Contents

Page 6 - 10
Factory Bowl Bash
Old men in a not so old wooden pool. DanSlash plays the role of the spee­
dy reporter for all of us stuck at home and reports from the event.

Page 11 - 27
Thomas Kalak Portfolio
In the late 1980's, no Monster Magazine was published without a pho­
tograph by Kalak. If you want to find out what the man behind the lens is
doing today then look no further!

Page 28 - 33
Steve Olson - Questions and Answers
Steve Olson was travelling in Germany for a few days and we profited
from his presence with a few questions and photographs.

Page 34 - 48
The G8 Summit
The G8 summit in Heiligendamm took place quite some time ago, never­
theless we look back to the town and what happened there through
Bastian Ehl's eyes.

Page 49 - 57
Benenlux Concrete
In recent years in Belgium, concrete parks seem to be sprouting out of the
ground like mushrooms. Combine these with the possibilities of Holland
and you have a short trip worth every penny...

Page 60
Imprint
 o r
Factbowly
bash
Words by D an ie l B ec k ::: Photos by
Gerd Rieger
 t o r
Fac bowl y
bash

T he Old Dogs from Düsseldorf

where calling out to jam.
This bowl is a nice little island
far away from Germany‘s mostly
shitty or standard skate parks.
Of course the Factory Bowl is not
the only one of its kind in big old
Germany but its set up and the
love to detail shows that it‘s one
of the few spots that really care
about skateboarding and about
skateboarders.
absolutely no fear of falling down
and nailed some of the hardest
sweepers that someone could
imagine mixed with big frontside
airs which where far off the ramp
and landed them way under the
coping. That’s as much air as you
can get, I guess.
S o Saturday came real fast
with a short night of sleep
and a big headache. The whole
arena where the bowl is located

M e and my crew arrived the

night before and found the
bowl being sessioned by some lo-
cals and some other skaters from
far away rocking on and drinking.
We joined the force and ska-
ted as long as we had beer and
power. The early grab dude from
far away showed that he had
was holding a large party and it
was fun to see that not only the
bowl area was full of people. A
big session was going down, the
sun was shining and the music
and the free beers where pum-
ping. Men only. Sweating, drin-
king, smoking, shredding. Lots of
spectators, a lot of snaking, loud

Opener: Tony Walsh was doing the longest grinds that night.
Left: Dan Slash was speeding trough some serious grinds.
 c t o
Fa bowl r y
bash
punk music (Thrasher Skate Rock
Vol.1etc. ) playing. One or two
seconds was the limit until some-
one dropped into the bowl after
another one left or bailed out of
this kidney-shaped wooden toy.
T he crew from the US were
taking the bowl apart as well
as Mike from Belgium, the guys
from Mannheim, the Münster
Dudes, the Cologne Posse, the
Frankfurt Rockers, the dog from
Bremen and the locals of course.
The actual competition was a
one hour session during which
the riders could score with the
longest grind, the biggest air and
the best death box trick. They
should have had the worst sna-
king award too but even without
that Thilo Nawrocki was going
Right: Pierre Jambe with an extended invert in the deep end.
every second run and shared that
attitude with the big naked ripper
from the US . Those two guys
had every other run so it was
hard for the rest of us to even
think about getting this and that
done. It was more about getting
and staying in the bowl. It would
be hard to mention all the good
lines and tricks that went down.
But the longest grinds of the day
belonged to Thilo and the big
Americano. Jens Wagner from
Cologne took the best lines which
were as skilled tech and bowl
riding as can be. The biggest air
of the day came from Anders
who just relearned FS ollies. He
yanked out a breast high one
which was launched and landed
on the same spot.
 c t o
Fa bowl r y
Chris Berry had the most creative lines and tricks that night. Fs air over the hip. bash
 t o r
Fac bowl y
bash

A ltogether the level was pretty

high and it was a real plea-
sure to ride and watch the pool
guess we all want to grind, drink
and rip this place again!!

scene. Speaking of the scene I Danslash

have to admit that the organiza-
tion was kind of punk rock so the
food and the beer was sitting the-
re together with the BBQ which
no one lighted up for a long time.
The contest had some hidden
events no one knew about and I
missed some hot girls besides the
ladies from the BLÄSERKAPELLE.
But as there was no prize money
involved and the time schedule
was fully observed there is not-
hing to complain about.
P.S.: Right after the session at
the Factory Bowl the skating
coninued at the Zakk for a mini
ramp and street contest. Some
good skating was seen from Thi-
lo, Berry, Marc, Björn and others.
Results? Who cares? Rad skating
by every one...

T he Factory Bowl Jam was a

heated-up, full on pool session
with no bad attitudes and lots of
fun and gnarly skateboarding. I

Left: Thilo Nawrocki, master of all blunt variations seen

here with a bs blunt over the deathbox.
 • Born in Münster, Germany
• 1990 Move to Munich

• Rollerskating ramp from 1980- 1994

• Photography from 1985
• Skate photography 1985-1992 (Monster, Poweredge, Tres 60,
Triple X, 5 skate books 1989-1992).
• From 1990 on pictures deal with adventures, activities, expe-
riences and strange or funny occurances. A friend described it
as “global adventure”.

