Scoot Or SkateTheQquestion Of Faith

Winter GamesOffSeason Is HighSeason

From Toy To JoyThe Micro ExtremeStory

ArtCoreTattooLegendSean Vasquez Stitches DeepGoingArt

The ExtremeScoot Culture Magazine

microcosmosSwitzerland 5,50 sfr

A u s t r i a 5 , 0 0 e u r oGermnany: 5,-- euro

Contents

microcosmos

Gallery06

Scoot Or SkateThe Question Of Faith

04

14

Winter GamesBenJ Goes SnowScooting

16

HistoryTheMIcroStory

32

Legal WeaponsOur 2012 ProScootersAnd TheirFeatures

18

Ben&JerryOurProsTellTheir Story

22

Scoot THe WorldBen&Jerrys Worldtrip 2012

28

ArtCoreTattooLegendSeanVasquez DesignedThe NewExtremeLine

The idea was simple: a vehicle that gets you from A to B, light-weight, small and easy to stow. However it´s birth in 1997 changed the world of mobility. This “small thing“ that we know today as the first micro-scooter suddenly turned the face of urban transportation. People went to work, Yuppies to parties, kids to school - everybody used a Scooter to simplify the daily life. A bicycle was no longer the first thing kids learned to move on after they´ve learned

walking...it was and is a scooter!And although parents saw their kids riding to school every day it still seemed hard to believe. To believe in the next generation. In a genera-tion of scooters and kids that bring our “toy“ to the next level. On eye height with skateboar-ding, BMX and Inlineskating. Tomorrow these kids will be parents and Extreme-Scootering one of the biggest funsports in the world. We at micro do the best to make our vision of micro-extreme become true.

From Toy To JoyThe Micro ExtremeStory

“When you suc-ceed a pretty difficult flip and adrenalin floods your brain you realize how much you love this sport.“Dario Corrozzo

“It´s not just driving arround with a scooter.It´s the cobinati-on of FMX, BMX and Skateboard elements that make this sport so interesting.“Loic Moi

”This sport is young but you can always see more scooter than skateboard riders...“Cyrille Scherrer

”Scootering has to be accepted in the world of freestyle sports. If you watch the youtube lists you find more scoot- than skatevids.“Jimmy Albano

“Many say this is for kids and not a sport...I won-der if they ever sended a double backflip!“ Jerry Walther

Today we see more and more scooter riders in the skate

parks. There are a lot of reasons for this growth.

First of all, scootering is easier to start than skateboar-

ding. You need a lot of balance and you have a really bad

control on your skateboard. Plus, there is no brake, so it

might be dangerous if you go fast or downhill.

On a scooter, you got a bar and a brake which give you

a perfect control. You feel comfortable and balanced. It’s

easier to hang around and start doing little tricks.

But we got a great advantage on the skateboard. We have

almost all the skateboard and BMX’s tricks. It’s a good mix

of those two different sports. You can go high as well as

technical. For example, there are two main categories of

scooter riders. The park riders and the street riders.

The parks riders enjoy riding skate or bmx parks and

going high, doing some big flip tricks, etc. It looks like bmx

riding.

On the contrary, the street riders are more technical.

They prefer riding ledges, rails or flat quite similar to

skateboarding. And there are a lot more tricks which are

typical for scooter riding. For example, the entire scooter

flip tricks. There’s infinity of possibilities and that’s why a

lot of people started or switched from skateboard or bmx

to scooter riding. It’s an open door to your creativity.

“I haven´t had that feeling in any other sport.“Sulivan Lemoine

PhilosophyWhy ScooT - noT SkATe

“The possibli-ties to combine different free-style sports is awesome.“BenJ Friant

GalleryRider: Micro pro Location: ISPO Munich

Hot Rod, Live Tattoo sessions, girls and shows.Micro´s booth caused quite a stir at the ISPO Munich, one of the worlds largest sport and lifestyle trade shows.

GalleryRider: BenjFriant Location:Karlsruhe

High Society:There´s no doubt that BenJ Friant was top since the beginning of a scoot scene.A stylish, let´s call it wall whip from earlier days. Shots like this rose his popularity fast in the world of Scootering.

