Lodge Legend, Søren Aaby

Welcome to Danish  LEGEND Søren AABY !  Please enjoy some Danish Skateboarding history, right here

 

 

 

Name: Søren Aaby, Aaby Wan / Hobie Aaby / Sore ‘n‘ crappy

Current: job / school:  Advertising agency, Owner

Where are you from?  Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark 

Where do you currently live?  Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

Kids / family status: Andrea (19), Ella (16), Caya (5), Katrine (girlfriend), Emma (dog)

Age:  50

Sponsors:  Last sponsors were Santa Cruz, Independent, OJs speedwheels, Vans, 90 (some still flow)

Board size: Allround transition type of board

Wheel size: Park/vert

Trucks:  Indy

 

What are you doing right now/ this month?

Preparing for family Xmas and new years party with my friends, getting work done before year end, scripting a photoshoot mid January in Stockholm, looking for a chance to go play golf in the cold, figure out where to go snowboard with the girls week7, went to the indoor swimmingpool with youngest, working on a new years resolution (or not), helped the big girls with major school projects, chill holiday with my girlfriend at our new place in the heart of Copenhagen – awesome place. And right now I’m trying to remember how it went down back in the day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How come you got into skateboarding?

That was by accident… I skated first time in 1976 – I was 11y and a friend (Jørgen Stahl) from my school got a plastic skateboard from his uncle in America. He brought it to school and we tested how we could use it. It was clear that we were meant to stand on it and roll, so we found a hilly street near by and started rolling. My best friend Frank Messmann came over the next day to try also. Over the summer Frank and I met a business-toy-guy living at one of the houses on the hilly street and he said we could buy our own skateboards from his garage – that’s how I got my first board. It was a green plastic Danfornia-skateboard with hard red plastic wheels and open bearings. A year later I bought a Hobie Woody with urethane wheels – a wooden board with kicktail and griptape – from one of the first skate/surfshops in Denmark (KICKTAIL in Vedbæk). I guess we sort of pioneered the skatescene in Denmark… and even it was complete coincidence that we started skating – it turned out to be a career for both of us (Frank skated pro for Sims Vision back then and later he became ceo for World Industries up through the 90

 

 

 

How many years were / have you been a you a professional skateboarder?

Sponsored Am from 84-89, Pro status from 89-92  

 

How often do you skate as of in 2015?

I roll in the street once a week, skate Faelledparken 6-10 times a year (it should be more). I love skating and it still kind of works for me when I’m on the board. It’s a long time since I padded up though! There is always a board in my trunk.

 

Going back to your prime, it seems you guys were super stars. Did you get many girls back in the day ?

Guess I got my fair share – we weren’t really stars though – except for Christian Hosoi, he was a star. He introduced me to Bruce Willis at a bar in Hollywood – with that kind of friends you have a rocknroll image to take care of. One time I met David Bowie in LAX and taught him how to roll, we ended up on the same plane to Amsterdam and he invited me to sit with him. Since I was a pro skater and he was a pro musician he thought we were “in the same boat” haha. Anyway – skateboarding at the time was considered rebellious and cool – so we didn’t have to work too hard…if you know what I mean. 

Did you get a demo chick ?

As I said I got my fair share dude… I do remember this hot roller-girl in Italy pretty well … and a cute but super gnarly Texas-chick in Houston once…we had dead-nazi-shots at the bar. The rest is history as they say 

Could you make some cash back in the 80s ?

It was ok at the time – I could do things I wanted to do, travel and have a good time. I moved to California in 1990 and everything was really good for a while. But the vert-scene was on a downslope – the monthly checks started getting smaller and smaller, and in 93 the vert-scene simply just died. Killed by my friend Steve Rocco (World Industries) and his new generation of street skaters. Times changed, skateboarding changed and I didn’t have much of a stash in the bank – but I had a bachelor in economics and marketing to fall back on. That became useful.

 

 

 

 

What was your best skateboard job, demo, commercial or other ?

Going on Tour (bus, planes, trains, boats) with the Copenhagen Skates Team and the Converse-team mid 80s in Denmark was a lot of fun… we did jump-ramp and freestyle demos all over Denmark, and later we constructed a portable halfpipe (all wood) and took that on tour.

Later touring with the Santa Cruz Team was probably the most fun… skating all the best places in the world. There was a contest in the Schwiss alps some years in a row – that was a pretty special place to go. All the World Championships in Münster (Germany) were fun and crazy stuff always went down there. Hawaii was always one of my favourite places to go to – people are so nice out there.

 

 

 

How do you see skateboarders today ?

The scene certainly looks a lot different now than it did 30y ago…I don’t know if that much really has changed – of course the level of progression is insane now compared to the 70s 80s 90s. When we started skateboarding we didn’t know where it could take us – today some kids decide to skate so they can be pros and get famous. But at the end of the day you will never get to that level unless you find out about all the fun that comes from skating – skateboarding sort of always was a cool thing to do, but only the true and most raw talent will end up as a pro.

 

Some things are easier for skaters today – it seems as a kid you can aim for a career with a soccer-mom and the best training facilities on your side… but some things are also harder now if you look at the entering-level for skating competitions in street, pool, vert – its completely insane how good the pros skate today. Lots of things change over the years, but one thing stays un-changed…the tons of fun using a skateboard gives you will never change…level and age don’t matter. Posers come and go – that’s how it always was and always will be. And like in any other actionsport there will be new stars popping up now and then who will take the whole thing to a even higher level . That’s what skateboarding is all about – progression!

 

Are you keeping yourself fit?

No cant say I am… Im not to fat, but I don’t skate enough to be fit either, and I never liked going to a gym. I try to eat semi-healthy, go for a run sometimes, do pushups if I feel the need haha… for sure I should do more of all-of-the-above in the future – hence; the new years resolution!

 

What are your hobbys ?

I got totally into golfing after Rocco (he who killed vert) introduced me a long time ago. Its super difficult to get good at… I think golf has some of the same elements that I love about skateboarding – its difficult, you can always get better, consistency is key, taking a chance can be rewarded or you totally fail. Playing a new course is like skating a new ramp, fresh air is good, buddies and business blends well. Sure the level of action is so so… good thing about that is that you don’t get bruises or broken bones. Golf gives me sort of the same good feeling that skating always gave me! I also go snowboarding 1-2 times a year with my big girls, I wavesurf when I travel and SUPsurf on the Northshore in the summer. Basically I just try to stay in motion…one way or the other.

 

Are you living the (your) dream?

Im not exactly sure what that means… looking back being younger and skating every day maybe was living a dream. I never really thought of it as living my dream when I was in the middle of it. I think most people tend to forget that all good things come to an end one day, when you are caught in the middle of it… but it did. It was definitely some of the most fun and carefree years of my life… but now I do other things that I find inspirational and fun – I made a family, a different career, a life after skateboarding…and that life is pretty damn awesome also.

 

 What are the future plans for you?

I plan to re-marry one day, I want to give my kids the best possible platform in life so they can make their own shit happen for them. I hope my company will grow and change with the times, I will try to keep my single-handicap, and I will skate as long as it is still fun.

Any thing else, thanks and send love?

Not really – but thanks for asking… skating is all about having fun.

See you at the park Kring.

 

Thanks for supporting the lodge  !