Jay has always loved teaching kids, youth and adults. Throughout high school he started working as a camp counselor in training, later becoming a senior camp counselor working with special needs kids. Later he was a senior camp counselor for Parks & Recreation traveling to different parks developing his own style while learning to teach anyone no matter what obstacle they might face. In the winter he learned to ski and became both a certified ski instructor & freestyle ski judge working at many of the top ski resorts in North America. But skateboarding was his true passion.
In 1976 he was the first person to hippie jump a Ferrari and in 1978 he placed third in slalom and fifth in freestyle at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition). Jay founded the CJ’s SKATEPARK, A Not-For-Profit, indoor, climate controlled ,largest skatepark in the world. When skateboarding was introduced in the 2021Olympics, it only made sense to expand the National Certification Skateboard Program which Jay purchased in 2010 as a Not-For-Profit and developed & expanded in the last few years and transformed it into the ISCP(International Skateboard Certification Program) & SKATZ (Stance, Kicks, Axles, Transfers and Zen). This is the most comprehensive certification program in the world and with our esteemed expanded global advisory board we are now in 50 countries & 525 cities and growing.
We offer in-class on site certification & training both locally and in other countries as well we offer virtual classes to any one wishing to teach skateboarding via Zoom.
Jay acquired several of SBC Media’s iconic Canadian sports magazines from bankruptcy including SBC Skateboard which is now the top skateboard magazine in Canada.
He has written 2 books with all proceeds going to charity the first was a joke book called “CAUSE FOR LAUGHTER” and the other a book on how to skateboard called “RAMP UP”. Both books are available on line and at Indigo book stores in North America.
His philanthropic work has been acknowledged in many editorial articles, letters of praise and with numerous awards including three medals – the Diamond Jubilee Medal from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, recognizing individuals who, through exceptional long-term efforts, have made outstanding contributions to their communities, and the Order of International Ambassadors Medal. Jay’s motto is failure is not an option and we all need to have fun, enjoy what we do and remember we all learn differently and are unique!
Aurore, now based in London, is a qualified Level 4 personal trainer specializing in nutrition and strength training. She’s also a Certified Skateboard Instructor, Facilitator through the ISCP, and a Community Leader with Women Win and Nike SB, using skateboarding to promote mental health for women, girls, and marginalized communities.
In 2020, she co-founded “The Keep Rolling Project” with Rachael Sherlock, offering free skateboarding lessons and workshops that focus on making skateboarding accessible to everyone. They prioritize girls-only sessions to boost female participation, but always offer mixed options as well. Their aim is to create equal opportunities for all, and they’ve had kids from various faiths and backgrounds skate together, ensuring their sessions remain free and inclusive.
Initially focusing on the LGBTQI+ community, they now hold an annual Pride event and create spaces where different communities can come together. Through creative workshops, they teach young people skills like photography, sound recording, and filmmaking, using skateboarding as the foundation. The diversity of those creating skate content, both behind and in front of the lens, is key to empowering people and offering a fairer representation in the skate scene.
Their YouTube series began during a spontaneous six-month trip through Latin America, where they met amazing skaters and collectives. Though it started as rough Instagram footage, the series has evolved into a platform for longer stories. Self-funded and a bit of a slow process, they hope to secure support to continue traveling, training skaters globally, and sustaining their UK projects. Aurore also dreams of leading a sports training and rehab program for skateboarders and producing an all-female UK skate film.
First generation Canadian of French- Hungarian descent has been building communities worldwide for two decades through her passion to unite people of all cultures to champion causes in the philanthropic, skateboarding, and arts and culture spheres. She studied diplomacy and business development and marketing while juggling careers as an artist, musician and entertainment manager of Canadian Jazz Musician, Vic Vogel for 10 years, as well as an avid street photographer participating in over 30 International exhibits where some of her black and white series “A BOOK ABOUT DEATH” are archived in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA NY and MoMA Wales), American Art at the Smithsonian Institution and Musee des Livres de Paris to name a few.
