Port Land DIY family put together a new edition of the Freakend party. Three days of rad skating, music playing, silkscreen printing, snake venom drinking and chicken plucking in one of Switzerland’s most famous DIYs.
Any DIY park has it’s share of freaky randoms that are just hanging out and … Keep reading
Portland DIY – Basel, Switzerland – 5 Years Strong
Tada’s show “Dick Skinners” was something I was looking forward to for a few weeks. At least ever since I knew it was going to be in Basel. So we jumped in Juli’s VW and off we went.
We went to Basel, it was fucking hot, so we skated at 3am in-between swimming in the Rhine and we got drunk and slept in at the bowl Jamie and Oli fucking killed it.
In the summer of 2011 the news that the beloved BLACKCROSSBOWL was to be destroyed came true and plans were soon put into place to find a new space to build. After some intense dealings with permits and raising money the Basel crew, motivated as ever, started digging, laying iron and troweling concrete in the waste land around the port area of Basel.
Confusion Magazine – Issue #8 – out now! Features with Frank Shaw, Sox, Lovenskate in Basque, DIY skate spots including Bluestone (Australia), Port Land (Switzerland), PFK (Japan), a music feature with Mike Neider from Bl’ast, an artist feature with Zombie Stu, a scene report on Cadiz, Spain, Hot shit, product reviews, zine reviews, video reviews, a Ramp Jam in Belgium and so much more.
A year ago, we started with a small concrete quarter pipe. We didn’t know how long it would stay there, so we were really happy with our little spot. After a while, we built up a wobble and a china bank and still, no one teared it down. So we went big and built a corner, complete with Pudi’s Pool Coping.
Pontus Alv and the locals of Basel built the Black Cross Bowl in 10 days. What did you accomplish this week?
Generally speaking, I wouldn’t travel to a different country for a half pipe (or indoor wooden street) contest. However, pay my transportation and give me a 5 star hotel to crash in for 3 days to photograph and party with some of the best skateboarders in Europe, and without hesitation, I’m there.
While I was down staying in a hotel in an industrial shit hole of a town, Spreitenbach, which is near the grand city of Zürich, Switzerland I was contacted by Lars Greiwe and Bertrand Trichet to let me know they’d be taking care of business in Basel, about 45 minutes from where I was staying. I decided to get out of the hotel and join them for an evening in Basel and a small adventure across the border to Germany.