Winter skatepark content usually has a low rate of re-watchability. But this new video by Tikari skateshop team might be up to something good that will make you want to give it another watch or definitely another listen. Props to the crazy master mind Rob who once again open new dimensions of skate videos.
And as for the rest of us, “Let’s keep on rolling.”
Linards Viksniņš – Front BluntMiks Graņtiņš – SS BS TS/ Not seen on video thoughRob and his third eye
It has been a while since we had a good session on a corner. Riga just has no good corners in indoor parks. But it was not always like that. Both versions of Monster park used to have nice corners, close to 90s style ones. They had banks with the right angles that could through you high if you wanted to. The first version of the park had a steeper corner which mellowed out a bit in the second reincarnation. However, designed by BMXers, these things were still moreon the massive side. Gtiim skatepark on the other hand, had a more modern approach to corner building. Gtiims corner had more democratic proportions which made it accessible to all skill levels and types of people. Even die hard corner haters like myself skated that thing with joy.
The corner in Vilnius SkateHub aka Lithuanian Skateboarding Federation TF is a thought out piece. It is both a nod to 90s’ massiveness and a bit of equality. One side has a steeper bank and the other a smaller and milder slope which is nice to land to. It is big and small at the same time: a biggie smalls of corners. The park has its doors opened to skaters only and that probably made our last session on the corner more enjoyable.
Not a lot of Lermantov parks’ regular dwellers are aware that the concrete bench next to the abandoned library house is a DIY skate spot. Located on the top of the park’s small hill, the bench feels hidden and blends perfectly in the surroundings as if it’s been there all the time. Riga DIY built that bench in May 2020. Ironically both real park benches got destroyed by some vandals (not skaters) and the DIY bench became useful for regular park users. One day we came to skate it and found two ladies sitting on it. Probably after a hard day at work, the bench was a perfect chill spot for them to sip cocktails and chat. We didn’t ask them to move. Instead we left to skate another spot. After all we skate stuff not meant for skating all the time. So it just seemed fair to let people sit on something that was not meant for sitting. They are just the same as us, enjoying their free time.
The bench was perfect and smooth as if build by pro skatepark builders
During building, a passer was intrigued by our work. He observed from a distance, making us feel nervous. Who knows what’s on his mind, he might call the police. To our surprise he was not only supportive of our work but also wanted to give some practical advice about concrete work. He went on to say that he enjoyed moments when generation can meet and exchange experience. Probably this is what DIY is about.
Huge shout out to Riga DIY and it’s founding father Fricix for making this crazy vision a reality.
Hello everyone, Big Mac’s here and it’s already been a month into the new year with many Insta videos coming out and not only. Lets get right into January.
Straight Forward Skateboards posted a trailer for apparently a new video. Just coming off the heat of ‘Viss Taisni’ and already going to work on a new video, excited to see what the team has in store for this one. Insta post says that the company got a hold of some new camera gear for this new project. Does it mean we won’t see the classic (criminal) Hi8 look anymore? That would be a great loss for our community. Also, Straight Forward put out some new gear which is cool, but the mugs got to be the best collectible item yet. Don’t tell me you are going to drink coffee out of it.
Fricis being Fricis hit the streets in January. Out of all winter spots he choose the most unsuitable for the weather conditions.
Our homie Roberts Krūms posted a new video on his instagram called ‘learning to fly’! If you are into art house and weird stuff with philosophical meaning you might not regret watching this vid.
Taking it to Estonia we got a video from Rainer Kaur ‘Nilsi kiire Loigus’ a nice short edit at one of the indoor parks in Estonia. Video has a bit of a quick pace with some really cool looking tricks and a nice laid back song.
Back in Latvia we had another girls only Skate/inline Jam and Lindahas a few sentences about it: We were a bit scared before the first event because we thought we won’t be able to get together because of omicron, however there were 18 skaters. It is awesome to skate together as you want go faster and jump higher.
Seemed like a good time, we hope to see another Skate/inline Jam soon again. They also managed to get some cool pictures too! Photographer: Kristiāna Eglite
Yeah that was about it this month, we got some ideas and plans sometime soon but for now its quiet and empty, stay tuned for next months recap we hope to see the weather get better and maybe even a day or two where we will get to skate outside.
