I remember the first time I went into the Civilist store in 2010, I was just a skateboarding tourist trying to navigate one of the biggest cities in the world. So when my friends and I entered the shop we got lucky and got welcomed in right away. The employee at the time – I am pretty sure it was Foley – gave us multiple directions to spots, other areas to check out, and some cool vintage stores to visit. All in all, it was an immediate positive response that resonated with me on the level that I connected with other kids who skated when I had just started skating. And I think for many kids coming into the shop for the first time Civilist recognizes the importance of that first visit to a skate shop, in a sense it is your first real connection to our sub-culture. In that sense brick and mortar stores are kind of irreplaceable. Even though I am of the early internet generation, I don’t think my youth would have been even half as fun if we didn’t have a skate shop to nerd out over the product, discuss pro-skaters, and in general, feel what it was like to be amongst other skaters and make connections.
Text by Roland Hoogwater.
Photography by the Civilist Crew & Place Magazine’s own, Lea Isabell.
Supported by Vans.
Still, Civilist is much more than a skate shop, it is located in Berlin, and as such it is proud to show that. This Berlin attitude starts with the sign above the door which is in reference to another very Berlin brand Schultheiss beer. Which had its brewery located in the city and employed many Neuköln guys to brew their still very popular beer. You might think, why is this guy writing about beer, but it is not so much about that, it is about the fact that in the last 20 years, skateboarding, an activity born on the West Coast of the USA has gotten so much more international in this period that it became important to recognize not only that a shop like Civilist is a hub for skaters in general but that is a located in Berlin and it speaks the language of the people here.
I think many people over the years have enjoyed the Civi team’s “Berliner Fresse”, and with their identity in mind, the store has released some highly sought-after collaborative projects, like their current one with the West Coast Classic brand Vans (more on that later). It takes a lot of hard work and good ideas to even get into a position to be considered for a collab, most shops don’t even get to that level ever. But Civilist has grown beyond into a brand, selling their product worldwide under the guidance of Julian Wenz’s designs. It seems the shop has grown so much, even beyond its walls, and into the broader world, I mean Civilist gear was featured in GTA V, kinda crazy if you stop and think about it like that.
“everyone in the shop has so many opportunities to contribute to the bigger thing. That’s what I want because when I was younger, I didn’t have those chances. It was a bit tougher back then. I choose those people because I want them to use our shop as a platform to grow bigger.”
Foley in an interview with 032c.
Still, on the non-digital side of things, the people skating and working for Civi are deeply enrooted in the culture on an international level. People like Giorgi Balkhamishvili, Justin Sommer, Denny Pham, Colin McClean, Thomas Habermann, Luis Waterkamp, Lenny and the legendary Sami Harithi on the skateboard end but Civi also cultivates and supports young creatives like Steffen Grap, Sergio Ben Mario, and Carolina Gamboa. All of these people and many others are firmly connected to the Brunnenstrasse storefront. On another level, Alex “Foley” Flach has been responsible for many classic skate photos and magazine pieces from the early days of skating in what was then still “West Berlin”. All of this, even if not directly apparent counts to giving you that important “cultural hub” type of feeling that is so important to a culture like ours. This all is part of the lore of Civilist to both people and brands.
The first of those brands to reach out to Civilist was Vans, the Cali-based company that was started in 1966 by Dutch-American immigrants is what one would call an OG in the business of skating, with their model called the “authentic” being one of the staple shoes of early day skating and beyond. It all started with a Vans Syndicate (a high-end tier of the Vans brand) collab on the Chukka Low model in 2011 a mere 2 years after the store opened. It continued with the Flashen Pack in 2014 together with Vans’ Syndicate S line that same year celebrating the city’s nightlife together with Keine Musik. After that came the Coffee & Cigarettes pack in 2017 drop. This led to the Vans x Civilist “Leave The City Behind” shoes from 2021 which was done together with artist Carsten Fock. Their Half Cab collab in 2023, always led me back to classic coverage of Sami Harithi skating that shoe back in the 90’s.
The relationship between Vans and Civilist has been a long and fruitful one, so when in 2024 the 15-year anniversary of Civi came closer it felt only right to come together once again with what might be arguably their most classic release together since it all started in July 2011 with the Chukka Low (Vans Syndicate). This time the inspiration came from a classic German source, the Bauhaus schools founded by Berlin-born Walter Gropius who is considered a master in Modernist Architecture who left many notable buildings behind in his birthplace and assembled an impressive cast of professors for his schools. These ended up being influential to this day because he chose to focus on important concepts like:
“the Bauhaus represented an opportunity to extend beauty and quality to every home through well designed industrially produced objects.”
Taken from Walter Gropius’ wikipedia .
I think looking at the model of shoe chosen by the Civilist crew: The “Vans Authentic”, which is a classic shoe within skateboarding. A model that truly has stood the test of time because of its simplicity and beauty, combining this with the primary color scheme of the Bauhaus movement has led to something, though outside of the context of architecture, that comes close to what Bauhaus was about.
In my opinion, this collaboration combines many of the things that make Civilist special. Even when it comes to the digital assets for the campaign. You can see the overarching concept of staying true to yourself, doing things together, and allowing the team and people around Civilist to build up their skills. The store’s very own Luis Waterkamp shot the video, Andrew Whitey shot the photos, and the music was made by Berlin-based Reston a.k.a. Never Reston.
Truth be told when we went to the “15 Years Of Civilist” event you could see this in effect, young and old came together and you could truly see what Civilist had meant to the people in Berlin and beyond. And, knowing what is on the come-up in the city, I think Civilist will remain as important, if not more important to the youth in Berlin looking to find their spaces in the coming years. It shows the worth and importance of caring for your own community and beyond. With all that being said, I wish Civilist a happy birthday and I hope for at least 15 more years 😉
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