STK: I (male) have also been skating in Berlin for quite a while now and I find the scene rather welcoming and open-minded compared to other cities. In your opinion, how would you best describe the skateboarding scene in Berlin? Do you see differences to the scene in New York?

Joana: Uff, that's a hard question, because I am very much biased and it’s hard to keep an objective opinion towards it. Personally, I find the NYC skate scene more inclusive, welcoming and open-minded than the Berlin skateboarding scene. Though, don’t forget that New York City is a world city and a cultural capital of the world with 8.6 million people and 800 different languages, whereas Berlin is super small compared to it. I see a lot of differences between the two skate scenes, especially when I realised that in New York there are many skateboarding organisations that help and uplift underserved communities and see skateboarding also as a tool to foster communities and educate people. Another thing is that the support of queer, non-binary and women skateboarding is huge in New York compared to Berlin. What makes me very happy about the Berlin skate scene is that women skateboarding is growing and more people are realising that there are actually a big amount of insanely gifted girl skaters out there. When I moved here, there were nearly no women skaters and I felt there was no community and now it's changing.

I would say the Berlin skateboarding scene has a lot of potential to grow and develop. 

STK: Skateboarding is a straight white male dominant subculture. Why exactly do you see the skateboarding culture as a good breeding ground for your works? Where do you see the value in the scene, also considering for your brand?

Joana: I find that the skateboarding scene has so much to offer. It's about time to break the norm of just white straight men riding a skateboard. There is so much more involved in it. So many people with different backgrounds and identities skate. In the end, we’re all just adults being kids playing with a wooden toy. Skateboarding has opened up many doors for me and allowed me to meet amazing people from different backgrounds that taught me that there is more outside of the regular, white heteronormative spectrum. Skateboarding connects people from all around the world and can also be used as a tool to educate, teach and provoke society - the same as with fashion!

It’s a good breeding ground for my work, because of the diversity, inclusivity and the empowerment, but also the playfulness as well as the academic and educational aspect of skating. I get inspired by the people within this varied space every single day. I mean, look at what all the skaters wear - everyone expresses themselves through a very unique style. It’s all about the little details. Some people are good at expressing their feelings through poems and art, I do this through fashion and skateboarding.

I think the value I see the most is the support within the community, which projects outside to my brand. Friends from all around the world and people from the scene support my brand in so many different ways by purchasing, posting or even by shooting me a little text with wonderful words. A long time goal for my brand is to work with the community and organisations surrounding it wherever in the world I decide to live.