Tag: paris

This year marks 10 years of Stefan’s shoe with Nike SB. As such we get multiple looks, we get Trust Fall, we get a talk in Paris and now we get a look at his creative side paired with some really good skateboard moves.

All things being as they may this is a really cool look behind the curtain and into what Stefan does on the daily.

Our recap of our time on the course of the Vans Park Series in Chelles is decidedly different from the ones we did in Montréal. We went from ESPN highlight shots to almost crawling inside Greyson Fletcher’s beard to look for crumbs and other things. If you loved the contest, saw the tricks on our socials this is the “through the rabbit hole” view you need to complete this Vans voyage voyage.

Fletch
Fletch

Poppy Starr Olsen's mom told her... "drink a glass of water after each beer!". Pretty good parenting if you ask us!
Poppy Starr Olsen’s mom told her… “drink a glass of water after each beer!”.
Pretty good parenting if you ask us!

Check the style and see the future!
Check the style and see the future!

On the way to the contest, Keegan got called out by some of his peers for losing his Australian accent.
On the way to the contest, Keegan got called out by some of his peers for losing his Australian accent.

Remember when last year we said Cocona Hiraki was going to be the future? Well this is her little sister who might be next in line.
Remember when last year we said Cocona Hiraki was going to be the future? Well this is her little sister who might be next in line.

The past.
The past.

"Yo can you please get down on your knees? I am trying to film this contest..."
“Yo can you please get down on your knees? I am trying to film this contest…”

This kid was bummed he didn't get his Tony Hawk Trick Tips video signed by the Hawk.
This kid was bummed he didn’t get his Tony Hawk Trick Tips video signed by the Hawk.

This guys family used to have a famous rum distillery in Martinique. Depaz Rum... Google that!
This guys family used to have a famous rum distillery in Martinique. Depaz Rum… Google that!

Keegan Palmer drank Red Bull from various style of dispensaries over the course of this trip.
Keegan Palmer drank Red Bull from various style of dispensaries over the course of this trip.

"Dad... did that girl just nosegrind the biggest obstacle in the park?"
“Dad… did that girl just nosegrind the biggest obstacle in the park?”

French Hero and the #2 spot Vincent Matheron.
French Hero and the #2 spot Vincent Matheron.

Snap...Tom Schaar!
Snap…Tom Schaar!

For more VPS coverage click here.

Photos by Danny Sommerfeld
Words by Roland Hoogwater

How does one define what one’s eyes see but cannot comprehend? That is the feeling we left with just moments after Pedro Barros finished his run.

Photos by Conny Mirbach.
Text by Roland Hoogwater.

The two days before, he was hardly even trying to practice, no 540 attempts, switch pushing through the bowl or even one attempt to bigspin-flip indy his way into the top spot. If you would have asked me what Pedro was working on I would have told you that he was perfecting his flat ground game and in particular his nollie flips.

But when the cameras turned on and just when Cory Juneau thought he had it in the bag, Mr. Barros stepped in, showed his cards and surprisingly it was a royal flush. Two more people took their runs afterwards but they won’t be remembered or even mentioned in the history books.

Every VPS event we go to has seen shocking moments, it is almost a tradition, one that Oskar “Oski” Rozenberg adheres to. Last year in Sweden, he, with one simple flick shuffled the entire board and claimed both the top spot, the money and the hearts of the people by clearing the box with a giant kickflip.

In true Swedish fashion about 30 minutes later he calmly climbed on his bike and cycled home with the rest of the Rozenberg family, he probably cooked dinner after and closed the day by watching some Netflix.

Both the 2017 and now defending ’18 champions seem to be aware and present when they need to be and just when the crowd has started to accept the reality that one person might win they manage to alter the course by simply grabbing the moment, the board and the crown.

A simple but special occurrence which makes the VPS worth watching until the very end… or until we do it all over again in August.

Special thanks go out to VANS for the support.

