Bryggeriets Skateboarding High School

Swedens Skateboarding High School: Bryggeriets Gymnasium WORK IN SKATEBOARDING INTERVIEWS WITH ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL: JOHN DAHLQUIST CURRENT STUDENT: VILLE WESTER FORMER STUDENT: OSKAR ROZENBERG

photo by: Jonas Adolfsson

WORK IN SKATEBOARDING INTERVIEW 2017

Bryggeriets gymnasium is a high school in Malmo, Sweden, that is centered around Skateboarding. As the traditional school model doesn’t always work for everyone this is a welcome alternative and a very unique example of how skateboarding has been used effectively as an educational tool.

Interview by Samantha Chami

Interview

Skateboarding Teacher and Assistant Principal: John Dahlquist What is Bryggeriets gymnasium?

How old are the kids who go there?

Bryggeriets gymnasium is a high school.

It´s run as a non-profit NGO [Non Governmental Organisation]. It specializes in fine arts, photo/film and skateboarding as it´s three profiles. Other than that it´s an ordinary school. Something that sets it a part from most other schools is that it has a big skate park in the middle. It´s located in Malmö, Sweden and shares the building with the Bryggeriet skateboard organization.

The students vary depending on what born. High school years and aims to studies.

When was it established & how was it structured when it first started?

The skate park has been here for almost 20 years. Skateboarding was all we knew from the beginning. As we all know skateboarding has a lot of creativity to it and it seemed like a good idea to try to combine it with the opportunity to start a school. The chance was too good to miss out on.

It was started in 2006. A new Swedish law allowed for organisations to apply for a permit to start schools. The board for the skate park applied and was granted a license. From there the work started with hiring principals’ to plan the curriculum. After that the teachers were hired and students accepted.

What inspired the founders of the school to make it into what it is today?

The founders had the vision of combining the students´ passion with high school education. A lot of things has happened since then. Education is like skateboarding, in constant change and evolving all the time. We try to keep up with the latest research on teaching and our bank of experience hopefully helps us to get better every year.

from 16 years to 19 time of year you were in Sweden is three prepare for higher

Why has skateboarding been used as the basis of the school and why do you think it’s a good ‘tool’ to use?

On the same time we know there has been a lot of stigma attached to skating and at first some people were skeptical to the whole idea of bringing skateboarding to school, so to speak. Most of us have experience of being told by “the adults” to leave skateboarding at home and focus on “the important” things. The idea here was to use skateboarding for other good outcome as well.

What’s your role at the school?

First and foremost I´m responsible for skateboarding as a subject. It has been a lot of work to follow all the regulations of the Swedish school system

without compromising the freedom that is some special with skateboarding. If anything, that´s what I am most proud of.

I am also the assisting principal at the school. I am currently studying on the University program for principals. On a day to day basis I am both working with the students in class as well as working with the whole organization of the school. We try to keep a flat organization where everyone is allowed to take initiatives a s well as responsibility.

Hopefully that trickles down to the students too.

How did you come to get your job there?

When the school started I was between jobs. Since I had been skating long, worked at the skate park on weekend before and had a degree in social work someone thought it would be a good idea for me to have a meeting with the principals at the time. I gave them my view on skateboarding and they offered me the job to take care of the skate class. I hesitated for a while. At first I wasn´t sure about the whole skate-in-schoolthing but I saw my chance to work in skateboarding so I thought I could at least give it a go. I haven´t looked back since.

What do you enjoy about working at the school?

That differs depending on phase and mood.

At first I was just stoked to work close to skating and being able to skate with the students, work close to my friends at the park and create a whole new school. That is still some of the best things, but the more I work and the more I learn the more I want to create a good education. I think we are not just doing things different here. I think some of the stuff is really high quality and that it creates great opportunity for the young people who come here. Not just with skating but with education and the environment we have.

The short answer is simple: I enjoy being around, teaching and learning with the students.

We´ve been lucky enough to have filmer Chris Mulhern, photographer Bryce Kanights, Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist and Mike V come visit to name a few.

How is each day structured?

It is all very basic when it comes to the schedule. All students take the mandatory courses. They are the same for all high schools, Math, English, Social science and so on. Other than that all students take classes in photography, film and art. Depending on your profile you also have your special interest twice a week. That´s when you get to skate and learn about skateboarding.

It´s a lot of skating but also taking care of your body, achieving goals, filming and other stuff related to skating.

The skate park is located in the middle of the school so the session is on all breaks.

I try to invite a s many relevant people as I can to share their stories. Pros are great but there are so much more you can do than just tricks. A skate company is run just like any other company but my students tend to learn more if a shop owner comes in and talks about running a skate shop than having a complete stranger come in. We´ve been lucky enough to have filmer Chris Mulhern, photographer Bryce Kanights, Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist and Mike V come visit to name a few.

How & where does skateboarding fit in during each day?

Half of the students at the school are skaters so skateboarding is there all the time. A lot of them talk, do and think about skating all day long. The skate park is always open so that provides for the opportunity to skate when there is spare time.

In the afternoon there is skate class.

