Be-Mag Issue #41

Featured
Be-Mag issue #41 coming at ya! Available now at your favourite blade store / newsstand / airport lounge (for those of you living the Tour Life). Packed with just the best content, featuring a superman from America, life on the road in Thailand, an up-and-comer from Norway, Rolling Artist from Berlin, blading in The Congo and so much more. Check out what’s in it.

In Depth: Chaz Sands

News
I met Chaz for the first time during a contest in Rome back in 2002. I guess I’d only known him for like 24 hours, but after some drinks we were already making plans to drive my car all the way from Rome to Glasgow, to spend some extra time in Scotland. The next morning we cancelled this crazy idea because of everybody's hangovers. I also remember we were sitting together in the car that night with a Dutch friend of mine who needed skates. Chaz said: “No problem. I will call Salomon right now for a pair of skates” haha....So there he was at 3 o’clock in the morning calling the Salomon headquarters for a pair of skates. Ever since then we’ve been in contact, and I'm always trying to bring him over to my events here in Holland; the main goal is to have a great time and the secondary goal is to have some nice blading sessions. And I must say we are scoring every single time except this one time during my 30th birthday!I visited his house and local skatepark for a week a few years ago, which was a great experience. I hope I can make this trip again soon. Chaz is a great personality, a down to earth person with a big sense of humor and besides that he is still killing it on his blades. Like this video I saw lately of him learning fakie 1080...

Amsterdam Week: IMYTA+ Flashback

Competitions
I had seen touristbladers before of course. Most of the time you would run into touristbladers at the local skatespots, and every once in a while you could spot a small flock of touristbladers in the wild. But nothing could have prepared me for the amount of touristbladers I witnessed the days leading up to one of the most anticipated real street events ever. Everywhere I went I encountered Mindgame hoodies, $enate backpacks, Medium sweaters and more of the like. Us Damsko Kids had been waiting for this weekend ever since it had become clear that the two grandfathers of real street contests would be working together on what was to become one of the most epic rollerblading weekends ever witnessed by man. This day had finally arrived. With it an unbelievable number of rollerbladers of all ages and nationality. Words fail to describe the awesomeness experienced by yours truly. Therefore I will not even attempt to bore you with more of my insane ramblings, but will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Amsterdam Week: An Interview With Gijs Piss AKA The Inventor of the Real Street Contest

Gijs 'Piss' Peetsold has been an influential blader since the 90s. Sure he can shred, and inspire through blading, but his real strength lies in all the things that make blading badass off the skates. Media, events, brands, developing talented young bladers, he's had his fingers in all those pies. At his ripe age you'd expect him to take it easy, and let skating take the backseat. But no. He and his colleague (Amnon Klein) recently created an epic grindbox across the street from his work, and by doing so got half of the washed up generation of Amsterdam's bladers back on four/eight wheels. All in a day's work for this bald cat owning, single-malt sipping, cigar smoking, poker playing rollerblader. This dude is invaluable, not just for the world of Blading, but especially for those who's life he enriches with kindness, generosity and the ability to criticize everything to an early death. My man Piss.