#MeetOurCrew - Dawid Dobija.

3D designs and extreme obstacles are his biggest hobby, and now he\'s developing his skills in creating marketing strategy and promotion. He started with DIY spots in Zywiec, and now skateparks that take the breath of many a rider are coming out from under his hand. Dawid Dobija, because we are talking about him today, currently Leader of the Marketing & Design Department, told us about the beginnings of streeet riding, cooperation with young people during the creation of facilities.... and revealed to us his favorite trick on BMX! You belong to a generation that did not experience skatepark prosperity like the current youth. How do you recall those years and your time spent \"on the streeet\"? Unfortunately, I came into this world too early (laughs). Nevertheless, I have mega good memories of my youthful years without a skatepark. In the town where I come from, we had a group of about 6 people who had a thing for BMX and MTB bikes. Together we spent many hours looking for various street spots in our area. The best spots for that time were new sidewalks, various monuments or natural banks. I can confidently say that there wasn\'t a spot I didn\'t know and didn\'t spend many hours there catcalling various tricks. At some point, all these spots stopped giving us enough fun and began to limit our progress, so we looked for alternatives. In our region there was a track for FMX, where we ended up by accident with some friends and tried our hand at bikes, but it was stupid! (laughs). This situation inspired us to create a mini DIY dirt park, where we could further develop our passions. Fortunately, the older generation had already come up with a similar idea, and not far from the lake there was already a line of 3 dirt hops, which only needed to be slightly refreshed. We could do tricks there from morning to evening, regardless of the season! Later, more dirt spots were created in my town and in the surrounding area. These activities strongly contributed to the development of bicycle sports. In the following years, many more similar spots were created, so that despite the lack of a skatepark, we did not complain about the lack of places to ride. Oh, and we didn\'t expose ourselves to unpleasant encounters with the authorities, either! (laughs) One of the more popular spots to ride in Zywiec - River Trails. The hops are currently used by local youth (kudos to the young team!). When did you first learn about Techramps? I found out about Techramps while I was still in Junior High School. It was roughly 2004, when I was still skateboarding. That\'s when the first realizations from Techramps started to appear, and I always dreamed of riding on one of their parks. Unfortunately, in those years nothing from Techramps was being built in my area and all that was left was to watch these facilities on the website, drool in front of the CRT monitor and hope that they would come to my neighborhood in the near future. At the time, I was still young and naive about the implementation of such facilities in cities. The first skatepark in your hometown of Zywiec appeared in 2008. Do you remember your first ride? Of course I do! It was an amazing event for me, as well as for my compatriots! We were finally able to get out of the woods and stop catcalling the same street spots and test our skills at the skatepark. Of course, then came the real verification of our skills, because the skatepark offered completely different possibilities than the previous spots. An additional exciting element was that a particular skatepark crew from Zywiec, with whom we had never been in contact before, was already in place. In those days, we didn\'t get into cycling in Zywiec. It changed a lot after I finished my education at the Middle School and started at the Technical School in Zywiec. Somehow we had to get into the good graces of our new buddies! (laughs) Dawid while riding at the skatepark in Zywiec. Have you always wanted to combine work with the skate community? I think everyone wants his occupation to be his job as well. In my case, with a confluence of various events, this is exactly what has worked out, which I mega-joy! If you weren\'t designing skateparks would you be dealing with...? A hard question - what if? But, as you ask, I would probably have gone into the field of mechanics, which I\'ve been jonesing for since I was a kid, or into knitting or other knitting. Tell us what it was like working on your first big skatepark project at Techramps? The first realization is always a very big challenge for a designer. How do you reconcile your surreal visions with the requirements imposed by officials and users? Unfortunately, often these pipe dreams, all sorts of dependencies and norms blur the original vision of the skatepark completely. Then, you have to clash with reality, come down to earth and do everything possible to make the Ordering Party and the users fully satisfied with the \"proven\" skatepark, because, after all, they are the ones who fought for the facility and they will develop their skillets there. I am grateful to my colleagues in the Design Department, who gave me comprehensive design knowledge and gave me full support in understanding and taming 3D design programs. What are the most difficult challenges to overcome as a skatepark designer? Generation Z is famous for knowing what it wants and being very demanding. The hardest thing for me is to reconcile my offbeat ideas and my desire to be on par with the biggest skatepark players in the world market. In our \"backyard\" it looks less colorful than everyone thinks. Ordering parties, as well as young people, practically always give their requirements for the facility in applications. They often include requests for low, classic skatepark obstacles, which is completely out of step with the idealized world of design and development of competitive sports in Poland. You\'re right with the fact that Generation Z knows what it wants! Young people don\'t fully realize that what is sufficient for them at this moment will be insufficient for them in a year or two, when this facility is built. The educational role in this matter lies with the Designer, but unfortunately, this does not always succeed, which I very much regret! The skatepark project you are most proud of is.... This question belongs to those in the difficult category. It seems to me that there is no such facility with which I would be 100% satisfied. In my opinion, if the Designer comes to his facility and says: \"Yes this is it! I wouldn\'t improve anything here! It\'s shtick!