Javier Mendizabal & Oli Buergin.

The strongest of the strange.

Jocko Weyland of Elk 'zine and occasional Thrasher writing fame sent me a copy of Pontus Alv's video The Strongest of the Strange in 2005. It quickly became a favorite of mine with its tasteful mix of skateboarding and art. All the European spots looked great and the tunes mostly agree with my preferred jams. I like the vid as whole, but Javier and Oli have the two sections I always revisit.

For his part, Javier flows some effortless lines around a few skateparks. He also hits up a couple bank spots out in the streets while Kim Gordon sings about dessert. Javier is from Spain and rode for Cliché. Oli's part is mostly street with a little park and ramp action. There's a street grab, some handrails, fastplants, and cruising around to the sweet sounds of New Order. I honestly don't know all that much about him other than he works or worked for Sole Tech.

I think I like both their parts because they are both somewhat obscure rippers who are clearly comfortable with doing their own thing and aren't overly worried about the popular styles of the day. They each have that vague intangible quality where they look proper on a skateboard. That same notion can be applied to the full video as well. After a few years, Pontus would start Polar Skateboards. The company is clearly based upon the foundation of ideas he developed while making The Strongest of the Strange and skateboarding is better off because of it.

Diego Bucchieri took Javier's photo.

Javier: Transworld - August 2009 Volume 27 Number 8

Oli: Thrasher - June 1997 Volume 17 Number 6