THE AFTERCLASH DEPRESSION

*Sighs* where am I going to start…

Winterclash 2018 is over, and every blader who was a part of it probably ended up in a black hole which will take some time to roll out of. Haha.

But to describe the Winterclash weekend in one word? It was…. SIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!! (THANKS JOJO AND EVERYONE ELSE INVOLVED, YOU’RE ALL AWESOME) 

To be honest, I didn’t watch everyone skating since I always skate with my friends from all over the world on this weekend. It is the perfect time to catch up with friends from the UK, Germany, France, USA, Israël, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Canada, and so on (and I’m not even exaggerating). <3

But I definitely saw my favorite skaters rolling and it was truly amazing. You can just highfive them after they land their tricks, you don’t have to sit on this boring seats, you live next (and with) them this whole weekend… and we all wish that it took even longer then 3 days. After seeing blade friends everywhere in Eindhoven (Albert Heijn, Restaurants, in the streets, in the same hotel,… it feels much like you have a depression when you get home, haha.

Did I mention yet why Lennert Goormans (YES LENNERT FROM BELGIUM) is in the headline picture? Because this Belgian young gun which I grew up skating with at Fitopia Skatepark, got in the Amateur finals of the Winterclash 2018. His famous last trick: ‘First channel Backside’ (grinding behind the front wheel) ended up in the aftermovie and they also got this really nice shot of it. Something to be really proud of. Good job Lenny.

Next to that I had alot of fun skating, screaming (my voice was already gone after the first day) and meeting even more new international friends. The cool thing about that? We don’t need to explain ourselves to one another, we all love the same thing: rollerblading. It doesn’t care if you’re a 8 year old kid, a 31 or even 54 year old adult, black, white or purple,… we all get a(roll)long.

And as the rollerblading scene grows bigger, this was the first time that a rollerblading competition counted 42 women riders from all over the world.
The future is bright!

Congratulations to Antony Pottier (BELGIUM) for winning the Winterclash 2018. (Also the Winterclash 2017 winner).

Pro:
1. Antony Pottier (BE)
2. Joe Atkinson
3. Nils Jansons
4. Soichiro Kanashima
5. Tomasz Przybylik
6. David Sizemore
7. Jacob Juul
8. Dominik Wagner
9. Montre Livingston
10. Jo Zenk
11. Eugen Enin
12. Diego Guilloud

Woman:
1. Manon Derrien
2. Chihiro Azuma
3. Sara Vilella
4. Kaili Randmae
5. Liene Nulle
6. Tais Corales
7. Mery Muñoz
8. Coralie Tan
9. Tisler Armelle
10. Eva Smejkalova
11. Lula Varela

Amateur:
1. Martin Danning
2. Jaro Frijn
3. Diako Diaby
4. Ruben Smulders
5. Michael Witzemann
6. Mario Reithofer
7. Jeremy Domingues
8. Matty Vella
9. Michael Müller
10. Jarod Banning
11. Xavi Alcazar
12. Justas Karcauskas
13. Julien Lemoine
14. Lennert Goormans (BE)
15. Yair Viner

Junior:
1. Nils Rinas
2. Felix Fälling
3. Randy Zoller
4. Ilia Savosin
5. Ion Mihai
6. Stefan Selders
7. Alex Dochkin
8. Tomass Mezeniks
9. Poema Kitseroo
10. Victor Nguyen

USD Best Trick Award: Soichiro Kanashima 
K2 Skates Best Newcomer Award: Tais Colares 
SkatePro Most Creative Trick Award: David Sizemore

But if you love to roll, you're also a winner!

"Thank you everyone for making Winterclash so special. Three days of the best blading, awesome panel discussions, movies, too much party and the best of times. This is our official Winterclash 2018 Aftermovie. Enjoy – and see you next year!"

Edit: Straight From Here.
Filmed: Przemek Madej, Karsten Boysen
Drone shots: Karol Fudakowski
Photo: Mathieu Hennebert