GalleryRider: BenjFriant Location: Lausanne

TimeMachine: BenJ Friant five years later. Harder and more succesful than ever. Today he is one of the world´s best riders and his name is well known in the community of scootering. BenJ stands for massive airs and stunts. The picture is taken in his backyard in Lausanne.

GalleryRider:BenJ Friant Location: Lausanne

DirtJump at it´s best.Even waste containers can be nice obstaclesBenJ in Lausanne

GalleryRider: Ludo Pistat Location: Winterthur

Cool Wall Tab with style and class...

GalleryRider: Jerry Walther Location: Neuchatel

Micro Team RiderJerry Walther demonstrates his skill for high and precise jumps.His lay back style makes him one of the best street riders in the world.

14

ReportOffSeason Is HighSeason

Everything started in 2006. Micro had the idea to make a snowscooter. A basic

scooter with skis instead of wheels. They sent Eric Rabl (one of the first scooter riders in the world and my friend) the prototype. He tried it and then gave it to me to see what I would be able to do on it. I started by doing little tricks on small jumps. But it wasn‘t big enough. The snowscoot was very stable and balanced. That‘s why I decided to try some big air. I didn‘t expect it to be so hard to stay on the snowscooter while I was in the air. It took me so long to get

used to those big airs. Unfortunatelly the micro snowscoot wasn‘t made to do this kind of stuff, so it broke after a season. It was at this point that I decided to make my own snowscoot based on the prototype. Pretty sketchy made but stronger than the prototype, I had the same for 2 seasons. I‘m getting better every year. The feeling on this snowscoot is amazing. It‘s way harder than freestyle scootering but once you‘re in the air, you feel like you are flying. It‘s insane. Especially when you do a back flip or a front flip on a big air. The biggest one I‘ve ever

hit was 21 m long. You can also slide some ledges (jib). If I had to choose between scootering and snowscootering, I would easily choose snowscootering.A few events came up and I was asked to do some demos.. I did one at the final of Giant X Tour last year. Another one at Hill Jam this year and the Montreux Jib Festival aslo invited me. I‘m working closely with micro to develop and put this product on the market. This is going to be something big...

Text BenJ Friant

Watch the Full HDVideo

had to fly the scooters in.

Now Micro even produces high quality

products for the Swiss Army. Together with

Samsonite, Micro developed a new scooter

luggage piece that will revolutionize the way of

traveling. Very soon micro will come out with

a revolutionising electric scooter with motion

control.

The company remains tiny, with just 15

full-time staff – but that now includes one em-

ployee based at the Chinese factory for quality

control and monitor output. We concentrate on

product development and marketing.

My vision: environmentally friendly micro-mo-

bility products that now have even developed

to a new extreme sport…. Micro MX!

Micro Mobility Systems …..

driven by innovation.

16

HistoryTHe MIcro Story

Inspiration struck me one night in Zurich in 1997. Desperate for an easy way to get from home to

my favourite diner, I hit upon the idea of a scooter: It

was too far to walk, trams ran infrequently in the eve-

nings and I couldn’t be bothered to fetch my bicycle

from the cellar. I wanted something light and easy that

would get me there, but wouldn’t be in the way once

arrived and going into a hip bar.

For the prototype, I put a few things together and

took them along to a welder. Temporary I used strong,

but low-friction and more absorbent, plastics being

developed for in-line PU skate wheels.

My plan was to sell the scooters to Swatch Group,

the Swiss watchmaker, which was diversifying into

mobility via the Smart car together with Mercedes.

Their slogan was: “reduce to the max” and my scooter

was even smaller!

In 1998, K2, the US sports goods company, took up

the 3-wheel kickboard, which I had also been deve-

loping. K2 agreed to market the kickboard under its

name, but wanted me to handle production.

The kickboard arrangement gave me the basis to

proceed with the micro scooter, which I unveiled at an

international sports goods show ISPO in 1999. Kick-

boards were selling strongly, but scooter sales soared.

