Tweak 5

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6 Berrics 12 Los Angeles 16 Yoon Sul 25 Alex Olson 26 Auguste 32 Local stuff 34 Artistic project

EDITORIAL In this new edition of Tweak, I introduce you to changes, in style as well as in printing. Just after the release of this issue, I’ll make two issues every year, I’m sorry for that but I’m growing up and I have more and more work for school. I can’t give up my studies so the magazines will be out less frequently but I’ll make the best to do thicker and better quality issues. Also, I want to be proud and satisfied with the mags I make so from now on I’ll do it more in my way and talk about anything I like in skating (might even talk about other activities but I’ll always stick with skateboarding).

So yeah, these are the changes hope you’ll be ok with that.

Back to this issue... this time, the mag took way more time, I know it. You probably even forgot it and that’s okay but I wanted to create this issue after a special trip I had 2 months ago where I went to California. So I included two special articles this time where I talk about the Berrics, Los Angeles in general (from a skate guy point of view). So I also kept the regular « portfolio » of a photographer and its small description, this time it is Yoon Sul (who is american too) that I wanted to tell you all about. Then I had the chance to meet Alex Olson at the Amsterdam Noord Skatepark demo and made a small article for it. I also introduce you to a rising skateboarder I wanted to interview to show the new generation in Paris. I finished the mag with a kind of experimental « article » with local photos and art by Luca Borrini (collage) and Jerôme Delhez (drawings). Now go ahead and check this edition, hope you’ll like it !

Editor-in-chief / Skateboarder Matteo Matriche, 15 years old Text Contributor : Naomi Pire Illustration and style : Luca Borrini / Jerome Delhez Photographers : Yoon Sul / Maxime Sinatra / Mahell Butel Thanks my parents, Yoon Sul, Steve Berra, Davy Van Laere, Vans Europe sponsoring team, California State in general, Naomi Pire, Maxime Sinatra, Luca Borrini, Jerome Delhez, anyone who put interest in the mag.

August 2017

Cover : TJ by Yoon Sul, at the Berrics Instagram : @tweakmag website : tweakmagazine.com mail : matteo@tweakmagazine.com +32 491 311 555

All rights reserved ®

THE BERRICS

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Let’s start with basic information… But do we really need to ? Don’t you already know what we’re talking about? Probably, because it’s one hundred percent sure that you’ve heard about this title even if you have a small interest only in skateboarding. This is because the Berrics have built a great reputation for themselves in our community of skateboarders. But if you are really new to the subject then I’ll tell you what it is: a skatepark, nothing more. But first, I’d like you to see what this park looks like. Done? Yes, it looks great, but I think this is not the best part about this place. This otherworldly skatepark has much more to show behind its cover.

If the Berrics makes every skateboarder dreamy, it’s because it’s not just a simple skatepark. It was designed and created by skateboarders themselves. The two creators who started the project are also the cause of this success because they are two famous skateboarders of Los Angeles: Eric Koston and Steve Berra.

These two « originals » made skateboarding what it is today and are still contributing to our community with their Berrics founded in 2007.

Berra and Koston came up with the idea of making a skatepark that would show the world what happens in the best skating places, other than their local scene. They started pitching a lot of ideas for the project and purchased the building together with their own funds. The main idea was of course to provide the skateboarders with a great park where they would be accepted and avoid to skate in places where it was illegal. At the same time, they opened a

website where they showed people what’s happening out there in the skateboarding scene.

It quickly took off and was running really well.

From the beginning, they’ve been organizing events and regular shows, with segments shown on their website and Youtube channel (Battle At The Berrics, Push, and Off the Grid just to name a few). In 2012, the Berrics’ website was shut down and an «exit the Berrics» button was shown when trying to access the page. It wasn’t actually the end of the park but the introduction of a new facility. The skatepark had been rebuilt by California Skateparks and Berra showed street locations to design the park. It ended up being located in the park that we know today.

