Behind the Scenes: Nick Kouros Lights Up Athens
An interview with the man behind Athina, the latest Inferno & Syeah collab video.
Nick Kouros just wasn’t very interested in making another skate part.
Having produced countless edits, a couple of full-length DVDs, and hosted the annual Grind Challenge video contest for a full decade, that’s quite understandable indeed. While my gracious host is still very much involved with the scene - quite the understatement, really - these last few years, the Syeahskate head honcho & Blade House organizer has focused his efforts on animation films (his stop motion work is especially stunning), and grown his portfolio accordingly.
Given that we share the same house, I am well aware Nick’s creative ambitions now steer away from the mundane skate edit. Which made it all the more remarkable when he mentioned he got that “itch” again, with a song in mind, a vibe to match, and a vision to achieve.
In short, he was interested in making a skate part again!
Dark streets, lit tricks, and skeleton rhymes, the Syeah & Inferno collab video Athina is out, and if you haven’t already, you better give this one a watch.
Having taken part in the making of Athina, I wanted to know more about the whole process, what brought Nick back on the streets of Athens with a camera in hand (and a couple more in the bag), and the force that pushed him to light the local spots up for a clip or two. Illustrated with some grainy black & white photography by yours, truly, this is a look behind the curtain: welcome back behind the scenes!
How did this project first come about? Were you just gathering footage and it just happened to be mostly shot at night, or did you go into it with a specific idea from the start?
Last summer, I had this itch to make a video featuring my friends from Syeah. Scratching that itch wasn’t easy, though, because everyone’s work schedules kept clashing. Then, when Bobi was keen to shoot with me, it was on! My goal was to showcase Athens skating as I know it—gritty and LIT.
Athens skating is night skating. Summer days are scorching, and in winter, it gets dark early. I’ve seen so many foreign guys come crawling back home after trying to skate during the day, dying. I’d been pitching this night skating idea to some pro skater friends, but a lot of them come from places with bad weather, so they just want to soak up the sun while skating.
Did you already have spots or locations in mind that would visually fit the concept, or did you take them as they came, and made them fit?
This project was pretty last-minute, so I didn’t have any spots lined up. Luckily, we had some great help from skateboarding legend Thanos Panou, AKA The Misinformer, linking us to fresh spots around Athens. We also revisited a few classics.
“These days, it’s relatively easy to pack a couple of bags full of lights and create memorable images.”
What are some of the specific challenges that come with filming at night, technically and also more generally?
Filming at night is quite rewarding. You get to light the scene and create an atmosphere. These days, it’s relatively easy to pack a couple of bags full of lights and create memorable images. Shaping light during the day on a skate video’s miniscule budget is nearly impossible.
On the technical side, shooting at night with large sensors and a small crew—or even by yourself—can be challenging due to the narrow focus especially when shooting on longer lenses, but I enjoy that rush. Of course, it’s frustrating when I fuck it up!
Given that he is a relative newcomer on the ATH scene, how was it working with Bobi? How would you describe the collaborative process?
Bobi was a pleasure to work with. I’m particularly fond of filming long fisheye lines, so we got some solid ones in this project. We knocked out that kink rail early, which gave us the chance to explore other areas of street skating. I’m quite open to suggestions during filming, and Bobi, being someone who’s constantly working on projects, brought fresh ideas and angles to the table. Filming was collaborative in that sense. Aesthetically, the vision was mine, but I’m thankful to Bobi for trusting me with it.
In general, what does filming with an established pro bring to a project such as this one?
For most of my life, I’ve been filming my friends. So working with guys who are really good at what they do has been a great experience. After wrapping up these projects, surviving 10 Blade House comps, and going through the Delfon Dio days, I can confidently say I’ve seen some pretty insane shit!
Who else was involved with the project? As the director, were there specific areas you needed help with?
I have to thank all of my dear friends who helped out during filming. Shooting a large sensor project at night is definitely a team effort, and I couldn’t have done it without them. I love finding ways to involve them in the process, whether that’s by rigging lights or capturing second angles.
As you were about to wrap up filming, Bobi got hurt and had to step away for a while. How do you deal with such a situation? Did it bring any extra stress or pressure for either of you?
There’s no pressure when no one is expecting anything. Bobi recovered, and we were able to finish the project. We ended up with 13 sessions in total.
Nighttime often brings a unique vibe, especially in larger cities. Did you run into any unexpected situations while filming? What’s the funniest or craziest thing that happened?
We avoided the sketchier spots, so everything stayed pretty chill. However, we did have a few alarms go off during the shoot. On the final night, we skated at a school and ended up being escorted by two cop cars and three bikes to the station- quite unusual. Thankfully, everything was fine, and we moved on to the next spot after they let us go.
Now that the project is out, are you happy with how it turned out? Is there anything you would change or do differently?
It’s been a while since I made a blading video, and I tend to forget some of the lessons I’ve learned from previous shoots. I’m sure I’ll make the same mistakes, like not prepping enough, in my next skating video. I'm fine with that.
“I had friends holding those lights and used AI to turn them into street lamps. If I had prepped more I would have avoided hours of strenuous VFX work.”
I don't like to see filmers in shots, so I did a lot of VFX work to remove them. When I couldn't rig lights that were in-shot, I had friends holding those lights and used AI to turn them into street lamps. If I had prepped more I would have avoided hours of strenuous VFX work. This whole project had so much of that stuff, it's nuts.
What’s next for you now? Any chance we’ll see you back on the streets with a video camera?
I met a film director at his movie premiere recently, and he asked when I was going to direct my own film. I told him “soon” and that this was my last skate video. This has been a recurring theme for years. It's all about that itch.
