IMYTA 2006 - 06/06/16

Be-mag: First question which is surely the most interesting for anyone interested in the IMYTA. When and where will it happen?

Gijs Piss: IMYTA, or IMYTA+ as it is called from now on, will happen Spetmeber 22nd, 23rd and 24th in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and NOT, unfortunately, in Barcelona, Spain as we had originally intended. There is a good reason for the change of plans though.

How was the planning this year?

Well after IMYTA: the Festival last year in Amsterdam I got really busy on some other stuff and it wasn't until winter ISPO when I ran in to Jon and Zeke that we really set down and talked about things. I had been shooting at some ideas for a Barcelona IMYTA with Chucky from the Spanish X battle, and Jon and Zeke were all for the move to this great city too. So from there on we set off trying to realise that. Not much later, at WinterClash we had another, supplementing idea for IMYTA: we should make it a "pinnacle event", an event that towers above the rest of the events out there in terms of reputation. This is the IMYTA+ concept.

So after WinterClash we had a clear idea of what we wanted for 2006. Since then a lot of stuff happened. We developed a plan for the festival going from two days to three(we are including the Friday night now) and we went looking for some government backing: I got a hot tip from someone that I might be able to get some EU grant money for the IMYTA+ concept. I applied for this grant and just two weeks ago, it was granted, but unfortunately it was only granted for an IMYTA+ in Amsterdam. This, and the sketchy situation of skating in Barcelona right now, with it being semi-illegal, is why the plan was changed, and we are staying in Amsterdam at least for 2006. We had been waiting for the outcome of the grant application before we went public with IMYTA+. Well, we got the green and this is the first step in the publication process: with big thanks to Be-Mag!

Why isn't there an IMYTA in the USA anymore?

Lawsuits, insurance, profitability of the event: business reasons which all suck, but are real as what... Can't be helped I am afraid.

What did you think about the IMYTA last year?

We did the festival thing and since that was a huge experiment, going from a one day simple streetcomp thing to a full on two day produced event with relatively little to no budget I was pretty happy with the outcome. The skating was amazing two days in a row and some cool shit went down, like the Last Man Standing competition in the bowl, the BBQ and stuff like that. The injury of Jojo sucked though, and I wasn't too happy with the actual IMYTA comp itself: the spots are definitely spent: we need new ones. The concept needs a boost. But IMYTA+ should be that boost.

What are your plans for the next year?

Okay, so you hear me talk about IMYTA+ but I think no one even knows what the hell that is. Basically, this is the concept: IMYTA will no longer be an open competition. In order to skate IMYTA you have to qualify. We have contacted a huge number of existing grass roots real street skate events, I think 21 in all, all throughout Europe. The winners of these events qualify for IMYTA+. Anyone can qualify anywhere. If a Russian wins for instance at the Swiss partner event, he qualifies. If the winner of a comp somewhere has already qualified somewhere else, the runner up, second place gets the spot. If he is also already qualified, it goes to number three, and so on. Addionally there will be a number of wild cards and the day before IMYTA+ actually goes down, so during the festival, on Saturday 23rd of September, there will be a TRUTH: real street comp in which skaters that are still looking for a spot can qualify as well. In all only thirty really, really good skaters will skate the IMYTA+. This, in combination with the new spots and some other surprises should make this competition insane. IMYTA is no longer a stand alone competition: it is part of a circuit now, and it has the whole festival around it. It has become more than IMYTA, which is why we decided to change the name a little: IMYTA+



Are there any plans to have several IMYTA's again?

Dreams yes, plans, not as such.We created the festival concept to make up for the fact it is now a once a year thing. I am guessing it will stay that way for a while.

What is different to the format last year, this year?

It's IMYTA+ man! It will be crazy! Only the best compete!

Will this year's IMYTA work again as festival format?

Totally man, and it already starts on the Friday evening so you better try and get that day off too.yes there will be drinking, yes there will be parties and yes there will be insanity.



Can you already tell us some of the surprises you will have for us this year?

Well with the EU grant we have some more money to burn so a bigger prize pot is definitely happening. With fewer skaters actually competing we can start treating these athletes in the fashion they deserve, so they can expect a nice VIP treatment before and during and after the comp. Last Man Standing is definitely coming back! Music is gonna play an important role in the festival, as are other cultural aspects of skating. The comp itself will have new spots, and some other crazyness that I am not gonna talk about, you will just have to come to Amsterdam to find out.

Who will be coming to this year's IMYTA?

Whoever qualifies and whoever we wanna give a wildcard. No names yet, except for the skaters that have already qualified in partner events that have already happened. Cuz we took so long to go public some dudes are already qualified. Anyone that wants to apply for a wildcard should get a hold of me. But you had better bring a reputation heavy enough to back your claim to a spot!

Which IMYTA was your personal favourite over the years?

Hard to say. Paris I, the one Shima won maybe because the skating was so epic, San Diego/So Cal 'cuz I was there and my hero Josh Petty won, and besides it was my first trip to the US so just actually being there made it a crazy experience. Or the first one in Amsterdam one cuz it was all so fresh and new for everyone, and everyone was so stoked to have this event in their home town. No matter how hard we try to innovate the event, you can't beat that first time. Inevitably, people will start to take things for granted you know?

What is your role in the planning of the IMYTA?

Well I own and run a small time events & marketing agency in Holland and as such I am good at creating concepts and producing them, including events. When shit hit the fan for IMYTA three years ago in the US an e-mail came from the Divinity looking for someone who could do a legal IMYTA in their city outside of the USA. I was doing the TRUTH: real street comp at the time and kinda knew I could do it. As I was making some nice money with my company but had time to spare I figured why the hell not, it's easy and I can just squeeze in the production next to my other, "real"stuff, you know, jobs that actually pay. When it turned out to be such a cool event to do and seemingly such an important event for skating I guess I just kinda got hooked on it and since Jon and Zeke really appreciated what I was doing with it I kinda took over a lot of the behind-the-scenes organising of it. So now, in 2006 I am in charge of most of the production and acquisition. Which remids me: there are still sponsorship positions open for IMYTA+ so if you own a company and want to make an EU-subsidised promotional killing come at me too! What else do I do... I got us the grant... But I am by no means on my own. Antonio Bisignano, aka Bisi, THE man for rolling in Italy and Carlos Palenciano Mr X battle are my two invaluable partners in making things happen, and I could not do without them at all! And beyond, that really nothing happens without running it by Jon Julio first. At the end of the day, I still very much consider Jon in charge of what happens to his brainchild. I am just here to help it along.

Photos: Mike Bayr

First: Gijs Piss
Second: Jon, Oli and Azikiwee
Third: Some dutch party boys
Fourth: Mr Short

Tags: amsterdam azikiwee anderson gijs peetsold gijs piss imyta jon julio