a brief glance skateboardmag 05 by a brief glance skateboardmag

issue / 05

a brief glance

www.abriefglance.com

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davide biondani photography.

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EDITORIAL / 05

Yesterday it was the first warm day in months. Just a few degrees over zero, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. After months of grey myst, wet streets and fucking cold weather, you can’t really ask for more. There’s a reason for writing stuff like this every winter’s end... ‘cause that’s one of the few things that can slow our passion down. It’s february, the streets are rough, debris all over the place, I can feel the cold air hurting my lungs. Although my feet are frozen, I find myself pushing around the streets, trying to feel my board again, slamming after reaching some speed... Winter is still long, but just a single sunny day can bring back the love for skateboarding and the bloody palms. After all, nothing can’t stop the skateboarding fever and spring is right around the corner. Very soon our skateboards will be under our feet again and full time! Keep pushin’. Guido Bendotti.

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Ale Martoriati, wallride. Photo Davide Biondani. a brief glance

ISSUE / 05

CONTENTS FRAGMENTS / photos PLACES /SF and LA - Death Valley

the KNÖDEL bowl /you can’t stop me from dreaming

a breath from Portland /ELLIOT MURPHY

in search of / LA BANDA DELLA MAGLIANA BOOK /Fluff-Nike SB Cover: Danny Galli, bs smith grind. Photo Davide Biondani.

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EDITOR and CONCEPT Davide Biondani. (davide@abriefglance.com) ASSOCIATE EDITOR Guido Bendotti. PHOTOGRAPHERS Eric Antoine, Leo Sharp, Eric Mirbach, Marcel Veldman, Roberta Maccechini, Friedjof Feye, Federico Romanello, Davide Biondani. CONTRIBUTORS Francesco Paolo Chielli, Jonathan Levin, Anton Jandet, Ailsa Hay, Fabiano Ferronato, Mirko Obkircher, Mauro Caruso. DESIGN Fake Donkey Lab.

www.abriefglance.com GET ALL THE INFOS at:

info@abriefglance.com abrief glance skateboard mag is a bulletin published by fake donkey skateboard asd. No part of this pubblication may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. a brief glance

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Fabio

Montagner Filming the last trick for his video part in the new Strange X skateboard video CELEBRATING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMPANY

BACKSIDE OLLIE TO BACKWARD NOSE GRIND foto davide biondani

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FRAGMENTS

Nick Boserio, Bs smith grind. Photo: Leo Sharp.

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FRAGMENTS

Filippo Barattoni, Corner fs smith grind. Photo: Davide Biondani.

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FRAGMENTS

Daniel Panneman, Bs tailslide. Photo: Friedjof Feye.

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FRAGMENTS a brief glance

Diego Garcia, Nollie fs heelflip. Photo: Roberta Maccechini. a brief glance

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PLACES/05

San Francisco and Los Angeles. Photo Federico Romanello. a brief glance

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PLACES/05

Monument Valley . Photo Federico Romanello.

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You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop me from dreaming.

Photos and words Davide Biondani

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“CANELA” IS A DREAMER. Not an absurd hippie that daydreams about giving peace a chance or dreaming about perfect waves, pools, new Barcelona’s marble ledges or whatever. He is a dreamer that works hard to make his dreams come true. He’s a real skater who loves to skate and have friends that walk on the same side of the road: when there’s nothing to skate during the cold and wet northern Italian winters, you work to built it, and fuck the rest. Tired of wrong transitions, shitty mini ramps, copings that don’t grind, he found the right place and with little money he took a stand and decided that it was time to built something perfect, a place where you can progress your skateboarding and have fun with your mates. Pretty simple, but somehow very hard to be found. With a little amount of money, a lot of patience, 3 friends that work together, and yes, tons of beers, the Knödel bowl opened doors one year ago. Totally free and ready to be shredded, the Knödel is like a backyard pool that you can skate without the hassle of kids jumping around or the “park shark of the day” that cuts everyone’s lines and act like an asshole. JUST SKATEBOARDING, FUN AND FRIENDS. IS THIS EVERY SKATER’S DREAM OR WHAT? Canela has created all that, and somehow has payed his dues to skateboarding since right now is healing a bad ankle injury, and can’t skate (or walk) for some months. But like a true warrior, he’s already designing some new obstacles for the Knödel. He has killed himself on the bowl and that hasn’t stopped him at all. This is for his strength, for his determination, and for the pure and simple love that he has for skateboarding and friendship. YOU CAN’T STOP A DREAMER.

