Bolts issuu2 by BOLTS

Friday 18th of December 2015

Axel Cruysberghs -------------------------------------p.14-19

Bolts in copland----------------------------------------p.27-35

Ratata Skateboards ----------------------------------p.40-47

hanks: The Bolts and staff-crew, Slick, Rik Van Dijk at Vans, Fabian at 911 & crew, Daan at Suburban, Jonas at Topocopy, Ratata rippers, James Ghekiere, Rodney Mullen, Maarten Roose, Jeroen Bruggeman, Chillow, Axel Cruysberghs, Vincenzo Colameo, Ziggy Govaerts, Aura Brédart, Jonathan Vlerick, Ramsy Saïdi, Victor Vanpuyvelde, Pablo Delaplace, Moose-men Rob and Bart, Björn Dewachter, Bram Voeten, Rob Rouleaux, Humble apologies to anyone we might’ve forgotten, we didn’t mean to! And many thanks to all readers, viewers, skaters who will help out in the future! Issue 3 in 2016! Colofon Bolts staff: Laurent Derycke, Sybren Vanoverberghe, Jimmy Raes, Amina Osmanu, Joselito Verschaeve, Mr.Mong, Philippe Lantoine, Stijn Brands, Bart Bling, Thomas Sweertvaegher, Ruben Vermeulen, Yamine Bensafia, Niels Vansteenkiste. Contributors: Evelien Bouilliart, Axel Cruysberghs, Björn Dewachter, Bram Voeten, Rob Rouleaux. Layout: Scarfish Fonts: Foro Rounded & Freehand font by Scarfish Printed at newspaperclub.com This second issue of Bolts Magazine is printed on a limited edition of 100 copies. December 2015 Publisher: Bolts VZW, Burgstraat 32, 9000 Gent, 0497627900. Cover: Ollie over the flowers - Jonathan Vlerick - ODK Photo by Sybren Vanoverberghe

Drawing by Mr. Mong

esterday I skated one of Belgium’s smallest indoor parks and figured out two new, but simple, lip tricks on Slick’s quarter. The friday evening session at the park didn’t work out, old bones. But there was a video on, good to see Lance Mountain still throw down a heavy skate part being over 50! Karsten Kleppan, damn! There was a ‘as many kickflips in a line as possible’-funrun going on in the park, a quarterpipe game of skate between basically a techer and a hesher, young kids figuring out how to pop, old men feeling younger, knee-injuries discussed, regional draughts drunk, more than just skateboarding, always fun winter nights. Today we’re working hard on getting the last things done on this magazine, Sybren, Jimmy, myself, deadline is tomorrow! The launch is set, video-premieres too, venue booked. This is the second issue, our team has grown substantially and i want to thank every single one of you guys and girl wholeheartedly. Amina, Joselito, Stijn, Philippe, Bart, Simon, thanks for coming through again, your enthousiasm, dedication and friendliness, all for nought! Thanks to all of you for reading, supporting, buying a t-shirt or hoodie, liking us, skateboarding. See you in ‘16 and issue 3! Join or die! Bolts

In friendly collaboration with:

What’s your affiliation with the Flesh and Bones skate shop? After skating for them I got offered a job in the shop, where I worked for about 3 years and then with the money we made my bosses decided to take it a step further and build a 2500 square meter skate park in Aalst! Working for them I had to choose between collections and also see what money we were bringing in and that money was used to help the shop riders and build that skate park so yeah … They really saved my ass.

Do you have a distinct opinion about the skate scene that you would like to share? I have a very distinct opinion about the skate scene! I think that there’s no affiliation in the Belgium skate scene ! And it’s such a shame. People don’t skate together, they don’t give each other a helping hand or a push to get higher so to speak. Like when you go to the skate park you got your own crew and other crews and I don’t understand why it’s so separated. We should all just roll together. Why hate on each other when we’re doing the same thing.

Where do you come from? Originally I come from Waasland, Beveren Waas nearby Antwerp. So I kinda grew up and started skating in Antwerp.

Can you tell us a bit more about your video part that’s about to come out? Yeah…but where to start...I didn’t make a video part in like 2 years. The last time I dropped something was 2,5 years ago on Fourstar, I was skating for Transind a skateboard distributor in Brussels. I also filmed some stuff with Tijs Vervecken, but he stopped filming and got into photography. But around 6 months ago I told myself that I really needed to get this part out before next year! You know put out something decent. So every free moment that I get I’m busy filming. Sounds good! So yeah, really working on it .(smiles)

Are both your parents from Belgium? No. My Dad’s from Tunisia.

4 ou know how sometimes you have like an idea of someone and then when you meet them they turn out to be just the opposite… He’s full of life, full of kindness and full of ideas! Put that together with some damn good skating skills and you get Ramsy Saïdi. Tell us a little bit about yourself… I am Ramsy. I’m 23 years old. Every morning I drink about 5 coffees and smoke around 10 cigarettes before I start my day (smiles). I’ve been skating for about 14 years now. 7 years ago I started skating for a skate shop called Flesh and Bones. They’re located in Aalst and have their own selfmade skate park. The owner‘s a very cool dude and you could say that he’s the reason I’m sitting here. He helped me out a lot and pushed me forward. Besides that I also skate for Vans and a brand from Paris called “Wasted Paris”. Really good boards! They’ve only been around for 4 years but they’re quite big in Paris. Right now I’m busy filming with Ruben Vermeulen. He’s 25 and has got a lot of potential as a filmmaker. You be the judge when my skate part comes out. (smiles) You also got the main crew named “zehma” remember the name. Inside the crew : Viktor Vanpuyvelde (young talent!), Ruben Vermeulen , Bobby Bitch, Lucas De Maesschalck,Mohamed Saouti… just to name a few of them. The zehma crew is alive! Check that shit on youtube!

How did you get into skating? Actually it’s a pretty wack story (smiles) I was like 6 or 7 Years old and my mom bought me a pair of rollerblades for my spring ceremony. And I told her I didn’t like them! After a short period of time I was skating in a skate park and like so many kids you get bullied a bit, you make mistakes, and then someone offered me a skateboard. And I never stepped of so yeah ...that’s how it all started. Do you feel like a lot of things changed since you started? Yeah definitely! The fun part decreased like 50%. Skateboarding has become a lot bigger. When I started skating it was more a platform for street or punk kids and now it’s something totally mainstream, something you can find everywhere. And no matter how you look at it, it does have an impact on every skater. Whether you’re from outside the city or from a big one. I think everybody noticed a change in the skate world. And for me personally… as I grew older I started feeling more pressure I guess. Getting sponsored and all, people start to expect more from you. Like right now I’m busy with a video part and you just notice that you wanna get stuff done and yeah it brings a bit of stress. You get to know more important people. People you look up to. We also got like a crazy hierarchy. A lot of unwritten laws…it’s difficult to explain but I think that most skaters know what I’m talking about.

What are your biggest dreams? I think every skater just dreams of making skateboarding his fulltime job. But to be honest I’m happy just working in the skate scene, it doesn’t really matter in which division. I’ve worked in a skateshop called Flesh and Bones for 3 years then moved on to the Flesh and Bones skatepark that we built, worked there for 6 months and after that I came back to the shop and I always felt good about it. I’m able to do my own thing you know put my own ideas on the table so yeah biggest dream... just keep on living in and with skateboarding. And would you prefer to do that in Belgium or …? Time will tell. I’d rather be a bit outside of Belgium like Barcelona. There’s a healthy skate scene over there everybody skates together, much love and that’s a good thing. And the weather obviously. What does your mom think about your occupation? She really proud! She used to worry a lot when I was younger cause I would often come home with some kind of injury. I still remember that one time when I did a contest.. I think it was against France and called The best of the west. I fell of a rail and landed on my neck. And the next day I had to go to school but I couldn’t move my head. My body moved but my neck just didn’t. That was the moment my mom really started to worry… Ouch! That sounds bad .Being so young and all… Yeah, being young and having real pain. I had to go to the doctor and all that shit.

