Four-Wheeled Film School: How Gustav Stegfors Merged His Love of Skating and Film in His Latest for Urbanista

Director Gustav Stegfors and DOP Crille Forsberg skated alongside talent to leave no shot uncaptured

Many established directors have honed their skills and refined their craft by making skate films. In many ways, it's a solid substitute for the classic film school route; a hands-on, in-the-field course crash course in storytelling, framing, editing, and the ever-elusive act of capturing a feeling. Over and over and over again till you literally start bleeding.

So when Urbanista approached Giants & Toys' Gustav Stegfors to help launch their latest product, Malibu, he relished the chance to tap into his early days of filmmaking and reflect on how they led him to work with brands such as Adidas, Nike & Zalando as well as artists such as Yung Lean and Swedish House Mafia

Making skate videos early in my career really set the foundation for my commercial or music video career. It's so similar in many ways; location scouting hidden gems, the care of setting up a scene exactly, repeating as many takes as necessary (or sunlight would allow) to get the exact trick/shot, and then hours editing it all together to make something worth of sharing. 

And in the same way that skate culture influenced every aspect of my life, from the clothes I wear to the music I listen to, filmmaking now does the same thing. It influences the way I see the world, from style and music to art and culture in general. Most importantly, both skateboarding and filmmaking gave me a sense of creative freedom, of endless possibility.

Over the years Gustav Stegfors has amassed a portfolio of visually arresting films that combine a strong fashion aesthetic with a surreal dreamlike touch. Gustav draws inspiration from a multitude of sources ranging from fashion designers to musicians and is drawn to translating this into his expressive and adventurous films.