Welcome to our 'Catching up with' series, here we dive into personal stories of people from our community about their journey, their style, their challenges, and what keeps them hyped on and off the board. Coming up first, Luca Lütkebohle.
Words by Lars Goos / Photography @johanna.lhd
Hey Luca, How is 2026 going so far?
2026 has been great. I got to surfskate a lot already and in the last weeks even played around in the snow with different equipment.
You are from Germany, right? Has winter been hard on you this year?
Usually in fall and winter we have a lot of rain. This winter though has actually been really great so far. We sometimes have rain in the morning, but then I could clean the new pool and only about an hour later it was dry enough to skate.
In January there was a lot of snow, but even then experimenting with other boards without wheels and trucks has been really refreshing. Since I was missing surfskating in the pool, I even took the time to shovel out the snow, clean the pool and dry it up. No joke, mostly with warm water. Then I had an amazing surfskate session surrounded by snow.
So for surf skating, mostly indoors or outdoors during the winter months?
I almost exclusively skate outdoors.
In closed indoor spaces I always miss the grip and we do not have a nice indoor transition park close to me.
For rain days there is a wooden miniramp close by where I spent most of my time in past winters. This year our newly built pool has been a gift. Because of the design and the fresh concrete it dries up very quickly.
Lets rewind for a bit and heading deeper into surfskating, what got you hooked on?
The feeling of the ride. Every pump, every transition, every corner just feels amazing. And getting the hang of grinds now is even more rewarding. It is not a simulation of something else. I just enjoy surfskating itself and the progress that comes with it.
The possibility to do whatever I want on top of this board. If I feel like moshing, I mosh. If I feel like going slow and learning technical stuff, I can do that. I see the city and my childhood home through completely different eyes. It is finally the one thing I can imagine doing for the rest of my life.
So any board-related sports before surf skating or not?
Yeah, my first boardsport was snowboarding when I was about five to seven years old. But I was only able to do it one week per year. Searching for that feeling of the ride in Germany, I also went wakeboarding a couple of times and tried windsurfing and kiteboarding. But nothing came close to the feeling of riding deep snow and being able to find new lines everywhere.
As a kid I actually tried to imitate that feeling by changing the front truck of my brother’s skateboard, but it lacked rebound to center itself. Looking back it actually looked a bit like a surfskate though.
How long have you been surfskating now?
About six years. In 2019 I finished school, started surfing and spent a whole year working in surf camps and surfing as much as possible. A friend of mine let me try his RKP surfskate and I was instantly hooked by the possibility of generating speed by pumping.
I bought the cheapest board I could find and took it with me to every camp from then on. I spent every spare minute on the miniramp just doing frontside and backside slashers over and over again. There I got introduced to YOW surfskates and it felt like a completely different thing. I had to get used to the weight of the front truck but instantly ordered the V1 adapter and stuck with the Meraki since then.
What is your favourite style of riding? Street, park, bowl?
I am definitely a transition fanatic. I mainly skate parks, bowls and pools. But if there is some transition in the street I am even more stoked to push my boundaries and make the spot work.
How does your quiver of boards look like now a days? Or do you just have one go-to board?
The past two years it has been a one board quiver. I committed to the YOW Christenson Skalle 34. Being 1.91 and having shoe size 46, I really enjoy the long and wide deck.
Recently I tried the new Lowers 34 and I love the wider middle part of the board because it works better for a more narrow stance.
Besides surfskating, do you get to surf eventually in Germany? Or do you mainly go abroad for surfing?
I mainly go abroad on a yearly surf trip to Cantabria in the north of Spain. But about two times per year I get the chance to surf in the German North Sea. The waves are not that powerful but every session is really fun, especially if the last surf was over half a year ago.
In addition we have the Leinewelle. It is quite different from real surfing because it is a river wave, but I like to spend time there on the board when I get rained out at the skatepark.
Any future surfskate or surfing plans? Being trips, tricks or whatever?
I have been working a lot on ollies. I was not able to do a proper ollie until last year and now I want to get it comfortably over the coping in our newly built pool.
Otherwise I just want to stay injury free, find new tricks and lines everywhere and enjoy my time on the board. Maybe I will do some short trips to the best spots around Germany and neighboring countries.
Since I only started surfing at 18, I am really happy that I feel safe in a lot of conditions now. Still, I would like to improve my frontside snaps and get more vertical. I enjoy the luxury of not planning my year too far ahead, so I am just excited about whatever happens this year.
If you could design your dream surfskate, what would it be like?
It would be a mix of the Christenson Skalle and the Lowers. I would love to have the wide old school tail of the Skalle on the wider Lowers shape. For my height I would also love one or two inches more wheelbase without sacrificing the nose and tail.
Besides board sports, what are you in to? Music? Reading? Any other hobbies or passions?
I like to play music once in a while. I play violin and piano. But my most practiced hobby is definitely cooking. It really calms me down and eating good fresh food helps me recover faster after injuries and intense sessions.
What's on your playlist for a good session at the park?
Lunar X, a local jazz band, Spanish punk, or right now I borrowed a playlist from a guy at the skatepark with about 300 completely different songs. It is really fun to mosh to.
Where can people follow you?
Mainly on Instagram (luetti4.0) and YouTube (Luca Lütkebohle), but also on TikTok (luetti4). I post short vertical videos on all three platforms, but bigger horizontal projects are only released on YouTube.
Thanks a lot Luca, that was fun! Any last words?
If you have not seen GREEN, my latest project on YouTube, maybe go watch it now. (Linked in the end of the page)
