a brief glance issue_52 by a brief glance skateboardmag

issue

Photo Davide Biondani

www.abriefglance.com

FRONTSIDE FLIP UP. YES, UP.

FEARLESSLY TECHNICAL

Fabio Montagner / Fs pop in the snow storm, Italy. Photo: Davide Biondani [ Canon ]

ou wait for two summers to shoot a photo at a spot located on top Y of a mountain, and then one day in December you decide that you want that shot on the cover of the upcoming issue of the mag, so you drive for three hours to get there and when you’re one kilometer away, you find the road closed due to a snow storm! At that point you have two choices: you can either give up, start crying, and drive back for three hours, empty-handed, or you can have a laugh with your mate, park the car, and enjoy the moment. We went with the second scenario and after trying to push on our boards on the icy road and after a few kickflip attempts while standing still, Fabio popped some fs shove-its... the soft snow quickly turned to ice under our shoes and on the griptape... the funniest thing was Fabio slamming while trying to land it! Ha ha ha. When our hands were completely frozen we got back into the car and took that famous three-hour drive back home, victorious. The photo we wanted originally for the cover of this issue was a different one, but things don’t always go as planned... and actually, at times they’re even more fun than you could imagine!

ATHLETICHERITAGECOLLECTION LEGACY98SLIMSE E.TRIBEKASE VESTREYSE LYNNFIELDVS

CALIFORNIA SPORT- TEL 011-9277943 WWW.CALIFORNIASPORT.INFO

52 Twenty eighteen was really intense for us at a brief glance; we released our 50th issue, printed two books, travelled to meet old and new friends, and we’re now releasing issue 52 just before Christmas! An extraordinary year is about to end that brought many beautiful things and changes, some of them small and fun, others totally unexpected and devastating. But that’s life, a natural process we all must go through. What never changes though, and is always there like a loyal friend who accompanies and grows old with you is your skateboard, your desire to push through the streets to your favorite spot and session it with your friends until you’re exhausted and you head back home with a smile on your face. Twenty nineteen will be our mag’s 9th year of existence, and will start off with some big news:

we’re going into print starting from issue 3

We’re expecting many sleepless nights of course, in addition to new, fantastic adventures we will be embarking upon to do what we love: making a skateboard magazine. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

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PHIL ZWIJSEN : KICKFLIP PICTURE : HENRY KINGSFORD

WWW.CARHARTT-WIP.COM

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a brief glance photo gallery

Fragments

The Great War

with Fabio Montagner

Transmission from the isle

02 03

04 Laught at it

Chris Nieratko

05 a Chat with

Sergio â&#x20AC;&#x153;Giorseâ&#x20AC;? Reinhardt

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Sergio Pontillo - Ros Hippie Jump Sergio Pontillo - Ros Hippie Jump

SEE YOu LATER DESIGNED BY: ALFREDO “FRATTA” D’AMICO

info@plazaboards.it

8.25/8.375

a brief glance | year VIII n°52

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, Craig Dodds, Brian Gaberman, Marcello Guardigli, Davide Biondani, André Lucat, Robert Christ, Reece Leung, Clément Le Gall, Sebastiano Bartoloni, Fred Mortagne, Joel Peck, Alex Berger, Henry Kingsford, Cameron Markin. CONTRIBUTORS_ Francesco Paolo Chielli, Mario Torre, Mark Baines, Sebastiano Rossi, Fabio Montagner. DESIGN_ M. Bod Ciceri {Question Mark, ink!#?} GET ALL THE INFO at: info@abriefglance.com

Thanks to Canon Italia for the support.

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Giorgio Zattoni [ Fs invert ] / Photo_Davide Biondani [ Canon ] a brief glance

Damian Engl ........................................ Tenerife Johnny Matarazzo ............................ Barcelona Simon Knoll .................................... Tenerife Benjamin Bucca ................................... Tenerife

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Damian Engl Nose manual Tenerife Photo Alex Berger

Photo Craig Dodds Johnny Matarazzo Fs heelflip Barcelona, Spain

Simon Knoll No comply 180 Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife Photo Alex Berger

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Photo Alex Berger Benjamin Bucca / Drop in, ollie, Tenerife

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A journey to some of WWIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic sites on the centennial of its end

with Fabio Montagner.

