Micky Papa
skater
Micky Papa is a Canadian skateboarder, known for his successes in the street discipline.
- Semi finalist at SLS World Tour and World Skate Open
- Olympian
- 8th at World Championships
For years Micky had a reputation for finishing as a runner-up in amateur events. He once completed two pages of second place finishes in a summary.
After moving full time to California to go pro he signed with Blind Skateboards in 2015. In his first year he took first place at a Damn Am Select Series event and two second places in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa.
Fifth at the Tampa Pro in 2016 followed with Micky turning pro. He joined the SLS World Tour, and registered results including 12th in Munich in that rookie season. In 2017 he had two top-10 finishes on the SLS Tour. He also came fifth at both the Dew Tour street finals and Jackalope Festival.
2018 saw him take sixth at the International Skateboarding Open and third at the World Skate OI STU Open. The following year he made the semi finals at his first World Championships. He also made the semi finals of the SLS World Tour and the quarterfinals at the Dew Tour. Micky went on to make the semis at both the International Skateboarding Open and World Skate OI STU Open.
With the Olympics welcoming skateboarders and delaying the 2020 Olympics for a year due to COVID, Micky earned a place there with an eighth place showing at the World Championships. This also raised him into the top 30 in the world rankings. He finished in the top 10 at the Olympics.
Turning vegan
Papa went vegan gradually around 2017, and it doesn’t sound as if it gave him any difficulties. He credits his Italian roots and his Nonna’s garden for playing a part.
“I’ve been fascinated with health and nutrition for as long as I can remember” he says. “I was raised old school Italian. Growing up, I would pick fresh ingredients out of my Nonna’s garden for family meals. That was the foundation. As I got older, an all-organic diet has been imperative to my lifestyle, and more recently I decided to go full vegan. I am seeing drastic differences in my health as well as my physical performance. Over the years, I have witnessed firsthand how these changes in diet can completely affect one’s quality of life.”
“My go-to dinner is my roasted veggie concoction (all organic, of course). I roast up a mixture of russets, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, heirloom carrots, red onion, and garlic cloves tossed in olive oil and seasoned with my family’s secret combination of spices (that I, unfortunately, cannot share with you). Like a classic Italian grandmother would, my Nonna always taught me that the key ingredient is the right amount of love at just the right time—and that tip is universal. I use that not only in my food but in my skating as well.”
Micky describes skateboarding as “the middle ground of art and athleticism” so all training has to be individual.
“I find my best results are achieved when I listen to my mind and body. In order to get my mind right, I meditate and do yoga first thing every morning. As for my body, some days I’ll skate for 10 hours and not step off the board, others I’ll skate for 30 minutes and know I won’t make any actual progress if I force it. There are also periods where I hit the gym to work on muscle imbalances that develop over time due to injuries (which happen quite often). My overall regiment is all about understanding what is going to work for me on a daily basis.”
Micky’s also founded Switchmade Mentality, a lifestyles and accessories brand. Outside skateboarding he enjoys playing guitar, playing beach volleyball, hiking, rock climbing and playing soccer.