The vibe in this one is just right, it is fun, it makes us want to go and skate!
Oh, and by the way, we name that last line: “Oops, wrong gap.”
Tag: vans
Place Your Flag
Herzlich Willkommen to the video that goes with PLACE YOUR FLAG a special publication of Place Skateboard Culture (in finer shops now). This project is special, not only because it deviates from our “regular” numbered editions in size, because it has animation or the number of pages but because somebody proposed it to us.
You see, normally our we come up with the ideas but this time the credit for the “Startschuss” has to go to Moritz Alte. Moritz or Mo came to us because he felt we needed to do something that included Vans team rider, Julian Ruhe.
“He felt we needed to do something that included Vans team rider, Julian Ruhe.”
After a short pitch, he presented us with a plan, which we then together finetuned into the thing you hold today. A series of papers with ink on it about young people, leaving their “Heimat” and finding their place in Berlin.
It all sounds great, skating in Berlin, following 4 people and a dog as they find their place in their new surroundings but the thing is that Mo proposed to do all this during the winter and early spring months. Puffy jackets, low light, grey skies, and snowy Berlin, not sunny, hip, drinking beer and hanging out until 23:00 at a Späti Berlin.
Moritz proposed a young crew consisting of Steffen Grap, 21 (photographer), Peter Buikema, 23 (filmer) and himself, 22 as (an overseer and writer) we liked the idea but felt we needed something more so we added a Brittish ex-pat Jack Taylor, (26) to do a part of the graphic work.
The question we had was: “Is a 22-year-old ready to do the heavy lifting it takes to make a print issue work?” Well the results speak for themselves don’t they, it took some time, it took a lot of energy but it came out great, different and that was what we were looking for. because Berlin can be a lot of things but in the cold it is mostly a beast of burden, whereas in summer it can feel like a balloon, lifting you up. Working the beast, might not be easy but it can be rewarding. There are clear benefits like the lack of tourist people around, fewer skaters at the more famous spots and fewer distractions all around by open airs, protests, and kick-outs because winter is mostly about staying in.
“Is a 22-year-old ready to do the heavy lifting it takes to make a special issue work?”
To wrap it up, a lot of people talk a good game about moving to Berlin but you haven’t truly been here unless you have been through a winter so look at what we together created and make up your mind firmly if you really want to Place your flag in Berlin soil.
Special thanks go out to Vans “OFF THE WALL” for supporting this project.
Editorial lifted and adapted from the print issue of the new PLACE YOUR FLAG issue of Place Magazine. Text by Roland Hoogwater.
Vans Mockba Life
The best possible outcome from a Moscow trip is definitely this video to which one can simply say wow…
Vans put this out from Russia with love and we managed to get our Chris Pfanner fix until the next video.
Memory Screen: Anthony Van Engelen
Anthony Van Engelen is one of the greatest characters in skateboarding and there is no one even close to him. You can see a silhouette of AVE and you would immediately know that it is him. No wonder that Vans is holding on to him.
Geoff Rowley’s “Take it Back” Video
Ronnie Sandoval, Pedro Barros & Geoff Rowley. Three humans of undeniable superpowers are sharing parts in this new video piece by Vans. Instant classic.
Big tricks at Big O
You might have noticed that the banners are up, the first test runs are being made and this week it will be decided who will win the Vans Park Series stop in Paris. But first, we would like to share with you one of the best VPS best trick sessions we have ever seen.
As always the skaters went big, the money was flowing as was the beer at the Montréal landmark spot the “BIG O”!
If you don’t know the “O” Watch the Canadian episode of the loveletters if you don’t know about this landmark but either way enjoy this close up and personal view of what went down that day.
Vans Park Series – Montréal Video Recap
After the “Photo-Recap” now comes the moving image and it shows you just how things went down before & after Conny Mirbach’s postcard moments.
We learned a lot during our stay in the MTL but the number one thing is: never count out Pedro Barros and breakfast poutine is way better than regular poutine.
Vans Australia – Diggers
The Australian department of Vans has some of the coolest skaters out there but we hadn’t seen them in a video altogether and that is exactly what this video brings us.
Also, we wonder what they are digging for?
Vans Park Series Montréal – Best Trick At The Big O
After the party is the after-party and after that is probably the hotel lobby but in Montréal we got the after-party on the first day of the contest. “The Big O” is a legendary Canadian skate spot that was host to some serious destruction during this VPS.
Text by Roland Hoogwater.
Photos by Conny Mirbach.
You might have seen Jake Wooten blazing through it on our Instagram but trust us when we say many…many more tricks did go down during this wild onslaught in and around the Big O.
