed up, they powered his face and we shot the scene. Once we got it he was off to play some tennis. We had a quick talk about the shoe, his memories of the shoe, and that was enough for me. I was really happy he made himself available for that campaign.

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We are from the same generation and back in the days skateboarders were more into skateboard brands, it was hard for big corporations to get into the skateboard market, let’s say skateboarders were more jealous and proud of their world. Now it seems like it’s exactly the opposite. What do you think about big corporations influencing the market, “buying” all the best skaters and hiring the best people in the industry for key job positions? Do you think skateboarding will lose its original spirit or will skateboarders always be the same? I don’t think big corporations even wanted to enter the skateboard market. To them we (the skateboard market) were probably looked at the same way as Razor Scooters. They didn’t see potential so we were left only with skate brands and that’s just how it was back then, and that was cool. The industry was smaller, less dickheads were involved in skateboarding, and there was a realness that can’t be described among everyone riding a skateboard. Golden days. As far as big corporations influencing the market and signing all the best skaters, what can I say, it’s just the natural evolution and progression of something. It’s going to be good and bad. Companies like Nike have done so much positive shit for skateboarding over the past twelve or thirteen years, they can’t be denied. Why do you think I represent them, Koston represents them, Lance Mountain represents them, now Guy Mariano represents them. We are talking about the realest of the real, truest of the true skateboarders. They don’t seem to have a problem with it and neither do I. Skateboarding’s original spirit will always be there for every kid as they skate and get older. It will just be different for each generation or each kid. I know skateboarding’s original spirit from my generation is still here because I’m still here and I’m not going anywhere. Just because these companies are

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huge doesn’t mean they don’t have true skateboarders with the same love and passion as the skaters working behind the scenes. From the outside it seemed like you were skating for the different companies, you were filming and doing your things as a professional skater, but at the same time it looked like you were not much into the skateboard industry side of things, like you were not much interested in it. Was it a bit like that, or was it just an impression we had? I’ll keep this one simple, I’m a simple person and all I ever wanted to do was to be true to myself, never do things I felt uncomfortable doing. Easier said than done, and yes, I guess I did make it a point not to get too overwhelmed by the industry and who’s who and what’s new and bla bla bla. I always knew it’s only about how you carry yourself and your skating. That’s it. We are able to do whatever we want, when you get on a skateboard you’re like an artist and whatever you think of doing on your board, spots you like to skate, you’re painting a picture. There’s so many interesting things that go into filming that people don’t realize. Only the skater knows and sees the smallest things that will not go unnoticed. I guess I always felt that the less I knew about what was going on, the easier it would be for me to just do me.

Switch tailslide, Queens, NY.

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Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a simple person and all I ever wanted to do was to be true to myself, never do things I felt uncomfortable doing.

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How many times have people asked you when you’re going to put out a new video part? You know everybody would love to have the pleasure to watch a new part by you, do you think people have too many expectations of you? And is that something that you’re glad of, or does it embarrass you? Ever thought, “Hey guys, I’m 42 years old, what do you want from me?!” It’s nice to hear people want to see you skate and it also sucks because when you don’t put out enough content according to the masses you feel you’re disappointing people. There’s nothing worse for your self-esteem than feeling like you’re letting people down or not doing your job. Yes, I’m 42 and yes, it’s not as easy to drop a video part, but I will never forget the fact that I love to skate, skate everyday, and when it feels right to try and film something I do and it usually works out for the best. Most naturally. Ok, so when will your new video part be out? Ha ha… ok, you can insult me if you want. At the moment I’m skating a lot and hoping to put a little something together soon. What about the Fucking Awesome/Hockey project? How was starting this new adventure after so many years spent with Chocolate, did it give you new motivation to skate? Can Hockey be for FA what Chocolate was for Girl in the beginning? People ask, why change sponsors now, at this point in your career, at this age. Fuck that shit, why not! I have the same motivation, I just feel a bit differently and better fitted back with Dill and FA. Can it be what Girl/Chocolate was? No, Girl/Chocolate was its own thing in their time. FA/Hockey is its own thing and their time is now.

The young riders in the FA/Hockey teams seem pretty focalized on skateboarding and on doing their own things… in some ways they remind me of the early World Industries team... would you agree? I fully agree, that’s one attraction I had to the team. Doing themselves and not giving a shit about anyone else. What are proud of in your life? Both inside and outside of skateboarding… I’m proud of my morals, I’m proud to be able to admit when I’m wrong, I’m proud of having a 20 plus year career in skateboarding regardless of ups and downs. I’m proud that I’ve always stayed true to myself. I’m proud to have been raised with strong family values and unconditional love and support that I’ll always have for friends and family for as long as I live. What’s the secret for perfect 360 shove-its? Back foot in the dead center of the tail. Pop that shit like a dog covering his crap. It looks like you are hyper critical of yourself, but people love the way you skate so much. Are you your own worst critic? Most definitely I am. I’ll admit I can take myself too seriously sometimes. Skateboarding is too hard and complicated and you cannot fake it, do you agree that there is no money that can push you to skate, and that the most important thing in skateboarding is your own personal motivation? I believe that. Money can motivate you for sure but the best skating isn’t going to come from the influence of money. It will come from inside, a place you can’t explain. And when you’re in that zone, man it’s the greatest feeling. The battle.