Also the first Razor or JD Bug scooter was developed

by micro. Relatively cheap, fun and practical, scooters

became a craze. At its peak in 2000, production

reached 80.000 units a day. We were filling 20 con-

tainers a day and still couldn’t keep up. Eventually, we

I F Y O U H A V E N O S T O R Y

No t i n the wildes t

dreams I ever th

oug th, tha t my firs t

micro pro to type

from 1997 now develo

ped into an ex

tre-

me spor t tha t

s oon will be bigger th

an skateboard

ing!

The firs t micro pro to

type was developed in

1997. We Ive come a

long was to develop

the ul tima te x treme s

coo ter.

I am proud, tha t my sons Oliver and Merlin tur-

ned my scoo ter visi on in to an ex treme spor t. They

were the firs t scoo ter x treme riders on this plane t.

Y O U B E T T E R S H U T U PI F Y O U H A V E N O S T O R Y

Y O U B E T T E R S H U T U P

18

Ben&JerryThe ExtremeScoot Portrait

Portrait

micro -pro-riderBen&

Benjamin Friant, 21

Could you introduce yourself ?My name is Benjamin aka BenJ Friant. I’m 22 years old and I’m riding for 7 years now.I was born in Paris in France. I’ve lived 9 years over there and then I’ve moved to Switzerland close to Montreux.

How did you get into scootering?I started with skateboarding but in 2000 when the first micro scooters came out I bought a scooter like everybody else did. I immediately tried to do some tricks with it. One day, one of my friends found an article in a newspaper announcing the first scooter contest in the world in Montreux. I went there and saw Terry Price, Eric Rabl, Martin Kimbell and Michael Cajas

for the first time. They were the best in the world. And as soon as I saw them, I wanted to do the same thing. And here I am

What countries did you visit for scootering?I went all over Eu-rope : Spain, France, England, Austria, Germany, Finland, Norway, Czech Republic, …and a few other countries in the world : China, USA, Mexico, Peru,…I still can’t get over

the luck I have to travel so much for my sport. It’s incredible.

We’ve seen some crazy videos of you riding a snowscooter. Could you tell us more about that? I started snowscootering 5 or 6 years ago. Micro gave me a prototype a little snowscooter. It was really fun to ride but quite fragile and it broke after a few jumps. After that, I took

the time to make my own and it was amazing. The feeling of hitting those gaps is not like normal scootering. The feeling is insane.

The feeling might be awesome! Did you have any fear, the first time you‘ve done a big jump?Of course, even a little snow jump is big (around 7 meters) and that’s bigger than a basic scooter jump. I was scared doing the little ones but I practiced it until I moved up to the 17 meters gap. Right before I hit that, I thought I was going to die. The gap makes you feel like you’re flying… then you crash because you almost never get a big jump first try. In fact it took me 3 days. Now I get it better and it‘s way easier.

What are your favourite tricks?Easily, back flip no handers and superman combos. I love the feeling of them.

A lot of people think that you’re a park rider, but we saw you riding street too. Are you a park or a street rider?I never miss an occasion to rider a good or sketchy street spot. I love riding street. Chill and riding in a city with my friends. That’s the best riding days. But no doubt I’m better at park riding. I love the flow in the parks. Going high and doing slow tricks.

You are now back on micro. What happened?I wasn’t happy with my old sponsor for a lot of personal reasons. That’s why I left them. And in the same time I got an offer from micro to work and being sponsored again by them. This was a great and perfect opportunity for me to come back to the source. I’ve been on micro for my first 5 years of riding. I owe them everything. The reason why I am where I am today it because of them.. That’s why I had to come back. Jerry and I are developing the freestyle branch of micro: Micro Xtreme and 180° (OneEighty). We create designs, organize events, do promotion, etc. It‘s my dream job. I can never thank micro enough for this.

Do you have a favourite sentence to say to our readers?Yep. Remember this: “You are always able to do more than what you think.”

