a brief glance issue_32 by a brief glance skateboardmag

issue _32

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VANS AND ANTIHERO TEAM RIDER ANDREW ALLEN

Limited edition Vans X Antihero Pro Classics featuring Durcap Reinforcements DQG 8OWUDFXVK +' FXVKLRQLQJ SOXV RWKHU À QH 9DQV ; $QWLKHUR SURGXFWV DYDLODEOH now at crustier skate shops worldwide.

Berlin_ photo // Davide Biondani

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WHAT’S UP WITH THESE SHOES? —JB SMOOVE

THIS O THER SKATER DUDE WAS SAYIN G THAT THESE NEW NIKE SB SHOES LOOK LIKE RUNNING SHOES. You ask, “Why put running technology in these skate shoes?” Well, I see you skaters all the time, jumping and flying through the air, flipping and twisting like it’s some break-dance contest in a fast-food parking lot. At least those break-dancers put a piece of cardboard on the ground to soften it up a bit. You follow me? These shoes have got Zoom Air in them, son! It gives you more cushion for your pushin’! Don’t you want to have something to soften that load? I see you skaters out there getting chased by the authorities! You don’t jump on your skateboard and skate away from them all fast like you do when you’re on the street, trying to jump on curbs, down handrails and over cars and parking cones. No! What you skaters do is you pick up your board and you run! You don’t skate from the authority! You run from the authority! So you can thank Nike for doing you a solid and killing two birds with two shoes. —JB

PAUL RODRIGUEZ 9 ELITE

YOU NEED SOME AIRBAGS FOR YOUR FEET BECAUSE OF THE HARD ASPHALT YOUR ASS FELL ON.

— JB

NIKESB.COM

Well you are correct, my dude, you do see amazing skaters who are being filmed with pricey cameras. That’s their job! You just pointed out another advancement in the histor y of skateboarding. Congratulations! Back in the day, skateboarding was long-hair cavemen, carving down the middle of the dusty road on a plank of wood with four balls of clay just to keep it rolling. You would be lucky if you could even find a picture of it. We’re talking about the advancement of modern technology in some skate shoes. Don’t you want your shoes to be the cat’s pajamas? That’s what those cavemen would say: “I need my feet to feel like the cat’s pajamas.” I didn’t know what those cavemen meant then, but I do now! I want everything around me to be the cat’s pajamas. You know you can’t stop the world from evolving. You think if the earth stopped rotating you would continue to do those moves the same way? We need the world to turn, my man, so that your wheels can turn. As the world turns, skateboarding, cameras, skaters and shoes—all of it, man, all of us—change! Hopefully before the world stops turning you will allow your feet to enjoy some cushion so that you can keep pushin’. —JB

I HE ARD A DUDE T HE O T HE R DAY JAB B E RI N G ABO U T T HE S E S K AT E RS WE ARIN G T HE S E C RAZY S K AT E S HO E S , B E I N G F ILME D ALL DAY BY E XPE NS IV E C AME RAS . JU S T F U S S I N G ARO UND WIT H T HE IR BOARDS , E AT I N G B U RRI T O S AND DRINK IN G IC E D C O F F E E S .

WHAT’S UP!

THAT’S — JB

PAUL RODRIGUEZ FRONTSIDE KICKFLIP

T H I S S KAT ER W AS TAL KI N G T H E O T H ER DAY ABOU T N I KE SB M AKI N G T H E M OS T H I DEOU S PAI R OF S H OES I N T H E I N DU S T RY.

You may think these shoes are ugly, but I bet your feet don’t think they are ugly. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, my friend. It’s really what’s inside that counts. What’s inside these shoes? Zoom Air! Like little fluffy clouds in your shoes to catch you! I tell you what, the way you skaters treat your feet these days is criminal! Jumping down things, scraping up against sandpaper. Having some nice pillows—a mini mattress to lay those feet down on—seems like a beautiful thing. I dare you to post a picture of your feet online and see how many people “like” your feet. Nobody wants to see your messed-up skater feet. If your feet could speak to you, they would look up at you and say, “Have you lost your damn mind? I’m not feeling this anymore. This relationship is over.” Treat your feet right. Treat your feet like a lady. Ladies like pillows, so get your two gnarly, hairy, smelly-looking skater feet-ladies some pillows. —JB

Nick Garcia

NOSEBLUNT TRANSFER

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Photo // DVL a brief glance

CALIFORNIA SPORTS - TEL 0119277943 - WWW.CALIFORNIASPORT.INFO

DC X SEAN CLIVER SEE THE ENTIRE DC X SEAN CLIVER COLLECTION AT DCSHOES.COM

DC X SEAN CLIVER THE SWITCH S

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editorial // 32 THE BEST THING I REALIZED ABOUT SKATEBOARDING, IS THE WHOLE

CULTURE THAT’S AROUND IT, LIKE HOW MANY AMAZING PEOPLE YOU MEET THROUGH

SKATEBOARDING, THE CRAZY PLACES THAT YOU CAN VISIT THROUGH

SKATEBOARDING, ALL THE INSANE

EXPERIENCES, AND THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU CAN GAIN THROUGH IT!

LIFE, TRAVELS, NEW FRIENDS. YOU HAVE TO ENJOY SKATEBOARDING, AND Photo_Fernando Gomes.

never forget why you got into it...because skateboarding will always be there for you! WES KREMER

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FrOm Dirt tO DUst book and Out Of Steppe documentary available now! Photography: Percy Dean and Cyrille Weiner Writing: Seb Carayol Cinematography: Stephen Roe Featured Skateboarders: Joseph Biais, Jerome Campbell, Igor Fardin, Sylvain Tognelli, Yoshihiro “Deshi” Omoto and Phil Zwijsen

Ten years after, skateboarding the urban revolution of Mongolia (2004 –14)

www.carhartt-wip.com

Jerome Campbell, BS wallride – Photos Percy Dean & Cyrille Weiner

CONTENTS // 32 Fragments_

From Dirt To Dust_

Carhartt in Mongolia 10 years later_

Roll in Malaga with FVTVRA skateboards_

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Wes & Madars_ interviews_

Brazilian Love Affair_ Salvador de Bahia_

Places_Panama_

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JOSH MATTHEWS

EDITOR and CONCEPT_ Davide Biondani.

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

ASSISTANT EDITOR_ Andrew Zolin. TRANSLATIONS_ Jonathan Levin. PHOTOGRAPHERS_

Leo Sharp, Kévin Mètallier, DVL, Fred Mortagne,

Fernando Gomes, Rafael Gonzalez, Gaston Francisc, Craig Dodds, Brian Gaberman, Marcello Guardigli,

Davide Biondani, Erik Groß, Cyrille Weiner, Percy Dean, Phil Zwijsen, Seb Carayol, Carsten Beier,

Bertrand Trichet, Jacob Messex, Hendrik Herzmann. CONTRIBUTORS_

Oli Buergin, Mario Torre, Francesco Paolo Chielli, Jerome Campbell, Mark Baines, Ale Martoriati, Niall Neeson. DESIGN_

Fake Donkey Lab.

