Kevin Baekkel – wallride grab in
Words by Jono Coote
Photos by Joel Peck
Day 1 here
Day 2 here
Friday starts off fairly relaxed, with the crew meeting at Enghaveparken to skate off the hangovers. I find out that half of them lost bikes or boards in the river last night, chucked in by Ben, and am glad to have skipped ‘the bridge’. When it starts raining we head down to the CPH Skatepark where an event is taking place, squeezing amongst the crowds to witness the likes of Kevin Baekkel and Truman Hooker tearing around a newly refurbished course. Even Gerwer can’t resist the pull of the new layout. A death race takes place on what looks like treacherously slick confines and Baekkel comes out on top, with Josef Scott Jatta close behind. A group of the Welsh crew have taken to ripping the peaks off each other’s hats, as well as anyone unfortunate enough to enter their vicinity, looking like mutant alcoholic swimmers taken to the land to wreak havoc. The ground dries so we head back too Enghaveparken where Dean Greensmith, Brendan Watson, Tom Bailey and Sox are taking on the bank to curb with slams and makes in equal measure.
Grant Taylor – gap to wallride
When the indoor event dies down more people start appearing at the park, with a jump ramp which puts Amadeus and Dead Dave in their element. Tweaked methods and japans, one foot indys, they harness the spirit of Animal Chin and get stuck the fuck in on the Geek Killer. Dean spins an early grab 360 with ease, but is not keen when we shout for the 540. A bike laden down with beer appears and the rider starts handing out 6 packs, which causes a scrum in the park and cancels out any chance of skateboarding for a while. A fire is started on the grass next to the park and quickly draws the eyes of the majority of the crowd, as well as kindling grabbed from any corner possible. Things start to get rowdy when Dan throws David Gravette’s already de-peaked hat into the fire and violence seems imminent. As that dies down, I see Aaron on the other side of the fire calmly pick up someone’s bike and throw it in. Who knows what had occurred before that point, but the guy does not seem impressed; in fact he is uptight about the whole situation. He drags it out and squares up in Wilmot’s face, at which point Ben grabs the bike and throws it back in. The crew forms up, reeking hostility, and the bike owner is forced to leave with his seat still smoldering. The vibes are getting ugly and some of the crowd are showing signs of distress.
The police and fire brigade arrive to halt proceedings and this seems to slow proceedings, so we disappear into the night to smoke fine European weed and consider the day.
Yoshi Tanenbaum – backside lipslide
