Photography by Felix Adler & Benjamin Meunier
Incidental Photos by Felix Adler
Text by Arthur Giat
This year the Wasted Paris crew decided to go for a longer video than the previous ones, with full parts and several trips. A small crew went to Japan, then we hit Warsaw and Belgium, and rounded it out with some filming in Paris and Bordeaux. Our last project in Berlin was so packed with rain (9 days of trip, 4 of them rained out) that we called it “Happy when it rains.” Well, we could’ve easily called this new one “Happy when it rains II.”
A week before leaving for Warsaw, the forecast showed rain every single day. Windbreakers in bags, there was no way we were going to back down. It ended up raining almost daily, with moments of sun here and there followed by endless grey cloud. Our only option was to skate between the rain showers. Luckily our hotel was pretty central, so it was easy to move from spot to spot then head back to play Mario Kart and chill at the flat while waiting for the sky to let us skate. One week before leaving for Belgium, the forecast was pretty much the same – rain all week, albeit a little less dramatic. This time we were in Ghent, in a big house (thanks Fabian) and a van that let us reach different cities since everything was about an hour’s drive away. The rain didn’t stop, but the motivation was there to make it count. Parking “the right way” each time ended up costing us €270 in fines by the end of the trip. Vans are sick but, when the road signs are in another language, it’s a different story. We got fined for parking in resident-only zones and even for driving through blocked roads (shoutout to Google Maps for sending us there).
Plenty of struggles, but even more good times with a solid crew.
Alex Richard- Switch Heelflip ~ Photo: Felix Adler
Andréa spotted this gap, and Alex was hyped on the project – he went straight in with a super clean switch heelflip. Not fully satisfied, he tried a switch front shuv. As if the raindrops weren’t enough, his left ankle decided to twist upon landing and he ended up cutting his trip short after just three days to fly back to Bordeaux and get it fixed.
Andréa Dupré – Switch Ollie ~ Photo: Felix Adler
Andréa knows every Grey Area video by heart, and he spent most of the trip digging through them to track down spots. When that wasn’t enough, he’d just go looking to find new ones. He came across this barrier in the grounds of a music university just two minutes from the hotel and we figured we could do something with it. Andrea politely asked if we could try a few tricks, they actually said yes and a couple of tries later we rolled away with the clip.
Photo: Felix Adler
Photo: Felix Adler
Photo: Felix Adler
Photo: Felix Adler
Andrés Loaiza – Nollie Heelflip Shifty ~ Photo: Felix Adler
A big drop a little further from the spot was shown to us, and it was perfect – Gonogold loves that kind of spot. I was looking for my angle to film as he was already dropping in. I wondered how he’d get out of the kink without hitting any cars, but the guys reassured me; “Don’t worry, he knows what he’s doing.” First clip of Andrés; a nollie heelflip shifty, and it was insane. We were hyped, the first day and we had already locked in an ‘ender’.
Victor Cascarigny – Kickflip In Kickflip Out ~ Photo: Felix Adler
On the way back from the drop, we went to check a spot with the van. I spotted another one while we were driving and Andrea parked in the first lot. The residents in the building behind us started calling, telling us to get off the spot, so Joe decided to moon them. Security showed up but, when they went after Andrea and Andrés skating the same drop about 100 meters away, it gave us the perfect opportunity for one more try – and it was landed.
Andréa Dupré – Switch Ollie ~ Photo: Felix Adler
We tried skating these small huts for the first time and a cop jumped on us like we’d just robbed a bank. After a good chat, he ended up apologising, shook our hands, and we decided to look for another hut to drop. This spot officially crowned Andréa as the tour’s driver. After a few tries, he started feeling a cramp in his leg but pushed through. He was in pain for the rest of the trip, but he managed to land a second clip on the very last day!
Photo: Felix Adler
Photo: Felix Adler
Photo: Felix Adler
Photo: Felix Adler
Joe Lascar – Ollie To Frontside Wallride ~ Photo: Felix Adler
Proud to have found a spot not far from our place, and with threatening rain ready to ruin the day, I decided not to risk a long drive for nothing. Once at the spot we realised the ground and the approach were awful, but I hyped up Joe and Fontis and we still managed to get two clips.
Arthur Fontis – Crooked Grind ~ Photo: Felix Adler
After checking out several not-so-great spots, we ended up at another mediocre one. It was dark, the approach was awful, and the ledge grind wasn’t even close to the HDV standards. On top of that the landing was on the street, but with Andrea spotting we managed to get two clips in the bag.
Joe Lascar – Gap To Frontside Nosebluntslide To Fakie ~ Photo: Felix Adler
Joe spotted this gap-to-ledge in a Jarne part. In the footage he completely smoked himself, so Joe thought it’d be a good idea to check out the spot and ‘get back’ at the trick. When we got there it was actually pretty sketchy, so he scrapped the frontside lipslide and went for a front noseblunt instead, which was landed to fakie and looked super stylish.
Andrés Loaiza – Ollie ~ Photo: Benjamin Meunier
On the train back to Paris I found myself alone with Gono, who speaks only Spanish. With my beginner-level Duolingo and a few Google Translate hacks, I showed him a few spots from my inventory. He liked a drop, so we decided to hit it the next day. We tried it once, the spot was pretty intense and fast (which he loved). Low on energy from the trip, we stopped and agreed to come back on Monday so we wouldn’t bother people on a Sunday in the fancy 16th Arrondissement.
Monday morning, I thought it would be a shame not to get a photo of this trick – it’s really photogenic. I messaged Ben Meunier, he was super hyped, and we set up to meet at the spot. Ben positioned himself in front, I a bit to the side, and with a few yoga contortions on my part it worked out.
Joe Lascar – Frontside 50-50 Grind ~ Photo: Felix Adler
On the way back from Brussels, I found a spot on Krak just 15 minutes from where we were staying. When we got there, we realised it was a tough one. Joe thought it might be possible to grind from the top, so we started prepping the curb. The next day, after a long session full of clips, we went back to end the day on a high note. Joe managed to land on a few, but ended up hitting his head.
On the day we were leaving, Joe decided to give it another go. The kink was brutal, and he couldn’t stay on his board. After a few more tries, he hit his head again, this time pretty hard. His response to me asking if he was okay was, “Yeah man, I’ve got a hard head.”
With the deadline set for September, quitting wasn’t an option. I booked tickets with Joe, and the two of us flew out from Paris to go back to the spot. Harry picked us up at Fabian’s place and, after a few test runs, Joe landed the trick first try.
Between the endless rain, the parking tickets and the rolled ankles, every trip seemed to test our patience. Someone was always complaining – the weather, the spots were not always easy to get by, or the fines – but that’s just part of it. Bad Mouth became the nickname of the project; everyone talking shit, the sky spitting on us, yet somehow we still got the clips.
In the end, that’s what skating is; making something out of nothing, even when everything’s against you.
The full video dropped November 10th. Check it below.
Photo: Felix Adler
Photo: Felix Adler
Filmed + Edited by: Arthur Giat