GET ALL THE INFOS at: info@abriefglance.com

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PHOTO: BROOK

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TOREY PUDWILL Y O U J O I N E D T H E D V S F A M I LY T H E D A Y Y O U S TA R T E D S K AT E B O A R D I N G PA R T I C I PAT E @ D V S S K AT E B O A R D I N G O R D V S S H O E S . C O M

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visual| M.Bod - Question Mark, ink!#? - www.aspecial.coffee

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INTRODUCING

SLASH II

BRIAN ‘SLASH’ HANSEN SIGNATURE MODEL

FALLENFOOTWEAR.COM FACEBOOK.COM/FALLENFOOTWEAR @FALLEN FOOTWEAR

DISTRIBUTED IN ITALY BY CALIFORNIA SPORTS- TEL 0119277943 – WWW.CALIFORNIASPORT.INFO

Brian Hansen

PHOTO: DOMINICK

FRAGMEN

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NTS Andrew Dallas Gap to noseblunt Photo_Craig Dodds Dublin, Ireland.

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FRAGMENTS

Erik GroĂ&#x;, Bs powerslide Photo_ Carsten Beier Dresden, Germany.

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Raphaell Angslow, Fs 180 Photo_ Marcello Guardigli Melbourne, Australia. a brief glance

FRAGMENTS

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FRAGMENTS

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Samu Makela, Bs 50-50 grind Photo_ Hendrik Herzmann Germany. a brief glance

from dirt TO

DUST

Carhartt in MONGOLIA, 10 years later.

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photo_Phil Zwijsen.

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photo_Percy Dean.

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This story began about 13 years ago, in 2002 to be exact, when German

archeology student and skateboarder/photographer at the time, Jo Hempel, went to Mongolia for ten weeks to take part in an excavation project and discovered the presence of a huge skatepark in the city of Ulaanbaatar. So when he went back to Bonn he thought about proposing a project for a

skateboard trip to Carhartt. It took two years to organize the whole thing, and in 2004 a crew of almost 20 people went over to Mongolia for a month-

long trip to explore the country and find something to skate. The result of

this mission was the book Dirt Ollies and the film Mongolian Tyres. For the

record, once they reached the country they discovered that the giant skatepark had been razed three weeks earlier.

Now ten years later, Mongolia has become one of the quickest growing

countries in the world, and as often happens rapid progress brings growth without any rules and profound societal changes.

The guys at Carhartt brilliantly thought that after a decade of evolution it was

time for a new book and a new mission to Mongolia to see how the country

has changed. So the bags were packed again and a heterogeneous crew of skateboarders, photographers, writers, and architects were ready to leave.

Jerome Campbell, Igor Fradin, Sylvain Tognelli, Deshi, Joseph Biais, and

Phil Zwijsen together with photographers Percy Dean and Cyrille Weiner, Carhartt’s brand manager and “mind behind the project” Bertrand Trichet (who was the only one who took part in the first mission), architect Nicola

Deron, Seb Carayol, and filmer Rogie spent three weeks traveling on board a van from city to city where they skated some of the spots from the first mission

as well as some new ones, where they met the local skaters and witnessed how rapid growth can bring results of dubious taste.

They also explored the countryside in search of spots in small villages, and spent one night in a tent with a nomadic family. The result of this great

adventure is a new amazing book and film entitled From Dirt To Dust, published by Carhartt in collaboration with 19/80 Editions which we highly recommend you add to your book collection.

We had the pleasure of chatting with some of the guys about this sick

adventure, and of course we’re anxiously waiting for the third book in 10 years!

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photos_Cyrille Weiner.

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Phil Zwijsen // Boneless_

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photo_Percy Dean.

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photos_Cyrille Weiner.

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photo_Percy Dean.

Jerome Campbell // Nosegrind_

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Percy Dean_photographer.

What did you expect before leaving and what impressed you the most about the country? I’m not really sure I thought about it that much, I’d kinda already got myself worried about being in a tent 3 days drive from anywhere. I got a little panicked about feeling ill or getting injured in remote places. I don’t know why I’m like that as I obsess about travel and about making it to all these wonderful places the world has to offer. The space there was everything, to take a turn of a road into a grass field and then drive through that field for 10 hours before you see another person really clears your mind. I think everyone needs that view accessible in their lives, like the sea or a horizon uncluttered by the effect of humans. Judging from the book and the video it seems like it is a country full of contrasts, typical of the countries in the middle of a quick process

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of growth and globalization... what are your feelings about that? Yes, Mongolia is a contradiction, but maybe it is so only to our western eyes? I mean, we can be negative about the progress they are experiencing there; the almost constant hum of construction, the expansion of Ulaan Baator’s boundaries out into the steppe, the Louis Vuitton shops and the Coke tee shirts, but who are we to romanticize about their countryside and then project our worry about the effects on the pristine landscapes, we don’t live there or experience life in Mongolia the way they do. We picture the grasslands peeling off into a sunset with a lone horseman riding off to the welcoming spiral of woodsmoke from his yurt. We are only thinking of a picture, an idea of Mongolia. It’s their land and always has been, they should do what they want with it and we should wish them the best.

You shoot a lot of landscape photos around the world and especially in the Highlands... how was shooting landscapes in Mongolia like? It was hard, I want my landscapes to unveil a kinda view or beauty that you don’t always see as you are passing through. Every single view is so breathtaking once you get out of the towns that I found it hard to shoot, I didn’t really want to impede my view with the camera and when I did, I would make a picture that made no sense to me, a picture that couldn’t compare with the smell and sounds and feeling of absolute isolation. I know the Muslim faith has an ideology or something about photographs; frowning upon them as it’s almost like they are trying to better what God has already created. I’ve never felt like that anywhere else in the world. And what about shooting skateboarding there? Did you find interesting spots? Yes, it’s littered with spots, everywhere. A lot are really rugged, but they have this style of building where they raise the foundations off the floor a little, maybe it has something to do with the permafrost or something, but they end up banking up to the bases of a lot of the buildings. A lot of these spots are too rough or there is no pavement so the banks end in dirt, but every now and again there is something really special. Once you are out of the towns there is nothing, you are driving on grass… You are lucky if you see a stone, never mind a hard road. Would you go back to Mongolia? Yes, there were aspects of it that were tough, like 7 days with no hot water. As I get older I guess I miss my home comforts a lot more each year, but then I look at the images of myself and Cyrille and Bertrand and I think of making a stone fire and cooking a lamb by a river and wrestling and seeing the stars and hearing the horses’ hooves on the grass. It made a great impact on my heart and I want it to happen again. Being in charge of shooting for a project like this one is for sure very interesting and motivating, you have lots of experience in different fields of photography, but in any case it’s a big responsibility to be the one who has to bring the goodies home to fill the book. What were your feelings when they proposed the project to you, and were you ever afraid of not getting enough stuff When they proposed the idea to me I was blown away, I

felt so honored that Carhartt would put a responsibility like that in my hands. Skateboarding is my life, and has made me who I am, but photographically my career has led me away from skateboarding over the last few years. Still, I was so excited about what I thought I could do, but after the first few three-day drives and no skating, or just a few line spots, yes, I was getting very worried. A lot of the spots we skated I didn’t even shoot, I think it’s because my mind is littered with skate photography from over 28 years’ time. I’ve been around the world and back with some gnarly dudes, and skated some unbelievable spots, so when I’m at a roadside in a cloud of dust skating a 1-foot bank in the dark with a million people in the way and mud all over the griptape, I sometimes find it hard to envisage a reason for shooting it. It had to be about the environment, about the people we were and were with, the images needed to be seen in a book to make sense, we needed to explain why we were there and what it was like, and in my head a single image doesn’t do that. It was hard, but thanks to everyone in the bus we made it work.

