When we started making our own boards and products in 2007, it was partly out of necessity, as there were few or no Freestyle products available on the market. On the other hand, we also wanted to give young Freestyle Skaters a chance to get a sponsor. Because the brands that still offered Freestyle products only supported the already established old hands of the small Freestyle scene.
The Freestyle Team was born from this basic idea and has been built up with skaters from all over Europe since the beginning. Far away from mainstream Skateboarding, the task was to bring Freestyle back into the light and, above all, into the 21st century. Away from 80s stigmas and decks so small and narrow that they could be mistaken for a toothpick.
The team members are also involved in internal product development, events and workshops. As you can see, the Freestyle Brigade has always been about much more than just landing a Sponsor.
All this, of course, without forgetting the roots of the sport and at the same time anchoring them in the present to bring freestyle back into the consciousness of the skate scene.
Freestyle World Cup NASS, UK in 2006
from left to right: Christian Heise YOYO Schulz, Ka Dunkel, Stefan Albert
The Never Enough Freestyle Brigade was founded in 2007 by Christian Heise and Kai Dunkel to give young freestylers from the new generation a platform to grow.
It was inspired by the veterans of the German freestyle skateboarding scene such as Starsky Kleinhans, Bernhard Kümpel, Luis Max Escarate, Pierre Geisler, Ulli Schönborn and Yoyo Schulz, who breathed new life into freestyle in the early 2000s and tried to revitalize the scene.
Sennfeld Underground Contest 2009
from left to right: Kai Dunkel, Christian Heise, Robin Schoof, Stefan Albert right: Sebastian Heupel
For one thing, it was important to us to preserve the history and the founding blocks, but also to create a progressive development in order to strengthen the scene, the sport and network of Freestylers. So it was mostly endless weekend train rides and cheap bus trips across Europe to various freestyle events, later also taking the plane to North America to attend other contests.
Since then, many other things have emerged from the initial idea:
Own Never Enough products, new designs, numerous workshops, the World Freestyle Championships and many skaters who are now known worldwide. The networking of the scene and therefore new opportunities have also increased enormously – in no way comparable to back then when it all began.
Custom build freestyle boards including stuff from our own production
Over the years, we have had the pleasure of supporting some dazzling figures in the scene. Among them have been the former Freestyle Brigade members:
Terry Synnott, Stefan Albert, Ruben van Tuil, Kilian Martin, Robin Schoof, Callum Bowran, Erwin Shuvit, Sebastian Heupel, Fabian Friedberger and more.
Left: Robin Schoof, Erwin Shuvit in Amsterdam
Middle: Sebastian Heupel, Christian Heise, Stefan Albert
Right: Christian Heise at the World Roundup in Vancouver
In addition, there were further freestyle guest decks for Kevin Harris, Marius Constantin, Mike Osterman and Yoyo Schulz.
Freestyle has arrived in our age. It may not be as mainstream as regular skating (and that’s a good thing!) but it’s still stronger than ever. The scene is growing and thriving worldwide, it’s hard to imagine the Skateboarding world without it and has found its permanent structures. Nowadays we can be really proud of our family and international community, by our Freestyle Family!
The current line-up of the Freestyle Brigade can be seen on our team page!
Parts of today’s crew at the Freestyle BBQ in Paderborn 2023
from left to right: Andrei Novelli, Tobias Bamacher, Christian Heise, Daniel Adam, Robert Wagner