This video is a collaboration between the Dutch @rollende_minas and @consent_is_rad and features 30 International skaters who came together to film and talk about consent culture in skateboarding.
Filming and editing Lea & Locke
Song by Periot
Words by Louise Lennips
“Did you get any sleep at all?” I asked one of the makers of this film project, Simone Bauhuis from Rollende Mina’s. “Barely”, she answered . “It was such a nice chaos”, reflecting back on the idea and execution of this project. It all started just four weeks before they came to shoot it. The idea behind the movie was received with great enthusiasm, so much so that people jumped in to help right away.
The film itself was shot in a three day period, during the Easter weekend. At that time of year when every thing starts to bloom. So blossoming it was, and “Blossom; growing a healthy skate-scene” it became.
The idea of shooting and creating this beautiful film came from Simone, who wanted to shine light on the international project Consent is Rad. This project got launched at the Pushing Boarders Conference in Sweden in 2019. “Consent is Rad works hard towards a skate-scene in which consent in all it shapes and forms in the norm” Simone added. The project simply started on Instagram, with an open invitation to participate sent out to all the European women/girl or queer skate-collectives that the Rollende Mina’s could find. The participating skateboarders came from Great Britain, Switzerland and Germany to the Netherlands to skate and show up for a skate-scene in which consent culture is thriving.
“The project became such a collective effort. Everyone put so much love into it. It was absolutely amazing to see that many people wanted to share this message. The video radiates of joy for skating on every level, besides showing the joyful resistance and community building within the scene. I couldn’t be happier with it” Simone says.
Creating a safe environment is almost like a life goal for Simone and her team. “It just brings me so much joy to see people who don’t know each other come together and bond over their love of skateboarding. We even got photos send to us from the skaters who met each other during the filming weekend and became good friends. Isn’t that amazing?” Simone said.
And they nailed it! On September 14th, their film ‘Blossom’ premiered in the arthouse cinema Lux, in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. Like skaters do, they can’t have an event without a good skate session. So, they managed to set up a nice little ramp inside the cinema for everyone to shred. That’s the most beautiful thing, sharing a passion. And so is consent. Go see it, and go practice it.
Skate collectives featured: Vum, Skate Hoes (Münich), Boobie Brettler (Innsbruck), New Wave Skate (Amsterdam/Rotterdam), BX’elles (Brussels), Dorks on Decks (Amsterdam).
