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S E A M L E S S LY F U S I N G B O A R D - F E E L + I M P A C T P R O T E C T I O N WITH

featuring

I M PAC T- I ™ T E C H N O LO G Y f e a t u r e s i n v e r t e d c o n e s constructed of a lower durometer rubber to allow c o m p r e s s i o n o n l a n d i n g . I M PAC T- I ™ p r o t e c t s f r o m harsh impacts while maintaining board-feel.

OSCAR CANDON SIGN ATURE COLOR WAY

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Mika Germond Skin Rolling soundtrack The Gallicchio Brothers Iron string Extra curricular Jan Hoffmann Cloudy, 60 per cent chance of rain Wieger Van Wageningen Caucasian zigzag

Cov e r : D i d r i k G a l a s s o , n o s e g r i n d , Par is. Ph. Ma x i m e V e r r e t

Contents: Felipe BartolomĂŠ rides it all the way down in Seville. Ph. Sam Ashley

Free is published six times a year by FSM Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

Editor in Chief Will Harmon Photo Editor Sam Ashley Online Editor Arthur Derrien Graphic Design Ben Weaver Seb Howell Visual Intervention James Jarvis

freeskatemag.com @freeskatemag freeskatemag@gmail.com

Paul Hart | @globebrand | GLOBEBRAND.COM | est. Australia 1994

STRONG MADE STRONGER Durability = Cordura 速 These pants are built to last. Woven with Cordura fibers and reinforced exactly where you need it.

l e v i . c o m / s k a t e b o a rd i n g @ l e v i s s k a t e b o a rd i n g

O l l i e , P a r i s . P h : M a x ime Verret

Mi ka

Ph: Maxime Verret

G er mo n d

Before we get into this I should probably give you guys a bit of context... The first thing you need to know about our friend Mika here is that he has quite an unconventional job for a sponsored skater: he’s a personal trainer. The second is that until relatively recently, karate, polevaulting and a wealth of other athletic disciplines were higher on his agenda than skateboarding. So why does a man with such a passion for ‘traditional’ sports decide to focus his energy on an activity like ours? Could it be the absence of ‘rules?’ Is it the culture that surrounds it? Or is it the fact that through video parts and photos in magazines you get to create something that lasts? We shouldn’t ignore what sets skateboarding apart from other sports and Mika’s fresh perspective on the matter served as a healthy reminder of that.

18 50-50 grind, Paris. Ph. Maxime Verret

Yeah. Although a lot of my work was just rebalancing the distribution of his muscle mass. Skateboarding is such an asymmetric activity. When

And y ou k no w ex act l y w h at mus cl es t o tr ai n f o r ska teb oa rdi ng .

Yeah little Robin Bolian (Antiz and Vans Europe rider). It was a bit weird but kind of better in a way. With my current clients the work I do is really just getting them into shape. With Robin it was interesting because it was sport specific and he was already really fit enough for me to properly work him.

You w er e al so a sp o nso r ed ska te r’ s pe rs on al t rai n er for a b it a s we ll r igh t ? How wa s tha t?

All pretty cool really. People think that I just deal with meatheads and girls that want better butts, but it’s not like that at all. My clients are just regular people, often parents that don’t have time to exercise because of the full time job/kid combo.

Don’t be silly, haha. You know

“Y o u s ee that guy over th e r e ? If you pay him en o u g h he can make you th e n e x t N y j a h ! ”

I don’t really think there’s enough of a market for me to just have skateboarders as clients. Unless I move to LA or something... Plus I don’t really know how I’d feel about being responsible for creating an army of super athletic skatepark killers... It’s not really the style of skating I’m into. It could be a good way to make money but I wouldn’t want to put my name to it.

Di d w o rking with him make yo u c o nsider specialising in s k a teboarders? Like a p e r s onal trainer for pr o s ?

His dad approached me.

An d h o w did that whole th i n g come about in the fi r s t p l a c e ?

Yeah who knows... Maybe thanks to me he’ll stop skating bowls and start skating like Shane O’Neil.

Pl u s m aybe it’ll help him ge t b e tter at skating sw i t c h , h a h a .

you’re always slamming and putting all your weight on one side of your body it can affect your growth. We don’t want him to be all crooked by the time he turns 25...

Wha t ar e yo ur c lie n ts lik e?

Yeah I’m good, thanks. Not been up to much actually. I don’t really have that many regular clients but since I’m the one going to their homes the money’s decent enough to get by.

All r ig ht b ud dy ? W h at hav e yo u be en u p t o lat ely ? Wor ki ng a lo t?

Interview by Arthur Derrien

Wallie, Lyon. Ph. Loic Benoit

Fe e b l e g r i n d , L y o n . P h . M a x ime Verret

Yeah for a long time I did a lot of karate, synchronised swimming and athletics (that I still do once a week). I don’t know... Possibly that there’s more to skateboarding than doing tricks that feel good. I like getting a good photo or a clip. I like creating stuff that I think ‘looks nice’ with a filmer

Before you properly got into skating a lot of your time was spent doing ‘traditional’ sports. What made you decide to start investing more of it into skating?

Oh yeah. All the ‘athlete’ style pros like Pedro Barros, Nyjah and Chris Cole definitely have them.

So you think a lot of pros have personal trainers?

Yeah of course, although I’d say mainly for stamina and absorbing impact/slamming. Some skaters look like they are going to crumble every time they land a trick and then you’ve got guys like Nyjah that’ll jump down massive gaps without flinching. There’s a reason for this.

It does definitely help though right?

that with skating it’s all about technique. Some of the best skaters in the world have never had any proper physical training...

I don’t know, maybe. In the suburbs where I grew up skating there were no other skaters. I skated for a long

Do yo u t h ink tha t co u ld app ly to ska t ebo a rdi n g tho ugh ?

Well the only thing is that all the ‘sports’ I do now are self-taught: in skateboarding you obviously teach yourself virtually everything and at the moment I don’t have a coach when I practise athletics. It’s just like with everything else in life these days: if you need to learn about something you just go online and read about it or watch a tutorial. I’m a bit tired of it... I enjoy having someone knowledgeable show me exactly how something is supposed to be done - it’s reassuring.

Is th ere any t hin g yo u mis s a bou t tho se s po rt s?

or a photographer. I don’t think I’d be as into it if it were just a physical activity. When you start to really discover skateboarding you do more than just realise the trick possibilities are endless, you learn about the wealth of culture and history that surrounds it. I really don’t understand how kids like Aurélien Giraud (the kid from Lyon that just won Tampa Am) can be so motivated to skate without acknowledging that dimension of it. It’s ignoring what sets us apart from all the other physical activities.

Yeah but it’s so frustrating, almost even more than skateboarding. It usually takes you about 10 tries to get an attempt you are actually stoked on, sort of like if you are trying a trick down a rail or something. Only in skating it’s different because if you get sick of struggling to land something hard you can always have fun with another trick - something you know you can do every go. In pole vaulting you don’t have that option, there isn’t ‘another trick’ you can try. It’s just you and the pole. I once went through a six-month phase of not even being able to ‘plant’. I’d take my run up, prepare for the jump and pussy out at the last

A ny i n teresting parallels b et w e e n skateboarding a nd s o me of the sports w e m e n tioned earlier? I b et p o le vaulting feels i nc r e d i b l e . . .

time before seeing a magazine, a video or even another skater. At the beginning everything I’d learn would be from randomly trying to do different stuff with my feet when I’d be standing on my board... It was tough. So when a skate camp (based in Marseille) recently invited me and some Antiz riders to hang out with the kids and I saw how stoked they were I thought to myself: ‘I could have really enjoyed getting tips on certain tricks like that’.

21 Boardslide up to transfer, Lyon. P h . L o i c B e n o i t

T a i l b l o c k f a k i e , P a r i s. Ph. Guillaume Perimony

Yeah it’s really good. Travelling with those guys is so fun... They started giving me and three other guys (Robin Bolian, Uryan Rodet and Quentin Boillon) from Lyon boards virtually at the same time as well so we’ve got a little crew going. I get along with them really well and like me they all prefer going on missions to staying at Hotel De Ville all day, which is cool too. Regarding the video I think there will be a ‘flowbo’ part with all four of us. Although I’m not exactly sure what they’ve got

How’s riding for Antiz? Are you going to have anything in their new video?

minute. Something like that is so draining psychologically.

Ph. Maxime Verret

Well I can’t wait to see what you, your ex-client and the rest of the team come through with for this video. Cheers for the chat!

I guess, haha. But at least deep down I know that if he’s that good at skating, on Antiz and winning all these comps it’s only thanks to me, haha.

What?! So he’s gotten on the real team before you even though you’re the one that trained him up to become the ripper he is today?

planned for Robin, he might be getting his own section. He’s on another level that kid...

Interview Will Harmon

Tim Holton, Tyson Passmore, Kurt Howard, West Cross, Swansea, 1987

Photography Skin Phillips

Portrait Sam Ashley

Skin In skateb o a r d i n g w h e n a p r o f e s s i o n a l skateboar d e r m a k e s i t t o a c e r t a i n level of f a m e a n d n o t o r i e t y o f t e n times his s h o e s p o n s o r w i l l o f f e r h i m a signatu r e s h o e . T h e s e a r e s k a t e r s we’ve all h e a r d a b o u t a n d c a n l i s t their fea t s a n d a c h i e v e m e n t s o n t h e skateboar d . B u t w h a t a b o u t t h e p e o p l e who docum e n t t h e s e p r o s k a t e b o a r d e r s ? The ones t h a t f o l l o w t h e m a r o u n d a n d

point a lens at them for hours on end until they can land their trick... Don’t these people deserve recognition? Well adidas thought so, and after three decades of photographing skateboarding’s best S k i n P h i l l i p s is the latest member of the adidas ‘Respect your Roots’ crew to receive a signature trainer. To coincide with the shoe’s release Skin returned back to his hometown of Swansea for an exhibition of his photography from the past 30 years and an auction of his prints with the proceeds going to the local skatepark: Exist. The day after the exhibition, and just after attending the Swansea/ Leicester football match, we caught up with Skin to hear about how he started out, his move to America, his favourite skaters to shoot with and more.

Ali Boulala, Liverpool, 1999

So what first attracted you to photography and shooting skateboarding?

