As skateboarders, we mostly pay attention to the actual skating (which is quite good in this video) but what about the people documenting it? We have been heard saying before:
“Average skating filmed really well is more enjoyable than good skating documented terribly.”
So with that being said, we want to give Sami El Hassani his flowers when he can smell ’em because his lens work truly elevated this video to the next plateau. Good work guys!
After the Promo and the Interview now it is time for the full length.
Enjoy all the dutchies and their indoor hills!
If you don’t know Ziggy Schaap by now you might not follow European skateboarding. Over the years he has been a Dutch mainstay, first and foremost as a photographer but now it seems he has found his way through the world of moving images. We have had the pleasure of premiering multiple of his video works in the last 2 years and with his latest video on the horizon, we wanted to ask him some questions.
Images by Ziggy Schaap & Martijn van Velden.
Interview by Roland Hoogwater.
Facetime rings… Ziggy picks up.
Hey man, how are you?
I am good, just came home, slept in Rotterdam, about to start working. Skatedeluxe costumer hotline! If you want you can call me via the Skatedeluxe line (laughs).
(laughs)… Let’s shoot, first question: Why did you make this video?
Why did I make the “No Service” video? Well, basically it was to get people to skate outside of the skateparks. Indoor parks are cool to practice and film for Insta but they do get repetitive and you can’t really make something there film wise.
So this project provided me with something to do during the winter time.
So I started thinking and concluded that there haven’t been many videos that have been filmed completely inside a (multiple) parking garage.
To me skating a parking garage is pretty Dutch. People do it often especially in places where there are no indoor skateparks and it rains a lot over here.
I also thought it would be fun to limit myself to one particular type of thing and the number and sorts of spots a garage provides.
Makes sense, so how many places did you visit during the making of this video?
We went to different cities… I think we started in Den Haag skating with Justin Wagenaar en Sebastiaan Vijverberg around station De Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië. That day we skated 2 or 3 different locations and that is when I got the idea for the video.
So during the filming, a lot of people heard about the idea and decided to join our sessions.
I think the video is mostly Den Haag because we found a large number of underground garages there but we also went to multiple in Rotterdam, one in Amsterdam which was filled with spots, Utrecht, Leiden where we have the deepest underground garage in Europe, Antwerp, Tilburg & Haarlem.
What was the best spot?
Hard to say probably the whole area where we started in Den Hague because there a multiple spots, it is not a place where people really live, so fewer complaints but it depends on what you like.
The thing is there where “spots” but a lot of the places you can skate are curbs and mannie pads. Which some people can skate great but others don’t really like or can’t. So it depends on the skater.
How did you know which cities to visit? Or did you randomly go to places to check?
The one in Tilburg, for instance, I knew because I had filmed a “day in the life” there back in the day. Bram van Halteren showed me that garage because it was raining and we wanted to show his skating during his DITL.
Inside there is a long near perfect ledge and to top it all of, the police came and said that they liked what we where doing so we could stay and film uninterrupted.
We all knew a couple and as the project went on people like Bastiaan van Zadelhoff went in a couple to check for spots but we also went randomly looking for spots or used Google-Maps. In Haarlem, for instance, we visited a place and afterward, we googled Q-park and sometimes people add foto’s to the google thing and we found some spots that way too.
How long did the whole process take… start to finish?
I think the first clip was filmed at the end of November the start of December. So, a little over 2 months, which is pretty fast for a 12-minute video.
Plus a 6-minute promo.
True, I like that too but in some ways, it is not really a promo because I basically used all of Rob Maatman’s footage in the video so he is not a real presence in the promo. They both have their own vibe.
What about the vibe of the project, obviously a parking garage is mostly void of sunlight.
Well, it did really take shape during the making of it but the VX camera truly has a different look when you take it inside. The video quality becomes crusty but at the same time that fits the environment because these places were dusty, oily and generally dirty. We often came home with our hands black with all kinds of dirt.
What about the limitations? Was filming on a sunny rooftop allowed?
