Life’s got its ups and downs, and skateboarding comes in waves, but some things never change. Here’s a full part by Mark Frölich, including a shared section with none other than Bülent Kurtca! Filmed by Dmitry Brylev, Felipe Emarulanda, Joana Duarte Pinto, Mefilmasuna, Timo Meier, Felipe Ramirez, Marco Busato, Andi Wolf, Christian Sanchez, Thomas Pfeiffer, Fernan Origel, Rob Ingemarsson, Daniel Winkenhoff, Stürmer, Billy Richardson, Marian Isa, and Mark Frölich.

Mark: I think the first time that Bülent and I met was at an ESC in Basel. Then, I saw him at another contest in Münster – I think it was a COS Cup. This time around, we got to talk and skate together a bunch. I had just finished school, and we agreed to link up soon for some street skating. Shortly after, we met up in Bremen, where he used to live back then. We clicked and spent some good times there – skating, partying, just enjoying life, … I happened to get on Cobra Cabana; that was the board brand that Bülent and Patrick Eling were riding for. The summer was coming up and the Cobra van was waiting for us. We went on a trip with a budget of 20 euros each, and somehow, we managed to stay on the road for six weeks straight. We would make 10 euros a day somehow and spend the money on food and gas until the next stop. We crashed at friends’ houses, took some of them along for parts of the trip, and eventually found our way back down to Basel for another ESC. We had a really good time, pushed each other skating-wise, and looking back at it, I’d say life was pretty free and easy. This trip definitely forged our friendship, and I reckon it’d be time for another one – maybe Turkey this time?!

Bülent: I first noticed Mark back in Monster Skateboard Magazine. Who is this little ripper? That’s what I thought to myself, because back then already – he must have been sixteen or seventeen –, he was skating the biggest big spots and pulling off rail tricks that were super rare in Germany at the time, like kickflip backside 50-50. Anyways, the first time I actually met young Mark was in Basel. But before that, I had already gotten to know his brother, Chris. At that time, I was on Cobra Cabana Skateboards, and Patrick Eling and I were put in charge of putting a team together. I was so impressed by how Mark was flying through the park, at breakneck speed, in his all-white outfit, that I told Eling about it. Shortly after, Mark joined the team, and a year later, we took the Cobra van on a tour back to Basel. That’s when we really got to know each other, and we shared tons of killer sessions. 

Mark: During the Done video days, we were living in Barcelona together. Most of the time, we had people staying over at our place, and the sheer amount of sessions made our lives feel like a never-ending skate trip. We all really wanted the video to be as good as possible, and Bülent knew how he wanted to close out his part. He had already had a good run with the 4 blocks at MACBA, but Bülent still had his sight set on the frontside halfcab heelflip. The deadline for the video was approaching, and he had already tried the trick on five separate occasions. He was always getting close but ended up getting robbed every single time. Then, one day we decided to go to this hubba in the suburbs, and Bülent ended up slamming on his hand. He powered through and still got the trick, but as soon as the adrenaline left his body, it became pretty obvious that he had gotten seriously injured. We somehow managed to get him an x-ray (no health insurance at that time), and ended up stabilising the broken hand with an orthopaedic wrist-guard and bandage. Time was running out, and even though Bülent had another clip that we could have used as an ender, two days before the premiere, we found ourselves at MACBA again. Kilian Heuberger was staying at our place and had asked us to squeeze in a quick session at MACBA. He did a nollie tuck knee in just a few tries, which finally led to Bülent giving it one last shot – with wristguard wrapped around his broken hand. All or nothing! If I remember correctly, it didn’t even take too long that day, and Bülent was rolling away from the ender of his dreams. We fucking lost it when it happened – it was bonkers! The Done video was a special time in our lives, but that moment… It’s not the first time that I refer to it as the happiest moment in my skateboarding life. It was almost too good to be true!

Bülent: I’m really impressed by how quickly Mark can bounce back from injuries… like when he came back from a meniscus surgery, and jumped right into filming for his Welcome to Morphium part. He just picked up where he left off, powerful as ever. He ends the part with this frontside noseslide, and I was there when he did it. The filmer, Julian Castell, and I both just looked at each other in disbelief when we got to the spot. But as soon as Mark started jumping on it, I just thought: There he is again, this little skate rat born in Wuppertal. Mark, or Murat – as I like to call him sometimes –, thank you for everything you’ve done for me, and for everything you do for skateboarding. Thank you, Jefe! Love you, and let’s keep going! AtAt!

Mark: When I started working on this new part, I told Bülent that I really wanted him to be part of it. Regardless of him probably feeling a bit of pressure, he agreed to stack some clips. Bülent’s more focused on skating again, and he’s probably more focused than ever right now to stay in shape. Last year when I paid a visit to him in Hamburg, we went to a schoolyard with a double set and some kinked rails. I tried to convince him to jump the set and told him that he can easily throw a trick down it, if he wants to. He got upset with me for pushing him, but eventually he gave it a few tries, and rolled away – happy as a kid who just landed their very first ollie. Bülent’s still got it, and here we are, a year later and with frontside shove-its down double digits. Another session that really got me stoked was the one that would turn out to be our last filming mission together for this part. Bülent came to Wuppertal for a weekend. He arrived with an early train, and we went straight to the big banks next to Schwebebahn. Everyone who’s been to this spot knows how tiring it can get, especially if it takes some time to get the trick – which it usually does. Those things are steep! Bülent battled his trick for nearly three hours, but never gave up, pushed himself to his limits, and ended up rolling away – not once, but twice! Bülent’s one of my favourite skateboarders for sure, and I love to see him pushing himself again.

Bülent: In all honesty, two years ago I had pretty much lost my motivation to skate. But Mark and I have always kept in touch, and he would occasionally force (just kidding) me to skate whenever I was in Barcelona. Most of the time, he would just pick spots where I could actually get something done. I wouldn’t have expected myself to ever get a clip again, but Mark just knows me and my skating so well – he’s been there through all the ups and downs –, so that in the end, we actually managed to get some clips together. There’s this spot in the video, where I do the nollie heel into the downhill… I was so scared of riding down that thing… I cannot thank Mark enough for believing in me and taking the time when things take a little longer – he just keeps motivating me! Massive thanks – and sorry for my filming! You gotta know, that unlike Mark, I’m a terrible filmer. We’ve actually had a few clashes in the past, cause I would mess up clips quite a bit. But at least, these days, it’s clear that it’s out of question to hand me a camera.