a brief glance issue_66

ARTWORK MASSIMO CRISTOFOLETTI

LUCA CRESTANI

FRONTSIDE BOARDSLIDE POP OUT

COVER MASSIMO CRISTOFOLETTI OLLIE

PHOTO DAVIDE BIONDANI

VERONA, ITALY

PHOTO DAVIDE BIONDANI

EDITOR & CONCEPT

Davide Biondani davide@abriefglance.com

TRANSLATIONS

Jonathan Levin

DESIGN Stra Studio

CONTRIBUTORS

Mario Torre Gaspare Gentile Mattia Todero

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Guido Bendotti info@abriefglance.com

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ando Kuba Baczkowski Fabien Ponsero Satoru Monaco

Francesco Paolo Chielli Stefano Sedioli Simone Rocca

ASSISTANT EDITOR Andrew Zolin

Davide Biondani

GET ALL THE INFO at: info@abriefglance.com

A Brief Glance skateboard mag is a bulletin published by Fake Donkey Skateboard asd. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher.

Davide Holzknecht Markus Mauroner Giuseppe Cola

RICCARDO MELLE & SIMONE ROCCA FRONTSIDE NOSESLIDE, ROMA

PHOTO DAVIDE BIONDANI

PHOTO: DAVIDE BIONDANI

DAVIDE COTTI FRONTSIDE NOEGRIND, MILANO

PHOTO DAVIDE BIONDANI

BACKSIDE NOSEBLUNT

PEDRO BIAGIO

NOSEBLUNT TO FAKIE BARCELONA, SP

ANDO

OLLIE

THOMAS

TRENCHARD

SATORU MONACO

ROMA,

MARTINO CATTANEO FRONTSIDE NOSEGRIND

NOSEGRIND TAILGRAB

FABIEN PONSERO

BARCELONA, SP

MAZNEE MC

Massimo Cristofoletti

Photography & interview Davide Biondani. Artwork Maznee.

What psyches me about him is that you can really tell how much he loves to skate and it seems like he doesn't even realize how good he is, or at least he doesn't show it. I like that he skates fast and uses any type of obstacle. He's one of the most stylish and consistent skaters I know, and skating with him always motivates me.

He's an easy-going person who sometimes likes to spend time alone, but always motivated to skate and party too.

I hope to see him travel as much as possible because every time he returns to Bolzano after a tour he skates better than before.

GIUSEPPE COLA

Massi hypes me because he does these incredible tricks you just don't expect, and does them so naturally too. He's super relaxed and doesn't stress easily. He lives peacefully, and since I'm always late I feel comfortable traveling or going to the lake with him, ha ha.

He loves music and art. He even played with some friends of ours once. They formed a band and that night was so cool. We had so much fun and they played so well. He's a good artist too. He showed me some drawings he made and they're very particular and stylish.

If I were to send him a message? I'd tell him to skate more since it's what he does best. He does stuff none of us are able to do in Bolzano, and not just here. His style is completely unique and I'd like to see him skate more and do more tricks nobody expects.

DAVIDE HOLZKNECHT

I like how obvious it is that he loves skateboarding. You can tell that he’s genuinely having fun when he steps on the board and that reflects in his skating. I love watching him skate the local park here in Bolzano. It looks like he’s just cruising around, hitting everything while actually going off and doing some serious tricks.

He’s one of the kindest people I know. He’s humble and always ready to help out. I also love that you can have fun with him and he's always down to party, ha ha.

He’s real! I love him like a brother!

I’d love to see him get some more exposure (not talking about social media). He'd probably land on lots of people's favorite skater list out there. He’s on mine already.

(ABG) How old are you, how long have you been skating for, and how did you get into skating?

(MC) I'm 20 and have been skating for 11 years. I started because my sister had received a toy skateboard for Christmas and never used it. It aroused my curiosity so I started pushing around on it and after that I tried some tricks. Before getting a new one I broke it into a thousand little pieces, of which I actually saved one. Ha ha ha.

(ABG) Where do you live?

(MC) I live just outside a small town in the mountains of the Alto Adige region. A peaceful place.

(ABG) How and to what degree did living in a small town in the mountains between Trento and Bolzano influence your determination to skate?

