Malmö | Quartersnacks

Swedish Skate Mafia — Poetic Collective’s Svampen Mix

May 5th, 2022 · 12:00 am · 3 Comments

The Quartersnacks One-Spot Part Map is two months away from its first birthday. What began as a list of 46 parts and videos filmed exclusively at one spot — a pursuit that obviously boomed in popularity on account of the pandemic and travel restrictions — has nearly doubled to being 20 entries shy of 100 in less than a year.

We first became #internetfriends with the Poetic Collective crew after labeling Simon Källkvist as “some Swedish guy” in an old QS Top 10 and having to rectify the shade. Sadly, we haven’t been able to become #realfriends with any of them on account of the reasons outlined in the paragraph above — but we do share an affinity for what is essentially the equivalent of Malmö’s T.F.

Keep Reading »

Deep Breath

January 18th, 2021 · 12:00 am · 5 Comments

In a shocking turn of events, there is currently a New York City Council Proposal to expedite a restoration of the Small Banks and the adjacent basketball courts into an active public space. Leave a comment to show your support.

An eight-minute Jahmir Brown Instagram loosies comp.

A four-minute Carl Aikens IG loosies comp (pretty much all city footy.)

Polar videographer Tor Ström has an incredible new edit out entitled, “Until Then.” Filmed in Malmö, Copenhagen and Portland, Oregon (funny how those places half-a-world apart feel so spiritually connected by terrain, D.I.Ys and weather.) Features much of the Polar extended family.

Keep Reading »

Weekend Viewing: Oscar Säfström’s ‘Unsigned Hype’ Part

November 20th, 2020 · 1:08 pmComments Off

Photo by Jacob Hansson

There’s no denying a spiritual connection between skaters in the northeastern United States and in western Europe. The seasons, the surfaces and the layouts of the cities put a lot in the middle of our Venn diagram.

And the rise of cheap, transatlantic airlines that began flying out of JFK in the 2010s only tightened our ties. Now, anyone capable of saving $500 could find themselves in Copenhagen, Malmo or Paris for not much longer of an investment (both in terms of time and money) than a flight to California would have been.

When you travel to skate, you make friends. You stay up on their edits, and having experienced a scene, you appreciate its people more. The random guy on the Nike SB German team or the kid who just started getting flowed Polar boards can suddenly become a favorite after you skate with them. They’re no longer names you don’t recognize in an avalanche of daily skate footage filmed on another continent.

Keep Reading »

What Is ‘Poetic Collective?’ — An Interview With Tom Botwid

January 30th, 2020 · 12:00 amComments Off

Intro & Interview by Adam Abada
Photos by Tom Botwid

What “is” skateboarding? A seven-ply piece of maple? Thirty-three inches of length and no more? “Not a crime?”

Just as skateboarding often eludes definition — existing in a purgatory between physical expression and existential thought — poetry uses language to access a similar type of feeling and add something new to our shared experience.

Keep Reading »

Why An Academic Skateboard Conference?

August 28th, 2019 · 12:00 am · 16 Comments

Words by Adam Abada
Photography by Norma Ibarra & Michael Worful

“Huh.”

That’s what I heard each time I told anyone, skaters or otherwise, that I was traveling to Sweden for an academic skateboarding conference.

“I didn’t know that was even a thing.”

It’s the second one, actually. I skipped last year’s in London, not wanting to commit to a trans-Atlantic flight for something that definitely had the potential to fall flat. But, when media started trickling back from Bartlett School of Architecture, which hosted the inaugural Pushing Boarders, I knew I would not make the same mistake next time around. Once I heard Malmö, Sweden — arguably the world’s most progressive skate city — was chosen as Pushing Boarders’ next destination, I booked a ticket. Then I spent six months trying to convince someone to come with me.

Keep Reading »