Berlin is a big city but compared to the size and population its Skateboarding Scene is relatively small. Vincent Heller gives us a very good and insightful look into a scene that not only has a handful of pro skaters but also way more people you probably have never even heard of before. This edit might also include a full comeback part of the one and only Mack McKelton, who would have thought!?
So, a little earlier this month Nike hosted a day where the Skatehalle Berlin was opened up to the public and as you have come to expect from us we were there to show you, the public, what went down. A video recap is something we do quite often but because this was a special event we chose a different route, we chose you, the skaters, to document the event for us.
What was so special about this event? Well, it was part of the new “Just Do It” campaign which focusses on getting skaters skating, skaters talking and mainly skaters just being active, together.
Besides that, two local skaters are part of the campaign, Melika & Mobina Nazari, two girls who came to Berlin from Afganistan and are now a strong fixture in the Berlin skate scene. They became a part of skating through workshops and now they took the role of giving them, a proud moment.
Furthermore, we also gathered to session the Bowl in the Skatehalle. A bowl that has been there for the longest and is worth celebrating but is also worth updating and with people like Fernando Bramsmark, Farid Ulrich & David Bachl it is easy to see why an update is needed to raise the stakes.
So in the end, a temporary extension was brought in and Nando rang the bell which signaled a new day for the transition part of the Skatehalle. Now press play and see people race, fly, skate, DJ but most of all enjoy themselves.
What do you do when you have walked through your city over a million times? You are probably trying to find new roads around the good old town. Stanley WE & Lobby Skateshop went a bit further, took the old concept of Hamburg’s famous Labskaus Jam format and got everyone on a boat cruise through the Hanseatic city. Hamburg knows how to throw a party!
Filmed & edited by Nizan Kasper.
The tested method of putting people on a plane or a train and bringing them to the people. Primitive shows us that the crowds want to just see you skate.
June the 21st has many names “Midsummer Night”, the longest day of the year or “Go Skateboarding day 2019”.
This year Berlin was the city, MBU the location and Vans & Radio skateboards the supporting brands but most importantly Valentin Cafuk was the MVP!
Valle told us the day before, “Either I am going home with a lot of cash or I am going home hurt but either way, I am putting it on the line!” and he did just that. The next day though, he spent it all on art supplies…
So now since GSD is over and the sun on the longest day has set. It is all downhill from here but at least we can relive the moment with this video!
We would like to thank both Vans & Radio Skateboards for their support and we will see you all next year. Let’s hope that these obstacles will stay at MBU until then!
Paul Herrmann gets the honor of closing off our year with his best of 2018 montage. The video features some of Berlin’s finest and some of Germany’s best.
To be honest, it is nice to see that young filmers still wait to “build” montages instead of filming for a couple of weekends and then “just putting it out” in a sub-par fashion.
Surprises are nice and we believe in the fact that every skater can have something to add to a montage. To draw a parallel, in a band not everybody can be the lead singer, some people might be drummers or they might not even play any instrument but still, they are an important element of the band.
In “bestof2k18” Herrmann manages to show us all the bits and bobs behind his “band” and we hope you enjoy the results.
Let’s keep it as short as the name – A new one by Dan Schulz feat.: Oliver Weismantel, Sascha Scharf, Banden B, Franz Zechlin, Farid Ulrich, Sami Harithi, Dustin Bialas, Patrick Rogalski, Sascha Daley, Arthur Kiviliov, Kanya Spani, Kerem Elver, Panos Loupis, Daniel Ledermann, Lukas Bigun, Marco Kada & Tabo Löchelt.
During the premiere of Leon Rudolph’s new video, somebody asked: “Why is this video called Practice?” The answer lies in the opening shot of this video.
Pressed play, still no clue? You probably don’t watch the NBA, Leon does, he got the inspiration for his newest video from a Basketball legend Allen “A.I.” Iverson.
Iverson was at the peak of his skills and got asked about his performance during practice and his response is simply legendary.
Press play and listen to Iverson’s wisdom and watch Leon’s newest video featuring People like:
Jun Kummer, Hyun Kummer, Cephas Benson, Benny Urban, Santiago Sasson, David Jakinda, Farid Ulrich, Peter Buikema, Moritz Alte and many more.
It took us a while to finally go live with the fourth and final part of the Hack International series.
This last Hack part finally sees the boys make their way from the south of America all the way to the north. Nor and So-cal to be exact, times over there were harder for the guys but the footage is good. As in every part they managed to find some of their friends and make some new ones at the same time.
