by MICHAEL CITROME

Alena Skateboarding, tucked away in central NDG between a thrift shop and a darts supply store, isn’t your typical skate shop. There’s no punk rock blaring at ear-damaging decibels. There are no posters of sponsored skateboarders shredding half pipes and concrete barriers. There’s certainly no vast display of every conceivable skate-themed ancillary product, from fingerboards to visors.

The artwork on the walls is tastefully framed, so it looks more like a gallery than a den of testosterone. And owner Jeremy Bresnen, 29, thinks that’s just fine.

“It’s my view of skate culture - it includes all aspects, the music part of it, the art part of it, the design part of it, all the different pieces that just fit together,” he says.

In business for a year, Alena stocks art-mags like Arkitip and NYC fashion plate The Fader, along with clothing lines like 2K T-shirts, which feature artists like Andy Mueller, Ryan McGinness and homegrown talents Heavyweight. Indeed, what stokes Bresnen the most is the No Damn Good art series - “which if you’re bright you figure out is NDG” - set to begin in the new year. It’s a series of exhibitions of skate-related art that he says will kick off with an all-ages party featuring Montreal artists and DJs. Alena’s already had a live event with Heavyweight and Bresnen plans to bring more artists’ work to the forefront.

“The idea is that I want the kids to come out. I grew up in skate shops where you learn things, you learn about music. It introduced me to hip hop, it introduced me to punk rock. With the art, I’m not closing the doors to anyone who wants to put a piece in. All people have to do is come to me and tell me they want to do it and I’ll get their name on the flyer. Bring me the piece and we’ll set it up.”: