French FRED
perspectives
We had a chat with legendary Fred Mortagne aka “French Fred” about his contributions to skateboarding and upcoming projects. Tune in.
> What are your essentials in the morning?
Oh I don’t need so much. Sometimes just a black coffee works great, although a fresh smoothie is much better and healthier.
> What is the best about skateboarding?
Damn, so many things! I fully fell in love over 32 years ago starting out with a plastic toy. The love is not slowing down ever since. It brought so much to my life. I was pretty clueless when I was 20 and without skating I really don’t know what I would have been doing! It might be cliché to say, but I truly think skateboarding saved my life and made it quite amazing! I am so grateful to be working in skateboarding and doing what I do. While some people were looking down on me for keeping on skating, now they must be like “What the hell?”. For so many years, I put all my energy into it and I still do to keep progressing.
> What connects and bring you back to Lyon?
Back in 2002 after I just finished the Flip video “Sorry”, I decided, that I wanted to go back to Europe. The life in California wasn’t for me. I could have stayed and still had a valid Visa. Flip and És wanted me to stay and work for them, but I just couldn’t fight my feelings. So I went back without any plan, but thinking that the best option would be to work for Cliché Skateboards, which is based in Lyon. Unfortunately they already had a guy, but soon after I got back, he got fired and Cliché offered me the spot! Stars were fully aligned.
Lyon is great because the skateboard scene is strong, the spots are super good, the vibe and energy is good plus there are always people coming to town to skate. It’s a great base for me.
> Tell us more about the Lyon Plaza.
The locals skate there everyday! I’m pretty amazed that they spend so much time there, considering it’s not in good shape. But that tells how important a main spot in downtown is. That’s where they meet, hang out, skate and have fun. It’s so damn important for a local scene.
> Top 5 tricks that went down at the Lyon Plaza?
. JB Gillet - Switch Fs tailslide to bs taislide
. Stephane Giret - Bs 180 flip transfer from one side to the opposite one (Insane!)
. Jeff Berthon - Bs lipslide down the long mini hubby going to the street, done in 1995
. Cairo Foster - Ollie the extra fat double set
. Hamid Bahri - Kickflip over a grass gap with the shortest run up ever (jump on board with 2,5 meters roll up).
> Favorite memory from the Flip Sorry video?
I’m never good at extracting one best thing. There were so many cool things. In general it was a thrill to work with such epic skateboarders. Geoff Rowley is one of a kind - such a driving force. I always like shooting with him, he knows what he wants, what he likes, what he doesn’t. He did a bs 50-50 the gap to Hubba in Lyon, which I covered in the “Behind The French Fred Scenes”. He slammed real hard. I really thought that was it and that he was done and out, but he decided to give it another try before the pain would kick in. And he landed it perfect! That was such an amazing feeling to see him riding away. I couldn’t believe it. That was truly gnarly, total love, dedication and very inspiring.
> What was the most uncomfortable situation of filming or taking the photo & which one the most delightful?
A lot of the time I have to lay down on dirty grounds to get my shots. No filth will stop me from shooting what I want! When you are focused, you forget about the rest. I did scare a bunch of people during the making of Cuatro Sueños Pequeños directed by Thomas Campbell. He wanted to get a shot from a rooftop, right on the edge to be able to get the shot. I’m not scared of heights, but Thomas was freaked out… he was holding my belt to secure me.
> Most delightful?
That might sound strange, but I love spending time in the dirty and stinky ditches of LA. I did a trip in the desert of southern California for a new film project that Thomas Campbell is making. We slept inside a ditch in the middle of nowhere, which was a great experience.
> How did the signature “Frangle” happen?
I wanted to push the progression of skateboard filming when I was filming the És video Menikmati and wanted to film epic tricks done by epic skateboarders. I was trying to do DIY cinematic shots. Although it was a big production, I didn’t even think of trying to get movie gear like a proper dolly with tracks for example. Instead I used my skateboard and started to practice long lens shots on spots where the ground was smooth enough to keep it steady. I remember Eric Koston being like “Are you really sure you want to film this trick like that?”, because he was trying a really hard trick, that he wouldn’t do again if the filming was bad. But I was confident and went for it, and the result was amazing. Then somebody called it “The Frangle”, for the Fred angle.
> Is there a new “Hybridation” project in the works? What is the biggest challenge, when you transfer your photo aesthetic into videography? How do you compare the style of your videography to photography?
I don’t see it as a challenge as I always try to mix both. There are many different ways to do it. I will always experiment and like to shoot both because you can’t do the same things, they can be complementary. The idea behind “Hybridation” was to create photographs with motion in it, still photographic shots in which you can see the full trick, the speed and the style.
> Which photographers were & still are inspiring you back then & today?
I’ve always loved Dan Sturt’s photography from the nineties and early 2000. He shot my all time favourite picture: Matt Hensley - Fs Ollie on the Cowboy hat. I started photography without any knowledge or references. I was really clueless about photography in general. Then I started going to exhibitions, buying books, and realizing that the work of many photographers was really attracting to me, classic photographers like Cartier-Bresson, Koudelka, Ronis, Uzzle...
There are so many talented skateboard photographers out there right now: Brian Gaberman, Roger Ferrero, Sem Rubio, Jake Darwen…
> How was it to work with Daniel Harold Sturt ? He seem very secretive..
He was more than secretive! He is from another planet for sure… His logics aren’t the same as anyone elses. I don’t know what he is doing now. But I always loved his video- and photography works, always unique and completely ahead of its time
> You’re an amazing composer.. Which architects and architectural pieces are thrilling you?
I love the work of brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. It’s just incredible and beautiful. I would like to go to Brazil one day. I almost set up a project recently to go there, but it didn’t happen.
> How did you experience Bolivia and shooting at the surreal infinity salt lakes?
I loved that place, but the project got cancelled as we were doing it… so sad. It could have been epic. It felt like on another planet and I’d like to give it another try sometime.
> What is in the pipeline for “French Fred”?
I’m going to focus on a few different things, that could blend together. There is my Element Advocacy starting at the same time as another one for Leica. Right now I’m out shooting in L.A with the Element guys, and well, it’s epic. I can’t wait to show the pictures! The other main project is my first major photography book that will be published by Thomas Campbell’s publishing company Um Yeah Arts. So things are pretty exciting, and I’ll keep up the good work! Last but not least, I just became a dad, so I’ll make sure to take care of my family!
> Famous last words
Shoot, shoot, shoot!
