Lee Matasi
| Lee Matasi | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1981 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | December 3, 2005 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Cause of death | murder |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Other names | Avers |
| Education | Langara College, Ottawa School of Art |
| Occupation | skateboarder, Artist |
| Known for | Skateboarding, Art |
| Height | 6"2 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Alison Matasi (sister) |
| Website | http://leematasi.threethousand.org/ |
Lee Matasi was a skateboarder and artist from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Lee is best known for creating 'Leeside', a makeshift skatepark in Vancouver, BC. Lee was an aspiring young artist who had studied and painted in Vancouver, Ottawa, and also France. Lee was the victim of a fatal shooting on December 3, 2005.
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 then in recent years throughout the global skateboarding community.
Lee's skateboarding inspired his younger sister, Alison Matasi, to begin skateboarding. Alison is currently a professional female skateboarder.
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, "Sugar". Upon his return he would study art at the Ottawa School of Art, which would later open a student gallery space dedicated to his life.
Matasi was shot to death outside the Red Room Nightclub in downtown Vancouver on December 3, 2005. Shortly after his death, hundreds of Vancouver skateboarders and friends attended Leeside, 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 murder. Under Canadian law, the guilty verdict carries an automatic life sentence, with no chance of parole for 10 years.
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.
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