Benny Harmanus Interview

Introduction Once Benny Harmanus labelled himself as the „dinosaur“ of the rollerblading scene. And indeed: Benny is in the game for a long time. His name became famous - not only because of his stunt skating but also because of his dedication to our special community. In the last decade he has worked on many projects that brought Rollerbladers together and that helped Rollerblading to get its unique face. With his latest wheel- and clothing-company „Chimera“ he has been supporting rollTogether (next to Grindhouse and Be-Mag) almost since DAY ONE! Thank you for that! For rollTogether #10 Benny is gonna join us, skate with all of us and has some special plans... Oliver Nermerich Just give us a brief up-to-date summary of your current status. In other words: What has been up to you lately and what major changes has gone through your life in the past months? Benny Harmanus I don't know where to start. I am not skating for Deshi and Stygma anymore, my new supporters and the ones I support are Nimh and Ucon. I moved from Frankfurt to Berlin and got a new job. So much more to tell you but let's say I got rid of old stuff and will start all over again. Oliver Nermerich Wow – it seems you are about to make a new start! But you are lucky being in one of the nicest cities in europe. But tell me: Are you skating a lot recently? Benny Harmanus I skate way more than I did, that's why I will start travelling a lot this year. Can't wait to be a part of the rollTOGETHER session. It's so easy to skate in Berlin as the crew is huge and motivated! Oliver Nermerich Yeah I heard that - and it looks like every Rollerblader is gonna move to our capital city. It will be your first time at the rollTogether-Event. What do you expect and what do you think about it? Benny Harmanus I think it is the perfect event to have a comeback as an active rollerblader. The pressure to show some big shit is not that big. It's a session, not a comp. I love the dutch people anyways...those guys are chill! So all in all I am a bit excited and hope I can show some nice tricks and talk to the kids out there. Oliver Nermerich Sounds great. You will be impressed how big the scene got along the border between germany, the netherlands and belgium: so many good skaters, so many people that just got into it, young kids and of course the old rockers (27+). They will be excited to skate together with you. Benny Harmanus I hope so, cause after all I want to roll like everyone else and just have a good day. I am so happy some Germans join like Jojo, Alex Schneider and Daniel Groner. I think with a crew like that it can't be a fail. Oliver Nermerich Yeah man – as I told you: rollTogether is bringing the regional scenes together. And as most of you know rollTogether has set an important focus on amateurs. You told me earlier you will bring another „chimera-competition“ for the amateurs to the event. What's about that? Editor's note: We hate the word competition - cause rollTogether is mainly a free session without any contest-pressure. But we do have some - as we call it - "awards". We (from the staff) and our sponsors will watch the skaters throughout the session-day and at the end we will decide - for example - who did the most creative trick and who is the Rookie-of-the-day. Benny Harmanus As Chimera is a wheel company I am looking for the Best-Non-Grind-Trick of the Day. People should think of other ways to skate than just grinding. Go for a wallride, gap or think of something extraordinary. Oliver Nermerich Such a sweet idea! I can't wait to see people using their minds and getting creative. And as I know you, you will be pushing them to the limit. But tell us: What can the winner expect? Benny Harmanus Of course some nice Chimera wheels but also I'd like to talk to him and other guys that competed. Chimera is always looking for some fresh talent...maybe I can find another rock and roller in The Netherlands. Even if it sounds strange it can be like a workshop...telling people what companies look for and how to get some attention at a contest...or a session. Oliver Nermerich Wow. That is off the hook! Kids will get hyphy about the workshop. They probably want to know how you become a pro and how you always deal with drop-rails and so on. But I am interested in another point: How would you describe your current style of skating? Is it more laid-back or are you still dropping hammers or trying to beat hard and unique spots? Benny Harmanus I am into technical tricks...I mean not some kind of superhero-spin-to-win tricks but I have fun learning new stuff. Still I do some big stunts and Berlin seems to be the biggest playground ever. For sure I will film a nice profile this year! Oliver Nermerich Would you say you became more rational about the dangers and risks skating the big and crazy stuff? Benny Harmanus Not really...I think I can't stop...for now there is no reason to slow down. I think I feel more like...damn...let's fuck this city up and kill one after another. Oliver Nermerich Hahaha. Ok word! Another thing: i know that you are working (besides Chimera and the Pro-Rollerblading-Life) at a famous market research company. That seems to be a serious - almost conservative - job. Do they have any clue about you being a professional Rollerblader and your personal interest of dropping stunts? Benny Harmanus They know that I run rollerblading events but they don't know that I am a pro rollerblader. If they know, then okay, but personally there's no need to tell them yet. I just don't wanna explain everything...talk about myself to them like I am some kind of superstar. Right there I am Ben Harmanus...project assistant...that's it and I am fine with that. Oliver Nermerich Can you give us some information about your future plans. What can we expect from you in the near future? Any special projects, concepts or events you are working on? Benny Harmanus For sure I will focus on Chimera as I will run the brand from Berlin. I worked on a new concept for it and it started with the first free wheels game. I want everyone to be a part of the brand, communicate with the ones that love Chimera...and for sure in the future there will be several chances to be involved. I am so excited! Oliver Nermerich Benny, I am running out of time. The same to you probably. If you want to send your regards to some people, then now it's your chance. Benny Harmanus Yes I am running out of time as well. I am working on the Chimera Free Wheels game #2 and just opened my first beer for tonight. Thanks for a chance to let everyone know what I am up to. Nothing else to add right here...see you all soon. Rock & roll! Oliver Nermerich RollTogether has to thank you and can’t wait to see you guys skating side by side with the rest of Europe upcoming saturday! Safe! Action picture by Sascha Krautz Portrait by Daniel Groner