Kingpin Magazine

Basque skater Javier Mendizabal began his career with French company Cliché way back in 2000, when he appeared in the Europa compilation. Since then he’s popped up in many full-length videos and ads for Cliché, including a commercial by Fred Mortagne for 2011 set in Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the Basque country, as well as the independent films Strongest of the Strange (2005) and In Search of the Miraculous (2010).

Javier is  impressively an ambassador for the Quiksilver and Roxy Initiative for his work with the ‘Skateistan’ project, a way for Javier to mix his passion for travelling and skateboarding by offering the chance to young Cambodians to enhance themselves through skateboarding. He is also the co-founder of Vuerich B, which creates sunglasses from recycled broken skateboards! That’s gnarly.

Javier was born in the Basque country but lived for many years in Barcelona until moving to Capbreton in the south-west of France in 2013. Famous for his transition skills, he often surprises onlookers with ledge skills honed during his childhood – he has all skateboarding bases covered, and he uses his knowledge with power and finesse.

In 2014, he joined his old friend Pontus Alv on the Converse Cons team, and was welcomed with a video directed by Mortagne. The video, called Txabolism (‘Txabolo’ being the nickname given to Javier many years ago by his friend, photographer Fernando Elvira), celebrates Javier’s creative passions – not only skateboarding, but also travelling, making art and shooting photos.