Great chat with Sebastian about slalom, longboarding in Cologne and Greenskate! Enjoy

Hey Sebastian, where are you from?
I’m from Cologne, Germany.

Where did you start skating?
I started longboarding when I moved to Cologne in 2009. But I started skateboarding when I was 8 years old.

What’s the skating like in Cologne?
We’ve got many longboard cruisers, dancers and some freeriders, downhill and slalom riders. The scene has grown fast these past three years. Cologne is flat but we have some spots for cruising and slalom. There are some little hills around Cologne where you can practise sliding/freeriding and an outdoor skatepark (Northbrigade Skatepark) with a concrete bowl since last summer, also an indoor bowl in our lovely neighbouring town Düsseldorf where I skate in winter.

Is there a local crew?
There is always at least 10 people you can skate with or just hanging around and enjoy some beers and bbq.

Who organises events?
In the facebook group called “Longboard Köln” you can arrange a skate.  We had two skate meetings last year: Greenskate Cologne organized by Heiko Schöller from Concretewave Skateshop and the first Longboard Alleycat Cologne 2011 organized by Henrik Lehman. (Greenskate Cologne 2012 will take place on 21th April)
Lutz Wagenhäuser organized the Insul downhill races (European championships 2006, World Cup 2011) and a freeride in 2010.
Pavel and the G.O.G. crew hosted these slalom races: King of Cologne 2004, King of the Rhein 2005 – 2010, Great Western Race Series 1 – 3.

What is Greenskate?
Greenskate is a longboard meeting held on Earth Day. This event takes place all around the World. You meet some friends and skate together. On last years Greenskate we had a city cruise with about 180 people. I guess there are 350 longboarders or more participating in this years Greenskate in Cologne.

What are your favourite events?
I like freeride events and slalom races as well. Because you meet really nice people from all over the world.

What do you ride?
Slalom, downhill, street and pool.

How was last season for you?
Last season was a blast. We had lots of sessions and many sunny days in Cologne. I went to Vulkanradweg Summercamp with some people from the Cologne Crew. I went to my first downhill freeride (Wallonhill, Belgium) and slalom competitions (Ripo Riga, Latvia, World championships of slalom skateboarding 2011 – Ottawa, Canada).

How was skating in Latvia?
They had a really good hill for giant slalom at the contest. It was a round course with steep curves.

What’s the Vulkanradweg?
It’s a 13 km cycling track near Frankfurt am Main. You can cruise down with up to 40 km/h and a shuttle bus take you back to top of the hill.

When is the next event there?
4-6 May

Who is organising this and what’s going to happen?
There’s no organizer. This event is held every year at the beginning of may. You skate at daytime and afterwards you can drink beer and enjoy some bbq and bonfire music at the campsite.

What’s the slalom scene like in Germany?
I started slalom skateboarding in late summer 2010. I’m still pretty new in the scene. I know some local riders in and around Cologne - All of them ride Pavel boards and G.O.G. trucks. Pavel and G.O.G. are a milestone in slalom engineering. These companies characterise the  slalom scene in most cases. They hosted many contests over the years and gave this scene a very professional touch.

You’re a Pavel and G.O.G team rider?
No, but I ride Pavel boards and G.O.G. trucks.

When did you start skating competitively?
I had my first slalom race in Riga. After that I went to the World Championships of Slalom Skateboarding 2011 in Ottawa, Canada. This year I want to participate to the slalom races in London, Paris, Eurocup Riga and World Cup Stuttgart. I marked the Wallonhill and Koffe & Schnaps freerides in my calendar, too.

You’re coming to Hog Hill!
Yes, I hope so.
How close is the European Slalom community?
It’s one big family. I’m sure I’ll see some familiar faces at the races.
When I was in Canada I met a lot of new people at the race and they helped me out with a ride or a place to sleep.

What do you do when you’re not skating?
I play upright bass and go to work.

Choose 3 numbers between 1-26
6, 8, 25

6 – Do you like lemons ?
No, not really. Only with tequilla.

8 – Best board you’ve ever ridden
Pavel Agressor

25- Would you rather be a penguin stuck in a lions body, or a lion stuck in a penguin
I’m trying to imagine the second variant.

Thanks for your time bro! Great talking to you
Cheers!

Any shout outs or thank-yous?
Skate hard!
In Cologne you say: Mach et jot ävver nit ze off (Translated: Take care of your health).