Skin Phil l i p s : I w a s o b s e s s e d w i t h skateboar d i n g . I s a w i t f i r s t i n the sixti e s a n d t h e n I f o l l o w e d i t r e a lly closely and s k a t e d i n t h e m i d seventies . T h e n i n m y t e e n a g e y e a r s I got int o p u n k r o c k a n d I g o t i n t o a little t r o u b l e a n d I w a s t r y i n g to find m y s e l f . B u t a l l d u r i n g t h a t time I wo u l d g o b i r d w a t c h i n g o n t h e weekends w i t h m y f r i e n d n a m e d A n d r e w Reynolds. A n d w h e n w e w e n t b i r d watching t h r o u g h t h a t I l e a r n e d a b o u t optics. I l e a r n e d a b o u t L e i c a a n d Zeiss and t h i s t e a c h e r a t m y s c h o o l had a Can o n A 1 . M y m a t e A n d r e w g o t a camera f i r s t a n d t h e n m y t e a c h e r let me bo r r o w h e r c a m e r a s o m e t i m e s . I was reall y i n t o a r t , b u t I c o u l d n ’ t draw and I a l w a y s t h o u g h t p h o t o g r a p h y was for a r t i s t s t h a t c o u l d n ’ t d r a w . They can s e e i t , b u t t h e y c a n ’ t p u t it onto c a n v a s . A n d t h e n w h e n I w a s eighteen I w a n t e d a c a m e r a f o r m y birthday a n d m y m u m a n d d a d b o u g h t me a 35mm c a m e r a .

So the first skate photos I shot in the early eighties were with this camera and a 50mm lens. So after I got that camera I decided that I wanted to be a photographer... It took forever, but I learnt in libraries... I tried to get into college but I couldn’t get in, so I learnt by talking to people and reading manuals. I made my own darkroom... It was a long process, but that’s how I got into it. The more I did it the better I became. It was a lot of trial and error. Growing up in Wales, how quickly did you realise you needed to travel to shoot more skateboarders and where did you decide to travel?

Well we had our Swansea crew, there were like four or five of us. And my friends would travel and go to contests and demos and I would go with them to shoot photos at these events. So that was the first time I saw other people skate and I took photos of others than just my friends. And through this I’d meet travelling

pr o s a n d I ’ d s h o o t t h e m l i k e K e v in St a a b o r A d r i a n D e m a i n . A n d t h e n in th a t p r o c e s s I m e t B o d ( B o y l e ) w ho wa s a G & S p r o a n d N i c k y G u e r e r r o . Th e r e w a s a g o o d E u r o p e a n v e r t s cene in t h e m i d - e i g h t i e s . A n d t h e n i n ’85 my f r i e n d a n d I d e c i d e d t o g o t o the se c o n d M ü n s t e r c o m p a n d t h a t ’ s w here I sa w G o n z ( M a r k G o n z a l e s ) f o r t h e first ti m e a n d I s a w C a b ( S t e v e C a b a l l ero), al s o I s h o t L a n c e ( M o u n t a i n ) . . . That wa s t h e f i r s t t i m e I s h o t a l o t of fa m o u s A m e r i c a n p r o s o n t h e d e c k of th e r a m p . A n d t h e n i n ’ 8 9 w a s t h e f i rst ti m e I w e n t t o t h e S t a t e s . M y f r iends an d I w e r e t r a v e l l i n g a l o t . W e we n t d o w n t o L o n d o n a n d t h e n u p to Sc o t l a n d . . . E v e n t h o u g h w e w e r e in Sw a n s e a w e t r a v e l l e d a l o t . Can you tell us about the move to California, how did that come about?

the plan. So I went and shot Tom Knox, did the interview, shot the photos, and also I had just gotten my first sequence camera and so I shot all this f o r RAD . Then I went to Australia and then my money went way down and I was down to £2. I had no money left and then I called my mum and she said that Tim had been trying to get a hold of me and that the Knox interview had come out and that I’d made £600. That was a fortune back then! Also that was the first time I put an editorial package together: I wrote the words out, I shot the photos, I did the printing and I sent it all out. So after doing that I realised: ‘I can do this; I can do it!’ Also after that I got some good glass so my photos started looking better. So also when I went over in ’89 I went to see Grant (Brittain). Even though I went to the skate camp in

Well I was k i n d o f w o r k i n g f o r RAD and TL B ( T i m L e i g h t o n - B o y c e , f o r m e r editor of RAD magazine ) w a s h e l p i n g m e out, bu t I w a s j u s t d o i n g b i t s a n d b o bs re a l l y , n o t m a k i n g a l i v i n g . A n d then in 1 9 8 9 w h e n I w e n t t o A m e r i c a , I went to t h e V i s a l i a s k a t e c a m p a n d t h ere I me t T o m K n o x . A t t h a t c a m p I a l s o met Ka r m a T s o c h e f f , A l a n P e t e r s e n , t he Pa e z b r o t h e r s a n d I j u s t g o t a l ittle fo o t i n . So after that I was back in Wa l e s a n d I w a s s a v i n g t o g o t o Au s t r a l i a . I w a n t e d t o g o t o A u s tralia fo r s i x m o n t h s a n d I g o t t h e v i s a and ev e r y t h i n g a n d t h e n I t h o u g h t I ’ d stop in V i s a l i a a n d s h o o t T o m K n o x o n my wa y . T w o w e e k s i n t h e S t a t e s a n d then I’ d g o t o A u s t r a l i a f o r s i x m o n t hs was

29 Allen Losi, Morfa ramp, Swansea, 1989

Visalia w e w e n t d o w n t o S a n D i e g o a n d m a d e a point to see t h e Transworld guys. So w e w e n t t o M c G i l l ’ s s k a t e p a r k and we sa w D a n n y W a y w h e n h e w a s 1 4 , we saw Ja s o n J e s s e , a n d t h e n w e w e n t to see Gr a n t a n d h e g a v e u s a l i t t l e tour of t h e p l a c e a n d w e m e t ( D a v e ) Swift as w e l l . S o i n ’ 8 9 I b e c a m e friends w i t h S w i f t s o w e k n e w e a c h other and k e p t i n c o n t a c t . A n d t h e n in ’91 an d ‘ 9 2 s t r e e t s k a t i n g w a s really ge t t i n g b i g . A n d t h e n i n ’ 9 2 o r ’93 Tom P e n n y a r r i v e d . A l s o ( G e o f f ) Rowley wa s g e t t i n g b i g , ( C a r l ) S h i p m a n w a s getting known a n d s o Transworld wanted so m e o n e i n E u r o p e t o c o v e r these guy s . S o I w a s f r e e l a n c i n g a n d I d id a Shipman int e r v i e w f o r TWS i n 1993. And t h e n I w a s d o i n g s o m e s t u f f fo r Thrasher, f r e e l a n c i n g f o r e v e r y o n e and then I c a m e o u t t o C a l i f o r n i a i n January 1 9 9 4 a n d w i t h i n t h r e e o r f o u r m o n ths I’d gotten a j o b a t Transworld . They help e d m e w i t h a v i s a , t h e y p a i d me well a n d t h e y r e a l l y l o o k e d a f t e r me. Grant a l s o g a v e m e a l o t o f t i p s and point e r s a b o u t m y p h o t o s .

Moving to So Cal as an outsider, was it hard to get into the US skate game and adjust?

Well I already had that leg in, but I was an outsider because I was British and I had this different take on things. But that worked to my advantage because there were a lot of American photographers at that time so that set me apart from them. And being t h e r e a t TWS , every day I was going to shoot photos and I got to shoot some really key people back then so I built some great relationships early on. Is there a par ticular skater that you’ve really enjoyed working with?

That’s tough, there’s so many. (Chad) Muska was a big favourite as I got to shoot Chad when he was a kid and then he became this big superstar. That was really nice to see someone develop like that. Mark (Gonzales) has always been a pleasure to shoot, (John) Cardiel, I love shooting him. (Matt) Hensley has been a friend and

30 Mark Gonzales, Cologne, 1998

an inspir a t i o n t o m e f o r s u r e – a n d then of c o u r s e L a n c e M o u n t a i n . I t ’ s funny bec a u s e n o w I g e t t o s e e D e n n i s (Busenitz ) , S i l a s ( B a x t e r - N e a l ) a n d Lucas (Pu i g ) a n d t h e s e o t h e r s g u y s skate and I ’ m l i k e ‘ F u c k ! ’ , n o w i s t h e best time . A n d w i t h M i l e s ( S i l v a s ) and TJ (T y s h a w n J o n e s ) a n d a l l t h e a d i guys it’s r e a l l y g r e a t . A n d g e t t i n g the job a t a d i d a s h a s r e j u v e n a t e d t h a t feeling.

And so you were with TWS just before this new adidas TM position, what did you think when all the guys lef t to do The Skateboard Mag?

It was to u g h . I t w a s l i k e a g i r l leaving y o u ; i t w a s a k i c k i n t h e balls. I r e m e m b e r t a l k i n g t o ( J i m ) Thiebaud a n d h e w a s l i k e : ‘ Y o u ’ r e d o w n mate, you ’ r e o n t h e f l o o r . W h a t a r e you going t o d o ? A r e y o u g o i n g t o j u m p out of th e r i n g o r a r e y o u g o i n g t o fight?’ I h a d n o o p t i o n i t w a s e i t h e r fight or g o b a c k t o S w a n s e a s o I w a s like ‘Fuc k i t ! I ’ m g o i n g t o g i v e i t a go.’ An d s o w e r e b u i l t t h e s t a f f and did i t . I t i s w h a t i t i s , y o u d o what you’ v e g o t t a d o – I d o n ’ t h o l d a grudge. A t t h e t i m e I w a s d e v a s t a t e d , but actua l l y i n h i n d s i g h t i t w a s g r e a t for me. I m o v e d u p a t i e r s o i t w a s a good thin g . C h a n g e i s g o o d . Is there a par ticular photo you’ve shot that is your favourite?

The favou r i t e I h a v e n o w i s M a r k (Gonzales ) c o m i n g t h r o u g h t h e t u n n e l in Cologn e . H e ’ s o n h i s b e l l y a n d he’s payi n g t r i b u t e t o H a w a i i a n d it looks l i k e h e ’ s s u r f i n g . I t ’ s like we w e r e a l w a y s t a u g h t ‘ a c t i o n , action, j u s t d o t h e c r a z i e s t t r i c k , the bigge s t r a i l , ’ a n d n o n e o f t h a t . . . That’s no t i m p o r t a n t r e a l l y . I f y o u can get t h a t o n e t h i n g . . . W h e n y o u look at T o b i n ’ s ( Y e l l a n d ) s t u f f , a l l his famou s s t u f f , t h e C a r d i e l p h o t o , the Julia n ( S t r a n g e r ) p o r t r a i t s , all of it i s l i f e s t y l e a n d T o b i n captured a t i m e i n s k a t e b o a r d i n g . N o t in his sk a t e b o a r d i n g p h o t o s , b u t i n his portr a i t s a n d h e c a p t u r e d t h a t ‘skateboa r d i n g l i f e ’ . I f y o u c a n get that i n a p h o t o . . . A l l m y p h o t o s aren’t... I t ’ s n o t t h e c r a z i e s t s t u f f right, bu t i t ’ s t h a t c e r t a i n l i t t l e moment yo u k n o w ? Yeah. And speaking of Gonz, do you have any memorable Gonz stories?

