Superlative Conspiracy Magazine No.6

HANGING WITH TH E RICKSTE R

A XWEL L ON A NEW PATH

B E R LI N THE ROUGH DIAMOND

C U RTI S KULI G LO V E S YO U B ACK

SUPERLATIVE CONSPIRACY I CON A PO P SHOT BY F REDRIK ET OALL

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WORDS FROM ABOVE

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Recession, failed economies and conflicts, people who don’t get along. We’re not blind to the problems that currently exist and rage around us - we see them, acknowledge them and do our best to do what we can to help or assist. The thing is though, that what matters most is the people: the people who are affected by all this bullshit and bad stuff happening. It’s not all bad though, far from it. Still, everybody should feel good, everybody is entitled to have fun. Perhaps you can’t have fun all the time (what your mom said) but you can always have fun (what we say). It’s important and it’s something that we’re known for - and that’s what we want to highlight for Spring 2013.

We decided to call our Spring Campaign “Good Times Always” - we think that is suitable for what we do, who we are and the people we love working with and having as a part of our WeSC family, the WeActivists, and our friends. This craft of enjoying ourselves is not primarily because we’re Swedish but also cause we know how to kick back, be intellectual slackers and do the unexpected which always results in random acts of entertainment. You do what you love, what you like and when you want it: that’s a way to define the ‘good times always’ that we expect this spring to be.

This issue, The Superlative Conspiracy Magazine No.6, has the dope duo Icona Pop on the cover, features art by Curtis Kulig, a story with the ATL Twins, an interview with Ray Barbee, a retrospect by the funky uncle Ricky Powell, the WeActivists including Kim Matulova, Chris Pastras, Wieger van Wageningen, Oscar Meza, Vanessa Prager, Clint Peterson and his dog as well as contributing photographers Geoff Moore and Fredrik Etoall. This and a whole lot more. We hope you join us in our cause to never be dull. Good Times Always. Kram.

We now also have the Superlative Conspiracy Magazine as an app named “WeSC”, made by Mag+! Download it now!

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CONT RIBUT ORS

C OV ER IC ONA POP

CURRENT A D A LB E RT

S K AT E R AY B A R B E E

M USI C AX W E LL

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A RT CURTIS KULIG

FA S H ION J IMI’ S H OU S E

FA S H I O N G E T LI FT E D

FA S H I O N EPIC SESH

FASHI O N P LUG I N

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FASHIO N ALLEY CAT S

We A C TIV IS T OS C A R MEZA

LI FE S T YLE AT L T W I N S

LI FE S T YLE R I C K Y P O W E LL

P HO T O S

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VO ICE No.1 DAN IE L JOSEPH

V OIC E No . 2 J OEY EL G ER S MA

VO I C E N o. 3 E R I K FA G E R LI N D

I N S P I R AT I O N S T E R E O S K AT E B O A R D S

CI T Y GUI D E BE RLI N

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LOCATION S WeSC HOSSEGOR

L OC ATIONS We S C J A K OB S B ER G S G ATA N

R E LE A S E DJANGO UNCHAINED

I N S TA G R A M S

CONTRIBUTORS

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DANIEL JOSEPH - Daniel Joseph is a criminally overlooked visual artist who has shown extensively and internationally. His work consists of painting, collage, video, photography, music, sculpture, installation, design, fashion, writing, curating, acting, and performance art. He is also known for a few damn good mix tapes. cargocollective.com/danieljoseph facebook- saul goode Daniel knows words, and that we like. It is also what we’re looking for in a VOICE. You can read Daniel’s on page 110.

ERIK FAGERLIND - Some might know me as Erik from Sneakersnstuff – Sneakererik. I turned my sneaker obsession into business in 1999. But those who really know me might mention: father of two boys, basketball, happily married, loves to cook, hates to clean up, fishing and travels a lot. And yes, I can still obsess over sneakers I care for and sneakers is still my business. sneakersnstuff.com sneakererik.com Twitter- @sneakererik Instagram- sneakererik If you like sneakers you should know who Erik is, one half of the duo that founded Sneakersnstuff in Stockholm. After following Erik’s blog for years we thought it’d be a good idea to involve Erik in this issue of the mag!

Read Erik’s VOICE on page 114.

JOEY ELGERSMA - 6ft 6” tall and red, droopy looking baseball player from Amsterdam, becomes stylist, becomes motivator, becomes hustler of the arts. Your typical ADHD multitasking Libra who can’t sit still and doesn’t like to settle for singular choices.

In 2012, Joey made advertisements, a great product collaboration with WeSC and ran the Sport & Street-wear department @ tradeshow Bread & Butter. Joey runs weekly through the city with his Berlin Braves Running team. He loves to bake cupcakes in his free-time while singing the slickest R&B songs to his wife. The only thing Joey doesn’t like is writing. He does that for Hanna though. www.joeyelgersma.com Twitter- @joeyelgersma Instagram- joeyelgersma If you’ve ever been to Bread & Butter Berlin you should know who Joey is - the guy running the Sports & Street Section and person in charge of a lot of good shit. As a VOICE in this issue, you have a chance to get to know this guy a bit better.

Read more on page 112.

CONTRIBUTORS

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CURTIS KULIG - Curtis Kulig is an artist, illustrator and photographer who lives in New York City. His signature mark ‘love me’ has become the fixation of fans making him one of the fastest rising names in both the art & commerical world. Blurring the lines between pop art, iconography and typography, his iconic campaign inverts Glaser’s famous ‘I heart NY’ making a plea for our most basic human need, where we least expect it. lovemewashere.com We’ve been fans of Curtis’ work for a long time and are proud to have him as the featured artist in this issue of the Superlative Conspiracy Magazine.

See Curtis’ work starting on page 022.

CHRIS PASTRAS - Chris is a legendary skateboarder, artist, longtime WeActivist, and television host from New Jersey, who began his career in the 80’s during the emergence of the New York City skate scene as a rider for Shut Skateboards. Chris relocated to California in 1990 and shortly afterward turned pro for the groundbreaking brand World Industries. Then in 1992, Pastras founded Stereo Skateboards with longtime creative partner Jason Lee. With its unique, retro based aesthetic, Stereo has been credited with revolutionizing skateboarding graphics, advertising, and videos. Alongside being his work with Stereo, Chris is currently the Director of the Skate Program for WeSC, and an active pro skater. As a television host, Chris has been featured in numerous shows on Fuel TV, and on ESPN’s X-Games. His artwork can be found on the racks of skate shops and on the walls of galleries all around the globe. www.stereosoundagency.com wesc.com/weactivist/chris-pastras Twitter- @ StereoPastras Instagram- akadune Chris Pastras is one of our first WeActivists and is currently man in charge for the US skate crew for us. More than that, he’s a good guy and someone we like to involve in basically everything. His work in this issue includes Oscar Meza, Stereo Skateboards and a whole lot more.

AARON SMITH - Aaron Smith was born and raised in Kansas City. He picked up his first skateboard and, shortly after, his first camera. The two inevitably came together and Aaron took down the path of photographing skateboarding. After graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Aaron and his girlfriend made the move from Georgia to Southern California. From there, Aaron immersed himself in the skateboard industry and eventually landed a job photographing for Skateboarder Magazine, which ironically was the first magazine he ever subscribed to when he was a kid. Skateboarding is not the only thing Aaron enjoys pointing his camera at. His other passions in front of the lens consist of portraiture, fashion, music and travel. asmith-photography.com asmithphotography.tumblr.com skateboardermag.com/features/a-smithphoto Hailing from Kansas City, Aaron Smith now resides in LA where he works for Skateboarder Magazine as a writer and photographer - something we’re incredibly happy about, as that means we got to work with Aaron on the Ray Barbee story!

Check it out on page 016.

CONTRIBUTORS

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FREDRIK ETOALL - Fredrik Etoall is the man behind the mask.

The camera is ‘Fredrik’s Penis Extension.’ Not only does every photo he take reflect who he is, it reminds him of the fortunate life he has created for himself.

For the past 16 years, Fredrik has dedicated his life to taking photos, which have appeared in Harpers Bazaar, Interview Magazine, Playboy and a variety of album covers. This year, directing videos has also become his passion.

At the moment he’s just flying around with his camera meeting beautiful, happy, crazy people worldwide... what he loves. etoall.se Instagram- etoall Facebook- etoall.se / Twitter- @etoall He’s got his own style and that’s what we like about him - that and the fact that every thing he does always turns out incredible. This guy has good energy and you can see that from the stories Fredrik’s done in this issue...

The COVER story with Icona Pop on page 006 and the ATL Twins on page 086.

GEOFF MOORE - Los Angeles born and based photographer / director Geoff Moore creates classic imagery with contemporary innovation. He has left his indelible cinematic mark on the pages of major magazines, hit MTV videos, international print and TV ad campaigns, photography books, and on the walls of many galleries. He has shot for everyone from Coach to Diesel, ELLE mag to British GQ, Dita Von Teese to Heidi Klum, WeSC to The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

His videos have been honored by the MTV VMAs and Billboard Awards, receiving two director of the year nominations by age 25. He began his visual career as the youngster director among such visionaries as Gore Verbinsky and Jean-Baptiste Mondino, followed by several years directing for Ridley Scott’s company RSA. Moore’s innovative artistry invites an even more exciting future as he continues his photographic and directorial journey. geoffmoorestudio.com Instagram- thegeoffmoore When we find something or someone we like we tend to stick to that - and that’s exactly the case with Geoff. Being a dope photographer, Geoff has shot the covers for No. 4 (Alex Prager) and No.5 (Eli Roth) and has shot the WeActivists for spring!

Check out the stories on pages 032 and 044.

VISUAL COOKS - Visual Cooks is the housing for collaboration between Videographer Joacim Svedlund and Photographer Robin Åhlgren.