A little while ago we went to Paris to talk to Stefan Janoski. We had a nice couple of days skating the Garage, enjoying the sun, watching videos and listening to Santiago Sasson’s band.

All the while Stefan was doing much of the same but he also went his own way, going to lectures, having lunch and spending some quality time with a clown!?

We asked Mr. Janoksi to carry a camera and shoot his Parisian endeavors for us and so the result is this, our first Stefan Janoski photo recap.

Intro by Roland Hoogwater
Comments & Photos by Stefan Janoski

Part 1: At the Garage.

product shot, shot of shooting product..Shoes modeling, blue steele pose...
Product shot shot of shooting product…Shoes modeling, blue steel pose…

 

domesticated footwear progenitor
Domesticated footwear progenitor.

 

Part 2: The Streets.

The notre dame. "Hey Denis don't lose your head!"
The Notre Dame. “Hey, Denis don’t lose your head!”

 

the centre pompidou ... Brittney spears cover band
The Centre Pompidou … Brittney Spears cover band.

 

the république of coffee ....twice a day, at least
The République of coffee, twice a day, at least…

 

Me in the park...Le garden des tuileries
Me in the park, le garden des Tuileries.

 

this sculpture has a nice butt
This sculpture has a nice butt!

Part 3: The Band.

Photo01_00A

Pikolo brass band!!!! Mangnifique !!!
Pikolo brass band!!! Magnifique!!!

 

Photo03_1A

Friendships
Friendships.

 

total coverage !!!!
Total coverage!!!

 

sweet dreams are made of those
Sweet dreams are made of those.

 

Ryan had fun!
Ryan (Bobier) had fun.

Part 4: The Dinner.

Comply!... NO! ....Eric came to dinner
Comply!… NO! ….Eric came to dinner.

 

Hurray!
Hurray!

 

Kyron loves CAN
Kyron loves CAN.

 

Lovers
Lovers.

Part 5: The Clown.

I forgot my pants...Again!!!
I forgot my pants…Again!!!

 

I'm watching you clown...
I’m watching you clown…

 

I know what your up to, clown....
I know what you’re up to, clown…

 

This photo was shot by that clown, who after shooting this, ran off with the camera. But we chased after him. Jessica and I split up circled around and cornered him off at the corner of the louvre pyramid. He pulled out a gun, but Jessica immediately kicked it out of his hand. He then pulled out a knife, but by that time Ryan Bobier had crept up from behind and gave hime a shaolin slumber pinch, that collapsed him to the ground, in what seemed like a peaceful relaxing snooze. The gathered crowd of tourists cheered, and whooped, because everyone hates clowns.
This photo was shot by that clown, who after shooting this, ran off with the camera. But we chased after him. Jessica and I split up circled around and cornered him off at the corner of the Louvre pyramid. He pulled out a gun, but Jessica immediately kicked it out of his hand. He then pulled out a knife, but by that time Ryan Bobier had crept up from behind and gave him a Shaolin slumber pinch, that collapsed him to the ground, in what seemed like a peaceful relaxing snooze. The gathered crowd of tourists cheered and whooped because everyone hates clowns.

Part 6: Alejandro Jodorowsky

meeoooooowwww
Meeoooooowwww.

 

street book
Street book.

 

we went to a Alejandro Jodorowsky talk. SO amazing! If it was not for Santiago i would not have understood more than 4 words, Thanks Santiago!!!
we went to an Alejandro Jodorowsky talk. SO amazing! If it was not for Santiago, I would not have understood more than four words, thanks to Santiago!!!

 

Santiago Sasson, many of many talents.
Santiago Sasson, a man of many talents.

 

This bear was a real asshole after a few drinks.
This bear was a real asshole, after a few drinks.

We would like to thank Stefan Janoski for making this happen and Nike SB for the Support.

Some people need no introduction and Stefan is one of those people! But we were lucky and got to sit down with him and his wife Jessica, coincidentally their relationship started when his shoe first dropped so you get both takes on the process today.