It takes you an hour to reach the firstskateable spot...

(MC) When I first started, my desire to skate was so strong that where I lived didn't prevent me from skating a lot. I would skate on the asphalt under my house or in town on sidewalks, or anywhere that looked even remotely skateable. Then I started going to Bolzano where there was a cool new skate park. My desire was strong, so 45 minutes both ways were not a problem for me. When I started high school in Bolzano I'd bring my board to school, so it became even easier to skate.

(ABG) What did your teachers think of the fact that you showed up to school with your board every morning?

(MC) They were amazed at my determination and passion and they acknowledged it. They often blamed my skateboard for my bad grades though, ha ha. "Skate less and study more," they would tell me! Ha ha.

(ABG) You went to Art School. What did you like about the courses you studied and is it a field you'd like to pursue? (MC) Yes. I liked going to art school because I met people with more open minds compared to other schools. I also liked experimenting with different techniques and styles of painting and sculpture. Some of which I will keep using in my free time. I also like photography, analogue especially, and wouldn't mind working in that field.

(ABG) You finished school this year, will you move somewhere else to live? (MC) For the time being I don't think I'll be moving anywhere permanently, but I would like to travel to different cities to experience different situations and explore new places. Towards the end of the year I might go to London for a few months, since it has a strong scene, lots of rough spots, and good people!

(ABG) Bolzano is a city with very few street spots, but it has a very powerful and active skate scene nonetheless, with guys like Davide Holzknecht, Giuseppe Cola, Marcus Mauroner, Benjamin Bucca, and Julian Fink, just to name a few. Why are there so many awesome skaters in Bolzano? Is it the fresh mountain air? (MC) When I was little I have to say that there was always a lot of competition among our group of skaters and we all had this dream of turning pro. That's what pushed us to improve a lot. Plus we also have a really good park.

↙

BACKWARD NOSEGRIND REVERT

(ABG) For years we saw you as a kid skating with Davide Holzknecht, how is skating with him? I know you are very close outside of skateboarding too...

(MC) Dave has always been a source of inspiration for me and a person I enjoy spending time with. He also thinks big and often pushes you to do things you didn't have the confidence to do before. Even on seshes he always has my back and motivates me!

(ABG) You were on the Italian National Skate Team for a few years, but not anymore. How was that experience?

(MC) I was part of the team for 7 years, I think. Even before skateboarding became an Olympic sport, and we went on some really cool trips, like Tampa Am for example. It was a nice experience because I had the chance to see and skate places all over the world and meet lots of new people. Over the years as contests became more and more serious and skateboarding made the move into the Olympics, I realized that competitions weren't my thing. I like skating for fun and as an art form, aspects that get lost as a sport. But I'm grateful for all the trips I went on and the people who gave me this opportunity and shared it with me.

(ABG) Are you competitive? (MC) Only with myself.

(ABG) What music do you like?

(MC) I listen to various genres, both old and new. Lately I've been listening a lot to Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and The Clash to mention a few.

(ABG) You said that you started playing guitar and that with some friends you created a band... tell me something about that!!!

(MC) Yes. Music has always fascinated me. When I was small I tried to play the guitar various times, but gave up right away. Since I have lots of guitars at home, during the lockdown I had all the time in the world to learn. It was like starting to skate again, because learning gave me lots of satisfaction. A few months ago some friends decided to create a wacky rock band to play at this after-party of an event at the skate park. I was the first guitarist they found so we got together, ha ha. At the moment we're not very active, but surely soon enough we'll have another chance to play at a gig somewhere.

(ABG) What video part do you watch before going skating? (MC) T-Funk's DC Promo part.

(ABG) How did you start skating for NB Numeric, and The National afterwards? (MC) About 5 years ago a friend of the owner of Subshop in Bolzano asked me if I was interested in skating for NB Numeric and shortly thereafter I got on the team. With The National it happened kinda casually: I'd been getting some stuff for a few years through a distribution, but that was it. I felt the need for something more concrete and be in contact with a team. I'd spoken to Mario Torre from Playwood Distribution a few times and when I wrote him to tell him I was free, he asked me if I wanted to skate for The National. I checked out some of their vids and got all hyped up and Ryan from The National reciprocated so that's how this "long distance relationship" came to be. The pandemic slowed things down a bit, but shortly we'll be going on tour to Warsaw, Poland, and I'll have the chance to meet the team.