Words Sebastiano Rossi. Photography Davide Biondani [Canon]

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[ Fakie ollie switch overcrooks, Altopiano di Asiago ]

The event that triggered World War I was the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28th, 1914 by the hand of a Serb nationalist. What’s surprising is that when the war broke out in the summer of 1914, all of the countries were exhilarated. People took to the streets in many cities, and some intellectuals, like the poets Rilke and Marinetti, a young Gandhi, and Freud, exalted the war and patriotism. Italy entered the Great War on May 24th, 1915, about 10 months after the beginning of the conflict. This opened up a long front along the Eastern Alps, from the border with Switzerland to the west all the way to the shores of the Adriatic Sea to the east. The fighting concentrated in the Dolomites region, the Asiago Plateau, and especially in the Karst region along the banks of the Isonzo River. One hundred years later, what remains of this war are numerous constructions: forts, pillboxes, trenches, mule tracks, and roads, nearly all constructed in places surrounded by nature, where peace now reigns sovereign. One day, a few years ago, as I strolled through some woods on a visit to an Italian fort, I noticed that on the roof of a building that was over one hundred years old there were some armored domes made of rusted iron that once housed 149mm cannons. Having been restored in recent years, they looked very much like humps or speed bumps that I had built with Kendall a few years earlier at the Creedence D.I.Y. Skatepark. Their shape was obviously very inviting to the eyes of any skater, and the scenario in which this fort was set, got me immediately fantasizing about all the possible lines and potential photos or footage. On that very day, I decided to propose a skateboard article to commemorate the centennial of the end of the First World War and thus also have an “excuse” to go on a mission and bring home some tricks. Four years have gone by since that day, and until now, because of various commitments during better periods for shooting, I wasn’t able to meet up with Davide and bring home any photos.

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[ Bs kickflip. Cima Grappa ]

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[ 360 flip, Military Sacrary of Monte Grappa ]

When I was little, instead of telling me fairy tales to make me fall asleep, my grandfather would tell me funny episodes that had happened to him during the war. Since my grandpa passed away, I miss all those stories, so this is why I started reading books about World War I and visiting locations of interest. What I am investigating and most passionate about are human affairs, like those of the men in the trenches, who, despite the orders of their generals and their cultural differences, were able to carve out some moments of peace; by putting down their weapons, by coming together, and by exchanging the few things they had: tobacco, bread, or some pieces of chocolate, by helping each other gather firewood when needed, and even by organizing a football game in the so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;no manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land.â&#x20AC;? While writing this article I wondered what World War I and skateboarding have in common, and I think that, even though it is paradoxical, it is the capacity to bring people together despite social differences, and I would like to think that, if they had had skateboards one hundred years ago, they would have ended up sharing a few tricks, like those portrayed in the photographs of this article. a brief glance

[ Bs kickflip, Altopiano di Asiago ]

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[ Fs nosegrind, Piave river ]

Photography & words Reece Leung.

Reece Leung. words & Photography a brief glance

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TOM DAY [ WALLRIDE 5-0 ]

Tom talked about getting a ramp from NOTE and skating around the city of Manchester to see what spots you could hit in a new way which wouldn’t usually be skateable. On a soggy but just about dry day, we decided to give it a go and have a day out with the ramp. We went to this classic vent spot in Manchester. Multiple people have wallrided over the vent which is ridiculous. The lip just above the vent sticks out just enough and Tom wanted to see if it would go. After caking it in ganjwax we were good to go. Security came out pretty quickly but Tom stuck a 5-0 just in time.

Click Here to See more of Tom Day, Joe O’Donnell and James Gell killing it on this ramp around Manchester in Jim Craven’s edit.