The first t i m e I p r o p e r l y m e t M a r k w a s

the early nineties. He came over for New Deal UK (former skate distributor) with Ron Chatman and they rode for ATM Click at the time. So they came over and I remember he had a carpet suitcase. A suitcase made of carpet that he carried on his shoulder. This is when he went underground and when he first moved to New York. This was right when the Beastie Boys were big

Max Schaaf, Bristol, 1998

an d t h e t e r m ‘ O l d S c h o o l ’ c a m e o ut an d M a r k w a s w e a r i n g a d i d a s t r a c kie bo t t o m s . I ’ d n e v e r s e e n a s k a t e b oarder we a r t r a c k i e b o t t o m s a n d h e w a s really qu i e t . T h e f i r s t d a y h e w e n t o u t he bo a r d s l i d t h i s r a i l , a n d ( P a t ) D uffy wa s t h e r e b y a c c i d e n t , a n d i n t h e ph o t o P a t D u f f y ’ s i n t h e b a c k g r o und. Th a t o n l y e x i s t s i n o n e p h o t o I had, Th o m a s ( C a m p b e l l ) l o s t t h e n e g s and it

wasn’t filmed. It was only a few years a f t e r Video Days so Mark was warm. Then he hippie jumped into Southbank and he was just ripping and destroying it. That’s the first time I really met him. And I didn’t shoot Mark a lot, but we got on. And he liked me because I was British. Mark loved coming over to Britain and he loves London. Mark’s travelled all his life.

Death of Fawr, 1985

You’ve travelled ever y where too! Do you still love it?

Yes and t h e c o o l t h i n g a b o u t a l l the trave l l i n g t h a t w e d o . . . O K w h e n people tr a v e l t h e y a l w a y s g o a n d d o the touri s t s t u f f , g o t o t h e t o u r i s t places, n o m a t t e r w h o y o u a r e . O K i f you are a n e w s r e p o r t e r y o u m i g h t g o into diff e r e n t a r e a s t o d o a s t o r y , but we, u s ( s k a t e b o a r d e r s ) , w e j u s t g o to the mo s t o b s c u r e p l a c e s a l l a r o u n d the city. W e s e e t h e w o r l d l i k e n o one ever s e e s i t . W e a c t u a l l y g o i n to all th e s u b u r b s a n d w e r e a l l y g e t an idea o f w h a t e a c h c i t y i s a b o u t . And when y o u a d d a l l t h e c i t i e s u p y o u get a rea l l y g o o d i d e a o f w h a t ’ s g o i n g on in the w o r l d . Y o u c a n ’ t t e a c h t h a t anywhere. I t ’ s a n a w e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t skateboar d i n g , b u t w e d o n ’ t r e a l i s e it’s happ e n i n g . W e a r e o u t s e e i n g it gettin g t h a t e d u c a t i o n a s w e g o through i t d a y - t o - d a y a n d w e e k - t o - w e e k throughou t t h e y e a r . And can you tell us about your ‘Respect the Roots’ shoe with adidas? How did this come about?

It was definitely a surprise. I was blown away. I always wear leather adidas... I always wore the Gonz Skate shoe, especially the Black ones with the yellow stripes. I liked it because it looked like a gazelle... It looked like a shoe you’d wear on the terraces. That shoe was made in France by adidas in 1977 and it was called the Skate. Back then each country used to make their own shoes. So it was made for skateboarding in 1977 and it’s exactly the same shoe. They have one of those shoes at adidas that they bought on eBay, the actual shoe from ’77. And when I go up there I’m always looking at everything and I always geek out on that shoe. So they (adidas) just did it as a one-off for me. They’ve done it in my favourite shape and in my favourite colours: black and white. That’s the classic UK Samba soccer shoe. It doesn’t get any better than that. It’s a simple, easy trainer that looks good with everything. And it looks good on the terraces as well! And it’s got ‘Skin’ on it; you can’t go fucking wrong! (Laughs)

Ro ll i n g Element in Japan

Jacopo Carozzi, boardslide, Ibaraki

Words Madars Apse Photography Kenji Haruta

Element skateboards have their offices all over the place; pretty much every continent is covered. Every now and then the guys meet between each other, sometimes at sales meetings, sometimes at the YMCA skate-camp, and so it was no surprise when Alex Deron, the team manager for Element Europe, wanted to do a tour in collaboration with Element Japan. Not a regular tour, it was going to be a skate-music tour because KĂŠPA (Bastien Duverdier) a ripping French skateboarder and blues-guitar player joined our journey!

S o un d t r a c k

Jacopo Carozzi, boneless, Saitama

Madars Apse, feeble grind, Kanagawa

S k a t e b o a r d i n g a nd music g o h a n d i n h a n d a n d both of them a r e s u p e r f u n . O n o u r trips we m a k e m u s i c e v e n i f i t’s not a s k a t e - m u s i c t o u r . There is a l w a y s s o m e o n e d o w n to drop some r a p s o r s o m e o n e w h o would have b r o u g h t h i s g u i t a r a long to jam o n - s u p p o r t t h e g o o d vibes you k n o w ? I t d o e s n ’ t m a t ter what you d o a s l o n g a s i t ’ s f un. Whether i t ’ s s k a t e b o a r d i n g o r music, t h e b e s t t h i n g s u s u a lly come unplanned. I h a d a l w a y s w a nted t o v i s i t J a p a n a n d s ee how t h e c u l t u r e w o u l d s h ock me t h e r e . A l o t o f p e o p le had t o l d m e i t ’ s a m a z i n g and that I d e f i n i t e l y m u s t g o . I had l e a r n e d b e f o r e m y t r ip that J a p a n e s e p e o p l e a r e amongst the l o n g e s t l i v i n g i n t h e world. J a p a n e s e h i s t o r y g o e s way back t o b e f o r e t h e s a m u r a i times a n d I k n e w t h a t c r a f tsmanship i s l o n g e m b e d d e d i n their c u l t u r e . I t ’ s a p h i l osophy

and language intertwined with great craftsmanship. A Japanese blacksmith would say: ‘iron is a living thing.’ A potter would say: ‘earth is a living thing,’ which brings me to the idea that a skateboarder would probably say: ‘skateboarding is a living thing’. It is an integrated idea in their society that man is not the ruler of nature; instead they approach nature with equality, much respect and praise. You can hear these praises in the Japanese language when they say: ‘the trees are whispering’ or ‘the wind is calling’. The Japanese in my eyes have a very advanced society; everyone is extremely polite and nobody can stand loud noises. My guess is that’s the reason we got kicked out of 90% of spots we went to. That’s the reason why locals mostly skate at nighttime from dusk ‘til dawn like vampires sucking the blood of modern architecture.

Nassim Guammaz, backside smith grind, Chiba

Chris Colbourn, noseslide, Ibaraki

N e v e r t h e l e s s t h e spots did n o t d i s a p p o i n t a n d t here is no w a y w e c o u l d t h a n k o ur Japanese f r i e n d s m o r e f o r t h e amazing h o s p i t a l i t y , g r e a t f ood, sake a n d m o s t o f a l l t h e Japanese b a t h h o u s e s . T h o s e b aths were s o m e o f t h e b e s t b a t hhouses I h a d e v e r v i s i t e d i n my life; I r e a l l y t h i n k t h a t ’ s why the J a p a n e s e l i v e l o n g e r lives than i n a n y w h e r e e l s e . I had heard t h a t t h e b e s t T u r k i s h baths are f o u n d i n B u d a p e s t , H ungary, but n o w I a m i n d o u b t . W e went about f i v e t i m e s i n 1 2 d a y s testing o u t t h e d i f f e r e n t t y pes of tubs w i t h h o t a n d c o l d w a ter. There w e r e j a c u z z i s o u t s i d e, silk baths, saunas and even electroshocking jacuzzis! T h e J a p a n e s e c u lture is h e a v i l y i n f i l t r a t e d by the Y a k u z a – t h e J a p a n e s e mafia. W e h a d o n e e n c o u n t e r when Buchi, o n e o f t h e l o c a l s , a ccidentally m a d e a s t e p b a c k o n to the road,

just to touch a bypassing car. Instantly the driver jumped out and started yelling at Buchi something that sounded deeply threatening. I guess he was saying: ‘I’ll kill you!’ Our friend instantly backed up and apologised with the best, most polite Japanese language ever. ‘Until the next time,’ the driver said and raced off. Thank god none of those Yakuza guys can come in the bathhouses. Turns out they don’t let people in who have tattoos. You must understand that in these bath houses everyone goes completely naked, it’s divided of course for men and women, but there were ladies walking around the men’s bath house looking for Cookie (Chris Colbourn) and Nassim to throw them out! They couldn’t hide their tattoos, like KéPA, who at all times had a hand in front of his chest, like he was showing respect to someone.

Jacopo whips up a frontside boneless for the crew, Chiba

Madars Apse, wallride nollie out, Chiba

We were lucky that we could stay with the local skater Tetsuo, enjoying the Japanese experience to the fullest. The house was pretty big, compared to what I had seen before in China. The morning walks around the neighbourhood were awesome, to me it could have been anywhere else in the world, as people are still people with the same needs and wants, just a different look and a little different culture. I learned from the locals that the Japanese people are the biggest anti-war supporters the world over. That is no surprise since the USA dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima Island so now the locals are completely against violence. In the end it was not a crazy culture shock, but a regular tour with the homies from the other side of the

world! We visited a lot of skate shops, a few skateparks and even a skate camp in the woods. Seems like the skate scene out there comes from outer space! I must mention that we did receive some local skate videos on the way and one clearly stood out – the Kawagoe skateboarders DVD filmed by the Root Projects. Check it out and go outside – skate! Thanks to all my Element teammates who were on the trip: Nassim Guammaz, Chris Colbourn, Jacopo Carozzi, Ryo Sejiri, Ryota Abe, Naohiro Abe and Hirotoshi Kawabuchi. And thanks to Kenji Haruta for shooting photos and Hidenori Tanaka for filming. Cheers to Alex Deron and Naoshi Imao for managing the team, KéPA for the great music and once again an extra special thanks to our host Tetsuo Murata! I can’t wait to return!

MADARS APSE - FRONTSIDE FLIP PHOTO BY: KENJI HARUTA @ELEMENTBRAND

ELEMENTBRAND.COM

The

Interview Igor Fardin Photography (except left) Alan Maag

Dennis, drop-in, Massagno, Switzerland. Ph. Enea Auberson

Character really is reflected in the way you skate. So is it surprising that having a boxing coach with his own gym as a father will lead one to attacking spots rather then caressing them? Nope. Neither is the fact that these men break the ground before their bones. Concrete cracks before they do. The brothers from Lugano, Switzerland are strong, have honour and stamina. Among the Warriors they are the ones who you’d want on your side in those dark and uncertain moments. They are the guys bringing the

rough stuff to our crew – the good old search and destroy way. No wonder that there’s always a slight taste of respect in the air when the Brothers Gallicchio are mentioned... Each by himself, one is plain old Gilles, the other good young Dennis; great friends, never at a loss for a good party, lots of laughter involved and always good humoured, positive – just good to be with. But referred to as the Brothers, you know that something powerful is around the corner. (Alan Maag)

Did you ever beat each other up? Gilles: I c a n ’ t remembe r , I d o n ’ t t h i n k so! Dennis: M e n e i t h e r , w e argue a b o u t s t u f f b u t never really that much.