Are you happy about how the whole project came out? Personally I really (really) like the book and the video too… Yes, ha ha... I think so! At the time of writing this I haven’t seen it yet, but I know from the pdfs and working with 1980 editions in Paris for a few days on it that we were all on the same thought path. This is all 100% down to Bertrand’s vision, his experience in the country, and his faith in everyone involved. Is it true that Phil Zwijsen was trying to fight you all the time? Ha ha ha, what was the most epic fight on the trip? Phil Zwijsen cut my thumb on a piece of glass in France “on purpose” years ago and I’ve never forgiven him. I like it that he thinks he can fight me, because it gives me a chance to choke him or crank his neck or push my knee into his chest. I’ll give him 10 out of 10 for persistence and effort, but only 3 out of 10 for ability. The most epic fights where when we wrestled the father of the family we stayed with, it made us all feel like kids again. How long have you been killin’ it at Karaoke? Ha ha ha, is there something else that we should know? ha ha It takes a lot of booze but once it’s on, it’s on! All I need to hear are the first few bars of Time after Time by Cyndi Lauper and there’s no coming back. a brief glance

photos_Percy Dean.

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Igor Fradin_

photos_Cyrille Weiner.

What was your first thought when they told you about the tour to Mongolia? Was what you experienced during the 3 weeks any different from what you expected? I remember that the first thing I did after I found out I was going to Mongolia was asking myself, “what do you know about that place?” And all I could come up with was Genghis Khan, warriors, horses, and a few landscape images that stuck in my mind from the Mongolian Tyres documentary. Because of my incredibly small and stereotyped knowledge of that country, I didn’t have any real expectations, so I didn’t have any idea of what I

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would have experienced and how this trip would have been. I must say I really liked that, it felt like a real adventure. Having the chance to be in a country you don’t know and actually explore it and build up your knowledge day by day by traveling in a small bus on roads that are not really roads, without knowing when you’ll see the next sign of human civilization is something we don’t get to experience very often in our small and globalized world, where you can “explore” most of the countries just by clicking on tourist websites while comfortably sitting in your chair.

Judging from the footage of the spots you skated it looks very very rough… am I right? What was your favorite spot among the ones you skated? Yes, the spots were kind of rough. I have a thing for ditches and bank spots so I guess that is what I liked best. But after you sit for hours on a bus going through some bumpy dirt roads, anything you get to skate seems pretty good. How did you guys survive in the steppe with no internet connection? Ha ha… Who suffered the most for the lack of wi-fi? Ha ha, I personally don’t have a strong wi-fi addiction so I didn’t struggle too much. I guess the guys that had more trouble with it where Sylvain and Phil, even though they actually found wi-fi in the most “in the middle of nowhere” places. What was the most intense experience of this trip? Being with the nomad family. What was sleeping in the tent with the nomad family like? What did you bring home from

this amazing experience? Sleeping in a tent with the nomad family was not so comfortable and it really smelled like sheep in there. Nevertheless it was a great experience, something extremely distant from my everyday life, I am nothing like a Mongolian nomad so to me it was a completely new experience that I couldn’t really relate to any of the other experiences I’ve had. The thing that impressed me the most was the different perception of time you have in a place like that. Days seemed to last forever. We would gather cows, wash in the river, collect rocks and wooden sticks to start a fire, witness a sheep being killed, cook that sheep on a fire, watch some proper wrestling matches between Phil, Percy, and one of the nomads and still have the second half of the day ahead of us. What I would bring home from this experience is the knowledge that there is another way of life which is completely different from the one we live and that actually seems to work just fine. This is precious knowledge because having a different point of view on things really helps you put things in the right perspective.

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photo_Percy Dean.

Nosepick_

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Jerome Campbell_

photo_Cyrille Weiner.

You’ve traveled to a lot of places all around the world, what impressed you the most about Mongolia in general and/or compared to your expectations before leaving? What impressed me the most had to be the landscapes and scenery, it was truly amazing. I have never seen anything like that, none of us had. It was just so beautiful for so many miles around you all the time. From the rolling green hills to the huge sand dunes, it was overwhelming. The type of place you feel privileged to have seen. The drives we did really were a highlight for me, I’m a big fan of being driven to places haha so this was just perfect,

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especially when some of the drives lasted 8 hours. I think traveling through the mountains was my favorite thing about Mongolia. From a photographic point of view how was the country or at least the places you went to? It’s insane, so so different from anywhere I’ve ever been to before. It just can’t be compared to any other place really and that’s the honest truth. Everywhere you look there’s something so incredible you just have to shoot a photo of it. The colors, architecture, and people are all so interesting. It’s just a really unusual place, so far from the rest of the world.

How is the skateboard scene over there and how was meeting the local skaters? Is there something they have that is missing nowadays in skateboard scenes or has globalization and the web made skateboarders the same all over the world? I have to admit before I arrived I was like, “surely there can’t be anyone skating out there.” I was wrong. There’s a pretty good scene there, all the guys just do their own thing and have little exposure to the constant skate content we’re all exposed to on a daily basis. It just felt very pure and humble. They were just skating, nothing else. What was the most intense experience of the trip for you and what did you bring back home under a personal point of view from this experience? What was sleeping in the tent with the nomadic family like? Staying with the family was certainly one of the most intense experiences for sure. It was just so so far away from anything and everything. No warm water, no stores, and a hole in the ground to use as a toilet. It was pretty out there as some might say. Everything you’re used to just wasn’t there, we slept inside one of the yurts which was brilliant, you really got a feel for how these people live. It’s easy to forget that they’re still there. I like to remind myself of that every now and again. How did you experience the lack of wi-fi? Ha ha ha. This was actually a tough problem ha ha. You get so used to connecting with the rest of the world that when you don’t have the opportunity to do so you feel a bit lost, ha ha. I know that sounds crazy but it’s just the way it is. After a few days we got used to it, it’s the bigger things like no hot water that can really bum you out, ha ha. Wi-fi was a luxury when we had it. How did the local people react when you went skating their “backyard” in the remote villages

