Love Life

Swating Math

Swating Math, originally uploaded by Carsten Beneker.

Last night I invited two friends from Uni to start the math project we have to do till next week or so.
Well, surprisingly it was fun times. We talked about it about it a bit, figured that it’s not to much and hard so we went over to drinking.
After fooling around, playing Ligretto, having a feast and a couple of beers & Cuba Libres we eventualy went out in search of ultimate party. Ended up playing Table Tennis at Mr. Pong’s in Prenzlauer Berg.
The week at Uni was pretty lax, I didn’t make it to one of my 8 o’clock lectures. Damn I have to get a second alarm clock, I just became too good in putting my one of while sleeping.
I know I should do shitloads more but until now it’s going pretty well. Math is getting tougher and tougher, but our homeworks were around 75%.
Chemistry is still on school level and economics…who cares?!

I look pretty smart with glasses huh?

It’s been a while…

…I know homies! Sorry ’bout that!
There were some things of major importance happening. I started studying, moved into my new apartement, collected footage… stuff like that.
There’s no point in summing it all up. Let me just assure U that studying means a shitload of work. Even though I’m doing Environmental Science I have to go through shit like Analysis and Algebra which are pretty tough.
The Apartment is…GOLD! It’s even better I reckoned it would be. So good to have my own 4 walls now. Only disadvantage:
I spend to much time in here having a big bronchitis and heaps of homework.

Tomorrow I’ll cross the Republic though to meet my friends and “basta!-Sippschaft” Members, 6 of them. After including Tim Rokahr like a month ago we will put someone new up again then. Me meet to talk about reorganizing the whole basta!-idea and about realizing an hobnox project for their contest.
For this occasion I spontaneously designed some real lax hippie shirts exclusively for us 11 members of the Clan (”Sippe”) . Their just about to be finished. Hope they’ll be dry by tomorrow morning so I can take them with me and suprise those dudes.
basta! Shirt

Now for sure!

I made myself rare in the last month, at least in web 2.0 life. So a lot of stuff happened:

- Got an permission to study environmental science at the technical University of berlin what I eventuall will do

- I’m going to share a huge, blinging flat with two gorgeous women, my new hood is around legendary “Yorckstraße”

- Did a lot of skating, got some footage and entered contests. 1st time in my life I even won some money

- found out that studying will demand a lot of time, work and essentially self-discipline by not going to my Math-Preclasses regularly

Well, that’s basically about what I’m doing respectively not doing. Even though it feelt like I was, now I think I didn’t really arrive yet. I’m still living out of a bag, moving around every couple of days and associating like every second impressive moment with some random situation of my travel. Well, I doubt U ever arrive somewhere in your life, but U know what I mean. This Germany doesn’t really feel like home until I have my own 4 walls giving me privacy to reflect, to go nuts, to live out or simply to pin my favorite poster on.

Well on November first the flat will be ours. That’s gonna be good! Uni starts in exactly 2 weeks…

I just got back from Hamburg where the Finals of the German Skateboard Championship Series took place. I fucked it up but who cares. Skating and atmosphere in the Semi-Finals were absolutly awesome. Realy good! Thx for the good show, between others there where the legends Patrik “Cobra” Eling (became 30 on Saturday, Congrats!), Richie Löffler and Lennie Burmeister in the Finals. Too bad 1st place after the first 3 Contests, Louis Taubert, got injured just a week or so ago. So the Competition was actually between Lem Villemin, Sascha Ewest and Alex Mizurov which all made it to the finals.

Eventually Lem won the Contest and Alex won the Series with a 2nd palce in Hamburg. Congratulations to both of U! Great past year, great footage and just good skating.

Alex has a part in the new german Videoprojekt which reminds me of Transworld Videos. Well, there are 5 instead of 4 skaters, but the idea is quite the same. Characters of the first issue, presented on friday in hamburg, were: Paco Elles, Alex, Laif Draasch, Jan Kliewer and Phillip Schuster. It is pure fun to watch Phillip play with his skateboard! Incedible, like as well Paco’s. Cool video projekt, exquisite footage. A bit of Super 8 flair wouldn’t harm anyways, I found the aestethic claim not very high in my first impression. But it’s very easy to say that as a consumer…

My camera broke. That’s actually why I didn’t write for so long. I don’t have pics to upload. Bummer!

Ick bin ein Berliner

My prior worry of the last weeks was the decision where to go for my coming life as a freshman. After some very nice days in Cologne with some good friends I intended to say this was going to be my city. There are some very good friends living, the Robotron family is all around, the Skatemedia concentrates here…but the skatespots & -scene are…I don’t like too much. In one way it would definetly be good and refreshing for your Scene once it’s prohibited to skate the Dom, Cologne.

