Free Skate Mag issue 17 by Free Skateboard Magazine

FREE 17

MAR APR 2018

PAUL HART | THE SPROUT

Paul switch crooks in the Sprout. A versatile, vulcanized skate shoe with double wrap foxing tape and Globeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Super-V outsole. Available now in a variety of colors.

@globebrand | GLOBEBRAND.COM | est. Australia 1994

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Fred Plocque-Santos

Albert Nyberg

Do you understand

Harry Lintell

Jaakko Ojanen

Jake Collins

Last chance saloon

Cover Jan Henrik Kongstein Gap to wallgrind Barcelona Ph. Lars GartĂĽ Contents Rory Milanes Ollie London Ph. Sam Ashley

JOEY PEPPER, WALLRIDE

INTRODUCING THE 501® ORIGINAL FOR LEVI’S® SKATEBOARDING AVAILABLE AT SKATE SHOPS WORLDWIDE @levisskateboarding

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Words Arthur Derrien All photos in Barcelona by Roger Ferrero 1

Fred PlocqueSantos

Boardslide

Fred had always been a bit of an enigma. On the one hand he’s as loose as they get and you regularly hear stories of him doing all sorts of sketchy shit. Like showing up in Copenhagen without a plan and ending up sleeping under the bowl in Christiania. Or going all the way to Portugal to buy a van for 80 Euros in hope of driving it back to Barcelona to live in it, which to his defence, he probably could have pulled off if he’d taken into account how much the MOT was going to cost. And maybe that it would mean boying off showers and having to go back to a tiny

van after sweating his arse off at MACBA in the middle of summer… The one where he pulled what he thought was a kebab out from a bin (thinking he’d come up on some free dinner), only to realise he was actually holding a freshly used nappy is also a personal favourite. On the other hand, about three minutes into your first conversation with the guy you realise you’d have a hard time calling him a wasteman by any stretch of the word. For starters, he speaks three languages. French: he’s originally from Pompignac, a tiny vineyard town just outside of Bordeaux. Spanish: his mum’s Spanish and he currently lives in Barcelona (he’s got the dual nationality). English: I guess he just put the time in. And when I say ‘speaks’, I mean fluently enough to score roles in all three languages. Because yeah that’s another thing we recently discovered about Fred: his acting. He’s been regularly attending French and Spanish theatre schools and he speaks about it with as

Escalator up and over

and bits for various adverts. So it’s good money (that he excels at making last) and not something that he has to do everyday: the ideal setup for someone trying to skate as much as possible. Another thing I just discovered is that he also secretly has a much passion as when he comes across a degree in Economics as well as a diploma new species of handrail (but we’ll get to in Physics/Chemistry. So if he’s living this that later). ‘I’ve been going almost every Catalan bohemian dream, it’s fully out of day for a good few hours after skating, it’s choice. He studied hard then decided he been really good for me, it’s very wanted to give skating a proper shot and therapeutic. And weirdly I’ve been finding live slightly differently, which isn’t quite similarities between the stuff I work on in the same as washing up in Barci after too those classes and skating. A lot of it has it many Plaça Reial benders. has to do with rhythm and having a good The other obvious danger sense of direction. Or even the way you with the Spanish skate Mecca is of course understand your surroundings… Like becoming complacent. Endless smooth feeling the intensity of a scene and being granite and ‘perfect blues’ has a funny able to pick the perfect moment to step in way of doing that to people… Fred not with your line. That moment somehow sort only resisted that trap, but also of feels like figuring out where/when to reinvigorated the ever-expanding FTC/ pop at a tricky spot. The fact that you can Free Wifi/Gronze crew. With Max Géronzi practise it freely and that creativity is on Google Maps duty and himself on foot encouraged… That it’s one of those things patrol, they’ve imposed a new spotthat the more you do, the more you enjoy hunting regime. No more melting at as it’s all about confidence…’ So if you plazas, pins are militantly dropped in ever wondered how he gets by whilst every corner of the city and its seemingly being out skating everyday, neighbouring towns, and everyone that there’s your answer. He’s killing it with the jumps in the car for the weekend missions acting and there’s an agency that’s been stays on the lookout at all times. And hooking him up with small roles in films although everyone’s in it together, Fred’s

Frontside 5-0 nosegrab

Duck under to boardslide

unquenchable thirst for bizarre handrails is obviously one of the things fuelling the operation. ‘Rails? Yeah they’re a bit of an obsession, ha ha. I really want to find twisted ones, like proper spiral ones… I love spiky ones too. Even super short ones can be fun! I also love skating ones in places you wouldn’t expect, like shopping malls for instance – and if there’s a random person standing there confused, even better. It’s harmless and there’s something quite enjoyable about shocking

them in their routine.’ According to his calculations he would have approximately hit 200 this year. A figure, which after close inspection of his Instagram (which by the way is INCREDIBLE), seems like it could actually be quite accurate. I also wouldn’t be doing Fred justice if I didn’t mention his appetite for

travelling. Obviously everyone likes to go on trips, especially skaters, but his approach is rather unconventionally ‘brave’. He’s literally up for anything. I’m talking ten days in Siberia following a random skate camp around with 300 Russian skaters he’s never met kind of ‘brave’. Or solo

exploring sketchy parts of Tijuana (after having been instructed not to go alone), that sort of thing. Which in that particular case didn’t really work out so well for him: ‘Yeah I got fucked over pretty good out there. To be honest I wasn’t really as careful as I’d been told to be though. I

Frontside boardslide

guess I just really wanted to get a good feel for the place… Anyway so basically I met a girl who I ended up chatting to and getting along with really well. After half an hour or something, she invited me to her mum’s to play video games. Pretty random but I thought why not? It felt genuine and we’d been chatting for long enough to be past the point of thinking she might rob me or something. Obviously I was completely wrong, and the second we met her mum two dudes jumped out of nowhere, one went for my neck while the other kick-boxed the shit out of me. It was

pretty brutal. What shocked me the most was that the woman really looked like she was her mum… Like I’m convinced the mum was just in on the scam. Which is kind of gnarly… Anyway then I managed to get a taxi back to the border but since they’d basically taken everything I had on me (which wasn’t much) I ended up being held there for ages. It wasn’t great.’ Finally after Fred the artist, Fred the scholar, Fred the handrail worshipper and Fred the traveller, I’d like to introduce you to the most unexpected of all: Fred the entrepreneur. From speaking to him about his passion for orange I sort of figured he had a heightened sensitivity when it came to

Wallie no-comply

Frontside boardslide to frontside hurricane grind colours: ‘Orange? I love the way it works with black… That it symbolises sunrise and sunset… And how their light makes everything look.’ And I guess he’s never been one to shy away from wild items of clothing, but him getting into the ‘trouser business’ is certainly not something we saw coming. The basic idea behind his venture (Yé) is to source elasticated workwear bottoms and slightly alter them. ‘If you’re a cook or a plumber you need quality clothing. You need what you wear to be super-resistant but also loose and light enough to move around as freely as possible. Just like in skating, you don’t want to feel constrained. I go to markets and factories to bulk buy the best possible work trousers and personalise them. Like I slightly adjust the fit or add a stripe or a lace at the bottom to tighten them, that sort of thing. It’s still early days but I’m hoping to get them into shops and stuff…’ The boy’s as versatile as he is unpredictable (both on and off his board) so rather than go on forever we’ll say this: if you come across a guy in flashy trou front boarding a weird shaped handrail somewhere unexpected – and you probably will at some point because he seems to be everywhere – wait ‘til he’s done then buy him a pint. I guarantee the chat that’ll ensue will be even more entertaining than what you’ll have just witnessed.

MARKUS BLESSING, SWITCH HEELFLIP • PHOTO: DENNIS SCHOLZ

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P h o t o g r a p h y

D V L

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Alber t N yberg kickflip, n t e

Did you grow up watching a lot of skate videos or were your brothers sort of your main source of inspiration? I dug out some footage of them and noticed that they had a similarly unconventional repertoire…

I learnt a lot from them… My brother Martin was one of those guys that could just do any trick, even if he’d not skate for a month. Victor was also really good but would do slightly more conventional tricks really well. He used to watch a lot of old skate videos and I ended up loving them, like watching Ray Barbee do no-complies… Being younger than them I found myself influenced by a lot of different eras, hanging out with older guys who had late shove-its on lock whilst watching the videos that came out at that time.

Derrien

Albert Nyberg: It sort of started off with me tagging along with my two older brothers, Victor and Martin, who skated. There wasn’t really anyone my age skating at first and so I learnt a lot from just copying them – that and being the ‘stunt dummy’ of the crew. When you’re the youngest you often end up getting thrown down stairs, ha ha. There definitely weren’t a lot of spots or anything but we’d build stuff… It was fun.

Arthur

You’re currently still living in Linköping, Sweden, where you grew up skating, right? Can you tell us a little bit about that?