in the middle of the steppe? Like the bank spot where you did the 3flip into the bank with no run up. Weirdly they were fine, I mean they were super interested in what we were up to. Most of the locals had never seen a westerner in person, let alone one riding a piece of wood with wheels. Generally though they were really excited by what we were up to. You broke your foot one hour before flying back, what happened? Yeah, this was a really awful day, it was actually the last day and me and Percy were just about to jump on our flight home. Stupidly we decided to skate one last spot that was literally outside the door of the airport. Three tries in to trying a kickflip wall ride it just went. It was so so gnarly, I couldn’t believe it, the last day, ha ha. The boys carried me back to the van and I decided I just wanted to go home, so I just went for it. Eighteen hours on two flights was by far the most intense thing I’ve ever done in my life to date. It was awful. These kinds of tours are very different from the classic “skateboard tours” where you travel to big (or small) cities to find modern and smooth flat grounds and try to film as much as you can. A tour like this one is more about trying to find “something to skate” and maybe you drive for 3 hours in the middle of the countryside just to try to ollie a hole in a sketchy ditch with no run up... definitely different I would say. What do you think about this aspect? Did you ever think, as a skater, “What are we doin’ here?”... or feel a bit frustrated? Strangely I never felt like that, the scenery was so incredible that I never gave a shit about how long the drives were. Finding spots was difficult though don’t get me wrong. Sometimes we drove for hours and hours to skate a ditch that wasn’t even there any more, ha ha ha.

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Fence ride_ photo_Percy Dean.

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360 flip in_

photo_Percy Dean.

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photos_Cyrille Weiner / Seb Carayol.

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Phil Zwijsen_

photo_Cyrille Weiner.

What did you expect before leaving and what impressed you the most about Mongolia? I don’t know. I just thought of the landscape and the stuff I had seen before in the book. Which were the most emotional and epic moments of the tour? A lot of things impressed me. The country, the city, and the people. But what impressed me the most was the family we stayed with. In the middle of nowhere and no one else around. Just us, the family, the tents, the animals, the river, and that’s it. What was skating the monastery like? How was the feedback from the monks when they saw you skating on their roof? It was just one try. Our guide went in and asked the people from the monastery and he said they said it was fine. I read a few months afterwards in an article about the book that he never did ask them!!!! Is it true that you bothered Percy the whole tour to test his MMA skills? Any epic fight

happen? Ha ha ha... did you feel safer with him in the crew? Definitely felt safer with Percy around. I like to wrestle with Percy and I’m sure he likes it too. Me and him both wrestled the father at the camp and the bus driver. They both kicked my ass easily. I felt like a doll. They just threw me around. Wrestling is the national sport. But still I had fun trying. Who made you laugh the most during the trip? Who was the most hyped? Probably Jerome or Joseph. I think everyone was extremely hyped on being there. Because you probably only go there once. And it’s very unique and different. I guess everyone tried to make the best out of it and everyone really wanted to be there. Most emotional and epic moments of the tour? When we stayed with the family was one of the most epic things for me. We really were in the middle of nowhere, so far away from everything. Almost every view was epic. And going up the mountain to the monastery was an amazing view.

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photo_Percy Dean.

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Feeble grind_

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photo_Percy Dean.

Fs ollie_

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Fs smith grind_

photo_Percy Dean.

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photos_Phil Zwijsen.

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Joseph Biais_

photo_Cyrille Weiner.

Did you take part, together with Bertrand, in the organization of this trip? Actually I didn’t take part in the organization of the trip with Bertrand since I wasn’t working for Carhartt WIP at the time. I was just skating. Bertrand really had everything planned in advance, like the itinerary, driver, hotels and everything. So regarding the organization I would say we didn’t really struggle for anything as Bertrand is super organized. The itinerary had

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been decided by Bertrand and the travel agency he booked the big bus and the driver with. In the bus we had our driver, who was Mongolian, and we also brought with us Misheel, an Ulaanbaatar local who spoke perfect English. He wasn’t a proper skate guide since he was really traveling in the middle of nowhere, where there is no famous spot or basically no already skated spots, he was more part of the adventure and helped with translations and stuff.

You all spent one night in the tent with a nomadic family, was it something planned or did it happen randomly during the trip? How was it as an experience and who was the most hyped of the crew? We actually spent 2 nights with the nomadic family and yes that was totally planned. That was part of the trip organized through the agency, I think those people are kinda used to having visitors staying with them from time to time. But at the same time that was pretty weird because we really felt like we were intruding, you know? Like 12 people from different nationalities, not speaking their language and staying with them for 2 days, it’s pretty special. And at the same time it was really unique, we got to really experience what they are doing everyday, the daily basics. Like we set up the tent, we helped them with the cooking, milked the cows… That really makes you realize that their life is so different from ours somehow. And that was pretty nice to witness and experience. I think Phil was the most hyped of the crew since he tried to wrestle every single adult male of the family during our stay! Most of the spots in the book looked very very rough, especially the ones in the middle of the steppe… did it ever happen that you thought, “What are we doing here in the middle of nowhere trying to look for spots?” Were you the only one to skate the green rail that was featured in the first book ? Which was in your opinion the sickest spot you guys skated? Of course! We were really trying to make the most of not much. Like we skated spots we would probably never skate in Europe, but just because that was just it or the landscape around was amazing, we skated it. From an external skateboarding point of view it might look completely crazy actually, looking at this bunch of skateboarders trying to jump on dust and rocks in the middle of Mongolia and filming themselves! Ahah. Yes, I was the only one to skate the fucked up green rail, I mean Jerome and I jumped over it into the bank but I was the only one sliding on it. And it was actually way more difficult than I thought, it took me a while just to boardslide it

because of the bumps and the rail, like I had no control at all of the board while sliding. Quite a struggle. Skateboarding-wise there were a few good crazy spots in Ulaanbaatar, like super nice ones, but the sickest was probably the temple. I don’t remember the name of the city (it actually wasn’t even a city, it was smaller than a village), on top of a hill in the middle of the steppe there was a massive temple and Phil ollied a gap on top of this Temple. The picture is in the book, this is for sure the first and the last time someone ever skated this very part of the world! Ahhaha. Which was the most intense experience of these 3 weeks and what did you bring home under a personal point of view? I would say the whole trip in the countryside was quite intense. But if I had to pick, then I would say when we were staying in tents with the nomadic family and they killed the sheep in the morning to have for lunch. Like I woke up, walked outside the tent still really sleepy, and the first thing I saw was this guy killing the sheep… that was pretty intense to see. Another really intense but uncool moment was when in Ulaanbaatar, some semi-drunk businessman hit me in the face with his suitcase for no reason, completely out of the blue! From a personal point of view I obviously brought home great memories of a very unique trip and also I learned my lesson about always being careful with drunk people on the streets, they are unpredictable, ahaha! Mongolia has been described as one of the

quickest growing countries in the world, judging from this experience do you see it as one of the “countries of the future?” Or is it a bit early to say? I think it’s a bit early to say so indeed. Like the contrast between the countryside and Ulaabaatar is really insane. And we can’t really say that Ulaanbaatar looks that modern and futuristic either. I wasn’t there 10 years ago but from what I saw of it in the book it has definitely changed a lot and pretty quickly too, but I didn’t feel any futuristic vibes there.