We try to do something school relevant every class. It has to be something other than just skating to count for “class”. Sometimes we watch and talk about new videos, analyze the media and how different skate companies build image. By doing so we can use skateboarding for other subject such as social science, art and film. My whole drive is to use skateboarding to learn other things too. I want the students drive and knowledge to “spill over” into other subjects. And other than that, we skate A LOT.

What subjects are taught / offered at the school?

You´d be surprised how “normal” it is.

The content is the same as everywhere else. We try to focus on the implementation instead and do that from the students perspective, interests and needs.

I know it might sound like clichés but it´s the closest I get to an honest answer.

How much experience in those fields do the teachers have?

All teacher (except me!) have a teacher´s degree. Most have a special interest or another professional career on the side. One of the art teachers is a great painter, the other one one of Sweden´s best tattoo artists. The photo teacher works as a photographer on the side and the film teacher is a film maker too. It´s good with that combination because the teacher´s can actually talk and share their experiences from the real world. School tends to be a make believe bubble a lot of the time. We try to connect with real things as much as possible.

Do the teachers skate?

Me and the PE-teacher do. The other one´s don´t but they have a good understanding about the whole culture since they are marinated in it all day long…

What subjects / skills relevant to the skateboard industry are taught?

I try to include as many aspects as possible depending on different classes or students interest. Sponsored students learn a lot through their contact with the industry. As in all subject our aim is to study critically. Before graduation all students write a big paper.

Skaters tend to do it on something skate related like how to start a company, make a magazine or a film. I do my best to share my contacts and hopefully connect some with the industry. My aim is for all skateboard interested photographers to be published before they graduate. So far they have all been. Knock on wood…

How does the school help to promote the kids who are talented skateboarders?

The skatepark is very much the hub for skateboarding in the south of Sweden.

Thins tend to work out themselves but I try to share my network. The people that work at the skate park has a lot of connections and work in everything from park construction to magazines and contests. We try to invite students to work with them when we get the chance.

As far as skateboard talents go, skateboarding has a magical way of fining them. The whole boom of Instagram-clips has made that even easier.

What lines of work do the kids who graduate generally go into?

That varies. Some go straight to university, a couple become pros but most move back home and save their high school diploma for later. I tend to recommend a break from school after high school.

I think it´s good to see a bit of the world after 13 years of school. We have a counselor to help out with applications and CV´s to help them land softly somewhere. If anything I think higher studies to prepare for creative lines of work is more common.

Half of our students have moved away

from home to go to the school so a lot of them go back to Norway, Denmark and cities far away from Malmö.

Have any students gone on to start their own companies/ work for local skate companies after graduating?

There has been a few smaller companies started which is great. Oski and Ville are skating for the local brand Polar that my friend Pontus [Alv] runs. Sara Meurle is studying photography and is pro on the same time A current student, Niclas Kordova works with the Bryggeriet building crew and former student Jakke Ovgren´s work can be seen on Polar graphics. Those are just a few examples of people that you might have heard about in the States. The Norweigians Herman Stene on Adidas and Didrik Galasso on Enjoi also went here.

In your opinion what makes the school a success?

I think our drive to create an education based on the students interest is our best work. On a good day this is a very good school. But as with anything it takes work and it´s never static. Just like a skater is never better than his or hers last kickflip a school is never better than the last given class. This is something we work on every day trying our best to make it as good as we can. Motivating and finding different ways of teaching. I really admire that all teachers are prepared to go out of their way to do their best for the students.

How is it possible to create a school like this in Sweden? Is the school fully accredited and the degrees that the graduates get fully recognized?

The whole school was made possible due to a change in the law 2005. The students are fully accredited in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. You leave the school with a regular high school diploma only that you also have credits from skateboarding. It´s still mind gobbling to me that the degree you get from skateboard class can help you into university.

Any advice for someone who is interested in starting up a school like Bryggeriets´ gymnasium?

Does the school accept international students & do they have to speak Swedish?

First of all, make sure you are well rooted in the skateboard community.

This could not have been done without the Bryggeriet skate park and all their credibility and experience backing it up. Second of all, make sure you don´t compromise what is special about skateboarding, the creative outlet and the freedom of doing want you want of it.

Make sure the curriculum is solid. In the beginning there was a lot of skepticism from the rest of the school world.

I liked that. Skateboarding thrives on that. Today I hope that we have proven that this is a good way of building a school and an education.

As long as you can understand Swedish we accept. Danish and Norwegian are similar enough to work. They just take an extra course in Swedish the first year.

We have had some students from Iceland, Spain and one from the Farrow Islands as well but they have had a Swedish parent.

Personally I love the mix and admire the will to move away from home at such a young age. As the Swedish school is free of charge it helps but they still have to find a place to live. We can´t provide apartments which is too bad.

Future plans for the school?

We wish we could accept foreign non-swedish speaking students. That has not been possible so far. Who knows, maybe in the future…

I want to take the opportunity to say thanks for letting us share our view on school and skateboarding. An old saying sums up what we are trying to do here pretty well: Skate and create. And last but not least: Be cool, skate to school!

Interview

John Dahlquist & Ville Wester, photo: Simon Jörliden

Current student; Ville Wester How old are you & where are you from?