We all know that being a pro skater comes down to being marketable enough to help sell skateboard products. That’s all it is. It has nothing to do with being ‘better’ than most or even being more productive. It’s someone, somewhere deciding to pay a skater to make their brand look cool. Yet for some reason, no matter how much we think we’ve come to terms with that reality, it’s impossible not to feel frustrated when someone leading progression gets ‘the call’. In an age where three skids and a flatground trick land you parts in Transworld videos you want to believe that our industry needs people caspersliding down walls. But that’s not how it works and I can’t think of many people who in Albert’s position would have been able to take a step back and say that they’re still glad making it isn’t just about being good. That having something special should always take precedence over being ‘the best’. So with that in mind we hope you enjoy our interview with Albert Nyberg, ‘the Elmo guy’ who does weird tricks, loves video games and makes music only his fiancé is allowed to hear. We think he’s got something pretty special.

Like what?

Like Photosynthesis or later Fully Flared. But I also never stopped watching older ones like the Powell videos. Like Propaganda… I love watching the vert skating in those. I even gave vert skating a proper shot when I was younger but there wasn’t a proper vert ramp anywhere near me so it didn’t really work out. I still watch those videos all the time… But I definitely find it hard to expand my horizons. Especially nowadays there’s so much coming out that it’s impossible to keep up. I often get freaked out a bit and revert back

Interview

rollercoaster ride, b o u r g to rail m Ollie over the L u x e

I have considered moving but I guess I’ve always travelled so much that it’s nice to have somewhere calm to come back to, where I have my family and a lot of my friends. I’ve been thinking about it more recently as I’m getting married. Starting that stage of my life here makes me feel like I’m getting stuck even deeper into my hometown, ha ha… But I’m happy here so I don’t mind.

Not at all, it was completely random. I just bought a shirt once because I liked the colours. But yeah since I’ve been getting a lot of ‘where’s the Elmo shirt?’, I’m kind of over Elmo now, ha ha.

How did everything end with that brand? I heard it was a bit messy… Didn’t they threaten to take you to court over a breach of contract or something?

I feel like this has happened a million times in skating but basically the company was funded by an older couple that ran a distribution company. Can you tell us a little They didn’t skate or anything and they bit about that New Soul wanted to make the brand into brand you skated for something that didn’t align with what before Sour and how we wanted… So I left, but it all got thanks to them you really stressful as I still had two years became the Elmo guy. left on my contract. It was a horrible I basically just bought this one Elmo period; they kept sending me letters longsleeve that I really liked. I had saying I had to fulfil my contractual some clips in it in that You Got Soul obligations and stuff… At the time part (Editor’s note: the video part that when I signed it I remember them

grind, t e

Are you even a big Sesame Street fan?

smith a n

Why is it that you’ve chosen to stay in Linköping your whole life despite it obviously not being the ideal place for your line of ‘work’ (skate spots, weather, etc.)?

got him noticed) and I guess they saw an opportunity there and made boards and shirts and stuff…

backside i c

to stuff I know I can enjoy. Like how you do with a good movie or art or something.

Slappy A l

grind, t e 5-0 a Frontside A l i

e e l

Ha ha.

So when someone from the outside tries to fuck with that it’s hard not to think ‘come on! I’m already working a job on the side!’ Were you actually already working that part-time job (at a food distribution warehouse) back then?

H A

No I’ve only been doing that for the past three years. Before I was living with my mum so I didn’t have to, as I wouldn’t really spend money on that much.

I guess the Etnies thing coming to an end probably also added to

I skated for Etnies since I was 11 years old. At first it was via the distributor then after that You Got Soul part we were talking about earlier I got put on the European team for another seven years. Basically right after last New Year’s, as I was just recovering from the hangover, out of nowhere I got a call saying they weren’t going to renew my contract. My previous contract was a 1-year one, which maybe should have set off an alarm in my head but it didn’t. I really didn’t see it coming at all… They also told me that Oli (Buergin), who had been my TM, and to me pretty much was Etnies in Europe, was also getting let go. He’d been working for them virtually since the beginning, like for 20 years or something…

That’s nuts.

Yeah… And I can’t stress enough how much Oli did for me and for this video part we were working on. There was basically close to no budget for us to do proper trips, but off his own back he’d organise tons of cheap missions,

out, t e kicf lip a n to c

that becoming a necessity… For how long had you been skating for them? Can you tell us a little bit about how it went down?

Boardslide A l i

saying ‘don’t worry, the only reason you’re signing this is so that we can ensure that you get paid’, when in fact it was a lot more than that. Luckily I just ignored everything and eventually they found something else to invest their time and money into… But I learned my lesson: If I’m going to sign something I’m definitely reading it properly first. It’s hard not to get bummed out when stuff like that happens; we’re in an industry where everyone is just trying their best to get by and have a good time…

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reason’ I maybe would have understood, but I’d never had anything like that. It was completely out of the blue.

Yeah that’s the saddest thing about all this: it’s not even like you guys weren’t being productive or anything. That 7-minute ‘Prehistoric’ Thrasher part was what you’d been filming with Oli for their video right?

As sad as it is, what it comes down to is if the people running a brand think you are going to help them sell their skateboard products (in this case shoes). It has nothing to do with how talented you are or even how much footage you get.

Yeah… That’s the thing, if I’d been getting feedback saying ‘you’re not Of course… There’s so many different doing a good job for this reason or that ways you can make it in this industry,

tailslide, n t e to i

often with us camping or whatever, just so that we could film as much as possible. He really went the extra mile, for me, for us… And he didn’t have to.

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heelflip, C y p r u s

Yeah only the big part you were working on was for them so that doesn’t make sense… It’s just budget cuts and people having to make difficult decisions.

Yeah I guess… This is going to sound so clichéd, but looking back I think it was actually quite healthy for me. After the initial blow where you’re like ‘fuck I’m going to have to start working more, I won’t be able to go on trips as easily, there will be less time in my life for skateboarding’ you start realising that it’s good to be put in a position where you have to prepare for your future. And skateboarding itself will always be there for me.

It’s what I’ve heard… Someone told me that as soon as you think of a trick you write it down in your notes on your phone. Can you read me a few lines from your notes? I’ve got a feeling they might be pretty funny.

Yeah I think about skating way too much, ha ha. Even if I’m on holiday with my fiancé sometimes ideas pop into my head and I have to write them down.

Walking around somewhere beautiful in Sri Lanka: ‘Albert what are you doing over there?’ ‘Uh nothing, nothing… Don’t mind me… Lovely view here!’ When really you’re desperately trying to type in ‘cab back tail hippie jump to…’ before you forget, ha ha!

Ha ha exactly. And sometimes, when I go back to them, I’m like ‘no way I can do this!’ Ha ha, what was I thinking? I must having been crazy drunk when I wrote that down!

Please read a chunk out then!

Okay… fakie one foot switch five-o Casper wallslide body varial Plus just when you Gremlins started coming to Die Hard 2 terms with no longer City Of Lost Children getting paid to skate Buy Snus (Editor’s note: Snus is you got an offer from Swedish a tobacco product you place Vans… under your upper lip) Yeah, and here I am going on trips To do list: (there’s nothing on the to do again! I’m in Alicante with them right list) now… And you know what? Oli’s driving halfcab bs board body varial back lip to Portugal from Switzerland and he 270 out said he’d stop by to skate with us for a Hippie flip darkslide few days! Ha ha ha…

Not really, I’m a European pro anyway so it’s not even a thing, ha ha. Just kidding. All being ‘pro’ means is that you get given an opportunity to focus on that over everything else, that’s all it is. The skating itself doesn’t change. It’s a term that doesn’t carry much weight in my opinion. All I remember thinking at the time was that maybe it was because I’d been focussing on something longer, more ambitious, rather just putting out half decent parts every six months…

Wait Axel’s on Vans?! No way!

shifty, u r g

Is this stuff you were thinking about at the time, like what it means to be a ‘pro skateboarder’?

It’s sick that you guys are still really tight after all that… If only Axel (Cruysberghs) was on this trip the old crew could have been reunited!

kickflip m b o

it’s not just about being good. You just have to have something special… But I personally think that’s a good thing. I’m glad our industry isn’t about being the best. It’s about inspiring people and creating stuff that makes people want to go out and skate – possibly even try something they’d never tried before…

Frontside L u x

jump, t e

47 Some of these make don’t even make sense to me, ha ha.

Do you have anything you really enjoy outside of skating? I heard you play a lot of video games…

Yeah but I don’t know how interesting me sitting on a couch playing videos games really is.

Kickf lip A l i

hippie c a

It depends… I heard you play A LOT.

I’m better now but yeah sometimes I’d be glued to the couch for days. I’m super-picky about what games I play, as I really immerse myself into their world. So even just researching about them requires a lot of time… I can’t really do it like I used to anymore. I still think it’s a great way to get away from it all though, it’s kind of like reading a book or something. It’s healthy if you don’t do it too much.

Yeah… Sounds like you used to play a real ‘healthy’ amount too, ha ha. You make music as well right?

Yeah, I play the guitar, I have a ukulele and my brother bought me a synth. It comes in waves for me, but sometimes I get into this music craze mode, where I lock in with my headphones trying to find a sound I think is interesting. The songs are always really weird so I don’t know if I’d ever release anything to the public but I enjoy it a lot… And I make my fiancé listen to stuff and she likes it. Or she says she likes… Well I hope she likes it! Ha ha… It’s a nice thing to have outside of skating, especially when I go to Barcelona and stay at the Sour office, it’s cool to play with Nisse or whoever after the sessions. Sour is a pretty diverse crew of people but they’re all surprisingly artistic. All in very different ways obviously, but it somehow all clicks.

