59-year-old Montreal skateboarder shreds stereotypes
Skateboarders are shredding big stereotypes at skateparks in Montreal.
At 59 years old, Constantinos Gray recently decided to get back on a board again after 42 years.
"It's just the kind of freedom," Gray told CTV National News when asked about what he loves about being on the board. "Definitely, it brings me back to my youth.”
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Gray started skateboarding when he was eight years old. For years, he remembers having his board with him wherever he went, and says younger skaters often ask about those days.
"They want to know 'what did you used to do?' Well, we used to climb into the swimming pools before the city of Montreal in the spring filled it up and cleaned it up," said Gray.
Since then, Gray says boarding has mostly moved from the streets to skateparks, with multiple generations trying to pull off tricks.
"The comraderie is amazing, and what I find fascinating is I meet other older folks like me that kind of either just started again, or some of them, it's the exception to the rule, have never really stopped," said Gray.
Skateboarding became popular in the 1960s and 70s, and Gray says love for the sport is still contagious.
Guillaume Lecuyer, a pilot, told CTV National News he decided to try it out during the pandemic at the age of 36, and is now hooked.
"The feeling of surfing, it's hard to describe, but when you're surfing it's this feeling of being light and nothing around you matters," Lecuyer said.
Clearly, according to Gray, it's not a hobby only for young people.
"It might appear like a midlife crisis, but it is not. I'm just reconnecting with some of the stuff I used to do, it's a continuation."
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