Welcome back to our Place Presents series. This one is a collaborative effort between the main filmmaker Elia Lang, additional filmer Jon Wolf, and skater Dominik Maul. The part was filmed mostly in Barcelona (Dominik’s city of residence for years) and when we asked Elia what the title of the part meant he said: The part is called „My city is your city“ after the well-known „Mi casa es tu casa“ phrase. This was done because after moving back to Germany, Domi decided to move to Zurich in Switzerland, my former country of residence. With that being said, either press play to let Dominik’s actions speak or scroll down for some more words about the part by Elia. Whichever you choose enjoy!
Intro Text by Roland Hoogwater.
Filmed and Edited by Elia Lang.
Additional filming by Jon Wolf.
Guest appearance by Manuel Stiefvater.
„Never stop pushing!“
Is this to be taken seriously or just another empty catchphrase that, slowly but surely, made its way into our (nonetheless really peculiar) vocabulary?
After moving to Barcelona in 2022, I quickly got to know Domi Maul and we decided to film yet another VX Part in what some would call THE Hotspot in European Skateboarding. Without any goal or direction. Our process was – who would have thought – characterized by one or five lost clips due to outdated analog media technology, a plentitude of different police and neighbor encounters, and filming tricks in the blazing Spanish sun for literally hours, just to go home empty-handed at the end of the day. For some weird reason though, both of us had the same sort of continued eagerness and motivation which made almost every session last forever (at least it felt like that). The only thing that would stop us was empty batteries. And I mean that both camera and body-wise.
That is why one moment during the making of this Videopart has been stuck in my mind. It happened when we visited our good friend Manu Stiefvater in Madrid, and it happened at the spot where Domi Nollie Flips into a Nosemany and then goes down two sets of stairs… After filming for 4 hours, Domi finally called it a day and was at the very end of his powers. We sat down next to the spot, started packing our bags and as we wanted to leave… suddenly, out of nowhere, this guy in a convertible car pulled up, fully braking in the middle of the road, and screaming at Domi:
”Oyee, tu puedes hacerlo, solo tienes que probarlo! Anda Ya!”
Translation: Yoo, you can do it, you just have to try one more time! Get it!
Domi got sparked, tried it one more time, and got the clip.
Maybe this is what the phrase „Never stop pushing!“ means.
It is something that is meant to motivate not only yourself but others, to help them overcome their inner blockades, obstacles, and whatnot.