Lodge Guest, Semir Catovic

Name: Semir Catovic

Current: Job / school: Project Manager – National Platform for Gadeidræt – GADEIDRÆT

Where are you from? Bosnia and Herzegovina / Lolland Nakskov

Where do you currently live? Frederiksberg, Copenhagen Denmark

What nationaly do you feel the most? European

Family status: Wife and two kids. 5-year-old boy and little 8 months girl.

Age: 34

Years of skateboarding: 20

Board size: 8,5

Wheel size: 56

Trucks: Thunder 149

I change set up every: 2-3 months

Current Board trend: I just love a good graphic on a board.

Please state your type of terrain on your board in hours, days and years or other

Street: Most

(Skatepark) Flow Street As often as possible

Miniramp: As often as possible

 Long board: not sexy enough

Vert: too sketchy

Bowl: Not so much

Freestyle: too old shcool

Please tell us about your daily DAY by the hours, (or tell us about your longest day the last week’s) we want to know how your day is looking like

06.00 my kids wakes me up. Some times earlier than 6.00

07.00 Eating breakfast, and make my son ready for kindergarten, and drive him to kindergarten.

08.00 I am always first person arriving at office. Drinking coffee and answer the first 15-20 mails.

09.00 different from day to day. Always a lot of meetings with important people, emails, writing and a lot of coffee

10.00…meetings with important people, emails, writing and a lot of coffee

11.00…meetings with important people, emails, writing and a lot of coffee

12.00 eat lunch and play shoot out (basket) with my colleagues

13.00…Meetings with important people, emails, writing and a lot of coffee. Eating chocolate cookie(s)

14.00…meetings with important people, emails, writing and a lot of coffee.

15.00 …meetings with important people, emails, writing and a lot of coffee.

16.00 pick up kid in kindergarten

17.00Playing with the kids – making dinner

18.00 eatin dinner

19.00 getting kids ready to sleep. my wife put one child and I the other

20.00 watching TV and having fun with the wife.. Enjoying the silence

21.00 usually working again. answering e-mails.

22.00 usually working again. answering e-mails.

23.00 Zzz…

24.00 Zzz…

01.00 making bottle for our little baby

How are you doing at the moment?

I’m doing really well right now.

How is your body at the moment, (injuries, knees, back, and so)?

I had a minor operation in my hip 8 months ago. Got some cartilage removed from my hip. So, at the time I am doing boring exercises, to be able to skate normal without pain again. Otherwise I feel healthy.

When did you start to skate and why? What tricked you into this?

started skating around 95-96 in Nakskov. I was a refugee from the Balkan War, came to DK, did not speak the language, everything was new. So I met the couple of guys. Allan Nissen and Ronni Kjærside who introduced me to Denmark, Nakskov-city and skateboarding.

Do you think you made the right choice (instead of playing football FX?)?

Definitely, I suck at football. I played football for a short period, but I never really got invited to play on the team because I was bad.

Please comment your feelings, memories (if you are that old) & know how about Skateboarding in the

80s  Grew up in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ex Yougoslavia). Enjoying childhood, playing and watching VHS tapes like others did.

90s Little more Complicated… 1993 Balkan civil war was on. My family and I had to escape otherwise we will be killed. Came to Denmark, lived in a refugee camp. Really a bad period for me. like starting life all over again. After a couple of years in a refuge camp, we moved to Nakskov. I met some pretty cool guys here, Allan and Ronni and started skating with them. Watching Muska parts and trying to learn Danish language and system.

2000+ moved to Copenhagen, to study and to be able to skate Fælledparken- everyday. Met my beautiful wife Julie in early 2000

Started a company called Bitchwood with Kasper Bruun, Peter Leth, Chris Hoff and Malta Chris.

The idea of our company was not to have any products (we had no money) so we only made this video with Benjamin Schmidt.

 

 

2010+

Working, making family, and not so much time for skateboarding as before. Got new job as a project member for a new organisation National Platform for Streetsports.

Do you feel skateboarding is in a good way?

Skateboarding has changed considerably since I started to skate. And surely enough. Skateboarding is creative sport. If it is in the good way is difficult to answer.

Many new skateparks are popping up which is great, so many new styles, skate companies, too many pro skaters – I don’t know half of their names. So it’s definitely something different than when I started to skate. Skateboarding has changed from Lo-fi culture in 80’s and 90’s to the 4th largest children’s sport in Denmark. In all the popularity and growth that skateboarding is in right now, we must not forget the main thing that skateboarding is good at: making communities, making us creative, it is fun no matter which level you are on and it keeps us healthy and active.

Where do you stand & please comment with skateboarding in the Olympics?

