Roots in the Underground , Flowers in the Overground , QUCON's goal .
In the rapidly developing business district of Toranomon, a unique space suddenly appeared. A skate park covered with wire mesh, a bar counter, and a large monitor with wheel slide marks behind it can be seen. This facility, which was revealed when Tokyo's leading skaters simultaneously sent out information on social networking sites, is called "QUCON," a project that symbolizes the New Era of skaters. What is it that Katsumi Minami of Evisen Skateboards, Shinpei Ueno, and other current faces of Tokyo are planting in the cultural wasteland that is Toranomon?
It is about time that both writers and readers got tired of adding the eight words of the Tokyo Olympics in the preface of a skateboarding feature, but the Olympics will finally be held next year, and the role of the Olympics in shining a spotlight on the current skateboarding scene will become even greater. Major companies are supporting the entry of snowboard silver medalists into skateboarding, and many skaters, both professional and amateur, are now appearing on evening wide shows. From all ends of the spectrum, the scene is definitely on the rise. The debate between street skaters and park skaters, and those who are for the Olympics and those who are against it, are all topics that anyone who is interested in skateboarding has probably seen before.
In the midst of all this, a facility with a skate park and lounge space called "QUCON" opened within a minute or two walk from Toranomon Hills. The members of "QUCON" are Katsumi Minami, the representative of "Evisen Skateboards" (right photo), Shinpei Ueno, the leader of "TIGHTBOOTH PRODUCTION" (middle right photo), Hideaki Okada, who runs a skate media company (middle left photo), and Naoki Yokogawa of the brand "NAOKI-R" (middle left photo). Naoki Yokogawa (left photo), who runs the brand "NAOKI-R." . The fact that skaters from the underground have created a spot based on skate culture in Toranomon, one of Tokyo's most prominent business districts, is an event that will cast another stone or two on the scene.
Katsumi Minami, President, Evisen Skateboards
TIGHTBOOTH PRODUCTION President, Shinpei Ueno
Minami and Ueno, key persons in this project, are well known as skaters as well as filmmakers who film other skaters and leave their works on film. Minami released "Night Prowler" and Ueno released a film called "LENZ" in 2009, and both began to deepen their friendship.
section of TokyoAt the time, Kacchan (Minami) said he wanted to take pictures of me, so we decided to go out and shoot, and I think it was our first session at a spot called Meriken Park in Kobe. We had the feeling that we had been friends for a long time. Kacchan not only skateboarded, but also made skate videos, which is the same thing I do, so we both knew the process of skateboarding, and we had been down the same road.
MINAMIThat was in 2006. We alternated footage of "Night Prowler" and "LENZ" that day.
Katsumi is from Tokyo and Shinpei is from Osaka, so did you have any strange awareness of each other on the east side and the west side?
section of TokyoI don't think I had any.
MINAMINo, no, no, no, I think it was like Osaka Vibes never lost. I was young (laughs).
section of TokyoThat's been deleted from my memory. Maru-kun (Shintaro Maruyama, an original member of Evisen) was a skater I didn't want to lose to, but I don't think I was that competitive with Kacchan. Kacchan has more of an image of a producer, so it's not like we were competing with each other.
MINAMIMaru and Shinpei both have the same thing. They are both silly, funny, and incredibly serious about skateboarding . Not only do they have the same vibes, but their love for skateboarding is very close. I thought it would be great if we could do something together, so I asked them to work on "Evisen" with me.
section of TokyoKacchan had been saying he wanted to start a deck company for a while, and I was like, "Do it, do it," but I never thought he would actually start. Everyone wants to start their own skate brand, but it's hard to do it. Most of the time, the idea just disappears. But Kacchan said he was serious and wanted to do it with Maru and Shinpei. I wanted to respond to that, so I decided to quit my previous deck sponsor and work on "Evisen" together. I had always wanted to send out information about Japanese skating from Japan and make people around the world gasp in surprise, and I thought we could do it.
MINAMISo in 2011, "Evisen" was in full swing, and we started touring together and shooting footage. Shinpei was producing "LENZ II", so we shot that in parallel, and we all focused on "LENZ II" as well.
As Ueno said, "LENZ II" released in 2013 and "EVISEN VIDEO" released in 2017 are recognized worldwide as one of the masterpieces from Japan. Their weapons are not the big tricks from 15 steps or technical tricks that international skaters show in the mainstream of skateboarding. Their signature tricks, creative spot-seeking and ideas, and one-of-a-kind philosophy that emerges from a series of footage, are the result of each skater's relentless pursuit of his or her own style.
