Tag: patrick zentgraf

Arrow & Beast teamed up with their friends from Grotesque to bring us this sick video featuring most of Benztown’s finest skateboarders and to accompany that, they also released a small run of clothing that you can check out HERE. S/O to Simon Gärtner for killing it as usual!

Filmed & edited by Yannick Stechmeyer-Emden.

Maybe one day all the stories behind this legendary Lousy Livin’ tour will be told but for now… Just enjoy Leon Moss’ talent behind the lens as he shows Kai Hillebrand, Leon Charo-Tite, Patrick Zentgraf, Giorgi Balkhamashvili, & more.

Friend of the house Kaio Hillebrand just released his first Thrasher video part and his second video part within a matter of only a few months. Click HERE to re-watch his FREE video part and if that’s still not enough Pocket Magazine has a “Followed” with him HERE.

Normally people would expect to see a bunch of fist en king emoji’s under a post like this. But for the people that know Patrick Zentgraf & David Jakinda personally only the heart emoji would be the right fit.

All in all, a great achievement for 2 of the most sincerely nice people on a board. Congratulations guys <3

In just one year this film was being produced and the first time we heard about the name “Encore” was only a few weeks ago. Good marketing, a lot of effort and the right timing combined with world-class skateboarding.

Encore features Paul Rodriguez, Tiago Lemos, Miles Silvas, JB Gillet, Bastien Salabanzi, Spencer Hamilton, Robert Neal, Marek Zaprazny, Devine Calloway, Carlos Ribeiro, Brian Peacock, Wade Desarmo, Franky Villani, Patrick Zentgraf, David Jakinda & more.

This was the best event since your last event together.

London Lee, Wassertorplatz, 2019

And with that introduction, we would like to welcome you to the recap video for our Wassertorplatz invitational table tennis tournament. The idea started last year after /// teamed up with us for our first ever non-skate tournament, in fact, it was a table-soccer or Fooßbal competition.

Won in style by the ever-competitive Felix Lensing and his friend that night sparked a series of ideas of which taking back our Anchor for at least one day was a part.

Mr. Lensing and his teammate after a dominant performance.
Mr. Lensing and his teammate after a dominant performance.

Now, ever since they changed our famous skate spot into a playground area we have been veiled in black and to be honest the “Platz” has changed a lot as well. When we went to shoot the trailer for the event it was literally riddled with weeds. Needless to say, the new locals had not shown it the love we had :(…

So what better to do than to return and give the place “a years worth of love” in one day! And even though the city and some of the people didn’t seem to want us there they accepted us showing up this day to celebrate the place we love.

Of course, we adapted to the changed plaza and organized a Table Tennis tournament as well as 2 best trick sessions, recreating the rooftop ledge especially for this occasion.

The people came out and celebrate we did and truth be told the platz, the cops and the people living around wtp the place all showed up (the cops blessed us by not showing up) and celebrated with us.

A very special thank you goes out to adidas Skateboarding!

Enjoy the video and we hope to all see you at our next competition.

Read all about the loss of Wassertorplatz as a skate spot here.

Hello and welcome.

If you have made it here you are in for a treat, an old skool dish refined to fit today’s tastes.

“What do you mean?!”

Well, this isn’t your normal online video premiere this is an experience created to mirror our childhood experience of gathering your friends, grabbing the DVD cover, getting some popcorn and soda’s, on the couch and finally pressing your hear the disc slowly turning…

But… instead, this is 2019 and your remote has turned into your mouse and your TV into Youtube! So grab some popcorn, gather some friends, airplay this on your big screen, click play first and then the thumbnails by using your mouse or trackpad to navigate yourselves through this wonderful experience. Enjoy!

BTW Start with the main feature first you freak!!!

When you have two friends, one is from Stuttgart and one from Barcelona, who both happen to be skateboarders, the obvious decision would be, to go skate in Barcelona. The two following individuals decided to do it the other way around and skate Stuttgart. Hence, we’re happy to share with you: „VAMOS AL LA Stuttgart“ a video filmed by Christian Pelz and produced by Torsten Frank. We decided to get some behind the scenes information on the project from Andrea Benitez and Catherine Marquis, the main characters in the video. Read down below, to find out what both of them have been up to in Stuttgart and what they‘ve got in store for us in the near future.

Intro by Moritz Alte.
Interviews by Roland Hoogwater.
Photography by Gonzalo Gonzalez de Vega.

