Diverse fashion: “Everyone skates their own style”
The circle of friends around Benno, Markus, Philipp, Philip, Felix and Max can also unanimously affirm the fashion question. They come together for the Skate Week in Frankfurt from southern Hesse, Mannheim and Heidelberg. “Frankfurt is already known for a good skate scene.” They also bought some things second hand, but mostly wear common skate brands. Several of the group work in skate shops or have sponsorships.
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In terms of fashion, the group particularly likes the diversity of the scene. “Everyone skates their own style,” says 31-year-old Philip, who pairs a Tanzanian safari hat with Volkom clothing. That applies to the sport itself, but also to the music – or the outfits. “Some brands stand for a more rabid driving style, others are more hip-hop-heavy, others drive a clean look.” Nevertheless, one is a scene.
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“The skate culture is open to everyone, but politically it’s more to the left,” says Felix from the Mannheim area. On his T-shirt: a man cutting kebabs, with the words: “Nazis are haram.” “You can express yourself with your style. But the clothes also have to be robust,” says 20-year-old Markus from Heppenheim. His shoes look really worn.
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“In this condition I would probably get 50 euros for it.” They are Nike SB Dunk. “A very good skate shoe.” This version is hardly available new. For some versions, so-called “sneaker freakers” camp out in front of skate shops, they are offered on the Internet in four-digit amounts, and purchase rights are raffled off at skate contests. “Some snobs put them on the shelf, but we drive the shoe,” says Philip. “That describes skate culture well. That’s sexy.” The group finds it amusing to ridiculous that big fashion brands like Balenciaga or Gucci use skate fashion. They talk about Prada skateboards and Armani skate shoes.
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Formerly radical, now mainstream
Last but not least, this is also due to the extremely growing popularity of the sport. Due to Corona, many have rediscovered the sport for themselves: It is an outdoor sport that you can also learn well alone or with enough distance. Since 2020, skating is officially an Olympic sport. “For us, skating isn’t a competitive sport, it’s about having fun,” say Joanna and Sabrina. They came from Munich and Innsbruck for the Skate Week. Depending on the location and the season, they also like to unscrew the wheels from their boards in winter and “snowskate” on the snow.
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