Can you give us some context about yourself?
I’m Clement Chouleur, also known as Choubi. I was born in the Alps, raised in the Basque Country and now living in Paris. I’m a skate photographer, passionate about traveling and getting to know other cultures.
How many years have you been doing skate photography?
I got my first camera 12 years ago and I immediately started to shoot my skater friends. After that I did an internship for a magazine and there I learned how to write articles and do interviews. The staff photographer sold me his old camera gears and I pretty much started from there. I went on a 3 months trip to the US, shot a bunch of stuff there, met a lot of people and when I got back to France I decided to move to Paris and become a skate photographer professionally. I’ve been doing that for 10 years now.
Do you only work in skate photography or do you have other jobs?
I use to have little jobs on the side when I first started but these days I mainly do skate photography. Some times I do a bit of studio for fashion brands, some location scouting for production companies and even some handy work in a photo gallery. This year I also worked on the Tour de France, shooting photos from a motorcycle, that was so random but so fun too.
Can you tell us about your personal project Déjà-vu Skatemag?
Déjà-vu is a magazine I started with my friends from Mecca collective, I managed the content and they did all the graphic design. I’m super passionate about print and I always dreamed of having my own magazine. With their help we made 3 issues and I’m pretty proud of that because they were nice but then Covid happened and it kind of put a hold on the whole project. I still got a bunch of ideas and a lot of photos to share so hopefully 2023 will be the year of the come back for Déjà-vu!
«This year I also worked on the Tour de France, shooting photos from a motorcycle, that was so random but so fun too.»
Congratulations on your last cover in Sugar, how many covers do you have? Is there any that you like in particular?
Thanks a lot, this one was really unexpected! I got 5 covers from established magazines (2 from Soma, 2 from Sugar and 1 from Confusion) and then a couple more with Déjà-vu and other smaller publications. It’s always the best feeling when you have one so I hope there’ll be some more!
It has been a pleasure to be able to visit your studio located above the Volcom showroom a few meters from Plaza La Republique in Paris. Can you tell us how this happened?
And a pleasure for me to welcome you! Well I’ve been working with Volcom for quite some time now and they had this showroom with an office space available upstairs. They offered me to stay there to work and organize events so for a year and a half I did that and it was great but unfortunately as I’m writing this, I’m about to go there to pick my stuff because they’re shutting the spot. It was great while it lasted, time to move forward and start a new adventure somewhere else!
Have you worked for many skate brands?
I’ve worked with a bunch of brands yeah but I’ve never really been a staff photographer for any. Sometimes I’d love to be one but in the same time I love my freedom!
Is there any that you haven’t yet and would you like in particular?
I don’t know I feel like it’s more about the people than the brand, there’s some skaters that I really admire for their style and I’d love to shoot with but as for brands I don’t really care… as long as they have a good team spirit. Maybe a Girl x Anti Hero tour would be fun to shoot.
«I still got a bunch of ideas and a lot of photos to share so hopefully 2023 will be the year of the come back for Déjà-vu!»
Three essential things when you bring on tour.
I always bring a book, some dices and Birkenstock slippers. And in my camera bag I always have extra shoe laces, wax and tools.
Favorite street food.
In Paris I always go to the Corsican sandwich place with my crew (Trois CCD). In Barcelona I always try to find the best empanadas.
Something you hate the most when you are shooting skate photos
Well I can’t blame them but I hate when random people stop by and start to shoot pictures and then come up to you and brag about it. It’s not that often but I hate it. Also I really hate when my flashes or camera fails… so frustrating.
Last words <3
Keep doing what you do best as long as it makes you happy!
Interview and by Rafael Álvarez
Answers by Clement Chouleur
Photographies by Clement Chouleur
