Get Stoned? You don’t need to ask twice…

Last Friday we found ourselves on the EuroStar, bound for Paris, to Get Stoned with Ben Raemers, Harry Lintell and more of the Volcom team. After a couple of beers, or in Ben’s hungover case fruity ciders, we were at the Gare du Nord and checking out that wonderfully bizarre transition spot just outside the entrance. Plans made to return (we didn’t), we hot footed (caught the metro) to Bastille to join up with the rest of the Volcom team at their Paris store, eat pizza, listen to music and generally enjoy ourselves.

Saturday started off with a cruise around Republique before lunch at Pizzu (https://www.pizzu.fr) – a skater owned pizza shop which you should definitely check out – to catch the French national team scrape through their game against Australia.

Pizza eaten and football discussed it was back to Republique for the main event:
Volcom’s latest gifts to the city of Paris – a new skateable Volcom Stone logo – complete with slappy curb, banks, and a pop out ledge. Oh and they’ve put in some new granite benches at the other end of the spot, not bad eh?

Filmed by Matt Broadley

We were expecting a Volcom demo of sorts and, whilst this didn’t materialise per se, as you’ll see from the clip Jorge Simoes and Alex Risvad certainly put on a show. There were best tricks jams on the various facets of the new obstacle, this of course led to a fair amount of chaos – younger skaters eyeing up ‘Le Gap Du Grom’, people trying proper tricks, and an exuberant MC combined to keep the gathered crowds entertained. We won’t go into too much detail as a) you can see it in the clip above, and b) we can’t actually remember in much detail as it was pretty hectic, hot and there may or may not have been a few free beers going around…

After the Volcom team announced their final jam winners – Raemers of course had been astutely paying attention the entire time like the consummate professional he is, it was to the bar for some beers and the evening’s entertainment – a French man in a sequin cardigan, adorned with a keytar and saxophone. Bonjour to that!

Thanks for Volcom for a fun weekend, and to the skateboarders of Paris… we envy you!