Talkin' With The Team #13 - Cain Lambert

How old are you and who are you sponsored by?

October 11, 1989. Sk8 Skates, Brixton and my friends at Supra Distribution (Lakai) and Ultimate Distribution (Happy Hour) have had my back for years.

How long have you been on Sk8 Skates?

Just under a decade, I got on when I was 16.

How did you get on the Sk8 Skates team?

I woke up and there was a note slipped under my bedroom door, it was a clue which brought me to the next clue in my backyard, this clue led me to another clue at the end of my block, finally all the clues led me to scale to the top of a building, where I found a letter that I got on the team! To this day I don’t think I’ve felt as accomplished as that morning.

What made you want to ride for Sk8 Skates?

Sk8 has always been the shop that best represents the core of what Winnipeg’s skateboard scene is. Demos, competition, videos, trips, magazine articles, a timeless logo and an incredibly diverse team, are just some of the contributing factors that breed and maintain a local skateboard culture.

When I was kid growing up, I just wanted to be around Sk8. I didn’t ever expect a sponsorship or to be as involved as I am, I just knew that Sk8 was it. It had the best team, product, employees, locations and atmosphere. When I was about 8 years old, I remember it blowing my mind that I could go into this shop where team riders like Kevin McCoubrey, Paul Spencer and Adam Thomas would spend countless hours talking to me about the do’s and dont's of the skateboard world. Even though I was a prepubescent child without a clue in the world of what is “cool” or not, these dudes cared so much about skateboarding and the skateboard scene, that they would take the time to try and influence an 8 year old kid in the right direction. The influence that the team and shop had on me as a kid is what helped me to work hard and progress.

It’s sad that these day’s kids have an expectation to be on the team. I’ve heard numerous times that kid’s will stop supporting Sk8 because “other shops are easier to get on”. I was down for Sk8 because I was down for Sk8, not because I thought I deserved something. In hindsight, that’s probably why I ended up getting sponsored, I did it for the love of skateboarding not my own arrogance.

What’s the gnarliest trick to go down in Winnipeg?

1. Travis Stenger – Kickflip backside nosegrind revert through the Oak
2. Bill Acheson – Frontside bluntslide fakie through the oak
3. Jared Arnason – Hydro triple kink boardslide
4. Brock Anderson – switch backside lipslide woodsworth
5. Colin Lambert – Fakie lipslide the parkade rail

Honorable mentions
Chris Rossong – Double heel flip Audiville
Keiran Zimmerman - TBA

Who would you want to put on the team next? 

Bill Acheson, because he took himself off the team, which sucks. He is so much better than you, your best friend, your favorite skateboarder, and me.

For the most part I don’t like kids attitudes towards shop loyalty, and sponsorship in general, so nobody at the moment. I do however wish we could steal Chris Rossong, Kevin Friesen and Tyson Kanhai because they are amazing skateboarders and amazing people.

But these dudes rip and should keep it up
1. Julian Kelly
2. DBT
3. The Squash
4. Jack Davis

Favorite Winnipeg skateboarder?

1. Sam Klassen
2. Bill Acheson
3. The Sk8 team
4. Wreck Posse
5. Weekend Special

Honorable mentions
Jason Crolly
Evan Burchuk
Mick Lemoine
Red Riding Media boys (they are out in the streets more than anyone)

Ah fuck it; everyone’s my favorite skateboarder

Best Sk8 Skates memory?

The Sk8 team party when Mitch Lavoie choke slammed Tyler Geurts through a folding table. It was like watching Goliath choke slam David. Also our moving party when we left the Corydon location. There was a 5 stair with a hubba that we always wanted to skate, and on the last night we had a sesh on it! There was a DJ, booze and chicks. All the stuff you need for an epic closure!

Cain Lambert @cainbert switch frontside flip

Photos by Anders Homenick @friendshipfilms and Tyler Geurts @tyler_geurts