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from dirt TO

DUST

Fs boardslide_

photo_Percy Dean.

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Ollie over_

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photo_Percy Dean.

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Sylvain Tognelli_

photo_Percy Dean.

It seems you have become an expert at skating underwater spots… where does this passion come from Sylvain? Ha ha ha… after the trick in the river in the Alps, you found another spot in the water in the Mongolian steppes… I think this kind of skating is exciting and

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challenging without ever being dramatic. You can’t really get mad when you are trying to skate a river, if you fall over and analyze the situation you just have to laugh. This backside flip was more a homage to Quentin Briey who did it 11 years ago.

How did people react when you guys arrived in these micro villages in the middle of nowhere with skateboards, video and photo cameras, and a crew of 20 people and skated their places? All this is so foreign to them, they don’t appreciate it on the same level. It’s an interesting and surely new scene in the village, but what is it exactly. It can be almost confusing. Mongols are very proud, they wanted to show us that they could do it too. Some guys would run and jump on the board out of nowhere, eventually learning after few slams how to push and stay on the board. What type of approach did you guys have? Did you guys try to explain to them why you were there and what you were trying to do with the help of the guide and translator you had with you? Rarely if I remember well, then again people wouldn’t necessarily ask either. If you could time travel to medieval times I bet nobody would care about you being able to kickflip 25 stairs. In a more moderate way that’s what happened when traveling to a remote Mongolian village. Not that I think Mongolia is living behind, but I think I care about a lot of things those people don’t and they care about other things I probably don’t even see. Entertainment isn’t big everywhere. People in Ulaan Baator were more curious, in my opinion because they are more often encountering this kind of situation. What was skating in the city like? Was it similar to skating in a western city or different still? What was dealing with the local skaters like? Probably for most of them this was the first time they saw someone from outside skating in person? We had a day or two where we pushed around, then it felt very similar to going skating in a western city. There is concrete everywhere around you and you try to make the best of it. The local skaters were happy to show us around,

I’m so thankful for this. Everyone there was so nice to us, I have this guilty feeling like we took a lot and didn’t give enough in return. They see foreigners skating once in a while and a lot of them can access the internet somewhere so most kids know what’s up, the Street League, P-Rod etc... What was the most intense experience of the trip and what did you bring back home from Mongolia as personal experience? There was a lot of intensity every day. The wildlife was the most intense experience, wild horses, eagles everywhere, camels, Phil and Jerome... I’m living my life now knowing that somewhere in the world there exist those still,

infinite landscapes, with barely a sound at night. This is bringing me so much peace. I’m basically a buddhist monk now thanks to Carhartt WIP.

The other day I was reading this book called “Wind up bird chronicle” written by Haruki Murakami who described exactly the feeling I had in Mongolia: “The mind expand to fill the entire landscape, becoming so diffuse in the process that one loses the ability to keep it fastened to the physical self. That is what I experienced in the midst of the Mongolian steppe. How vast it was! It felt more like an ocean tahn a desert landscape. The sun would rise from the eastern horizon, cut its way across the empty sky, and sink below the western horizon”.....”And in the movement of the sun, I felt something I hardly know how to name: some huge, cosmic love”.

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Wet bs kickflip_

photo_Percy Dean.

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R O I M A L F V T WITH

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L L N A G A V R A a brief glance

Photography and words // Davide Biondani.

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Malaga is the capital of the Costa del Sol in the south of

Spain, and is famous for being the natal city of Pablo Picasso. The Pablo Picasso Foundation was created in what used to be

his home, and makes the city an important center for culture. It is located on the sea and its long beaches fill up with tourists from Spring till October. It is a place to party, relax, and visit monuments. Along the beach you can find lots of restaurants where you can eat the famous fritura malguegna (fried dish) or

even better, “el pescado del dia” (fish of the day)... that together

with a bottle of white or rosè wine sends you straight to heaven. So when the Fvtvra guys proposed to follow them on the “Roll in Malaga” tour, the answer was an affirmative yes!

Fvtvra is a company born in 2009 with HQ in Milan; at the moment it doesn’t have an official team, and the brilliant idea

behind this tour was to only involve shop riders, that is, skaters

supported by Fvtvra through local skateshops. For all the skaters involved it was the first official tour so it was cool to see

their enthusiasm, energy, inexperience, and desire to get things

done. Fantastic. It was an absolutely fun week, where we went around the city on our boards in search of anything cool to

skate, without any real schedule and with the only purpose of having fun, filming, and shooting photos. A skateboard trip in its most simple and true essence.

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Frank Roque // hardflip to manual_ Skating spots on the most crowded seafront on the first day of

the summer vacation season was surely not the wisest choice, but being the first day of the tour we went out skating without any set destination and after randomly exploring the area for

a while we bumped into this well-known spot that lies right under this old 100-meter high smokestack that is visible from

all over the city. The base of the smokestack is a perfect bank made of concrete and there is also a window at the top whose windowsill is skateable. The area being so full of tourists and

bathers, it was really difficult to skate the spot with calmness, also because the passers-by constantly complained about the

monumentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safeguard. Frank opens the tour with a hardflip to manny at noon under a sun so hot that we only later

realized, had roasted us more than ever. Ha ha ha. What an awesome spot.

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Filippo Cilia // fs bluntslide_ This is the most famous spot in Malaga, and I’ve seen it in millions of videos since the early 2000’s, and to be honest I didn’t even know it was in Malaga, or rather, I didn’t remember

until we got there. This spot is on the beach too, and thinking of doing a new trick at a spot that has been so heavily shredded is practically impossible. When on tour to a city that has been so skated the dilemma always remains: do we look for “new” or

“little seen” spots, or do we just skate everything we encounter, not caring about what tricks have already gone down there?

The fact is that if the spot is so perfect and famous you have to

check it out, and in fact the kids wanted to skate it really badly, and this is one of the cool things of a tour with all young dudes: no worries and a strong desire to always skate everything.

Cilli wore his ordnance glasses and landed a classic and always stylish fs bluntslide moments before being kicked out by two cops on their bicycles. Just for the record, a 10-year old kid

took Bod’s (Fvtvra filmer and designer) board with the excuse of trying it out, and ended up stealing it. Not only did he spend the whole day chasing the crew that was pushing up and down the city, but the next day he fell on the classic pebble

and ended up face on the ground with his photo-bag, cutting his eyebrow. Street cred galore.