But she knows that it’s better for me to skate than not to skate. Because I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t have skateboarding there would’ve been a big chance that I turned out to be a problem child. I might’ve been. But it turned out well. So there’s nothing else you do besides skating? Not that much no. I can get into radical drinking (laughs).Hang out with the homies. That is an activity. I did do some basketball when I was younger but I was bad at it. I couldn’t pass the ball. I’m not really a team sports type of guy.(smiles) That’s the good thing about skateboarding you can do it alone but when you land a trick all the homies feel the same victory. So it’s kinda like making a goal when playing a team sport I guess. I also spend a lot of time inside Bringhim’s studio… hang out on the streets with the homies. (smiles) Favorite board? …It’s got to be the one I’m skating now from Wasted Paris. Really good shape. Really good board Favorite trick? Nollie flips, switch big spin heel flips. That’s the money trick. If I ever won a contest or some money it’s has to be with that one. Favorite song of the moment? That’s a real tuff one!... I think maxo kream ft da$h – Fetti. Definitely good vibe. Favorite skater? Soo many! You like different stuff from different skaters. You can’t really just have one… Maybe someone you feel a connection with … Mm… If I had to choose one I’d pick Yeelen Moens from Antwerp(smiles) He’s the man! He sure is Ramsy , he sure is. Well I don’t have any questions anymore. Thank you so much for answering them , looking forward to seeing your video part and good luck with everything !

Bs Smith - Ghent - Belgium

Words by Amina Osmanu Photos by Sybren Vanoverberghe Drawing by Philippe Lantoine

BS blunt - De Panne - Belgium

Words by Laurent Derycke Photo by Sybren Vanoverberghe

ell this one turned out to be so special we really wanted it in the magazine. Special why? This is Rodney Mullen, one of the true living legends of skateboarding. You could put this man alongside Tony Hawk, Mark Gonzales, Matt Hensley, Danny Way…Even then Rodney is in a whole different league, a different universe, there’s really, literally not one skater remotely like him. Spat out as a silly freestyler throughout the 80’s, seen more as a definite progressive force during the 90’s and full on recognized as an absolute visionary in skateboarding from 2000 on. A somewhat shy, weird nerd with a grinny smile. Acknowledged in his forties as the visionary he really is by the skateworld and the world period. This man invented about 90% of the tricks we are all still doing today, possibly more. What made this even more special was that this interview was conducted on july 10th right after Rodney had been skating for well over an hour on a parking lot near the Kortrijk train station before being driven back to the skatepark for a signing session after the demo. I know there’s one lucky soul that actually saw him skating that session (lucky bastard!) but we were already thrilled to see him sweaty and relaxed after a session and more than happy to talk to us. And when Rodney speaks, we all listen, in awe, like we should! What are tricks you still want to learn? I’m busy on something. Stance stuff, I’ve really disheveled and taken apart my entire center of skateboarding. Nothing is the same, nothing is switch. Normal combos are some and the same, combos of both stances in a single combo. Or psychologically…how body and mind are united and why the front foot is more present. A new front foot! That opens doors! Almost did that today and will spend my twilight days in skateboarding searching on that. What’s the best thing about skateboarding? (A long, very long, couple of minutes, silence. Rodney is thinking, deep, far)… I’ll try to describe it…Because you’ve integrated your body and mind all those tens of thousand of hours and all those years…No matter what it is fully tied into what I am, who I am. It is an endless well, fountain. Whatever you are going through you can always tap into that, get in touch with yourself. You can access who you really are and it gets deeper all the time, one set of tools that gets deeper. Because I have this and that constancy,…they don’t have those tools and my tools get sharper and when I get aches those tools get sharper. It’s the most beautiful thing, it gets me to know myself better, it gets me to know everyone I know, better.

Who are you? ‘I am Rodney Mullen, I’ll be 49 next month. I am originally from Gainesville, Florida. I started skating on new year’s day, 1st of January 1979 after I had been begging for a board on new year’s eve and finally got one the next day, my parents already had it as a gift.

What’s your current setup? ‘It’s a custom board shape that I recently shifted to, it has a very specific nose to tail ratio and has never been on sale. I ride Tensor 5.0’s, Bones wheels 52 and 51, 51mm most of the time. I have magnesium baseplates, aluminum tops. Bones Bearings and spacers. Spacers have something about making the weight of the wheels feeling just right for me. What are your favorite tricks? ‘There’s a really good feeling about half cab impossibles. Caballerial impossibles on a bank feel really good. That trick always felt special, different axis. You wake up on the catch and drift it in.

kateboarding is dead, skateboarding is for jocks, skateboarding is all about vanity, skateboarding has lost all creativity and has become the little slave of corporatism. Skateboarding is no longer the safe haven for tolerance, instead it has become a vile pit of success-only focused actions, an incoherent group of people without its own characteristics, without style and vision. A sport, yes the word is more commonway now than ever, a sport. A sport, not an activity, not a lifestyle, a sport with Olympic ambitions even. A sport where rules are being enforced more and more everyday; I’m thinking ABD’s, games of skate and the orgasm of statistics and dehumanization, Street League. Tricks are worth points now. Vanity is what is wrong with skateboarding, see me, like me, tag me, share me, swoon over my perfectly executed pic, taken by my lesser valuable homie who started shooting pics because his switch backtails are lesser than mine, or my me-ride-clips TM which my other homie filmed. Poor bastard started filming because his ghetto birds are not really on lock. I have to throw half of his footy away anyhow. I can still post this on Facebook, see how many likes I get for what is, honestly, below standard performance filmed with below standard angles, I’m just hoping I get clearance on that Weezy-track so I can state my elitist personality through music and mix it into my going-pro part, though I’m not even am at the moment. This is going to be my breakthrough, the tricks are all well up to being featured in any major contest and I sure didn’t huck my body down 18 to get only one weak-ass endorsement. Nike would be the ultimate goal of the true believer of course, but I’d be happy to settle for an energy drink in a combo with hair colorings and some sort of mobile, the Instagram needs me! This career is hard work, it’s hard to keep up with the en vogue tricks and difficult deciding between fake-gangster turned nappy-headed white boy with a smoking problem or I’m-diy-but-don’t mind the contests and money steez.I guess my agent will figure out which way to go. So, when’s the next contest, this weekend! Whoa, I need to get those lines on lock soon then, not much time left for the gym or going to the hairdressers, I was going to have a provocative word shaven into my scalp, gets the media salivating, wondering about the real me, is it all a pose? I love contests, it’s all crystal clear, whoever has the best points wins, it’s all about points, figuring out the system and beating it, and don’t tell me they don’t care about how you look, it’s just a pity the more ‘colored’ riders always have their feet in the door first, what with lesser origins and all, willing to hand the cup to that kid who started grinding curbs in the ghetto and had a difficult upbringing sleeping out under the local mini-ramp. O, boohoo, like I care, jeez, next thing you know we’re gonna have gay fatso’s doing ballet lines in a contest or girls, god forbid, doing lipslides. Right, we already have girl skaters, poor little things. But gay skaters? Seriously? The companies should put a ban on that sort of people in writing. It would be an offense to my sport. All in all it is a good thing the contests have gotten more serious as of late, serious sponsors only and I’m lucky Breakneck Mallskates TM is a well known mall-chain and online shop even if I’m only getting 20% on the shopbranded shoes and 10 shirts a year; but manager Dick has confidence in me and I sure trust him. Nothing says success like a stiff shirt and tie. And nothing says success for me if I’m not wearing the right shirt and the right shoes even if I use like two pairs a week and have to pay for the ugly mugs myself. I know, the odds are still tough, I’m dreaming about the nine club, I see those perfect scores burning on the board, Dyrdek shaking my hand, handing me the cheque, all those zeroes. All those zeroes on my account, you betcha bro! the mansion, the bitches, making it! Then I can finally relax, put out some forgotten footy once in a while, make a ten minute part with 2 minutes of footy but stick some documentary style ‘ow skateboarding is so special and was my saviour’ in front and back of it, cause that’s the message right! Right! Sharing is caring? I don’t think so. I am what is wrong with skateboarding.

