An Interview with Michael Sommer

Hailing from Oslo, Norway where there are no skateparks, Michael Sommer's done pretty well for himself landing himself a handful of sponsors. With him recently joining Nikesb and two video parts in the works, the future is definitely looking bright.

Hey Michael you’re currently living in Oslo Norway, is there quite a good scene out there in terms of; spots, parks, crews etc?

Hi Tim! Yeah, Oslo is pretty cool. We have a lot of street spots around town but unfortunately no skate park, indoor or even outdoor. Hopefully we get one soon even though there has been talk about it for more then 10 years now.  This means we need to escape the long winters. Maybe try travel to Spain,California or China would be sick to check out. 

I heard during 1977 – 1989 skateboarding was banned in Norway, did you notice the impact of this when you were growing up skating? 

HAHA! Yeah, so stupid! Don`t really know the whole story behind it getting banned. But I think it  was something about  it being dangerous and that in the US they had troubles with skaters/punkers just being destructive, doing drugs, tagging and destroying things.  When I grew up as a kid there was only a handful of kids skating in my whole school. I always felt different  from all the other ones because of what I was doing. I kind of became the skater in school that was always late for classes and didn't care about anything but skating. I met one of my old teachers from when I was 14, he said, "Did everything work out for you?" Like he had no beliefs in me at all! HAHA, those where the days I guess.

Oslo, Norway I think is the most expensive city to live in, in the world is this actually the case or is it mellow if you know where to shop?

Yupp, the case is that people make a lot of money here even in basic jobs. But the prices is off course adjusted up to that.  The good thing about this is that if we travel outside of Norway our money is worth a lot. The bad side is that almost no skate teams choose to come here. Pretty sure it is the price that makes them back off. Typical things that are expensive here are; eating out, buying cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol, rent etc. There is also a lot of foreign people coming to Norway to work as waiter, kiosks, bartenders etc. “The jobs the Norwegian people are to lazy want to do”.  

By the way the Germans love to come here and see our nature and do some fishing. They fill up their caravans full of food,drinks, beer etc. So they end up not spending anything here but gass money in Norway! HAHA!

You’re pretty much fluent in English did you learn the language at school or did you feel you had to become fluent to keep up with all the skate news?

Thanks mate. I really like to talk English and I guess that has a lot to do with it. Everything is easy if you like it. Like it makes sense to work on it. Hehe. I read English every day. Maybe more then I read Norwegian. LOL. I just enjoy staying updated on football news and skate news.

Are you still getting hooked up with Smoothie Exchange, free smoothies sounds like a dream? I mean how does a sponsor like that eve come about?

Yeah, best sponsor in the world! My friend Jølle “Jørgen  Johannessen”  has been friends with the two guys behind it for a long time. And they are stoked on skateboarding and wanted to hook some skaters up. So Jølle hit me up one day and asked if I was hyped on it. So now I have been skating for them since 2008. Wow, 6 years. And the smoothies they make are really healthy and good for you. I try to go there every day when I'm home in Oslo.

How do you deal with skate injuries? Do you get up to much when you’re not skating?

Injuries come and go. I use to stress more about it before and have way more trouble with injuries. Usually that just makes it worse. I try not to focus on the pain, or else it never goes away. What you focus on ,you will get more of. And I try to do some basic balance training for my knees and ankles. 

How are things working out for you now that you’re on Nikesb? Do you see a lot of differences to DC shoes?

Things are going good. Colin Kennedy  “Nike sb EU TM” is helping me out alot. DC and nike are both two big brands that pay their skaters good.  I like that Nikesb have a really big skate team with so many different styles.  Something for everybody. Like there is no main Nike SB style. They have everything from Koston, Janoski, P-rod to more underground skaters like Grant Taylor, Gino Iannucci and Daniel Shimizu.  What I like about Nikesb is that they support both main stream and underground skating. And that is dope!

You've been all around Europe and to the states, does all the travelling ever get a bit tiring? Or is it a great way to avoid the Norwegian Winters?

Haha, traveling is a fun and educational is my opinion. I just like to see different cultures, cities and scenes. If you seen that, you can start comparing it to your own scene.  And that is pretty interesting. Yeah, Norwagian winters are so long and cold. Winter last for about roughly five or six months a year. I always try to get away from it. If not for the whole of winter at least for a month or two.  

Do you have any projects you’re working on at the moment? 

Right now I'm working on two parts with the same filmer. Pretty funny. Trying to make a City Hall plaza part, shoot photos for a Dank interview and a street part from Oslo. Hopefully I will get them done before winter hits hard. And that can happen fast up here. LOL

Cheers Michael any last words?

