Jérémie Daclin had the hectic Jam session under control.

Adrien Coillard didn’t seem too nervous.

By 7pm the skatepark was rammed with impatient skateboarders desperately trying to find a good seat for the video.

Cliché hooked us up with some tasty donuts.

Alex Maison after hearing that Cliché were going to surprise his buddy Flo Mirtain with his first promodel later that evening.

It’s on! Next stop the Voxx bar.

Surprise! 

Flo, Lucas, JB, Boris, Clément and me enjoying some celebratory shots at the Voxx. Thanks Nasser!

Flo got given a few of his boards to hand out to his mates. Naturally Nikwen got his first!

Lucas, Seb Housset, Maxime Géronzi and Mat from (Official skate shop Toulouse).

Flo is stoked, Steeve Ramy is trending hard and Adrien looks a like he should get some rest…

Charles got one!

The partying went on for far too long… Boris and the boys looking fresh. 7am after-party at Hotel de ville.

Bumped into JB, Gégé, Al and Boris at the airport. Everyone seemed pretty rinsed from this weekend… Have fun in L.A guys!

All in all it was an incredible weekend, I can’t wait for Bon Voyage to finally drop on iTunes and DVD (28th and 26th of April).

In the meantime you might as well rewatch this.

There you have it, the official date has been announced. The Cliché boys have rented out the Lyon’s skatepark to organise a jam for the kids and a best trick contest with the whole team and the local skate shop riders before the viewing. “Bon Appetit‘s” world premiere was held there almost ten years ago and it remains one of my fondest “skate related” memories to this day, so I can only recommend you do what ever it takes to get yourselves over to Lyon in three weeks time.

Cliché asked Manolo to produce this little remix edit of all of JB’s best footage to go with their new online catalogue. Knowing that the release of a new JB part is imminent makes me very happy. Bon Voyage is going to be epic.

There isn’t much to be said about this kid, other than the fact that he’s ridiculously good at skateboarding, but that doesn’t really need pointing out, so just watch the clip. What I should mention is that Lakai’s new website is now live. It’s really interactive, has a bunch of cool videos and JB looks pretty funny on his portrait, so check it out.

Photos by Nikwen.

It’s funny how important a skater’s “image” is for his career. It’s almost like nowadays you need to fit into one of the “cool” categories to be considered relevant, but what category does Flo fall into? He’s not exactly a jazzy power sliding night skater, he’s definitely not a hesh tranny skater or a baker/hammer guy. You wouldn’t consider him to be a “super-tech” guy either, his skating a bit too varied for that. He could almost be an “energy drink superkid” but he reps CocaCola too hard, and his trick selection is slightly too tasteful. What the hell is he then? Or rather who is he?

There’s a reason why you probably don’t know much about his personality: he simply doesn’t want to share it with you. It may sound strange, but then again, when you think of it, why should he? He’s a skater, he’s not trying to get kids to hug him, he’s trying to get them pick up their skateboards and hit the streets. You may not catch him smiling at every demo or kissing your favorite American pro’s arse (no matter how good it would be for his career) but at least he’s genuine, no gimmicks. That being said, if you want to make it in the skate game, you have to play by it’s rules, so here’s an interview with one of my friends who won’t pretend to be yours just because it would be good for his image.

Fakie five-o front shove mid ledge.

Hi Flo, how are you? What have you been up to lately? I heard you guys were on deadline for the new Cliché video, how is that going?

 I’m fine and you? Yeah, the deadline is really close, we are supposed to stop filming at the end of February. Cliché are taking us on one last trip this month and then that’s it. It’s going really well, everybody is on it. I’ve been trying to film one last thing in Lyon but the weather has been so shit that I haven’t been able to try properly.

Who do you think has the best stuff so far?

I know Sammy and Daniel have filmed some really sick clips. I haven’t seen everyone’s footage though, but I’m sure Joey and Lucas have got good footage, they are both pretty productive. I’ve also been skating Lyon with Adrien quite a lot recently, and I’ve witnessed some crazy hammers, he’s been killing it.

Yeah I heard about Adrien’s gnarly stuff on the Rowley hubba… It sounds like one of the flows is going to get the last part! That would be a first…Do you think one of them is going to get on the proper team after the video drops? That’s how it happened with you right?

