Alexey Krasniy

Alexey is a transient yet true original in the European scene, originally hailing from Moscow where he first started skating, a sudden change in the Geopolitical scene brought Alexey to move locations to Barcelona where he now resides. Alexey lives and breathes authenticity. He shows that if skateboarding remains about seeing beyond surfaces — architecture, streets, concrete blocks — there will always be freedom, even in exile. He’s a skater who uses displacement as a lens — discovering gaps where others see barriers, his recent part Limbo is a testament to that, fusing his ability on a board with a surreal soundtrack from his past. We gave Alexey a call to talk shop from his adopted hometown of Barcelona and talk his about his journey, relocations, and skating with a plate in his foot…

Give us a little background on yourself?

My name is Alexey, I’m 29 years old and from Moscow where I was born and raised.

Where are you right now?

I’m in Barcelona, Poble-sec where I have been living for the past three years.

Talk us through your journey in skateboarding? Where did it all begin?

It all started in Moscow, I used to ride a bike, a BMX race bike. I wasn’t professional but I guess I was good enough to be getting hooked up with some gear. At a certain point it was too much gear for the time, for the space we had at home and my parents where like “come on man, it’s too much.” I had a skateboard as well and had this feeling that I had to ride. I have to ride things, whatever it is, I want to ride them. That’s where it all began.

And how did skating progress from there?

There was one guy in my hood who was really good at skating already, he had some sponsors and stuff. I saw him and how he skated and he taught me a few things, the basics really. We would skate a lot together. I remember one day going home and seeing the hole in my shoes, from the grip tape, that was the point where I realized I was hooked on skating – from the shoes getting ripped from the skateboard. Around 14 or 15 we started to move a little more to the centre in Moscow where I met more crew who became my friends and we started to skate a lot more together, downtown. I just skated and skated every day, it’s all I wanted to do – and still do. I met the guy that started the Vans program in Russia, he was kind of a legend and one day he saw me skating and invited me to the office to pick up some gear. So I swung by and it all went from there, I started to go on tour with the Russian guys that were already supported by Vans back then – it was a tight team. We had a skate shop opened by Toyla, of Rassvet now at the time and a few others, they also got me on the team which I was hyped on. From there we were shooting a lot, Toyla was really selective and I was proud of the stuff we did. Then in 2019, the Vans Europe team and I met Pfanner and the whole crew, I was finishing my studies then at the end of the trip they invited me to Paris… I guess it all went from there.

And now?

I moved to Barcelona in October of 2022, it’s been three years or so. It’s difficult to move your whole life when you are 25 or 26, it was hard for me. I never wanted to leave Moscow but luckily I had a lot of friends already in Barcelona. From 2019 to 2022 I was travelling with the Vans and Carhartt crew so luckily I knew some people. I was deciding between Barcelona and Berlin, given it was Autumn at the time I thought it would be cold in Berlin so I decided to spend the winter in Barcelona and see… I ended up in Barcelona and I’m really happy here.

Describe your local scene?

There are a lot of expats and a lot of skaters – a lot of different crews. You have to find your crew to settle in and enjoy it to the most. It’s a big city which I like, and the weather is pretty good. I film a lot with my friend Dima which is fun, we met by accident at a premier and now we film and skate a lot together.

How does your average day look?

I wake up – usually quite late like 10am or so as I like the nighttime. I stay up until 3 or 4am... I’ll take a cold shower – a little work out to get the body moving, then onto breakfast. Sort some admin and then go skate. Maybe play some guitar. I’ve been really into that lately. I can sit on the terrace and play all day.

How’s your Spanish coming on?

It’s a work in progress, I understand more than I can speak but it’s hard to catch up sometimes – they speak so fast. I’ve been taking some lessons but I need to work harder on it. I have the basics but I want to get into deeper conversations.

Back to skating, talk us through your Limbo part released earlier this year?

It took us a year to film, all over Europe with the Vans crew and some stuff from Barcelona filmed by Dima and Jack Thompson. It was a labour of love but I really enjoyed it. I have a lot of friends in Moscow in the arts and music scene that I wanted to be involved and try and support the independent musicians from home. They sent me over a lot of stuff. Paul Labadie was editing and he usually works with his own vision but he was super cool with working more collaboratively with my drawings, music and ideas that I had in mind. I really wanted to make something special, something for me that I had in mind – I never wanted to leave my home in Russia but I had to so it was personal for me – it was a weird, surreal dream.

Musically it’s a little different to other parts out there, talk us through that?

I know really good people in Moscow, good musicians, they were at an amazing music school and used to play gigs in Moscow all the time. I really wanted them involved to have something really different there and that reflects me and my personality. There aren’t words, there’s repetitiveness but also progression – it’s creepy too, it’s not happy. The music says a lot, I want it to make people feel something. Music for me is so important in life, it saved my life a lot of times, it answered a lot of questions for me that words couldn’t. Music gives you an answer through feelings.

Talk us through the plate in the foot?

I filmed the whole thing with a plate in my foot… I was on a trip with Carhartt in Milan and I was on the way back to Moscow. I had a connecting flight in Germany and the Vans guys were there, so I decided to stop and see them for some days in Cologne. Max Pack met me and told me that Dusty had broken his ankle – a great start. We skated a little, had some nice days and then ended up breaking my ankle as well. It started raining so hard, Pfanner took me to the Hospital, then gave me a cast and a syringe to shoot myself and I had to fly to Moscow like that. It wasn’t the best experience. I got to Moscow and they put me straight into surgery where I was blessed with the plate for 8 months… That’s when I started to play music; guitar, bass guitar and DJing. I started to skate about 6 months afterwards and that’s when we started to film little by little in Barcelona then. It was a heavy experience, a bit of a downer to be honest – but it makes you stronger.

What and who inspires you in skating?

Mark Gonzales. Full stop. A huge inspiration for me. John Cardiel I really get inspired by as well – he’s full of life. I never met him personally but you can feel that energy. Really anyone that is full of life inspires me.

And outside of skating? What gets you fired up? What are your interests?

Musicians, artists and film makers – the people with ideas. I like that whole scene. I’m really inspired by anyone that takes an unusual path - it’s so much harder to forge your own way than follow the same way as everyone else. You face challenges, you have to deal with it. That’s my inspiration.
 

How would you describe the vibe within the Vans skate team?

We’re kind of the band. Travelling around the world playing shows. Every trip is unforgettable. So many amazing skaters and people, when we get the band together there’s some magic happening… There’s so many ideas flying around, it breeds creativity. Pfanner does an amazing job of holding it all together.

Favourite Vans shoe to skate in?

I like the Authentic. Classic black and white.

Any last words? A message for the internet? A message to your former self?

Believe in yourself no matter what. Believe in your dreams. Appreciate your friends.