Words by Corey Porate Drawing by Bart bling

t’s really exciting to see the new batches of riders coming up, growing and claiming their places in our little chaotic empire of griptape and bruises. Jeroen Bruggeman is the silent kid, with a knowing smile, already destroying spots on a daily basis, he’s hungry. He looks up to emperors like Grant Taylor, Ben Raybourn of classic heroes like John Cardiel. Jeroen was looking for one more name when he gave me his list of inspiring skaters but couldn’t pin it down during the interview. He messaged me later to let me know the other classic one was Neil Blender, the last piece in his puzzle. Those four names sort of sum up what Jeroen’s goal in skating should be, a mysterious but knowing jester with tons of style (he already has a couple of kilos after only two years on the roll) and a new-classic approach to skateboarding.

BS Wallride

Words by Laurent Derycke Photos by Joselito Verschaeve

The basics, where you from, how old are you, how long have you been rolling? I’m 16, I’ve been skating a little over two years now and I’m from Desselgem, a little town near Waregem. I had a fake board lying around at home but never used it. I was just texting with a friend from class that used to skate to go out and have a try on that board. We did that, I was hooked but he, and the others that came along stopped skating soon after a couple of those early sessions. You didn’t stop, why? I can’t, I guess. Skateboarding is way too cool! Did you have an idea what skateboarding was before you had that first board? Well I had that board from the Dreamland toyshop. They just gave that to me so there wasn’t a real interest from my side at that moment. After those first sessions I bought a rather trashed but better board from a friend. Skateboarding really clicked the first session I ever had, I was sold! So you had to skate alone? Well, I have plenty of friends now, here in the skatepark (Rampaffairz), I skate a lot with Jonathan Vlerick now. But I go out to the concrete park in Mechelen or to skatepark Flesh and Bones by myself. But you always meet people you know, so there’s always a session with others. It’s easy to make friends in skateboarding. Your trick selection is quite specific. I try to do my own thing. I see the tricks Ben Raybourn does and I really like what he does. I check out skatevideos and try the stuff I like from those.

You’re ready to go for full-time concrete park shredding. I like both pools and street, with my selection of tricks. Fastplants, Texas plants, bonelesses, wallrides. Most tricks don’t take that long to get the hang of. I study them well in the clips I watch and go try’em. You get some of the techniques by chance and then try to recreate them. I like the way I’m making progress now. I skate nearly every day, so that sure helps. Anything that keeps you busy outside skateboarding? I used to play drums but it’s only skateboarding now, nothing else. I stopped playing drums so I could skate more. I want to keep on skating, keep on having the good fun I’m having now skating, I want to skate as long as I can. How long? I’m going to try to find a job that allows me to still skate a lot. And a girlfriend that is down with skateboarding. Yes! And tell her from the start! Any spots, countries you want to go to and skate? Burnside for sure, and other diy parks. Just skating different places with different people. Skateboarding has already taught me a lot. Work harder, extend your limits, try more, and harder. What scares you? Up until now I’ve always been able to get over that initial fear. My first drop in a vert was scary! But after skating a couple of times in the Mechelen park I had some tricks down rather fast. I made friends quite easily too there. I got to know Pieter, we started skating together. The day after I met him again in Ostend. He got me over those vert fears! I dropped the vert, the bowl, the wall.

What tricks made you happiest when you landed them? My first Texas plant on a wall felt really good! It was weird, and great! That was actually on that green-copinged wall in the ODK-contest last summer. Other riders you look up to? Grant Taylor, John Cardiel, and another guy but I can’t remember his name for the moment, it’ll come to me… What are your favorite spots? Here (Rampaffairz), Mechelen. What tricks are you working on? I’m trying a wallie late-shove-it on one of the concrete poles here from the mini-ramp deck to the lower deck, I’m getting there. Is it going to work out? I hope so (laughs)! I had my feet on it three times already! Do your parents like that you are skating? They’re down with me skating, they always check my little selfmade skateclips out so…they like it that I skate, they’re happy that something keeps me busy. Does skateboarding change you? Yes, you’re really focused on it, 100%. When you skate every day it becomes your life, I like that. I’m thinking of making a ` diy-spot somewhere, I’m studying woodworking in school so. Did you ever skate with pads? I used some kneepads in the vert when I first started riding it, but I always forget to bring them. Just know when to bail and skip your board, jump off it, and run down the tranny. Any big injuries? Ankles. I had to wear a cast but I ripped it off after two weeks and looked for a good physiotherapist. What do you do when you can’t skate? Just hung out at the skatepark, cruised a bit, with the cast on. (smiles) Any stress while shooting the photos for this interview? It worked out well, no stress! I got most of what I wanted. thx.

FS Five-o

Beanplant

Fs transfer

Axel CruySberghs 14

his was three years ago at the Ghent football stadium. I was on a tour with Etnies, Albert Nyberg and Barney Page rode along, a cool trip. We were touring heavily, sometimes with my hometown Poperinge as our homebase.

Photos by Switn

This was on a skate mission when I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have my own car yet. I often went skating with Switn and Sam, Sam filmed; We were wondering if the trainconductor was going to realize I was up in that rack or not.

This is my appendix operation gone horribly wrong, infections and real pain, the whole shebang. I was touring with Volcom and had pains in my stomach that turned out to be an appendix about to burst. Volcom left me in the hospital cause the tour had to go on, luckily my homie Switn came to the rescue and took care of me that awful week in the hospital in Tucson, Arizona. This wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even a skate injury, but I had to recover for more than three months, no skating.

Red Bull wanted me to shoot a skate pic while at the contest in Tallinn, Estonia. They got me to this bunker in a little, sketchy dinghy, that bunker was wet, it was freezing, literally. One misstep and into the cold sea I went. Photographers have strange ideas sometimes. This photo itself is from Switn who took it from a little further away with a little camera, it turned out pretty good.

Front rock in a truck, in the industrial neighborhood in Ypres. Hard trick in that context.

We were just hanging around in Morocco for a movie. It was freezing cold at night, in the desert, we were so not prepared. Luckily our hosts had sweaters, thick socks, still, it was cold!

This is the first picture with my board, in my street. I must’ve been 7, 8 maybe? I had the ugliest kickflips back then.

I was skating every day at the local park and entered my first contest that summer. I got first in the Odk-contest and started riding for 911-shop and Dc right away.

This was in NY, right before i went to L.A. It’s as if i’m standing in a tiny twister.

This was the first day in Morocco while on that desert trip. We had just arrived, I had a brand new outfit and saw this streetbump. I went hard for the wallride, but the pop felt great. My outfit was pretty messed up afterwards, those streets were so dusty and dirty!

This was my local swimming pool, the one I went to during sports classes in school. Every single skater of Poperinge knew that place. So when it finally got torn down and there was no water in it I could skate it for about a day ot two. Switn came back earlier from a holiday with his girl to make the shot.

ince we’re launching our second issue with skateshop 911 as our friendly host for the launch of the magazine it is only fair to put a well-deserved spot on this shop. Even more, the shop is now under the trustworthy wings of Belgian skate pride Fabian Verhaeghe. Fabian made the transition from professional skater to skateboard distribution mogul in the blink of an eye. If he holds down this shop like he holds down hammers on his board all will be well!

Let’s start with the basics , where did the name nine one one come from and when did you re-open the shop ? Nine One One started in 1997 by Sven Raes. Basically it’s the emergency spot for all your skateboarding needs. In march 2015, we took over the shop and did a total make over. Where is the shop located in Belgium ? The shop is located in the very centre of Bruges. (Eiermarkt 7, 8000 Brugge) When did you start skateboarding and what has been its impact on your life ? I started skateboarding 15 years ago and it changed my life completely. I was lucky to get the chance to see the world on my board and meet some amazing people during this journey. My family always supported my choice. What can break or make a shop ? We are facing difficult times in the retail market. A lot of shops are struggling because of online shops. Kids need to understand that supporting your local skateshop is super important. Without skateshops not much is going to happen in and around your city. With 911 we’re going for positive vibes, giving back to the scene and pure skateboarding. That’s what makes a real skateshop.