We discussed that multiple times, the clip is called “No Service” because underground our cellphones would not be working but in fact, we were filming on a garage rooftop where we had 4g and 4 bars of connection. Only Rob really has outside clips but I felt it worked within the video, I did think about taking it out but it ended up feeling right to leave it in.
Is this video your version of Yoan Taillandier’s Minuit, where people start in the night and the last clips end when the sun comes up?
Maybe in some ways, it is, I actually edited some parts inspired by that video. An example is after the first part there is a segment where it shows the guys leaving the garage (3:08) and then we see some rainy shots and that ends with the guys going back inside. I don’t know if people will see that inspiration because it is abstract but it is there.
Now they will (laughs). What about the crew?
I never start anything with a crew in mind, it always seems to grow organically.
I actually never really filmed a project with Rob Maatman and Robbin de Wit before and that is always exciting to film with new people and see what they bring to the table.
What about time, because of the lights there is less of a sensation of time, did you guys get caught up in some real late night sessions?
Well, a lot of the times we went in when it was light and because our cell phones did not really work we often ended up skating together for a way longer time. Obviously, we would still be able to tell time but you don’t really get disturbed by messages as much as you normally would.
In a way, you are more together when you don’t have people looking at their phones.
It did feel like that at times, also you had to be at the meetup-spot on time because you could depend on a quick message or call.
With the amount of fencing and security at some of these places, it was important to know the right way in. Even though we would obviously, drop a pin before going in things were not as usual.
Last year you released “Alles Wisselt”, The End & Memories all three have a concept behind them, this one does as well. Is that a coincidence?
Well… I have too many ideas and often I end up just doing something. “Alles Wisselt” and “No Service” both had a plan behind them but The End & Memories just happened. They are connected but not outspokenly so, for me they have to do with Love. “The End” has that song “Skeeter Davis – The End of The World (1962)” which is about the feeling when someone leaves you. Memories has a Leonard Cohen song which looks back on relationships of the past singing “won’t you let me see your naked body…” but with this video I kind of left that idea for a bit.
Alright, what about the music, this video features only Dutch music.
The first Instagram trailer did not have a Dutch spoken song but even at that stage, I knew I wanted to finish the video with a Herman van Veen song.
So two weeks back we were editing and Bastiaan van Zadelhoff put on some crazy Dutch tunes and proposed only using those type of songs. To be honest, between the rainy days, skating indoors it felt right to use Dutch music with this video, it strengthened it as a whole.
Did you learn anything weird about parking garages during the making of this project?
The Netherlands is known as a flat country but through this project, we found out all our downhills are hidden indoors.
Gx1000 could have happened in the low countries.
Closing question, you had a goal to do something in the winter and stay out of the beaten path (indoor skateparks) but at the end of the project, the sun started shining again. Where there ever times where you reluctantly entered a dark garage when you really wanted to skate outside?
That happened for sure! (laughs). We really had a couple of days where we would have skated outside had it not been for this. People were complaining “it is great weather, do we really need to go inside?” but we all knew we needed a bit more to finish the project so we did stay true. In the end, we really did survive winter the best way possible*.
I believe you, thanks Ziggy!
*Editors note:
Besides flying to a warm country
Want more? Check out Ziggy’ full length “Likkie Wax” that we launched together last year.
Next week Ziggy Schaap will be premiering his new video “No Service”, today we have the promo to hype you up. Tomorrow we have a full interview with Ziggy about his upcoming project, past projects, and even the future.
Now, get a coffee, sit down and press play to watch some underground ripping.
We just received a very important public service announcement:
Dear fellow skateboarder,
Today we released our campaign Build Wallies Not Walls, where we call upon people to build wallies instead of walls.
By doing so, we want to raise attention for immigration issues and the victims caused by closed borders. It is our believe that closed borders are not contributing to making the world a better place.
Donald Trump is the most widely known promoter of closed borders and walls. That’s why we made an wallie of him, as a protest statement against his policies and message. On our website www.walliesagainstwalls.com you can find more information, photos and links.
