Andrea Di Liddo

Skate Baltica

Edvards Gabarajevs is our informal informer from Latvia, via his work on local skate media platform Rajon TV, the activity of which can easily be traced on Instagram, here; or on LIVE - as this isn't the first time we bring them up - here and also here. Ed is always enthusiastic to share the latest news from one more underrepresented front with us, bringing up topics such as Madars Apse's local activism, or his own latest, local skate mobilisation efforts.

Right now, those just so happen to be most recognizable by the designation of Skate Baltica: a Riga, capital of Latvia-based event consisting in a full day of skateboarding intertwined with a program of photo exhibitions, talks on the current state of the local scene, video screenings (including Ed's own new production: "DOODLE", which we are featuring today!), and awards as more fuel for the people's motivation. A recap from that day Ed himself describes as having "sort of turned into an improvised Baltic skate film festival", reminiscent of happenings such as Vladimir or Summit Of The Non-Aligned, can be viewed here.

Yesterday's youth

As to set the record straight in modern times witnessing an explosion of coverage of the Milan skate scene (we'll be sending you back to, amongst other options, Patrick Frunzio's videos), longtime local crew Chef Family - here led by René Olivo - just unveiled the latest Spaghettochild production: "Youth Of Yesterday" is an award-winning documentary on Gianluca Mariani, resident O.G., creative pioneer and director of the aforementioned institution of a small brand since 1989, forever a skater with his fair share of roots digging deep into punk culture.

The resulting film consists in twenty-six magnificiently-edited minutes (René being a professional editor in his spare time off the board) of pure information and street skating - all eras included, both of which should hit at least a few right notes in most every dedicated skateboarder. So, please enjoy this batch of footage of the Milan youth of both today and yesterday, all gathered by a common passion every and each of them reinterpeted their own way, punctuating the local skate history with just as many different styles and stuffed into quite the humorous calzone. Thirty years of meticulously documented and assembled adventures dipped in olive oil, with a message in the back - somewhere.

G alert!

The Futur heads goes the Italian way, and take the Mayor of République with them… The street we dig, captured by Yoan Taillandier: perfect!

Roma, open city!

The Chef Family, you know those guys: they were recently hosting Léo Valls, Josh Roberts and Seb Daurel at home in Milan! Well, here they are heading toward Roma to visit their locals colleagues… Where we discovered that the antique city counts way more –but seriously a lot way more– spots then the the three we've told about all those years. Someone lied to us all!?

Milano Centrale / PREMIERE

"Milano Centrale", now that name sounds familiar: yes, we are talking about the Italian city main train station, and mostly, mostly its marble ledges, and it rather smooth grounds… A now rare survivor of the 90's and 00's, made famous by various hammers sprinkled through the most celebrated videos of the past two decades. Nowadays a bit neglected in favor of Chinese marble, the plaza is still alive, via its locals, off course, the infamous Chef Family. And Léo Valls, coming back from a recent Magenta visit to the Italian cousins, would be in the known. Enough to plan getting back there with Australian homie, Josh Roberts, to film an edit glorifying the best idea skateboarding has to plant into your brain: get out there to see if there are new friends to make and old ones to visit! A new LIVE production, supported by Adidas Skateboarding.

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