I know we’ve kind of been over this but I’m really surprised you’ve never tried to live out there.

I’ve been tempted, but there’s too much going on… I get the angst when I stay in Barca for too long.

Not to mention life

without Snus.

Yeah exactly! I’d constantly have to get people to bring loads over: it would be a nightmare! Ha ha… No but I’ve spent so much time out there that I feel like I can survive without actually living there now. If that makes sense… Although constantly seeing how much fun they’re having isn’t always easy.

Instagram just fuelling that f.o.m.o. ha ha. I’ve got one last question: What’s the US Etnies tour autograph story?

Oof… Once when we were doing a signing at a skatepark on an Etnies trip in Florida, a middle-aged, rather large woman asked me to sign her boob. I was a bit like ‘uh… really? Are you sure?’ But it seemed like she was, so I started going for her chest when all of a sudden she stopped me just before the marker touched her. ‘I said BOOT not BOOB!’ And I looked down and she was talking about her cast! I felt so stupid… Everyone was crying with laughter, making fun of me. Her kid was probably right there watching the whole thing! BOOB… BOOT… Come on… Easy mistake! All sounds the same to me, ha ha. So glad I didn’t actually touch her; I probably would’ve gotten sued or something.

Chewy Cannon Nosegrind

Jetlagbrothers in Malaga

Photography by Sem Rubio Incidentals by JLB Captions by Chewy Cannon

men, punks with guitars, and a little puppy was hyped on skating and followed us around. The living room was a battleground for throwing playing cards and Raul and Chewy ruled it because they were the only ones that knew how to throw them. Chewy took everyone’s money playing dice. Brooks watched fails videos and Rodrigo surfed on tables. The weed came from a guy called Antonio, who looked a bit dodgy at first but was pretty nice and got in on the holiday photo. He seemed to appreciate the customers because when we met him he was wearing a pretty worn out looking tracksuit and then by the end of the week when someone went to meet him he’d gone and got himself a haircut, a shave and a fresh outfit. Malaga’s got nice old wonky buildings and winding little side streets. We ate banging food listening to flamenco at a restaurant called El Pimpi while old English ladies complained that the port wasn’t port. It was really nice to be on a trip where it felt like no one was rushed; we mostly skated the same three or four spots and rolled around the city just enjoying ourselves. – Tommy May

I was excited and a bit nervous before I went to Malaga because I’d never been on a trip where all the people on it were legends. These are guys who I’d looked up to since I was little and watched their parts over and over again. It’s funny too because the people that showed me all those parts were the people that grew up skating with Chewy in Yarmouth. It was also very nice and confusing at first to get food and drinks paid for, ha ha. Thanks Günes and Chewy for hooking it up! When we got there Günes was waiting for us and we had to look for Rodrigo ‘El Presidente’ and found him in the plaza dining on tapas and red wine. Brooks came that night and then Sem and Raul a couple days later. The house where Picasso was born was in the plaza closest to the apartment. Picasso was sitting on a bench in the corner of the plaza. I should of tried to jump over the bench next to him instead of next to the Spanish guy who got pretty pissed off when I entered his personal space and said something about smashing my face on the floor. Apart from that guy the plaza was filled with marble ledges that trucks are lucky to touch, old

Tommy May Ollie

GĂźnes Ă&#x2013;zdogan Noseslide

Lucien Clarke Sw. bs heel

Rodrigo TX Sw. Spanish grind

Raul Navarro Fakie ollie sw. fs crooks

Tommy May Hardflip

‘I quit riding for _________________ (insert US skateboard brand), because I was never going to get fully on the team. I’m hyped to ride for _________________ (insert European skateboard brand) now, because they’re nearby, they’re my good friends and we skate together all the time.’

Ph. Anthony Acosta

Basically you can fill in the blanks to match the responses of dozens and dozens of European sponsored skateboarders. Are Europeans increasingly giving up on the American dream of skate stardom? Not entirely, case in point is one

Harry Lintell

Hailing from southeast England Harry has just landed a spot on Real’s Am squad. Not the ‘international team’ or the ‘Euro team’ or flow from a European DLX distributor, but full on Am for Real Skateboards. So why has Harry chosen to stick it out as an Am whilst his friends all around him are getting pro boards on European brands? In an effort to answer this we enlisted Dan Magee and Kevin Parrott (who’ve been filming Harry the past year for an upcoming project) to help out with this interview. Banter aside, we think you’ll get a pretty good idea of what makes Harry tick.

Will Harmon: Where do you live now Harry and with whom?

Harry Lintell: I live in Manchester right now with my girl. It’s a weird situation.

WH: Because you are travelling all the time? Yeah, because I don’t really have a place myself. But it’s a totally rad situation. Don’t get it twisted.

Dan Magee: Not for us, it’s not. Well, no. Not for you guys it’s not.

DM: I preferred it when you were with your old mental girlfriend. You’d get all angry and go skate and take your aggression out by just killing it.

Frontside 50-50 grind London Ph. Alex Irvine

I guess. I could still do that.

DM: I think you should hook up with the old girlfriend.

No. No way. I’m not going back to that.

DM: Harry speak about America… WH: Yeah, he’s spoken about that in another interview. I’m not sure we need to go over that. DM: But Harry and his parents lived in a straight line just seven minutes from my auntie’s house. Out of the house, down a straight road and you are at my auntie’s house. I’d go out there every summer. Yeah, that’s a crazy thing.

Kevin Parrott: This isn’t really a Harry interview question, is it? That is just about you, Dan.

Interview by Will Harmon, Dan Magee & Kevin Parrott

To be honest, I don’t keep in contact with my parents as much as I should.

WH: Where do your parents live?

They both live in Ashford, Kent. I’m pretty useless. I don’t keep in contact with them. But like Dan was saying, I used to live in Texas as a kid. Just circumstance as my dad got a job out there and took us with him. So yeah, Dan used to stay seven minutes away from my old house in Allen, TX.

WH: Have you had any jobs before or have you only ever lived off of skating?

Yeah, I’ve had jobs before. My first was McDonalds, embarrassingly.

WH: Nah, that’s a lot of people’s first job. True.

KP: Didn’t you have a good deal going on there?

Ha ha. Yeah, I used to date the manager there. I used to go in and tell her I had to go on a trip to skate or something and she’d just be like ‘Yep. Okay…’

WH: Sick!

But I’ve worked in skate shops and stuff. Little things here and there.

(Everyone then begins asking about Harry’s go-to McDonalds DIY burger setup.)

I try not to eat McDonalds. I used to eat the worst shit there. Double Big Tasty. Slap it all together with crisps in there…Or a Chicken Deli with crisps in it. I just liked to put crisps in it.

KP: New menu shit. DM: Drive thru. Three Chicken Selects and a Cheeseburger. Boom. Done. WH: OK, so in some of your older interviews you mentioned you were hooked up on Real but you weren’t in there like you are now. So, I wanted to ask you how it has been riding for an American board brand? You are full Am now right? Yep.

WH: But what does that feel like when your friends around you in the UK are getting pro boards and there you are just recently getting Am status?

Fuck man…I don’t know. It’s pretty crazy. That’s a really tough question. I have an answer; I just can’t get it into words.

DM: I’d say it is pretty commendable.

I dunno, dude. I guess it is what it is. It’s still fun. When I was starting skating I used to ride for local board brands in the UK and after that I just started getting some boards direct from Real…

WH: But did you feel like you needed to go to them for them to take notice of you?

Yeah, I feel like I had to do that. And I am glad that I went because the guys are so rad. Everyone I’ve met has been really sick and it has worked out pretty cool. We are starting to do more stuff together. I don’t know…

KP: You had some big worries before you went out though, right?

Yeah. I was definitely worried I’d go out there (California) and everyone would think you were a dick or everyone you meet is a dick. What if I couldn’t get along with anyone? I’d just be stranded. Just crazy worries you have travelling alone to a foreign country. But it was good. I am just skating – it’s not like I am trying to go pro.

WH: Has Real ever talked to you about that?

No, definitely not. This whole Am thing was just out of nowhere. I was just there skating with Mack (DLX filmer) – he’s an absolute legend, for the record.

WH: You seem pretty ‘in there’ now.

Well, anyway – I was just skating with Mack and I was just trying to keep going back as I went once and SF was way more fun than when I’d been before to LA. Real didn’t even hit me up as I had a broken phone at the time. They just put it on their Instagram that I was properly on. Hermann Stene and I.

WH: Oh, okay.

Hermann is stoked too. We were talking about it while out there. We are hyped to be on.

WH: Yeah, it’s really hard to get in there with some of the American board brands. Yeah, because of that some people would rather find a European brand and go that way and that’s cool. I have had offers.

DM: Who? (Harry ignores Dan.)

It’s happened a few times. I dunno. I just wanted to stick this out.

DM: It’s a pretty gnarly team.

I love the team. I’ve known most of the crew for a long time now.

DM: But what I am saying is that Real is a really hard one to get on. I mean, how many people are on the team now? I guess a lot.

DM: And like, how many SOTY’s? Ishod. Kyle Walker.

WH: And then there’s Busenitz who is the dude who should have got it over and over. For sure.

KP: Eternal SOTY.

I know what you mean, but I don’t know what to make of it. Like, I could have gone and done the British thing.