And before we spoil you with the moving images of the Park Series we figured the stills tell their very own story of what happened at this staple spot.
Check out Part One of our coverage here.
Special thanks go out to Vans for the support.
Vans – GSD Berlin ’19
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!
Vans – “How to Survive a Skate Tour”
Alberto Chimenti Dezani just hit us up to tell us about his newest project which was shot in Fuerteventura but was developed in Bella Italia.
The concept deals with the skate tour cliches and the video slowly turns out to be the handbook to survive one successfully. Enjoy!
House of Vans Berlin – Full Recap
The formula for the typical skate event in Berlin usually consist of a video premiere or a contest and a few free drinks. Vans took it to another level this past weekend with a House of Vans at E-Werk in the very center of Berlin. Vans opened the doors to a three day Pop-Up House of Vans. Similarly to the permanent House of Vans London or the House of Vans Chicago, it was all about skateboarding, art, music and that very special Berlin culture.
Text: Moritz Alte
Pictures: Sara Parson-Texas
The day started off with an open session for the Berlin locals. Vans Invited 3 Crews, including Radio Skateboards, Alltimers, and Yardsale to codesign the skate course. Rumors surfaced that the Alltimers obstacle was designed in Microsoft-Paint. After a few beers and burritos, the first night of concerts and partying with acts like Leoniden and Schmutzki was on.
Day two began with Vans hooking up over 30 girls and boys, with complete boards and a full morning of practice and session, in preparation for a girls only cash for tricks in the park. The ones that wanted to try out for the first time got help by Vans female skate ambassadors.
The second day continued right next to the skate course, with various pop-up stores on the so-called “Street Market”, up-cycling, self-improvement and on how to use Instagram to your advantage workshops. During the whole event and especially after the indoor park got closed people just went outside to sit in the sun and enjoy a drink.
That night, pretty much everyone was down to get back inside and party to music by Octavian, Drunken Masters, DJ Craft, J Rick and more until…
The morning of day three, people just started arriving at the House of Vans and the ones that we’re already there seemed pretty hungover. A few of them even decided to get tattooed by local artist Max Ludwig.
At 8 pm the final chapter and my personal highlight, the Cash for Tricks event went down.
Everyone ripped and tried to get a slice of the 3000 € prize money. The whole Vans Europe team ripped and especially Axel Cruysberghs took the park apart.
In the end, it was Robin Bolian from France, who destroyed the Radio Skateboards Wall and came out as MVP!
Thank you to Vans Skateboarding for hosting us and everyone else at House of Vans. On to the next one Cheers!
Vans “Courtesy”
Mainly Canada focused “Courtesy” delievers with a bunch of good moments and the overall feel good video you want to watch before skating. You have to watch it. At least once.
Max Pack “Zunggu”
SHRN has a new team rider and funnily enough, he is a team manager. Max Pack Vans TM and maker of bold claims put his money where his mouth is and puts out an amazing part.
Sirus F. Gahan – BEN BROYD
Grey Magazine comes out with another cool video about Ben Broyd and his skating. Filmed pretty fearlessly by one of our favorites Sirus F. Gahan. Enjoy a pool ripper trying to be a street rat at the same time!
Place Presents: At the Vans Park Series
When we flew to China we arrived at Shanghai airport as two tourists, my travel companion had been to the “People’s Republic of China” before but it was my first time in Asia. I didn’t know what we were in for but I was down to experience it all, we both wanted to see as much as possible.
We had brought along the perfect tool for that, an old Digital 8 “tourist style” handy cam. Armed with both the “handy cam” and our boards we chose to visit not only the Vans Park Series but everything else that Suzhou, Jiangsu and the Chinese people had to offer us.
First off, I have some information for you, “the internet” is not the same in the PRC, no Facebook, Instagram or even Google! This was at times a big plus because instead of looking down to our devices we looked up into the somewhat smog-filled part of the world we were in.
Secondly, we didn’t want to spend all our time at the hotel or at the event. “When in Rome” you don’t just want to stay inside the Coliseum, right? So one-day Oski (bless his heart) managed to get us some free (complimentary) bikes and we were off into the weird wilderness of China’s concrete jungle.
Now, we were two white guys. Normally that is not a big deal but we were in a part of China that did not have many westerners in it. This Caused us to become somewhat of a circus show at times. People wanted to skype their families together with us, stared without shame, took “secret” pictures and the biggest bonus, they allowed us to go and see and do everything. Nobody told us no! We went into temples, factories, sweatshops and “fake supreme shops” all with our “tourist camera” in hand.
That brings me to my second to last point:
Environmental groups are not completely against dams. We approve of appropriate development.
