There will be a lot of good skaters at the Empire Open, but there are some of them we particularly cannot wait to see rip. Annie Guglia, JS Lapierre, Jake Ilardi, Lucas Rabelo, Monica Torres and Cody Subido all have a history with us and will be present at the Empire Open 2019. Here's why these skaters alone are worth the trip to Taz Skatepark next weekend.
Annie Guglia
If you haven’t had the chance to see her win at Jackalope 2019 last week, the Empire Open will be your chance watch Canadian Champion Annie Guglia perform. Of all the Canadian skaters competing for a spot at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Annie is one of the closest to making it. With several points already in hand and a great experience in competitions, Annie will for sure give a next level show at Empire Open 2019.
With a diversified skating style mixing technical tricks with rails and ledges and a bit of transition skating, Annie’s skating is fast and powerful. Watching her skate will make you realize that progression in female skateboarding is exponential right now. In addition to all this, Annie is an amazing person and we can’t wait to see her skate at the Empire Open 2019.
JS Lapierre
JS Lapierre remains a skater to watch at every contest and the situation is no different for this year’s Empire Open. A member of the Empire family for several years already, JS is used to this kind of pressure and won't let the high skill level impress him. Winner of the 2016 edition of Am Getting Paid and defending Amateur Street Skating Canadian Champion, JS Lapierre will be back this year to try to take the victory one more time and to collect points in order to unlock a spot in the Canadian team for the next Olympic Games. Stakes are high!
Judging by the way he skated at Jackalope last weekend, it’s clear that JS is mentally and physically ready for next level skateboarding. You can expect high-speed lines with a lot of power and most importantly, flip tricks onto every rails in the park, landed every single try.
Lucas Rabelo
Winner of Jackalope Fest 2019 AND Am Getting Paid 2018, Brazilian prodigy Lucas Rabelo will be back in Montreal to try to win the title of Empire Open Champion and it will for sure be beautiful to see. Lucas Rabelo emerged on the scene a few years ago and since then he has been racking first places at contests everywhere in the world. Brazil is currently one of the most prolific places for skateboarding and has produced some of the best skaters we know today. Rodrigo TX, Bob Burnquist, Felipe Gustavo, Luan Oliveira, Tiago Lemos, and now, Lucas Rabelo.
Lucas Rabelo's bag of tricks is huge and unique, he skates extra smoothly and is insanely consistent. The craziest thing is that Lucas go to's are all tricks that nobody can do. Almost every time we saw Lucas skate contests in the past few years, he managed to land a trick we had never seen before right in the middle of his run. What’s he gonna do this year? Come at the Taz on August 31st to know!
Jake Ilardi
Another guy who has a history with us! The winner of the 2017 edition of Am Getting Paid Jake Ilardi will be back in Montreal next weekend to try to get that 1st place again and go home $ 10,000 richer! If there's someone who moves air when he skates, it's Jake Ilardi. Expect high speed and diversified skateboarding from this Floridian ATV.
Jake’s bag of tricks is one of the most impressive ever. Why? Because he’ll combine the gnarliest rail tricks with insane vert ramp tricks on quarterpipes. Expect some flip ins, expect some 540s and expect high level powerful all around skateboarding from this guy. It's going to be impressive.
Cody Subido and Monica Torres
Our Ticket to EmpireOpen winners! This year’s contest was insane. There was huge participation and the winners really had to stand out to get a spot in the contest. Cody and Monica weren't the chosen ones for nothing. They are straight shredders. They both have the tricks, they both have the style and they both have the consistency it takes to at least get a spot in next Sunday's finals.
Take a look at their Instagram videos to witness some real gnarly skating and prepare for what you’re about to see at Empire Open next weekend.