Writing intros for interviews isn't always the best way to get someone stoked on what they're about to read. It's usually some sort of testimony about how good the person is at skating, or a funny, inside story that only a few people will get. I promise, however, that after reading this interview, you will know enough about Mitch to appreciate his drive in life and learn that he's truly one of a kind.

This became apparent to me then when he came out to the Wakestock Island Of The Ams skate contest in July. He was late for the finals ‘cause he got in a fight with four security guards (four!) for skating a spot in downtown Toronto. It was all good, though. Him and the goose egg on his head got fourth place and made enough money to cop some new New Era's and a few Americano's.

So lets all learn a little about Mitch Barette, shall we?

Where are you from?
Ottawa, Ontario.

What got you into skateboarding?
I tried a bunch of other sports and skateboarding was the easiest one. Not like, super easy, but it made me want to keep trying tricks. I tried BMX'ing and scootering -- I got pretty intense with that.

Why do you still skate?
The love of it. It's just so fun, learning new tricks all the time, it's never ending. I still skate ‘cause its so fun... the people that I have met, the places I've been, the friends that I've made, and the challenges that skating still gives me every day.

What's a day in the life of Mitch like?
Wake up and get myself an Americano coffee. Actually wherever I'm at, I always start off the day with one of them things. Once I'm done that I usually head back to the crib, lay out a couple sets of clothing and choose what I'm gonna wear skating. I head out to the nearest skatepark and meet up with my friends, photographers and filmers, and choose a spot to do work at, then we skate it until we're too tired to do anything else. After that, I will go eat some food, come back home, drink a few beers and then go to sleep.

How did you first get hooked up?
I first got hooked up when I was really young. I was just a warrior skating all the time, as hard as I could. I just got some footage and brought it to my local shop called EQ. They were stoked and then they invited me to the "sponsor night" at the McNab skatepark and I skated the whole night. The whole EQ crew, especially my homie John who worked there, was pretty stoked and they put me on a flow program. It all started form there, I guess.

Who do you skate for now?
DGK, Gold and Venture through S&J distribution, RDS through Centre distribution, Osiris through No Limits, and EQ skate shop.

Rails, stairs, ledges, manny pads, flat bars... what obstacles do you like to skate?
I like to skate everything, but I mostly like skating flat ledges and flat bars. I guess I skate a lot of rails and a lot of manny pads as well, and I also like jumping down stuff here and there.

What are some of your favorite skate spots?
My favorite skate spot is a place in Ottawa called Lansdowne Park. It's got incredible flat ground with drops that you can practice tricks off of, and manny pads, and there's this incredible bank. If you felt like getting gnarly, there's even a 14-stair handrail. It used to be one of the best places to skate at until a bit ago when it got turned into a bust. Toronto is amazing too, but not for spots. I just like skating everywhere downtown. Vancouver is pretty sick as well, but I go to Toronto so much that I know it much better.

Tell us about your run-in with a security guard in Toronto?
I went to Wakestock a few months ago for the Island of the Ams contest. Me and a few people that made it to the finals, TJ Rogers, Brandon, Will and a couple more people, went skating at Commerce Court. We were told to get off the property pretty much right away, and when I was skating on the sidewalk my board shot onto their property and hit a security guards foot pretty lightly. He took my board even though I apologized to him, and when I went to get it back he put me in a headlock and I ended up fighting with three security guards. In between landing a few shots, I had my face smashed into the ground and they put me into a room for six hours while we waited for the cops. Once the cops arrived, they found the video footage and noticed that I didn't mean to hit the security guard.  Long story shot, I went outside and my homies were still there waiting for me.  I'm banned from there now, and if they catch me again, I'm going to jail for sure.

Who do you skate with most of the time?
In Toronto, I skate with Brandon Del Bianco, Will Marshal, Morgan Smith, Koty Brown, and Blinger.

So what's with your voice? I mean, why does it sound different then some of the other people I've met in life?
It's funny ‘cause a lot of people ask me that question, I mean like, at least three times a day. They're all like, "hey, what happened to your voice?" I usually just tell them that I was born with it, ‘cause I don't really have the time to get into it with them. What really happened, though, was this: When I was nine years-old, my next door neighbor lit me on fire and I swallowed some of the flames. It burned my vocal cords and it changed my voice completely. I was in the hospital for about a year, and I was actually supposed to die. Somehow I stayed alive and here I am now. When I came back from the hospital, there was a skateboard waiting for me.

You got anything coming up that people should know about?
Yeah, I got a few things on the go. I'm dropping a part in my homie Jeremiah Doubts new movie called Slice Life. It's a Toronto/Vancouver movie that's dropping in the winter, so I'm pretty curious to see how that one's going to turn out.  Be sure to check that new Expose magazine ‘cause the people over at Osiris hooked me up with an ad that I'm pretty stoked on. What else? Oh yeah, I think that I'm going to head down to Arizona for the Volcom Wild In The Park contest and try to stay in Cali for the winter. Other then that, check me in Toronto or Montreal every weekend, skating with my homies.

Shout outs?
I would like to shout out a lot of people... Shout out to my homeboy's Mike Scott, Mike Prangnell, Spencer Hamilton, Brandon Delbianco, Dustin Montie, Mike Imposimato, Steve from S&J, Danny Marshal at RDS, Seb and all my homies in Ottawa. Shout out to Bacon -- that guy's really good. Shout out to everyone that I forgot and everyone that's helped me. Shane Hutton, that guy helped me out in skating more then anybody in my life. That's about it; thanks for everything and thanks to everyone.

Check out an exclusive Push.ca interview with Jeremiah Doubt on the upcoming Slice Life video here: http://push.ca/blogs/andrewsk/archive/2008/09/15/slice-life-believe-the-hype.aspx