You are also Huf and Stance distributor for Belgium. Any words on these brands and what they do for skateboarding? I’m sure everyone knows these brands by now. They’re both brands that have roots in skateboarding but are expanding beyond the skateboarding realm. HUF is one of the brands that represents the true spirit of skateboarding to me. Seeing their team and the way they tour is something that’s been missing the last couple of years. It’s not necessarily about the best or hardest tricks but more about (life)style and having fun. last but not least , how do you see skateboarding evolving in 5 years ? Skateboarding always had ups and downs and now is one of the times where it’s popular towards the mainstream crowd and because of that less popular to the people that should actually be skating, kids that are looking out to find something different to express themselves. There have never been more skateparks, brands, shops. Because of this I think it’s less attractive or special to these kids. But skateboarding will always be skateboarding, it’s a feeling, a mindset, a lifestyle. So whether it’s popular or not, it doesn’t even matter. Thanks Fabian!

Any specific goals with the shop? Not really, it’s all about doing what feels right and seeing what comes my way. The last two years have been pretty crazy in terms of working. My ‘goal’ is to be on my board more often and have more time for friends and family. Any nearby spots or skateparks the reader has to check ? There are spots everywhere, you just have to look around. Get your ass off the couch or the bench next to the skatepark and cruise around your own city. You will be amazed how many ’spots’ there are...`

Words and photo by Stijn Brands

I had tried several things as a kid. I did gymnastics and changed to karate. I went from karate to rollerblading, there was basketball and such. All of a sudden kids starting riding around on wooden boards with wheels, the city council had made some sort of playpark for it. I had never seen anything like it, it was so fascinating! Of course I soon grabbed a skateboard for myself. I quit all those other ‘sports’ very soon after. Skateboarding was different, no rules, no set times for it, you could skate everything, everywhere; or you made it skateable! I fell in love with the state of mind, such freedom. Freedom that made you unbreakable while being ever so fragile, a very special feeling. My young body accepted slamming and getting up again as a normal thing. A big bruise here, a big scab there…no worries. Part of the game. No pain, no gain they said. And yet, After 15 years of skating i can tell you no pain, no gain is heavily overrated. With all the pain I suffered I should’ve been a millionaire by now. Or am I looking at it wrong? Oh, I see, you have to suffer to be the best? Do I want to be the best? Do I want to make a lot of money? At times it think ‘who wouldn’t?’ Well. The feeling is very unnerving. My body troubles me more and more the older I get. One moment I’m on top of the world, the next I break my foot, dislocate my elbow. No gain, just pain. I lost sponsors, I lost myself. My body less strong with every injury. Is this life in which i grew up in, a life that gave me all these chances the life I really want? Can I keep on doing this? Is this what made me fall head over heels for a board on wheels? I can honestly say, NO! I miss the times skating at the local park, no worries, no high expectations. Pure skateboarding, the love and freedom of it. Us, and yet, myself as a true individual. Why win, why prove yourself? For the sponsors? Why give your all? So skateboarding becomes a job? Let’s be real. I got a great shot at a short career in skateboarding and it hurts like a motherfucker. It hurts more to lose it than never having had it in the first place. It’s all very confusing, tough times. But that 9 to 5, No, thanks!

Words by Evelien Bouillart Drawing by Bart bling

f you don’t know about the Moose movement then where have you been? They’re basically killing it in the streets and parks! What once started as a 1 man production turned out into a 2 headed film team, recording some of Belgium’s most finest skaters for your eyes to enjoy.

Where do you come from? Rob : Stekene, Sint-Niklaas. Bart : Oostende.

How did you guys meet? R: I was filming with Arthur Bultynck but my job was getting in the way. B: I was already filming for the first Moose movie. And Arthur came along a couple of times with some street sessions. I decided to put him in the second movie and because I needed some more footy I got to know Rob and that’s how it all started. What’s your story behind the name ? B: (laughs) I bought myself a camera thinking it would be nice just to get out there and film stuff whit the homies from Oostende. The first day that I had my camera it didn’t even have a handle on it or anything, I just had a fish eye. We were at the velodroom skate park and I was eating kindersurprises. You know those chocolate eggs that have a surprise inside them! And Inside one of them I found a mini-moose and I got all excited about it and showed it to Glynn Barnes and he was like “yeah you should totally use it for your skate movies, so I did! How long have you guys been filming together ? R: About a year now. We both started filming separate for like a year before that. But I actually started out taking evening photography classes with a friend. I needed some action shots for a school assignment so I went to a skate park where I met a guy called Saymour Lincoln. We took some pictures, I sent them over and he was happy about them. A couple of weeks later the 1st8 skate shop asked me to go on this skate tour in the Benelux for 4 days, as a photographer because the guy that was going to go couldn’t go anymore. Turned out the filmer couldn’t make it either! So they asked me to film as well and that’s how I got into the whole thing…After that I started filming with Azé and Nick and I never stopped..

Words by Amina Osmanu Photos by Stijn Brands

When do you know a movie is finished? B/R: (smile) Never! B: When you get closer to a deadline people start to realize that they still want something filmed.. you just keep on delaying till” The” last day! The release will now be together with Bolts’ second issue release November but because we wanted to release it together with the release of Bolts magazine’s second issue. R: So we really need to get busy editing! Is that something you guys do together? B: For the most part. R: We often just exchange footage for smaller projects and ask each other’s opinions. The streetisodes is something Bart does alone, that’s just Bart’s style and was even before we started working together. B: I got all the clips on my computer. R: without backup! B: Working on that! How do you guys choose the right music? B: I try to pick songs that need no clearance. I also reached out to Belgian artists for some music. The riders have a say too...Nick Steenbeke chose

his own track. But with the second movie we’re not planning on selling it or anything so we just agreed on the vibe that we wanted to represent and chose accordingly. How do you combine filming with family life? R: Bart has 2 kids and I just got married. So For me it’s easier maybe...But working takes up a lot of your time. But with 2 kids! B: Planning! You just have to plan everything out and then its doable (smiles), we’re doing a pretty good job. I presume your ladies got your back.. B: She doesn’t have a choice (laughs)! R: We both met our girls when we were already skating for years so they knew what they got themselves into. They support it and sometimes my girl gives me feedback on the stuff I make (smiles). What’s the most fun part of the job? B: I love being outdoors with the homies, searching for spots, celebrating when someone lands a trick smoking doobies, good vibes... that’s fun for me. R: Same here...filming with the Moose crew! We want to bring as much like minded people together.

Do you guys still skate? B: Yes. R: Me too but Bart skates more. I skate way less than I used to! B: Skateboarding is something I can’t resist doing… I’ve been skating for 20 years now. And there were times I tried to quit because of multiple injuries. Work and injuries don’t match well. Your boss getting angry when you have to stay inside for 2 weeks with a ripped ligament or whatever. It‘s a bit frustrating. But after a month of cruising around you get bored and you just start skating again. I don’t do rails or stairs anymore but I’m still decent. R: Everyone sees you as a filmer not a skater, so there’s always someone asking for some filming time and I can’t say no (smiles). B: I can say no if I don’t feel like it (smiles). Any tips for fellow videographers? R: Dedication, patience and some coaching skills! B: stay true to your own style! Get a car and a driver’s-licence! (laughs). Thanks a lot guys!

How long did it take you to get a better board? Pretty soon after I started skating here really (in Zumiez skatepark). Hans Claessens took me under his wings and he told my mom I needed a better board. Like two or three months after I first came here. People were still rollerblading here (laughs). ’96 I think. So you’ve known this place since the beginning? Hans gave me pointers every time I walked through these doors. That’s what kept me coming too, I was learning a lot. In football you mostly rely on a coach to get help, not on the other players, way too much competition there. In skateboarding everybody helps everybody out, that’s one really great thing about skateboarding! The main thing Hans taught me are my ollies, manuals too.

olts: How old are you James? James: 25.