KICKFLIP INTO THE BANK

FAKIE FRONTSIDE KICKFLIP

MC(ABG) What's your view of today's skateboarding? (MC) I often think how cool it would have been to live skateboarding back in the 80s and 90s, or even earlier. From what I make of it, it was much purer and more natural than what it has become nowadays. Anyhow, it's possible to live it purely today too. There are lots of people living it that way and I don't think there's anything that could prevent it.

(ABG) You're barely active on social networks, do you think people are getting tired of Instagram? (MC) Simply put, I'm not a big fan of social networks because they keep you glued to an object that takes away so much of your time and makes many people lose their minds. It obviously has many advantages too, but for me personally, the less I use them the better it is. I also think skate videos lose importance on social networks.

(ABG) What are your plans for the coming months? When are you dropping a dope video part? We wanna see it!!! (MC) I'd like to travel as much as possible, film a video part for sure and work a bit.

WALLIE TO BACKSIDE TAILSLIDE POP OVER

SWITCH POP SHOVE–IT

If I had to choose the most legendary skate shoe in history, I would have no doubts whatsoever; it would be the Vans Half Cab. Not just because it's the only skate shoe with a relevant history behind it or because it's the only skate shoe that I really like. But also because besides undoubtedly being a super dope shoe, and having been THE skate shoe during a golden age of skateboarding, it was also designed by skateboarders.

The Full Cab was introduced in 1989 and was Vans' first signature shoe, as well as the second pro model skate shoe ever released, the first one being Etnies' Natas model that came out in 1987.

Around 1990 there was a huge change in skateboarding, vert skating died down and street skateboarding became more and more popular. Skaters started cutting their Full Cabs to mids and applying duct tape to them so they wouldn't fall apart. The reasoning behind this was to make the shoe more performing and consistent with skateboarding's early 90s super tech developments.

This trend originated at EMB in San Francisco, then the global epicenter of skateboarding. Many trends were born there, and word has it that Jovontae Turner was the first person to cut Full Cabs into Half Cabs. Mike Carroll, Scott Johnston, and the whole EMB posse contributed, together with others as well, to create and spread this trend worldwide.

From 1991 onwards, skaters everywhere with cut and duct-taped high tops were a common sight. This craze spread quickly thanks to the circulation of the first photos and videos, or even more rapidly thanks to friends who'd just gotten back from the US with the latest novelty. During that period all skaters cut their high tops, no matter the brand... Vision, Airwalk... you name it. But obviously the OG shoes were the customized Full Cabs.

So the moment Steve Cab noticed this growing trend he asked Vans to modify his model and in 1992 the Vans Half Cab was released.

Johnston, and Guy Mariano skating in full white Half Cabs had come out, and we wanted them!

So in 1994 some guys from our crew went to San Francisco to skate and came back three months later with two pairs of full white Half Cabs they had bought at FTC. For us it was like the Holy Grail! Ha ha ha.

During those years the iconic photos of Bobby Puleo skating San Francisco or NYC in Half Cabs, or Julien Stranger shredding parks in Northern California and Oregon, or clips of Mike Daher in the video A Visual Sound, or Matt Reason's video parts skating in Philly in the mid 90's... are only a few of the images that made them the most legendary shoes in skateboarding.

from skaters, and out of a technical and stylistic necessity. I remember that in the following years every skater wanted a pair of Half Cabs. My friends and I would do anything to find them, but it actually wasn't that easy to get ahold of them except at a few skate shops that only sold the black colorway. Some photos of Mike Carroll, Scott

because not everybody likes it, especially non-skaters. It's a skate shoe, it's raw, and it was created by skaters.

In 2022 the Half Cab turned 30 and we decided to celebrate it with "Scissors & Tape", a video (that you can enjoy on our You Tube channel) and photo project divided into six episodes involving six skaters sessioning the legendary silhouette: Cise, Fabio Montagner, Giorgio Zattoni, Giuseppe Cola, Will Odiete, and Jacopo Picozza.