BenJ, thank you for answering those questions and keep doing what you do the best!My pleasure! Thank you!Visit BenJ on Facebook

micro -pro-rider&JerryJerry Walther, 23

Who are you? Hi everybody I’m Jerry,21 years old I live between Neuchâtel (NE) and Biel (BE) in La Neuveville. I live with 3 roommates and my cat Sketchy. Except scootering I practice riding my down hill bike.And as anybody due to my age, I love to go out at night to party with my homies. What is Freestyle Scootering for you? But it‘s also a sport in which I believe that one day it will be at the same level as BMX and skate.That‘s a big challenge because In-lines, Skate and BMX did exactly the same thing. Now the problem is all the extreme sports that are around longer than freestyle scooters don‘t want scooters in the skate parks cause they fight them self to prove that they are real athlete.And now the big wave of scooters is coming and they don‘t want to be push out the spots or skate parks in which they fight their self to get it.This is normal: I will be afraid if skate was brand new and I see 20 skaters coming in the park/spots for which I did my best to get it. But fighting each other or to forbid scooter in skate park just cause some people don‘t want scooter in skate parks. We have to be all together the entire freestyle scene to push up the level have new park and stuff... Since how long do you ride? I´ve started riding 2006 with a guy from the first Micro-Xtreme team.

You are now working with micro, what do you do exactly?Yes, I have been working with micro about a month and help with BenJ build up micro xtreme. I make plans for new models and ride for promos the new scooters. I like very much working with micro and they give me the chance to participate in this xtreme sport. Thanks to micro. What is your favourite trick?

I can‘t say this trick or this trick cause it depends where you do your trick.I love flat bar and the grinds that you can do on it like a lip slide, back flip, front board...I will be scared of riding a big handrail in front board.So it really depends on the way you do it.

What is your best trick? That‘s exactly the same question as the last one for me.I will take an example for that.Make a back flip on fly box its okay. But do it in gap, drop-in, or on a small bank is way harder than on fly box so it‘s impos-sible to say what is my best trick. Why do you ride? For you? Sponsors? Or money? For me scootering is more than a sport it‘s a passion a pleasure first.I ride for me, myself and I first... I‘m playing... I will just say: ENJOY THE RIDE

Visit Jerry on facebook

Portrait

Camp Woodward is maybe one of the best Parks in the US. Inside and Outside obstacles and a giant landscape makes it a perfect stop for B&J

Micro trip to USA, Mexico and Peru

CAMP WOODWARD (USA)

Jerry and I left Switzerland February 24th 2012 for

Camp Woodward in California (USA) to promote, ride

and test the new micro xtreme scooters.

After a long flight, we finally landed in Los Angeles and

drove straight to the camp in the Californian Mountains.

Woodward has been our dream since we both started

scootering. It’s probably the best place to ride on earth.

The first impression we had when we saw the camp for

the first time was that we couldn’t believe how big and

huge it was. It’s a bit like a little village of skate parks.

Perfect skate park, 2 big halls, 2 trails for dirt bikes, 5

outdoor skate parks and a mega ramp. We went there

as counsellors. Our job was to welcome all the campers,

take care of them and give them advice with their riding.

More than 300 campers and some of the best pro

riders on this planet were there. Each day started with

an orientation for the kids before they hit the parks. The

atmosphere was insane. If you want to learn some new

tricks with pros, Woodward is the place you have to go.

We got a lot of questions about the new micro 180

scooters we were riding. A lot of people tested them,

22

TravelBen&Jerrys World Trip

Unbelievable how popular extreme

Scootering got within the last few years

Waitin´ for the next spot to rideJerry chills during a noon break

even the pros, and approved. These are the best

scooters we ever rode. Everyone wanted one. It was

funny. Lighter than any other scooter and extremely

strong, it’s perfect for park and street riding.

The camp lasted 4 days. And believe me, 4 days of

hard riding is extreme for your body but it was de-

finitely one of the best experiences of our lives. We

impressed the riders and the organizers. I got a few

feedbacks from the parents of the kids. They really

appreciated our presence and our work as counsel-

lors. I can easily say that everybody enjoyed seeing

micro coming back with an awesome scooter.

MEXICO

Right after Woodward we flew to Mexico City. It was

amazing to see how big and how high that city is

(2’250 m). Mexico is so different from any other

place. The traffic is a big mess and it was fun to see

how fast the people drove.

We spent two and a half days over there. As soon

as we got there, we went to a insane homemade

skate park. We met and rode with a few local riders

who were really nice to us. Right after that, we had

a show in one of most famous school of Mexico.

