2 weeks ago in Copenhagen, we celebrated the launch of Rowan Zorilla’s well-deserved pro model shoe “The Rowan Pro”. We first presented you with the Dutch version of the weartest but today you get the Nordic one.
Video & Photography by Markus Bengtsson.
Thanks to Vans for the support.
Vans actually invited some people from their European team to join in on the fun. People like Jordan Thackeray came in and joined people like Simon Hallberg, Samuel Norgren & Victor Larsson Blé in testing the shoe.
Some “Off The Wall” Trickery!Sizing…Check!Shop Dudes… Check!Jordan Thackeray Blasting One… Check!Crailslide by Herkko Karjalainen… Check!Samuel Norgren test if the shoe works on & off the wall… Check! And a classic Backside Smith to close things off…Check Please!
Makke just released a new video and apparently it is unused footage from 2019. Not exactly accurate, since it has a lot of footage from the Poetic Video but definitely worth a second watch and pretty entertaining. A lot of Berlin footage and even more good friends in this one.
Featuring: Santiago Sasson, Tom Botwid, Simon Källkvist & more.
After Samuel Norgren’s part & yesterdays, film trucks collab it seems like Poetic Collective week over at Transworld has come to an end with this release.
A result of hard work, passion, friendship, and craftmanship FLUID is now online for us all to watch.
Featuring:
Samuel Norgren, Helena Long, Santiago Sasson, Peter Johansson, Tom Botwid, Mira Axelsson, Simon Kallkvist & others.
Leo Valls has influenced many skaters on this planet Tom Botwid being one of them. So, one can only imagine how much of a joyous experience it was to create this video feature together.
After his famed Place video part Poetic’s own Simon Källkvist has now moved over to NYC’s Quartersnacks so he can put that one under his belt.
He also changed shoe sponsors from the big C to a big N but his love for the game has remained the same and we love him for it. Go and watch Simon’s part now!
Our good friend & partner Tom Botwid has a little video portrait up on Youtube where he talks about his journey through life, art & business. There are some little gems in here about building, friendship and internet perception versus real-life situations.
Filmed & edited by one of Poetic’s own Peter Johansson we find out some intimate details about the man that once dressed as Bond…James Bond.
To further delve into clichés this video piece might not stir things but it might shake them up.
Our friends over at the Poetic Collective hit us up last week and put a little X-mas present under our digital tree. The gift was filmed throughout the latter half of the year by Makke Bengtson and Tom Botwid, it features both the last rays of the sun and the cold of the winter winds.
Instead of just gifting us all with this video the collective gifted themselves a new team member as well, Santiago Sasson now rides for Poetic! Merry Christmas Santi!
Enjoy the video and celebrate the holidays from the birth of baby Jezus to Hannukah or Kwanzaa!
There seems to be an endless stream of content coming from the shores of Malmö city, from last weeks Malmoe Tape, to the Polar camp and now a project supported by the city of Malmö itself (via the craftsmanship of David Linberg).
If 2020 will not be dominated by Sweden than we predict certain Swedish people will be switching citizenship just so they can compete in the 2024 Olympics. The talent pool seems almost as endless as the content pool.
And we are not seeing the same people, this video features a different group than for instance Jacob Hansson’s project. Showing in a way that a city of 687.481 people can compete with almost any European country as far as the talent to output ratio.
Anyway, great work by Mr. Lindberg and we would like to give a major shout out to John Dahlquist for testing the age limits on gnarlyness.
since a triptych consists of three parts, it is safe to say that this is the last one in the series. And having watched this we feel like “the collective” saved the best for last. Enjoy!
Our friends from Poetic Collective are presenting their second episode of “Triptych” and it is a good example of how to build a brand and keep the corporate identity. Poetic Collective is here to stay and it is different from all the other brands. Good job everybody!
Good things come in three’s so it is no surprise that Tom Botwid and his squad are doing a Triptych.
What is a Triptych? It is basically art slang for a painting made out of three pieces. These type of paintings historically relate to religion and are often seen in churches.
Religious works of art were made to tell biblical stories to people that could not read or write. Now we don’t want to accuse anybody of being analphabetic but we would like to argue that the images in this edit speak to us as skaters.
The dictionary says a collective is a group of people willing to work together, and it seems Marseille was the common goal. Tom Botwid and his team worked very hard and ended up with 9 minutes of footage, impressive to say the least!