Exploring the realm of everything visual, inspired by the dark but capturing light. Riding the waves of matter that has come together at this point in space and time to define our lives, enjoying the ride. visualcooks.com vimeo.com/visualcooks flickr.com/photos/visualcooks Twitter- @visualcooks Facebook- visualcooks Visual Cooks, Robin and Joachim, have produced films, photos and other random work for WeSC for years now - and with the same sense of humor and style we hope it’s gonna continue this way.

The meeting between Visual Cooks and Adalbert can be seen on wesc.com and on page 012.

CONTRIBUTORS

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RICKY POWELL - Ricky Powell...The:: Lazy Hustler.. Funky Uncle.. KooL Substitute Teacher / Profesor Pumpernickle.... Bummy Sophisticate.. Illy Funkster.. 4th Beastie..native New Yorker... is an ‘Individualist ‘. who takes professional pictures on a hang-out tip / his errands / escapades...has been commemorating ‘Ricky @ 50 ‘ (years young) with exhibits and his live slide show around the world thru out 2012..(Tokyo..Melbourne..Europe..China(town, NYC )..To Ricky, ‘Street Photography is like my transistor radio, the playlist is infinite..’ and he loves working with his ‘Faye Dunaway of hip*hop’ ..Kimmy Matalova..! They are kinda like WeSC’s ‘Dynamic Duo’ for creating DoLo images.....you can google rickypowell.com .. check the links below to peep wussup with the Oscar Madison of hip*hop ...Peace!. rickypowell.com nycstreetphotography.com wearethegoodlife.com [Ricky Powell mixtapes] Facebook- rickypowell Since being a part of the NYC Box Set with Tony Arcabascio and Dante Ross, Ricky Powell has been a favorite of ours. We dig his talk, walk and work and are happy to have him being a part of this mag!

Check out his photos on pages 068 and 094.

ALLEN YING - i’ve been a skateboard photographer in NYC since 2001, currently living in Brooklyn, and am the independent publisher of 43 Magazine. allenying.com 43magazine.com Born and bred New Yorker Allen Ying documented Oscar Meza’s first ever trip to NYC in this issue, which we’re sure Oscar will remember for the rest of his life… When Allen isn’t doing that he runs 43 Magazine and a bunch of other good things!

See the Oscar Meza story on page 080.

GOIVANNI REDA - New York City’s landscape provided the advent of Reda’s career, which blossomed 1993; shooting skateboarders all around the five boroughs with intuitive vision and panache. Throughout his yesteryears working, the word respect remains steadfast amongst his peers – a face that is well recognized, liked and welcomed within the skateboard community. Reda has shot for every major publication in skateboarding and, at one point, was the photo editor for Big Brother Magazine. Currently, Reda is living in Los Angeles and still shoots skateboarding and will do so till the day he dies.

Reda’s infectious humor and appealing personality has earned him a weekly episodic video blog, on skateboarding top content producing website The Berrics. Called “Wednesdays with Reda”, it showcases his unique humor and quick wit as he travels the world with a camera and various professional skateboarders, Artists, musicians and actors. giovannireda.com wesc.com/weactivist/reda / Instagram- giovannireda Fast talking, smart and one of the best guys we know, Giovanni Reda has shot the skate crew for this issue - following up the amazing Superlative Spaces he did for WeSC in the Fall.

Check out EPIC SESH on page 052.

ICONA POP - THE BREAKUP THAT DID WONDERS

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WORDS BY DANIELLE KRASSE PHOTOS [COVER & STORY] BY FREDRIK ETOALL MAKE-UP BY ANNA BRANSON HAIR BY JOHNNY STUNTZ

Sometimes love goes wrong and that is just right. That’s basically what happened and what led to the creation of Icona Pop: a bad breakup that made Aino and Caroline form a band overnight, creating music and quickly gaining popularity and recognition worldwide. With an image of begin tough as hell and liberatingly free individuals who don’t give a shit, meeting Aino and Caroline is pretty refreshing: they could be the two humblest and sweetest chicks you’ll ever meet. Being that they’re Swedish and so is WeSC, we are extra happy to have them as the issue’s cover.

With the past year being crazy for Icona Pop - or as they themselves describe it,”the year when we haven’t slept” - things aren’t slowing down but rather the opposite.

When this issue hits the stands, the girls are in Australia touring, after wrapping up the year of 2012 with a tour in the US with Marina & The Diamonds, working on their new album, dropping videos and singles, playing festivals and a lot more. We caught up with the girls while they were in LA for 42 hours for a talk about how this actually happened - and what is happening now.

DANIELLE: What’s happening with Icona Pop, what are you doing?

CAROLINE: It’s chaos, as always. We don’t live anywhere but we are everywhere. We’re working 24 hours a day seven days a week - but it’s so fucking fun. It’s almost too good to be true.

When did things really kick off for you guys, ‘cause the last year seems to have been pretty intense?

C: We haven’t slept this past year. Basically, 7 months ago it really took off. Before that we lived in London which was a pretty tough and heavy period of time - so when we started to feel things happening and changing we just went for it, went all in. The number of gigs we had this summer was mad.. It was around 100, one every or every other day.

Sounds like busy times… But it’s all working out?

C: We’ve finally found our crew, the right people to work with and it feels as if we have a great creative freedom - we have the last say in everything that we do. It’s the world’s best family of people that we work with so we guess that that is why things are finally happening the way we want them to, ‘cause of this crew.

Okay, tell me some more about your crew.

C: First of all it’s our home label Record company TEN. Then it’s the two of us, Fredrik [Etoall] who we found along the road [the photographer of this story who’s the girls best friend and who’s done numerous shoots and videos for them. editor’s note], it’s Oskar, it’s artist company 10, Adis & Henke, Elof Loelv our head producer, Tove Lo, who we write with..

AINO: All these people are people that we’ve known for a long time, since Icona Pop started basically.

C: And then it’s our label that we have here in the US - they’re so fucking

good and understand us completely. They ask us what we want to do and how we want to do it and that’s a rare thing.

Which label is that?

A: Atlantic. So that feels extra good. We have worked with people who’ve been the biggest idiots you could meet, when we lived in London and that whole thing, but that’s why it feels so extra good that we’ve gathered our troop now and all aspects of it feel good.

I can imagine that, though, that you have to go through a bunch of different stages and people before figuring out what’s the right thing?

A: Exactly, ‘cause it’s like when everyone wants different things and doesn’t care about us. Record labels tend to look at artists like products but it feels as if Atlantic and our management really consider what we want to do, which is rare.

C: I think the thing we’ve learnt the most this past year is to listen to ourselves and our bodies. The gut feeling is the only thing you should listen to and go for and if you don’t listen to your gut feeling then things will go to hell. People will always have opinions and think that you should do this or that but I think we’ve learnt to listen to ourselves and somehow figuring out what we want. It’s difficult though, especially when starting out, to know what you want but now that we do it every single day we’re more on track with that - we’ve learnt how to separate and categorize things better. If you do something you don’t feel for, you’re bound to feel bad about it.

And the result won’t be as good. So that’s great - you’ve learnt how to say no which is difficult to do, congratulations!

C: [Laughs] Thank you, it actually feels great!

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COVER

AINO IS WEARING INDIRA KNITTED SINGLET CAROLINE IS WEARING ELIZA L/S KNITTED SWEATER

COVER

AINO IS WEARING ON FIELD W 3 SNAPBACK, LAIKA BASEBALL JACKET, EMINA L/S REGULAR SHIRT, LIZZY CHINO ESTATE BLUE CAROLINE IS WEARING BETSEY L/S T-SHIRT

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Y: I have to ask you how you got started, I’ve read the stories online and heard from our friends how it all went down but I want your version too.

A: We went to the same high school but didn’t know each other. Five years after that I was brutally dumped by my man one night and got pretty depressed. We had a mutual friend who called and harassed me every day, begging me to come out and said she’d come pick me up and drag me out if I didn’t do it myself - so she forced me to go to a party a Carro’s house. So thank you, break up.

C: It was good - when we met it was really like love at first sight - when you start hanging out and just click as friends. We were out dancing all night and said that we had to do something together, which is so easy to say but hard to do. But Aino called me the day after and said “I’ll be over with my computer and a bottle of wine” and we made our first song that night. Since that day we’e just been hanging out, making music and working together every day.

“WE’VE FINALLY FOUND OUR CREW, THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO WORK WITH, AND IT FEELS AS IF WE HAVE A GREAT CREATIVE FREEDOM... THAT IS WHY THINGS ARE FINALLY HAPPENING THE WAY WE WANT THEM TO.” Which song was it?

A: ‘Sheriff came to town on a big black horse’. It was kind of Tarantino inspired, had this Western feel to it with electric guitars that we produced ourselves. It was so weird.

C: We’ve said we’ll release it on some sort of Greatest Hit Album when we’re 80.

A: We called it death pop. Then we called our style hard core rock but in a pop version. [laughs].

Your videos have that whole thing about them, a bit of that Tarantino feeling, some Thelma & Louise, a lot of ‘young, wild and free’ - is that your thing?

C: It’s always been a bit ‘us against the world’ - people were laughing at us in the beginning: when we told people we’d started a band everyone just replied that “it doesn’t really work that way”. We kept insisting that it would and have stuck to that frame of mind since then.

A: For me and Carro it’s always been important to prove ourselves - we were super stressed the whole time and booked a gig two days after we declared ourselves a group, that we played a month after. We were keen to show and prove that we were a band - it’s always been that music had been our hobby but people hadn’t seen us as musicians. It was a bit of a statement. And things happened quickly after that.. I remember I tried to quit snus one time [a Swedish nicotine thing, google it. editor’s note] and I was so fucking sad and bummed [side effect when quitting snus. editor’s note]..

