My Crest, My City: Montreal

One jacket, 28 crests, endless stories. Over the course of the MLS season, we will be shipping a custom jacket to creators across North America to highlight the diverse and vibrant soccer cultures of various destinations in MLS with the help of Participation Trophy Studio. 

As the grassroots soccer community in the U.S. continues to grow coast-to-coast, we are seeing the emergence of exciting creative talent searching for opportunities to break into the world of soccer. This project allows us to showcase emerging creatives through shoots with an exclusive “MLS” themed coach’s jacket. The 1/1 jacket, created by Participation Trophy Studio, is a classic black coach’s jacket decorated with patches from every MLS club. The jacket will travel from city to city and be worn by local models in kits from each respective city.

For our seventh installment, we caught up with Montreal-based photographer Audrey Magny to talk about the inspiration behind her project in her city.

How did you get to Montreal?

I grew up in Trois-Rivieres, which is an hour away from Montreal. It’s a small city, so everyone knows each other, and the vibe is really nice. But I moved to Montreal in 2019 because I wanted to grow in the game and have more experience. We have CF Montreal, more leagues, more teams. It made sense to come here in search of more challenges in soccer. 

You played soccer when you were growing up, so you’ve been around the game your whole life. How did you get into photography?

I tore my ACL in 2015, so I couldn't play anymore. Getting into photography was a way to stay in the game. I always had that passion for soccer, so I just changed my plans with how to be around it. I started with photography in 2017, and it was just covering different games and local clubs for fun at first. I transitioned to Montreal, and I was covering all these different clubs. At first, it was a bit scary because I didn't know where I was going. I had no plans, so I just jumped. I was just driving to games with my camera, taking pictures, and sending them to players. I saw there was a need for it because players love getting their photos taken, but they didn't have pictures. 

Before making that permanent move to Montreal, had you followed the Impact? 

When I was young, I went to the stadium to watch some games, until I got the chance to cover some games. But I used to attend a lot of games as a fan. One of my favorites was when we played Pachuca for the CONCACAF Champions League at the Olympic Stadium in 2015. Cameron Porter scored in the final minute to give us the win in the tie. 

So you’d been a pretty big fan even before you started covering the team?

There’s only three MLS teams in Canada and since I’m not a big hockey fan, the Impact is the home team to follow. I can’t live in Montreal as a soccer fan and not like the club or at least have an interest in it.

What was it like transitioning from being a fan to covering the club from the field?

It was so special. Here in North America, MLS is the biggest league, so even covering my own club as freelance was awesome. Since then, I’ve had the chance to be contracted by MLS clubs like the Revolution and Atlanta United to cover their games when they’ve come to play here this season, so even doing that is something special. 

Apart from covering MLS, you’ve covered a lot of other teams and leagues in the city. Which one is your favorite over there?

I love the CPL. It’s a really good in-between league for the young players that need minutes. They need professional experience, and I like covering those games and seeing the players grow.

After being so involved in the soccer community over in Montreal, what would you say is your favorite thing about the culture of the game in your city?

I think the culture in the soccer community is something unique. It's very inclusive. Whoever you meet, you always have something in common with them, because at the end of the day, you like the same sport. Right? It’s really easy to talk with someone that you never even met. And from those discussions, you can learn a lot. I think, here, you always grow from what other creatives tell you, and in turn, you can find ways to help them. That's what I like about the city is that it's very inclusive and everyone wants everyone else to succeed. 

What would you say is your favorite thing about the club itself?

The fact that there are more and more home players. A lot of academy players are getting their opportunity to play, and even the coach was a product of the academy, so I really like that homegrown aspect of the club at the moment. 

Speaking of what you like about the club and the city, how did those things inspire your My Crest, My City project?

So I chose Olympic Park because I feel like it’s the heart of the city if you’re a football fan. That’s where the stadium is. I really like that place because whenever you’re watching a game at night, you can see the Olympic Stadium behind it all lit up. It’s just beautiful. That’s why I chose it. In terms of football, it’s the heart of our city. 

And those blue benches that you can see in some of the photos are actually taken from the stadium. I guess they renovated the seats, and these are the old benches that they had. I thought that was cool, so I wanted to show it too. 

The location obviously made a lot of sense in terms of highlighting the heart of soccer in Montreal. How did you go about selecting the subject of your shoot?

He has a crazy football story. He was born in France, and he grew up playing as a goalkeeper until he was told later that he was too small to be a goalkeeper. He always thought that he would make it as a pro, but he was too small. So then he moved to Canada and became a striker. 

I told you that Montreal is a really inclusive place in the sense that it's multicultural, and people are always ready to give you an opportunity. So I think his story fits with the vibe of the city. He came to Montreal, switched to play as a striker, and now plays for our university team. 

What are you hoping people from outside Montreal will take from your project?

I hope to shine a light on what makes this city special to all of us and show that the team deserves respect. I think we’re often underestimated but Montreal is becoming a football city. Fans really love the game here, and they deserve recognition. 

So we’ve talked about the soccer, and we’ve talked about the city, but what about the new crest? The jacket had to be changed at the very last minute to reflect the rebrand you guys had. What are your thoughts on your new crest?

My honest thoughts are that it’s really sad. The story is sad because they changed everything, and I don’t feel like they took the time to understand how the fans felt. The team is having a really good season. For once, they're playing real football, and they're creating an identity on the field so the fact that it coincides with the change of the crest makes it even more sad. I feel like, in a way, everyone is a bit heartbroken. I see that some fans have boycotted the club and haven’t gone to a single match this season and I’m not even going to bring up all the comments the club has to deal with on social media. To be honest, I feel for the players who have to play with fewer fans because the club decided to rebrand. As for me, I can separate both things and love the club for what it is rather than focus solely on the crest or the brand. 

Football is beautiful and I hope we're eventually going to find a way to have a stadium full of supporters again, cheering for our team!

Make sure to check out Audrey’s work, and keep an eye out for the next edition of My Crest, My City coming next month.

Photography by Audrey Magny.

Model: @jbr____

Jacket: Participation Trophy Studio.