She is part of the TED Talks brand and a recent Radio Canada documentary “L’Esperanza de Cuba” tells her story in Cuba about her non-profit, Skateboards For Hope which empowers youth using skateboarding as a tool to break the cycle of poverty. It brought her attention to meet Oprah in 2013 and most recently received the Maria Brown Humanitarian Award for her commendable community work.
Betty has been empowering youth for over 30 years and her purpose is to build safe and happy environments for children.
My name is Sasha Senior and I’m the proud owner of Bliss Skateboard Shop. We opened our doors in March 2020 and quickly became known in the skateboard industry. As a young adult I could never imagine being the first black woman to open a skateboard shop in North America but I am truly grateful to have this be my purpose in life. Opening Bliss has made me realize how passionate I am about skateboarding and giving back to the community locally and internationally. Besides being an entrepreneur I also serve with the Canadian Armed Forces and raise my two son as best I can. I appreciate everyone’s love and support of the shop and I look forward to its growth as I continue to make contributions in the skateboard world.
Dr. Ebun Akinsete is a senior researcher at ATHENA RC’s Sustainable Development Unit and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network – Greece, as well as a founding partner of Nigerian-based consultancy GEN Sustainable Solutions. With a background in architecture, Ebun holds a PhD in Urban Regeneration and Sustainable Communities.
Her work focuses on the implementation of sustainable development in various contexts, and she has several years of both industrial and academic experience in Europe, Asia, and Africa. She is particularly interested in exploring participatory approaches towards engaging stakeholders and often works in collaboration with governmental agencies, NGOs, multilateral development banks, academic institutions, the private sector, and local communities.
As a skater, she sees the role that skating, along with its related physical and social infrastructure can play in the wider context of building sustainable and resilient communities; particularly in developing nations. The subject of this intersectionality is a recent research interest and drives her work to develop the local skate scene in her native Nigeria.
I was born in February 1992 in the Town of Welkom , Free State which is a mining town also known as the GoldFields. Now based in Gauteng and working formally as a Skateboard Coach/ Instructor and motivational speaker are applied as part of his M.O . Being from a small town, the root of what he believes to spark creativity through and through.
I was introduced to the world of skateboarding as a volunteer through tutoring and later going on to become a skate/educational facilitator at Skateistan SA 17 – 20 to Now currently where I work Diligently for Origii Skate. This Skateboarding Entity is in pursuit of giving access to a community of active skaters to empower them and create jobs for the vastly unemployed youth of South Africa. Skateboarding is a beautiful sport and even more so being in the Olympics .Origii Aims to further the accessibility of the sport in all spaces.
Iain Borden is Professor of Architecture & Urban Culture, and Vice-Dean Education, at The Bartlett, University College London. His wide-ranging research includes explorations of architecture in relation to cities & public space, film & photography, and critical theory & philosophy. Authored and co-edited books include Skateboarding and the City: a Complete History (Bloomsbury, 2019), Forty Ways to Think About Architecture (Wiley, 2014), Drive: Journeys through Film, Cities and Landscapes (Reaktion, 2012), Bartlett Designs: Speculating With Architecture (Wiley, 2009), The Unknown City: Contesting Architecture and Social Space (MIT, 2001) and InterSections: Architectural Histories and Critical Theories (Routledge, 2000).
Iain frequently advises on skateboarding culture and skateparks, and has worked on skatepark projects from £50K to £17 million. He has also been an active skateboarder for 40 years.
I attended University of Hawaii, Banff School of Fine Arts and Santa Monica College. I grew up skiing, riding horses, motorcycles, sailing, snowboarding, flying small planes, photography and later skateboarding. I have 3 children who all skateboard, snowboard, surf and are involved in music and the arts. I live in Venice CA. I founded the movement for public skateparks with Tim Payne and a handful or skatepark builders in 1996. I am on the F.08 committee for ASTM International and we set construction standards for skateparks. I am a worker bee behind the scene; event producer, photographer & organizer.