C: and Aino called me and was crying and said she was trying to quit snus [laughs]…

A: And the minute after I got a call from Gilda from Kitsuné Records with news that we were being featured on an album of theirs, so I called Carro back and told her the good news and that I was never quitting snus again. But that’s kind of how it went. A year after we tarted we released “Manners” on a Kitsuné album and started going over to Paris to DJ.

COVER

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Was Manners your first big hit?

A: We released it and it got a big hype in the blogs.. It was definitely the first single that was released properly.

But what now then - you have your tour until Christmas with Marina & The Diamonds…

C: And then it’s Christmas and we have five days off for the first time in ages (!!!). And then we’re heading out on our Australia and New Zealand tour for about two weeks.

A: And then we’re back in Sweden for some stuff, and then back here to LA to finish the album, the American one.

“IT’S ALWAYS BEEN A BIT ‘US AGAINST THE WORLD’ - PEOPLE WERE LAUGHING AT US IN THE BEGINNING: WHEN WE TOLD PEOPLE WE’D STARTED A BAND EVERYONE JUST REPLIED THAT, ‘IT DOESN’T REALLY WORK THAT WAY’. WE KEPT INSISTING THAT IT WOULD AND HAVE STUCK TO THAT FRAME OF MIND SINCE THEN.” When do you plan to release it?

A: Hopefully and probably in the Summer - we have a long way to go…

We’re gonna go to radio with our track “I Love It” in January here in the US. Everything that has happened until now has just happened organically, basically, people have picked things up themselves. It’ll probably take a while before there’s a market for us here. You don’t really understand how big the US is until you’ve travelled through it.

So there’s tons of stuff happening.

E: Yeah, and there’s the festivals and all that: SXSW, Lollapalooza…

--The talk continued about Coachella, festivals, dream places to live and other random things but we’ll end things here. The things with Icona Pop - Caroline and Aino - is that things don’t seem to be slowing down any time soon, rather the opposite. The girls are talented, fun and exactly the humble, go-your-own-way kind of people WeSC loves and their future is looking damn bright. Get into it.

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See more on wesc.com, iconapop.com, their instagram @iconapop and in a concert venue near you!

COVER

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LUCY LIU AND RZA ON SET OF THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS

CAROLINE IS WEARING MESSAGE SC T-SHIRT, LIZZY 5-POCKET JEAN HF BLACK AINO IS WEARING CAITLIN SLEEVELESS DRESS, HOUSE OF FLORA SHIRT

THE LIBERTINE, THE DRUG ABUSE AND THE ART: ADALBERT

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WORDS BY DANIELLE KRASSE PHOTOS BY ROBIN ÅHLGREN

Being an artist is definitely a profession that is very intuitive - personal, emotional, sensitive. It’s about feeling and then transferring those emotions onto paper or canvas and make people feel what you feel. A man who’s been a WeActivist since the start is Adalbert - an incredibly talented, funny and experienced human being. His art is colorful, strong and happy - created with his special technique that involves a lot of paint splattering and movement. What you don’t know when you look at his pieces is the journey Adalbert has been through - a journey that sees 30 years of heavy drug and alcohol abuse that has just now finally come to an end. We sat down with Adalbert about just that: his creativity, experiences, the drugs and booze and how he’s finally gotten rid of those habits and rehabilitated himself, about finding light in sobriety and how he now creates art.

DANIELLE: Adalbert as an artist - how did you start and why did you do it?

ADALBERT: First of all, I like art. My uncle is an artist, he’s very fun and special, then I also like artists like Miró - I think he comes close to the truth and that is what I want to achieve too. I look at my paintings and I feel like “yes, this is the way things are”. I was very young when I started making art, creating, but it didn’t actually result in an exhibition or anything like that until -83 when I had my first artshow at Vårsalongen at Liljevalchs in Stockholm. I had shown my work and been involved in some more anarchistic events prior to that but Vårsalongen is my first ‘real’ show, followed by Galleri Bleu. I was around 30 years old at that time, so I was pretty old.

The feeling when you create and exhibit, what’s it like?

A lot of people like my work - and a lot of people surely don’t, but that’s nothing to be bothered about - and when you do a show, you have already done the work, it’s already been created and hangs there, so you move on. It’s all about living in the present, in what you do now that matters to me.

And if you were to describe your work?

Some action, some philosophy, color - and that I’m a bit annoying I think.

I’ve got temperament and mood so my paintings need to be done fast - if I work on them too long it doesn’t work at all, not for me or the piece.

Things have to happen quickly.

A perception of artists is that they often are pretty extravagant, live an extravagant and not average lifestyle, something that you have done as well. You are pretty open with your drug and alcohol abuse, as you are now sober and recovering.

It’s not exactly an unusual tale, but I started drinking heavily around the age of 15 - booze, Jack. From the age of 17 I was hardly sober for even a day, then I started with cannabis and did that for surely ten years or so but that I could get out of and I did when I got married and that behavior wasn’t accepted. But then I started drinking heavily again as well as

“FROM THE AGE OF 17 I WAS HARDLY SOBER FOR EVEN A DAY... I STARTED TAKING EVERYTHING AND COULDN’T GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNINGS. I JUST STAYED IN BED FOR YEARS, WITH MY PILLS. WHEN I LOOK BACK AT IT NOW I FEEL AS IF IT WASN’T ME LYING THERE, IT WAS ONLY A PEA-SIZED PART OF ME INSIDE THAT HEAD.” adding pills to that - uppers, downers, calming stuff… And then suddenly I realized that I couldn’t live without them; I started taking everything and couldn’t get out of bed in the mornings - for years. I just stayed in bed for years, with my pills. When I look back at it now I feel as if it wasn’t me lying there, it was only a pea-sized part of me inside that head.

After years and years of this - and the doctors kept prescribing me this shit because they’re nice and I asked them to do it - but suddenly it just stopped working. And that’s when shit got bad. Not being on those pills…

I was hospitalized in the psychward for two months and then a rehab section and the only thing I felt was regret and anxiety. Deep deep regret - and when I thought of the things I had done in the past and the even just living life was scary as fuck, everything scared me.

What helped?

Therapy and getting rid of the toxins. After explaining to my wife and kids that “you know what, things might actually not become great again” I then started therapy and started dealing with shit and my addictions.

The therapy trained me to get up in the mornings, to be around people again and to understand that with drug abuse you get used to ‘highs’ and

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WEACTIVIST ADALBERT IN HIS ATELIER, 2012

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NEW AND ONGOING FREDRIK HJELMQVIST, WORKS BY CEO ADALBERT AND FOUNDER IN HIS OFATELIER PAUSE ONE OF SCANDINAVIA’S PREMIUM AUDIO STORES - AS THE HUMAN JUKEBOX IN THE AD FOR THE GUT POD

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have to have extremely fun all the time, and then things are normal it just doesn’t work.

It’s difficult to imagine someone being high on drugs in a ‘normal’ profession, and no one stepping in, but is the art world and establishment more forgiving and allowing?

It’s a special situation; you’re in your atelier, creating and you can be as drunk or high as you want to. Then your gallerist comes and picks up your work and gives you money - and then you continue to create.

And now after rehab - when you’re “back”?

It’s been getting better every day. That I even managed to live in my own home and not go to bed with the pills, but that I stayed up and managed to get up in the mornings - that’s big for me. For addicts they say that it takes as many months of being clean as it was years you were doing them to get completely clean - and since I did drugs for 30 years, I need 30 months to be considered rehabilitated, so I have 12 more months to go but I’m excited. The feeling that you can do art and be a human with out drugs is liberating. And art is like therapy - painting makes you feel good.

“THE FEELING THAT YOU CAN DO ART AND BE A HUMAN WITH OUT DRUGS IS LIBERATING. AND ART IS LIKE THERAPY - PAINTING MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD.” How has your work changed since you went through rehab?

I’m basically painting in the same style but I’ve added some new moments, new colors and especially added more yellow to my works.

Yellow is the color of joy, or what is it they say?

Yeah some people say that.

Or maybe it depends what country you’re in? [laughs] [Laughs] Yes, some people say it’s joy but others say it’s schizophrenia but I don’t believe that - I think it’s warmth and happiness. I love yellow.

And lastly: can you give some advice to the people reading this?

Have fun. It’s absolutely necessary to have fun. I think people can start painting, or another form of art - if you have an energy and aren’t afraid, things will work out. You can be scared, that’s not possible. I’m not here to stop people from messing around, people have to be allowed to do that. But it’s about choosing yourself what to do - and as a libertine I think that behind closed doors you can do what you want. As long as you like and can control it.

*

--For more on Adalbert and to see the video from this day, visit wesc.com.

RAY BARBEE - OUR FAVORITE PERSON WORDS BY DANIELLE KRASSE PHOTOS BY AARON SMITH

They say you shouldn’t have favorites, but sometimes you can’t help yourself.

Ray Barbee is so much more than just a legendary skateboarder. He’s one of the few men who can make a room full of skate pros shut up and act as fans, whilst still being the most humble and mellow guy in the room. With a great music career, as well as being an accomplished photographer, Ray has enough talent to fill this whole publication himself - but we figured we should start by catching up with Ray about his music, skate, and the family.

DANIELLE: What are you up to now?

RAY BARBEE: What am I up to? Right now a lot of unfinished goals - I told myself a couple of years ago that I wanted to finish a new album and I’m still working on that. And me and my wife bought a home this time last year, so basically I had no idea that it would suck up so much of my time. That along with just being busy with playing music and skateboard trips - so now that we’re in, and kind of in-tune somewhat, I’m looking forward to taking some time out to write this album and go record it.

How many albums have you made so far?

