BEHIND THE COVER | ISSUE 12.3

Maria Thomsen lands her first cover with a boardslide that's been 3 years and 5 sessions in the making.

“I've had clips in this park before. Because it’s downtown Quebec City it’s the place you always go. I've eyed this rail up before when it had the wood on top of the railing. But, in 2018, when I was filming for The Uninvited, the wood had been taken off, and I started easing into the boardslide. I was getting closer to doing it. We stayed there for a full day, and I didn't get it. So we went back again, and then again for a third day—I still didn't get it. But I kept thinking about it. We went back the next year, and there was wood on it again. So last season, the first day in Quebec, I went there and it's snowing, an ice storm., I spent the whole day trying and I still couldn't do it. I was like, ‘I don't even know if I'm capable of doing it.’ I wanted to get it so bad, so we went back the next day. This is now the fifth day I'm spending at this spot. Three days, three years ago, and now the second day last season. Then, I got it that day. Honestly, it felt kinda surreal—I didn't know if I could do it. I was so scared of it and it had taken me so long. When it finally worked, I was like, "That was it?!" Honestly it was such a relief and weight off my shoulders. This boardslide is definitely one of my favourite tricks I've ever done." —Maria Thomsen

“I wanted to capture the photo at this exact moment when the board is flexing after the heavy elbow in the rail. To pay justice to the spot and the trick, it has to be shot from this angle. I think what I like the most about this photo is that Maria is absorbing the elbow and at the same moment she's looking straight at the end of the rail, ready to stomp the trick.” —Steph Fortier