An Evening With Tony Hawk. OLT Rivierenhof, Antwerpen, 2.8.2022.

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Kauan odotettu hetki koitti viime viikon tiistaina: ilta Tony Hawkin kanssa. Olin törsännyt meet&greet -lippuun, koska noh, olihan se ilta herra Hawkin kanssa, joka tuskin tulisi toistumaan. Sitä paitsi, tulee leso ripustus, kun laitan Tonyjen Hawk ja Alva nimmaroimat laudat seinälle rinnakkain 😀

Noin puolitoista tuntia kestäneen puheensa aikana Tony Hawk kertoi urastaan. Puhetta katkoivat videoklipit Hawkin elämän eri vaiheilta. Koko ilta alkoi nuoruuden videopätkillä ja esityksen aikana mukana oli skeittivideoiden lisäksi myös mm. mainosmateriaalia. Sellaisiakin, joista Hawk ei ole niin ylpeä. En tiedä, mitä odotin, mutta illan punainen lanka tuntui olleen hieman hukassa. Toisaalta Tony Hawk on sekä skeittari että taitava businesshahmo, niin ehkei hänen puheestaan ole mahdollista yksikaistaista tehdäkään. Silti vaikkapa dramaturgi olisi voinut vilkaista puheen kulkua. Hawk esimerkiksi esitteli itsensä, vaikkakin kyllä myös myönsi, että se lienee tässä yhteydessä turhaa. Myöhemmin hän droppaili skeittareiden ja temppujen nimiä siihen tahtiin, että perusbusinessjamppa (joiden edessä Hawk on käsittääkseni tottuneempi puhumaan) ei olisi pysynyt mukana. Hajanaisuus tuskin kuitenkaan haittasi ketään, koska kaikki olivat todennäköisesti paikalla fan moment -syystä, aivan kuten minäkin.

Puheensa lopuksi Hawk vastasi yleisön etukäteen jättämiin kysymyksiin. Mieleenpainuvin (koska yksi skeittauksen viehätyksistä on sen älyvapaus) niistä oli: “Minkä tempun tekisit, jos pääsisit avaruuteen?” Vastaus: “Ho Ho Plant.” Ihan viimeiseksi yleisö sai livenä esittää kysymyksiä. Illan kruunasi klassikko “DO A KICK FLIP!”. Keväällä pahasti loukkaantunut Hawk ei pystynyt haasteeseen vastaamaan, mutta kutsui huutelijan lavalle tempun toteuttamaan. Neljä nuorta skeittaria pomppasi lavalle ja siinä yleisön ja herra Hawkin edessä ländäsivät kickflipit. Ikimuistoinen ilta.

Kuva: Sive Cauvenberghs

A book review

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My book review of Sierra Prescott’s Shredders and Dani Abulhawa’s Skateboarding and Femininity: Gender, Space-making and Expressive Movement was published few weeks ago on Yeah Girl. You can read it on link below. I also highly recommend to get to follow the Yeah Girl Skate Media, which is a global media platform celebrating the intersection of womxn’s skateboarding and creativity.

Updating the history of skateboarding: a book review by Eeva-Mari Haikala

From quiet to lively

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I was quiet on these pages for a long time – which seems to be a statement I’ve started these posts.

I still have been skateboarding. Those attempts occasionally end up to my Instagram account with the same name than this blog. As we live in times of pandemic and curfews and lockdowns – and in that part of Europe – where winters are wet, I have not been skating as much as I would like to. Some times ago, I could not have believed, when it comes to skateboarding, I will miss Finnish winter. Before covid hit the world, I was in Helsinki, skating a couple of times a week in Kontula indoor skate park. On this winter in Belgium, it’s been only about twice a month when I’ve been able to skate. Between Finland and Belgium, was summer 2020. The most part of it, I spent it in France, mostly in Paris and in it’s suburbs. When there, had some weeks of regular morning skate sessions at Skatepark des Fougères. I also got familiar with a fab girl skate association Realaxe Association and their weekly sessions in a bowl skater’s heaven Espace Glisse de Paris 18. Another bowl skating heaven was a Cosa Nostra skate park in Chelles, just a little bit outside of Paris. As part of my Paris time were cat sitting in Maisons-Alfort, that area’s skate park was also one of my regulars. Paris was a lonely ride, if the cat company is not counted. I did also a city trip to Germany with my partner on the last (very hot) days of July. Lovely times, and I surely miss the sweaty skate session we had at North Brigade.

Whilst talking about summer 2020, I must mention also one long time dream which became true. Did my first attempts on a surf board. Fell in love in a same way than to skateboarding when tried that first time. First times were on family holiday in Soulac-sur-Mer. Teaching was more holiday fun than focusing on technique. Had one ‘proper’ lession in The Hague, Holland, before covid restrictions tightened again.