JIRI BULIN [ SWITCH OLLIE ]

Jiri is a machine and can skate anything really well. While out shooting in Manchester we were struggling for ideas. He mentioned this double set which I’d never seen just off of a main street in the city centre. The spot was right next to a mossy canal so it was pretty risky, he had landed the trick previously for video and wanted to shoot a photo of it too. We gave it a go and Jiri cracked his board within the first few goes. He continued anyway and stuck one, he rolled away for a while and then classically chalked on a stone sending his board the opposite way towards the stinkin’ Mancunian canal. Luckily Ricky Davidson was on hand to lunge and grab the board, while scaring the woman who happened to pass by on that attempt. Ricky’s arm disappeared from vision and then slowly he pulled the board back up without it touching the water. Jiri couldn’t believe it..

JAY STONE [ CROOKED GRIND ]

My old banger of a car (which got handed down to me for free) just about managed to start up, and so I heard of dry weather in Manchester so I headed through to meet up with Tom Day, Keanu Robson, Jay Stone and Jiri Bulin. We missioned to some spot where Tom broke his board, so we went on to the next spot, more central to Manchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s centre. We found this rail over a road gap spot, which was sessioned back in the day (in slightly better condition than it is now). Jay started trying to crook the rail and landed on a few but just stopped and flew off his board because of how bad the landing was. Tomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s broken board from the first spot came in handy and he dug up the landing to make it more bearable to land on. After persisting with the crook, Jay managed to legitly roll away.

FRANKY SPEARS [ BS SMITHGRIND ]

An old friend Justin Albert was on a trip to London from the States. He was with Frankie Spears who killed it on the trip. I managed to catch them for a few days and shoot this backside smith grind. Frankie is super consistent and goes in when he wants. Keep an eye out for some projects with himself and talented filmer Justin Albert aka @Poobert. The group photo sums up the good vibes.

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MIKE CLARKSON [ SWITCH CROOKS ]

Mikey is from Harrogate and he hit us up to come through one day to skate some spots around those ways for once. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not much there to be honest but we made the most of this spot. Mike was trying to switch crook it and as usual someone coincidentally interferes while youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to shoot a photo. This van got in the way so I had to change up angle but it worked out for the better in the end. The van driver was hanging outside his van watching Mike. He then got in his van and was chain smoking cigarettes. I managed to get him in the shot as well as getting Mikey in the reflection of the van. Usually when someone interferes it can ruin a photo, but this time it made the photo look a lot more interesting..

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RICKY DAVIDSON [ BS HEELFLIP ]

As usual, we expect it to rain most days in Manchester. We got lucky one Winter day and Ricky is always keen to get out and shred even if it’s for a couple of hours before work. I’m not surprised, as Ricky is from Australia so any bit of dry weather which he’s used to must be taken advantage of whenever you can in Manchester. Whenever you go out with Ricky you’ll probably end up getting something rad, he wanted to backside heelflip this lengthy stairset at Manchester’s Museum of Football aka Urbis. The shot worked out well as you usually have tons of people walking past at this spot, I managed to get one guy in there at the right time. Once he landed it Ricky rushed off to work in energetic fashion.

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CHERLIE BIRCH [ BOARDSLIDE POP OVER ]

Upon arriving in London Cambarr, Charlie and Nelly said they’d meet me at the station and we would get on it straight away and try shooting a photo near Euston. We happened to look at a few spots near the station and Charlie wanted to try something at this spot. While thinking of things to try we noticed the security were coming out on the regs. Charlie went straight to a board slide and did a banging one while Cambarr was filming on his iPhone and getting the security’s reaction after he landed it.

