Skateism

Christos Simos, a.k.a. Moch, is the founder and art director of Skateism, ‘a biannual publication for the underground and overlooked in skateboarding’. Skateboarding used to play (and still plays in a way) a big part to the underground hardcore / punk culture in the past, since both scenes were initiated by outcasts and street people. I decided to talk to him and ask some basic stuff about the magazine, which is an oasis amidst the full on masculine and competitive skateboarding scene of today.

Interview conducted in late April 2020. Pictures & artwork provided by the interviewee.

www.skateism.com www.instagram.com/skateism

Hello Moch! Thanks for the interview! How’s life? What’s going on in Skateism’s HQ right now?

Hey hun. Life rn? I think life is on pause currently since this pandemic hit our doors. Skateism’s HQ is currently closed, with only me in the office. The rest of the team are working remote or from home. But we’re used to that, that’s how we did things for years...

What’s the idea behind Skateism? When did you start and what motivated you?

The idea behind Skateism was to break conventions in skateboarding, basically we came to the point that we couldn’t find any pleasure in doing the same content as other skate magazines, so it was either we stop doing it or we focus on things we love - things which push the community forward.

Skateism is a non-profit international magazine and online website; how many people are involved and from which countries do they come from?

It’s not a non-profit, we just weren’t able to make profit. In the last year or so we’ve finally been able to build our dream team of writers, producers, etc. Currently the core team is 7 people. Emanuele - online editor and Norma - social media manager, they both live in Canada; our photo editor Sam lives in L.A., Osh - editorin-chief, lives in Amsterdam; Maria - online editor, lives in Copenhagen, Imke - community manager, lives in the Netherlands too - but we work with many, many contributors from all over the world.

How do you see today’s skateboarding scene? It seems that the competition is much bigger, with tons of good skaters and a thriving business with the Olympics involved, huge skate events, sponsors coming outside of the skate scene etc. How much has skateboarding changed the last couple of decades?

I think skateboarding is changing slowly, but then we are always looking for the brighter and more exciting side of the culture. So perhaps we just see it more. But there’s no doubt that in the last decade the charity movement, womxn and LGBTQ+ scenes are getting more support than ever before. But there is more work to be done, always… Skateboarding is getting more and more mainstream, I can’t really say this is a bad thing if it brings more people to it in an inclusive way. I am not a huge fan of corporate contests, but there are positives as I say. The weirdest thing is that everyday now, on Instagram, you see the “best trick ever done” - and you’re over it within five minutes, you’ve forgotten about it… So what it means to be a “great skater” is more about your cultural value, than what tricks you can do - I think.

Skateism also co-operates with commercial – multi-national – brands. How do you cope with this in terms of being a kinda anti-systemic skateboarding magazine but working with the industry on the other hand?

As we said earlier, skateboarding is changing, brands should follow, that’s how it goes. Money is at the top. People who need exposure on the bottom. We are a bridge between them. Somebody needs to make shit happen.

In which way can skateboarding offer a change to the world, empower & motivate people to take a stand and work together?

By removing prejudice, ignorance and exclusion from the streets - where everyone is equal,

because everybody falls down the same way.

You are working a lot with the LGBTQ community and you encourage girls skating. Is skateboarding still a man-conquered world? What problems do young women or queer people face and how has this changed compared to the past?

I think it is a male dominated world generally, that is all the more evident in small cultures like skateboarding. But that doesn’t reflect anything on the minorities within skateboarding. Womxn and LGBTQ+ folx can / will / do skate as well / better than men. It’s simply that they haven’t had the support, both commercially and psychologically, from the powerful around them. That could be brands, that could be other skaters, that could be their families. If every skate magazine took the risk of employing these people, covering these people, rather than fighting over the biggest “dude-down-aset” photo, we would quickly see a huge seachange in skateboarding.

You also co-operate with NGOs like Free Movement Skateboarding, SkatePal, Skateistan and the likes. Can you give us some more info about it? Which other organizations should our readers check?

There are hundreds. More pop up every day, it feels like. Charity / NGO / Non-profits are crucial for making skateboarding global, inclusive, and a tool for social change. If you want more info on any of these, simply check out the aid / charity section of our website. Every story we’ve ever done is there.

That’s all I guess! Keep up the good work, the world needs projects like Skateism. Last words are yours.

Thank you for supporting us with the interview, and educate your bros. x