And skating since? I was six! James Ghekiere is an original, he’s been skating since forever and has one of the best, most stylish and highest, floating, hangtime ollies in the Belgian skate-scene, and probably in an even wider perimeter. Not a loudmouth but one with ideas, an opinion for sure and sure to speak it. It’s weird, I’ve known James since he was a seven year old but we never talked about skateboarding and life like in this interview, I always fancied him as one of the real ones and his words here only do his reputation justice, a fine skateboarder. So you’ve been skating most of your life. I was a goalie in a soccer team for less than a year, after that I started skating. I got my first board during that time, from my mom, she bought it at Molecule, a big store in my town, Vichte. It wasn’t a good board. I had seen skateboarding on television and must’ve been nagging my mom about it. Being a goalie was ok, but not that much fun. I had to listen to the coach and do what I was being told. So I was looking forward to getting a board. I got it when I turned six. A couple of months on I paid my first visit to Zumiez skatepark, my mom had heard about it through friends of hers who had their sons skating in this park. I kept on coming here ever since. What was skating before Zumiez? Do you remember your first step on a board? I remember it very well. We had two little stairs at my place where I wanted to jump off immediately. I tried that and got a very hard, painful shinner on my first try. I had bruises all over my legs from the get go. It was fun learning tricks, I hurt myself a lot, but I was just by myself and that wasn’t that much fun, so Zumiez was perfect for me. I went out streetskating a bit before I found Zumiez too. There was a skatespot in Vichte, right at the beer wholeseller’s place where I knew there were always older kids, round their twenties I guess, skating on Sundays. It was hard going up to them, me being the little six-year old, but they were friendly and very helpful from the first time I had the guts to go over there.

Words by Laurent Derycke Photos by Sybren Vanoverberghe Ollie - Kortrijk - Belgium

You have one of the best, most stylish ollies in Belgium. I guess, thanks to Hans. I really appreciate all the time Hans spent with me imprinting his ollie on me, very grateful, and those were great sessions and times in my time skating. I used to watch the Goodtimes video all the time, Hans was riding for them. You ‘ve been skating so long, what keeps you there? Standing, rolling around on that board is just the best feeling. Doing threesixty’s while keeping the board nice and centered under you without having to do too much, floating. Skating is just great. I have a job now too so sometimes it takes a week before I can skate again, you appreciate skateboarding a lot more I think. I’m always super happy to be on my board. I didn’t work for five years and in that period I was skating everyday all day, it just gets boring too you know, when it’s the only thing you do.

FS 50 50 - Marke - Belgium

And maybe you weren’t working but a lot of your friends were. Which left me alone quite a bit again, true. And alone is alone, after an hour skating by yourself, that’s it, it’s so much more fun skating with others. A solo-session, ok you can do your tricks, but there’s not much more to it. That’s not skateboarding. For example I just learned to do smithgrinds pop-out tonight cause I saw Rico going for that on the flatbar. Seeing other people skate is much more fun, inspiring. What sort of skating are you in to right now? I’ve been skating a lot of hips lately cause my ankles are acting up from years of gapskating. My Achilles’ tendons especially. Too many gaps I guess (smiles). My body’s growing older, less flying, more hips. I feel my body changing, you can evaluate that when you’ve been skating as long as I have. I never was a very technical skater, I did lots of jumping off this gap, those stairs… So you’re skating in a different way now? Yeah, and I can feel it. My body has a lot more time now to rest up, skating hips isn’t as intensive and hard on your body. Hips, flips, curbs, it’s all fun. I hurt a lot less! I go home at ease after a session, not in pain. Gaps just gave me, heelbruises, fucked up knees…always something stupid.

I have the impression you can always find fun in your board, whatever age you’re at. True, just check David (from Rampaffairz) cruising in the vert, he’s having fun! That gives me hope for the future me! Even if I can just cruise around a bit when I tweaked an ankle, I’m happy! Knock on wood I never had any bad injuries, some ankles and a tweaked knee, that’s about it. You didn’t work for five years, did you ever have the idea to go for professional skater during that period? I don’t know. It’s hard to make a living out of skateboarding I think. It’s but a select club of riders who can make that happen. Which is totally fine by me. I’m thinking more and more that there’s hard rippers that don’t necessarily have the urge to go for the big leagues and are perfectly happy skating like they’ve been doing for years, Kevin Tshala maybe? You’re good too, you could’ve gone for it. Well, if it would be me in Thsala’s Nike’s…(big smile) I think I would’ve gone for it. But for me I look at it differently, flip to’s are not really my thing, the standard that is needed these days to make it…not really my thing. I just don’t feel like messing my body up, hurting myself on a daily basis for a sponsor

and some money. Skateboarding is fun, not work. Not that I wouldn’t want to be pro, but not for such a high price! Imagine you’re pro, that stops at a certain moment, you get hurt, you’re too old to compete, then what? You’re finished and have hardly anything to fall back on. You have to build yourself some sort of life from scratch. What’s your work like? I’m in the business of galvanizing metal. It’s an honest job, and there’s just three of us. My brother in law is my boss, and that works for me. I worked in another place for half a year and it just wasn’t working out. I got the boot because I was wearing my hoodie at work, ridiculous cause there were dudes there wearing way more stupid caps and beanies on their heads, I guess they were looking for a reason to throw me out. It was never fun working there, you’re a little different and they look at you funny. I really couldn’t deal with people like that, I’m fine now though. When I show up a little late at work I just work longer to make up for that, it’s all good.

Are you skating a lot now? Once a week really, Friday after work. But I’d like to skate two to three times a week, it’s just harder when you’re working. Sometimes, like today, I’m up at five six in the morning and I work till six or seven at night. It takes something to get on your board after hard days working, it’s always worth it though. Finding the time to skate sure has gotten harder and more rewarding at the same time. I’m completely worn out though after a Friday session, I skate three to four hours after a ten two twelve hour working day, heavy days. It happens that I skate some more on a Sunday but mostly my body is too tired. But hey, I didn’t do anything for five years, I’m making up for lost time, getting my life together!

Any demos here that you’ll always remember? Actually, the one demo I wasn’t here to see! It was a Globe demo, when Luk was still alive (the former owner of Zumiez rip) I was still in a youth club called KSA and were going away on camp so I couldn’t be there for the demo, which sucked! But Luk went out of his way to take lots of pictures with all the riders and got this board with all their signatures on for me. That was just amazing, I will never forget that he did that for me, the demo I never saw. I devoured the footy I saw from that demo afterwards, I can still see most of the tricks now in my mind’s eye.

Did those five years make you miss out? Yeah, you don’t do anything. You’re at the same point in life for five consecutive years, you even tend to go backwards in your life. You’re at home, there’s no focus, you lose your focus on life. I feel useful again, working. At home you’re just no one, doing nothing. Cars is something that keeps you busy too. Big passion indeed. And a lot more fun now that I have some money to spend once in a while. I just bought myself a beautiful BMW E30. I have a friend

who has one too. Ant that sort of gave me a click you now, I saw him buying his second car, getting a house with his girl and I’m there at a total standstill. Fuck it! That’s it, I’m getting a job. I’m into drifting cars now. I now a guy who has a garage that specializes in those kind of cars, I go to events, watch them on the circuits. I don’t have a drift car myself but I’d love to do that! And it costs money! You’ve always been in to cars. I have quite some knowledge through Kurt yeah. I can easily see by checking the car’s chassis in what shape the car is. My focus is on drifting cars lately, good perspectives! ` It sure sounds like you’re figuring out your own way. Working helps, cashflow helps. You have most of your friends through skateboarding I guess? Absolutely. When you start out coming to a skatepark as a little kid from 10 in the morning till 8 at night that’s your world. 10 till 8. Phew, I wouldn’t make it that long these days (smiles). Good times! Little Trevor, little Björn, Angelo popping off the vert.

