Once ever so often you get to see something in skating that stokes you out. This video came to us via the lovely Melika Nazari and once we pressed play it indeed really stoke us out. But besides the fact that Melika was featured and the local ripper Lea Meny made the project we didn’t quite understand how it all came together. So we did what any person wanting to know something would do, we simply asked.

Film, Edit & Text by Lea Meny.

Intro by Roland Hoogwater.

So most people ask ‘What does Vum mean?’.

Vum doesn’t mean anything. Vum is currently a crew of 12 people. A few months ago most of us
were still strangers. But this is what sharing a passion for skateboarding does, we have since become
some sort of family.

Two years ago I really got into filming street with my friends. I am currently working on getting my Bachelor in Film so I had the resources to go out to film a lot. At the beginning of this year, my friends and I had the
idea to create a street video focused on female and queer skaters. Shout out to Piet and Hannah who helped me a lot with the preparations. I took part in the “Roll Models” program and got a bunch of support from Rhianon
Bader and Kitty Macklin, too. I rented a van, prepared the camera equipment, and organized a spot plan en route.
Then I asked friends and strangers if they were down to take part. In the end, people from
France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Germany joined us in Berlin. From there we drove to Rotterdam.
We stayed at a campsite for a week and tried to find spots for every type of level or style of skating.
On the trip, we exchanged ideas, emotions, and inspirations with one another. Through this creative
process, we became a team. We cooked, slept, drank, laughed, and cried together. That’s how we all
became friends.

Since our trip to Rotterdam, we have consistently been finding ways to reunite. I filmed some footage
throughout this year in Barcelona, Berlin, Rotterdam, Lyon, and Karlsruhe to add to the video.

What makes our crew special is the variety of characters. We’re a big mix of people from different cultures and
social backgrounds. Some of us are loud and expressive, others are more reserved and reflective.
By coming together we formed a whole, but each individual in our group is unique and different
from the other ones.

Since everyone from our crew knows the difficulties a female and/or queer skateboarder faces, the bondage and support are very strong amongst us. Filming in the streets tends to be full of unexpected impressions and sometimes it can get emotional. Some of us were new to these situations. Throughout, we were able to find that feeling of our tricks counting for something more important when we stick
together. This is why I am so proud to present this video of ours to you. Vum has no meaning, but we filled it
with meaning for ourselves.