WH: Yeah. I remember there was a

Switch kickflip San Diego Ph. Gabe Morford

KP: Eh? Thought about it? WH: Yeah, I thought it was more than that.

Well, I rode for them for a weekend.

WH: A weekend?

Yeah, I guess. But that was before I was getting Real product. I rode for them for one weekend and then ran back to my old sponsor so fast.

KP: What happened?

Heavy partying with Rye (Ryan Gray, part owner of TNSC). I got influenced. The National is sick, though. I was just a chicken. I don’t know – I guess I knew what I wanted to do (try to get product from Real) and thought I should try to stick with that.

KP: Just to skip back a bit – when you said you went out to see the Real dudes the first time, who did you travel with? I just went on my own.

KP: That’s pretty gnarly, right? WH: But they paid for you to come out so you knew they wanted you there. Not really… I guess it came about really after I met Ryan Garshell from GX1000 when they were in London.

WH: OK. I did wonder how you linked with them.

It was actually through my friend Brooks. He was filming the Palace video and was showing them around. He hit me up to come skate so that’s how I met those dudes. You know how it goes… It happens on trips when people are like ‘Come out’.

WH: Yeah, yeah. ‘Come out to SF!’

Yeah, and then you turn up and they are like ‘Oh, shit. We didn’t actually think you’d turn up’ and that’s the shit I was worried about. I’m not pointing a finger at anyone. I just feel that happens sometimes.

WH: Totally. People just say that.

I was always worried but when Ryan said it, it made sense to go. He hooked it up amazingly. I got off the plane, made it to his house and he gave me a spare key, a jar of weed and then he left for Japan for eight days.

WH: How was it skating those hills for the first time?

So scary. The first day I went bombing, Pablo Ramirez and P-Spliff were out. They are pretty notorious for the hills. It blew my mind. I was following them. They are literally pushing down hills and I am there trying to keep up. It was scary, but fun. I love every second of the hills. As soon as you ride it out after the speed wobbles, it’s like…’Whoooooaaaaaah!’ I totally get why their missions are different to the DLX guys.

DM: Who do those guys ride for?

I mean a lot of those dudes don’t really ride for anyone. I mean I can’t speak for everyone. I mean, they get hooked up a bit but they just go trimming weed and go skate. That’s it.

DM: Kinda sick, though. KP: Yeah, like those guys are at the forefront of their kind of skating and they aren’t even fully hooked up. They are just doing it. Everyday.

WH: Have you ever thought about living outside of the UK?

Loads. I’d go anywhere… Spain, America, Italy. Just to get away from the cold. I’ve never done it though.

WH: What about that time you stayed with Victor Pellegrin for two months around Biarritz? Hossegor. Where there are no skate

spots.

WH: Yeah, Hossegor. ‘Where the European skate industry is…’ Ha ha ha.

It was fun. The language thing is hard down there. I picked up a bit. The Volcom Surf House there was a pretty sick place. We’d just WH: Ha ha. That’s crazy. So did stay there. It’s for the surf team but Victor you then just skate more with the DLX guys managed to get in there.

as you were there?

WH: But what did you guys skate

Yeah, I skated with them loads when I over there? was there. I mean, I’m in town and Ryan was in I didn’t skate. We skated flatground. Japan for eight days and I ride for DLX. It was a DM: You could have been finished good idea to go say hello… I’d switch on with your video part. certain days, you know? Sometimes Ryan But I was there because of would go and do his thing and I’d go do mine. circumstance. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to be WH: How is it different going out filming for the part. I just broke up with my with the DLX guys compared to the girlfriend. I had to move out straight away and GX1000 crew? had nowhere. I packed my stuff into bags and

Frontside 5-0 grind London Ph. Alex Irvine

Yeah. I definitely thought about it.

Ha. It’s a different operation. When you go out with DLX, there is the van and water and wood and whatever you need to fix a spot, Bondo – all that shit. It’s like being on a trip, which is cool. It really works. But then when you go skate with Ryan it’s like you just jump on your board at the front door. Bag on your back. Go meet the crew to grab a coffee and bomb Twin Peaks. You just charge. Bomb hills. Don’t pick a spot. Pick an area. They are always crew deep.

Ollie out past the pillar to noseslide London Ph. Sam Ashley

point where you were almost going to ride for The National Skateboard Co. right?

headed for France, as I knew that was somewhere I could live. Otherwise, I would have stayed here. Actually, some of my stuff is at Sam Murgatroyd’s house.

KP: Didn’t you drop it for one night, nine months ago? Uh huh.

DM: Is there anything you would want to keep in there? Uh huh.

DM: Name one thing.

Hmm. Actually, I’d probably just write it off now. I stayed at his for two days, nine months ago. He said he opened the bag. Dirty laundry. All of it. Fuck you guys… Sorry Sam.

WH: One of the reasons I wanted to get you all together was to talk about this video you are filming with Kevin and Dan. DM: Yeah, explain it, Harry. I don’t know. I just go skating.

WH: When they approached you what did they say? Or did Magee have some grand plan? He always has a grand plan.

You just wanted to get back into filming skating itself…

DM: I want to do it under my terms and then do the jobs when they come up. Just have some fun because a) I was hanging out with Kev and you know, he’s alright… KP: That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me. It really is.

DM: And b) all the people that are rad who were not being filmed are Jake Harris’ boys… WH: And you are too old to film them, right? DM: Nah, nah, nah. I mean, I draw the line filming young children. But those lot are being filmed by Jake now. KP: So, Dan – where did you grow up? How did you first get into skating? DM: That’s what I was saying – I don’t want to interrupt Harry.

Frontside 50-50 Hitchin, England Ph. Alex Irvine

DM: Kevin has a chip on his shoulder. KP: Mate… DM: I’ll tell you what it was. Originally, I just filmed skating for content and ads for ages. It’s cool because you get money but it’s never really how you want to do it. I hadn’t done anything myself for a decade. So, to get back into it we started skating at Jazz Square. I needed to relearn how to film properly. I could film but not like how I wanted – just because HD cameras kept changing and finally it mellowed out. Anyway, I don’t want to talk over Harry.

Start of 2017.

DM: Ha ha. Stoked, Kev. KP: Umm, yeah. We filmed once or twice before that, right?

Ah, yeah. Ha ha. I mean for this project that’s when we started. I filmed with Kevin since forever. I’ve known Kevin since I was a newly sponsored skater.

parts?

WH: So who else is going to have

I was skating with Manny Lopez. We started filming with Dan and getting more clips. Then more people started to get involved like Jak Pietryga, Charlie Munro, Sam Murgatroyd, Korahn Gayle, Conor Charleson…

I don’t know.

DM: We don’t really know yet. We’ve talked about ideas. WH: So, how is it filming with Magee? DM: You gotta bring Kev into this. He is going to be pissed that it looks like it’s my video. WH: I have! Anyway, but the questions around Magee are like ones where he has asked you what outfit you are wearing before going to skate. I heard he has been pretty rough on Korahn. DM: Nothing to do with me, mate!

DM: Hmm, maybe Conor.

Nope. He doesn’t do that to me. Because I am useless. But you know what – at one point, the group chat was called ‘Deposit’. I’ll explain that.

WH: What is the name of it?

in where he tried his best to manipulate

I mean, they are all involved. We are WH: WhatsApp group? just filming and it is becoming quite a big thing KP: Yeah, one main one and then for us. But I don’t know what it is going to be. about twelve offshoots which all have Dan

Switch frontside heelflip Los Angeles Ph. Anthony Acosta

WH: Harry when did you start filming with Kevin and Dan?

people into saying the right thing in the main chat when he isn’t getting the answer that he wants. But explain ‘Deposit’.

Yeah, well Dan is pretty militant and because Dan claimed he would have to spend £12.50 to come into the city to film and as such, we would all have to chip in to make up £12.50 between us and if we get to the end of the day with a clip, he will give us the deposit back.

DM: Actually, it’s more than that because you got to add £6 minimum for a Pret lunch so it’s more like £18. KP: So, you just rounded it up and called it £20. DM: Yep. So, for the longest time the chat and the name of the video was Deposit.

WH: Does Dan have rules?

Oh yeah, definitely. You can’t wear certain things…

DM: Bullshit. Mate… WH: So he did do that to you?

Frontside crooked grind London Ph. Alex Irvine

I’ve not filmed a trick with my braids in, so I don’t know how that is going to go down.

DM: It’s an urban myth! This dude is sitting here wearing black fingernail polish and pigtail braids. If there were rules, that wouldn’t be the case here now, would it? WH: What about if he took his beanie off to film? Oh, wait… the cornrows have gone. He wouldn’t have filmed me with the cornrows.

DM: I mean, I wouldn’t have filmed in any ethnically diverse areas with him. KP: Oh, man… WH: Did you get them done in SF? No, Manchester. I wanted to get them done in SF though.

KP: Do you remember when Dan first started coming out? Like, we had got some stuff but didn’t have a grand plan. It was an unformed project and then Dan wanted to get involved and you were just not down for him after the first few missions just because of some of that stuff like rules. Yeah, because he is so militant.

