I found four. And they weren’t all that young.

Where were the local skateboarders?

Around that time I noticed I had forgotten to wear sunscreen and a large portion of my left side was turning pink. But I put my comfort aside and began my first foray into the Games: a search for Parisian skateboarders. (Someone alert the Pulitzer committee!)

To be honest, it wasn’t that big of a search. The first people I asked told me to go straight to Place de la République.

When I saw them, I froze.

Suddenly I felt like Pete, a shy wannabe who wanted to be cool as a skater, but fell off his board way too often.

Then I remembered: just a few minutes earlier, I had attended a press conference and asked two Olympic medalists a question – a two-part question, by the way.

I’m no longer preteen Pete. I’m Pete from The Post!

So I walked right up to the uber-cool, hardcore local skaters and introduced myself. And they were awesome.

It turns out that Place de la République is something of a melting pot, a must-skate location for anyone who brings a board to Paris. American Olympian Mariah Duran was there a week ago.

Among the people I met were an Argentinian and a Colombian, both temporarily living in the city, an American traveling through Europe, and a father and son from Denmark who had also traveled on my train from the Olympic site.

Apart from the Danes on my train, most of them paid little attention to the fact that there was a race taking place just three kilometres away.

They all agreed that it is not the biggest or best equipped skatepark in the city, but it is the best place to socialize: a bit of street skating on a real street.

About 15 years ago it still looked poor, but in early 2010 the city renovated it.

Juan, an Argentine who lives near Place de la République, said it is a place full of urban life, where protesters gather, where office workers, dog walkers and the homeless pass by. It is safer, but there is still some debris, with graffiti on the ramps and benches.

Before I left, Gauthier, a 43-year-old Parisian, taught me a trick.

This is what it should look like:

Sorry, I won’t be sharing pictures of myself trying.

Of course, that’s just because of the sunscreen.

Pete’s adventures are mainly those of Artur Galocha, reporting from Paris, with help from Bonnie Berkowitz and Álvaro Valiño. Editing by Jason Murray. Graphics by Samuel Granados. Copy editing by Ella Brockway.