ZANDER MITCHELL // INTERVIEW

I've known Zander for approximately five years. We've grown to be very close and in turn, have experienced a lot of funny and interesting moments together. We met in 2012, having both recently arrived in Montreal from opposite sides of the country. Zander will tell you that the first time we met I had just rolled up to a party with raccoon face paint on. In my memory, the first time I was introduced to Zander, the exchange was brief and involved a handful of mushrooms from another individual I had not met before. We skated for what seemed like an eternity that day. I had just bought a video camera and hadn't a clue how to use it, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. We must have filmed enough footage for a small part throughout the evening and we couldn't believe how incredible the clips looked. We were out until the early hours of the morning. It wasn't until the next day, when we looked at the footage, to realize everything looked like complete and utter garbage.

Interview and photos by Jacee Juhasz

How are you holding up through this wet hot Quebecois summer?
Pretty good, I need to get a fan though. 

You'd think living in Canada the last thing a person would expect is it’s too hot seeing as every other country thinks of us living in igloos and ice skating to work, but it really does become unbearable in the summer months, doesn't it? I'm literally sweating just sitting here speaking to you. Do you have any sort of AC?
No, absolutely nothing. 

Get with the program, man. Your girlfriend has a pool at least, doesn’t she?
Yeah, there’s one at her house on the South Shore.  

My AC isn’t the greatest but I try and beat the heat by not using my oven until September. What’s your go-to meal during these nasty summer months?
Salads mostly. Lots of greens and fruits. 

I spoke to Carly (Zander’s girlfriend) to see if I could dig up any nasty habits on you but she basically said you’re an angel. She did say you always quote, “waste not, want not.” What’s that about? My mom always used to say it when I was younger. Try and make use of everything you can.

Carly said you’ll eat food that’s expired because you don’t want to waste it. Quote: “I’ve seen him work around mold before. He’s like a little raccoon,” is what she said. Any thoughts?
Unconfirmed. 

Have you ever considered parting ways with this humid mess of a city?
No, not really. I like it here. 

I think everyone considers it, but it's hard to justify seeing as Montreal's cost of living is about half of any other metropolitan city. Not to mention that schooling is subsidized as well. Have you ever considered going back to school?
Yeah, I’m just not sure what I want to do yet. I’m still trying to figure it out.

Steve MacLeod mentioned you said something a while back about culinary school. Is that still a possibility? 
Yeah, I’ve thought about it, maybe carpentry or like woodworking or something. 

Steve also wanted me to ask you if you’ve ever been to the cat café, seeing as you’re such a kitty lover.
No, I haven’t been yet, but I want to go.

Would you ever take Kitty (yes, that’s Zander’s cat's name)? Or is it likely he would just scrap with all the other cats?
No, he’s a good cat.

You’re supposed to go to New York this week, right?
Yeah, I was supposed to go. Things didn’t work out. 

I was going to say I hope it doesn’t end up like last time we were there.
That was a mess. The last night we were there you and Max [Cote] got into a fight in some random person's apartment. Simon [Richards] and Ben [Stephenson] both left to meet their Tinder dates while we went dancing at some club until 7 a.m. Meanwhile, Steve got lost somehow and slept in a laundromat and woke up to Malcolm in the Middle blaring on the TV. When we returned to our Airbnb, Max was waiting for us on the steps and thought we had the key but Ben had taken it with him to the Tinder date's house, which was on the other side of Brooklyn. It ended in a screaming match and Max purchasing a bus ticket 6 hours earlier than the one we already had tickets for.

Good times. Was that your only trip planned for the summer? 
I’m trying to go to Paris in the fall. I’ll probably go back to Nova Scotia at some point, too. 

Speaking of trips, your brother told me to ask if you’ve got any juicy traveling stories?
The last time I was in LA I got chased by a crazy homeless guy in some park downtown while trying to film a line. He was smoking something in the corner of the park at one point and then just started charging towards me with the craziest look in his eyes. I tried to skate away but he was too fast so I ran across the street. He grabbed my board and yelled, “Mine now!” I had to follow him for like 15 blocks, he was trying to skate my board and trying to push mongo going really slow and kept falling. He kept smashing it on trees and parking meters. Some security guard called the cops and they eventually showed up and arrested him. They threw my board to the side so I grabbed it and left. It took like five cops to get him in the car, he was huge.

I was chatting with Dan Cameron the other day and he's wondering if you'll confess to the real truth behind why you missed your flight for that HUF Canada trip to LA a few years ago? Basically, I stayed up too late smoking weed and deep frying pizza treats. My flight was at 7 a.m. but I slept in and didn’t get to the airport until 6-ish. They wouldn’t let me on the flight because it was international and I wasn’t early enough. I ended up having to buy another flight. 

What’s a pizza treat?

It’s an inside joke.

Sounds tasty. Studio's putting a new promo out in September, what can people expect from you?
The people can expect some tricks I guess. And maybe some jazz? I haven’t seen the timeline yet so I don’t really know what’s being used. 

So no switch lazers?
No, don’t have one of those.

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