To new heights

When Sean Lowe got his first skateboard, he was too shy to try it at the skate park so he practised in his garage.

Now Lowe, 18, has half a dozen sponsors and he is one of eight Canadian skateboarders chosen to take part in a televised competition.

The eight-part series will be airing next week on BITE TV. It’s billed as “an intense competition designed to push their skills to extremes and propel their skateboarding careers to new heights in West 49 Ambition Skatecamp.”

Being on TV and making a career of skateboarding wasn’t anything Lowe thought about 10 years ago when he got his first skateboard.

“I was eight or nine. My parents went on a trip and when they came back they brought me a board. They felt so bad for leaving me with my grandma so long. It was the best thing I’ve ever had in my life. It was the start of my life.”

His best friend got one and the two of them skated in the garage until they had the confidence to go the skate park, which was at Fletcher Park at the time. Lowe, who has competed and skated at a lot of parks, says now he can see the design at the old one “was really bad” but he appreciates the work everyone put into it.

“It was still my home. I spent more time there than I did at home. I was there for eight o’clock in the morning until 10 p.m. every day. It consumed me. I loved it with all my heart.”

As he got older and better, Lowe went to competitions and started to get noticed. Sponsors offered him clothes, gear and money. One day he got a call from one of his sponsors to try out for the West 49 Ambition Skatecamp, which was being taped in Muskoka Woods Resort on Lake Rousseau in Ontario. Lowe knew a few of the guys who were going to be there, so it wasn’t so much the competition but a chance to “bro down.” [translation: hang out with the guys]

It’s a reality type of show, but don’t get the idea it’s like Survivor. On the website, founder and president of BITE and Co-CEO of GlassBox Television, Jeffrey Elliot, says, “There’s no fabricated drama – just jaw-dropping skill and action throughout.”

Lowe says it’s real Canadian boarders doing what they love to do best. “It was a bunch of friends hanging out. It just happens to be on TV.”

In the eight episodes, the skateboarders, or ‘riders’ as they’re called, are given various challenges. They are judged by world-class pro skater Paul Otvos, skateboarding filmmaker Pasi Posti, and SBC Skateboard magazine editor Owen Woytowich.

The winner of West 49 Ambition Skatecamp wins a chance to compete with the best amateurs from around the world for the Maloof Money Cup, which comes with $450 thousand in prize money.

Lowe says in January he plans to do the ‘circuit’ in California. In the meantime, Lowe practises at the Blackburn skate park. He does what he can to promote the sport, even by helping young learners feel comfortable.

“If I see a new kid there I’ll go up and introduce myself and teach him how to do a few tricks. I remember how shy I was.”

He says the kids skating now are “blessed” in having such a good skate park. He says this summer he saw a lot of tourists, even from other countries, using the park. He says the sport is growing, pointing out that big name companies are getting into sponsoring.

“Skateboarding is here to stay.”

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