Cameras during the years:

SLR: Minolta, Canon, Nikon and then back to Canon for digital
photography.

Professional cameras: Noblex, Fuji, Linhof plate camera.

Other small cameras: Yashica Samurai Half Frame and Olym-

pus.

Favorite camera: Fuji GSW 690 III. A great piece of equipment

for the trip. A mechanical range-finder camera in 6x9 format
with sharp optics. You can forget every digital camera compa-
red to scanned negatives or slides.

www.kalak.de
www.beautifulbangkok.com

Thomas, photographed by Florian Böhm, 1991.

 Thomas during a
540 handplant in
Münster, 1984.
Shirt: “Variflex
Series Wheels”.

Agency boss Thorsten Görke and

myself grew moustaches just for the
meeting with Rudi Völler. 1996.

Thomas with Claus, 2006. Photo: Gerd Rieger.

Berlin 1987, Photo: Cobi

My first picture. Bernd Böcker in the Monster Park in Münster
1985. This was shot with a new Minolta 7000 and 50mm lens.
1985 was the year of Minolta. The 7000 was the first SLR ca-
mera with a real auto-focus like we have today. There had been
attempts to achieve the same result with focus motors attached
to the lens, but this camera was the first in auto-focus photogra-
phy. But somehow I quickly felt that the camera was too futu-
ristic with all of those “easy touch” buttons. And the auto-focus
was too slow for skate pictures. Without further ado I exchanged Nicky Guerrero sometime in the 80s.
it one week later for a Canon AE1 and a wide angle lens. I kept
that one for a few years.

Helge with his girlfriend at that

time, Xenia, in Hannover.

Ralle Middendorf. The McTwister the

day after the “Top Gun” premiere
with the R. Middendorf identification
sticker on his flight helmet. Check
out how he’s holding the helmet.
The Pornos and Helge at the Konstanz contest.
Tony Hawk in Kopenhagen 1989. Extract from a
Spanish skate magazine. Taken with a Nikon F-2,
16mm and a Braun bracket flash.

My last job was with the “Next Level” magazine from 2004-2006. A
magazine which gives you space for creativity with your photography is
one of the nicest things. It was only about travelling, experiences, peo-
ple and activity. The original shots were taken on the Canary Islands,
the Phillippines, Vietnam, Greece and Egypt.
I bought the Turkish pralines in an oriental shop in Munich. We
didn’t have the opening pictures for Turkey so I put the “Tur-
kish Delights” pralines together with the national flag. And the
guy floating over the dune wasn’t added to the picture like you
might think – no, he did a somersault with a half a twist. It
looks like he is being carried away by the wind.
 During my trips to various holiday destinations I’ve encountered
some strange phenomena. Here the classic entertainer action in
an all inclusive hotel on Cuba and Greece. There are actually peo-
ple that stay 14 days in the hotel complex. And because they are
just too passive they need a well trained entertainer who makes
them all clap their hands, sing songs, play bingo or dance around
the pool doing the polonaise.

Ispo stand for the Italian

brand “Diadora”. Football
players were photogra-
phed for their Calcetto
events in Turin’s streets,
1994.

After Claus Grabke opened the

skate path into Czechoslovakia at
the change of the decade lots of
skaters travelled in that direction.
Florian Böhm and I visited Prag
in 1990. After a long New Year’s
party we took photos New Year’s
Day morning on the Karls Bridge.
The pictures were also a part of
my first photo exhibition.
 Sometimes the weather doesn’t act the way
it should, even in this holiday paradise. I was
stuck in the rain for 6 weeks on the Dominican
Republic and could barely do anything for the
planned catalog. But it was still pretty cool to
hang out in the “New Wave” bar with loads of
Presidente beer.

These are all fashion editors at a fashion collection presentation

from Chanel. Squeaking and giggling all the time, they wanted to
have a picture with all of them wearing Chanel glasses. No bull­
shit, sometimes you just do the job for the money.

Wow, exciting isn’t it? The pictures one does to get Top: Some advertisements, for example
some money. Sometimes some shitty channel wants this one for a surf trip company, are put up
some shitty pictures of it’s shitty production rooms. on location by the hotel owners.

Bottom: The curious ones gather around

my computer on an airplane right after a
photo shoot to catch a glimpse of the pic-
tures. That irritated me as I am scared of
flying and at that point only wanted to get
drunk quickly and relax. 2003. Photo
by Daniel Klußmann.

Some pictures I took during my Asia trips were published

in the book “Growing a chair”. The book was awarded a
prize in 2003 from the Art Directors Club.
 The travel company “Happy” wanted an
understandable interpretation of their name.
Every time the water hit the rocks behind us,
a really loud “WUMM” noise hit us and every-
thing vibrated. Shot on Aruba, Dutch Antilles
with a Nikon F-801, 1994.

I was really grateful for

the Meier’s World Travel
2000 job. Meier’s sells
study trips for slightly
older and very inquisitive
customers and top desti-
nations such as Peru, In-
dia or Thailand. This pa-
norama shot was made
at the Ganges in Vara-
nasi, India. My audience
during the shooting was
a small group of chil­
dren, lepers, preachers
and a naked yogi with a
beard which reached all
the way to the ground. I
used a 5x12cm panora-
ma camera with rotating
optics. You have to hold
these handmade one
meter C-print/large sized
exposures in your own
hands to understand the
great quality.

