Recaps

Best Foot Forward: An Account of a Very Wet Skateboard Tour

Earlier in the summer Blue Tomato invited us over to Germany to tag along on a couple of the European stops of the Best Foot Forward Tour. The tour began in Berlin, at a washed out Tempelhofer, and the rain didn’t really stop till our final day in Cologne – not ideal. Fortunately, for the rest of the guys on the trip, the weather improved as they headed over the border into Austria.

We caught up with Marco Kada and Philipp Schuster about their experience of living out of a ridiculous tour bus with 20 other skaters, putting up with the rain, and generally about the Best Foot Forward experience.

Photos: Hannes Mautner

Check out The Berrics edit of the Best Foot Forward European stops

Have you ever been on a trip where it rained so much?

Philipp: No never. Of course you don’t expect to have perfect conditions all the time, but on this tour it was fairly extreme.

Marco: To be honest… no! The first few days it was raining a lot but after some days the weather became better and better.

Can you explain what the tour van was like? How much did it smell at the end?

P: The bus was amazing. It was a massive truck, built to accommodate more than 20 people. Those bunks where comparable with coffins that had little windows. It wasn’t the best place to recover after a long day on the skateboard but still an adventure for sure.

M: Haha the van was insane! Sometimes it was pretty hard to get a parking lot but we figured something out every time. It actually wasn’t smelling that bad, at the start of the trip I was kinda concerned!

“Unfortunately it rained so we didn’t get the chance to skate it.”

Do you guys have a favorite stop from the tour? Philip I guess this may be harder for you…

P: For me it was Hannover. I finally got to see the 2er spot and visited Ben, a good friend mine, who moved there a while a go. Unfortunately it rained so we didn’t get the chance to skate it.

M: Hmm… that’s pretty hard to tell because it never gets boring on the road but if I had to choose I would have to go for Cologne.

2er is incredible, even when its soaking wet

Philip, you wanted to talk about 2er DIY and the crew behind it so let’s do that, it’s an incredible place…

P: That place is just amazing. I’ve wanted to go there for years, it’s a legendary place, but I somehow never made it there. In Vienna we do a lot of DIY stuff too, so it’s really cool to see how the locals elsewhere deal with their ideas and how the character of the skaters shows in the characteristics of the spots. I think every DIY spot has its individual aura and even though it rained that day I got a good picture about what the place stands for. I definitely want to come back to finally skate it and to help with building a new piece!

“Marco’s on fire at the moment, nothing can stop him!”

Who was the tour MVP?

P: Definitely Marco! He had the youngest legs and jumped down big stuff for breakfast. He’s on fire at the moment, nothing can stop him!

M: Definitely our bus driver Rudi! He brought us to every spot we wanted to go to, made breakfast for us every morning and was chilling with us at the spots. Rudi rules!

You looking forward to that trip to America Marco?

M: Yes of course! I think I will extend my trip a few weeks longer. Not just to skate the contest and fly back home, I want to meet up with some friends to go film if I can.

Which contest went off the most?

P: Well I only judged one stop as Berlin was rained off, and I couldn’t go to Innsbruck an Zurich … so i’m not sure I can really tell.

M: Probably Zurich, that indoor park was awesome!

Which city had the best spots? I guess we can write off Berlin and Hamburg as it rained the whole time…

P: I was super stoked to go to Stuttgart. We went to that famous spot with the double set and the stairs and we found that pump track in the back yard of the building: perfect tarmac and fun lines. To find such a unique spot on the fly was a big surprise for sure.

M: Pretty hard to say because I am happy with everything – a DIY, a 13 stair or a ledge. Zurich has tons of good spots but unfortunately we didn’t have that much time left after the contest to really explore properly.

Marco back tail after the park had dried up

Which city had the best food?

P: That Gas station between Hannover and Cologne wasn’t too bad (laughs)

M: That one restaurant in Cologne we went to the evening after the contest was badass!

Any skaters show up that really stood out to you? That Bobby Grey guy in Cologne was dope

P: Yeah Bobby Grey was killing it – super good and very unique style, and great skills on the board.

M: Max Pack, a local from Cologne. Awesome guy on and off the board!

The Austria stops looked sunny and scenic, can you give us the lowdown of what happened there?

M: Of course it was raining in Berlin and Cologne where the contests were outdoor. A few days later when the contests were indoor (Innsbruck and Zurich) we had the best weather, that’s just how it goes. Anyhow we managed to find the time to check out some street spots after the contests.

What’s coming up for you guys for the rest of the year?

P: I’m about to go on a skate trip to Romania. I’m really looking forward to that, especially because the weather forecast is better this time!

M: I just came back from the CPH Open – we extended the trip to film for the new Vans video. Later this week I am flying to Cologne for Blue Tomato’s The Captain’s Quest. After this there will be a few more Vans trips to finish the video and of course the Best Foot Forward finals in Arizona. Let’s see what else the rest of the year brings.