Why is Montreal the skate capital of Canada?
August 13, 2020 / By nicolas
Having grown up in Quebec City, I have always envied Montreal skaters. When I was 15 or 16 years old, my friends and I had to take a minimum of one-hour bus ride to find a spot worthy of the name in the Old Capital. The bus ‘’800’’ between Beauport and D’Youville Square had become our second home.
We are jealous of Montrealers for having so many excellent spots and we dreamed of skating the Pointe-à-Callière Museum, the Peace Park or the bank of the Préfontaine metro. When we had the opportunity to come to Montreal for the first time, we were like children in a candy store. Everything was more significant and cleaner than what we were accustomed to skating.
As the years went by, I realized that Montreal is not only the capital of Quebec skateboarding, it’s also one of the most popular cities for skaters from all over the world.
Montréal was designated as the “skate town” of the year 2019 in its annual T-Eddy Awards exclusive of the renowned Trasher Magazine.
So we referred to a few international skaters to tell us what makes Montreal one of the coolest places to visit.
Greg has been coming to Canadian competitions for ages. The 35-year-old globetrotter has travelled extensively for skateboarding since the beginning of his career. Saudi Arabia, China, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Australia… the list is very long, but Montreal has a special place in his heart.
“Montreal is one of my favourite cities to skate in! The people, the atmosphere, the quality of the events and skateboarding spots… and also bars. There is no better place I would like to be! »
The skater from Bordeaux has come to Montreal on a few occasions, notably for JACKALOPE.
Like his French compatriots living on the Plateau, Frenchman Benjamin Garcia particularly enjoyed his visits.
“The diversity of the spots, the incredible community of skaters, and the events held in the city, accompanied by an extraordinary atmosphere and welcoming people! »
His favorite spot?
“I’d say the Big-O, because it’s unique. »
The 39-year-old Czech skater has come to Montreal several times, notably to take part in JACKALOPE. Each time, he was seduced to say the least.
‘’Montreal is not only a great skate city for me, but its one of very few places in the World that brings “the Whole Package”. The nightlife, great food, the way the city looks and feels and yes, the spots. Mostly, there’s one of my favorite skate events ever, Jackalope… Whenever Jackalope is happening, it’s not only the contest, but the fact I can come back to one of my favorite cities in the World and the vision of a full week of skate and party madness is something that not only I, but many of my friends look forward to.’’
Montreal, an exotic city
Ok, the term exotic may be a bit strong, but international skaters seem to like the European character of the city. Montreal isn’t Barcelona or Los Angeles, but the spots here have been seen in a lot of big-name videos.
Before he was propelled to the top of the international skateboarding scene, Ryan Decenzo had been particularly effective in Montreal spots.
In the summer of 2019, Sean Malto and Curren Caples, two of the world’s biggest skaters, came to Montreal for a session. They obviously had a lot of fun.
In 2016, the Brixton team came to spend a few days in the Quebec metropolis to shoot a short film.
Tom Asta has also filmed part of his part in the Santa Cruz Skateboards movie in Montreal. He notably landed a line of fire on two benches in downtown Montreal. He told a good anecdote on the subject:
KR3W had come to Montreal to tour with TransWorld SKATEboarding a few years ago.
As you can see, Montreal has become one of the hubs of skateboarding. Whether it is because of the fire competitions that are organized every year or because the street spots are of high quality, athletes from everywhere put the Quebec metropolis on their bucket list. You’ll say we’re chauvinistic… but Montreal has clearly become THE best skateboarding city in Canada.
That’s good, because JACKALOPE is preparing something very, very cool for you in the coming week. We can give you a few hints : skateboarding, Montreal, coolest spots. We want to tell you more… but we can’t just yet. To make sure you don’t miss anything, subscribe to our Facebook and Instagram accounts!