In 2008, DVS shoes decided to sponsor an event created by the Berrics: Battle At The Berrics (BATB). This skate game organized in a tournament quickly became really known throughout the world. It includes the best skateboarders playing this game well known by the skateboarders. The competition is now at its tenth edition and it is still a great « show » to watch with your friends and to support your favorite skateboarder of the moment. They also created a series of episodes introducing a few growing skateboarders, in which you learn about their lives before skating and how they now are able to live from it. This is a great way to understand the life of a (professional) skateboarder and it encourages people to never stop striving for their passion and to push further. >

Photos By Yoon Sul 9

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The skateboarders also filmed a skate video part which is unveiled in the last episode. The Berrics are now more private and prefer to show the best skateboarders riding the park to the public. But they still give everyone the opportunity to skate this incredible place thanks to skate jams they organize pretty often. I had the chance to go there while I was in L.A. for the holidays. Steve directly welcomed me and was very much into the mag. I therefore had the chance to skate the park and witness Manny Santiago skate and be filmed. This is an awesome place where you feel welcome and want to go back to again and again.

In 10 years, this skatepark has been able to change the skateboarding scene on an international scale. They introduced a lot of great people to the world and have been collaborating with the best. The Berrics has been working with photographers such as Yoon Sul to shoot beautiful pictures of the people. They are constantly releasing videos to keep skateboarders entertained. They are able, after all this time, to maintain the skateboarding scene and make it grow, and they keep on making the best for us while everything changes. But most of all they push us to try our best and to not stop believing because we all have skateboarding in common and we are all passionate. So keep on skating and do not give up.

So last schoolbreak, I had a great vacation. I flew to California for two weeks with my family. We drove along the coast and visited the biggest cities of the West Coast: L.A., San Francisco, Las Vegas. This was a huge trip, which we probably won’t experience twice (as it was very costly). All in all, it was really fun to go there and visit known places, but it was also an opportunity for Tweak.

I had the chance to meet a lot of people, whether on purpose or randomly. When I arrived in Los Angeles, our first destination, I immediately fell in love with the city. The moment I got out of the LAX, I could see the palm trees and blue sky that describe this beautiful city.

It reminded me of all the videos and movies I’d seen that take place in this city, which felt amazing. I then hung out in L.A. the few next days and decided I’d do an article on this city in particular, just to describe the atmosphere, the skate scene and everything I experienced. So let’s first get into the skating opportunities I had over there.

I went to the Supreme store on the second day, just to check out this famous store that I’ve seen and heard of a lot. Luckily I could talk with Tino Razo, the shop’s manager/team manager, and could introduce him to my mag. Aside from being very kind and interested in my work, he was also kind enough to give me a free board and a pack of stickers, which I’m very grateful for. I then went to Venice Beach to check out their known skatepark, but a lot of people were skating so it was hard to try the park. It was still really impressive to see, and even though people didn’t seem that welcoming, they were still pretty cool with me. Finally, I went to the Berrics to try to get in even though I was sure I’d be allowed. Thankfully, I directly bumped into Steve Berra and showed him the mag. He was into it and gave me a tour of the park and even let me skate it. I asked him about the article and he was down to give me photos through Yoon Sul. This was a real experience for the mag and myself to discover this worldknown skateboarding spot. In an insane coincidence, I then ran into Eric Koston in the streets by chance and got a picture with him.

But I’ll now stop about my trip and give you an impression of what it’s like out there. First, this city is crazy beautiful and obviously perfectly suited for skateboarding. I could see spots in every streets - even the smaller spots looked amazing. I kind of cruised during the whole trip and it was really fun because all the streets are great to ride which is different from my city where a fourth of the city’s ground is not great to cruise on. I can’t exactly tell you what it’s like to skate there but it just feels great and everything seems right. Now I think the mentality of skateboarders is way different from those in Europe as the scene is bigger and is formed by groups of individuals. Although we have this here in Europe, it’s on a much smaller scale. Therefore, people don’t seem that welcoming. Overall, there is a great atmosphere but making friends might be more difficult.

All in all, this was a great experience. I met many interesting people, discovered beautiful places, whether it is for skating or not. I overall encountered another lifestyle, which means other mentalities and a completely different skateboarding scene. I think it was helpful for my next projects and my future as it gave me another view on what I do and how I think. If you have the opportunity to go on a trip like that, jump on the plane. My next destination would be now New York if I have the chance to go there sooner or later.

