In this series of portraits, we introduce you to the best skaters in France who are or have been part of Old Skullz Skateboard in the framework of the Club and stays Skate Camps. Aujourd’hui c’est la championne de France qui s’y colle, Emilie Alexandre tells us about his motivational and inspiring journey! (Interview by Maxx)
Portrait
M. Hi Emi! You've just returned from Rio with the French skateboarding team, right? Can you tell us what you went there to do?
E. Hi Max, yes, exactly. I’ve just returned from Brazil, where I took part in my very first international competition with the French team.
M. We also meet often at Skate Camps, like this summer in Hossegor, when you spent almost all of July skating the coastal spots with us and helping the team. We even jumped off the bridge! It looks like you’re living the skate life for real. I think that’s brilliant!
E. Absolutely! Whenever you’re in the Landes and I’m there too, it’s so much fun to come along with you! Just fun, laughs and skating—the real skate life!!!!
M. I know you skate every day, and have done since you were little! If I remember correctly, you took part in the contests I organised in Istres 7 or 8 years ago. It’s super inspiring for girls who look up to you for motivation.
E. Hahaaa, yes, those were my first contests. I wasn’t even doing big tricks yet, but I went to have fun anyway, even though I was the worst and knew I’d finish last.
M. That is exactly the mindset I am talking about! So, to start with, tell us how old you are. Where do you live?
E. So I am 16 years old and I live in Marseilles
M. How long have you been skating? How did you start?
E. I've been skating since I was 7 or 8, and I started thanks to my older brother Matthieu. He already skated, and while he was skating, I rode my scooter around the bowl. One day I'd had enough — I wanted to have fun in the bowl with everyone else. So I took my brother's skateboard and never put it down again.
M. Which Skate Camps have you been to? (Barca, Hossegor, Provence?)
E. I did 3 or 4 Skate Camps in Hossegor.
M. How long have you been skating?
E. I've been skating since I was 7/8
M. Do you have any sponsors?
E. Yes, I have sponsors: RVCA (clothing), Mhotel (decks), rockstarsbearing (bearings) and Etnies, which supports the French national team (shoes).
M. So cool, I want an autograph haha! Have you had any results in contests?
In 2022, I placed 1st at the regional championships, 1st at the French championships and 2nd at Denimcup
M. How is it going with the French team? How many girls are there?
For me, things are going really well with the French team. I'm so happy to have the chance to be part of Team France. There are 3 of us in bowl: me, Louise Aïna and Madeleine Larcheron. And 4 in street: Sissy, Charlotte, Lucie and Cerise.
M. Are you on the ministry's list of elite athletes?
E. Yes, I am on ministerial lists as a high-level athlete.
M. Do you often travel with them? What do you go for, and where?
E. So far I’ve been on two trips with my Junior group. Things are starting to come together, which is really cool. With the Junior group (me, Louise Aïna, Tom and Noé), we went to the United States in July for a one-week training camp, and in October for the STU open, an international competition, for 12 days.
M. Do they cover all or part of the travel expenses?
E. Yes, they take complete care of us during camps and trips
M. Why did you want to join the Skate Camps Like this summer, for example?
E. I like to join because already Max I’ve known him since I was little; he’s watched me grow up and develop over the years. Also because every time I skate with him, he helps me improve and gives me loads of advice. But mostly because it’s so much fun: the sessions all together, sharing what I know with the kids in the group, all the activities I’d never done before, like water jump, and the nighttime outings around the campsite. Every time I’ve joined a Skate Camp I left with lots of good memories, and that's what makes me even more eager to join them every year!
M. Are you more into street, bowl, or both?
I’m more of a bowl skater, but I can hold my own a little in street, although you can tell it’s not my thing, haha.
M. Do you have any skateboarding goals? (For now or for later?)
E. Yes, I have goals in skateboarding, and I’m on my way to achieving them. I’m doing everything I can; I’ve even started homeschooling to have 2x as much training time and push myself further. I still have a long way to go, but we’re getting there, and so far it’s all going well.
M. I hope that happens for you, Emi. So who's your favourite French skater, male or female? Your skateboarding GOAT?
E. I don't really have a favourite French female skater; I like all the girls who skate in France. My favourite French male skater would be Édouard Damestoy. He just amazes me, and after spending a few days with him, I think he's a down-to-earth, kind guy. And my absolute, absolute, absolute favourite skater is Karl Berglind. I really love his style and his tricks.
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M. Great choice! I love Karl's style, and Édouard seems like a really good guy. How would you describe your memories of skate camp with us in 3 words?
E. Aqua jump – laughs – kindness
M. What did you enjoy most about the trip?
My favourite moment of the trip will always be the water jump—something you have to try at least once in your life. Though the evening barbecue in Vieux Boucau was great fun for everyone too.
M. What kinds of spots do you love skating?
E. My favourite spot will always be my local, the Marseille bowl. Unbeatable! As for the type of spot I skate: bowls, not too big, with a bit of everything.
M. Are you working on any skate projects at the moment? (contests, a video part, sponsors, studies…)
E. I work every day towards qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. I'm also going to take my skateboard BIF (Brevet d’initiateur fédéral) qualification so that later, when I can, I can teach skateboard lessons and share my knowledge with younger children who want to improve.
M. That’s a great project! Plan A and plan B, well done Emi!
I have a less lighthearted but very interesting question. I understand you’ve had a tough time with injuries, especially your ankle. Is that right?
