up: Mark Korte with Charlie Ashby and Aaron Feinberg.

If somebody can put USD where it deserves again that´s this guy. Back in the day when we were all flipping on Latimers new profile he was out there travelling with the All star team, settling up the original Stretch Crew and making this brand legendary. Now he´s back in rollerblading and probably has a harder mission. It´s an honor for us to present this interview with Mark Korte.

Present yourself.

Thanks, My name is Mark Korte – I am the USD Enforcer, an Army Reserve Solider, Father, Husband, Son and Powerslider.

Why did you leave and why are you back in rolling? Did you feel it was time to return?

Actually that is not far from the truth – when I left, I felt it was time for me to develop as a Sales and Brand Manager, some things in my life had changed, and I was looking for a new challenge, something that would be hard but fun, as I had been getting more and more involved with Golf as my hobby, I decided to go into the golf business and see how far I could go, the rest is history, as for coming back. That was a given really, I was always in touch with Matthias and we talked about me coming back and I was happy to come back as Powerslide is like a second home, and USD was a big part of my life for over 6 years, coming back gives me another challenge and I have the chance to lead a great team again and that is always where my talents lay. […]

Link on Magma-productions.com down | Mirror on Archive.org.
English Translation at the bottom of the webpage.

Who is Mark Korte and what does he have to do with rollerblading?

I can basically answer that by saying… I am the USD Enforcer, one of the founders of the Stretch Crew, and a Powerslide veteran… since a lot of kids might not know what in the hell that means, I will break it down.

I came to be part of USD in the late part of ‘98, when the team was Arlo Eisenberg, Champion Baumstimler, Dustin Latimer, Jon Julio, and Josh Petty. At the time I was only hired by Powerslide to push papers, but that changed after a week or so.

To make a long story short, I had found my calling. I got to know all of the USD team (which was going through a transition period, much like we are now) and I ended up being the filter between the company and the team; I might even go as far as to say the glue, and at the same time I was the International Sales Manager at Powerslide.

So I was able to combine all of that into helping make USD (and The Conference Brands that followed) the hottest thing available. During this period, of which I am very proud to be a part of, we had the undisputed best team in Rolling, I built a worldwide flow team to rival all others at the time, and worked with distributors in over 40 countries building USD.

I was very adament about everything having structure, and working with the best team of rollers in the world has moulded my personality to this day, and I am grateful to each and every one who ever rolled for USD. […]

Full Interview on Oneblademag.com.
Originally posted on Believeinone.com | backup on Archive.org.

Mark Korte is Back! Back in the day, when the legend of the infamous Stretch Crew reached around the world. Back when Coup De Tat was the authority on Rollerblading, back when USD consolidated the undisputed sickest, most powerful, stylish and most influential skate team on the planet – there was one person in the wings, always motivating, encouraging, managing, and developing the USD brand to rule over the Rollerblading world – Mark Korte.

Known as one of the craziest fools on the planet, he lived and breathed USD. Eventually forming an unbeatable worldwide flow team – some of which are currently still representing today and some of which even have carried the USD / Conference flag since he left to pursue other endevours in the Golf business.

But, now the time has come for the passion to return to the USD / Conference with the return of the Prodigy, the return of the glory days when USD was considered to be the leader and innovator of the Rollerblading lifestyle, the days when it was not enough to be an amazing skater, you had to have style, personality, and a true love for rollerblading. Reviving the glory of the days of Arlo Eisenberg, Jon Julio, Champion Baumstimler, Dustin Latimer and Josh Petty. Those who made Rolling what it is today. The founder of the Stretch Crew and the USD Enforcer is on a mission to return USD to the top of the game in Rollerblading.

The last of the famous international playboys – Mark Korte, coming to a city near you with the New Stretch Crew, which will be restructured to bring Rolling back to you, the individual skater, back to the reason we do this in the first place – for the lifestyle, and for those who want to have the most innovative equipment available from the most dedicated skater owned company in Rolling – USD and The Conference Team – also led by Bauer, true to The Conference since day 1, will continue to push forward. He will now be concentrating more on the improvement of the product and sales and representing like always. Mark Korte and Stefan Beierlein (Bauer) the new Conference Dream Team. Both will be assisted by Oli Benet and Demetrios George. The Motherfucking Stretch Crew is back, with a Vengeance!

Thanks Mark.

Deshi is becoming a part of USD.

Photo: Jeremy Stephenson (Jero, 2008)

I have noticed that in blading there is a heavy imbalance between the amount of males and females. A female on blades is the exception; men seem to rule the sport in every aspect from shredding to company ownership to sheer numbers. I take this to be a supreme bum-rush. What are we doing wrong?

One time Frank Stoner and I had a conversation about this and I think he put it best. In sports like surfing, skiing, and snowboarding, there is a strong female following.

Granted they are still male dominated sports, but the ratio of male to females in those sports out weighs rollerblading. Anyways, those activities are more family oriented and I think that’s one reason the females are plentiful there and not in rollerblading. Families with little girls will go on a ski trip every winter, exposing that little girl to the snow, balancing her skis, witnessing demos, etc.

That type of exposure at a young age makes all the difference in the long run. But, the rollerblader girls get pretty spoiled for sure. […]

• Interview on Stabyourselfintheface.com: Link Down | Archive.org backup.
• Shock Video featured in the Interview: PLAY (Vimeo). Featuring Skatings, skits and fun clips.