Werner Herzog is a pillar of cinema—a pioneer known for his prolific output, quick wit, and uncommon approach to film. He’s a guy who brings a true sense of uniqueness to an industry increasingly overrun with superheroes. But what does he have to do with skateboarding?
Technically speaking, nothing. Werner has no background in skating. But I believe he is one of us.
This suspicion started a couple of years ago when I stumbled upon Werner Herzog – A Guide for the Perplexed. Not knowing much about him I skimmed the back cover, which eerily read like a skater’s manifesto. Werner preaches maxims like getting the shot by any means necessary, carrying bolt cutters everywhere, and thwarting institutional cowardice with guerrilla tactics. His film school teaches lock picking, forgery, and his entire career has been built on a DIY approach to life, his craft banged into existence through decades of trial and failure.
Because Werner’s approach to life and filmmaking mirrors the ethos of skating in so many ways, I decided to track him down to chat about the similarities and differences between our two worlds.
Related Posts
-
INSIDE THE MIND OF SKATE VIDEOGRAPHER JOEY SINKO
His work pays homage to early '00s skateboarding while also taking cues from Les Blank, Stanley Kubrick and other titans of cinema.
-
THE EVOLUTION OF… THE NYC COURTHOUSE DROP
Tour the iconic spot with two of NYC's most highly-accredited skate historians.
-
EXPLORING WALL STREET WITH VITORIA MENDONÇA
Vitoria is a kind soul with a powerful style, which goes a lot further than you would think when it comes to moving up in the industry.
-
A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO TREAT YOUR FILMERS WELL
"Be fuckin' patient," "bless that motherfucker," and other pointers on proper skater-filmer etiquette.
-
A SHORT INTERVIEW WITH A SKATEBOARDING MAGICIAN
"Every skateboarder is a magician in a sense. The kickflip was originally called a magic flip."
-
A SKATE TOUR OF HELSINKI WITH EETU AND JAAKKO
The boys pull off an impromptu demo across the city that would shit on every guided tour your grandparents went on after retirement.
-
WATCH JOSH KALIS REFILM HIS ICONIC 360 FLIP AT LOVE 20 YEARS LATER
Brian Panebianco documented Josh Kalis as he redid his 360 flip over a trash can.
-
A QUICK CHAT WITH GRANT AND TREVOR ABOUT WKND’S NEWEST VIDEO “STREET FIGHTERS 2”
The team manages to grow but still maintains that authentic family vibe.
Comments
Popular
-
MY EXPERIENCES IN SKATEBOARDING
"I've been terrified of garnering the reputation of 'ramp-tramp' or 'pro-ho' just from spending time with skaters."
-
WHAT WOULD MAKE SKATERS DITCH THE BIG SHOE BRANDS?
We asked younger skaters how small shoe brands could win back their business from the big budget behemoths.
-
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH ILLEGAL CIV?
The Illegal Civ stuff feels like an ongoing soap opera, so to air out any confusion we talked to a few key characters.
-
8 ARTISTS REIMAGINE THE INDEPENDENT LOGO
What would an Independent rebrand even look like?
-
A SERIOUS REVIEW OF MARK SUCIU’S SERIOUS “VERSO”
Verso asks that we pay it a kind of attention many of us automatically do not. Knowing this, we choose to either look more closely or let it pass before our eyes the way the rest of skating does.
January 25, 2021 3:39 pm
Herzog Town and Z-Boys
January 25, 2021 3:50 pm
Blown away that you all made this happen. Werner is a “legend” in the true sense of the word.
January 25, 2021 3:52 pm
Wow – the crossover we never knew we needed. I find him really inspirational. That book looks great. I loved his musings on skateboarding from an outsider, and from someone with such an amazing approach to life and creating.
Thank you, Jenkem!
January 25, 2021 4:48 pm
best thing you’ve done — more film content plz