In 2014 Roberts Krums lived in Jersey and would come to Latvia once or twice a year. That August of 2014 he stayed for around three weeks and we’d filmed a bunch of stuff. Mostly the clips got used in R City 3 where Rob had a part.
Fun times. LNB was completely fresh. It had different tiles and no skate stoppers. We’d skate there a lot but also around other spots. There wasn’t really a hangout spot at that time and instagram videos were just becoming a thing, so we’d skate everywhere and filmed everything that happened on the camera. And now we can watch it.
The start of the year was quite interesting. I didn’t know what to write about for some time although I have topics planned out for the future. I felt like I want to do something different.
We had a meet up on 30th of December. It was really cool to see so many girls together in one place. We were 21 in total: 16 skateboarders and 5 inline skaters. @sb.girls came from Ventspils. Big up for that! I heard that someone even placed bets on how many people will show up. We surpassed the expectations. But there was a wtf moment like where were all of you before? Hope we will all skate again. Overall, it felt great.
I was asked to define what this column is about in general. Thinking about that, I can’t say anything specific, rather, we have a chance to witness the rise of skateboard culture among women in Latvia. I have a chance to be a part of that, share it and live it. Of course we will talk about more specific topic here. It is like a living organism that develops or stagnates. Where will it all take us? I don’t know. I smile and hope that this will lead to at least a couple of great sessions and on at least on sick trip. Well, let’s wait and see…
Not going to talk a lot today, will just grant you a hip hop/ trap playlist from myself, Linda, Uma, Karlīna, and Tīna.
Another year has passed, and Latvian skateboarding is still in the same place as before. What this place might be you ask? It is a special place. As always most of the best things that happened around here were DIY initiatives by selfless fanatics. Rarely any budgets or any other gain was involved, so everyone who’s in the scene do it because they enjoy it. And that is pure and beautiful.
In this quick recap we look back at some of more memorable moments in our small scene form 2021. This is RajonTV view on what was going on, so if you think we missed anything, feel free to express yourselves in the comments below.
Linards PRO!
Linards. Pro as FUCK 🙂
Linards Viksniņš pro inauguration was the most talked event this year! Linards already had an interesting skate story. He grew up in a small village of Grundzāle and developed his powerful style skating DIY constructions in a shed. Upon arrival to the capital, he quickly got noticed and hooked up. That could have been the pinnacle of skateboarding career development in Latvia, but no! Linards went further. In summer of 2021 Straight Forward Skateboards turned Linards pro! This made Linards the second professional skateboarder in Latvia. He even got paid in beer. Congrats Linards! We love you!
Viss Taisni
Viss Taisni by Straight Forward Skateboards was the biggest video in 2021. Armands Baumanis, the video author, took the film on a premiere tour around Latvia, making three premieres. Every premiere had something special and we will mention some of these special moments in this list too. In a classic Pis Taisni fashion the video had a lot of surprises, hijinx and dope moments. If you haven’t seen it already, you are blowing it. Either one clips or a full part, the video features almost everyone in our skate community. Aramands filmed a lot of it and also got a full part with an ender at Uzvara. The movie big ender is Olafs Suņux’s kickflip down Barax Gap that he worked on for 7 years. Bravo Suņuk! woof. woof! Respect.
Skate Arcade
Skate arcade is a fun contest format where everybody could participate. Madars Apse set a weekly trick challenge and skaters had to repeat the tricks and submit them for review. The video editing and creative ideas were also evaluated, so no matter how good you were at that trick you could still impress Madars and get scores. Best scoring skaters would get a chance to skate in the final showdown on a roof top of Domina. Our Gs from the Latvian Skateboarders Collective (LSK) put in good work to build that park. Some obstacles migrated to other places after. Good thing that the contest was broadcasted live, so everyone could enjoy some thrilling contest moments.
VEF DIY
VEF in October 2021
Latvian Skateboarders Collective (LSK) saved VEF DIY from its inevitable doom. The demolition of the DIY had already started with the main quarter getting beaten up. Quick reaction from the community led to a few meeting with people at VEF. Thankfully they were interested in keeping the place. VEF DIY could have turned into a parking lot, but it is still with us and is an important skate spot in our city. Take your visiting homies there next summer.
