Go Skateboarding Day (GSD) gets bigger every year and this edition brought the stacked Quiksilver team to Toronto as part of an 8-day Canadian tour. Do these names sound familiar: Danny Garcia, Kyle Leeper, Omar Hassan, Reese Forbes, Riley Hawk, plus Canadians Jordan Hoffart, Cory Wilson, Torey Goodall, and Pat O'Rourke? Throw in Jamey Beeson (US TM), ‘Fat' Bill Strobeck to film, plus Quiksilver Canada guys Dario Phillips and PUSH.ca contributor/TM Trevn Sharp and this year's GSD was guaranteed to go off.

The bus made its way from Montreal into Toronto a few days before GSD, but the upcoming G20 security precautions turned the downtown core into a massive bust, making street skating even more impossible than usual. The team still got down to some business around Toronto before the official festivities on Monday. Some skating, a tour up the CN Tower, shop tours, and wandering around the MuchMusic Video Awards were just a few of the highlights.

On Sunday, hyped off the Lakers win the night before, the crew held a store signing at the Quiksilver flagship on Queen Street. It's a good sign for skateboarding when kids still line up for autographs when the likes of Drake, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Bieber were just one block away at Much Music prepping for the MMVA's.

The crushing heat couldn't stop Go Skateboarding Day.

Monday: Go Skateboarding Day @ Ashbridges
Jordan Hoffart is a professional skateboarder. Not to take away from the talents of the other members of the team, but Jordan became a one-man demo, skating for 4 hours straight in the mid-day heat. Every obstacle was destroyed one trick at a time as Jordan made his way around the park leaving kids slack jawed at his skill and determination.

What did everyone else get up too? Reese ollied some big shit (over the barrier into the tranny) with his signature pop and style. He was coming off some sketchy food poisoning, either a result of airplane food, Montreal smoked meat, or the dreaded Montreal rippers/poutine combo. He couldn't be reached for comment.

Riley Hawk, who many people assume would have an attitude to go along with his famous last name, is incredibly chill. He was super laid-back the whole trip, signed a bunch of posters, and performed some back disaster's on the swoosh obstacle with the flair of his old man.

Hassan doing things that aren't supposed to be done.

Danny Garcia and Kyle Leeper were cruising around, checking out the local talent and Omar Hassan tail slid in places not meant to be tail slid. Cory Wilson was another standout, popping three flips WAY above the steep bank wall. Throughout all of this Trevn Sharp was on the mic getting the crowd amped.

After all the product had been tossed out to the mobs the hard work was done. Time to get out of the furious sun for a BBQ and beers at The Baitshop. It was here that I pulled Jordan Hoffart aside to get the low down on his Ashbridges destruction and why he's so fired up on skateboarding right now.

Hoffart onto the ledge.

How did it feel being a one-man demo today at Ashbridges?
Oh I wouldn't say that. Cory Wilson had a sick ass tre-bomb. Everyone was skating sick. Here's the deal with Ashbridges: I call it ‘The Beaches', that's just how I know it. I came here last year around the same time, right when it opened, but I had a rolled ankle and I really couldn't do shit. So I stared at this brand new plaza that was so sick looking. It just stuck with me and there was this fire that needed to be exposed, and I was like "I gotta rip this park next time I come here." When I found out we were coming here I got all juiced up. When we finally got to skate I wanted to make the most of it. "Let's skate this shit," ya know? And then the crowd was kinda feeling it. I don't know...I was just skating and it got a good response, so let's keep it going till my legs give out.

[check the photos from last time he was there; only Hoffart would call "Varial Heel Bluntslide to Fakie" sitting around - ed.]

It was hot as balls out there and you murdered it for hours straight.
Dude, it was soo hot out there my t-shirt turned another color - from heather grey into a ‘wet' color. Haha.

Evan Jewitt down the 8.

You always skate in shades?
Naw, haha. You know what, that was f'd. I never skate in shades. Ever. Because they always fucked with me and all of a sudden today I was like ‘no big deal.'

I think Tony T is the only other guy skating in shades. Haha.
Did I look wack?

Naw, it was sick.
Did it? Haha. I can't tell if it's sick or wack; I just try not to think about it too much. I hope the footage doesn't look wack. The deal behind the shades is that my homie who's the marketing manager at Adio has a side project called 9FIVE shades. I was digging the cult classics, so I've been sporting those lately. They felt good, so I just kept going.

Look ma, we got autograph's from that guy with the skateboard!

Today is Go Skateboarding Day. Run us through your day real quick. Breakfast, morning routine with the crew... all that.
We woke up and tried to get an early sesh going, but that failed miserably. So, woke up, skyped my chick, talked to her for a bit, exchanged ‘we'll see each other soons'. She's from Carlsbad, so we talked for a hot minute. Met all the boys for breakfast and hit the buffet. Definitely took more than my fair of food, left that place bone dry. Jumped in the van, cruised down to the park. Saw the crowd, got hyped. It's Go Skateboarding Day, got hyped. Saw that bank-to-wall, got hyped. Haha. Shredded that and just tried to keep it going. So skated there all day, sweated my balls off. Calluses and dead skin all over my feet. So I definitely knew I put my work in. After that, signed some autos for the young'ins. They were stoked which is always cool, especially ones that actually know who you are and don't cruise up to get an autograph just because. Did that whole bit. Cruised back to the hotel. Ate some slices of pizza compliments, of Reese Forbes. Got changed and talked to my chick for a hot second. Got back in the van to cruise down to The Baitshop for a line on the mini-ramp and then just been kicking it and bro'ing down with the team. I don't think I've really been drinking like the rest of them so tonight's my night to really open up before the tour's over.

