Thrasher Magazine

Two teams stacked with the biggest names in skating hit the road for an epic summer tour. Could it be Beauty and the Beast? Are we still Fresh Til Death? Or maybe we’re gonna Stay Flared once again? NO! This time, Nike and Cons lined up their all-star rosters to hit the road across Europe for two weeks of blockbuster sessions and street missions. More like Beauty and the Beauty, this wasn’t the culture-clashing blast we’ve seen before. This was the deepest pockets in the game orchestrating a five-country tear with an addition-by-addition philosophy. Need a head count of the heavies? We got Dylan Jaeb, Louie Lopez, Shane Farber, Erik Herrera, Mason Silva, Oscar Candon, Oski Rozenberg, Bear Myles, Zered Bassett, Karim Callender, Alexis Sablone, Sarah Meurle, Hugo Boserup and more. We had the right ingredients; all we had to do was avoid the pitfalls that have cursed tours since time immemorial. Easy, right? Short of swarms or plagues we should be good.


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Designated tour van driver Shane Farber presses pedal to metal and nose to wall with a melon out

One Wrong Click
Imagine this: You’ve just flown halfway across the world, and when you finally get to the hotel, the reception desk says that, while you do indeed have ten rooms booked, they were reserved for 2025, not 2024. Panic? Yep, one errant click on a dropdown menu left us in Copenhagen without a roof ‘til the following year. Shit happens. We’re skaters, not travel agents! Luckily, James Cruickshank and Kohran Gayle had the company card. They even got us booked up in a nicer place! We’re talkin’ pool and spa access to soothe our street-battered bones. First hurdle? Cleared by a mile.

Tree huggin’ Hugo? This aggressive wallie off the trunk says otherwise

Do as the Danish Do
Dedicated mag readers and the worldly already know that bike lanes are the Danes’ main veins through their city centers. So on our first day in Copenhagen, James got us all two-wheelers to explore the city right. With 16 skaters jamming around, checking spots and riding loose, we were a far cry from a neat pack of single-file Hells Angels. I’d like to say we went with the flow, but the locals all swerved past or idly pedaled in our frustrating wake. At least Mother Earth was stoked on our transit choice.

What's that saying? Big baskets save lives? Louie and Mason get it

You probably have also heard of the Nordic affinity for saunas. Bio-hacking gym bros are only about ten centuries behind our friends up north. But after full days of quad-burning commuting, you bet we took full advantage of our upgraded amenities. Think 14 skaters can’t fit in a six-person sauna? You shoulda seen these teams turn that hot box into a clown car. Outside, I was chilling in the pool, and a guy asked when we planned to leave. I replied, “Why?” He said so that he and his wife could enjoy the sauna. It didn’t seem like the guys were ever gonna leave, so the best I could give him was, “Soonish.” Hope he waited a day to let the butt sweat evaporate.

Dylan strikes a back tail in CPH

Backed up by Eetu, nosegrind

And Louie on closing duties, back Smith

Karim knew to never kick a hornet's nest, so he frontside flipped a wasp's bush

Fat Lip for a Clip
Karim’s got mad pop, endless energy and a genuinely friendly demeanor. So when I rolled up on his bump-to-bush session, I was stunned to see him sporting a balloon-sized bottom lip. Was he in a Danish street brawl? Was there a Tyshawn-esque bike collision I missed? Nope. Seconds after he frontside flipped the flora, a wasp from the spot shot up and caught him in the kisser. You may have heard that bees are the most dangerous animal in Denmark, but it’s also the wasps you gotta watch. Still, Karim’s so nice he took it on the lip and let it live.



Aaron Herrington hops off the CPH tour to back nosegrind 180 with us

Erik steps up to a Spanish grind

Watch the Clock
A skate trip is always a race against time, but this gang took it literally. Besides the wasps, the bike bug was biting hella hard. While off board, Korahn, Zered, Oscar, Erik and Shane were flying around the block running time-trial races. Two at a time, they cycled the course in opposite directions and stared down their competition as they passed head-on. Dr. Z’s Cons, quads of steel and icy gaze almost got the gold but ultimately Nike’s Korahn set the record. Either the kids are slipping or the old heads had somethin’ to prove.


The last day came quick, and while everyone got ready for the airport, Oscar needed one more rip to close out Copenhagen. With no option to return, he battled to the last possible second on a wild bench ride. Did he clinched the buzzer-beating clip? Of course. Did he miss his window to shower before the flight? Definitely. Time and gate agents wait for no man.

