[ JAPANESE / ENGLISH ]

Photo_Zander Taketomo
Special thanks_adidas Skateboarding

VHSMAG (V)：　Morning. Where are you right now? Osaka?

Kotora Mitani (K)：　I’m at home. I rolled my ankle last week, so I haven’t really been skating much lately.

V：　Hope that heals up soon. OKWR dropped not too long ago. How do you feel about it now?

K：　While we were filming, we were piecing it together little by little during trips, so honestly I wasn’t even sure if it would fully come together as a proper video. But once I saw the finished edit, everything flowed super well. I thought it turned out really sick.

V：　You spent about a year filming after finishing SSTR. Was there a trick that stood out to you personally?

K：　Probably getting redemption on the Chinko Rail where I sacked my nuts. That was a big one for me.

V：　Yeah, the one from LENZ III. What was the journey to making it like?

K：　The LENZ III attempt was probably like five or six years ago. The ground at the top was so rough that I couldn’t even pop my tail back then. That’s why I ended up like, “Chinko (Dick).” But this time I’d grown physically, and since the ground was still rough, I tried it with cruiser wheels and it worked.

V：　How many times did you go back for that?

K：　A lot. Definitely more than five.

V：　I heard a little from Laurence (Keefe) too. Sounds like security was kicking you out before you could even try it.

K：　Exactly. We went there so many times that it just kept getting harder.

V：　That rail’s in Osaka?

K：　Yeah, Osaka.

V：　So whenever you felt mentally ready, you could just go try it.

K：　Pretty much. It was always like, “If Ogu and I can line up the timing…” Then I heard Iseki-san was coming to Osaka, so I thought maybe this was the moment. Felt like now or never.

V：　For those five years before you finally landed it, what was your relationship with that handrail like? Since it’s local, it must’ve always been sitting somewhere in the back of your mind.

K：　I pass by it all the time, so whenever I did, I’d stand at the run-up and think, “Could I do it?” I always wanted to try it, but at the same time I didn’t want to. I always felt like maybe it was possible, but I could never fully commit. Then once I finally tried it, I got it.

V：　What did it feel like finally making it after five years?

K：　It felt like, “This is the best!” DAL came out to support me too. Honestly it was almost all DAL power (laughs). He was giving me signals like, “Now! Go now!” Him and Yuh were both standing there signaling for me. Having my younger homie and a big OG watching me like that made me feel like, “I gotta do this (laughs).”

V：　You’ve been filming since you were literally a kid. Do you feel like your mindset toward filming, your persistence or attention to detail, has changed over time?

K：　Changed…? Honestly, maybe nothing’s changed at all (laughs). I skate every day, look for spots, and just skate however I want.

V：　Like with the Chinko Rail, when filming isn’t going well, how do you reset mentally?

K：　I just forget about it for a while and go have fun. Mess around, refresh myself.

V：　You’ve worked on a lot of projects already. LENZ III, your Evisen part, your adidas solo part, SSTR, and now OKWR. Was there ever a moment where you felt like you entered a new phase?

K：　Mentally I don’t think I’ve really changed, but when my pro board came out, I definitely felt like I needed to tighten up and take skateboarding more seriously.

V：　Has your thinking changed at all regarding the balance between technical skill and style?

K：　I don’t really think about balancing skating or anything like that. I just skate in whatever way feels best to me, and that’s naturally what comes out.

V：　Are there things you care more about now? Or maybe things that’ve become simpler?

K：　I respect contest skaters way more now. Back then I totally looked down on them. I used to think like, “These dudes are just getting scored by judges.” But recently I’ve started thinking, “People who battle using only their own ability are actually insane (laughs).”

V：　You’ve traveled all over the world through skateboarding. Where have you been so far?

K：　Honestly I’ve gone to so many places I can barely remember anymore. Taiwan, Korea, China… Australia, the US, Mexico, all over Europe too. Pretty much anywhere there’s a tour, I’ll go.

V：　Which place stands out the most to you?

K：　Denmark for sure. Copenhagen is just too good. It’s like skate heaven. The people are amazing, the city’s beautiful… it makes me think, “I wanna live here.”

V：　You were overseas filming for OKWR too. From the outside it looks super fun, but are there ever difficult moments?

K：　Honestly, I never feel stressed at all. Zero stress. I probably just don’t think too deeply about anything (laughs).

V：　So what are sessions like when you’re on tour?

K：　I just skate while feeling the vibe and energy of whoever I’m traveling with at the time. It’s not exactly about competing with each other, but we definitely push each other naturally.

V：　Last question. What’s next for you?

K：　adidas has a big project coming up, and I’m hoping to get something really good for it. I’m heading to America tomorrow, so I’m just planning to go all in.
 

Kotora Mitani
@kotora_mitani

Born in 2006 in Osaka, Japan. Emerging as a standout talent from an early age, Kotora is a street skater capable of handling everything from high-speed technical skating to massive, unconventional spots. Currently rides professionally for Evisen and serves as one of the leading faces of the adidas Skateboarding Japan team.