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Looking back at your career, have you ever thought, “If I had put more effort into it I could have done more or better?” Of course I sometimes think I could have done more, a lot more, but let’s be realistic, everyone and their mother can think of regrets for anything, so instead just be happy with what’s been done so far. Do you still have fun skating? How often do you go out and where do you prefer to skate? I love skating and I try to skate every day, unless I’m hurt which has been quite often over the past years. I’ll skate anywhere, there’s so many parks these days so I’m always at some park. AVE just became S.O.T.Y. 2015… what do you think about that? I think he deserves it 100%. I think it’s great. Skaters like Guy Mariano, Koston, Jason Dill, and others are still putting out footage of amazing tricks… is 40 the new 20? It can be, if you’re smart and take care of yourself, and skate what you’re capable of skating. Recognizing that is a big step in longevity I think. Guy Mariano and Eric Koston recently left Girl, you left Chocolate… ok, nothing is forever and some changes always bring new motivation… for those who grew up skating in the 90’s this looks like the end of an era! Maybe it is, but then again maybe not. Depends how you look at it. As long as the guys are still skating and looking amazing and fucking it up that era isn’t going anywhere. What are your plans in skateboarding for 2016? Skate, Skate, Skate, and we’ll see where it goes. The future is unwritten.

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Thanks a lot Gino! Thank you very much for this interview. Much love to Davide B. and a brief glance.

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Money can motivate you for sure but the best skating isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to come from the influence of money. It will come from inside, a place you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t explain.

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The Italian & Greek DC SHOES teams...

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Photography and words / Davide Biondani.

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Being part of a very active skateboard team and always involved in tours and new projects is undoubtedly motivating for the riders and is basically the life a skateboard team should be living… goin’ on tour, skatin’, filmin’, producin’ footage and puttin’ it out to promote the brand. The Italian DC team has nothing to learn in this regard, since every year they organize at least 2 different tours, one of which is always abroad. After the missions to Wien, the U.K., and Portugal, this year the guys shredded Athens. And we were lucky enough to go with them. We had the pleasure of flying to the greek capital together with Gummy, Ale Cesario, Fabio Colombo, Danny Galli, Jacopo Cervelli and filmer Luke Fortini. The plan was to skate with the Greek DC team: Thanos, Alex, and Stefanos were our precious guides and great skate buddies for the week.

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Danny Galli // Noseblunt drop in.

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In general, having a local guide is essential for a good skateboard trip, but in Greece it is even more important because it would be very hard to communicate or even read the directions while driving because the idioms are so different. Thanos is a real boss, he was with us every day, planning which spots to go skate, and since the city is very big this was very precious help so as not to waste too much time driving in the heavy traffic. Also, he tried to show us spots that havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been seen much in videos and that was very appreciated by everyone.

Ale Cesario // Switch ollie.

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Fabio Colombo // Nollie heel.

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Athens is really big and full of spots, and with a bit of creativity you can find something to skate at every corner. You need at least one day for every area if you want to check out all the stuff. There are two huge University campuses, the Olympic area, and the city centerâ&#x20AC;Ś just to name some of the places we skated. We also went to Marathon, which is 42 kilometers from the city and is where the famous long-distance race got its name. There we spent the first half of the day fixing the flat on the banks at the small stadium, and the second half of the day getting two tricks. Ha ha ha... Sometime you smile, sometime you cry.

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Ale Cesario // Smith grind.

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Gummy // Bs 50-50 grind.

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Danny Galli // Fs tailslide.

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Walking around we saw signs of the economic crisis the country is going through; a lot of writing on the walls, and banners hanging from the monuments with messages of protest, especially in the city center... and a lot of police watching over the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hot spots in case of riots. A few weeks before our arrival, all the banks in the country closed for a week and it was impossible to withdraw money at the ATM. The locals explained to us that the minimum salary in Greece is now around 350 euros per monthâ&#x20AC;Ś and the state of the economy is very tough. We were happy to see a lot of people around, restaurants full of people, and a city that was very alive.

Stefanos Oikonomakis // kickflip bs tailslide.

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Thanos Panou // Fs crail slide revert.

