Jean Postec- Coming on Strong

Oct 08 2006 / San Jose, CA

After moving up through the international contest circuit, Jean Postec recently moved from Annecy, France to San Diego at the urging of his pal Kevin Staab. He’s been embraced by mentor Tony Hawk, who signed him to Birdhouse, and has made his name known this summer with Top 10 finishes at every stop of the Dew Tour, the X Games, the Slam City Jam, and the LG Action Sports Tour. He’s currently in 6th place for the Dew Tour points race, steadily climbing his way to the top.  

Lat34: In Louisville, we watched you in practice and picked you as our Lat34 “up-and-comer” to watch on the Dew Tour. We were right: by skating consistently throughout the tour and steadily improving in each city, you are well within reach of the overall prize. Did you have a big-picture strategy coming in to this tour?

JP: I’m so stoked. I’ve made a better start every time – I got 8th in Louisville, 6th in Denver, and 3rd in Portland , so I’m really happy. If you do better every time you get on a ramp, then you really can’t complain! I’m just taking it event by event, trying to get a good line going, stay on my board, and add some new tricks. It’s tough! It’s easy to lose focus and just fall and miss some tricks, but it happens to everyone: You have the run of your life one day, and then completely miss your run the day after. That’s what makes the Dew Tour interesting. 

 

Interview continues below...

 

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Lat34: In Skate Vert, the overall stats are closer than in some of the other Dew Tour events, so your current 6th place standing with 149 points actually puts you right in the mix. Even Bucky Lasek, the current leader, isn’t far out of reach. What should we be watching for from you as we head into these last two events on the tour?

JP: I at least want to stay in the top 10 in the next two events and try to stay up in the overall ranking, because in the Dew Tour if you have a bad day it can really set you way back. I’d love to finish in the top five overall. I really want to do my 720. I haven’t really had a chance to put it into my runs here yet, but I put it in my run in Paris last weekend and made it, the first time I ever made it in a competition run, which gave me more confidence to try it here.

Lat34: I have to ask: How close are you with the switch 900 we saw you try at the X Games?

JP: I really want to get that one! I’m going to be filming a lot after the summer contest season, so I really want to work on some technical new tricks and try to add some variation. All I want is to keep improving and moving forward.

Lat34: In addition to the Dew Tour, you were at the X Games and the Slam City Jam and you’re also doing the LG Action Sports Tour. Is it possible you have the busiest travel and competition schedule of any skater in the world?

JP: I can say this: I haven’t even had time to practice this summer except at these events! Everyone is really busy, and I see a lot of the same skaters at every contest no matter how far I travel. Last weekend I was in Paris, skating beneath the Eiffel Tower !

 

Lat34: Your name is new to most people in the U.S. this summer, but you’ve actually been competing on the international circuit for a while. How do the different competition experiences compare?

JP: The Dew Tour is way bigger. Everyone is here, and the level is just way higher. You can’t really compare it to a European contest or some of the other international contests. It’s tougher to do well in the U.S., because all the best people are here, which is why I moved to San Diego in November 2005. 

 

Lat34: Tell me about the move. 

JP: In Europe it’s kind of dead, especially for vert. All the big industry is in the U.S. and if you want to be a pro vert skater, pretty much you want to live in San Diego . All the best vert ramps, all the best vert skateboarders, and all the big companies and industry people are here, so that’s how they find out who you are: they see you more and they get to know you better than if you’re in Europe .

 

Lat34: You don’t seem to have had much trouble fitting in!

JP: I’ve been skating a lot with Buster Halterman and Kevin Staab and Tony Hawk. Tony’s been helping me out a lot and has just been really cool with me so I’m super stoked, and I’m even more stoked to be on Birdhouse. Shaun White, Rob Lorifice, Pierre Luc Gagnon, Bucky Lasek: all these guys that go to the Dew Tour, we all skate together in San Diego , so you get to learn more tricks faster, you get better motivation, and there’s good weather so you can skate every day.

Lat34: There are so many big contests now. Do you have any personal rivalries? I notice Shaun White is only a few points ahead of you in the overall standings.

JP: Just the opposite! When we skate, we all want to do good but we also all skate between friends so there is no tension with anyone. Everyone focuses on doing their own run, but nobody is really thinking like, “oh, I’m going to beat this guy!” It’s not really that kind of mentality. You do your run and see how it comes out, and then everybody’s happy and congratulates each other. I’m so stoked to be here. Can you tell? 

- Colin Bane