Who’s seen the
Levi’s Spot Delivery Tour feature in
Solo #3 knows already, that it was roadtrip feeling deluxe!
You might have seen the
Levi’s Edit as well, but we also joined the bus tour for a few days and made our own edit.
[Photos: Alex Shuktuew]
That’s what chief builders Max Beckmann & Robin Höning have to say about the tour:
Undeniably one of the loveliest ways to pass the time until the very end is to visit foreign countries near and far, and to meet other folks that come along your way. Most people though disregard an important maxim: The journey is the reward. Cause when you fly into a specific place, take a cab from the airport to get to a fenced hotel area and leave that spot later just to fly home again, you’ll miss out on making all these encounters and experiences, that you could have made on your path.
That's why we decided to choose a different approach to present you Levi’s Skateboarding Europe’s Spot Delivery Tour: A vehicle, that won’t make it even downhill on the Autobahn faster than 45mph, and a route that’s not even close to be constructive from conventional perspectives. We made more than 2.000 miles s thru Europe, and passed the Alps twice. Pretty loco considering that most skate tours with a small bunch of skaters lead to places, that hopefully will be left soon after again with a bag full of footage. We, in the opposite left any place after 4 days maximum and then even made it to another country.
The procedure was mostly the same at all stops: Arrival, meeting the locals at the spot, having some beers and coming up with ideas to build ramps. The next day meant shaping until we laid down next to the fresh concrete at midnight, completely exhausted and arguing, that we should have better built a little less. Those thoughts were obviously gone as soon as we had our first coffee the next morning, making our way towards downtown with the locals to canvass some spots, or to explore new places. So during the tour we hit the most exciting setting: An occupied area with a constantly heated outdoor pool, icecold rivers in the middle of nowhere, an abandoned gas station or a gigantic occupied factory site with multiple skate parks on different levels. On the fourth and last day the ramps were inaugurated, just to hit the road shortly after to repeat the whole thing somewhere else. We slept in the bus, in tents, under bridges or simply in the street, we gave a wash in lakes, ditches, the sea or at gas stations, we drank redwine from outta plastic, we baked pizza while driving and consumed a whole barbeque lamb, always with a new community.
At each stop two to four people joined us, some dropped out, so our crew was steadily changing, consisting of diverse nationalities. As a result the customs-officers were always pretty confused at the boarders we passed: A 40-year-old double decker, 25 passports from 7 nations and a concrete mixer in the aisle. What’s that punk supposed to mean?This mixed crew in particular made this journey so special. While most of the skate tours are organized just for a hand-picked elite of very good skaters, this one was open to everyone. Sure you had to contribute something. Though if you weren’t an asshole and not above working with concrete or doing the dishes, you were welcomed with open arms. And anyone out of the entire crew was ready to suffer the lack of personal comfort to make this extraordinary trip with new people happen.
Our tour led us from Germany to Switzerland, then via Italy to Slovenia, from there to Croatia and Austria and finally via Czech and Germany to Denmark. On arrival we were sometimes welcomed by more than 40 people. Folks got naked, there were champagne showers and live gigs and when we left it was evident, that these friendships would last for long after this trip. Eventually there’s no better way to get to know someone than being together in such an intense situation. Sometimes you wouldn't be able recognize the spots again, so many ramps had been built during these one or two days. And when these spots will last, these ramps will do as well. By the end of the journey there weren't only NBD’s left behind, but new spots and new possibilities. And the friendships, that now exist between places and people that will give everybody involved some new options to travel . On to the next adventure, which will start the moment you leave your house with a backpack. Keep your eyes, arms and hearts open.