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Ok, who’s behind the Knodel bowl project? I’m Paolo Arici (Canela for my friends), and I’ve built this bowl in Brescia (Italy) with some long time friends: Mirko Belleri, Fulvio Aiani and Guido Bendotti. We’ve known each other and skated together for over 20 years. We are the construction team, and then some other friends like Lorenz, Lerry and Wise helped us to organize the bowl life, keeping the place clean and full of nice people that wanna skate and party. How did you find yourself building this amazing wooden bowl? That’s what my wife is always asking me… ah ha ha. Seriously, we love to skate and wood working we love to design and create something to skate and then skate it, sweat and party! We put some time and energy into this project basically because we want to skate whenever we feel like it. And then you know, “made in Italy” is always so trendy ha ha ha. Is it all handcrafted and without a real leading projec? Yes. There wasn’t a real project; we’ve just set up a corner on the mini ramp and then… “boom” the project literally falls out of hand, and brains, and this is what it came out! How long does it took to finish it? A lot! Actually I think it took three years and half. We had this mini ramp in an old greenhouse that we’ve built around 2000.Then we started dreaming about bowls and stuff and one night, after a mini ramp session and some beers (maybe a lot of beers) I made the biggest mistake in my life... I went: “Ok boys, let’ s build a bowl”. Ten minutes later the mini ramp was destroyed and we found ourselves building the first corner ha ha ha. You mean biggest mistake in everybody’s life! Which has been the hardest part in building it? a brief glance

Well. You know, the day is only 24 hours long: family, skateboarding, building the bowl, party nights, job, injuries, snowboarding, girls problems, a life to live…. It was hard. The hardest part was trying to do all these things together and still have the energy to enjoy what we were doing, but you know, the hardest is the work the biggest is the satisfaction! Technically we’ve found a lot of problems, because the greenhouse doesn’t have a perfect floor: It was all wrecked and we couldn’t just put the transitions on the floor, but we had to work on every damn inch of it. Plus we had to destroy walls and ceiling (made of glass…really dangerous), rebuilt the electrical system, and so on. It had been a lot of work, with the worries of not destroying the place were I actually work. And last but not least the money spent, It all came out of our pockets. But in the end it was big fun! Ha ha ha. Can you describe the bowl shape? It looks like a giant crooked dick, ha ha ha. You’re stupid! I’m serious. It looks like a dick, I can’t do anything about it. It’s 200 square meters, on two levels: down the balls there’s a huge cradle with pool coping which is 2,8 metres high; on top of the dick there’s a wave that is 2 metres high, and three different hips. It’s all wood and it’s hard like concrete. Does it sound stupid? Is it hard to be a dreamer? It’s cool and it’s free, and you can do it whenever you want, no matter what everybody else may say. But when it comes to realize what you have been dreaming… well, that’s another story ha ha ha. There’s always a lot of people ready to talk shit, trying to destroy your projects. You just have to believe in yourself and in your abilities, and you’re on the right way. Just keep pushing your dreams.

Dave Cattaneo, tre flip. a brief glance

Fabio Montagner, fs nosegrind. a brief glance

Fabio Bottelli, blindside kickflip to fakie. a brief glance

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Giorgio Zattoni, corner fs ollie transfer to miller grind.

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Simone Bertozzi, bs smith grind. a brief glance

Was it hard to keep commitment for such a long time on the same project? For 3 and half years we have seen each other way more than our girlfriends or wives. More than that, we started with a basic knowledge of what we were doing but we were equipped with loads of patience, trying to learn by our own mistakes. We’ve argued more than once for details, inhaled tons of sawdust, splinters stuck in eyes and hands, and somebody fell off the glass ceiling. The hardest part was to sacrifice a lot of time at our passions, but in the end it definitely paid off. It has been a pleasure working with my best friends at a project like this and realize our dream. It took a long time to finish it because I’m a perfectionist, but I wanted our retirement house to be perfect ha ha ha. Almost in time for retirement mate! Have you ever thought: “We won’t finish it”? Well. It’s strange. I’m sure everyone thought that more than once, but nobody ever even tried to say that. How was the feeling when the bowl was finished? Amazing. It was amazing.We were alone on the very first day, just the four of us. We were almost scared to drop, because it was the test and we were worried to find something wrong; we made a draw and somehow I was the first one to drop. It was perfect, and possibly it was even better than we thought. Unbelievable. Which had been the biggest satisfactions? Now you know how to use an electric screwdriver ha ha ha. Fuck you ha ha ha! Well. To see the face of our guests, that is pretty funny. They stare at the bowl and usually they go: “Fuck! Have you built all this?!?” Then they drop and after a good ten minutes they scream: “ It’s perfect!”. And they thank us. That’s when we feel very proud of what we did.

