So here I was, finally in Canada. I didn’t know what to expect from this side of the world and how everything would turn out just a couple of weeks after our terrible experience in Barcelona.

Dustin and Barbara picked me up at the airport, gave me a warm welcome, we drove straight to Queen Elizabeth park and enjoyed coffees and a big spliff. I was already overwhelmed by Canada’s nature just in one of Vancouvers inner-city park. Brandon’s plane arrived later the same day, so we went for a second round to the airport afterwards. Barbara had secretly organized a little birthday meetup for Dustin in Mount Pleasant park, so Brandon and me got to know all the local friends right away and made plans to skate together. Barbecue, beers and the local scene were amazing. Both of us were jet lagged and we couldn’t keep our eyes open so it was still an early night. Dustin had brought the van over from Saskatchewan just before we arrived, so that Brandon and I had a place to sleep. The idea of sleeping in a car started a whole thing and influenced my time for the rest of the year dramatically. The van slept the two of us quite comfortable, one in the top compartment, one at the bottom, mattresses, pillows, sheets… all there for a good nights sleep. The weather in Vancouver was good and moved towards great, we were in for four weeks of the best spring weather. The nights were still cold but nothing a blanket couldn’t deal with and considering the temperatures of my later vehicle sleeps this was a piece of cake. We spent the first weeks sightseeing, cruising around the city, smoking, drinking oversized coffees, enjoying Canadian foods and delicacies, film us skating and have a great time with good friends. And what can I say, Vancouver is awesome. I loved it so much in the end I stayed for the whole summer. Looking back, British Columbia in Canada is one of the favorite places I have had the pleasure to visit. It is quite similar to Barcelona, a rich, well maintained city right by the ocean. Lots of parks, well kept and surrounded by beautiful nature, from the sea to the sky, surfing and skiing can be done in the same day.

Brandon is a core blader, always up to date with the latest trends, fashions and skating styles. He was the driving force behind our bladeventures, pretty much pushing to go out and skate every day, no matter how hard the home made oven-baked pizza hangover was or whatever else hindered our performances. My skating was moving into the opposite direction at the time, I ditched the aggressive skates and started experimenting with fitness boots and bigger wheel sizes. I left all my skates in Barcelona and arrived without skates, thankfully Dustin hooked me up and shared his arsenal of blades for the first two weeks. I ended up buying a pair of RB twisters from shop Task later on. I needed skates and those fit, which was worth a lot considering all the struggles I had with other skate models. We ended up doing all sorts of blading from antis to 90s, 110s and even some air-tire mountainblading through Queen Elizabeth and other Vancouver parks.

These are some of the photos I shot documenting the adventures on our Rollerblades, skating through the city, skate parks and the woods.