Jenny Schauerte <strong>The</strong> road less travelled <strong>The</strong> German downhill skateboarder came to the <strong>UK</strong> to learn about adrenalin. She left with the key to inner happiness Words RUTH McLEOD Photography TOMÁŠ TEGLÝ When Jenny Schauerte began downhill skating six years ago, she says she found the key to inner happiness. <strong>The</strong> 32-year-old has since become one of the world’s best in the sport, which involves racing down steep roads on a longboard at speeds of up to 100kph, often – outside competition – while negotiating oncoming traffic. It has introduced Schauerte to lifelong friends and seen her travel extensively; she has also used her passion for sport, adrenalin and filmmaking as therapy in testing times. Her latest project, the fly-onthe-wall-style film Woolf Women, is the story of a skate pilgrimage to an ancient monastery in the Turkish mountains. A celebration of downhill skating, travel and sisterhood, it marks the German’s transition from lone wolf to head of her own pack. THE RED BULLETIN: You started downhill skating in London, which isn’t exactly known for its mountains. How come? JENNY SCHAUERTE: I’m from Bavaria in Germany, but I did my bachelor’s [degree] in graphic design in London. <strong>The</strong>n I was accepted by Central St Martins to study my master’s in communication design, and my thesis was about adrenalin and how it can influence our emotions. I started doing research, looking at sports that are really connected to adrenalin, and I found downhill skateboarding. So you had never skated before? Why did you have such an interest in adrenalin? I had some experience. I was three years old when I first learnt how to ski, and then at the age of nine I learnt snowboarding, so actually I’m a snowboarder. But when I did the research and found downhill skateboarding, I thought, ‘Wow, it’s like snowboarding for summer.’ So I decided to look into it a bit deeper. I had to know how it feels. <strong>The</strong> first time I longboarded properly was in Crystal Palace Park [in southeast London]. What did you expect to discover about the effects of adrenalin? I wasn’t sure at the start. But experiencing it on my own body changed a lot. I knew how it was when I was snowboarding: you don’t think about anything but what you’re doing in that moment; you have to focus. But [downhill] skateboarding requires even more focus, because you do fall and crash a lot at the start. To have that singular focus and not think about anything else but what’s happening with your body right now in this moment was mind-blowing. It changed my whole perception of life in some ways. I was going through depression and I found [skating] could really take me out of it. A regular adrenalin rush is, in my eyes, the secret to inner happiness. Where has skating taken you? Everywhere! First, at an international race in Bavaria, some girls who weren’t participating took me to some backstreets to skate. <strong>The</strong>y were like, “Wow, Jen, you’re going super-fast.” In the beginning, I wasn’t able to properly brake; I was just going as fast as I could, then realising, “Shit, now I need to stop!” Skating with these girls was so empowering, and I knew I wanted to keep doing it. <strong>The</strong>n I signed myself up to a small event in Austria and I came fourth – in my first race! Little successes here and there push you to want more and go faster. I also got to know the community, and it was a big family. You feel part of something, and it’s wonderful – it really enlightened me. Since then, skating has taken me around the world. I’ve seen a lot of Asia, South America, all of Europe; I’ve been to the US, South Korea, China… I started properly skating in 2014, then in 2016 I came second in the world championships. I came third in 2017, and second again in 2018. <strong>The</strong>n last year I injured my knee and couldn’t race. Injury seems like a regular thing in downhill skating. How fast do you actually go? My fastest recorded speed was on a racetrack in Vermont [USA], and the police came with a speed gun to measure it for fun. I reached 62mph [100kph]. It’s crazy. If you crashed and you weren’t wearing leathers, it would shred you. So what was it that got you hooked on the sport? <strong>The</strong> adrenalin, of course. And when I compete, basically I want to have fun. For me, skating is about travelling with other skateboarders too, sharing that like-mindedness, talking about roads and mountains. You get a very different perception of the world. When I was in London I met a friend, Russ, from Lithuania. He was the first person to teach me to do a slide in the backstreets of Greenwich Park. <strong>The</strong>n we started travelling to Wales in my van. You develop not only a friendship but you have to trust the other person with your life. We have to spot for each other, for example. We have little systems. When there’s a road with traffic, we have one person at each corner, and the first one does the sign that you can go. If there’s a car coming, we cross our arms over 28 THE RED BULLETIN
“Skating changed my whole perception of life” THE RED BULLETIN 29
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