“This is the opportunity to see the best skaters skate at their best, frankly it's a godsend”.
Perched on a platform, boards in hand, Elias and Ryan do not want to miss a thing of the show.
“There are going to be skaters from Brazil and even French skaters, it's really incredible,” explains Ryan, leaning against the barrier.
Like the two young men, 3,500 people came to attend the final of the “Red Bull Conquest” free of charge, a “street skate” competition organized by the energy drink brand on the Trocadéro, in Paris from August 16 to 18.
On the program thirty-six big names in world skate including TJ Rogers (Canadian), Nassim Lachhab (Moroccan) and Dario Mattarollo (Argentinian) but also the legend of female skateboarding Leticia Bufoni alongside the Japanese Aori Nishimura and the neo Zeeland Candy Jacobs. "We are Brazilians and we come to see the girls", admit Yoko and Kioko on the edge of the skatepark. Seeing their favorite female skaters take part in the competition is very important: “In 2014 it was still complicated for girls to skate, there weren't many, even in Paris,” Yoko remembers.
"But now, there is room for girls and for boys, we are like a family: all together".
The icing on the cake for Greg, skateboarder for twenty years and spectator: the members of the French skateboard team (Vincent Milou, Charlotte Hym and Aurelien Giraud).
“I'm a bit chauvinistic so I support the French”.
A reproduction of the best Parisian spots
They all competed in a skatepark with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
To celebrate Paris as the future capital of skateboarding for the 2024 Olympics, Red Bull has set up a riding ground made up of seven spots emblematic of Parisian skate culture: “Bercy blocks” at the “Maison fond” of Gare du Nord via the famous "Vague" of Châtelet and the "Ledges" of the Place de la République.
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Reproducing these iconic spaces was a necessity for Pierre-André Sénizergues, former world champion in skateboarding and creator of Etnies, sponsor of the event: "It is important to remember that skateboarding has a real place in France", explains the fiftieth birthday, cap on his head. “Personally, it's also a homecoming since it was at the Trocadéro that I learned to skate before leaving for the United States,” assures the ex-champion who advises young talents. His colt, the American Trevor McClung even won first place in the men's ranking.
For two days the figures followed one another, to the applause of the spectators who, noses in the air, held their breath when Dario Mattarollo rose to the top of the “Maison fond”. At the end of the competition, the French made more than a good figure: Chalotte Hym climbed to third place on the women's podium when Aurélien Giraud and Vincent Milou finished second and third in the men's standings. With your back to the Eiffel Tower, the bottles open and the victory is celebrated while the crowd rushes around Vincent Milou who throws a board, in a raging audience.