My own solo albums = 2. And then groups that I play with; there’s an album that I did with my friends The Mattson 2 called “Ray Barbee meets The Mattson 2”. Then there’s two albums that I did with my homies Tommy Guerrero and Chuck Treece and Matt Rodriguez and we’re collectively called the Black Top Project and we’ve done two albums - so total, what’s that, five albums?

That’s quite a lot.

Well I’ve been around for a while [laughs].

When did you start?

My first album came out right after I got married, 2002 - that’s the first album. And then I had another release in 2005/2006 so my own solo thing has been a long time. WOW, I wanna say like six years which is crazy.

You have been skating whilst making music though.

Yeah and playing out a bunch and doing other albums.

It was cool when we saw you playing at the European Skate Awards in January - and all these skaters who are never really impressed with stuff all ran up during your gig and took pics of you. They’re pretty hard to impress.

I was honored to be asked to give out the award and to play! Also coming from the States you don’t know how you’re received in other countries but it’s cool because skateboarding is such a close knit culture and community even overseas that it has family feel, if you will. That was really neat for me to experience relatives, if you will.

Can you tell us a bit about when you first started skating, I saw one of your first ads from Powell Peralta in a fashion magazine last year and that whole era is still very much relevant and out there.

I think a lot of that imagery is still around and people are still kind of, I don’t know how you want to say but, talking about it. A lot of it too is because some of the companies that I turned pro for, like Powell Peralta, came out with that documentary, the Bones Brigade Documentary, so it’s got everybody kind of going back to that time. And I came up, I was

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RAY PLAYING SOME TUNES AT FENDER’S PRIVATE SHOW ROOM

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RAY FLIPPING THROUGH RECORDS AT AMOEBA IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

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a generation later than the guys in that movie but I did come up with that company, and it a was a neat time in skateboarding cause for what I do, street skateboarding, it was very new you know. It was just starting to happen - you had the ramps and everything, the ramp era that happened in the mid 80’s was because the park skating closed down in the early 80’s, and when the ramps started getting torn down we just started skating street. Since it was new there was a lot of room for development, to be creative and just to do your thing. There were more tricks that you could come up with that you hadn’t seen before. Any time you’re at the beginning of something it’s special, you know what I mean? I think for skateboarders they really appreciate guys that came up during that time and thankfully I just happened to be there during that time - getting excited about skateboarding and street.

“FOR ME, WHAT EXCITED ME ABOUT STREET SKATING WAS THAT THERE WASN’T A LIST OF TRICKS THAT I HAD TO LEARN... BEING IN STREET SKATING TODAY, OR EVEN THE LAST TEN YEARS, THEY HAVE THAT LIST NOW. IT GETS HARD TO FIND THOSE GAPS IN THE LIST WHERE YOU CAN DO YOUR THING.” Nowadays skateboarding seems to be completely different from what it was back then in a way.

It’s way different but just like anything it has to evolve. For me, what excited me about street skating was that there wasn’t a list of tricks that I had to learn. Like when I skated ramps it was like playing catch up, like “I learnt that trick, now I gotta learn this one” - and then when we got to the street it was like the list had three tricks and from there we could do whatever. Being in street skating today, or even the last ten years, they have that list now. It gets hard to find those gaps in the list where you can do your thing. It’s out there and will always be out there but the reality is that the older skateboarding becomes the harder it is to find those spots in the list where you can add your own tricks.

What do you think the next thing is going to be?

Skateboarding? Well “Pretty Sweet” just came out, from Girl and Chocolate, and they’re very influential and you’ll have a lot of kids that get into skateboarding on that video and their brand of skateboarding, for the most part is kind of back to really technical kind of ledge tricks where it’s not all the big stairs and rails and things, so I think you might see a lot of kids coming in approaching skateboarding that way rather than like “we gotta throw ourselves down 20 stairs and rails” so I think you might see a little bit of that. But the cool thing about skateboarding is that it just does it’s thing. It’s so vast that you know, with what people can be influenced by - you have so many different approaches that a kid can hop in with Guy Mariano from Pretty Sweet, or Tony Truillo which is like more of a transition approach to skating or Nyjah Houston - it’s just so crazy now…

Who’s your favorite skater at the moment?

Guy’s a favorite. I’ve always dug Guy [Mariano]. I think those skaters that kind of, to me, come from that school that I really enjoy where it’s all creative and fun. Their approach to it reminds me of my approach to it and what I like about it - which is the fun and the arts are closely tied to it. Getting your creative ideas even off the board, with other interests

and things like that. Evan Smith is really cool and comes from that, Nick Garcia comes from that - to me that’s what keeps the culture rich. That’s what kind of separates it from jocks or sports: like how many NBA guys do you know that make art or are photographers or who can play music?

Granted, I’d say that there are some but it’s not often that you hear about that.

It’s not that often incorporated into the bigger picture like it is with skateboarding..

No and this is our culture and I want to see that continue - young guys that come into skateboarding and to be able to just see the world and their interests through the creativity that comes through being a part of the skateboarding culture - to ride a skateboard, learn tricks and see things the way you have to be able to see it. To be able to use that skill and apply it to the other interests. Full circle.

Your kids, have they started skating?

My oldest who is ten is into skating, and he’s playing bass too. My youngest is skating a little bit but he’s 6.

Was it the oldest one that used to love Star Wars?

Yeah but you know how it is: they all grow up and grow out of it.

‘Cause I remember the first time i met you, in Stockholm, he was ALL about the Star Wars.

The youngest is all into Harry Potter now, my wife is reading all of them to him.

I love those books.

Yeah those books are rad - and there’s a lot of great books out there for kids now. People are coming up with good stories. Like Harry Potter is six books or something, which is cool. You follow the whole creativity of the authors and stuff. My kids are around the whole thing you know: the skateboarding and the music and the creativity and I love shooting photos and stuff, so I almost feel like they have no choice - they’re around it so they have to get into it [laughs].

Do you have any new shows coming up?

No I’m just working on a book project but my main goal to be honest is just to be skating - Vans is making a video, and I want to have a part in that - and work on and finish my album.

When do you plan to release your album?

Next year! Hopefully by summer, that’s the goal.

--Read more about Ray on wesc.com

*

AXWELL - STAYING GROUNDED WHILE FLYING HIGH

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WORDS BY ALEX KOSSEK & SIMON HILLS PHOTO BY JASON YEE

Axwell is one of the most prominent and well recognized DJ’s in the world - playing sold out shows for thousands upon thousands of people by himself or in the trio Swedish House Mafia together with Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. With the last tour of SHM underway, Axwell is embarking on new adventures and paths that includes everything from family life to running his own label with handpicked talent, as well as continuing on the mission across the world of hosting and playing mad parties.

JASON YEE: Hi Axwell, you just came home from your European tour with Swedish House Mafia. How do you feel so far??

AXWELL: Great! Super exciting! A lot of hard work and traveling of course. But also a fantastic journey and an amazing way to “close the book” for Swedish House Mafia so to speak.

This was your first leg, mainly Europe but also Dubai and India.

And now you are recharging for the tour in the US, start January 2013. What can you expect from the US fans?

It’s always mad in the US, so it’s going to be fun! People there aren’t afraid of letting their hair down! So I am sure I wont get disappointed. Me, Sebastian and Steve will try and give our fans a great show!

When you broke through as a superstar DJ Axwell, how did this effect the personal life of Axel Hedfors?

I try to keep my personal life as normal possible, having a young son at home definitely helps to keep me grounded! What I came to realize a little while back was whilst I’m on tour everything & (almost) everyone around me are so crazy & it’s super important to me to have as normal a family life as possible. I actually moved to LA a couple of years back with my family but although I loved the sun opposed to the bitter cold I found it very difficult to settle there – seemed more like an extended holiday!

“I’M ALWAYS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT THING... I’M NOT THAT INTO RETRO!” Your label Axtone has released a number of singles and tracks with artists but how did it come about that you decided to start your own label?

I’d been releasing records with major record labels for some time & had grown increasingly frustrated by waiting for my tracks to be released around their schedules – I just wanted to get my music out there when I felt it was ready. Over time the remit has changed as I was coming across great music from other artists that I felt needed to be out there so we starting signing tracks. We are slowly expanding the business in different directions including publishing & management, looking after Thomas Gold & NO_ID currently. As a side note & a little known fact, it was actually Eric Prydz who came up with the name Axtone…

How did you feel after the Swedish House Mafia, sold out Madison Square Garden last year? And now you have done it again!

Well of course I was happy about it but if I’m honest coming from Sweden I’d heard of Madison Square Garden but it wasn’t a venue I’d always dreamed of playing. It all started to hit me with all my American

friends/fans being super excited about the show & by the time I got in the venue & realised the footsteps we were following: Proper legends like Sinatra & Elvis, I was truly overwhelmed. Here were 3 guys from Sweden selling out this iconic venue & a 1st for house music, I was very proud of that moment.

At what point did you, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso decide to create the mafia?

Ah, this question! Haha. It was a term that was handed to all Swedish House producers in the press really but for myself, Seb & Steve it just stuck. We’d been friends for a while – Seb & Steve since they were kids & there’s just a connection there in the studio & behind the decks. There was a certain period of time when the legend who is Stonebridge was seemingly the only Swede making house music but then us 3 & Eric Prydz all came up at around the same time – hence the term was coined ‘Swedish House Mafia’!

Do you still think that Ibiza is the best party island in the world? Why should all the djs be there?

Yesssssir! The Ibiza season is like Miami Music Week but for 3 months rather than 7 days! People fly in from all over the world with 1 aim – to party! On any given day or night or you can catch the best DJs whatever type of dance music you are into whether it be house, techno, minimal etc, etc. There are also so many other great places to go when you need a break from the parties!

Now you have announced Swedish House Mafia is coming to an end. Last gig is planned at the end of March in Miami, how much do you feel achieved?

