I don’t remember exactly when I started skating, but what I do know is that I was very young and that there were always skate parks in Kiel. Kiel isn’t that big of a city, but it has a lot of surrounding countryside and there’s always somewhere to skate. I’m not that old yet and I can’t tell you much about the time before my time… but I do remember that there always seemed to be a tight-knit core and I found them guys a bit scary, when I was a kid. Nothing scary about Kiel’s scene nowadays, though. It’s an open one, tolerant and very accommodating! Everyone gets along with everyone and you can always have a good time, whether you’re going out with your homies or skating a session in the skatepark with whoever happens to be there.

Many people see Hamburg as the northernmost skate capital of Germany, but there’s still a lot going on even further up North! It’s summer now, which means you can enjoy a day at the beach up here. There’s Kiel Week, cruise ships, sailing boats and cold drinks. Plus, thanks to the wind it’s not even getting too hot, so you can count on some perfect for skating 25 degrees all summer long.

We’ve got so many people up here, that are committed to the scene: legends like Helge and Ole Bachmann from Support; Johannes Bohe and Maik Ruhbach, who give young people a space to develop with the Chillbox; there’s all them good folks who make sure that FLINTA Spaces exist and that appropriate skate sessions can take place; there’s rippers like Ike Fromme or Louis Taubert, who have shown the us skaters up here what’s possible if you really go for it; and beyond Kiel there’s so many more people in Schleswig Holstein who deserve a shoutout: cheers to all you guys in Flensburg and Lübeck, cheers to Henning from Cleptomanicx, who’s a driving force in the whole Northern-German scene.

Kiel is worth a visit, especially in summer, I guess that’s what I wanna say. It’s a charming city, the close-by sea will give you a sense of spaciousness and if you come here you’re bound for some good times. Still, our newest scene video was not only filmed in Kiel, cause even though we love our city, we’re still skateboarders and we love to travel. But we’re always carrying with us, what we’ve learned through our scene up here: that skateboarding’s about community.

(Ole Schalla)