Other than that, it’s been pretty quiet times, and not only on these pages.

So quiet that I got sick of that. So I decided to change a bit of a direction of this blog. I will still post here skateboard related stories and pics. But will also post some sort of diary of my journey towards my dream: a driving license and own car/van, which takes me to the road, hopefully mostly for skateboarding and surfing. And perhaps to post also some others issues that interests me. Language might be changing between English and Finnish, which can be annoying for English speakers, apologies for that. I will do this language change because I also wish this blog to serve me as a platform in which I can keep my writing going.

Let’s see what will happen. I hope you’ll stay on board with me 🙂

For more professional related posts and updates, are published on my artist webpage: http://www.eeva-mari.net

And if you want to read about my activities on first lock down on spring 2020, here’s a link (in Finnish): http://www.liikekieli.com/kun-kodistani-tuli-tanssistudio/

Skate cat at Cosa Nostra skate park
Cosa Nostra Skate Park outdoors
Skatepark des Fougères
Skatepark des Fougères
North Brigade, Cologne
SO HOT, North Brigade
Surf lesson at Tasha’s Surfcamp in Scheveningen, Holland

Long time no see, London Diary Part 1

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Long time, no see.. Actually, so long time that I need to  skip one year when changed my age on a profile description…

Of course, a lot has happened during the silence on this site, including skateboarding. I am afraid the progress has not been that massive. A few weeks ago someone asked if I I have just started to skate… Well, I don’t mind how it looks like, the point is how it feels, and how it makes me feel.

I decided to re-active this site for various reasons. To be involved with skateboarding even in those moments when not skating myself, to keep up the habit of writing, to keep up writing in English, to be active – and hopefully also to motivate someone who might be hesitating to jump up on a skateboard: if I can do it, so can you 🙂

This first burst of posts will be a diary of my current  Easter break visit in London. It is also long time no see for this this city. Last time was early summer 2018, when took part of the first ever academic skateboarding conference Pushing Boarders at the Bartlett School of Architecture and House of Vans, London. You can read about it and follow all talks from here:  https://www.pushingboarders.com/2018

This time I came to London as my old cat friend Rollo needed a company over the holidays, so me, my skateboard and sport clothes arrived here on Friday afternoon.

Via Instagram I saw the Keep Pushing Podcast was having their beginners session at the Meanwhile skate park in North London. So there I went.

Keep Pushing Podcast is a community around 40 skaters, led by Rae Smith. Keep Pushing Podcast promotes diversity in the skateboarding community. Activities include for example Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37-7UU1kok0 , weekly skate sessions open for anyone. They welcomed me very warmly even all were busy with their drop-in attempts. Me shy as I can be in a new place and company stayed on low part of the bowl practising kick-turns and just adjusting my body back to London. The whole atmosphere in Meanwhile was fab, everyone supporting each others, including the good skaters giving space to newbies. After I left, was thinking I wish I would have skated back then when was living in London, as then my love-hate relationship with this mad massive city would have been more on the love-side.

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Ready to go. Alongside skating will attend somatic dance lessons over here, will write about that too.

 

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New skate friends at Meanwhile skateparks.

 

 

Kool chica in London aka tongue in cheek fan bragging

~ crazyskatelady ~ 1 Comment

Time to break the silence on this site with the breaking news. Yours truly has been skating with Tony Alva! Yes, OMG OMG OMG. Breathing in, and sharing  pics with you of Crazy Skate Lady’s week in London.

(Of course, when something actually is happening, my phone memory was full, and was not able to take much pictures.)

For at once, I was in a right place at the right time. My hopes having a quiet morning skate session at ‘Brixton Beach’ turned out to be a session to remember, as when arrived to Stockwell, there was a skate legend Tony Alva himself.  So, not only have I been pictured with Mr Alva, I’ve been skating with him – or at least this is how I like to see that session 😀

 

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Tony Alva and me at Stockwell skate park 21.11.2017

 

 

 

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Captured from skateboardmuseum’s Insta. Have a look on a next pic…

 

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Tony Alva called me Kool chica. I am seriously considering to take that to be my official name 😉

Tony Alva turned 60 earlier this autumn. To celebrate his birthday, and to showcase Alvas new skate film made with the filmmaker Mayol (Alex Baret), House of Vans threw a private party for London skaters and Vans Europe professional skaters. I was a lucky one to get my name on the guest list, thanks to Jürgen / Skateboard museum, who were skating with Alva on that Tuesday morning at Stockwell. What an amazing evening it was, especially for a skateboard newbie like myself. And the best bit of it all: Alva came to greet me with a hug, and we shared a few words about ‘our session’ on the other day. I must add I was very nervous and kind of lost my words. Before meeting Alva I only thought Skid Row or Nirvana is something that could make me shaky.

