Solo Tango Presents "Plastic Jesus" and Rob Mentov Interview

We've been following Rob Mentov and the Solo Tango crew for a few years now. A group of tight-knit friends who travel the world to uncharted skate cities just for the love of the experience and the craft of skate filmmaking, film photography and physical media? These guys may be countrymen of our sworn enemy to the north, but it sounded like they speak our language. So we decided to look past their evil Canadian roots, and cast a curious eye upon their work. And we were very glad we did. Not only do these guys value many of the same dying elements of underground skate culture as we do, they're also damn good at many of them. From "Lobby Dart" to "Grease Fire", the Solo Tango guys do it right, and we're always excited to see what they have in the works next. So we caught up with the man behind the VX, Rob Mentov, to pick his brain about their process and motivations....and then, of course, we have the full new video "Plastic Jesus" awaiting your tired eyes as well. So give the short interview a gander below and your video reward is waiting for you at the end of the journey.

 All Photos by Roone Mcghlaughlan 

Al Furtado - Kickflip

Can you tell our readers a little bit about your crew? What is Solo Tango, what brought all of you together and what's the meaning behind the name?

Solo Tango is a crew of skaters and artists based in Toronto but working with locals abroad in all types of mediums. Our main output is skatevideos, and books based on our travels, but we are soon looking into expanding into larger scale works. 

Larger scale? I'm intrigued.....When did you guys decide to start traveling to exotic locations and making projects based on each trip?

We’ve been filming together for over 17 years now, but we had a spark on our first trip to Mexico city a few years ago. On that trip, we started creating projects under the Solo Tango umbrella, and haven’t looked back since. 

You make it sound like a cowboy movie...Where else have you guys traveled for these projects?

So far it’s been Mexico, the Balkans and Georgia (the country). We tend to get hyped on the places we go to and do return trips instead of hitting new spots.

Marco with a picturesque handplant

So what made you pick Belgrade of all places? 

Our homie, admiral Spasic, is a Serbian-Canadian. We were originally planning to go to Sicily but he convinced us that the Balkans were where we needed to be. He was right. 

Belgrade looks like one of those countries that feels like traveling back in time. What was your favorite aspect of being there, outside of the skate aspect.

The best part of Belgrade is the warmness of the people and the fact that you can smoke inside. It’s a wonderfully friendly city, and we only got kicked out a handful of times. From strangers, to skate locals, everyone is so welcoming, it just puts a smile on your face being out there. And as far as the spots go, you have plaza spots, and old socialist buildings, with everything in between. 

Marty jedi mind tricks the local police

What city has been the best so far for skating and which one has been best for culture, photography and general vibes?

I think Georgia has some of the best spots I’ve seen. Tbilisi feels like you’ve travelled back in time and has a strong crew of locals holding down the scene. There’s cutty hills and plaza spots, along with some really deadly architecture if you’re feeling like trying something crazy. The culture is incredible, from the food, to the banya’s, to the mountain villages. Hoping to get the crew out there soon.

The crew chills in the streets of Belgrade

Do you guys already know the local skaters you're skating with in each city before you get out there? Or are they all guys you're just bumping in to while you're out exploring the city?

We usually get a guide recommended to us and from there meet more locals. It’s way better to skate with the locals, film together and get shown the less known parts of the city. 

You're a film director in your normal 9-5 job...why do you find it important to still break away to keep doing these skate video projects?

I think that I’m chasing the purity of skateboarding. It’s something we love to do, and nobody is getting rich off of it. It’s purely for the love of it. With a traditional film, it takes so much preparation to create something impactful. I find in skateboarding, it’s quite sporadic, and you generally react to the environment. It becomes meditative to film the same trick again and again until it is landed, and the collective energy of the trick being landed is unmatched. 

I never thought of the meditative aspet. I'm usually just full of anxiety the whole time....Is there like a holy grail location you guys really want to do but haven't managed to sort out so far?

We are really curious to hit Central Asia. It’s quite far and expensive from Canada, so we’ll see. Hopefully someday. 

Rob taxed from another day of shredding abroad

Just gotta sell more zines man...Have you guys done an art show yet for one of your trips? You'd have zines, photography and a film to exhibit. It seems perfect for a little gallery event, right?

We just premiered Plastic Jesus in Samit of the non-aligned Film Festival (Belgrade) and Vladimir Film Festival (Pula). Whenever we do a Toronto premiere, we put up a gallery exhibition, but I know the boys are looking to do something on a larger scale. I’m curious what next year will be. 

Al Furtado with a crooked grind transfer

Sick....and, sorry, I'd forgotten that you did the Belgrade festival and Vladimir. That's amazing. Vladimir is incredibly special. So, what've you guys got lined up next? 

Honestly, not sure. These last few trips have been incredibly sporadic, and I know that everyone is pretty broke right now. So for now, just save some cash and see what happens next. 

No worries, I hate when people ask me what's next right after I finish a project. So just enjoy having completed another rad piece and tell people like me to take a hike.  Now, let's all peep "Plastic Jesus"....maybe more than once. And thanks to Rob and the Solo Tango crew for continuing to bring us rad, indie projects like this....enjoy!