Mudscout Media, 208 pages, 8” x 8” paperback, $25.00

I remember going to Montreal Expos games and visiting the park that surrounds Stade Olympique as a kid, looking in amazement at the vast fields of cracked and aging concrete that stretch as far as the eye can see, interrupted only by seldom tufts of dandelions, or notched fittings where turnstiles and barriers stood during the 1976 Olympics. Now, more so than ever due to the Expos’ departure to Washington, DC, Olympic Stadium feels like an enormous postmodern relic, a tombstone standing in bitter memoriam of the long-departed athletes who filled the 60,000-plus seats in years past.

Despite the stadium’s vacancy, an outstanding and free-spirited pedigree of athletes still convenes at 4549 Pierre de Coubertin. I recall my dad saying that the huge, empty concrete park looked like a skateboarder’s dream — and had we been on the opposite side of the stadium, beyond the grassy track and field area of the Olympic Park, we surely would have seen an impressive display of skateboarding at what is reverently known as the “Big O Pipe.”

Pipe Fiends: A Visual Overdose of Canada’s Most Infamous Skate Spot is a massive, 208-page, full-color celebration of the long history of skating at the whistle-shaped half/full Big O Pipe — Canada’s most infamous natural skate spot, and deemed “one of 10 spots you gotta skate before you die” by Skateboarder Magazine. Originally built as the athletes’ entrance to the track and field parks, the concrete tunnel was discovered by local riders in the late ‘70s as a “gift from the skate gods” — revolutionary in that it was flat-bottomed in an era of “U-shaped halfpipes [and] skateparks with snake runs” (according to the interview with Louis Correll), extremely challenging, and that it was practically impossible to ride due to the thick, corrugated rubber mats on the on walls of the pipe, which were entirely removed in the early ‘80s.

Compiled by local pipe veterans Barry Walsh and Marc Tison, Pipe Fiends winds the reader through a dynamic, scrapbook-like pictorial memoir, beginning with the origin and history of the Olympic Park, and concluding with visual and written testament gushing with sentiment for the legacy of the Big O Pipe. Along the way, Pipe Fiends captures photographic evidence of the skaters’ devotion to the pipe in chapters such as “Pipe Cleansing,” skaters shoveling out feet of snow in the wintertime to get in a few rides for their pipe fix; “Paying the Piper,” downright nasty images of the blood and skin folks will sacrifice for a shot at riding the pipe; and “Positive Cemental Vibration,” verbal and visual excerpts from all sorts of national and international media.

The heart and soul of the book, though, lie within the pages of he “Pipe Pioneers” chapter and the two “Pipe Wreckers” chapters. In “Pipe Pioneers,” eight local pipe legends — including the book’s two compilers — are profiled in two-page spreads with interviews and photographic accompaniment. I really like this part of the book — it allows an exclusive slice of this microcosm to really express their affection for and most memorable recollections of the skate site with which their names are synonymous. Also, each interview is conducted with a unique set of questions for each interviewee, rather than a bland set of form questions. My only gripe — solely because I’ve been conducting Q&A-style interviews for so many years — is that it is blatantly obvious that at least several of these interviews were conducted via email. For such a vibrant picture book, the interview section should have been conducted entirely in-person to allow for more natural spontaneity in conversation. However, this is a minor complaint specific only to a small part of this chapter.

The two “Pipe Wreckers” chapters are amazing. It should be noted that the photos in this book were snapped over a 20-year period, and the fact that so many incredible, talented photographers were there to take professional-grade pics is pretty mind-blowing. To see some of these pipe wreckers frozen in time and rocking the pipe is something else: Serge Mostowy’s switch frontside rock slide is captured from foot level; Jeff Edward’s layback invert is snapped from above; Moses Itkonen’s backside tailslide on the quarter-pipe is shot from inside the full; and Tison and Walsh’s frontside air over a backside smith is goddamned unbelievable no matter what angle you see it from. Even if you don’t know what the fuck these terms mean, it doesn’t mean you won’t be impressed by the sight of it all.

Another great aspect of the book? The “Pipe Bombs” chapter pays homage to the layers of graffiti artwork that taggers and graf artists have coated upon the surface of the Big O Pipe over the years. The fact that Tison and Walsh dedicated some space to a tangential aspect of the culture that envelopes those at the pipe leaves me craving more. I know from this book that these guys dug Suicidal Tendencies’ Possessed To Skate, but what else? Were they rocking Big Boys and Minor Threat mix tapes back in the ‘80s; do kids plug into Lupe Fiasco on their iPods in the present day? I know booze, bud, and barbecues are indulged at the Big O, but can you find me a fucking subculture that that wouldn’t apply to? I sort of wanted to get into these skaters’ heads a little more, find out what they’re about outside the skating…but this is a book about skating at the Big O Pipe, and it captures more visuals of the pipe and those who mastered it than your eyes can take. And, importantly, the attitude, freedom, and brotherhood experienced by those who’ve communed at the Big O in the last 30 years oozes off of the page; Pipe Fiends captures that essence and almost makes the observing outsider feel like he’s a part of it.

It should be noted that this book was compiled during a time when the Big O Pipe’s future was uncertain and it was facing potential demolition to make room for a soccer stadium. It appears that for now the skating sanctuary is safe, and the book, rather than being a memorial, is fortunately a celebration of a legacy that will be allowed to continue on, as new generations of skaters will write new chapters.

Just as you don’t have to be a Washington punk to enjoy the photo-book Banned In D.C., you don’t have to be a skater from Montreal to appreciate Pipe Fiends. It is a photographic exposé that can be enjoyed by non-skaters, and should come to be heralded by all diehards, regardless of region.