Herzlich Willkommen to the video that goes with PLACE YOUR FLAG a special publication of Place Skateboard Culture (in finer shops now). This project is special, not only because it deviates from our “regular” numbered editions in size, because it has animation or the number of pages but because somebody proposed it to us.

You see, normally our we come up with the ideas but this time the credit for the “Startschuss” has to go to Moritz Alte. Moritz or Mo came to us because he felt we needed to do something that included Vans team rider, Julian Ruhe.

“He felt we needed to do something that included Vans team rider, Julian Ruhe.”

After a short pitch, he presented us with a plan, which we then together finetuned into the thing you hold today. A series of papers with ink on it about young people, leaving their “Heimat” and finding their place in Berlin.

It all sounds great, skating in Berlin, following 4 people and a dog as they find their place in their new surroundings but the thing is that Mo proposed to do all this during the winter and early spring months. Puffy jackets, low light, grey skies, and snowy Berlin, not sunny, hip, drinking beer and hanging out until 23:00 at a Späti Berlin.

Moritz proposed a young crew consisting of Steffen Grap, 21 (photographer), Peter Buikema, 23 (filmer) and himself, 22 as (an overseer and writer) we liked the idea but felt we needed something more so we added a Brittish ex-pat Jack Taylor, (26) to do a part of the graphic work.

The question we had was: “Is a 22-year-old ready to do the heavy lifting it takes to make a print issue work?” Well the results speak for themselves don’t they, it took some time, it took a lot of energy but it came out great, different and that was what we were looking for. because Berlin can be a lot of things but in the cold it is mostly a beast of burden, whereas in summer it can feel like a balloon, lifting you up. Working the beast, might not be easy but it can be rewarding. There are clear benefits like the lack of tourist people around, fewer skaters at the more famous spots and fewer distractions all around by open airs, protests, and kick-outs because winter is mostly about staying in.

“Is a 22-year-old ready to do the heavy lifting it takes to make a special issue work?”

To wrap it up, a lot of people talk a good game about moving to Berlin but you haven’t truly been here unless you have been through a winter so look at what we together created and make up your mind firmly if you really want to Place your flag in Berlin soil.

Special thanks go out to Vans “OFF THE WALL” for supporting this project.

Editorial lifted and adapted from the print issue of the new PLACE YOUR FLAG issue of Place Magazine. Text by Roland Hoogwater.