In the 90’s it was nearly impossible for a European skateboarder to make it in the American skate industry, especially if you couldn’t speak the language and had a last name that was hard to pronounce. Chany Jeanguenin literally let his skateboarding do the talking. Through many video parts and years of dedication, Chany has become recognized as one of the best all terrain skaters there is. If that wasn’t enough, he’s also been instrumental in building the program over at Expedition, which is one of the most solid teams out right now. I think everyone could learn a little something from Chany, so check out the following interview and get inspired.

Interview by Keir Johnson

Keir: Where are you from originally?  

Chany: I was born in Bienne, Switzerland. It was a great place to grow up, we had a lot of outdoor activities to do. We played around in the forest for most part, we were pretty much free to do whatever we wanted.

Keir: What were you into before discovering skateboarding?

Chany: I was always into sports. I played soccer, hockey, skiing, pogo sticks, building forts in the forest. We would also have military explorations and drills in the forest, highly influence by Rambo! I just liked challenging things.

Keir: How did skateboarding enter the picture?

Chany: I don’t even remember when I first heard about skateboarding, but some kid had a skateboard by my house. I'm not talking about a modern wooden skateboard, this was a piece of plastic with hard wheels from the early 80’s. My brother always rode it around and many years later got a wooden one and me and my brother started to find out more about skateboarding and what was possible. We were the only skateboarders in the city and were making tricks up because we never saw anybody doing it

Keir: When did you first witness skateboarding at the professional level?

Chany: Bill Wiess, Steve Shneer, Donny Myre, and Rob Mertz from Circle A and Zorlac. Probably one of my most amazing experiences of my life – a vert demo in 88. I think I lost my voice for 2 weeks from screaming!

Keir: Do you remember the first magazine you saw? 

Chany: It was a Transworld with Chris Miller at Upland on the cover, we took it apart and wall papered our room with it. My brother and I lived in a room with a bunk bed till I left for the states.  The magazine really showed us what we could do on a skateboard.

Keir: What were you skating back then? 

Chany: I just skate down hills by my house there was no such thing as spots, we just skated on the street and then later got into launch ramps.

Keir: You’re known for being equally good on street and vert, how did you get into skating tranny?

Chany: The magazines back then were full of vert shots and the first videos I saw were Streets Of Fire and Future Primitive, both had a lot of vert skating. There weren't any ramps where I lived so I had to search really hard to find one. I first skated on this BMX quarter pipe, then some random ramps in Switzerland, like mini slash vert ramps.  Once the next city over got a legit ramp that became all I wanted to skate!

Keir: Who are some of the skaters that influenced you on vert? 

Chany: I was into so many! Hosoi for his style and air time, Jason Jesse was so powerful, Clause Grabke for his clock graphic. I also like Youssefpour, Mike Connroy, Todd Congelier - fast plants pivot to fakie! Bucky and Hawk for the tech vert skating and then Danny and Colin for taking it to the next level and for skating street too.

Keir: Eventually ou got sponsored, how did that happen? 

Chany: Well in Europe you skate for the local distributor, you know. I was sponsored by our local shop and started to go to contests and do well so I caught the attention of the distributor, which started to sponsor me and help me out. I started doing even more contests and they set me up with a brand. 

Keir: How did you end up in America?

Chany: I got sponsored by Real through the European distributor and I was winning vert contests in Europe too. My friend Yves had connections at Deluxe, he talked me and my parents into going to the states to meet the Real dudes and skate with them. He got me a ticket and we both went there.  After two days he left me at Metty, Joe Brook and Greg Hunt's house. I didn't speak English, had never been to the states and realized that vert was dead! But, I was able to skate everyday and that was a dream come true and it outweighed everything else - basically I didn't want to go home and stop skating!

Keir: What dod you remember about skating San Francisco?

Chany: It was really overwelming. I had never been in a city like San Francisco before. The buildings, the people, the language barrier, the homeless people, it was crazy! We skated around the city which was awesome, there were a lot of spots and skating EMB back then was something that I'm so glad I got to experience. It was fun! I didn't even know that EMB was in SF. I was so hyped that it was though and the first day I was there I was like "whoa that’s the spot from Questionable!" I wanted to skate vert bad so I went down to the YMCA ramp in Encinitas not long after.  

Keir: What company turned you pro?

Chany: I turned pro for Rhythm Skateboards in 1994 and my first graphic was a Swiss army knife.

Keir: You’ve had many video parts during your career, can you name which videos you’ve appeared in?

Chany: My first part was in a Swiss video called DSE which was an all vert part. Then I had a part in the Planet Earth video Hiatus, Rhythm's Genesis, Expedition’s Out Soon and Alone as well as Transworld's Interface and Modus Operandi. More recently the Kayo It's Official video and footage in many others...

Keir: What was it like during the mid 90's for you in California, what was your life like?

Chany: I lived down in San Diego, worked at Planet Earth in the warehouse, and lived on friend’s floors! We basically just skated everyday and didn't worry about anything else, it was a great time!

Keir: Which companies have you ridden for during your career?

Chany: Death Box, Real, Rhythm, Expedition, Spitfire, Duffs, Osiris, Converse, Speed Demon, Mercury trucks, Orion, Venture, Indy, Droors, and Diamond.

Keir: When people ask you how Expedition came about, what’s your answer?

Chany: Pro skateboarders got together to start a board company, that’s pretty much how it started!

Keir: What's going on with Expedition these days?

Chany: Things are going really well, we got a solid team with some of the best am in the business!  We're working on a lot of stuff right now, a video, and we've been traveling and keeping everybody busy.

Keir: Being a vet, what are you working on in skating right now?

Chany: I'm really enjoying skating right now. You know, skating everything, doing demos, entering contests, sessioning the Berrics! I've been keeping myself out there as much as possible, always trying to work on interviews and video parts.

Keir: What kinds of things occupy your time outside of skateboarding?

Chany: I keep up with things at Expedition on a daily basis, that keeps me busy. I'm dealing with some investment properties. I also still study Kung Fu. I enjoy watching tennis and basketball, and then I'm with my girlfriend the other times. I'm never bored.

Keir: Any words of advice for the younger generation?

Chany: Keep a good head on your shoulders, be respectful, and enjoy your skating!

Keir: Thanks Chany, looking forward to seeing what you have in store for the future, any thanks? 

Chany: Thank you to everybody that has supported me and given me a chance, and really everybody that I know and those that influence me, I wish everybody well.