Happy 10 years Stefan, we hope for at least 10 more!

First of all, thank you for sitting down with us and doing the interview.

No problem, my pleasure.

So a little context first. Why are we here?

We are here to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of my Nike SB shoe

Do you remember when you first saw the shoe?

Yeah, I even remember when I first saw the drawing of the shoe. I also remember when I got the first samples.

The first time I saw a drawing was at my wife Jessica’s house, it was when we first started dating and that is also probably why I remember it so well. It was fresh love at the same time as a fresh design. I remember it very specifically.

A fun fact is the first samples were, in fact, the way the shoe is now. I got in (the office) and saw the shoe and was like “Oh my god this is great” and I skated it and actually someone reminded me recently and said that I never even gave the samples back or even told them that I liked it.

I skated those first samples for about a year and never gave them back which actually let them know I liked them
(laughs).

The original Janoski as featured in our previous interview with Stefan.
The original Janoski as featured in our previous interview with Stefan.

Jessica, since you were there when he saw the drawing, what did you think of the shoe?

I liked it, the shoe was like a streamlined, classy, nice… clean, timeless type of shoe and I remember he was excited when he saw the drawings.

Timeless might be the best way to describe the shoe. Do you remember the first time you saw other people wearing it?

At first, it was my friends, they started calling me “I keep seeing your shoe everywhere!” it builds up fast and then I started seeing people with my shoe everywhere.

At the time I was living in New York so you are out in the streets a lot. Around the same time, I was out in Barcelona and every single person had them on… it started really snowballing. Every single day when I go out now I see somebody wearing my shoe.

Stefan on the right, his wife Jessica on the left.
Stefan on the right, his wife Jessica on the left.

That must be a special feeling.

I love it. We always see people on the street and say that guy is wearing my shoes and then Jessica will tell him “Hey you got some nice shoes on”. So many times it has happened when someone would come up to me and say “Yo man, nice Janoski’s!” and I would be like “Yeah, you to man!” (laughs).

Back in the day, people would come into my local shop and ask for some Janoski’s and not even know it was a person’s shoe. They just thought Janoski was the name of the model shoe.

I like the way you pronounced my name, the Polish way, proper Polish with a soft J.

Funny segue, I was meaning to ask about your Polish heritage, I remember a 411 around the world where American skaters with Polish heritage toured the country.

Yup! That was in 2001 I think. We went to Poland with Joe Brook & Anthony Claraval, Ed Selego, Kristian Svitak, Mike Ruczyk, Justin Strubing was there but he isn’t Polish he just came with us. Anthony Claraval also isn’t Polish (laughs).

That was one of my first trips to somewhere “different”, it was so long ago that I had a paper plane ticket that I lost and it was actually a really big deal!

I actually met a kid there on the streets who skated and his name was Stefan Janoski and he said to me “You are Stefan Janoski! – I am Stefan Janoski!” and I was like “What, nice to meet you!” (laughs).

 

411vm – Around The World 2

 

You being Polish is a big deal in Poland, they really keep track of which pro’s have Polish heritage.

That’s cool! I would actually like to go back to Poland, it was fun, it was such an experience for me because I was still so young.

How old were you at the time?

22 or 21. We actually went to multiple places, cities like Warsaw and Krakow. To be honest, it was such an experience, the whole thing was very different for me but a lot of fun! Yeah, 411 Around the world 2.

Michal Juras actually gave me that information, as I said the Polish know about heritage.

I actually brought like 10 boards on that trip because I just got sponsored and was like “Whooo, new boards every day!” But I only brought 1 pair of trucks and back then the axles on Indy’s and Ventures would bend.

My axles got bent the first day and there was no way of getting new trucks in Poland. So I rode bent axles the whole time in the end if you would kick my board it would almost boomerang. But I was so young and excited to be there that I didn’t really care, I would still skate those double sets.