Click here and check the ‘straight to insta’ video here for a cartoonesque laugh by Cambarr:

WILL CRESWICH [ FS LIPSLIDE ]

A frosty sesh was happening in Sheffield and Creswick was up north from London to skate with myself and Josh Hallett. We went to this recognisable Sheffield spot (See Danny Brady in Lost & Found or Dan Beall in Baghead Flats). As far as I’m aware, I’ve not seen anyone touch the ledges at this spot, they’re super crusty and don’t look very appealing for any sort of trick. The coldness might have helped on this one with the frostiness on the rough ledge. Will waxed up the ledge and tested it out. It ended up sliding pretty well and Will got the trick a lot quicker than expected. I noticed the taxi driver in the photo being pretty mesmerised on this one too.

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Chris Nieratko is a key figure in skateboarding, approaching his job as a “keyboard comedian” with irony and savvy, and reducing skateboarding and the hypertrophic egos often animating it to what they really are:

just kids playing (with the funnest toy in the world, by the way). In a cultural and social moment where “political correctness” has fucked us big time and people get offended for the slightest thing, it’s good to hear a free and entertaining voice that cynically sees our reality for what it is: a big joke. When did trash-talk become illegal? ...‘cause I haven’t been notified yet! If life itself is not serious, how can skateboarding be?

Interview & words Guido Bendotti.Portraits Davide Biondani [ Canon ]

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How are you Chris?

my books and left. My teacher was so boring... and as I stood up, he asked, “where are you going?”

I’m moist at the moment. We’re in Malmo at the Vans Park Series 2018, it’s raining, I’m generally

I answered, ”if I end up like you, then this is not the

moist ‘cause I’m fat, so I’m sweaty in general. How

job for me. I’ll be dead inside.” It was a terrible thing

are you?

to say to someone, ha ha ha.

Well… we’re kinda tired... we got up at 3 AM to

From there I took a bunch of writing classes and I

catch the flight.

reasonably wanted to write comic books, ‘cause I was a big comic book fan. I stopped reading com-

Wow... me too.

ic books when I was around ten or eleven, when I picked up skateboarding, but I was always a fan. I

Could you please introduce yourself just in case

somebody doesn’t know anything about your

took an internship in a comic book company in New York, it was owned by Motown Records, you know,

career.

the old school record company.

My name is Chris Nieratko, I’ve been described as

They started a comic book line but then they moved

a journalist in skateboarding for the past 20 years,

to California, and couldn’t take me with them. So

but I see myself more as a keyboard comedian. I

they gave me the phone number of this lady that

don’t think of myself as a journalist, I was one of the

was working for a Disney magazine… and so I got a

former editors at Big Brother Magazine.

job at Disney when I was 17.

I own, with my buddy, the NJ Skateshop in New

I was working for their comic book department, and

Jersey, we’re celebrating the 15th anniversary right

always skated to work. One day, this guy in charge of

now. I’ve been doing the VANS skate social media

the sports department came in. He asked me, “do

for the past ten years. Now I’ve relocated myself

you wanna interview this guy that skates... the bird

from NJ to California, to be the Vans dark man, ha

man, or bird guy or something?”

ha ha. “Tony Hawk??” I replied. Well… pretty impressive. When did you decide

“Yeah, that’s the name!”

to be a “skate journalist?”

This is 1993, and Tony Hawk is not a household name What made you decide?

yet. So I came up with a lot of fluff questions like, “what’s your favorite trick, or what’s your favorite

Who? Me? Well… back in the days I made a

freestyle fanzine in Italy called… well.. we could translate it with “Aloner.” Well... embarassing.

skate park?” So I’d seen already, how little the guys were getting paid for comics, so I didn’t know whether I could live off this. This guy offers me to do a Tony Hawk interview, I do it, and a month later he comes

Ha ha ha ha... good name… well.. I’m not a good

back and hands me a check for 500 dollars.

writer, and have never been. I lucked out on it. I thought it was easy,

Not that bad!!

vI went to college to be an accountant, and I lasted

I was 17 and it was more money than I’d ever seen in

15 minutes, ha ha ha. I fell asleep in my accounting

my entire life, but it had felt so easy. So I thought that

class, then woke up, stood up, immediately grabbed

interviewing people should be my new career! That

was the deciding factor. After that I started working for Thrasher, and ultimately Big Brother. That’s how

What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve ever thought up or done, but that never saw the light

it started, by default.

of day in Big Brother?

