Magic van Heeswijk: 'I really think Tilburg is a city for skateboarders'
Jumping, tricks, skating. Skating, battles, flips. Chill out in the Spoorpark with a skateboard and your best mates. In this Unfiltered edition we speak with Magic van Heeswijk: Tilburg top skater and winner of the NK Street Skateboarding 2016. Whether his opinion is so unfiltered? That depends on how you look at it.
Photo's: Camiel Donders
We speak with Magic, because the NK Street Skateboarding 2020 is almost around the corner again. This event is a foretaste of Olympic skateboarding. The best skaters of the Netherlands will come to the Tilburgse Koepelhal on the 27th, 28th and 29th of March. Not only will they compete for the Dutch title and a prize pool of over € 14.000,-, but also for important qualification points for the Olympic Games in Tokyo. In 2016 Magic became Dutch champion in Tilburg. How did that road go? You can read it here.
NK Street Skateboarding
The 20 year old Magic van Heeswijk is in primary school in Tilburg when he first comes into contact with skateboarding. 'I started skating because I saw a friend do it. Together with him I went skating for hours. In the end, more and more boys from my group of friends joined in. Soon I became addicted to the sport and I continued. When I won the NK Street Skateboarding in 2016, I was very focused on the sport. I was skating every day at the time, but my goal to enter the competition was to get better. Now I skate a bit less, about twice a week. My body is bigger and I also have other things I focus on, like teaching children in the Hall of Fame and soon the training to become goldsmith.'
So where Magic became Dutch champion at the NK Street Skateboarding in 2016, he will not go for the win this year. 'I'm just going to skate and I think it's super fun to compete. Of course I'm going to do my best to skate well, but if I do or if I don't, I don't really care. In 2016 I didn't expect to win either. I happened to do well then, but meanwhile there are ten other races with the same skaters that I didn't win and they did'. Tilburg skate examples for Magic include Remco Erkeland, Tommy van Berkel and Hans van Dorssen.
Skateboarding is trial and error
For those readers who know nothing or little about skateboarding, we asked what makes the sport so much fun. Magic says: 'The fun thing about skateboarding is that it's often just a whole battle with yourself. You want to learn a trick, you try it for 2 hours, you fall, you get up and finally you have it. That's what we all do it for and you can go on forever'. And unfortunately, that happens sometimes. 'I saw a movie of myself the other day that I fell on my head. That's going fast. Yet we always skate without protection.' Wearing protection is apparently a thing no one does? The unwritten code of skateboard culture, shall we say.
'I really think Tilburg is a city for skateboarders'
Skateboarding may certainly be a sport, but for Magic it has long become more than just the physical art. 'Skateboarding also involves chilling out with friends. You can chill without skateboarding, but that can get boring pretty quickly. I combine my passion for skating with seeing my friends. We're just going to chill out somewhere outside, skate a bit, laugh a bit.' For this phenomenon Tilburg lends itself very well according to Magic.
'Besides having the Hall of Fame for skating, we can now even skate outside in the Spoorpark. This outdoor skatepark is also recreated from the old Hall of Fame, that's really cool! First Tilburg didn't have any outdoor parks, but now that it does, I can often be found here with my friends'. Another city that according to Magic is doing well in the field of urban sports is Rotterdam. They really have a lot of skateparks and outdoor parks there.' But whether Tilburg should move to Rotterdam? Not according to Magic. 'There are many places in Tilburg that lend themselves to Street Skateboarding such as the Schouwburg or the Interpolistuin. I think Tilburg is doing well. Especially now that the outdoor park in the Spoorpark has been added.'
The 'TILLY' Street Skate obstacles in the Spoorpark
During the realisation of the Spoorpark the 'TILLY' letters were mentioned that would finish the outdoor park in the Spoorpark. These obstacles would enable Street Skateboarding in the Spoorpark. 'Now we're already having fun in the skatebowl, but the obstacles would finish it all off. It's kind of a cherry on the cake, but it's not necessarily necessary as far as I'm concerned. I'm happy already.'
And so you see. Unfiltered isn't as salty for everyone. Real Tilburg people always have something to complain? Magic doesn't. 'If you have nothing to complain about, can't you just say that?
UNFILTERED OPINION OF THE PEOPLE OF TILBURG
Within this section we give creative Tilburgers a stage. A Ticket to... the expression of their unfiltered opinion about the city. Are you curious who also has something to say about Tilburg other than Magic van Heeswijk? Then you should definitely read these interviews:
- Chris Oomes: 'Black and white, lots of contrast, with a story or a wink'
- Rob van Trier: ‘Rob van Trier wants to catch the light of Tilburg’
- Marc Storms: ‘De kuierlatten nemen’
- Ruud Lemmen: ‘Tilburg, a profound sound’
- Tim Henrik Schneider: 'Building mazes means arranging my whole life'
- Loïs de Jong: 'This is a typical city that suits me. The plants start to grow'
- Lotte de Laat brings Tilburg in the picture
- Unfiltered Anja Reinhardt
- Ruud van Eeten: 'Now it's Reeshof's turn!'
- Rob van Steen: 'In Theaters Tilburg we think even smarter than your supermarket around the corner'
- Ron van Gestel: 'Tilburg is by far the icehockey capital of the Netherlands'
- Stefan van Aarle: 'Tilburg, dare to show more urbanity'
- The filter goes off at our new Tilburg city photographer 2020: Hans van Dongen
- Fiona Zachariasse: 'The Tilburger may be more proud of the city'
Call to all readers
The quartermasters of the Urban Sports Area are still looking for funding for the pumptrack, for the Street Skate obstacles and for the boulders. Are you interested in crowdfunding or sponsoring? Please contact the Quarter Makers via lois@magmamedia.nl.