Willow neu auf Own Skateboards

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When we last met for an interview on the occasion of the publication of his biography, it was already clear to Willow that the course was increasingly set for saying goodbye to the big sponsorship business (even though he just turned up the heat for the new Etnies video). He was already off Almost and was thinking of starting something of his own instead of looking for another US board sponsor. Now he has moved to the Stuttgart-based company Own, which is distinguished above all by the fact that the boards are manufactured by hand.

How come that you changed from US sponsor Almost to the small Swabian label Own?

I went down from Almost and then was in idle for a while and didn't really want to commit myself anymore because of a board sponsor. I knew the Own guys a little bit before and then Christian [Welther] called me and asked if I would like to try out boards. I love what they stand for, because I also build furniture from skateboards myself and Philipp, who runs Own, makes it by his own hand. He knows wood, so do I, and I think it's great of him to ride such a board and represent it on the road. Something that is truly handmade. You deal with it in a completely different way and it also looks killer! Full Dip, cool colors!

Own produces very small runs. But you ride big spots, where occasionally something breaks. Do they have to produce more boards now?

[laughs] Yeah, probably. The highest was so far only 12er Kickflip with the board and that has held well. Let's see what the 13 stairs say at Cologne Central Station. But Philipp already said if I needed more boards, they would dig in.

Is there also an exchange of wood expert knowledge between you two?

I hope I will go to Stuttgart for the next weekends and go streetskating with the guys. Of course I will also visit the workshop. I would very much like to learn something from Philipp. Maybe he wants to learn something from me. It will definitely be a great exchange of carpenters.

"I know how dirty business is these days. The price/performance ratio doesn't really fit any more. You have to do so much and you can't even really live on it anymore."

Are joint Own-Trips already planned?

It will go back and forth between Cologne and Stuttgart and at some point there will be a new video. I'm sure they have half an hour of video material again and I'll just get there and destroy Stuttgart. [laughs] Then they can put in a little bonus-willow part. But there's no big plan yet. It's all go with the flow. Brother heart moderate.

You certainly don't make any money with Own. What does a board sponsor still mean to you today?

For me this simply means to support Philipp and Own with my name and to represent them in Europe or in the States. I already had the Own Boards with me in America and they were immediately noticeable. For me it means a lot that a company makes the boards by themselves and does not have them produced in China. I don't care riding if I ride for a big company or not these days. Actually, I've seen and experienced everything. I know how dirty business is these days. The price/performance ratio doesn't really fit any more. You have to do so much and you can't even live on it anymore if you're not in the upper league or you are just young and don't need anything really. That's why I prefer to support local companies if they still like me. I don't really make money with it, but I do it for love. Money then has to come sometime from regular jobs.

What do you think of the quality of the handmade boards? Can you tell the difference?

Fresh loaded pop. Really jumpy and stiff. Fits like a fist. You can tell it's strong and it's not sluggish. It reacts quickly and is quickly under your feet. I like that very much. The Dwindle Boards I rode before also had to meet high demands and Own can be compared with it.

You had already thought about starting something of your own after you left Almost. Why didn't you do that now? And would there have been offers from big US companies again?

Yes, there were offers from European companies and also from a US company, but somehow I got tired of it and wanted to make the sack and not throw myself back into the shark tank. I'd rather do without the euro I could earn a month and do my things chilled. Then I started the Willow collection and the furniture, that's my own thing now. I don't know how much longer I can keep on skating. I won't be able to skate every day with my furniture thing. I'd rather keep the ball flat.