Then I thought, Hanover might be good idea, settled just between Cologne & Berlin, close to my Hometown, not too busy, the opportunity to found a new superb flat share with Eule & Co. Until I eventually came back to our capital the very first time since 12 months.
Damn, it still attracts me magically. The skate opportunities are just as diverse as the riders, walking thru X-Berg & F-Hain is so interesting I’d almost call it an adventure every now and then.
A lively, dynamic (youth) culture in an shabby atmosphere, I Like!
Berlin’s unis are usually the latest to reply applications, but by now I got one admittance for the Humboldt-University. I’m waiting for another one, but at least I can be sure I can go to Berlin for my studies.
And so I will.
Come and visit!

summing up

So what happened in the last two And a half weeks?
I was skating a lot, I guess. Yeah, after just a few more days in Cologne I drove to Hannover to pick up Eule, his roommate Lorenz and a paying passenger for a trip to Berlin.
First time seeing my longest time friend Fabian again, really. Not only him, but some more friends as well. That was dope, as well as the crazy drinking times we had. Went out twice, had a lot of fun in the streets and spend not more than 5 Euros.

After that madness I had to spend some time at home, before going to the woods of my dad for 2 days to plant some trees and chop some wood at our private forests near Diepholz.

Next date was the Osnabrück Skateboardcontest on Sat., 18th. Good wheather, good beers, good people and a 5th place made it a pretty perfect day for me, even though the after party was big kiddy bullshit.
In the federal state of Niedersachsen u are not allowed to smoke in clubs anymore. That leads to a separization, smokers outdoors, others indoors, and makes it a strange thing to me.
Since than not too much is happening, I’m just trying to organize myself for moving again, getting some Skate-Footy and playing some crazy golf every now and then.

ROBOTRON Summer Tour

Ok, this was a too short but very nice Tour with my Team mates Kalle Wiehn, Fatos Veseli, Joachim “Snake” Opitz (missing: Patrick “Skippy” Vetter) plus Team media (Eric Mirbach & Tim Rokahr). Starting at the Bright Skateboard exhibition in Frankfurt we drove to Basel. After one day skating and two nights in a fancy YMCA Hostal we continued rushing south with final destination Bergamo, just 50km east of Milan. I decided that Milan was to expensive to stay, that’s why bergamo. Just 3 nights later Eric left for the next job in Barcelona and us 5 drove back north. For a last stop-over we chose idyllic Lausanne where we slept in the car and park before getting to Frankfurt for the return of our wonderful tour bus. This a group picture of before with our patrons Martin & Martin. U find more pics on my flickr account, check link on the right…

Concluding the hole thing it was very funny and quite relaxed, even though I had to get used of the responsibility of being team manager. A good group, sunshine and very yummi skate spots and food made us have a very good time.

After a bizarre night at a 50th birthday and a party of old hippies with lots of free beers I had a wonderful, sunny day chillin at the Dom of Cologne enjoying the nation Game of Skate Competition (Winner: Patrick Bös), a 10 stair session plus swimming in the rhine later

Basel

Big Howdy from cute Switzerland!
Chilling in and around Cologne was fun. I met some more friends I haven’t seen in ages and bummed around at pivot skateshop with all those dudes around robotron. family feeling!
Saturday I had big troubles getting a rental car, because the internet agency fucked everything up. eventually we got a car in frankfurt on sunday, after 3h of telephone calls. biggest fuck up!
The Bright Skateboarding Exhibition was cool, crazy, insane including a vice party and a damn good band i would love to know the name of…
Yesterday we left Frankfurt for the first ROBOTRON Tourstop basel, where we will spend this second night at as well. damn, the hostel is bloody expensive!
The media team is dope and we are all very pushed, so we skated noon to midnight today. pretty damn exhausting ya! gotta go to bed now because i have to get up before everybody else to organize a rich breakfast.
holla

PS: sorry I couldn’t post pics the last few times. computers suck

doin’ alright

The 1st Skateboard competition I competed in since I’m back was quite succesful. In course of the premier of the new JART Video „Now or Never“ there was a little best trick contest down a rail at alex skatehall Osnabrück. Doin’ a fakie bs lipslide, 270 bs Lip and sw Flip fs Boardslide made me win a limited Jart Board. For Photos check spohlmann.de. Considering I filmed a line at a videogenic spot just before, it was a petty good day for me. Stoked!

Spending the night at my good mates house, thx Janni, I drove to our nearby, inherited family property to work in the woods with my dad. Driving the tractor and swinging the chainsaw in some lonesome forest is fun and exercise, I like!