The whole thing ends where it started… in Europe, Christiania to be exact. There they meet back up with their friend from South America, you know it is always nice when things round out and form a non-vicious cycle.
Enjoy the last part of the Hack series and go back and watch part one, two or three if you want to catch up.
“Finally we have arrived at part 3, that is my favorite part!” Said Hack frontman Vincent Heller.
And as we journey with the 2 Hackies we have to agree, from Machu Picchu to the smooth concrete parks and back to the rough mountain streets, this is a Hack Highlight. Enjoy!
In this second episode, we find the Hack boys high as ever flipping their board on some the highest points in South America. Farid and Vince trek on as their journey takes them deeper into nature, a forebearer of what to come.
Enjoy part two featuring:
Pat, Zach, Mink, Snackmaster and Torey.
If you ever moved a mile you will find out that travelling equals freedom and friendship. Farid Ulrich and Vincent Heller have made many friends all over the globe, some they met at home in Berlin and others they stumbled upon during their own tours, trips and movements.
Naturally, when friendship blooms, an invitation is made either out of politeness or out of need (wanting to hang out). Farid and Vincent are famous for extending their hand and taking people in, but as all travellers do they need to leave home ever so often. So they saved up and decided to do a “Grand Tour” of all their friends in South-America.
First stop, the Republic of Chile, and Alvaro Galarce, Christian „Maluco“ Elizondo, Matthias Torres, Eduardo „El Gato“ Garcia and Max Kani all got a visit from the two high flying Berliners.
We are done talking and if you want to know more simply press play!
Vincent Heller did a really great job making Hack3 even better than Hack Hack! The skating, editing and overall vibe all had an update and it did the project well.
For those of you that might have thought it ended here, think again, trust us when we say there is more Hack coming!
We said it before and we will say it again Hack Hack is the 2018 version of “Radio Active Kids”! If you want to experience what Berlin can be like, watch this video.
After Berlin, Paris was the next station for the Nozbone Benchmark contest that had actually its first Berlin event this year. So, the contest went back home to celebrate the 10th year of the event. As always, the vibe in Paris was really good and even some Berlin locals made it on the podium.
Last week we celebrated the start of the 10-year anniversary of Nozbone’s Benchmark contest. Starting in Berlin and concluding last Sunday in Paris. And a sun-filled day it was. It felt like spring had hit us again for a day, which turned the day into somewhat of a festival.
With the mood set, let’s get into the skating. It was culminating in some amazing skating by people like John Purcell, Hugo Corbin, Giorgi Armani, Farid Ulrich and Nozbone’s own Marc-A Barbier who, in the end, took home the win.
We think Nike SB, Civilist, Nozbone and À Propos magazine did a great job this year and we hope to be back next year.
We are proud to host the probably last skate event for summer 2017. The Benchmark Contest takes their format to Berlin for the very first time and here is all the information you need:
“For its tenth year, the Nozbone Benchmark Contest presented by Nike Skateboarding goes to Berlin on September 16th to meet Civilist before heading back to Paris on the 24th.
Two stages for this international edition which rules remain the same since 2008: doing a line of tricks on benches and the different obstacles built specially for the event, inspired by the artistic style born in the early days of the 20th century in Berlin: the Bauhaus.
Winner of the Berlin contest at ‘Spot der Visionäre’ will share a total prize purse of € 1.500 and will be flown out the OG Paris event.”
Last Saturday marked the start of a new series of skateboard events throughout Europe, the Snipes Squad Up competition kicked off in Berlin.
From all over Germany, they came, groups of skaters ready to compete for the 10.000 prize purse. And to everybody’s excitement, it wasn’t just your usual suspects, Crews like Seoul2k and Europe Co. competed as well. Together with the locals from Märkisches Viertel Snipes managed to create an eclectic atmosphere that made for a good day of skating.
Check out the images and catch the vibe.
Marca Barbier, Hugo Corbin, Giorgi Armani, Sami Harithi & Farid Ulrich are all meeting at the intersection, where it seems that Paris abruptly becomes Berlin.
For its tenth year, the Nozbone Skateshop Benchmark Contest presented by Nike Skateboarding goes to Berlin on September 16th to meet Civilist before heading back to Paris on the 24th. We are glad to invite you all!
Filmed by Peter Buikema & Augustin Giovannoni.