Catalog production for a surf trip organizer. The goal

was to create a completely different type of catalog
than the usual. I positioned a surfer upside down
under water with his feet in the surfboard’s footstraps.
Using lead weights and diving equipment I took the
picture with a Canon underwater camera. 1994. After
getting back on land, I got dizzy and had to throw up.
The photo shootings for Willy Bogner’s Fire & Ice collection 1991/92 in Namibia,
Alaska, Hawaii and Austria were the most important experiences for me on my
personal path of development. What makes a picture interesting even without a
skater in it? What happens during a real photo shooting? One art director was with
us and sometimes with larger productions also a second photographer. Stefan Ruiz
and Wolfgang Tillmanns for example. We documented trips from a casted group of
young people and shot something like a photo diary of the trip.

This concept of “real people”

instead of “posing models” was
completely new in 1991 and we
received a lot of attention. I felt
like some stupid Dieter Bohlen
for some shitty “Popstar” casting
show while choosing the partici-
pants. Three of us were sitting at
a table and each candidate had to
get in front of us for the audition.
We chose the candidates for their
spontaneity and wit and not for
their looks or if they acted like a
popstar. Crying and screaming was
not happening with us.

For the conditions in Na-

mibia and Alaska I used
three mechanical Nikons
which could stand all
atmospheric conditions.
I experienced in Namibia
how a brand new elec­
tronic F4 stopped working
on the first day due to
the flying sand. The focal
lengths were almost all
28mm and 50mm. Those
were the first productions
in which I left my 16mm
skate lens at home. The
pictures were too distor-
ted for me.
I took pictures about life on a
ranch in Arizona for Marlbo-
ro, 1996. Ranch owner Conny
Chance is a cowboy who fits
all of the stereotypes. Really
big, looks like Clark Gable,
rides a horse incredibly well.
And sometimes he talks with a
deep voice and says things like
“damn straight” or “bad to the
bone”. During a roping contest
I was able to experience how he
got a horse from a standstill up
to gallop speed in 0,2 seconds
and then he caught a wild cow
with a lasso in 3 seconds!!!
Left: In this production for the fashion magazine “Shape”
in 1999 I worked with a wind machine which was ope-
rated by an assistant. To keep the background of the
pictures empty we rented the top floor of a car park in
Munich. A flash installation provided light for the evening.
Nikon F-100 and Fuji middle format film.

There are an endless number of

pictures in the tourist industry which
have looked the same for decades.
Just have a look at an itinerary cata-
log. I could just puke. Especially the
room pictures: woman with a bright
cocktail or evening dress on a balcony,
man in business look calling somebody
on the phone. The idea for this shoo-
ting was to convey the quality of the
room through the “feel good” atmos-
phere in the shot.
 I love interesting faces and honest portraits. It was all about surf
trips, the wind blowing. Wind, the gaze to the surf area, pleasure,
fantasy. That is the content of this picture. I try to get the person
into a conversation during the shooting and the facial expression
changes naturally depending on the topic.

It can be very helpful

for many pictures
to have a model or
an athlete in your
circle of friends who
fits into the desired
theme. I use peop-
le I know for many
staged themes. I’ve
worked often with Be-
any, the kiter with the
dreads for example in
Venezuela. He’s really
fit and has a nose for
completely crazy mo-
vements. That’s what
makes the picture
good. 2004.

On of my favorite pic-
tures. Shot in Egypt at
a kite beach. I like the
different levels in the
picture with the kiters in
the mirror, the Koran and
the marijuana plant, the
desert dirt on the winds-
hield. Wanted to call it
“Kiting, Smoking and the
Koran”. By the way I do
not like to remind myself
much about this produc-
tion on the Sinai peninsu-
la. The day before I took
this picture I was witness
to a shark attack during
which a little girl com-
Catalog production for Reebok. The upcoming storm pletely lost her hand and
front was disturbing the customers. I thought it was then the father fought the
great. You never need a blue sky for an interesting shark. It was terrible.
picture. 1996. Analog SLR and bracket flash.
 The people in Thailand are
harder in the taking than us.

Kiter Marcel in Madagascar. A great trip but Marcel broke his ribs in a
slam right after this jump. I have never experienced anything like this,
even during my skater years. I really thought he was going to die in
front of me. But now everything is okay.
This was supposed to be a cover for a surf and kite trip
organizer in Vietnam. It was important for me to have
the “proof of wind” – the flowing dress. Surfers always
look to see if the wind is blowing. Unluckily the compa-
ny went bust at short notice. Taken with a Canon SLR,
35mm and flash with an aperture of 16.

My main interest currently

is city inhabitants of asian
metropolis. This woman is
protecting herself from the
sun. Bangkok, 2006.
Evenings in Bangkok when the fa-
shion boutiques shut down. I called
this picture “The Newest from
Guantanamo”.
 This is a portrait
of Prudence from
Zambia. Our wai­
tress in the restau-
rant. 160 models
were casted during
the photo shooting
but the girl from the
hotel was by far the
most beautiful.