I am 18 years old and I´m from Copenhagen in Denmark.

How did you hear about the school?

A lot of former students from Copenhagen told me about it and thought it would be a good place for me. I was sick of school and this was the only way I could see myself in school again. In that sense it was a perfect match.

Do you think you’re more passionate about learning here than you would have been at a more traditional school?

Yes, for sure. It´s a lot easier to sit down and work here. If you have recess you can always go to the skate park and use some of your energy. That way it´s easier to focus on school stuff when you come back up. If it was just regular school it would be to boring for me to handle.

In what way has the school has set up a good framework for you learn?

The teachers are super good. They help a lot.

What do you want to do when you graduate?

I hope I´ll be just skating for the first, say, three years. I don´t want to go to another school after this. I´ve been in school for most of my life and I need a break after this.

How do you think the school has helped you see the goals you want to achieve?

It has helped me get an education. If I just skate for a couple of years after this I still have my education so I can

go on to University later. The teachers have helped me structure my things in order to make this work. My goal is to graduate in the best way possible. It´s a small community here where people help each other out.

What do you look forward to in a typical day going to school here?

I enjoy hanging out with my friends and skate with them. It depends on the day since the schedule is different every day. Some days are better than others but skating is always there. I mostly like the practical subject where I learn about editing photos and film.

What activities or parts of the curriculum inspire you?

I like learning new computer programs and of course skating all the time! I prefer practice more than theory.

John Dahlquist and Ville Wester, photo by: Nils Svensson

It´s a lot easier to sit down and work here.

If you have recess you can always go to the skate park and use some of your energy.

That way it´s easier to focus on school stuff when you come back up.

What kind of life skills & values related & unrelated to skateboarding would you say you’ve learnt from attending?

I have learned a lot. The school I went to before was a private school where I didn´t really have any friends. It was far away and I didn´t relate to anyone there. The only good part about it was that it was close to a skate park so I could go there after school. Over here I´ve met a lot of new friends that I enjoy spending time with both in and out of class.

Everybody I´ve talked to who used to go here keep telling me I´ll miss this place when I graduate. Right now I´m focused on finishing my last year. It´s still school and that part can be tough.

But I know I´ll miss it once I´m done.

I´m at a good place with some of the best people you can imagine.

Interview

Graduate: Oskar Rozenberg

Where are you from?

I was born and raised here, in Malmö, Sweden.

What year did you graduate from the school?

I graduated in 2015

How did you hear about the school & what made you want to go?

I´ve known about the school for as long as I have been skating, so since I was 11 years old.

I had a lot of older friends who already attended so it was a natural choice for me. I also knew John (the skate teacher). It felt like a fun way to get an education.

What parts of the curriculum did you enjoy the most & get the most out of?

Probably skate as a class. Just because you got time to skate. It´s a class, but it´s not. You learn a lot of things but you also get time to skate with your friends. I enjoyed a lot of other classes too but skate was my favorite.

How did attending the school inspire you and help you get to where you are now?

I met a lot of new friends and it opened a lot of doors for me. I also had the chance to combine travelling, skating and getting my degree at the same time.

The school gave me a lot of support when it came to traveling and helping me out with school work during those times. It let me maintain a career and graduate.

If I would have gone to another school that would probably have been hard or would have put my up for a tough choice early on.

Oski bs nodegrind, photo by: Nils Svensson

The school gave me a lot of support when it came to traveling and helping me out with school work during those times. It let me maintain a career and graduate.

I got help from other students, like my friend Tor [Ström] who is a filmer. I didn´t know him before but now we work on video projects together all the time.

John helped me helping me out I had to make. to talk to who spective.

by supporting me and with some of the choices It´s good to have people can put things in per-

What skills unrelated to skateboarding would you say you’ve learnt from attending?

Everything to Math and English to Geography and Art. Just the basic school stuff but more than that I think you learn a lot of social skills about who to be and behave around people. It was three very educational years that way.

How different do you think you & your life would be if you hadn’t attended the school?

If I hadn´t gone there I would have gone to a more study based school in town.

I would probably have had a lot more friends who don´t skate. I wouldn’t have been as good at skating since the whole skateboard part would be done after school. Perhaps I would have chosen to do something totally different and gone on to University instead on living of skating. Who knows?

I would definitely not have been able to go on as many trips as I could by going to Bryggeriet.

What were some of your favorite classes or activities at the school?

Skateboarding was the most fun. The community between everyone. Since it´s a small school and a lot of them are skaters it creates a good environment for friendship.

Has the school changed in any way since you graduated?

It has changed a lot. The school changes every time new students come in so since it is all new students since I graduated you can say it´s a totally different school. Any school is made up by the students first and foremost.

I still know a lot of the students and I can tell they have the same sense of community. So I guess you could say it´s 100 % different, yet still the same.

In your opinion what do you think makes the school a success?Â

Just being able to skate during breaks is a helpful thing for a lot of people.

It´s good for a lot of people that are full on skate nerds. Here they get the help and the opportunity to combine studying with being skate nerds. There is even a big skate park in the middle of the school.

A big part is also that the teachers are supportive and create a sound and relaxed environment for the students.