Back to the shoe. Over the years there have been many versions of your model. Could you name them all?

Lunarlon, Hyperfeel, Mid-top, Slip-on, Air Max, High Tape, Velcro, Air Max 2, Remastered, Wallabee, crafted, Camo turtle neck thing and Woven. And every time I am amazed that they managed to make a new shoe out of my original Janoski design.

A very custom design of the original Janoski captured on the streets of Paris by Danny Sommerfeld.
A very custom design of the original Janoski captured on the streets of Paris by Danny Sommerfeld.

How involved are you in those adaptations?

Well, they have to show me everything and I have to approve it and lately, there are some really awesome designers working on my shoe. Every time they show me something I am just blown away and I love their ideas.

Every shoe they have been showing me lately has been a return to a classy and serious look for the shoe. I like that because when the shoe got really popular there were a lot of “Mall Colors” so to say. Janoski’s with polka dots and tillies for people who don’t have taste (laughs).

I like the honesty.

But now it is back to the type that you can save and wear ’em a year and still be stoked on the way the shoes look.

It feels like it has been tailored to your own style again.

That is exactly how I feel. It kinda became its own monster in a way, it went away and did this huge successful thing.

Jessica:

It kind off rebelled.

Stefan:

It did. The shoe kind of rebelled against me. Sometimes your kids do that, too. But, you have to support them anyway and be like “Okay, if you want to go to (X) go ahead but…”

(Laughs) You do you!

Which version besides the classic is your favorite at the moment?

I really love the Velcro… Alternative closure I mean, you know Velcro was the name of a company that developed the stuff.

I also love the Slip Ons lately, for skating they are just so good but I do keep going back to the classic ones. Actually, these new ones called the “Wovens” are some of my favorites that they came out with, in a long time. They are just beautiful.

The new remastered versions up on display.
The new remastered versions up on display.

Were you testing those out during this years CPH Open in Berlin?

The all black leather ones? Yeah, those are the coolest. Actually, I wore those so much that I had to leave them outside because they smelt so bad.

Jessica:
He actually tried to bring those smelly things back home after the trip and they were disgusting.

(Laughs)

Stefan:
Yeah, the thing is those stayed good for such a long time, I didn’t want to let them go but I had to. Because they are all leather they didn’t break they just broke in and became better and better.

It is also the type of shoe that you can wear on multiple occasions.

Oh yeah, you could go to a funeral in those or a wedding. Man, people are getting married in my shoes all the time. Someone just told me the other day at Republique “Man, me and my friends all got married in your shoe!” and a couple of my other friends wore them at wedding parties.

#janoskiwedding must be a thing.

Yeah, it is! It is cool because the people still looked dressed up when they are wearing the shoe.
To be honest, that was also one of the main objectives when we made the shoe, we wanted to cancel out the “chill shoe”.

Everyone wore their skate shoes for skating and afterward they would be like “Let’s get these things off!” and they would put on some “chill shoes”. And I was like why does your skate shoe have to be so bad that you have to go to the hotel and change before going out to dinner? That sucks!


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You actually follow that concept yourself as well, I can’t really remember you in any other shoes since the shoe came out. Back in the day some blazers maybe but…

That was before the shoe dropped, actually, since the samples came out 11 years ago I haven’t changed my shoes. I just like my shoe.

Today we are celebrating 10 years of the shoe but actually the shoe you have on now looked the same but it is not the same as the one that came out 10 years ago right?

No, it is not, it got a little souped up.

We didn’t really have to do much, no number 2 shoe or anything because we did it right the first time. We took the time to change little details. Take away some piping, add another stitch, we took away the embroidery and added perforation.

When we first made the shoe I wanted the least amount of everything, materials, the look, the absolute minimal between my foot and my board. With the remastered, we have just taken what we have learned and gotten closer to those ideas.

A sleeker shoe, a slimmer sole and so it is just the same but with minor details changed to improve it.

