From the company that brought you Roller Aaller 3 now comes CLEPDOCHEHNIX. Much has changed during the time between these two videos but the spirit has remained the same!
Featuring:
Benjamin Vogel, Tjark Thielker, Daniel Meyer, Jan Hoffmann, Niklas Speer von Cappeln, Mike Brauer, Dennis Laaß, Lennie Burmeister, Lars Zimmermann, Friedjof Feye, Christoph Friedmann, David Marlo Conrads & our favorite rapper Tightill!
It is the truth that not all skateboarders are dumb, they are also not necessarily lazy. But one thing is certain: the larger the group of skaters, the lazier it gets. That is how it went with the “Basta!” crew.
14 years ago a bunch of passionate skaters hailing from the same boggy area called Niedersachsen. That group decided to give themselves a name, so that they grow together as a team and release a video at the same time. After the first video dropped (2004) and made its waves in the Boardstein Magazine (R.I.P.), the crew got the idea to create an even better video and that was the start of the Myth surrounding the “Basta! Video”.
Text by Basta!’s own Carsten (Barney) Beneker.
Translation by Place.
In the (particularly the German) scene this project rates somewhere between Mythical and Comical. Since the release of the first project, the second one has long been “in progress” or “to be released soon” and to be honest it took about ten years to get this project from the mind to the streets and the editing room floor to this post, which will finalize the project. Many people gave up hope of ever seeing this project reach a final stage. Finally, it has to be said that external influences gave our ten headed group the final push into out of a turtle like movement and into the finalization of the project.
The slow movement of our group.
The following thought model helps to illustrate the inertia in the Basta! clan: Take ten skateboarders that just started a multiple of new life challenges. Divide them from each other as far a possible within or outside the borders of the Bundesrepublik Germany. And try to create and cultivate even the slightest’s drop of team spirit, general motivation or vision between these ten people. To make sure that it does not become too easy, you are allowed only outdated means of communication, analog film equipment and poses neither the budget nor the technical expertise to work with above-mentioned tools, finally one can only act once a consensus about a decision has been reached. I mean the idea is to make a good quality video, should be easy enough right? I get kind of tense just thinking about it. Our previous experience indicates the result: Extremely slow decision-making and a truly absurd email history. The answers to the proverbial, differentiated emails are most popular, messages such as: “Hey let’s just finish the Basta!-video” or “well…, making some sticker would be cool”.
What kind of results can one expect in these type of conditions: The result? People who are hopelessly in love with their project thus they try to push their vision until things give in after ten years. In the end, the planned “skate video”, transforms into a documentation of one’s own coming of age.
Providence
There were some moments, moments in which everything seemed so easy and attainable. Like in 2009, when out of the blue we produced a great four-minute video for a video contest hosted by The Berrics. Or should we talk about that one night that the entire crew decided to book a flight, rent a van and an apartment to go and skate Cyprus together? A little while later we were standing in a place called Limassol which had such an abundance of good spots that we just could not believe our eyes. On the tail end of that trip, almost the whole Basta!-crew actually managed to visit the New York – Big Apple.
Maybe if certain people did not leak their footy during that time for their own commercial gain, we could have had an even greater presentation ready for you sooner. The challenge of doing our own edits was bypassed by these actions until finally our dear friend Jonathan Peters took a gamble and said: “It would be an honor for me to be able to edit the Basta!- video”.
It only took two years from the time that Mr. Peters ushered that statement to an actual final, final version of the video that all ten of the members could live with. After we completed this step we went on the next one which was organizing a premiere in Hannover’s favorite DIY festival 2er on Fire (2016). Since last Christmas, only 50 DVDs, Booklets, and hand pressed DVD covers were produced and now finally five months later, our baby will hit the internet. But, only because the staff over at PLACE asked us! And because we switched from a consensus type of voting style to a veto style of voting we could almost keep up with the internet’s demands.
Our Future
Our average age has now moved from our 20’s into our 30’s so the wine is getting finer and the cheese is not yet moldy. We still feel like we can surpass this video! And if we can’t, our offsprings will have to complete the video for us.
