Cover image: Sam Ashley
Pontus Alv is a true one-off – one of those truly out there individuals who are inexorably drawn to skateboarding like strange asteroids caught in orbit. Growing up skating in Malmo, Sweden led to a young Alv finding himself in the States during the late 90s chasing the sponsorship dream with 411 sections and a place on Mad Circle, (and later Arcade) coming about through a combination of big pop, killer style and an ability to skate anything.
He then spent a brief period with Cliche – enough time to have a section in Europa and almost one in Bon Appertit – before returning to Malmo to do his own thing; building DIY spots, creating two of the most exciting independent videos of the 2000s and generally acting as full on hype man for the Swedish scene. His own company was the next logical step and since their inception, Polar have taken the skate scene by storm (and in the process inadvertently kick-starting the majority of skateboarding trends in the last four years or so), all far from the traditional sun-drenched skate industry home of California.
Throughout all these changes Pontus’ skateboarding has stayed as stylish, powerful and creative as ever and, with the new Polar video premiere date appearing on Instagram, he was the obvious choice for this week’s Footage Feast. Enjoy…
