Zementwerk

The cement works is dark, filthy and most of all huge – it consists of countless rooms, halls, and high ceilings. At the first spot (a quarterpipe shaped to a pillar) that meant you could fall down a hole in the floor – a drop as high as 10m. Luckily, only a couple of boards fell through it. The crew, consisting of Daan van der Linden, Eniz Fazliov, Chris Pfanner, Alain Goikoetxea, Tim Rebensdorf, Alex Schultz and Ben Raemers seemed quite unimpressed by the death trap just behind the lip anyway. 

The second spot was hardly less dangerous. A wall with a glued on metal edge was used as a ledge with a kicker and just behind it there was a stairway to nowhere – bone breaking potential for sure, but no casualties here. Only the harsh winter took its toll. 

All of a sudden it got heated up again. Chris Pfanner found a new spot and borrowed an angle grinder from a worker who just changed tires at the car workshop he set up there. He then cut away a rail to skate a flatgap about five meters off the ground – which he did with greatest finesse.

The industrial aesthetics made the cement plant a perfect place to shoot for photographer Jelle Keppens. Your average road gap is nothing compared to this. 

The spot itself was another quarter on a square-shaped hole in the outer wall and going too quick or hitting a pebble at the wrong time (there were plenty) could’ve meant going headfirst into the deadly abyss – but we only had to scrape boards off the canopy.  

The cement plant is an unbelievable playground which is – as graffiti and paintballs suggest – used by diverse groups of people.

With more time and concrete we could’ve built tons of great spots but we were quite happy with what we got in a day. More building action would not have made much sense anyway – the building will be demolished soon.