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Filo Barattoni, fs disaster.

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Mirko Belleri, handplant. a brief glance

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Why nobody invested money in the Knodel bowl? I don’t know, it’s like trying to understand women, ha ha ha. Want to do the list of what it’s not working in the italian skateboarding biz? It’s useless. It would take so much time and basically I don’t care. I prefer to shut up and keep on doing stuff. We’ve built this with our money and our time and we don’t get a dime for it. We don’t care. We just skate. What is your opinion about “D.I.Y.” being the only solution in Italy and Europe? I don’t know, but I don’t think that DIY is the only way. I think parks and ramps should be designed with a modern point of view and by people that actually skate and not by people that have never skate in their life. There are tons of crappy useless parks here. What’s in the future of Knodel bowl? I’m laughing already… ha ha ha. When I’ll be healed from my broken ankle we’ll start to work again, so you and the rest of the Marciones crew will start to sweat again. I’m designing some crazy stuff to modify the bowl. Are you happy? Oh my God! We are all fucked up. Want to add something? I want to thank my wife Litz that always support me and push me to make my dreams come true. Thanks to Minoia Store for the support and thanks to Los Marciones (the weirdos… it’s our “crew”). Without my friends I would have never realized it. I’m not gonna fire you ha ha ha. I wanna also say thanks to my family for the patience and to my father (RIP) who taught me to live life on a positive way and never give up.

COME HERE AND SKATE!

Gianni Zattoni, kickflip beanplant to fakie. a brief glance

Is it hard to be a dreamer? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cool and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s free...

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Canela, bs smith grind. a brief glance

INTERVIEW

Photos: Garric Ray. Interview: Davide Biondani. Intro Mauro Caruso.

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a breath from Portland

Elliot Murphy a brief glance

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One of the first time I met Elliot it was on this skate mission to this handrail. I was trying this kickflip front board and Elliot started to film it. We didn’t really know each other that well but he was just hyped on it and I didn’t even know he could film that good too. For some reason I was taking forever to land my trick and after a while I wanted just to give up after every try, I was just too tired. Elliot wasn’t! He wanted that trick way more than me at that point. He wouldn’t live the spot without that trick filmed on his cam. At one point I just went: “Alright, that’s it. Let’s go home, I can’t do it”. Took my board and went towards the car; he didn’t even stand up, he was still at the spot ready to film when he goes: “Hey dude (I think he didn’t even know my right name yet) what are you doing? You got a trick to land, go do it, right now, no matter what, you are going to land the next one because I say so! Just give one more, listen to me”. I was quitting for real after that try when his words and his mood just hit my mind that I went up to the spot and did my last try; after that we were watching the roll away on his cam. I was just so stoked on him! Said a thousand times: “Thanks man, you did land this trick, not me!”. After that session we went skating more and more together and I was getting to know him better and better. Elliot is just one of the raddest person I have ever met: he is one of those guys who you really want to meet and would love to have on your crew, he just love skateboarding and everything around it way too much, he can skate really good, he can film really good, he can edit really good, he is sick! Always ready to go skate and to go shred anything; it can be a 10 stairs, a ledge or just go pushing around the city. A lot of tricks that I have done in the USA it’s just thanks to him. What can I say more? Elliot is a real beast and so good at everything, especially on gaps; he would throw down any tricks in any stances down the biggest gaps with only a few tries. I still can’t believe he almost rolled away from a gnarly sw bs kickflip down Wallenberg, that’s crazy. That’s just Elliot Murphy! Always stoked and ready to do shit, he knows exactly what he wants and I know 100% he is going to get it. He deserves it way more than a lot of people out there and I’m really glad to be one of his friend. Can’t wait to meet him again to get stoked and go skate!! Elliot is the man! Switch bs heelflip. a brief glance

Switch bs ollie.

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Hi Elliot, could you tell us something about you, just to introduce yourself? Yo dude! I love skateboarding, filming, editing, playing guitar and pretty much everything involving Skateboarding.

together like that.

How is Portland for skateboarding? Are there a lot of spots? Well, I have mixed feelings for Portland. I love skating here in the Summer. The spots tend to look sick. There aren’t a lot of spots, but if you really try to look it works out. You kind of have to get creative with what you find.