 

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With a shaky hands asked an autograph for this board I got

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House of Vans London

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Alva’s Q&A

 

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Here’s a link to Sidewalk Skatemagazine’s interview of Alva and notions of a younger skater about the evening:

https://sidewalkmag.com/features/tony-alva-interview-house-vans.html#e8qch3fzeC1iI783.97

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Taking the tongue out of cheek, meeting such a legend really gave motivation to keep continuing my attempts on a skateboard. It is not about the age or skills, it is all about having a good time. And those moments skateboarding has already given me plenty.

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A few other pics from my stay in London:

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It wasn’t skateboarding that took me to London, but this furry Londoner needing a cat-sitter

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Tero Juuti tattooed my knuckles for his Tattoo Dictionary project (it is ball point pen ink)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geometry of Motion: Raphaël Zarka and skateable sculptures

~ crazyskatelady ~ 1 Comment

Last weekend the BPS22 Musée d’art de la Province de Haunaut in Charleroi, Belgium opened up Raphaël Zarka’s exhibition Riding Modern Art. The exhibition consists of skateable sculptures and photos of various photographers capturing skateboarders skating on different sculptures all over the world, as well as few videos and maquettes of sculptures.

I missed the opening night to see how skateboarders rode on those scuptures. That’s a shame as one of the  Zarka’s ideas behind the sculptures is, how skateboarders ‘shape’ space in a way which can be seen similar of how sculptor works. At the moment when I visited the museum, on a day following the opening, dude and I were the only visitors. I knew already it would be way out of my skills ever to be able to even just ride down any of these sculptures. Nevertheless, I took a board with me, as  I thought it would be re-freshing to experience an art show from different points of view: from the board.

 

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Raphaël Zarka (b.1977) is a French artist who in his practise has been combining art and skateboarding in a different medium: he has written skateboarding encyclopedia On a Day With no Waves, A Cronicle of Skateboarding 1779-2009 and an essay form book Free Ride. Skateboard, mécanique galiéenne et formes simples, in which he looks at how skate obstacles and sculptures share similarities; he has curated a photo series Riding Modern Art collecting together skate photograhps of (well known) sculptures all over the world whilst skaters are skating on them.

In BPS22 exhibited are skateable objects which with their shape and form are close of minimalist sculptures. According to Zarka minimalism (an art style having it’s peak times in 1960’s and early 70’s, characterized by an abstract (often basic) forms, and the potentiality of material itself) is close of the logic of skateboarding: minimalism cares about space and experience. In minimalism sculptures are not only meant to be looked at with your eyes, but to experience with the whole body.  (look more: http://www.soloskatemag.com/raphael-zarka-about-skating-sculptures) Works seen in Charleroi are based on his interest of 19th century mathematician Arthur Moritz Schoenflies, and his three dimensional models. Zarka reconstructed them, and not just to be ‘passive’ forms, but to find out how those shapes would work for skateboarding.

The following video introducing Zarka’s spatial thinking and its connection to skateboarding is also screened in BPS22.

 

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Before this exhibition Zarka was familiar name for me through his publications. After experiencing an atypical indoor skate park inside of the museum I am convinced of to spend more time with my germinating idea of how I could use skateboarding as a part of my practise – if I have not yet mentioned this, yours sincerely Crazy Skate Lady is an artist-researcher by profession.

 

 

 

Delayed post card from Finland

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Oops the whole May went without any posts here (my apologies). I also try to forgive myself didn’t skate that much during the whole month. I was in my home country Finland, and it just was very hectic with seeing friends, family, working – and also the weather was very, very bad, even for Finnish spring: it was sleeting in mid May when arrived to Helsinki.

But when I did skate (that was once), it was with a style. This was my kit when heading to skate in the Vuosaari skate park in eastern Helsinki. It was also meeting up with a friend who had turned 40 whilst I’ve been away, and with whom had not yet celebrated my doctoral status.

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The session itself was not that great. Actually, was quite frustrated as last summer on the same spot was much better, but nevertheless it was super-nice to spend time with my friend, and also when it was getting dark-ish (I remind you, despite of cold spring, I was in a country of ‘nightless nights’) to hear birds, chat with some local skateboarders (I admired his skateboarding skills, he my job), to be worrying in a giddily way, if we’ll catch the last metro back to centre, and finally when there, to have some after midnight junk food before heading to my temporary home.

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I also got some souvenir for myself to decorate my cat board. This sticker for Finnish skateboard brand Tikari is done by Katri Sipilä, a Finnish artist doing fab paintings, comic books, tattoos, skateboarding, designs skateboards.

