Born of the belief that skateboarding can do better, be better, Boys Club is the brainchild of Nils Lilja, a man with a beautiful name and a beautiful idea. We spoke to Nils about Boys Club, a short video project which has snowballed into a drive towards creative gender-diverse content for the people of skateboarding. But how about that guy’s name though?!
When did you get into skateboarding, Nils?
Around the year 2000. I wanted a snowboard for Christmas actually, but there are no mountains in the south of Sweden where I lived so my parents decided to give me a skateboard instead.
You got lucky! How do you think your journey differed from others’? In other words, why was it you who created the Boys Club film?
I don’t think my journey differs that much from other skaters’ journeys. I’m a straight white guy, raised in a middle-class suburban family. I’ve always been a part of a male dominated context. Whether it’s sport, music, skateboarding. Macho and conventional masculine ideals are promoted and highly regarded in all these activities. I tried to fit in, but I never felt comfortable.
So what happened?
I started studying and met new people. It challenged my way of thinking about most things. I Started thinking about how privileged I am. I started questioning skateboard culture, what I loved about it and what I didn’t. I realised that skateboarding is a pretty tolerant culture when it comes to race and class, but not so much when it comes to gender and sexuality.
Okay sure, but many people realise this. Few people go ahead do anything, right?
I thought maybe it’s time for us guys, the majority group, to take a look at ourselves. I can’t speak for the women or the LGBTQ community, but I can talk to my own group. That’s why this project focuses on our behaviour, the normative group, the Boys Club. I guess people hesitate doing something because it feels too big or too difficult to change. But I thought I could start talking to people in my regional skate scene and I knew at least my friends would listen.
The bottom-up approach!
Yeah, there are many examples of people having a great impact on their regional skate scenes. From skaters building DIY-spots, to starting their own companies or exploring new styles in graphic and fashion design. Some projects even gain international attention. I tried to continue in that tradition.
Well it’s beautiful! How was it received initially?
When I first put the video up in 2015, I contacted some of the established skate sites, asking if they would like to publish it. Only one got back to me. They said they liked the video but didn’t want to publish it because it was a bit too controversial or something like that. I think that says a lot. We’re so used to praising skateboard culture but we get really uncomfortable when someone is criticising it. Fortunately people started sharing the video on social media and it spread from there. It’s pretty cool that while most established skate media wasn’t interested, many skaters were.
“I still hear from skaters saying that the video sparked conversations and made them think twice. I also know of skaters who works as teachers that are using Boys Club as an education tool, when lecturing on norms and gender roles.”
Are you expecting Boys Club to grow into something more? Where would you like to see it go?
All in all I think the project is still alive. I’ve been in talks with a non-profit skate organisation about doing a follow up. They were ready to go but I didn’t have the time to do it. Hopefully we can pick it up in the future. However I’m currently working on another skate related project. I’m doing the design and communication for an exhibition about skateboarding that will tour around Sweden next year. This project is not linked to Boys Club but it’s building on the same values.
Can you tell us a bit more about that exhibition?
Yeah so it’s a pop-up exhibition about skateboarding that will tour around Sweden in two cargo containers next summer. The whole project is initiated and run by the Regional Museum of Kristianstad, but the content is created by skateboarders. The exhibition will not be about the history of skateboarding, it focuses more on what it means to be a skateboarder in Sweden today.
Skateboarders like whom?
My friend Tom Botwid, who also runs Poetic Collective, is working with students at Bryggeriet, the skateboard high school in Malmö, to create content through different workshops. The local skate organisations in each city that the exhibition will visit are also creating content. Then I’m the designer, so I’m producing both the graphic identity and all the applications to go with it, as well as the physical exhibition. Sarah Meurle is shooting some of the photos. There are lots of other great people involved too.
What are some of the most inspirational things in skateboarding for you today? Some name drops, if you can!
I’m super stoked on some of the girls that are coming up. Like Savannah Stacey Keenan. She’s got the tricks and the style! Also Johanna Juzelius from Gothenburg, she skates really well and she loves Black Metal or maybe it’s Death Metal, I don’t know the difference. She can growl too!
Do you think skateboarding’s macho standard is doomed? or do we still have a long fight to go?
There’s still a long way to go, but there’s been a lot of positive changes in the past few years. And I do think we are at the beginning of something new. It’s an exciting time for skateboarding!
Thanks Nils. See you in Sweden!
