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Photo Davide Biondani

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Harry Lintell / Crooks in Machester, UK. Photo: Reece Leung.

As usual this isn’t a spot you’d look at or notice. While out skating with Joe Gavin and Harry Lintell in Manchester we were on the way to a spot and Harry starting looking at this ‘kicker’ to box. It was basically from flat and Harry just starting to noseslide it. He landed it fairly quickly then decided to try and crook it. In typical Harry fashion he did it within 10 minutes and we were off to the actual intended spot which we wanted to skate. This is a classic example of how ridiculous Harry is, he can be skating down the street and just do something very hard in the most chilled manner.

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Eastern Exposure 3 / Underachievers was released in 1996 and is (in my personal opinion) the best skateboard video ever made... for its mood and taste, featured skaters, and the era during which it came out. Skateboarding was just so underground, innocent, and pure back then. If you were a skateboarder in those years you were probably one of only a handful in your city, but the energy was magical because you felt that skateboarding was resurrecting and was also so underground and real at the same time. You felt part of something really special. This video is a perfect snapshot of that time period and of the spirit of skateboarding between 1994 and 1998. It was undoubtedly the best time in skateboarding, and was an era (and a video) that is still influencing its trends today; from videos, to the way people dress, to the clothing brands people like, to its aesthetics and design. In a recent interview released by The Chromeball Incident, Dan Wolfe, who is the mind and arm behind EE3 said, “In the 90s, how could a parent really see a future in skateboarding? That’s why I felt like an underachiever.” This perfectly sums up skateboarders’ feelings in 1996. Seeing where skateboarding is at today, I can proudly say: “We were damn right!” (Davide Biondani)

2018

WWW.CARHARTT-WIP.COM ANDREW WILSON — OLLIE TO 50-50 • PHOTO — ALEXANDRE PIRES

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Fragments

Shades of lilac Nora Vasconcellos

01 Seoul

02 03

Through the eyes of Cian Eades

04 Nights in Bordeaux Diving into the darkness with P.J Chapuis

05 With Pepe, Mattia, Aref & Martino

November in Barcelona

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Pietro BontĂ - bs smith / ph: Federico Casella

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a brief glance | year VIII n°51

EDITOR and CONCEPT_ Davide Biondani. {davide@abriefglance.com} ASSOCIATE EDITOR_ Guido Bendotti. {guido@abriefglance.com} ASSISTANT EDITOR_ Andrew Zolin. TRANSLATIONS_ Jonathan Levin. PHOTOGRAPHERS_ Leo Sharp, Jonathan Mehring, DVL, Craig Dodds, Brian Gaberman, Marcello Guardigli, Davide Biondani, André Lucat, Robert Christ, Reece Leung, Clément Le Gall, Sebastiano Bartoloni, Fred Mortagne, Joel Peck, John Finucane, Henry Kingsford, Cameron Markin. CONTRIBUTORS_ Francesco Paolo Chielli, Mario Torre, Mark Baines. DESIGN_ M. Bod Ciceri {Question Mark, ink!#?} GET ALL THE INFO at: info@abriefglance.com

Thanks to Canon Italia for the support.

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Raffaele Pola [ Ollie ] / Photo_Davide Biondani [ Canon ] a brief glance

Chet Childress ....................................... Chur Adam Keys.................................... Barcelona Andre Gherlich .................................. OsnabrĂźck Lucien Genand..................................... Geneve

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Chet Childress Fs lip Chur, Switzerland Photo Cameron Markin

Adam Keys

Photo Craig Dodds

Fakie tucknee Barcelona, Spain

Lucien Genand Wallie Geneve, Switzerland Photo Sebastiano Bartoloni

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Photo Robert Christ

Andre Gerlich

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Ollie

OsnabrĂźck, Germany

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Nora Vasc once llos

Shades of Lilac Photography Davide Biondani [ Canon ] Interview Guido Bendotti.

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Hi Nora, how are you? I’m good, how you doin’?

Fine thanks, in the last two years it seems that you’ve finally got what you deserve, after the “Nora” documentary… Yes, thank you. It’s more than I could ever imagine. It looks like you’re the ambassador of female skateboarding.

