Michal Juras

Filharmonia Skateboarding / LEEF STORY / Krzysztof Poskrobko / INTERVIEW

As choke-full of odds as it essentially is, the world most often turns out to be an unfair place, especially when it comes to recognizing the labor of people who coincidentally weren't born into some "hot spot", regularly discouraging their efforts - if not their ambition. Consequently, for those, another way of channeling their drive is by refocusing on what really matters: the cultural transmission, and not just certain material means only best employed towards it realization, when it all comes down to it.
 
If Poland-based Krzysztof Poskrobko's brand Filharmonia officially announced its retirement just a few months back and was brought to our attention just a bit too late by his first name and filming session companion Krzysztof Godek (interviewed here - and the man has been dropping parts from the Repeat video "IF YOU DON'T SKATE, DON'T START" weekly on his YouTube channel as of late, here), sometimes also cruelly, pure skateboarding is timeless and to this day, the fact stands that the Filharmonia full-length productions "LEEF STORY" and its predecessor "LLUF SONG" are impeccable works.
 
Comparably to other independent productions such as Nikola Racan's "SOLSTICIJ" or the equally Polish Couch Raiders' "CONNECTIONS", they are the result of not just filming sessions but full-on thought processes and personal evolution of the author throughout a timespan of several years spent traveling the world and maturing, skateboard under the feet, camera in hand and a vision in mind.
 
Krzysztof's sharp eye for detail, good taste and cinematic atmosphere only perspires through those works as much as the strength of his motivation, so it was no surprise when after we first got in touch with him to be recounted his "LEEF STORY", the words we heard back turned out to be pretty heartfelt. Make sure not to miss "LLUF SONG", below!

Pale grey eyes

The Grey Area Polish homies are back, still with O.G. Kuba Kaczmarczyk (interviewed here, in company of recent Danny Fuenzalida footage) at the wheel, driving in an audiovisual style that seemingly gets more refined with every new output. In addition to the local cities of Warsaw and Kraków, and of a chunk of Ukraine, the filmmaker's territory now also expands to Croatia where he notably connected with Tom Remillard at various editions of the Vladimir Film Festival; so of course, Tom has a full part (or two) in this new production, alongside the notorious Kraków Kids (interviewed here) Kuba Brniak, Michal Zarzycki and Franek Kramarczyk, but also Eniz Fazliov, Michal Juras, Didrik Galasso or Chilian talent Juan Jose Moraga. The spots are crazy, the tricks are quality, the rain is universal: a solid bite into some healthy, savory grey fruit, as usual. Full article including stories and a photo gallery over at Free Skate Mag, here.

Bon appétit!

Make sure you're ready to eat now as "Lunch" is Krzysztof Godek's new audiovisual buffet; the Polish filmmaker indeed just dropped "Lunch", a full-length video he spent the last six years filming all around Europe, from his home to Spain but also France, the U.K. and Norway, to list a few destinations. It's all HD and brimming with over a hundred (!) unique styles whose owners are so numerous, their names are impossible to enumerate and our uninitiated, very Western European understanding of the concept of vowels certainly doesn't help - but they're all in the video description and, to drop a few internationally popular names, get ready for some remarkable performances by Magnus Bordewick, Michal Juras and Luka Pinto. Better served boiling hot!

PREMIERE / Danny Fuenzalida / GREY AREA "Neverwhere" / Kuba Kaczmarczyk / INTERVIEW

Kuba Kaczmarczyk is the epitome of your ideal local O.G. head: forty-two years strong, he's been spending half of those sweating it behind the lens, documenting uprising regional talent throughout the generations and supporting the scene in his home country of Poland by many a means - all the while being caught up in work tasks aplenty, family life and the whole adult realm. His previous full-length "Grey Area" was an underground hit a few years ago, packed to the brim with unique aesthetics and raw Polish street skateboarding; its recent sequel, "Neverwhere", only carries its predecessor's torch to higher levels as it successfully perpetuates that identity, throws new faces into the mix and takes the whole concept to a new stage. It even comes packaged with an ounce of sunshine as, as though to boost everybody's serotonin levels, plenty of Miami footage ended up finding its way onto Kuba's timeline, including a whole, highly improbable, brand new Danny Fuenzalida section! LIVE Skateboard Media is stoked to present it to you today, along with the following words from the author himself he was even kind enough to deliver to us - to you.

Grey Area Alert!

The most core of you may (or may not) have fond memories of "Grey Area", the independent video effort from Poland that got everybody talking a few years ago when it dropped and introduced the world to the labor of love of the eponymous crew, through the prism of a very Pontus Alv-esque visual touch. Among the ranks: a certain Michal Juras, then acquaintances with Polar Skate Co., particularly stood out. This winter, a new Grey Area full-length is just around the corner: "Neverwhere". You're expecting it, we've seen it: it's a true gem both filmmaking- and skateboarding-wise, marking a comeback to the roots of sorts and immortalizing incredible stylings at unique spots. We'll be presenting more to you soon, in the meantime here's Michal's part from "Neverwhere". Dzięki!

Michal Juras / 5 W's!

One of the most exciting skaters in Europe fills us in on what he's been up to, and a bit more…

Michal Juras / Dust / premiere

This is no scoop, but Michal Juras, (well, Michał Juraś actually…) is one of the skaters we see as the most exciting in Europe, a status confirmed by his part in the now classic Grey Area. It is therefore with great pride that we are premiering today his new part (filmed by Jakub Kaczmarczyk and Pawel Piotr Przybyt), with the help of Polish mag Barrier, the actual first one since his knee injury, to top it up… This time, he is proposing us his take on transition skating, well on "DIY skating", entirely filmed at one spot of his city of Warsaw. Rest assured, he skates it with the original and aggressive style we know him for. Power, power, power, we say! And stay put for a Michal interview on Live, most likely before the Polar video comes out!

LLUF SONG / premiere

Let's be completely honest, like many, we only discovered the Polish scene in 2013, through the explosive independent project that was Grey Area…  LLUF SONG could almost be its logical follow-up, only in a completely different mood, since it is the labor of a crew before a brand, the Filharmonia Skateboarding heads, and mainly the razor sharp vision of its creator, Krzysztof Poskrobko. You will here be able to witness Michal Juras on his board again, find out about a bunch of surprising street skaters and get quite the dose of spots that you had no idea about, despite being fairly close to home… This is another Live exclusive, and these are news from the Eastern Front!

Sectarian

Latest part to be put online from Grey Area, this should give yourself a healthy dose of Polar, in case you were low on it. Pontus leads the charge, off course, but neither Hjalte nor Michal are slacking behind, fear not!

Grey zone

Now, this should get you pumped for the weekend: a part from Grey Area, the Polish video we have spoken highly and quite a lot here, can't be a bad choice, and Krzysiek Poskrobko got the perfect one in terms of punch, even on the most challenging spots of his country. A great dose of pop applied to great lines: we're all for it!

Nineties till infinity?

As a follow-up to Michal's part, here is the Grey Area montage telling the passage from one era to another, from the "EMB style" plaza of the 90's to the D.I.Y. spot, more likely in a slightly less central area, but with many advantages, one being that the old times were not necessarily "better". Proof: the once highly illegal transitions that are a good majority of the spot are raising kids like Michal into skater able of skating everything, and this is a thing to celebrate!

Meeting… Michal Juras!

We premiered Michal’s ender part from Grey Area, and here is a chance to learn more about the newest Polar pro. This guy is the truth, if there is one.

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