You also have this website, Blooka, where you post a lot of clips. When did you start it? Do you film most of the stuff or you get footage from other people too? As of right now my site has been up for four months. I just started it to have a place that I can post my work. It’s not too serious, I’m more about documenting the fun my homies are having. I film and edit almost all of that stuff. Recently though I have posted a couple of friends’ clips up there.

Are the spots skateable or are they skate stopped? I feel like the anti skaters here are really good about making things unskateable. Spots get knobbed all the time, but that just means we deknob it. Usually the real bummer is when they destroy the spot completely. That happens a lot, but new stuff pops up.

Do you live in LA now? When did you move there and why? Did you move by yourself? I moved to LA about four months ago. I moved in with my Uncle, which is pretty sick. I guess I couldn’t take the rain any more. It’s seriously rainy season in Oregon for about 9 months out of the year. I’m really lucky though, my uncle lives in a really good location.

Do you skate Burnside park a lot? I’ve probably only been there like 15 times total.

Are you down there only to skateboard…or are you using the classic university excuse? No excuses, I love to skate. I dedicate most of my time to skateboarding related projects. Los Angeles just really helps for that.

And how is Portland for living in general? Dude Portland is sick. The air and water are really fresh, the cost of living is cheap and the best part about it is NO SALES TAX! If it’s $5 on the shelf its $5 when you buy it. Ha ha. I have seen your part in Scope This video. The video is amazing, can you tell something about the project? Scope This Too! The title is a play on words. I see the whole project as a sick period of our lives documented. I love watching it because I remember being at the spots when people landed their tricks and what they went through to get it and stuff. It’s really cool to have a lot of memories put

How is living in LA compared to Portland? I see two major differences that make it seem like the grass is greener on the other side. The living is easier in Oregon and the skating is easier in California. Oregon has fresh air, fresh water, cheap food, less people. California has unlimited spots, smooth ground, ample skateparks and tons of sunshine. The skate scene is thriving in California. I like it better here.

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Do you think LA is still "the place to be" to have a career in skateboarding? Well, I think it’s one of the better places to be. As far as a career goes, a lot of companies are based around this area. Just being where the action is at, I’m sure, is helpful. Is it easy street skating in LA or is it always a bust? Where do you usually skate? Honestly the bust factor has been really low for me since I’ve been here. Some people may disagree, but I feel like the people in LA don’t care about skating as long as it doesn’t affect them. If you go to places at the right time, no one hassles you. In Oregon, everyone tries to be a random hero. You’ll get kicked out by people who don’t have any relation to the property. Usually I end up skating schools on weekends and low key street spots around Santa Monica and west LA during the week. I probably hit Stoner skatepark every day. Is the Stoner plaza park one of the hottest spots at the moment? Many clips filmed there are coming out… Dude the park is my favorite. It’s really mellow most of the time. I live 6 blocks from the park, so I end up there quite a bit. I see a lot of new people there daily, so it’s definitely a hot spot for skateboarders right now. Can you tell us about your “Wallenberg adventure”? I know you were there for the “Back To The Berg” contest and almost rolled way from a crazy ss bs flip…what happened then? I saw the sequence on Skateboarder magazine some time ago…what happened? Oh man, that story sucks. I went to the contest and originally wanted to go for sw bs heel, but I tried it like four times and didn’t get close at all.

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Because it was hectic, it was pretty ridiculous to get tries in at that contest. I wasn’t feeling the sw bs heel, so I just flung out a sw bs flip, and it felt easier. On the third go I stuck one, I thought I could do it you know? Went for one more, I stuck it and my board broke ha ha. By the time I set up a new one, the contest was kind of reserved for bigger name dudes. My homie Garric was down to pay for a roll in to be built and the cost of a trip back down to Wallenberg, so Garric, Jeff (Halstad) and I went back two weeks later. I ended up flying off it and losing my balance. I broke my right ankle on the first go. It was a super bummer trip. How long have you been hurt after that? Did you go through any kind of surgeries, rehabilitation and stuff like that? Well I broke my ankle about one year and seven months ago. To this day I’m still doing physical therapy to help the healing process. I had to get surgery in order to remove shards of bone and cartilage from inside my ankle. I had some acupuncture done for a while after that. My ankle is doing really good though, it feels strong and I think it will be back to 100% very soon. Has your approach to skateboarding changed at all after this incident? I mean the way you skateboard or the spots you skate… I was limited to low impact skateboarding, so it helped me learn more in the mellow areas of skateboarding instead of jumping off a bunch of stuff all the time. I loosened my trucks ridiculously for a while, which helped me have a lot of fun cruising around while I couldn’t do tricks. I also cruised around switch a lot, I think it’s helped me gain a lot more board control.

