With Isolator Madness around the corner, we decided to talk to Fricis Štrauss, and shed some light on the upcoming event. Fricis, along side other LSK heads, is one of the main driving forces behind the event. So what is Isolator Madness? Who is it for? And will it be rigged? Find out in this quick interview below.
Hey, Frici! How the hell are you? How are things going with Isolator?
Hey! I’m doing okay. A lot of action and different stuff going on these days so it’s hard to even focus on Isolator. Don’t have enough free time. We’re constantly in search of more people that could help move the Isolator Madness project forward. We have tons of ideas, but it’s a lot of work.
Tell us a little bit more about Isolator Madness. What should we expect from the event and how did you guys even come up with the idea to organize it in the first place?
With Isolator going public we wanted to help out the community with a less expensive alternative for skating in the winter, because with the prices rising it’s getting pretty costly. What’s interesting is that Isolator isn’t even really a skatepark. It’s actually a workshop that slowly filled up with skate obstacles while working on other projects. When we got the idea of organizing an event we asked the owners of the building for permission and they didn’t have a problem with it. We thought to ourselves: ‘’Why not?’’
The event itself is going to be organized by LSK (Latvijas Skeitbordistu Kolektīvs). The whole program is actually going to be really interesting. There is going to be a conference/open discussion about the scene, video premieres. There are also going to be gigs from a few bands we’ve invited. I think it’s going to be awesome.
Has there ever been an event quite like this in Latvia?
No. I don’t think there has ever been anything quite like this. especially in an environment like this. Some old factory. Sure we’ve skated in a few old factories, but we could have never imagined organizing an event in one of them. So that’s pretty cool.
Isolator and its location has been kept under the radar for quite some time now. I think that the time has come for the people to know the answer. Where can we find this place? Word on the street is that it’s somewhere in Sarkandaugava.
Yeah! it is in Sarkandaugava. In front of the narcology center. The address is aptiekas iela 19.
Tell us a little bit about the layout of the park. Where did you take inspiration from when designing the obstacles? The layout is really simple. Hip, quarter pipe, ledge, quarter to wall. Super basic with a few interesting quirks. We didn’t really take inspiration from anywhere. The obstacles we built are actually from other projects that we were able to get back. We just put them back in the building, next to the workshop and slowly it turned into a place where my friends and I were able to skate. We have a few workshop projects that we are really excited for everyone to see. Some glass obstacles by Kārlis (Bogustovs) and myself. The other guys focused more on the park itself and made sure everything flowed nicely. All of the building happened without any sketching or drafting. Like real skaters we went with the flow and tried not to think about it too much. But as I mentioned before it is a lot of work and we’re still trying to get as much help as we can. We have a ton of ideas, but the time, as always, is limited.
And now for the most important questions. Is the contest going to be rigged? Haha. Of course it will! Naah but I think it’s going to be wild. It’s going to be a good time for sure. So yeah. Gotta get out of bed, hang out with my daughter and figure out the plan for today.
These two are already local Bosses even Bauses if you will. They have been skating forever and doing dope things for the scene too. But now it is time for the face off.
Kārlis had to play vs Boga, but Boga got injured and wanted to recover before going to Brazil. So Kārlis got promoted to the next round. Well he would have won probably against injured Boga, so …
This October graced us with some unity moments, some indoor moments and a meme page. October 2022 was notable for couple of things. Catch up below.
LSK project won the comp
Like defusing a bomb on the last second, LSK won the funding competition for a DIY space with 1000+ votes overweight. You might have notices a lot of spam about a skatepark project under a bridge lately. Well the operation is successfully over. The project moved from 15th place to 2nd in the last couple of days. Everybody was so keen on voting that the website crashed the process. Congrats to everybody involved and shout out to everyone who voted and helped out. All in all two skateboarding related project got over the line which means more riding for us in the future.
Welcome to isolator!
