A month after the city had a brief but futile attempt to destroy the under the bridge DIY spot built by the skaters of Köln, the Yama Skateboards team from Austria were passing through town on their way to Belgium. We had planned a mini-ramp session at the Lohse Ramp, but Germany’s sketchy summer time weather canceled that plan with intermittent rain throughout the day. Our only option was to hit up the DIY spot…
Under the bridge in Köln, Germany, a DIY skate spot had been started a few years ago, and then lay stagnant. With some motivation from the Köln skaters, Phase II was underway, with a pump bump and quarter pipe. Money was gathered for bags of concrete, tools were purchased, trowels were customized, and even a concrete truck made a delivery of fresh ‘crete.
k in Oostende Belgium is located in the old Velodrome (bike course) next to the harbor, a few kilometers from the ocean. Built by Concrete Dreams. a Belgian skate park company started by Bruno, which is collaborative effort with Mike and other guys from Brusk Collective, locals in whatever city they’re building and assisted at times by Matt Grabowski from Minus Pools. The final product in Oostende came out super insane. The opening party had punk bands, DJs, graffiti “jams”, no real contest just people skateboarding, and a lot of spectators who it seemed were quite impressed with what Concrete Dreams had created for the city and visiting skateboarders. There’s not really much to say except another great skate park in Europe, BUILT BY SKATEBOARDERS.