Yeah definitely, probably even more than one of them to be honest; the stuff they’ve got so far is mind-blowing. I guess the team will have to decide who they want to have properly on. That’s how it happened for me: I went on a few trips with them, filmed for “Clé,” and when the video came out they put me on.

So when was that, 4 or 5 years ago? Since then you have been trying to live from skateboarding, how is that going? Can ams make enough money to live comfortably in Europe without being sponsored by an energy drink company?

It’s going fine, I think you can definitely make enough money to get by in Europe. The only thing is I don’t think it’s enough to keep you going once your “career” is over. You know that after skating you will inevitably have to get a proper job, but right now, I can’t complain.

Bigspin backside disaster.

Leaving the financial aspect of it aside, are you still enjoying it? Because I remember there was a point last summer when you kept losing your shit. More than once I heard you say: “I’m sick of this, I can’t stand filming and shooting photos anymore, it’s driving me nuts, I just want to skate Hotel De Ville with my friends…”

Hahaha, no right now things are going well… But it’s true that at one point I was kind of over it. I injured my leg last year and for 6 months after that I just felt like I was struggling to do anything. It took me a while to feel confortable on my board again, and when you are supposed to be filming a part or when you are on a trip and you suck at skateboarding it can really get to you, you feel useless. I found myself wishing I could just have mellow sessions with my friends instead of constantly being on missions. But then you start getting better again, your confidence comes back and you enjoy it in the same way as you used to.

Don’t you think it could also be linked to the fact that it’s your job to skate everyday, you think about skateboarding all day and basically only hang out with skaters?

Yeah, it’s not good to be trapped inside a routine like that… But the fact that it’s a routine you chose to get yourself into, means that you have the power to get yourself out of it by doing other things that have nothing to do with skateboarding. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do recently.

Like what?

I’ve been drawing quite a lot. Whenever I’m not skating I try and go to driving school… I’ve also been trying to learn some new tricks on my kendama.

It’s funny I knew you would enjoy playing with that that thing (it was a birthday present from me and another friend). Seeing you learn tricks with it reminds me at lot of the way you skate. It’s really repetitive and takes the same kind of patience and dedication, except you probably don’t look as ridiculous on your board. Then again, can you tell people about the flat ground  “revisions” you do over the summer at Hotel de Ville? I find the concept quite amusing…

Hahaha, sometimes I play this little game where I try and redo every single trick I can do: kicklip, switch flip, nollie, flip, fackie flip etc… Then I would do the same thing with heelflips, bigspins and so on. I guess it kind of trains you up for playing SKATE haha… It reminds me of when I would session my bench on my own, in Gap ( little town in the south of France where he grew up skating).

What’s the story behind this bench?

Basically, when I was younger I stole a Bench from a school with a few friends and took it to an inner courtyard where my mother worked. It was ten minutes from my house and I ended up skating it for hours every evening after school.

Rickflip.

I know you spend hours on HellaClips everyday, do you think skateboarding is benefiting from this constant flow of skate clips, or do you miss the good old VHS days?

I hate the Internet’s influence on skateboarding and one of the reasons why I hate it so much is because there is no escaping it. Nowadays, I feel like you instantly forget everything about a part right after watching it. Videos don’t have the same charm as they use to. A few years ago, you’d buy a video and watch it over and over again for 6 months, and still love it. It’s not the same anymore, you end up watching so much useless crap that whenever you actually do come across something sick it just fades in with the hundred other clips you just watched.

I know what you mean, it desensitises you. What effect do you think it has on the industry?

It’s definitely not helping the mags (last week Skateboarder announced that they would no longer print their magazine) or videos put out by legit companies. Instead it’s making it mainstream and opening it up to more people. In theory that could be good for the industry, but the problem is that the core brands aren’t the ones who are really going to profit from this expansion.

Who will then?

All the people who never had anything to do with skateboarding in the past, but suddenly decided to latch onto it because they realized there was money to be made.

What have you got lined up after this Cliché video is done?