Schermafbeelding 2018-11-22 om 16.15.01

ANDREA:

Hey Andrea hope you are well? First question, how did this all begin?
Hey, I‘m good thanks, how about you? So, Catherine and I had been running into each other at contests for a while, but we really became friends in Nanjing China. At some point, during the event, we ended up having beers in the streets together. We talked about a lot of things, but the conclusion was, that we should get together, skate and film some stuff. We felt, that our styles really fit together even though, she is rather known for skating transition and I am more of a street skater. So the short version is that she talked to Torsten (Frank) and I talked to my TM in Spain. they both liked our idea and arrangements were made. Things looked to go quite easy, but my first flight got cancelled and as a result, our trip went from 6 to 5 days.

So you lost a day?
Yes, that worried me. I thought to myself, what can I do within five days? I did get the money back though and in the end, the result was pretty satisfying.

What was the crew like and how did Paddy (Patrick Zentgraf) get involved?
The squad consisted of Chris, Cathy’s boyfriend, who filmed, as well as Gonzalo, Lea Schairer (no tricks in the video) and Rosa. Gonzalo actually lives in Stuttgart and he just came with us to chill and took some photos. I actually didn‘t know Paddy before, but now he is my bud (laughs). We became friends after just minutes. He is really cool, he was pushing us to skate at our best.

DSC05381

Looking at the video, it seems like you guys had an amazing time but what was the vibe actually like?
It felt super pure to me, we just went skating together and we didn’t plan that much. My mindset was basically like, go to Germany, film some clips and skate spots that I like.

Did you like the spots? Stuttgart is quite different from Barcelona, don’t you think?
In Barcelona, we have spots everywhere, but I liked the spots in Stuttgart. They were not that far from one another and the type of spots we skated were fun spots, stuff you can get creative on. Except for that last hubba, that was kind of high. It was getting pretty late and I was super tired, but when I got there I really wanted to get the clip. The try that I landed, a few old people walked by and they started cheering for me. The whole thing was pretty funny, because it was a small village, in the middle of nowhere.

What was a highlight for you in Stuttgart?
Too many things happened, but there was one that stood out: We were out in the cornfields taking pictures for my mom and the car was parked. I left my coffee open in the car and then a car came driving up. Cathy got stressed and moved the car. And all I was thinking about was, that my coffee got spilt all over the car. But Cathy came back and did not say anything. So I went to check the car and my coffee was still there, in exactly the same position, I left it in.

This might be the first Adidas backed video project focussed on women in Europe right?
Yes, it is, they did projects in the US though. But this one is special because we created this ourselves, nobody told us to do anything. It is all us. I feel like that is the state of women in skateboarding right now, we are starting things and building structures as we go on.

Do you think that the Olympics are a good platform for female skaters to present themselves on?
The Olympic games as a platform are a great opportunity, equality for women and men (equal pay). But a lot of this is about time, I think, it just takes time. I choose to ignore the bullshit. Through the years, I‘ve broken many bones and entered many discussions, even with my own family. I also almost failed my studies. All of this because of skateboarding. Just like all skaters, I suffered a lot and loved it. That is what makes me a skateboarder. It is one of the things, that I am sure of.

DSC05464

Are we going to see a second part to this video?
I have been very busy since this trip to Germany, I went on a tour with Asiplanchaba (a female-focussed skateboard website) and we filmed a little video for that. And after that, I flew to the states to film for Bones. But yeah it would be sick to do a second part.

I guess we are going to be seeing a lot more of you in the future then?
Yes, good things are coming, I‘ve been skating for so long, for like 15 years. A lot of things are changing now, I am doing my last course before I finish my studies and I will officially be an electrical engineer.

I will keep my fingers crossed, thanks for getting in touch Andrea!

DSC05188

CATHERINE
What can you tell me about this project you did with Adidas, how did it come together.
The idea started at the Far N’ High contest in Paris (both remember it differently), where we met each other for the second time. In Paris, we skated the city together and basically hung out the entire time. At some point, we started noticing that we have a lot of the same sponsors, which led us to think of the video idea. We stayed in touch and Andrea planned to visit me in Stuttgart.

As a friend visiting a friend?
Yes and then she came up with the idea to ask our sponsors for support. Initially, Torsten was supposed to film the clip but since he was on a Trip, Chris got involved. Torsten then suggested that we could include Patrick Zentgraf in it as well. Which was cool, Paddy likes to be involved in these sort of things.

Is there any standout moment of those 5 days that you want to talk about?
Andrea‘s mother watches German shows on television and we passed by a cornfield and made us stop the car so she could have a little photo shoot. (Landdoktor/Schwarzwald Klinik)

You also mentioned something about a song that you recorded for the video?
Yeah, we recorded one together, but unfortunately, it ended up not making the cut.