So you always had a strong relationship. Was there ever a time when you realised your relationship was changing? Gilles: Yes, when we were kids we did a lot of things together. Then when I was a teenager I started to go to parties and skate so I wasn’t at home that much anymore and we kind of parted ways. We still had a good brotherly relationship but we were not such close friends anymore. Then one evening while I was walking home I saw Dennis drinking with his friends and I immediately understood that he was starting to do the same things; from then on we’ve been really close friends again. Dennis: In that same period of time I started skating and that helped to bring us closer.

Gallicchio

Brothers

Igor: Since this interview is dedicated to the Gallicchio bros maybe we can start by talking about your brotherhood. How would you describe your relationship? Gilles: I think we have a very strong relationship. Dennis to me is more than a brother; he is somebody I know I can count on. This has become clear to me recently: I started a family and had children therefore I have less and less time to spend with friends and as a result of that many friendships have ended or faded while my relationship with my brother is as strong as ever. Dennis: I actually think that since Gilles moved out of our family house and started his own family our relationship took a turn for the better. We see each other less often but we value more of the time we can spend together and we don’t have those little stupid fights you usually have when you live with somebody.

So skateboarding had an important role in your relationship... Dennis: For sure, having the same passion really helped our friendship, also because that made us go to the same places and have the same friends. I think skateboarding is what made us not only brothers but also really good frien d s . Gilles: Even today we meet either to have family lunches or to skate.

Gilles, noseslide through the kink, Malaga

Who started skating first? Gilles: Me. Dennis: I started four y e a r s l a t e r.

Dennis, do you feel like your brother influenced your skating? Dennis: Yes, he h a d an influence on m e , although it’s har d t o say if that influ e n c e came directly fro m h i m or from the group o f people he was ska t i n g with at the time. Actually maybe wi t h my skating I was m o r e influenced by the environment – by t h e spots we used to s k a t e , but for sure my b r o t h e r influenced my att i t u d e and my approach on things and tha t reflects itself i n t o skateboarding as well.

Whether the influence of your brother was strong on you or not, it is plain to see that you both have a really peculiar way of skating. In a time when in European skateboarding is producing all this ‘low impact’ street skating, you still jump down the biggest rails or the biggest sets of stairs that you can find. What makes you do this? Gilles: It’s personal satisfaction. I like to put myself in a dangerous situation and in those kinds of situations I find what made me fall in love with skateboarding. I like to put myself in a situation where I am forced to overcome my fears; I feel like that helps me better understand myself and my limits – plus I love the adrenaline kicks that skating stuff like that gives me. The sensation that I get when I skate those things is what I like In skateboarding and so I just keep on doing that without caring about what other people do. Dennis: I think I skate the big stuff for the same reason. To me having that adrenaline kick is almost a need that I have to satisfy every now and then. If I don’t, I feel like there is something missing in my life... Aside from huge rails and

stair sets lately you started skating in a more ‘creative way,’ but I don’t really like to put a label like that, but it makes my point clear. Do you feel the current trend in skateboarding had something to do with it? Dennis: I don’t feel like I am following any trend; maybe subconsciously I am influenced by videos, but I am not aware of it. I’ve never really watched a lot of videos and magazines. Anyway my skating has changed lately but I think that it’s mostly related to my knee injury. After surgery I couldn’t really jump down big stuff all the time so I had to find another way to express myself through skateboarding and as a result of that I changed my way of skating. Maybe this ‘creativity’ comes also from my habit of trying to skate any kind of spot and adapt my skills to it. Gilles: Since we are talking about creative skating I’d like to put out some thoughts I had recently: I am against this habit people have to put a label on a certain kind of skating and call it creative. There isn’t a creative type of skating because skateboarding is creative itself. A skateboard in my opinion is a tool you use to express yourself and if you do that by jumping down a big gap or by doing something else with it, it doesn’t really make a difference. Actually, ironically, I think that these days when everybody is talking about being creative, creativity is dying and instead of it we just have conformism. This is also due to all the skate footage we get to see everyday. So you are not really following

Gilles, frontside 50-50, Malaga

Dennis, frontside 180 ollie, Neuenhof, Switzerland

the skateboard news and gossip. Do you still watch videos? If so, what videos do you watch? Gilles: I do, I still watch the same videos I used to watch back in the nineties and that’s it. I don’t really know what is going on in skateboarding anymore; I kind of drifted away from all that media hype. The main reason why I did that is that I don’t find the soul I used to find in old skateboard videos with the new ones. Growing up my favourite videos were Misled Youth and Fuck Off (Yama skateboards) and to me those videos had a soul; they gave me some kind of feeling that the big American productions don’t give me anymore – so I see no point in watching those things. What about the ‘underground’

kind of stuff? Gilles: I a m n o t r e a l l y interes t e d i n w a t c h i n g those e i t h e r b e c a u s e I think t h a t t o r e a l l y appreci a t e t h o s e v i d e o s you nee d a d i r e c t l i n k with th e p e o p l e t h a t are inv o l v e d i n t h e project . I f i t ’ s p e o p l e you kno w y o u ’ l l v a l u e things i n a d i f f e r e n t way tha n i f y o u d o n ’ t know th e m . A n d s i n c e as I sa i d I a m n o t travell i n g m u c h t h e group o f p e o p l e I k n o w is gett i n g s m a l l e r a n d smaller a n d t h e r e f o r e I am no t r e a l l y u p t o watch a n i n d e p e n d e n t video w i t h n o b o d y t h a t I know in it. What about you Dennis? Dennis: S a m e h e r e !

I only watch videos from the people I know personally. If I like a person there’s a good chance that I’ll like his skating. So I go search videos of him otherwise I’ll just do other stuff with my time. Like going to the gym? You said you’ve been doing martial

arts when you were growing up and I know your father owns a boxing gym. Plus, if you ask me, I actually think I see a reflection of that fighting approach when you guys are on your skateboards, but I’d like you to talk about that. Do you both think there is something in common between martial arts and skateboarding? Dennis: Maybe there is something similar in the attitude. Gilles: I also think there is... My dad has a poster at his gym that says: ‘those who win against others are strong, those who win for themselves are powerful.’ I apply the same principle to my skating, trying to win myself is what I am doing by jumping down big rails. I see martial arts and skateboarding as two parts of the same path I’ve taken in my life. In all my life I’ve been searching for a situation where I had to work around my own limits and both skating and boxing are part of that research. You think boxing influenced your skating ability

Dennis, noseslide pop-over, Malaga

physically? I mean you can take the gnarliest slams and just get up like nothing happened Gilles: No I think that it’s just the way we were made. Dennis: Yep! I don’t go as much as Gilles to the gym, but I can take heavy slams as well, so it must be something else... So Dennis you don’t really go to the gym anymore, right?

Dennis: N o t r e a l l y , I kind of s t o p p e d w h e n I started s k a t i n g . P l u s I just s t a r t e d w o r k i n g 100% so t h e t i m e I h a v e off I’d r a t h e r d e d i c a t e to skat i n g . B u t w h o knows m a y b e i n a f e w years I’ll start again. But Gilles you are really into it...

Gilles: Yes, it’s a new challenge and I like that. At the gym I find the adrenaline that I liked so much about skateboarding. Plus with the dad life that I am having now it’s easier to fit in my schedule a session of two hours training rather than a skate one. Plus I like the training part of boxing; you train your own body in order to achieve a goal. That is something new to me; you don’t find that in skateboarding. I see, well that was my last question. Is there something

you want to tell your brother or something more you want to say? Gilles: Yes, there is one more difference between boxing and skating that I didn’t mention before: the party. When I am done boxing I sometimes go for a beer with my gym buddies and that is all we are having: one beer. But when I go out drinking with you guys one beer usually leads to plenty more and the day after I don’t remember much. The party difference is clear on Sunday lunches with the family: if I have been to the gym the night before I am at my parents at 10am to make pleasant conversation, while Dennis, that has been out with you guys, comes there two hours later almost not able to say hello to our mom. And then the whole family makes fun of him – that is a good family tradition. Dennis: Haha! I just want to say that in my life there are just a few friends I can count on and Gilles is the number one of those and forever he’ll be.

Gilles, frontside wall-bash, Lugano

C a r h a r t t i n A n d a l u c i a & Gi br al ta r by S am u Ka rv on en

Ir on P h o t o g r a p h y by S am A sh le y

Joseph Biais Wallie at Devil’s Gap Gibraltar

strin g Mo s t o f t h e s e c o m m e r c i a l t o u r s h ave a p o i n t o r a t a s k t o f u l f i l s o t he in v e s t o r s c a n g e t s o m e p i e c e o f mind on b l o w i n g t h o u s a n d s o f e u r o s o n a bu n c h o f p r e m a t u r e s n o t - n o s e s t o go an d r o a m a r o u n d d r i n k i n g b e e r s a nd ac t i n g s t u p i d w i t h t h e i r w o o d e n toys. Bl e s s C a r h a r t t f o r s e e d i n g l i g h t on th i s h o l y c a u s e . T h e c r e w f o r S a m t o s h o o t was we l l a n d c a r e f u l l y p i c k e d o n w h o ever ha p p e n e d t o m a k e i t b a s i c a l l y . F elipe Ba r t o l o m é , a s o n e o f t h e n e w e s t Ca r h a r t t r i d e r s , w a s o u r t o u r g u ide si n c e h e s p o k e t h e n a t i v e l a n g u a ge an d p o s s e s s e d a r a d c h a r a c t e r . R ob Sm i t h j o i n e d t h e r i d e a s a f e l l o w En g l i s h m a n f o r S a m . J o s e p h B i a i s was th e c o m p a n y c a r d h o l d e r , J o a q u i m Bayle ac t e d a s a f i l m e r a n d I w a s b r o u ght

to the bunch as the designated driver and Tom Derichs was the guy with food problems. Not to go much deeper into this but if you bump in to Tom ask him: ‘How’s the worms doing?’ The plan was to stay a few days in Malaga, drive down to Gibraltar, climb back up to Seville and then hit the highway back to the starting point. Malaga was nice, not many other things stuck in my mind about it. We did check a few other cities on the Costa del Sol. Very nice too. Yes. La Linea was next on the program. It’s located next to Gibraltar and had a few excellent bars and restaurants to be experienced. Most of them were closed though, but according to our local guide they were