Enjoy!

Watch all the episodes of SCISSORS & TAPE here →

Yes, the Half Cab was designed by skateboarders.

The Half Cab is not a fashion shoe

That's how this shoe was born

GIANMARCO CISELLI

To film his part, Cise chose Pescara and the surrounding areas that have various interesting, lesser-seen spots. I spent three days with Davide Rossano and Mattia Tommasoli who filmed and edited the entire video part. Skating perfect spots on the deserted seafront with palm trees and under a blue sky definitely has a special allure.

BACKSIDE BLUNTSLIDE

NOLLIE OVER THE GAP INTO THE BANK ↑

FABIO MONTAGNER

You have to be extremely motivated to film and shoot some tricks at an empty canal at the foot of the mountains at 8AM on a chilly February morning. Monty is a boss. He's always available and hyped, even after a 4 AM early morning rise and an 8-hour work shift... we met at the spot to film some lines. Fabio's part was filmed between Bassano, Cittadella, and Mestre by Fede Romanello and Davide Biondani.

Thanks for the inspiration Monty.

BACKSIDE KICKFLIP OVER THE LADDER

GIORGIO ZATTONI

In 1991 Giorgio used to really shred in his Vans Caballeros, cutting and duct-taping them like all skaters did back then. From 1992 onwards he skated Half Cabs both on mini ramps and in the streets. He was around when Half Cabs were first made, and filming a street part with him wearing them in 2022 was a dream we wanted to fulfil. A 30-year flashback!!!

While joking around we had this idea of him bleaching his hair like in 1992 to make the flashback even realer, ha ha ha. I swear that it was only because of very limited time that he didn't do it! Seeing Giorgio street skate was so exciting. The part was filmed by Mattia Tommasoli between Faenza, Comacchio, and Pesaro during spring 2022.

GIUSEPPE COLA

Sepp's part was filmed with a VX 1000 by Andrew Zolin between winter and spring 2022. It was a real struggle getting it done amidst his school commitments and the filmer's work commitments. Well done Giuseppe, you killed it by skating both classic spots and new ones in Brescia and Verona.

JACOPO PICOZZA

"Hey JP, do you feel like filming a part for the Scissors & Tape project?" "Yes, totally! But we only have 2 days because of my job and some housework. I've got very little time." "Ok!"

That's how the project began for Jacopo. A week after the phone call we met on a Saturday morning in Rome where we filmed non-stop from 11AM to 7PM during the two hottest days of summer 2022. The temperature was 38-40 °C. JP rules.

His part was filmed by Davide Biondani and edited by Fede Romanello.

WILL ODIETE

Will Odiete's part was filmed by Luca Scarpellini in Milan between winter and spring 2022 at some of the lesser-known spots the city has to offer.

CANNON BALL FEEBLE GRIND BACKSIDE BLUNTSLIDE

BIG LAB

STARTING A NEW PROJECT IS EASY, 'CAUSE YOU'RE FULL OF ENERGY, IDEAS, AND MOTIVATION. EVERYTHING TAKES OFF PERFECTLY. BUT CONTINUING OVER TIME REQUIRES PASSION, WILL-POWER, SACRIFICE AND LOTS OF HARD WORK. AND HANGING IN THERE FOR 20 YEARS IS A WHOLE OTHER STORY ALTOGETHER, IT'S ANOTHER DIMENSION. HAVING DRIVE AND PASSION AREN'T SUFFICIENT AT THAT POINT, YOU NEED EXCEPTIONAL SKILLS, A CONTINUOUS FLOW OF NEW IDEAS, A CONSOLIDATED WORK TEAM, AND ESPECIALLY AN IMMENSE LOVE FOR YOUR WORK.

BIG AIR LAB TURNS 20 THIS YEAR. IT BEGAN IN 2002 AS A SMALL SKATE SHOP IN OSIMO, ON CENTRAL ITALY'S EAST COAST. OVER THE YEARS IT HAS CONTRIBUTED FIRST-HAND IN SETTING A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR THE LOCAL SKATE SCENE, WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF IGNOPARK, A GIGANTIC CONCRETE SKATE PARK WHICH WAS THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF CONCRETE PARKS BUILT ALL OVER THE REGION.

