Rooted in skateboarding. Lost in Amsterdam. The Vans x @ben.g.skateboardshop x @poptradingcompany collaboration celebrates Amsterdam through the love of skateboarding — inspired by the city’s iconic Amsterdammertjes and the characters that drift through its streets. Vanaf May 21st Everything about this project is old skool - from the genesis illustration to the pop-up event bleeding into the fabric of the streets around the Ben G store. It was important to us to hand-draw every frame and background in a totally loose state of flow. That gave it the glassy-eyed, slightly drunken quality Vans were after, and freed us up to animate almost without thinking - which felt right. When you skate, you have to let go. We tried to bring that same headspace to how we drew.