RIGA DIY
This summer Riga DIY & co. made some DIY upgrade for go skateboarding day in Riga. The Miera street ledge got an extension and a bank. The BMXers rail spot got that pickup truck with a kicker. Also, the Piena Ledges were born which was probably the most important DIY contribution this year. That place defined warm summer skate days. You could meet up at Maxlas Muzejs skate there a bit, cruise up Skolas street and get to Piena ledge. Shout out out to Riga DIY for these upgrades.
The Trip
Tikari skateshop made a comeback to the scene this year. The shop was opened all summer and brought some diversity to the brand mix in the city. The guys are also actively supporting local heads. This summer we went on a trip with them to Cesis to hang out and film with their young team riders: Edijs Plume and Artis Strazdiņš. Looking forward to what the guys are going to bring.
Granja Game of Skate Champ
Viss Taisni prem in Liepaja got a big portion of Riga heads out of Maxlas and Piena ledges. Besides the screening, Straight Forward skateboards held a game of skate championship where Miks Granja had to defend his title of Latvian Game of Skate champ. Denčik promised to fuck up Granja, but we all know how that ended. Normal čaļi always win!
Latgalian Cruise
Our trip to Latgale was the biggest we ever done in terms of people on board. At one moment we were rolling 20 heads deep. We made a video and zine after that. Our man Maks made a full comeback to skating this year. The went on our trip, got the last part in the vid and a cover for the zine. Right after that, Maks got hooked up by Clockwise. Fricis, on the other hand, pushed his creative skating further by mostly skating non-spot or how we call them archeological sites. Also, we would like to give a major shout out to Arturs Nesaule for organizing this trip as well as Riga premiere party, and Arturs Bogdanovičs for putting the zine together. See you this summer for the second tour.
Maxlas Upgrade
Maxlas Muzejs upgrade was the most anticipated event in the recent years. Our beloved meet up/ hang out spots Maxlas Muzejs got a serious update: a quarter pipe and a ledge. Karlis Bogustovs designed the obstacles and spend some of his best years dealing with the bureaucratic machine. Thankfully Karlis has some dedicated allies on his path and the project finally saw the light of day, after 3 years in the works. Respect!
Happy New year everybody. After an extensive break, Rajon is getting back on track. For the first quick post of 2022 we bring you a recap of December in the Baltic skate scene.
Linards Vīksniņs blunt at Ģertūdes street came out as a raw tape, seeing the struggle he went through to land that amazing blunt, good job Linards!
Arturs Bogdanovičs first street part came out called ‘Radi Boga’ and is honestly a must watch to any tech nerd who enjoys inward heelflips to manuals to a large drop type stuff, sending 9 stairs with a shuvit to an amazing song.
In Estonia, Meelis Erm is back with a small video titled ‘indooria’ absolutely shredding an indoor park with some amazing Estonian music in the background.
Taking a trip to Lithuania, Boards.lt came out with a full length skate movie called ‘MOMENTAS’. Some amazing camera action and clean tricks in this one. Definitely a must watch! Even some clips from our local Barax and Barona Skatepark slipped through.
Coming back to Latvia we had our SLS Winter championship 21‘ with Rudolfs Rorbahs taking third, Niklavs Vetra second, Arturs Bogdanovičs first places. Congratulations to everybody, especially my dawgs from the amateur group. The event was also filmed from 2 different perspectives, check out ‘Edvard Gaba‘ and ‘Linda Lindenberga’ recaps.
We also had our first Girls only only skate and inline Jam in over 3 years and it was a success and there’s a plan to have another one on the 27th of Janurary.
Arturs “Boga” Bogdanovičs first full street part. We filmed this mostly in 2021, however, there are some older clips too, one even dating 2017. Filmed entirely in Riga.
One of our favorite subgenres in modern skateboarding is “spot deconstruction”. It is a made up term that describes video which is centered around one spot. Of course there’s been a lot of videos centered around one spot, but the “deconstruction” aspect means that you not only skate one spot but also come up with new ways how to skate it.
Spots obviously have default ways of skating them. Ledges ask for ledges lines. Stair sets require some jumping. “Spot deconstruction” involves doing something new, and, probably, is the most wholesome when a spot has been around for a while. It must wear skaters out, so they start to seek for some new options.
