TWEAK Skate Mag 04

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ELEMENT PRESENTS:

WAT E R P R O O F AN ELEMENT AUDIOVISUAL PROJECT F E AT U R I N G P H I L Z W I J S E N

E L E M E N T B R A N D. C O M - # E L E M E N T W A T E R P R O O F

Mattéo Matriche, 15 years old

EDITO So yeah, you might have seen some changes in this issue (the magazine is now in English only, sorry for those who don’t speak it) but we kept the idea. As always, we highlighted a photographer and this time, DVL let us interview him for this Tweak issue number 4. Then, we had the chance to go to the well known Antwerp Skate Contest for the week-end. This edition is mainly revolving around Davy and Phil Zwijsen as the next article is an interview of Phil when we met him in Antwerp! And we further finish with Phil Zwijsen’s Waterproof! One of the best videos of the year made by Element and in collaboration with DVL! We’ll now let you enjoy this issue we’re pretty satisfied with!

Content DVL

PHIL ZWIJSEN WATERPROOF ANTWERP

Cover: @ DVL, Phil Zwijsen Editor-in-chief: Mattéo Matriche, Quai Churchill 37, 4020 Liège

Tweak Magazine - Quarterly - English edition - Free

Thanks: Alexandre Deron, Max De Stexhe, Dominique De Vreese, Marie Ossiander, Naomi Pire, Patrick Poth, Maxime Sinatra, Davy Van Laere, Frits Verheijen, Phil Zwijsen

Contact: matteo@tweakmagazine.com +32 491 311 555 All rights reserved ®

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VA N S .C O M

G e off Rowl ey

GEO F F R O WLE Y SIGNATURE F OOTW E A R AN D APPAREL

DVL photo

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As much as Davy used to be known for carrying around numerous flashes (and tripods to meticulously place and aim each and every one of them) he has always preferred natural light, and his more recent work definitely focuses on capturing that light doing what it does best on the line patterns and compositions that catch his eye.

Skateboarding took him all over Europe, and across the pond as well, where he linked up with Deathbox’s Jeremy Fox, who went on to compliment him on his Ray Barbee-esque step hopping and turned him pro.

As fun as it had been getting to this point, Davy’s passion turned into pressure once he had reached professional status, and his love for skateboarding took a backseat to collecting records, compiling mix tapes, making beats and life in general.

Davy is one of the official City Photographers for his hometown of Antwerp and has been Vans’ staff photographer for the European Skate Team since 2011.

He works as a freelance photographer for various magazines and other brands.

It took a couple of years and the start of a new millennium for the fire to flare again, but this time around the camera had moved to the foreground. Since then, Davy’s approach to photography has been as passionate and evolution-driven as his skateboarding used to be.

Captions: Previous page: Nassim Guammaz - Zaragoza - 1. Daan Van Der Linden - Frontside Ollie - Athens - 2. Jarne Verbruggen - Front Blunt - Mechelen - 3. Josh Young - Hanover - 4. Tel Aviv - 5. Béziers 6. Danny Wainwright & Daan Van Der Linden - Copenhagen - 7. Madars Apse - Riga - 8. Flo Mirtain - Mallorca - 9. Kevin Bradley - Mallorca 10. Nassim Guammaz - NYC - 11. Yeelen Moens - Front Crooked Antwerp

Text By Bram De Cleen

DVL (short for Davy Van Laere) discovered skateboarding only a little while after he got his first camera from his father in the mid-eighties. The thrill of skating took the reins of his life for the next decade or so, but the camera came along for most of the sessions.

Snapshots and the occasional portrait, nothing out of the ordinary.

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When did you start filming « Waterproof » and how much time did it take?

I started filming for it 2 years ago; we didn’t start filming but we really worked at it one year ago. It was like, filming for a few days and then not for a few months after which we filmed again, so maybe in total we spent like 30 or 40 days really filming for it. So it was like one month really over a span of 2 years.

Where did you get the idea?

Well, I already did something like that at Skatecamp in Norway, so I thought I would make a full part. I talked to Element and they really liked it, they were like yeah let’s try. Then we tried and I only did powerslides and it worked really good, so yeah we continued on that way. I was pretty stoked that it actually worked out, you know.

How was the making of the video?

Well a few times, we built something like sprays of water or little rivers. For the filming they had to put plastics everywhere, and for the photos too. It was a really big mission, every trick needed so much work because it was in the rain so it was really wet and everything. Yeah, it was a lot of preparation for only one trick sometimes, so for a 5 minute film it was a lot of work you know. And I never did it before... I mean, it’s not that I’m used to do this kind of stuff.

What is it like skating in water?

I mean, I just had to practice, beacause now, if I would do the exact same project again, I would be way better at it because I really learned a lot. It’s like learning again, learning slides and everything. If I’d known that beforehand, we would have saved so much time. But now we did it so it was all about learning and trying at the same time.

Was it bad for your boards, shoes,...?

No, actually I used one normal board that was done after, but then I got a new one for which the water doesn’t go in the wood straight away. I was really surprised of that, because the first setup I used took so much water like board, trucks, shoes.

But then at the end, I only skated one board and the bearings and everything... it was all fine you know.

What was your favorite moment of the video?

Maybe there is this spot it’s like my ender, it’s like the best spot to skate, it was really fun. I went there two or three times to skate it and, I don’t know... It really worked well at that spot and was the most fun to skate.

Where did you go to film?