I don’t know if I’m the ambassador, I’m one of many with girls like Alexis Sablone, Elissa Steamer, Lacey Baker, my roommate Nicole Hause. Elissa is definitely a hero to us. There are so many “ambassadors,” and we’re all different, but we love the same thing. What’s the most boring or obnoxious question that everybody asks you?

Well… hmmm.. Why I like to skateboard... I’m like, “I don’t know, why not??” Ha ha ha ha. One thing that I really appreciate about you, is that for the first time we have a girl that skates, and skates well, and she doesn’t conform to the guys. You like to dance and

sing, you love pop songs, well, you like things that girls like! Don’t you think that

sometimes skateboarding and skateboarders can be too serious?

Yeah, it can be very sterile and exclusive, I don’t like that. I think that skateboarding is for everybody, and for me it’s just an outlet, so I’m just gonna do what I feel in the moment, and what I like to do.

Do you have a song in the playlist you’re ashamed of? Like mine is Toxic by Britney. Ha ha ha ha!

A terrible song for sure. Last one... what do

you think about the Olympics?

I think the Olympics are good for us. That’s a good one.

I hope that the skateboarding federation will

Well... probably linger by The Cranberries, that’s

continue to try to protect skateboarding in its

one of my top ones.

purest form, and I think that events like the Vans Park Series are doin’ a great job with that.

Well... bad songs.

We have to continue to put skateboarders first, and I think everybody’s seen it today with Oski.

Oh... let me think, Machine Gun Kelly and the

I think we have to keep creating events like this,

song is Wild Boys, ha ha ha.

and bring skateboarding together, rather than pushing it out ‘cause it doesn’t fit some mold.

Nora Vasc once llos a brief glance

[through the eyes of Cian Eades]

Photography John Finucane // Interview Davide Biondani.

[ through the eyes of Cian Eades ]

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Hi Cian, how are you? Last time we

met we were in Milan during a DC trip. It was some years ago, are you still riding for DC Shoes and living in Ireland? All is good, yeah I’m still living

in Ireland. I moved in with my girlfriend last year, we got a nice crib beside the skatepark in Limerick. I’m still riding for DC, only a few of us left at the moment. James (Bush) left this year to ride for Es, and I think Dylan (Hughes) went to Adidas. Things are a little slow at the moment but hopefully there will be some tours or other plans in the near future.

How did you end up in Seoul?

So basically a good friend of mine and amazing photographer, John Finucane, moved to Seoul 6 or 7 years ago to teach English and skate. He set up an Instagram page called ‘’Seoul Skate Spots’’, every day he would post up some crazy spots, untouched marble plazas, stairs, rails, banks etc. It started as one of those things where I was like, “ah man, I gotta come over to visit you and skate those spots.” We kept having these conversations back and forth until I was like, “fuck this I’m gonna just book a flight.”

How long did you stay?

We stayed for two weeks, which felt like nothing! I think you almost need a month or two there to skate even half of the spots, there are just so many! Luckily three of my friends came with me, Luke Shortt, Danny Shortt, and Jamie Fairbrother. The furthest they had travelled prior to that was Barcelona so it was a cool experience for them, completely out of the norm.

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[ switch heelflip ]

Seoul sounds interesting, I’ve never

been there but it’s probably very different from Ireland… what are the main differences between where you live and South Korea?

I heard that your journey didn’t start in

the best of ways and you lost 500 Euros. What happened?

Ugh... yeah that wasn’t a good start to the trip. I’m Yeah, Seoul is definitely very different from Ireland,

pretty sure I lost it in Istanbul when we were get-

but at the same time it’s probably the most west-

ting our connection flight, but I contacted Turkish

ernised country in Asia, so a lot of people speak

Airlines, the duty free, and the lost & found and

English or at least they are learning it so they want

unfortunately nothing was found. Six-hundred Eu-

to practise and converse with you. Hmmm... well,

ros and all my cards gone before I even landed in

for one Seoul is the 4th richest city in the world, the

Seoul. Thank God for online banking though, I just

place is thriving with people 24/7.

transferred some cash to my friend’s account and he sorted me out whenever I was low on funds, thanks