E. Ahh, here we are, the famous question, haha. Yes, I've had a really tough time with my ankles. In November 2021, I tore a ligament in my left ankle. I had to stop skating until February, so a full 3 months. After 1 month immobilised and 2 months of rehabilitation, I started again with a small brace in late February. Just 1 week after returning, I injured the other ankle, the right one. I'd put too much weight on it because I was anxious about my November sprain. So here we go again: this time one ligament was completely torn and beyond repair, and another was stretched. I wore my big boot again for 1 month, then resumed physio. In all, I spent 6 months without skateboarding, trying to repair my body.
M. Is it still going?
E. As we speak, almost 1 year after my first sprain, I still skate with my two little sports braces, one on each ankle. I find it really hard to take them off; I'm still too apprehensive. But getting back into skateboarding has gone really well: my level has doubled. I still see the physio twice a week. I do strength work and lots of proprioception exercises.
M. How do you deal with getting injured while still continuing to progress?
E. Well, as I touched on in the previous answer, taking 6 months off skating made me even stronger than before. I missed it so, so much that when I came back, I really meant it!
M. It's really important to me to show what goes on behind the scenes for skaters, because from behind our screens we always imagine everything is easy. But how are you experiencing it, and how did you experience it before? Are you finally starting to feel confident again?
E. It's true that social media often makes everything look rosy, but in reality nobody knows what's really going on. I found being injured really hard. At the time, I'd had a huge falling-out with my dad. I hadn't heard from him in over a year; he didn't want to talk to me anymore. Anyway, a lot of difficult stuff. It was really weighing on my life, because after that I also grew very distant from my older brother.
Anyway, skateboarding is how I express myself and clear my head. Thinking about my tricks and being with my friends at the bowl meant I stopped thinking about my family problems. A bit like medicine. When I got injured, I no longer had that medicine to clear my head when I felt sad. That’s why being injured for so long hit me so hard. Things are better now; the family tensions have eased. As for confidence, I still struggle with some tricks, like blunts. I used to have them dialled, and now I’m only just getting back to blunt to fakie. Slowly but surely. As I said, I also find it really hard to take off my braces. I try, but I’m scared.
M. Thank you for your honesty, Emi. You've explained it really well; it's so clear when you put it that way. I understand you 100%—I've been through it too.
Did you ever think about stopping skateboarding because of the injury?
E. Yes, after my injuries I did think about quitting skateboarding. But I thought about it for a long time, and I couldn’t stop doing something I’ve done since I was little. Two injuries aren’t going to stop me. I still have dreams to fulfil, and I’m not stopping this soon. I’m young; I still have my whole life ahead of me. I know I’ll get injured again, that these are far from my last injuries, but that’s OK — you have to keep going. I also have the words “believe in my dream” written on my arm. When I see them, I tell myself I’ll never give up and that I’ll fulfil the dreams I’ve promised myself.
M. A champion's mindset! As someone who sees you often, I can tell you're still completely committed to skating, and I think you're a real example of determination. If you could give one piece of advice to someone, girl or boy, who's losing confidence because of an injury, what would it be?
E. If I could give one piece of advice, it would be not to compare yourself with others and tell yourself you’re useless and will never get back on track, because everyone is different. Never give up, and always remember that it’s a rough patch and that, even if it takes time, things will work out. For example, even during difficult times, I always told myself I would get through it and one day reach my dreams. Like this year, when I managed to win the French championships, which had been my dream since I was very little.
M. And boom! What a comeback. So, quickly, what's a typical day like for you? Walk us through a day in your girl-boss life 🙂
E. For me, a typical day is: wake up -> breakfast -> home schooling from 9 am to noon -> lunch -> physio or mental preparation -> at least 3 hours of training -> back home -> stretching and treatment if needed -> dinner and bed by 10:30 pm at the latest. And, depending on my day, I go out to eat with my friends.
M. A real athlete's programme! I know injury teaches us to see life differently and do things for our body and mind that we never imagined doing. I've learned a lot from it, and I get the impression you're on that path too. Well done!
It's incredible how skateboarding is growing among girls. For example, this year the club must be almost 50/50 girls and boys. What advice would you give a girl who's still hesitating to start skating?
E. Yes, girls' skateboarding has grown enormously in recent years. If I had one piece of advice for a girl who's afraid to start, it would be to try. Skateboarding is a huge world open to everyone: kids, adults, older people, disabled people, girls and boys. In skateboarding, nobody cares about all that. If you arrive at a park as a beginner and all you see are really good guys, don't hesitate — go for it, because it's about your enjoyment, not theirs.
M. I couldn’t have hoped for a better answer—100% true. So, if people want to follow you on Insta, what’s your handle?
E. My insta: _emiliealexandre
M. Oh, and one last question: would you recommend that your friends or younger skaters do a Skate Camp with us? Why?
E. I highly recommend Skate Camps with Old Skullz Skateboard because you learn loads of things: how to live together, skateboarding, surfing and plenty of things that will help us in life. We have fun 90% of the time there. There are lots of activities, like paintball, water jump and many more. These Skate Camps are for older and younger kids alike. Everyone is equal and everyone will have just as much fun. After spending a few days alongside the camp, I absolutely loved it and recommend it 10000%.
M. Thanks for answering my questions, Emi. We’ll see each other again very soon. I hope you keep that motivation and carry on doing what you do. Your interview was really interesting, and I’m so proud to see you inspiring so many girls to move forward and take up skateboarding! You’re the best!
E. Thank you Max, it is a pleasure for me to answer all these questions, I hope to have helped! Thank you for your support!
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