Skateboarding
Skateboarding
10 epic skate missions for the adventurous plank-pusher
Grab your board and hit the road with our favourite leftfield skate trip suggestions.
Skateboarding and the open road are the perfect match. Going wherever your wheels take you is one of the best things about being free, unrestricted and out of doors as a skater.
Seeking out new destinations, unexplored skate spots and new talents is part of the drive that propels skateboard culture forward, and so we've compiled a list of 10 trips to get you thinking about where you might hit up next.
1. India: The Curry Connection
8 мин
The Curry Connection – Chapter 01
Nassim Guammaz, Jaakko Ojanen, Rob Wootton and Christian Bica spice it up from Goa to Bangalore.
Rob Wootton, Nassim Guammaz, Christian Bica and Jaakko Ojanen met up in Goa to undertake a road trip all the way to Chennai in the three part series The Curry Connection. A country that requires a good degree of imagination in terms of what constitutes a skate spot, India was nonetheless good to us when it came to welcome and terrain.
The chance to skate some DIY and do a demo for understandably-hyped local skaters along the route turned this journey into one of those that go beyond just tricks on the road, and into something meaningful for the crew and, we hope, everyone they met along the way.
- Put the pedal to the metal skating Bangalore
2. Iran: Perceptions Of Persia
5 мин
Skate Iran – Perceptions of Persia Episode 1
Nassim Lachhab, Jaakko Ojanen and Carlos Cardenosa meet up with the local skaters in Tehran before embarking on a 500km skate mission through Isfahan and Shiraz.
This superlative trip from the hands of Boris Proust and Kevin Metallier saw Jaakko Ojanen link up with Moroccan underground favourite, Nassim Lachhab, and Spain's new blood, Carlos Cardeñosa, to break bread with the skaters of Iran's capital Tehran, before undertaking a massive roadtrip to skate the cities of Isfahan and Shiraz.
Visually spectacular and culturally revealing, Proust's triple-header also acts as a testament to three major skateboarding talents who're prepared to throw down any time, any place, anywhere.
3. Tibet: The Way To Everest
5 мин
Himalayas skate trip, chapter 1
Latvian legend Madars Apse leads an intrepid gang of shrednauts including Chris Haslam on a skate mission through Tibet to the foot of Mount Everest.
This was one trip that really could have derailed badly, a hazard you have to allow for when you're operating in the wild with no safety net. Gaston Francisco and Johannes Wahl covered the visual side of the project, while Latvia's Madars Apse, Canada's Chris Haslam, Austrian Mario Wirnsberger and Slovakia's Peter Molec battled altitude sickness from Chengdu to Lhasa.
Apse got badly broken skating a rail halfway through the trip, and it was only upon his insistence that the rest completed the sessions around the foothills of Everest itself, before looping back to collect him on their descent. With the invaluable help of Tibetan skater Tenzin, the crew were able to hit some spots unlikely to be skated again.
4. Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia: The Balkan Odyssey
5 мин
Exploring the Balkans, Chapter 1
Shredding across Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia with U.S. pros Brian Delatorre, Al Davis and Cyrus Bennett alongside cult newcomer Andrew Wilson.
Davor Miljkovic's name rings out through the skate scenes of the Balkan peninsula as a guy with a lot of heart who does all he can to help develop skateboarding wherever he can. When Matthias Reich suggested documenting a skate trip across the republics of the former Yugoslavia, Cyrus Bennett, Andrew Wilson, Al Davis, Simon Stricker, Vladik Scholz and Brian Delatorre signed up for the tour of a lifetime across Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia, where ridiculous skatespots jockeyed for attention with sobering reminders of the recent troubled history of those beautiful lands.
5. Colombia: No Sleep 'Till Cali
6 мин
No Sleep Till Cali - a skate expedition, part 1
Tyler Surrey, Zack Wallin, Thaynan Costa and Angelo Caro roll with the locals in coffee country!
Another pioneering South American tour, this time to connect with friends in the skate scenes in Medellín and Cali via the smaller cities that constitute the spine of Colombia's coffee-growing region. With Peruvian up-and-comer Angelo Caro adding some extra Latin flavour, Tyler Surrey, Thaynan Costa and Zack Wallin hit some majestic spots and met some ripping Colombians.
Eduardo Munoz’s two-parter from the trip swung from street life into the lush Colombian mountains and back again, making for some incredible juxtapositions of banging skate sessions and unreal downtime to rest hurt bodies and recharge the soul.