More than 300 students watched it. It was fun and

awesome to see that a few kids already knew us.

The second day, we were interviewed by the most

famous TV sport channel of Mexico. We talked about

the new micro extreme scooters coming out and

what we did during our trip.

The interview went really good. We even did a little

demo in the studio. Were going stay in contact with

the channel and send them some videos of us to

keep them updated about what were doing.

They told us we are now their special guests of

their channel.

Airtime:BenJ tests the indoor playground in Camp Woodward. Autographs, demos and riding all day long. Life of a pro is hard...

Micro organized a scooter contest in the afternoon

in the park we rode the day before. The scooter

scene over there is really small but after that contest

we’re sure that it is going to be way bigger. We

judges around 15 kids. The one who won (Daniel

Franco) surprised us a lot.

We ended our last day in Mexico with a quick visit

of the city.

PERU

Peru was our last and a fantastic stop. Unfortunately

we spent only one day there. But it was a full and

insane day. We met with an older micro rider:

Fernando Young. He is my friend since I started

scootering in 2005 but we never met each other be-

fore. It was really good to finally see him in real. He

and all our micro contacts took care of us. The day

started with a short ride in a few skate parks . It was

really warm weather. We did a show the afternoon in

one of them. A lot of people were there.

Right after the show, a lot of people came to take

some pictures and got some autographs from us.

It was amazing. At night we went to a beautiful

one the craziest trips of our lives. We would like to

thank micro and all our contacts in each country a

lot for this amazing trip. The scooter scene will grow

a lot in those places because of the work we did

together. We’re glad to be a part of this family.

BenJ & Jerry

restaurant on the Lima’s cliff. The view and the

sunset left us speechless. Then we rode through the

city to see Fernando for a bit. Sad about having to

leave Lima that early, we said goodbye to everyone

and flew back to Switzerland.

Really tired and finally back home. We’ve just lived

If you are on a mission

you can change the world

DeckArtTattoo ArtistSean Vasquez

Micro ensured that its appearance at this year’s ISPO would be an event to remember. The focus of attention in this context was not on the well-known scooters and kickboards designed for all and sundry. The spotlight shone much brighter on tattoos and rock ‚n‘ roll at the launching of the new MX Stuntscooter. The highlight of the show was, without a doubt, Sean Vasquez, the tattoo artist who demonstrated his skill with the needle live on the stand.

Sean Vasquez There is no doubt that the life I live is a life based on the philosophies that I have come to embrace thru the Art of Tattooing. I live like a tattooist. There is not much more in my life than the cons-tant pursuit of tattoo perfection. This art form is consuming like any other I would say. I can only speak for my own Guild thou. For I have no other experience beside the field of skin graphics. The moment I embraced tatooing as one of its participants, will be twenty-one years this March I believe. Stepping into the world of tattooing was like the beginning of a great adventure that would lead me everywhere in the search of enlighten-ment. A journey that even thou came filled with such passion, such trials, tribulations, and obstacles, would after time lead me to self-satisfaction. Even thou, my achievements’ have, never satisfied me enough to stop the quest. A quest that no matter how challenging and full of pit falls would lead to many a Holy Grail and many Pots of Gold. However, even gold can lose its luster

Art Core28

and grails can become all too easy to find. Therefore, the path is never finally walked down, and the road seems like it will be there til my shoes don’t work anymore, and my brain can no longer hold all the wonders that I have had the great opportunity to behold..As I look into the face of Forty-Eight this year I sit back and remember the “Old Days „the times before Throw away tu-bes, tattoo instructional videos, and You Tube.. Spending a good part of my tattoo career as one of the top professionals in my field. I have a great retrospective overall. I’ve watched tattooing grow to overwhelming statistics. Seen it change rapidly. Witnessed the waves of new talent and the ever-growing oversatura-tion of what was once the most secret industry in the world. There is no doubt that tattooing is here to stay!My intentions as a tattoo artist are sim

ple. I produce quality original artwork. Combining a Japanese influence with an Austro European Style never forgetting my New York roots I have created a unique and recognized style of tattooing that has become influential to all the artists working under my roof. I demand no less than total quality from my colleges as well as of myself.Today I get to see the whole thing a little more. I can take a better look at it be-cause I don’t have to run thru the world anymore. Tattooing is my sanctuary my place where I can think. I find myself sometimes lost in the moment. Never-theless, I am totally in tune with the work. In the groove, the music begins and off we go. Tattooing is not just a job it is my life. When it comes to my work there is no price one can charge that would pay me more than the satisfaction I get from working with, my people.