I have the impression you were never the one going on lots of skatetrips? True, it’s weird realizing a lot of younger kids have already been to Barcelona, Paris, the States. I’m not really one for travelling but lately I’m getting this idea that I DO want to see some of those places, maybe skate those spots that I’ve been seeing in videos my whole life. Maybe I want to go all out one last time and do some stuff there. Filming some tricks, we’ll see, no rush.

SW FS flip Beverly - Leie - Belgium

Has skateboarding changed a lot while you’ve been at it? I’ve seen the whole new generation come up these last years, Trevor (Cappon), Jonathan (Vlerick), I’ve seen them start out as little kids, which is funny. And I’ve seen the previous generation rip at their hardest, Jelle (Deschout), Fabian (Verhaeghe), they were the big guys when I was the kid. I’ve seen a lot. Always good times with those guys. They were doing the shit! But then again where are the days when a flip back lip was a sick trick?! That used to be sick, I can do them, when I set my mind to it, but skating has gone so many levels beyond that! So, let the young kids have their time to shine, I’m perfectly ok with that. I’ll be watching from the sidelines.

What’s the best thing about skateboarding? The joy, the community and social life around it. I know everybody here, it’s a second home. After a while you feel compelled to come here cause you don’t want to let your friends down. We’re all the same, not like in the regular world. ‘Look at that guy’s clothes!’, you have a board, you skate, I skate, that’s it! There’s that bond. I love looking at kids and seeing their dedication going for tricks, that guy going for his backside fifty-fifty 180 out tonight, it felt good seeing someone not giving up. You don’t get to see that as much in the regular world, I think. Skateboarding teaches you that.

Are you gonna keep skating till… As long as I can. And afterwards you’ll find me drifting in my car! Take tonight, I had to wait to come over to the park because there were a couple of cars parked in my way in the garage at home. It was really getting on my nerves you know, I wanted to skate! The longing for my board is always there! Thanks James!

Ollie - Vincenzo Colameo - ODK - Belgium

ast summer we were going to Budapest, but then we weren’t and there was no trip left. So we went to our pretty little Belgian coast which is in fact bursting with spots,…and old people, and fat people, and cops, and losers who think they have to act like cops, and wife-dominated dogwalkers who think they are cops, and lifeguards who think they are cops, and security guards who make you leave your board at the entrance of the supermarket, and old farts with pink sweaters on their shoulders who think they are cops. Welcome to rightwinged sandland. Dunkirk, De Panne, Oostduinkerke, Ostend and Cock Side were the main sandy banks we hit up if I remember well. The crew was big. Aura Brédart, Vincenzo Colameo, Ziggy Govaerts, Jonathan Vlerick from the start, Sybren shooting, Ruben filming. Jimmy Raes (our graphic dude), Ramsy Saïdi, Pablo Delaplace and Victor Vanpuyvelde joined later and during the trip we also met up with Laurens Willems, Kevin Tshala, Christian Plettner, Nathan Couvelaere, Bart one of the Moose-filmers, Geoffrey Vanhove, this was summer, everyone was on a roll. (just for the record, we do invite people from all over Belgium, case you hadn’t noticed, there’s always naggers and little tiny iwannahaters out there)

Words by Laurent Derycke Photos by Sybren Vanoverberghe

FS smith grind - Ziggy Govaerts - Dunkirk - Belgium

Our mainstay was in De Panne, since my mom has an apartment there, thanks mom! In a flashback to times when nothing was skatestopped I showed everyone around De Panne’s spots, some of which we would hit up later, the sun was still out so we drove over to ODK’s-always-fun park to get the juices flowing, good session. We stayed out till sundown, had some drinks there, good food, perfect start. We watched ‘We are blood’ back in the hub, agreed that it was rather preachy and a flick especially for people who don’t really have a clue what skateboarding is all about, contrary even to all what P-Rod was stating, ‘all what skateboarding gave me…’ you got the big bucks P, and well deserved, but for us it’s basically having a good time, loving the hell out of that silly plank, bruises, swellbows, sacks and ruining our lives included, ‘we are bloot’ sounded like a more fitting title. To get back from the seriousness we clicked on Peter Griffin’s ‘Iraq lobster’ and the best possible version of Love Boat, the Westflemish cut, please check it, it’s politically incorrect to the max, hilarious and filled with the best one-liners. ‘Death to America…’ followed by ‘ …and buttersauce!’ remained a password for laughs the whole trip. Sidenote: Nightlife is officially dead at the coast, we tried to go out the first night, found everything closed (and I know the De Panne bars though), no one around even though it was still pleasantly warm out, and witnessed an anonymous copcar stopping two kids over and cleaning out their backpacks on the hunt for grass or pills, Ghost town for life! Ziggy shut down the spot in Dunkirk the next day with a ‘give me your board I just snapped mine’-smithgrind down quite the fat handrail which none of the others felt like hitting up. Vincenzo and Jonathan took the smaller stairgap with a hardflip and a flip respectively. Ziggy would continue to wreck stuff continuously the next days, kid is amazing at only seventeen years old and a fun, relaxed hanger on top of that. Dunkirk is like a place from another time, there was a communist family-day going on in the congress-centre next to the spot, the beach looked like it was bombed the week before and everything smelled of soup. Jonathan lit the spotsquare up with some firecrackers, the exploding kind, the frogs seem to put more gunpowder in those than we do, some good ‘BOOMs!’ I made spaghetti for the whole crew that night, stuffed them all full with it, the night was concluded with drinks and smokes for those who indulge in that. Friday was Odk and then Ostend, street. After quite a gloomy, rainy but just dry enough thursday the sun was back out in full force. Jonathan took care of a NBD on the ODK boardwalk, ollie over the flowers into the bank, beautiful stuff, while we skated the bank he popped into in between tries and Ziggy and Vincenzo popped the white rail next to the swimming pool. This was also one of the first in a series of naggers,self proclaimed upholders of the law, annoying nitpickers who wanted rid of us. The conversations sort of went like this:

They: ‘time to go kids!’ or ‘you’ll be getting a fine any minute’ or ‘get out!’

We: ‘Why?’ and ‘hello sir/madam/officer, what seems to be the problem?’

They: ‘you can’t skate here, there’s a really good park in ‘XXX’(insert coastal town)

We: ‘We know we’ve been there today, we are streetskating now. This is a public place and most of us pay taxes like everyone else, we’re not harming anyone, we’re not damaging anything, we look out for boards not hitting bystanders or windows. We’re working here, more or less, making photos, an article, a video. If anyone’s getting hurt or tired, it’s us. Most of the people looking on seem to be having rather a good time.’

They: ‘It’s not safe and we’re responsible!’

We: ‘We’re the only ones at risk here and no, you’re not resposible but hey give me a responsibility waiver, where do we sign to get you of our back?’

They: ‘Yeah, well…Well I’ve told you, I did my job!

We: ‘You did good my man, good job’ (pat on the back, bye-bye, exit the scene) Variations were these:

They: ‘If you’re still here when I get back in ‘xx’ (insert time in between ten and twenty minutes) you’re all getting a ticket!

We: ‘Understood sir, madam, I’ll set my alarm to one minute earlier and then scram!’ victorious smile

Or these: ‘Hand me all your passports, I’m writing you all tickets, you can’t skate here by the city’s decree’

We: Take our boards and get out , always kill them with kindness!

