Less Than Local | Yummy Time Tour
Los Angeles, Detroit, Amsterdam, Stavanger, Oslo, Copenhagen, Malmo were all the stops made when we hand delivered Steffen Austerheim aka Optimist Prime his welcome to the team box. Why ship it when you can show it?
As a whole, skating in Norway, Sweden and Denmark was an absolute dream. Not only are all the spots amazing, but there is literally zero bust factor. We didn’t get kicked out of a single spot the whole trip, or actually even see any cops or security! It’s quite the opposite actually, one night we were skating this bump over a barrier in front of this older woman’s house where she came out and gave us coffees and teas and hung out with us into the night. Also Jon shot his board out in front of an old couple and when he went over to apologize, they responded “Don’t be sorry, just have fun!” It was the sickest response to almost hitting someone with a skateboard ever. 10/10 all around.
In Norway we got to stay right on the Fjord of the North Sea and every morning we went swimming and fishing to start the day and then on the last day we discovered the harbor we were swimming in was filled with Jellyfish, the giant gnarly purple ones. It was sketchy but luckily no one got stung. We also caught some crazy looking tropical fish.
All in all, I think it is safe to speak for everyone when I say our best experience was when we went and visited Roars parents and his hometown of Sandes. Once we arrived in town via train, Roar took us to his hometown skatepark which he helped design and build with a signature “Roar Bump to Hydrant.” After skating the park we walked down this old railroad track through some woods, while singing ‘Stand By Me’ of course, to his parents house. We knew we had arrived by the decorations of crossing Norwegian and American flags.
We were greeted with Budweisers and Dom Perignon (2 bottles!). At one point each of us had a beer, flute of champagne, shot of whiskey and glass of white wine at the same time. ‘No More Skating’ was the motto for the rest of the evening. We shared stories, danced, kept it simple with Dolly Dimple and eventually the night led to Mikey trading shirts with Roars dad while Mitchell DJ’d UGK (It’s supposed to bubble). Hands down this evening was the most hospitality and kindness we’ve ever felt and we can’t thank the Kolnes family enough! We love you!
Shout out Casper, Jonas, Hanne Marie and Tom B thank you for making the trip so special! Oh and Dilio, the one that got away... call me please!
Originally published in Issue 2 - January 2024