You can download a template, print-files and a builder guide to make your own wallie. We hope that people join the movement and start building their own wallies. Plus, we wish everyone the joy of skating over Trumps face!
On Saturday, September 15th, 2018, Pop Trading Company joined forces with Vans to host the first edition of Vondel ‘18. An invitational skateboard contest in the middle of Amsterdam’s Vondelpark. The concept of this event is referring back to simpler times, where phones were not our first priority. You could find basic obstacles reminiscing of San Francisco’s Back to the City contest or closer to home the 3rd Floor Skatepark in Pakhuis Amerika back in the mid to late 90’s.
Next to an impressive line up of some of the best skateboarders in the world and a very interesting location, unique to this event was the lack of media. All skateboarders were documented by one crew using Hi-8 camera’s as it would happen in the early days, pre-internet, where you would have to wait for the latest 411 Video Magazine or Transworld Skateboarding to see who had won a skateboard competition.
With checkpoints at both entrances the crowd had to go back in time with us as phone cameras were stickered, Berghain style, where the court was treated like a movie set, nobody films or shoots photos apart from the invited media.
The contest footage is released on VHS tape, which you can find now at a few select local dealers.
Shot by Peter Buikema & Alex van Zwietering
Edit by Peter Buikema
Produced by Roland Hoogwater & Peter Kolks
Artwork by Ric van Rest
Last September we organized ‘Creating Lines’, a three-day event that took place in Rotterdam. We highlighted and discussed notable changes and differences between the older Dutch and more specific Rotterdam styles of skateboarding. We did this in an attempt to bring skateboarders of all different generations, sorts and areas closer together.
A big part of the Creating Lines project was an exhibition about Rotterdam’s skate history, a premiere of our full-length skate video ‘Momentum’ and various panel discussions about the history and future of skateboarding in the Netherlands.
‘Momentum’ consists of five main video parts, made by various talented Dutch filmmakers. They were given 6 weeks to make a short video, in which they had to incorporate the theme ‘change’. Besides having a part in the video, Jan Maarten Sneep also managed to glue together the entire thing. He spent many hours watching and editing classic Rotterdam skateboard footage to create several Memory Screen montages for the video. These videos showcase the changes in skateboarding throughout our history. All the main parts of the video will be shown right here on Place Skateboard Culture the coming weeks and the full project can be found via our socials.
Intro text by Martijn van Hemmen.
Filmed,edited & text by Jan Maarten Sneep.
Part 1:
SUPER ZOOM ELECTRONIC 010
The making of SUPER ZOOM ELECTRONIC 010
With change being the topic, I focussed on the change in video cameras over the years. After having filmed for a number of years with various HD cameras, I went back in time for this project, back to the VX-1000 from 1995, and the Canon Super Zoom Automatic 1014 from 1973. I didn’t use these cameras in the traditional way instead I utilized the technical possibilities of 2018 and combined them. For example, I recorded the VX images on an SD card instead of tapes, and I used my phone to film through the viewfinder of the Canon 1014.
I had purchased this old Super 8 camera some years ago, during the making of The Bombaklats video to be exact. But after I received a number of bad cassettes, I did not have that much confidence in using it anymore. Partly because when filming with the VX-1000, we regularly film the tricks with our phones through the viewfinder so we can watch a clip back without overusing the camera. Via that technique, I came up with a new idea. I attached a phone case to the super 8 camera so that I could film through the viewfinder and it worked! Meanwhile, we are on Duct tape prototype number 4, and the images are sharper than ever.
This spot, right next to Rotterdam Centraal, is inspired by Dirk Middelkoop in the Boombap video. He does a line there in which he comes from behind the pillars and does a big Fs Blunt on the curb. I always thought that looked so sick, Robbin de Wit agreed.
The first time we went to this spot together, while Robbin was checking out the spot, it started to rain a little bit – no worries the spot has a roof over it- but not even fifteen minutes later it turned into a huge storm, the hailstones poured past us, and the streets filled with water in no time. We were dry, happily covered, but skating was no longer a possibility. It turned out to be quite the storm, later on, we heard that this storm caused a lot of damage to the city of Rotterdam.