I actually heard from people that the fit is different, it is a bit better for wider feet.

I wouldn’t have noticed because I have really tiny feet but yeah I heard that is true. Somebody asked me that before and yeah we changed it a bit because that was the number 1 complaint about the shoe.

It might look the same but...
It might look the same but…

The original was tailor-made for your feet so it makes sense.

Yes, that is true and I have narrow fucking feet.

In the skate shop, people would complain about the fit but they would still buy them because they needed to have the shoe.

If you walk in them they mold but it takes a moment. Also, different materials have different fits.

You actually physically hurt a lot of people with your shoe.

(laughs) Yeah, toes, ankles… definitely I actually hurt myself too sometimes.

I guess we kind of turned a corner from the past into the future though with the remastered version. In a way, it is a shoe that made a heavy mark in skating and I can’t imagine the shoe business without the Janoski’s around.

I think that is great.

It is an achievement.

And you know, we didn’t think about using things from other designs, it was just me selfishly wanting a thing that Nike didn’t have at the time and no one predicted it to go like this.

I was surprised when the kids really started wearing it but it is a really good skate shoe not only a good looking shoe.

It even went as far as Shane O’Neill having his name on your pro model shoe.

That was really crazy… that was really cool. Shane is great! One of my favorite skaters and I have known him since he was a little “Nugget” that is what they used to call him.

It is always great to see your friends grow up to become the best skateboarder in the world (laughs).

So with you progressing and growing older in skating what is your role in skateboarding as time goes on?

Personally, for me, it is like you are trying to do it and then you hopefully do it and then the next step is to stay doing it. Many people become pro but not many stay pro for very long so just to still be a pro skater and doing everything is an achievement in itself.

There is not much longevity in skateboarding and there is not a lot of back up plans in skateboarding. People are all in or all out, some people get jobs at a skateboard company or you start a skateboard company but for me, it is still being a skater.

Right now is a fun time for me doing it but also watching the kids doing it and going on trips and to watch them struggle at spots where I already did tricks (laughs).

As far as longevity goes, your shoe is like a classic album. People keep coming back to it. Your generation and even the generation before you seem to have found their place in skating and are able to stay in it longer than most.

Look at Lance Mountain, he is still out there doing it and there are not a lot of his peers involved in skateboarding any more as a pro. Mark Gonzales obviously is the same but there is not a lot without owning or working for a company in skating. And I just want to keep going and see where it goes and right now it is going.

That is a nice goal, thank you for the interview.

2S5O3104_Garage Janoski_C.Chouleur

Photos by: Clement Chouleur
Interview by Roland Hoogwater

Mickael is a mainstay of the French scene, he is one of those nice and quiet guys that gets super gnarly on his board.

And this new part shows us how gnarly he can get on the streets of the French capital… drop off a roof into a cobblestone bank type of gnarly.

Obviously, the cobblestone part was a given with a name like “Pavement” but it is nice to see the way Mika deals with these historic Parisian streets.

Photos by Maxime Verret

adidas Skateboarding is closing their year of strong with this Paris video, To be honest, they have just the right balance when it comes to Euro – US team mates for a feat like this. Enjoy this little gem!

Side note*

Heitor looks amazing in this but where is Dennis Busenitz, haven’t seem him in a minute.

The Summer is lasting as long as you don’t miss it. The first day of reminiscing is usually the first day of Winter. Louis Marschall spent some time in Paris with his buddies and they brought back a feel-good tour video that will make you think about your summer!

Feat.: Anton Defant, Danny Wright, Max Geiselbrechtinger & Louis Marschall.

A proud moment, our former intern and friend Augustin Giovannoni filmed and edited this new Nike SB video, not any nike video. This one has some big guns in it, Koston, Kyron, JB, Vincent with Paul Rodriguez being the stand out!
We think that after his knee heals up P-Rod needs to hop on a plane because Paris brought out the best in him.