WH: But the gilet has gone. KP: Oh, that thing. I’m glad that thing has gone. DM: It’s for his own benefit. Everyone sees that video and it’s sick tricks but then he killed it for himself by wearing that sleeveless jacket for the entire thing. I am in effect helping him out. KP: Yeah, and that’s basically what I had to explain to Harry when you came on board. DM: Yeah, but you were the one who filmed him in the gilet. KP: Yeah, and back then I was working for Volcom, too. It wasn’t made by them and I used that angle to get rid of it but he wouldn’t budge. I tried so many reasons. Ha ha ha.

WH: What about Daryl Dominguez. Let’s say you wanted him as a special guest with a trick in this clip. You gotta ask Dan that.

Harry?

DM: Daryl has blown it, mate. KP: Do you know the Daryl story, No.

DM: He’s done. DM: Well, basically Daryl looks like me but with shit clothes so I am not going to be into his style because he is a fucking midget. WH: Erm, I think the correct term is little person, ha ha. DM: Yeah. But Manny tried to talk me into getting this trick with him and it was really gnarly but it didn’t happen. It took like twelve hours of trying to get it, which I am never getting back. KP: Well, it’s more than that because I was there filming and so was Joe Buddle trying to shoot photos. It’s not just all against you all the time, is it? WH: But I heard there was more to it than that. DM: Yeah, because Daryl looks like he has been stripped naked and kicked through Fat Face. Know what I mean? (Everyone cries with a fit of the giggles) Jesus Christ, Dan.

WH: So, did you make him wear your ‘stylish’ outfits? DM: No, I just did what I do with Korahn. Every morning I FaceTime Korahn and get him to show me what he is going to wear for the day – with options… WH: …and you deny Korahn the orange Supreme trousers? DM: It works for some people.

Backside 180 kickflip London Ph. Sam Ashley

Oh God…What?

Frontside nosegrind London Ph. Alex Irvine

WH: But the Aladdin blue scrubs pants are fine? DM: He can wear them but I am going to desaturate them in the edit. KP: I like them. DM: That’s the thing, Kyron (Davis) wears them and he looks dope. Korahn switched up so much. He’s amazing but you look at him in a part and he looks like Rizzle Kicks and then the next part he has this massive upper torso because he has been working out. Right now, though he is in a sweet spot where he looks like… KP: Drake Jones. DM: Yeah. If it looks good, stick with it. WH: Well, Harry’s interview is going great. DM: Don’t put any shit in there from me. I’ll have Illuminati assassins coming to kill me. WH: Harry what’s the deal with social media? Sometimes you’ll have backto-back stories every forty minutes and then it’ll go quiet for a month. I don’t know, dude. I’m just useless. I sometimes just try to think of something to post and I am not very good at it.

days.

KP: Yeah, views out of a window for I am just not that bothered about

social media

WH: Do you want to talk about Dyspraxia? Is it something you’ve read up on or tried to figure? No, because I am Dyspraxic.

WH: No, that’s fine. A lot of people are like that – it’s the same with dyslexia. Reading up on it isn’t really an option.

Yeah, I have both. I used to go to lessons as a kid but I don’t think it worked… At all. I don’t even know tons about it.

right?

WH: It affects sense of direction,

KP: That can be part of it. You know how with Dyslexia you know all of the letters but can’t get the order right? Well, Dyspraxia is the same but with organisation and other processes like direction. Like, you know you have a bunch of stuff to do today but you can’t get the order right and it becomes a problem in itself which leads to anxiety – but from the outside it kind of comes across as careless or lazy when it really isn’t. DM: So, I am Dyspraxic as well, then? KP: No. You’ve got far bigger problems. WH: So, do you keep up with all of the skate edits, interviews and stuff? No. I just don’t. I’m bad. In an ideal

world, I’d like to. But I look and I realise I have missed a whole load of stuff and just be over it. It’s really bad when everyone is talking about clips they’ve seen and I am just out of it.

is for a part or just for Insta, etc.?

I don’t know. I just try to skate. I don’t really like to know what it is for.

WH: Are you trying something WH: With your own footage, do you different here to what you would try on a think about separation? Like, figuring what Volcom trip? Or with the DLX crew?

It’s just skating. I mean, aside from Instagram stuff I’d probably just try the same level. I’m really bad at asking people to take my phone and film me for my feed. I can’t be arsed with that.

KP: So, is that whole approach pressure related? I don’t mean in a bad way – just in managing it. Pretty much. I’m a fragile egg.

DM: He’s so angry! We filmed him the other day. I forgot how gnarly it is. KP: He’s way better than he was.

I don’t know – I’m not as angry as I was before and I don’t really want to know what the footage is going towards. It fucks with me. So long as I know I am on the trip and am going to be fed, and we can skate, then it’s cool. But sometimes you have to know and be involved – obviously with trick ideas, but other things as well. But I’d rather figure that by just going to skate.

DM: So, why do you flip out?

Because I think loads while trying stuff – loads of crazy shit. Not just skating. I’m just not really in control of my thoughts when I’m trying that stuff. I can admit that. It is what it is.

WH: What are your interests outside of skateboarding?

I don’t know. I like music. This sounds terrible… I don’t do much outside and it makes me sound like a really lazy dude…

WH: Or, someone really focussed on skating. There is nothing wrong with that.

Backside nosebluntslide Bromley Ph. Alex Irvine

But I feel like I’m not. I feel like I am actively not involved in anything.

WH: Do you worry about that? Do you worry about what you will do in your forties after skating? DM: What are you talking about? Forties? WH: Skate career, I mean. Or, fifties…

Definitely. But there’s that pressure again. I crack like an egg. I can’t think about it.

WH: How old are you now? 27.

WH: So young. You are all good.

That’s what everyone keeps telling me. It’s all good. I used to worry about this sort of thing a lot more and now I just don’t think about it and I am a lot less stressed.

WH: So, you just think about what is in front of you? After that stuff with my ex, shit just went down the pan.

WH: So, you got to get to Manchester before you fuck it up with the new girl? I just got to go and skate so I don’t blow that. I’ve blown where I live; I’ve blown

Frontside smith grind San Francisco Ph. Chris Robles my current girl off. I just need to skate. I have two bags with my stuff in.

DM: One at Sam’s, right? So, it’s just disposable shit?

No. One has some keepsakes in. I had to get rid of a lot, though. I kept a few special boards and some photos. I don’t know. I don’t really have any plans after skating. I just have right now. I met this really rad girl. I’m really into her and no, Dan, she’s not mental.

WH: Magee prefers mental.

Yeah. I prefer this one. But I don’t have my own place.

WH: Is that in the plans to get at some point?

For sure but I don’t know what I am doing now. I’m just figuring it out minute by minute.

DM: We will figure it out for you.

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e-mail:

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Backside smith grind Tampere Ph. Vesa Ritola

j a n e n

skaters has been the best treat, and I really feel fortunate that despite all these years passing by, I still get the chance to hang and shoot with the new talented generations, again and again. Watching a young gun popping out of nowhere and going all the way to the top is such a rad experience. I could mention, just to name a few, people like Arto Saari, Rodrigo TX, Lucas Puig, Bastien Salabanzi… I think it’s fairly safe to add Jaakko Ojanen to that list, although he is still in full ascending mode. I like that he links back to the top of that list with Arto… Finland is in the house. I first heard of Jaakko from Alex Deron, Element Europe’s team manager, who, just like in poker, was ready to go all-in. He knew. Despite Jaakko’s surgery-requiring back problems that took him out for some consequent time in his early twenties, Alex still knew. As soon as he was back on the board, Jaakko blew everyone’s mind in a matter of months, on his own, and well, with a little help from Instagram also. You have to be very smart and talented to get noticed in this era of ‘Attention Deficit Disorder’ and absolutely bombed with information and images on all fronts at all times. To be one the very, very, very few, like Mark Suciu, to always get good treatment and praise on Skateline, is also one hell of a hint. Gary knows. Free Skate Mag knows. Now, if you don’t already, it’s your turn to know.

Skateboarding has been part of my life for 35 years now, with about 20 years of it being a professional, in my own field, by creating still and moving images to share with our worldwide community. Working with some of the best and most stylish

Ph. Fred Mortagne

Interview Fred Mortagne

It’s the middle of winter right now so I’m guessing you must be pretty far away from home… Where are you?

Jaakko Ojanen: I’m actually at home right now, in Finland. It’s freezing and snowing – crazy weather here. But usually I’m somewhere where I can skate outside. Last winter I was living in Barcelona so I wasn’t home when it was snowy, but this winter I’ve been home like a few months already.

So what’s your skate routine there in the wintertime?

I go skate indoors, but not that much. Maybe three times a week or something like that.

So you only skate indoors in the wintertime?

Yeah you can’t skate outside as it’s minus 15 and snowing. Simon Isaksson skated outside when he went to Sweden, I saw an Insta clip. He was skating outside like slappying some curbs. I’m not that extreme of a guy.

Do you go snowboarding?

I haven’t been snowboarding for five years. Kind of wanted to go this winter but I still haven’t. But I should because I used to snowboard a lot. For five years I haven’t gone snowboarding at all. Would be fun to go try again.

I’m asking you about snowboarding because I’ve noticed a tiny bit of snowboarding style when you skate, in the way you move your body… I’m not saying this in a negative way though.

Nobody has ever said that.

