<!--:de-->Nike Sb “Spree Pack” Interview<!--:--><!--:en-->Nike Sb “Spree Pack” Interview<!--:-->

This week Nike SB and Berlin-based skate shop Civilist released their limited Stefan Janoski “Spree Pack” and even Stefan Janoski himself showed up to celebrate the release. Luckily we had the chance to do an interview with Stefan Janoski and Alex Flach, co-founder of Civilist, to talk about Berlin and the background story of the “Spree Pack”. Thanks for your time, guys!

Stefan, great to see you here in Berlin – in the beautiful backyard of Civilist! Let’s start with your connection to the store. What does Civilist represent to you?

STEFAN JANOSKI: Civilist is a real store, where you know the people and personality behind it. And it’s not just there to make money off, not like a mainstream place for tourists or kids. It’s a place to get good, high-quality stuff that’s been chosen by people who have good taste.

Alex, what kind of a skateboarder is Stefan to you?

ALEX FLACH: We’ve known each other for quite a long time. And it’s super nice because we can talk about other things besides skateboarding. Because, as you get older you start to interest yourself in other things, whether it’s art, music, or this or that. We even talked about girlfriend stuff. So, I’m stoked that we met and that we now have a place here in Berlin with the store where everyone likes to come hang out.

The Janoski model is kind of unique because it bridges the gap between so many different people.

ALEX FLACH: Totally, I see this every day. It’s interesting to see because even kids nowadays, it’s still the best-selling shoe for us today with skateboarders. And that’s why we decided to a regular Janoski as part of the pack, because we want to see it on skateboarders’ feet.

STEFAN JANOSKI: The shoes are also really good for skating. And also, once you wear them, they are so slim, they have a certain feel … it’s hard to switch to something bulkier, at least for me.

The collab is called “Spree pack”, so there’s the obvious connection to the river, which you can see in the reflective print. Alex, what does this river mean to you guys in Berlin?

ALEX FLACH: I’m born and raised in Berlin. So this little river was always there. And of course back in the days when it was summer, you wanted to go swim and you didn’t want to go to a public place for swimming. This was even before the Wall came down, so there weren’t that many lakes to go to as there are today. And the Spree also goes through the whole city, so it connects nearly every single neighbourhood. The Spree is not as well known as the Seine in Paris or the Thames in London, but for us Berliners – it is! And that’s why we had the idea to work around this theme.

Any reactions so far on the shoes?

ALEX FLACH: It’s good, it’s always interesting when you start posting the first pictures. Especially in this case it was really hard to post a picture because you can’t really see the print that well.

STEFAN JANOSKI: Both of these are really “in-person” shoes, because of the way it’s canvas with like the other material. And it’s hard to get that feel in pictures.

Stefan and Alex, thanks for taking the time and all the best for the Spree pack!

(Fotos: Nike)This week Nike SB and Berlin-based skate shop Civilist released their limited Stefan Janoski “Spree Pack” and even Stefan Janoski himself showed up to celebrate the release. Luckily we had the chance to do an interview with Stefan Janoski and Alex Flach, co-founder of Civilist, to talk about Berlin and the background story of the “Spree Pack”. Thanks for your time, guys!

Stefan, great to see you here in Berlin – in the beautiful backyard of Civilist! Let’s start with your connection to the store. What does Civilist represent to you?

STEFAN JANOSKI: Civilist is a real store, where you know the people and personality behind it. And it’s not just there to make money off, not like a mainstream place for tourists or kids. It’s a place to get good, high-quality stuff that’s been chosen by people who have good taste.

Alex, what kind of a skateboarder is Stefan to you?

ALEX FLACH: We’ve known each other for quite a long time. And it’s super nice because we can talk about other things besides skateboarding. Because, as you get older you start to interest yourself in other things, whether it’s art, music, or this or that. We even talked about girlfriend stuff. So, I’m stoked that we met and that we now have a place here in Berlin with the store where everyone likes to come hang out.

The Janoski model is kind of unique because it bridges the gap between so many different people.

ALEX FLACH: Totally, I see this every day. It’s interesting to see because even kids nowadays, it’s still the best-selling shoe for us today with skateboarders. And that’s why we decided to a regular Janoski as part of the pack, because we want to see it on skateboarders’ feet.

STEFAN JANOSKI: The shoes are also really good for skating. And also, once you wear them, they are so slim, they have a certain feel … it’s hard to switch to something bulkier, at least for me.

The collab is called “Spree pack”, so there’s the obvious connection to the river, which you can see in the reflective print. Alex, what does this river mean to you guys in Berlin?

ALEX FLACH: I’m born and raised in Berlin. So this little river was always there. And of course back in the days when it was summer, you wanted to go swim and you didn’t want to go to a public place for swimming. This was even before the Wall came down, so there weren’t that many lakes to go to as there are today. And the Spree also goes through the whole city, so it connects nearly every single neighbourhood. The Spree is not as well known as the Seine in Paris or the Thames in London, but for us Berliners – it is! And that’s why we had the idea to work around this theme.

Any reactions so far on the shoes?

ALEX FLACH: It’s good, it’s always interesting when you start posting the first pictures. Especially in this case it was really hard to post a picture because you can’t really see the print that well.

STEFAN JANOSKI: Both of these are really “in-person” shoes, because of the way it’s canvas with like the other material. And it’s hard to get that feel in pictures.

Stefan and Alex, thanks for taking the time and all the best for the Spree pack!

(Fotos: Nike)