Nils-Eerik Veisberg – Hardflip in ISO during the Vans Trip Photo: Herbe
For the most part Latvian skate scene is usually bummed when indoor season rolls in. But now, with the announcement of the brand new indoor skatepark Isolator, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This magical, gritty, diy, Chernobyl-esque wonderland has a lot of things going for it when compared to other indoor parks in Riga. Scooters, rollerblades and any other wheeled devices that aren’t a skateboard, will not be able to step foot in this place. Also this is the only indoor skatepark in Riga where skaters will be able to enjoy concrete flat. Finally! Skating inside won’t feel like sliding around on an ice skating rink. The obstacles in Isolator are no joke too. Steep bank hips, gnarly quarters… But don’t take our word for it. Have a look for yourself our latest video ‘’Vans Baltic Weekend’’. Or in Rudik’s latest instagram post… But that is not where the surprises end because on the 19th of November, Isolator will be hosting its very first event called Isolator Madness. Be sure to follow their instagram page for any updates regarding that.
New Intern
RajonTV staff got bigger in October. Edijs Plume of Barspin and Tikari fame joined our ranks. His first job was to translate Linda’s summer memoir, make an insta edit of his skating, and write a paragraph about Isolator for the link section. As you might have noticed Edijs been killing it so far.
Halloween parties
Latvian were not participating in Halloween this year, but our Baltic collogues had some dress-up parties. Krulli indoor in Tallinn hosted an event called Boogieland Massacre and AJE skatepark in Klaipeda had a spooky session as well.
One of the most effective ways to share ideas and beliefs nowadays are, surprisingly, memes. They are easy to consume. They deliver the point quickly. And they are usually funny which makes the point come across and stick better. Latvian skater meme page that appeared in October on instagram gained quick attention from the community. The meme page is smart. It is not only a mash-up of random jokes, it is also a grail of some insider knowledge; something everyone could enjoy. The page manages to connect both old videos, new videos, old generations and young generations. There are memes about Edijs Aizstrauts, Ernijs and Iso in one post. Then there’s an Avantis poster in the next post? Then there’s a Niks Kolosovskis appreciation post. All of this is really great, but it leaves us wondering: who could be running such an account? How could one person connect past, present and future of Latvian skateboarding all at once? Or maybe it is not a person at all. The version we have for the admin identity might seem a bit far-fetched but hear us out. It is not a secret that tech giants want us to spend more time on phones, so they come up with hidden ways to achieve this. Developing a content generating AI that sneaks into small groups within subcultures to make tailored and addictive content just might be tech giants’ next step. The Latvian skater meme page is run by such a robot. An AI system. It has analyzed all the data we have as a collective skate scene produced: video, photos, comments, captions. It has tracked our locations, habits and tastes. (Taking into account the size of our scene it probably did it in mere seconds, and perhaps still continues to do so). It can listen to our discussions at spots and read out DMs. As it gathered all of the data it started to generate images and messages that the majority would enjoy. Hence, it is able to bridge generations and accurately display the current mood of the skate community. But how far will it go? One thing for certain, no one is safe, so watch what you say and do.
See you in indoors! Peace!
P.S. We’ve been doing this for a while, heh? Check out October links from 2021/ 2020/ 2017 / 2018
This episode features most of the Trank Boys, with Rudik as the ref and Marks and Sotax as opponents. You can also spot Linards lurking in the background. Enjoy the show.
Niklavs and Rudik are two long term team mates for Clockwise skateshop. They have been together in the trenches for a while, and know each other’s ins and outs pretty well. They know what each can do, but still they can surprise even themselves. Enjoy the game.
The last time I expressed my thoughts here was in June when I had only just started to get a taste of the lifestyle that skateboarding had to offer… I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much it would impact my life to the point of not even being able to sit down for a second and reflect on what was happening. I’m trying to balance the lifestyle of a 30+ year old with a job and responsibilities, whilst still giving my inner child a chance to live and enjoy life to the fullest. The stuff that I went through this summer consisted of 4 skate trips, a couple of contests and copious amounts of laughter and good memories. Finally, I have time to sit back and reflect.
