26 hours in Stockholm

We made it to Stockholm for the premiere of the documentary “Homegrown” David Stantröm

You know, David is this kid on Polar since the beginning of it. Actually, legend has it he was part of Pontus Alv’s plans even before the brand started. For some reasons, he never got the attention he deserved. Converse, who produced the documentary and organized the event, probably thought it needed a change. And rightly so.

A few months back and between two snow storms, they sent Dan Magee to Stockholm for a couple of weeks. The idea was to have him document a slice of David’s winter life but also record him while talking about his story and especially the role his father played in it. For the premiere, they invited media and friends from all over Europe (including a couple of blobys freshly landed from a trip in Costa Rica)  for a party and a meet-and-greet with David at his local skateparks.

I am not going to dwell on the fact that watching David skating his local skatepark is unreal, and this alone worth the waking up before dawn and the long journey to get there. I am not sure how weird it would feel if a convoy of 10 vans was suddenly arriving at my local spot. David didn’t really seem to be bothered by the invasion, most likely because everybody seemed so genuinely excited about trying that perfect huge concrete park. Some of us were equally in love with the shelter built for the occasion. Warmth and weird Swedish hot drinks will go a long way when you’re freezing outside.

The most motivated ones moved to the indoor skatepark. the kind of quintessentialy cool Scandinavian  indoor skatepark you’ve always dreamt about : Skater owned, well designed, warm. The kids there were slightly dazed and confused when our crowd showed up. But we got to meet some really good vert skaters, including the local legend Jocke Olson during one of his after work sessions. If you want to have a look at David skating the park, you can find a good sequence in the documentary, even if it was just a warm up.

As the day unfolded, we went to an art gallery with photos of Nils Svensson where the premiere took place and where Jerome Campbell, the busy man in charge, introduced the project with a good speech. We ended up at a party in some kind of factory turned into a bar where the whole crew enjoyed free drinks and the set of a special DJ, Leo Smith, one of David’s homies. Needless to say the real men missed the shuttle to the hotel.

I suspect the guided tour of Stockholm that was initially planned for the following morning did not happen because of those now infamous free drinks. Instead we gathered around an epic breakfast for a media meeting and a wealth of good old days anecdotes.