Levelled Up by Pekka Løvås
Video filmed and edited by Pekka Løvås
Photography in Olso by Clément Le Gall
Words by Sigurd Tvete
We’re sitting in Patrick Riberg’s very nice flat at the top of Grünerløkka, directly above Good Vibes Vintage and just one block from Mølla skatepark. From here, Torshov skatepark DIY is about a five to ten-minute skate away, and Oslo’s indoor skatepark is less than ten minutes by bike. There are probably at least ten other small and big parks within a ten-minute cycle as well. It’s one of those rare Oslo setups where you can roll straight out the door and be at a spot almost immediately. Grünerløkka itself has pretty much everything visitors need on a skate trip too, bars, cafés, parks, shops and food spots, all within a few minutes’ walk.
We meet at eight in the evening, partly to make the timing work for the fathers in the room, who, in good Scandinavian style, are absolutely expected to help put their child to bed. Several frozen pizzas are already in circulation. Norwegians are apparently the world champions of frozen pizza consumption, so the evening is unfolding exactly as expected.
Tom Snape, nollie 180 switch crooked grind
Patrick’s flat is a classic late-1800s Grünerløkka apartment, renovated but still full of the original character. There’s a Victoria board hanging on the kitchen wall and, somewhat unexpectedly, a wine fridge. Julian, Magnus Bordewick’s dog, walks between everyone in slow loops around the room, occasionally jumping up for attention and generally behaving like he’s part of the conversation, which he is. Magnus himself has driven in from the edge of the forest where he lives on the outskirts of town and arrives wearing slides despite it being about five degrees outside.
A few days from now, the adidas crew with Tom Snape, Dan Fisher-Eustance, Tim Debauché and Lawrence Ravail are arriving in Oslo to finish filming an edit that Per Christian Løvås, better known as Pekka, has been working on for close to two years. With the crew about to land in town, it feels like a good moment to sit down with Pekka, Jonatan Drab, Magnus Bordewick and Patrick Riberg and check in on what the scene actually looks like right now. Hermann Stene unfortunately couldn’t join us this evening, but he’s very much present in the conversation and, as always, somewhere nearby in spirit building Lego.
The mood in the flat is relaxed from the start. At one point Magnus opens one of Patrick’s kitchen drawers and studies it carefully before announcing that he’s absolutely sure he’s lived somewhere with exactly these drawers before. He can’t remember where, but he’s certain about the drawers. A few minutes later he casually pulls what used to be a frozen pizza straight out of the oven with his bare hands. “Forge hands,” he says laconically.
Somewhere between filming plans, forest camping tips, indoor sessions and discussions about childcare logistics, a picture starts to form of what skating in Oslo is like at the moment. The scene is older than it used to be. Still tight and still very much there, even if things move a little differently now than they did a few years ago.
Patrick Riberg, backside noseblunt
Sigurd Tvete: A lot has happened since the last interview. Pekka you’ve become a father. Magnus is the father of a four-year-old. Tiago has become a father with his Norwegian wife. You’re about to become a father again. I’ve become a father. Hermann has turned pro. Gabriel Bjørsvik has turned pro. Bjarne Tjøtta has turned pro. Karsten moved to Copenhagen, but missed Oslo too much and moved back again. Can you sum up the last few years since the previous interview and say something about what the Oslo skate scene feels like these days?
Pekka: I’d probably say it feels a bit slower than it did back then. It’s not like there are fewer skaters, but there was a real ripple effect when Deedz [Didrik Galasso] moved away from Oslo [to Portugal]. He was the guy who was always out skating and always making things happen and always super stoked. And that kind of energy spreads. Having someone that stoked who stacks clips all the time affects everyone else. I didn’t think it would make such a big difference, but when he left it kind of felt like some of that stoke left the country with him. The core crew is still keeping things going, but I think there was a bit more overall energy a couple of years ago than now.
Sigurd: Do the rest of you agree? Drab?
Drab: Yeah, I agree with what Pekka said. And people have gotten older too.
Lawrence Ravail, backside smith grind
Sigurd: A lot of people have had kids the last few years.