DVS want to put out a video, but I don’t know very much about that yet, so I can’t tell you if it’ll be a short promo or a full-length video. Bist  (the guy who filmed this edit) and I also want to make a VX video with the whole crew from Lyon, so I guess I’ll just keep filming and decide where I want my footage to go later.

I forgot you were back on DVS, what happened with Supra?

Well things didn’t work out with Supra, I went on a trip with them and I guess it wasn’t really a good fit so they kicked me off as soon as we got back. At the same time Shier became the new DVS team manager so we discussed a few things and he asked me to come back. I’m stoked, I already know everyone on the team and things have always gone well with them. Cheers Shier!

What Europeans should we look out for this year?

There’s loads of them: Madars, Adrien Coillard, Lucas, Jb, Lucien, JP Villa… All of those incredible Scandinavians: Joseph Scott Jatta, Jonas Skroder, Simo Makella, Pontus, Erik Petterson…

Anyway, on the cover we have Javier Mendizabal who seems to be floating backside over some sort of fluorescent inter-dimensional portal.

A French delegation from the Converse team head to New York to find out if America really is the land of the free. It probably didn’t take them too long to realise that’s its quite the opposite, but I’m sure they got over the disappointment. When you see the photos you’ll probably even be quite happy that none of the under 21′s could drink, it’s probably what made it such a productive trip!

We’ve also got an Element Europe  trip through Spain, with Nassim and the gang.

Cliché celebrate their fifteen years in the business, and it’s got everything you need in there. From JB doing a sick manual, to the young Adrien Coillard gapping out to bluntsliding the famous Rowley hubba in Lyon. The whole article is also “illustrated” by Chet Childress: pure madness. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the edit.

As we mourn Blueprint’s death, Sylvain Tognelli comes through with his best full length interview to this day. I can’t wait to find out where all of these ex-Blueprint guys are going to end up.

Last but not least the European Volcom team explores a land considered uncharted by most skateboarders: Slovakia. That place has got some unbelievable spots…

Go and buy yourself a copy!

Last week, I was lucky enough to have a chat with one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. He was happy to discuss his past, addressing the topic of his major influences, his present and his views on modern skateboarding, as well as his future, with the business side of his career. His fifteenth video part came out in the latest DGK video, so if you still haven’t seen yet, go and buy it on iTunes. Stevie has the ender, and you won’t be let down. He’s not going anywhere.

First things first, why are you in Berlin right now?

I’m here for G-Shock, to support the brand as an ambassador. They’ve just opened a new pop-up store here, to celebrate their 30th’s anniversary.  My latest watch also just dropped, it’s another classic. It’s important for me to stay involved, stay active with these brands. On top of that Berlin is a dope city, so I just want to take it in.

The G-Shock X DGK Watch

Do you pay attention to European skateboarding?

Honestly, I don’t even pay attention to current skateboarding at all. I still watch old skateboarding online though, like Virtual Reality, or Tim and Henry’s pack of lies. I guess I did watch Pretty Sweet a couple of times, but honestly, I work too much, I don’t have time to keep up with everything. Plus I’m older now; I’ve got two kids, and a lot of worries… I have to really not be doing anything to sit down and watch a full video, and that barely ever happens. I’ve got a lot of obligations in terms of business and sponsorship…I don’t even have time to watch TV, so if I’m want to get hyped on something, I’ll go online and watch something I know I love, like some sections from Questionable or Love child. I actually watch those videos a lot. I like reminiscing about the things that made me psyched on skating as a kid, it helps me go out there and keep doing it. The problem with most videos these days is that they just show how challenging skateboarding is, rather than showing how fun it is. I don’t have time for that shit. It feels like they are going too far, we’ve got to go back in time… It just doesn’t look fun anymore. I think that’s why the DGK video was so successful. We would go out all together, skate the same spots and you can actually see that we are having a bunch of fun.

In some ways it does feel like more of a “late nineties” video than a lot of the major productions that have come out recently. Probably because it’s predominantly lines and the skating is mostly filmed on a VX…

Yeah, I like keeping it simple. All of my part was filmed on a VX, and I think I only filmed it with 3 filmers, so I didn’t have to run all over the place to get my footage. Whenever I’d want to watch my footage I’d know exactly where to find it. This meant that before going on a trip, I could watch it to help me figure out what sort of stuff I still wanted to film. We all watch our footage together, it’s another way of making sure it’s stays fun. Like I said, the problem with a lot of skateboarding nowadays is that it doesn’t show the fun side. That’s why I don’t see the point in paying attention to it.

