Carlo Cassan Exclusive ITW
June 9th, 2011 by admin received Comments Off TweetWe’re proud to present today one of those persons that couldn’t really miss on our pages. He’s kind of a local hero and one of the hottest skaters in Italy, Carlo Cassan!
Hi Carlo! What’s up? Quick intro: how old are you, how long have you been skating and where are you from?
I’m 24, I come from Genoa and I’ve been skating..let’s say for some years.
Sponsor and hook-ups?
My sponsors are Vans, Blast Distribution, Antiz skateboards.
I think you’ve skated all the Ligurian spots, but you’ve also travelled a lot through Italy and Europe. What differences did you notice compared to the skate scene in Genoa?
As usual there are pros and cons, here in Genoa we have a lot of spots, but they’re scattered all around and they’re pretty rough.
It doesn’t exist a meeting place where everything’s ok, while in many other cities there’s a place or maybe a square where all the skaters meet, full of perfect boxes and walls to skate. So here we have a different relationship with skateboarding, personally I like how’s here, but surely it’s not among the easiest conditions.
What’s your favourite spot anyway, the one where you really feel at home, or the one where you’d like to skate every single day?
I’ve an almost insane passion for the pool cooping, I’d like to have a bowl where I can do kilometers and kilometers of that.
I love the Basque pools because they’ve a touch of sickness that makes them pretty particular. If I could choose, they’d be my first choice.
Maybe also here in Genoa the fashion is finally leaving some space to those who are working hard and who really believe in skateboarding, bmxing and other sports. Nobody better than you can say if it’s true or not, what do you think about it?
I don’t wanna say anything, the only ones that I have to thank are the guys of the Jf club, and only a couple of them are from Genoa. All the others like to be spoon-fed and they complain for what they haven’t, but they don’t even try to do anything.
How did you approach skateboarding for the very first time?
I used to skate with my neighbour down the downhill roads in the courtyard of my buindling. We were only childs. Some years later we saw in the city centre someone who was skating in the true sense of the word, so it hasn’t been difficult to find our old boards..I never gave up since that very moment.
Often you’re around for contests or photosessions, but what do you prefer? A run in front of the judges or some tricks in front of a camera?
What I love the most is a skating session with my friends, and if it coincides with a photosession then it’s my lucky day.
This year a lot of important names in the Italian scene went to the States. How did you live this experience? Among the hundreds of unique experiences you surely had, what’s the episode which comes first to your mind?
I had a lot of fun even if it rained a bit too much and I missed some really good spots. There are a lot of nice episodes, but those with the crack addicts are surely the most colorful ones. Before leaving I had to get rid of some skating stuff, so I went to Venice and I gave it to the homeless that were camped near the skatepark. At first they didn’t believe me, then they realized that it was true and they were happy but just a little bit too euphoric so we went away as fast as we could.
It’s amazing how your tricks are always original and you’re able to interpret the spots in very different ways. What’s the trick is hyping you more at the moment? I mean not from a technical point of view, but just for the feeling it gives you?
I don’t know, at present I’m skating transitions because I’ve had some problems with my knee. So in this period it’s what gives me the best feeling. But I’m starting to skate again some street stuff. I don’t have a favourite trick anyway. Sometimes I have a favourite trick for a certain spot.
I know you take pictures sometimes, both action shots and lifestyle pics. What’s your relationship with photography?
My father has been a photographer for a long time and he gave me his equipment. Step by step I got involved. After some tour or photosession I was always happy to watch my tricks printed on the paper of some magazine, so I wanted to try and do the same for someone other. When I started university I got more involved because I noticed a positive feedback in the architecture field. Since this passion was born thanks to my father and the people I’ve often been in tour with, it’s a pretty personal thing, I don’t like to release my works too much and I’m pretty slow in the realization of decent images. But I have to say that is a great satisfaction when you see your pictures published somewhere
What do you do when not skating?
I’ve still some exams to do and I should study, if there’s some waves I like to go surfing, and in the end time is never enough.
What does influence your skating style?
Surely the spots I usually skate, rough and not friendly at all. My skating fellows, Valle, Spesso, Daddy, Cifra and so on. I think that even the subject I’m studying afflicts my skating style giving me some hints to find new spots.
What’s in your opinion your best moment in your skating career up to now?
I don’t think that being a skater can be defined a career, I’d surely have skated the same way regardless the career. Anyway, a couple of months ago I was on the cover of 6am and I had a big interview, I was really satisfied.
Thinking about the future… what do you expect?
I hope I won’t have any other physical trouble, they’ve pursued me for a year. Now I’m making a tour with Antiz in Italy, then we’ll probably go on tour with Vans, I don’t know whether in Portugal, France or Spain. There are a lot of contests and tours before August, so I’ll be pretty busy in the near future.
Thank you Carlo for the time you gave us! Last words are yours, just end as you want!
You’re welcome, and sorry for having hurt your fisheye ahahah, hello to everyone!
Skate on!
Tags: Antiz skateboards, Blast Distribution, carlo cassan, vans
Posted under: INTERVIEWS, SKATE