Well.. you interviewed Hawk for the Nice Guys

If you see the Big Brother documentary that came

issue in Big Brother, with Andy Mac and Tony

Hawk… I think there was a quote of yours that said: “Andy Mac is my new favorite skater.”

out last year, there is an interview that I filmed with Ronnie James Dio, where I almost got into a fist fight with him. That was supposed to be used in an episode of Jackass, and also in print for Big Brother

I don’t think I ever said that, unless I was making a

magazine, but it never happened... those tapes got

joke! Ha ha ha! Maybe it was Dave Carney. Tony has

lost, or whatever.

a much better memory than I do, we can ask him ‘cause he probably remembers everything. I was do-

They found them 20 years later, and then the docu-

ing a lot of drugs back then, so there’s a lot of things

mentary came out. That would be the one thing that

I don’t remember.

sticks out in my mind.

Do you think that there’s a lack of sense of humor right now in skateboarding?

I think that there’s a lack of sense of humor in society as a whole, not just in skateboarding. People are overly sensitive about everything, and easily offended. I come from a time and place where we sat, drank 40’s, made fun of each other, and made fun of everybody that walked by. Snapping on people, that’s what we called it. It toughened us up. It made us very self-deprecating, because if you can take a friend’s insults, you can take anything from anyone. And it was no-holds-barred with that. That’s how I live my life. I’ve been categorized as an asshole, because I tell things very bluntly… not like Donald Trump, who is truly an asshole. It’s just the way that I came up. I think that you still see it in skateboarding amongst crews, but when it comes to media, you don’t really see it. There are some interviews... like the guys at Jenkem who like to bust balls a little bit. Michael Burnett is doing really good interviews, he goes pretty deep with them. We could use more of it, because the world is so fucked and the only way to deal with the whole fucked up situation is to laugh in its face!

I agree. You’ve got a good sense of humor, but not everybody can take it. Did you ever receive

negative vibes or death threats for something that you said or wrote?

There was a band called “Sublime” and the lead singer died over heroin overdose. They started a new group called “The Long Beach Dub Allstars.” I didn’t like either of the bands, and obviously I hate heroin, I’ve lost too many friends to heroin. So I’ve got zero tolerance for it. I asked the singer of the new band, and it was a cold question, I probably wouldn’t ask it now in my later life: “So, now that the Sublime singer is dead, who’s fuckin’ his wife?” Ha ha ha ha ha!!! It was the first question of the interview. Some people would wait till the end to ask those questions, I would just start with them and let the thing crash and burn straight away and see how people would recover. He lost his shit and there was a lot of yelling. They stopped the interview and told me to never go to Long Beach ever again, or they would kill me. It was a fuckin’ SKA band, how could you take it seriously? Guess where I live right now? In the suburbs of Long Beach!!

That’s brilliant! What do you think about the current state of skateboarding?

and it looked insane to me so I asked him, “What do you see that I don’t see?” He said, “The grass on the side, I can jump off at any time.” It’s mellow. That’s

My philosophy in skateboarding has remained ex-

the different mentality: He sees the safety, I see the

actly the same over the years: “Today is the best day

danger. And that’s a different and beautiful way of

in skateboarding, and it’s gonna be true for only 24

thinking for young kids.

hours, ‘cause tomorrow is gonna be even better.” You’ve seen a lot of skateboarding eras in your Whatever you were into when you were 13, it has just gone so far beyond, and the tricks being done

life. Back in the 80’s or 90’s, had you ever consid-

ered skateboarding as a possible Olympic sport?

right now are the raddest shit I’ve ever seen. If you can’t see it, there’s something wrong with you and