\", then in that case his development and creative thinking has just ended. Skatepark sports are developing a lot all the time, and many things remain to be discovered. While riding on each of my projects, I find that I would change certain things, do them better, more interesting and creative. Since you asked which facilities are my tops, I think: Brzeszcze, Kraków Kąpielowa, Puławy and AvePark. There are new challenges ahead of you. You\'ve become the Leader of the Marketing & Design Department at Techramps, how do you feel in your new role? New day, new challenges! In a nutshell, I\'m feeling busy! On the one hand, I\'m happy that I continue to stay in my \"corze\" and can participate in the design of skateparks, but it\'s also cool that I can constantly develop and take on new challenges, such as marketing. It\'s quite a challenge for me, but I feel internally that I\'m going in the right direction and will be able to participate even more in skatepark life. How do you assess the level of the Polish BMX scene compared to the foreign scene? Are we further in the \"stereotypical\" behind? Unfortunately, but I have to say with pain in my heart that yes. Currently in Poland there are no adequate facilities for BMX riders to be on a world level. What is the reason for this? Well, from the fact that skateparks in Poland are built according to certain requirements of officials and young people. The facility should be easily accessible to a wide range of users, which in a sense limits itself. Previously, when it came to consultations with young people there were people who were fully aware of the sport, had been practicing it for several years and were focused on development. It is capital to work with such a group, because we have in our minds related goals to achieve. You can say that we understand each other without words! It happens that we are invited to consultations held at the school and three groups from the fourth grade of elementary school come, for example, who started riding scooters last year. Such a team does not have enough awareness of the sport and that the elements that are designed for them are elements for basic tricks. Due to the fact that our paymasters are offices, the right institution will always go and intercede on behalf of the youth, not the Designer. Such situations result in the fact that our hands are sometimes firmly tied. In addition, no institutions or unions in Poland have made an effort to ensure that we can improve our skills at training facilities enough to represent our country internationally in the future. Favorite trick? Tail whip in various configurations. Your BMX idol? I don\'t think I\'ve had one idol, but there have always been a few riders who have always motivated me with their riding. They include Drew Bezanson, Brett Banasiewicz, Ryan Nyquist and Scotty Cranmer, for example. Over the years several riders have reached my top, but I think these four will always remain in my heart and have had a big impact on me! Drew Bezanson. Source: FISE.com Ryan Nyquist. Source: FISE.com Scotty Cranmer. Source: Youtube. Brett Banasiewicz. Source: FATBMX.com Trick you took the longest to learn? I took the longest time to learn my favorite Tail whip. I think by the fact that it took me the longest to learn it, it is also my favorite. Tail whip by Dawid Dobija. What can\'t you imagine your work without? I think without the people and the atmosphere we have in the company, as well as in the department itself. Where do you get new inspiration/ ideas from? Maybe you have some ways to keep your creativity and visions alive? A huge mine of knowledge for me is the Internet. There we can find a lot of skatepark inspiration and more. In addition to that, I look for inspiration in various architectural solutions that we can find every day in the urban space, or publications in the architectural media. Of course, it is not enough just to look for inspiration in industry materials. I get a lot out of moving around different buildings, or cruising and enjoying urban architecture. A big driving force to sustain creativity is that I work in a profession that combines with my passion, which is a big part of my life. Of course, I have a few additional ways to stimulate my creativity and vision, but I\'ll keep that as my sweet secret! If you had to give 3 tips for aspiring future skatepark designers, what would you tell them? Lots of skateboarding, BMX, rollerblading, travel to different skateparks, exchange views and draw a lot! Do you do/have you done any other extreme sports? Yes! I started my adventure with extreme sports with a skateboard in 2004 and rode it for more than 2 years. It was while skateboarding that I caught the biggest craze for urban sports. At that time I met a good countryman Adam, who was the first in our village to have a skateboard, and together with him I started this adventure. First rides, trips and DIY obstacles. I can confidently say now that if it were not for Adam, my life, as well as my professional career would probably have gone in a completely different direction. In addition to skateboarding, there was also snowboarding in the winter, well, and for some time now I try to jump out and go wake boarding from time to time. David on a snowboard. What are the best tricks you managed to load on BMX? I think such TOP 3 would be the Flare, Frontflip and Backflip, Tail whip. These three tricks sit in my head the most. Unfortunately, after a back injury such tricks had to go aside, but I\'m happy that I can still swing around the park and look for the right flow! Thank you for the interview! // Joanna Gęborska and Agnieszka Miłek