There has been too much going on during the Am Getting Paid 2018 weekend for us to be able to show you everything in real time, but don't worry, we have have more for you, way more. Ladies and gentlemen, here are the highlights of the Am Getting Paid 2018 weekend accompanied by every epic moments captured in photos and videos by our media dream team.
Thanks to Dan Mathieu and his media crew as well as the boys from TheBoardr, the Canada Skateboarding organization, our partners and the skaters ripping the course. And let's not forget about the spectators, who came in a record number this year. Thank you! It was once again a weekend that we will remember for a long time.
ENJOY!
Photos: Daniel Mathieu / Ryan Lebel
Videos: Nate Ilardi, Jake Cormier, Brian Shannon, Éric Lebeau
The biggest amateur skateboard competition in Canada didn't fail to create a stir in Montreal last weekend. With $ 40,000 in prize money to be won, some of the best amateur skateboarders in the world, the addition of a women's category with a prize purse as big as the men's one ($20k) as well as the official title of inaugural Canadian National Championship for Amateur Street skateboarding counting for the Olympic ranking, this year's AGP was the best one we've ever seen, straight up.
For a detailed description of what went down during the Am Getting Paid weekend and all the event's photos and videos you've never seen before, SCROLL DOWN!
SEPTEMBER 27-28th -PRACTICE & QUALIFICATIONS
Women's division:
After Thursday's insane practice sessions, it was time for the riders to get down to business with the qualifying round. Friday started with a practice session to prepare the skaters in the women's division for their runs, scheduled for 1 pm. It was close and the competition level was high, but only 10 women will pass to the finals, scheduled for the next day. After delivering remarkable performances worthy of the best skaters in the world, 14 years old Kendra Long won the first place with a perfect run counting both flips tricks and rail tricks, closely followed by Fabiana Delfina from USA in second Canada's favorite Breanna Gearing in third. Wait, What?! Our favorite Montrealer Annie Puglia didn't make the top 3? It's all right, don't worry about it. With a 10th place in the qualifying round, she was able to secure a place in the finals. A chance for her to show us she was able to claim much more than a 10th place in the finals. At that point, we could feel the tension in the air and the hype building for Saturday's Women's finals!
Men's division:
The skill level of the men's category was extremely high this year... It's crazy how skateboarding is evolving fast these days and how skaters progression goes 10 times quicker than before. Tricks considered difficult a year ago are now the tricks people start their runs with! After showing some breathtaking performances and insane tricks, Canada's Jayden Bono took first place in the men's qualifiers, followed closely by Ben Paterson, also from Canada, and Will Mazzari from California, the big winner of The Bunt x Am getting Paid contest. With two Canadians in the qualifier's top 3, we had high hopes that at least one the top three positions would be awarded to a proud representative of our country. Only time will tell!
SEPTEMBER 29th - SEMI-FINALS ET FINALS
Women's division:
Saturday's Am Getting Paid finals started with women's skateboarding's elite, coming from everywhere in the world to compete for a piece of our 20k cash prize. It was truly amazing. With three one-minute runs among which we picked the best one, the participants did not hesitate to try their hardest tricks in the hope of going home with some of that money. The final results: Christiana Means from USA in first place, Canada's Annie Guglia in 2nd and 3rd, Canada's Breanna Gearing.
BOOOM! Annie Guglia managed to catch up in the finals and earned a well-deserved 2nd place, but that's not all... More than just a $4500 check, she was the highest ranking Canadian and was named National Street Skating Champion. That means she is now officially part of the Canadian Skateboard Team and entered the race to qualify for the the next Tokyo Olympics in 2020. CONGRATULATIONS ANNIE.
For a better overview of what made our three winners access the podium, take a look at Am Getting Paid's Women's division winning runs!
Breana Gearing - 3rd place
Annie Guglia - 2nd place
Christiana Means - 1st place
Check out the Women's semis and finals photo gallery by clicking on the arrows on the top left side of the image.
Men's division:
The fight was really fierce in the Men's division, and after the semi-finals, only two Canadians were able to make it the finals: Jayden Bono and our all time favorite, Js Lapierre. The title of Canadian Champion would be awarded to one of these two for sure. As for the rest of the top 10 finalists, only big names that didn't seem to have much trouble passing to the finals. Among the rippers, Brazil's prodigy Lucas Rabelo, the Americans Ryan Connors, Gage Boyle, Christian Dufrene, John Dilorenzo, Will Mazzari and many others. Let us tell you that the Taz Skatepark has never seen skating of such high level, ever!
And if the semi-finals were completely insane, the finals were mental! Unfortunately, our favorite Canadian JS Lapierre was not selected for the top 3, but having placed in 4th, two positions above his Canadian rival Jayden Bono, JS won the official title of Canadian National Champion and entered the race for the Olympic ranking with Annie Guglia. These guys will also get the chance to fly to Brazil next season to participate in the Street League Open! It's HUGE!
In front of JS, John Dilorenzo took 3rd place with one of the most tech runs ever seen at AGP, followed by last year's winner Jake Ilardi, who missed only the last maneuver in his run and got 2nd place. Last but not least, this year's big winner: Lucas Rabelo, who went home $ 10,000 richer after an insane and flawless run.
Take a look at the top 3 Men's final runs to see what it takes to win the Am Getting Paid.
John Dilorenzo - 3rd place
Jake Ilardi - 2nd place
Lucas Rabelo - 1st place
Check out the Men's semis and finals photo gallery by clicking on the arrows on the top left side of the image.
THE VANS BEST TRICK AT P45
$2000 cash plus a bunch of great amateur skaters who were as hungry as if they had not eaten for 3 days plus the merciless concrete of the DIY project 45 equals The Vans P45 Best Trick at Am Getting Paid! Pure insanity. The compact group of skaters didn't take much time to grab all of the $ 20 bills we had to give for every good trick landed and surprisingly, all skateboarders have managed to leave without getting injured. Take a look at the following clip and photo gallery for a better overview of what has gone down during the Vans p45 best trick.
Check out the Vans Best Trick photo gallery by clicking on the arrows on the top left side of the image.
The After Party
Am Getting Paid's after parties are known for being wild ones and this year was no exception. The event took place at Phil Grisé's Don B. Comber's bar and the atmosphere was lit! Nothing better than a couple of drinks with your friends to end the weekend in style. With good music, good friends and an infinite amount of liquid courage available, let's say we were all pretty "happy" at the end of the night!
Major thank you to Phil Grisé and everyone who came, this evening was one for the books!
To see how much fun we had at Am Getting Paid's after Party, take a look at the following photo gallery.
One last thank you to our partners, Monster Energy, Vans, Volcom Skate, Bones Wheels and Bearings, Stance, Transworld Skateboarding, The Boardr, Element, Nixon, Canada Skateboard, SBC Skateboard Vans Canada. Without you guys, none of this would have been possible.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AT AM GETTING PAID 2019!