We’ve achieved far more than we ever expected – we‘ve done everything & more than I even dreamt of, so many memorable gigs along the way but now’s the time for a change up to avoid repeating ourselves.

I’m really curious for the future, we’ll all be ploughing our individual paths - one day we may come back. Let’s see!

What are your personal plans for 2013 then?

I’m going to continue to focus on Axtone & the artists we have signed to the label. I personally A&R everything on the label which I love to do but of course takes up a lot of my time but I get as much satisfaction from that as from my own productions. I’m always looking forwards to the next thing, new vocalists & artists excite me - I’m not that into retro! And I am also making big plans together with Carlsberg for a project that I am really proud of. And I should also have time to focus on my own stuff. So if you want to be the first to know, you can just follow me on Twitter!

--axwell.co.uk / Twitter/Instagram: @axwell / Facebook.com/axwell

*

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MUSIC

WEACTIVIST AXWELL PLAYING A SOLD OUT SHOW, 2012

CURTIS KULIG

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WORDS BY TONY ARCABASCIO PHOTO BY J. BLANCO

A buddy of mine came by one day and was like, “Do you know this kid Curtis who writes ‘Love Me’ all over?” And I was like, “No, but of course I know of him. And I feel like everyone I know knows him, and I see him rolling down Lafayette Street on his board sometimes... Why?”. And he was like, “Yeah, he said the same shit about you when I asked him if he knew you. He said he sees you reading your newspaper walking down Lafayette Street as well.” I was like, “Really, what a fucken coincidence,” until he also told me he lives on the next corner, a block away from my office... on Lafayette.

See, that’s the shit about NYC... because our city goes ‘upwards’ and is so densely populated, you sometimes don’t even know who’s next door (and even if you do know, as a New Yorker, we know to give people their space). That next door neighbor may be someone who has been working the streets you live on, aggressively, as well as making a name in the game by collaborating with other neighbors on a bunch of high profile projects.

I’m happy to say, a couple of weeks later, I asked my friend to connect me to “the ‘Love Me’ kid”, and now I stop reading my paper for a sec to look up and say hello as he rolls by.

But I have a few questions I’ve still yet to ask him...

Why should people love you?

It’s two words. It’s honest. It’s something every human being needs, even me, whether we’re willing to admit it or not. Over the past few years, I’m always asked what it means. At different points its meant different things to me-- a mantra, a hardcore plea, a request for recognition, I guess it’s selfish. Or maybe a plea for attention. But the result like any declaration is a mix of haters, superfans and everyone in between.

How about people who don’t love you?

There are lots of people who don’t love me or what I do. There’s people who even hate it. Most of those people are a bit older than me, they come from a different time in New York. I didn’t ask to get put on. I didn’t ask anyone to pay attention. I just did something that I wanted to do and all that has happened is a consequence that I never could have planned on. I’m just walking through the doors that look interesting when they open. It’s like putting out an album. You make the music you make-- some people will love it, some people will hate it. If you make a hit, there will always be a group that really really hates it. It’s just how it goes. I stopped caring about what people think about me a few years ago. I don’t need the negativity. People who don’t like what I do can go fuck themselves for all I care. I don’t waste my time investing energy into something that isn’t helping me to grow as an individual or benefit those around me. But I think certain people want to hold on to pain, to talk about the good old days or the real New York because they’re scared if they don’t hold onto that pain & anger, if they grow up and find some small piece of happiness, that they won’t know who they are anymore.

Who do you love?

My friends and fam. There are very few I consider to be that though.

Loyalty is a very rare quality and as I get older I see less and less of it.

And girls... sometimes.

*

MOTT STREET STUDIO SOHO NEW YORK

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ART

ART

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ART

[THIS PAGE] TOP: PARIS BOTTOM: BROOKLYN [OPPOSITE PAGE] TOP: MONTRÉAL BOTTOM: PARIS

ART

SMALL RED NEON NEON MOUNTED ON CLEAR PLEXIGLASS 12” X 24” 2010

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ART

BRONZE SCULPTURE BRONZE 10.5” X 21” X 2” 2011

ART

COLOR CANDY ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 36” X 48” 2012

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ART

FRAMED RED CANVAS OIL ON CANVAS 36” X 26” 2012

ART

HOBO CHART ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 96” X 36” 2012

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ART

TYE DYE ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 48” X 36” 2012

JIMI’S HOUSE PHOTOS BY GEOFF MOORE STYLED BY SOPHIE ASSA MAKEUP BY ANNA BRANSON @THEREXAGENCY HAIR BY JOHN-FRANCIS MASEDA @THEREXAGENCY

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FASHION

[OPENER] DANI:INDIRA KNITTED SINGLET CLINT:THOM LEATHER JACKET, EDDY CHINO, RORIK LOW TOP [OPPOSITE] ARTO:WARREN BASEBALL JACKET, SC SNAPBACK, OVE S/S T-SHIRT KATIE:ICON CLASSIC HOODED SWEATSHIRT

KIM:LYOKA L/S SHIRT OVERSIZED FIT, ROXANNE DENIM SHORTS, OM FIELD W 3 SNAPBACK. DANI:ELIZA L/S KNITTED SWEATER, ISELIN SHORTS [OPPOSITE] TONY:WAYNE S/S SWEATSHIRT, BASSOON CYAN

TONY:OVERLAY SINGLET, KELVIN CHINO, ON FIELD W 1 SNAPBACK [OPPOSITE] VANESSA:DARIA SHORT SKIRT, EMINA L/S SHIRT REGULAR FIT, LAWRENCE MID TOP

[ FOR MORE GO TO WeSC.COM OR DOWNLOAD OUR APP ]

GET LIFTED PHOTOS BY GEOFF MOORE

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FASHION

[OPENER] RUNAR DARK SAPPHIRE LAWRENCE WHISKEY MID TOP

CLIVE LOW TOP

ADA HAWAIWE DARK SAPPHIRE

[ FOR MORE GO TO WeSC.COM OR DOWNLOAD OUR APP ]

EPIC SESH PHOTOS BY GIOVANNI REDA

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FASHION

WEACTIVIST RAY BARBEE MID BACKSIDE BLUNT: TYRONE L/S SHIRT SLIM FIT, KELVIN DENIM, SC SNAPBACK

PROUDLY WELCOMING ARTO SAARI: ANWAR L/S KNITTED SWEATER [OPPOSITE] OSCAR MEZA, AARTO SAARI, CLINT PETERSON, WIEGER VAN WAGENINGEN, CHRIS PASTRAS, COOPER WILT, TONY MANFRE

RAY:ANWAR L/S KNITTED SWEATER, TYRONE L/S SHIRT SLIM FIT, SC TRUCKER BASEBALL CAP

OSCAR:WESC AOP POCKET S/S T-SHIRT, JOCKUM WINDBREAKER JACKET

WEACTIVIST CLINT PETERSON PERFORMING A DOG PISSER TO FAKIE [OVER HIS DOG SADIE]: FRANCHISE CLASSIC ZIP HOODED SWEATSHIRT, KELVIN CHINO, EDMOND LOW TOP [OPPOSITE] WEACTIVIST OSCAR MEZA SOARS ABOVE THE ‘BROOKLYN PROJECTS’ MINI WITH A PROPERLY CAUGHT BACKSIDE KICKFLIP: OVE S/S T-SHIRT, EDDY DENIM

[ FOR MORE GO TO WeSC.COM OR DOWNLOAD OUR APP ]

PLUG IN PHOTOS BY VISUAL COOKS

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FASHION

[OPENER] CYMBAL UNISEX STREET HEADPHONES BURGUNDY, BALKER LEOPARD, OVE S/S T-SHIRT CYMBAL UNISEX STREET HEADPHONES BLACK, CLAES L/S SHIR [OPPOSITE] CYMBAL UNISEX STREET HEADPHONES LIMESTONE, ELIZA L/S KNITTED SWEATER

CYMBAL UNISEX STREET HEADPHONES KOMBU GREEN, JANELA L/S KNITTED CARDIGAN [OPPOSITE] CYMBAL UNISEX STREET HEADPHONES BRIGHT RED, MESSAGE SC S/S T-SHIRT

[ FOR MORE GO TO WeSC.COM OR DOWNLOAD OUR APP ]

ALLEY CATS PHOTOS BY RICKY POWELL

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FASHION

KIM:LOUI L/S DENIM SHIRT, MANDY 5-POCKET JEAN SOFT SHADE, AQUA SRIPT S/S T-SHIRT MICHAEL:ON FIELD W2 SNAPBACK, WARREN BASEBALL JACKET, KELVIN 5-POCKET JEAN BUM, EDMOND HAWAIWE LOW TOP JESTER RED

MICHAEL:ON FIELD W2 SNAPBACK, WARREN BASEBALL JACKET, KELVIN 5-POCKET JEAN BUM, EDMOND HAWAIWE LOW TOP JESTER RED

KIM:LOUI L/S DENIM SHIRT, MANDY 5-POCKET JEAN SOFT SHADE, AQUA SRIPT S/S T-SHIRT

MICHAEL:ERIC COMFORT FIT SHORT SLEEVE SHIRT INDIGO, BOB 5-POCKET JEAN HEARTBEAT, OVE S/S T-SHIRT, 59FIFTY W, LAWRENCE MID TOP WHISKEY

KIM: SANTOS UNISEX KNITTED BEANIE, JANELA L/S KNITTED CARDIGAN, WESC S/S T-SHIRT, LIZZY 5-POCKET JEAN HF BLACK

KIM:SANTOS UNISEX KNITTED BEANIE, JANELA L/S KNITTED CARDIGAN, WESC S/S T-SHIRT, LIZZY 5-POCKET JEAN HF BLACK

[ FOR MORE GO TO WeSC.COM OR DOWNLOAD OUR APP ]

OSCAR MEZA EVERY ONCE IN A LONG WHILE, YOU COME ACROSS A HUMBLE, SELF-MADE KID WHO DOES IT FOR THE SAME REASONS SKATEBOARDERS ALL DID IN THE 70S, 80S, OR EARLY 90S... BECAUSE HE LOVES SKATEBOARDING. OSCAR MEZA IS ONE OF THOSE SPECIAL KIDS. A TRUE LA YOUTH, OSCAR HAS HAD NOTHING HANDED TO HIM, AND REMAINS AS HUNGRY THE FIRST DAY I MET HIM. I AM TRULY PROUD OF THIS RIPPER BEING OUR LATEST WeACTIVIST. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING...