These are not your usual suspects either, the collective is undergoing some changes lately, and the effect of those changes can be seen in this edit, so press play.
Last year I got to know Robin Pailler on a trip to Malmö, where he told me about this project he was about to film for Poetic Collective. The vibe Robin’s work creates matches perfectly the smooth skating of the Poetic guys, and thus results in a tour clip that makes the viewer long for a skate session on a hot summer day.
Featuring Tom Botwid, Sarah Meurle, Samuel Norgren, Nils Lilja, Peter Johansson, Johanna Juzelius, Johannes Packalen, Klas Andersson, and Simon Källkvist.
A big part of the reason we came to make the Malmö issue where the two Mortensen Brothers Sondre and Amandus. We watched all of their edits and like DRIV3R, where one of the brother’s drives and films while the other one skates, it shows a good example how things are in the life of a Mortensen. They were just different, they seemed to be doing their own thing and it made me very curious. I wanted to know what kind of people they are. So, I started to ask people about them.
“They just keep to themselves, they go out alone film each other and edit together. Sondre even makes some of the music.”
Tom Botwid told us, “They don’t even really curse!” – “What, who doesn’t curse?” – “They do, kind of but they have their own words.” Things like that made us want to go to Malmö to see what’s in the Swedish water and to really get a taste of what it’s like to be around them.
Now, over the years, the city has become somewhat famous for its “non-spots” and the people who skate them. An “if you don’t have it just build it!” attitude has been in the air for a long time. Pontus Alv, Nils Svensson and their friends built up Malmö’s image by executing ideas like these. They did not do it like they did it in the US. They took things and did it their own way, which made it relatable to all of us in Europe. It was clear from the first moment that I saw them that the Mortensen’s seemed to build on that tradition but at the same time the way they are doing it had a whole new feeling to it.
A good example would be to say that after Joy Division came New Order. The band regrouped and started to try and find a new sound – their own sound! The journey to find their own, ended up creating some pretty good and maybe even classic albums after.
“No band ever survived the death of their lead singer, so when Joy Division became New Order Nobody expected them to succeed.”24 Hour Party People, 2002
Now obviously, Mr. Alv is neither dead or gone. To this day he is a driving force in Malmö but the thing is that nobody expected Malmö to become this big and we thought that like Manchester in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s it will produce a lot more interesting people, projects, and styles. MADCHESTER is no more but maybe “MADmö” is around the corner, this new work of documentation by the Mortensen brothers definitely shows all of the above.
Video by Sondre & Amandus Mortensen
Photos by Conny Mirbach
Text by Roland Hoogwater
I first met Simon many years ago when he was just a little kid, he was always in the corner skating flat ground, doing every flat trick in the most worn down gear. Ever since those days he has grown up and has become a man. He still loves flat ground but he has taken some of those early low impact moves down obstacles or into slides. One thing that hasn’t changed though, he still somehow always manages to have the most worn down gear, a spectacular feat since Converse supplies him with shoes and Poetic provides him with plenty clothes and boards to wear and wear down. Watching Simon skate has always been a treat, his style is very spontaneous, he seems to constantly operate on the limit, just barely hanging on. Mr. Källkvist is not one to stay in his comfort zone he is always pushing himself, falling down and getting up with a smile on his face! I had a chance to talk to both Simon and Markus who filmed this. Enjoy!
Interview by Tom Botwid. Photos by Viktor Annerstål. Editing and Filming by Markus Bengtsson.
Simon Källkvist
How was the process of filming for this part? Did it “just happen” or did you create a concept?
Markus Bengtsson released a lot of Stockholm videos during this summer, one of which featured my friend Olle Kling who managed to film a full part in like 3 days, nuts!
After he released that part Markus and I started talking about doing a short film type of part.
That didn’t end up happening. We thought we would work on it for around seven days but it ended up being 3 months.
The whole thing sort of grew organically, it evolved into a longer project. We wanted to film it in downtown Stockholm to really show it for the capital that it is. Even though it’s a relatively small capital city when compared to a town like Paris it still has spots that feel like they could be in a really big metropolitan city.
Why did you opt for the VX, instead of HD, or even a phone it seems that a Sony VX is not the most user-friendly option nowadays.
