lea shamaa

When a skater finds an obstacle that works well with their style, speed and trick of choice, it can quickly turn into their dream spot. Dutch skate spots are known to be rough and hard to manoeuvre, so it’s only on rare occasions that a skater truly connects with a spot. I’ve dec…

New Wave Skate "Back to Back - Mixed Sessions" — safe spaces based on togetherness at the skatepark Skateboarding has always been a sort of safe haven for those who practice it. Skaters of all identities, all tied by their passion, find the skatepark as a comfortable ge…

An interview with Skateboard School Amsterdam: a positive path to Skateboarding "At Skateboard School Amsterdam we are not making skateboarding more positive, because it already is! We just try to create an environment with the focus on all those positive aspects of skateboa…

Normally we'd send Lea to events not organised by ourselves to do this sort of recap writing, but we figured it wouldn't hurt if she'd do her thing at our own event: the launch of issue #13. Essay just came out with its thirteenth issue and celebrated with a cosy launch party at…

"Wooo", "Aaahh", "Ehhhh", and "Wojoo" — these are some of the amazing sounds you hear at any skate video premiere. In a dark room, people are all sitting close together, beer tight in hand, looking at a bright screen, completely entranced b…

On a cold November evening in Amsterdam, Frederick, Charles and Léa asked Dylan and Alex some questions about the world of Dutch skateboarding videography, their experiences with skaters, and what they've noticed throughout their years of filming. After a couple beers, the interv…