The first trip we went on this summer was to Tallinn. The gang consisted of Emīlija Stoka, Robina Zvirgzdiņa, Artūrs Paugurs, Matīss Ozols and I. This was during the time when Simple Session was happening and even though we didn’t have a problem with the idea of attending and checking it out live, our main priority was still to skate and film. On the last day of Simple Session there was an event called ‘’Girls Girls Girls’’, for which the tickets were already priced at 20 euros, and so the idea of sitting down at a skate spot and watching the runs of our fellow latvian riders online seemed like the optimal choice.
I melt when I reflect on this summer. The warm days, the cold beer…We spent a lot of time skating around Freedom Square in Tallinn. We also skated around the beach area and hit a lot of random spots along the way. After a nice swim Robina decided to hit a street spot and got everybodies blood flowing with her drop in, which was then followed by a few heavy slams from Emīlija. She did manage to roll away at the end though. Everyone managed to get a few clips. I was happy to be practicing my chops on the camera.
We were thinking about hitting up the after party of Simple Session, however we seemed to be satisfied with the company of our own squad while filling up the streets of old town with laughter and silly jokes, which was then followed by a nice dinner.
Emīlija got herself a new nickname – The president of AlgeriaThe spot where Robina did her drop in and her followersThe morning of day 3 in Tallinn. The gang: Emīlija Stoka, Robina Zvirgzdiņa, Artūrs Paugurs, Matīss Ozols and me behind the cameraGirls and poppies
Matiss after his trefilp
The “Girls Girls Girls” event took place at the street course of Simple Session the 13th of June, as the closing event for the festival. It was organized by Liidia Maier and Kat Design Studio. I attended this event because i wanted to meet and talk to the local Estonian skater girls. I had already gotten a chance to meet Merje in Latvia, at the Vef DIY contest, so this was an opportunity to get to know her a little bit better.
Liidia was actually the one who contacted me following the first write up I did back in November of last year. I had also heard a few legends about Sandra. I had to meet them. The workshop couldn’t hold our attention for too long, since we wanted to skate so bad. Once we finally got to the park we all got a little crazy. Hell, even I did. I was surfing along the big ramps of the skatepark… I felt amazing. However this beautiful moment quickly turned into a full-blown nightmare when one downrail took out two MVP’s. Emīlija and Robina took slams on the exact same obstacle, which resulted in the exact same injury – a torn ACL.
They were rewarded for the gnarliest slams… Hmmm…
The trip back to Riga seemed like something in between a bad trip and a prayer to the universe, for everything to be okay. However, after a few days had passed both of the girls got their diagnoses and a sort of emptiness settles in once you’ve realized that your skatebuddies won’t be able to skate for a while. Everything we had planned for the rest of the summer now was impossible. Two of the already few Latvian girl skateboarders are now off their boards until February of 2023 at least. One of the thoughts that was running through my head was – “Emīlija won’t be able to go on the “Kurzemes tūre” tour.” The closer it got to the date of the tour, the more anxious I got. I was putting myself down for not being able to kickflip or not being able to go through the gnarliest slams, however I tried staying focused on the fact that I can still take some pictures and film, and blast a few beasty bonelesses of course. When the day finally came I thought to myself: “Fuck it, I’m going!” And so I made my way to the meetup spot at Lokal House.
Vans Baltics Team: Romario Siimer, Kristo Õismets, Nils-Eerik Vesberg, Ralf-Rasmus Raal, Merje Reisenbuk, Fricis Štrauss, Niklāvs Vētra, and Kārlis Bogustovs . Many thanks to Vans Alfa, House of Marsten, and LSK.