I come from Limerick, a small town in the south

Danny!

of Ireland so even visiting Dublin is hectic for me, Seoul was on another level. Public transport is very efficient, always on time and very reliable, the stops

How is Seoul to skate? What kind of stuff

can you find there?

are written in Korean, Japanese, and English, so it’s actually quite easy to get used to. Drugs are

There are so many spots, I’d say we only got to skate

super illegal, they are illegal in Ireland too but no-

10% of the spots there. There were so many spots

body gives a fuck, ha ha. But South Korea has very

I wanted to hit up but we just didn’t have the time

harsh laws. We’re talking jail time or deportation for

and the weather wasn’t on our side for most of the

smoking a joint.

trip. But yeah, literally any kind of spot you can think of, Seoul has it! The first night we were all really jet-

What impressed you the most about the

city? What did you like the most and what less?

lagged, so John (Finucane) brought us for a cruise around the city to check some spots and on the way we were passing spots he had never seen before.

I would have to say the spots were what I liked the most, everything is new and untouched and be-

The city is developing non-stop. It’s so populated

cause skateboarding is relatively new in South Ko-

that they built a new city 20 mins away by metro

rea security don’t really know how to handle it. The

called Incheon to house more people, and with a

food was amazing, I am a fussy eater so I was a bit

new city come even more spots, it’s nuts!

anxious at first, but like I said they are very westernised so they have everything. To be honest, I’m trying to think of what I liked the least, but it’s hard,

How is the skate scene? Did you get a

chance to meet some locals?

Seoul really is an amazing city... maybe the lack of trashcans, I remember so many occasions carrying

The scene is small but it’s growing. Not a lot of

rubbish with me for blocks before I’d find a bin. Not

skateparks and the ones they do have aren’t really

the worst of complaints I suppose, ha ha.

that good, but with the street spots they have who needs skateparks?! We skated with some guys from

Any “culture-shock” for you? Ha ha…

the Vans Korea team, they were nice and friendly, their English wasn’t great but we were able to com-

Yeah, chopsticks and electronic toilets, they were all

municate with them on some level, they also had a

new experiences for me, ha ha. Apart from that not

strict “no wax” policy at their local spot which we

too much, it’s pretty easy to get by in Seoul.

found quite weird, ha ha.

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Would you recommend the city for a

skateboard trip?

I would recommend it 110% for people to go on a trip to South Korea, especially now while it’s not blown out. You won’t regret it! There were other cities we didn’t get to visit like Busan and Daegu that are also full of untouched spots. Even though they have strict drug laws, alcohol is available 24/7, so it’s not like you can’t have any fun while you’re there.

Apart from skating how is the way of life

in general in South Korea?

From what I was told kids have it rough, they attend school from 8am-3pm and then attend some after school study program for 3-4 hours, and then attend evening school until 10 or 11pm for 5 days a week. Some kids if not most, also have some weekend classes too, so not much time to really skate or even live for that matter. Military service is mandatory for 2-3 years, but you can do it at any age after 18, I think. So yeah, parents have a lot of expectations of their children which puts a lot of pressure on them.

It rained a lot during your stay, what did

you do to occupy your time?

Yeah, it rained a lot, and I’m from Ireland, ha ha. We just had bad luck really, June/July is normally really good weather-wise, the luck of the Irish, eh? Ha ha... We would spend most of our time walking around Hongdae (main tourist street) buying random crap for our girlfriends, bowling, or hanging out in the arcades. I’m not crazy into football but the World Cup was on at the time so we would head to a bar to watch a game or back to the Airbnb to stare at our phones for hours.

[ bennett grind ]

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How is nightlife in the city? Did you no-

tice any popular trends?

What’s your best memory of this trip? Too many memories to pick from... Definitely John telling this Korean guy that he looked Chinese, that

The nightlife is good if you’re into that sort of thing.

was a good one! Ha ha.

I’m more of a ‘street beers’ kinda guy so we didn’t go out too much, but the city is packed at all times. You see all these business men in suits absolutely

Are you working on any skate-related

projects at the moment? What’s next for you?

smashed (or pretzeled was the term we used), just passed out on benches from drinking too much

Yeah, I’m working on some projects at the moment.

