Lucien Gourdal – Taking The Plunge
To think that this time last year we were pranging about pulling this kid’s first interview photo for a cover. The little fucker lied himself onto the front of our magazine! Joking obviously, but that story (which you’ll read in the first half of the conversation below) is quite telling of how silly it was of us to worry. I don’t think there’s anything we, or the universe, could have done to get in the way of Lucien shooting an incredible Free interview or just “making it” in skateboarding in general.
He’s the only time someone’s first submission went straight to the cover. Also, when offering him a release date for his part (after seeing how mental the timeline was), I was basically met with, “Nah, I’m going to keep filming until July.” That is not the typical trajectory or approach of an 18-year-old kid from the middle of nowhere in France. Aren’t you meant to rush whatever crap you’ve just filmed out because you’re as clueless as you are desp at that age? What’s going on here?
There’s definitely something quite pure and youthful about being so driven you’re willing to distort the truth to get where you need to be, but then how does that fit in with having the standards of a seasoned veteran? And is he actually as oblivious as Vincent Milou claims to the fact that he’s a little prodigy? Thomas Courteille was kind enough to step in to help us get some answers… – Arthur Derrien
Frontside 180 to fakie manual, Cornellá, Spain. Ph. Gerard Riera
Interview by Thomas Courteille
Hello Lucien, we’re gonna skip the usual intro question — you’re 18, just finished high school, and you live in Tosse, in the southwest of France. What does your day-to-day look like right now?
Lucien: Ah, I think you’re catching me at the worst time — I’m injured at the moment! So I’m not gonna lie, it’s not the most productive phase… I wake up slow, have breakfast, do some rehab… Normally I link up with the homies at the park, skate a bit — though I usually just use the time here to chill.
We’ll come back to that, but how did you get hurt?
Skating the Mériadeck hubba in Bordeaux… I went back there to try something and totally fucked it up, haha.
So the same spot you backside noseblunted for the cover of Free. How did that go?
That was quite the mission… You gotta know, it was my first time working with Clément, and I kinda lied to him… I told him I wanted to try this back noseblunt and he asked if I’d seen the spot before. I said yes — even though I’d never actually been to Mériadeck! So we drove up to Bordeaux together planning to shoot over two days, crashing at Boucle’s (Merci Olivier!). We got there late in the day, and I asked if we could check out the hubba just to “refresh my memory” — which was obviously bullshit, haha. We go check it out, and it’s a bit bigger than I expected… I do a few 50-50s just to feel it out. The next day we warmed up at the park, and honestly, I was feeling the pressure like crazy… I had dragged Clément all the way out to Bordeaux, and it’s Clément Le Gall, you know? I hate the idea of getting people to come out and then backing out of a claim. So yeah, it was a risky bluff for sure.
Backside 50-50, Rubí, Spain. Ph. Gerard Riera
So yeah, feeling the pressure big time I bet! I guess that’s what you get for lying, haha.
Yeah, seriously, haha. Keeping in mind that this was a year ago, so I was even less comfortable on big street spots at that point. I ended up doing a bunch of warmup 50s — a 5-0, I think I even tried a nosegrind… Basically anything to avoid trying that damn noseblunt! I just got stuck in my head; I couldn’t get myself to commit.
But at some point I totally snapped — I threw myself down the stairs without the board, straight to the flat. Weirdly that was pretty much the wake-up call I needed. I promised myself I’d lock in on the next go. And actually, it went down pretty fast after that — less than 10 tries, I’d say! We went to the McDonald’s next to the spot to celebrate, even had a beer, haha. I was honestly so hyped. If you asked me to do it again today, not sure I could get myself to try it!
Would you say landing that trick changed your approach to skating?
For sure — it really got me going. After landing that, I told myself, “Let’s keep pushing it!” I never thought I’d skate something that big, so it made me want more. It gave me a real taste for throwing myself down stuff, for real. It’s something I want to do for myself, something that motivates me. And that trick’s kind of what started this whole video part project with you.
