Joscha Aicher – Young, Talented and Broke

Hi Joscha. Could it be that you somehow got lost in the void of Barcelona? I thought you were supposed to be back in Munich by now.

Haha, nah, I’ll come back soon, but for now I extended my stay somewhat spontaneously, because Farid [Ulrich] stays a little longer, too, and Mario [Ungerer] and Daniel [Ledermann] are coming next week and I just wanted to hit the streets with those guys, too. Also I just need one or two more bangers for the Solo-part. I bruised my heel pretty badly in Berlin a week before the trip to Bangkok and couldn’t really do anything big for two weeks, just some chill stuff. I’m not really happy with what I got so far because I have been injured a lot. But meanwhile everything is back on track and my knee is getting better again. I stretched my cruciate ligament this year. That set me far back. Then my knees also were overused and that forced me to chill for some time. But now, here in Barca, everything is back to normal and skating is so much fun.

It probably feels like home already…

For sure. We are down with all the sick Brazilians at MACBA and it’s really chill. Those guys own that place but they really rip too. We didn’t have any place at first and had to pay twenty bucks per person to sleep on a mattress on the floor. But then we got lucky, because Farid knows Mosqua, that photographer from Brazil, and then we somehow got into their place. They all skate so unbelievable good, you can’t even imagine.

Farid yells: The skate-level here is exploding, man!

Tailslide Popout

Can it be that you really got into traveling this year?

Well, I always liked traveling, but this year is the first that I’m really going on trips and stuff, which is especially due to hanging out with Farid because he is always dragging me along. So far in my life I have travelled around the most this year.

Travel agency Farid Ulrich. Sick. How was it at Burny’s [Florian “Burny” Hopfensperger] in Bangkok? You extended your stay there as well…

We stayed there for one month – it was so dope. That was a lifetime experience to check out all the small alleys and backyards with Burny and to skate this completely different world. After that we stayed on the islands for two more weeks to relax. That was my first visit to Asia and I really fell in love. The landscapes, the masses of people and everyone is really friendly. Everyone has a smile on their face and is excited when they see you skate some spots.

To try one particular trick for three hours is not my thing at all

In Bangkok you kind of subordinated to the group and waited till you passed a spot that seemed appealing to you. Is it always like that?

Mostly, I’d like to go out with a bunch of guys that think of spots and I just try to get the best out of it for myself. When I call bangers, I get twice as mad when it’s not working out and also it’s just a completely different approach. I like to skate spontaneously, since I’m a lot more productive then, too, even if it’s not resulting in the sickest bangers. I just try to skate every spot as good as possible.

There aren’t really that many spots that you can’t cope with, right?

That’s true, I like to skate pretty much everything. That’s what attracts me the most. And to try one particular trick for three hours is not my thing at all. I want to have fun at a spot. Of course it happens that you torture yourself for hours to get a trick when you’re really eager, but actually I just want to skate the spots. The ideas for lines or tricks usually come to me while skating the spot. I don’t really arrive at a spot and say: “Damn, this trick here and that trick there and another one over here”, because, in the end, it can happen that this one particular trick doesn’t work out for some reason.

Nollie Kickflip

Which role do the homies, filmer and photographer play for you, when it comes to looking at a spot a certain way? Are they influencing you in any way?

I’d say, it’s all about the right mix. You somehow check out how everyone else is skating the spot and whether you want to or even are able to skate it in the same way as well. We just skate and the ideas are developing on their own somehow. Of course sometimes I ask my boys, if they liked that line better or if I should do another trick when I want to film something. As a skater you can’t really evaluate, whether your tricks will be good or bad.

What did you gather from your travels this year?