In the dusky days of September Vans Baltics team got together in Riga for a weekend roll out. It was probably the first time Vans did something like that and surely the first time they invited RajonTV to shed a light on their endeavors. A trip article being a standard genre of content in skate media can get repetitive as it often doesn’t tell much rather than “we skated this spot and it was sick.” So instead of telling how we skated at VEF DIY, Maxlas, Rainis, hid from the rain in Isolator, went to Kemeri DIY, and some spots around Jurmala, we instead ask the Vans Baltics team to interview each other about the trip and whatever else interests them. In that way you could get to know the team a bit better and they could also connect a bit more.
Merje Reisenbuk questions by Mārtiņš Frančenko (Vans Latvia TM)
Merje reaching for a high frontside kick turn. The glass quarter is no joke.
When did you start skating and what was the reason why? What influenced you to get a skateboard and go outside with it? I started skateboarding back in 2011, I was about 10 years old back then. I always had an interest in sports as a kid, especially the kind that involved a lot of adrenaline. My first skateboard was a cheap one that I borrowed from my classmate for a week or two, it had a sick graphic of an alien on the bottom of it. Some time after that I got my first very own skateboard. Started attending skate lessons in Pääsküla and Gruuvi skatepark.. the good old. Loved it.
Now that you’ve been to Latvia a couple of times, could you compare the Latvian and Estonian skate scenes? What is the same, what’s different and what do you like about each of them? I’ve been to Latvia four times this year already, surprisingly enough. The first time was during the VEF DIY season opener jam in spring—that had an epic afterparty too!
From what I’ve gathered, Estonian skaters compared to Latvian skaters seem to be a little more polished in a way. I mean that in the sense of style, trick selection and personalities in general. Latvian skaters have a special raw energy to them, differing from the more reserved personalities of us Estonians. A lot of bonelesses and grass skating from Latvia. That’s sick.
Another thing I appreciate when skating in Latvia is the great design of parks built by Mind Work Ramps. Visiting the skateparks in Kauguri and Valmiera was truly a breath of fresh air. Gotta appreciate all the greenery too.
Latvia and Estonia, in a wider sense the Baltics in general, have a connection in the skateboarding communes that we should preserve and grow. It’s a special kind of energy. We should keep visiting each other’s skating events and film more joint projects.
Where would you like to go on your next skate trip with the VANS Baltic team and why? Inside the Baltics, definitely Lithuanian cities. Had the opportunity to travel through Klaipeda, Kaunas and Vilnius during the summer. Would love to have more time skating there.
Outside the Baltics, many many places are enticing. Berlin, Barcelona, Malmö, you name it.
Nils-Eerik Vesberg questions by Niklāvs Vētra
Leg down kickflip is not a let down, right?
What was the worst part of the trip?
Getting rained out quite often. That always sucks. But we managed pretty good even with the rain.
Who is a better driver me [Niklavs] or Romario? [editor’s note: Niklavs and Rommi shared driver duties in the van]
I think Niklavs is better. Although Romario’s father is a driving instructor, it feels kinda sketchy for me.
How do you prefer your kebab box?
Spicy for sure. When you have doubts in quality always go for spicy haha.
Noseblunt yank off the turtle
Romario Siimer questions by Kārlis Bogustovs
We got kicked out from every spot in Jurmala, including this one. No run up bs flip.
What’s your favorite trick?
I don’t have a one favorite trick but fs crooked/bs overcrooked (flip in flip out) and the same for fs feeble/bs smith. Also bs bigspin is fun. Every trick I land perfect is my favorite trick pretty much.
What’s the funniest thing you have seen?
So we were having a breakfast during a south Estonian festival called “Intsikurmu” and this kid comes up holding a children car chair which was attached to his body (?). Suddenly he threw it down the grass gap and because it was attached to his body, he flew with it. That was so funny and random. I also filmed it (can send the video).
Why Riga? Why Riga what?
You can’t go wrong on this ledge. Violations-free Front crook from Rommi
Mārtiņš Frančenko questions by Merje Reisenbuk
Mārtiņš holding the results of his commitment. Got it next time!
