So…earlier this summer I had an intern.

Yes, I still laugh every time I tell this to people. But let’s rewind a bit. In late spring (2023) this young guy Alex contacted me via my Instagram account and asked if he could do his summer internship with me. He’s studying to become a carpenter currently. I was perplexed to say the least.

I asked him if he is aware that this is my hobby and that I am not running a full-time workshop, neither am I a trained wood worker. He said it was okay for him and as long as I had a registered business and he can build a project it would be okay for his teachers too.

So I didn’t hesitate long and said - of course, let’s do this!

Alex and I met up for coffee and to discuss a bit what his project plans were and to feel out the vibe a bit as well. Right from the beginning I knew this was going to be good. Alex is a skater, filmer, soon to be carpenter, but most of all (and crucial to me) - he “gets it”. When I say that phrase, I mean someone who didn’t fall on their head and knows what they want, what it means and how things connect. He is not just some student that saw others on the internet working with this cool colored plywood and wanted to hop on the hype train. No. He gets it. The significance of culture in skateboarding and why things matter to us plays a big role not only in skating itself, but also how we act as a part of it all.

This might sound a bit high minded but it has truth to it. To us these are not just nice looking materials. The brands, different shapes, color combinations, concaves, wheelbases and board graphics mean a lot if you understand why and how they were created and especially by whom.

To become a creator / woodworker or whatever you would want to call yourself, you do not need to know all of this. But it helps. I’m not trying to gatekeep skateboarding or woodworking (because the people who do that, suck). Anyone can become a part of this and they should always feel like they are welcome to do so. Sorry for the philosophy and rambling on :D

Let’s get to it. Alex wanted to build, or better said refurbish and upcycle his round dinner table with skateboard wood. I loved the idea. We decided to strip the original table of all (black) color to reveal a nice light colored wood. We then decided that doing a pattern on the table top would be the best thing to do. Many options and ideas later, we decided on a zig-zag / herring bone or whatever you want to call it - pattern.

We (mostly Alex) sanded down 12 decks, which we had carefully selected based on the colored plys. Some decks were his own or his friend’s old boards, the rest came out of my stash. After that we cut them into sections and stacked the parts we intended to use in a pattern that looked best (this process can take hours, same as grain orientation in massive wood). Then it was time for one big glue up, that left us with a log of roughly 55x21x11 cm. Jointing and planing this bad boy to one square block of skateboard wood was another challenge, but it came out great and we were ready to re-saw it into veneers. These veneers were then planed to thickness and cut into diamond shapes for the pattern we wanted to glue onto the table top.

We had calculated well enough and had just about the amount of little diamond tiles we needed to cover this 90cm diameter table. After the glue up, edge trimming, fist sanding, wood filler application and another round of sanding it was already looking good. Finishing touches like a nice round over profile and detail sanding let this table come to life. Finished off with several coats of Danish oil and wax to protect the surface and make the colors pop, the project had come to an end and we were both happy with the result.

His teacher agreed and his evaluation was great, Both from the teacher’s side and mine. My main takeaways from this summer are:

• Met a great and creative person and was even able to teach him a couple of new tricks

• Planned and executed a cool project we can both be proud of

• Learned again how skateboarding brings people together and that community and culture are the core of it

We stay in touch regularly and will definitely do some more projects in the future.

Thank you, Alex. I’m honored that you chose me and proud of you. Nothing but love!