54 really go o d . S k a t i n g - w i s e i t h a d a nice bowl t y p e o f t h i n g y a n d a w e l l fun DIY p a r k . S t r o n g s k a t e s c e n e f o r a small p l a c e l i k e t h a t . S t i l l t o this day w e d o n ’ t k n o w w h y , b u t e v e r y obstacle i n t h a t D I Y h a d a W e l c o m e Skateboar d s l o g o o n i t a n d l a t e r w e noticed t h a t a l m o s t e v e r y l o c a l r o c k e d Welcome b o a r d s a s w e l l . M a r k e t i n g d o n e r i g ht I guess. Tho u g h o u r h os t e l w a s i n La Linea, o u r p r i m a r y t a r g e t w a s Gibraltar . S h o r t h i s t o r y o f G i b r a l t a r b y Wikipedia: ‘An A n g l o - D u tc h f o r c e c a p t u r e d Gibraltar f r o m S p a i n i n 1 7 0 4 d u r i n g the War o f t h e S p a n i s h S u c c e s s i o n on behalf o f t h e H a b s b u r g p r e t e n d e r to the Sp a n i s h t h r o n e . T h e t e r r i t o r y was subse q u e n t l y c e d e d t o B r i t a i n ‘in perpe t u i t y ’ u n d e r t h e T r e a t y o f Utrecht i n 1 7 1 3 . T o d a y G i b r a l t a r ’ s economy i s b a s e d l a r g e l y o n t o u r i s m , online ga m b l i n g , f i n a n c i a l s e r v i c e s , a n d shipping.’ So y e s , i t ’ s a B r i t i s h o v e r s e a s territory a n d y o u n e e d t o g o t h r o u g h passport c o n t r o l t o e n t e r t h e ‘island’. Y o u w i l l c o m e a c r o s s a l o t of Britis h t o u r i s t s , s t r e e t s i g n s , bins and o t h e r a u t h e n t i c s t u f f . B i t of a cult u r a l s h o c k t o b e h o n e s t , but you g e t u s e d t o i t w h e n y o u s t a r t climbing u p t h e ‘ R o c k ’ , g e t a g l i m p s e of mother A f r i c a o n t h e h o r i z o n a n d gaze at a l l t h e m o n k e y s h a n g i n g o n people tr y i n g t o p e t t h e m . T h e ‘ R o c k ’ is a good p l a c e t o l o o k d o w n a n d search fo r s p o t s a s w e l l . A t l e a s t w e

spotted a few good rooftops, which we ended up skating the next day. As skating on a rooftop spot behind some fences is probably not the most familiar thing for the locals the cops were called on us. The law came fast with flashing lights and yelling at everyone to ‘stop and stay still’ while they investigated and assessed the situation. Since we weren’t breaking into the restaurant next door the cops told us nicely to ‘proceed on with what you were doing and sorry for interference’. I wish it would always end like that. For moving purposes we were supposed to have a van, but due to some credit card problems we ended up with two cars. Over the years we have learned to ‘pay full insurance’ since something always happens. Or is it because you paid that insurance? Anyways, while heading from Gibraltar to Seville in the middle of a rainy night we stopped at a fairly remote cafeteria. It happened to be one of the best places we ate during the whole trip. The friendly bartender served us like we had known him for years. It was amazing food and there was an astonishing knife collection (who doesn’t collect small knives?). Somewhere between the tortilla de patatas and the bacalaos young Bartolomé went to the car to grab his smokes and classically left the keys inside. And luckily our fresh rental cars were programmed to be selfprotective and to lock the doors in a

Rob Smith Body jar La L铆nea de la Concepci贸n

56 Tom Derichs Ollie into the bank Torremolinos

few minut e s i f n o b o d y u s e d t h e m . So after a l l t h a t f o o d g r e a t n e s s seven dud e s s t o o d o u t s i d e a r o u n d t h e car debat i n g w h e t h e r w e s h o u l d c a l l the insur a n c e c o m p a n y o r n o t . W e w e r e at least t h r e e h o u r s a w a y f r o m M a l a g a and it wa s m i d n i g h t s o t h e c h a n c e s that the r e n t a l c o m p a n y w o u l d d e a l with us w e r e f a i r l y s l i g h t . B u t b y calling t h e m a n d t e l l i n g t h e s i t u a t i o n we couldn ’ t b r e a k t h e w i n d o w a n d c a l l it a vand a l a c t o f t e r r o r i s m . T h o u g h breaking t h e w i n d o w w o u l d p r o b a b l y mean a vi s i t t o t h e p o l i c e s t a t i o n the next d a y f o r i n s u r a n c e p u r p o s e s . No one vo t e d f o r t h a t o n e e i t h e r . R a i n started g e t t i n g h e a v i e r a n d t a l k i n g was turni n g i n t o s h o u t i n g . O p t i o n C : Let’s fin d a w i r e ( o r a ‘ i r o n s t r i n g ’ as I call e d i t a n d g o t a g o o d l a u g h from the n a t i v e E n g l i s h s p e a k e r s ) a n d do as the y d o i n t h e m o v i e s a n d l i f t the handl e s o m e h o w . W e g o t a w i r e from the f r i e n d l y b a r o w n e r a n d w i t h a little m a n f o r c e a n d L e a t h e r m a n collabora t i o n t h e w i r e w a s i n c h i n g down the o t h e r s i d e o f t h e w i n d o w . This was t h e t i m e w h e n w e r e a l i s e d that even i f w e s o m e h o w g o t t h e w i r e around th e h a n d l e ( s l i m t o n o n e chance) p u l l i n g i t u p w a r d s w o u l d n ’ t do shit s i n c e t h e m o t i o n n e e d e d t o b e horizontal, not v e r t i c a l .

While Felipe and Joaquim hitched a random ride to the next town to search for a professional burglar or tools for this trade the rest of us stayed debating on what would be our next move. The cops showed up and Rob asked for their advice. ‘Call the company’, they said. Yeah... Still out of the question, they would never solve it tonight and we can’t leave all the camera gear in the car for the night. By this time Jo and Felipe came back alive but just with a heavier wire... ‘Any last ideas before we smash the window?’ ‘The key is in the back seat and I could probably reach to it with the wire.’ ‘Yes, but we will never pull the key trough the window unless we break it.’ ‘But what if we push the open button?’ Meaning flipping the key around and pushing the button on a soft seat with a wire that was harder to control than one of those catch and release game machines where you have to try to grab a stuffed animal and move it to the ‘drop zone’ in a limited time. I’ve never seen anyone ever getting anything out of those things. But five

Overleaf Joseph Biais Frontdside pivot Gibraltar

Joseph Biais Frontiside boardslide Torremolinos

rooms at 7am. It would have been fine with earplugs, but the only windows on our rooms faced straight to the action so it was pretty hard not to be disturbed. To top it off the owner was a chain smoker and our rooms were small and not that ‘airy’ leaving us either to suffocate on the cigarette smoke or our own farts. Other than that Seville treated us well. Actually the whole trip consisted only of good spots, good food, good friends and good times. And even if it had been shit it still would have been ok. In the end it’s up to ourselves whether we decide to keep the good or the bad memories. Live the dream; don’t dream about it.

Rob Smith Frontside grind Seville

Samu Karvonen Ollie from ledge to tailslide Seville

more minu t e s , a f e w i P h o n e l i g h t s m o r e and with s o m e i n c r e d i b l e t e a m w o r k w e turned th e i m p o s s i b l e i n t o ‘ b e e p b e e p ’ as the do o r s u n l o c k e d a n d s e v e n g u y s started s c r e a m i n g a n d j u m p i n g i n t h e r a i n. Lifestyle ham m e r . Aft e r a l o n g n i g h t o f d r i v i n g , a retarde d G P S a n d f e w w r o n g t u r n s later we f i n a l l y m a d e i t t o o u r sleeping q u a r t e r s i n S e v i l l e o n l y to realis e t h a t J o s e p h h a d b o o k e d u s into a Tu r k i s h p r i s o n . A f t e r o n l y a few hours o f s l e e p m o s t o f u s a w o k e to the ra i n t h a t p o u r e d a l l o v e r t h e corridor. T h e f l a s h e s w e t h o u g h t w e r e lightning a c t u a l l y w e r e c o m i n g f r o m the hotel o w n e r ’ s c a m e r a , a s h e ’ d arranged a p h o t o s h o o t i n f r o n t o f o u r

JOSEPH BIAIS - FRONTSIDE FLIP • PHOTO: SAM ASHLEY

Mauro Caruso, crooked grind, Catania, Sicily. Ph. Vincent Coupeau

Sandro Trovato, backside tailslide, Hamburg. Ph. Daniel Wagner

RĂŠmy Taveira, frontside ollie, Rome. Ph. Fabien Ponsero

Youness Amrani, overcrooks, Almeria, Spain. Ph. Marcel Veldman

Santiago Sasson, wallride, Paris. Ph. Alex Pires

Magnus Bordewick, frontside 50-50, Oslo. Ph. Lars Gart책

Andrew Verde, fakie ollie to switch frontside feeble grind, Madrid. Ph. Marcel Veldman

Nick Jensen, backside 180 kickflip, London. Ph. Sam Ashley

Words and photos Florian Hopfensperger

Marek Zaprazny Kickflip bs nbs 270 shuv-it out Hamburg After almost 60 per cent of the year travelling around Asia it always gets me super stoked to return back to my German routes for the summertime. Germany is an amazing place with such a deep culture and almost every province is unique. I was born and raised in a real tiny village in Bavaria and once a year I sit down with my childhood friends to do nothing else but sip on beers and reminisce on life. We all have different lifestyles so a few more brews are needed to get comfy for some intimate conversations. One of the most classic topics is about distance and how you handle life properly as so often you find yourself in cars, airplanes and funky ass places. Having a nice weekend 200km away in Munich would be a truly big event for some of my friends, but for the LRG European team it was just another day. Needless to say they were impressed by my news about my recent travels on LRG Europe’s Germany/ Austria takeover for the past nine days. I told stories about the previous week sitting in the van, blazing the illest tunes, driving 1000km all the way up north to set up picnic tables and take photos of people who skate. I’m sure for them it sounded more like a fable out of Grimm’s fairy tale books. On the way back to my flat I thought

about what I would have done if I’d never touched a skateboard. Maybe I would sit in the same circle listening to someone else’s crazy life experiences. To make a long story short, knowing that I am able to live life and create dope things with similar folks the way we really want to just gives me loads of motivation and a need for more crazy tour van life! Four thousand kilometres, two cars full of obstacles, beers and bros – fuck yeah! Let’s let the kids play!

Glenn Michelfelder Ollie Salzburg

To tell you the truth, Glenn Michelfelder is one of the gnarliest Germans I know. He knows exactly what heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doing. He has control, counts on speed and blasts it down. If he wants, he can execute the most brutal tech manoeuvre or ollies the most unique flat gap that Salzburg has to offer at the drop of a hat.

Kilian Zehnder Frontside 180 no-comply Salzburg

I love being on the road. If I could I would go all year long. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definitely the best thing in skateboarding â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and especially with Kilian. He kills the heaviest shit so easy and plays the best tunes out of his speakers. Listening to some dope Bay Area rap like Young Cellski makes hundreds a kilometres just fly by. Thanks for sharing all these goods my G! Besides this he motivates the crew with funny quotes and eats frontside no-complies on steep-ass banks for breakfast. This spot was at a stop we made for dinner.