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Since this was the first time for everyone in Athens, one of the main missions planned was a sightseeing of the city and a visit to the famous Acropolis… but with two skatemaniacs as team managers like Danny and Thanos… we ended up seeing the Pantheon from the city center, like 2 kilometers away… ah, those kids…. Skating in Athens was a great experience, and considering the amount of spots, living costs, the quality of the food, and the beauty of the city… this could easily be one of the new skate meccas… who knows, for sure I want to go back soon.

Gummy // Fs heel flip.

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Fabio Colombo // Bs kickflip.

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Jacopo Cervelli // Kickflip.

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Danny Galli // Fs ollie over.

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TOM KNOX a brief glance

Photography and words _Davide Biondani.

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I would like to describe a recent experience of visiting Tom’s family home. So Tom’s away on a trip, and me and Jake Harris ring the door bell. Ruth, Tom’s mum opens the door and welcomes us in. We are greeted by a variety of objects, colors, and people inside this beautiful Victorian town house. As I start talking to Ruth, I rest my elbow on a ledge nearly knocking some kind of plastic toy off the side. I soon realize how many things they have. Jake assures me that there is a logic to all of this. His dad Rav is an art director so he makes props, designs sets etc., so things start making a little more sense. In the garden there are more objects than blades of grass: ball games, bikes, sports equipment, decorative items, ornaments, and all sorts of things I can’t even describe. It was a dream come true for us to be making this curiosities board and find such a wealth of character where Tom grew up.Tom’s dad enthusiastically goes upstairs to the attic and comes back with lots of great things. The firstever skateboard prize, a big silver cup Tom won when he was about 14 at a local competition. I addition, there were pictures of him and his brothers, a random owl candle, a Rubix cube, and some rare 50 pence pieces he had collected, as well as an ancient Chinese ball game.Their eclectic charm and welcoming character is what makes them such a unique family, and I can’t help but relate his skill and personality on his skateboard to the things me and Jake discovered that day. ( Nick Jensen )

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Hi Tom, you just came back from LA, did you go for the Vase video premiere? How was it? Yeah, I went to LA for the Vase video premiere. It was really fun, me and Jake had an apartment out there and stayed for a week. We went skating, ate Mexican food and all that. The premiere went down really well, it got good feedback everywhere Are you happy with your part? I really like it. Cheers! Yeah, I am happy with the way it came out. This was the first part I filmed with Jake that I hadn’t seen properly before the premiere so I was excited and nervous. Jake always does a good job though so I wasn’t stressing too hard. Every spot you skate in the video is super rough! What was the most challenging part of filming for it, finding new spots in London or landing on cobblestones? To be honest we don’t think about the roughness as much as people mention. We just try and find good spots. If the ground is a bit rough, we deal with it. I lived in Peckham (south London) with Jake for most of the filming, and I’m from north London so it gave me a whole new area to explore and find spots. I’m not the kind of person who goes and looks for spots, usually I just pass by them during my day to day life. After you pass by a spot on the bus 20 times at some point you’re going to have a look. Jake also knows the way I skate so he always comes through with stuff for me to skate. The filming process with Jake was very natural as I’ve been skating and filming with him for a long time. He’s my best mate, so if it doesn’t work out we can skate a curb and drink a beer.

Ollie down, wallride powerslide.

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“ I’m hav cars and while, h

ving a baby in January so the fast d sexy women will have to wait a ha ha ha.â&#x20AC;?

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Kickflip in.

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Does skating raw surfaces every day make you feel like your skating is more comfortable everywhere else? Actually it doesn’t at all. I am used to surfaces that feel a certain way, so when I go somewhere that has a smooth ground I find it hard to get used to. I think it’s because of the way it feels and the way it sounds. I am quite sensitive to my senses linked with my skating so when there is a change, like from London to California, it can take me a while to get used to it. Are the spots rougher in London or in NYC? I think London is probably rougher because it’s older. New York roads are so good to skate down, I love pushing around there. Being in the middle of all the chaos gives you such a good feeling, and I think that’s one of the best parts of skating. New York and London do have similarities though. At the moment, London is one of the most influential cities in skateboarding. Why is everything that comes out of London (and the UK in general) so cool in your opinion? I guess because the architecture in England or London is so different, and people seem to enjoy it. There is more variety and so it’s more difficult to get bored of it. England has such a good heritage of videos such as Lost and Found, and Portraits, so there’s definitely a good standard of videos set for people to try and aim for. I’ve seen you skating cobblestones, wet spots, and strange banks. When you were younger you were more into rails and big stuff, how did your vision and approach to skateboarding change over the last few years? When I was a kid I didn’t mind throwing my carcass down things. I still like a good old stair session once in a while though. When I started