LOS ANGELES

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Venice Beach

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Where do you live ?

I live in Highland Park, Los Angeles.

Do you have like a magic trick or just a way of taking pictures you think really represents you?

Not really, I just try to capture the moment before it's gone. I do compose though... making sure the light works the best and focuses on the subject at hand.

What is your favorite camera?

I like my Contax G1... it usually means I'm shooting something for myself, and shooting something that spontaneously happens... those are the best things for me to shoot.

Do you have a preference for b&w or coloured photos and why?

I like Black and white the best... that's what I fell in love with from the beginning. Printing in the darkroom is what got me hooked like heroin. A lot of reasons behind it, but mainly, with black and white you're focus is with the image at hand and what it's saying. With color, you get distracted with the colors and can say it's a beautiful image because of the beautiful colors. For me photography is telling you a story frozen in time in one still moment.

Do you skate yourself ?

Yes, I do skate... I have since I was 15. Unfortunately at my age, I'm a bit limited, but for me, skateboarding is all about having fun with your bros. I try to skate as much as I can, but these days at my age with the responsibilities of life, it's a bit harder to get out there, and the funniest thing is that I work at a place that has a skate park... but, I stress the word "work"... hard to get away from my work duties to shred... but I do sneak in a couple board slides here and there.

How did you get into photography and then in skateboarding photography?

I got run over by a car when I was 15. It caused me to be blind for about 10 minutes. While dealing with the realization I may be blind for the rest of my life I kept picturing the amazing things in life I would miss seeing. I eventually got my sight back, but time after time I kept thinking about those things I would have missed seeing if I actually did go blind. One day, I asked my dad if I could borrow his camera to photograph those things I would miss. To this day I still do. How I got into skateboarding photography, was one of my final years at Art Center College of Design while studying photography. My goal was to be a fashion photographer and photograph hot naked women. When I was in classes for that, I got such a bad taste in my mouth from it... to me it just felt too fake and shallow for me. During that time, I was skating with Danny Supa a lot while I had breaks from the rigorous schedule at Art Center. I would eventually start bringing my camera and shooting photos of Danny. At the time I was learning a special black and white printing process called Lith. I would print all the photos I shot with Danny in the Lith process. One day, I had a substantial amount of photos of Danny and randomly showed them to Seu Trinh when he worked for Transworld Skateboarding. He asked if he could take the photographs down to Transworld and show them to Skin Phillips, the managing editor of Transworld at the time. A couple months later, the week I was graduating from Art Center, it was a 20 page spread interview in Transworld Skateboarding. That was a trip, at my grad show, I had copies of that issue laid out in front of my show. My mentors were blown away. My parents were blown away so hard, they bought me a new car! That was August 2004 and I've been shooting skateboarding professionally since then. >

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Yoon Sul

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How did you get your name in skate photo and photography in general? (I mean your first real works for magazines,‌) That Danny Supa interview got my name out there. Once you get published in a magazine, the industry and skaters take notice. When you make it to that point and the skaters like your photographs, your phone just begins to ring from unknown phone numbers that belong to some of your most favorite skaters asking you to meet them at a gas station to pick up snacks and water to go and shoot a photograph at a spot.

What is the most important thing in a picture?

The most important thing in a photograph is light and composition on a subject matter that you're trying to convey to everyone that's gonna be looking at that one moment in the photograph you shot and feel that moment as if they were there.

Do you think you’ll take photos all your life or are you interested in other things as time passes?

I'm always gonna have a camera in my hand no matter what.

What do you think of skateboarding now? Do you think it’s good?

Skateboarding is good as long as you are having fun skateboarding. I know things have changed and there's a lot of argument about the state that it's in right now. But people keep forgetting, It's just about having fun with your bros and forgetting about everything that's going on in your life for just a moment and getting a couple board slides in there. When it becomes to serious, maybe you should take a step back and remember why you started. If it was for all the wrong reasons, you shouldn't be doing it.

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ff u t S k a e w T New

d e s a e Rel

Alex Olson Meeting Hi. Hey.

