Filip Almqvist Interview

Photos by Zander Taketomo. Interview by Jawn Doe.

What have you been up to today?

Summer’s finally here in Scandinavia, it takes a little while for it to arrive. I’ve just been outside being in the sun, skating, swimming in the ocean.

Did you skate today?

Yeah I’m actually at the skatepark right now, at this concrete park, but it’s mostly transition here so it’s kind of hard to skate. There’s some ledges and some flat rails so it’s fine.

What’s up with that plaza you always skate in Malmo?

Oh, that’s the baby right there. That’s what we’re talking about. That’s the mushroom. The ledges are actually put there for skateboarding. There’s a guy that worked for Malmo municipality and he pitched the idea when they built the new area like “how about we put some skate obstacles there so skateboarders can be there and it’s a place where something is happening and not just drunk people.” It’s there for skating and I love it.

How often do you go there?

Too often. As much as I can. It’s perfect. It’s like that place when you don’t want to skate one day but then someone says “but let’s go to the mushroom and do some backlips!” And you’re like “Ahhh, let’s go.”

What’s another one of your favorite skate plazas?

There’s a lot of them. It sounds cliche but I do like MACBA. The ledges are destroyed grind-wise but it’s like the best flat in the world and it’s so fun to be there you don’t even have to skate. You just sit there, open a can of beer and just watch people. They’re not the best ledges but the atmosphere is just so funny.

How did you start getting hooked up with skating?

It started in my little hometown outside of Malmo. There were only like three people skating in that town. They were all brothers and I was in the same class as the youngest one. One day I went over to his house and his brothers were skating outside and I was like oh this is something new. I tried it, got hooked on it, and started skating. The first time I got sponsored was here in Malmo in a competition, I was like 14. I did really bad, to be honest like fifteenth place or something really shitty. But there was this one Swedish guy that came up to me when I was standing in the line to get a coke and he just tapped me on the shoulder like “Hey my name is Christina and I really like the way you skate. I got this brand called Riverfarm I want to flow you. You can buy boards from me cheap.” My dad was there and he came in like “Hey you’re talking to my son what’s this about, what’s the deal?” But that’s where it started.

You’re on WKND now? How did that happen?

Grant and all the WKND dudes were in Malmo one summer and Karsten Kleppen, the Norweigian skater, he called me and asked if I wanted to show them around and I was down. I met all of them and it just happened naturally.

What’s the oldest clip or photo you have of yourself skating?

One of the brothers that skated when I started skating had a camera and we filmed some little parts when we were kids. It’s on YouTube actually. I think I’m 12.

If you had to get another pet besides a cat what would you get?

I want to say a tiger but that’s impossible. I think it’d have to be a dog. But I like felines. I want a lynx, I want a tiger, I want them all. I’m the cat man from Netflix.

What have you been up to besides skating?

I’ve been working a bit at my old job. I work at a hardware store, you can buy power tools and all that shit. So I been working there in the warehouse just packing orders, packing shelves, being blue-collar as hell. Smoking ciggies driving the forklift. It’s good to do something otherwise I’d just be at home playing video games, getting fat or something.

Any trips coming up?

I filmed a lot with Mulhern from before the pandemic so there’s something coming out soon for Adidas. I don’t know when.

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