Words: Letícia Nogueira

Photos: Raisa Abal, Norma Ibarra

Chapter 1: A New Love Affair

On the road again: dirty, tired, half-asleep. A chilly northern breeze blows through my hair as we cycle across town from spot to spot. The city invites us in, with its smooth roads and relaxed atmosphere; an easy ride into the best week of the year. If riding a bike is the best way to discover and fall in love with a city, then this week I have a new love affair, and my new lover is Copenhagen.

We’re here for the 18th edition of CPH Open, a European skate event that brings together international pro stars and crusty skate rats all in one place. Thanks to Nike SB, we all get to meet in this gem of a town and celebrate skateboarding together, like a religious ceremony for our cult of freaks. CPH Open has inspired skate events all around Europe, but its essence is inimitable. There’s a feeling of excitement in the air. Days are so full and intense, they feel like weeks. There’s always a friend around the corner, new or old.

The Copenhagen skate community is always warm and welcoming, and, should I add, so creative and community-driven! They’re infinite as well - there’s always someone new to be introduced to - but my favorite moments might just be the deep catch-ups by the sea, those calm moments after a whole day out skating, when the city lights are on, the swans come swimming by the shore and I’m engulfed in a conversation with a lifelong friend.

It's not only familiar faces you get to see - the lure of this event is that you also get to meet, greet and watch the skaters you looked up to as a kid shred side by side with the ones you look up to now. Whether they’ve paved the way and left a mark on skateboarding or they’re the new blood pushing the limits - old legends or rising stars - you get it all here. 

Of course, I’m not going to ask you to just take my word for it; we brought Letícia Bufoni along to tell you all about her own experience of CPH Open - which I guess proves a point: suddenly I’m sitting at a coffee table, having a conversation with her, and teenage me is jumping up and down in excitement. I’ve watched her skate since the times when she was only one of the few girls ripping, but here we are now, sitting face-to-face and talking about skateboarding, surrounded by loads of other non-traditional skaters, at an edition of CPH Open which claims and aims to be the most inclusive to date. Everything seems to be just right.

CPH Open through the eyes of…

Letícia Bufoni

Yes, Letícia!! How are you today? How does it feel to be here?

I’m so happy to be here! This place makes me connect to skateboarding again, I love it.

It’s not your first time in CPH Open, right? How many times have you been here before?

It’s my third time here and it’s so good. My first time was in 2017, I came with Felipe Gustavo. He kept inviting me to come with him, he always had good things to say about the event. I came to keep him company once, and absolutely loved it. I thought it was incredible. My favorite part about it is that you can hang out with everyone. Everybody’s hanging around together, riding bikes everywhere together…

So you ride your bike everywhere too?

Yes, riding my bike everywhere, with my skateboard on my back! You don’t have to have a car here to go anywhere. And every plaza you go past, you see someone skate. For example, you’re just passing by, but suddenly you see Brian Anderson skating a spot… Then on the next one, you see Paul Rodriguez, on the next one Tiago Lemos. It’s super cool to go to all these different places and see these people that you normally don’t get to see.

Sky Brown taking flight at the vert demo alongside legends of all ages.

Who are you excited to see and hang out with?

I’m super happy to see Rayssa Leal and Sky Brown here, because, for them, it’s their first time at an event like this. The past years when I was here, especially my first time, there weren’t many girls around, and for this new generation, who started skating in an era of competitions, Street League, X Games and Olympics, it’s cool for them to be able to come here and see what skateboarding really is all about. Because that’s what skateboarding is for me: getting to hang out with your friends, traveling to different places, without that pressure from competitions, like, you need to win, TV, and so on. This is a more relaxed event; this is real skateboarding.

“This is real skateboarding.”

How would you describe the European vibe?

It’s a super relaxed vibe, and super crazy! Everybody’s always chilling, cycling around and skating, or having a drink on a terrace. It feels like everybody’s on holiday here because they’re so laid back!

What’s your favorite thing about being here?