Ok I have a few questions for you then.

Yeah, go ahead.

First, I have a friend called Auguste and he’s now on your board company.

Yeah, Auguste I know him but I don’t personally give him boards.

So what do you think about this younger generation of skateboarders ?

Hum, how do I answer this. I think it’s good it just depends. It’s hard to say at this moment because everything’s so fresh and they’re so young that it’s hard to tell what is going to happen. But I think you know they all have promising futures. I don’t know exactly what crew of kids you’re talking about besides Auguste and his friends which I don’t know very well.

And the older ones ?

I think they are on their way to have a full thing, a full career. Yeah all those guys are good I like all of them. When I went out to film that little Supreme/Nike video that’s when I met them all and you know I was telling Dill, these are the next kids. These kids are really interesting like Roman, Remy, Kevin, Vincent,… when I met them they made me want to skate. It remind me of not being so serious and they were all so good and they all had good style you know…

And besides skating ?

Well it’s up to them. Well a lot of them like art. Because I think Europeans are more open to art and have a better understanding of art than us americans. So yeah it’s better. Different mentalities.

And you do a lot of stuff besides skating now so do you get less interest for skateboarding ?

I mean it always goes through waves for me. I think it does for a lot of people. I filled my time up with other interests. But I think, it just goes through waves and I just went through one where I was less excited then I went to copenhaguen and that just made more excited to go skateboard again. Because with 917 and Bianca Chandôn I sit in the office a lot. I don’t like it because I’m just not used to it.

But at least you developped into something else.

Yeah but it’s good and bad because the bad part of it is that you’re known for skateboarding and everything else you do, people just know you for that one thing and everything you try outside of skateboarding you just have to do it extra-hard.

Actually it’s kind of the opposite with my magzine.

Yeah, it’s the exact same thing. I mean you could be anything.

You could be a piano player but then you want to do poetry… like you’re going to be known for your skill and what you do and then that can be a curse because anything you try outside of that, if you have other interests you have to try extra-hard because people are going to categorize you and put you in a box. But that’s just up to the individual.

(1am via Skype) Any projects in music.

I don’t know. I been trying to learn the bass. I’d like to get better at a real instrument instead of trying to make music with machines.

And that’s just where my focus has been.

You don’t have real plans but go with it.

No, I don’t make plans unfortunately, that’s kind of where it’s at right now.

How did you get from skating to music.

Oh I think I was in music before skating. Well I am left-handed so being that, any instrument you like, besides maybe piano, it’s kind of challenging to get your hands on one so I never asked for an instrument actually, I wish I did.

So it’s not from music in skate videos ?

Hum no but I mean it definitely played a role, I like it but that wasn’t the main focus. I think my dad was really into music and he got me into music too. And I really liked punk music at the time. I just liked the music I didn’t even know what the image was. Right like punk rock music is like about this certain type of energy where you just denounce things but I didn’t ever feel the need to do that I just liked the music. But now really I listen to it and I’m like oh god haha.

Does music influences your ideas for the brands ?

Some does, yeah definitely. Hum, well I was listening to a lot of disco music when I started Bianca and I really liked it and it wasn’t taboo but it wasn’t exploided really or explored. And so therefore I thought why not and whatever it was a good opportunity to do that.

I’m from Belgium, did you already come here ?

No… But a big inspiration was Soulwax and they’re belgians, they’re from Gent. They are, I guess, some of my heroes haha.

They’re really really creative and cool and they’re DJs and make remixes. I interviewed one of them and I was really excited but I never met them in person, I would like to. It’s two brothers but yeah they are known. It’s way more like festival music. It’s hard to explain but you should check it.

Are you most of all interested in house music or others ?

No I like all music it just depends on your mood and like where you’re at in your head. I like all those musics of course there’s music that I’m like oh god I won’t listen to that but there’s not a certain type really.

Any projects with 917 and skateboarding ?

Hum I have no idea, well we’re working on a video and we’re just working on that now. Yeah that’s pretty much what we’re doing.

It’s pretty much all of our focus now yeah.

Well you do a lot of stuff that’s inspiring, like spending my time on something else than my phone haha.

