Chewing The Fat: Louif Paradis

Big Lou Paradise is the personification of "bossome". If you were wondering what "bossome" means, it's what happens when you cross boss with awesome. And Lou is not only a boss, he is wicked awesome. Read on to find out why!

Yo Lou, what's crackin' son? Introduce yourself to our readers.
Alright, my name’s Louis-Felix Paradis Lemieux, I’m 23 years old and I grew up in Quebec City, on the east coast of Canada.

Louif is the epitome of grace under pressure

Tell us what snowboarding means to you and how it came into your life.
Here in Quebec we have snow on the ground from December till the beginning of April, so when I was still a baby, my parents would bring me to the hill a couple of blocks away and we would ride toboggans for hours. Soon enough I wanted to stand up on it. So the toboggan upgraded to a Black Snow and eventually a real snowboard. Now, snowboarding is my favorite activity to do. I spend most of my time and energy on it.

One kink ain't enough for this hungry rail hippo, Big Lou getting sideways

Do you think if you'd grown up in British Columbia instead of Quebec you would be less into street shredding?
Oh, for sure, I don’t think my board would touch metal or cement even once in a season.

Kid does some im"press"ive stuff, tip press to revert on the bank

What is the most impressive thing you've seen so far this season?
I’ve seen Jed (Anderson) do 25 tricks in 2 hours on a down rail. Also saw Keegan (Valaika) do a backside tail 270 out on something I never thought someone could spin out of. Scotty (Arnold) did a pretty crazy boardslide in Stockholm.

Mad steezy front board, straight up son

You've spent a lot of time in Europe this year, tell us a bit about your adventures on this side of the pond.
Yeah, I’m pretty stoked I've been able to discover parts of Europe lately. In September, we flew to Barcelona with Jed, Grenier, Scotty, Java and Oli to skate for a week. From there we flew to Austria for another week to ride Hintertux and shoot photos for the Salomon and Bonfire catalog. Then, in January, we went to Stockholm with Grenier, Scotty, Harrison, Alex Cantin, Jan Snarski, Oli and Java. We met up with Kareem El Rafie and Robban who runs Salomon in Sweden and two local riders, Felix and Rolf. They guided us around and hooked us up with everything we needed. It was an amazing trip. Lately I was in Munich for ISPO and a Nike 6.0 event at Heisa’s farm. From there we drove to Prague, which had snow for a little bit. It was me, Keegan, Jed, Harrison, Tyler Verigan, Transworld filmer Hayden, Oli and Java. Really cool trip again.

Grinding down the stone in the Great White North

What is the sketchiest thing that happened in your travels through Europe? How about the funniest?
Nothing too bad… In Barcelona, this guy I asked directions to was teaching me some dance, I realized just in time he was grabbing Chris’ camera in my pocket. Or in Prague, Java was driving the car downtown and was making it bounce super hard. We got pulled over and the cops were mad. They showed us some footy of it they got with their handy cam. A-ha. And then the cop told us to give them 2000 Kroners cash…

Jaw-dropping sunsets are no match for Louif's stunts, switch tail press to gap out

Are you looking forward to shredding the Arlberg next month?
Yeah man, not sure if I’m doing this trip but Arlberg is definitely one of the places I want to go ride the most.

You scored the cover of issue 10.2 with a nasty back 180 fakie tailpress, tell us a bit about that day.
I had been to that spot couple days before with Oli, Alex, Ben, Greg and Jan. That day I had got a backside 180 to fakie nospress. When the rest of the crew got to town, they really wanted to go to that spot. I wasn’t that into it because I had just been there. But Oli wasn’t really satisfied with the shot he had got of me, so I thought I could do it again for a good photo. It’s a really fun spot to hit anyways. I started to do backside 180s but wasn’t really feeling the fakie nosepress so I went for a fakie 5-0. Thanks for the cover! Never got one before!

Blap, blap, COVER shot muddafucka!

Big Lou is capable of leaping over roofs with a single bound, XXL front 180 melon to flat

Your part in the Videograss movie was HEAVY, what have you got up your sleeves for this year, gonna score the closer again?
I have been traveling a lot lately so I haven’t been filming as much as the past years, but I think I’m doing alright. I'm positive I’ll be able to get a full part again.

The Olympics were just held in Vancouver, how do you feel about them, both as a Canadian and as a snowboarder?
I think they’re cool. I don’t really care much, but I have a lot of respect for Olympic athletes. And I think it’s cool to see humans get more agile and more powerful year after year. As a snowboarder, I just wish the snowboarding events would also incorporate style and creativity.

Lubing the street tube, blunt through the kinker

What is the best thing about being Canadian? Hockey? Poutine? Free health care?
The best thing to me about being Canadian is the country's geographic position, I think. Here in Quebec, we have 4 different seasons, which make a lot of activities possible. And it’s just nice to feel you’re in a total different environment every 3 months.

Louif was the only rider to conquer this bucking bronco of a rail

Tell us something that nobody knows about you.
I don’t know… I never got any serious injury, broken bones or torn ligaments (knock on wood!). Other than that… I got caught trying to steal a shirt in a big store once when I was younger and never stole anything since.

Dreamy FS 180 to fakie tail press in Toronto

What is legit in snowboarding right now?
Simple tricks, getting sideways on kinks, sequences, going fast, high presses, VG, Absinthe crew, Think Thank, BF, Baker Banked Slalom, Jeremy Jones, Joe Carlino…etcetera.