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skating I would go to the Shell Centre and South Bank, and I was so impressed by people going down the stairs, that’s all I wanted to do. I think when I started skating with Jake and others when I was around 14, we would skate all weekend, finding cool things around London and I think this moulded my skating a bit more. Before the Vase premiere in London you received a very special surprise. They announced you are officially pro for Isle Skateboards. What happened that night? It was amazing, we were all up on stage before the showing of the video and Jensen did a little beat box, then announced it. It was all pretty overwhelming considering the fact that I was about to watch the video for the first time as well. It was all a happy blur. Did you hear Jensen & Shier conspiring behind your back? Ha ha ha! Ha ha. Yeah, I think they had the boards ready for a while and kept it quiet. They were waiting for the video to drop before turning me pro, so I guess it was just a matter of waiting for the video to be ready. How has your life changed after receiving pro status? Luxury cars, sexy women, and champagne every day? No different, apart from the fact I have my name on a board. I’m really hyped to have that honour. I’m having a baby in January so the fast cars and sexy women will have to wait a while, ha ha ha. Really?!!? Congrats to you and your girlfriend! Baby boy or baby girl? Are you ready? Thanks mate! Don’t know what sex we decided not to find out. Yeah I’m as ready as I’ll ever be! Ha ha.

Fs nosegrind revert.

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How has your life changed after receiving pro status? Luxury cars, sexy women, and champagne every day? No different, apart from the fact I have my name on a board. I’m really hyped to have that honour. I’m having a baby in January so the fast cars and sexy women will have to wait a while, ha ha ha. Is it now time to work harder? Haha, maybe! I feel like I’ve always put 100% into the projects I’ve worked on, and will continue to do so. With a name like yours, you could only end up skating in your life! How many times

have you heard the reference to the OG Santa Cruz Tom Knox? I have definitely heard it a lot throughout skating. Especially with older guys. The younger generation of skaters don’t seem to mention it so much. Although once I met some guy at a party who had seen the OG Tom Knox Santa Cruz tech deck and so I went along with it the whole night. Ha ha. When you were 14 years old, Vans sent you to Australia and you took part in a TV show. Can we talk a little about your life as the UK Sheckler? Have you found a chill girl? Ha ha. Me and my little brother went to Australia with Raemers and a few other skaters. We drove an RV all the way down the coast. It was so much fun as a kid being given the opportunity to go to the other side of the world and skate. You recently went on a trip to Australia with New Balance. What struck you the most about this amazing country? We went to Melbourne and then drove to Sydney. It was a pretty heavy crew with about 12 skaters, so definitely didn’t hit up too many spots per day. The trip was so much fun.

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You were on Emerica, which is a very respected brand in skateboarding, then you left it and went for an adventure with something totally new in skateboarding like New Balance. How did that happen, and how did you make the choice? To be honest I was looking to leave as they weren’t doing too many trips and I felt my opportunities were limited. We did a trip around the UK with the US team. It was a little bit strange with those guys, it was really cool but some nights they would eat dinner separately and things like that. It didn’t really feel like a team. I suppose being English and riding for a company called Emerica speaks for itself. Having a ‘Euro team’ is a bit of an ageing concept, I feel like brands are now respecting the influence Europe has on skating and therefore finding different ways to structure teams. Mackey from Lost Art told me New Balance were looking for someone in the UK to represent the company, and after talking to Seb I was down. It’s really nice to be on the proper team, it makes you really feel like a part of the brand. Everyone on the team is sick, it’s great getting to travel with them, and I am really stoked on how things are going. How is shooting photos with Arto Saari? Ever felt the pressure to be photographed by one of the best skaters ever? You cannot say, “No, I won’t try this, it’s too hard,” Ha ha ha, you cannot lie to him. Jokes apart, what is dealing with him like? It is quite strange shooting with him because of his legacy in skateboarding. You are right, sometimes you will be at a spot and be stoked to do a 50/50 and he is calling you out to do a flip back smith, haha. He is a really good guy though, and is just down to take photos, he loves shooting.

Ollie over, ollie to nose manual.

Can you beat PJ Ladd at a game of skate? I have skated with him quite a lot and played a few times, and he has smoked me every time, haha. That man is a wizard!

I really love London, and I can’t see myself moving soon, but you never know, it’s one of the most expensive cities in the world so maybe I’ll have no choice but to leave!

Among all the places you’ve been to, where would you like to move? Or will you be loyal to London forever? Ever thought about moving to sunny Cali? I really can’t see myself moving to Cali, the lifestyle out there is just too different for me. The constant driving and lack of seasons puts me off after just being there for over a month.

What are your plans for next year? Just keep on skating, I’m having a kid with my lady so I’m just going to enjoy being a dad. There are some NB trips, and I’m filming for a little Kr3w part now, so I’m always keeping busy. Hopefully get back out to Italy at some point if you’ll have me back!

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Switch bs 50-50 grind to fs out.