I also founded the SkatePark Association in 1996 and SPAI Skate Park association International in 2002. Back in 1996, there were only 3 small public parks in the USA and a handful globally. As of 2021 we have over 4,000 skateparks in the USA and over 10,000 globally. The skateboard/skatepark community had been without insurance for almost 20 years when I founded the Skate Park Association. By forming and organization we were able to bring affordable insurance back to the industry which opened up events and contest again. We produced events with city skateparks, allowing for free entry since 1996. Partnered with LAUSD to open afterschool skateparks and currently trying to re-open Le Conte Middle School in Hollywood. Events include the OG Jam Series, Venice Ladies Jam, City of Santa Monica, City of Los Angeles, City of Inglewood and more. Our focus is to provide free assistance to developing countries and assist with athlete visas and organization. I also help produce series and championships such as Venice Ladies Jams, LA Inner City Games, Inglewood Games, Gromfest Canada, Los Angeles Rec & Parks Championship Series 2002, and OG Jam series.
In 2006, we opened Venice Boarding School, the first high school for disenfranchised skateboarders under LAUSD. Accredited the 1st year. USC master’s film program produced a documentary about the school featuring 3 of our students called “Lines” directed by Joselito Seldera.
I am Currently on the board of Bangladesh Street Kids Aid, a 501 c3 nonprofit that takes in street kids, teaches skateboarding and school classes. They are currently working on setting up a home for street kids. I constantly aim to empower the skateboard/skatepark community.
Dr. Jason Gainous is the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and a Professor of Political Science at Duke Kunshan University in China. While he is an active scholar having published multiple books and research articles on topics related to information technology and politics, he will tell you that first and foremost he is a skateboarder. He has been skateboarding since the early 80s when he learned to ride vert ramps. Dr. Gainous never quit skateboarding but moved away from vert skating until he decided to get back into it in his late 30s. He hasn’t look back since, now into his 50s.
Dr. Gainous credits much of his career success to skateboarding. It there, as a kid, where he learned the discipline and commitment it takes to be successful at anything. After practicing hour after hour, day after day, year after year, he reached a level of skill at vert skating where he had a nice bag of tricks. He says that this accomplishment gave him both the understanding of the kind of work it takes to master something and the confidence to do so.
It was armed with this knowledge about himself that Dr. Gainous decided to start volunteering with his local skatepark in Louisville, KY. To begin, he and several of his friends adopted the park through the city’s adopt-a-park program. He organized cleanups, and ultimately started helping the city raise money to repair some of the park. In this effort, he came in touch with a not-for-profit (Parks Alliance Foundation), and they contributed to his fundraising efforts. It was not long after that, the Parks Alliance Foundation asked Dr. Gainous to serve on their Board of Directors, where he did so for several years. In this time, he continued to work with the city on helping them manage the skatepark. He helped raise money, helped work on the design of a rebuild, organized cleanups including involving school kids in service projects, and did quite a bit of local media promoting the skatepark.
Dr. Gainous is thrilled to serve as an advisor for the ISCP & SKATZ Program. He is bringing his dedication, discipline, and commitment to this organization in the hopes that he can pass on to another generation his love for skateboarding.
Growing up in the high desert northern Sierra mountain range, outdoor and thrill-seeking we’re second nature to Shelby. Skateboarding found him around the age of 8, watching a group of older kids play in the parking lot of a grocery store. Once he locked his eyes on the ever so fascinating wheeled apparatus, he was instantly hooked. Fast-forwarding into the future; with even more eagerness to pursue anything outside of the norm. Shelby facilitated getting an education in professional snowboard coaching, biomechanics, and Motorcycles. For him, fun is the utmost priority. Taking from someone who has owned every single Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game. Inspiration & motivation have always come from the basic necessities of playing in front of the convenience store parking lot in the evening with friends and snacks….lots of snacks.
With continuous pursuit in the action sports Realm; Shelby is currently Director of Woodward Riviera Maya. Where he has the opportunity to engage with people around the world and express the love of skateboarding through daily life. Adventure is;
Appreciate, Explore, Discover, Repeat….