The spot in question today is Saint-Peterburg’s Skripka. Local skater, Vova Pavlov recently made an edit dedicated to that spot. We asked Vova some questions about the spot, the concept of the video and his brand Gizn (Жизнъ – eng. life).
Could you please introduce yourself?
Sulut! I am Vova Pavlov. Friends call me Palich. I was born and raised in the north of Russia in a city called Polyarnye Zori, Murmanskaja oblast. Since 2010 I have been living in Saint-Petersburgh. Been skating since 2005.
I remember you from Absurd skateboards videos. You would always skate in those, but now you are a filmer. How did that came about?
That’s right. This spring it will be 10 years since I joined Absurd as a rider. I have always been into the process of video making. However, it was until very recently that I have tried it myself, I’d say a few years ago. When I was younger all I wanted to do is skate and I was completely focused on that. From time to time I had a feeling that I needed something more than skating to be happy. Skating was feeling a bit boring even. Around 2018-2019 I had a couple of injuries that put me out from skating. In autumn of 2019 I came across an advert of friend Pasha Pinokio who was selling a VX that I eventually bought. Let’s not go in depth about the skate video culture and which videos inspired me. I’d rather talk about this in the kitchen with a cold one. I always valued filmers highly for their enthusiasm and nerves of steel. During my years of skating I had a chance to film with almost all of the best Russian skate filmers. And only after I bought my own camera I realized how physically hard filming can be. Try to film a fisheye line of your homie for a few hours. This actually takes a lot of energy. So after that I started to value filmers even higher.
Tell about Gizn.
My first debut was a funky home video of a trip to my homeland together with my friends Juzik and Kokos. Actually, during that trip, our connection was born. That trip can be considered the starting point of our artistic union “Gizn” (from Russian – жизнь meaning life). The name was a joke at first. I used to comment this word under funny or unusual photos of my friends in Instagram. My friends liked it and wrote it back to me. So, that word would stay in my head. When I had to come up with a name for an Instagram account, it didn’t take long to come up with an idea. As a matter of fact, we do live our best lives skateboarding and traveling. Everything around us is life. And what’s coming later—only life will show.
Tell about the spot? What’s the story there and how did the video came about?
The Square of composer Andrey Petrov is an old well-known spot in Saint-Petersburg. A violin sculpture is standing in the square center, that is why we call this spot “skripka” (eng. violin). I have been skateboarding there since I moved to Saint-Petersburgh. The idea to make a video about the spot belongs to Zhenya Nikolaev. He once said that the potential of that spot has not yet been fully explored and that it would be possible to make a full edit about it and set it to the music of the composer. Well, as it is usually goes, the idea never got to implementation.
Earlier this year I got injured and ended in a hospital. Since there was no skating for me in the next couple month, I was thinking about possible video projects. While on the hospital bed, I remembered about our discussion with Zhenya about “skripka” and starter to study the biography of Andrey Petrov. After watching a couple documentaries about him, I decided to get right to filming after I get out of the hospital. In summer it is possible to end up at that spot a lot, so I decided to film anybody who would be down. Zhenya left to live in Moscow and didn’t take part in the video.That’s cool you dug into the history of the spot. Do you think is it important?
For starters I like history in general. It can be definitely useful for your view of the world to expand. Same can be applied to skateboarding. Knowledge is power.
Is there anything you want to show through your vids?
The best part of skateboarding is not achievement and titles, it’s process itself. And the more meaningful it is, the more pleasure and happiness it can bring you. Enjoy skating here and now with friends, and do not pursue vague values, because life is short!
Are you going to make Gizn merch?
At the moment we are working on something. Hopefully we will put it out soon.
Original Interview in Russian
Как тебя зовут? Сколько катаешь? Откуда ты?
Салют! Я Вова Павлов, друзья называют меня Палыч. Я родился и вырос на севере России в городе Полярные Зори Мурманской области. С 2010 года я базируюсь в Санкт-Петербурге. Катаюсь на скейтборде с 2005 года.
Помню тебя как райдера Абсурда. Как и когда взял в руки камеру? Поменялось ли твое мнение к операторам?
