concrete

Under the Bridge: Köln – Built It… & They Will Come

A month after the city had a brief but futile attempt to destroy the under the bridge DIY spot built by the skaters of Köln, the Yama Skateboards team from Austria were passing through town on their way to Belgium. We had planned a mini-ramp session at the Lohse Ramp, but Germany’s sketchy summer time weather canceled that plan with intermittent rain throughout the day. Our only option was to hit up the DIY spot…

Under the Bridge: Köln, Germany (building): PHASE II & III

Under the bridge in Köln, Germany, a DIY skate spot had been started a few years ago, and then lay stagnant. With some motivation from the Köln skaters, Phase II was underway, with a pump bump and quarter pipe. Money was gathered for bags of concrete, tools were purchased, trowels were customized, and even a concrete truck made a delivery of fresh ‘crete.

Malmö, Sweden – DIY WEEKEND (Part II): Bryggeriet + Sibbarp

…I awoke on the hardwood floor, my neck severely tweaked from my short but heavy slumber on the floor. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee thickened the air, enough to motivate me to my feet. Outside the sky hung neutral grey, a dense wet mist, leaving the ground wet. Outdoor skateboarding was canceled for the day so it was off to the indoor wooden skate facility of Bryggeriet for the day’s activities.

Malmö, Sweden – DIY WEEKEND (Part I): THE HOLE

We had been invited up to Sweden for the DIY Sibbarp Skate weekend over a month before but as the weekend drew near, the first Issue of Confusion was still not off to the printers and I almost canceled the trip. But my old saying is “It’s better to go and regret going, than not going and regret not going.” And I never regret it. So we closed down the Confusion offices on Friday morning, caught the train to the Köln airport and 2 hours later we arrived in Copenhagen airport.

IMPAKT SKATEBOARDS – Belgium Tour

We headed out on the road Friday evening with a good part of the IMPAKT SKATEBOARDS team in Captain Road Hog’s van, with only 2 hours to our destination of Brussels, where we would stay at the Brusk Collective’s house in central Brussels. Beers were cracked, the dudes were freaking out with the excitement of our weekend trip to Belgium.

Cachagua Land update

Zarosh sent me an updated from his Cachagua Land DIY Project, deep in the Carmel Valley.
“The pool is ready, we just need some concrete. Donate to cachagua land and support the idea of grass roots skateboarding”

Brusk Collective’s: Fiesta Des Ursulines

Brusk Collective from Brussels, Belgium recently hosted the “Fiesta Des Ursulines” in the Square Des Uruslines where 4 years ago they completed their social-urbanistic project with the completion of their first concrete bowl and street skating area. They invited part of the Consolidated team (Roberto Alemañ, Sean Gutierrez, and Danger), to celebrate the release of their collab Brusk/Consolidated board. Roberto would come up from Spain, and Sean & Danger would make this event the beginning of 6 months in Europe, where they are building a new park with Grindline in Copenhagen.

New Concrete in Northern Spain & Barcelona

Sergi Arenas sent in the latest skatepark developments from Northern Spain (from the provinces of Asturias, Cantabria and Basque country) as well as a new park in Barcelona. In Spain there are not many companies who build good concrete skateparks. It is usually the big construction companies that get contracts from the city. Sergi (from Barcelona) and his friends Iñigo & Miguel from Asturias get the jobs to work for some of the big companies, but they use their tools and skills to make them right – Built by skateboarders!

Photo Contest #4

So we’re working hard on the first print issue of CONFUSION MAGAZINE here at the Confusion Headquarters, but don’t want to leave you hanging waiting for some new content on the website, so we’re having a contest. WIN A FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO CONFUSION MAGAZINE.

BRUSK Collective: “Concrete Idea” Art Show

BRUSK Collective “Concrete Idea” Art Show
On Saturday, March 6th, 2010. Opening at 6:00 PM exhibition “Concrete Idea” at Basementizid – Wollhausstr. 17, in Heilbronn, Germany
Die hard skateboarders – bumps and holes covered by metal – then concrete -you’re already skating in your head – away from home – dread weather conditions – can dry fast or take the whole night – stick together as one – no one else wants it as good as we do – forget about the plans – we’ll be the first ones to skate it anyway

Blackcrossbowl – Basel, Switzerland

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.