07 Apr Lee Giroux – Embassy Exclusive Video
I’ve known Lee for 10+ years now. We’ve spent countless hours riding, filming, road tripping, and drinking together. The dude’s always down to shred and has been killing it more and more every year. Lee helped me with countless videos when we lived in Sudbury and he’s been quietly stacking himself for years now. With his recent move to Ottawa a couple years ago, I figured it would be the perfect time to close his Sudbury riding chapter and drop this video. Seeing his progression with the tech/manny game was insane and I’m stoked to work on more projects with him now that we’re both living in Ottawa. I hit up Lee with a few questions. Read on to learn more about the video and what’s going on with him.
What’s it like growing up riding in Sudbury?
It was pretty sweet for me. I had a fair amount of older riders to help me learn tricks and show me spots. The only issue was that you pretty much needed a car to get a productive day in the streets because the spots are pretty spaced out. All in all, I can’t complain though. The skatepark over there is sick and there was always someone down to ride with wherever, whenever.
Living in Ottawa now, do you miss anything about Sudbury?
Mainly just family and friends back there. Ottawa has everything Sudbury has and more in terms of things to do and places to be!
Jeremy Deme (JD): Do you miss the Sudbury skatepark?
For the most part, no. Every once in a while, it would be nice to get back there and do some laps though. It will always feel like home over there. I’ve ridden that park for so many years; it’s like second nature to me now.
Justin Schwanke (JS): Can you talk a bit about the scenes in Sudbury and Ottawa? What are they like?
Sudbury doesn’t have an overload of riders, but it’s a good little community of people. Ottawa seems to have less riders than I expected, but the ones that have I met so far have been awesome. I just can’t get over the abundance of spots compared to Sudbury!
There are tons of wild balance moves in your video. Who do you look up to that influences your style of riding?
Garrett Reynolds has always been my favourite rider, but Chad Kerley and Devon Smillie are also at the top of my list. I could probably name 50 more that I’m forgetting about, but basically anyone that does a lot of tech tricks and is dialed on a bike inspires me.
Joel Fortin: What trick in the video took the longest to land?
I can’t say for sure, but you can pretty much bet that any grind to 180 to fakie mannie in this video took embarrassingly long. I sucked at fakie manuals when those were filmed. LOL.
JD: How many tries did that bar to fakie into the bank take?
I think it was just one where I threw the bars going backwards. I’m pretty sure the bail at the start of the video was me trying to throw it topside into the bank going forwards; then after that I just sent it!
The song, “Do Ya Thing” came out in 2005. You would have been about 11 years old. How did you come to choosing that song?
I initially found it through a video game I played when I was super young. It ended up being one of my favourite songs growing up. When you asked me what song I wanted, that was the first one that popped into my head. I felt like it would suit the riding. I feel like it worked out pretty well, but I guess I’m a bit biased. LOL.
Where would you say is your favourite city to ride?
I don’t know if I can choose between Ottawa and Toronto. Both cities have tons of spots and awesome people to ride with. Toronto might have a bit more of a variety of places to ride, but Ottawa’s spots haven’t been blown up as much. Maybe Ottawa will take the title for me since some of my best friends live here.
JD: How was the transition from Adidas high tops to Vans?
LOL.. Adidas have extra padding on the side walls for harsh whips, but you just can’t beat how Vans grip the pedals! I’d say the transition was a good one.
JS: What does your life outside of BMX look like?
Other than riding, I like to do pretty much anything that keeps me active; hiking, snowboarding, and wakeboarding are a few favourites that come to mind. A couple of years ago I started lifting weights to help with riding and ended up really enjoying it. I work out quite a bit now. I guess you could say that developed into a “non-riding passion.” I work as an electrical estimator; I price electrical jobs for a living. I also love hanging out with my fiancé, my dog, and my friends/family whenever I can.
Any last shout outs?
Thank you Ryan for filming/editing the video, the Northern Embassy for featuring the video, my parents/ fiancé/ friends for being supportive of my passion, and anyone who’s shown me around to different spots.
Follow Lee on Insta @leegiroux7 and follow us @northernembassy. Keep checking the site for more exclusives in the future!