ISSUE 128
photos
Rich Odam
words
Justin Allain
Living on the East Coast of Canada is great for many reasons, although I definitely jump at the chance to head west whenever I can. After a couple of long connecting flights, as well as the airline losing my skateboard, I wound up in Vancouver to stay with etnies Canada rider Stacy Gabriel and Timebomb Trading TM Tyler Holm. At this point it became fitting that we team up with Cory Wilson, Derek Swaim and photographer Rich Odam (a crew I couldn’t have hand picked better myself) for a mission that would bring us down to Portland, Oregon. The first two days of the trip were spent in Seattle where, as evening fell, we slept under the stars in a campground just outside of the city. Whether it was Stacy’s military-issued rations of supper or Cory’s abundance of elaborate camping gizmos, those two nights were quite memorable and probably brought everyone closer together. On the third day we set out for Portland—one of the best cities I’ve ever had the privilege of visiting. Not only is it great for virtually bust-free spots, it also has an abundance of microbreweries and food trucks. We spent four days running into the city’s rad locals, who were always more than willing to give us directions to the best street spots. Once the trip was over, it was back to reality for some of us. But thankfully our memories will be immortalized by the panoramic stills and multiplicity-style sequences in this feature. etnies.com timebombtrading.com #ETNIESCANADAPORTLAND
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Cory Wilson is one of the most genuinely nice guys I’ve ever met—the type of person that I would never expect to get angry at anything. One afternoon we were all waiting in this big open public park for Rich and Tyler to get back with some Bondo to fix a spot. Cory was feeling thirsty, and seeing as beer in the States is pretty much cheaper than water, he decided to indulge. Not even halfway through one beer he unfortunately got busted by some unforgiving bike cops. Beers were poured out and a ticket was written, but Cory’s luck quickly changed when he found a picturesque loading dock bump-to-blast for his perfect backside flip.
I’ve known Stacy Gabriel for quite some time now, and I’ve always looked up to how much skill he has on a skateboard. A few years ago he injured his ankle, which prevented him from skating at his full potential for what seemed like almost two years. Being as determined and motivated as he is, Stacy sought out physiotherapy and he’s been stretching and exercising his ankle ever since. Those who think he exclusively skates fakie might be pleasantly surprised: this is a perfectly executed crook nollie flip out, which he did at least three times before heading back to the hotel where he’d have a minimum of three girls on the go at once on the Tinder app. This was common, but the long days of non-stop skating would throw a wrench in his plans whenever it came down to meeting up with any of them.
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This was an etnies trip, and Justin Allain rides for Emerica, but when there’s an open spot in the van, of course you want to include a man who will ultimately enhance the trip—someone who reflects a positive attitude and isn’t going to cause any conflict. Always the hype man, when someone would get a trick, Justin would be in their face giving them love and congrats. Even when he landed this backlip front shuv, he couldn’t help but freak out in excitement for himself. You may not agree with giving yourself props, but his reaction would’ve convinced you otherwise. Midway through our trip Justin was in a hurry to go skate and forgot (lost) his camera bag, which included a Canon body, fisheye, all the accessories, and a handful of quality clips. Luckily some kind-hearted American son-of-a-gun picked the bag up and returned it to the front desk at our hotel. Needless to say, Justin was beyond relieved, and he celebrated his findings by cracking into a cold and delicious Portland microbrew. —Tyler Holm
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There’s a place called Gorditos in Seattle where they make burritos as big as a human baby. Derek Swaim was quite happy about this and was even more thrilled when one of the servers went out of his way to direct him to the nearest marijuana dispensary. It’s OK, though, the stuff is legal in Washington! Once we were in Portland, everyone immediately started reminiscing about what went down at this classic spot in the North videos. Derek saw a different and unique way to skate it, somehow managing a nollie flip in to nollie heel out. It’s pretty insane because you have to land the first trick in perfect position to be ready for the second. If you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing Derek skate in person, you know it’s seriously mesmerizing. I’m almost certain that immediately after shooting this he went straight to the nearest burrito truck to have his fourth or fifth of the day.