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Miki Mauri // bs kickflip_ Miki was absolutely the most motivated of the whole crew

during this tour. Actually, Miki is always motivated 110% every time he skates, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cool to have someone on the team

who always motivates others to land their tricks. A huge river

passes through the center of the city that I think is always dry, at least during the warm season; the flat is made of smooth

cement and the locals built some ledges, curbs, and a couple

other fun obstacles. This seems to be the spot where the locals

meet and skate every day. We got there at lunch time and the

reflection of the sun on the white pavement was blinding. While the rest of the crew tried to cool off under the bridge, Miki filmed a couple lines after landing this bs kickflip three times in a row. Yes Miki!

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Flavio Bernasconi // nose slide transfer_ Another classic Malaga spot are the green banks in the

parking lot of a gas station going towards the airport. If you

go to Malaga this is one of three spots you must go check out. Not far from the bank there is this yellow ledge that separates

the lanes at the entrance of a mall. We asked who wanted to

skate the yellow curb but nobody gave any signs of life, so we

drew lots and Flavio ended up being the lucky guy. Flavio is a very technical skater that films 5 elaborate lines every day. The choice for the trick was either a bluntslide or a noseslide pop

over... despite having tried to escape fate by saying he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

know how to do it, he was forced to try and land it... in 10 tries, hahaha. He then fainted from the heat and we reanimated him with a drip-feed of ice-cold beer.

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Andrea Marangoni // smith grind_

Andrea was no doubt the most interested in exploring the city and tasting its local products, so much so that together with one of the locals he met at the spot, he pushed himself

to the remotest corners of the suburbs, returning with

the most dazzling smile on his face you can ever imagine.

Pushing through the city in search of something to skate, we encountered this perfect spot; run-up, marble ledge... and above all, the building where the ledge was, was completely abandoned. The best. In the background there was a homeless

guy sleeping on a comfortable mattress right next to the run-

up. The cool thing is that after having woken him up with all the noise we were making, he even gave us advice on how to

take a better run-up. The guy seemed to be well-known and loved by the residents that came by to bring him food or just

have a chat. After a couple hours of sessioning, Andrea payed homage to the guy with a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Roll in Malagaâ&#x20AC;? present that was well-received by the homeless dude.

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Filippo Cilia // no comply wallie_ The last day was spent exploring the area to the east of the

seafront, and we ended the day in the harbor area where there

are many spots and where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get kicked out with 99% certainty by police on bikes. The area is very well-kept and full of bars that serve dope cocktails... and while passing by we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take our eyes off those fantastic drinks, and the

women holding them in their hands, hahaha... This was more

or less the situation: the older guys in the group that were tired of pushing and dying of thirst were staring at the cocktails and

women on the right, while the younger guys were looking at the spots on the left... hahaha... Cilli immediately located this

jersey and without saying anything tried this no comply wallie. I hardly had the time to take the camera out and he landed it perfectly, at sunset, with an elegantly-dressed audience that

enjoyed the show. Icaro was the goalkeeper for the board, and his face alone is worth the photo! Hahaha... Damned youngsters, we just wanted to driiiink!

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Roll in Malaga with

FVTVRA

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PLACES_

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PA NA Photography_Rafael Gonzalez.

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PLACES_

PANAMA_ a brief glance

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WES

KREMER

Interview // Guido Bendotti_ Portrait // Davide Biondani.

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Switch crooks_

It is difficult to have everyone agree when it comes to skateboarding, and especially if we’re dealing with “Skater

of the Year” issues, things get even more complicated. About Thrasher SOTY: rarely has everyone agreed, but

with Wes Kremer the choice was embarrassingly simple. Because everybody loves Wes.

Wes’ attitude is as PURE as you can get. No compromises,

no embarassing sponsors, no social media, no money tricks, no bullshit, just skateboarding. And when faced with concepts like this, you’d probably expect to be dealing with

a pool rider of a certain age that is kinda pissed at “today’s kids,” and disses everything new in the skateboarding

world. Wes, on the other hand, just skates, smiles, has fun

with his homies, and doesn’t give a hoot about all that does

not purely belong to skateboarding. And he skates the way we would all like to skate: street, transitions, tech, big, he skates whatever he finds, just because it’s fun...

I’ve done dozens of interviews and met many “famous” skaters, and rarely have I had so much fun, because Wes, despite receiving the most longed for award in skateboarding, having fans all over the world, the magazine

covers, and pro models, simply remains a skater from San

Diego who wants to skate and feel good, without too many

worries. Because it isn’t complicated, IT’S skateboarding, AND it’s the most beautiful toy there is. Take Wes’ word for it.

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photo_Gaston Francisco.

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Hi Wes! Hi, what have I to say? I’m not very good with interviews. How did you discover skateboarding? My next door neighbour had this fuckin’ fishtail board, a really OG board, old school set up. It was a Variflex board, that had the word RAD as a graphic, hahaha... big trucks, big wheels, lots of fun... it was 1995 I guess. A fishtail board in 1995… good one! Hahaha, yes! a good start. I was skating down the drive way, just sitting on it. It was fun. The year after I got a real board, and started skating every day. You were classmates with Marius Syvanen? Yeah, yeah! That’s sick. We grew up together, we started skating together. First day of first grade in school, I sat next to him in class, we started talking shit to each other, and after a while we started talking about skateboarding and skateparks. You skate, I skate, let’s skate. And after that we skated together all our lives. He’s been my best friend since the first day of school. That’s cool. Homie for life. When did you start realizing that skateboarding was more than a toy, that there’s magazines, videos, pro skaters and stuff ? My first couple years of skateboarding I was just skating all day, and that’s it. I would see pro skaters, and someone would tell me, “he’s a pro,” and I was like, “oh, a pro skater, so he’s really good at skating,” you know. I didn’t realize that there were magazines, videos, or demos. To me a pro skater was just someone really good at skating, hahaha. You’re from San Diego, one of the epicentres of skateboarding. What was SD like back in the days, and what’s it like now? I kinda miss the 90’s golden era of SD

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Skateboarding, the Pacific Drive era. That era of skateboarding created what Skatemafia is right now, and the homies still skate, so it’s cool. I miss those days, but I know a lot of things, ‘cause the homies tell me the stories. Everybody loves Ol’ Dirty Smolik! Yeah, OG! You’ve always skated well, but for a few years, as far as we could tell, you were good, but you were flying under the radar. And then BOOM! Everybody started to notice you, and you started getting mad coverage... Fuck, I don’t know. I appreciate it. It all depends on how much you put yourself out there. For me, I have to say a big thanks to DC Shoes and Mafia, you know. They helped me to get out of there, without Instagram and stuff like that. I know you hate that shit. It is what it is. I don’t have Instagram, but my mom checks me out on other Instagram profiles, like, “what were you doing?” C’mon Mom!!! Hahaha. Tech moms are dangerous, hahaha. I like the way you live both your life and skateboarding. It looks like you don’t take it too seriously. You skate so fucking well, but just take it as it comes. Having fun and skating with your friends.

