Getting on Vans and being the first european GX1000 rider – WILLOW VOGES FERNANDES

His appearance in the GX1000’s JAGEN really impressed us with his committed and brutal style. His presence in the video also caught our attention because Willow is probably one of the first Europeans to make a mark in the American crew and fully embrace the art of downhill. While he’s a daredevil on the board, Willow is, in life, at least from what I could glimpse during the few moments I spent with him, a calm person, very pleasant to talk to. We waited until the end of the totally crazy Vans x Dime Paris event and his return to Berlin to have a quiet phone conversation.

It’s your second interview in skate mag Willow, right?

Yes, I did one interview with SOLO last year. I did it with Felix Adler. It was during the GX1000 trip in Paris. We used all the photos we made during this trip.

You are back in Berlin after some crazy days in Paris during the Vans x Dime event. How you feeling?

I am feeling good. It was quite hectic. There were so many people but it was good seeing everyone. It’s been a while I didn’t see all the Vans guys. We have been on a trip with all the crew only at the beginning of the year (2023) in march in Alicante but after that we didn’t see each other. So, it was kind of the first time that the whole team was reunited that year (2023). It was very nice.

Willow Voges Fernandes – Bs 50-50 – Photo de Dennis Scholz

How is it to skate in Berlin?

It’s good. As of now, it’s raining and cold again so it’s pretty hard to motivate yourself to go out but I got a bunch of stuff on my list that I want to check. I have been going around to search for some spots. It’s such a big city and there are so many things people didn’t skate yet or don’t know about.

For how long you are in Berlin now?

Actually, we didn’t move yet because we are looking for an apartment, but my girlfriend has a sublet room and I am staying there for now. My base is in Hamburg.

You started skateboarding in Hamburg, right?

I was born and raised there. Berlin is the first city I am moving to.

How was it to start skating in Hamburg?

We had the indoor park I-Punkt Skateland. It is a pretty famous place in Germany. My school was located next to the park, so I was going there every day after the classes with my friends. I was staying there for hours. They have a vert ramp, a big pool, a bunch of street stuff, they got everything you need.

Willow Voges Fernandes – Bs disaster – Photo de Dennis Scholz

What brought you into skateboarding?

My dad, I would say because he used to skate. He was also a pro snowboarder back in his days. On the board he was doing freestyle tricks like Rodney Mullen : handstand flip, primo walking. He had a super tiny board and actually I am looking at his first skateboard that he ever built by himself right now. I have it in my room here, which is pretty cool. It has a hole in the board for kite surfing so he can skate with the wind. He put the wheels of a roller skate underneath the wooden plank.

He really inspired you to skate

Exactly, he got me my first board. It was a Birdhouse complete board on my third birthday. He took me to a little tiny park back then, and I fell in love with it right away. There is a little video on YouTube. It’s called « future tony hawk or rodney mullen »

-After checking the video- Oh shit that video hit the 3.8 million views!

Yeah, in the video I am going back and forth in the tiny park.

You gained some money with that video?

It wasn’t monetized. We always said “ah shit, we should have monetized it, we could make some money out of it” but fuck it. It was 17 years ago.

You have also a “sponsor me” video on YouTube

It was uploaded not too long ago. It was just me, I was super bored, I wanted something out there to gather all the footies I collected from the skatepark and try maybe to get a lil sponsor. Actually, it didn’t do anything for me. Nobody actually paid attention to it.

You were rocking some tight slim jeans in that video

Yeah, right ahahaha.

How did you get noticed by your sponsors?

The first time a sponsor hit me up, it was skatedeluxe. Back then a skateboarding youtuber called OG Pav was asking to his community to upload a trick with a hashtag on Instagram. If you kill it, you win the month. It was sponsored by skatedeluxe. So, I won the month of march 2017 and I received a big package from them. And then a skatedeluxe guy messaged me to propose me if I wanted to skate for them. I was like « fuck yeah, I want to ride for you guys. Fuck yeah, I want some free stuff ». They hooked me up with a bunch of boxes with gears. They really helped me out a lot. Over time, they put me in touch with Vans.

When things get serious with skatedeluxe and Vans?

The first time they came on a trip to Hamburg, my hometown. They took me along to film a tour clip in the streets. It was my first time street skating with a proper filmer. It was Dan Schulz. He had an Xtreme fisheye already, and I was super excited to film clips with him. Then things got serious when at some point, they offered me a contract and started to push me out towards other brands like Vans. After that, Vans took me on my first trip with Max Pack, the Vans Europe filmmaker and Vans Germany TM. From then on, they started taking me on trips, street skating a lot and all that. I am really thankful they put me in all that, cause it’s part of the reason where I am at now.

How it is to hang around with the Vans crew?

Very fun honestly. I love everyone on the team. The trips are such family vibe. They really focus on the fact that everybody gets along with everyone. For example, for the Vans Euro trips, Chris stared bringing his mum and she would cook for us. We would go skate all day and when getting home, have huge super nice meals. The best you can imagine. And we always sit around a big table in the Airbnb. Having food together after a long day of skating is really cool. That’s what I really like in the crew. That family vibe and everybody is here for each other.

Willow Voges Fernandes – Fs wallride -Photo de Dennis Scholz

How comes the idea to bring Chris Pfanner’s mum?

It was definitely Chris’s idea. I don’t know how he got that idea, but I think he wanted to show her what he is doing in his life and what is going on during the trips. And I think she was super happy to see and meet all of us.

There are some crazy characters in the crew

Definitely, there are some crazy characters which is hectic sometimes but you know it’s super entertaining being around them because it’s obviously something not normal. And I am always like “yeah, this is so sick, this is raw skating! “ I like also the fact that, there is a couple of crazy characters but there are also super calm guys.

