Poetic Collective is a small brand from Malmö, Sweden who have just come out with their new full-length “White Black Colour”. Started with art school inspirations in mind, don’t expect Sweden’s next Street League contender on the Poetic Collective roster. Instead we liked the company’s calm slow movement approach about White Black Colour, and the fact they stand for what’s so magic about skating: the scope to go out with your friends, create and paint your canvas. Black White Colour will come in 3 parts, so for this first installment featuring Peter Johansson, John Nordh and Tom Botwid, we talked to the latter one to let us in…

Words: Jan

Tom, what’s the idea behind Poetic Collective?

The company was started when I was studying at the art academy in Berlin. Being surrounded by so much visual input got me thinking about how the skateboarding world mostly draws inspiration from within itself. There is so much repetition and nostalgia, I wanted to bring in influences from outside of skateboarding. So that is the main idea: to draw inspiration from other things – fine arts etc. And bring it into skateboarding again. All while very much sticking to the core of skateboarding and being a skateboard company.

What’s the difference between your approach and say the one Plan B might have?

Plan B and many companies like it is at their foundation based on shock value and performance I feel. Of course we don’t have any skaters on our team that are even close to their level. I really respect their skating, they push that side of it and I watch all of that as well, but we try to push another side. It’s like skateboarding has gotten so big that there are almost genres, just like in music. Mozart, Madonna, N.W.A, they all pushed music. Just in very different ways and in different directions.

I would say our approach is more conceptual. To me skateboarding is a creative process and that’s something we try to bring out in all the things we do.

»Chris Joslin and Leo Valls are booth great skaters but so different«

What do you love most about skateboarding? What got you hyped enough to start your brand?

I’ve been skating for so long now and love everything about it really! It has shaped everything I am and do. I love the act of skating so much, often when I skate I notice myself smiling just because it makes me feel so good. But I also love all the great people I’ve meet through it and that is a big part of running the brand – to do things together. There is a great energy in that.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I try to look at everything and anything I’m interested in. Obviously I look at a lot of art but I also find a lot of photography, fashion or just random things inspiring. But the most inspiring thing is often to do things yourself, because once you made something you feel like there are so many things you could do better so you want to keep going, keep building on that.