Pekka: Yeah. And the Oslo skate scene has always been pretty grown up anyway. The people who are most active now are around thirty and even close to forty. Deedz is like thirty-one or something. That’s crazy. People grow up. Some have kids. Some want to get things a bit more organised. Maybe they want to study.
Sigurd: Do you see a future in the younger generations?
Pekka: Hee-ell no [he says jokingly, everyone laughs]. Now I sound like the classic unc, but they’re on something completely different. They just want to win competitions. We went to loads of competitions too, but it was more of a social thing. Maybe a chance to make a quick thousand kroner. These kids are in full competition mode. Which is fine. It’s just different from what we were used to. But if you live in Oslo, which is the best city to street skate in Norway, and you spend most of your time in the indoor park instead, then you’re kind of wasting your best years.
Sigurd: Why are Tom Snape, Dan Fisher-Eustance, Tim Debauché and Lawrence Ravail coming to Oslo?
Pekka: They’re coming because we’re finishing the edit we’ve been working on for about two years. We basically started filming it right after Balancing Act was finished. I’m about to have my second kid now, so I’m trying to speed things up a bit.
Tim Debauché, frontside 180 heelflip
Sigurd: Why has it taken so long?
Pekka: It’s what I was talking about earlier. I’ve been busy with kids and people just have less time than before.
Sigurd: We thought we’d make a small Oslo lifestyle guide for people visiting the city on a skate trip, mostly non-skate stuff. So what’s the best thing about Oslo if you’re visiting as a tourist and not thinking about skating?
Drab: The forest.
Magnus: Yeah, definitely the forest. There aren’t many cities like this in the world, especially not capital cities. Having Østmarka and Nordmarka right next to the city is unbeatable.
Sigurd: How often are you in the forest?
Magnus: Probably every other day, I live just a couple minutes’ drive away.
Sigurd: What about you, Drab? You’re outside in all kinds of weather.
Drab: Yeah, probably every second day too. Not necessarily overnight trips, which is the best thing of all, but I go out there often.
Riberg: I dabble in the forest. I’m not as hardcore as those two, but I like sleeping in a hammock sometimes, making a fire.
Patrick Riberg, nollie kickflip
Sigurd: So if someone comes from abroad and reads this, which forest should they choose and how should they start?
Drab: Sognsvann is the easiest, especially for people who haven’t camped much before. You can take the metro straight there and there’s a lake where you can set up a tent.
Sigurd: Best bar?
Magnus: Someone else has to answer that.
Pekka: Same here. I don’t drink anymore. Only Riberg still drinks.
Riberg: Bar Boca. If you want a club, then Blå.
Sigurd: Does anyone snowboard at Oslo Vinterpark? It’s pretty unique for visitors that you can take the metro for half an hour and suddenly be at a full resort with parks and pipes and everything. Hasn’t Tiago been riding there for example?
Pekka: Yeah, he has. I used to snowboard a lot before when I worked for Playboard. I got a free season pass.
Sigurd: Magnus, you could probably have lived almost anywhere in the world with your skating at one point. Why did you stay in Oslo?
Magnus: I don’t know. I’m from here and I never really had the biggest dreams about moving to other countries. I’ve travelled a lot and I’ve always appreciated being home. We lived up in the mountains for a while, but as a city Oslo is really great. And I never liked the idea of bringing dogs in the hold of the plane, so if I’d move somewhere I think I’d have to drive.
Sigurd: Didn’t you drive to Paris with your dog?
Magnus: Yeah. Switzerland and Germany too. Wonderful times with my dog Shimmy!
Magnus Bordewick, frontside nosegrind 180
Sigurd: I almost never see you. Why are you so underground?
Magnus: I’m just living my life. I almost never see you, why are you so underground?
Sigurd: What do you think Hermann’s favourite thing about Oslo is?
Drab: Neo Tokyo! No wait. Outland. [Comic book / collectables shops]
Pekka: Yeah. He buys Lego sets and Japanese sodas and insanely overpriced Super Nintendo games. Just random stuff.
Sigurd: What do you like most about Hermann?
Drab: He always puts me in a good mood because he’s usually in a good mood himself. A happy guy.
Riberg: Same. He’s funny and positive. A real mood-booster.