There were always people who considered it a sport,

you don’t love skateboarding. I had a guy come into

and it was probably more jockish in the 80’s with all

my skateshop, an older guy, maybe 45 or so, and he

the contests. The reason why me and maybe my

was just moaning about everything in today’s skate-

friends had not thought it could be in the Olympics,

boarding. I said, “you don’t love skateboarding,

is because we never wanted it to be. My idea of what

‘cause it’s so fuckin’ cool right now.”

skateboarding is, is similar to the fuckin’ Hell’s Angels. It’s supposed to be unruly, it’s supposed to be

I showed him the Kyle Walker kinked 50-50, and he

unlawful, it’s supposed to be fuckin’ punk rock, and

was like, “no no, fuck that, fuck handrails,” and I

so the thought of wearing spandex and of being

said, “dude, I know it sounds insane but this kid’s

contained and put in a cage is disgusting to the 16

trick right here, might be the most relatable trick

year-old me.

in skateboarding. It’s insane, I know it sounds crazy, but it’s just a 50-50.”

But the 42 year-old me sees that it’s a great milestone for these kids right now. If these kids want

You can learn to slappy 50-50 on a curb before you

it, then they should go out and get it. My opinion

even learn how to ollie. It’s the first thing everybody

doesn’t matter, I don’t have to skate in it, I can dislike

learns, and he’s taking this very pure, initial moment

it, but I tell you what: I don’t have many friends that

in skateboarding, and taking it to the nth degree.

are not skateboarders. I only know skateboarders, so

People might argue that it’s absurd, but man, it’s

when one of our guys wins, that is one of our guys

a 50-50. He takes the most basic trick and fuckin’

winning an Olympic medal.

blows it out!! You can’t love skateboarding if you

He’s gonna be one of us anyway. One of the guys

don’t like progression.

that probably drank a beer with us or did some drugs with us, is gonna win the fucking gold medal!

I agree, and the 180 over the Dompierre gap

And we’re all gonna laugh about it!

the limits.

Well… the worst thing is that we can’t make fun

was the same, the most basic trick pushed to

of snowboarders anymore! Ha ha.

People like Kyle Walker, they see things differently than the rest of us. We were on a Thrasher trip in

Well, if skateboarding has no rules, why is there a

Oklahoma, and there was a triple kink on the side of

rule that we shouldn’t be in the Olympics? If a kid

a mall. It was three stories tall, but there was grass

wants do it, he should be allowed to do what he

on one side. He was fully eyeing it up. I was there

wants!

A chat with...

Photography & intro Marcello Guardigli. Interview Davide Biondani.

Even if we are both from Italy, I met Sergio properly when he moved to Melbourne. Since day one, we became good friends and we spent a lot of time together, shooting skating, partying and enjoying Australia. Every-time we caught up for shooting he always gave 150% of himself. There was no time that he gave up. Hours of suffering with amazing results. He alway been an amazing skaters but during the last few years he brought his progression to another level. I’m glad he never changed like other skaters did, thinking to be the shit and hanging out with the “cool” people. He always been humble and true. He doesn’t forget real friends. He doesn’t care about politics and bullshit. He shreds and loves skateboarding. I’m stoked we met and that we became very good mates. Love you Sergio!

[ 5-0 ROLL DOWN ]

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Hi Sergio, could you present yourself briefly to those who don’t know you? Hi, I’m Sergio, I’m 29 years old, German/Italian from Milan, Italy, but living in Melbourne, Australia since 2013. A dope video part of yours recently came out, how long did you film for it? It took me a while, one year and a half! I have a very busy life here in Oz, I’ve been studying and working full time in the last two years, so I literally had no days off. It was hard to find motivation and energy after a 9-hour shift, but it was worth it! Did you already have an idea of how you wanted it to come out, and the spots you wanted to film at, or did it come about in a more spontaneous way?