Marek Zaprazny Nollie heelflip Kiel

Niilo Nikkanen Backside ollie Salzburg

As the journey continued and after close to 800km driving we arrived in Kiel. Kiel is a city located all the way up in the northern part of Germany right at the Baltic Sea. I have never made it up there in my life but being able to see their new street plaza and famous blocks at the ocean made me super stoked and curious. For a goodbye Marek decided to nollie heel off the 4th block. Those things are super-huge and give you heavy impact. Marek just went for it and destroyed those things like an earthquake would do.

The newest team entry and Finnish blood Niilo Nikkanen (also called Yeppaniilo) gives you eye cancer while watching him destroy ledges. The amount of flip in, out, 270 and switch combinations he has are insane. He loves skating so much and makes you hyped hanging out. For this photo he did some epic backside ollies next to the Austrian Alps. After you watch the tour edit youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll know what I am talking about.

Kilian Zehnder Frontside crooked grind Luxembourg

This trip was pretty much a demo tour so that means that we weren’t really able to keep 100% focus on street skating. A strict schedule would lead us to arrive at the next city’s demo the night before and leave right afterwards. Luxembourg’s Opera is famous for it’s variations of spots. Our second stop was Trier, Germany, which is around 70km away from the border to marble heaven. Everyone was super hyped and would wake up as early as possible to use this choice time for stacking clips. Watching Kilian nailing this frontside crooked was insane. He made it look super easy. His skating and style is out of this world!

Raul Navarro Nollie backside tailslide Vienna

Andy Welther Nollie 360 Flip Salzburg

After driving from the bottom of Germany all the way up to the north and afterwards twice as far back south straight into Austria we finally arrived at their capitol city. Vienna has too many spots to skate in one day, so we decided to keep it mellow before the imminent demo and went to the famous plaza right in the middle of the Donau River Island. This Spot has been skated for years but was a good choice for everyone to take a sunny chill, watch some girls or even film clips. Raul was cruising around the place and found this hip high ledge for a sick nollie backside tailslide. Legendary person on a legendary spot! Word!

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty funny, because even though Andy and I are from the same country the first time we met was at a spot in downtown LA. Now almost seven years later weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still talking and laughing about how random this was and being proud that we kept doing what we love. Nollie 360 Flip in Salzburg, Austria.

Willow Heelflip Stuttgart

In the past couple of years I have been on a bunch of trips with Willow. But it had been a while since I saw him this time. This past August we were on the road together on two different tours. Willow is a really special person that you can share a lot of stuff with and he would always have a good word back. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a 100% clear soul and means well in everything. I am stoked that I am able to shoot photos with Willow. It means a lot! Heelflip at this massive Stuttgart double set.

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Early in 2014 rumou r s went around that th i s super talented kid had just moved back t o Germany after livin g i n Dubai for eleven ye a r s . A couple of weeks l a t e r I eventually met Ja n at t h i s long twelvestair rail. While I w a s setting up my flash e s and camera he did l i k e twenty boardslides i n a row and as soon a s I was ready he feeble d i t first try. We’ve be e n co o l e ver since.

Julian: Hi Jan, introduce yourself. How did you start skating and what inspired you?

I started skateboarding at age 12, after having moved from Bangkok to Dubai because of my dad’s job. Some friends and I were hanging out, and we had nothing to do so we grabbed an old board that we found in the basement. Then, for my 13th birthday, my mum ordered me Helge Tscharn’s b o o k c a l l e d Skateboarding for Beginners , w h i c h e x p l a i n e d s tepby-step how each basic trick works. Our family was always technologically backwards; we shared the same family computer until I was 14. That’s why my first few years of skating were never really influenced by the Internet, unlike kids today. Hendrik: Tell us about your overall experience growing up in a foreign country...

Jan Hoffmann Intro and photography Hendrik Herzmann Interview Julian Ruhe and Hendrik Herzmann

Being a different culture kid was pretty cool, especially in an Arabic country where I guess one’s experiences growing up are a lot different than anywhere else. Dubai is a dictatorship with rich cultural diversity and therefore many language barriers. Our school had pupils from 160 something countries, and me, not being able to speak a word of English, at first I had a lot trouble settling in to my American school. Dubai’s dictatorship is also very strict on specific things, such as drugs and alcohol. You literally can’t buy weed or anything else anywhere. Once some guy got sent to jail for two months because of a few poppy seeds on

Feeble grind tailgrab, Berlin

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Ollie in, Kassel, Germany

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his s w e a t e r . A p p a r e n t l y i f y o u eat k i l o s o f p o p p y s e e d s y o u get s l i g h t l y h i g h , h a h a . F o r any t h i n g a l c oh o l i c a n a l c o h o l lic e n c e i s r eq u i r e d . T h a t lic e n c e i s o nl y i s s u e d f o r t h o s e wit h h i g h i n co m e s . A l s o , g e n d e r rul e s a r e t a ke n v e r y s e r i o u s l y . The r e a r e w o me n t a x i s , p r a y e r roo m s a r e s e pa r a t e d , a n d p a r k s hav e d a y s w h er e o n l y w o m e n a r e all owed insid e . Hendrik: You’re going back to the Middle East in two weeks, what are you doing there this time?

Wel l , i n N o v em b e r I ’ m f l y i n g t o Bah r a i n f o r a f e w d a y s t o j u d g e a R e d B u l l c on t e s t a n d h o s t a

workshop that’s supposed to get the kids stoked on skating. Then I’m going to Dubai to see my Dad and all the homies I grew up with. And in January we’re apparently filming a new ‘Sheckler Sessions’ episode in an empty water park. Julian: Wow, Dubai seems to be getting a lot more recognition nowadays. First Ty Evans’ We Are Blood and now Shecks is out there making it happen. Does the skate scene in Dubai differ from the German scene?

Yeah, they’re really different. In Dubai, everyone in the whole city skates together, there aren’t really any crews because the scene’s so small. The winter

It’s pretty crazy, there’s a big 6-lane highway that goes straight through the middle of Dubai, and summer nights we’d just skate down it to go wherever we want to go. In the summer, when we’re on a holiday or weekend, we’d sleep through the hot days and skate through the night. There’s not a soul around after midnight, even though the population has been rising heaps over the past few years. In the winter, during the day, we’d always meet up at a wooden bowl close to the camel racetrack, and then go hit up a skatepark or this one curb spot. In Germany the days are different. Obviously you’ve got to make sure it’s not raining, an issue Dubai doesn’t really have with an average of around three rainy days a year. Then you’ve got to see who’s down to go where, because there are more opportunities. Julian: But isn’t almost everything in Dubai made out of smooth marble like in We Are Blood?

w e a t h e r i s a r o u n d 2 5 d e g r e es, m a k i n g i t t h e s e a s o n t o l o ok f o r w a r d t o a l l y e a r . T h e s ummer, u n l i k e i n G e r m a n y , r e a l l y sucks i n D u b a i . L a s t y e a r i t w e n t up t o 5 6 d e g r e e s . T h e s k a t e s hop a l w a y s o p e n s u p a b i g i n d o or s k a t e p a r k w i t h A C f o r t h o s e few h o t m o n t h s . T h a t w a y w e a l ways have so m e w h e r e t o g o . Julian: What does your typical day look like in Dubai versus your day in Germany?

In Dubai we basically only s k a t e , t h e r e ’ s n o t h i n g e l s e to d o . T h e r e ’ s n o w h e r e t o g o at n i g h t b e c a u s e e v e r y t h i n g s huts e a r l y , a n d y o u ’ v e g o t t o b e 21 t o h i t u p c o n c e r t s a n d b a r s.

No man. People that watch Ty’s video get the complete wrong idea of skateboarding in Dubai. I was actually in Dubai during t h e s h o o t i n g o f We Are Blood , and with a friend we played the role of a ‘spot guide’ for those guys. Ty messaged us a few weeks before the tour and asked us to find spots for them to skate. Dubai actually doesn’t really have many spots, so at first we didn’t really know what to send Ty. We didn’t really think any spot would fulfil their American standards. However, Ty then mentioned we should send him photos of any spots, even the ones you’d definitely get kicked out on. Ty had a written permit from the Sheikh (the ruler) stating that for their production, they’d be allowed to skate anywhere, including private property. The Sheikh would fix any material damage. The pros had workers carrying around coolers of drinks for them to spots, and we were allowed to go eat wherever we wanted. Everything was on the Sheikh. This one day there was

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Frontside inver t, Hamburg

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a sandstorm, so we hit up a 10- s t a i r r a i l i n s i d e t h e B u r j Kha l i f a , t h e t a l l e s t t o w e r i n the w o r l d . H ot e l g u e s t s w e r e obv i o u s l y a n no y e d , b u t c o u l d n ’ t say a n y t h i n g b e c a u s e T y h a d per m i s s i o n . On c e P - R o d e v e n ask e d a s e c u ri t y g u a r d t o w a x a l e d g e f o r hi m , a n d t h e g u a r d did . Hendrik: Incredible. Do you think the move to Germany improved your skating and your ‘career’?

I g u e s s i t r ea l l y d i d i m p r o v e my s k a t i n g , ev e n t h o u g h I d o n ’ t thi n k o f i t th a t w a y . I a c t u a l l y cam e t o G e r m an y s o t h a t I c o u l d sta r t s t u d y i ng e d u c a t i o n a t uni v e r s i t y . At f i r s t I r e a l l y wan t e d t o f o cu s o n t h a t , b u t the n I g o t t o k n o w a b u n c h o f peo p l e , g o t lu c k y , g o t a f e w spo n s o r s a n d n o w a l l o f a s u d d e n

I’m able to live off skating. It just all happened really quickly. In Dubai the skate industry is so small that all you can really hope for is a few discounts at the local skate shop. There aren’t any brands trying to push skaters there because the scene is too small. Hendrik: And now you’re here in Germany and recently got on Robotron Skateboards. How was your first tour by the way?

Good times, but a lot of bad luck in general. The tour started off with Julian, a good friend and one of my favourite skaters, spraining his ankle at the second spot of the tour. Then, about a week later and not having been able to skate at all, Julian had to leave early from Birmingham because of a family vacation. Of course

Hendrik: England’s well known for its bad weather, did it rain much on tour?

E v e n t h o u g h w e d i d h a v e a few s u n n y d a y s t o t r y a n d p r o d uce s o m e t h i n g f o r a t o u r c l i p and a r t i c l e , m a n y d a y s w e r e s p ent a i m l e s s l y d r i v i n g a r o u n d t own t r y i n g t o f i n d s p o t s t o s k ate f o r w h e n i t d r i e d . I ’ v e g o t to a d m i t t h a t ’ s n o t m y f a v o u r ite t h i n g t o d o . I f e e l l i k e w hen I s e e a s p o t , e s p e c i a l l y s o m ething s c a r y , I w a n t t o s k a t e i t right a w a y r a t h e r t h a n h a v e t h e spot i n m y h e a d a l l n i g h t ‘ t i l the next da y .

