Frederik Andersen, standing out in the face of the homogenization of skate videos

ICONIC BEHAVIOR, Frederik Andersen’s latest project, left a strong impression on us with the quality of its filming, its sense of rhythm, and the care put into the visuals. Beyond the solid skating delivered by the young Swedish generation, you could feel the real work done in post-production, especially in the color grading and the soundtrack, partly driven by a perfectly chosen band. All of it produced completely independently. We spoke with Frederik to get a behind-the-scenes look at the project, and took the opportunity to hear his perspective on the current state of skate videos.

Before we dive into the videos, can you introduce yourself properly?

My name is Frederik. You can call me Fred. I’m 25 years old, I live in Copenhagen, and I grew up here. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve been filming skateboarding for about ten years, and I’ve been skating for around twelve.
I went to Bryggeriets Gymnasium, the skateboard high school in Malmö, with a bunch of legends: Axel, Ville, and all those guys. We went to school together. Today, I work on documentary films as well as skateboard films.

You started filming super early, you said ten years ago. That means you were around fifteen?

Yeah, exactly. The video we just released actually had its premiere on the exact ten-year anniversary of our first video, which we showed in 2015 at the local skatepark. I have a photo from that day, so that’s how I found the date. I randomly realized it just a few days before the premiere this November. It was pretty funny.

What made you pick up a camera ?

I always tried to find my place in whatever sport or hobby I was into, trying to figure out where I belonged. I played soccer and tried team sports, but I never really found my spot. When I started skating, I already had a GoPro because I rode motocross for about ten years. I filmed friends racing and stuff, so I brought that camera to the skatepark. It became a way for me to feel like I belonged with my friends, who were really good at skating, even though I didn’t feel that good myself at the time.

That way, I could be part of the crew without needing a certain skating level. At first, it felt like the filmer was the one who wasn’t the best skater, filming the better guys. But then I realized that if you really put effort into filming, it could become your thing. It became my specialty. I got more into cameras and filmmaking.

What are you doing now, day to day?

I work a bit as a bike messenger in Copenhagen, and I go to film school where I focus on documentaries. I also skate, but right now it’s winter, so not much skating is happening outside. It’s kind of a break, which gives me more time to work on documentaries.
It’s always hard to prioritize your time. When it’s sunny, people are always down to skate, so you have to be ready.

I saw that you also started making vlogs on your YouTube channel in Copenhagen.

Yeah. I noticed how people often put out skate clips and then never use a lot of their footage. I figured I could do something different. On Instagram and YouTube, I started making mixtapes, combining footage from different periods, old footage, new footage, whatever. Like music, it never really expires. If it’s a good clip, why not use it again? I have clips that are ten years old that are still good.

So instead of traditional skate videos, I started doing these vlog-style edits. I just mix all the footage I feel like filming during the day when we skate. It’s basically all the footage that wouldn’t normally make it into a “proper” skate video.

Is it only unused skate clips, or also more day-in-the-life footage?

It’s mostly whatever I feel like filming when we’re out. Since I come from documentary filmmaking, I love filming random stuff. A lot of it doesn’t fit into a polished skate video. When the homies are messing around or doing random things, I just film it. It’s not staged or edited heavily. It’s organic. No heavy color grading, no hiding behind music. It’s just natural.

Do you think people are getting tired of only watching skate videos and want something more personal?

At least for me and my friends, we like watching stuff that helps you get to know the skaters better. Most skaters have a job on the side, and when you find out what they do, it becomes way more relatable and human. That’s much more inspiring to me than just seeing tricks. It creates a connection.

So people want to connect more with the skaters?

Yeah, for sure. I’d be way more interested in a trick if I knew what the skater was dealing with outside skating. Maybe they came straight from work, or they have a concert the next day. That perspective makes it human. Sometimes skate videos make it feel like skating is the only thing in their lives. That’s not necessarily sad, but if you only have one thing in life and it doesn’t work out, life can get tough.

I remember Alex Olson saying that learning to play an instrument alongside skating is one of the best things you can do. You learn patience, failure, and persistence, the same mindset you can apply to skating, filmmaking, or any art form.
You could break your knee tomorrow and never skate again. If that’s the only thing you have, it’s hard. That’s why I love balancing documentary films and skate films. They inspire each other.

What do you think about the huge amount of skate videos on Youtube today?

I think it’s good that people are creating and being independent. But honestly, I don’t watch that many skate videos anymore. There’s just too much. I mostly watch videos my friends are in. A lot of content ends up looking the same because people copy what’s popular: the same cameras, the same colors, the same tricks. Things stop evolving.

How do you try to be different with your filming?

It’s hard, because people inspire each other for a reason. I’m inspired by so many filmmakers. But on this project, I tried to use methods from documentary filmmaking, like working with musicians, color graders, and sound designers.

I worked with a friend who color-grades feature films. He doesn’t really skate, so for him, working on a skate video was super fun and different. We spent hours just working on colors, grain, highlights, and shadows. That was really inspiring.
I also involved friends from skating who now work in music or sound design. One friend mixed and mastered the entire sound. Another band recorded a new song just for the video. Seeing them stoked to be part of a skate video was amazing.
I even worked with a producer friend who doesn’t skate at all. He helped organize the premiere, find a venue, and book DJs. It made the project feel bigger than just filming and uploading to YouTube.

What advice would you give to a filmer who wants to stand out on YouTube?

I always ask myself: what would I want to watch? What music do I like? What feels right to me? For example, we used a popular rap song that some older skaters might think is whack. But we liked it, so we used it. Why try to satisfy everyone else?

