FC   You two are quite a duo, the photos that come out of your sessions are always amazing, they show a strong connection between skater and photographer, how long have you known each other?

AG   Thank you, I really appreciate it. It could be around ten years now, but I would have to check to tell exactly the year Robert showed up. (Editor’s note: he didn’t check).

RC   Thank you for your kind words. My hard drive says that our very first photo was shot in March 2015. That was the first time we've met. Funnily enough, we shot that photo at the exact same Wallride Spot, where we've shot the double photo for this article – which, at this point, also happened to be our latest together.

FC   From what I can see from the socials, it seems that you guys skate and shoot together almost every week. But how far from each other do you live?

AG   It would be nice to do that every week.. actually Robert is living with his family in Düsseldorf and I do live in Braunschweig which is around 280km apart.

RC   Unfortunately, 336km separates my door from André's, or at least, that's what Google Maps says. So we aren't out shooting every week. However, we try to meet every one or two months for 2 or 3 days. Which may sum up to six times a year. But we call each other at least once a week.

FC   Hundreds of kilometers for a session is the true essence of the meaning of Fotta. Do German skaters have a similar term for it?

RC   I've met a few skaters that never went as far as 100 kilometers for a session. Some have never left their hometown skatepark/cities.
However, there are of course also other ones that do like to explore other cities and commit to having longer trips for a session. But there is no similar term over here.

AG   Don't they mostly rather go to the skatepark?

FC   Would you be friends if skateboarding wasn’t a thing?

RC   That's a tough one. If we both never had touched a skateboard, I think we simply wouldn't have met. All of my friendships came through skateboarding. I'm really living in a bubble. If there is ever going to be a time where skateboarding won't be a thing anymore, André and I finally could go to the sauna together and enjoy some nice Asian food after that. But until that, there is no time for relaxation – sorry, André!

AG   I don’t know how we could have found each other without skateboarding, but I like to think so. Robert became a really close friend over the years and I really love spending time with him, eating spicy Chinese food or whatever…

FC   What’s the oddest thing you had to do to manage to skate a spot?

RC   I don't know if it was the oddest, but as you can see on the photos we had to clear the sculpture, where André did the Nosepick, from water. Right after that the caretaker came out of the building, shouting at us for skating it. Then we explained to him what we were doing and why – luckily, it convinced him and he was cool with it.

FC   Do you have a bucket list of absurd spots to go to, something that requires a special preparation to get there or to make it skateable?

RC   We have a handwritten list of spots that are located in André's hometown, which is always in my car. Some of them are ticked off, some of them are still waiting for us, and I think some will be added to the list soon. On top of that, there are some lists on my phone and a lot of lists in the back of André's head. Seems like a never ending story.

FC   If you could shoot a skate photo anywhere in the world, where would you go?

RC   I would go with Japan or China, spot and foodwise they’re the most interesting to me now.

AG   Somewhere nobody has been yet.. Somewhere crusty but well shaped.

FC   How is the police in Germany regarding street skating? Do the NPCs on the streets mind what you do, get mad, or simply don’t care?

RC   I think they are pretty chilled most of the time, if you don't act like an asshole. Mostly, police are just annoyed that they have to drive to a spot to kick out some skateboarders, because an old grumpy guy called them. I also met some cops that actually made some spot suggestions. So when it comes to skateboarding, they are cool most of the time.

AG   Police are mostly quite chilled with street skating. They just kick you out when they get called or it seems dangerous with traffic. NPC‘s are hard to handle for me sometimes though, I don’t like super crowded places.

FC   Over the years you came out with some very creative photos, where do you draw the inspiration for such a special look on skateboarding? Do you have a favorite skater or photographer that brought some of these ideas to life?

RC   Thank you. For my part,it's definitely photographers like Matt Price and mostly European skateboarders like the Polar or Magenta Guys. Their way of capturing skateboarding has always been more about the energy, the creativity and the spot and not just about capturing the hardest trick on the biggest spot, shot from the same boring angle that makes it look as biiiiig as possible. Also all the people I’m shooting with, guys like André or my other friends, keep me always inspired.

FC   I guess this also shows in both of your trick selections. If you had to renounce a category of tricks, would it hurt more to sacrifice slappies or wallies?

