Skateboarding
Skateboarding
Greetings From Montpellier
Montpellier has all skaters could want – sun, spots, skateparks – and nightlife.
4 min
Greetings From Montpellier
Montpellier has all skaters could want- sun, spots, skateparks- and nightlife.
Montpellier is in the south of France, a few miles from the Mediterranean sea, and so weather-wise it is close to ideal for skating.
Place de la Comédie, Montpellier
© Eliot Proust
Anyone who’s a bit interested in skateboarding has possibly seen Montpellier's spots in videos or magazines, whether Lez Banks’ huge drop-ins, or through reports of the legendary Short Brain contests in the early 1990s.
These contests have seen quite a few stars visit Grammont skatepark. Tim Brauch, Chris Senn and Christian Hosoi honoured the 'donut bowl' with their presence, while a rookie JB Gillet attacked the street course alongside Jamie Thomas and Ed Templeton. A couple of years later it saw the emergence of a certain Bastien Salabanzi.
Adrien Coillard, Backside Flip
© Eliot Proust
Street-wise, although most locals would say there aren’t many spots, there’s still quite a lot of stuff to hit. There was a time when locals like (Trauma Skateboards boss) Nico Rouquette, Damien Berbon or Luc Angles favoured the ‘Prefecture’ spot, but then over time spots and habits change. Nowadays, you might want to go to Richter, Albert 1er or Odysseum to find people to skate with. You might even meet Boris Proust, Julien Mérour or William Monneris.
Clément Brunel, Backside 180 Fakie Nosegrind
© Eliot Proust
Need stuff? Mythical Short Brain skateshop, who did so much for the local scene is now sadly gone, but you’ll find anything you need at Popular or Five O skateshops.
And – last, but not least – Montpellier being a student city, good parties happen on a regular basis and you’ll always find a good reason to stay up late… Greetings from Montpellier!
Maxime Garlenc, Frontside Tailslide
© Eliot Proust