Got tattoo? Micro´s pro rider availed the chance to get a tattoo by the artist himself

Art CoreSean Vasquez

Art CoreSean Vasquez

Tattoo art and Extreme ScootingTwo things that seemed to be incon-sistent with each other...until now!

Leg

aL

Wea

pon

For advanced riders with sophisti-

cated tastes

With its ultra-light, single-component

handlebar, the mx pro opb differs from

its little brother, the mx pro 2pb, making

it the perfect choice for advanced

riders. Its outstanding technical details

meet the high standards that defi ne

today’s stunt scooter scene. A scooter in

a class of its own, thanks

to the support and cooperation of the

two professionals Jerry Walther and

Benjamin Friant, and indisputably one of

the best stunt scooters currently

available on the market.

MX PRO OPB

>HeadsetClamp

mx pro

Design: Triple clamp

>Fork

mx pro

Weight: 419 g

Offset 10

Clamp: SCS

Wheels: 110 mm & 100 mm

Material: Aluminium 6061 TS

forged one-piece fork

>Handles

Model: mx pro

Material: 30 A shore

Comment: softer grip, comfortable

for single-handed tric

ks

>Steer Tube

Model:mx pro

Design:two-piece bar / one-piece bar

Weight:1180 g

Height :60 cm

Width: 46 cm

Outer diameter:35 mm

Material:CrMo 4130 (chromalit)

Backsweep:backsweep is adjustable

ICS / H IC / SCS:SCS

>Wheels

mx pro

Material: Metal core, 87 A Shore PU

Bearings: ABEC 9

>Deck

Model:mx pro

Design: one-piece Material:aluminium

Weight:1475 g, Size: 50 cm, Angle: 81.5°

Concave: 3 %, Comment: one-piece deck

Pus

sy

W

agg

on

From a professional for professio-

nals - the scooter that sets

completely new standards

This stunt scooter is hard to beat. Desig-

ned by the experienced pro rider

Jerry Walther, we have developed and

produced this scooter to meet the

special needs of professional riders.

The mx 180° refl ects the highest

development

standards in today’s stunt scooter

technology. For example, with a

weight of only 1316 g, its deck is one of

the lightest available on the market.

But that’s not all. Taken as a whole, the

MX 180° is undoubtedly one of the

most astonishing developments we have

ever produced.

MX 180°>Headsetclamp

mx 180°

Special MX-clamp

Two independent clamp

functions. One for the fork

and one for the one piece

steerbar

>Wheels

mx 180°

Material: full metal core,

87 A Shore PU

Bearings: ABEC 9

>Steerbar

Model:mx 180°

Design: one-piece bar

Weight: 1125 g

Height:55 cm

Width:47 cm

Outer Diameter:31.8 mm

Material: CrMo 4130

(chromalit)

Backsweep: 3°

ICS / HIC / SCS: SCS

>Headset

mx 180°

Headset:

integrated

Headtube: fbuilt

for internal

>Fork

mx 180°

weight: 293 g

Offset 10

clamp: SCS

wheels: 110 mm & 100 mm

material: Aluminium 6061TS

comment: one piece-CNC-

machined Fork

Micro Mobility Systems AGBahnhofstrasse 108700 KüsnachtSwitzerland phone +41 [0] 44 910 11 22fax +41 [0] 44 910 66 29email: info@micro.ms

Name, logos and micro ® products are protected by copyright as a trademark of Micro Mobility Systems AG, Switzerland, March 2012 Copyright ©All information in this catalog is subject to change and replaces all previously published. Subject to change / design © Daniel Geiger.micro ® recommends wearing a helmet, elbow and knee pads!