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KARSTEN KLEPPAN

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GOLDEN DAYS

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There are skateboarders who stand out for their special style, others for their unique vision and originality, and there are others still that impress you for their energy and power when they skateboard. The latter assault spots, they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just try to skate them, they go twice as fast as everyone else, and it is natural for them to jump on (and down) stuff. Their skating is solid and they have that special spark in their eyes. I have seen this special quality in skaters very few times over the years, and Karsten is definitely one of them. Many great things have happened to him over the last 2 years, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all fucking deserved. These are definitely golden days for our friend Karsten Kleppan.

Photography_DVL Interview_Davide Biondani.

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Hi Karsten, where are you? Freezing in Oslo or somewhere around the world under a warm sun? After a long time spent in the sun in Los Angeles, I’m back home since a few days now. When was the last time you wrote a postcard? Ha ha ha! The last time we went on tour together you were skating for Lakai and Element, now you’re on Nike SB and SkateMental. A lot of changes have occurred over the last 2

years. Tell us what’s been going on and how your life has changed. Do you still work at the skatepark in Oslo? Yes, that is true. A lot has changed. But I’m still just skating and having fun. Just travelling a lot more these days. I work at the park every now and then, but it’s been a while since I’ve been there now. Haven’t really been home that much. A few days ago Guy Mariano announced he left Crailtap (Lakai, Girl, and Fourstar) for Nike SB, and at the same time Eric Koston also left Girl. What went through your mind when you heard the news? Guy and Koston have been on Crailtap since day one. I’m kind of excited to see what they’re gonna do! Girl has been around for a long time, but there are a lot of changes happening in skateboarding these days. And I guess they just wanted to do something new.

Checking out the line-up for this Chronicles video, the names are definitely heavy: Lance Mountain, Eric Koston, Cory Kennedy, Omar Salazar, Brian Anderson, and Trevor Colden. What was your first thought when they told you you had to film a full part for a video like this? It’s just crazy! I never ever thought that I would be in a video like this! So it’s crazy for me that I’m actually a part of it. When they first told me that they wanted me in the video, I was just like, “yeah right, that’s never gonna happen.” But it was true! It took me a while to realize that it was actually happening. Ha ha. So did you travel with the guys a lot on tours to film, or was the footage for your part filmed more during specific missions? Where have you been? We have been travelling all over the world for this video, but I think most of the footy is from Los Angeles. I’ve spent a lot of time there. What was the craziest place you visited while filming? I think Chile was the craziest place. Just so beautiful, and the spots were super good looking. The food was great too! Any funny behind the scenes story you can tell us? Hmm... funny stuff happened every day on every trip. It’s hard to come up with one specific story, but pretty much every time Cory pulls out his speaker, everyone just has so much fun and it just turns into a big party.

LIEN AIR_

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FS NOSE GRIND_

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How was the Chronicles 3 premier in LA? How was being there and waiting for the screening with your part in it? It was really fun! But I was pretty nervous right before they showed the video. There were so many skateboard celebrities and legends there. So I was just nervous about them watching my part I guess. I didn’t know that I was gonna have the last part either, so that was a big surprise! I couldn’t believe it! You received a really sick surprise at the premier right? You basically received a board from Koston with “Erik Karsten” written on it and one of the most iconic

and sickest photos ever of Koston skating Hubba Hideout… The board was a Skatemental board. So that was just the announcement of me turning pro for Skatemental. One of Staba’s jokes! Ha ha, Koston and Karsten sound kind of similar and Staba and Koston are good friends, so that’s how I think that happened. How was the premier in Oslo with your friends? I watched a clip of you riding inline skates holding on to a car, ha ha ha… How was meeting your buddies in your hometown after the LA event and all the things that happened? Yeah, that was crazy! I flew out from LA the day after the premier. I met Colin Kennedy at the airport in Amsterdam and then we flew to Oslo where all my friends were waiting for me in a hummer limo! Ha ha, I had no idea that was happening at all! We drove around Oslo for a little bit and then it was off to the Oslo premier where all the rest of my friends were. That was a wild night and one I will never forget! Ha ha ha.

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You have spent a lot of time in the States over the last few years. What is the skateboard scene in Cali like compared to the European one? Besides the money, what are the main differences you’ve noticed, and why is the level of US skaters so high? In your opinion, is it just a matter of numbers or a different approach? It’s a good skate scene over in the States. There are so many skaters there! It’s kind of crazy because you see skaters everywhere you go! So I guess that’s why the level is so high, just because there are so many skaters. But I think the level of European skateboarding is really high these days too! A lot of super good and interesting skaters coming out of Europe. Is Brad Staba as funny as he looks? Yeah, he is one of the funniest people on this planet for sure! Did you ever think about moving to California? I don’t really know. I love Europe and I have no plans of leaving, but maybe in the future... What’s next for you? What are your plans for 2016? Just keep skating and having fun. We’ve just started working on a SkateMental video so I guess that’s the next project for me. What do your parents think about the fact that you’re always traveling around the world and playing with a skateboard? They are super excited for me and support me 100%. I’m lucky and I love my family!

