Tag: Jan Hoffmann

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Today at 6pm we will show you exclusively Jan Hoffmann’s new full part and to say the least, it is quite a heavy one. Before that you get the first look at Jan’s Pro Board for Robotron Skateboards and Cleptomanicx now, by showing you the snapshot recap of his surprise party at the Attitude Skateshop in Bremen last weekend. Jan got his shirt, the board of course and a first video premiere, surrounded by all his loved ones. All Photos by Friedjof Feye. Make sure to come back at 6pm ;).

It seems that every time we fly somewhere Leon finds the urge to release something new, the last time we were instantly hooked and the video became our pre-session go-to skate clip. This one is special because it contains the first “real” Max Sand footage in a long time! Max is the kind of skater we have come to love, he possesses the right balance between board control, a do or die attitude and a way to make any type of make a good one. Max can get away with stuff a lot of us can’t, one-foot landings, clipping a ledge, an out of balance kick turn often followed by a look into the camera. He just makes you want to go out and skate and that is the most important thing.

Additionally, we want to give you some insight into why this thing is called 2backpacks. In a way, it is an homage, firstly to Danny Sommerfeld’s skating and secondly to a guy in Bremen who recognized Danny and told his friend “Do you see that guy? He always carries two backpacks, one for his stuff and one for his big nutsack!” A classic remark that stuck with all that were present.

The Clepto guys ventured out into the country to skate some spots that they would not normally skate, instead of only going to some big German cities they searched for spots in other (possibly greener) pastures. Escaping the fast pace of the city but risking the wrath of some small town people that did not want to see their peace and quiet taken away from them by some skateboarders. In the end, things seemed to have turned out for the best and they got some pretty nice moves on camera.

Photo by Friedjof Feye

Yesterday you had the chance to learn a lot about Dutch Light – now it’s time to see Dennis Laass, Tjark Thielker, Niklas Speer von Cappeln and Jan Hoffmann in action. Here’s the clip from Cleptomanicx’ trip to Holland. Filmed and edited by Lucas Fiederling – press play:

Dutch Light is a phenomenon that has its origins in 19th-century literature. Historians started writing about this special light that only seemed to exist in The Netherlands. It was widely believed that the phenomenon first showed up in 17th-century Dutch landscape paintings. As it turned out, the 17th-century artists who painted those pictures often also worked on other assignments that fit in with their artistic practice. When researching these artists more closely, historians discovered that most of these artists were also employed by the government. They had been assigned to study the Dutch landscape with the help of early measuring tools. And among many things, these studies led to some of the first maps showing the country as it is today.

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Dennis Laass – Siderock

The governmental research missions also gave the artists an opportunity to study the landscape in several aspects. During these studies, they experienced something special:
It was a distinct kind of light, not the bright equalizing sort of light that artists in the south of Europe were painting, neither was it comparable to the ever-changing light that one might find in Great Britain or Scandinavia. Intrigued by the phenomenon, they came up with an explanation: Because most of the Netherlands sits below sea level, it was first believed that the effect was created by the sea moving in and out of the land.

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Tjark Thielker – Ollie Up Kickflip Wallride

When word of Dutch Light spread through 19th-century writings, artists from all over the globe became enchanted by the light and came to the Netherlands to capture it in their paintings. These pilgrimages gave artists the perspective that it was not just the sea causing the effect, it was mainly the fact that the water was everywhere at once. And on top of that, it needed to be accompanied by sunlight. When these conditions were met, it created a “double landscape,” which magnified all things in its presence. Trees seemed to become greener, the sky looked especially blue and the red brick buildings seemed illuminated for a brief moment.

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Niklas Speer von Cappeln – BS 5-O

Unfortunately, “Hollands Licht” – or Dutch Light – is not easily found, especially in the ever-changing Dutch climate. Some of you who might have traveled to this fair country might have experienced days where grey clouds packed with rain, hail, or snow have been almost instantly replaced by sunlight. This is because most of the country is flat, and the wind is free to bring on rapid change. When the right conditions are met and if you are lucky, you might be able to see some Dutch Light.

Cleptomanicx took a group of their finest riders – Dennis Laass, Tjark Thielker, Niklass Speer von Cappeln and Jan Hoffmann – to the Dutch city of Groningen, to try and capture this fleeting moment when all the conditions are just right to create something special.

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Jan Hoffmann – Beanplant

by Roland Hoogwater
Photos: Friedjof Feye

Da glaubt man, dass es dem norddeutschen Raum an Talent mangelt – und wie aus dem Nichts zeigen sich auf einmal ein paar Kandidaten, mit denen man durchaus rechnen kann. Einer davon hört auf den Namen Jan Hoffmann. Welcher uns bis dato völlig unbekannt war. Das Foto haben wir tatsächlich auf Facebook entdeckt und im Anschluss den Fotografen Timo Müller binnen weniger Minuten gebeten, dieses doch bitte umgehend wieder zu entfernen. Es gibt theoretisch also schon ein paar Leute, denen das Foto eventuell bekannt vorkommen könnte, wenn sie es tatsächlich in den sieben Minuten World-Wide-Web-Veröffentlichung irgendwie erspäht haben sollten. Acht Likes, ein Share, so die bisherige Erfolgsstory, welche wir hier nun etwas ausbreiten möchten.

Die neue Generation zeigt definitiv Gespür für zeitgenössische Kleidung und Tricks. Was aber bekanntlich für Anerkennung in der Szene nicht ausreicht. Es muss knistern und knallen, und außergewöhnliche Herangehensweisen sind sicherlich auch ein Vorteil, erzielen diese womöglich Wiedererkennungswerte. Du sollst nicht gleich das Rad neu erfinden, das geht auch gar nicht mehr, aber vielleicht ab und zu aus der Comfort-Zone steigen. Jan hat dies bewiesen und uns überzeugen können. Heutzutage wird Talent früh erkannt und auch genauso früh abgefangen, da durch soziale Medien jedes noch so kleine aufblitzen gelobt wird. Wir sind gespannt, wie sich das in Zukunft bemerkbar machen wird. So weit, so gut. Vielen Dank, Jan, wir finden dich toll.

Boneless, Foto: Timo Müller