Words and photos by Nicolas Bouvy While the Estonian community has always been home to rebellious and fearless individuals, with girls sharing sessions with the guys, the Estonian scene is gifted with individuals such as the talented Merje Reisenbuk or the super-active Liidia Maier who runs Pavilion Skatepark in Tartu, most of the women and girls have often felt excluded. Like us, they are drawn to the uncool wooden toy but are unsure of where to ride their urethane. When we, as men and boys, search for a gnarly session filled with aggressivity, speed, grinds, and all the reckless, macho vibes we crave, sometimes we tend to forget our own humble beginnings. We should be the first to acknowledge that...
Words and photos by Nicolas Bouvy Jaagup Mägi K. (1990) aka JMK, is a rare gem that any skateboard community would dream of having. He's a bold and creative rider deeply influenced by old-school moves, and every session with him turns into a thrilling, chaotic adventure. His unorthodox style sets him apart in our community, and he's the kind of friend most Tallinn skaters abides by. Jaagup is known as one of the wildest night owls in town, an unstoppable and incredibly social soul. But that’s not all, he has another arrow in his bow, an unlimited imagination that he expresses through art. Jaagup, bs crail at Loigu ramp. Back in the day, Estonia witnessed the emergence of Soviet Rula-manufactured...
Fs Disaster on the hip of Räsälä Pool, Finland. Words and photos by Nicolas Bouvy The name Jani Mäkelä is a must know in our close neighbouring Finland. It might not ring a bell for the younger generation of skateboarders in Estonia. But the man definitely deserves a little reminder. Tallinn will host its 23rd Simple Session this September and exactly 20 years ago Jani won that contest. And that’s not his only Estonian connection, hell no, he did come to the capital during the same year with some big names in the business, Andrew Reynolds and Kevin Spanky. He’s not only a stylish ripper. As a humble man he’s not gonna accept much praise for his work, but there...
Jesse Thomas. Handplant transfer at Kenneli DIY Words and photos by Nicolas Bouvy If skateboarding as we know it originates from California, it would not have been possible without the contribution of one unique man. This man went by the name of Alvar Aalto, one of the most influential modernist architects. He came from the land of the thousand lakes. As he wanted to reproduce the beauty of his homeland lakes in the 1930s, he designed a swimming pool in the form of a kidney. This pool later inspired his US architect friends, who brought this unseen shape across the Atlantic Ocean. And some decades later, in 1975 local young kids made history as we know it. Nowadays, Finland’s locals...
words and pictures by Nicolas Bouvy All of us have that little dream teasing your skull, waiting that the mid-life crisis hits you in the back of the head. Get your own ramp, own park, own backyard pool whatever could make you more happy in your skateboarding life, but sometimes that shit don’t happen. So here we come and bring you the ultimate skate dream for some, highly probable it’s for most of us. You can rent it and it’s located real close from Estonia. Havumäki, Muurame, Finland, to be exact. Jani Mäkelä, fs nose blunt. So after a good Manserama festival, representing Nightwood Skateboards, I took a day off and drove North from Tampere, to join my...
