Words & Photos by Jeremy Durand
When I wrote to Jonathan about my idea of writing down an article about the European Skateboard Championship, I knew he wouldn’t be too stoked. And I totally understood because those kind of events have usually nothing to do with the “core DIY spirit articles” featured in Confusion. But, ESC is different. And even if it might look super pro and organized from the outside, it’s actually pretty DIY believe me! So I decided to ask a few questions to some of the guys “behind the scene” to maybe motivate you to come and check it out next time !
Oli, if people aren’t working for you at 50, means you messed your life right ?! (Laugh) Just kidding. But I’m glad you finally let RJ taking over the building of the course this year. You looked way more relaxed, and even had time to skate !!! Whatever I’m not here to rub ointment on you, but to talk about the community you managed to bring together to make this contest happen. I mean, I’m pretty sure people from the outside think you guys made shit loads of money watching the event via social media, but I know it isn’t the case. So my question is, how and why are you still putting yourself in such missions ?!
When I was facing the decision to take on the main responsibility of ESC back in 2007, I read the following quote: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do” and it helped me make the decision to dive in headfirst and continue to organize what was the biggest and most important skateboard event in Europe at the time.
The main motivation was to put together a gathering where skaters and skateboarding were the most important thing. No VIP zone where the skaters weren’t welcome, a competition setup that clearly showed where most of the sponsorship money was invested and last but not least a place for skateboard culture where everybody could skate and express their vision of skateboarding.
When we got the chance to bring ESC back in 2018 it was very obvious that it needed to be a community effort and not a commercial venture. We established a non profit association with a couple of talented and motivated heads from the Basel skate scene to spread out the responsibilities and have a solid base of creative input. We also realized that it will be crucial to only hold the event biannually to keep ourselves from burning out. On the surface ESC may look like a professional skateboard event, but under the hood a lot of stuff is quite improvised and driven by the DIY spirit.
With every edition of the event, the crew gets more experienced and new motivated people join in so I can transfer the knowledge and they can take on more responsibilities. Having time to skate the course after work and during the event helps everybody to stay motivated and to remember why we are taking on the burden of such a mission. To help spread the love of skateboarding.
RJ course looked great this year, congrats ; I’m pretty sure you are hired for life from now on ! (Laugh) With your skills, you could make a good living working as a carpenter for example in Switzerland. So how come are you ending up working in such projects as ESC, sorting out used screws, sanding all plywood, etc for something like a regular french salary ?! (Laugh)
Poor life choices! Hahaha!! I ask myself that same question when the stress gets high. Haha! For me it’s for the love of skateboarding. I used to watch the contests when I was a kid and always enjoyed it. I love watching the show, looking around the crowd seeing everyone so excited to see the make and of course getting some test sessions. I don’t watch contests online or whatever but being in the crowd the excitement will always be contagious. At the end of it all being a part of such a great team makes it an easy life choice.
Léo, how does it feel pumping the water out of the Portland DIY Bowl to save the after party of ESC, and ended up skating there with Martino Cattaneo and Pat Duffy ?!
Out of the best DIY spot you mean ? Anyway, you just summed up the DIY spirit that run into our heart and the whole event. We don’t do it for the fame or the money, but because we deeply love it, and that’s probably one of the best feeling ever. At the end of the day we’re all here cause we share something in common, our love for skateboarding, and being able to enjoy it with so many nice people is even better when the session is dope and the party crazy !
Roman, isn’t it super hard for you to believe that a bunch of wood stored out in the “favela” next to Portland DIY can end up being an amazing skatepark in an Olympic Ice rink whiting something like 10 days ?!
At first, it was hard to imagine what would come together in such a short time. But with a clear plan, great teamwork, and a motivated crew, something truly impressive was built. Super cool to have been part of such a special project and to see it all come to life.
Claudia, you had like 10 jobs during the event, and still stayed super mellow all the time. I was blown away. I mean, I started stressing out when you asked me to prepare the goodie bags, too scared to mess up, or forget something ! How was your experience dealing with all those missions at the same time ?
I was in charge of finding and managing the volunteers. Over 70 motivated people of all ages donated their time to make an amazing skateboard celebration possible. They play a crucial part in making ESC Basel possible. Working with people from our community made it easier to manage all the tasks and make sure all the puzzle pieces fell in place. Because everybody involved has a love for skateboarding there wasn’t a big risk of important things going wrong. Despite the detailed preparation I was running around all weekend putting out small fires. But even with everything that was going on I still found the time to skate and enjoy the event. Balthazar mate ! We are in 2025, there is AI, drones, CNC machines, and I don’t know what else, but you choose to do some handmade puppets as decorations and trophies ! (Laugh)
Watching you working during the entire process was as DIY as it gets. Especially fixing those puppets to the ceiling ! (Laugh) Now that you experienced the behind the scenes of ESC, can you tell us if you expected it to be “that DIY” ?!
What is a CNC machine??? I’ve been truly happy to paint and exhibit these big moving puppets, it would have been hard to try it somewhere else. The DIY aspect is even the main reason why I got involved. Working analog and DIY allows to choose where the money comes from and where it goes, it allows to learn and teach how to do things, it pushes to repair and reuse materials instead of wasting it, and it means that the result is genuinely original. Of course the whole process requires a lot of energy, so big shout out the great humans behind the non-profit association organizing the event, all the friends giving a hand, and all the cooks providing the refuel!
Alright, let’s wrap this thing up ; I mean, Jonathan wasn’t too stoked about this article idea, I don’t want him to get mad at me writing about it now ! (Laugh)
I’m not really into street skating anymore, I’m really not into contest at all, but still, I loved it. Thank you Oli and your crew of volunteers to still put out such an event, and creating the chance to meet all my friends again at the same place and time, because in the end, that what ESC is all about! Cheers !
Rob: ESC ! ESC ! ESC !
Photos by Andi Speck, Jo Hempel , Jay & Thibault Le Nours