Switch kickflip.

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How was your mission to Sicily? Did you have fun? Sicily was amazing. My family planned a two week trip to Malta over Christmas/ New year a few years back. The trip was pretty much a disaster while I was there. I hit up Mauro a few days into our family vacation from hell and he told me to dip out to Italy! The plane ticket was cheap, so I spent the last 6 or 7 days of my trip skating the sickest spots in Sicily with the sickest dude in Italy! Every day was a shredding mission, it turned my vacation around completely. Which are your sponsors now? Exit Real World skate shop, és Footwear, Elm hats, FORCE trucks and LRG clothing.

It seems to be harder every day to come up with all these amazing skateboarders around … what do you think can make the difference to be noticed? I think anything could potentially make the difference. Maybe just the right place, right time, right tricks, right company or the right dude. What are your plans for 2011? Any trips on your agenda? I plan to skate as much as I can! I want to drop footage and make stuff happen! I don’t have any set skate trips right now, but hopefully that changes soon!

“Oregon has fresh air, fresh water, cheap food, less people. California has unlimited spots, smooth ground, ample skateparks and tons of sunshine.”

Nollie heelflip. a brief glance

take your time

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LA BANDA DELLA MAGLIANA

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Words Jonathan Levin. Photography Davide Biondani

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BACK IN NOVEMBER, NOTED PHOTOGRAPHER DAVIDE BIONDANI CAME

DOWN TO ROME TO TRACK DOWN AND GATHER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE ON THE LEGENDARY “BANDA DELLA MAGLIANA”. AFTER EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON THE SUBJECT, WE DECIDED THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT

IT WAS TO PERSONALLY VISIT THE LOCATIONS THAT WERE SO IMPORTANT IN

THE GANG’S ASCENT TO POWER. SO WE GOT TOGETHER A GROUP OF DISTIN-

GUISHED INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS WHICH INCLUDED NONE OTHER THAN

GASPARE GENTILE AKA “KING GASP” AND THE GREAT ALESSANDRO MARTRIATI, AS WELL AS DAVIDE AND I.

EVER HEARD OF THE BANDA DELLA MAGLIANA? UP TO THE MID TO LATE 70’S, CRIMINALITY IN ROME WAS MUCH A LOCAL THING. EACH NEIGHBORHOOD HAD ITS OWN GANG AND BOSS. THAT WAS SOON TO CHANGE WHEN MEM-

BERS OF CRIMINAL GANGS FROM VARIOUS ROMAN NEIGHBORHOODS, MAINLY MAGLIANA, TRASTEVERE AND TESTACCIO AMONG OTHERS DECIDED TO

GET TOGETHER AND SINGLE-HANDEDLY TAKE OVER ORGANIZED CRIME IN ROME.

AS A CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION THEY ARE THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND TALKED ABOUT EVEN TO THE PRESENT DAY, TO THE POINT THAT A HIGHLY ACCLAIMED AWARD-WINNING FILM DIRECTED BY MICHELE PLACIDO (2005) AND A TV MINI-SERIES (2008) BOTH WITH THE TITLE “ROMANZO CRIMINA-

LE” (CRIME NOVEL) WERE RELEASED, BASED ON THE 2002 NOVEL BY JUDGE

GIANCARLO DE CATALDO. THROUGH THEIR ACTIVITIES WHICH INVOLVED

DRUG DEALING, HORSE-RACE BETTING, MONEY-LAUNDERING, KIDNAPPINGS, PROSTITUTION AND ARMED ROBBERIES, THEY GAINED NOTORIETY AS ONE

OF THE MOST INFAMOUS CRIMINAL GANGS IN ITALY. NOTABLE ARE THE ORGANIZATIONS’ COLLUSIONS WITH OTHER RESPECTED CRIMINAL REALITIES SUCH AS THE MAFIA, THE CAMORRA, THE N.A.R. (NEO-FASCIST ACTIVISTS),

AND THE STATE’S OWN S.I.S.M.I. (SECRET SERVICE). DESPITE THEIR PARTICI-

PATION AND OBSCURE TIES TO NUMEROUS HIGH-PROFILE CRIMINAL EVENTS OF EXTREME POLITICAL IMPORTANCE ESPECIALLY DURING THE YEARS OF

LEAD, THEY HAD NO POLITICAL INTERESTS. THEIR GOAL WAS TO “CONQUER” ROME AND ACQUIRE MONEY, POWER AND FAME, AND THEY DID SO WITH

UNPRECEDENTED VIOLENCE, RUTHLESSLY ELIMINATING ALL THEIR ENEMIES AND ANYONE WHO GOT IN THEIR WAY. FOR TWO DECADES THEY BRUTALLY

RULED THE UNDERWORLD WITH AN IRON FIST, INFLUENCING ITALIAN HISTORY FOR THE BETTER PART OF TWO DECADES.

