Lee Matasi
Lee Matasi was a skateboarder and artist from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was well-loved for his easy-going personality and passion for life. He made numerous friends in his daily life and travels, particularly in Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, and France. Lee was the victim of a fatal shooting on December 3rd, 2005.
Skateboarding
Matasi was a well-known skateboarder in the Vancouver skate scene. As a youth, he created his own skatespot in a tunnel the Hastings and Cassiar connector in Vancouver, BC. The spot later became known as Leeside and is well known locally and throughout Canada.
Lee's skateboarding inspired his younger sister, Alison, to begin skateboarding. Alison is currently a professional female skateboarder.
Art
Lee was interested in art from a young age. As a youth, he grew up painting graffiti under the alias 'Avers', a name apparently chosen because of art's resemblance to 'a verse' on a page. After high school, Lee was in the Fine Arts program at Langara College in Vancouver, BC, in the year 2002. After completing the program, he spent a few months painting in an abandoned castle owned by a relative in a small town in France. In France he made numerous friends, and had an article written AbOUT his life in the castle in a French skateboarding magazine. Upon his return he would study art at the Ottawa School of Art.
Acting
Lee occasionally did 'extra' jobs (on skateboard and off) such as stunt doubling in a skateboarder role in the 1999 TV show 'Just Deal'. While in France he also appeared in a telephone directory advertisement. His most notable performance was in the 2003 film 'Party Monster' (featuring MacCaulay Culkin) as an extra.
Death
Matasi was shot to death outside the Red Room Nightclub in downtown Vancouver on December 3, 2005. Shortly after his death, hundreds of Vancouver skaters attended a memorial at a skatepark that Matasi helped build.
On November 30, 2007, a jury in the case found Dennis Robert White guilty of second degree [...]. Under Canadian law, the guilty verdict carries an automatic life sentence, with no chance of parole for 10 years.
Memorials and Legacy
After his death, the Ottawa School of Art student gallery was renamed the Lee Matasi Gallery.
Skateboard wheel company Momentum released a special EDition "I Heart Lee Matasi" wheel. Sale proceeds were donated to the reconstruction of the Leeside skateboard park.
Vancouver's Antisocial skateshop sold 'I Love Lee Matasi' t-shirts, and donated the proceeds to Leeside reconstruction as well.
In summer of 2008, a professional skate shoe, the éS Avers, was created by Rick McCrank, and is dedicated to the memory of Lee Matasi. Proceeds from the sale of the shoe are being donated to the Lee Matasi Foundation.