A lot of experiences for sure. I would say the most experience that I have ever gathered in my life when it comes down to skating. Especially from Farid and Burny, I learned a lot about how everything works in the skate business. I didn’t think about that stuff at all before. I didn’t have any sponsors two years ago and just skated at the skatepark in Munich every day or sometimes went filming with the Marijuth boys. Shout out to the best crew! Well yeah, by talking to Farid and Burny I realized that it is possible to earn some money with skating in Germany as well. So far I have always looked at that as a myth or something and thought that you can’t get anything out of it. But through Farid, for example, I saw that that’s not true and that really motivated me.

I realized that it is possible to earn some money with skating in Germany as well

Should a skatephoto always show a special trick in your opinion or do you also dig photos that have like an artsy aspect?

I dig all the photos that are sick shots and show a stylish trick. I don’t give a fuck, if it’s a banger or not. But there should always be a banger on the cover [laughs].

Why are you not working at the post office anymore and what are you up to now?

I completed the apprenticeship at the post office and quit right after that, because that job just destroys you. In the summer it’s really nice – you get off work early, you’ve been on the bike for eight hours and arrive at the skatepark already warmed up. That was a really good time. But in the winter it’s extremely tough. You get fucked up when you ride a bike for six to eight hours a day with degrees below zero. The cold also messes with your joints and, by now, I get like blue-reddish hands every time it gets cold. That comes from working there for sure. Ever since, I’m doing nothing but skating. I also tried to get my technical diploma again but didn’t manage to pull through. I don’t have enough motivation to stick to anything, when it comes to educational stuff. My grades weren’t that good either, so that’s why I did the apprenticeship in the first place and I thought that I can now focus on skating and if that doesn’t work out, I can still work at the post office.

How does a typical day look like for you?

Depends on where I wake up. In Germany I still live with my parents like an hour away from Munich. When I’m in Munich, I usually crash at Julian’s or my buddy J.D. – and then the daily routine varies. You get up differently, eat breakfast differently, go skate at different times and to different spots. But, altogether, you could say: get up, eat, skate, smoke, sleep.

Crooked Grind Revert

How long do you still want to commute between Munich and home?

It annoys me so much and, of course, I’d like to get my own place and my own life, but especially in Munich, where the net cold rent is about 800 Euro, it is impossible. I’d have to work my ass of five days a week to afford a place. That is a problem that really gets on my nerves at the moment because I just don’t have a monthly income, no money and no place. And those are of course things that you want to have some day. I’m 21 now and want to try to accomplish that by skating and my parents are really supportive, too. If you look at it that way, it’s alright, too, because I get along with them really well. When I’m at home I go to hike the mountains with them or do bike rides and when I’m hurt, my dad shows me some exercises so I recover quickly – really sick.

I know from reliable sources that Mixen could imagine to hook you up with a job in the graphic department of SHRN.

[laughs really loud] Mixen? For real dude? I’m hearing that for the first time.

Esel and Mixen for sure. When you go in the shop and they are totally stressed out and you just talk to them the whole time till they get even more stressed out

He told me… You got some CS skills, don’t you?

Yeah, actually, it would be really sick… I have done this photoshop education during secondary school. It wouldn’t be too uncool to be honest. But it would probably be five days a week, too, and there wouldn’t really be a lot of time left to skate. Or like just going to Berlin for three weeks wouldn’t be possible either.

Depends on the deal you make with Robinson and Mixen, I’d say. What is the best thing on your daily visits to SHRN?

Esel and Mixen for sure. When you go in the shop and they are totally stressed out and you just talk to them the whole time till they get even more stressed out – that’s always hilarious. But every visit to SHRN is sick. You can chill so hard on their couch, watch skate videos and have Esel and Mixen for entertainment.

Which one of the two is better with moms and which one is better with kids?

Oooh… [laughs] Good question! I’d say Mixen is better with the moms and Esel with the kids, haha! But Esel is also good with moms, you know. [laughs]

Then give the boys our best regards when you’re back.

Joscha rides for Barbar Skateboards, SHRN, Nike SB, Claro Caps, Supertoxic Wheels and Lewel Griptape

Ollie [Foto: Biemer]