If you’re aged between 18 and 20, you’re right in the middle of it. If you’re older, you’ll certainly remember how those times were. There’s not much to do in life besides skating, hangin’ with the homies, talking bullshit, and going out raving. It won’t get more easy-going, that’s for sure. You’re old enough to do everything and still young enough to get a pass with whatever shit you come up. It’s the classic skateboard lifestyle that won’t last forever. Justin Ernst and Benedikt Brinkert, two friends rooted in Ruhr area, who just recently popped up on our radar out of nowhere, seem to know that cause they enjoy their time to the fullest. Therefore, we didn’t want to get them into a stressful interview situation but just let them chill with familiar company – the Heckmecks girls’ gang – for a little chat to get to know those two new faces a little better.
Benedikt: I’m Bene, 19 years old and from Oberhausen ghetto.
Justin: I’m Justin, 18 years old from the Oberhausen ghetto, man.
J: No idea.
B: I think it was really random. Maybe because one of my friends had Tony Hawks Pro Skater.
J & B: No.
B: We met in Holten. Your mum brought you to the skatepark.
J: Dude, I was the sickest back then. Did a quick blunt to rock to fakie and showed everybody in Holten what’s up. [laughs]
B: Nine years ago, I think. I was ten and you were nine.
J: I don’t think so.
B: We were a really big group of skaters at first and bunch of them just quit after a while. We were the only ones left…
B & J: …so we had to get along.
Benedikt Brinkert, Wallride Nollie Out
J: Except when Bene gets too fucked up partying and doesn’t get his ass up. But I’m always skating.
B: Bullshit. I’m only pretending because I can’t see your face anymore.
B: For sure, man! Remember when all you did was playing video games for half a year. Kalle and me were hitting up Open Airea [a skatepark in Oberhausen, editor’s note] every day.
J: Fuck you, I’m talking about recently, you bastard.
J: Bene is the biggest bastard. [laughs] We need to stop talking shit.
B: I think Justin.
J: Alice Zänglein.
B: Otherwise we wouldn’t hang out almost every day of our lives.
J: No, we hate each other.
B: I don’t wanna leave for sure. Ruhr area is the best.
B: Pretty much.
J: You can’t really say that, but you’re probably right.
J: The IAK rail for sure. So good.
B: Nah, that thing makes me mad.
J: I can do everything on that rail, filmed my whole career there. [laughs]
J: That’s a secret.
B: It’s second-hand stuff, but we won’t tell the name of the store. Otherwise everybody will go there and snatch our shit.
B: It’s a different world. I wanted to go right back. But we’ll go again soon.
J: You don’t have anything to worry about, you just wake up and skate. We were there with five buddies and just went [with a Kermit the Frog voice] skating.
B: Kermit psychosis. It got really bad again when we were in Barca.
J: Insta for sure. Checking out a bunch of sick moves.
B: Nah, we just do it on the sidelines, but it’s way more motivating to check out Instagram instead of watching full-length videos. Because the sickest shit is being uploaded there nowadays.
J: And you can check out all of it and try something similar yourself that day.
B: The Alltimers boys for sure. Will Marshall.
J: Bene, of course. We went to the Obtain premiere and I got a Crêpe with Nutella and Bene got one with cinnamon and sugar. Biggest mistake of his life.
B: It was a mistake.
J: He puked all over the window of the train. Alice and another friend were with us as well and we were acting like retards.
B: I think because of the twins, Deti and Doni [Cavali]. We used to skate with them and they already knew the Obtain guys and we basically met them on accident when we were street skating.
J: Filmed some moves at the U right away.
"I got a Crêpe with Nutella and Bene got one with cinnamon and sugar. Biggest mistake of his life."
B: The best.
J: The G’s.
J: Nah, never.
B: There’s a line we usually do not cross. But we do diss each other a lot. But not only just the two of us, it’s all the homies. But just because we like each other, you know?
J: That’s the way boys do it.
B: Because you understand.
