Max Pack, Hendrik Herzmann and the German Vans team extended their stay in Copenhagen after CPH open to hang out, skate, and film this video together.
Lately, it seems that time, again and again, Joscha Aicher provides the highlights and in this video, his supporting cast is Timo Meiselbach, Marco Kada and Jan Hoffmann.
I guess if you call your company Europe Co. you can’t just hang out in Germany, right? A possible motivation for the guys to make this little trip to the French capital. Even though the footy in this clip is good, we are pretty sure that the best of the best was saved for Europe’s upcoming release Autobahn, so check the vibe and get ready for their next big project.
Mails are coming in, phones are ringing and social media is exploding – it’s time for feedback! To be honest it’s always a very exciting time when a new issue drops. How will people react on things, that we think are cool? For the first time we would like to present you a little selection of our favourite reactions on our newest issues of all times – either good or not so good.
“Where can I get that camo top?” – bumwin
“Do yourself a favour and #savetheforrests” – Christian Welther
“Superb!” – foto_24
“Very nice issue. I really like that the mag is in English, the print is amazing and I love the Roman pictures. Thank you!” – Pontus Alv
“What the hell? I think you should finally do a skatecover again.” – Hendrik Herzmann
“I had to call instead of writing a mail ’cause I’m so excited. Just to say, I’m fuckin’ lovin’ it!” – Nick Bridge, Bitchslap Magazine
“Yo, everything’s been done. VERY FUCKIN’ WELL! Kudos.” – David Luther
“Dopeeee” – shadyondeck
“Good job guys! Fully experimental cover but good!” – Kévin Métallier
“I think that your latest cover was made for me! Congrats again for the NBD cover!” – Lucas Beaufort
Illustration by Lucas Beaufort
Is skateboarding still cool? Is there an end in sight? Usually you can tell by the amount of young talent out there, and if you judge by the phone and car commercials featuring skaters at the moment, it seems to still be cool. But kids don’t want to do what their parents or elders like to do. They want to break out of the system and do something different, to be edgy and develop their own identity.
It’s not right to tell them what to do, they have to figure it out themselves. That’s how real talent appears and becomes visible – not by falling in line with all the other guys out there. On that note, meet Jan Hoffmann, Julian Ruhe, and Valentin Cafuk – a trio of young guns going their own way.
Jan Hoffmann – FS Disaster
If you are a talented young adolescent, there is a chance you don’t really grasp the concept of being sponsored. First of all, there is a big chance that you never have to spend money on product, simply because you never earned a dime in your life yet. So you probably never really paid for your own gear anyway – your parents did! But does that automatically mean you take everything for granted?
That depends on your character, but appreciating what you have is a rare trait. Unspoiled young talent is an even rarer find in Germany these days. But there are a few kids out there that are on the right track – and I think we might have found them!
Julian Ruhe – BS 180 fakie Nosegrind
Jan, Julian, and Valentin are young, talented – and German. Seems kind of odd nowadays, right? It wasn’t always like that: Remember back when Dardan Sabovic, Asche, and Patrick Streiter where on the come-up? For a while they seemed to be unstoppable. Any magazine in Germany had them covered with most of their tricks shot in North Rhine-Westphalia by either Helge Tscharn, or Thomas Gentsch.
Valentin Cafuk – Gap to BS Lipslide
Especially Dardan and Streiter were known as the German answer to the Spanky/Herman duo back then. They might as well have been called shooting stars because everything happened very quickly. That time when Streiter kickflip crooked a handrail was pretty much a milestone for German skateboarding. Michel Lohmann, former skateboard filmer from Muenster, got into a wager to get Patrick’s name tattooed on his ass, because he simply didn’t believe he could actually do that trick, which was not that unreasonable.
Same goes for Dardan’s nollie BS 180° down the old famous Cologne 13-stair, next to the Rhine river, which ended up being an Adio Shoes ad. And not to forget Asche’s switch kickflip at the Münster Ten. Those tricks where NBDs at that time, at least for German skaters. Nowadays it has became a very rare sight to find those three guys in magazines, or see any new skate footage, but they still skate and still live in the same town.
Jan Hoffmann – Beanplant Bluntslide
The kids are growing up really fast. I hadn’t seen Julian in about ten month and it feels like he’s coming along fine. Same goes for Jan and Valentin, they are in such an interesting time of their lives right now that it’ll be hard for them to understand what’s going on; also simply because they learn – every single day.