Haha that’s cool I wish I could do that, I’m always on that fucking dumb thing.

You can check Alex Olson on internet for more and his brands Bianca Chandon and Call Me 917 25

Auguste Bouznad

Salut, comment ça va ?

Bien, enfin il pleut à Paris.

Pas de skate aujourd’hui alors ?

Pff ouais non je sais pas. On verra J’ai vu que William Strobeck arrive sur Paris ?

Ouais il arrive là, y a aussi Todd et je sais pas si tu vois qui c’est Logan, Logan Lara de chez 917.

Alors pour commencer l’interview, une question basique, t’as quel âge et depuis combien de temps tu skate?

Alors, j’ai 16 ans et ça fait 6 ans que je fais du skate.

Comment t’as commencé ?

Alors, en fait c’est grâce à mon voisin.. Putain ça fait bizarre de se faire interviewer haha Haha t’inquiètes c’est bizarre mais ça va aller.

Haha, alors euuh en fait c’est mon voisin il avait eu un skate pour noël du coup je l’ai suivi et j’en ai acheté un. J’ai continué à skater et tout.

Et t’as commencé dans Paris alors ?

Non non c’était à Noisy là, ouais parce que j’habite à Noisy-le-sec.

Tu faisais quelque chose d’autre que le skate et tu t’intéresse dans autre chose ?

Ouais je faisais du foot, ouais y a que le foot en fait haha et j’aime toujours bien.

Et niveau musique et tout ?

Je sais pas je suis ce que mes amis écoutent en vrai genre je m’intéresse pas vraiment tu vois.

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Pour en revenir au skate, pour toi le plus important c’est style ou tricks.

Ben maintenant c’est le style qui compte en fait. Avant y avait que les tricks au final. Parce que moi quand je parle aux plus vieux genre, ça se voit que, enfin ils me disent « ouais avant c’était pas du tout comme ça » et tout. Après moi je pense que le niveau il a baissé aussi en skate par rapport à avant.

Qui a le meilleur style pour toi (skateur préféré en gros) ?

Moi ? Ah moi c’est Alex Olson. Ah ouais.

Et sur Paris ?

Attend qui vient de Paris. Attend je réfléchis… Parce qu’en vrai j’ai envie de dire un Blobys mais je sais pas. Parce qu’en vrai il y a soit Roman (Gonzales) soit Vincent (Touzery). Attend j’essaie de t’en trouver d’autres haha. Alors vraiment le meilleur style…

Moi si je devais choisir ce serait Vincent Touzery.

Ouais c’est vrai. Vraiment c’est un truc de malade hein. Il a progressé là. Ouais vraiment je dirais Vincent aussi au final.

T’en penses quoi des Blobys ?

Ben je sais pas au final c’est des gens normaux quoi. Vraiment je sais pas.

T’aimerais réussir comme eux ?

Ben non enfin j’aimerais pas être comme être les Blobys quoi je préfère être moi-même et voir comment ça se passe.

Ouais c’est sur c’est le plus important !

Ouais, après eux ça a réussi donc c’est bien mais voilà. >

Photos by Augustin Giovannoni

Tu les connais bien ?

Ouais moi je les connais bien hein ouais enfin c’est mes potes au final. On s’appelle on va skater ensemble et tout, normal.

Quoi de neuf avec 311 ? Haha.

Ben en fait on a « dissout » parce qu’en fait on aimait pas le nom tu vois. En fait on a mit ce nom parce qu’on en voulait un mais on s’est dit qu’au final ça servait rien. Enfin faut pas inventer un nom juste pour en avoir un je sais pas si tu vois ce que je veux dire.

Mais j’ai vu que vous aviez fait des trucs avec Burly et 311.

Ben déjà, Burly à la base c’est le truc d’Hugo (Fernandes). Ben en fait le truc du 311 à la fin de la vidéo (Burly Tape) on était pas prévenu qu’il y était. C’est Elie là qui l’a ajouté. Après quand on a décidé de supprimer le nom, y en a qui sont pas d’accord tu sais, du coup ils ont laissé le nom sur leur insta et tout.

Ouais parce qu’il y a eu un gros moment 311 non ?