J & B: But you’re half-boys.
[laughter]
B: I meant her state of mind.
J: It’s cool.
B: Everyone who skates is cool. No matter which gender.
B: Right now, I sleep till noon, go skating, and chill at someone’s place at night.
J: That’s pretty much my daily routine. From time to time, we hit up André [Müller] from Obtain. We’re doing an internship that really starts in a couple of days.
J: Ah, I don’t know. I guess he’ll be cool about it and chill.
J: Print hoodies.
B: All kinds of stuff. Everything he needs help with.
J: Just skate and skate.
B: For sure, just skate and maybe do something that revolves around it. We already asked him if we could get an apprenticeship.
J: Clothing is gangsta, too. Style is essential for skating. Always important to be fresh.
B: The weather.
J: It’s fucking cold.
B: And the indoor parks in Germany.
J: Skaters are G’s and everybody is hopping on to the train right now because they finally get it.
B: It’s chaos. Everyone there looks like a skater, but no one skates.
J: They are all fucking bitches.
B: Yeah, because you already did everything they do now. We looked like them two years ago. Now everyone looks like that, wears the pants and the beanies. But it doesn’t bother me too much.
B: They have some good spots, but it’s nothing compared to the Ruhr area. Especially the people.
B: Essen for sure, but only because Dortmund is further away.
J: Actually, everything is cool. It’s good that we live in Oberhausen because we don’t have shit here. So we are always forced to go to another city, which never gets boring. If you look at all the homies from Cologne, they are stuck there and never go anywhere else.
B: And we are always going somewhere else.
"I’m already going crazy when I can’t skate for a day."
J: Looking sick, stylin’ out.
J: I wouldn’t know what to do with my life.
B: No idea. I’m already going crazy when I can’t skate for a day.
J: Skating, raving, maybe chilling somewhere at night. But during the day we do nothing else besides skating.
J: Just watching pretty much every new skate video on YouTube, Thrasher, Free Skate Mag, and Transworld.
B: Skating with headphones? No way. But we always listen to French trap to get pumped. Always Kalash Criminel. The best.
J: Nah, you understand everything they say. All the bullshit they talk. French trap is alright, just tight beats.
J: Heelflip indy.
B: Back smith.
J: Alright, I’ll change mine to front nose.
B: Yes, we split up the tricks in half.
B: I don’t know if I even want to call Obtain a sponsor. We’re just homies. Or family. And recently, we started to get some stuff from Vans.
B: [Hendrik] Herzmann just hit us up on Instagram. And we went to skate together and then it all started.
J: For sure, it’s the best. Vans is the best. Best shoes and everything.
J: No, we only diss each other.
B: We diss each other hard till the other one gets his move.
J: When someone tries a trick, we get on each other’s nerve till someone shuts it down with a sick trick.
J: Never.
B: No, with other homies maybe…
J: Bene’s a weak ass bitch anyways.
B: Maybe in Berlin when you wanted to skate and we wanted to party.
J: Because I was the realest. I wanted to skate, you just tried to drag me down. Shit.
J: No, we strictly separate our stuff.
J & B: For sure.
B: We always fight about who got it first. Every time it’s the same shit.
B: Mine is at home, but it was fake.
J: Yours was fucked up. And daddy got himself a wicked golden ring.
B: Right, you got that one from your granddad.
J: It doesn’t get more G than that.
B: I don’t know. Don’t have the time.
J: Only when it rains maybe.
J: No we are, but only when it rains. That’s the best you can do.
J: Exactly.
J: Not really, but we’re pretty much all mental. Everyone who hangs out with us becomes a maniac and starts to talk like we do and all that bullshit.
B: Nah, it’s alright. I don’t take it seriously. Without me bringing him back to earth, that dude would be fucking lost.
J: He’s one calm bastard.
B: Skating is the best. Never stop skating. And raving.
J: Skate every fucking day, always do what you love. Now it’s winter and you have to get up early to skate.
B: Get up early, skate early, rave early.