DUDE! Guido you really know what’s up!! It’s skateboarding, so let’s just fuckin’ do it. It’s the best thing in the world, so why take it so seriously? The best thing I realized about skateboarding, is the whole culture that’s around it, like how many amazing people you meet through skateboarding, the crazy places that you can visit through skateboarding, all the insane experiences, and the knowledge that you can gain through it! Life, travels, new friends. You have to enjoy skateboarding, and never forget why you got into it, because skateboarding will

That’s it. The best toy in the world. Don’t you think some people take skateboarding too seriously, with the image, the Instagram likes, the fans, and stuff like that? Whatever, it’s skatin’, you can never take it too seriously, ‘cause fuck... when you take it too seriously, well, you’re an athlete, you know. There’s a thin line between skateboarders and athletes, and you don’t wanna cross that line, ‘cause, dude, maybe you’ve skated for decades, and you have to do some physical therapy to fuckin’ keep it goin’. But don’t take it too seriously, don’t do this just to take somebody else out. It’s skateboarding, it’s not about the best trick, it’s about the best experience! You’re fuckin right! And with that easy approach to life and skateboarding, you’ve earned Thrasher’s SOTY. Do you realize you’re in the same club with Cardiel, Danny Way, Carroll, and all the other legends? I’ve never compared myself to those guys, they’re the guys I looked up to growing up skating. It’s something I can’t describe, I can’t realize it, and I don’t wanna be that dude. It’s crazy, it’s surreal and I’m tripping. It’s an honor, I’ve accepted it like it’s not even me with that trophy. You’ve earned it in my opinion. Why are you so mad about 90’s skateboarding and 90’s Hip Hop? Dude! Because 90’s skateboarding and Hip Hop is the shit, man!!! The 90’s are the golden era of Hip Hop and skateboarding, don’t you agree? Well.. it was good, but for some things I think it’s way better right now. It was the golden era to me. I love it! I think that’s it... thank you very much Wes! No, thank you Guido. Now let’s party!!!

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MADARS

Interview // Guido Bendotti_ Portrait // Davide Biondani

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APSE

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Fs feeble grind_

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Variety is the spice of life. Is it possible that the greatest

basketball talent comes from an isolated place? Possible, of course, but also unlikely.

In skateboarding you may happen to find outstanding

skaters in the most absurd places. Latvia? Do you even know where that is? Of course you know, because that’s

where Madars is from. Now go tell your geography teacher! The fact that Madars was not born exactly at the center of the skateboarding world is something that has always

been known, and now it is time to acknowledge this fact. He could’ve been born anywhere and we would still love

him. Despite his relaxed attitude, and his “keep it goin’ ” way of life, Madars is everything but unwary. His casual way of skating is really the only casual thing. Madars

definitely has his head on his shoulders, he’s an intelligent and cultured person who skates and travels the world as if every place he visits were his home, and he truly lives

the life of a pro skater we all dream of. Because he takes

advantage of this tool to meet people, live experiences, absorb it all and grow as a person, and he does so with an enviable naturalness. A naturalness that shines through his

skateboarding and allows us to grasp how much energy and love he has dedicated to skateboarding.

photo_Gaston Francisco.

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Hi Madars, how are you? Fine! As you can see we’re in Berlin for the DC Smoke on the Water event with the DC team, and it’s a beautiful day. How did a kid from Latvia discover skateboarding? When I was 9 or 10 years old, they built a skatepark next to my house, so I started rollerblading, BMXing, and skateboarding in the end was the best, so I chose skateboarding. How was the scene back then, and what is it like now? The scene is getting much bigger now, and is much better than when I started skating 15 years ago, but the older guys still skate, which is awesome to see. I missed a few years in 2008 when I moved to Barcelona, but the scene is good and there are a lot of nice spots if you wanna visit. I wanna skate there for sure. After your “success” did you notice a difference in the scene? Like for example, new kids ripping because you made your way up to the pro ranks, and maybe they’re thinking that “they can make it” as well? Now I see on the streets, there are a lot of little girls, like 12 or something, and they have started skating. They’re almost more numerous than the boys, but definitely the scene is getting bigger, we have skateschools, skate-camps, and we have a good indoor park for the winter time. A good indoor park is always a good thing. When did you discover the European scene? Hmmm... I started skating in 2001, and in 2003 it

was my first time out of the country. I went to Estonia for a skate contest, and there I met great skaters from Finland. After that I went to Munster and to the Mystic Cup in Prague where I saw Rodrigo TX skating. But I saw great skaters all around these contests. In 2004 I took the first trips around Europe. I was with the Element team in the Hotel, and the Element TM was also there. Element was the first sponsor to help me travel by giving me some money. At the time, my city helped me to travel to contests as well. The city council gave me some money so I could go to the European contests. The Latvian Skateboard Federation did a really good job. Obviously my parents were super supportive, so that’s how I ended up on the European Element

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team. Everything fell into place, step by step. You’re not a contest skater. You worked a lot to be pro. I started getting some interviews in the magazines, maybe a photo. After the interview all you had to do was make a videopart and if it was good everything worked. If you’re with the right people and the right team, and you work hard, you can get something from skateboarding. And you’re pretty loyal too. Yes, I’ve been with Element since 2003. Pretty rare nowadays, did any sponsors ever try to steal you? Everybody knows I love Element, and that I’m an Element kid, you know. Nobody tried to steal me, hahaha. Don’t you get mad sometimes when they make fun of you because you ride for RedBull? Like in Thrasher they said something in a photo like “no logos in sight.” Hahaha... I don’t care. But at the same time I do care about it. I don’t wanna wear the cap all the time. I wear it at events, contests, or during RedBull trips. I try to find a good balance, and I’m really thankful to RedBull for sponsoring me, because they invest a lot of money in skateboarding, and they’re doing good things for skateboarding. They create some cool events, and they have a great team. I like the way you skate, because it looks like you don’t put a lot of effort into your tricks. But I know that you have worked hard at skateboarding to get this good. I try my tricks for a long time and I’m still trying to learn how to skate. Skateboarding is hard.

But it looks like you don’t take it too seriously, you know. In all your video parts it looks like you’re skating and having fun. Skateboarding is fun, and I skate the way I skate ‘cause I’m having fun with it. That’s a good thing. Now that you’re pro, are you still “hungry” to skate like when you were an AM? I’ve got a pro board out right now, and I hope it’s gonna sell. So I have to keep doing it.

Have you already said no... like I don’t wanna go there because I’m tired? I have a lot of trips planned, and I’m really thankful for that, but I have to choose wisely where to go. I have my team manager from Latvia that back in the day told me that I have to choose where to go. I’m lucky to travel around with my sponsors and my friends, but sometimes I have to say no. I get hurt and my body needs to rest.

Bangkok for sure, or Thailand! Every place has its own beauty, you know. But as far as I travel, to New Zealand, Argentina, or anywhere else, I sometimes still feel like I’m at home, ‘cause it’s still the same smell around. But I’m definitely super thankful for these opportunities. I’m a big fan of geography so I’m excited to travel. A lot of times you just see stairs, rails, ramps, but sometimes we have 2 or 3 days of chilling, so I can see things outside of skateboarding.

