PHOTOS: Monk Lavoie
Snowskating existed before Ambition, but the products were far from being functional. Even with products that you couldn’t really progress on, a few people found a real passion for skating in snow and slowly, a die-hard snow skating community was created and people from all over the world connected on online forums and message boards to share videos and tricks that were pretty advanced considering the poor product they were dealing with.
Amibtion’s creator and Sherbrooke local Alex Blais was part of that small community. Little did he know at that time that he would take over the snow skate industry and replace the unfunctional snowskates we use to ride with a functional product that would allow people to do actual tricks and use the snow skate like a real skateboard.
Ambition Snowskates was created in Sherbrooke almost two decades ago by none other than our friend Alex Blais, the most passionate snow skater we met! We spoke with the creator to dive deeper into the history of snow skating, the tech behind the brand, the team, the videos and what you need to know to improve your snow skating skills.
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Sup Alex! Let’s start with the basics: How did Ambition first started?At first Ambition was an accessory brand that I started in 2004. We were making grip tapes for snow skates, tees, beanies, etc. We actually wanted to complement the snow skate brands out there at the time, but at some point, I knew that the most important aspect that needed to be changed in snow skating was the board. Most brands back then were made in China, the boards were breaking all the time and didn’t really work for a lot of tricks so in 2006, I pressed my first snow skate prototype in my parent’s garage. I worked for a year doing research and development with the help of skate and snowboard brands so I could figure out a way to make better snow skate decks. In 2007, I sold my first snow skates, 150 units to be exact. Now, we are distributed in hundreds of shops in 22 countries globally. That’ sick! You guys must be making a lot of snow skates now! How do you manage to keep up with the demand and produce as many boards locally without loosing quality. Mass producing boards while keeping the same quality and keeping it local was a big challenge for us as the amount of boards we sell is constantly growing, but we’re lucky to do business with great partners like Control and were able to figure it out here in our own province. That’s something we’re really proud of.
Judging by Ambition’s huge video history, your products are definitely working better than the older brands we used to ride. What exactly did you improve to get to the product we ride today. First, I wanted the board to be faster, so I used a snowboard base as the bottom layer of my first prototype and it worked! Our bases are a bit thicker as there are grooves under the board, but they are still made out of the same material used for snowboard bases. I also wanted to offer more control so riders could do actual tricks. I tried to recreate the shape of a real skateboard as much as possible and added the sharp grooves I mentioned on the base to help with board control while on the snow. Another main thing I wanted to improve was durability. Snow Skates are thrown in water, snow, salt, slush and more. They need to be tough as nails! What we had at the time was cheap and wouldn’t last, so I wanted something better on that level.
Fast forward 15 years later, how did Ambition Snowskate decks evolve? We recently introduced a new product to the market that we’re really proud of: price point plastic snow skates for beginners, the Jib Series. Those are also produced in Montreal and made entirely from Recycled Plastic. There was a high demand for cheaper boards so kids could have fun while being introduced to snow skating. With the ongoing environmental challenges, making plastic products was not aligned with our values, but we found a place that could do the same quality product out of recycled plastic. The new wooden snow skates are built on the same principles, with the same passion and by the same people than when it started, right here at home in Canada! All of our products are manufactured at the Control Skateboards Factory in Quebec. That being said, our decks definitely evolved. We have different types of grip, added some concave in the foam for more control. We changed the shapes so it’s smoother, we have different types of base grooves for different types of ride, we have sicker graphics and all that while keeping an affordable price.
Let’s talk about our shared riders Morgan DT and Cedric Vigneault. Anything sick coming out from them anytime soon? Absolutely. We’re about to put out a video in a few weeks, Morgan and Cedric will have a big feature in that one as they are at the center of our skate team. These guys are so good and it’s impressive to see them rip. Morgan has been snowskating for a few years only and he did some of the craziest tricks I’ve seen. I've never seen someone flip in on a handrail after only 2 years of snow skate. Cedric has been riding for a longer time and always had some tricks in our videos, but he really turned up in the last few years and came out with banging tricks. Can’t wait until you see their parts in our upcoming video. In the meantime, we just dropped the rough cuts from Morgan and Cedric’s Bleached Part from last year. Check it out below!
For the snow skating enthusiasts out there, what are the main things you need to know to make snow skating easier? Snowskating is hard and like skateboarding, it takes some practice, but there are things you can do to make it easier. First, our Prism Studded Grip is the best way to take your snowskating to a new level. It’s possible to ride straight on the foam, but if you’re looking to improve your skills and do tricks, the grip is of the utmost importance. Imagine skateboarding without griptape, but even worst. That’s what you’ll feel if you don’t have Prism grip on your snow skate.
Second thing the foot placement. Snow skating is not easy and a lot of people think that they will get it quick because they already skate. It’s true that a skate background helps, but sometimes it won’t as the foot placement is totally different, especially your back foot. Since there is no “pocket” on a snow skate, you’ll need to place your back foot really on the tip of the tail to be able to pop. If you instinctively try to place your back foot like you do for skating, you might have a hard time progressing, so remember to always place your back foot as far as possible on the tail before applying pop pressure. Last but not least is the weather. As opposite to skating, you are not riding on concrete, there must be snow and the snow needs to be good. The temperature also must be under -5 degrees celcius. Above that, the snow will be too wet. You’ll always want a fresh and crispy snow rather than a wet type of snow. Again, all types of snow work if you're trying to bomb down hills, but not if you want to take it further and try hard tricks. Be aware that the conditions won’t always be on your side and don’t be too hard on yourself. Just accept that you might not be able to get a proper session every time you go out.
That’s good to know! What’s Next for Ambition? Any trips, video projects or events we should know about? There’s a lot planned for this year. Trips are really going to be a focus as we haven’t been able to do it for the past 2 years. I’m excited to get the team back together and go on filming missions like we used to do. A lot of our original riders are in the USA and I can’t wait to go film with them. As usual we will be working on a video that we will put out next year and are about to put out a new one really soon. Stay tuned for the new Ambition video with parts from Morgan and Cedric. You won’t be disappointed! Thank you Alex!
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