We are thrilled to announce the addition of Toronto’s Sophie Grant to our skateboarding team. Welcome to the family Sophie!
We saw Sophie Grant skate for the first time 2 years ago at the Empire Open and loved the way she skated. She has a great flick, solid rail control and a flowy but powerful style to match the tricks. When we discovered she was actually Canadian and resided in the province next door, it only made sense to ask her if she’d like to be part of our team. We're incredibly hyped she was down!
Sophie is now residing in California and skates with some of the best in the world. We’re proud she agreed to be part of our team and can’t wait until she gets back from Cali. In the meantime, get to meet Sophie Grant with this quick warm up interview.
Let's start with the basics. Where are you from and how did you get into skating? I am from London, Ontario, currently residing in San Diego, California. I got into skating because some of my friends were outside of my high school skating at lunch. I asked them if I could try. I was 16 years old. They taught me to kickflip in one lunch hour. Afterwards, I was just super hyped and dug out an old board with my friend Sean, once we got back to his house. Who's your biggest inspiration in skateboarding and outside of skateboarding? My biggest inspirations are my best friends. Dane Burman & Chris Cole. Every day they’re absolutely ripping, but also giving me tips on how to reach their level one day too. Outside of skating, I'm inspired by Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Scotty Pippen, Neil Degrasse Tyson, Bruce Lee and Malcolm X. You are officially on Team Canada and training to attend the next Olympic Games. What was it like to learn that you will soon be an Olympic athlete? I am officially on the national team of Canada, yes. It was sick to know that skateboarding was going to be a part of the Olympics. Originally I didn't think that I would be one of the contestants, or even one of the runner ups. That being said some contests went really well for me and now here I am. It's absolutely mind-boggling for me personally, but I'm so stoked.
When we first started skating, girl skaters were very rare, but things have changed over the past few years and we're beyond stoked to see more women skateboarders than ever before, especially knowing that it's just the beginning. What's your feeling about Women skateboarding at the moment and where would you like to see it go in the near future? I think the girls in skateboarding right now are killing it more than ever. You're starting to see girls do tricks that are at such a high level, I'm starting to feel like there shouldn't really be a divide anymore. Obviously in contest, just like every other sport I think there should be a male and female division, that being said I feel like the whole, girls feeling like they have to say "I am a girl skater" when introducing themselves shouldn't be a thing anymore, I see that a lot. I think we should all just be skateboarders, we all fall, we all get hurt and we're all trying our best, so why divide? You currently live in California, what motivated you to leave Canada and head out West? When I was 18 years old I flew up to California for my first time alone without knowing anybody. I went to random skate parks and asked people if they wanted to be my friend, or wanted to maybe skate tomorrow. I ended up making a bunch of friends that will likely be in my life forever, so I ended up staying for two months. After that I started coming to LA every single Winter so I could skate all year around, every year. This year, my friend Dane Burman allowed me to come and stay with him in San Diego and skate with the zero dudes, and it's been super sick. What motivated me is I just that I know that California is the place to be at if you want to become a pro skater, and you want to film a cool video, and that's exactly what I want to do.
What's a typical day in the life of Sophie Grant down in sunny San Diego? A typical day goes like this: we normally wake up around 8 AM or 9 AM. Dane normally showers in the morning, I shower at night, so I don't feel the need to if I'm just going get sweaty anyway. After that we go get breakfast, we eat a lot of açai, then head to a park to warm up. Once we're warmed up, if the squad isn’t already with us, we call them and ask them what street spot to meet up at. We film and get clips every single day, sometimes clips don't come but it's always fun. We really just skate all day long. At the end of the day we come home (friends normally come for awhile) and then get ready for the next day. When did you first heard about Empire and how do you feel about getting on the team? I first heard about Empire when I went to their contest I believe it was in 2019. I was super hyped to know that I was going to be part of Empire, I've always really love the team and now speaking with the owners and managers, I'm even more stoked to work with you guys, get some support, come skate and just have a sick time.
Who else is supporting you these days? Vans, Dickies, Grizzly Griptape, Zero, London Skateboard Co-op, Skate Loft. Any shoutouts / thank you's? Thank you to my little brother, all of my friends, my family, followers, and anyone who has helped support me over these past 5 years. Special thanks to Dane Burman.