Thank you’s go out to:
We are many people who received a lot of support from a lot of different sides. Thus we owe a lot of people our gratitude, especially Jonathan Peters and Friedjof Feye because they certainly helped push the project forward. Also, we would like to that the staff of PLACE Magazine for their help.
Photos taken from the Basta! booklet.
As part of the events in the run-up to the Nike SB #ProjectDSS, the winners of each stop had been invited to participate in an exclusive session together with the German Nike SB team riders at Nike Town Berlin. Afterwards, everybody got the chance to design an own and unique Nike iD shoe that should be inspired by the #ProjectDSS. Below you can see the four best designs picked by Jan Kliewer and Lennie Burmeister from Yamato Living Ramps. To create your own Nike iD shoe go here.
Roland Hoogwater
“The white color stands for the new thing, creme for the dog piss, yellowish for the slappy curb, green for the trees of Berlin, black for the marks the skaters are going to leave at the new spot and, last but not least, L.O.O.Q.H stands for “I have a hot ass” in French, which, in turn, means that DSS is the hot spot of Summer 2016.”
Linus Werner
“I kept the basic colors brown and beige fitting to the ground and sand on which the whole project was built. The black lines shall depict the rails of the train that runs right next to the DSS, and thus, belong pretty much to the general view. For the sole I decided for grey speckles, which represent the variety of people on the Warschauer Street next by and also at the DSS itself. There you constantly run into all kind of different people from diverse countries or nationalities that all come for one and the same reason – to skate together at the DSS.”
Denny Pham
“Janoski Max Nike ID colorway in dark mahogany red like the sunset at the Warschauer Bridge above the DSS or the 1,49 Euro red wine drunk by the pseudo punks in front of the Kaisers supermarket around the corner. “Bänke Berlin” on the heels for the spot that influenced my skating, my favorite spot of Berlin in close proximity of the DSS, which, moreover, is also a spot that Jan Kliewer played a major role building.”
Farid Ulrich
“Doubtlessly, shoes always contribute to one’s own presence and we skateboarders as shoe destroyers per se, therefor, are especially picky and distinct when it comes to our footwear. It has to be stylish, plain and comfortable. The same is true for the skate parks we usually spend whole days at. It’s all about comfort and plainness. A good skate park is never too cluttered with too many obstacles in rainbow colors. It should also be a place to hang with your homies and to have some beers at the end of a day. All this I tried to transfer into my Nike ID shoe design, which is quite simple but still has stylish nuances.”
Photos by Danny Sommerfeld
After countless votes, a final draft and, Go Skateboarding Day, it was finally time for the new and improved DSS to be opened for the public. To celebrate this event, Nike SB invited everybody to destroy the park (not literally of course). People from all over came to a spot that is named after poop only to find out that the end result was the shit! In the end, your votes ended up creating a real nice location for us all to skate and that is what we did skate!
Hit play and see the lovely mayhem that was the Project DSS opening session.
Next week there will be another event at the DSS, this one will be in connection with the Berlin open so if you enjoy the park had fun at the last event and are down to earn some cash reserve a spot (no registration needed)
Yesterday the much anticipated Project DSS was completed! To celebrate this in an adequate manner, Nike SB invited everybody for a first open session. After starting with a shoe release event of a Nike SB and Skate Mental collabo at the Civilist Store a shuttle bus directly took the crowd to the brand new skate park. Hundreds of skateboarders and other bystanders gathered together to either skate or just watch this outstanding result of so much passionate work. One could clearly tell from the excitement that the park even outranged the high expectations! With a best trick contest with altogether 1500€ prize money the park was officially inaugurated. Afterwards, the session went on until sunset while drinks and pizza slices were served and music was played. I think I can speak for everyone if I say that the whole project was a great success and brought Berlin for sure its new place to be!
Photos: Danny Sommerfeld
In collaboration with
For those of you who haven’t heard, coming Monday the 27th at 7PM, the new and improved Project DSS will be opened. This event will be celebrated with some great skating by the Civilist, Nike SB, and Skate Mental teams… but at the same time, the event will be a Pizza party! The last couple of weeks the people of Yamato Living Ramps and their volunteers have been working around the clock and in all sorts of weather conditions to present you with a new and updated version of the DSS.