Remember when Chris Cole wore a yellow shirt and baggy jeans, then years later went fully Rock ‘n’ Roll and now he looks like he’s on his way to a Nickelback concert? You definitely go trough a lot of phases in your early stages. Some more then others… The industry is constantly looking out for new talent. What doesn’t fit is made to fit, that’s how the industrial age proceeds. But in our knowledge-based society, the individual can win by breaking the ranks and being a little different, or going down a more unusual road than others.
Julian Ruhe – FS Nosegrind pop out
Personality is the keyword and the skate-robot slowly dies out, but that’s no longer news. The industry is aware of that. Like Dardan, Streiter, and Asche – those new guys have charisma. And that’s something no one is going to able to simply buy or mold any time soon. You can put a label on a lot of things, but some things are just unaccountable, that’s for sure. There is and will always be a lot of talent to evolve. And we are very much looking forward to seeing more of the power trio Jan, Julian, and Valentin.
Photos: Hendrik Herzmann
Video: Severin Strauss
Text: Daniel Pannemann
Hey Kalle,
eigentlich war die Kategorie “Ein Brief an” gedacht für Menschen, die uns nicht so nahe stehen aber von uns ein Lob bekommen sollen. Ich kenne dich schon seit 2007 und finde, dass du dir bereits einen Lobgesang verdient hast, mit allem Drum und Dran – Seemannschor, Trompeten, Saxophon, Pfeifenorgel, Paukenschlag und so weiter. Anders: Wir in der Redaktion sind große Fans und vor allem stolz auf dich.
BS Nosegrind – Photo by Hendrik Herzmann.
Damals haben wir dich in einem VW Kombi abgeholt, um nach Paris auf eine Skatetour zufahren. Dein allererster Ausflug mit Skatern, und mit dabei waren Norbert Szombati, Alex Mizurov, Jonas Feil, Alex Siegfried, Lucas Fiederling, Flo Geyer, Eric Mirbach, Alex Denkiewicz und ich. Nach kurzer Beschnupperungsphase haben wir uns sofort gut verstanden und irgendwie hatte ich von Anfang an das Gefühl, dass du gekommen bist um zu bleiben.
Damals warst du noch klein, ziemlich schüchtern, trugst einen Wuschelkopf und dein Board hatte viel mehr Rotationen gesehen als heutzutage. Leute sprachen vom “Kid vom Dom”.
2015 trägst du einen Kurzhaarschnitt, bist gefühlt einen Meter größer geworden, besitzt fast ausschließlich schwarze Bekleidung und hast ordentlich Sprungkraft bekommen. Genau das macht dein Skateboarding heute aus, denn du kannst Banklehnen skaten so wie die großen Jungs, zu denen du ja jetzt gehörst. Gibt es etwas cooleres als Banklehnen zu skaten und über solche springen zu können?
Kickflip – Photo by Hendrik Herzmann.
Neben deiner besagten Sprungkraft auf dem Skateboard, ist mir aufgefallen, dass auch deine Persönlichkeit ein Upgrade bekam und du an deinen Social-Skills gefeilt hast. Das nervige Kid warst du aber eigentlich auch noch nie. – Du bist einfach erwachsen geworden!
Wo sind eigentlich deine dicken, von der Mama selbstgstrickten Wollsocken geblieben? Damals ging nichts ohne deine Socken.
Wir wünschen uns jetzt einfach mal einen Part von dir. – Shout out to Domliebe. Am liebsten natürlich noch in diesem Jahr. Ach wäre das schön, was hälst du davon?
Die Idee zu diesem Brief kam eigentlich erst, als der Henne mir den Link zum Vans Clip schickte. Das Video hatte ich zwar schon vorher vom Severin gezeigt bekommen, habe aber erst beim zweiten Mal bemerkt, wie du durch diesen Clip marschierst als ob es deine letzte Tour wäre. Und weil es so schön war, guck ich’s direkt ein drittes Mal.
Ich freu mich schon wenn wir auf der nächsten Robotron Tour zusammen auf der Rückbank sitzen dürfen!
Bis bald, Karl-Heinz!
Dein Daniel.
Gemeinsam mit den Girls der LookyLooky Posse hatten wir letzten Freitag zur Geldverbrennungsparty bei Vatos Tacos in Kreuzberg geladen. Dass der Abend so überschwänglich und fröhlich werden würde, hätten wir uns beim besten Willen nicht vorstellen können. Umso schöner, dass es anscheinend allen Gästen gefallen hat und wir die Party in die Schublade EPISCH einsortieren können. Danke fürs Kommen, es war uns eine Freude und statt tot oder reich sind wir heute immer noch ein bißchen tot und arm. Aber es hat sich gelohnt – hier die ungeschönte Wahrheit aus unseren Quicksnaps:
Am Ende ist der auch der letzte Film gerissen…
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