We had the pleasure of meeting Andrin Ruttiman, a native of Switzerland, skater for 10 years, worker and member of the RADIX team. We went skating and were able to take some photos, have a coffee and a good conversation.
How long have you been skating?
I got my first skate when i was about 13 but didn’t start learning tricks and going to skateparks until I was 15.
What is the first thing that comes to mind in your early years of skating?
Fun and freedom, but difficult at the very beginning because there were almost no skaters in my village.
Do you miss anything from those times?
Just skating every day and not taking life so seriously because you didn’t have much responsibility yet.
What countries have you visited?
As a kid I went to different places with my family, but for skating I’ve been to Vienna and Berlin. I also had the privilege of going to a school in San Diego, California for 3 months when I was 16, which also influenced my skating a lot and gave me a lot of inspiration.
One foot ollie.
Is it difficult to be a skater or to dedicate yourself to skating in Switzerland?
Since I grew up in a small village, I didn’t have any skaters to look up to at the beginning, so the start was very slow. When I started to go to different skateparks by train and to the streets in zurich more and more, I got to know a lot of homies and really started to enjoy it, which I still do today.
Filmmaker Sandro Casanova and Andrin review the filming of some new projects.
Do you know a little about the scene in South America?
Not very much, I know a few people from there, but have never been there myself and can’t say much about it
Do you like championships or participating in them?
I don’t particularly like real contests as such, but the dubious ones like a team battle or cash for tricks and things like that are really fun!
Ollie over the edge to frontside tailslide.
To what extent do you think a trick can be measured or graded?
Difficult question… not all tricks are equally hard or easy for everyone and on top of that there are so many different styles which makes it difficult to measure, which is exactly what makes skating so exciting.
What is the most difficult thing you have experienced skating on the street?
To motivate the homies to hit the streets and not to hang out in the skatepark all day haha, otherwise I don’t really have an answer to this question.
How long have you been a member of RADIX and what is it like working with the team?
I’ve been working there for over 3 years now and I still love it, it’s all great people and a very familiar atmosphere. Of course, there’s nothing better than working with the things I like to do, such as skating and snowboarding. And of course there’s also a very good coffee.
How do you divide your time between your job, coordinating sessions with the RADIX team and skating?
As I’m only employed part-time, I still have enough time for myself and to hit the streets with the Radix team. That often happens very naturally anyway as we’re all homies and have usually skated together before already.
What is the next step in your skating?
I don’t have any special plans in skating, it comes as it comes, just have fun and do it as long as possible.
Into a new project.
What does snowboarding represent in your life?
As a skater, winter is relatively miserable and I just don’t like skating indoors, then about 5/6 years ago I discovered snowboarding for myself and found out that it gives me the same pleasure to learn something in the snowpark on the rails as skating does. Plus the scenery is amazing on the mountains.
Bs 360 tailgrab. Photo: Rocco Caruso
Where do you think your real motivation is to leave home and go skating or to the mountains?
The motivation is that I’m outside, moving around and seeing my homies and different places.
Who do you consider to have been your real influences among Swiss skaters?
Since my «local» skatepark was in glarus, I was very inspired by the Habash skate crew as well as the Warriors from Ticino. When I got to know the zurich skate scene, other people naturally joined in.
The best day to put paper on the floor.
Would you change or improve anything about your local scene?
It would be nice to have a proper skateplaza where most people hang out, as it is now, it’s a bit scattered in the various skateparks and spots. However, there are always great events where most people come together.
Fakie frontside pop shoveit from a dificult ground.
Interview : Vidarodantemag.
Phototos : Francisco Chávez.