Also, I appreciated the couple of trips we did during the Covid. It mellows everything out a little bit. You couldn’t really party, there was always the curfew, you had to be home at a certain hour in the night. It made everything pretty mellow not too much party orientated, which made it easier to focus on just the skating.

How are the parties with the guys?

Parties are fun. It’s always good vibes. Everybody does as they feel it. There is no pressure. As long as you skate, you good to go.

You not a big party guy

I do like to go out once in a while but honestly if I can skate the next day I would rather go home, smoke a little doob at night and stay around the boys, listen some music, I enjoy that more most of the time. It depends too on the city I am in. If you are in fucking Paris or something, its more hectic compared if you are in Lisbon where you have a huge Airbnb by the beach. Then it’s mostly more chill. We go to the beach in the evening, stay by the pool or stuff like that.

Willow Voges Fernandes – Ollie up gap backlip – Photo de Dennis Scholz

Talking about cities, I saw you for the first time in a GX1000 video, JAGEN, the one that was filmed in Paris. How was it to film with the GX guys? Did you enjoy filming in Paris?

I definitely did. Filming with those guys was kind of new for me because they would have a different rhythm compared to the Vans crew that I was going on only. Sometimes we would be out at 2am still at the spot. Skating in the dark, in the middle of the night was something new to me and had to get used to it the first days, once I did, it was all fine. The days were pretty long, but I really enjoyed it because you can definitely see how productive we managed to be because we were skating so long. After those two weeks we were done, but while you do it, it’s really fun. Also, the guys were always motivated of course coming from the US, they were amazed to be in Paris.

What other differences there are between filming with Vans crew and GX1000?  

For Vans there is always a dinner set at a certain time. Either Chris’s mum is there or we got a table booked in a restaurant. We go out at 10 AM, skate and when it gets dark around 9 PM we usually go for dinner. With the GX1000 guys, we would go for dinner too, but like I said most of the time keep skating afterwards which is pretty sick Aswell.

How did you connect the GX1000 crew ?

Super good. I was kind of nervous the first time. I got Polar boards from Beast Distribution until Polar stopped working with them. Beast does the distribution for GX in Germany as well. Around the exact same time, Ryan Garshell, the GX1000 filmmaker, was in touch with the Beast guys, Maxi Schaible and Oliver Merkelbach. Then Ryan was like “ we want to do a trip  in Paris, can you help us organizing and stuff like that” and he wanted a local that is from Europe. So, Maxi suggested my name and he sent him some footage. Ryan was like “Hell yeah, let’s bring this kid along”. I was like “wow, it’s crazy, I am going on a trip with the GX1000 guys”. In one or two days, I felt super good with them. I was super interested in their lifestyle, the way they approach skateboarding. I got into it really quick and now every time I am going out there, I am staying at Jeff Carlyle’s place. Big shot out to this guy, he is a legend for taking care of me.

Willow Voges Fernandes – Ollie over the stairs – Photo de Dennis Scholz 2

You got plans to film another video with them?

We did a trip in Spain a couple of months ago in July (2023) and we went to Bilbao first, then Giron and Vigo. That trip was so sick, we filmed a lot of really good stuff. I can’t wait it comes out. Before that, I was in SF to film with them too. I think they want to publish 4 videos a year. It’s a really productive crew.

To come back to the video JAGEN, one of your last trick, the front smith on a rail with a drop in a downhill, is insane. You took some hard slams before landing it. Can you talk about the process?

Fuck, it was definitely a battle dude. The flat ground was crusty, super steep hill, and I couldn’t get it. I was so frustrated, I wanted to land the trick so much but I was taking slams again and again for an hour or two. I was yelling at the spot. At some point, it worked and it was the best feeling ever going down the hill.

You filmed a video in Paris with the GX guys and another one in Marseille with skatedeluxe team. Which city was the best to skate?

Honestly, I think I am a big fan of Marseille because it has the hills which I really like and make it more interesting to me. For example, doing lines without pushing. I also really like the crustiness of Marseille. My older sister is a really close friend to Chloé Bernard. So, whenever I am there, I am excited to see Chloé. I think I just like the vibe of the city. So, Marseille over Paris.

Good you have enemies from Paris now. What is the worst place to film?

I would say Berlin, especially when it starts to get cold and raining. It’s grey, the spots are super crusty and there are no hills, it’s all flat. It’s hard to get motivated to skate there, especially in the cold winter months. For me, I prefer to be in a zone I can skate a lot and get clips with the right group of people. So, let’s say apart from the skating in winter, I really like the city and it is a cool place to cool down and hang out with your friends.

How do you imagine the future?

I don’t know. I would say where the wind takes me, I guess. I am definitely going to try to spend more time in SF this coming year with the GX crew and try to skate as much as possible and get footy, have fun and try to do no think about it too much. Until now, it seems to work out pretty well.

To wrap this interview, do you have some word in French?

“Je m’appelle Willow. Je t’aime skateboarding” and that’s all. My French is completely gone even if I have some French roots. Before, my dad was with a French woman, they had a child, she is my step sister and they were living in Nice. So, when I was 3 or 4 years old, I was able to understand everything and almost speak French. Maybe, If I stay longer in France, it will comeback. Moreover, my step sister will soon move to Biarritz so it will be the occasion to visit her, go surfing and also see my friends like Robin Bolian, and Noah Maieu. 

So, if we do another interview in a couple of years, it will be fully in French?

That would be sick! Let’s see how much time I’ll be spending in France until then hahaha.