Meet Will

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How to become a skatepark designer

There are several and different ways to become a world class skatepark designer and constructor. Being born in the promised birth land of skateboarding could be an advantage. Also building DIY ramps in backyards and hanging out with skateboard pros in the 80’s also looks good on the CV.

Usually it’s not the best idea to try to climb the stage when Pantera is playing. You might get busted and beaten up, eyes maced and body bruised. Then in the middle of the hullabaloo, you might even accidentally punch a cop, and will have to slightly adjust your plans concerning further military training in US Airborne School…

But what if you knew a that a certain series of events and turns in life eventually would lead to travels around the world to design and build skateparks, then maybe you still would consider some twists to get there?

And yes, of course you have to be a skater to build a skatepark. Like Will Taylor.

Instagram: alchemistwillie
World Wide Web: Bryggeriet Bygg, Malmö

 

Alexandra Edebo

Meet Alex

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Alexandra Edebo

Short story: Alexandra Edebo, also known as the Swedish Viking Princess, is an energetic skier from Stockholm, now based in the snowy mountains of Åre. Competing professionally in skicross on World cup level and is also the 2018 European Cup overall champion.

Happy, ambitious and goal-oriented and always stoked to take on new challenges and to try out new things. Skiing, travel and adventure are great passions in life.

 

 

 

Meet Inge

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Inge from Sweden

Short story: From the nightlife Tijuana streets to a naked prison cell in that same city in just minutes. There, in that damp accomodation Inge from Sweden, met a retired Luchador known by the locals as Señor Habanero. As a friendly gesture from a worn out wrestler, Inge was then given the Holy grail of chili salsa recepies. Subsequent to the Tijuana incident Inge returned to Sweden to create the Señor Habanero brand to pay homage to his former cellmate.

When making his salsa, Inge puts his own touch to it by adding texture, and combining flavours from local ingredients. To stir things up a bit further, every product that ends up in a jar is cooked with certain music preferences in mind. The green salsa Cocodrillo for instance: Best to be enjoyed to 60’s Cambodian soul music. Or Mambo music. And if you take Inge’s advice and put on some turkish psych-music from the 70’s when using his hot-as-hell Salsa Bizarro, then your’re in for a treat.

Oookay buddy boy, I think we will stop it right there…

Get psyched by the hot-as-hell Salsa Bizarro list on Spotify:

THE GROUNDSTONE GUIDE TO OUR SHOE CONSTRUCTIONS

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GOODYEAR WELTED CONSTRUCTION

The gold standard of shoe construction. Charles Goodyear Jr, patented his Goodyear Welt sewing machine in the late 1800s, a machine that could stitch together the welt, upper, and soles, without the time consuming hand-technique. Still, the procedure demands around 200 operations to produce a pair of shoes. In a world of throwaway fashion, a pair of Goodyear welted shoes is a good way to contribute to sustainabilty.
The pros: The shoes are quite easy to resole. Removing the old sole and attaching a new one can be done by machine or by hand and without a specific machine. The extra layers inside make the shoe relatively water resistant and supportive.
The cons: The price of course. The goodyear welted shoe is more expensive because of the extra materials and the numerous steps of manufacturing the shoe. But will on the other hand last longer than most.

 

THE BLAKE STITCH

A traditional method of construction, conceived by Lyman Reed Blake in 1856 to make factory production easier.

The pros: Less layers of material makes a lighter construction than the Goodyear Welt. The Blake also allows for resoling when the outsole is worn. Due to less material the shoes are light and flexible and will be worn in, in a relatively short period of time.
The cons: Fewer layers of material can make the shoe less water resistant.

 

CEMENTING

The most echonomic, fastest and common method of attaching the sole of a shoe. The sole is
attached with an adhesive and no welting is used.

The pros: Superior method for shoes with a rubber sole.
The cons: If sole separates from the upper the shoes it can be harder to, if even possible, to repair the shoe.

Meet Naz

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Naz, the Barber

Short story: ”London’s lost it’s soul” says Naz, about his hometown. That’s where he was born and raised. It used to be a nice place… Lots of music going on, and you still could live there for descent money. Now  London is full of Hipster bullshit where people trying to be cool and pretend they don’t care about anything but it’s really the opposite.” In London Naz worked at the fancy Taylor of Old Bond Street, which have been in business since 1854. A place where old rich guys would get a classic haircut and a manicure simultaneously. That wasn’t for Naz so instead he moved to Sweden together with his swedish girlfriend to live in Gothenburg. Every other week he goes to Stockholm too. To cut some hair and have some beer. Living the barber life.

Photos by talented Amilcar Garcia Lopez
instagram.com/amilcarfotos/

Meet Björn

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The man – the myth – the musher

Short story: I was born and raised in an advertising firm in Stockholm and I gave a large chunk of my life to creative office work in the wine industry. But my pastime always revolved around the great outdoors and I had a constant yearning for the mountains and wilderness. One day I decided to let my old life go. I walked away from the business, the lakeside apartment, the dog and the girlfriend never to look back. Today I live as a musher and mountain bike guide, leading groups in the high-lands of northwestern Dalarna, Sweden and the mountains of Sogndal.

I live for sharing my passion for the elements. I want my guests to see what I see and having them take a break from their augmented reality, be it on the back of a dogsled in the snow clad highlands or riding down a steep Norwegian singletrack. Today I live a rich life on small means surrounded by friends that share my passion and my life makes a lot more sense than it used to in the city.
The path I chose was neither unexplored by others nor is it something I can recommend others to pursue. But for me it was the responsible thing to do.

Björn Olsson, Musher and guide for Fjälläventyr in Sälen, Sweden

Meet Nathalie

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Simply one of the coolest food-cooking, music-loving, foul-mouthed woman ever walked a pair of boots. Say hello to Nathalie.

   

Thes boots are made for riding

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Once again the annual Catgut Run took place. The Catgut run is a 100 km motorcycle ride to the northernmost point in Denmark, the city of Skagen. No more purpose of the trip than hanging out with good friends, eating seafood and having a couple of Dansih beer. Probably the best beer in the world.

/Glendell

OUR WAY

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Our philosophy is to make things happen ourselves. We don’t have a fancy marketing agency to make up ideas or create stuff for us. We do it all. From designing the shoes to shooting the product photos and convincing retailers to buy our shoes 🙂

Shoe care

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Clean, Condition, Shine!

Take care of your Groundstone shoes once in a while, they’re worth it. Because if you do, they will age with grace and attitude!

1. Clean your shoes with leather cleaner to get the dirt off. If necessary, use saddle soap and water for a better cleaning. But be sure to rinse away all of the saddle soap otherwise it can damage the leather. Never use a detergent since it can destroy the natural oils.

2. Condition the leather to soften. While the leather is still slightly moist, apply a leather conditioner to replace the leather’s natural oils. Set your boots aside for 24 hours to dry. Stuff your boots with paper or even better, use shoe trees to maintain shape.

3. If you prefer your boots shiny, apply boot polish, paste or wax, and buff to a shine. Make sure the polish matches the shoes.