Meeting… Alex Richard!
Photos: Loïc Benoît
Interview: Benjamin Deberdt
“[…] Watching the skaters’ footage you would unlock…”
Young Alex, despite his angel face, has always look older… On his board! His skating has always been a very personal mix of very diverse influences and types of shredding that some would oppose. This always made him stand out, and makes us want to find out more…
You are still a youngster that needs to introduce himself. How would you do that, in a non-skate context?
Skate context, or not, I am named Alex Richard, I am 22 and I live in Bordeaux. And I have been skateboarding for ten years, now.
What do you with your life?
At the moment, I am fully skating, in Bordeaux, and I am trying to be on the move as much as possible. It changes everyday…
So, no work, no school?
I quit school a bit early. So, it isn’t easy to find work, at the moment… I had a few jobs here and there, and I worked at Riot skateshop for a while. Now, I’d like to find a part-time that would allow me to work and skate…
How did you come upon skateboarding?
If I remember well, it was while playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater, the video game, watching the skaters’ footage you would unlock… I know, that’s not so glamorous
Where are you right now?
I have been in Dunkerque (France) with Fred Plocque Santos for the past days. We were in Paris just before, and we might head out to Crete island.
Crete, just like that? Any reason?
Our friend “Grilladin” got contacts there, it will be his third trip there, and he already filmed a full part of Joseph Biais, once, in one stay. Spots look really crazy. Add some idyllic landscapes, summer temperatures… Sounds like a great destination to me!
Frontside flip
On the other end, Dunkerque is not really on top of the skate destinations, in France… Describe us how it is?
That’s true, Dunkerque is not the trendy destination for skaters. It’s pretty quiet and empty, as a city. At least, way more than in Paris or Bordeaux. There is less traffic, less people in the streets, so that’s quite handy to skate. Spots are usually sketchy, but numerous, rough grounds, lots of bricks all around. Then, you have François Andries and Flo Merten, two young locals that are on it, Grilladin that lives here and films, and a bunch of kids that skate a lot. They are lucky to have a roofed skatepark, considering the usual weather conditions. Another good point would be the proximity of Belgium and all the frontier towns, where you find town of spots.
What about Bordeaux, what’s happening over there?
Bordeaux is Longboard City! No, jokes aside, Bordeaux is great, and I don’t say it out of pride anything like that. We are blessed with many spots in a city center that isn’t even that big. All the suburb towns are accessible with the tram. Weather can be all over the place, we do get our sunny days, plus it’s a nice city to live in, with what you need to party, eat well and have fun without spending too much. Many pretty girls too!
What do you planned for the rest of the summer? More traveling?
Considering my budget, I have no idea, really. I am going to try to go to Basque Country, and Spain. It isn’t far from Bordeaux, and it’s always worth a visit. AS for the rest, we’ll see… We have a Trauma tour around France and Spain planned for September.
You have been on Trauma for quite while now… How did you get on?
Thanks to Julien Mérour: he came to skate Bordeaux, a few years ago and talked about me to the former owner, Charly. He put us in contact, and since then, it’s been great. The team has changed since, but we’re at a great stage!
A good story involving Nicolas Levet on tour?
I only went on a trip with Nico, once, and it was to Russia. I don’t know if you heard about that tour? Let’s say that loves teasing people, push them to the limit, and he can go quite far… In Moscow, he woke me up every morning by blaring on the TV the intro of some skate DVD that had this horrible opening credits song. It got stuck in my head for all our stay…
Frontside pivot fakie
Is Nicolas a good mentor?
Rouquette? [original Trauma rider that recently took over the brand, Ed’s Note] Yeah, for sure, he’s so motivated by Trauma. We are all, but since he’s the one with all the responsibilities… It’s all quite new to him, also, to run a skateboard brand. But we have a good crew, and we all want to get things jumping.
What about the other Nico, Levet [Laughter]?
Well, Levet is quite the character! I never had the chance to share that many sessions with him, since he lives in Lyon, and is a dad now. But the little I have witnessed is really funny. He spends all his time talking shit and making fun of everything, but in the end, he’s not bad guy at all. You just have to take it with a grain of salt.
These days, what gets you hyped to skate?
Nowadays, quite a lot of things! First of, the weather: the sun changes everything! Or knowing I’m on my way to skate a new spot. A good edit or part on internet… There are some amazing independent videos you can watch for free online. That’s the positive side of 2013 and internet… And then, the classics I always watch: Mosaic, Sorry, the Krooked videos, they’re all good. Especially Gnar Gnar and 3D.
Thanks for your time, Alex! Any last words?
If possible I would like to give a big thank you to Sébastien Garnaud of Riot Skateshop , M'sieur Loïc Benoît and Vans, François Mauferon and CRIME LR, Nicolas Rouquette, Grilladin and Brice Raysseguier at Trauma Skateboards and Nick Matlin at Paradise Wheels.
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