Ma Jun, Chinese environmentalist.
Now after reading this quote you might be confused about the link to the Vans Park Series right? Well, there is no link other than that we put a large percentage of “random” quotes in this video. Not normal quotes (spoken ones) but quotes printed on various pieces of clothing.
We found these quotes (in a store that sold fakes) that seemed random and were often badly spelled and connected them to our experiences in Suzhou. So instead of trying to make sense of the quote at the top of this article just know it is a random quote we found and used, in a similar way as all the others you will see in our video.
A small example of what we found.
Finally, if that didn’t convince you to watch the video let me assure you that we have included some great moves by people like Romand Pabich, Oskar (Oski) Rozenberg-Hallberg, Brighton Zeuner, Kokona Hiraki and a dancing, screaming but overall ripping Pedro Barros. Press play and enjoy the ride!
Place Presents – “BRLO”
This summer made a new friend named Benny Urban! He is a good skater but an even better snowboarder, supported by Vans and SHRN he rips through white powder and grey concrete. This summer he moved into our fair city of Berlin for some sunny sessions.
We saw Benny at our local park and started talking, he was doing a course at UDK (Berlin’s leading art school) and was trying things out. One of these tries is now being presented to you.
Two months after our initial hello this edit was born and we asked Benny to tell us in his own words what it is all about and why he made it together with the people he made it with.
“Finding a home away from home even if it’s just temporary was a merge that has driven me these past summer months. Ending up in Berlin I tried to find something that gave my presence a purpose besides just getting to know the city. Turned out I started documenting street skateboarding of my close friends and Vans Team rider Conny Mirbach and Jan Hoffmann. The result is „BRLO”. A short film, entirely shot on Kodak Super 8 in Berlin. Hope you enjoy!”
VANS SHOP RIOT FINALS 2018 – SNAPSHOT RECAP PART 2
Last weekend the Vans Shop Riot Finals took place in Milano in Italy. We sent two of our favorite correspondents Peter Buikema and Sara Parson-Texas to the event with some analogue camera equipment. Both of them came back with their own version of the events as they unfolded. Part 2, this part is Peter’s vision of their 46 hours in Milan.
VANS SHOP RIOT FINALS 2018 – SNAPSHOT RECAP PART 1
Last weekend the Vans Shop Riot Finals took place in Milano in Italy. We sent two of our favorite correspondents Peter Buikema and Sara Parson-Texas to the event with some analogue camera equipment. Both of them came back with their own version of the events as they unfolded. Part 1, this part is Sara’s vision and words of their 46 hours in Milan.
46 hours, that is the exact time we spent in Milan. Pretty much in and out!
First stop: the hotel, to drop our stuff and off we were to Milano Centrale where everybody met up to skate… have a beer… and… witness a random fight between some local drunks (not the skaters).
An honourable mention goes out to Victor “doobie” Pellegrin for killing it, even though he had multiple: “I can’t skate today” and “the spot actually sucks” type of comments!
Later on the same day, we went down to the Bastard Shop for the first event, a session in a crazy suspended bowl… an exhibition… Italian buffet and… of course drinks. A few glasses of wine and a dislocated elbow later we all danced to Dj Juan Love a.k.a. John Cardiel’s set until the early hours.
The following day was spent at the Pinball Skatepark where both the finals and the best trick took place. The weather was horrible and we were all half hangover but in a good mood none the less.
All the teams really went for it, and during Burnside’s run, I was “live” with Dallas Rockvam, sending him updates about Rob and his teammates! In the end, they actually did it, the Burnside boys won the finals and I believe Rob also won the best trick… Hey Rob! What did you have for breakfast that day mate?!
After all the rain… party… gin tonic… dance moves… more gin tonic… popping out of wardrobes… rain again… sleep (sort off) we got on the train… plane… and we touched the ground, back in Berlin 46 hours later!
Sara would like to give some extra thanks to:
Alex Forbes, Danny Wainwright, Sam Partaix, Doobie Pellegrin, Jacopo Carozzi, Sebastian Vijverberg, Val Bauer, Joseph Biais, and all the others for being good partners in crime.
Finals Results:
Burnside (Netherlands)
Traektoria (Russia)
Skate.CH (Switzerland)
Gilis (Israel)
Oski’s Rider Profile – Vans Park Series
Tomorrow, we will be flying out to Shanghai, China for the Vans Park Series final. Last year’s champ Oskar Rozenberg had a pretty busy year so far and just a few weeks back we were lucky enough to witness his winning run at the Park Series stop in Malmö. Can’t wait to see what’s going to happen this year!