Outside the venue, Csongor, eight, and Balind, 10, from Port Moody show off their sticker haul, which they proudly report only cost $2 and $3 respectively—but they’re not sure where they’re going to stick them yet.

If there was ever any doubt as to what the Vans “Off the Wall” tagline means, this competitor puts it to rest.

Renee Renee is 43-year-old Jason Bothe’s over-the-top alter ego. He’s been attending and hosting skate events in character since the late ‘90s. Bothe was inspired by Saturday Night Live (Eddie Murphy specifically), and before that, Mr. Dressup. “I would ditch kindergarten in the morning to watch it,” he says. “I have my own Tickle Trunk of clothes.”

Former pro skater Rob “Sluggo” Boyce, 46, entered the contest at the last minute and threw down a backflip—the same trick that he was the first to do in 1998. On top of owning Red Dragon Apparel, the father of two is a stuntman. “Skateboarding keeps you forever young,” he says, pulling up his sleeve to show the phrase in Japanese tattooed on his left arm. “And hot yoga every day.”

Every Friday night, this group of women who all live within a couple blocks of Hastings skate park come to watch their boyfriends. When asked what the perks of dating a skateboarder are, Amy Byers, middle, says: “Abs.” Below her, Krista Shaw chimes in, “Except mine doesn’t have abs.”

The competition’s winner, Ivan Federico, used to have a girlfriend, but doesn’t now because he’s on the road on the time. Skating back in Torino, Italy, where the 17-year-old is from, is also a solitary act. “Not a lot of skaters,” he says. “It sucks because I skate alone.”

Federico doesn’t travel alone, though—his mother Susanna accompanies him. “For us, his skateboarding, it changed our lives completely,” she says. “We are very proud.” She and her husband truly did alter their lives, switching their business from t-shirt printing to skate park construction.

Denise Daroza named her dog after the character Nomi Malone from Showgirls. “Because she’s a lap dog dancer,” she quips. “She’s nine years old, more mature like myself.” When asked her own age, though, Denise’s comeback is: “If you can’t tell, I can’t tell.”

Tienna Rivard, 11, has been skating for six years. Her mom Amanda skates, too, and together they hit up all the local parks in White Rock every week. Tienna is already thinking bigger, though. “In the 2020 Olympics there’s gonna be skateboarding,” she says. “And I wanna have a shot.”

At the entrance, family ties.