Ouais et après on a arrêté d’un coup je pense on s’est dit que ça servait à rien. En plus on se disait que ça ressemblait trop à 917 donc ça nous a saoulé.

Vous êtes tous potes République (place de la République, Paris)?

Bah ouais à peu près hein. Enfin si t’es souvent là genre même si t’es là que pendant une semaine au final on va commencer à se connaître quoi. On va se parler et tout tu sais. Après c’est le skate c’est normal tu vois. Au final si tu skate et t’es tout le temps sur le spot et tout on va commencer à se parler tu vois c’est obligé.

C’est un peu votre repère aussi ?

Tout le monde se rejoint répu en plus c’est dans le centre de Paris.

Vous bougez pas beaucoup ?

Ben ouais on bouge à d’autres spots quand même mais ça nous arrive des fois de rester à répu. En fait des fois on reste tout le temps répu et puis après on se dit putain faut qu’on bouge enfin je sais pas ça rend ouf un peu.

C’est quoi votre plan de la journée souvent ?

Je sais pas… On va répu. A 13 heure ! Après soit on décide de rester là genre si on skate bien là voilà tu vois ça fait plaisir d’être là.

Sinon on va bouger alors je sais pas ça dépend. Si on a vraiment une idée de spot on y va direct, genre on se rejoint répu à 13h et on bouge à genre 13h30. Sinon le plus souvent on est république puis vers 16h on commence à être saoulé du coup on bouge genre Joucieux, tu sais c’est les petits slappys. Enfin voilà.

Est-ce que vous bougez des fois plus loin que Paris ?

Ah non. En fait on aimerait bien tu vois mais vous êtes combien par exemple vous ? Genre quand vous skatez vous êtes combien ?

On est pas tellement ouais mais ça dépend de qui est chaud.

Mais déjà vous à Paris c’est beaucoup plus grand et y a plus de skateurs.

Ouais parce que nous quand on skate on est minimum 6 tu vois du coup euh. Vraiment y a toujours des avis différents et tout.

Chaque fois on s’engueule, on est jamais d’accord.

Vous avez jamais fait genre Bordeaux ou quoi ?

Ben non mais justement on voudrait bien ça. Ouais ça a l’air vraiment bien.

Tu comptes rester à Paris toute ta vie ?

Ben moi j’aime bien Paris au final. C’est quand même la ville où je veux vivre mais j’aimerais beaucoup voyager hein. J’aimerais bien aller à New-York, sinon l’année dernière j’étais à Londres, c’était bien. J’ai trop envie d’y retourner. Après Barca aussi j’y suis jamais allé. Sinon euh le Mexique aussi y a l’air d’avoir des spots de malade. Et Malmö aussi là-bas ça a l’air bien aussi.

T’es chaud bouger en Belgique un jour ? Haha.

Ben ouais peut-être hein.

Franchement y a des trucs cool vers Anvers et tout…

Ah ouais ? Pourquoi pas hein.

As–tu des sponsors ?

Euh ouais haha. Ah du coup je dois les dire ?

Comme tu veux hein haha.

Ben Supreme, Nike Sb et 917.

Le premier c’était lequel ?

Supreme. Ouais.

Comment ça s’est fait ?

Ben en gros j’étais répu c’était au moment où ils filmaient la vidéo Pussy Gangster. Et en gros y avait tout le team et ils étaient resté à Paris pendant bien un mois et demi. Ils étaient là tout les jours et comme ils étaient là tout les jours on commence à parler tu sais normal. Du coup y a Todd Jordan le team manager qui est venu me parler et ensuite on discute et tout, il me demande mon nom et il me demande ma taille de vêtements tu sais. Et après le lendemain sur le spot, il arrive avec un sac plastique rempli de sapes et il me les passe. Et après ils sont revenus à Paris tout ça on a recommencé à se voir et du coup ouais on s’entend bien.

Puis y a le shop qui a ouvert et ils ont mis en place un truc ou on peut se servir et tout.

Et t’as connu tout le monde grâce à Pussy Gangster et tout ça ?