Boardslide Barcelona Ph. Gerard Riera

Nobody has ever said that? Because it’s not like I notice it all the time when you skate… I mostly notice it when you goof around, the way you rotate your body when doing 180s, allowing you to quickly improvise, get out of tricky situations and stay on your board… People wonder where your quick-foot action comes from… I think the way you move your upper body because of snowboarding might have a lot to do with that.

Yeah… I used to go snowboarding every winter, skateboard every summer – It was like 50% of each. I was doing both just as much. But yeah, I guess it must help. I never thought of it like that.

Maybe if you go snowboarding again you will snowboard like a skater.

Ha ha. That would be sick; I have to go try.

Shortly after I met you, you couldn’t skate for a very long time…

Yeah I broke my back… Or three times I hurt my back, like back to back, and every time I had to heal it for a year so the recovery was pretty long. The first time it broke, I was one year without skating. Then it healed. But I don’t know if it healed because I hurt it again after

two months. And then I was again not skating for a year, or nine or ten months. Then I guess I skated like three months and I broke it again.

What do you mean ‘it broke’? Describe it.

Well the vertebrae disk in the spine… I don’t know how to explain, but the disk pushed my nerve in my left leg so the pain was in my leg and the first month I couldn’t walk at all. I was just lying in bed in pain. And then I started to

do little exercises after a few months or something. It took a really long time to recover every time.

So it created like a sciatic nerve?

Yeah so over a four-year period I was not skating for three years.

Did you need surgery to fix this?

The third time it happened the doctor was like ‘OK maybe it’s good to have surgery’. And I had the surgery and again, a one-year recovery

Frontside 5-0 grind Barcelona Ph. Teemu Heljo

from it. But now it’s been OK!

So it’s not a problem for skating anymore?

No, no it’s been OK. And they said it wouldn’t be happening again because they’d fixed it. But it’s not perfect. I still have some pains every now and then but nothing that crazy though. It’s good for skating at least.

Is there stuff you don’t really want to do, like jump down big stuff?

Yeah I don’t like jumping down big stairs or steep handrails or anything like that because of the impact. I feel like after the injury I didn’t ever want to do that stuff anymore. That’s why I probably started skating all weird… Doing different stuff.

Like focussing on the more technical side of skateboarding… And what did you do when you couldn’t skate for that long?

I started doing physio a bit. At that time I started taking photos I remember. I bought a new camera. I just went out with my friends when they skated, which wasn’t that good of an idea because when I was with them I wanted to skate myself too but I couldn’t. So that wasn’t fun. But at the same time I was filming them and taking photos… But it was kind of boring to be honest.

So it was boring and frustrating?

Yeah for sure it was. I mean when I just started

skating again it (his back) broke again. So that was like… I knew immediately that it’s going to be another year not skating. I was worrying if I could ever skate again. It was really bad. I remember thinking about all that stuff like: maybe I can’t ever do this skateboarding thing again.

So you considered the possibility of having to quit skateboarding because of it?

Yeah for sure. I was regularly thinking to myself ‘I can’t do this anymore with this kind of pain’ and my body doesn’t… I don’t know… I was thinking of quitting for sure. That was on the worst days… When It happened back to back, that was like a really, really hard time for me. Backside 50-50 grind Tampere Ph. Jouko Piipponen

Seems like having health problems just as you’re starting to become a sponsored skateboarder is becoming a trend these days… Like Arto (Saari), he had to have heart surgery shortly after becoming famous…

No it wasn’t any trend it just happened. I’d rather not have experienced that injury.

But the good news is the body is strong and back as strong as ever! Speaking of Arto Saari, what do you think was his impact on skateboarding in a country like Finland, where skateboarding might not be the hugest thing for kids?

He’s the biggest skater that comes from

Finland. Everybody always talks about him. We watched his videos a lot when we started skating. He had a big impact on Finnish skateboarding.

Being from Finland, do you think it was important to have a figure like Arto showing others that it was fully possible to bring skating to another level?

Yeah… He shows that it’s possible to be professional skater from Finland even though the weather here is not nice. I mean I never thought it would be possible, but then Arto made it, so why not someone else too?

So Samu (Karvonen) has told me that you kind of blew up outside of Finland before you even became a household name in Finland. Like you were not really known so much in Finland as a skateboarder but like you became more internationally known first?

Ha ha. Yeah, I guess.

How did it happen?

I dunno, probably Instagram. That’s probably the reason… Maybe also the fact that I wasn’t skating that much in Helsinki, but always just in Tampere (Jaakko’s hometown). And then I started to go on trips with DC and I still didn’t go to Helsinki that much.

So you had local sponsors at the time?

Yeah in Tampere I rode for this small company for quite a long time.

And how did you move on and get on DC and Element and stuff like that?

I was on DC Finland and then luckily I got on some Euro trip once and started going on DC Europe trips a few times and then it kept going. Then I was offered to ride for Element Finland and I said ‘I dunno I like this Tampere company’ so I stayed on this small local board company for a while. Then I went on more trips and then Element Europe contacted me. Maybe the Finnish guy had told them something. Then it just happened; I was on Element Europe.

So what is the scene like in Tampere?

It’s really good! It’s tiny, but it’s good. Everybody is friendly with each other, they make cool stuff and they skate a lot, even though there aren’t too many good spots. There are a few good plazas we skate, and now recently there has been some new skateparks built, so it’s really good.

You never wanted to move to Helsinki – to go to a bigger scene?

No not really. I don’t know, I like Tampere more, because I’ve always lived here. I dunno it’s easy to go to Helsinki but I never really wanted to live there. I don’t have a reason for that. I just feel comfortable living in Tampere. Helsinki has better spots and better opportunities to skate, but still it’s… I dunno I grew up skating in Tampere and it’s still really nice.

Your brother rips too right?

Ollie up frontside pivot to fakie Bilbao Ph. Brian Gaberman

Yeah we started skating together and he still skates. He’s really good.

Has he ever come with you out of Finland to skate?

Yeah we’ve done a few trips to Europe too. Recently we were in Barcelona filming, Luxembourg too.

happy for me.

Have you ever met Gary (Rogers) from Skateline? He likes you very much. You are part of the very small circle of skaters he doesn’t talk shit on, but instead praises your skills and great skateboarding.

Were your parents supportive about you wanting to skateboard all the time?

I haven’t. But I think there will come a time when he talks shit on me for sure.

So what was your ‘plan b’?

Hopefully that video is not going to come out, ever.

Yeah they were. Sometimes when I was still in high school they’d always tell me to think about something else too. They were supportive, but they were like ‘maybe you should think of a ‘plan b’ or something.

I had nothing, ha ha. I tried to think, but I couldn’t come up with anything good I guess. I maybe would have tried to go to some university or something but I don’t know. I really didn’t have a good plan.

What do they think now because they must have been stressing a bit because of your back surgery and problems right?

Yeah. Now they’re super supportive; they are

Maybe by the time this interview is out he will have already talked shit on you for skating in both hot dog and banana costumes… It’s coming out today or tomorrow.

Oh really? Damn. That’s a funny video. Yeah he’s going to talk shit on that for sure. Thanks Fred for making me do that, skating in a banana costume.

That’s not my fault, not my idea. I’m not responsible for that.

He’ll probably be like ‘this guy sucks!’

Do you think Instagram has had a big impact on your career? What do you like about it?

Yeah for sure, but it’s not intentional. I didn’t ever put videos on there that I thought would gain some views or whatever. I just think it’s nice to film stuff and share videos every now and again.

What do you like about Instagram?

Um… I don’t know it’s nice to put something out right after you land the trick.

It brings you more creativity right? You can just do something that maybe won’t be in a normal skate video.

Nah. I don’t know. It could be in a normal skate video too, but sometimes when you don’t have a filmer with you and you’re skating a spot you just get the idea that maybe you can do this (trick). And there’s no filmer and then it’s just like ‘hey want to film this with my phone?’ And then you land the trick and you have it on the phone so why not put it on Instagram? Many of those tricks on Instagram happen out of nowhere. I get the idea, try to do it, then it happens and I’m like ‘wow’. That could have been a clip for the part or whatever, but I don’t know, I don’t want to come back and do it again

Yeah yeah, so let’s imagine Instagram didn’t exist. And people didn’t have smartphones. So maybe there are some tricks you wouldn’t have tried because this technology didn’t exist. You think Pole-jam hippie jump Milan Ph. Fred Mortagne

it’s an extra motivation?

Yeah for sure. When you have your phone with you, you have a filmer, kind of. And you have more motivation to try something you don’t usually do. When you have a filmer everybody knows that when you’re filming you try harder sometimes than just skating around. So if there wasn’t smartphones you would have a filmer with you and then you might not try these kinds of tricks.

So it’s kind of directly linked to the progression of skating we’ve seen. I really like it. It creates a lot of inspiration. Like skaters inspiring each other all the time – all this creativity…

Instagram is a huge part of skating nowadays I guess. What?

So all the stuff you put on Instagram. Do you do it as a job, or a hobby? Because you’re a sponsored skateboarder do you do it as a job or just as a hobby to put stuff on Instagram?

Hobby for sure. I never think of it as my job to film a trick.

Where do you get your inspiration from for all these crazy tricks you are doing?