On location in
Cape­town. The
design hotel was
booked extra for
another half day. A
tv and film produc-
tion company took
care of everything
on location. Cape-
town has a great
infrastructure,
gorgeous spots,
model agencies etc.
and has far since
passed top loca-
tions like Miami.
This was a wellness
shooting for an Ita-
The book will be published in March. You can find out more
lian hotel chain.
on my website.
 e
ampbell
s
v
tain
r
Donald Cr and Grant Brit
e
e
s w
b y

St
n
ie w

&A
Interv y Gerd Riege
Photos b
s ti o n s
Que

O l s o n
S teve Olson is a Skate-Legend from the past, artist, racer, name
him whatever you want. When I met him last spring I had the
chance to hang out with Steve for two weeks and these two weeks
weren’t boring at all. Steve is a history book of skateboarding
and he totally reflects what a lot of people wish to be. These days
­Steve is a successful artist. He lives in L.A. and if you are lucky you
can still find him in a pool or racing down the street to LaLa-Land.

How do you got into ska- parks, from swimming pools to

ting? We started skating in East
Bay (Nor-Cal), 65 - Christmas
presents. Me and my older brot-
her Bucky... Shooting hills on Red
Roller Derbys, steel wheels, and
trucks. No grip tape.
What made you skate? The
speed and possibility of cra­shing,
the danger of it all.
What was the skate scene like
back then in the 70s and 80s?
Skateboarding back then... from
like 1965 to present? Where do I
start?! From metal wheels to clay
wheels to urethane to precision
bearings to wide boards, small
boards, skateparks to no skate-
schoolyards or ditches (not
OMSA)... sorry, flat ground, ra-
cing to bank slalom... You tell
me... Now to answer the question,
it was amazing to experience all
the changes and see all the diffe-
rent shit go down throughout the
whole evolution of skateboarding.
Up until now it‘s pretty sick if you
ask me, all bullshit aside, fucking
rocking. I‘m 45 now and skating is
better than ever. My son fucking
rips beyond belief! So go figure,
it‘s pretty sick to say you can go
skate a backyard pool, or Blady,
maybe some random park with
your son and have a blast. I think
it‘s pretty fucking dope. Not too
many people can say that. ­

Right: Steve Olson, Upland, 1984. Photo by Grant Brittain.