OPENING WORDS BY CHRIS PASTRAS PHOTOS BY ALLEN YING

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WeACTIVIST

WESC AOP POCKET S/S T-SHIRT

WESC AOP POCKET S/S T-SHIRT, EDDY CHINO BLACK [OPPOSITE] WESC AOP POCKET S/S T-SHIRT, EDDY CHINO BLACK, FRANCHISE CHEST DUB ZIP HOODED SWEATSHIRT

BREAKIN BONES S/S T-SHIRT, BOB 5-POCKET JEAN RAW

TWIN TURBO WAIT, THERE’S TWO OF THEM. THE ATL TWINS - SIDNEY AND THURMAN SEWELL - ARE AS INTERESTING AS THEY ARE FUN TO BE AROUND. UNEXPECTED SHIT HAPPENS WITH THESE TWO AND THE BEST WAY TO GET TO KNOW THEM IS TO EITHER MEET THEM OR GOOGLE THEM. WITH A NEW MOVIE DROPPING THIS SPRING - “SPRING BREAKERS”, DIRECTED

BY HARMONY KORINE, FEATURING JAMES FRANCO, SELENA GOMEZ & VANESSA HUDGENS - YOU WILL DEFINITELY SEE MORE OF THESE GUYS, AND THAT’S A GOOD THING.

PHOTOS BY FREDRIK ETOALL

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LIFESTYLE

[OPENING SPREAD] HOUSE OF FLORA SHIRT, SANTOS KNITTED BEANIE SANTOS KNITTED BEANIE, CHAMBERS BY RZA STREET, WOODY TANK TOP, EDDY CHINO BLACK

FRY S/S SHIRT REGULAR FIT, CALDER BOARD SHORT, HAWAIWE BASEBALL CAP, THORPE LOW TOP

[LEFT]:59FIFTY OVERLAY WOOL SOLID, MAGNUS HOODED JACKET GREENER PASTURES, BOB CHINO CROCODILE, LAWRENCE LOW TOP WHITE. [RIGHT]:ON FIELD W 2 SNAPBACK, MAGNUS HOODED JACKET DARK SAPPHIRE, BOB CHINO ESTATE BLUE, LAWRENCE LOW TOP WHITE.

ON MY D#*K...

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS ON A HANG-OUT TIP PHOTOS & WORDS BY RICKY POWELL

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LIFESTYLE

[OPENING SPREAD] ELVIRA. GOTHIC CHICKS DIG ME. SHE’S ON MY DICK. CENTRAL PARK 1988 [THIS PAGE] TOP: KEITH HARING POSING HARD FOR ME. POP SHOP LAFAYETTE ST 1985.

BOTTOM: DON’T BOGART THE JOINT. RAEKWON, RZA, & GZA, LOS ANGELES 2006 [OPPOSITE PAGE] PITBULL OFF HIS LEASH. MIKE TYSON AT A PUBLIC ENEMY SHOW, THE NIGHT AFTER HIS INFAMOUS BEAT DOWN OF JAMES ‘BLOOD’ GREEN IN HARLEM 1989

[THIS PAGE] TOP: FAYE DUNAWAY. DANG. I BLEW IT. SHE COULD HAVE BEEN ULTIMATE FANTASY SUGAR MOMMY. 1988....[SHE KILLEDEDEDEDED IT IN ‘BONNIE & CLYDE’!].

BOTTOM: MY STINK BOMBS ARE THE LIFE OF EVERY HI-FALOOTIN’ PARTY. DEBI MAZAR, SANDRA BERNHARD, & MADONNA CRACKING IT UP AT AN AFTER PARTY FOR FUTURA’S SHOW 1988 [OPPOSITE PAGE] TOP: WHITE PEOPLE, PLEASE DON’T ROCK THIS OUTFIT. IT’S A BLACK THING. KRS ONE ON THE SET OF THE VIDEO ‘YOU MUST LEARN’. CORNER OF 10TH ST & AVENUE B, 1988 BOTTOM: I LOOKED UP TO HIM, AND HE WAS YOUNGER THAN ME. JAM MASTER JAY, HAMBURG GERMANY, ‘TOGETHER FOREVER TOUR’ 1987. [HIS SON TJ IS PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF]

[THIS PAGE] TOP: OH DIP... TIME TO GET LIFTED. BEASTIE BOYS LIVE IN AMSTERDAM AFTER VISITING SOME OF THEIR FINEST CAFE’S, 1987 [BY THE WAY, I WAS EATING THE DOPEST BAGEL WHEN I SHOT THIS. I’LL NEVER FORGET IT.] BOTTOM: A CLASSIC NEW YORKER/LEGEND. ZEPHYR, NYC 1993 [OPPOSITE PAGE] THIS WAS THE SUMMER I PLAYED ON HIS SOFTBALL TEAM CALLED THE ‘EAST VILLAGE ESCADRILLS’. WE USED TO PLAY AGAINST FAMOUS WEIRDOS. FUTURA 2000, NYC 1985... [BTW, I LOVE HIM. HE’S A WORLD CLASS GENTLEMAN].

PHOTOS

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NEIL CHESTER THESE KIDS IN BEIRUT WERE STRAINING TO CATCH A GLIMPSE OF A SKATE EVENT THAT WAS HAPPENING. I CAN’T HELP THINK THAT THEY’D NEVER SEEN SKATEBOARDING BEFORE.

PHOTOS

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NEAVE BOZORGI SUMMERTIME CLOTHES.

PHOTOS

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ROBIN NILSSEN LAST DAY OF OUR BERLIN TRIP THIS SUMMER. ERIC HAD NO PHOTOS FOR THE ARTICLE AND TIME WAS RUNNING OUT. HE TOLD ME HE HAD SEEN SOME TRANSITIONS FROM THE TAXI NEAR THE AIRPORT. HE WAS NOT SURE THAT THEY WERE SKATEABLE, BUT WE TOOK A CHANCE AND IT PAYED OFF.

PHOTOS

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ALANA PATERSON PRETTY GIRLS HOLDING DEAD OR GROSS STUFF IS NOT A PROJECT OF MINE. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO RUN WITH THAT THEY SHOULD.

PHOTOS

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JESSICA MILLER RYAN’S GROW ROOM. MAINE 2012.

PHOTOS

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RYAN SCHUDE PART OF A WORK IN PROGRESS SERIES ABOUT PEOPLE AND THEIR CARS. THIS IS JENNY MESSER AND HER 1980 SUBARU BRAT. SILVERLAKE, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

PHOTOS

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TED NEWSOME A DRINK INVITE WENT ALL NIGHT; THE SUN CAME UP AND MY FRIEND’S AMEX WENT DOWN. THE NEXT DAY MY DAUGHTER AND I PLAYED IN THE ROOM WHILE HER MOM AND A FRIEND DRANK POOLSIDE; THEIR BAR TAB WAS $666 AND MY DAUGHTER WAS NOT MAD AT ME. LA PETIT ERMITAGE, WEST HOLLYWOOD 05/27/12.

PHOTOS

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NATHAN PERKEL JON FINUCAN SLAMING WHILE TRYING A FRONSIDE TAILSLIDE. NEW YORK CITY 2011.

DANIEL JOSEPH

[110]

SECRET LANDSCAPE VOL. #4 PHOTO BY DANIEL JOSEPH

I’

m listening to “Panama” as I write this.

We found a black hole in the middle of the woods on the side of a hill. It was my sister, some older red headed hesher dude we knew, and me. Ages being: 11,13,9. We always used to roam around like retards in the acres behind our farm house. I forget how we knew the hesher. I remember he used to claim that “The Greatest American Hero” was based on his life. He told us he could secretly fly. We really wanted to believe him. His dad used to beat him pretty bad. He wore a trench coat. We were always exploring and looking for bones and shit. Lost treasures, dead corpses, gnome villages, and viking poop. We survived on bubble gum from a pouch and orange astronaut drank. Total wizard quest.

It was 57 acres of land to trample around on.

Our own Middle-earth. We thought we were clever kids that read clever books, but I think we were just dumb and bored and looking to escape any sort of reality involving adults and adulthood. I guess we related to the hesher because our dad was a dick too. Our mother was great and sweet and stuff, but parents are parents and we were young. When we were out there, out in the woods, the nerdy escapist fantasies really had a way of taking over all things other. A way of distancing ourselves from any and all hostility. Many a picnic was organized, many an epic journey was had.

On this day in early fall, we had ventured further than we usually would. Not out of fearlessness or invisible armor, but from bad sense of direction and wrong turns. It was getting later in the day and the light was starting to shift slightly. Our earlier premature optimism of finding something awesome was starting to wane, and we started to get punchy and our fantasy

“WE THOUGHT WE WERE CLEVER KIDS THAT READ CLEVER BOOKS, BUT I THINK WE WERE JUST DUMB AND BORED AND LOOKING TO ESCAPE ANY SORT OF REALITY INVOLVING ADULTS AND ADULTHOOD.”

wheels started to fall off. Just as we were about to turn around and retrace our steps, an almost eerie stillness came over our fumbling and rustling. The hesher pointed and said, “Yo dinkus, you see that?” My sister dug her nails into my arm at the exact same time I saw it too. It was a tunnel. A perfect cartoon circle about ten feet in circumference. An Acme hole, possibly made

by Smurfs.

beating up pegacorns on the other side was hemorrhaging heavily in the sticky blackness of our kid fears. We were on the verge of group panic, wordlessly shake moving along the edge.