Pekka: Yeah, same for me. He’s very kind and caring. My favourite thing is when he invites everyone to something like a Mario Kart cup and suddenly we’re twelve years old again.
Magnus: He’s a really good human. Proper solid.
Lawrence Ravail, frontside nosegrind
Pekka: Oslo isn’t amazing for shopping in general, but if you need skate stuff you go to Session. It’s
the only real skate shop where actual skaters work and keep it real.
Sigurd: What about the shop under Patrick’s flat here, Good Vibes Vintage?
Everyone: Yeah, shout-out to them! They’re part of the scene and really good guys.
Sigurd: Best local brand?
Pekka: Piratkopiert, bro! [@piratkopiert]
Magnus: I haven’t heard of that brand.
Pekka: Yeah, they made the Kids in Crime longsleeve Riberg is wearing [Norwegian cult show about early-2000s benzo dealers in the small town of Sarpsborg].
Drab: What do you mean “they”?
Pekka: Me.
(everyone laughs)
Magnus Bordewick, nollie heelflip
Sigurd: Wow. Time to plug that across Europe. What’s the idea behind it?
Pekka: I want to make bootleg merch for things I like that don’t already have merch. Films, series, artists, whatever. Mostly Norwegian things. Super small runs. Just send me a DM.
Sigurd: Best local musician or group?
Magnus: King Skurk One. And Bjørn Torske.
Pekka: King Skurk and 612.
Drab: Evig Ferie.
Riberg: Torgny [@torgny_amdam].
Pekka: He’s an incredible guy on and off the board.
Sigurd: Tell us about Torgny.
Pekka: He’s amazing. He’s almost fifty-two and did switch heel down the six-stair in the indoor park when he was forty-nine.
Riberg: He ollied the Megazone ten-stair [legendary ten-stair that was demolished two years ago]
on his fiftieth birthday.
Pekka: I ollied it on my thirtieth birthday and he said he’d ollie it on his fiftieth. And he made it just
in time. The demolition machines were already there. It was poetic. He has insane energy and genuine stoke. Everyone knows him. Everyone loves him.
Sigurd: Best tips for surviving Oslo on a tight budget?
Riberg: Start collecting bottles.
Tim Debauché, heelflip
Pekka: Yeah, collect bottles in parks after sessions [you’ll get money back when you recycle them at the supermarket].
Magnus: Camp in the forest. Don’t pay for public transport.
Riberg: Metro to Sognsvann. Camp. Back again.
Pekka: Honestly Oslo isn’t as expensive anymore. The krone is weak, so it’s not too expensive now compared to cities like Denmark, London and New York.
The question quickly turns into a full Oslo survival strategy session. More tips start appearing than anyone can properly keep track of. Someone explains that the tap water is better than anything you can buy bottled abroad anyway. The conversation then drifts unexpectedly into a surprisingly detailed comparison of Scandinavian nappy prices. Pekka explains how expensive they are in Copenhagen. Magnus says he’s genuinely impressed with the quality and technology of nappies. Someone adds that supermarkets regularly run half-price nappy deals. At this point it quietly becomes clear that the Oslo skate scene may be slightly older than it used to be.
Sigurd: If someone visits and it rains, which never happens in Oslo obviously, what should they do?
Drab: Go climbing indoors. [Drab is annoyingly good at pretty much everything he tries. He was a Norwegian junior top-ten tennis player and has been seen arriving straight from climbing sessions at the indoor skatepark with his backpack still on and his climbing shoes hanging off the outside, doing ten-trick lines.]
Riberg: Or play games at Fabrikken Bar & Spill.
Pekka: Or go skate indoors at Oslo Skatehall.
Tom Snape, switch crooks
Sigurd: Where do you get the best baked goods?
Pekka: Definitely at Mjøl, where one of Oslo’s most underrated skaters, Jan Henrik Kongstein, is the boss.
Sigurd: How many skaters work there now?
Pekka: Out of the people sitting here now, two of us do, me and Drab, and maybe Patrick will start there this summer. So that would make three out of four. And then there’s Stian Jacobsen and [Free freelancer alum] Fredrik Perry as well.