Your It’s a Mad World series is so funny. Is it hard to find ideas for the series? I started filming for the series like 8 months before the first episode, I was going on some trips with my friends, and it’s good when a filmer comes along, so I can get some footage too, but it’s hard. At first I was super scared, ‘cause it’s 24 episodes in 1 year. Now it’s over, and we’re trying to work something out with a new channel maybe. It will continue.

Where are the craziest parties? Hahaha! Italy for sure. Five years ago I had the worst hangover ever. I try to not drink like that anymore, hahaha.

I hope so! I know you injured your ankles for a long time. Was it hard to not skate when you were at some unbelievable spots at the other end of the world? Well, basically if I hurt my right ankle, I only do tricks with my left ankle, but it’s hard. Sometimes you have to force yourself to take some days off to chill and relax completely, work on yourself, do elevation, stretching. It’s hard to watch other people skate, I love skateboarding and I really like to do it, but I know how not to skate sometimes. Do you work in a gym or with a chiropractic to get better, or do you just wait until your body works again? I’ve tried a lot of things to get better sooner. I try all the advice I get from other people. I listen to it, and I try. My mother says things like, “put ice on it, or put a vodka compress on the ankles.” Things like that, and I try it all. My girlfriend is a doctor, so she always makes fun of me for my experiments to get better sooner. I’ve tried everything, physiotherapy, acupuncture, and one year ago I exercised everyday. I’m 25 and I have to take care of my body, my ankles don’t get well as quickly as they did when I was younger. Skateboarding takes you everywhere around the world... what is one of the craziest places where you thought “I skateboard, and I’m here... how did this happen?”

Hope to have you back soon, hahaha… What’s your ideal situation, what makes you feel happy? Basically it depends on you and yourself, and how you look at everything around you, you know? Happiness is something that comes from within you, not from something outside of you. I’m happy to be around my friends, my family, and I’m happy to travel and meet new people. It’s people that make this world happy, I guess... and also sad as well. What’s next for you? I’m on tour with the DC team, and after that I’m going on vacation with my lady to an island called Porto Santo. I’ll take my board for some hill bombs, but mostly it will be walking in the sand, swimming in the ocean, and just chilling, taking some time to heal my body. After that, I’m going to the U.S. to film a new commercial with DC Shoes that hopefully is gonna come out in September. Maybe film something for the Element video too. Bomb some hills and swim everywhere you can, as you’ve done in pretty much all the It’s a Mad World episodes... Hahaha! Yes, it’s fun. A friend of mine once said, “The future is in the water.” And I really believe that. Thank you Madars Thank you, it was fun.

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Brazilian Love Affair_

Salvador de Bahia

Photography and words_Fernando Gomes.

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Bahia is a special Brazilian state with many street spots, beautiful beaches, funny people and social problems.

As in other places in Brazil, we are a state full of contrasts and this does not always look good. We are blessed by nature with beautiful landscapes and

cursed by the government with much indifference and dishonesty. Our capital city, Salvador, is the blackest city outside of Africa and even nowadays blacks

here suffer from racism. Bahia has amazing waterfalls, rivers, and mountains, but our streets are dirty and poorly maintained. Our people suffer every day

from social inequality, but also manage to maintain a constant and sincere smile.

The African culture has great influence on our daily lives and traditions. The

black heritage is always very present in our food, clothes, music and religion. We have some of the most beautiful beaches in the country and the weather

here is warm all year long. It rarely gets cold. There is some folklore about the people from Bahia being lazy, but actually we work hard, even when

people around the world come here to have fun at the Carnival. This party has

made our capital famous around the whole world because it is a giant event containing the best and worst things that exists here.

a brief glance

Joseval Tap // Bs tailslide_

Jailson Caf // Crooks pop over_

a brief glance

Loud and diverse music, funny moments, drunk people, violence, thefts, happiness, sex, danceâ&#x20AC;Ś everything at the same time in the streets. Our hospitality is very

characteristic and those who come here experience this first hand. For example: if

you need to ask for some information or guidance you will always find someone willing to help you, most of the time with much sympathy. But careful on the

streets! Some people here also know how to be hostile sometimes. After all, in a place with much social inequality, it is easy to imagine there is lots of criminality as well. Photographing and filming in some street spots can be an adventure because

thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always the fear of being assaulted. However, this is not a big problem for us skaters because we know how to deal with it very well, including coexisting with the homeless, who are numerous in the squares. The police and the local

population arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t too receptive to street skateboarding. All too often we hear the

same old stories about the destruction of public property and other shit like that. One of the reasons that contributes to this is the fact that the population here still

does not have the habit of occupying the streets as they should. On the weekends, most prefer to go with their family to the malls than to the beaches, parks and

squares. So street artists like skaters, hip-hoppers, and punks among others, still cause estrangement sometimes. Anyways, I think these difficulties actually make us stronger, united, and more passionate about urban arts.

a brief glance

Luis Moschioni // Fs hurricane_

a brief glance

We have a lot of good spots to skate on the streets - some even call this place “Bahiarcelona” in reference to our good spots – and the reforms that are being made are bringing more beautiful new spots with a lot of marble ledges, but the skateboard market here is still very weak, with just a

few dudes working directly in skateboarding. I believe that this hard reality is changing now, with

some skaters getting nationwide visibility and some people working hard to change things for the better here. It’s not easy in a country with continental dimensions like Brazil, with the skate media

and market concentrated in the southeast (Bahia is in the northeast), but we have a lot of love for

skating and it makes everything more pleasurable. Our scene is mostly concentrated in Salvador, where during even a random tourist tour the main skate spots can easily be seen, like Jarda, Campo Grande, Ribeira, Barra and Pelourinho squares. Other cities in Bahia like Lauro de Freitas, Simões Filho, Camaçari, Feira de Santana, and Ilhéus have some great skaters and scene. Anyways, what

we see here in the parks and streets are a lot of smiles and mutual respect between the skaters, regardless of social class, level of tricks, or anything else. Here you can also witness a great variety of

skateboarding styles all at the same time, as skateboarding is meant to be. I hope everything is well

in the place where you live, and when you want to experience Bahia and our spots, just show some respect and you’ll be welcomed.

a brief glance

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Loud and diverse music, funny moments, drunk people, violence, thefts, happiness, sex, danceâ&#x20AC;Ś everything at the same time in the streets.â&#x20AC;?

a brief glance

Claudio Souza // Fs crooks_

a brief glance

Rafael Oliveira // Crooks_

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Felipe Oliveira // Kickflip_

a brief glance

Wesley Dente // Nollie inward heel_

a brief glance

Alvaro Koringa // Boneless_

a brief glance

â&#x20AC;&#x153;After all, in a place with much social inequality, it is easy to imagine there is lots of criminality as well.â&#x20AC;?

a brief glance

issue _32