Soju. Young Koreans are really trendy, they’re into

I have a RedBull part that should be out this month

fashion and what’s cool big time. Supreme is mas-

at some point, and I’m currently filming for a Santa

sive over there, it’s all fake but it’s good quality and

Cruz EU clip. Couple of trips in the next few months.

cheap. Literally every second person is rocking

Hopefully going to go back to Seoul next year too,

some knock-off Supreme smog mask or fanny pack.

this time I’ll take extra care of my wallet! Ha ha.

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[ bs 180 to switch fs crooks ]

Photography ClĂŠment Le Gall

It all started randomly from the phone call of a friend telling photographer ClĂŠment Le Gall about a temporary spot he had noticed while heading home after work, and it became a full article shot entirely in the quiet nights of Bordeaux, France. Skating and shooting photos at night is magical; the silence, the colors, the mood, the noise of the board slapping into the cold concrete wall. At night everything has a special taste.

[ FS WALLRIDE ]

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[ WALLRIDE NOLLIE OUT ]

P.J. Chapuis - skateboarder. The idea of doing something only by night with Clément came up the day we shot the nosegrind on the trash container at place des Capucins (which is a popular neighbourhood of Bordeaux). I remember it was a day nobody really wanted to go skate… until a friend of mine calls me and tells me about the spot. He was going home from work when he saw this trash container that wasn’t placed correctly inside its hole, making it a perfect metal ledge. Knowing that by the next day the spot wouldn’t exist anymore we decided to head there and skate the thing. Clément shot the picture using a long exposure and we both really liked the atmosphere it was giving the photo so we decided to keep shooting long exposures by night. Skating by night in Bordeaux is pretty much mandatory. By this I mean that lots of spots can’t be skated during the day or even on Sundays. So if you really want to skate them your only option is by night. For instance, the wallride (with the metal gate) is a spot you can’t skate during the day. It’s located in Meriadeck (Bordeaux’s downtown) right under some offices so all the workers park their bikes and motorbikes on the run-up. Another thing I truly like about going out skateboarding at night is that you really discover the city from another point of view. Aesthetically, everything has another aspect by night. It changes your whole perception, for the skater but also for the photographer. The streets are empty, there is less traffic and less annoying pedestrians getting in your way. You really have complete access to the whole city. It might be kinda paradoxical since skateboarding is really noisy, but I like how calm a city can get during the night and I guess I kinda like being the chaos element of a calm evening.

[ FS NOSEGRIND ]

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[ FS FEEBLE ]

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Clèment Le Gall - photographer.

There are a lot reasons why I love shooting in the city at night. Once the sun goes down, it’s like you have full creative control. It’s like you have a big studio where you can choose what you want to light up and use your flashes and create exactly what you want. I also love the contrast of darkness and artificial lights on shops and buildings around the city. When you introduce your own artificial lights, that’s when you can bring total focus to the subject. When I say you can create exactly what you want, it’s not 100% true actually, because there is always a random part you can’t really control if you start to play with a long exposure on your camera. Basically any element in the background that is not flashed and is in motion will give you a more or less random rendering which, in my opinion, makes this kind of photo interesting. Another reason why it’s nice to shoot at night, is obviously because most of the skate spots are empty. In Bordeaux for example, the business district of Meriadeck is the perfect place if you want to skate at night without being disturbed. It’s a treat when you’re a skateboard photographer to be able to express yourself without the stress of getting kicked out or something else! We started shooting these photos a bit randomly with PJ. Everything started from a first picture, that one where he does a nosegrind on the trashcan spot. I was working on it the next day and I realized that it would be interesting to make a series using the same criteria, namely PJ, Bordeaux, the night, and the movement!