Все верно, весной будет 10 лет как я катаюсь за Абсурд. Мне всегда был интересен процесс производства видеопроектов. Но сам решил попробовать совсем недавно, буквально пару лет назад. Когда был помоложе хотелось много кататься самому и фокус был полностью только на катании. Со временем посещали мысли, что для полного счастья мне уже не хватает одного лишь катания, становилось даже скучновато временами. В 2018-2019 годах у меня была череда травм, которые время от времени выбивали меня из катательной колеи. А осенью 2019го я наткнулся на объявление моего друга Паши Пинокио о продаже vx камеры, которую в итоге и купил. Обойдемся без лирики и кучи слов о скейтвидео-культуре, а так же о том какие именно видео оказали на меня влияние. Об этом лучше поговорить на кухне под пивко. Я всегда высоко ценил операторов за их энтузиазм и стальные нервы. За долгие годы я успел посниматься почти со всеми лучшими отечественными скейт-операторами. Скажу лишь, что после того как я купил камеру я понял, что это большая физическая нагрузка. Поездить пару-тройку часов с фишаем, снимая лайн корешу, реально отнимает много сил. Так что отношение стало еще более уважительное.
Расскажи о проекте Жизнъ.
Первая проба пера – своеобразное хоум-видео поездки на мою родину вместе с друзьями Юзиком и Кокосом. Собственно говоря, там и родился наш союз. Ту поездку можно считать начальной точкой творческого объединения “жизнъ”. Про название скажу, что изначально это был какой-то прикол. Одно время в инстаграме на разные смешные или необычные фотографии друзей я писал в шутку слово ЖИЗНЬ, ребятам это нравилось и они иногда писали это же слово мне в ответ. И в итоге слово постоянно держалось в голове. А когда пришло время назвать аккаунт в инстаграме, то долго думать и не пришлось. Ну и, собственно говоря, мы живем свои лучшие жизни катаясь на скейте и путешествуя. Все что нас окружает вокруг и есть жизнь. А что будет дальше – жизнь покажет!
Расскажи о саде Андрея Петрова. Что этот спот значит для скейт сцены. Сколько ты там катаешь и как пришла идея снять видео об этом споте?
Сквер композитора Андрея Петрова – это старый известный Питерский спот. В центре сквера красуется скульптура в виде скрипки, поэтому в народе его так и называют “скрипка”. Катаюсь я там с того самого момента как переехал в Питер, получается уже больше 10 лет. Идея принадлежит Жене Николаеву. Он как-то предположил, что за все эти годы потенциал спота не был раскрыт полностью и можно было бы еще покататься как следует и выжать оттуда отдельный эдит под музыкальное сопровождение композитора. Ну и как это обычно бывает до реализации дело так и не дошло. В этом году весной я загремел в больницу с очередной травмой. Поскольку катание в ближайшие пару месяцев мне не светило, я перебирал в голове идеи для съемки новых видеопроектов. Лежа на больничной койке, вспомнил наш с Женей разговор про “скрипку” и стал изучать биографию Андрея Петрова. Посмотрев пару документальных фильмов о нем, решил после выписки сразу взяться за дело. За сезон можно часто оказаться на этом споте, поэтому решил, что буду снимать по возможности тех, кому это будет интересно. Сам Женек в этом году переехал на пмж в Москву и, к сожалению, не принял участия в данном видео.
Как тебе кажется нужно ли скейтерам знать историю спотов где они катаются?
Начнем с того, что лично я увлекаюсь историей в целом. Историю полезно знать, чтобы картина мира была более целостная. Это и к скейтбордингу относится в том числе. Знания – сила!
Есть ли что-то что ты хотел бы сказать в своих видео?
Вся прелесть скейтбординга не достижения и звания, а сам процесс. И чем более он осмыслен, тем больше удовольствия и счастья он может вам принести. Наслаждайтесь катанием здесь и сейчас c друзьями, не гонитесь за призрачными ценностями, ведь жизнь коротка!
Будет ли мерч?
В данный момент мы как раз над этим работаем. Надеюсь совсем скоро мы что-то выпустим!
Photos by: Andrey Vladimirov, Alexander Gorbunov and Vova Skribo Vladimir Pavlov.