You have experience previously working as a store manager for Vans and currently as a marketing specialist for Ballzy and Vans. What insight has your work experience given you regarding the skateboarding industry in the Baltics? What are some things that a casual skater might be surprised by? Well, first of all I would like to say that skateboarding industry is complicated overall. It is a dope culture and everyone who is in it feels the friendship and support from other members. It has a huge potential to grow, but its unclear if the growth would be good, because skateboarding could possibly lose its identity. I hope that it grows in Baltics, but just in the right direction. The one thing that maybe some skaters don’t know is how many people try to get sponsored and contact the brands. It’s interesting to see different approaches, and all the stuff they send in.
The recent trip to Riga and Jurmala was short and sweet, packing a lot of adventure into the space of 2 days. What was the most memorable about it to you? How I broke the board in the end haha. Well probably because it was the last highlight that happened. But overall I took away so many emotions from this trip, how you can wake up tired as fuck but when you see that someone is starting to fire up, you receive a boost as well and the fun continues. Stuff like that.
If you could have a professional career in any sport aside from skateboarding, which one would you pick and why?
My favorite sport besides skateboarding is ice hockey, so I probably would go with that. It’s just a beautiful game with lots of intensity, challenges. Something that needs a lot of skill and a lot of team effort. Maybe in next life.
Niklavs Vētra questions by Nils-EerikVesberg
Noseblunt with a early disengage
Secret for poping so high so easily? No secrets, just trying to be as explosive as possible with as little amount of the back foot on the tail, so it gets out of the way asap.
Has wearing a vans bmx vest improved your bike skills? No, not really, I am the worst at BMX. At least I look like my grandfather with the vest. RIP my dawg.
Favourite spot in Riga? This is harder to answer than I thought, probably ISO.
Kārlis Bogustovs questions by Romario Siimer
Karlis up there isolated from mental barriers. Rock to fakie
What’s your favorite Vans shoe and why? Vans Era pro – made for my feet, I can skate them right out of box.
What is your dream trick in the streets (spot+trick) Earlygrab 360 down turtle 4 stair. [Editor’s note – Karlis sprained his ankle on this one during the trip]
Which obstacle you like the most that you have built and why? The glass quarter pipe by the art museum because it took me through a serious journey for realization.
Ralfs Rasmus Raal questions by Fricis Štrauss
Front feebs at midnight in Kauguri
How do you feel being together with all the Vans homies?
Spending time with all the vans homies is amazing. They all are very interesting people and I have a lot to learn from them.
What was your favorite moment from the trip? I don’t really have a favorite moment, I enjoyed every second of it.
What would you like on your next trip? I would want the next trip to be a little bit longer and it would be perfect if we manage to have a great weather.
Fricis Štrauss questions by Ralf Rasmus Raal
Fricis in full control of the crusty situation. Nosegrind in to a steep bank.
Favorite Vans shoe?
Gilbert Crockett
What would you like to do for the next trip? It will be cool to check Lithuanian spots.
Would you change anything from the last trip, if yes then what?
Skate for two more days and make some tour afterparty.
Fricis boosts from the quarter into the kicker. This could have left a few scabs.
Finally the Baltics can experience a local video on an HPX with face-feet-face filming style. We’ve been toying with that over here at Rajon, but not sure if that’s our lane. Fully Ghetto, on the other hand, handles that pretty well, and I don’t know why they haven’t immersed in that genre before. Their new edit ‘Pueblo’ has that modern skatevid look, and it fits their brand 100%. Also, they dropped the word “gang” and added 67 to their Instagram handle to signify the next chapter of their brand. Not sure exactly why 67, might be because of the numbers that come before? 56. And you know what 56 means? Exactly! Bronze! And the guy who runs that joint, Peter Sidlauskas, is Lithuanian, so it all makes sense. Alright, alright. Getting a bit crazy here. 67 is something else actually. Let’s keep it a secret for now. Enjoy the video and see you in the streets (maybe just one more time).