Hendrik: I also heard about a camera bag getting stolen?

Yeah, that was the worst part. The day after Julian’s flight incident, we stopped for five minutes on the main road in Manchester to get a coffee before another long drive to London. We’d booked a hostel there for the night. After getting our cappuccinos, Kalle, Hendrik and I got back to the van first and noticed that the front window was smashed in and Max Tiemann’s camera stuff was gone. The worst part was running back to the coffee place to tell him. Even footage got stolen. Hendrik: I’ve noticed you don’t really get sore. Even when you keep trying a trick for hours and wreck yourself it won’t stop you from skating the next day. What’s the secret to that?

Haha! Try it, skate when you’re sore! The first 10 minutes are the worst but the aches go away fast. I also eat my fruits and vegetables and I stay hydrated. Maybe that’s it?!

Frontside feeble grind, Frankfur t

Jan skates for Vans, Robotron Skateboards, Cleptomanicx Clothing, Red Bull, OJ Wheels, Independent and Attitude Skateshop.

you know the way things are organised on tour. Everyone w o k e u p l a t e a n d w e m i s s e d the h i g h w a y e x i t g o i n g t h e r e f rom M a n c h e s t e r . J u l i a n h a d t o pay 1 6 0 e u r o s t o b o o k a n o t h e r train, w h i c h h e m i s s e d a s w e l l , a nd t h e o n l y w a y f o r h i m t o c a tch h i s f l i g h t w a s f o r u s t o t ake h i m d i r e c t l y t o L o n d o n . A f ter t h a t , w e ’ d h a v e t o g o b a c k to M a n c h e s t e r b e c a u s e a l l o u r stuff was sti l l t h e r e .

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Max GĂŠronzi Backside smith grind

There are two kinds of attitudes skaters have when they first come to a spot. Some want to listen to the long ABD list and some just start with the basics to build on from there. Max is definitely part of that second group. He was already going for the backside smith five minutes after our arrival and it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take him much longer to stick it.

Clou d y ,

60 per cent

Touring Paris in October always ends up being quite a gamble. If there’s such thing as an Indian summer – that dream never lasts forever! I don’t know if you’ve ever hosted a bunch of friends on a skate trip during a rainy week but it can quickly turn into kind of a nightmare. Chances are that the situation gets quite tense. No matter how close you guys are, the rain will always bring you way too close. Sure there’s always the museum option or partying straight for a week and spending the

Cliché in Paris Words and photography Alex Pires Illustrations Jean André

rainy days hungover at the apartment, but if you happen to be a tour guide for a skate brand in your town for only a couple of days to gather footage, I highly doubt the TM will be feeling either of those options. So the search ensues for undercover spots, which you’ll quickly realise is not that many, and also when they exist they’re barely any fun after a few hours. Who wants to spend the whole week in Paris trapped in the minus 4 level of a suburban mall’s parking lot?

ch a n c e of

rain

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JB Gillet Nollie backside heel

The classic spot question also ends up being way trickier in those situations when the shitty weather forecast gives you very few days with dry ground outside. You might also avoid asking the usual spot question in the van ‘What kind of spots you guys wanna skate?’ because 99% of the time they’ll provide you with either one of these two answers: ‘Warm up plaza?’ or ‘Do you know of any bank to curb type of spot?’ Who the fuck knows

A classic skater skating a classic spot... What more can you ask for?

of a good undercover warm up plaza? And let’s speak about the never-ending quest for a good bank to curb spot... If that spot would ever exist, stakes are high that the spot is fucked up and rinsed by now, or probably became a bust, and well, it’s probably wet anyway! As you can see in the following pages, no matter what elements were against them during that short week, the Cliché guys still came through.

Kyron Davis Slappy crooked grind

The never-ending quest for the bank to curb! I remember seeing a photo of Soy (Panday) on this spot before it had the concrete help at the bottom or the metal edge and I always thought he must have found it back then during one his far away travels. Well itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only two minutes away from Paris and the rough ground theory also applies here.

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Kyron Davis Backside boardslide

When itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been raining l o a d s t h e q u i c k e s t s p ots t o d r y a r e o f t e n t h e ones w i t h t h e r o u g h e s t g r o und. I g u e s s r o u g h d o e s n â&#x20AC;&#x2122; t have t h e s a m e m e a n i n g a c r o ss the English Channel.

Adrien Coillard Backside ollie

Most of you guys have probably seen this spot by now, it’s a sculpture made by Leandro Erlich in front of Paris’ biggest train station. Its purpose is to warn people about climate change. You better land your trick quickly as it’s quite a bust and people gather around it as soon as skaters try anything. Still quite weird to build an empty house next to a train station filled with s o m a n y h o m e l e s s p e o p l e...

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Kyron Davis Ollie to firecracker

I t ’ s a l w a y s funny to see a s k a t e r ’ s reaction when t h e y f i r s t come to this s p o t i n C r éteil – it’s k i n d o f a l l over the place b u t s t i l l hard to come up w i t h s o m e t hing new. Kyron s t i l l f o u n d this weird o n e a s w e were leaving the spot.

Adrien Coillard Backside lipslide

This spot is the perfect example of a covered spot: dark, grimy, and well, all around stinking. They often are also used as unofficial public toilets. Adrien quickly managed to land this one without falling into the piss hole, which I must admit, we almost all used as we first came to the spot.

Hugo Corbin Backside 50-50 to backside 360 out

I t â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s n o t a lways easy t o b e t h e youngest kid in t h e v a n . Y ou often have to w a i t f o r t he elder ones to g e t t h e i r trick to start c l a i m i n g y ours. Hugo still c a m e t h r o u gh and in a p r o p e r m a n ne r !

Wage

Fro n t s i d e n o s e s l i d e Ph. M a r c e l V e l d m a n

Hel m o n d , T h e N e t h e r l a n d s , 2 01 4

In the 17th Century, seeking trade and a better life, the Dutch travelled to the New World and established a colony on Manhattan Island in what we now call New York City. They proclaimed the settlement ‘New Amsterdam’. Four hundred years later a young Dutchman followed a similar path seeking a better life in ‘the land of opportunity’. But homesickness and his love of PSV Eindhoven cut his habitation in the New World short. Friends, family, football and home comforts were just too important. In an effort to learn more about this ginger Dutchman we interviewed the man himself:

Wieger Van ningen In te rv ie w by W il l Ha rm on

Wieger can you tell us about the vert ramp story from when you first started skating?

Ok so I w a s e i g h t y e a r s o l d a n d I h a d just star t e d s k a t i n g o n t h e s t r e e t you know? I t h i n k I c o u l d d o a n o l l i e like two c e n t i m e t r e s h i g h . S o I w e n t to this v e r t r a m p i n E i n d h o v e n w i t h my parent s . . . S o w e g e t t h e r e a n d there’s a l l t h e s e p e o p l e s k a t i n g , with pads o f c o u r s e , a n d I w a s l i k e ‘Fuck! I w a n n a d o t h i s t o o ! ’ S o w h e n the other s s t o p p e d s k a t i n g I d e c i d e d I wanted t o d r o p i n o n t h i s v e r t r a m p . I had dro p p e d i n o n a m i n i - r a m p , s o I thought I c o u l d d o t h i s t o o . S o t h e last thin g I r e m e m b e r I w a s s t a n d i n g on the co p i n g t h i n k i n g : ‘ S h o u l d I d o it? Shoul d I n o t ? ’ I w a s h a v i n g d o u b t s and then t h e n e x t t h i n g I k n o w I w a k e up in an a m b u l a n c e . S o I w a k e u p a n d my dad is l y i n g n e x t t o m e i n t h e ambulance . ‘ W h a t t h e f u c k h a p p e n e d ? ’ I think. S o w h a t h a p p e n e d w a s t h a t I tried to d r o p i n o n t h e v e r t r a m p , it went w r o n g o f c o u r s e a n d I f e l l headfirst a n d k n o c k e d m y s e l f o u t . S o my dad ha d a c a r p h o n e , o n e o f t h e first one s , t h i s h u g e t h i n g . S o h e r a n to the ca r t o g e t o n i t a n d h e b r o k e h i s leg on the way.

Fa ki e ol li e sw . cr oo ks Ph . Pe p Ki m Se ou l, 2 01 5

Fe eb le G ri nd Ph . Ma rc el V el dm an Be rl in , 20 00

No way!

Th e n m y m o m h a d t o g o t o t h e c a r and call the amb u l a n c e . S o y e a h . . . Oh man that’s a gnarly story! Guess that put a damper on your vert career. So this was in Eindhoven where you grew up... At what point did you move to Amsterdam where you live now?

I’ v e l i v e d i n A m s t e r d a m f o r e i g h t ye a r s n o w , s o m o s t o f m y l i f e I grew up i n E i n d h o v e n . I t h i n k I m o v e d here wh e n I w a s 2 3 . W h e n I w a s e i g h t e en I mo v e d t o t h e S t a t e s f o r a l i t t l e bit. So c o m i n g b a c k a n d f o r t h t r a v e l l ing an d w h a t n o t I j u s t s t a y e d a t m y pa r e n t ’ s p l a c e i n E i n d h o v e n . I t wasn’t un t i l I w a s a l i t t l e o l d e r t h a t I mo v e d t o A m s t e r d a m o n m y o w n .

So when you went out to the States when you were eighteen is that when you met Joe Brook and Anthony Claravall? And how did this lead to you getting on The Firm?

Well actually I met those two when I was fifteen. They came to Eindhoven, but they had been in Rotterdam. So my parents happened to be on vacation so I told Anthony, Joe and some other guys they were travelling with that they could stay at mine. So they stayed for two days and we skated and Joe was feeding my cat whipped cream, he was having the best time. We made pancakes and it was good times. We skated and we filmed a bunch of shit for a 411VM Europe section. But I

think Ant h o n y a l w a y s k e p t m e i n m i n d . He had so r t o f a b o n d w i t h L a n c e (Mountain ) a t T h e F i r m . S o t h e n I saw Antho n y t h e y e a r a f t e r t h a t a t all the E u r o p e a n c o n t e s t s a n d t h e n i n Barcelona . T h e r e I a l s o m e t R o d r i g o (TX) and t h a t ’ s w h e n I g o t m y f i r s t box of bo a r d s f r o m T h e F i r m w h e n I was seven t e e n . T h e n A n t h o n y i n v i t e d me to go t o t h e S t a t e s t h e f o l l o w i n g year when I w a s e i g h t e e n . S o t h a t ’ s what I di d a n d I s k a t e d w i t h T h e F i r m guys for t h r e e m o n t h s .

S wi tc h ta il sl id e

Didn’t you ride for Cliché for a short period of time?

