If you have ever been to Berlin chances are you have heard somebody scream HACK HACK! But what is Hack Hack and what does it mean? What are those videos popping up with Hack in the title, and who is behind them? The answers to those and many other questions were answered when we connected with Farid Ulrich and Vincent Heller.

Interview by Roland Hoogwater.

What is Hack Hack?

Farid
That is hard to define! While we were traveling through South America people often asked us the same question… How did we explain it again?

Vince
It is a vibe Hack Hack is the moment that you get hyped to do something. It originated in Bar 25 it where we were looking for motivation to do something. Along the way, the word trickled out of the bar, onto the streets and into skateboarding. It was a joke and it has turned into somewhat of a saying.

What was the first Hack moment you can remember?

Vince
Bar 25… that must have been 2010, I think… That is when the first Hack happened.

It made me think of Hakken a high energy Dutch dance style from the 90’s.

Farid
Ah… Do you mean those people with track suits and shaved heads?

Yes! (illustrates dance)

Vince
That suits the meaning of Hack too! Those guys were certainly hyped!

Back to Hack Hack, how did you guys get the idea to make videos?

Farid
We sit together to edit, smoke and try and make the best of the footage. Two heads have more ideas than one.

Vince
I film more than I edit because I noticed I don’t have the patience to just sit there. At the same time, Farid has a good feeling for what works.

What was the first Hack video?

Farid
The first Hack video we did was Hackelona, after that, we released CopenHacken and Hack Hack is our third video.

Vince
I started filming during our travels, I always carried a camera and I started playing around with it more and more. So the video happened when we started taking the camera along for our Berlin sessions. So instead of documenting our travels, it became more of a day to day thing.

The funny thing is we did not plan to make a full length, we just started to edit footage, linking certain things together. After a while, we watched the result and thought ” Oh..this works maybe we should create an actual video.”.
So then we made parts, separate from one another and then we tried to fit those parts together. It was kind of like a puzzle.

I got a flashback to Radio Skateboards “Radioactive Kids” when I watched the video. It showed me a kind of Berlin that I did not think existed anymore.

Vince
That is exactly what we wanted, documenting our lives in Berlin and by our I mean all that cross our path.

Farid
When you see the video you have to keep in mind the fact that these people are not all in the same crew. Vince and I just move in between crews and documented what we saw.

Vince
In the end, we turned it into one big Hack family.

Farid
We did not want to compromise, we wanted to show the people we liked and have them skate to the music we liked!
Often I work with people when I make a video part so it was important for our project to reflect us.

So, It is not like watching a homie video, it is a scene being documented.

Farid
Yes, plus the people that visited the City.

Did you show Hack Hack to people in South America?

Farid
We did, we watched it multiple times and it took me back in time, back to these places. It was a real good feeling! Hack Hack!

What about the footage from that trip, Will there be another Hack?

Farid
It took me some time but yesterday I started checking the footage from that tour and there will be something. At the same time Joscha Aicher and Daniel Ledermann are staying with us so maybe one of them will jump down a building or something.

Vince
The next Hack will be a video focused on South and North America, that will take us some time, with editing and all.

Farid
International Hack

Or Hackernational

Vince
It will be called something like that. First I want to focus on editing and summer in Berlin, I will pack my camera in my backpack and we will see what happens. Maybe this winter we will make the final Hack videos but who knows.

Farid
I just want to say we are not interested in being clean or great filming we want to show our lives and if there is a glitch somewhere we will include it, watch it and laugh about it.

Farid
That is exactly how I filmed my last trick. I was playing around and got the idea to manual over the tracks.

Vince
Just a Smoked out idea!

Farid
And an hour later it was done.

Vince
I think for a lot of people the Hack experience feels like a break from sponsored life. No main spots just hanging out and looking for the next spot. With a high chance of drinking a beer at the end of the day.

Thank you guys and HACKHACK!