So if you are coming to Berlin for the Bright, are on a summer trip to Berlin or you just want to eat some pizza, come to the DSS next Monday.
Join us, head over to the Facebook event to find out the exact details.
“3” is a new video production presented by De Paris Yearbooks. It is going to be released with the De Paris, Of London and Aus Berlin 2015 Yearbooks.
In 2016, we will celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for the further development of a unique DIY spot in Berlin, The Dog Shit Spot. Legendary skaters Jan Kliewer and Lennie Burmeister will build and regularly install in cooperation with Yamato Living Ramps and 1. Berliner Skateboardverein e.V. new elements (obstacles) over a two year period. These developments will be celebrated with events as the construction progresses.
During the process, Berlin locals will be able to enjoy and participate in the events that will take place at their favorite skate shops in the city. They also will have the opportunity to provide us with their feedback as well as partake in the development of Project DSS. In the end, the decisions about particular plans and obstacles will be decided by votes.
#ProjectDSS is served! After six events of collective preparation we’re super close to finally enjoy the delightful result of all our diligent work. Join us and the Nike SB, Civilist and Skate Mental team at the ceremonial supper at June 27th. Enjoy sessioning some fresh mouth-watering concrete while delicately savoring a hot slice of pizza made by ‘Ragazzi della Fontana’ and getting rewarded by € 1.500 cash for delicious tricks.
The ‘1. Berliner Skateboard e.V.’ and ‘Yamato Living Ramps’ will officially open the venue and pizza oven at 7 PM. If you’re around Civilist you’ll be able to jump on a shuttle bus at 6.30 PM. Buon appetite and see you at the DSS!
Head over to the Facebook event to join us and to keep yourself updated.
Every year with the beginning of summer on June 21st (the longest day), skateboarders all around the globe meet up to celebrate the international Go Skateboarding Day. For this reason, Nike SB once again organized a whole event in Berlin. This year was different because of the Project DSS connection, the day started at a classic spot and ended at what will probably be one of Berlin’s new hotspots for the next years to come! On this day, Polendenkmal was host to the first best line contest and, people definitely went off! Some NBD lines were made with considerable ease and style. After that, we cruised down to eat and skate the DSS. Watch the video and see exactly what the atmosphere was like, who did what and who rolled away with the prize money.
Go Skateboarding Day 2016 Video
A very close friend of the whole office crew and the unbeaten king of BS Wallride Nollie’s. His skating is like listening to a very good tune, while you are having an extented brunch, sitting in a very nice and sunny garden. Tjark Thielker is one of the finest:
Unsere Hauptstadt glänzt mit einem neuen Skatepark. An der Prinzenstraße in Berlin/Kreuzberg enstand in wenigen Wochen ein Park, welcher von der Lage nicht besser sein könnte. Zwischen U-Bahn Station Prinzenstr. und dem Kanal, zeigt sich eine Bank-Landschaft mit vielen verschiendenen Varitionen und Formen. Leute wie Lennie Burmeister, Adam Sello und Jan Kliewer haben das Projekt begleitet und tatkräftig unterstützt. Ob der Park bereits für die Öffentlichtkeit zugänglich gemacht wurde, ist uns leider noch nicht bekannt. Verhaltet euch bitte fair, falls die Fläche noch umzäunt ist.
Inspiriert von Helge Tscharns „Crossprocessed“-Arbeit, begab sich Friedjof Feye in die Heimatstädte unserer Legenden des deutschen Skateboardings. Zunächst einmal soll die Technik ein wenig erläutert werden, denn heutzutage könnte man doch fast meinen, dass der Look der Scans womöglich dem Instagram-Filter „Valencia“ geschuldet sei. Viel komplizierter: Geschossen wurden die Bilder auf abgelaufenen Fuji Sensia 400 oder Provia 400 Dia-Filmen und anschließend im wiederum normalen C41-Verfahren entwickelt. Man spricht von der Umkehrentwicklung eines Farbnegativfilms, wobei das Filmmaterial in seinem gegenteiligen Entwicklungsprozess entwickelt wird.