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JONATHAN LEVIN, WALLRIDE. PIAZZA FABRIZIO DE ANDRÈ, MAGLIANA. Piazza Fabrizio De Andrè is located in the infamous Magliana neighborhood, after which the Banda della Magliana got its name. De Andrè was an extremely famous Italian songwriter whose songs often dealt with marginalized people, prostitutes, and rascals. His songs are considered such important artworks that he is considered a poet, and streets, piazzas, schools, and parks all over Italy have been named after him. During his investigation Jonathan dared to ask somebody too many questions regarding the Magliana boss Maurizio Abbatino aka “er Freddo” that he was threatened at gunpoint. To avoid being shot he was forced to wallride over the steps and out of danger! a brief glance

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Jackie O’: This nightclub is one of the capital’s most famous and was the gang’s base of operations. It was just one of many businesses they ran with the purpose of laundering money from their illegal activities. It is located just across the street from the American Embassy in Rome, and was attended by famous actors and v.i.p.’s including Henry Kissinger, Alain Delon, Frank Sinatra, and Jacqueline Bisset.

Bar San Calisto: This is one of the most famous bars in Trastevere. It has always been a local hangout for young people. In the 70’s and 80’s during the heroin craze, all the teaspoons had a round hole to avoid the junkies from stealing them to heat up their dope with a cigarette lighter!

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San Cosimato square: The Trastevere neighborhood has always been a center for criminal activity. Franco Giuseppucci, one of the gang’s bosses, called “er Negro” because of his dark skin, was shot to death in Piazza S.Cosimato on September 13th, 1980. Trastevere was also home to another important Magliana boss: Enrico de Pedis aka “Renatino”. After his murder in 1990, he was buried inside the crypt of the Basilica di Sant’ Apollinare. This fact created havoc when it was first discovered because it uncovered ties between the Magliana gang and the kidnapping of Emanuela Orlandi, a Vatican citizen. The complete story is unclear, but Renatino allegedly did Cardinal Poletti some “favors” and in return was buried in the Basilica, a treatment reserved to popes and cardinals, not to criminals!

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GASPARE GENTILE, SW BW NOSEGRIND. EUR.

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In 1981, the police discovered an arsenal of weapons in the basement of the building of the Ministry of Health in the E.U.R. neighborhood belonging to both the Banda della Magliana and the N.A.R. (Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari) Neo-fascists. This finding linked the Banda with the murder of journalist and P2 (secret masonic lodge) member Mino Pecorelli, killed before he was able to reveal important facts about the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro (former prime minister and leader of the Christian Democratic party) by the Brigate Rosse. The bullets used in the journalistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assassination were of the same type as those found in the arsenal. Gaspare found some important clues to Mino Pecorelliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assassination outside the Pigorini Ethnographic Museum just around the corner from the Ministry of Health and became so excited he had to do this switch backward 180Â° nosegrind to calm down. a brief glance

ALESSANDRO MARTORIATI, OLLIE OFF THE BUMP. TRULLO. This is in the Trullo neighborhood, where Franco Giuseppucci aka “er Negro” began his criminal career as a member of a local gang. This bump was used in the 80’s to smuggle huge quantities of cocaine and heroin from trucks on the street in wheelbarrows. Ale Martoriati decides to get high by blasting this huge zipzinger ollie!

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We were able to track down one of the horse-jockeys that was involved in the fixed horse-race betting at the Tor di Valle hippodrome back in the 1980's that made up a considerable percentage of the Magliana gang's illicit income. He bet me 50 euros I couldn't taildrop off the railing and into the bank.Whaaat?! After putting the cash in my pocket he confessed to me that he personally witnessed the gang's murder of his ex-boss Franchino “er Criminale” at the hippodrome. The rival Proietti family, who was loyal to Franchino, eventually retaliated by killing Franco Giuseppucci aka “er Negro” in Piazza S. Cosimato in 1980, an event which eventually marked the beginning of the decline of the Magliana gang's criminal empire.

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JONATHAN LEVIN, TAILDROP. TRULLO.