We just followed the rain and checked where it was going to rain. For example that time in Bilbao, it was raining out like crazy. We looked at the forecast and everybody could go, so we were like « fuck let’s go » like two days before. But we couldn’t really plan for sure you know, you never know for certain when it’s going to rain. We also went to Switzerland a lot to film with a friend from Element and we also had some good rain there. It’s crazy when you think about it, some « good rain », haha.

And Paris as well, a friend was filming for the project as well and who lives there knew a lot of spots. So we went out there and it was easy because he knew what spots we needed that really worked for this project.

Did you expect going pro?

We kind of talked about it before because there were already graphics I had to choose and everything you know. I mean, at the premiere I was still surprised by so many people. Not that I was surprised that I got the board but I was just happy that everybody was there, my family and all my friends, you know. Everybody was there so it was just amazing.

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Phil Zwijsen interview

© DVL

Phil Zwijsen is a belgian skateboarder born in

Antwerp. He rides for Carhartt, Nike SB, Element, Dakine, Lockwood Skate Shop, Muckfuck Wheels, Ashes Griptape, Melow .Socks, Carve Wicked and Monster. Here’s a little interview we made when we met for his Waterproof premiere back in September.

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How does it feel to be pro?

It’s cool but yeah, it was not like a major surprise, I kind of knew but I mean it’s cool. The Element team does a lot for me, especially with this project. They put a lot of work in it; it’s not only me skating but there’s also a photographer, a filmer... It’s a whole team working together to make eveything. So it’s a lot of work, they don’t do it in a few days, you know... They put a lot of time in it and I think it’s pretty crazy they do that for me.

What does your family think about it?

I don’t know, I didn’t really talk with them after it all came out because we went to a party and then I skated the contest. I’ve seen my mother but we didn’t talk that much about it. But I think they’re really happy. I don’t think they

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knew it was going to happen and really realize what it’s about but i think they’re pretty happy for me.

What are your projects now?

Well I’m filming a lot as well. I’ll make a new a video soon, I’ll probably try to finish it next year. But yeah, we need to do trips and I’m the filmer so it’s a lot of preparation and we don’t have any money... But it’s pretty sick, I’m really stoked about that too.

© DVL

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© DVL

© DVL

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Waterproof

First of all, before you read this, we strongly recommend you to watch the video on the Berric’s website (if you haven’t see it). Waterproof is basically a very simple and creative idea from Phil Zwijsen: skating in the rain, as we all do when it starts raining at the park and we have nothing else to do but to keep skating the wet park (or leave). But in this case, Phil was more ambitious and created a whole part from this single idea. The thought came up at Element’s Make It Count 2014 in Norway when it started raining and Phil started powersliding. The footage was pubished on the Berrics and had a good feedback. After talking to Element, the project got started, and they began to chase the rain rather than avoiding it.

Anyways, we had the chance to be there at the premiere in Antwerp and enjoy the video before anyone else (by that I mean one day before everyone see it on the berrics). It was great to see it in this kind of atmosphere since we could really focus on the video and get even more hyped when a trick went down. People were really excited for it.

Now, the video itself was crazy! All I can say is that it was so well edited and the tricks were stunning! It was really evident that Phil poured himself into this project and the result was just amazing. It’s also pretty funny, thanks to a whole staging for the concept of rain skating. So yeah, this video is really pleasant to watch, even after a thousand times seeing it. In fact, the video is not like the other usual parts where you just see a guy landing big tricks. It’s more of a little movie and you can witness the work behind it.

After the premiere, Phil was announced pro which was actually an evidence. I think this video was the perfect one to make him pro, it defines his style of skating which is creativity and unusuality. So we were really happy to see him get his board after the event, joined by his friends ( Jarne, Nassim Guammaz,...) and also fascinating for us to witness something as important as this. I mean... turning pro is always a big event.

Overall, it was an incredible premiere for a video-of-a-kind and perfect whether in level of skating or in the filming, which was so pleasant to watch. It was a really good project and the result shows we can be even more creative in skating with this simple idea: chasing the rain instead of avoiding it. I hope we’ll see more videos like this from Phil Zwijsen and Element in the future.

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© DVL

Antwerp contest 2016 26

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Two months ago (yes, we know we’re a bit late for this) the Antwerp 2016 contest took place. All the locals and eventually many people from all around Europe headed to Jordaensekaai where a wooden park was placed for the occasion. Thanks to Hurray, we had the chance to participate to the event and stay around for it, so here’s now our little recap of this great « journey » as we like to call it!

The contest was organized just like most of them; there were two qualification runs and the second day, a semi-final and a final with some free skateboarding inbetween all the runs. It was great to be a spectator ‘cause there was always space to sit and watch while eating some french fries and a burger from the stand just near to the park. The event attracted masses of people and not specifically skateboarders but also tourists visiting or local people walking around the place. Also, we got the chance to meet some of the best skaters there and look at them ripping, which is always a pleasure to the eyes. It was also enjoyable for the photographer (Maxime Sinatra) who had the oppurtinity to be in the park taking as many photos as he wants of those incredible skateboarders thanks to the promoters of the event. This event was further also our opportunity to witness the Antwerp skate scene for a full week-end. It’s really different from the one in Liège or even just Wallonia, Antwerp skateboarders have a whole other style and behaviour and this is slowly affecting our region in the way we skate. I think, it’s cool to see how people perceive skating there and these differences extend our vision on skateboarding even for the mag. All in all, the Antwerp Skate Contest was a very well organized event and we feel really lucky to have had the chance to experience it. So props to Hurray for giving us this chance!

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Photos by Maxime Sinatra 29

TRENT McCLUNG

SINCE 1922

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