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FS BOARDSLIDE_

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JULIEN BACHELIER

INTO THE VAN THE NEW ANTIZ VIDEO

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Photography_DVL Interview_Davide Biondani / Mario Torre.

Antiz Skateboards is not the average skateboard company. They went on more then 10 different tours around Europe over the last year and they put out two full length videos in 12 months, “Out Of The Blue” and the highly anticipated “Into The Van”. Travelling on board of the blue Antiz van is a great experience, you breath skateboarding to the fullest, friendship and always a positive mood, as well as being filled with amazing skateboarders. We had a little chat about the new Antiz video projects and about the brand with Julien Bachelier who has now the company 100% on his shoulders and who has a sick part in “Into The Van”.

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Hi Julien, after “Out of the Blue”… now “Into the Van”… it looks like you really love the Blue Van!! Yes indeed! The Blue Van is kind of like our second home, the Antiz mobile youth hostel with more options … What’s your favorite detail of the van? The little wooden seat on the back, the hammock, or the holes in the roof? Yes, the little wooden seat leg is quite funny, but also dangerous and not very legal, and Hugo has since removed it. It will be safer next time you sit inside the beast. What I like the most is the hammock, it’s perfect to chill or to take a nap on when driving for hours. There is also the main door because it’s very capricious when you close it, you need to have the right move to close the door well. Ludo is one of the best door closers with nearly all first try attempts. The Blue Van represents a concept that is fundamental in skateboarding: travel and travelling have always been a peculiarity of the Antiz philosophy. What pushes you guys to always be on tour? My hometown friends from Chelles (north east Paris suburb) are 7 years older than me. When I was 12 years old, they would be going on summer trips and hitting all the French skateparks for 2-3 weeks, driving from spot to spot, doing wild camping, BBQs, late night sessions, and I wanted to be part of their trips but I was too young and not allowed to join them. In my opinion, skateboarding is a tool that allows you to travel and is an excuse to meet people, visit cities, and discover countries and cultures in a different way. The search for new spots is part of the Antiz philosophy. The Blue Van is perfect for bringing the family and travelling... we love to skate and spend time all together. We live far away, and the trips are important for us to keep our unity and to feed our friendship.

We need to skate together, we need to share together, so the van is our meeting point. There are only 9 seats in the van and we are 13 guys on the team, so there is a turnover between the guys. Personally, I’m not over it, especially when you spend lot of time behind a desk during your day to day life. I even brought my wife to southern Italy last summer with the van! She experienced it. Where did the idea of putting out 2 full videos in one year come from when most companies work on their videos for 2, 3, or more years? As I explained we are 13 dudes (soon 14...), that’s if I don’t take into consideration the Flowbos on the team. OAF, our last video, was almost 1 hour long. Nowadays we realize that people only focus on 15-second clips, so we decided to make two 30-minute videos to make people bored twice a year. The other thing is that some of the guys already had full parts ready and others did not, so to create a good balance and give everybody time and a chance to show their skills, two videos ended up being the solution. It’s also a cool challenge for us, because not so many brands can put out two full-length videos in one year!!! We have always produced videos, these are our roots, this is what a brand needs to do... move your ass! Then we have some three year old footy, but most of the guys woke up 2 months before the deadline! What is hard now is that skateboard videos don’t have the same impact as they used to, people don’t realize the commitment there is behind these kinds of projects as a skateboarder, filmer, or as a brand. Out Of The Blue finally had 2 weeks of online impact, and we made it alive through the premieres and the free beers. Into The Van is gonna be the same, so much commitment for a limited impact, because today we all watch 100 videos a day, and there is a kind of bulimia regarding contents.

Crooks to fakie. a brief glance

Two videos are a lot of work… how did the guys welcome the project? Knowing them and looking at the result it seems like they put a lot of effort and blood into it!? As usual, 200% involvement and commitment. Thanks to the hobos for all the effort, thanks Ludo for everything, and thanks Fabi for following us with you photo camera! Who stars in “Into the Van?” It focuses on the guys missing in Out Of The Blue: Teemu Pirinen, Hirschi, Samu Karvonen, Thanos Panou, the Flowbos, Samuel Partaix, the newcomer Robin Bolian, me Juju, but the rest of the crew have also got some tricks. Was the video filmed mostly while on tour? Most of the tricks are filmed on tours but Ludo went to all the riders’ hometowns to film some tricks. For this second video we travelled to Italy, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Greece, and Portugal. All of these trips happened over 7 months’ time. Is there one of the riders who took part in all the trips you did this year? The rider who took part in all the trips is Ludo! Basically he is an Antiz rider! We even found a wooden chair for him and we wrote “Director” on the back. He also has his own seat in the van. Ludo, where is your Antiz tattoo? From a filmer’s point of view in terms of hours of work, a project like this would mean the involvement of a budget that an independent skateboard company could hardly afford. If we take into consideration the hours, the work, the involvement in these two projects, the budget is honestly not fair. Antiz is doing its best with the budget it has. We could have partners/sponsors to pay Ludo more, but we’ve talked about it and have agreed that it has to be 100% produced by