- Get among the crazy spots Colombia has to offer!
6. Crete: Gyros For Heroes
4 мин
Savour the Greek sizzle as we skate Crete!
Greek island skateboard capers with Chris Haslam, Max Kruglov, Sierra Fellers and friends.
Our friends in the Greek skate scene had told us in the past about individual islands that held unique skate terrain, but this was the first time we zoned in on just one island for an entire trip.
A distinctly international affair, Foundation pro Sierra Fellers joined Chris Haslam and a Russian quintet made up of Dima Rodionov, Max Kruglovand Yura Renov, as well as Russian visual dons Alexey Lapin and Pasha Kryukov. Rounding out the van was Greek ripper Giorgio Zavos,who, as always, was a blessing on every front. Given the motivation levels within the camp, outrageous footage was always going to be stacked, and this two-part series demonstrated what can get logged when you have no rush to be elsewhere and endless days circling an island looking for spots.
- Watch what Crete has to offer on the skating front
7. Uruguay: Where The River Meets The Ocean
5 мин
Skate Uruguay Chapter 1
Carlos Iqui and Madars Apse link up with Chris Pfanner and Wes Kremer to explore skate terrain of Uruguay from the capital Montevideo to the gilded streets of stylish summer hangout Punta del Este.
In some ways this was the definitive unexpected road trip.
Wes Kremer, Carlos Iqui, Chris Pfanner and Madars Apse came together in South America to undertake the mission of a lifetime across one of the continent's greatest success stories as a country.
With the local knowledge of our Latin American photographer Gaston Francisco, the journey was incredible, taking in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo, the millionaire's playground of Punta del Este and the hippy enclave of Cabo Polonio.
- Hit up Uruguay with Kremer, Apse, Pfanner and Iqui
8. USSR: The Russian Riviera
5 мин
Russian Riviera - join an international skate raid
Robbie Brockel, Davis Torgersen , Mathias Torres, Gosha Konyshev and Maxim Kruglov skate Krasnodar.
Some skate adventures you just know are going to deliver on all fronts, and this trip across Russia from Krasnodar to Sochi had it all. Team of mixed headbangers? Check. Local knowledge? Check. Spots ranging from from Soviet monumental to post-industrial? Check again.
With Matthias Reich responsible for moving images and some superb still photography from Gaston Francisco along the way, our skate squad consisted of Robbie Brockel and Davis Torgerson, Chilean one-to-watch Mathias Torres, and Russian standouts Gosha Konyshev and Maxim Kruglov. With the lovely Kirill Korobkov handling all the headache-inducing parts and authoring another of his witty, insightful travelogue love letters to his country, this series offered up ditches, industrial pipelines, tea plantations and marble monuments galore.
9. Romania: Rolling Down Dracula's Hills
6 мин
Dare you join the Dracula skate mission?
Johan Stuckey, Aidan Campbell, Philipp Schuster, Vladik Scholz, Mihnea Groseanu and Barney Page traverse Dracula country!
Garlic gags aplenty, as photographer Sam McGuire actually followed through on his threat to run a two-week skate tour of Romania, taking in the fabled environs of Transylvania.
With Romanian top boy Mihnea Groseanu in the van, the squad were treated to one of the most productive and entertaining trips of the last few years. Barney Page turned it up to 11 on all fronts, Vladik Scholz demonstrated that slip-on clad steeze that's always a pleasure to watch, Philipp Schuster delivered every session as always, and tour newbie Johan Stuckey, on his first trip outside the USA, got stuck in and coped admirably with the long van hours traversing the golden fields of the Carpathian foothills.
- Behind the scenes of our Romania skate mission
10. Brazil: Cruising The Amazon
6 мин
Welcome to the jungle - go skate along the Amazon!
Page, Silva, Gayle and Walker surf the streets of Manaus before a 29-hour boat ride to Santerem.
Our quest to meet up with the skaters of Belém, a city on the banks of the Amazon in deepest Brazil, saw one of our longest and most unorthodox trips of all time unfold. Mad dog Englishmen Barney Page and Korahn Gayle jumped on board with American rulers Clint Walker and Mason Silva on a downriver cruise, hitting riverside spots all the way from Manaus to the edge of the Atlantic. Sketchy situations and liquid sunsets merged in Marcos De Souza's sublime three-part series from the road less travelled.