Understanding of skateboarding in Japan . . and how to deepen it.
Since they have established themselves as skaters by quietly filming and producing works of art, it was a shock to hear about the opening of "CueCon". Who would have thought that they would build a skate spot in an area sandwiched between Toranomon and Shinbashi, where suit-wearing old men come and go? Furthermore, the collaboration with Hiroshi Fujiwara's "FRAGMENT DESIGN" as the first project to decorate the opening also aroused interest. . It is an idea that no conventional skater would have come up with.
section of TokyoWhen I was first approached by Okada-kun, who was working on this project, I thought it would be interesting to do something outside of Harajuku and Shibuya. I thought it would be interesting to do something outside of Harajuku and Shibuya, and that was Toranomon. . I wanted to do something new because of the unique members. Taro Kodama, another "QCon" member, traveled around the world and noticed that every city he thought was good had a skate park and skaters, and that skaters were cool among the people he met. In front of MACBA, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, Spain, skaters can freely skate on the beautiful marble plaza without being threatened by the security guards. Skaters from all over the world gather there and there are sessions every day. We wanted to do something like that here in Japan.
MINAMIYes, that's right. Me and Shinpei have been watching the Japanese skate market from the end to the present, and we know the core of the market. We know the limits of the traditional skater's way of doing things. We had already done what we wanted to do with "Evisen" and "TIGHTBOOTH," so we thought we needed to take a different approach with "CueCon.
section of TokyoAs the conversation progressed, the idea of collaborating with Hiroshi Fujiwara's "FRAGMENT DESIGN" came up. Mr. Fujiwara had been checking me out for about 6 years and liked me a lot, so I thought it would be great if we could do something together someday. What made me especially happy was that he was able to articulate what he liked about my skating and my work better than most skaters. He also understood the difference between competitive skateboarding and street skating. I think that's why we were able to collaborate. The story of skateboarding in its purest form is a story centered on the U.S., even if you look at it on a global level. . Basically, in America, the way of thinking about skateboarding is different, not only for skate companies but also for the general public. It is obvious that there is a deeper understanding of skateboarding. But in Japan, there are far too few people who understand skateboarding. But we have to accept this as reality, so in order to create a good situation in Japan, we had to think of a unique way to do things in Japan.
MINAMIWe make creations that attract the attention of people in various fields, not just skateboarding , and then we give it back to skateboarding. That is our first priority. . What we are doing may be mass-oriented, but the fact that we have created a park in this way will remain as an achievement. We may be able to add another park in a different location. . Our goal is to create a good environment for skaters as a result.
Nevertheless, it seems to me that the two of you have chosen a harsh path. There is a possibility of getting hate from other skaters, and they will have to face the local and administrative authorities more than ever before. It is necessary to explain the historical aspects of the culture that have not been clearly explained in order to gain understanding and approval from many people.
MINAMIEven my closest friends asked me if I was okay. . I've had people say to me, "Oh, no, it's not okay. . It's really difficult in Japan. Everyone, skaters and non-skaters alike, are very serious, and there is a tendency to live life the same way as everyone else.
section of TokyoBut I have to convince those people to move up, and I see skaters not being able to skate freely in Japan anymore.
MINAMIIf that was the case, we chose to take the lead. Whenever we were in doubt, we would ask the skateboarding gods (a.k.a. "skate gods"), "Is this the right thing to do? He answered, "Go ahead and do it. And he told me to keep on doing what I was doing (laughs).
section of Tokyo. This time is just an opportunity, not a goal. With the members of "QCon" together, we can really do a lot of different things, and we plan to continue to set new things in motion.
Katsumi Minami
Born in 1980 in Tokyo, he released "Night Prowler," a film about skaters in Japan in 2009 , founded Evisen Skateboards in 2011, and released "EVISEN VIDEO" in 2017. Together with Ueno, he launched "QUCON" and is currently working hard to further boost the skateboarding scene in Japan.
Shinpei Ueno
Born in Osaka in 1983, he is a professional rider for Evisen Skateboards while managing TIGHTBOOTH PRODUCTION. He has released the films "LENZ" and "LENZ II", which have been highly acclaimed overseas, and has also produced videos for MONCLER GENIUS, and is expanding his activities in a wide range of fields.
QUCON
Address: 2-19-5 Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Hours: 11:00 - 20:00
Closed: Wed. and Thu.
*Please check the official website and SNS for the skate park's operating regulations.
Official Website:qucon.tokyo
Instagram:@qucon_tokyo