Antoine Laurent by Guillaume Colucci.
Frontside 180 kickflip, Gran Canaria.
“Hey mate, how’s it going? Would you be down to work on something with Antoine Laurent?” Such were Arthur’s words, a year after my article about Archi Bruno for Free #55, in an attempt to get me to write a piece about one of the most, if not the most, promising young shredders France has seen in years.
Blinded by the opportunity to write about one of my new favourites, I accepted the offer, looking past the somewhat tight deadline predictably imposed by my editor-in-chief, setting aside our years of friendship and late-night camaraderie, to give way to trust and professionalism…
If I mentioned Archi just now, it’s because he and Antoine are, as they say in France, “comme cul et chemise” (as “thick as thieves”). A trio completed by Lawrence Ravail, originally from Réunion Island and now living in Bordeaux, whose geographical distance makes each reunion an explosion of good times.
Perhaps one day I’ll be able to bring things full circle by writing something about Lawrence for the pages of this magazine, because he no doubt deserves it just as much as his two companions.
That being said, it’s of course about Antoine we’re going to be talking about here! The first time I saw him was during a best trick at the Slappy Challenge in Lyon, where he was scooping out of a wobbly ramp attached to the foot of a statue in HDV. I was on the mic during the event, and since I didn’t know his name, I had to improvise and found myself calling him “Curren Caples” and “pretty boy” all day because of his angelic features and clean, flawless execution. Antoine was my ray of sunshine amidst the other participants, who were a mismatched medley of sketchy. I made sure to point out to the crowd that this little blonde babe was better and had more style than everyone else there put together. And, as you can tell from the following pages, or the couple of parts he’s had out with Free recently, I had a point.
Words by Guillaume Colucci. Photography by Clément LeGall.
Backside wallride 180 out, Gran Canaria.
Maillane
The first thing you need to know about Antoine is that this 21-year-old is from Maillane, a small town of fewer than 3,000 inhabitants located near the city of Avignon, itself known for its famous Pont du Midi bridge, its Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes), its theatre festival, for being the birthplace of Formula One driver Jean Alesi, but also for its only international representative of Avignon skateboarding, JP Villa.
Unlike JP, Antoine does not have the melodious accent of a market gardener from Noailles, and also doesn’t use any of the beautiful, archaic expressions JP likes to treat us to, such as: “tête plate” (which translated literally is “flat head” and tends to be used to have a go at a mate for being a bit thick) or “mes couilles en ciment!” (the literal translation of which would be “my balls of cement!”), which we can’t seem to get to the bottom of despite it getting blurted out with passion on a regular basis.
Coming from a small town can be an advantage when you’re a skater. One’s approach to adapting to spots tends to not be quite the same in the countryside: Antoine is used to having to employ a fair bit of imagination, research, and engineering to get the spots of his region to a point where they’re actually skateable.
You have to tap into a whole different level of resourcefulness when you live in the arse end of the Vaucluse, especially compared to say growing up in the centre of a major city, with all the essential amenities at your fingertips, such as tempting fast-food chains, off-licences open at all hours, reliable dealers, and clubs to lose yourself into the night. Not to mention, of course, the various skateboard-related get-togethers and opportunities that a big city can offer. More or less the essentials when you’re a 21-year-old kid who wants to enjoy the best years of your life, on and off a skateboard. Antoine is well aware of this and already sees himself joining his friend Lawrence in Bordeaux to enjoy all of the city’s aforementioned advantages… At least as far as the clip-driven activities are concerned. As for the rest, I’m certain Antoine will maintain an irreproachably healthy lifestyle, with the goal of turning pro in less than three years to live comfortably off skateboarding thanks to major brands like Vans and Element, who will eventually cough up the big bucks. If somehow all this wasn’t to go to plan, it would probably be because he ended up deciding to keep things humble and focus on having fun filming with his mates for Archi’s bedroom boxer brand, “Last Dance”, or because he simply chose to stay close to his family in Maillane to get into the landscaping business with his dad and make the most of the countryside by spending all his spare time downhill mountain biking with his cousin, who is a professional in that field…
Ollie to backside wallride, Bordeaux.