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ALE MARTORIATI, FS OLLIE. APPIA ANTICA. The Appia Antica is an old Roman road going back a couple thousand years at least and reaching all the way to Brindisi. In modern times it is well-known during the night for its many prostitutes along the roadside. As we all know, the Magliana gang was also heavily involved in prostitution. Ale Martoriati’s fs ollie on a really sketchy transition under a bridge you wouldn’t want to find yourself after a certain hour is proof of the gang’s violent methods. What proof? Look at those wheel-rims belonging to prostitute’s clients who did not want to pay and instead payed with their life...they are a warning for all not to fuck with the Banda della Magliana!

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BOOK: fluff/nike sb

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Opening photos and intw Davide Biondani All book photos Marcel Veldman.

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KILOS AND 498,5 GRAMS OF HIGH QUALITY PAPER FILLED WITH TONS OF PHOTOS TAKEN BY DUTCH PHOTOGRAPHER MARCEL VELDMAN DURING HIS 18 MONTH TRIP AROUND EUROPE AND RUSSIA DOCUMENTING THE SKILLS AND THE LIFE OF ALMOST ALL THE 117 EUROPEAN NIKE SB RIDERS.

16 PAGES MAKE THIS BOOK PROBABLY THE BIGGEST SKATEBOARDING BOOK EVER MADE, REALIZED IN COOPERATION WITH NIKE SB, THAT IS ACTUALLY A SPECIAL ISSUE OF FLUFF SKATEBOARD MAGAZINE. INSIDE PHOTO CONTRIBUTIONS FROM QUENTIN DE BRIEY AND FROM U.K. SKATEBOARDER JEROME CAMPBELL.

MUST HAVE BOOK FOR ALL THOSE WHO LIKE PAPER AND LOVE SKATEBOARDING.

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Hi Marcel how are you? Are you in Holland now or around the world shooting? I’m actually in Holland at the moment. Perfect time to be here, snow, rain, cold. All the things I like. When did the Fluff/Nike book came out? The very first release party was dec 11th 2009 in Barcelona. Can it be considered a Fluff mag special edition or a Nike book? Definitely a Fluff. How does the concept of a book like this came out? Who got the idea? It was in the bar of a skatepark in Amsterdam, drinking beer and talking to someone from Nike, you know, your basic booze talk. Never thought it would actually happen. Thanks Gert! 620 pages are a lot, was the original concept to do a book like this or the idea evolved during the work? As with all issues of Fluff, we never know

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where we end up. It’s a lot of brainstorming for good ideas only to realize good ideas come when they want. Usually minutes before the deadline. How long did you work on it to finish it? 18 months. How many flight and train tickets did you buy during the working to the book? 44 plane and 7 train tickets (if you don’t count the ones to and from the airport). How many countries did you visited? 19. Between the places you visited during the shooting which you impressed more and why? I have to say that each city, country etc has their own respective charms. I could never choose and say which one is better or worse. I like ‘em all for various reasons. Shit, I sound like a goddamn hippie.

Had it been hard to select the pics to print in the book? Not so much. I really know what I want. And looking at the negatives I usually know immediately if one is suitable or not. Plus I had pages enough this time ha ha. Right. How many photos are in it? I tried to count it, I got to 231, smoked a joint and forgot to count the rest. Which is your favorite shot of the book? Maybe Grant Taylor’s 5050 in Rotterdam. That spot was so hard to skate and he annihilated it. Amazing. Any crazy story behind one of the photos? It was a crazy 18 months, let’s put it like that. Favorite skateboarder to shoot with? Everyone with a true passion for skateboarding. I can’t choose just one or even a few.

It’s all the different personalities that get me psyched. Which camera did you use more during the shooting and which do you prefer to shoot with? Depends on the situation, you never know what’s crossing your path. For most of the skate photos I either used a Hasselblad 501cm or a Canon 1NRS. Or when it’s a sequence I take out the digi, a Canon 1d. Then there’s some other overpriced toys I like to use for shooting life around the tricks, like a Leica M7, Yashica T5 or my baby, the Rollei AFM35. Almost 620 pages and 5 kilos, isn’t it too expensive to send it around? How did you distributed it? Luckily I did not have to worry about that, but I’m sure it cost a small fortune. a brief glance

Alexis De Caprona, nollie flip.

Quentin de Briey, sw wallride.

Neil Brown, fs bluntslide.