Ouais parce qu’en fait j’avais arrêté le skate pendant un an et demi en gros et je venais de reprendre 6 mois avant et je les connaissais de vue tu sais. Et puis au final avec Todd et tout ça j’ai rencontré les Blobys et tout.

Sinon, bêtement c’est quoi ton trick préféré ?

Euh, ollie. Je te jure c’est ollie, c’est ce que je préfère. Un beau ollie catché. Sinon j’aime vraiment bien back smith et un que j’arrive pas c’est flip front.

T’arrives pas ça ?

Ah non j’arrive pas du tout ça m’énerve ouais je te jure. Du coup j’essaie de faire flip puis un pivot genre mais bon j’arrive pas trop.

T’as un dernier mot ?

Euh ben merci à république !

[English] First, how old are you and when did you start skating ?

So, I’m 16 and I’ve been skating for 6 years.

How did you get into it ?

Thanks to my neighbour who started and I got into it with him. I continued skating after that.

In Paris ?

No because I live in Noisy-le-Sec near Paris so I skated there.

Did you do other activities or still do ?

I played football and still like it.

And music ?

Not really, I just listen to what my friends like.

Let’s get into skating… Style or tricks ?

Nowadays, it’s mostly about style. Before it was all about tricks as I when I talk to older guys they say it wasn’t like that before. I also think the level of skating has decreased.

Who has the best style (favorite skateboarder) ?

For me, Alex Olson.

And in Paris ?

I’d like to say a Blobys but I don’t know… Because there’s Roman (Gonzales) or Vincent (Touzery). Wait I try to find others…

I would personally say Vincent Touzery…

Yeah, it’s true. He’s good, it’s crazy. He’s progressed, yeah I’d say Vincent actually.

What do you think about the Blobys ?

I don’t know they’re just normal guys you know. I really can’t say.

You’d like to be like them in a way ?

Not really, I mean I don’t want to be like them. I prefer having my own thing and see how it’s going.

Yeah, for sure, it’s the most important thing.

Yeah, anyways it worked for them so it’s good but still.

Do you have a good relation with them ?

Yes, I mean they’re friends. We call each other and go skate you know What’s up with 311 (small group of friends in Paris) ? Haha.

We actually have split up because we didn’t like the name. We actually just chose one because we wanted one you know. But there’s no point to create a name just for having one. It also looks like 917.

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You are all friends at République (Paris) ?

Yeah mostly. I mean when you skate there for a small time we meet and skate together. It’s normal in skating, you know.

It’s kind of your GQ ?

Yes we meet there, it’s also in Paris’ centre so it’s easy.

Do you skate other spots a lot ?

Yes but sometimes we just stay République or we get pissed of and move somewhere else.

Do you sometimes leave Paris.

Not really but we’d like to but we’re a lot so it’s hard to decide where to go as we never have the same opinion.

Do you want to stay in Paris your whole life ?

I’d like to stay. But I want to travel a lot too. I’d like to go to NewYork, I went to London last year and it was good. Barcelona and Malmö look cool too.

Want to come to Belgium sometime ? Haha Yeah, why not ?

Simple question haha, do you have sponsors ?

Hum yes haha. Well, Supreme , Nike SB, Call Me 917.

What was your first sponsor how did it happen ?

Supreme. Well during the video Pussy Gangster the « team » was in Paris for a long time. One day Todd Jordan (team manager) came to talk to me and asked for my clothing size and next day came with a bag full of clothes haha. Then the shop opened and they installed something to get clothes for us.

And did you meet all the guys thanks to the video ?

Yes because I actually stopped skating for 1 year and started skating again 6 months before all that. So I knew them just by seeing them but then thanks to Todd I met all of them.

So, simply, what’s your favorite trick ?

Hum, ollie or back smiths and one that I can’t really do is frontside flip.

A final word ?

Hum, well thanks to République !

© Maxime Sinatra

© Maxime Sinatra

Drawings by Jerome Delhez 32

Local

Š Mael Butel

Ghetto Blaster is a streetwear/graffiti/skate shop located in Liege, rue de la cathedrale 46 It is the only shop in Liege to have Tweak Clothing and Magazines.

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ROWAN ZORILLA