Passend zur relativ alten Technik und dem längst vergessenen Farbtrend, konnte Friedjof einige unserer immer noch sehr trendigen und aktiven Skateboard-„Großväter“ vor die Linse bekommen, die dann noch einmal an ihrem Heimat-Spot performen mussten. Intern konnten wir nach dem Eintreffen der Fotos in der Redaktion auch einige Highlights der Jungs Revue passieren lassen, zum Beispiel Oliver Tielschs SW Flip Backtail am Wassertorplatz, welcher auch heute noch ein absoluter Curtain Closer wäre.
Wann warst du zum ersten Mal an dem Spot?
Das war wahrscheinlich 1994. Damals haben wir (die Skater vom Land) angefangen, die Street-Skate-Szene in Hannover aufzumischen und Dennis Laas hat uns viel gezeigt. Kurze Zeit später hatte ich eine Freundin in Hannover, die direkt anliegend am gezeigten Spot gewohnt hat und dadurch wurde es ein „daily Spot“ für mich. Hinter der Mensa gibt es noch ein 7er Rail, das wir verstärkt geskatet sind und an dem ich wohl die ersten Switch Rail-Tricks in Deutschland überhaupt gemacht habe.Insgesamt wird an den Mensa-Banks wohl schon seit dem Entstehen im Jahr 1981 geskatet. Der Spot ist auch heute noch nicht ausgereizt, wie zum Beispiel Farids FS Blunt Transfer zeigt.
Wie hat sich Skateboarding in deiner Heimatstadt (deiner persönlichen Skateboard-Heimat) verändert?
In Wietzen, dem kleinen Dorf zwischen Hannover und Bremen, in dem auch meine Skatescheune steht, hat sich leider die Szene quasi aufgelöst. Alle Crews, die den Skate-Vibe seit unserem Anfang um 1990 weitergetragen haben, sind langsam aber stetig in die Städte ausgewandert, so dass kaum noch Nachwuchs begeistert werden kann. Obwohl die Scheune noch immer jeden Tag (außer sonntags) und ohne Eintritt genutzt werden könnte. Ich hoffe, dass sich das schnell wieder ändert und die nächste Generation da wieder rockt. Die Rampen sind auf jeden Fall eine Reise wert und top in Schuss – seht selbst:
Wo siehst du deutsches Skateboarding im europäischen Vergleich?
Die deutsche Skateszene hinkt leider schon immer in puncto Style und Output den Engländern und Franzosen hinterher, obwohl Deutschland den größten Euro-Skatemarkt besitzt und es auch sehr viele Skater gibt.
Leider gibt es nur wenig Fahrer, die internationale Beachtung finden, und es gibt nicht eine deutsche Board-Company, die über die Grenzen Deutschlands bekannt ist. Wieso das so ist, kann ich nicht erklären, aber es wird Zeit, dass sich das ändert!
Wer sind deine deutschen „Lieblingsskater“, damals und heute?
Lieblingsskater kommen und gehen mit den Jahren, aber einige sind da für mich schon sehr wichtig. Das sind Leute wie Jan Waage, Sami Harithi, Klaus Dieter Span und Jan Kliewer, die mich persönlich sehr beeinflusst haben, und natürlich all die Jungs, die ich gut kenne und die dann durch die Decke gegangen sind wie Willow, Paco Elles, Tjark Thielker oder Michi Mackrodt und Glenn Michelfelder.
Dann ist da noch eine Riesenliste an Skatern, die mich einfach von ihrer Art zu skaten berühren, z.B. Louis Taubert, Valerie Rosomako, Daniel Pannemann, Patrick Rogalski oder Farid, von denen man noch sehr viel hören wird.
Deine persönliche „Golden Era“ der gesamten Karriere?