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Are you happy with the book or would you have changed something? To be honest, I haven’t opened it since. I’m sure I’d like to change some stuff, so that’s why I don’t look at it anymore. It’s like this with every issue I make. Years later I can pick it up again without having ‘should have- could have’ moments. How is the skateboard scene in holland now (apart from the cold winter)? You know what? I definitely need to do some catching up since I’m away all the time. But we have some serious talent like Zom, Maatman, Nassim, Paterno and of course Wieger to name a few. What are you working at now? Projects for 2011? We’re working on a new Fluff, issue 19. Some major changes for sure, we’re going international, that should keep me occupied for a bit. What about the photo contest you organized in Rotterdam, should we expect a new edition? I’m not really sure where the negotiations with the city are at the moment. Let’s hope for the best. What do you like to shoot apart from skateboarding? Are you into other kind of photography? I like to document life in general, situations, scenery, real-life stuff. Closely related to skateboarding, I have this series called ‘roll models’ that I started in 2003, all shot with the same camera and film. Basically everything that goes on off the board and before or after skating. And over time some photos got even more interesting since the kids on it grew up.

Well anyway, sort of grew up, ha ha. I’m working on a book as we speak, it should be out this year. I have seen you on the Element catalogue, are you working for them as official photographer? No, I’m not really their official staff photographer, I’m an Element Advocate, basically a group of creative people supported by Element and vice versa. Of course all connected by our passion for skateboarding. Did you follow the team in all the team filming mission during the release of “Get busy living” video? How was? Which is your favorite part of the video? No, not all trips, but quite a few. It’s always great to go on an Element tour since most of the team riders are my friends. Except maybe that crazy German skater, what’s his name? Ah yes, Michael Mackrodt, du schlumpe. ha ha ha, no, just kidding. I love you Michi! Workin’ with two of the biggest companies around (Nike and Element) can be stressful for a photographer? Ah ah ah.. busy all the time? It keeps you off the streets. Or actually in my case, it keeps me on the streets. How do you see skateboarding photography (and photography in general) is goin’ now with the digital era? What do you think can make the difference in the quality of (skateboarding) photography nowadays? It’s definitely easier and quicker to learn. You don’t have to waste a lot of money and time getting the hang of shooting photos. So that’s definitely a pro.

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On the other hand it tends to make some people lazy and perhaps quickly satisfied. But then again, there’s some people who got better. I don’t know, it can go both ways, to each his or her own i guess. With digital you have to do a bunch of photoshopping and to me it doesn’t feel right. I’m not saying I will never, who knows, but at the moment I love the whole process of film too much. So do you still use film a lot; wouldn’t it be easier to buy a full frame digital cam, traveling with one backpack with one body, 3 lenses and 3 small flashes instead of 2 heavy bags you have to carry around the world? It would definitely make things a lot easier, especially when you’re flying. But I just like the whole process, the grain, different films different qualities, the fact that I have all ‘touchable’ originals and not just files on hard drives. And I suck at photoshop, I really don’t want to spend more time behind the computer than I do already. Whose photos do you usually like more between skateboarding photographers? Gaberman is one of my all-time favorites. His analog stuff is seriously amazing, and his digital work still looks pretty much the same. He’s definitely an example that digital can look good. Humphries, Brook and Sturt, I really love their stuff too. Oh and Sem Rubio of course. Sturt has shot some of the most classic shots in skateboarding over time, amazing. Any anticipation about the “new international deal” with Fluff or it will be a surprise? When will it be out? Well, we don’t even know yet how it’s gonna look like. Or when it will be out. Anytime a brief glance

before the summer though. And yes, not just Holland anymore. So fluff is now almost at issue 19, when did you start the mag? We started in 2000 or 2001, I’m not really sure. We tried to figure that one out, but since there’s no dates in the mags nor could we find the first invoice from the printers. I’d say 2000. Which is the idea behind Fluff? I’ve heard you change format and paper every issue… I see it the same way as skateboarding, you don’t want to skate the same spot everyday or do the same trick. When I started skateboarding it was al about being creative, not constantly repeating yourself. It’s the same way for the Fluff, we don’t want to repeat ourselves and make it look the same as all the other mags, except maybe the language and the trick on the cover. So we change paper, format, size all the time. That’s also the reason none of us are making any money ah ah ah. Holland is not a huge country compared to other european countries, and the weather is not that good during wintertime but you have a good scene, some of the best skateboarders in europe and one of the best mag… how do you explain that? I have no idea, how would you explain that? Kids everywhere seem to have gotten so ridiculously good. Ok, that’s it. Thanks for your time Marcel. Prego Davide!

marcelveldman.com

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Wieger Van Wageningen, fs crooks.

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Boris Usupov, nollie heelflip.

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Marek, fs kickflip. a brief glance

Grant Taylor, fs 50 50 grind. a brief glance

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LEA AN TRI

ARN NEW ICK everyday

a brief glance