Not really but I would like to thank you for making this interview possible. and thank everyone for helping me out and having faith in me. First of all My family , Bernhard sports, Almost skateboards, Luis Cruz, Dank, Colin Kennedy, Nike SB, Smoothie Exchange, Oakley Lasse, Session, Eilif, ,Pekka, Bliss wheels , The Homies and everyone that I forgot. -Michael


Michael Sommer 2014 part

Getting To Know Morgan Smith

It seems as if Morgan Smith kind of blew up out of nowhere however, since his arrival on the skate scene he's constantly showcased his incredibly tech tricks and crazy consistency. I decided to catch up with Morgan to try and get an insight into one of the many Canadian skaters that are killing the game at the moment. 

Can you tell us the story of how you started skateboarding?

I was was 6 years old & living in Midland, Ontario, Canada, super small town about 2 hours North from Toronto. I kept seeing older guys skating in the mall parking lot or at schools or whatever and I just thought it was the sickest thing ever. My mom bought me a board for my birthday and I just skated in the backyard on this little patch of cement for almost 2 years. We moved to North York when I was around 10 years old, which is way closer to Toronto, and that’s when I really started skating everyday. I had a little skate crew and we went downtown and all that.

You’re constantly travelling back and forth between Toronto and California for skating, what are the most prominent differences between the two for you?

California you need a car to do anything. You always have to pick a spot, pick a trick you want to do, drive there, most likely get stuck in traffic, most likely get there and get kicked out. California just isn't as organic as Toronto, where you can just walk out the door and skate around the city.  Plus everything in Toronto is generally pretty close together, where as in California everything is really spread out. I’m pretty biased on this topic just because Toronto is where I’m from and I’m just more comfortable here.  But I honestly feel Toronto is a better city for actually going out and skating the streets compared to California where you spend the majority of your time driving around.

You get hooked up by Blue Tile Lounge Skate shop, do you think it’s important to support your local?

Yeah gotta support the local, Bluetile is killing it right now, they just moved into a bigger shop down on Dundas and Euclid, right by Dunbat skatepark, check it out if your in the area. We're working on a little video actually so watch for that. Thanks to Rob, Julie and the whole family over there. But honestly everything local gets me more excited. Local shops, local companies, footage of locals ripping, its just more real. I like to support local farmers & all local business’s really. I think it’s cool to support people who go for it and start something on their own, and hopefully watch it grow.

You've put out some memorable video parts over the years is there one that sticks out for being your favorite?

Really old parts of myself are crazy to watch, I just think like “what the hell I could do that back then??” , Switch skateboarding vol 1, or Environment were good times, everyone was just a young skate rat, body never gets sore. I’ll sometimes see a clip and just remember everything that happened that day, its cool to reminisce like that.

What’s your approach to filming a video part?

Just go skate normally, if I’m feeling it, I’ll try something, but I know when I’m not feeling it, so I won’t force it. Sometimes I’ll just see a spot and just know the trick I want and try but that’s rare haha. I usually have to be really hyped on the trick I’m trying, I’m my own worst critic for sure.

You recently took part in BATB7, being a previous winner of BATB is there added pressure to perform?

Yeah but it’s not so much pressure as it’s people trying to take me out! Haha, Like kids will come up to me and want to play skate and just try to take me out in 5 tricks, go straight for the throat you know?  I don’t really mind, because this shit isn't competitive for me, but it’s just crazy how some kids think about skating now a days.  “I beat Morgan in skate, I’m better than a pro!!” is an actual quote I've heard haha.

What’s the best trip you've been on?

Tough question. We just went all through Europe for 3 months this past winter and that was awesome - Barcelona, Valencia , Lisbon, Leiria, Porto, Madrid, Rome, Innsbruck, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen. That was really fun to plan and then just go for it, my buddy Duncan made that one happen. But one of my favorite trips was Lima, Peru with Momentum wheels a couple years back. Lima is an amazing place, way different culture then anything I had ever seen, almost 3^rd world, but such sick locals that took care of us and showed us a great time. We also went to the Machu Picchu ruins way up in the mountains, which you should Google if your not familiar.  Machu Picchu was pretty much the craziest thing I've ever seen and really got me sparked on researching ancient ruins like the Pyramids in Egypt & Mexico, & stuff like Stonehenge and Easter Island, its pretty insane, it just gets you thinking.

 Being a Professional skateboarder is it hard not to view skateboarding as a profession?

Again I try to just go skate & just do what I've always done because it’s worked out so far haha. Skating has always been just something I do regardless, keeps me sane more or less and gives me a purpose kinda thing.  I just love it.  Now being Pro it’s like alright you've made it this far, now just keep going, it’s a midway point almost. So you gotta keep producing and do what’s asked of you, but I’ll always see skating as my hobby/passion first , and my profession second.

               

What are your plans for the future?

Keep skating, learn tricks, keep my body healthy & injury free, eat good.  I’m working at a new distribution out of Toronto called Kadence distribution, so I’ll be in there a couple times a week, just doing whatever, learning how it all works. Maybe try to plan some trips for this winter, just keep it going pretty much.

Thanks Morgan, any last words?

Thank you for hollering at me with some questions, sorry it took a sec.  Thanks to all my sponsors and everyone who’s helped me out along the way, Mom & Dad and all my friends.  Take your time and enjoy.