On March 16th, the SPoT held a free day to benefit BOARDS FOR BRO, a charity based in Tampa that collects skate gear for young skaters in need of it. Etnies hooked up the event by allowing free admission in exchanged of old boards and by bringing in their team. I got the chance to talk to Nick Garcia, Tyler Bledsoe, Jose Rojo, David Reyes, Aidan Campbell and Axel Cruysberghs aka Crusher about their careers, personal lives and how they afforded their boards before ‘making it’. Turns out this charity hit close to home for most of them.
EDDIE CASTILLO: So I’ve been stalking your Instagrams, how was Atlanta?
DAVID REYES: A lot of fun. Really good places to eat, great skate spots. Just a good environment with a lot of possibilities.
EC: Are you guys just skating the whole time on these tours? Tell us what a tour’s like.
DR: We fly in, wait for everyone else to fly, get a rental car, get everything, check into the hotel. Then you have to deal with 10 different people’s opinions–Oh I wanna do this. Its all real scattered. But then towards the middle of trips everyone is just like Fuck it, whatever.
EC: What’s the best place you’ve gone with the Etnies team?
DR: Atlanta was great. I just got on [the team] maybe like six months ago. We’re going to China on April 2nd for like 20 days. We’re filming an Etnies AM video so we’re going on all these long trips with Aiden Campell, myself, Axel, Albert Nyberg, Barney Page all those dude.
EC: That’s awesome! I can’t wait for that edit. What has made the biggest difference in your life since joining the team?
DR: The traveling really.
EC: And the fresh gear?
DR: Ha, yeah the gear–get Christmas presents real easy. I can get my little sister shoes because Etnies makes shoes for toddlers so I can get her a bunch of shoes, and get my mom shoes. Stuff like that–its rad, I like being able to do that.
EC: Very sweet! Alright, so Boards for Bros. Skating is an expensive sport. When you were younger how were you able to afford new boards, and breaking bones?
DR: Breaking bones, ha. Well, there is this skateshop called BC Surf and Sport– I’m sure people have heard about it, in Denver CO where I’m from. My friend Andrew Ramirez and I would go in there and ask (in high-pitched voice) ‘You guys got any boards?’ and they’d give us used boards. Or my friends that skated that I met would give us old wheels, so it was pretty much like what Boards for Bros is doing.
EC: It is! That’s cool.
DR: Yeah, it helped me out.
EC: Where are you living now?
DR: Long Beach.
EC: How often are you home?
DR: Lately, not much because I’ve been traveling but I’ll go home for like a week or two then go again. After this I’ll be home for a week then China.
EC: Finally, taking falls and figurative failures haven’t broken your spirits, obviously. What has made you persevere to get to the level that you’re at?
DR: I’d say not thinking about how hard something is. Don’t think about it and do what you like. I try to make things as simple as possible.
EC: Solid advice.
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EDDIE CASTILLO: What’s the most remarkable difference in your life since going pro?
NICK GARCIA: Most remarkable difference…
EC: Other than money!
NG: Ha. Umm, there aren’t many remarkable difference, I don’t know… I guess I take it more seriously. I’ve been hurt since going pro
EC: And now being hurt hurts a little more?
NG: Yeah, yeah I’ve been trying to take the body more seriously.
EC: Are you eating healthier?
NG: Kinda, I guess. Fuckin been going to Whole Foods more than I used to but that’s about it.
EC: Ha, alright. So what’s a boring day in your life?
NG: A boring day… most of my days would be boring by most people’s standards. I’m kind of a homebody.
EC: I know you recently got married, congratulations. I follow your IG and your wife is hot!
NG: Haha, thank you. She is, I know. I’m missing her right now.
EC: How often are you away from her?
NG: You know what, lately it hasn’t been too much– since we got married and I got hurt and stuff we’ve been spending a lot of time together but I think I’m about to go into a real travel bender here. But its not too bad, half and half.
EC: What’s the best place you’ve traveled with the Etnies team?
NG: Australia, that’s where I met my wife.
EC: Aww, she moved here for you?
NG: Yeah, I went to Australia 3 times one year and met her the last time.
EC: Were you guys skype-dating?
NG: Yeah we skype-dated for, uh, month or two after I left then she flew out.
EC: That’s adorable. Now to Boards for Bros. When you were younger, how were you affording your gear–getting new boards?
NG: I didn’t get new boards just the old ones from people, or I’d go to the shop and ask. They probably hated me because I would go beg everyday.
EC: How much time do you devote to skating daily?
NG: I like to be on my board at least an hour.
EC: Is it always fun or do you have to force yourself to get on it sometimes?
NG: If I’m at home by myself it’s always fun, I’m not forcing myself but we have that situation that comes around, like trips and stuff or we have days like today– we slept for like two hours and you gotta go skate around but its still fun, I mean I get to play with my favorite toy.
EC: What kind of music do you skate to?
NG: I’m like David, kinda all over the place with music.
EC: What do you like a lot right now?
