I love you, man!
Introduction by Eugen Enin
Interview by Thijs Tel
Photography by Eugen Enin, Oleg Bartel, Dominic Swagemakers, Jo Zenk and Olfert Poelen
Can you tell us something about who you are and where you are from?
Hey, I’m Jan Ebbert, 19 years old and I live in Raesfeld, a very small town in the west of germany near the Ruhr area.
What was your first encounter with inline skating, how did it all start for you?
I had my first encounter with inline skating in a little skatepark when I was 14 years old. I immediately tried to do grinds and airs with my fitness skates. After some time I heard from a skateboarder (now my best friend) that there is a small inline-skate scene in Borken and so everything started. I got my first pair of real skates and got to know a lot of friends and inline skaters (Borken!). I started to push my level of skating as often I could and had a great time at the skatepark.
Who are the skaters who influenced you and your skating the most?
I guess Eugen Enin had the biggest influence on me. Not stylewise, but on my thinking why I skate and what skating means to me. In my opinion, you have to point out that you only skate for your own sake, to beat and challenge yourself. With recognizing that, the style comes on its own. And of course there are skaters like nearly the whole Rollerblade Team, Josiah Blee or Alex Broskow who I admire.
Last week you competed at the Winterclash and ended in 2nd place, how was the Winterclash experience for you?
It was a really nice weekend in Eindhoven and the Winterclash was mindblowing like every year! I came with a lot of friends and my girlfriend so we had a great time, a lot of fun and met cool people. I never expected to end up in 2nd place. I am really proud about this! It was an awesome competition and nice to skate with so many cool people.
What plans do you have for the coming years, skate-wise?
One of my biggest plans in this year is to make a skate tour through the netherlands with my crew! I’ve never been on such a tour before. Another plan, or better wish, is to push my level of skating to the limit in the coming years but it’s more important to get to as many places as possible in the world with good weather and nice spots to skate! It’s also very important to meet people from whom I can learn and have a good time with. I also want to make more videos and go to many events.
Do you have any favourite places or cities to skate?
Mmh.. my homepark is one of my favorite places, not relating to the obstacles, but the cool people to spend time with. My all-time favorite place to skate is the streets. We have some nice and hard spots here in our area, but I would say, now my favorite place to skate is in the streets of the netherlands because of the nice spots, chilled cities and chilled people!
Are there any places you haven’t skated yet, but definitely want to skate?
I don’t know, there are so many nice places and I only need sun to be happy. Barca of course, or Australia!
Eugen Enin is one of your best friends, can you tell us something about your friendship?
Well, Eugen is not only one of my best friends since I started skating, he is also a big role model for me. He has that much ambition everyone should have in skating and also in his life.. I learned a lot from him! The crew we have (“MFcC!”) with more buddies out of Borken brings us closer together too. We push each other to the limits and have a good and really fun time together.
Besides skating, are you working, studying, doing something else?
Besides skating I try to do a lot of sports, spend time with my friends and a lot of time with my girlfriend. Right now I’m doing my A level at school.. After that I`ll go studying I think.
Do you have anything else to share with our readers?
Emh.. I want to thank everyone who supported me in skating and my life, my friends, Rollerblade, my girlfriend and my mom although she is still very anxious of me when I go skating. Thanks for the interview! MFcC ahu! Bye!
