Thorn Skateboards born in 1996 in chicoutimi, Québec Canada. After 4 years of business an a lot injuries I quit skateboarding for 20 years.
2020 during the covid I decided to get back in the business to help young skateboarders in their sport.
We did this interview back in 2023 – enjoy!
I’ve very unfamiliar with the Quebec skateboard scene – is it big? A lot of skaters and spots?
The Quebec skateboard scene its no so bad! We have a lot of festivals like “jackalope ” and others smalls contest or sk8 shows. We have great riders in Quebec, we have locals brands, indoor skateparks and many sk8 shops across the state. We you go to high school, you can have sport studies and you can choose skateboarding. We have nice spots too, diy, pools, streets spots etc.
Do you think skateboarding is at a good point now? When do you think was the best period for skateboarding?
I got my first real skateboard in 1992, a Bod Boyle (Everslick, Santa Cruz ). I learned my first ollie and kickflip on that board. I think the 90’s was the best time for skateboarding. With guys like Rodney Mullen, Tony hawk, Danny Way, Jamie Thomas, these guys create New tricks every years, they put skateboarding to the next level. Today, in 2023 if you are a skateboarder, you’re like a football player or like the others kids.
With the ever changing landscape of skateboarding (mainstream / Olympics / etc) it can be hard for the independents to find their footing – how do you keep Thorn standing out?
I created Thorn to help young skater, crazy skaters and bands in their passion. I promote my brand in metal, and punk shows.
Who currently makes up the Thorn skate team? What do you think is the most important trait for a skateboarder to have?
To be a part of the Thorn team, you must have ” the eye of the tiger” lol, I need skaters with a good attitude, guys Who want to help kids in the park to learn new tricks and I need guys who help me to raise Thorn higher.
It seems like a lot of the bigger guys are grabbing skaters up really quickly these days – what are the biggest challenges you face grabbing people to represent Thorn?
Grabbing skaters is not important to me, I don’t need the best. When i see a skater i like , i send him a text or i talk to him. I don’t want to be ” the brand.” I want to stay marginal.
What does a usual day look like for you and Thorn?
Usual day looks like, I work in my office in the morning doing social media to promote stuff. Looking for New ideas etc. I go skate after lunch with friends, shooting videos and photos.
What skaters out of Quebec should we keep an eye on?
A lot of new skateboarders are insane right now. Jagger Eaton, Aurelien Giraud, Julian Agliardi (young kid on the Powell team).
You have a lot of rad music in your videos – does music play a big part to the future of skateboarding?
Music and skating – its a perfect match for me. I want to help independent bands.
Most of the time I put locals bands songs in my videos cause when I was a kids and I listen to my old sk8 vhs’s I discovered a lot of new bands like Bad Religion, NOFX, Pennywise etc.