 I think I‘m lucky as #$#@%^, if
you know what I mean. Sorry for
not answering the question, but
what the #$%^#.
When did you skate your first
pool? My first pool was, I‘m not
100% sure, it was near our junior
high school, a square one, but you
could almost fly off the first stair in
the deep end. That I remember...
early ollie tricks, but who knew?
Then there were a couple out near
Blady, the L-Pool, and another
square pool, but that was the pool
I hit tiles back then and that was a
huge deal to us - if you get to the
tiles in a swimming pool. I talking
loose ball bearing wheels, as well.
So whatever...
A story from back then? One
time around 76 or 75 we went to
some abandoned motels, hotels,
near the outskirts of Compton
and gangs were going strong back
then, too, but we‘re inside this one
Top left: Steve signing autographs in Hannover.
Bottom left: Steve and Duane Peters. Photo by Grant Brittain.
pool, inside this apartment com-
plex, with a fence around the pool,
bullet holes everywhere, but the
pool was empty and no one was
around, and everybody knew, you
shouldn‘t be going into that area
as a couple of long haired surfer-
skater type kids. But whatever,
we‘re skating and all of sudden we
hear this noise coming through­
out the apartment complex and
it was coming closer towards us.
Then this gang comes up on to
this session going on in their buil-
ding, without permission from no-
body... and they started tripping
out on us, we were only like 14 or
15, getting up in our faces, and
all of sudden someone drops in
the pool from our crew and eats
shit into the face wall. These gang
dudes thought that that was one
of the funniest things they‘d ever
seen before and told us to keep
skating, and the more we fell, the
better off we were, because they
were crazy with all these cuts and
blood coming off us, they let us
Top: Loser, mixed media.
skate and turned out to be fun as
shit, all day long.
When the parks died, early
80s... At first it was really cool,
you go skate the parks that were
closed and nobody was around. No
helmet, whatever. We had ama-
zing sessions at Colton, all day in
the middle of nowhere, complete-
ly empty, no one telling you what
to do or what not to do, raging,
beer, whatever. It was totally sick!
Big O, Lakewood, Paramount,
Skatopia, Concrete Wave, Upland,
most of them. But then they star-
ted to flatten the parks into rubb-
le, completely leveled. Bulldozed,
disgusting waste. Then some of us
went back to riding ditches, pools,
school yards, pipes, whatever. It
was still fun and even more un-
derground than ever. And that was
some of the funniest sessions we
ever had, no bullshit competition,
just skating for skating‘s sake, ex-
cellent, to say the least.
Some of the clothing compa-
nies you worked with, Jim-
myz... Well, I needed a job
around 85 or 86, I knew this dude
Jim Ganzer, a surfer/artist type of
madman, with a brilliant idea. The
idea was the velcro strap shorts.
He was the designer/owner, and I
thought I should assist him, like
be his right hand man type of
deal. So I went in and pitched him
on the idea, and he said he had
someone already doing that posi-
tion. So I suggested he get rid of
her and hire me. So he thought
about it and the next thing you
know, he was hiring me as his as-
sistant. From that day on we had
one of the funniest times of my
life. We did trade shows, fashion
shows, magazine ads, surfed a
lot, skated a little, then a lot, the
business started booming, money
was no object, so you can guess
the rest.
You‘ve played in bands, from
the late 70‘s up till today...
I started a band after we disco-
vered this new music called punk
rock. You didn‘t have to be some
accomplished musician then and
that‘s why you had so many bands
pop up so quickly. And some of
them were really good. So I star-
ted a band with the guitar player
from T.S.O.L., Ronny Emory, and
it was called the Hoods, short for
Hoodlums. Then I sang a couple of
times with T.S.O.L. but didn‘t want
to sing about politics, I was a litt-
le more into rock‘n‘roll, but it was
all the same, some better, most
worst. Then we got into rockabilly
and had two bands, the first one
was The Aristocats, kinda like the
Left: Skull, mixed media.
cartoon. I found a drummer for
that band who went on to start
The Vandals, Joey Escalante. Then
the Rockaholic, another rockabilly
band, then The Joneses, with Ron
Emory of T.S.O.L., the ­Great Bank
Robber Jeff Drake, and Mitch Dean.
We recorded a single, then a com-
pilation ”Some one got their head
kicked in” something like that.
But that had Social Distortion,
Bad Religion, some other bands I
don‘t remember. Then we did an
EP with the Joneses that is called
”Criminals”. And we played a lot of
shows, usually fights always broke
out for some unknown reason, but
it was completely out of control.
And then we went on tour to the
East Coast and just went out and
played some shows, no budget
type of deal, but that didn‘t seem
to matter. I‘m extremly bored
now of this question... NEXT, oh
yeah, I was the bass player, and
sang back up, and a couple of solo
songs.
What made you split the sce-
ne? That‘s really easy. Too many
egos, lazy people, band members
that were dicks and all the rest
of the same shit you hear from
every­one that splits from bands.
How and when did you get in-
terested in art? Well, my older
brother Bucky, who was basically
my inspiration throughout my en-
tire life as a kid, was and is an
amazing artist. In whatever me-
dium he chooses to work in. But I
started from all the things that in-
fluence me. Other artists, music,
clothing, hot rods, motorcycles,
textiles, whatever it is that ma-
kes sense to me and maybe not
at all to you. My brother is the one
that showed me the possibilities
in doing anything in the world of
art. So thank you so much Bucky,
I owe you... big time.
The mediums that you like to
work with? It all depends on
what it is. For a while, I‘ve been
working with fabrics, all kinds of
textiles. Maybe it‘s from the Jim-
myz days, maybe it comes from
the punk rock influence that was
so life changing for me as a kid.
They didn‘t have that class in
school, so we split and went ska-
ting and loving punk rock, every-
thing about it.
What inspires you to do art?
My inspiration is brought on by all
sorts of different things, kinda like
I said in the last answer. And it‘s
how I make my living. So that is
sometimes inspiring to be able to
pay the rent and always more fu-
cking supplies, it‘s part of it. But
the fact that I don‘t have to work
with anyone, except myself, and
make my own selfish ideas come
to life, or art whatever it is, is very
very excellent. No one to tell you
what you should do and if some-
one does, you can tell them go
fuck themselves, or do it yourself.
That‘s where I draw my inspira-
tions from and why...
Right: Steve , Giant Slalom, Hannover/Germany, 2007.
What got you into racing? I ra-
ced with my older brother again,
but that was back in the 70s. We
raced or went to La Coasta back
in the Day, but we were just little
groms back then, we didn‘t really
skate all that great. It wasn‘t until
a year or so later that it all star-
ted to come together. But we were
also into alpine skiing, and racing
and downhill skiing, Jean Clau-
de Keelly, check spelling on last
name. So that‘s what got me into
racing, and then bank slalom was
natural for some of us, but not
you Joe Lehmne, GI HOE, faggot
ass geek...
Would you like to comment on
todays racing scene? Back in
the 70‘s it was all new and stuff,
exciting, but now it‘s even sicker,
because the equipment is even
better and the racers, they might
be a little faster, but who‘s to say,
I saw both, they both looked fast,
whatever.
 8
The
GSummit
Words and photos by Bastian
Ehl
H eiligendamm 2007 – meeting of the G8 heads of
government. More than enough happened in the
8
The
GSummit
run-up to it. Arrests, searches and we should not forget
THE fence of fences. And we just got rid of the wall in
1989.

I earn my money with promotional and corporate pho-

tography. Only a small part of the income comes from
press photography. With all the large agencies like DPA,
AP, DDP, Getty and all the others sharing the cake bet­
ween themselves and having a very well set up infra-
structure it is seldom that a freelance photographer can
get a contract. You win a lot if you can get away from
the plastic world of advertisement for ten days and pho-
tograph freely. No regulations, art directors, designers,
PR consultants, coordinators, producers and whatever
else behind your back so that you can follow your own
path. And if you take pictures of other things than the
press agencies and stand apart from the standard, one
can sell a few pictures. In addition to that it is absolutely
necessary to keep such dramatic events as unaltered as
possible for posterity. I really don’t like to write this but I have seen
a lot of agency photographers who set the pictures up. That has
nothing to do with journalism.