Omar Hassan over the updown.

Being one of the Canadian's on the tour do you feel more pressure at the demos? Like you're performing in front of hometown kids.
You'd kind of think that, but not really. I just consider myself on the B-team, haha, so I don't really feel pressure at all. These kids are here to see Reese, Omar Hassan, Riley Hawk, Danny Garcia, etc. We're just a bonus, so I just keep that mentality and hopefully they were feeling what we were throwing down. That shit doesn't really bother me because you have on-days, you have off-days. More or less kids are probably more stoked to make sure you're watching what they can do. And then they can be like "Kyle Leeper saw me do this." When I was a little kid, as lame as that sounds, I was totally like that. Haha. So I know they don't give a shit what you do as long as you're out there skating and they are a part of it.

Hoffart on the cut out ledge.

Does having your old boy Trevn on the mic help motivate you a little out there?
Yeah dude. Trevn is the shit. I don't know, you're in the zone and don't really hear it when it's going on. Just fall into whatever trick I have on my mind and that's all I'm thinking about; try not to pay attention outside of that until it's accomplished.

How are the American's taking to Canada so far? You're used to the rough ground and the strange Montreal poutine's and what not.
Those dudes are on the next level, definitely feeling the scene in Toronto and Montreal. To them I think it was more of a signing, show up and hang out kind of tour. That's the vibe we've been getting. The tour has been sick, really relaxed, no real obligations so you just take it into your own hands. If you're feeling it that day you go for it, if not, it's all good. There's not a lot of pressure and that's always when the best skating comes out because if you're someone that's really feeling it you just let them have it. The American's have been super chill. You see them in the videos and think you have a certain idea of what they're like, and sometimes you can be totally wrong, sometimes you can be totally right.  But all these guys are the sickest dudes to chill with. Definitely don't have any bad vibes whatsoever. It's been a blessing just being able to jump on board with these guys.

Danny Garcia over the updown.

The Quik tour wraps tomorrow?
Tomorrow it's all done and everyone cruises home. I don't get to go home, but everyone else does.

Your going from here to Dew Tour next week?
Yeah I'm flying on Wednesday to Boston for Dew Tour.

Let me ask you about the Adio video ‘Going Forward.' You had some dope clips in that trailer.
Ah thanks. Yeah they pretty much used our best things in that, so I'm kind of stressing on trying to find some new footage for them.

You have your 3 tricks down, so you just need 35 more.
Ha, yeah. I looked at a video part that I did like...9 years ago. Not to say I haven't learned anything since, but there were some tricks I did back then that I was like "Really...I could do that back then?" Made me realize I want to step my game up. I do have footage set aside, but this next month is full-on hammer time...make the list, get shit handled. Not to suck the fun out of skating, but there's always those things in mind where you tell yourself "Oh I'm going to do that one day." Now is the time to put all that shit in a basket and hammer it out. We're going to release it in on-line parts, so Chris Troy is slotted in August and then I'm slotted for September, and then one a month.

That's coming up pretty soon, not to put the pressure on.
It's coming up really quick. Want to know what else? I have a full part in the Bones video and my deadline is October 1st. So I have two video parts and skating nowadays too it's fucking insane. I'm pretty much fucked. Haha.

Plus the contest schedule this summer on top of those deadlines.
Contests, I have Dew Tour, so that's one contest a month, X-Games end of July, and then Maloof two weeks after that. So yeah, I'm pretty much screwed. Haha.

Cory Wilson tre flips overhead.

Going to get any more skating in Toronto before leaving for the Dew Tour in Boston?
We're dropping off Cory [Wilson] in his hometown Niagara Falls. There's a couple spots out there, so myself, [Andrew] Norton, Lee Yankou, and Pat O'Rourke are all gonna cruise out there and see if we can make something happen.

So look out for you guys in Niagara Falls?
Ehhh, I wouldn't say that. I'm double fisting right now so I might blow it. Haha. I'd say be more on the look out for Lee and Cory.

I think you should look out for those bike cops behind me and stash those beers real quick.
Oh yeah. I'm gonna put these under my shirt. Andrew, good looking out.

With this, a cop walks over and questions what the two of us are doing in a dark alleyway as The Baitshop bbq/party is getting broken up. Instead of giving Jordan a ticket for drinking in public like so many other's that night, the cop gets Jordan's autograph for his kid and let's us walk. Exactly how encounters with police should break down on Go Skateboarding Day.

Every day should end with a proddy toss.

All photos: Richard Roth/rothphoto.ca

Chris Quik put together a short montage of Jordan and company from the day at the Bay.

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Related:
Ashbridges Skate Plaza Opens In Toronto
Go Skateboarding Day, a BBQ, and the Quiksilver Team (blog)
Wild In The Streets Montreal