I really don’t know. I just think of something weird and then I try the trick. I don’t know where it comes from. Maybe the spot inspires me? Because I never think of a trick before I go there. I just skate the spot and I get the idea.

So very spontaneous?

Yeah very spontaneous… I’ve been trying to think where I get the inspiration from, but I have no idea.

The funny thing with you is that we can joke about impossible tricks, but instead of keeping it a fantasy, your brain starts processing it, then you actually try it, and eventually do it.

Maybe that’s the inspiration: me trying to make it real.

They’re going to use the picture of that pole-jam hippie jump in Milan. And when we went to that spot we were kind of just joking around and I told you, ‘eh maybe try do the pole jam hippie jump?’ And for me it was a complete joke, but like you made it a reality.

Switch nosebluntslide Barcelona Ph. Vesa Ritola

Ollie over the rail to the bank Barcelona Ph. Gerard Riera

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll just call this the Jaakko spin Ph. Gerard Riera

That spot, when you said that, it was perfect for it. There’s no other spot to do it. It was a unique spot so of course I had to try it. But at first it felt like it wasn’t possible. Even trying it felt impossible at first. But that’s how it is usually. When you’re stuck trying something super weird you feel like it’s not ever going to happen. Then you keep trying a few times more and then you might have one lucky try every now and then – then suddenly you realise it is possible.

You’re kind of like a video game character. I can tell you crazy stuff and then you just do it.

I can’t do everything. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not. There are many tricks I’ve tried that didn’t work out for sure. Ollie to fakie Luxembourg Ph. Vesa Ritola

Like last week in Barcelona I was really happy that I inspired you to do tricks from the past, like those slappy noseslide to crooked grinds…

Yeah I didn’t steal your tricks, you inspired me to do your tricks, that’s how it went.

That’s cool. But it’s not my trick you know, I think Mike Carroll was the first one to do them, back in 1992, in the Plan B Questionable video. Have you been watching old skate videos like I suggested to you?

So you got it from him! Not lately, but I’ve seen them for sure at some point – maybe not the full video, but some parts.

Did you watch stuff from the early 1990s? Like those H-Street and Plan B videos…

Yeah I watched them on YouTube. But when I started skating, I watched videos that recently came out that weren’t that old yet.

But I mean nowadays. What do you watch? Do you watch old videos because I think it could be a good source of inspiration for you? Like bring back some old tricks and maybe bring a new twist to them.

Yeah for sure. Nowadays when you see someone do a trick and you’re like ‘wow nobody’s done that ever’ – and then you watch like some really old video and some guy does it there perfectly. You thought it had never been done. But it was done even better in the old days. It’s surprising sometimes when you watch the old videos you realise that they were super good back then too.

I think it’s also cool to see new skaters doing old tricks that people were doing 20 years ago that we forgot about. But they’re still good you know. Still interesting, but fun!

Probably many of them don’t realise they are doing old tricks. They are just doing them because they thought of it. I dunno, but yeah the old videos are a good inspiration.

Are you working on a video part right now?

Yeah. I’m filming for the Element video that’s coming out this year I guess.

And what’s your approach to it? Are you treating it separately from the stuff you do on Instagram? Is it like a different process?

Yeah it’s like filming for real, kind of. I’m slightly unhappy that I don’t have that much weird shit in there, like funny tricks. But recently I got a few mess-around tricks in there that look cool to me and they’re going to be in the video. So I’m happy about that. Sometimes it’s hard to do those weird tricks for a real filmer… They’re like, ‘What? Is that a clip for the video or is that for Instagram?’ I don’t know but I want the same kind of stuff for the video part too.

Yeah because don’t you think it’s important?

Yeah I want to get more stuff like that for the part for sure.

Because the stuff on Instagram is a big part of whom you are right?

Yeah I think people will be shocked by my video part because there’s not much stuff like that – yet!

I think you should put some of that stuff in the video part to make it personal and unique. So it represents you.

Yeah I’m happy I got a few tricks like that lately in the video part. And I hope they’re going to use them! Because maybe they’re going to be like, ‘what is this?’ And not put them in.

And also some kids who don’t know you yet will first discover you with your video part, so they might miss something that is part of the way you are, you know?

Yeah that’s true. I don’t know; I like skating normal too. I’m not just a weird guy that only does stupid shit.

I don’t think any of that stuff is stupid or weird it’s good; it’s creative.

Yeah for me it looks cool. It’s better than doing tricks perfectly or jumping down a big stair set or something like that; that’s just not that fun. Frontside boardslide Barcelona Ph. Gerard Riera

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110

W o Alex

d s Irvine

Jak

Skehans is an Irish pub in Nunhead, England and I’m halfway to being officially Scottish and I’m here to catch up with Welshman Jake Collins. We could be in a joke. Authentically an Irishman is pulling the pints and the requisite dark green décor does the job of being convincingly Emerald Isle in look. We just need a fiddler. The pub is cosier than the usual budget-savvy suggestion of a Wetherspoons for our meet but not quiet enough to allow for an interview recording, but then, a quiet pub isn’t usually a good pub so we make do. Jake isn’t the absent-minded beer-swilling teen he used to be, in recent years he’s grown more independent and into a more thoughtful beer swiller, mannish even. The pub has a heated smoking area he tells me, knowing I’m assessing the venue – the most telling sign of maturation: forethought. It’s been months since I’ve seen him and since it’s the time of the year for resolutions; I ask, knowing the likely answer, if he’s not considered packing the fags in. Jake loves smoking fags. This is one thing I know. The pints are cheap, for London, and that fits what else I know of Jake. His frugal approach to life is not, it should be noted, through a miserly nature, but a way of necessity made habit. In his teenage years he made a deal with his Dad that he would contribute to the house by winning competition money, in place of getting a real job. He put his neck on the line to prove his point and came home the proud owner of a few hundred quid thanks to the then ubiquitous mini ramp comp. Jake is fairly straight forward about how he views this competitive aspect of the skateboard world: it’s only hard work for that 60 seconds or so – how else are you going to make a few grand for a few hours work? I pressed him further to find out if he likes competing but he’s not convinced. But concedes that when there’s pressure, it helps. He reckons the financial pressure was the most effective way for him to take home the bacon. Knowing the rent would be covered for a few months for only a few minutes effort worked for a good few years, until the competition circuit drifted away from an aspirational European proving ground to a more American Pro

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112 showcase format. Ultimately he and his fellow brothers rode the gravy train all over Europe for as long as they could, a formidable army of like-minded Welshmen not-giving-a-fuck in every town or city that dared to offer free beer tokens at the after-party. Their band of merry men grew as they made friends, and enemies, with their unique approach to fun-having. Their tight-knit crew forged in the gong-show circuit is a true bond, one where everyone is looked after, win or lose. One of the most important of values to Jake is that of friendship. Moments shared in the van and crowded hotel rooms are filled with an outright honesty and quick fire opinion – and lots of laughs. What some people may mistake for arrogance is Jake’s humour. Obnoxious is a word. And sarky just flat-out doesn’t cover it. The double-edged nature of comp skating doesn’t evade Jake’s notice either and he’s aware it’s as much a place to get known as it is one to become typecast. Jake can skate anything he’s put in front of but people often think of him as a ramp skater, and he agrees that transitions came first and street happened alongside but never as a conscious decision. Glad that his competing days are now behind him his attentions moved to the ultimately more important task of filming and shooting photos: carving yourself a credible niche in this fickle world of skateboarding. The video that’s been put together to accompany this little article has been filmed with friends Jack (Thompson) in Barcelona and Harry (Deane) in Cardiff, who also edited it. Both people he’s happy to see budget allocated to; good at what they do but also friends he wants to be around. When I ask him about the differences between the filmers’ styles, he describes Jack as a bit more ‘switched on’. And whilst it’s true that Harry can sometimes come across as naïve he’s got a heart of gold and, like his Barcelona-based English counter part Jack, he too has no ego to speak of. These are the things so important in the effort to ensure you try and enjoy what you’re doing. His love for them is the same regardless of how they differ; the beauty of skateboarding is that often cited reflection on the inclusive nature of it all. This ideal is proved double in the wide-ranging, pan-European group of people Jake calls his friends. Probed about the process behind the project and it seemed like, aside from tracking down as many natural tranny spots as possible, there was a little more reason to it than just to do it. Whilst we’re on ‘Just Doing It’ I’m sure he’d like to thank Vaughan and Colin at Nike for helping give him the platform to indulge in such pleasures. These self-promotional task things take organisation to a level I never really gave Jake the chance to show off. Our lives have always intermingled business and pleasure, that is to say mothering and friendship, but I always assumed he couldn’t do things, but now I see it’s just that he couldn’t be arsed. Not only does self promotion require effort it requires style, otherwise you

Ollie between the rails then Wallie frontside air C a r d i f f Ph. Mike Ridout

just look like a twat, luckily for him, he can pull it off. Credit where credit’s due: Jake is definitely capable of organising his own little piss ups these days. Currently residing in Cardiff, Wales, he’s managed to make a year’s worth of trips to Europe to film for a clip and even

fit in half a minute of footy from his home turf, trickier than it sounds, if you’ve ever mined for sports in Wales you’ll know the struggle is real. Girlfriend Drew and pal, Caradog – along for moral support – join us and the other smokers braving the cold of the freezing decked area. Drew talks of failed attempts to organise Jake’s life through the power of the Excel spread sheet and logging expenses – the unpaid position of Jake’s PA is a job I can understand she might find a little tiresome. So maybe he’s still got a ways to go. She’s recalling, on his behalf, where he’s been for the last 12 months. Australia it turns out, amongst multiple trips to Spain. Although that Antipodean one ‘doesn’t count’ as he only filmed one trick – adding the disclaimer that he paid for his own flight that time.

