Perus

Perus is a skate crew from Finland who’ve been shredding and shooting in Europe for the past ten years. Translated as ‘basic’ in English, Perus was the brainchild of Finnish skater Pirkka Pollari who just wanted to support the crew he grew up skating with. “We were always into filming and we would make basic flicks with basic tricks in them,” says Pirkka on the Perus website. “At some point my buddy Risto came up and said, ‘Hey how about Perus team?’”

Known for their resolutely DIY approach, Perus have produced a bunch of self-released edits as well as some collaboration vids with brands like Emerica and the DC Embassy. Next week they’re teaming up with Pinkhaus and Kingpin to drop a new video at the Freudenreich bar in Berlin during the Bright Winter Trade Show. We caught up with Pirkka to find out more.

What exactly is Perus?
It’s an old homies skate crew that we turned into a brand in 2008.We make skateboards, wheels and clothing mostly.

Why did you start it?
To support our loved ones.

How do you hope it has an impact?
It’s nice to see it getting out there since we started so small. I didn’t really have any expectations so I’m happy to see and hear people become aware of it.

What’s the skate scene like in Finland?
Amazing! The summer is not that long so people are hyped when it’s warm and nice. We spend all of our days outside making the most of it! There is some indoor parks too for the winters and the kids kill it while they wait for the better weather.

Who’s involved in Perus and what does everyone do?
Myself, Jesse Turunen and Sean James pretty much do the most I guess. I’m doing a lot of filming and website stuff. Jesse has been pretty much taking care of our web shop orders. And Sean is the man behind the computer screen, pretty much doing everything he can to make us grow – talking to the factories and so on. Mikko Heino and Jani Leivo have been in charge of the graphic side of things, I have drawn a few wheel graphics here and there too.

How can people get involved/show support?
You can go on the website to check some videoclips and products and see if you like it!

What have been the challenges in bringing Perus to life?
Money.

What have been the major inspirations?
Homies, good times and the fact that we can support our friends.

Can you tell us a bit about the film that premieres in Berlin next week…
It’s gonna be a pretty basic skate video I would say. I don’t think anybody was really filming for the video, or stressing about it. We always just try to film things and see what comes out of it.

What is the Perus approach to skating/photography/filmmaking?
Just trying to keep things fun and not too serious I guess.

What’s the future for Perus?
Time will tell I guess but let’s hope it’s a bright one!

You can find out more about the Perus crew on their website.