Ollie into the bank, Capbreton, France. Ph. Clément Le Gall
So this video part we’ve been working on — it’s been almost a year now, filming every time you come to Paris. What really struck me about your approach is that despite your age and the TikTok era we’re living in, you really insisted on taking the time to do things properly.
I’m not on TikTok! (Laughs) I mean, I’m pretty active on Insta, not gonna lie — but when it comes to skate videos, I almost only watch full parts and full lengths. That’s what inspires me, so naturally that’s what I wanted to try. It just feels more meaningful to work on something complete than to drop random Insta clips all the time. It just made sense.
Crooked grind, Tarnos, France. Ph. Clément Le Gall
You’ve also got a certain sensitivity when it comes to visuals — filming, even photography. You’ve got a vision, some ideas about how you want things to look. Personally, that made me even more hyped to do a part with you — beyond the fact that you’re a good skater and a lovely dude, you get what’s happening behind the lens.
Honestly, yeah — whether it’s a photo or video! I’ve stolen your cam a few times already and I really enjoy it, haha. Who knows, maybe I’ll study that kind of stuff someday, or get into it more seriously when I’m older and too beat up to skate, haha. But yeah, it’s something I genuinely am curious about.
I guess it might have to do with the fact I started trying to get clips and being around cameras at quite a young age… The first time was with you even, right? In Nantes?
Yeah, a Volcom France trip in Nantes, 2021. My first proper trip as a filmer for a brand too!
That was such a good time! We had a good laugh on that one… Skating with Doobie [Victor Pellegrin], Matisse [Banc]… It definitely had an impact on me!
Backside 50-50, Tarnos, France. Ph. Clément Le Gall
It must’ve been pretty unsettling for you, being the little contest kid you were!
(Laughs) Not cool!
Do you want to talk about that a bit? You did quite a few contests — what do you think of that whole
scene, now that you’ve got some distance?
Yeah, we can talk about it — it was pretty much a whole circuit, to be honest! There were good sides to it — I got to travel a lot, and met some cool people. I guess I wouldn’t have gotten some of my sponsors so early if I hadn’t gone through that route. Who knows.
But I’ve never had a great relationship with authority, and the whole “hotel–skatepark– hotel” thing just sucked. It felt like I was heavily missing out on something… Eating three bits of salad between every run… Haha. Those 8am qualification runs also, haha. That said, doing the same trick 150 times must have helped build some consistency on my board.
Drop-in, Sacramento, USA. Ph. Mark Dillon
Looks like things have changed — you’ve been on the move quite a bit lately, but chasing clips this time!
Yeah, it’s been really cool! Went to Barcelona with Tom [Barthélemy], Antoine [Laurent], and you a few weeks ago, coming to Paris sometimes, crashing on yours and Manon’s couch, the trip to Switzerland with Pizza…
And the States! THE STATES!
Haha, yeah, “the States”! Went twice in six months, I think. The first time was to stack clips for the part, and the second was for a Pizza tour. I always stay with them — they’re super cool. But to be honest, I am not a huge fan of the vibe in the US. Or I mean how the typical session goes. You drive 45 minutes minimum, pull up to a spot, there’s nothing to warm up on except some busted parking lot, you land your trick, and then back in the car again because everything’s super spread out… I prefer cities like Paris, where you can cruise, bike around — even taking the metro doesn’t bother me as much.
Kickflip, Sant Andreu de la Barca, Spain. Ph. Gerard Riera
Do you think you’d ever want to live in the French capital?