A couple of days later we went there again but now with a larger group. I, myself would never think of trying a back noseblunt on something like this but you can always ask Robbin to do one. It took him a while to figure out what he wanted to do at the beginning of the line but once he did it did not take that him long to make the line. Ziggy (Schaap) was there and made this lovely picture! The spot, the trick, and everyone in the background.
Sebastiaan Vijverberg, Rob Maatman, Justin Wagener, Robbin de Wit, Pascal Moelaert, Patrick Reins, Woody Hoogendijk, Jelle Maatman, Remco Stolze, Bert Roeterdink, Nick Bax, Bram Schlangen, Jesse Voerman, Billy Hoogendijk, Alex van Zwietering, Jan-Willem den Haan are featured in Ziggy Schaap’s newest video “The End”.
The title of this video is not related to Birdhouse in any way. Instead, it is a way to get some footage out before it ages like milk. Joking…joking there is some really top-notch stuff in here press play to see what we mean.
As a young Dutch person, growing up in the Netherlands you felt connected to each other. The country is small and being part of a subculture meant that you would run into each other from time to time.
Back in those days, we as youngin’s had our own web community called the LEFT forum, a Dutch version of the SLAP forum. We would talk to each other on there, drop links to the newest Toy Machine video, show our local spots and post up some of our own skate footage. That was one of the main ways we connected to each other and it was not unusual to meet new friends by connecting via the forum.
I met the Bombaklats, then still the KWS boys at “The Yard” in Utrecht, I met some of the 103 boys in Eindhoven and I met Rachid, Rob, Jelle and the rest in Deventer at Burnside. We are not all the same age but it felt like we were part of the same thing.
But I digress, I know you might have come here to see Rob Maatman do some nice handrail manoeuvres instead of getting schooled in some slightly less relevant (if you are not Dutch) skate history.
But my the point is that it feels very nice thing to be able to keep that connection going over the years and still be able to do things together. It is nice to see that most of us still skate and put out content on a consistent basis and that is something that makes one proud.
So it is with a warm heart that we are able to present to you Rachid Addou’s new video “LLUVIA EN VIGO” featuring:
Rob Maatman, Jelle Maatman, Ruud Garst, Bert Roeterdink and Rachid himself.
All Photos by Ruud Garst.
Text By Roland Hoogwater.
Combining art and skateboarding can be very tricky and a lot of projects often slide into the trap of making artistic versions of skate obstacles.
Opperclaes created multiple public installations based on certain keywords that they saw connected to skateboarding and skateboarders.
“The project ‘Character Type’ was an intervention in the city of Rotterdam in September 2018 and bridged the gap between public art and skateboarding. The words are a homage to a skateboarding state of mind.”
Together with furniture designer Jeroen van Sluis the project came out quite nicely, to say the least.
Our favourite thing besides the skating is the fact that they first turned words into images and then images into sculptures that were then used to make this video (images) again.
But as always, don’t let us influence you to much see for yourself.
Shortly before Marc Bolhuis’ new full length BOOMBAP is going to be premiered on March 9th at Rotown Rotterdam he just released another 4:32 min appetizer.
Featuring Wouter de Jong, Yannick Witvoet, Dirk Middelkoop, Marc Bolhuis, Remco Stolze, Maikel Jas, Nassim Guammaz, Faries Prins, Tim Zom, Jan Maarten Sneep, Alexander Belhadj, Rob Maatman, Sebastiaan Vijverberg, and Robbin de Wit.
Alright, Frank is back! After all that out of business talk they finally decided to push on and make a trip to Amsterdam (and a bit of Rotterdam). That in itself is not a reason to watch this video, Dallas’ line at the 0:37 mark, him skating a Robotron “Free Bifi” board and a strong Niklas Hallman cameo is though.
All in all, a cool video to start off your Sunday skate session with!
