Aleksandar Šijaković is a 24 year old Razors rider from Umag, Croatia, and has been living in Berlin for the past three years. His blading progressed exponentially in the past few years since his moving in Berlin, he placed in more than a few european competitions and he’s picked up a few sponsors on the way.
Words: Josip Jagić
Photos: Screenshots
So Alex, how did you end up in Berlin?
Hey Josip, thanks for the opportunity to talk to Be-Mag. I moved to Berlin with my grilfriend because I got a job offer. I had no time to think aobut it, it was a ‘take it or leave it’ situation so I took the chance and moved here. I’m very happy to have made this decision. My life changed in every segment, but my blading especially.
It was really hard at the beginning, meeting new friends, and people that skate in Berlin was superhard. I first met Dave Mutschall and Bjorn Michael Ziemann who helped me get aroud.
During the first few sessions, I felt really out of place, the language barrier was a big issue for me, so getting to know new people was a tough one. Luckily, things started moving forward soon. I started skating street with Dave on my every day off. Skating with a pro such as Dave really pushes you so I think it’s what made me a better skater, too. Thanks for everything, Dave!
How did you get into blading?
Well, that’s my bosses’ Sven Bursic’ fault He brought me into the game, I was always just hanging around the skatepark doing nothing and he showed me the way. After learning the basics, he started bringing me to contests with him. The first one I went to was in Milan, Italy, where I met Json and Gabriel Adriani. It really was a turning point for me as a kid, because I got second place in junior’s division and a pair of Rollerblade skates. I kind of knew I needed to keep pushing myself back then. Now I’m living the pro’s dream, travelling the world and rollerblading.
Are they your biggest influences?
Sven surely is, he taught me everything from the start and also my good friend Tin Hadziomerspahic. In Germany, it’s Dave Mutschall, Jo Zenk and Eugen Enin.
Can you compare a big scene like Germany and Berlin to Croatia?
You can’t really compare them, the talent pool in a big country like Germany is just naturally a lot larger. However, there are more then a few talented bladers in Croatia, starting with the brothers Tin and Sanjin Hadziomerspahic, Bogdan Kijanica, David Prajz, Sven Brusic, Alen Kovac, just to name a few. Still, it’s small.
So, who do you skate the most with in Berlin?
These days, it’s Thomas Friedrich, who skated a lot of street with me during last year. He’s always ready to go skate and film. He filmed like 80 percent of the clips in the video. I’m proud to have a friend like him. Thanks for everything, Thomas!
So, what’s next for you?
Honestly, blading with support from Razors and XWDskate is a dream come true. Thanks to Sunshine Distribution for the support, esp. the man himself Marco Giehm! Proud to be part of this amazing family! Thank you guys!
Blading really opened up a whole new world to me. I get to meet people from all over the world, travel and enjoy myself. Just make sure you don’t lose the passion and don’t get hurt.
I’d like to thank everybody involved in the project: Thomas Friedrich for filming and Jan Fehlmann for editing. I hope you’ll enjoy watching it.
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