Top: The demonstrators were prepared to block the streets leading to the
summit for the entire length of the meeting. A lot of them had camping
mats and sleeping bags with them. Voluntary helpers supplied food and
drinks.

Bottom: The summit opponents had the moment of surprise on their side
8
The
GSummit
and made it almost unchallenged to the east entrance to Heiligendamm.
The police could only watch how thousands of demonstrators blocked the
road in a short time frame. The situation remained peaceful at the east
entrance despite the blockade.
 n June 1st I took the train to Rostock. The large demonstra-
O tion through Rostock had been announced for Saturday. Only
at the beginning of the week were we supposed to go out into the
fields to the fence. One of the two demonstration marches started
conveniently right in front of my accommodation’s door. A lot of
photographers were there and we all eyed each other with profes-
sional aloofness - but that would change real quickly later.

Without any more incidents occuring the demonstration reached

the harbour in Rostock’s town center. I was standing around with
an international group of photographers at one of the many food
stands. Just as we were enjoying our food the first Molotov cock-
tail came flying out of nowhere. The entire prelude had happened
in the second demonstration march and it was just starting in front
of us. I can still feel the warm surge of fire and my adrenaline level
shot up to unknown peaks. That meant helmet on and
camera out. I have experienced several street battles
in my time but this massive barrage of stones beat my
wildest expectations. The stuff being used as projectiles
proved that deaths would be acceptable for the cause.
Anything that moved was a target. Even the demonstra-
tion medics, firemen and of course the police. Demon-
stration participants who wanted to stop the rioting were
pelted with stones. The people throwing the stones came
out of the crowd and disappeared again the same way.
The charging police groups (hundreds of them) therefore

Top: As the summit continued on, the police became more and
more irritated. I can speak from my own personal experience
as a soldier about the enormous burden that comes with such
an operation.

8
The
GSummit
Bottom: The clowns saved the summit protest. Just when
it looked the situation was getting out of hand the clowns
got bet­ween the police and the G8 opponents and “clowned”
around. The police believed that warfare agents had been
mixed into the soap bubble water so they hid behind their
shields.
To restrict the freedom of movement of the fingers at least a bit, the
police deployed units in the fields around Heiligendamm. But because of
the small number of police units, there was little they could do.

8
The
GSummit
usually beat up the uninvolved demonstrators. In the
8
The
GSummit
second half the famous car was burning which could be
seen in television from every perspective and it gave
the impression that a whole parking lot full of cars was
burning. Eventually the police got themselves sorted out
and broke up the street fight with tear gas grenades and
water cannons. All of that happened during the first day
of protests. What else could be coming our way?

till moving from the adrenaline the photographers

S gathered together to exchange their experiences
with one another. The professional aloofness was gone.
An experience like that brings people together. Slowly
but surely our crew made up out of independent photo­
graphers from Canada, Spain, France and England was
forming. A network which should prove to be worth it
all in the next few days. We informed each other con-
tinuously via mobile phones about what was going on
and were able to partially keep up with the information
advantage of the press agencies. The organisers of the
demonstration had furthermore created an optimal infrastructure
for the press. A press center was open for all journalists right in the
city harbour and thanks to WLAN we could send pictures without
any problem.

Top: On the way to Camp Reddelich towards the fence - the summit op-
ponents protested creatively.

Bottom: The obstructions on the ground were equally conquered with

creativity on the way to the fence.
 he demonstrations on Sunday and Monday passed off peace-
T fully. Even though the police were more than a little bit ner-
vous. On Saturday they marched without shields - now all of the
police underway in full riot gear. The mainstream media jumped
on the bandwagon and they made the riots look like a Third World
War. Only the TAZ delivered in my opinion an objective and accu-
rate coverage. It conformed with what I had seen and experienced.
When you take a look at the factionalism around the person Felix
Lee before the G8 summit, then it is obvious why the TAZ reported
so well. They just had the necessary insight in the summit oppo-
nents scene.

On Tuesday we had to relocate. The G8 summit began in Heili-

gendamm on Wednesday and the protests shifted from Rostock
onto the open field in front of the fence. Philippe, Hughes, Lars
and myself meanwhile made up a photographer team.
We still had Peter as our secret weapon, a long-serving
photographer from the Frankfurter area who had a lot
of contacts to the head of operations at the police. He
kept us informed about the current occurances. The
network was complemented through Spanish, English,
Polish and Dutch colleagues. It was essential to stay in
contact through the mobile phones because of the size
of the demonstration area. Or else you could be standing
around in the middle of nowhere for hours without noti­
cing anything.

Top: A member of the Black Block sets a tree trunk blockade

alight close to Hinterbollhagen.

Bottom: The attacking police units could only find a smo­

8
king rest of the blockade when they arrived on the scene. The

The demonstrators had put out the fire in the meantime to avoid
starting a forest fire.

GSummit
 Demonstrators from all over the world had come to Rostock for the kick-
off demonstration against the G8 summit. The protest targeted economic
topics as well as the US engagement in Iraq and the war on terror.

