Joseph Biais, The Good Son
February 29, 2008 @ 5:21 PM
Text and photos: Benjamin
Joseph has gone from a slightly cocky teenager that would correct your French- if necessary- to a young man with a good sense of humour, his feet firmly planted in the grounds of reality in a matter of a couple of years. When some seem to find a scene where they are comfortable and never leave it, he is all over France’s spots, skating with different crews every time you see him.
On the other hand, I’m afraid he has not win a major contest in the last months… but nobody cares, right?
Switch Lipslide
When we think of people, they often get associated to their place, or actually the nearest famous place to where they actually live… Joseph is no exception to this rule of laziness, often being mislabeled as a Parisian. When he’s almost the polar opposite of one…
“Viroflay is a small town outside Paris, near Versailles. It’s in the west suburbs, about an hour away by train. A bit further, the countryside starts.”
But if our surroundings have a strong impact of who we become, there is one story that seems to repeat itself amongst our colleagues, the one of the first time.
“Just like everyone, I suppose, I saw a buddy who had a board and was starting to ollie. He showed me and I just went to get a board at Auchan [major French supermarket- Ed]. It must be 8 or 9 years, I must have been 12.”
“In my area and in Versailles, we had those horrible blue obstacles by Cardinaux [infamous Nineties skate obstacles that plagued France for a while - Ed], plus we had that blue mini ramp in Viroflay. There were a lot of people, a lot stopped, but some are still around: your Phillipe Amar, Mackrodt, Fred Constant…”
If Joseph missed out on the last month of the Versailles indoor skatepark, one of France watering holes of the Nineties when parks were rare, he soon got his first taste of the big dish lying so close but so far from him.
Switch Ollie
“First time was at le Dome! It was Winter, I remember, with my first skate friends from Versailles. It was a mission to get there. We were in a panic. It meant 30 minutes on the RER [suburban train system]. When you’re 12 or 13 and you take the RER on your own… [Laughs]. Its different when you live in Paris and you have all the spots around you…”
“I wasn’t going to Paris that much in the end, because it wasn’t that much better. And I had this whole crew in my area. They ended up quitting, so, then I skated more in Paris. Since I didn’t have my Versailles friends, I needed to go make new ones somewhere else!”
So, in the end, Joseph, to keep the fire alive, had to turn into a Parisian skater, but never forgot his suburban heritage.
“I think its ten times better [being from the cuts]. I can see it now: for Parisians, going to the other end of Paris is a mission, whereas for me, just to go skate, I’m going to need half an hour of RER, no matter what. You’ve seen, I took you around the world to shoot those pics!”
Joseph’s drive to seek the unseen and skate everything and everywhere marks a major difference from the general vibe of the Paris skate scene.
“It depends on spots… You have your chillers always at the same spot, whether they are skating or not. It’s a large majority, but you also have a few ready to skate anything. The problem with Paris is there was never really a skatepark, so not many learned to ride transitions, and then, they stay on their spot. That’s why I’d rather go skate a shitty mini than go to a spot with 12 thousand people on it, and always the same ones. But I think it’s getting better with the youngsters-its not just Parisians, it’s true for every big city… and not for everybody there!”
Joseph’s habit of constantly being on the move has led to him meeting a lot of people, and getting to where he is now, a sponsored skater. His big break, probably being part of the beginning of one of the best skater operated companies in France, Rare skateboards.
“It must be four years ago, I’d say. One year after all my friends quit. I met Eustache [Rare co-creator, recently featured in KP 45] first. Since Nico is such a nice guy, everybody knows him. It must have been at some contest. I met Yann [Garin] later. But, I don’t skate that much with them. Nico asked me at the comp. It was two years before the video. It was more or less the beginning of the company.”
Gap to manual
That Rare video did a lot to put Joseph on the map, as people say in magazines…
“When you skate for yourself, or to film, its changing (your relationship with skating). It pushes me, though… hmm. No.
Joker! No, it didn’t change much. I realized it was cool to do things and see the result. But, for me, concretely, it doesn’t change my way of skating.”
Now also helped by bigger companies, Joseph has not changed a hint his lifestyle, still going to school, and still roaming from one spot to another.
“I’m going to finish my third year of university for Biology, Sciences of life and earth, this year. I hope! I have Biology, Geology and environmental courses. I chose that more or less by default. After graduating, I didn’t know what to do, I wanted to go to university for the free time, and I had my best grades in biology… but with no idea of a future after. And, in the end, I still don’t know what to do after. I could be a teacher, or specialize in one subject to become a researcher. But, the more it goes, the less I enjoy it. But that must be true for everybody: too much of one thing… its normal, no?”
So, this could be happening to his major habit, then?
“Very rarely. I’m rarely over skating. I don’t know if it has to do with me always searching for new spots…”
Or could it be that having a full schedule makes the skating hours more appreciated?
“Yeah, [school] is a motivation. But, on the other hand, I want to take one or two years just skating, to see how it feels, also. It’s good to have courses, because (if) you can’t skate right now, you have something you must do first, so you want it even more. Plus, your head is not only full with skating only, and you don’t stop school, which is a good thing. But, if there’s some two week trip happening, you can’t go and you’re pissed, since its one of the most interesting things, travelling. That’s why I’d like to have one year, just to travel loads, and then start school again. I already did a few countries in Europe, which was cool, but I’d like to do more than one week here or there.”
What would be the destination, then?
“Australia, Greece… The States are not a dream of mine, but I’d like to check it out. Where else? Oh yeah- Japan, or China. Things that change a bit from Europe… if I can make one or two happen, I’ll be happy.
Ollie
Maybe do one or two years of skating if it all works out. And then start school again. It might be hard, but maybe I’ll have been skating too much and will be happy to go back to school.”
Where a lot of people actually give up everything to pursue their dream, Joseph seems very focused on only taking a short time off.
“Turning pro is so not a goal of mine. If I stop school for a year, I’d like to make a bit of money to be able to travel, but getting my name on a board or something else is not my goal. It doesn’t mean much anymore, anyway, and it was never my dream…”
Maybe Joseph just has a level head…
“Yeah, some people feed you pipe dreams. But it’s not really my thing… or else, I’d have stopped university already!” [laughs]
In the end, Joseph has matured as a skater as much as a young man, and this is probably why he gets respect from people that usually never agree on anything. And it shouldn’t change much, as Joseph is not one to get stuck somewhere for too long.
“In the beginning, you are influenced by the skaters you see around you, and even to this day I take a bit from everyone. Every time you see something you like, you try to emulate it. But, it goes with periods. A new video is out, and you’re really into one guy, then something else happens. At the moment, I don’t have a particular favourite style… I always liked Geoff Rowley [laughs] but apart from him, at the moment, it could be Chet Childress, Nick Trapasso, or your local skater like Claude [Lévy].”
Joseph rides for Rare skateboards, Vans, Carhartt, Thunder (dist.), Spitfire (dist.) and Street Machine skateshop.
Lien to Tail