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And here is a souvenir for you. Finland is full of nice spots (erm, not necessarily legal to skate…), in summer there is LOT of light to skate all night long. So go skate there, go (just select carefully the time of the year) for your visit!

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(ps. the sign says skateboarding is not allowed on terrace area.)

 

 

 

 

 

Turnhout joys and pebbles

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It feels like a looong time since I was in London, because the environment where I am at the moment, is so very different from the hectic city. I am doing a short-term artist residency programme in a small village in Belgium. Work takes most of my time, but managed to sneak out, and skate a bit in a Turnhout skatepark a few days ago.

The start wasn’t promising. I was very tired (this changing a place (too) often and working in a new place etc. is taking its toll) and was struggling again with the fear. Finally started to try out new things, and started to feel more comfortable, so rode in quite a good speed, as can be seen in this video.

 

More than conquering a new spot, I am happy of taking first steps with new tricks. These are:

  • footplant on flat / boneless (see here what it means: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrDJlw6r5GI) – I have trouble even putting my front foot down from the board, as so far it’s ALWAYS been only BACK foot on the ground
  • Old school carving (something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NSKhWcZPRo) – I just need to learn to carve ‘sharply’ first….
  • to ‘jump’ when hitting the edge, honestly it does not look like it, but in the video when getting up the bank, I am doing it: at least in my head 🙂

Dear reader, I promise you, by the end of the summer, I will nail (or at least somehow manage) those!

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During the skate session happened something I thought to open up, even though it is not really a big deal, but can’t believe it would happen if a) I would be a man b) I would be younger – and it does bother me a little; and similar things happens time to time (also when I am running). I was skating with my boyfriend, who was having a break and was sitting on the edges of the park, when a man (not skater himself) passing by with a dog joined him. Afterwards heard the man was commenting my skateboarding – and this is a bit that disturbs me. I do not mind advices , and I know part of the skateboarding is to be watched by others, but would he had done the same, if it would have been the opposite way: my boyfriend (well, a ‘real’ skater, but not a young one) skating and me sitting on the edges, and then to comment to me how he skates? I doubt that. And it annoyed me more than the pebble on the ground that made me fall off.

 

 

“Why I learned to skateboard in my 40’s”

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Two weeks ago when was in London, was interviewed by Huffington Post UK (!), and here’s the result!

Oddly enough during the session, I was more nervous to talk (normally I am pretty talkative) than to skateboard. I was first struggling to give an answer to the question “has skateboarding changed my life?”, as it felt somehow too big to say, yes it has changed my life.  But now when I watch this video clip, I realize it is the only right answer to give. I could be critical of grammar mistakes I made, poor this and that, snotty nose…. But, no I am not. I am effing proud of myself.

 

Surfing on Brixton Beach

~ crazyskatelady ~ 3 Comments

Hello from London! A city where I used to spend a lot of time and where I did my doctoral studies, but that was before I picked up skateboarding, so this time it is like exploring the whole new city.

And so far it has been fab! I am staying in South East London with an easy acces to Brixton and Stockwell skate park. I have now had four sessions there, and it has a place in my top three (or at leat five) skateparks I’ve been skating.

Stockwell, or Brixton Beach (opened in 1978) as it is also called, is perfect for surfing and for old school tricks – excatly the ones I was swearing to learn this year. Actually, in Stockwell I see skaters doing them. The skatepark with it’s undulating design is inviting for those moves. Also, it seems there are some ‘older’ skaters around familiar with the old skool style. It is clear I am in London, and the diversity of people living here can also be seen on skatepark.

Yesterday I actually had a short introduction for the old school turn  (thank you, you nice person showing me after I asked) – I don’t know the real name – the one where you put your back hand down, ‘front’ hand grabs the board, and you’re supposed to drag your back feet back so that you kind of do the 180 degree turn. To be honest, the only clue I got about it, is that I have to be very fast. Will definitetly practise that, maybe just in bit more calmer park.

Skateboarding really is a state of mind. As I wrote in earlier posts, I have been struggling with the fear issue recently. This week in London fear seems to be mostly away. I must say, it did take some courage to enter into the crowded Stockwell park. I also got bit intimidated on my first day when was told off from corner bit, as it “too dangerous”. I am not sure was that said for my safety, for other skaters safety, or just to scare me off, as I am slow and thus probably annoying (following carefully the rules, waiting my turn and looking what others do). But I didn’t go anywhere, and went back – and last Friday was the best skate sessions since last summer. Somehow all just went together, and felt very comfortable. It probably didn’t look much different than usual, but for the first time I felt like a skateboarder.  I found the flow, my space amongst others in the park – and just rode corners, lines, managed to kick turn (on mild bank).

If this feeling stays, I will try and ride down the steep bank in Stockwell. Just like all other skateboarders.