Powerslide BS lipslide pop out - Pablo Delaplace - Ostend - Belgium

Nose bonk - Pablo Delaplace - Ostend - Belgium

BS Wallride - Pablo Delaplace - Ostend - Belgium

Thing is the coastline seemed to be filled to the brim with these ‘xxx’ (fill in preferred curseword) but we didn’t let it get on our nerves, mostly we had quite some fun at their expense and some precious hours of their thus shortened lives. We stocked up on food in the local supermarket, started eating all of it right outside the door, one great thing only skaters do, and then rolled out to Ostend where we met up with Pablo, Ramsy, Kevin… We hit up the banks at ‘t Boske, got kicked, but had a couple of tricks and pics anyway (that place was one of the ‘you better be gone when I come back’-spots) and continued on to the city’s financial services stairsgap-spot where Laurens, Geoff and Bart were too. The sun was out blazing, most of us reclined, chilling against the fence while Jonathan and Ziggy, both very much on fire the whole trip, got down to hammering. Jonathan rolled away after barely five tries from a gorgeous backside flip and sat down recovering while Ziggy went on for

about sixty tries trying to grind down the whole rail, ballsy stuff. He only had a couple of heavy slams but seeing him pop into that monster every single time left most of us in awe, that his body was still taking it after all of those tries pleaded for his determination; unfortunately that last little nasty kink fucked his popping out every single time which forced him to give up in the end. We hit a spot at a tennis court right after that; Aura flipped it, Ziggy, Jonathan and Ramsy popped it in variations, Pablo no-complied it before heading to the Ostend boardwalk where we ended up staying till the sun was gone and later. Jonathan flipped the stylish gap at Arne Quinzes rathers unstylish ‘work of art’ and kept on going for a backside flip which the darkness forced him to give up on, but what a skateboarding filled day. Fries on a terrace, cardgames with alcohol and all-around booziness put a lock on Friday. Ramsy slid a beautiful front blunt on Saturday at

De Panne library and Jonathan just popped right over the whole thing before all getting the boot from a nazi-esque lady-cop, Victor dropped some roughage on a brick bank, the crew got down on King Leopold (classic spot!), nobody went for the gap though (bodies too broken and tired by now) and we sort of rounded it all up in the pit at Cock Side where pinksweatered rich old fart came out acting like a true ballbuster, we kept on skating and went on for a relaxed roll-out at ODK-plaza till it was absolutely dark. Pizza at the beach, throw the bottle, busgames! A couple of days truly out on the streets, streetratting it like the best, getting tricks, hanging around goofing and taking the sun with a motivated crew, nobody could wish for a more rejuvenating long weekend if he’d picked it himself, even when we had to endure the highest concentration of vinegar-filled cops and grayards, we came out rolling, shining and laughing. Next!

top of page: Kickflip - Aura BrĂŠdart - Ostend - Belgium

Hardflip - Vincenzo Colameo - Dunkirk - Belgium

Kickflip - Jonathan Vlerick - Dunkirk - Belgium

Fastplant - Pablo Delaplace - De panne - Belgium

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Across 3. he invented most of it 4. an insectoid kind of slam 6. invented by Yeelen 9. the chief 11. what Berra does 13. the comeback prodigy 14. highest air

Down 1. Belgian ripper who has a pro board now 2. cops push... 5....where they have that pretty great outdoor park 7. stylemaster of the no-comply and musician 8. avian trick from the hood 10. almost as fun as skateboarding 12. best girl 15. took a lot of things to the next level, Jamieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prodigy

17. Belgian Embarcadero, now fullyskatestopped 20. the bull, dare to jump off it, that one guy tore his asshole there 21. Belgian legendary big poppa/Lockwood chief 25. best competition-roadtrip-lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lesson 28. where skateboarding is the law 30. silly game 31. one of the stupidest ways to start your slam

33. the boss 35. had a beershoe on Etnies 36. the birdman 38. the other chief from the Belgian Coast... 39. how long you should keep skating for 41. all it takes is a little... 44. that ledge is gone

16. Misled... 18. scrape tarmac and get one with cheese on top 19. they will not do it for you 21. monstuous groth on arm, slamresult 22. yeah right you can do that trick! 23. he took it to the streets 24. get your news here 26. why did you film it in the first place? 27. world renowned video crew 29. the artist

32. the magazine 34. Belgian ripper now photographer who had a pro board 37. legendary skater, retired (too early?) 40. the lens 42. 1312 43. Rest, Ice, Compresion, Elevation

Aquarius (21 january-18 february) You should concentrate more on your vert skills these coming weeks, the stars have one or maybe even two new unique tricks in store for you! Your personal creativity will help you in this endeavor but try to stay away from dogmatic thinking and open your mind, your strong character will make you persevere! Listen to your homies when they give advice on how to put your feet but make sure to let your eccentric style shine through! Don’t get hung up in an endless session though, but take a step back, get your breath back, imagine the trick, think it through and do not get lost in whether switch really is switch! Love: stop being cold as ice and way too demanding! Go for it, once you conquer her/him you know you’re down for life! Health: There’s tweaked ankles on the horizon, a shinner or two! Avoid heavy liquor more than ever this month. Expect heavy farting!

Aries (21 march-20 april) You can’t have enough skatesessions this month. You feel energized, ambitious and are bursting with new ideas for lines or curbcombo’s, backflip nosegrind, who knows? Keep your eyes on the goal, you’re good at that; but keep the patience or frustration will ruin your golden run. Since Uranus is right at the perfect constellation you should finally go for that challenge, the longest ssbsts, never mind what others tell you, you know best. Don’t be surprised when your ‘friends’ accuse you of hogging the parkledge though, transcend your champion spirit, beat that record and all will love you! Love: You’re just bursting to hit it off this month, go easy on your lover when making sweet love, three or four sessions should do it for both of you in one night! Health: Watch out, winter’s lurking and so is a tiny emotional dip. Why don’t you just skip heavy railtrickery this month?

Cancer (22 june-21july) Instead of continually switching up the five same old tricks you’ve been learning for months you should let the beauty and pure emotions of the roll wash over you. There’s all those clever ideas in your head and most Cancers have their own private skatespot to secretly better their trade and stay away from commanding voices. But do consider the fact that you might learn a lot more when you’re skating that private spot with some friends, it might be less against your inherent nature than you think! Yes, you hate failure, yes you hate advice from others but it might really help you, so let it! Love: You’re mostly in love with skateboarding this month so there’s not a lot of action in the bedroom. Health: Try to eat healthier, your stomach will be gratefull! And stop imagining your own illnesses!

: The boys went to L.A. and all we got where these lousy photos

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t’s always nice to meet creative minds. And it never stops to amaze me what one mind is capable of. What’s even more interesting is the fact that people stay humble about it. Presenting: Chillow. Where do you come from? Born in Kortrijk, I lived in Izegem/Roeselare till I was 18 and after that I moved to Kortrijk by myself, because of skateboarding. At the time there were a lot of interesting things going on in Kortrijk involving skateboarding and all my friends were living there too.

When did you know you wanted to make music? Actually when I was little I didn’t like music that much, because the only reference I had was what I heard on the radio and what my sister used to listen to. The first spark was when I heard the song ‘Do for love’ on MTV, I sat on the train on my way to school and a friend threw away a cd in the garbage. I didn’t hesitate to take that cd back home and it turned out to be an album from Onyx and that’s how I fell in love with hip-hop. The beatmaking virus came later on in my life through a friend of mine (dj Iron). I was 19. We met at his place a couple of times and he showed me some of the things he was producing. He made some sick beats and got me inspired to try it out myself. And so I did! Is music a hobby or work? Both! I think ”like a lot of people out there” I’m trying to turn it into a fulltime job, but right now I’m still combining work and my creative business. I’ve got a new company named Catharsis productions which I use together with my team/friends to offer multimedia services to Artists, bands and businesses. But if somebody needs a beat or workshop or wants to book me as a dj they’d have to go to “Chillow” Also all my personal work as the [‘n Chillow series] and other collabos go trough that as well. What does Catharsis stand for? It’s a Greek word and it means purification of the soul, which I feel explains the art of being creative through how you feel.

What are your working tools? I work with Reason , Cubase and I got the MPC 2000 XL. I try to be as analog as possible, for example all my compressors and preamps are Analog (API/NEVE/SSL) but of course digital stuff is more user-friendly to mix everything together. How would you describe your music? Funk,Neo Soul,Hip-Hop,Jazzy, asid jazz… Could you tell us a bit more about your collaboration with El DA Sensei… I started a small label with Dj iron called “Earquake“ and he proposed we all should make a beat and try to find an mc to spit some bars over them, make a EP of it and release it. I immediately emailed El Da Sensei asking him if he wanted to work with us and that next day he hit me back saying he was down with the idea, not even talking about money or anything! So crazy. But we ended up doing 5 releases since then and It has been a crazy journey! We are releasing a full album next year named Sensei ‘n Chillow, part 3 of the ‘n Chillow series! One to look out for!