So, are there plans for you to return the favour and visit Andrea?
No solid plans, but we do want to visit her in Barcelona, it could be cool to do it as a series. We‘ll see, it is always fun to do stuff together.

Will Chris be involved too?
Yeah probably, I can’t seem to get rid of him (laughs).

What is he up to these days?
He‘s sitting next to me and is editing a video. I am also working on a new VX part with, which will be finished soon.

Chris, can I ask you, how does it feel to be out there, getting clips with your girlfriend?
Chris: It is very interesting to see what she can and is doing nowadays. It isn‘t like at the beginning where she would quit sooner. Filming her can be a test of patience because she wants to do crazy tricks and progress all the time. She‘s not that easily satisfied.

Catie: I never gave up (laughs). But I will admit that I threw a fit, got angry and at times cried when I could not land a trick. So it was crazier than he is portraying it as (laughs).

A question for you both, did you ever consider doing a couples part? It might be corny but it could also be cool.
Chris: We did think about it but as you said it could get too corny.

Catie: We did film a lot, he films me I film him, but he never wants to take the time to edit his
footage.

Chris: I like to edit her stuff more than mine. But we did think of making a video with both of us in it but a shared “couples part” sounds a bit too cheesy.

DSC05233

Talking about contests, just like Andrea, you‘re involved with the Olympic Games, what does that Olympic experience mean to you?
Free travel basically. They approached me and I liked the opportunity, who would say no to that? It can lead to new experiences and opportunities, that I might otherwise not have.

Understandable, but what does that mean, what do they expect from you?
Well, I basically have to skate more contests. For example on 22nd October, I’m flying to the US, to skate in a contest. But it definitely has advantages. After the contest, I’m going to stay in the states for a bit and have some time to skate and have cool experiences.

R: What do you think about the current state of girls in skateboarding? Do you think this project/video that you guys created can be seen as a milestone? For me it doesn’t really matter, I want to skate with people. Even though Andrea, Rosa and I are girls, it was not a choice or a statement it just happened.
Gender isn‘t a conscious factor in skateboarding for me.

Maybe that is the way it goes? Filming a video with the homies, as you did, is a core factor of being a skateboarder don’t you think?
Personally, I think filming is the most enjoyable. On the contrary, contests can be rough at times. I was pretty frustrated during the German Championships, but a lot of the times big contest can also be fun.
I try to skate both, street and bowl.

Even though people see me as a bowl skater, at some of these contest I have placed above some of the other “street skating” girls. For instance, in Nanjing (China) I was the highest placed German woman, in the street event (laughs). The point is that I want to skate it all. I even skate vert, when I feel like it and other days I will focus on learning new flip tricks. It depends on my mood and I don’t want to pigeonhole myself.

Thanks, Cathy I think that is a nice quote to end it on! Thanks for getting in touch with us to do this interview.

DSC05137

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl5WGykWWUc

adidas’s big series of events in Paris also brought us a new video feat.: Lucas Puig, Heitor Da Silva, Magnus Bordewick, Kaio and a lot of others. Another video by Torsten Frank, who is really putting in work. Good Job!

Footwear is probably the most important part of a skateboarders life, every time you go to buy a pair of shoes you ask yourself a lot of questions. How do they fit, what kind of material do I want, is this the right colorway, durability or board feel, Cupsole or Vulcanized, What kind of shoe does my favorite pro wear and why? All these factors and many more are a part of the process when deciding on a skate shoe.

When adidas Skateboarding asked us if we wanted to host a weartest at our favorite skatepark. The first thing we wanted to do was invite our friends that skate for /// and some of the MBU locals we skate with. We all know “It ain’t no fun if the homies can’t have some.” So not only did everyone get shoes but dinner at the local tapas place was included as well, we truly managed to take care of everybody for a day.

When the sun set, the weather, the skating, the shoes and the food and drinks all came together to make it a fun day to remember and if you don’t know what happened? It is on the internet for all to see for the rest of eternity.