Grind up and across from steel to stone, we condone Candon's approach





Puked Out in Prague 
You may know Prague for its bounty of cobblestone streets, medieval clocktowers and gothic architecture. But what do you know about its vomit-covered stairs in underground bars? Yeah, the sights and smells of Prague on our first night were as awe-inspiring as they were sickening. The gang heard about a place that served flaming shots. Sounds good for the ‘Gram, right? Next thing, we’re sliding past puke as we descend three floors down into a humid-ass tourist trap. The guys ordered up the famous fiery drinks and the bartender goes to work—feverishly spraying the shots with a military-grade spray bottle and a spirit I could only assume is in the lighter fluid family. He’d light them for a second, only to have the flame peter out. This went on for a minute ‘til we got the somethin’ for the Story and we were out. After surrounding ourselves with the packed crowd and overhyped fireball shots, the puke on the stairs made a lotta sense. But nothing could damper our mood, ‘cause Stalin Plaza was on the horizon.

After he locks down the rezzies, Korahn handles his other business. Switch heel

Dylan back on the bump beat, fakie flip

Zered Bassett, unrivaled switch tré at Stalin

Skaters of the World, Unite!
Did you know Stalin Plaza doesn’t actually have a big-ass statue of Stalin? They blew that thing up in ’60s! You can read more about it on Wikipedia. What’s important for us is the ground survived de-Stalinization. It’s probably the best still-standing plaza in the world. Overlooking Prague’s ornate downtown, the sprawling field of granite appears like the foreground in a dream—with just a slight specter of communism looming overhead. The surreality only intensifies when Dylan Jaeb’s running endless, effortless ledge lines. If not a dream, it’s some Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater shit. You know he can doubleflip back tail, right? Plus, he’s got all the classic shit down pat. And what about the Cons cohort? Louie was mending steel and stone, lining up a soccer goal by one of the marble slants for a weightless crook. All of it was going down surrounded by a vortex of ripping from the absolute cream of the crop. You coulda sold tickets to these sessions. Which I should’ve ‘cause my card declined at the meal after. Thankfully, Louie got my back. I told him I’d repay him but he said, “Joe, don’t worry. You helped me collect $500 for a photo on the YETI trip.” Solidarity forever!

Big Lou, top-tier crooks

Glass on the ground made Louie leave a small, pathetic, feeble amount of blood on the scene after this V-heel. Proof he grew up around Rowley

Brian smashes a switch crook for the squad

Oskineering
You ever just look at a park the day before you wanna skate it? You know, just to have a night to think about it? That’s the kinda pre-planning Oski does prior to a demo. In Prague, we reconned a bridge spot on that same tip. He gave the massive natural quarterpipes the thumbs up and we knew he’d come through. Dude’s calculated.

Scoped out and poked out, Oski sticks to the plan with an undercover backside grab in Prague

How about the engineer’s impulse to take things apart? One time, when we were camping with P-Stone, Preston rigged a rotisserie holder for a chicken on the campfire. He wrapped it in tinfoil, poured beer into it and set it over the flame. Well, that broke and the chicken fell into the fire. But Oski and I saved it, then continued to rotate and cook it with some tree branches. After it was done, he ate every part of that bird except the bones. Cut to the bridge: our guy shows up the next day and just dissects the stone transition like it’s a campfire-cooked hen. He even wore an orange shirt to pop in the photos. Goddamn, if he doesn’t think of everything.

Lederhosen were outta the budget for Brian O’Dwyer, but this boardslide to feeble was free for Oktoberfest

Hugo risks a third kid with a front lip





Berlin’s Bees
Rolling into Berlin, the weather looked like shit. At least we were a full country away from spot-stopping wasps. The skate gods gave us the green light when Brian O’Dywer flew in. He clipped up right away with a gap across the Berlin Wall’s memorial line. Check that on Wikipedia, too. The rookie pro wanted more, so we peeped a rainbow rail that—compared to the 6-foot-plus BOD—looked like it was built at the Center for Ants. The comedy of scale alone was worth a photo. After his first successful rainbow ride, somethin’ broke free in the earth—not ants, but buzzing, swarming, stinging bees! We can hang tight with an aggro wasp flying solo, but this was a full colony assault. For the first time, our gang was outnumbered and outgunned. I pulled my hoodie strings tight, grabbed my gear and split. Then the swarm went to give James the Nic Cage treatment. Somehow we made it out without a sting. Hell yeah, B!

Big BOD across the baby rainbow

Four up, 14 down, Dylan stabs a back Smith and firecrackers out through the Beagle steps in Berlin

Bear Myles keeps the firecrackers lit, back nosegrind

Beast meets West, Brian skips Berlin’s memorial line with a gap to noseblunt





Traveling through the clouds

Flying up to 5-0 on a chest-high bump to rail, Louie makes a strong case for losing at Cee-Lo

The dynamic duo, Dylan and Eetu, never stop the spot hunt. Switch ollie out to the flat

Eetu right behind with a half-Cab

Mercedes-Bunz
The time came to bid auf wiedersehen to our green transportation for a standard skate-trip chariot. With a crew this huge, that meant gettin’ three Sprinter vans. Hugo was in control of our big Benz on the Autobahn, and the young father drove like he had a 12 babies on board—leaving yet another frustrating wake of local roadsters. This wasn’t an Indy trip, you know?

