NEWS

STREETS OF MOSCOW

Nov 152018

Illuminated by the beautiful lights of Moscow at night, a crew of international skateboarders explored the skateable architecture in the Russian mother city. Pushing from dawn til dusk, the plight of bad weather only helped to capture some stunning clips; the street lights magnifying the allure of the urban landscape at night.

Chile’s skateboarding pioneer Stavros Razis was in town to participate in the World Cup, with fellow Monster Energy teammates: Argentinian star Dario Mattarollo, South African hero Khule Ngubane and local Russian prodigy Egor Kaldikov. The weekend ended up with a bronze medal for Dario, but the most fun started when they broke out onto the city streets.

Filmmaker Marco Savino and the team spent the next week exploring Moscow’s streets and sights in search of the unfamiliar territory and the most remarkable skate spots: “As a filmmaker, Moscow is a perfect scenery to work. Every street and building have their own charm, colors, and shapes. The whole city is full of perfect spots mixed in a beautiful architecture and huge monuments.”

Get into the mastermind’s vision and see the Streets of Moscow through the eyes of creative street skaters:

Behind the Streets of Moscow:
Interview with the crew

Name your list of top cities for street skateboarding.

Stavros: Barcelona, Copenhagen and Moscow. I still dream to ride somewhere in Australia or Tokyo. I’ve seen some really good riders from Japan and the cities there looks really interesting – lots of lights, unusual buildings and so many different cultures, not like anywhere else.
But after all the reconstructions for the FIFA World Cup many more new spots emerged in Moscow. The best thing about this city now is that you can ride anywhere you want – streets and sideways are really wide and surfaces are so smooth, the most perfect I’ve ever seen. It’s really amazing how they put these pavement stones so close to each other.

Dario: My top cities for street skateboarding are Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Los Angeles, San Diego, Berlin. Also, I liked riding in Marseille recently – I’ve been there for several days after another contest. Now I dream of going to Tokyo – this city seems weird, but really attracts me.

Your favorite element in street skateboarding

Stavros: When I was younger, I always wanted to make the biggest and craziest elements. I just love to do different quick lines … I approach them with creativity, always try look from another angle and just have fun making good videos. Know your own skills, understand what you really like and just enjoy!

Khule: I don’t necessarily have one perfect thing that I love – as you can see in the video I do tricks on handrails, stairs, monuments. I look at skateboarding as an art. I can also skate a ramp and enjoy myself – it’s all about living in a moment. Whatever skate, whenever skate!

Your piece of advice for young riders

Stavros: In terms of skills – first of all, you have to ride a lot! But to be a professional and earn your living, you should also be a good person to keep good relations with sponsors. Even if someone gives you one board a month, you should really appreciate it – only this way it may grow into something big. My family moved to Buenos Aires when I was one year old. We were lucky to live in the city center near a skate shop, which were very rare back in 1986. And everything began when my brother was riding nearby all the time and started getting free boards from this shop as a sponsorship.
Also, weather it is a difficult trick you have to repeat hundreds of times before nailing it or getting good sponsors and fame – stay patient. I do this for 31 years already and wish to stay in skateboarding even when I stop riding myself. I do get excited if I see someone else skating and will be happy to help young talents to follow their dreams!

Khule: Do it, cause you love it. I believe that whenever you love something in life, you don’t worry of how hard it’s gonna be. I don’t think someone can go through something like skateboarding and not love it, because you fall really hard all the time! Also, it’s not like any other sports, where there is a coach pushing you – it’s all for yourself, by yourself. Just love it and everything else will come. I’ve never thought I’d ever come to Moscow, do interviews and all just from skateboarding. This attitude helped me to take it through the roughest African conditions to where I am now.

Dario: To succeed as a professional skateboarder, you should just love riding more than anything and always be loyal to those who rides besides you. I am now the Vice President of the skateboarding federation in Argentina and I really try to help young guys in my country to have an opportunity to ride all over the world like I do.