[ JAPANESE / ENGLISH ]

Photos_DEIB
Special thanks_Shelter Distribution

 

VHSMAG (V)：　Hey Zach, How was the premiere event?

Zach Chamberlin (Z)：　Yeah. We had been working on the Sprinkles video for a long time, so we tried to organize a premiere with Shelter. The timing worked out and the AREth video was done at the same time. So we planned to party all together to have both videos come out on the same night, which was sick because I have a big respect for Ogu for what he has always done. So to have a video at the same time and have the video premieres together was really cool.

V：　And you guys did the surprise pro announcement for Jinnosuke and Shoma during the event.

Z：　They've been my brothers for a long time. I think the connections through Sprinkle and the family have grown so much over time. Knowing people through them, sharing our brotherly love, trips, and things have all been coming together for a while now. This felt like the perfect moment to turn them pro and celebrate a special occasion. I really wanted to come out and have a party, make it something fun. So that was cool. I asked Masa at Shelter for the smoke machine and threw a little thing at the end of the video and had their boards pop out of the smoke and shit.

V：　Jin and Shoma, congratulations. Did you have no idea about this surprise at all?

Shoma Takeda (S)：　At first, I had no idea what was going on. At the end of the video, my name and Jin's name appeared, and it was like, we were pros. But I didn't even realize that at the time.

Jinnosuke Okada (J)：　Zac was in front holding two boards, like, "Yeah!" I was like, "Oh, there's new boards coming out or something." Then, everyone around started getting all weird. They were like, "Hey, Jin, get up here!"

V：　I see a lot of surprise pro announcements in videos, but how long did it take for you to really feel it sink in?

S：　I still don’t really feel it yet. I think it’ll hit me when I have some alone time. But I was super happy, like, I almost cried (laughs).

J：　I actually had a few tears. Leo Takayama was crying too—like, full-on crying (laughs). But having friends like that close by, it really made me think how awesome that is.

 

V：　Sick. Zach, can you talk about the video?

Z：　There's maybe a 16-year-old clip in the video. That's probably the oldest one from my good homie like when I first moved to SF. And then there's Carlos Young footage from like 10 years ago mixed with some newer stuff. The newest clip is from a week before I came to Japan and then the oldest one is 16 years old. Skating brings you so many connections and I was trying to do my best to make a fun video with everybody I've skated with past and present. So, you know, the board brand actually started about halfway through me making the video. Sprinkles was always a project where I could put clips that didn’t really have a home—clips that didn’t fit anywhere else. With so many people having sponsors and riding for companies, dealing with all that stuff can get complicated. But Sprinkles was just a place where you didn’t have to think about the business side of things. You could just make a video without worrying about splitting it up for different sponsors. And now, with the brand fully coming together, it’s amazing to see it all mix, especially with these guys, who are some of my favorite skaters.

V：　Was there anything memorable that happened during filming for this video?

S：　It definitely has to be Jin’s injury.

J：　There were a lot of clips, but each one reminds me of the situation at the time, like when I injured my knee in Taiwan... Three days before we came back from the last tour, we were out drinking and having fun in the afternoon. Until then, we’d been skating on pure momentum. I was totally wasted, carrying speakers and beers, doing wallrides, and then going straight downhill. Normally, I’d at least try to land one first, but I just went for it, going downhill without thinking. I ended up crashing my knee into some sharp concrete and couldn’t skate for eight months... I tore my ACL. So that clip, or that event, or even the whole tour itself was really memorable... How should I put it... Sorry, there’s no real punchline to this (laughs).

S：　A bad memory (laughs).

J：　Ah, it’s not really a bad memory. Without that, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

V：　Is the clip of that injury used in the video?

J：　The moment of the injury isn’t shown, thankfully. They’ve cut that part out.

S：　For me, it was the pressure flip from the bank in Taiwan. That was the first clip I got after we arrived, so it felt like a great start. I was really stoked.

V：　Zac filmed everything, right? Do you ever feel a language barrier when working with him?

J：　It’s amazing. There’s no barrier at all.

S：　It always feels like we’re on the same wavelength, and he’s willing to go along with anything.

J：　He’s with me no matter what, but there have been times when I wanted to have a deeper conversation, so I pulled out a translation app. He’d get upset and be like, "It’s soul to soul, right?" He’d say, "Even if we can’t speak the same language, we get each other." It’s that kind of feeling.

V：　Zach, you have three Japanese riders. What's it like working with them?

Z：　It's the best. I mean, they're my brothers. There’s no difference. It’s just like my friends back in SF who are also riders that I really like. It’s like there’s just something about them that makes them ‘Sprinkly,’ you know? They’re just good homies.

V：　When did you guys meet?

Z：　When I started coming to Japan, that was like 10 years ago. I got to see so many homies out here and met a lot of new people. But then when I came to Kobe seven years ago... It’s like you meet someone for the first time, but it feels like you’ve known them forever. It's all natural. I think sometimes it’s really positive to just go with the flow on certain things. And with them, it felt like the universe brought everything together perfectly.

V：　How would you describe their skating?

Z：　Jin's got sick style. He's got a sick dance and arm style. It's hard to put it in words. You just kind of know. As for Shoma, it's so hard to make a video part that does him justice because he's always doing something that looks sick as fuck. Like, he's going down a smooth ass street and he hits a primo slide out of nowhere. Just random stuff. It’s that natural aspect of skating—like going from spot to spot. Sometimes you don’t even end up skating that many spots, but you still end up skating a lot while moving from one spot to another. That’s a big part of Sprinkles too—it's not really about being in a van all the time. It’s more like, "Let’s just skate around and see what we can find."

V：　So you met them seven years ago and became homies, and then you just turned them pro for your company. How does that feel?

Z：　Crazy. I never really thought about being in a position to turn people pro. But like I said, everything just linked up and worked out—it felt natural. So I feel amazing about turning them pro. It feels really good.

V：　Jin and Shoma, How did the boards turn out?

J：　It turned out amazing. It's like, "Wow, this is pretty wild." There’s a photo of rolling a joint at the nose, and my face is huge on it. Then, there’s this cute two-shot with Shoma on the tail. My face looks super round though (laughs).

S：　Mine has a bit of a different vibe from Jin’s, more like a nature style. There’s a design with trees and something like the Rising Sun flag. I'm really stoked how it turned out.

Z：　Now that you’ve officially turned pro, what are your plans for the future?

S：　I think I’ll just keep skating for the fun of it, as always. It’s great that things have taken shape like this, but I want to keep pushing forward and taking action, no matter what.

J：　I’ll keep enjoying it for now, but there’s also that feeling of "I need to do more" and making sure I get to as many places as possible. Next year, I really want to film a lot in San Francisco. The last time I went there was five years ago.

V：　Congratulations once again. Zach, What's next for Sprinkles?

Z：　I'll spend some more time hanging out with the boys again and do another tour. Every time we get together, there's always something new to do, new people to meet, and new places to go. It’s fun to be here now, but we’re always thinking about what’s next. Yeah, enjoy the moment, but also make plans for the future—figure out some good things to big up your life and the lives of everyone around you. That’s kind of the key.

 

Zach Chamberlin @sprinkle.sf

Originally from Oregon and based in San Francisco, Zach is a filmmaker who continues to document core street skaters. He's the key figure behind Sprinkles and Loophole Wheels.

Jinnosuke Okada @yungjinnn

Originally from Hyogo, Jin is one of the street skaters leading Kobe's skate community. He has just turned pro for Sprinkles.

Shoma Takeda @shomataketa

Originally from Aichi, Shoma's unique and distinctive skating has captivated many. He has just turned pro for Sprinkles.