Robbin de Wit

We just got this U.F.O. of an e-mail from a certain Rens Verbruggen, Rotterdam-based but not -bound and coincidentally, that's the very point about geographical borders he's trying to make; that individuals and their chances idealistically shouldn't be defined by the randomness of their geographical localization. As a reaction to Western public entertainer number one and forty-fifth president of the United States Donald John Trump's overwhelmingly publicized oompahs about reinforcing the Mexico-United States border with a fortified wall (the construction of which is estimated up to twenty-five billion dollars that surely could benefit more critical causes), an unfortunately popular candy cane he's been obnoxiously brandishing for a while as part of his campaign, Rens and his friend René took it upon themselves to start Wallies Against Walls. The idea is essentially simple: "build wallies, not walls"; as opposed to encouraing the division of the people and the silencing of select voices, the two homies instead invite you to federate your pals around a new funny-looking, colorful toy that you can assemble yourself: so communicatively playful you're bound to catch some looks out in public with it, or Snapchat requests even. Really what we get to witness is the celebration and expression of freedom of thought, and the victory of interaction over abstraction in a form that's only a natural reaction to the times. Download the templates and print out the designs from the website, and never skate alone ever again!

Oh, Rens' friends that he skated with for this clip happen to be Rob Maatman, Robbin de Wit and Remco Stolze - must be nice. The website also links to charities to help victims of closed borders and immigration issues.

"The End" is the unlikely title of Ziggy Schaap's new edit straight from the Netherlands, horizons the average LIVE reader should be familiar with by now given the percentage of articles on this platform that have to do with the Pop guys! Although this time, the aesthetics are something else: crispy VX-1000 complete with pristine export settings and catchy colors (once the intro outlived). But fear not, as the weird moves and awkward spots (comprising some Berlin nugs) remain, all set to a soundtrack that wouldn't have felt out of place in the best Rare Skateboards-era Euro productions, whatever you think that might mean. Anyway, if this upbeat clip could suffice to initiate a trend of clean VX footage on YouTube, then that would for sure be something to give it credit for!

So, someone will have to step forward and explain us the fascination our neighbors from the Netherlands seem to have developed for said "Tea lights"… Then again, their local street furniture does seem to require some feral waxing! Which has never stopped the Dutch scene from flourishing, since the 90's. This video from local media On The Roll showcases perfectly this vitality, with a varied casting traveling around Europe while also taming their local and yet abrasive surfaces. And, icing on the cake, young Pascal Moelaerts cast a general resemblance with Toby Shuall. Which could never be a bad thing!

Last summer, the Dutch heads of Skatestore took the road, well, a bunch of trains actually: a great classic of your Europe touring with the homies, and the result is fairly close to what your experience would be… This first episode is a nice surprise, full of good skating, good vibes, while staying away from the lifestyle clichés. A nice dose of past summers and the ones to come!