Es klingt etwas seltsam, aber ich kann das wohl zwei Phasen meiner Skatezeit zuordnen: Einerseits die Zeit um 95/96, in der ich sehr große Schritte in meinem Können gemacht habe und vielleicht im Vergleich zur weltweiten Szene sehr weit vorne war, aber leider nie den Schritt ins internationale Game gewagt habe – aber dafür um so mehr Spaß mit den Homies hatte. Und dann die letzten sieben Jahre, in denen ich wieder sehr viel gefahren bin und auch vom Skaten leben konnte. Man wird mit dem Alter zwar etwas ruhiger, was den Stuntfaktor angeht, aber man lernt immer mehr dazu, so dass ich sagen möchte, ich bin heutzutage ein besserer Skater als je zuvor.
Wie lange wird man noch mit dir rechnen können?
Ich finde nicht mehr so viel Zeit wie früher, um Output zu produzieren, da jetzt mein Sohn Milo da ist und ich auch viel mit unserer Company Yamato Living Ramps beschäftigt bin. Aber so schnell werdet ihr mich nicht los und dann werdet ihr hoffentlich auch immer mehr Skateparks (checkt mal Chemnitz aus!) aus meiner Feder fahren.
Vor knapp zwei Wochen lud Lennie Burmeister zu einer Cash for Tricks Session an den Dogshit DIY Spot in Berlin: Über 150 Fahrer folgten der Einladung und es ging erwartungsgemäß richtig zur Sache. Youness Amrani, Dallas Rockvam, Ruben Rodriguez und Kenny Anderson in Aktion:
Berlin/Kreuzbergs Traditionsladen Search&Destroy kommen mit dem ersten Teil ihres Video SOS 36. Unter anderem vertreten sind: Dallas Rockvam, Steve Forstner, Danni Olsen, Carsten Beneker, Lennie Burmeister uvm. Wir freuen uns schon auf Part2!
Das Team der Cleptomanicx Seemänner wurde in die Scheune des Lotsen Lennie Burmeister geschleust. Dort angekommen, fanden die Mannen perfekte Bedingungen, um ihrer Kreativität auf den “Brettern, die tatsächlich immer noch rollen aller” (O-Ton Cäptn Clepto) freien Lauf zu lassen. Mit dabei sind Lennie Burmeister, David Conrads, Dennis Laaß, Tjark Thileker, Niklas Speer von Cappeln und Adam Sello.
Video: Sean Nguyen
Radio Skateboards neustes Teammitglied hört auf den durchaus einfachen Namen Justin Sommer, und so easy wie sein Name klingt sieht es auch aus wenn er Skateboard fährt. Unterstützt wird er von unter anderem: Colin McLean, Conrad Bauer, Lennie, Valle und the one and only Sami Harithi.
In Betonhausen wurde mal wieder angebaut: Lennie Burmeister, Jan Kliewer, Hirschi, Tjark Thielker, Steve Young und Sami Harithi weihen in diesem Clip das neue Lousy House ein. Kumpanei to the fullest!
Die Clepto Boys sind nach langer Reise im Heimathafen eingetrudelt, was mit einem ordentlich Toast gefeiert werden muss. Lennie Burmeister, David Conrads, Dennis Laaß, Tjark Thielker, Niklas Speer von Cappeln und Freunde in Hamburg.
Portugal als Land und Malaga als Hafenstadt sind die nächsten Ziele der Überwasser Rabauken von Cleptomanicx. Mit Lennie Burmeister, David Conrads, Dennis Laaß, Tjark Thielker, Niklas Speer von Cappeln und Freunden.
Nicht nur im Exil sondern auch in deutschem Gefilde konnten die Jungs von Cleptomanicx einiges an sportlichen Manövern auf Mini DV bannen. Lennie Burmeister, David Conrads, Dennis Laaß, Tjark Thielker, Niklas Speer von Cappeln und Freunde in AALemanicx.
Der Aal auf spanisch: “La Anguila”. Aqui no, ist das Motto. Skateboard fahren nicht gestattet auf katalanisch: “no està permès skate.”.. oder so. Das reicht jetzt auch mit den Vokabeln, denn die Jungs von Cleptomanicx sprechen auch kein spanisch.