IN 2012 MARIO PAOLILLO, THE FOUNDER, WENT ALL OUT: HE MOVED THE SHOP TO A LARGER VENUE, CREATED A SUPER SOLID WORK TEAM WITH LUCA CRESTANI TO TAKE CARE OF SKATEBOARDING AND LUCA GRATTAFIORI TO TAKE CARE OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION. THEY IMMEDIATELY BUILT A HUGE BOWL WITH POOL COPING INSIDE THE SHOP. FOUR YEARS LATER, IN 2016, THEY BUILT A PERFECT STREET PLAZA BEHIND THE SHOP WITH PALM TREES. DEFINITELY A DREAM SPACE ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO SKATEBOARDERS. THEY ARE A UNIQUE AND INCREDIBLE EXAMPLE OF A SKATE SHOP DOING SOMETHING REAL AT ITS OWN EXPENSE FOR THE SKATE COMMUNITY. TO BE HONEST I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THERE ARE MANY OTHER SHOPS LIKE THAT IN THE WORLD. FOR THIS REASON ALONE IT DESERVES ALL OUR SUPPORT AND RESPECT.

MARIO AND HIS SQUAD ARE A VOLCANO OF IDEAS, AND AT TIMES THEIR OWN COLLABORATORS HAVE TO CONTAIN ALL THIS EXUBERANCE. MAYBE THE SECRET TO BIG AIR'S SUCCESS LIES IN NEVER STOPPING, TACKLING NEW CHALLENGES, AND CONSTANTLY FINDING NEW IDEAS TO ANTICIPATE THE TIMES.

BIG AIR LAB

Photography & words by davide biondani

YEARS ANNIVERSARY

AIR ②⓪

THE BIG AIR LAB FAMILY HAS RECENTLY EXPANDED ITS SKATE TEAM. WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HANG OUT WITH THEM DURING THE FILMING OF THEIR NEW VIDEO, SHOOT SOME PHOTOS, AND HAVE A CHAT WITH MARIO, LUCA CRESTANI, AND LUCA GRATTAFIORI ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO KEEP A SKATE STORE ALIVE FOR 20 YEARS.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG AIR LAB!

How does Big Air Lab being around for 20 years make you feel?

Makes me feel good! But honestly, I never looked back and it makes me proud of the path we've walked in these 20 years.

What's the secret to remain motivated for so long?

Motivation and passion are essential to figure out how to start a business. You end up making lots of mistakes, but with determination and a pinch of madness you learn to achieve your goals.

Of course you shouldn't hurry things too much. Plus, if you have a team like ours and want to grow, results come spontaneously.

What are your two greatest satisfactions in all these years?

The first was probably to convince a small municipality like the city of Osimo to create the current Ignopark. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was one of the most beautiful inaugurations of my life!

The second one is having opened the current BIG AIR LAB in Camerano in 2012. Thanks to a larger surface area than at the old store, we were able to realize most of our dreams, such as the Bowl and the Plaza. This generated profitable growth and allowed us to allocate more resources to events dedicated to skateboarding.

The world has completely changed over these 20 years, and actually over the last two years too. How do you tackle new challenges both as a shop and as a work team in order to remain in business?

Yes, things have definitely changed radically, and so have customers. There is a growing need for attention and new proposals.

The team and I interact daily on how to deal with new challenges, and despite the advancing years we're still on the ball.

You've set up an incredible shop with an insane skate plaza and a huge indoor bowl inside the shop... and so much more. What's next for Big Air Lab?

We've had some projects lying around for a few years. Unfortunately Covid slowed us down a bit but it doesn't worry me because I know that sooner or later we'll be able to complete them as we have always done on our journey.

How long have you been working for Big Air and what do you do?

I joined the Big Air fam in 2014 and I mainly take care of the company's marketing and digital activities.

How has day-to-day life at the shop changed in these past few years, both work and marketing-wise?

With the growth of the business, the work team has also grown which has led to more defined roles and a more streamlined, profitable work management.

