So then, what are you up to at this very minute? Where are you and what are you up to?
Right now I’m at my office, AKA “good friends’ coffeehouse next to the skateshop”! My good friend Mattias has the best coffe shop in Malmö and I work from here a lot, from my computer with all the Nike SB stuff, so this place is perfect! Good internet…
What do you do over at Nike SB?
I’m freelancing sales rep, team manager for Sweden and team rider; one man band!
Who does the swedish SB team consist of? Who are the rippers we should keep an eye out for?
We are a bunch of really nice dudes. We have one of Malmö legends Chrstian “CRPL” Sjöberg then we have Emre Yercok, Koffe Hallgren and Björn Tjernberg. I’m super pleased with the boys, they represent our brand good and its a good diversity.
How is it in sweden at the minute, are you still there quite a bit or do you find yourself traveling about more? Where have you been recently?
Sweden at the moment is sick! Skate-wise its the best place but the weather isn’t the best. It’s starting to get cold now, but if you hit the street these days you really get shit done because you know it might rain tomorrow, so that’s a good motivation. But I’m still here quite a lot, I try to be home as much as i can during the summers and then do the trips in winter. Last place I traveled to was LA for the Nike SB premiere and straight after that to London for the UK premiere.
Where have I seen this before? Oh yeah…Timeless frontside 360 in Barca. Photo: Leo
How were the premiers? I heard that the London one was quite a lavish affair! Was the LA one similar?
The LA one was crazy! I really dont know how to express myself, it was an amazing event with everyone attending. All the pros were there to support, and to be in the Kodak Theatre with 2500 skaters all watching the same skate movie, that was something different!
Both the LA and London parties where sick, though I think the London one was little bit more relaxed. The dancing in London got out of hand, I think it was Smithy that danced into the DJ so his players flew into the air, and then the fire alarm went off, someone smashed the window of the bus etc…it was sick, though!
Thats why we have comps and events, it’s a nice excuse to meet everyone and get drunk!
Do you make it to many of the comps out in Sweden? Which are the main ones that people get hyped on?
We do alot of them.. we’ve got a loooooong winter so events keep us going. The main ones are Millencolin open in Örebro, the old Minute crew used to come visit us for that, then we have the Lucia Classic, Quickbolwriders is the biggest one and its nice cause its outdoor and during the summer. I also support a lot of local events through Nike SB.
What events do you sponsor through Nike SB? Are they little ones or do you sponsor any major ones?
I do a lot of smaller, local ones, the biggest one I’ve done is the WESC skate camp, that was a super sick event with 170 kids attending. The other week I did the whole Nothing But The Truth premiere tour across Sweden and that was super nice; I hope people were stoked!
How was the WESC camp? I think Baines went out for a bit too, right?
Yeah man Baines was there, Ray Barbee, Daryl Angel and a lot of other Weactivists. I also became a Weactivist ealier this year so hopefully I’ll get to see Mark a few times a year!
What did the WESC camp involve?
We were there for 2 weeks, first week there were 84 kids, we lived at a school, Weactivists stayed in the table tennis room and the kids stayed in the gymnasium with sleeping-bags and all that! Then we skate 24/7, having different comps every day, from dance comps to best trick comps, games of skate and tick tack races. I felt like a 10 year old again!
Did you have to do some teaching then as well, or were you there strictly to skate?
We where there to inspire, teach, and all that!
Danijel fakie flips out of the new Harmony video, Wolfstadt, and onto this here page. Seq: Leo
How was filming for the new Harmony video? Are you pleased with your section?
I’m happy, sad and pleased! There was a lot of footage that I really didn’t want in my section that ended up in there and the other way around. It’s always so hard because I’m such a critic, especially against myself. A lot of old footage that I’ve watched a thousand times I was so sick of and didn’t want it used, but for people that see it for the first time I guess it’s another story.
I filmed for the Nike thing at the same time and timing was really bad, I didn’t know what Nike would use from what I sent off so I’ve got some good stuff leftover now because the Harmony deadline was before Nike. Now I’m filming for Pontus’s next video and hopefully that will be the best footage that’s come out of me so far…
Whats Pontus working on then? the follow up to “Strongest of the Strange”? Pray tell…
YES!!! There is another one coming!!!!!!
So far, what I know its me and Pontus himself, and he’s got some stuff of Love Enroth and Mattias Nylen, but everything is secret at the moment, but its already looking ace!
Question from Ben: when you first met, he said that in order for someone from Sweden to “come up” you had to go to another county, like you did with Minute. Is that still the case or are things changing?
It’s like that still, the market in Sweden is still so small but its getting better and its on the way to being “proper”. We have some paid pros and riders that get their travel paid now so its changing slowly. In the beginning I didn’t think that much about it, I never got paid from a board company and still don’t, but I’m really glad that I made the move and got involved with the UK scene. I like it over there and when Minute went out of business I was super stoked to find my roots back in a UK company, with The Harmony!
Styled out backside tailslide frontside revert at Paral-lel. Seq: Leo
Any last words, anything else you’d like to add?
I got married on the 28th of September! Booya! Married life is the best! No more hassle, everything is like butter on toast. The lucky lady is Maria Arborgh, a woman I’ve known for 7 years, but been together with for 1 year.
Congratulations! Any plans for a mini-Jugga yet then?
Hahahah! Cheers! Mini-Jugga will have to wait,I’m not ready to have that but who knows when the Stork will crash into my window!
Right then, let’s wrap this up! Any words of wisdom or life advice you’d like to share with people reading this?
Don’t think too much about where or what you want your skateboarding to head or become; Follow it and keep on smiling! Just because you know all the tricks and do them very easily doesn’t always make it look that way; We don’t want any more robots out there!
Thanks to my family, friends and everyone around me. My supporters: Nike SB, WESC, The Harmony, Streetlab, Spitfire and Thunder, cheers!
A massive thanks to The Harmony for allowing the use of Danijel and Tom Harrisons joint section from their first production “Once Upon A Time”.
