ITW – Skate in Ukraine with Bohdan Porada

For the release from Bohadan Porada, Ukrainian skateboarder on a short interview to understand the difficult context in which he shot his video.

Where are you living now? You left your town Lubny ?
No, i am still living in Lubny (south east from Kyiv), I often go to Kyiv, where I have friends and more options for skateboarding.

I saw your part was mostly shot in kyiv. Is it a safer place compared to other places in Ukraine?
As soon as the Kyiv region was liberated from the occupation -On April 2, 2022, the Ukrainian army free the entire Kyiv Oblast-, it was more or less calm. But later, massive missile strikes began again, both with missiles and drones … so while the war continues, one cannot say that somewhere is calmer.

Between the sirens, the barricades and this constant threat of Russian bombardments, what is your daily life like?
For the first few months, I did not find a place for myself at all and lived in a state of constant descents into the bomb shelter and, in general, a lack of understanding of what would happen tomorrow! But over time, you begin to get used to reality, continue to live and do what you love, namely the fact that my friend and I started filming this video. Russians want to intimidate us, but they won’t succeed!

Are skateboarding and filming a way to escape?
To some extent, yes, because when we plunge into the process, we involuntarily forget about everything around … But after that, you still pick up the phone, go to read the news and again plunge into this hell that is happening now in Ukraine

And also to reclaim the city of Kyiv?
I thank our armed forces for the fact that Kyiv was not captured!

How is the skateboarding community doing?
Many who left, but those who remained became closer to each other than they were before the war

If we want to help you, how can the skateboarding community take action?
we have a community @skateukraine through which you could help

Do you have other projects in the pipeline?
Yes of course) I recently turned 30 years old and I would like to make my anniversary video part!).

Thank you for your precious time. Happy birthday. We can’t wait to see your next part. Take care Bohdan.