Urban Blades

With so many talents in his possession, its no wonder that Greg Mirzoyan, a professional skater and photographer, has chosen the task to take the world by storm. mixed with his insatiable hunger for travel, Mirzoyan shows just how far you can go with a single pair of skates and plenty of drive.

All great love stories start with a moment – a single glance, the first interaction. For Greg Mirzoyan, it all began shortly after he learned to walk. Born and raised in Paris by French and Armenian parents, Mirzoyan grew up hearing stories about the Armenian culture from his father who tried to keep the traditions alive – not surprising for a native of the city with the long-established community of the largest population of Armenians in Western Europe. 

At the age of four, Mirzoyan’s parents gave him his first pair of rollerskates with plastic wheels painted in fluorescent colors. From the second he slid his feet into those vintage four-wheeled skates, he was hooked. Skating through his childhood into adolescence, Mirzoyan eventually decided to dedicate his life to the sport. Thus, his parents’ gift marked the beginning of a lifelong love for rollerblading. Mirzoyan trained every day to hone his skills. His techniques ranged from free skating to aggressive skating, which focuses on spins and grinding down stair rails. Next, he transitioned to bladercross competitions in which skaters have to maneuver around obstacles to the finish line. His talents came naturally and were mastered through practice. When he was younger, he participated in many of the bladercross competitions, including those in Russia and Korea, and won most of them.

On the city streets of Beijing, with the bright lights as his backdrop, Mirzoyan effortlessly jumps up and down staircases and swerves around hundreds of pedestrians. Shortly after that fortunate encounter, Rollerblade International signed him as a professional skater. Eventually, Mirzoyan took over many of Rollerblade International’s visual projects, including shooting pictures and videos of skaters in dozens of countries. Throughout the years, Mirzoyan has zoomed through countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, India, Russia, China, and other countries throughout Europe and South America. During each of his trips to a different country, Mirzoyan goes sightseeing with eight wheels on his feet. But he does not skate in a straight line toward his destination like the majority of the population. The type of skating he practices is considered “aggressive,” the fast-paced, adrenaline pumping cousin of street skating. Videos of Mirzoyan document him in Brazil, jumping from the sidewalk to the wall with the Christ the Redeemer statue looking over him. On the city streets of Beijing, with the bright lights as his backdrop, Mirzoyan effortlessly jumps up and down staircases and swerves around hundreds of pedestrians. In the more suburban parts of town, he rides calmly by rivers and pagodas, under colorful paper lanterns  and canopies of trees. Instead of walking by the Bird’s Nest stadium, the iconic building that hosted the 2008 Olympics, the skater explores the area on wheels, jumping off benches and traversing the green lawns with the crisscrossed wooden beams of the stadium acting as his spectators.In Los Angeles, he tests the infamous traffic by speeding alongside buses while holding onto the front fender. The crowds on Hollywood Boulevard do not deter the courageous Mirzoyan from skating down the iconic street, weaving around tourists and costumed men. While the majority of his skating occurs in relatively low-risk situations, Mirzoyan is no stranger to performing daring feats. The crowds on Hollywood Boulevard do not deter the courageous Greg Mirzoyan from skating down the iconic street, weaving around tourists and super heroes. Watching Mirzoyan glide smoothly on the streets and surpass every obstacle with ease is an incredibly hypnotic experience. The ebb and flow of his jumps and rides fill his audience with serenity, even during the most complicated tricks. The calmness he exudes with his every move is the mark of a true master, of a man who has been refining his skills for a lifetime. Skating comes as second nature to Mirzoyan, much like a fish in water. With all the stamps on his passport, Mirzoyan has met a wide variety of skaters in different environments, from rural Indian villages to the skyscraper-laden streets of Asia and America. His observations of athletes in their own cities revealed to him what skaters have in common, and what their preferences are when it comes to how they get around on eight little wheels.

“People love to meet in one place where no one is disturbing them, and that’s pretty much the same in every country,” he says. “In the U.S., people don’t go from place to place on skates because everything is so spread out. In cities like Paris, it’s much easier to move around. "All the things I encountered because it’s nice to have a variety of work. It came naturally. My work is my whole life,” Mirzoyan admits. “It’s difficult to balance. I’m always thinking about my work. I can spend entire days working. I just go for it 100 percent.” The world is Mirzoyan’s skate park and he makes sure to document each step of the journey, whether through dynamic, action-packed photographs or heart-pumping videos of himself, holding onto a car bumper, gliding on the street as though he were floating on air.

 

Source: Yerevan Magazine