Text by Roland Hoogwater
Photos by Danny Sommerfeld

BILDER_place_adidas_recap

BILDER_place_adidas_recap5

BILDER_place_adidas_recap6

BILDER_place_adidas_recap8

BILDER_place_adidas_recap9

BILDER_place_adidas_recap10

BILDER_place_adidas_recap13

BILDER_place_adidas_recap15

BILDER_place_adidas_recap17

BILDER_place_adidas_recap19

BILDER_place_adidas_recap21

BILDER_place_adidas_recap22

BILDER_place_adidas_recap23

BILDER_place_adidas_recap24

BILDER_place_adidas_recap25

BILDER_place_adidas_recap26

BILDER_place_adidas_recap27

BILDER_place_adidas_recap30

BILDER_place_adidas_recap32

BILDER_place_adidas_recap33

BILDER_place_adidas_recap37

BILDER_place_adidas_recap38

BILDER_place_adidas_recap39

BILDER_place_adidas_recap42

BILDER_place_adidas_recap45

BILDER_place_adidas_recap47

BILDER_place_adidas_recap48

Two weeks ago “Dit is Berlin” started.  Both episode 1 and episode 2 were well received, to say the least, Niels Bennett even made it into the coveted Quartersnacks top 10.

But all things must come to a close, even the good things. Our closing argument for these series features the entire German part of the adidas team. Guys and girls like Tjark Thielker, Phil Anderson, Catherine Marquis, Valeri Rosomako, Eric Erhardt, Daniel Ledermann, Philip Oehmige, Patrick Zentgraf, Sandro Trovato & Jost Arens all skated our city in their own way.

Some even (temporarily) moved here in the process of making this series but all seemed to find their own way. The high spot count and different configurations of certain spots definitely shows what happens when skaters have loads of time and no police to kick you out!

Another highlight for us is Catherine Marquis a.k.a. @Yung_k_t who we featured on our website a while back. It is great to see the /// putting support behind one of Germany’s most promising female prospects and we are waiting to see more of her in the future.

As the series ends would like to thank adidas skateboarding for the support! All the skaters for their input, hard work and sweat. And not to forget Jon Wolf and Torsten Frank who documented it all for your viewing pleasure.  Now go watch the newest and latest episode of “Dit is Berlin”!

It almost feels like the whole year the echo of the adidas Away Days video did not fall completely silent. Now as it finally went online on youtube also the remaining small group of people that might not have seen it yet (if there are still any) have the chance to watch it. We talked with Patrick Zentgraf about how he together with his friends Kai Hillebrand and Sandro Trovato got the honor to play a small part in such a big project and what it meant to him personally.

Interview by Roland Hoogwater
Photos by Danny Sommerfeld

How did it happen that you and three of your German Adidas teammates got tricks in the Away Days video?

About a half a year ago Torsten Frank got a message from the people over at Adidas, the idea was that Kai (Hillebrand), Sandro (Trovato) and me would all film one trick for the Away Days video.

Do you know why did they choose you guys?

Some of the american guys over at Adidas had heard about us and I guess they liked what they saw.
Basically we often skate, tour and chill together so they wanted to catch that vibe by including us in his part. On the other hand it could be that it is because of Adidas’s German roots and they needed some Germans to show that (laughs)

Do you know in what part of the video you will be in?

Well as I said we all skate together so our tricks will be in Lem Villemin’s part, not to fill the timeline but to show the kind of flavour we have together. It is not just a trick though we also landed in Lem’s intro, you see us pushing through downtown Frankfurt together. Lem really liked the idea as well so we started filming some tricks and along the way Torsten would comment on our trick and as the video progressed he basically started to give us more of an idea what kind of tricks would fit well with Lem’s footage.

So what direction did Torsten give you?

Go tech (laughs).

I heard that you also met some of the higher ups.

Yeah! I met some of the higher ups at Adidas we talked for a bit and they told me you get what you deserve if you put the work in so to then be given such a golden opportunity is something I wanted to give my all for.

So did this opportunity change your attitude and motivate you?

I am just really thankful to have this chance and I feel really good about being able to have a trick in a major video but at the same time I don’t think my expectations changed, I mean it would be nice to turn am but in the end I’ll just take it as it comes and keep it moving.

Alright keep it moving then!

https://youtu.be/SOsrt_TSIxA?t=32m39s

If someone works for 10 years at a big company they maybe give out a bouquet of flowers and a few warm handshakes. adidas in this case was behaving a little bit different and flew out half of Europe to a very Bavarian location just to celebrate Dennis Busenitz’s 10 year anniversary skating for the brand. Dennis is one of a kind to say the least and so was our weekend in Munich. Cheers to Dennis and the whole adidas Skateboarding crew! That’s how it looked like:

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_2016

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_20162

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_20163

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_20164

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_20165

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_20166

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_20167

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_20168

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_20169

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201610

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201611

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201612

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201613

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201614

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201615

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201616

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201617

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201618

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201619

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201620

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201621

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201622

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201623

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201624

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201625

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201626

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201627

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201628

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201629

BILDER_PLACE_website_muenchen_november_201630