Since Volker Lux founded the non-profit organization SKATE VERT! e.V. organized and conducted a large half-pipe and bowl contest in I-Punkt-Skateland in 2007, he was banished from the hall for life by Frank Martens. ________________________________________
Who is Frank Martens? F.M. has been managing director of the I-Punkt Skateland e.V. for decades and owner of the business of the same name.
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How did the ban on the hall come about? Lux should pay 260 € on the event Sunday. He asked for an invoice and was surprised that the amount of VAT on top of it had been hit. Lux inquired at Martens why he should pay 260 gross on Sunday but now 260 net. Martens told him that the payment had flowed on Sunday to Skateland e.V. Lux would have wanted a bill, and the club could not bill. Therefore, the bill comes from the company of the same name (with the same logo) and the VAT must raise. This made Lux suspicious, because he has been chairman of the SuBCulture Bonn e.V. even since reaching the age of majority and knew himself reasonably well. For safety, he made sure at the Hamburg Sports Association on the accuracy of Marten's statement. There, a specialist Martens's statement recognized as wrong and warned Lux to settle this false bill: "Each club can put a bill, and if on Sunday was the service provider of the club, no one else can make this bill." Da the bill did not go to Lux privately, but to the Skate Vert! e.V., whose funds Lux managed in trust, would have made Lux liable to knowingly pay a wrong bill: that would have amounted to embezzlement.
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"You can just ignore the bill". This was out of the question for Lux, because he knew Frank Martens and knew that this would have led to harsh measures, up to a ban on warehouses. A reaction was required immediately. Therefore, a friendly letter was set up immediately:
Dear Mr. Martens After detailed examination of your invoice, u. a. by the accountant working for the HSB, we must inform you that your invoice is incorrect - quite apart from the new addition error. Please re-invoice us, by the actual service provider Skateland e.V., about the agreed price. Yours sincerely, ... The next night Lux wanted to go skating, when he was told by the Tresenkraft that he had a house ban because the bill was not settled. There was a phone call with Martens, in which Lux remained friendly and Martens again explained why he could not pay the bill. In the end, Martens said: So, either you promise me to pay the bill tomorrow, then everything is fine. Or you get a life ban. Lux responded, "Frank, no problem, send me a correct invoice and I will settle it immediately". Martens: "Got it. Lifelong indoor ban ". Lux had the "audacity" not to let itself be forced after the telephone call to the misappropriation.
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3 months later, employee Sönke said to Lux "It can not be that someone like you here has house prohibition, talk about it like two adults, it must be regulated". Lux gave the interview a chance, if witnesses are there, and so came Sönke and Jonn Rübcke. In that conversation, Martens canceled the wrong bill and set up 2 new ones, which Lux paid the very next day. Bar, as again desired by Martens, and including the reminder fee from the wrong invoice !! (Lux did not want to see that at first, after all, there was no delay in a legally affordable bill, but Martens insisted, so Lux took it.) Martens pledged to work for the ban on the hall to be lifted at the next employee meeting. But Lux should sign a statement that he adheres to the house rules. Approximately One month later, the MA rally took place and the ban was lifted, on condition that Lux signs a statement: 5 points that Lux had never come into conflict with but which were formulated so that anyone to whom it had been submitted would have come to a very negative attitude towards Mr. Lux. Finally, the phrasing claims that Lux committed a crime ("no further attempts at fraud"). Lux signed it, but deleted the words "more" and "future". That was not enough for Martens - he wanted Lux to sign these condemnations without any change.
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After 10 years, Lux took a fresh start: writing a submissive email to Martens, begging to bury the hatchet, and offering a win-win situation: Lux had made his skate school a major occupation and could be many school classes and others Groups lead into the I-Punkt hall - after all, the hall still has a monopoly position in Hamburg. Martens accepted the peace offer! At Lux pleased answer with the question of when Lux could come with the first classes, Martens replied: the classes can come immediately, but the hall ban remains valid for Lux life.
________________________________________ For 34 years, Lux has been passionate about halfpiping. As early as 1986, he built a halfpipe for the first time - entirely on a voluntary basis. In 1991, he planned Europe's largest halfpipe and led the construction, investing more than 1000 hours in the construction and operation of the company completely on a voluntary basis. His brand "subVert" carries the claim: "support for vert addicts" - support for half pipe addicts. The hall ban robs Lux of his passion. In the cold, wet half of the year, he would have to travel over 500 km to drive a halfpipe session with others. In the summer there are still 260km to go. Although the next halfpipe is in Bremen (120km), there Lux would have to skate alone, because there is no local vert scene. ________________________________________ The bizarre thing about Frank Martens is that he has been a specialist for skateboarding and aggressive inline for decades. He was never spotted on a skateboard either by Lux or anyone in his circle of acquaintances. He was never elected by skateboarders as chairman of the club, because the club does not respond to attempts to record. And he has never been voted skater, as it is decided by a committee of the Hamburger Eis- und Rollsportverband. When Lux competed for the Fachwart, he received almost the majority of the votes. But last, one hand went up from a woman representing HSV and he had 8 votes. Thus, the choice fell again on a person who is also negative at meetings of the German Fachwärte negative, in that Martens, if he comes, nothing contributes. A South German Fachwart wrote to me: "Yep, Frank Martens - with whom I already had contact. Wanted to know from him, why he does not contribute, as he said "the flood of mails of the SK and blahblah" - then advised him to resign immediately if he does not even get on the chain, read mails, let alone to answer, etc. Came no answer, that is one (XXXXXX) before the Lord. " ________________________________________
The spirit in the house I-Punkt: How / why / when did the I-Punkt skateland actually come? The hall was built in a time when pioneer Titus Dittmann drove the first millions of skateboarding sales in Münster. And after the Hamburg millionaire Thomas "I-point" Friese was banned because of gross unsportsmanship and fraud international sailing, as you can still read in the mirror archive. The I-point was withdrawn, the call was ruined. It had to be something new. It was obviously just right that his son skated and he became aware of this booming sport. One of Hamburg's best skaters made him aware that a skate hall was missing. And I-Punkt had a hall in Amsinckstrasse, which he then had converted. For a year he financed everything himself (which probably did not exceed the cost of participation in the Admiral Cup), then he went to the Senate and it was in the episode millions of taxpayers in the Skateland buttered. This was certainly due to the few chosen members, as Michael Osterburg of the Greens and Mrs. Veit of the SPD, we Jonn Rübcke reported at that time. ________________________________________ It would be interesting, how much the namesake of Skatelands has invested in the hall, since the early 90s. Normally title sponsors, such as NIke, the namesake of the Berlin skate hall "Nike Shelter". In Hamburg, the stories are different. Unfortunately.