[ EARLY GRAB MUTE DROP IN ]

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[ 5-0 GRIND ] a brief glance

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ondo is the northern terminus of the 1 line of the metro and is located in the district of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, which as a matter of fact is considered a residential neighborhood of Barcelona, as they are next to each other. Traditionally it is a poor town, it was famous in the 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for being a ghetto for junkies and a destination for immigrants, with a very high population density. It has always been multiethnic, an impression that is

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reinforced when passing through its narrow alleys that wind up a very steep hill, full of small Arab, South American, Chinese, and Pakistani shops and bazaars of all sorts. The steepness of the streets creates drops that become spots with a common denominator: the very high speeds you reach when skating them. Bobbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s idea was born from these premises, and immediately contaminated everyone: to explore the various areas of the neighborhood inch by inch in search of new spots using only our skateboards. It was the umpteenth mission to Barcelona, but far away from all the famous, super smooth spots this time; during the days we spent there we encountered very few skaters, if any at all.

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MATTIA TURCO [ NOSESLIDE TRANSFER TO BS REVERT INTO THE BANK ]

AREF KOUSHESH [ WALLRIDE MELON ]

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The weather: If Barcelona is the preferred destination for skaters from all over the world itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not only for the abundance of spots it has to offer, but also for its particularly favorable weather. We departed from a cold Milan accompanied by the usual grey and rainy autumn landscape, only to wake up the next morning at our arrival immersed in a beautiful, warm light. To be honest, the temperature was never quite summery, but the quality of the light was, allowing me to shoot photos without ever having to mount flashes. This gave us the opportunity to move around even more easily and to explore far and wide (or rather, high and low) the areas we had decided upon.

The food: It is a custom during skate tours to eat pretty much anything you find, and food usually becomes of secondary importance. But this was not the case here. The fact we stayed in an apartment allowed us to cook ourselves dinner every night, Bobby and I love to cook and each member of the crew always gave his own contribution: cous cous, vegetables, legumes prepared in every way, desserts, and liters of freely flowing beer made up a different menu every night. To be honest though, the culinary highlight was a roast chicken we bought at a deli that attracted our attention thanks to an endless queue outside. We ate it directly in the square without forks and knives, sitting on the ground and in pure gypsy style. A true delicacy.

MARTINO CATTANEO [ WALLIE INTO THE BANK ]

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The crew: The crew couldn’t have been more varied, with each member having a strong and well-defined personality, a recognizable style, and a personal and creative approach to skateboarding. Aref doesn’t just skate, he attacks spots aggressively, as if he wants to destroy everything he finds on his path with a destructive and uncontrollable fury. On the other hand, when you listen to him speak you realize that he’s a chill dude with a sensitive and reflective personality... the problem is he talks non-stop, he drains you with his words, he tells you all these stories until you’re exhausted. Pepe has the craziest tattoos in the world, he’s a figurative glutton, a fine observer, and his pastime is to translate his vision of reality into drawings thanks to his inseparable magic marker. His artistic spirit is mirrored in his approach to skateboarding, which is unusual, imaginative, and controversial. Unfortunately, during the days of my stay he was sickly and not able to fully express his potential, but he constantly kept the group’s morale high. Mattia’s talent on the board is indisputable, his pop is superhuman, the power with which he approaches the streets is his bonus weapon. But it is his positive character and ever-present smile that make him the perfect companion for a trip. The fact that he only stayed for five days because of work obligations pushed him to skate from morning till evening, giving his best with a concentration and a solidity that allowed him to bring home some really heavy tricks.

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PEPE TIRELLI [ PRESSURE FLIP INTO THE BANK ]

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Martino caught up with us at a later moment almost without notice, and it was a very welcomed surprise. To his calm, reflective, and never over the top character he juxtaposes a loose style and two very sensitive, magic feet: furthermore, he possesses the rare quality to be able to skate any terrain he encounters with an enviable spontaneity, from ledges, to manual pads, to the most killer bowls. Mattia Tommasoli AKA Tango was a discovery for me. We were born years apart and I had never met him before, and upon doing so I had the impression of being in the presence of a Yogi bear, but even more absent-minded, an impression that was confirmed by the fact that he often forgets things around... and doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always find them again. Anyhow, he puts a lot of passion into what he does, and you can tell by the â&#x20AC;&#x153;yeahsâ&#x20AC;? that emphasize every trick that is landed. Thanks to Vans for the support and to everybody for busting their ass!

MATTIA TURCO [ FS SMITH ]

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MATTIA TURCO [ OLLIE ]

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