Filharmonia Skateboarding / LEEF STORY / Krzysztof Poskrobko / INTERVIEW

"I learned to waste my time
in more creative ways.
I felt safe and
free there"

As for influences, two of my main ones were definitely the videos "QUESTIONABLE" and "VIRTUAL REALITY" - icons like Duffy, Carroll, Howard, Rodney, Danny or Colin were being watched every day before the sesh [editor's note - now's a good time to announce that Chrome Ball Incident's Eric Swisher just dropped an interview with Jake Rosenberg alongside thirteen minutes of raw footage from the early Plan B days, here].

Eventually, I got to meet the local crew who turned out to show me the more global aspect of skateboarding - they made me realize that it has no limitations and makes us stand out through our individuality. They would usually meet at the main spot of my city: Filharmonia, so the concert hall building. I learned to waste my time in more creative ways. I felt safe and free there. It was pure fun, and a new lesson every day.

I felt like I made the best friends possible back then. Surprisingly I didn't turn out to be so wrong - I can still count on those people to this day, even though I am the only one left who's still actively skateboarding.

LSM: How did Filharmonia Skateboarding come about, exactly? When was it that something clicked for you that you should give doing things your own way a try, did you feel like you had a particular vision to express? Or was it something more organic that just happened with the homies? What other productions did you make, besides "LEEF STORY" - videos and others?

Over the years, my vision on the importance of things changed a lot. Quality of my product became the number one priority. I consequently found a solid manufacturer, learned Adobe software - in order to create proper designs - and started collaborating with various artists.

"Both films together form a whole"

I also made two full movies, the first one being "LLUF SONG", an expression of my love thrill and blind admiration for skateboarding and everything associated with it.

I wanted to ride, film, create for a brand, events, spots, in order to support people, build a culture, show a way towards dreams - I've dreamed the best dream of my life. During this deep sleep, I also released a bunch of short promo videos that you can watch on the Filharmonia YouTube channel. Eventually, after a few years I woke up in order to recount a "LEEF STORY".

LSM: The line-up of "LEEF STORY" is remarkable, with literally dozens of skaters from many different countries, operating in different countries. How did all those connections happen, for instance with Luka Pinto or Tommy May? Where exactly did you go to film, how many years did the process take and what prompted you into such an ambitious project, originally? Did you have an accurate vision of what you wanted to achieve from the start, and what were the difficulties that came from investing so much of yourself into the project?

The rest, I have met on my skateboarding life path. I'm in touch with most of them. For instance, I first met Luka when he was a little kid, visiting my brother from another mother Patryk on the Jersey Islands. I would ask him about him a lot, as he was a talented kid.

"What after skateboarding ends?
That is a big price to pay
for investing so much
of myself"

In 2014, I underwent another episode of needing a change, so I bought a camper van and went on a three-month trip to the South of Europe (Portugal, Spain and France) with a friend from Poland: Krzysztof Godek. From the beginning, I knew Luka would be a great companion as he's a lot of fun and easygoing. That trip helped me get new connections, meet some great skaters and collect lots of clips. 

It took me about two years to collect the material for my last movie. From the beginning, I knew I wanted it to be completely different from the first one. "LLUF SONG" had a very positive outcome - it was like a lucid dream about skateboarding.

"LEEF STORY", on the other hand, shows that it’s not all so nice and sweet, that life has its downs and is full of pain and sorrow. Both films together form a whole. They show a balance between good and bad feelings that accompany me during skateboarding.

"I get very inspired by authors
who don’t use commas
in their productions"

All this costed me a lot of my personal time, which has probably blocked me from developing a professional career and meeting people from different backgrounds instead of only skateboarders.

All that leads to the question what to do next? What after skateboarding ends?

That is a big price to pay for - as you said - investing so much of myself.

The older I get, the more I understand it.

LSM: So you did have a particular vision, specifically with "LEEF STORY". The editing is very intense and sharp, the soundtrack works amazingly and generally, it’s a well-made and sophisticated video with considerable thought and effort put into it, which denotes that you might have been sculpting it around the reference of a very specific mental image. Were there any particular meanings, feels or messages that you especially wished the viewing experience to convey? Who are some of your influences in skate videos, skate filmmaking and what prompted some of the strongest aesthetic choices (e.g.. the use of the VX-1000, the image-in-image inserts and various more or less oppressive effects)?

"In every other field,
if you put so much of yourself
into doing something
with that much passion,
you can easily live
out of it"

I wanted the people watching "LEEF STORY" to feel what I feel and see what I see, so they would understand my anger and disappointment, but also catch some ZZZ’s - by reminding them of the positive sounds of "LLUF SONG".

Even though I have been skateboarding for over twenty years now, and have sacrificed a lot for it, I've never received more than a praise. I've had my skateboarding company for over ten years and it has been a constant struggle to keep it profitable. I still have to work hard to be able to keep a decent lifestyle; meanwhile in every other field, if you put so much of yourself into doing something with that much passion, you can easily live out of it.

"Another very painful realization is that
the skateboarding world is not
as open as it seems"

Don’t get me wrong, I still respect skateboarding - and I always will - for what it is. I never did it in hopes for any profit but with age, I understood that life is more mundane. It's also hard to accept the fact that all that used to be so fun in skateboarding has become a pain now. Another very painful realization is that the skateboarding world is not as open as it seems - it’s actually very hermetic and hard to get in if you don’t know the right people.

I use the Sony VX-1000 as it’s legendary equipment that has been present in skateboarding videography for years. I really like the effect it gives together with the MK1 lens. It has the perfect field of view.

As for the image-in-image effect, I found it accurate to show additional feelings and points of view accompanying the process of filming.

I also decided to use multiple graphic images, which might be a controversial choice for some, but I find them honest because they are part of everyday life, so why avoid them? I included a lot of metaphors, like the birds attacking each other like people do attack us, and would even if we died. None of the inserts is random, they all have some implied meaning or emotional outcome.

I intended it to be possibly easiest and the most honest way of expression. I wanted the image to touch the feelings of the viewers, and make them feel what we felt in that particular moment.

LSM: What are you up to nowadays? In addition to being a talented skate filmmaker, as your section in "LEEF STORY" can attest, you’re also a very active skateboarder with regular appearances in publications (e.g.. your part in Krzysztof Godek’s new video). How involved are you in your current scene, where are you currently based and how do you keep busy? Any words on the scene in Poland in general, and recommendations of activism and productions to check out?