Down the Backstreets of Istanbul

May 01, 2007 @ 10:09 AM

“The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom”
- Maya Angelou

Philip Schuster crooks

The urge To cover more ground, see more landscapes, do crazier Trips, Got to get out of town. Do something to break the routine.
Anything but complain about how your scene or your spot might suck. For instance, grab a video camera and go film some of your and your friend’s tricks.

Words: Julian Dykmans
Photos: Sem (unless indicated)

The thing is, skateboarders are really great at complaining. We often sit around, wearing our asses out, whining about this or that. A good opportunity to do something out of the ordinary was offered by Red Bull. They like to organize pretty exceptional events. One might criticize bigger companies for even meddling with skateboarding, but bottom line is, the event is happening, period. So the alternative question is: are you and your crew going to be the ones going on a trip to Istanbul to skate and meet up. Or you could stay where you are and keep talking trash… Red Bull Skate Shot is a pretty simple concept. Groups of friends from different European countries that won their national event are sent to skate the final in Istanbul. Once there, they have 4 days to skate, edit a video part and attend a big party where they themselves will elect the winning team.

Boaz Aquino, Ollie

The winner gets a trip to Shanghai (China), to skate the biggest skatepark in the world. Pretty cool. Something I might add: having an event like this in Istanbul in winter, considering the weather forecast, is pretty daring. So yes, it rained. And yes, we skated anyway. Thanks to the Turks’ improvisational skills and their connections, we got to skate amazing places. Stand outs where the ultra luxury shopping mall or the covered dock in front of the river Bosphorus. But the cherry on the cake was the grand Bazaar. Just imagine a night session in this 500 year old covered market. It is basically a little city with 4000 shops that is like a labyrinth, with downhills, curbs, wheely platforms, and it felt like a museum. Some regarded this session as the best in their life. We went there, with an authorization to skate the place for 3 hours, and we could not believe it. What’s great is nobody has been to Istanbul, and yes, it is full of spots! Now, the info you are dying to get: fun facts about the city. Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, has a population of 13 million- or so claim the authorities. Locals tend to estimate 16 million. Either way, it is pretty goddamn humungous, and knowing the numbers allows you to comprehend the casual, everyday chaos a little better. the city is separated in two by the Bosphorus river, which leaves you with the European side (where we were mostly) and the Asian side (i was never in Asia before : sick !). 99.8 % of the population is Muslim. that said, the city looks totally European apart from all the Mosques (literally at every corner) and a few women wearing veils. it is referred to as the “City of Seven Hills” because, yes, of the hills surrounding the city. That means, good for skateboarding.

Monir Salihi, 5-0

Yes my friends, this city is full of spots. A mecca of skateboarding practically untouched. Skaters in turkey have been at it only a couple years, maybe 5, tops. This means that they’re not adventurous in their search for spots, in fact they tend to stick to the incredible curb spot “Besiktas”. (Come on Jan and crew, go look for spots !). We should also to mention the person who stopped polygamy and corruption, improved industries, changed the landscape of public education and granted equal rights for women… his name is Ataturk. He liberated turkey from its struggle, defended the country against invaders and created the Republic of turkey in 1923. He is basically the man. Turkish people have a very great sense of pride about him and they should. Now, what are the characteristics of 9 groups of skaters from completely different countries in an totally unexpected and unheard-of new skate city like Istanbul? The Finns. They were quiet.
So quiet, they’ll make you feel like they don’t like you. All the other teams where scared to talk to them. It’s just the way they are. At the party, after a couple liters of vodka/redbull, the atmosphere got lighter. They ripped every spot. They consumed lots of efes, a local beer. They unrushed 15 minutes of footage, whereas other teams unrushed up to 150 ! i guess you can chalk it up to the silent Finn efficiency. the Spaniards. these guys lost half their team with injuries but they managed to bring a solid group of 4 to come anyhow. You had the ultra tech kid, the hammer guy, the tranny guy and the fi lmer. not many trannies in Istanbul but Diego killed it anyway. The Spanish wanted to keep their clip so secret until the last second upon deadline, so that I got suspicious that they’d maybe made foul insertions such as nakedness or some butt shots of Rowley to enhance their clip. But no, the foul thoughts were mine; they just wanted to be secretive. Ok. The Germans. that sounds so good. Ze germens! Every time. Sorry guys. These guys were really cool, mellow, enjoying skating and seeing a new city. Special mention to Robin obviously, who gave us an ultimate dance on stage, twice (one was a striptease, but it was only for us special people at the opening welcome dinner). Unfortunately, not on camera. These were the guys that made me feel they were the most stoked to be there in a great humble way.

Pirrka Polari, backside flip

The Israelites. Well I have to say that I did not expect to see a team so motivated as the israeli guys were. non-stop hours of skating. Full-on script and stage. Most hours spent in front of the computer. And, got to mention Scorpion. that’s of one of the guys’ nickname. Why? Well, he said the only trick he would like to learn is how to fall. But he hasn’t yet, so he always has to take it on his chest. And he falls, a lot, so much actually that it gives you the nervous laugh. They wanted to win. it’s great to see people have a goal in skateboarding. Alas, they didn’t. They were very close. the Dutchmen. They were really mellow- not that they were a stereotype of guys into weed. Actually, do you know that young people in Holland rarely smoke weed as it is so available and déjà vu. Tell that to a French guy… So, cool dudes into skating. They cruised about the whole town pretty discreetly but in the end their part was really enjoyable to watch.
The Turks. These guys are freaking cool. They haven’t skated more than 5 years in their life. tolga, the veteran skater of Istanbul, wasn’t able to get off work because he is too goddamn needed there. Bastards! Give him a raise. The guys just cruised it, filmed this and that. they were not worried in the least and were well stoked to see so many good skaters tickling their spots. While editing, they were telling me they are gonna lose. “ But Jan, there is no loser, there just happens to be a winner “. “ Yeah but we are gonna be last then “. Well the order was not divulged, but what’s sure it’s that they were far from last. You guys rip. Keep on skating! The Austrians. I think these guys had been more around than the other teams, traveling wise. They were calm, collected and were filming their stuff. their worry was that they chose Philipp Schuster as their photographer and that when nobody wants to shoot a photo, well, he skates. And boy, they felt miserable. Every time he nailed a trick, the guys were sinking more into depression wondering why they didn’t think of doing a switch one foot ollie down 10. Well, the truth is , it was more like some other teams considered Philipp an enemy. Well, next time, you know: bring a photographer who can skate !

Robin Wulf, Frontside flip

The Greeks. So yeah, they skate in Greece, and pretty damn good if you ask me. People skate everywhere in the world, bro. everywhere! So these guys got to skate the Asian side. Lucky ones… they probably got the best local skate guide, cheats. Apologies actually, we assigned the guides. So, the Greeks skated hard, got some crazy slams and kept on going. They were brave. The Swiss. These guys were really neutral: awesome kids with great attitude. Some with much will to skate. They jumped down a lot of stuff. Got some great tech lines in. Amazing, they smiled all the way : the skaters voted, and they won the trip to Shanghai. To check all the video clips of these guys go on:
http://www.redbullskateshot.com