8
The
GSummit
W e moved into an extortionately expensive apparte-
ment in Bad Doberan, perfectly located between
8
The
GSummit
the large protest camps and the main road to Heiligen-
damm. The first checkpoint outside of Heiligendamm
was set up on the border to Bad Doberan and we hap-
pened to cross through it on our way back from dinner.
There we were, in the middle of the checkpoint and the
police forces as surprised as we were. After a never
ending identification check and some smaller problems
with the foreign press passes, we were allowed to take
pictures. Dear Police, a foreign journalist can not own
a German press pass. No, only a press pass from their
own country.

The protest organisation had set up an information point

in the center of Bad Doberan. Besides providing first
aid the protest participants received information and
very important and detailed maps. Every action was top
secret till the very last minute but just before anything
happened us photgraphers were given the necessary co-
ordinates and maps. My GPS did it’s share of good work
during the operation planning.

On Wednesday morning we all congregated in front of the infor-

mation tent and waited for the information release. It turned out
that several thousand demonstrators from the three largest camps

Top: The demonstration began peacefully and ended in a wild street battle
between summit opponents and the police. This peaceful demonstrator
ended up inbetween the two sides and was injured by the police bludgeon.

Bottom: A policeman standing in a demonstrator’s pool of blood.

 were on the move in separate groups through the fields towards
the fence. The groups called themselves accordingly fingers which
would grab the fence as a hand. We decided to meet up with the
group from the Reddelich camp and march with them towards the
fence. We once again realized quite soon the omnipotence of the
photo agencies which transported their photographers with enduro
motorcycles and drivers quickly through the fields. They could ea­
sily send pictures from nowhere as they were equipped with satel-
lite modems. Impossible to keep up with them.

fter a sprint straight through the forest between Bad Doberan

A and Reddelich we met up with one of the “fingers”. An indescrib-
able moment. Thousands of people lined up walking through the
fields towards the fence. Meanwhile five or six police helicopters
were circling overhead. But the route had been chosen perfectly.
Several deep ditches, barely any roads and fields which
could not be driven through were right on the route. It
was just impossible for the police to stop the demonstra-
tors. The helicopters did land in the fields but 40 police-
men and several thousand demonstrators – that was
more of symbolic value than anything else. The crossing
of the individual ditches between the fields was perfectly
organised. The demonstrators carried filled sacks of
straw with them which when stacked created provisional
bridges. Or you just made a good jump. The demonstra-
tors were always most helpful and helped us like Mulis

Top: The Black Block in action. Anything available in reach was

thrown towards the police. Deaths were obviously acceptable
for some going by the size of the projectiles.

8
Bottom: The ground was covered with projectiles after the

The street battle. These used to be paving stones from a path.

GSummit
A G8 summit opponent from Denmark calls at-
tention to the consequences of globalization.

8
The
GSummit
helped photographers with lots of equipment during a
8
The
GSummit
crossing. We did not know how long this concerted ac-
tion would last, so besides the ten kilograms of equip-
ment we had a lot of water (it was June after all) and of
course food.

was all the way in the front with the first group which
I reached the fence and the entrance. Maybe around
twenty officers were controlling the entrance to Heili-
gendamm. One look at my GPS confirmed what I saw.
We had actually reached the fence without any counter
reaction. Now of course reinforcements were moving up
but thousands of demonstrators had blocked the entry
road in a short amount of time. The other “fingers” had
also reached their goal and thus all roads to Heiligen-
damm had already been blocked on the first day. One
could have rushed the grounds. A few weeks after the
summit I met a police officer who told me how chaotic
the strike force’s organisation had been. No one at the
gate had known that a large group of demonstrators had
been moving towards them. This also explained the weak surveil-
lance at our arrival.

The police did not even try the entire day to clear up the blockade
in our section. They did show a stronger presence but that was all.
The police did however clear the west gate with water cannons. A ­t

Top: The G8 opponents continuously seized control of streets leading to

Heiligendamm. A lot of them just camped on the streets.

Bottom: Demonstrators trying to get to the fence through the fields.

 around evening time the demonstrator’s mobile kitchen reached
the street blockade. For a small contribution the demonstrators
were provided a warm meal, water and bread. We got ready for a
long night. The blockade participants moved around 500 meters
down the street and got ready for the night. The “Black Block” put
up some barricades in the newly created interstice which were set
alight after dark. It did stay peaceful though.

hat evening we spent in one of the few bars in Bad Doberan.

T Hospitality looks somewhat different though. With 20 photo­
graphers we celebrated a Reuters colleague’s birthday. Thanks to
the good weather we wanted to sit outside but the waiter did not
want to put any more chairs outside at our table. 20 guests in an
otherwise abandoned village luckily do not make you any
profit.

The next day we got up early again to make our plans

for the day at the information tent. A van with a license
plate from Cologne stopped next to us. It turned out that
Daniel had also come to the G8 summit. I had never met
him before but I knew his pictures from the Freedom
BMX magazine. It is quite amusing to see how one gets
to really know somebody.

We decided to drive together to the west gate. The

police had already cleared the road yesterday. The road

Top: The police used water cannons again and again to clear
the streets heading to Heiligendamm. Police units at Hinter-
bollhagen pushed the demonstrators through the fields with
the force of water cannons.