Swedish star Sarah Meurle came through to paint some black rainbows on gold walls 

We slowly and safely made it to Munich right at the start of Oktoberfest—oh, no. But these vans were filled with true professionals. The only festivities we partook in were a few oversized beers and a little lederhosen shopping. You know the real ones go for over 300 euros? In today’s economy?! Nah. Plus, those things run TIGHT. These physio freaks were probably doin’ too many glute flexes to fit their skate butts in suspended short shorts. The closest we got to rockin’ with the regional garbe was at our hotel. A group of tight-bunned leder-clad festgoers kept singin’ “Sweet Caroline” with the thickest, drunkest German accents. Kinda wish they stuck to Hasselhoff.



Alex at Civilist requested some sick flicks from Berlin. Eetu Toropainen obliged by rollin’ into this German green giant




Mambo No Dentistano
Who’s the only person to have a signature shoe for Nike and Cons at the same time? That’s right, the ultimate crossover artist Alexis Sablone flew into Milan and brought the sun. Even fresh off the plane, she immediately started flyin’ at Milano Centrale. While she worked out the skinny run-up for a switch flip, a toothless, shirtless punk rocker was cheering her on. And of course she put it down for the grill-free homie! Beyond the cheers, you could practically hear “Hey Mambo” playing in everyone’s heads. Do locals hate that song? Who cares, the mental soundtrack faded when her new fan started celebrating with an impromptu gun show. I guess if I had arms like that and a busted grill, I’d be flexin’ my biceps, too. You know Shane and the gang got some tips from him.

Timeless switch flip from Alexis

The Old Man and the Set
Vince, AKA Chicken Little, was our tour guide in Milan. He’s a cool fucking kid, and he rips! He knew Jaeb’s skating so he took us to a big set of stairs. Everyone gassed up Dylan to frontside flip it—easy request. He almost did in the first few tries, but then we got deja vu of the Scramble. Wheelbite and rough ground turned this should-be casual move into a My War. After each try, he’d go sliding into some garbage slime oozing out of a nearby dumpster. But he was too invested to turn back. After he got the clip in the can he questioned himself, “Why did I put myself through torture for this shitty spot?” Hints of Hemingway, right?

Harsh spot, perfect frontside flip—this crusty 14 took a lot from Dylan, but it repaid him with a clip, a flick and a shirt soaked in trash liquid

Chicken Little on a not-so-little switch back 50-50

After any mission, successful or not, you gotta replenish. Getting a table for one team is a feat in itself—two’s damn-near impossible. But if we could all fit in that fuckin’ sauna, you bet we’re squeezing into an Italian patio. No worries, it’s Louie to the dinner rescue, again! He said he knew a spot. This place hit me with a second flash of deja vu. I asked Louie how he knew about it. He opened his phone and showed me a photo of Phelps sitting by himself at a table in this same restaurant. We’d been here trip eight years ago on a Spitfire trip. Fuck yeah, he’s still watchin’.

Alexis soars a classic kickflip

And stamps a kicky front 50 for good measure

Hugo hits a back lip across and down a cobblestone coaster





Athens, at Last!
Beat, bitten and bruised, we rolled into our final stop runnin’ on E. Weary as we were, the clear skies and Mediterranean breeze gave us the gas to get a few last-minute flicks on the Grecian plazas. But the road will tell you when it’s time to go. And here, it was with one last bug—coulda been the flu or COVID, but everyone got sick as a dog in Athens. We could run from a pest, or deal with a some rowdy randos, but a compromised body? All we could do was accept—we wouldn’t take in the Parthenon or cliff dive in the clear water. Sometimes you need a sign to end the session or you’ll never stop. I guess, thank you for your service, bugs!


It’s hard to say exactly when the big-brand super tours slowed down. Goddamn, it’s a pretty special formula, though. Where else are you gonna see Zered and Mason killin’ spots together? Hell, even just seein’ Oski and Alexis on the same tour is a trip! Skating just works better together. From the bike lanes to the trains and the gains, Nike and Cons pulled off an unreal logistics lift. And I think it paid off enough to do it again in summer ’25. I mean, as long as we got the rooms still, right, James?

Not sure if Bobby Puleo’s been to Athens, but Erik Herrera nosegrinds this step to cellar door just in case he hasn’t

Hugo joins in with a quick K to cap the mission



Last spot of the trip, security keeps this place locked down like the Louvre. But two quick rips for a kickflip is all it took Shane to close the book on our wild European getaway. See you this summer