I thought about it. I might have had a shot at going over there to study… It would’ve been cool — skating, filming as much as possible, enjoying the city… But in the end, my funds weren’t quite cutting it, haha. I would’ve had to take a job on top of school. Nothing crazy, I guess that’s “normal life” but it would have been so frustrating skateboarding-wise…
Right now, I’m thinking more about Bordeaux — the scene there is really growing, there are good spots, great skaters, and solid filmers too. Paris is cool, but maybe a bit too big. That said, I know Paris could still be a good move — skate-wise there are so many spots, it’s kind of endless. Infinite possibilities. If you’ve got a bike, going between the city and the suburbs… I know it could be great. Or… I’ll just get a boat! Haha…
Like the old heads in Hondarribia today? Haha… You mentioned Paris and Bordeaux, but wouldn’t you miss the ocean?
Nah, I don’t think so… Or at least I don’t feel like I would?
Backside nosebluntslide, Paris, France. Ph. Hugo Josse
You don’t surf?
I used to surf a lot when I was younger, but I always liked skating more. Less prep — you just hop on your board and go. But yeah, Aaron and I were just talking about it earlier, and we kinda wanna get back into it. You really get a crazy thrill out of it. You don’t even have to do any tricks — you can just cruise, and it’s amazing.
You think it’s also because you put less pressure on yourself than when you skate? As in, maybe your expectations are lower?
Yeah, maybe! And it’s also just a way to not burn out on skating — not do only that, you know? It’s good to switch things up. Same goes for what we were saying earlier about photography and video stuff — I think it’s super important to have different interests. It’s something I need to not lose sight of…
Could that even mean going back to school? Or in your case starting higher education?
I don’t know… If I went back, I’d want it to be in a new city — but that takes money, haha. And toward the end of high school, I was really struggling to stay focused in most classes. Not because I didn’t get it, just… Learning everything for the test and then forgetting it all right after… I was just over it.
Kickflip frontside nosegrind, Elorrio, Spain. Ph. Clément Le Gall
Yeah, I get that. But what if you found something that really speaks to you?
I mean, maybe — but I doubt I’d find that in university. Honestly, I think I just struggle with theory in general — I’m way more into practical stuff. I definitely like to do things more than I like to think about them.
Right now, a short training course that gets me into work straight away sounds way more exciting than years of studying with no guarantee of a job at the end.
The truth is, I just don’t want to get sucked into that rhythm — working all the time, having no time left to skate or do what I love, just to barely make rent and eat. And then doing that on repeat until some hypothetical retirement? You can’t really thrive with that kind of trajectory. It feels scary and depressing even just thinking about it. I think I’ve realised that the most important thing for me is to have time — time to do what I actually want to do. But once I do something, I go all in. It’s kinda weird, I know, haha.
Backside smith grind, Lezo, Spain. Ph. Clément Le Gall
I don’t think it’s weird — I think you’re just a passionate guy who needs to feel connected to what he does. So, what’s next?
Well, as you know, I’m terrible at planning ahead. It’s annoying, honestly… I make most decisions on the go, day by day. There are so many skaters out there, of all ages, who are amazing and stylish, and the industry in its current state can’t properly support all of them. So we’ll see. I’m not out here like, “I wanna be a pro skater” or anything, but I definitely wanna keep progressing. If I can keep skating, working on projects, and travelling — that would already be pretty great. I’d love to go on tours with people I admire, like Doobie, Willow, all those guys… That would be sick.
Is it the energy that comes with that kind of group dynamic you’re craving?
Yeah, maybe! Lately, the homies around here have been really motivated too though — Lukas [Larrue] just bought a P2, and they’re all getting super into going on missions filming with it! Skating with friends, with people whose skating and personality you actually vibe with — it’s just the best. Plus, I’d say I’m pretty sensitive to what’s going on around me, to how other people are feeling and their emotions… So if there’s a bad vibe, I straight up can’t skate. Like, it just doesn’t work for me.
So yeah, maybe that’s what’s next — trying to do something with people I love, people I look up to, and being part of a project while trying to learn to not put too much pressure on myself! 🙂
Halfcab kickflip, Capbreton, France. Ph. Clément Le Gall