All I could hear was heavy breathing and chests heaving. We were in the shit.

This was major whoa. Our terror switched to inarticulate excitement and back again. There was a rhythm and a bounce to it all as if our bodies swayed and pulled with new feelings that far transcended our elementary school whatevers. We were totally into it. We knew it was a tunnel and we knew there was another side even though we couldn’t see much of anything past the first five feet of the darkness, but there was a cool, damp breeze pushing through. We all figured we had some sort of magical powers and that at the moment of truth, our true strength would emerge and destroy all monsters. We all looked at each other, threw up our gang signs and said, “fuggit” and got to the D&D shit.

Still we moved. Still we pushed on. I don’t know how long this went on for, but at some point in all the panic, we saw a sliver of light. Just enough. Enough to hope on and build up a lil’ courage. That’s always the way. Just enough to get you through. We edged along quicker now, but still cautious. It was still an emo show, building momentum as we choked back hysterics.

The light got bigger and bigger and it felt like sun, not like afterlife. The tunnel opened up to a large field of high dry golden grass overlooking a valley. The sun was just starting to set and the whole view looked all art page in the yearbook.

We could feel the full glory of the breeze now as the trees swayed in time and the wind patterns moved like schools of fish through the high grass. We rolled around in the field, wrastlin’, laughing at hesher’s dumb mom jokes and ate our straight-up Fluffernutter sandwiches.

We stayed close together as we started along the moss covered walls. Our little hands splayed, tembling, and moving. We inched along close so close with our backs hunched to the curvature of the wall. The tunnel itself seemed to curve slightly to the left. Hesher was in front, me in the middle and my sister in the back. The further we got inside the tunnel, the stronger the breeze became. The further we got, the darker it got as the light from the entrance point got smaller and smaller, until we could no longer see it at all. No light from either end. Pitchpitch black and the muffle of being under earth. The smell was thick and we could hear wet things moving around in the dark. Our spastic dreams of gorging ourselves on gumdrop trees and

At some point a silence fell over us as if the heroic act of our day and the enormity of our actions finally had sunk in. Plus, it was getting late and we had to be getting back to all those things we didn’t want to get back to.

We weren’t immune to everything. Super geek powers and pretend fearlessness don’t always save the day. We all stood up together still saying nothing and smiled at each other with mad love, false hope, and eternally unfinished business. We held hands in a circle and then in a line and yelped a war cry in manic delight and ran full speed back into that great black tunnel.

We hauled ass through that bitch and screamed all the way home. Dinner was waiting and my dad was angry.

*

[111]

VOICE No.1

MEMORIES AND DREAMS OF YOUNGER HAIR

JOEY ELGERSMA

[112]

I WISH I WAS A MAILMAN PHOTO BY DANIEL J. ASHES

D

reamy bro, I feel wavy. You wake up, it’s dark. You get out of your cubicle, its dark again. You think you’re superman, because you ran an extra mile.

Dude what’s wrong with you. I can’t explain. Or can I?

You constantly get confronted with that feeling of needing more challenges in life.

Nothing is good enough; you get bored out within 2 minutes.

You know you have the attention span of a crippled donkey.

You have the feeling you’ve seen it all. You’ve fucked it all.

Running around like you just snorted several double espressos through your nose. You feel untouchable. King of the world, baby!

What’s my new assignment? Let me crush this.

I’m on it motherfucker. #leggo Quickly that feeling changes into: Can I do this?

Am I good enough? Will anybody understand me?

Am I talking too fast, maybe too complicated?

Are people actually listening?

“Wow, have you seen this? That shit is good- my stuff needs to be better. I want it to blow minds”.

Do I actually matter? Who matters anyway?

How many un-followers do I have today?

--You cannot sit still, you are craving inspiration.

You want to work harder, be more efficient, and experience even nicer outcomes. Produce.

Make yourself count, become a person that indeed matters. Someone that wins people’s hearts- wins that game in the last second.

Be that industry cat with the Supreme effect or employee of the month that kills more accounts

“DON’T GET THIS WRONG, THIS VOICE IS NOT TALKING ABOUT MONEY. FUCK GREEN. MONEY IS AS RELEVANT AS LIL’ WEEZY ON HIS SK8BOARD.”

than all your colleagues. How you like me now?

You notice days pass by as quickly as the 1000 pages you are browsing through in an hour.

Week by week, whilst you’re still sitting there wondering where the weekend has gone. Shit, the world and pace we’re living in today really don’t help either. It can push, but can also paralyze you in an instant, without you even noticing it.

Every day, you get confronted with more beautiful people that indeed seem to work harder, are more successful, deliver better results.

Don’t get this wrong, this voice is not talking about money. Fuck green. Money is as relevant as lil’ Weezy on his sk8board.

I am talking about the fast overload of information your brain cells need to cope with in anno 2012.

It frustrates people, makes them scared, and also even though I wish it was differentit just isn’t.

Dealing with these personal obligations, your own clutch moments aren’t easy. You don’t measure your ambition with that random potato head that lives on your block.

Today’s generation has the mind-state of constantly setting new, higher goals. Which are marked by greed, power, prestige or even sex.

Most of the time these goals are jacked, shared and compared trough the social channels of your digital bitch. All good, but confusing as fuck.

Why? Let me ask you this: Do you still know what you, yes YOU- really want? Do you still have dreams, similar ones like you had them when you were a kid?

Those pure visual ones that nobody else made or chewed up for you, the ones that don’t need comments or likes on instagram. Those uncon-

ditional ones. The simple ones. A world without further complications, just going back to the essence of happiness.

Wouldn’t it be great if after a long day, your mind stopped working over hours & you could be happy with just being the mailman?

*

[113]

VOICE No.2

YES WE CAN. OBAMA & ME IN OHIO, 2007

ERIK FAGERLIND

[114]

TRADESHOW WAR-STORIES PHOTOS BY ERIK FAGERLIND

I

t is trade show season again. We have done a few trips over the years, some more memorable than others. The first time me and Peter went to Bread & Butter in Berlin, we booked our hotel through American Express travel service. You would think they would know where to stay… It was the January show – so the weather sucked of course.

We flew in on the afternoon and went straight to a meeting with Adidas. They were throwing a party that evening, and that might have been the real reason for us going.

When I called AMEX to ask them to help me find a good and cheap hotel in Berlin, all I knew was that the adidas party was supposed to be in Mitte. Amex went on and gave me a couple of extremely pricy options, and as we were only supposed to stay for one day plus we didn’t really have any money to spend on hotels, I asked them if they could find a cheaper hotel.

And that they did…

When it was time for us to check in, we looked at a map to find the nearest subway station. On the Subway map, it didn’t really look that close to Mitte. And it wasn’t. We got out on our stop and started to walk towards the hotel. Berlin looked greyer than ever. On the way we passed a couple of abandoned buildings a few of them occupied by 15-18 year old kids. Our hotel was in the building next to that.

It was apparent that we had found the cheapest place to stay in Berlin. But Peter and I are no strangers to modest accommodations since our travels to New York in early Sneakersnstuff history. Back then we used to stay at the cheapest spot (YMCA) for the first 2-3 nights while we were scouting New York for the best deal we could get on Air Force 1’s and Dunks.

The marks on the door posts from all the previ-

“IF YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU WILL HAVE TO SHARE A ROOM WITH SOMEONE, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE A BIT MORE DRUNK THAN THE PERSON OR PERSONS THAT YOU ARE TO SHARE THE ROOM WITH.”

ous break-ins had us usually leaving the door unlocked. The last two nights we would move to the cheapest place we could find without marks on the door post and run around town to pick up what we had found.

So, how bad could a hostel in Berlin be?

We went to the check-in counter and started to register...

“Would you like to have towels?”

“Ehh, yes?”

“That’s 2 euros extra” “Hmm, ok…”

“Would you like to have soap” “What?”

“That’s 2 euros extra” “Well, we might need soap…”

“Would you like to have toilet paper” “Now come on…”

I am not kidding. They charged two euros extra for everything. Pillows, sheets, towels – you name it. If you wanted it in your room – two euros extra. But the rooms were still extremely cheap as it was 25 euros for the both of us – plus the extra 10 euros for towels, soap, toilet paper (didn’t want to risk it), pillows and sheets.

So we were still game.

“Ok, enjoy your stay” “The two guys you are sharing room with have already checked in and are in the room”… That was crossing the line though. None of us were in the mood of sharing rooms with some dudes from wherever.

So we figured we would have to find another hotel, maybe even closer to civilization. So we told them they could keep their toilet paper, grabbed our bags and took a cab to mitte.

But, it was trade show season and we could not find any available hotels in our price range at all.

And it was raining and it was cold, so trying to

stay out all night was not an option. On the way into the party we had to call back to the hostel that God forgot. “How late can we check in?”

This has become something of a rule to me. If you might find yourself in a situation where you will have to share room with someone, you have to make sure that you are a bit more drunk than the person or persons that you are to share the room with. If you are the less drunk person you will probably not sleep at all, plus be extremely annoyed with the person that is more drunk than you. And as the adidas party had an open bar that wasn’t going to be a problem.