8
The
GSummit
Bottom: Police forces squat down in order to not be hit by
their own water cannons.
 Summit opponents try to protect themselves with a plastic
canvas against the water cannon.

8
The
GSummit
was already completely closed off two kilometres be-
8
The
GSummit
hind the blockade so Daniel parked the van on the side
of the road. We continued on foot. The demonstrators
once again tried to block the entry road. But today the
police were a lot better prepared so the demonstra-
tors only reached the slope underneath the road. Above
the police and water cannons got themselves in a row.
The show could get started. The press was told through
loudspeakers to leave the demonstration as their secu-
rity could not be guaranteed. The water cannons moved
into position and opened their valves. Only five minutes
later I was hit with a full charge of water and my camera
was rinsed completely. The only ten day old chassis was
broken again. Batteries out, memory card out and on it
went with the reserve camera. Why should one even get
mad, it wouldn’t have changed anything. The water can-
nons and the police dispersed the demonstrators down
the entire slope. The road to Heiligendamm was to stay
clear today. Later there were tries to at least show we
were there with blockades on an entry road but a tank
cleared that up quickly.

ate that afternoon we drove to the official G8 press center to

L send pictures. The G8 press center was its own little town. After
passing through the security checks we had a free choice. A huge
well equipped working area with an additional area to relax. Food

Top: A demonstrator was injured by a hit from a water cannon. Police

units pull her ruggedly out of the turmoil and bring her to a first-aid
helper.

Bottom: A molotov cocktail burns during a street battle in Rostock. No

one had anticipated the amount of violence.
 and drinks in every variation and tons of goodies. Even a private
beach with beach chairs had been set up for the press. But who
needed that except maybe the snobby big city journalists? As Lars
started to send our pictures, I visited the Nikon Professional Ser-
vice to have my camera examined. While I put my camera on the
table I just heard “ohh, another one!” The technician told me that
this had happened to quite a few photographers. Either hits from
stones on Saturday or they had been in the way of a water can-
non in the last few days. Nikon offered me a loaned camera for free
and I was back in action. After Lars and I had looted the buffet, we
indulged ourselves with ice cream as a dessert and then took the
shuttle service towards our accomodation.

n Friday we were back in Rostock where we accom-

O panied the final demonstration which luckily stayed
peaceful. A large mutual dinner ended the G8 summit for
us. I took the train home on Saturday morning. My feet
were completely exhausted but I didn’t have even one
blister. The 15 euro socks had been worth every penny.
And according to my GPS it was 300 kilometers in 8 days
– all by foot by the way.

Top: Demonstrators were able to bring down a security fence

enclosing a police parking lot. A group of police guards the
opening until the damage is repaired.

8
Bottom: While they are working on the repair demonstrators

The watch them closely.

GSummit
 e l u
benncrete x
co photos & wo
rds by gerd
rieger

Anders, pivot fakie, Kortrijk. A really good park built by Team Pain, go there.
Overview, Amersford.
Gas stop.

bennelcurxete
Anders, 5-0 grind. co
Anders Tellen, ollie, Amsterdam. Decend Bowl in the center of Amsterdam.
Don´t be bothered by some junkies, drunks or drug dealers and...

Schevenigen, 1st Park of four. 9:00 am.

bennelcurxete
co Scheveningen, breakfast at the beach. Back
home it was rainy and cold.
 Anders, dog piss crail tap, Schevenigen.

bennelcurxete
Volker Petersen, bs ollie, Scheveningen Beach, one of the few times he managed
to put his mobile phone aside and skate. I wonder what his phone bill was after
the three days. co
 Overview, Nordorp.

A Road map? GPS? Directions from the internet? We don´ne

ed that. You might
find a map on the side of the road or even better have someb
ody like Anders
aboard who just smells a skate spot from miles away.

bennelcurxete
Anders, lien air over the hip in Nordorp. Nordorp is just on the outskirts of Rotter-
dam and has a nice bowl with deep and shallow end and a small waterfall to connect
both. There‘s also a small street area next to the bowl. co
Thilo, nollie one foot, Nordorp.

The experts are checking the park.

bennelcurxete
co Kortrijk, overview.
bennelcurxete
co Mike, fs air, Brussels.
Overview Brussels: It‘s in the middle of the city, crowded with skaters, bikers etc. A
Small and tight bowl that‘s kinda hard to ride - with some waterfalls that are too small
and in the wrong place and intent on throwing you off balance when you least expect it.
Even Anders had to make that experience.

Cheers.

bennelcurxete
co Hanging shoes, Brussels.
Thilo, hurricane, Brussels.

bennelcurxete
co
 Imprint

Editorial Staff
Gerd Rieger (V.i.S.d.P.) | gerd@bailgun.com
Markus Mhueller | markus@bailgun.com

Photo Editor
Gerd Rieger

Layout
Markus Mhueller

Translations
Jonathan Young

Additional Staff
Donald Campbell, Daniel „Danslash“ Beck, Bastian Ehl, Thomas Kalak

Editor‘s Office
Bailgun Magazine
Gerd Rieger
Zumsande Str. 32
48145 Münster
Germany

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©2008 Bailgun Magazine /// www.bailgun.com

Kevin Wenzke, fs air, Hagen.