First off, the Sony VX for me is still the best tool to document skating. It is like you can feel what it is like to skate when you watch VX footage. I don’t really get that same feeling when I watch things in HD. Maybe it is because I grew up watching VX filmed videos and that gives me the feeling it is the “right” way to capture skateboarding. Secondly, I like to have a project to work on. It keeps me motivated to push my boundaries and it is fun to go skate spots that maybe you wouldn’t if you weren’t filming.
Filming a full part is something I do for myself like skateboarding is supposed to be!
I don’t dislike Instagram, I watch it almost every day and it keeps me occupied but there is no commitment when I do. I am not engaged in it like I would be when I am watching a full part on a bigger screen. The difference being that I chose to actively watch that video instead of it popping up. Instagram is for quick fun, unfocused likes, a quick ego boost, but most of the times it keeps me occupied when I don’t want to wash my dishes or study. I feel like I might get a lot of hate for that one!
What does skating for Poetic Collective mean to you?
Poetic helps me, supports me and keeps me pushing myself and that to me is very motivating. They bring new point-of-views into skateboarding. It is hard for me to truly describe what the company means to me. It does keep on changing, but I love all of the people involved it is one big family!
Your skating takes me back to the early 2000s, does this era represent anything special to you?
I like the fact that videos weren’t being put out on a daily basis, it made you appreciate what you have a lot more.
The daily video releases have pushed the level of skateboarding though – monkey sees monkey do – but it also overstimulates me. It was a more simplistic time and I feel like pros skated for themselves and not for the perceived fame and fortune. It could also just be the fact that everything is filmed with a VX and that is what actually makes me love it!
Markus Bengtsson
So, Markus, you spend a lot of time documenting Stockholm can you describe the skate scene for us?
Stockholm is expanding continuously, new spots get built daily, but the one thing our city misses is a proper meet-up spot. Which is not ideal during the summer months. In the winter though everybody meets up at the only indoor skatepark that we have so that is good about those cold couple of months. Overall I think Stockholm is a great city to skate with a lot of outdoor parks and a plethora of street spots.
Can you take us behind the scenes of the filming for this part, how did it come about?
I was plagued by a knee injury this year so I couldn’t skate myself, instead of sitting at home I chose to film so I could still go on missions with my friends. That is how this project got started. I wanted this part to represent a raw and dirty type of skating in Stockholm.
Why do you still film VX, instead of just filming with your phone and putting it on Instagram?
Both me and Simon think that the lifespan of an internet part is longer. Instagram posts are awesome but sometimes you can just scroll past a video without really paying attention to what’s going on. But when you watch somebody’s section on the internet you usually pay more attention to the skating. You actively choose to sit down and watch a part.
You have a military background, does that help you in any way when it comes to filming?
I’ve never really thought about a connection between the two. But I guess you could say that it helps me with the mental part of filming. It allows me to always keep a positive attitude, even when I am really tired. I am able to cope and hide those factors and stick it out. When suddenly the skater makes the trick it is always worth it.
Describe Simon’s skating to us?
The way he skates is inspiring. When you watch him do tricks you can really tell that he is in love with his board. He never sticks to one particular element of skating, he tries to skate everything and does it all with passion. He is not a perfectionist but still, he manages to make everything look smooth. Even the sketchy tricks (laughs).
Welcome to Malmö: a seaport type of city. It’s the third city in Sweden but the first when it comes to riding a skateboard and it basically morphed into it because of its inhabitants. They are proud of their city and rightfully so.
“Some spots only become a spot once somebody manages to do a trick on them.” Danijel “Jugga” Stankovic said, looking at Sondre & Amandus Mortensen.
We proudly present to you this film by Leon Rudolph feat.: Jugga, Sondre & Amandus, Ville Wester, Elias Mensi, Samuel Norgren, John Dahlquist, Santiago Sasson, Tom Botwid, Koffe Hallgren & Sarah Meurle.
The Poetic brand is growing steadily with every new collection they put out, their crew is energetic and wants to get around. So they packed their bags and paid a visit to the city of light, a.k.a. “The city with the worlds best pavement” the French capital city of Paris.
You might recognize some of these tricks from our own Instagram and you might remember Peter Deigaard from his previous video called “MY VIDEO HMC2“. We met Peter over at Jarmers in CPH and he told us something was coming.
So when we were at Bryggeriets Gymnasium doing a tour later that week and we saw Peter and Ville Wester sitting in the editing bay we already knew what was up.
The Poetic Collective is out here producing a lot lately first the Streetlab Stockholm edit and now a new promo. It seems that the brand/collective is on the way up.