Mountain Biking
If you’re curious to learn more about Antoine and his cousin Edgar Briole’s mountain biking shenanigans, I suggest you Google the latter to quickly get a better idea of what we’re dealing with here. He is not fucking around. Edgar is sponsored by, among other brands, Commencal, who are pretty much the best in the game right now as far as mountain bike frames go. From the first watch, it’s easy to appreciate, on the one hand, the undeniable talent of his cuz, and on the other, the appeal of the whole universe and vibe of this extreme sport, which is, in my opinion, a kind of gentler alternative to Motocross: less tacky and more aesthetically pleasing. To me, motocross is to mountain biking what handball is to basketball. Sorry for the comparison and preconceived generalisations about motocross riders here, but you can quickly tell the difference between Nyjah Huston or even Travis Pastrana and Antoine and Edgar.
I’m obviously being a bit harsh here, and in reality I’m sure the kid in me would have a blast sending it around a field with a motocross between my legs… Maybe I’d even develop a taste for Jäger bombs, Limp Bizkit, and energy drinks.
Backside kickflip over the hip, Gran Canaria.
Either way, I always have a little bit of extra admiration for skaters who are deeply involved in other occupations or sports. It’s healthy to open yourself up to other people and not let yourself get too confined to the world of skateboarding… Plus it’s always good to have another outlet to clear your head.
We all know how thankless and frustrating skating can be on days where things don’t work out. A balance that certainly seems to work for Antoine, given how these typical “bad days” of skating we all experience seem entirely non-existent for him. It’s all ease and fluidity from the second he steps on a board, with a maturity and versatility of someone much older, on a similar tip to Grant Taylor, a Louie Lopez, or Curren Caples as we mentioned earlier. Or even, dare I say, the legendary John Cardiel, who Antoine has looked up to since day one. A role model you don’t hear cited too often amongst the younger generations these days, and is once again a testament to the maturity and good taste of our young man… Good taste that isn’t necessarily found in everyone, especially not in someone who compares downhill mountain biking with motocross and handball to basketball…
Kickflip, Granada.
The Big Leagues
After a busy year, with a full part on Free, a Bordeaux edit in which he shared the spotlight with Lawrence, and another with the French Volcom team, our boy kept the momentum going with several Element trips. Despite being relatively new to this kind of thing, the little Frenchie managed to find his place alongside big dogs like Jaakko, Madars, and Alexis Lacroix to name just a few.
Antoine admits to having integrated relatively easily, thanks to the presence of fellow French-speakers Clément Le Gall, Vincent Milou, and Phil Zwijsen, the brand’s team manager.
I’m certain he would have made his mark regardless, though, as his skating speaks for itself, plus his unassuming demeanour and his rugrat-like appearance will charm the socks off anyone. Not to mention that he’s always wise beyond his years when it comes to choosing spots carefully and knowing not to obliterate the bod fresh off the plane…
Backside bluntslide, Bordeaux.
We’re hoping to see Antoine’s big debut very soon in Element’s full-length, which is, in theory, scheduled to drop early next year. He told us he was managing expectations as far as how much footage he’d actually have in there, given who he’s sharing the bill with, that way he can only be pleasantly surprised if his screen-time ends up exceeding what newcomers usually get allocated. A wisdom he’s capable of demonstrating even in the most immature and carefree of moments, like during a certain trip across the Atlantic with the boys. Thinking he was doing his somewhat pushy crew a solid by buying edibles, Archi, the only legal representative to be over 21 on this jaunt, was tricked by a Floridian dispensary into buying what turned out to be much stronger than the cannabis they were used to consuming… It didn’t take long for one of the members of the crew to start feeling unwell, and for the others to notice that his skin tone was starting to go worryingly Shrek-green. But as this person’s self- inflicted spinning room crisis was well and truly making them lose the plot, Antoine was enjoying the moment in typical Antoine moderation, sprawled on the sofa under a mountain of munchies, his only problem being how to turn off a television that didn’t have an on/off switch.
So yeah, regarding that whole irreproachable lifestyle business we mentioned earlier, we’ll have to come back to that. At the end of the day, Antoine is just a regular young skater just like any other, out there enjoying every moment spent on and off his board, whether it’s touring with pros, filming with his buddies for an underwear brand, or jamming with his family at a dirt pump track on the outskirts of Avignon. He knows how to be patient and doesn’t overdo it, and even if Element only give him three tricks in the next video, we all know his time will come and that we’ll be hearing a lot more about him in the near future.
Switch kickflip, San Pedro.