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Backside lipslide T o t t e n h a m Ph. Alex Irvine

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These days I can see Jake knows how the game is played, he knows that you make your own luck and you’d better take all the opportunities you can to enjoy your fortunate, fleeting run as a sponsored skateboarder. Whilst the days of the ‘paid laugh’ may have passed by there’s still space in the turbulent world of skateboarding for people who are learning on the job. Where raw talent doesn’t always come packaged with immutable uselessness.

Ph.

Mike

Ridout

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Last

Paul Shier Crooked grind pop-in Ph. Leo Sharp

chance

saloon (noun) 1. a place frequented by unsavoury or contemptible people 2. a situation considered to be the last opportunity for success

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Former Blueprint Skateboards editor, director and fast talker Dan Magee reminded us about Paul Shier’s crooked grind pop-in at deadline, which took three trips to Mallorca to finally conquer. So we asked Paul to tell us how it went down:

So it all started on a DVS/Matix trip some years ago in Mallorca. I had been on many Blueprint trips out there in the past but this was the first time I had ever seen this spot. It got me thinking about the possibility of working for a crooked grind and then pop in, but I never tried it that time around but just spent time marinating the idea. It wasn’t until a year later on another Blueprint trip that I had a go at it, but again I walked away with nothing. Fast forward another year and here we all were on the final Blueprint filming trip for Make Friends with the Colour Blue in 2010. We were three days from the end of the trip and I decided it was time to try yet again. I can remember not being stoked at all to be there as it scared the shit out of me to try it again. I got closer and closer and then BOOM! I took that slam, hooked up and the top slamming myself to the ground, ending the session immediately and thinking: ‘well that’s that’. The next day I woke up so sore but thought that I had to go back and give it one last try. On the drive over there it started to rain and I was so happy about it as it meant I wouldn’t have to try it. However it did stop and I found myself on the second to last day of the final trip for this video we’d been making for years thinking to myself that I had to get a last trick for my part. I started fucking around with it but I was having trouble even jumping on the ledge. All I could do was try and try and it was going to go either way, terrible slam again or roll away. An hour later I was rolling down the hill with a smile on my face and a video part all wrapped up. We got drunk that night and that was our last ever time we went to Mallorca together.

After days and days of countless attempts, imagine filming your last trick on the day of your video part premiere…

1 2 0 Chris Jones Switch kickflip Ph. Sam Ashley

They call me ‘The Bank Manager’. After 17 years of gleaming the cube I’ve carved a niche of something that slightly resembles a 45% right angle. I’ve defended this title for years against various opponents and have remained victorious until facing my greatest nemesis yet, The Bromley Bank. This particular angle played on my mind for the 365 days Jake (Harris) and I were filming on Planet Earth. Similar to how Kurt Angle played on the mind of John Cena until their penultimate ‘First Blood’ match back in 2006. After various defeats, the concrete angle situated in a children’s park stood victorious over me. Like the way The Big Show towered victoriously over Mick Foley in ‘Hell in the Cell’. This Bromley angle championed its red metal belt unconventionally on its head like a crown so everyone could see. Despite my thoughts of it looking more like a pauper’s tiara, it was still very demoralising for me. So much so that there were days I’d refuse to be seen in public, avoiding ridicule at all costs as I don’t take well to criticism. Instead, like

Nickelback, I found my answers at the bottom of every bottle, mostly single malt whiskies, like Glenmorangie. It took some time before I felt ready and sober enough for a rematch – 360 days to be exact. Unannounced, the format was decided to be a 120-hour battle, rain or shine. Crowds gathered daily to watch the wrestling marathon unfold, its composition mostly being 5-year-olds who were more interested in playing on the slides and see-saw. Still, they laughed and jeered like rabble, as I was repeatedly chokeslammed down the bank on a daily basis. The final day eventually came, the great finale and last chance for me to redeem my title as ‘Bank Manager’. Storms gathered the night before, like they do in the finale of Mortal Kombat when Lord Raiden and his fighters are faced with Shao Khan at the Shaolin temple. As a result, my opponent was a bit damp, making it very difficult for me to get a good grip to execute my finisher. With the clock ticking I was left with no alternative but to buy a blowtorch and to flame-throw the sucker dry. I felt like Robert Ginty in the 1980s classic The Exterminator as I torched my enemy into submission. Weakened by the flames an opportunity seemingly presented itself for me to execute my final move. Alas, it was a trap and I was thrown to the ground scoring an own goal with my body. The bank drew first blood but I quickly mounted a counter attack. Catching it off guard, I quickly jumped over its red crown and rode away with the title firmly in my grasp. Just like when Rocky defeats Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. The only difference being that instead of having the open arms of Adrian to welcome my bloody body after my victory, I had those of a Giant Baby, aka Casper Brooker.

Polar filmer Tor ‘Tao’ Ström told us a great story about Nick Boserio. Last year on a Polar trip in Puerto Rico Nick breaks his wrist, doesn’t tell the team about it, and he keeps on skating. Finally three days in he lets everyone know, gets a cast, and goes beast mode the remainder of the trip and gets a banger on the very last day.

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Nick Boserio Wallride Ph. Nils Svensson

So my story is not as dramatic to me as Tao would lead you to believe, but when I look back on it, he remembers almost all the facts perfectly… I really did break my wrist, keep skating, basically not tell anyone ‘til I was leaving for the hospital alone, get it casted, film two tricks as soon as I got back and did the wallride on the last day. Here’s how it went: I broke my scaphoid at the first spot on the first day of the trip. I finished filming the line and didn’t think about it until later that day when I realised I couldn’t even pick up a glass of water. It took two full days to get X-rays, referral to a doctor, and then get it cast. Puerto Rico is a tropical island so it’s slowwwwww! I had been seriously hurt on the last two (my first two) Polar trips so I tried to not make a big deal out of it until I knew I was getting it fixed. Once I got the cast I basically knew I could charge like normal, and I really wanted to skate. What I think is actually the craziest part of this whole story is how this giant piece of wood was just sitting against a wall waiting for me. Roman (Gonzalez) and I had toyed with the spot days before, and I had said multiple times how the only way I would ever try the wallride properly was if there was a way to approach it with more speed. And on that last day in Old San Juan, as we skate lazily back to the van with really no purpose left in our day except to have one final swim, Papo, our amazing tour guide and really dope filmer, was skating ahead and said he had a gift for me, the perfect 10ft piece of wood sitting just steps from the wallride. Now this being said, Jake Johnson tha god, did the same wallride ~switch~ with no need to charge down the stairs for speed, so I’m not gonna lie and say it was the craziest wallride in the history of skateboarding just to make the story better. But it was on the last day, as a complete surprise, at the last spot, third trip in a row being injured, with a broken wrist, with a giant piece of wood that appeared from thin air to make me actually ride the wall. Side note – I got a waterproof cast so I could still swim in the rivers and oceans everyday :)

Inspired by fellow Atlantic Drifter Chris Jones’ feat from a couple days before (Rémy was in London for the premiere), Rémy headed back home to Paris for one more go.

Rémy Taveira Ollie Ph. Maxime Verret

I don’t think I was the first to look at this spot nor was I the first to attempt to ollie it. Apparently one BMXer that also tried jumping between the two fountains even ended up impaling himself on one of the spikes at the landing… These fountains (that are usually empty in the winter) are part of the Musée du Louvre, which is probably as listed as a building can possibly get. Now given the current state of emergency Paris has been in since the terror attacks, I’m sure you can imagine the sort of 24/7 surveillance the place has been under for obvious security reasons. It’s hard to think of a time when you’d be able to calmly enjoy launching yourself out of them. On top of all this, where you’d need to start running to get the speed for the ollie is basically right in front of the entrance to the museum’s legendary pyramid. So basically if you want to skate this spot you’re only ever getting a handful of tries at most. My first stab at this resulted in me being chased around by one of the most determined security guards to bless this earth, so I decided to come back for round two. The second attempt didn’t go so well either, as this same security guard (that we nicknamed Donkey Kong) recognised me and my little gang of skater buddies and stopped us before we’d even had a chance to get near the spot. After that we decided to give it a rest for a bit, but before I knew it the deadline for this little Carhartt part suddenly became imminent and there wasn’t an ender in sight. The day before the premiere in Berlin I decided to give this ollie one last try. My flight was early in the afternoon so the only way I could make it happen was by meeting there at 9AM. If it weren’t for my friends who came to support me I probably wouldn’t have made it out of the house on such a freezing cold winter morning… My first hang up was probably at about 9:10. I hadn’t even had a chance to warm up… At least after that I was as awake as I’d ever be. A few hang ups later the trick

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was landed and the security guards hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even shown their faces! Breakfast on me for everyone! Guillaume PĂŠrimony then rushed home to send the

final version over to Joseph (Biais), I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss my flight, and the clip made it into the part that was premiered the following day!

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