Fast moving Jean Marc Mipe for the locals in Paris, France. Photo: Billy Ruff
Rolling fingerflip to pogo re-entry by Per Welinder.
Sequence: Bryce Kanights
COPY CATS
It's fun for coming up, but for pro's it's not too.
impressive. If I copy a trick I can't even say I've
learned a trick really. But I've done it, Tim used to
get so mad at me when I was coming up, I did it all
the time.
I took the one-handed, handstand kickflip, that
isn't mine. Per told me that Pierre Andre was doing
it. I'd tried stuff before like that but to see someone
else do it...it's a lot harder to make up a trick your-
self because you don't know if it's possible really.
and to see someone else do it, it's like...click...
okay, it's possible. Then it doesn't take you very
long to learn it.
MUSIC
Fast stuff. Upstarts, Addicts, Stiff Little Fingers
My favorite bands are New Order and Joy Division
cause their lyrics are so good. ABC, Dead or Alive,
Jeckyll and Hyde or something...I don't know the
band names so well. I really like rap, it's fun. I want
to be black when I grow up.
SKATING AROUND
One wheel 360° aren't that hard, it started out
from skating around on the street, like we'd hit wet
spots and I just started rolling through on one
wheel so my board wouldn't get as wet.
Originality is most important to me now. And I
really stress it. If kids just go out and copy they'll
never be better than second at anything. It's not
really true expression either. I don't see how any-
body gets any satisfaction out of it. It's fine doing
new tricks but I think skaters that copy a lot aren't
skating for themselves.
EQUIPMENT/BOARD SET UP
Little things like one long mounting screw on
each truck, just one so you can stand on it on the
toe side, for 50/50's. Screws on the nose and tail
decksides, a tailbone for wear. I can't really skate
without 'em. I've got a plastic cap on my king pin
bolt so I don't scrape my shins and calves. Some
people put Shoe-goo on the tops of their shoes. My
trucks are rock tight, well, they still turn a little.
PER WELINDER
COMPETITION
I'm trying to enter all street pro and all frestyle
pro events this year. Competitions are really impor-
tant to me. I really enjoy competition. For the fact
that your prove to yourself if you are getting better,
plus you get to meet people and share tricks. The
sport progresses much faster and you progress
faster by being able to see what's going on and
what other people do.
I've already got my motivation shot to freestyle
badly again. I'm really looking foward to Vancouver
and I want to do well there. I'm going to enter high
jump and 360° as well, for the fun of it.
SKATING AROUND
I've recently been skating around my neighbor-
hood in Redondo Beach on the hills, street sliding
and riding curbs. I street skate a lot because it's
more fun right now, today. I'm more motivated to
street skate now, because you can do whatever
you want. I'm learning more there right now than I
was in freestyle because I'd been freestyling for
such a long time.
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