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.

DIY Spot Berlin: GHETTO

Daniel Schmid and Sven Daubenfeld built their own skate spot in Berlin. The ground was too sandy, the wood wasn’t good enough to get enough speed. Two slams, one make. They agreed they efforts were a failure and moved on to the next spot. Better luck next time dudes…

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.

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.

Malmö DIY skateparks

Went up to Malmö, Sweden for the weekend and checked out Stapelbäddsparken, Sibbarp and the new DIY project at Steppenside – The Hole….

North Carolinan Concrete

Powells Point, up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, is the latest in small town America to get a new concrete Skate park!

Benson Bros hit up the Parks

FDR local Adam Benson skates dirty & raw. Relocating from his home state of Delaware to California, where younger brother Colin Benson has already been lurking out in Santa Cruz for the last few years, the Benson Brothers are always up for raising havoc wherever they roam. Whether it’s the local watering whole, skatepark, or most recent DIY project, they don’t give up without a fight.

Josh Mattson @ Roosevelt Park, San Jose, CA

Josh Mattson testing out the Roosevelt Park in San Jose.

The Roosevelt Park in San Jose is similar to the Santa Cruz skatepark. Not surprisingly, both are designed by everyone’s favorite skatepark designer, Zack Wormhoudt, who arguably has increasingly improved his skills by his 100th design attempt.