A weekend in the land of “truffade”
Friends Johnny Bionic (Skate This Art) and Adrian Chicouard went for a session tour in Aurillac (France).
So here’s their road trip in the land of “truffade”
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It might be difficult to believe thatthere could be a place for the skate culture in a corner of France where the cheese, “truffade” and cows are the main drivers of the economy. And yet, in Aurillac, the capital of Cantal, we find “Session Libre” an association and urban and economic cultural engine which has been active for years.
Skate This Art therefore decided to take advantage of the event “The Volcanic Sessions” on 1st and 2nd June 2013 and spent a weekend away with many of the local players there. We are not only just talking about the skate culture here and although we didn’t follow the bmx party this weekend, it’s worth saying that these guys were flying at some sick heights!
A small road trip report asserted by the “truffade”.
Six in a Renault Traffic to get to Aurillac.Leaving Poitiers to pick up one, and then pick up another five from Limoges. I must admit that it’s a tad bit like an obstacle course to get there. The roads are like for a car what a gravel carpark is for a skateboard. Skate This Art had fun on the road following the course of Olow’s rider Adrian CHICOUARD.
We predict the winner of the next round …
We arrive quite late in the evening and still have time for a beer before the lights go out and then it’s time to go to sleep in a school at the bottom of a courtyard.
The next morning the sunshine is a little scarce but comes out enough to let us experience the site and its famous mini ramp called Mondrian.
The aim of the weekend was to meet those who skate in Aurillac and the surrounding region (Adrian and others were skating for Skate This Art). Then to have a grand tour of the property.
So just so you know the big shot here is Vincent Pietri. He coordinates almost everything in relation to urban culture in Aurillac. Mr Pietri is part of the city council … He will tell us all about it in his radio interview below.
Not liking to be caught on camera, we had to be cunning to getEdouardLassus and Cecile Pietri. Vincent’s sister Cécile holdsup the shop “Alternatif” that Vincent established in 2003. Edouard, for his part,takes care of the cool fanzine called Transfert. In addition to providing everything for the riders, the association Free Session, publishes its own fanzine … Of course, the association has a lot of very active members but it was hard to meet them all. We hear them both present their respective activities in Skate this Art Radio.
The skateboard guys from the region are at the event to present their homemade boards and cool t-shirts (thanks for the gift!). The interview on the show is further down this article.
Also here isfriend Flo from Globe who tested hisBentamat Kidz and presented the project Arkaic Concept… more homemade skate!
At one point, we had to eat and the craving for “truffade” wasthere. It is also the main meal during the weekend.
While I was active (me the narrator) interviewing and meeting everyone, the skaters skated, the bmxersbmxed, the DJ’s mixed (or rolled fags) and the graffiti artists graffitied.
Loic Benoit whose pictures were pasted on the walls, allowed us to travel with the riders which we really liked!
After running in all directions, a drink seems to be the ideal way to start the evening.
An evening consisting mainly of beer consumption is seemingly perhaps not such an interesting subject to detail. You know what goes down. Now, to the last day…
Clean teeth. Toothpaste gives a very fresh taste, almost pleasant.
The last day is the bmx and skate finals. The skate part is commentated by friendPatate.
During the best tricks, Adrian gets annoyed with his board. On a back lip, it physically assaultshis cheek before ending up broken in half. The end of the weekend will bring an end to the sound of wood cracking.
As we do not care too much about the results, we won’t let you know. The important thing is to retain that Aurillac has nothing to envy from the larger cities and proves that with determination, a team and ideas, we can find a place for the skate culture anywhere.
But to better present this issue and understand how urban cultures live in Cantal, we should listen carefully to those who are living there. Meet Vincent Pietri, the skateboarders, CécilePietri and EdouardLassus.
Johnny Bionic
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To listen to everything go to http://skatethisart.fr/un-week-end-dans-le-pays-de-la-truffade/
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