39 5 nostalgic hip-hop tracks : 1. The Roots – you got me 2. Kool G Rap – it’s a shame 3. Onyx ft wu tang – the worst 4. Artifacts – the ultimate 5. Rahzel – all I know Do you still skate? Yes. I always use my skateboard as a means of transportation but I do around 2 real skate sessions a month. What board do you ride on? I like my board with a little bit of concave. The tail and nose low and more or less aligned and at least 8 inches wide. Back when I got sponsored by brands I had the same board most of the time but now that I’m supported by Oodkeekay skateshop I get to choose my own, always choose based on shape. Ow yeah and also big up @HUF for supporting us! Thanks a lot chillow! Great stuff. Looking forward to that new album!

words by Amina Osmanu Photos by Sybren Vanoverberghe

ou’ve heard the name, you’ve seen the boards, the riders are true Belgian og’s and serious Young guns! Ratata is a tight-knit crew hitting the streets and parks on a high tempo and at a higher level, we spoke to Timothy Deconinck, Pj Claeys, Arthur Bultynck and Pablo Delaplace about what makes Ratata roll. Timothy: The idea to get a board brand started two years ago. It was me and Jen, my girlfriend, the mother of my child. We wanted to do something but weren’t quite sure what. We had lots of ideas to get creative, graphics…whether that was going to be hoodies, prints, boards…Jen really pushed the idea through. I came up with the logo and the brand name, but I’m not one for bragging really, it’s a collective effort. I had around two hundred names that sounded too ‘American’, too serious, too one-dimensional. I was looking for something abstract that gave several ways of meaning. Once I had the logo I jotted the ‘Ratata’-name down and after that it all sort of clicked. I waited for two weeks, to give it a rest, and it still worked after that so I went with it. But what does it mean? Who knows? To Pj it sounded like the noise rolling wheels make on the street, everyone has his own idea about what it means, and that’s good.

Deciding on your riders was easier? T: Absolutely, I knew that before I even started. Pablo Delaplace, Pj Claeys, Fries Taillieu, myself and Arthur Bultynck. And Willy Crank is also part of the team, skating and filming. And the homie crew, Hans Borg,… What does Ratata stand for, as a mentality? T: it’s the story of a whole crew that wants to do something, represent skateboarding. We know all the people, have all the contacts, the info, let’s do something! Create something in the Belgian scene! How much work is starting a brand? Did you have any idea? T: I did. I knew the theory and I have worked in a skateshop for a long time, I’ve been a sponsored rider for a long time, I know several aspects of skateboarding, production, transport. The hardest part is getting everyone together. Cause most of us work, go to school, have a girlfriend, a family. This is not our job, it’s what we do for skateboarding, the love of it!

Ollie - Pablo Delaplace - Ostend - Belgium

At what time did you all see your first graphic? Arthur: I saw it here in Ghent, at the Marimain, a pub just down the road here. I didn’t even fully know I was going to ride for Ratata! I was either going on a Euro-trip with Antiz or saying yes to Timo! I went with Timo, haven’t regretted it for a second. Ratata is a Belgian thing, and I like that about it.

You guys hit the streets a lot! PJ: We do! We try to get creative and unique, we’re always on the lookout for different viewpoints on skateboarding, alternative angles on rolling the streets. There’s ups and downs of course but it’s the best way to get to know one another as a team. There’s always some people tagging along too, Tshala, Yeelen…It’s a very fun mix of people. Who are you getting to know better through all this? Pj: Everyone for me. T: Arthur! Do tell! A: I can skip outside to have a cigarette if you want (laughs). Then I’ll read it in the magazine, later. T: I’ve known Pablo since he was a little kid. His dad was a skater, I used to go to his dad’s shop asking to get sponsored, I was eight. It’s funny cause now we’ve come full circle with Pablo skating for Ratata. I’ve known him better through 911, as a kid. And with the start of Ratata I think we’re seeing Pablo, the young adult, the man! Pablo: We were skating together for a while and Timo was always telling me his ideas, he told me about his idea for a brand. I was really hoping to get on the team, and here I am! He called me late at night, telling me he just called Fries and Pj, asking me to skate for the brand, no name even at that point. I was super stoked. T: That was crazy, I didn’t even tell any of the riders the name or logo at that point. Even Fries and Pj said yes to me without knowing the name of anything, a bit crazy (smiles). Pj: We said yes to Timo! We trust his vision. T: And I was super happy with that! I wouldn’t have gone for it if they had said no, or it would’ve been very different, a lot smaller probably, they gave me the extra drive, Jen too!

Words by Laurent Derycke Photos by Rob Rouleaux unless otherwise mentioned

Photo by Stijn Brands Photo by Bram Voeten

BS Smith - PJ Claeys - Ghent - Belgium

Boneless - Pablo Delaplace - Bruges - Belgium

Bs-flip - Arthur-Bultynck - Ostend - Belgium

Varial-Heelflip - Arthur-Bultynck - Belgium

Photo by Sybren Vanoverberghe

FS 50 50 - Fries Taillieu- ghent - belgium

Photo by Bram Voeten

BS 50 50 - Hans-Borg - Belgium

FS boardslide - Timothy Deconynck - Ghent - Belgium

But we still don’t know what you think about Arthur? A: You don’t have to if you don’t want to Timo! Pj: Arthur kills it on a skateboard. If you see him riding he sticks out above the pack! T: I think I asked you to ride for me at the absolute right time! A: I could’ve been gone with Antiz, true. T: Arthur has style, tricks. You immediately notice when he’s skating. He’s heavy! Not all good skaters are great persons. T: But he sure is!

And you got a good roster going now, several generations, styles, trickery bags, it works. Pj: the young guns are always open to what we bring to a session, or what we think. They’re not cocky at all, they want to learn about how we look at skateboarding and represent that view. T: Arthur was telling me he might be getting more into contests even thought that hasn’t really been his scene until now. He made me think of getting back into contests myself maybe, he could give me the feeling and hype back to skate contests again. Pj: Learning from each other, hyping each other. A: I’m still really hungry, I want to make something of my skateboarding, I’m at that point, I’m 21. I know it’s a tough road and the success rate is so small. But still, I really want to give it a shot. Fries, Pj and Timo have been there so they can help me out, give advice. It helps. T: Let me get back to what I think about Arthur (all laugh). He’s from Ghent. In the 20 years, damn it’s been twenty years, I’ve been skating I’ve never seen anything come out of Ghent like Arthur. The level he’s on! A: Well there’s Nick (Steenbeke) too, but he’s typical tech, very Ghent-like. T: And Arthur’s really open to skateboarding and has a very inspiring drive in his skating. I’ll stop giving him props now (grins). A: And I’m going for a smoke! Any big plans with Ratata? T: A video maybe, other projects, time will tell. Some collabs with artists on board graphics. It’s been a great experience so far, more chaotic than I expected but with better results than I expected. A: When skating for a brand through a distributor you’re never skating with a team, with Ratata we’re skating together a lot! There’s a teamfeeling. We have a good crew going. I’m really stoked to be a part of it! Any shoutouts? T: Shout out to every skateshop! Some shops just went for three series of our boards, that’s just great! Pj: To all skaters that bought a Ratata-board! A: Free Skate Mag and Kingpin! Bolts! T: Free Guwop! Pj: He’s making lots of tracks in jail so that’s good! T: Shout out Concrete Dreams for making all those great parks in Belgium! Shout out Rampaffairz, Flesh and Bones! Last but not least shout out Jean Jacques Distribution, Ben for president!

Photo by Stijn Brands

Fries Taillieu - Fakie flip - Uverpuurt - Ghent