Skater boy

Ramping it up

Legend has it that he invited two circus elephants each weighing 4.5 tonnes to the inauguration of one of his skate parks and the gentle giants walked across the wooden ramps as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Elephants have been his totem animal ever since and feature prominently at his company IOU Ramps. "IOU stands for Innovative, Original, Unique," says Schützenberger, whose designs are famous for ramping things up. A typical example can be seen up on the ceiling of his workshop: Suspended a few metres off the ground and encased in wood and acrylic is a half-pipe ramp. Because even Schützenberger, a self-proclaimed workaholic, needs an occasional break from woodworking and, while he's at it, why not enjoy the view?

A new generation

BITURBO Brushless tools represent a new generation of Bosch Professional cordless tools that deliver up to an astonishing 2,000W of equivalent corded power – with just one 18V battery. This high-performance 18V series includes angle grinders, SDS max and SDS plus hammers, circular saws, plunge saws, mitre saws, and more, all more powerful than our previous cordless tools. The unprecedented power is thanks to a high-performance brushless motor and electronics optimised to exploit the capacity of our high-performance ProCORE18V batteries. With BITURBO, Schützenberger gets corded power without the cord. And he doesn't even have to upgrade to a higher voltage class or use two 18V batteries, keeping extreme power light in his hands.

Freestyle working

Schützenberger carries the boards up to the half-pipe, where he needs to do some free-styling with the BITURBO GKS 18V-68 GC Professional circular saw. As a woodworker, he values powerful tools that offer precision and freedom of movement. “With a hand-held circular saw like this, I can cut a radius in 24mm-Multiplex boards instead of cutting straight,” he explains. This helps, for example, with fitting in the coping, a steel pipe that skaters use to slide or balance on the edge of the ramp. Schützenberger also likes the tool's many details: "Easy depth adjustment at the touch of a button and there's a connection to the dust extraction system precisely where you need it and doesn't get in the way – these are aspects which are very important to me.”

Ready to roll

Thanks to his new BITURBO tools, the ramp is ready in a matter of hours. Schützenberger swaps his tools for a skateboard and gets ready for a trial run. He drops in with a few tricks that reveal the skater boy deep inside. He does a front-side kickturn, an axle stall along the coping, rolls in again, does a 180-degree flyout. Schützenberger looks calm but focused; it may look like play, but it's still a quality check. When he lands his final trick, he turns and faces us with a satisfied grin. "The day I stop loving skateboarding is the day I'll stop building ramps," he says. "But I've still got some years in me. It's just too much fun."