Fakie bluntslide

Yeah ok, s o g o i n g b a c k t o t h a t t i m e I was in th e S t a t e s f o r t h r e e m o n t h s . . . So I met A n t h o n y o u t t h e r e a n d I k i n d of had a h a r d t i m e s k a t i n g a l l t h e spots. In H o l l a n d t h e b i g g e s t s t a i r s we had wa s a s i x - s t a i r , s o i t w a s kind of l i k e a c u l t u r e s h o c k s e e i n g everyone s k a t i n g h a n d r a i l s a n d b i g stairs an d I c o u l d n ’ t r e a l l y d o i t . So I felt l i k e I h a d f a i l e d ; I o n l y filmed th r e e t r i c k s i n t h o s e t h r e e months. S o I t h i n k L a n c e d r o p p e d m e off at th e a i r p o r t a n d h e w a s l i k e : ‘Yeah we’ l l k e e p i n c o n t a c t . ’ T h a t ’ s what he s a i d a n d s o t h a t k i n d o f m a d e

P h. M ar ce l Ve ld ma n San Francisco, 2 00 3

t o fa ki e P h. P ep K im BunDang, South K or ea , 20 15

me f e e l l i k e h e d i d n ’ t w a n t m e t o sk a t e f o r T h e F i r m . S o I w e n t b a ck to Ho l l a n d a n d t h e n I w e n t t o B a r c e lona fo r a w h i l e a n d I m e t u p w i t h s o me of t h e C l i c h é d u d e s a n d t h e n J é r émie (D a c l i n ) a s k e d m e t o s k a t e f o r C liché. So I w a s l i k e : ‘ Y e a h ! O f c o u r s e . ’ Th e n m y f i r s t a d c a m e o u t a f t e r two mo n t h s a n d L a n c e s a w t h e a d . S o Lance ca l l e d m e u p i n B a r c e l o n a . . . H e was li k e : ‘ I t h o u g h t y o u s t i l l s k a t e d for Th e F i r m a n d t h e n I s e e t h i s C l i ché ad ? ’ A n d t h e n I t o l d h i m h o w I t hought he d i d n ’ t w a n t m e o n t h e t e a m . S o we ke p t t a l k i n g f o r a n h o u r a n d a h alf. I e x p l a i n e d t o h i m h o w I t h o u g h t I’d fa i l e d , b u t t h e n h e e x p l a i n e d t o me wh y h e w a n t e d m e t o r i d e f o r T h e Firm. So s h o r t l y a f t e r t h a t I w e n t b a c k to th e S t a t e s a n d s t a y e d w i t h L a n c e for li k e t h r e e m o n t h s .

So you had to tell Jérémie you couldn’t skate for Cliché and you were going to skate for The Firm again?

Yeah it felt horrible. I was so young and I didn’t know how to deal with it. And then we didn’t really talk for years, I mean our paths didn’t really cross, but then not too long ago I went to Lyon to film with enjoi for Oververt . And that was the first time I talked to Jérémie after all those years and it was super cool; we hit it off. No hard feelings or nothing and he actually invited me to be the guest on a Cliché trip after that. Ok so to back up a little, there was a time in between when The Firm ended and you got on enjoi. What happened then? And also how did you get on enjoi?

Yeah I think there were two years in between. It took a while to get a sponsor. Of course I always skated for N i k e , a n d w e w e r e f i l m i n g f o r Nothing

but the Truth , a n d t h e n I w a s w i t h Paul Rodr i g u e z a n d h e t r i e d t o g e t me on Pla n B , b u t t h a t d i d n ’ t r e a l l y work. And t h e n H u n t e r M u r a i r a ( t h e Nike SB T M a t t h e t i m e ) i s f r o m S a n Jose and i s f r i e n d s w i t h t h e e n j o i guys and h e t h o u g h t I ’ d b e a g o o d f i t for the t e a m . S o e n j o i i n v i t e d m e o n a trip to C h i n a a n d o n t h a t t r i p w e just clic k e d . S o i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h a t trip Matt E v e r s o l e j u s t a s k e d m e i f I wanted to r i d e f o r t h e m a n d s o I w a s like: ‘Ye a h ! ’ And you’ve been on Nike SB from really early on...

Yeah I me a n w h e n I g o t o n t h e y a l r e a d y had a pro t e a m . B u t t h e n t h e y w a n t e d to get an A m t e a m a n d y e a h , I w a s the first a m a t e u r o n N i k e S B i n t h e States. T h e n t h e y g o t D a n M u r p h y a n d Omar (Sal a z a r ) . W e w e r e t h e f i r s t three Ams . Since you’ve been on Nike SB from almost the beginning, how have you seen it change over the years?

Well of c o u r s e t h e r e a r e s o m a n y skaters o n N i k e n o w i t ’ s n o t r e a l l y one team a n y m o r e . W e l l , m a y b e i t i s , but it’s a h u g e t e a m . T h e r e a r e s o many diff e r e n t p r o j e c t s g o i n g o n . Back in t h e d a y , i f w e w e r e g o i n g on a trip , t h e w h o l e t e a m w o u l d g o

on that trip. Yeah I seem to remember being in Barcelona way back when and you were there with the whole team filming Nothing But the Truth. Everyone was there.

Yeah everyone was there, but still it was only two apartments. If you were to do that now you’d need a whole block. I mean now you have the Nike Brazil guys... It’s more international now, more countries... Which is awesome actually, it’s not a bad thing. It’s not that you travel with one big group anymore; it’s different projects. Has there ever been any pressure from your sponsors to move over to the States?

There was a little bit of pressure from Nike when I didn’t have a board sponsor. So at that time was living in Hollywood for five months filming for Nike, but I didn’t have a car or a driver’s licence even. So without a car LA is a kind of lonely place. But you know I skated everyday and filmed a lot of tricks. But I knew I didn’t want to live there. It didn’t really feel like I was at home. When I go back to LA now it’s completely different and I have loads of friends, but it was different for me back then;

Backside 180 no se gr in d Ph. Marcel Ve ld ma n Ro tt er da m, 2 00 5

F ak ie o ll ie t ai ls li de P h. P ep K im B un Da ng , So ut h Ko re a, 2 01 5

Fro n t s i d e cro o k s t o fak i e Ph. M a r c e l Vel d m a n Mad r i d , 2 0 1 5

I w a s q u i t e l o n e l y a t t h a t t i m e . And al s o b a c k t h e n P S V , m y f o o t b a l l team in Holland, m a d e i t i n t o t h e s e m ifi n a l s o f t h e C h a m p i o n s L e a g u e . So I had been in LA for five months an d I w a s f e e l i n g a b i t h o m e s i c k and es p e c i a l l y w h e n m y b r o t h e r c a l l e d me up a n d t o l d m e : ‘ Y e a h w e m a d e i t ! We ma d e i t i n t o t h e s e m i - f i n a l s ! W o o!’ I m e a n w e ’ d w a t c h t h e g a m e s w i t h the wh o l e f a m i l y s o I h a d t o g e t b a c k. So I t h i n k I c a l l e d u p H u n t e r a n d th e g u y s a n d t o l d t h e m t h a t I h a d to be b a c k f o r t h e m a t c h . S o t h e y w ere co o l a b o u t i t , g o t m e a t i c k e t , and th e n e x t d a y I h a d a y a r d s a l e i n We s t H o l l y w o o d a n d s o l d h a l f o f my fu r n i t u r e a n d s t u f f a n d g a v e h a l f aw a y . A n d t h e n t h e d a y a f t e r t h a t I was on a plane back home. Yeah Marcel (Veldman) said to ask you about the PSV shrine...

Ye a h i n m y p a r e n t s b a s e m e n t w e h ave a w a l l p a i n t i n g o f t h e P S V s t a d i um. (Laughs) Besides yourself, who is your favourite ginger skateboarder?

Be s i d e s m y s e l f ! H a ! I ’ m g o i n g t o go w i t h C h e t C h i l d r e s s .

Fa ki e he el fl ip Ph . Ma rc el V el dm an Ro tt er da m, 2 00 5

(Ben) Raemers alluded to the fact you have a good Kid Rock story. Can you tell us that?

I was dating this chick; this was a while ago, like six years ago, and we had been dating for half a year at the time. She was a photographer and she went to go shoot a Kid Rock concert. So that night I went out with a friend of mine and stayed at his house, and so I woke up and called her the next morning... But she didn’t answer her phone. So I called her back, but she didn’t answer her phone three times. So on the fourth time she answered her phone and I was like: ‘Hey where you at? What are you doing?’ She sounded kinda nervous and said: ‘Oh I stayed at my dad’s house.’ Ok weird, cool.

Lil ’ W i e g s y Ph. M a r c e l V e l d m a n Cyp r u s , 2 0 1 0

So I didn ’ t t r u s t i t a n d I t o o k o f f o n my bike, r o d e t o h e r d a d ’ s h o u s e a n d called he r a g a i n : ‘ H e y I ’ m i n f r o n t o f y o u r dad’s house, w h e r e a r e y o u a t ? ’ ‘Oh I jus t p i c k e d u p m y b i k e i n f r o n t of the pl a c e w h e r e t h e c o n c e r t w a s ’ , she said. S o I w e n t t h e r e a n d s h e c a m e from a to t a l d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n . S o this was a b o u t 1 1 a m a n d t h e n w e s p e n t the whole d a y t o g e t h e r . S o a r o u n d midnight w e a r e w a t c h i n g t h e n e w s t o g ether on TV in b e d . . . Kid Rock spotted in Amsterdam! A n d y o u s e e h e r on the ne w s w a l k i n g o u t o f t h e h o t e l with Kid R o c k . On TV! Holy crap! So what did you say to her at that moment?

I didn’t s a y a n y t h i n g ; I j u s t g r a b b e d something b y t h e b e d , t h r e w i t a g a i n s t the wall a n d t h e n I l e f t . W h a t a r e you gonna s a y y o u k n o w ? M y p h o n e was blowi n g u p . M y f r i e n d s s a w i t ; everybody s a w i t . T h a t ’ s a c t u a l l y o n e of my fav o u r i t e s t o r i e s . I t e l l t h a t one a lot . I t w a s t h e e a s i e s t b r e a k u p

I ever had. I was sad for like three days and then I just realised she sucks. Great story. And so after filming with Anthony Claravall for 411VM back in the day and then your Firm part, now you’ve linked up with him again to film this new part sort of a reunion of sorts yeah?

Yeah we actually filmed another part a f t e r Can’t Stop The Firm as well. It was the first 411VM of the new volumes, when they did a redesign. Yeah so we decided to link up again to film this new part. It’s awesome; it’s like good old times. We’ve been to lots of different places: Portugal, Shanghai, Seoul, we just got back from Taiwan. And we have one more trip to Guangzhou in January. Well can’t wait to see it! Cheers Wieger!

Wieger’s new video part filmed by Anthony Claravall will premiere this February on freeskatemag.com. #WiegerWeek

H a l f c a b c r o o k e d g ri nd a ll t he w ay Ph. Pedro Raimundo A l m a d a , P o r t u g a l , 2 01 5

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