You can experiment, and at some point you might even go too far like with EDGLRD videos where people might think it’s just too crazy. But at least try something new. People like Will Strobeck were doing crazy color grading years ago. At the time, it looked weird, and I remember thinking, “What the fuck, hasn’t he figured out how to set the white balance?” But ten years later, everyone is trying to find their own visual identity.

What was the idea behind the “Iconic Behavior” project?

One motivation was upgrading our camera gear : an extreme fisheye and an HPX at the beginning of this year. It was a big investment. But more importantly, the spark came from realizing that you don’t need to film something for years to make something good.
We agreed early on to just film that summer and see what came out. Everyone was motivated, especially Aske, who had a huge progression recently. We’re all friends, so there’s always someone down to skate. It’s very natural.

Can you talk about some of the crew?

Aske, who has the last part, had just turned 18 a month before the premiere. It really felt like a coming-of-age part. His style and trick selection evolved so much. Asger in the first part has been my friend the longest. We started filming together over ten years ago. Seeing him still skating and performing at that level was really inspiring.

How would you describe the project in a few words?

It’s the perfect example of having fun with your friends and seeing how far you can push that. It’s a mix of being professional and just fucking around. We take it seriously, but not more seriously than still being able to laugh about it. When you put that much love into something, it becomes a passion.

That’s when the best stuff comes out. It’s funny to see how far you can push yourself, your abilities, your craft. Everyone is doing their best in skating, but they’re also just having fun: being hungover, coming straight from school, going to work, dealing with girlfriend problems, whatever. That’s just life. In the end, we’re just trying to have fun.

In the video, what’s up with the guy at the beginning with the bottle?

That’s the question I’ve gotten the most about this film. It’s actually so funny. We were skating this spot, and this guy was clearly pissed about us skating there. My friend was trying a trick and tried to calm the guy down. He was like, “If I land it now, I’ll buy you a pack of cigarettes.” And the guy was like, “Fuck you, I don’t want your cigarettes.” He kept telling him to get a job, make some money — you can hear it in the video. It’s really funny. It became a constant battle because my friend was trying the trick for maybe half an hour. In the end, the guy got super angry. He said something like, “I’m going to kill you,” and my friend replied jokingly, “Fuck you, I’ll kill you instead.” He was just messing with him.

The guy got so triggered that he was like, “What did you say?” and then he started running after him. It was insane.

What happened after that?

I actually like that people don’t know exactly what happened. But the funniest part is what came next. That area is very mixed; there are hipsters hanging out and people who live in the surrounding apartment blocks. So my friend and the guy with the bottle are standing there arguing, and suddenly this hipster-looking guy walks up with sunglasses and a microbrew beer.

He looks like an idiot, honestly. Then he pulls out a police badge from his pocket. It turns out there was a group of cops on a stakeout at the skate spot, disguised as hipsters, probably looking for drug dealers or something. He pulls out the badge and tells the guy with the bottle to take his stuff and fuck off, and to leave the kids alone. Then the cop just leaves. We were all standing there like, “What the hell just happened?”

So he pulled out the badge before the guy hit your friend with the bottle?

No, it was right after. I don’t know how much he actually saw. If he had seen the bottle swing, he probably would’ve reacted differently. I think he just saw them arguing and noticed the guy holding a bottle, so he shut it down immediately. Everything escalated in like two minutes. It was crazy.

I love cutting the clip right there because it adds so much tension. People are left wondering what happened. Everyone was texting us like, “What the fuck was that?” Even in the comments. There was this one guy who commented, “Yo, I’m not even a skater, but amazing video. I live on this plaza and hang out here every day, and I’ve never seen anything this crazy. Please tell me what happened.”

That was wild, someone who doesn’t even skate ended up watching the video.

Do you have footage of what happened after?

Yeah, I have most of it. I filmed a lot, but at some point I had to get involved because it got intense.

Would you ever publish that footage, maybe as a snippet or a voiceover interview?

I prefer to keep it as it is. I like that people don’t really know what happened and can come up with their own stories. We even started telling people different versions like he got hit in the head and knocked out, went to the hospital, whatever. Anything could’ve happened.

Is that kind of chaos important for you in your videos?

Yeah, for sure. In my last video, it starts with a friend of ours who isn’t even a skater. A friend of mine who’s sponsored by Vans gave him a pair of Vans, and the first clip is him going to a spot with a huge bolt cutter and cutting off a chain.

It was at City Hall, super high security. That bolt cutter was almost as tall as him. That’s something you would never do in Copenhagen. It’s totally out of character. That’s the first clip, and then the music starts when the trick is landed. For me, that’s the perfect vibe to open a video.

How was the feedback on the video?

There was a lot of love. One of the best comments I got at the premiere was from a guy who said that when he watches skate videos, he usually goes into a trance with the music and rhythm. But when he watched our video, he felt like he was at a party with everyone in it. Like he got punched in the face and suddenly he was just there for the whole video. That was so sick to hear.

That’s the best feedback we can get. A lot of people also said it was the perfect mix of something serious and just skating with your friends. The best reaction for me is when someone says, “Fuck, I just want to go skate after watching this.”
Even people who don’t skate anymore or haven’t skated in years said that. That’s the best thing.

Last question: any upcoming projects?

Yeah, a few. One is with Louis, one of the standout skaters from the last video. We saved all his footage and made a part for Dancer CPH.
We handed all the footage to the Dancer crew, and they’re putting something together that should come out soon. That’s the winter project. And of course, more documentaries as well.