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Antiz. It’s tight because I would love to give more, but I’m also thinking about the riders because they give their body to this project and they are not payed either! Welcome to the 2015 skateboard world and to one of the biggest frustrations independent skateboard companies have to live with. Thirteen years of existence and still not able to support everyone properly. I want to change this situation, I want to keep it independent, but I want to support my crew, friends, and skateboard family. So you readers and skateboarders, buy our boards, the hobos don’t want BMW cars but just enough to have food on their plates! Many skaters think that goin’ on tour means hotels, restaurants, and all of the comforts of the so called “pro-life.” If you work in skateboarding you know it is not always the case… can you tell us what it’s like to sleep on the roof of a house because there is not enough space for everybody inside? With huge corporate brands it’s often like that, good restaurants and hotels at the end of the day. Everyone goes back to their room, checks the new insta clips and sees you the next day in the lobby. With most of the independent skateboard companies, you need to figure out a different course of action. Our home is the van, our rooms are our tents! The kitchen is our gas range and our heating is booze. Personally, I love it and I guess most of the guys do too because we’re all together and everyone contributes to the group life. When we are on trips, we often don’t really know where we’re gonna crash at the end of the day. We have been hosted by true, amazing people in so many places ranging from a family garden, to an independent farm, to an illegal squat bar, to a parking lot. I would like to thank everyone who welcomed us for a night or more.

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Noseblunt slide up.

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What’s the secret to spending a week sleeping in a sleeping bag on the floor and still having legs and spirit to skate all the spots the next day? Youth vibes, friendship, motivation, good times, good people, and happiness. But honestly when you get back home you are happy to lay down in your own bed. A few years ago while on tour I remember you constantly talking with the riders and asking them for their opinion about new projects and ideas and about how the company should evolve over the next few years. Everybody was into the

discussion and I saw great motivation and commitment towards you. When you think that the majority of the riders have Antiz tattoos on their body that means a lot!!! Antiz is them, so their feedback is the most important, they are in the streets every day, they know what’s happening, they need to love the products and proud to use them, I guess this is what we do. We need to share our ideas and opinions and act on them the way they would like to. Antiz is represented by the riders, and listening to the guys just seems normal. We all try to meet together at the beginning of the year and spend time together (not only for skating) in order to exchange ideas, concepts, and talk about what is on the agenda for each year. Communication is the main point! We also have a group on WhatsApp where we all share ideas. Antiz has always had a strong image. What are the main challenges facing you during this process of renewal the brand is experiencing? Hugo Liard left the company as partner and art director last year. There is only one Hugo

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and everyone knows how Heavy Metal he is! Laurent Claveau is the guy chosen by Hugo to take over the art direction, he is a real, proper artist who draws each graphic by hand. As I explained, Antiz needs to reflect the riders and not everyone is heavy metal (Sorry Peter). Even though we love to listen to Metal, we have this rock vibe, culture, for sure this is our history, what we are, but I don’t have the feeling we have changed the image around 180°, but we focus on graphics we like. This year our main focus was to release the 2 videos, there is so much commitment and work and I don’t know if people realize this. Thanks Laurent for the great job and your artistic sensibility. Thanks to all the riders for their ideas and points of view. What’s your opinion about the constant need of new daily contents that social networks and communication require nowadays… and about the fact that everything becomes “old” the next day? Honestly we are a little bit lost and don’t understand how people react to this constant contents feed, you post a shitty photo or clip and people react like crazy, then you post some nice content and there are no reactions; sometimes I don’t understand. Maybe I’m too old. The communication part is very difficult because nowadays it’s a real job. It is only Laurent and me at the office working from 8am to 8pm Mondays to Fridays managing everything. Luckily, the family also posts some content. This bulimia of information is a vicious circle!

Is there something good about skateboarding that the new generations are missing out on and will never experience? Personally, I’m not really nostalgic about the past, it’s gone and it’s good like that. I think the new generations are very open minded towards skateboarding, with a large range of tricks. It’s a good mix of both technical and old school tricks. I think style is very important, but commitment and challenging yourself is what skateboarding has always been about. We have the luck of having our own culture and history, and what I can suggest to the new generations is to cultivate the past, what

has been done, when, and who did it. Pick up tricks and dig them more. Please hurt yourself kids!!! If at the end of the day your hands are dirty and you are bleeding, it means it was a good day. What’s boiling in the pot for next year? Tours, skateboarding, blue van, friendship, a couple of beers, and a new video concept. Antiz is what we are, we’re not gonna change, love it or hate it we don’t give a fuck because we are just skateboarders!