I am not a fan of big competitions. I’ve never watched street league or X- games. For me, skateboarding something more than that. But I really do understand why skate is on Olympics 2020.

There are so many people skating today that it is normal that there is a big elite. So why not – let them go to Olympics and have fun. The Olympics Games needs update and skateboarding is a good one.

Where do you stand in terms of politics?

All you need is love.

When I chill, I chill with,

I chill with my friends, Plasckhe , Chris Hoff and Peter Leth

I’m have been on a mission lately in (with)

I am on a mission everyday. At work with politicians and other exciting people, making sure that we can get more money for street sports in the DK. At home with my family.

Dream session would be,

With more energy and better pop, and if I can get a couple of my flip tricks back – that will be great

Lately I have been working on,

Getting my some of my fliptricks back. Nollie frontside heelflip and nollie backside heelflip just disappeared.

When I was little I would like to,

Astronaut, drummer, rock star, pro skater, engineer and hero.

When I’m home I like to,

Hang out with my wife and kids.

I normally call my homies for,

to hang out, skate, eat good food. Almost all my friends have kids that are same age as mine, so its cool to just hang our and our kids can play together.

Your homies are,

They are legends: Peter Leth, Christian, Jonas, Hoff, Mili, Aljosa, Igor, Kasper

FAVORITS

Beer: Budweiser

Wine: whatever

Liquor: sljivovica and whiskey

Breakfast: I never eat breakfast

Lunch: salad or whatever available

Dinner: lots of veggies, piece of good meat, Thai.

Late-night snack: ritter sport dark- blue one

Resturant: “bar og vin” in Copenhagen

Skateboarders: Andrew Reynolds, Geoff Rowley, Jason Dill, Ray Barbee,

Dylan Rieder (shit so sad with him – RIP)

Skatepark: fælledparken, triangle

Skate spot: anywhere, all you need is sun and good friends

Skate film / clip: Emerica B-sides, and Dylan Rieder Gravis- part

You fave Tricks: Nollie backside lipslide

Art: Photographer, James Nachtwey

Film: The Underground – Emir Kusturica

Music The Underground soundtrack

Book: A Short History of Nearly Everything by American author Bill Bryson is a great book science book

City’s: Beirut

Writers: hmm George Orwell

Actors: Jim Morrison, Miles Davis, Bowie, and many more…

Skaters: Andrew Reynolds, Geoff Rowley, Jason Dill, Ray Barbee,

Dylan Rieder (shit so sad with him – RIP)

Homeboys: they are still legends: Peter Leth, Christian, Jonas, Hoff, Mili, Aljosa, Igor, Kasper..

Tablet: I gave it to my kid.

TV: Samsung, Philips, Sony I cant remember the brand..

Camera: Canon 5d mk2 and Fujifilm x100s

Phone: iphone 5

APP: Instagram

Car: ford focus

Bike: Christiania bike

 

When was the last time you really won big time?

4 years ago. I won football betting online.

When was the time you really lost big time?

I work with basketball folks, so I lose every time I play basketball. I have stopped counting.

When I travel, I always bring,

My wife and kids, passport and camera with me

Best travel advice I can give is,

“If you are going through hell, keep going and Don’t forget your passport.

Best life advice I can give is,

Figure out what you love to do, and then figure out how to get someone to pay you to do it.

Are you good with money (do you plan, safe it, cash in or blow it)?

I have all my budgets in excel

Best travel memory you want to share?

Beirut two years ago. We were on a work trip and saw everything from refugee camps to wild nightclubs. Great city, great people go check it out.

When I do not skateboard I,

Work and hang out with My Family

My fitness program is,

Some really boring hip exercises

Do you care about your health?

Yes. Garbage in garbage out!

Anything that concerns you at the moment?

is it really true that trump is running for president?

When I get old I want to,

… look behind me and see all the fire and the wreckage and no stone left unturned.

That one time where I was in jail because of,

We visited a jail with school in 90’s.

I should do more of,

All the people that I miss

My future looks like,

Live long life with my beautiful family and working with street sports.

I dream of some day that I would,

That one day I can make street facilities in Balkans and give them the same opportunities that we have in Denmark.

On Netflix / YouTube / Internet I watch,

YouTube – watching old skate videos,

Netflix – I like to watch documentaries

Internet I watch – news

If I could change the world I would,

I want people to focus more on Global Warming and Climate Change

Everybody should own a,

a sense of humor.

The hobby I have, no one knows about is,

Running

I will never get rid of,

Skateboarding J

I would love to be in a movie with,

Robert De Niro

Any regrets in life so far?
hmm…not really

I currently follow (social media, instagram twitter, Facebook)

…interesting people on Instagram. shredderslodge J

Anything else,

Not really, this is a long interview Kring.

Thanks to

Everyone