AG   Isn’t it quite the same? We’re already sacrificing stairs and gaps
I think we’re good for now.

RC   For me, it would definitely hurt to sacrifice slappies. Nine out of ten tricks I can do on a skateboard are slappies.

FC   And where the fuck you find all these spots? I’ve been on a few tours with Andrè and I know he has a special sight, but is there a process you guys use to find new spots?

RC   Of course, there are some spots that you just find by accident while you're on a walk with your family or something. Sometimes I discover them while driving. And when it comes to sculptures, fountains or stuff like that, it's simply google research.

AG   I think it’s really a team thing. We google around a lot for statues and random shit. At the moment we are looking for animals.

FC   Please explain what “looking for animals” means. New project in the making?

AG   I’d rather leave that to Robert. Not that he gets angry with me for telling too much…

RC   Why, did André mention that? I just wanted to keep it secret for a bit. Good time to say goodbye to our friendship now. Thank you Fotta.

FC   Robert, you make a beautiful zine called “Whatever it is”, with a strong Andrè presence inside of it. What’s behind this project?

RC   One year after we stopped making Parallel, a skate mag I did with Fabio Schöneweihs from 2015 to 2020, I wanted to work on my first zine, where I could do everything on my own. I never used InDesign before so that was an adventure. I'm just in love with skatezines and books and I've shot plenty of photos with my friends that were waiting to be printed. The whole process is really fun, sometimes it could be nerve wracking, too, especially when it comes to printing and color reproduction.

FC   When is the next zine coming out?

RC   Right now, I really don't know. I even don't know if there will ever be something like the next zine... Maybe yes, maybe no... but if there will be a next zine, then i would definitely like to change the format and the number of copies..

FC   How many copies were you printing? would you go higher or lower than that? why?

RC   I did 200 copies with every issue. That's not a lot and it was sold good but to be honest, I really don't like the act of selling things and promote myself or the things I do too much. I'm fine with doing 2 or 3 Instagram posts but when it got more and more I felt more like a salesmen, rather than a photographer. And that's the point where it turns more into work than fun. But it was cool, that most of the orders were people from outside of Germany, even some from other continents. But next time I think I would go for 50% of the copies or have to find someone who really likes to sell things and give it to him or her.

FC   While skateboarding culture has become mostly digital, printed projects continue to exist, and new ones are born every other day. Making a zine, shooting photos for magazines, both behind and in front of the lens, what direction do you think this is going? Why do you prefer paper over a pdf?

AG   I definitely prefer to hold something in my hands rather than watching it on a screen. It's still something really special to me, to have a photo in a magazine.
But I prefer not to think too much about where things are going, and the future's not looking too bright . Let’s hope there are still some people out there, who can cherish it as well.

RC   As I spend a lot of time in front of screens, I really like to sit on my couch or at the kitchen table and hold something in my hands that is "real". I really like books and zines and got a lot of them. I've probably got more of them than time to look at. It's a pity. It's cool to see that new magazines get published with different points of view, layouts, photographers or whatever. I think there is a bigger variety right now, as it is in skateboarding in general. But as the skateboard industry seems to be having a hard time at the moment, I hope that they can still exist and companies will / can support them.

FC   Looking at your body of work together, from a photographer’s point of view, I noticed that it’s mostly fisheye. Do you believe that is a better tool for what you aim for or is it just convenient? Do you feel that the vibe of the session changes if you’re shooting closer, as opposed to doing it with a long lens from further away?

RC   In regards to taking photos or filming, it's much more fun to do it with a fisheye, because you're much closer to the action and to the person you are working with. There is just a stronger connection between the photographer and skater and to be honest, it's more thrilling. Fisheye photos, in my opinion, also have more energy than tele shots. However, I really do like some good tele shots, but they really have to fit the spot or there has to be an interesting light, framing scenery or whatever.

AG   Could be my fault.. I’m calling the „Lachs“ more often than Robert, I think I like being close with the photographer.. you really do something together and I like the action that comes with a close fisheye shot.
It’s quite often I tell Robert to go even closer and cut me off or whatever to really show some detail..
most of the times he said no, most of those times he was right.. 😅

FC   It’s funny, you almost gave the same answers to all of the questions.

AG   Yeah, but Robert’s answers are longer, right?