On the marketing side, digital has had a huge acceleration in recent years and this has positively influenced our marketing processes in support of our physical store and e-commerce.

For about a decade, some brands supported and used the coolest core shops as a showcase. How has or how is this trend changing?

It’s still a growing trend for companies. Creating local content and putting a product inside a shop that has a strong image is simply more real than putting the product itself on a web page. Grassroots!

What's the recipe to become a cool shop and stay in business for 20 years? There are quite a few examples of top shops that are suffering in today's market...

I don't think there is a universal recipe. But passion for our work and an eye for what's going on and where the market is headed are certainly two important ingredients to stay in business for all these years.

Is there still a place for core shops in today's market? How can a skate shop survive nowadays?

Yes, definitely. Core skate shops are the truest link between companies and skaters. Companies themselves have in my opinion the duty and the interest to keep core shops alive.

ELMO SWITCH OLLIE

You recently expanded your team with very solid additions. Is having a solid skate team still important in skateboard marketing?

I believe that our team riders are an extension of the image of the store itself and at the same time they are the most core part of who we are and what we do. Supporting our scene is the lifeblood of our past, present and future business.

2021 was a year when sales of skateboard hard-goods literally exploded. How are sales doing right now and what do you think trends will be like in the following months and years?

Compared to last year, it’s impossible to deny that there has been a small turnaround regarding sales of hard-goods. But it's quite physiological post covid and after the 2021 boom. But the good thing is that the scene keeps on growing with new kids.

You did various collaborations over the years among which a very important one with Nike SB. What's boiling in the pot for Big Air Lab for the foreseeable future? What are you working on?

The 10th edition of the Street Jungle Contest just ended and at the moment we are focused on a couple of projects for the winter season. At the same time, we are also working on multiple events and product-centered projects for next year.

FEDE ZAGAGLIA 180 SWITCH

5–0

ELMEHDI CONTAKI OLLIE OVER TO NOSEBONK

DEPT.

How long have you been working at Big Air Lab and what's your role?

I began construction of the pool inside the new shop in Camerano in 2012 and from then on I've tried to contribute to the project by expanding the skate school I had already created in 2007. I also manage part of the team and core events.

What does working in a skate shop like Big Air mean to you, having contributed to making it become what it is today?

I feel more like a collaborator of Big Air Lab, because I don't actually work in the shop. I'm the main guy in charge of the skateboarding section and I think I've partly contributed in giving the shop an even more credible image in the eyes of the skate community. I've always made myself available professionally to the Big Air project because I've believed in it from day one and I'm proud to be part of it.

Skateboarding used to be only for diehard dreamers, but has since become something you can teach in courses. Since you've lived through all of these phases, how do you see the current state of skateboarding?

Lately skateboarding has achieved levels of notoriety that nobody expected. It has grown a lot, and certainly both the skate school and the shop have benefited from it. Having been recognized as a sport has inevitably changed the rules of the game. After the Olympics especially, interest has grown on the part of many companies (that have nothing to do with skateboarding) and all of a sudden skaters have become role models to follow or imitate. Before we were just considered outcasts and scorned upon simply because people thought we were too "old" to still be playing with that stupid wooden board.

What's the recipe for a skate shop to make it in today's market?

For me a skate shop should first of all be a meeting place where you can hang out with friends, meet other skaters and have good times together. That's exactly what we focused on at Big Air Lab when we built the pool and the plaza. We created a hangout place for all skateboard enthusiasts and people just getting into skateboarding.

There's surely no recipe that will work for everyone. You have to constantly adapt to your local reality and scene.

The scene here has always been rather small as we don't live in a big city. But what has always worked for us is our ability to renew ourselves by constantly offering our customers something new and unique to make them want to come back over the years.

ANDREA CIMADAMORE FRONTSIDE KICKFLIP

ALESSANDRO PIERFEDERICI KICKFLIP OFF THE BANK

NICOLE PALMIERI FRONTSIDE NOSESLIDE

LUCA CRESTANI FRONTSIDE BLUNTSLIDE

MASSIMO CRISTOFOLETTI SWITCH KICKFLIP

PHOTO: DAVIDE BIONDANI