Bavarian skateboarding has been about producing quality content for a minute now with SHRN & Impulso being strong fixtures in the Munich skate scene. Still one would think that for a city with over a million inhabitants, you would see some more fresh faces pop up ever so often. Jacob Reid is one of those fresh faces, this being his first part and as such he arrives with a bit of a bang. And that is a hopeful thing for a city that has not always been easy on youth culture in particular. you should enjoy this, we did!

Intro & Interview By Roland Hoogwater.

Video By Benedikt Schlosser & Jacob Reid.

Guest skater Paul Zenner.

Hey Jacob How are you? Let’s start this talk, tell me a bit about yourself.

Hey Roland, sounds good, shoot!

Let’s start off easy, when did you start skating?

I started skating when I was around twelve, so fourteen years ago. 

When did you start filming for this project and with whom?

We started in the fall of 2020. I would often see Bene (Schlosser) at skateparks around Munich, and he always had a good vibe to him. So during the pandemic, he offered me to come out to film with him and his crew. Eventually, I met up with them and we kept it going from there. I lived an hour away from the city, so we would plan out days and go filming once or twice a month over a two-year span. I didn’t really know any spots, so I would just tag along and skate wherever we ended up. Shout out to Bene Schlosser, Paul Zenner, and Stefan Lehnert for showing me around! 

Tell me a bit about the scene in München

Tbh I was never really part of the scene in Munich until recently. I grew up in Oberammergau, a small town about an hour south of Munich. So I’d mostly skate with friends around there – Munich always seemed a bit intimidating to me. 

But once I got to skate there more frequently I really started to enjoy it. Been really hyped on the recent SHRN edits and the Impulso videos. Plus Munich low-key has a lot of nice spots. It feels like every other month you can go skate a new school or corporate building here. The perks of living in Bavaria (laughs). Overall I think that Munich has a lot of potentials, and the scene gets a bad rap sometimes.

Is this your first part?

Apart from a couple of clips in homie videos, this is my first real part. Initially, we just started filming without a goal in mind, but once we got to a couple of minutes of footage it made sense to make a video out of it. I think filming a part automatically becomes a goal for most skaters at some point. Feels good to finally check that off the list! 

I used to drink a lot when I was younger. But you won’t catch me at Oktoberfest.

I need to know about the soundtrack, tell me how you came to use them, and tell me your general process of picking songs and how important that is to you.

To me, a video lives and dies by its music. Generally, my favorite videos always have songs that really mesh with the skating, the spots, and the filming. So I basically just tried to find a certain music genre or artist that I personally enjoy and that would suit my skating and the look of the spots. The two tracks I picked have been on my playlist for a minute, and I just like the feel that they bring to the video. From there on, the editing process was actually pretty fun and easy. So picking the right song might be challenging at times, but it definitely paid off! Thanks, Spotify algorithm.

Münich is hard to skate, kick outs are often, and there was no indoor option in the winter for years. How is it being a skater in the Bavarian capital?

The kick-out situation can be pretty bad. There were a couple of tricks that I didn’t get because of multiple kick out’s. But it makes it even better when you end up getting the trick eventually. I think the Nollie 360 was during a kick-out, it was my last try. 

And yes, skating here definitely feels like a seasonal hobby at times (laughs). It can be frustrating, but you just got to make the best of it I guess. I actually really enjoy breaking into the Aldi parking garage with some friends and just skating flat ground for a bit. That’s really how I grew up skating.    

Mandatory Oktoberfest question, How many Maß can you drink in one sitting?

In one sitting? Maybe four. Or five. But it won’t end well. I used to drink a lot when I was younger. But you won’t catch me at Oktoberfest – that place is the worst. Sorry Munich.

Well, Jacob, that was it as far as the questions go. Thank you for doing this and we are excited to see what will be next!

Thank you for the opportunity, excited for this to go out!