Initially, I was filming randomly in whatever spot, without a real objective. Since I got sponsored by Creature Australia I decided to film a welcome part for them, with the idea of skating some new, never skated spots and also film gnarly stuff never done before at the famous Melbournian spots, which wasn’t easy as everything around here has been destroyed! The hardest trick was probably the ender, which took a year of planning and I had to go back 7 times to get it. Some of the tricks in this interview were shot during the filming of the video, is there a trick that gave you more satisfaction than the rest?

Sure, the bs crook pop out was kinda crazy because I had never even tried a crook pop out on a flatbar before then. That day, after a long day at work I ran to the spot with Nello and the filmer and tried so hard for hours. I was falling in the water every try and my board and clothes got damp, the tail snapped and it was getting dark but I kept trying. At the end I managed to land it. How long have you been in Australia for? In February it will be 6 years.

Is it true that in all these years you came back to Italy only once? I’ve been back twice. The flight is too expensive, otherwise I would go more often. Why did you decide to move to OZ? Ever since I was younger I’ve always wanted to visit Australia, and back in 2013 I was sick of my lifestyle back home, so I just booked a ticket, grabbed my board and a few clothes, and left to go follow my dreams. What do you like the most about Australia, what made you want to stay? Nature is spectacular, and of course skateboarding. There is a skate park in every town and so many spots! I also wanted to learn English which I didn’t know before I came here. What suggestions would you give to someone who wants to visit and stay in Australia for some time?

I would suggest to come with a tourist visa first and see what it’s like and whether it suits you, and then maybe apply for a Working Holiday Visa which allows you to stay for a full year. And forget everything you learnt at school about English because Australians speak their own language, ha ha ha. What do you do in Australia besides skateboarding? Nello told me that you work in some bars and that you’re passionate about nature and animals and are doing a course to become a ranger?

Well, I’ve worked many different jobs since I got here, but recently I’ve been working as a barista. In the meantime, I’m getting a diploma in Conservation and Land Management and yeah, my aim is to end up working as a Park Ranger. I’ve always been passionate about nature and animals in particular.

[ CROOKS POP OVER ]

[ GAP TO 50-50 ]

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[ BLUNT FS OUT ]

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I just booked a ticket, grabbed my board and a few clothes, and left to go follow my dreams.

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Regarding residence permits, it must not be easy to obtain a long-term Visa. What’s your status, and how did you manage up to now?

I sneak around many different Visas and it’s the most annoying thing about Australia, nowadays they are so strict with permissions. I’m currently on a student visa which will last until the end of my course and then I’ll have to find a new way to stay. A while ago you went on tour with the US Independent team, you had some tricks

in the video-report, and also a photo on Thrasher, how was that tour? How did you react when you saw your photo on Thrasher?

Aaah, it was one of the best experiences ever! I got to spend some days with some of the gnarliest skateboarders out there like Leo Romero, Kevin Baekkel, and Blake Carpenter. We skated around together and we also did a demo at my local park, the Riverside Skatepark. It was awesome and I wish I could have spent more time with them. I was stoked to get to know them, film a few nbd tricks and shoot the sequence with Rhino. When I saw it on Thrasher I just couldn’t believe it, ha ha ha. Have you ever thought of returning to Italy? After all this time spent in OZ, what do you miss about Italy and how would you imagine your “return” to be like?

Not really, I mean I miss some stuff from home like food, friends, and the mountains, but I spent so much time here that I call it home now. I can imagine going back one day, but not just yet! Italy is a beautiful place, we are lucky for many things. What do you think about the speed with which things “get old” the next day? For

example, you work on a video part for a year and a few days later it’s already “old.” Yeah, it’s fucked up, I don’t really like the fact that everything is just an Insta clip now and there is almost no room for a good old full length video. It makes you forget what you just watched. What do you have in store for the next few months? Are you working on a new project, skate or non skate-related?

Uhm, probably just keep skating and like they say here, “just see what happens.” I‘m looking for a job in my field as I just got my diploma. Maybe find a way to stay here. I also would like to go to America for a while and maybe catch up with the Creature team.

a brief glance

[ BS NOSEBLUNT ]

a brief glance

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