Being able to see everybody here. It’s normally so difficult to see everyone, but you come out here, and you can finally hang out with people you haven’t seen in ages. For example, I’m sharing a room with Rayssa and in the morning I go to the gym with P-Rod… Our schedule is often so chaotic, but I’m happy we get to meet here.

Why would you say CPH Open is different from other skate contests?

Because it’s not a contest! It’s a place where you get to see everybody, all these people you haven’t seen in ages, all those pro skaters you never get to see - here, you get to hang out with them, go from spot to spot with them. There’s no separation at all, we’re all here together, having fun. You can meet your idols, those people you grew up looking up to - you get to shake their hands here.

This year Nike SB are aiming for the most inclusive CPH Open so far. You’ve been around for quite some time, how do you think you’ve seen the skate world change when it comes to that?

I think it’s amazing they tried to bring more women out this year and include them. Great to see that the brands made an effort to bring women out. Nike SB brought their whole team out, and I saw other brands did the same. It was great to be there for the launch of Hayley Wilson’s new Dunk. So it’s great to see that this is not just for men anymore - it’s for anyone and everyone, for all different kinds of people.

Thank you so much, Letícia, that was fun! Now to wrap it up, can you describe CPH Open in 3 words?

Friendship, skatecore and fun!

Chapter 2: McTwists and Aperol Spritz

And as for me, if anyone asked, I was excited to see Yurin Fujii skate. Watching her shred the vert ramp at Fælledparken and Hullet DIY along with many other skate legends was epic. It’s not every day you get to see a bunch of legends having a sesh right in front of you, going high and fast, demonstrating the awe-strucking possibilities of skateboarding we mere mortals can’t even fathom. Everyone’s fired up, swinging beers and Aperol Spritz in the air.

Yurin’s style is mean and impressive. She rips hard and fast and is not afraid to take a slam. Watching that kind of skating live makes me excited for today’s skateboarding and eager for what’s to come next. The new blood is here to take over and take on the torch of gnarly skateboarding. When she was done flying through the air and spinning around doing mctwists, we got to sit down for a short catch-up about what it means for her to be here too. 

CPH Open through the eyes of…

Yurin Fujii

How is it going, Yurin? How’s Copenhagen treating you so far?

So good! This is such an amazing event, I’m stoked. I love Copenhagen.

Have you been here before?

Yeah, it’s my second time here. 

How do you feel about the people and the atmosphere of CPH Open?

The community here feels really close together. The vibes are so good and everyone is so kind. It’s really special for me.

I’ve seen you ride the bike everywhere too.

Oh, I’m so tired! (laughs)

And you shredded the vert yesterday together with other gnarly skaters. Who were you most stoked to skate with?

Everyone! Super stoked to meet some people for the first time there. So many friends and legends. I had a great time.

“Everyone is so kind.”

 

So, I take it you’re having fun?

So much fun! I love traveling around and coming to skate events like this. I wish this kind of thing happened everywhere in the world. If it does, and wherever it does happen, then that’s where I want to be.

Finally, what’s your one favorite thing about CPH Open?

The people, definitely!

Chapter 3: Emotional Hangover

Skating with legends. Seeing people you last saw ten years ago. Catching up with friends from the other side of the world. Bike rides through town. Saying goodbye. Until next year! It’s been a while now since CPH Open’s a yearly ritual for us, crashing couches and getting shown around in Christiania cargo bikes - too many special friends and memories not to come back.

Cold dips in the sea. Swans by the shore. Emotional hangover. Dirty, tired, half-asleep. You haven’t left yet, but you already miss it all. Isn’t that a sign of a great trip? There’s always next year; luckily, we have all these memories to dwell on in the meantime.

Yurin and Letícia are right, places are often all about the people and perhaps for that reason Copenhagen is a great city and CPH Open a great skate event. It’s more than just an event, really, more than a contest for the best of the best... It's a gathering of souls, after all, a celebration of skateboarding where the good times are guaranteed; a must for every skate fanatic and a memorable experience with a feeling of togetherness that will have you running back to Copenhagen every year for more.