At the same place there was my aunties farewell party on Saturday.
Dancing & Drinking with older people, yeahha!
She and her friend, they go to Australia for a half year Caravan Tour.
Oh, Ozziland, I miss ya…

Today I am getting organized for a longer trip doin’ several things. Tomorrow I’ll visit Eric Mirbachs Exhibition (ericmirbach.com) and also some relatives in and around Mönchengladbach.
Wednesday to Friday I’ll be visiting friends in Cologne, Saturday a Skateboard Exhibition in Frankfurt from where we’ll start our ROBOTRON Tour to Mailano, Italy.
Exciting! Stay tuned.

Summer Feeling in GER

It’s been two weeks since I arrived in Good Old. Feels more like 2 months, sometimes I actually wonder if that really all happend?! People in my home village still look (some got a bit less or just more grey hair) and are the same, at home I still sometimes feel like being part of a „Loriot“ play with my parents in the star-roles and even my own reactions haven’t really altered. Kinda half-baked I was worrying of how me, my environment and eventually our interactions would have changed significantly. But why should things changed really? Only because I was gone for a while? Bullshit. I am not even really modified myself…may be matured, shaped…or just blunted.

I did quite a lot in these days and met a bunch of people. That’s cool. The only negative is that the more people u meet who u wanted to meet, the more u meet who u didn’t want to.

Anyways I had good times going to Hannover for skating, being at a hip-hop-festival, going swimming at the local water filled gravel pit (It’s bloody hot here since Saturday, up to 35^oC) and just hanging around with people.

It’s so good to have a friend like Tjark around u can always call to start smth or just to talk bullshit. Pityfully he’s the last good friend which remained around Nienburg. Others are travelling; or working or studying in far Berlin, Cologne, Osnabrück, Hannover etc. …
That’s most places where I might end up soon. Berlin, Cologne, Bonn and Hanover are my favorite places to go to study to. The Applications are done for these citys and subjects like geography, ecologic engineering and biochemistry. The final decision for the subject combining a city is to make in september.

Right now organizing the coming ROBOTRON Tour, as new „Team Manager“ (Buyaka!), keeps me quite busy.
Next week I go to Cologne. Officially the tour then starts at the Bright Skatebord exposition in Frankfurt. Coninueing via Basel to Mailand, or so. We’ll see…
To organize a world trip for just U is way easier & relaxter, that’s for sure. But: I am really looking forward to go on a jolly Skate Trip with u guys Skippy, Snake, Kalle, Fatos, Eric and Tim!

Dope! My friend & host at Dirty-Lens Productions, Adelaide, finally send away the edited Australia Footage. Can’t wait to show it to u guys!

Back Home

So on Wednesday, after some delayed flights I made it all way to Hamburg without loosing my ticket more than once. From leaving my hotel to finally hug my mates Tjark & Mo, who picked me up with a funny banner, it took me about 25h.
The last hour before arriving in the cloudy northern metropole I couldn´t resist smiling permanently. The thought of seeing all my friends and family soon was just too exciting. Setting my feet on german ground again felt good but odd somehow.
Suddenly, spoken german surrounded me, german police men wich are still wearing their ugly green uniforms watched me and many faces or their expressions just looked familiar. In all this excitement it didn´t even bother me, that my luggage had not made it further than London/Heathrow, which has been totally chaotic after two bombs had been found just before.
Leaving the airport I was pretty puzzled though. The culture shock wasn´t as big as when I arrived in Bangkok 10 months ago, but almost. All those new cars driving well-regulated, clean streets & houses and of course all the green. Yeah, I missed the rich, natural green and the very fresh air!

Spending the first night in Hamburg at a mates flat in HH, I surprised my sister at her new Job and later my parents at home (I told them I´d arrive later that day).
An auntie, my siblings and their partners plus plenty of friends visited the maison Beneker during the last days. Thereby the welcome was pretty perfect seeing all them. We had good fun like back in the days, they appreciated my photoshow, I guess, and all of us were just happy to see each other again.
Until today somebody always was around me or I was around somebody, so I didn´t really reflect anything yet. It´s odd how quick you are back in your old sentiment. It took me not even 2 days I´d say, but now I am starting to take it a bit more easy, rest and think.
Still I am confused when I glance at the clock at dusk to find out it´s around 10pm. My last sunset in South America was at 5.30pm…so this definetly is my strongest Jet Lag ever.
Fortuneatly it is summer here, even though the sun is hidden by fat clouds which empty themselves too often it makes me feel well.
Of course I had to increase my speed of life a bit. Although I do not have many obligations, there are more than when I traveled by myself. And all the things U don´t wanna miss out on are tempting, then people want to see U and U wanna to see ’em as well. Also the first deadline at the end of this weak starts to bother me. It seems important I apply for University eventually.

Ride on!