Who are you?
Sinan Yucel, I sign my art as ‘Siyu’. I lived in Turkey, in the USA, and I currently live in Germany.


How long have you been drawing skateboard sketches and why?
I’ve been drawing, sketching, and doodling skateboard related stuff for decades, pretty much since I started skating around 5th grade. Why? Well, who really knows, but mostly because I have an urge to do so and because I love skateboarding. I spent a lot of time skating so a good chunk of my thoughts and imagination was (and still is) taken up by skateboarding. And also I thought a lot of the skateboarding graphics; logos, board graphics, tshirts etc, were pretty cool, and I wanted to create similar things. You can check out some of my work on Instagram.


Where do you get the inspiration from?
A lot of it comes from skateboarding culture, like I mentioned, skateboard graphics, ads, tshirts, etc. But I also get a lot of inspiration from nature; beaches, mountains, leaves…other visual art genres; especially opart and geometric art, and also surfing, snowboarding, and music.


What does skateboarding mean to you?
Good times and friendship. Those are definitely the main aspects, but along with that skateboarding also means a rich culture of music, visual arts and style, a global camaraderie that overcomes all ethnic, racial, religious, economic, and even age barriers and a playful attitude; an attitude of finding humor and joy in things.


If there is one thing you could change about skateboarding, what would it be?
I would add a third truck on boards…jk. If I could change one thing about skateboarding, I would make it less performative; less focus on the pros one- upping each other with bigger or more difficult tricks, and more focus on fun and flow. There is a quote I love by the legendary surfer Nathan Fletcher, which goes: “You don’t have to be the best. The guy who’s having the most fun is winning.” And I fully agree.