OTHMAR VAN RIJSWIJK
The chances are high you’ve never heard of Othmar van Rijswijk untill now, but Othmar is the kind of guy that will do anything to go out and skate. He’s 19 years old and lives in a little Dutch town called Duizel near the Belgium border, but most of the time you will find him hitting the streets of Eindhoven.
Backside Noseslide /// Barcelona Spain /// Photo: Paul van Nimwegen
Maybe the easiest way to discribe Othmar is to compare him with a homeless guy. Although he does have a roof over his head and he doesn’t drink, he does wear pants for 6 months where his ass hangs out from slams and he’s in jail from time to time. I believe his ability to fart on command is the result of his years on a strict diet of eating fastfood 4 times a day, smoking cigarettes and drinking only cola and energy drinks. The moment he heard he needed to film a part for the upcoming 100% Skateshop video he dropped out of school…
Frontside Smithgrind /// Barcelona Spain /// Photo: Paul van Nimwegen
During our trip in Barcelona you could tell by the look on his face he doesn’t travel much. He was like a kid in a candystore and i must have heard the phrase ‘Dude, i’m riding the subway!’ over 20 times… Proving the homeless comparison, the first 5 days of our 10 day trip Othmar didn’t shower and he brought only 1 extra set of clothes for the entire trip. If you know Othmar you aren’t suprised when you hear him scream something like ‘I would tear her a part!’ out of nowhere to a random girl passing by, so you can only understand how much fun he had knowing they couldn’t understand him…
One day, after meeting up with Othmar at a spot in Eindhoven, he told me he was actually in jail that same morning. Curious about the stories behind the jailtime i ask him why he had so much trouble. Quoting Othmar; ‘When your skating in Eindhoven you’ve always got to watch your back because you never know when you need to disappear into the streets to shake off the cops’. But then he told me the highest fine he ever got was actually for destroying 2 trees when he was trying to climb a fence at a festival and he had to run for undercover cops. He spend the day in jail and got community service to pay the 2400 euro for the trees…. 
Frontside Boardslide /// Eindhoven Netherlands /// Photo: Paul van Nimwegen
Frontside Tailslide Heelflip Out /// Eindhoven Netherlands /// Photo: Rob Rouleaux
Othmar wants to thank: 100% Skateshop, Jeroen and Roos Sars, Hein Schellekens, Willem van Dijk, Mom and Dad, The DS Crew, Paul van Nimwegen for filming and this interview, Rob Rouleaux and True Skateboard Magazine
Photo and text: Paul van Nimwegen