Sigurd: Do you see yourself going back to filming full-time at some point?
Pekka: No, I don’t. I’m about to have my second kid and I’m paying off an expensive flat. If I got a good deal with a big brand then of course I’d love that, but I’m starting to see the opposite of light at the end of the tunnel. And that’s completely fine. I’ve had ten years where I lived only from filming. That’s enough. I’ve done pretty much everything I wanted to do.
Sigurd: You wouldn’t want to make a full video project for a brand, like the one Tor Ström recently did?
Pekka: Of course I would love to do that. But I know it doesn’t really work logistically. I don’t want to put my girlfriend in a situation where she’s at home with two kids while I’m away filming for months. That just doesn’t work. And that’s completely fine. It’s better that someone younger and fresher can do that instead.
Sigurd: Patrick, for people who don’t know you, tell us a bit about yourself.
Patrick Riberg: Okay. First I want to plug my sponsor Victoria Hong Kong. Best clothes and boards in the world. It’s been amazing skating for them and I’m really grateful for the opportunity. Shout-out Ruben Soon for hooking me up. It’s brought a lot of trips and a lot of fun my way. Before I moved to Oslo I hadn’t really street skated that much. I was more of a park kid from Kongsberg. I moved to Oslo around seven years ago and met this crew and realised street skating was actually something I really enjoyed.
Lawrence Ravail, kickflip
Pekka: Let me add a story. The first time I saw Riberg was when he was skating at Mølla Skatepark, right around the corner from here. I skated past and saw this really tall and slender guy doing a perfect nollie frontside flip over the A-frame. And immediately I thought he had to be Swedish. Every time you see someone that good that you haven’t seen before, you assume they’re Swedish. But then it turned out it was Patrick.
Sigurd: I also remember noticing Patrick the first time I saw him skate. How old are you and what do you do apart from maybe working at Mjøl?
Riberg: I turn twenty-eight this year and I study special education at the University of Oslo. I really enjoy that. I also work as an assistant in primary schools. My plan is to work in the school system, have long holidays and skate as much as possible.
Sigurd: Do you have any dreams within skating?
Riberg: No, I’m very happy with where I am now. I’ve had the chance to travel and experience a lot with
a really great group of people and a great family through Victoria. I’m super happy with that and I can’t really say I’m aiming for anything more than that.
Drab: I can say that we’re all hoping to see a new full part from Riberg.
Riberg: And I get shoes from adidas. Shout-out Stefan [Johansson] at adidas for sending me shoes.
Magnus: Yeah, a real shout-out to Stefan. He’s supported things for years and did a lot for me as well.
Tim Debauché, 360 flip
Pekka: He actually sponsored both of my first two films, which made it possible for me to have premieres in a big proper cinema.
Sigurd: Favourite Norwegian skater? Now and all-time.
Riberg: Jonatan Drab. And Eirik Ballo.
Magnus: Noel Nissen. He’ll always be Norway’s freshest skater. He’s been my favourite since I was like ten.
Pekka: I agree about Nissen. He filmed his NOR part when he was fifteen. He had everything. And of course Hermann Stene and Deedz. They’ve basically filmed a part every year for ten years.
Drab: Right now I’m completely into Riberg. But all-time it’s Karsten Kleppan for me. Or maybe Gustav.
Sigurd: What do you hope Snape, Dan, Tim and Lawrence Ravail get out of their trip to Oslo?
Pekka: First of all I hope they get some clips.
Magnus Bordewick, switch kickflip
Drab: I hope they get to take a trip to the forest.
Sigurd: Last words?
Pekka: Come to Oslo. All the spots are much easier than they look and almost nothing’s been done on them. No, it’s actually a difficult city to skate in a lot of ways, but that’s part of what makes it interesting.
Drab: But there are a hell of a lot of spots. I remember Patrick Praman was completely amazed by that, how there were spots everywhere.
Pekka: Yeah, and close together. You can probably hit fifty spots in one day. I feel like when inter-national skaters come here they always leave with good footage. It’s not really a skate destination yet, but maybe that’s starting to change a bit now.
Sigurd: Maybe after this interview.
Pekka: Yeah, maybe.