4.30 in the morning is still an early night in Berlin, but I and Peter had an 11 something flight home the next day so we stumbled back into the check in area of the hostel. “would you like to have soap?” “no” “sheets?” “no” “pillow?” “no, and you can keep your toilet paper and towels as well” “very well, the two girls you are sharing room with are already in the room so please try to be as quiet as possible when you enter” That was unexpected. We had been drinking hard all night just to be sure that we were more drunk than the dudes from wherever. And now they had put us in a room with two girls from New Zeeland. We scared the crap out of them when we completely failed on entering the room quietly. But they were kind enough to lend us their 2 euro soap and toilet paper, so I washed up before I fell asleep with my clothes on. In retrospect, sheets would have been worth it.

Those mattresses had seen some tough times. ... It would take me a few more years before I joined any more trade shows’ travels.

*

[115]

VOICE No.3

BERLIN JANUARY 2004 [COLLAGE EDITED BY THUNDER]

STEREO SKATEBOARDS WORDS BY CHRIS PASTRAS [CO-FOUNDER] PHOTO BY ARTO SAARI

[116]

[117]

INSPIRATION

My original idea for this ‘Inspiration’ page was to shoot some of my favorite artbooks and books about artists who have had an influence on the creative direction of our company Stereo, and on myself artistically. The whole time though, I couldn’t help but feel that a photo of books was just lifeless, and quite frankly, fucking boring. About that same time I went to skate Arto’s pool in Hollywood, he shot a photo of me, and BOOM! Hey, it’s just a carve grind but it felt damn good. Great in fact.

As much as the cool books and amazing artists inspire me, nothing inspires me and keeps me going with Stereo more than the act of a good session with the bros. I’ve been in this industry since I got sponsored in 1986, and skateboarding is the heart and soul of it ALL. It’s been the one constant in all of this.

If you are a skateboarder and involved in this industry, you owe it to yourself to get out and ride. Keep living, stay inspired, and get out and grind! See you in 2013!

BERLIN [GERMANY] WORDS BY JOANNA SCHRÖDER PHOTO BY ROBIN ÅHLGREN [PANORAMIC OPENER]

[118]

CITY GUIDE

[119]

BERLIN [GERMANY] - It is never the first impression of Berlin that makes you want to stay.

Not even the second, maybe the third. Berlin is harsh, cold and not necessarily good looking: it is a rough diamond. The city that used to be divided in two is more separated than people think. From Kiez to Kiez (German word for neighborhood) the city differs in colour, style, culture, sub-culture, music, language and flair.

Berlin’s history is not what makes it special – it is Berlin’s new heritage of the last few years.

Berlin has been growing since the fall of the

wall and its residents have been reshaping the city ever since.

Like thousands of people everyday you can go on a tourist journey and visit historical places such as the Museum Island, the Brandenburger Tor, the Jewish Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie and a lot more. Thus, what distinguishes Berlin from other big cities are those hidden places you rather randomly bump into. Day or night.

Starting your day at a cosy café in your Kiez, followed by a walk in one of the many parks or on the riverside ending in a night club like

Berghain, where dark and deep techno sounds make your body move, you will probably end up going out by sunrise and sit at the same Café you went to 24 hours before.

What in some cities would be considered as another weekend turns out to be a whole journey through the most vibrant and colourful places, spaces and different faces of Berlin. It is like a playground where everyone can find his or her new self through the experiences that the city offers. [And by the way: Don’t worry about German, everyone speaks English anyways.]

CITY GUIDE

RESTAURANTS Das Lokal Linienstraße 160 10115 Berlin +49 30 284 495 00 Nest Speise- & Schankwirtschaft Görlitzer Str. 52 10997 Berlin +49 30 627 357 87 The Bird Am Falkplatz 5 10435 Berlin +49 30 510 532 83 Manouche Grimmstraße.23 10967 Berlin NIGHTTIME Cookies Friedrichstraße 158 10117 Berlin +49 30 280 88 06 Prince Charles Prinzenstrasse 85f 10969 Berlin LNG / Lining bar Tucholskystraße 34, 10117 Berlin +49 178 7130989‎ About Blank Marktgrafendamm 24c 10245 Berlin aboutparty.net

PRINCE CHARLES

[120]

Wilde Renate Alt-Stralau 70 10245 Berlin +49 30 2504-1426 Kater Holzig Michaelkirchstraße. 23 10179 Berlin +49 30-51 05 21 34 Farbfernseher Skalitzerstr.144 10999 Berlin CULTURE [+ EVENTS] Neue Nationalgalerie Potsdamer Straße 50 10785 Berlin +49 30 266424242 Hamburger Bahnhof Invalidenstr. 50 10557 Berlin +49 30 39783411 Boros Bunker (personal art collection of Christian Boros) Bunker, Reinhardtstr. 20 10117 Berlin-Mitte sammlung-boros.de/bunker-berlin.html Teufelsberg (old American Spy Station) Teufelseechaussee 14193 Berlin abandonedberlin.com

SHOPS Civilist Brunnenstraße 13 10119 Berlin +49 30 856 107 15 Das Neue Schwarz Mulackstrasse 38 10119 Berlin +49 30 278 744 67 Firmament Linienstraße 40 10119 Berlin +49 30 498 086 76 Soto Torstraße 72 10119 Berlin +49 30 257 620 70 Butcher’s Bar Torstr. 116 10119 Berlin +49 (0)17664328330 Voo Store Oranienstr. 24 10999 Berlin +49 30 616 511 19 Doyoureadme?!

Auguststr.28 10115 Berlin +49 30 69549695

Summer Open-Air Events facebook.com/OpenAirBerlin

25 Books Brunnenstraße 152 10115 Berlin +49 30 43735707

VOO

DOYOUREADME?!

CITY GUIDE

[121]

TOP TO BOTTOM: FIRMAMENT, BOROS BUNKER, BUTCHER’S BAR

TOP TO BOTTOM: OPEN-AIR BERLIN, DAS NEUE SCHWARZE

TOP TO BOTTOM: SOTO, LNG/LINING BAR

LOCATIONS

[122]

French Fred is obviously French, and for that reason, plus the fact that he is one of our talented WeActivists who’s excelling in photography and art, we thought it’d be great to do a small exhibition with Fred in the new WeSC HOSSEGOR Store! With his photographs on display, his infamous decks as well as other work, the store looked amazing - as always when French Fred is involved. [photos: FRENCH FRED]

[123]

LOCATIONS FOLLOW US: facebook.com/superlativeconspiracy twitter.com/WeSC1999

LOCATIONS

[124]

WeActivist Timbuktu is one of the most loved musicians and people of Scandinavia, and we can actually say that with confidence and without exaggerating. Ten years ago Timbuktu linked up with the band Damn! and together they’ve been making music and entertaining ever since. This November the guys celebrated their TIMBUKTU & DAMN! 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY and WeSC was happy to get involved with hosting the pre-party at the WeSC JAKOBSBERGSGATAN Store, and after party at KLUBB VARDAGSRUMMET for the crew and our friends. It was definitely one of the more entertaining nights we’ve had in a while... [photos: NIKLAS SKOGLUND]

[125]

LOCATIONS FOR MORE IMAGES & VIDEO: wesc.com

RELEASE

[126]

HHHHHH

COMING SOON HHHHHHHHHH unchainedmovie.com facebook.com/unchainedmovie twitter.com/UnchainedMovie

INSTAGRAMS

[128]

This past year has seen some changes in social media, especially with Instagram becoming our (and trillions of other peoples) latest addiction. It’s impossible to spend time doing something/anything without documenting it or looking for what your peeps are up to. So we thought we’d collect some of our WeActivists snaps from this past year - and don’t miss to follow them on insta.

@FAIRFAX

@OSCARMEZZZA

@AKADUNE

@CLINTSCORNER

@BAINZITO

@KIMKA_ISIS

@LUNICE

@VANESSAPRAGER

@BIGSLEEPDOG

@STEEDLORD

@TONYMANFRE

@CARLOMONDAVI

The name We Are The Superlative Conspiracy [WeSC] comes from the sense of unity that has always been exceptional in the skateboarding community - the creativity, the attitude and the people is what laid the foundation of WeSC. Founded by five guys with a background in skate- and snowboarding, WeSC set out to be a brand that would be a mix of streetwear and fashion; where elements of cultures such as skateboarding, art and music would be combined with fashionable design to create products that caters to the streetfashion consumer.

The cornerstones of WeSC are punk mentality, creativity, community and having fun - it’s about going your own way, being proud of that and be creative.

This is something that has been WeSC’s mission since day one and which is applied to all parts of the brand: the staff, the people, the stores, the design and the way we are. With activities in arts, skateboarding, snowboarding, music, acting, producing and more on a daily basis, we are proud to say that we live our brand - the WeSC way: it’s not a brand that makes clothing, it’s a lifestyle that we all enjoy and with/for causes that we support. Creativity at its’ finest.

© 2013 We International AB All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner in any media, or transmitted by any means whatsoever, electronic or mechanical (including photocopy, film or video recording, internet posting or any other information storage and retrieval system) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Made in Sweden by WeSC Karlavägen 108, Stockholm, Sweden tel. +46 8 46 50 50 00 www.wesc.com facebook.com/superlativeconspiracy twitter.com/WeSC1999 instagram: WeSC1999

CEO: GREGER HAGELIN GLOBAL BRAND DIRECTOR: THOMAS FLINN GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGER: HANNA LUNDGREN GLOBAL PR & WEB MANAGER: DANIELLE KRASSE EXECUTIVE ART DIRECTOR: TONY ARCABASCIO ART DIRECTOR: SIMON MÅRTELIUS DOWNLOADABLE APP BY

WeSC, www.wesc.com, WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy AND ‘THE ICON’ ARE REGISTRATED TRADEMARKS OF WE INTERNATIONAL AB®

WE A R E T HE S U PE R L AT I V E C O N S PI R A C Y www. we s c. co m

2013