Ability-wise, France’s Aurelien Giraud is unquestionably one of the best skaters ever to come out of Europe. He’s so good now that he’s throwing in late flips for fun. Stronger and faster than many of his contemporaries, he also has that rare ability to hit the sweet spot between speed and power which can send tricks double their normal distance. He has, in that regard, drawn comparisons with Plan B teammate Chris Joslin, and the two share another habit which has to be factored in: snapping boards. At a single contest in the summer of 2021, Aurelien broke not one but three boards. Having further tuned in both his consistency at size and contest strategy at Lyon’s fabulous Gerland indoor park in between filming commitments, he was noticeably gunning harder at World Street Skateboarding Rome back in the scorching summer of 2022. There, he was doubtless a crowd favourite and easily good enough for silver on the night in question.

By the time the 2022 WST World Championships in the United Arab Emirates rolled around, everything finally crystallised for him and- on his birthday of all days- he finally became World Champion in scenes of high emotion and bewilderment that his long and winding path had finally arrived just where, and when, it did. Almost as if it was written.

We wanted to find out how he has adjusted to life since then- and his thoughts on the future, including another high-noon scenario looming for him in Lausanne come September!

Ph: Seidler/ Etnies

Hi, Aurelien- with the Paris Olympics one summer away, do you get a sense that things are coming together for you at the right time, now?

Hi, guys. To be honest, I’m taking contests one by one. I don’t want to project myself super far into the future. Paris is, of course, a goal for me- but let’s talk about it when we get there.

Ph: Macedo/ Etnies

Winning the World Championship on your birthday, it seemed like a lot of emotions came together at once. Can you talk us back through how you felt on the night?

It was incredible! I just thought of my Dad; a lot of work that finally paid off. 

 Ph: Darwen/ World Skate

It seems like you are skating all the time- how do you split your time in terms of filming versus just practicing and trying to dial in new tricks?

I’m skating almost every day but I’m trying to keep a few days off per month. Before contests I’m just practicing my tricks in my park for a week. Then, between contests, I’ve got tours and photoshoots with my partners- so it’s really a good mix. You just have to work well on your schedule (laughs).

Which events have the highest standards of competition, in your experience?

With my experience I can say SLS, X-Games or World Skate events have the highest  standards- even if the World Skate events are so long...

 Ph:Darwen/ World Skate

What was the response to your World Championship win like back home in Lyon?

It was crazy. The Mayor of Lyon organised a reception in the City Hall to give me the medal of the city, and they officially permitted skating at the famous HDV City Hall monument spot during the occasion, too. Pretty crazy! Also, it gave me more visibility outside of skateboarding.

How do you think the Europeans compare to the rest of the skateboarding world, these days?

European contest riders can be compared to the rest of international riders these days; the only difference being- there are only a few (of us) in Europe, whereas in USA, Brazil or Japan- there are are a lot!

Ph: Biondani/ World Skate 

Who is someone we should look out for in the future?

There are many good riders coming through,especially in Japan... let’s see what’s going on in the future.

Do you have any particular hopes or dreams for the future within skateboarding?

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