I met Korneel Cools, almost two years ago in Sydney, Australia while I was trying to 'find myself' solo travelling in my gap year. As soon as I arrived in Sydney (my first destination) I met Korneel, a mad extreme sports enthusiast hailing from Bruges, Belgium.
He toured around Australia and New Zealand in spring 2008 skating and surfing at all the hotspots. I photographed much of his skating around Sydney like the keeno I am. We also decided to take a spontaneous flight to Melbourne and hit up all the parks there, although it rained heavily for the 2 out of 3 days we were there...Australia, Sunny? Oh yeah shit that’s right, British Spring = Australian Winter...
Two years on, I’m at uni (well, some of the time) and he’s studying to be a teacher while tearing up the concrete jungle. He's set up GAStation Series, an online skateboarding video series with semi-pro skater Willem Vleugels. The series follows the 'GAStation Pirates' a skate crew made up of 13 guys and a heavy female skater Evelien Bouilliart. Each pirate has a different style and ethos to skating as well as unique perspectives on filming footage, which can be seen from their respective camera play. Most of the pirates come from Korneels' home of Belgium.
The quality and professionalism of the filming and direction of the episodes looks like it’s come straight out of MTV or Extreme TV. There are 10 jaw dropping episodes so far, bringing a dizzying mix of moves and tricks. This is blended with a soundtrack mixed with psychedelic, hip-hop and rock music to compliment their easy going philosophy reminiscent of the Z-Boys skateboarding group of the 1970', but they all share a passion for creative expression through extreme sports. Join them on their journeys from spots all over Europe including the Netherlands and a trip to Barcelona.
You can find all this on their website http://www.gastationseries.com
This series is a must see for any extreme sports enthusiast (and even if you’re not – just watch it anyway!)
Being Ill Isnt Sick