Does this mean that the process of filming a part is pretty much the same for you as it was ten or fifteen years ago? Do you not feel like you are under more pressure?

The pressure starts when you film your first video part, no matter what company you skate for, so nothing’s really changed. The main pressure for me was that I started a new brand almost 10 years ago, and this is our first full-length video. For a long time there was a lot of hype and speculation, people were like “does Stevie still skate at all?”. It was the same for a lot of the guys on the team, people thought we were just a bunch of cool guys who smoke weed, fuck girls and hang out. Which we are, but we skate, its just probably not how some people want us to skate. Especially me, I may not skate how people want me to skate, as in every day or at a contest, because that’s just not what I do. But I’m a skater and I’ve been putting video parts together since I was twelve years old. This is my fifteenth video part and I think the pressure mainly comes from wanting to exceed all the hype and speculation. The only reason why I’ve had all these parts is because I really enjoy filming them. Sure I may not skate every single day, but the video was successful and I don’t care about what people think, not anymore. What it all comes down to is can you still have fun riding a motherfucking skateboard, and I can.

Is skateboarding perceived differently in Europe than in the states?

I think core skateboarding is seen in the same way around the world. But when you have somebody like myself who can crossover to “lifestyle” and actually dabble in the different scenes, then it gets a little different. In the states you could have your favourite actor and your favourite skater hanging out, you know what I mean? It always takes a while for Europe to catch on to what we are doing, to what we did, but I’m definitely sure we will see the same thing happen over here. Who’s the hottest skater in Europe right now? Let’s say like JB (Gillet), because he’s my brother, my homie. Well imagine him kickin it with David Beckham. You’d be like: “how the hell does JB know David Beckham?” But that’s how it is in the states, so you never know.

Other than JB, have you ever been influenced by any European skaters?

I’m backing Lucien (Clarke) , he killed it on the Supra trip with us last summer… But my all time favourite European skater is Curtis McCann, he used to skate for Underworld Element back in the day, he was sick. That part in “Skypager” where he switch flips the stairs at South Bank at the beginning was dope. Him, Pepe Martinez, Jeff Pang, Harold Hunter were all on Underworld Element, it was kind of like a back in the day DGK… I was twelve when “SkyPager” came out, living in Philadelphia, and I would go home and watch that video every fucking day. Somehow I even ended up getting sponsored by them, but thats another story…

A few years later on you moved to San Francisco, right? What made you decide go out there?

I wanted to move closer to all the pros. I wanted to turn pro so bad and I was super young. I thought I’d be able to turn pro at like 15, 16, but it didn’t happen haha… What happened is that I wound up being the little skater that was cool with everybody, but I would get into a hell of lot of trouble… It takes good friends like Josh Kalis, to tell you when you are messing up. At one point he was like, “man you’re really good, you should stick to skateboarding and stop getting into trouble because you’ve got something special and you are wasting it.” I listened to his advice and this is where I’m at now.

Any plans for the future? Any other videos parts coming up?

I don’t really have anything to film for at the moment, but I’m filming and skating a lot so we’ll see… None of my sponsors are putting out videos anytime soon. People liked my video part, but I feel like I can do 2 or 3 times better than that, so I’m just filming and we’ll see what happens. We are also coming out with a DGK behind the scenes video, and we’ve got a lot of collaboration coming up. So many things are coming our way… Just like this new collaboration with G-Shock. It’s important to stay active and do stuff for the brands that support me, but right now, I’m going focus on my skating for a bit.

Here’s the footage from a 10 day Nixon trip with JB Gillet, Javier Sarmiento, Chris Pfanner, Alain Goikoetxea, Alex Mizurov and Antony Lopez . That’s quite an eclectic team… It’s good to see JB go on a trip with people like Pfanner or Goikoetxea. They drove from Bilbao to Lyon, stopping in Barcelona and a bunch of other places along the way. Sarmiento kills it as usual.