Ein Ohrwurm kann schlimm sein. Bei Befall kreist einem ein bestimmtes Lied mit einer bestimmten Melodie eingängig durch den Kopf, so dass es beinahe weh tut man aber nichts dagegen tun kann. Jemand setzt nur zu einem kleinen Pfiff an oder sagt nur ein Wort und schon brummt der Hit erneut durch den Gehörgang. Meistens allerdings ist ein Ohrwurm ein Zeichen dafür, dass ein Musikstück einprägsam ist, gefällt und an besondere Momente erinnert. So einen besonderen Moment gab es während unseres Ausflugs nach Finnland zum Helsinki Hookup Jam, als wir uns eines Abends auf dem Weg zur Contestparty im Karaokebus wiederfanden. Betrunkene Skateboarder und bescheuerte Musik entfachten in Kombination ein gesangliches Feuerwerk der Emotionen im Rahmen eines Contests, auf dem man nicht verlieren, sondern nur gewinnen konnte… Ein fotografischer Reisebericht einer bezaubernden Stadt über ereignisreiche Tage zwischen Contest, Party und Kultur.
Von Benni Markstein
CONTEST
Die Contest Arena in der Helsinki Ice Hall
Ludo, Sylvain & Steve
Louisa
True Bromance
Yo Dela!
Yo Arto!
PARTY
KULTUR
Neuer Hotspot in Helsinki – der “My Favorite Things” Skateshop
Sylvain kam direkt mit seiner Yacht aus Berlin
In der Buchhandlung “Hagelstams” finden sich über 200 Jahre alte Bücher über schwedische Kriege, Seefahrer und der Stadtentwicklung Helsinkis
Jopo Bikes sind ein absoluter Klassiker in Finnland
Die Ausstellung “It’s A Bloody Mess” von Polar Skateboards renomiertem Art Director Jacob Ovgren
Apfel-Zimt Schnecken auf finnisch
Das Emerica Team war vergangenen Sommer samt Collin Provost, Jeremy Leabres, Rob Maatman, Eniz Fazilov, Leo Romero und einigen mehr in der Hauptstadt auf Mission. Den Clip zur Demo hatten wir hier bereits – heute gibt es noch ein bißchen Footage von der Straße – und einen Trick von Heath Kirchart…
Zur Premiere des neuen Emerica Videos “MADE- Chapter One” gaben sich die Hauptakteure des Streifens in der Skatehalle Berlin die Ehre. Leo Romero, Collin Provost, Neu-Amateur Jeremy Leabres mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Europäer um Eniz Fazilov, Rob Maatman und Nesse Ingemarsson boten den Zuschauern Skateboarding auf hohem Niveau. Man kann sagen es wurden Wege genommen, die es so noch nicht gegeben hat und Tricks gezeigt, die staunen ließen. Hier unsere Impressionen von Mark Nickels an der Videocam und Adam Sello am Fotoapparat.
Eniz Fazilov, BS 180 fakie Nosegrind
Jeremy Leabres, FS Crooks
Am Donnerstag den 12. September kommt das Emerica Team mit Collin Provost, Leo Romero, Jeremy Leabres, Tom Knox, Eniz Fazliov und Rob Maatman in die Skatehalle-Berlin. Ab 18 Uhr skaten die Jungs eine kleine Demo für Euch und um 19:30 gibt es dann die Videopremiere des ersten Kapitels des neuen “Made” Videos.
18:00 Demo
19:30 Videopremiere Emerica “Made – Chapter 1″
Eintritt ab 18 Uhr frei.
Hier gehts zum Facebook Event.
Keine langen Worte, sondern einfach gucken. Kilian Zehnder aus Zürich killt zur Zeit alles, was ihm in den Weg kommt. Der Clip vom 242 City Skate Shop aus Zürich zeigt das ein weiteres Mal.
Das Volcom Europe Team war auf Mallorca und haben die Sangria Eimer gegen Banger getauscht. Eniz Fazilov, Rob Maatman, Chris Pfanner und Axel Cruysbergs.
Die Jungs von Chris Coles Klamottencompany Omit waren in Double Rock, um was zu tun? Zu rippen. Ramondetta, Cole, Carlin und Moose haben Fun.