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PLACES_Canada / US

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Photography_Giulia Romano.

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Packin’ / Leavin’

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Willow, Axel, Albert Nyberg

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What do you see when you think about the possibility of living from your passion as a skater, filmer, photographer, or “working in skateboarding?” What do you imagine a skate tour to be like at the professional level? What do you imagine going on tour with the best skaters is like, or touring the world searching for the most interesting spots to film a pro part or shoot a cover? In your mind there are millions of clips seen online where your favorite top pro gets out of the van and starts destroying the park during a demo, and then goes partying somewhere, signs a ton of autographs, and then sleeps in a super cool hotel, destroying the room as a result, thus perpetuating the stereotype of the rock-star skateboarder... You might be thinking that having a new board under your feet whenever you desire and changing shoes or clothes ten times a week without having to dish out any money is the best that life can offer, right? Maybe you imagine yourself on a plane with “Johnny Top Pro” on the way to China to film just one trick, or in the arena of a Street League comp while battling to win the equivalent of a mortgage for a house on the coast of California? There are very very few top pros that will never have to work one day in their whole life, that have personal managers that organize their tours, interviews, participation in contests, TV programs and adverts, and with unthinkable budgets for us ordinary skaters. It does exist, we’ve seen it and touched it. It exists for the last of the dorkiest singers, why should it not exist for a top skater? But that’s not skateboarding. Or rather, it isn’t the skateboarding we love. Because in reality, skateboarding, real skateboarding done by top pros around the world, is not at all like this. Take a top brand and some of the top European skaters that tour the world to skate and produce footage for their next video to be released by one of the most famous media sites in the world, and that everybody will be watching and talking about. Take them and put them in a van for a few days, and instead of luxury hotels and perfect spots, have them sleep in a tent because the budget isn’t so out of this world, because in the end who cares, what interests us is skateboarding, and if we adapt a little we might be able to do three tours instead of just one. Plain and simple.

Words_Guido Bendotti Photography_Davide Biondani

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Albert Nyberg_kickflip.

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Axel_360 flip.

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Willow_fs bigspin.

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Because what skateboarding is all about, is skating and producing footage “as a job.” It is the natural extension of wanting to skate, new places, with you friends, and travelling as much as possible. Because a whole arena shouting your name can definitely be a satisfying experience, but licking one’s wounds after a whole day of skateboarding while drinking supermarket beer in an off-season camping, arguing where to skate the next day at dawn is just fucking priceless! And it does not matter whether your name is written under a board, or whether you have all the shoes in the world to skate, what counts is not the “how,” the important thing is travelling in order to skate, and by any means possible. One of the all-time best videos ever is Antihero’s “Tent City.” With no planning and little cash, the top pros of the time, that have their names all over products, toured a large part of Australia, sleeping in random places and skating first thing in the morning, because hey, if you have no distractions, no comfortable beds or trendy restaurants, you can manage just fine with a fire, two grills, and a fridge full of cold beer. Then you look down at your board and you’ll be thinking about where to skate tomorrow morning, not about how many inches wide the screen in front of your king-size bed is. Nothing radically different from what you did last summer with five friends in a micro car to go skate far away spots, sleeping wherever, and experiencing every minute as an adventure. An adventure offered to you courtesy of skateboarding. And what do you think the top pros in these photos did in order to get the material you see on these pages? Sleeping on floors at friends’ houses, or in tents on the grass, with a van full of boards and things to eat, as well as a strong desire to skate. Because in the end it’s not important how many double sets you can flip, the important thing is the desire to do it under any circumstance. Not having a bed or a large budget cannot stop your desire to skate, and there will always be someone enthusiastic about laying down next to some smelly garbage dump to get the best angle, or climbing on top of a bus stop in order to film your trick. That’s life. That’s our life. You are your own pro. Go out and skate.

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Axel_fs kickflip. a brief glance

Willow_nollie bs heelflip.

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Albert Nyberg_bs tailslide.

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Axel_fs smith grind transfer.

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5th Annual

Bright European Skateboard Awards Public voting from 22nd of December 2015 till 4th of January 2016

We need your vote!

Visit awards.brightskateboarding.com & freeskatemag.com to Help us choose the winners of :

– «European Skateboarder of the Year» – «Rookie of the Year» – «Brand of the Year» – «Film of the Year» – «Shop of the Year» Plus win prizes and find out everything about the awards.

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issue _34

GINO IANNUCCI / INTERVIEW