You are one of the top 'new breed' of freestylers out there. How did you start skating and why freestyle?
I always loved skateboarding but when I was a child we couldn’t afford it. In 2003 me and one of my high school mates tried Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. I really liked the Rodney Mullen video part. I didn’t understand how you could stand on the edge of the board :) I was into skateboarding before I watched it but the video influenced me. I was determined I was going to do tricks like this! I was working after school so I was able to buy a crappy skateboard but It was good to learn how to roll, manual and ollie. In the April of 2004 I bought a used Minilogo deck from a local skateboarder. I also got some used trucks and wheels. With that set up I could improve my skills. Only later I found it was called freestyle skateboarding. I really liked the technical tricks and grabs on flat ground besides freestyle. I was never interested in basic tricks like pop shuvit, kick flip, varial flip, tre. More like pressure flips or double flips impressed me. Maybe this is the reason why I can’t do a proper kickflip :D I came to like primo and pogo tricks over the years. There are endless variations of the combination of these two tricks. I watched several videos on youtube and eengoedidee but only a few videos caught my eye. I mostly watched Per Welinder videos. I felt there is more in this style. Freestyle is a great opportunity to show your own creativity. It’s always challenging and no days pass without learning something new. I feel like I will never stop doing freestyle.
You have no doubt filmed a ton of pogo variations. How often do you skate and do you normally skate alone?
Thank you! :) I think the “stationary” tricks could be combined like for ever. A new combo every day :) I am about these tricks to land more and more tricks in a combo. Harder and harder if possible. Many times I figure out the next tricks just in the middle of a new combo. So it’s totally spontaneous. I like experimenting. When I am out skateboarding I don’t do only stationary tricks of course. I like other flat ground tricks eg. Pressure flips, finger flips, flat ground grabs. And the combination of these. I don’t really like tricks that everyone does. I don’t really like footworks. I know it’s not easy and I like 1-2. But I like the actual tricks more. For me, skateboarding is weather dependent. From spring to autumn I skate 3-5 hours a day. Mostly alone because nobody does skateboard here anymore…
I have one of your used decks in my collection. It is trashed to the max! Do you only skate on rougher surfaces? If yes, do you do it for the grip/friction?
There is only one proper place to skate in my town. It’s a school yard. Grip of the ground is really good for me. But also good for other flat ground tricks. I can land transfer tricks confidently. But I am able to fit to any ground. It could be marble or rough concrete.
I use decks until a unrecognizable and unusable state. I only change it when it looses it’s shape. I use a deck for 1 month but sometimes I use one for 3-4 months.
You have an aggressive style that rival Primo Desiderio. What lifestyle influences can we thank for developing this style?
Haha :) I am on to do the best. Set new goals. I endeavor to do clean and unique tricks. I don’t like sketchy. I never use protectors so I feel and esteem the difficulty of the tricks. When I got hit I pay attention next time. Everyone has a style in skateboarding. I love listening to music during skateboarding. It helps me get in the mood.
You showed me the graphics for your soon to be released pro model. When can we expect this deck and can you tell us more about it?
When I got sponsored by Cirus they produced only street decks. So we designed a freestyle deck for me. I’ve tried several but Tim Morris decks were the best. Slightly bended nose and big tail. So this was the basic concept but I changed a few important things. And the result was amazing. The best freestyle deck I’ve ever used. Happened in 2013. We only printed the Cirus logo but I wanted to have an own graphic. Later I realized this is not important and I didn’t want an own graphic any more. So I use the basic model with Cirus logo on it. I appreciate the sponsorship from Cirus. They help me a lot. I want more and more people to know this brand.
Last year we designed an own graphic for my own pro model. It’s coming early this summer. Sizes will be the same, it’s just good now :)