NG: Me and my girl get into a lot of crazy stuff, like a lot of one-off bands, you know, and like searching through related videos on Youtube.
EC: Yeah so like obscure indie stuff?
NG: I don’t even wanna say what they are because I don’t wanna ruin them.
EC: Haha, I get it. What was your last major injury?
NG: I broke my collar bone. Got six screws and a plate.
EC: Eek. I broke my collarbone when I was little…doing a cartwheel. I know that’s lame but it was sticking out and piercing through my skin.
NG: Yeah a lot of people do when they are little. Was it sticking out like this? (pointing index finger upwards above left collarbone)
EC: Yeah!
NG: Mine too.
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EDDIE CASTILLO: Where are you from?
AIDAN CAMPBELL: I’m from Ranchos Santa Margarita, California.
EC: Woah, that’s a lengthy name.
AC: RSM, for short.
EC: Sounds like a gang. Represent?
AC: Yep!
EC: Do you live there now?
AC: I stay there now but I am either in Long Beach or LA. I stay up there with David Reyes and other people. I go home– because I live with my parents, and just stock up on clothes.
EC: How often are you home?
AC: 3 or 4 days out of the week.
EC: How old are you?
AC: 19.
EC: What was the last major injury you had?
AC: Probably, uh, I rolled my ankle but I didn’t go to a doctor– actually no, I broke my wrist.
EC: For how long did you stop skating?
AC: I didn’t, just wore a cast.
EC: When you skate is it always for fun or do you give yourself, like skating-homework?
AC: Well there’s definitely times when its not so fun, when you get frustrated with just skating but you always wanna go out because its fun, never a burden. But yeah I set out to learn tricks and that can be real frustrating.
EC: How much time do you devote to skating daily?
AC: I try to skate everyday buts there’s definitely some times when I don’t skate and just rest my body. Sometimes I feel sore and just don’t wanna skate but I don’t go for more than, like, two days.
EC: How long have you been skating?
AC: I’ve been skating, I think, since 3rd grade. That’s when I started but when I started to take it seriously was more like 7th grade, probably.
EC: What was the best thing you did in your recent trip to Atlanta?
AC: Uh… I don’t know. That’s hard. Oh I know! I saw Martin Luther King’s grave.
EC: Cool and educational.
AC: Yep, had no idea he was buried there.
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EDDIE CASTILLO: Where are you from?
AXEL CRUSH: _____Belgium
EC: How old are you?
AC: 18.
EC: How long have you been skating?
AC: 10 years.
EC: Long time. How were you spotted by Etnies?
AC: I went to a big skate competition and afterwards the team manager came up to me and said ‘we wanna sponsor you.’ I was like 12.
EC: Wow, you’ve been with them for six years. What’s the best place you’ve gone with the team?
AC: I don’t know, I’ve been on a lot of tours. But uh, I like all the places where its sunny and good to skate.
EC: Where do you live now?
AC: I still live in Belgium.
EC: You became sponsored very young, but before that, how were you paying for boards? Parents, work?
AC: Sometimes my parents bought one but most of the time they give me like 5 EUROS a week and then I just saved it up to buy boards. Also I always went to the same skatepark and if you go in they give you like 5 EUROS uh, reduction thing…
EC: like credit?
AC: Yeah like credit so you can also save it and if you have 80 EUROS you can buy a board.
EC: 8 EUROS?
AC: No, eighty.
EC: Woah, that’s expensive, they are like $50 here.
AC: Its because they make them here and ship them there.
EC: What music were you listening to today, yesterday, on the plane ride here? We wanna know what you like.
AC: I listened to a Harry Nilsson album. Its old but good.
EC: How much are you skating daily?
AC: It depends. On this tour we skated all day– like noon to midnight. At home I try to skate everyday, I don’t know, noon to 6 or quatre-heure.
EC: How do you pronounce your last name?
AC: Creys-behgz.
EC: Creys-beck?
AC: behgz. Nobody can pronounce it. Jamenson and them call me Crusher.
EC: Way better.
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EDDIE CASTILLO: So you’re from San Jose. Where do you live?
JOSE ROJO: I live in San Jose.
EC: How often are you there?
JR: I’d say about 4 months out of the year.
EC: That’s not a lot.
JR: Yeah I live out of bag.
EC: What’s a boring day in your life?
JR: I don’t consider any day boring. Shit, if I wake up and I don’t feel like skating I just go get some coffee and just kick it, watch TV or something.
EC: Well what’s an exciting day?
JR: I don’t know
EC: Life is just great all around?
JR: Yeah, I don’t know. You gotta enjoy life, take it for what it is… you only live once.
EC: Ummm
JR: I’m pretty boring in general.
EC: Haha so this is your attempt of covering it up?
JR: Haha, yeah.
EC: What’s the best place you’ve gone? Top 3.
JR: Australia, China and South America.
EC: South America? where?
JR: Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru.
EC: Where are you from? or what’s your ethnicity.
JR: Mexico–Mexico City.
EC: How was ATL?
JR: Oh it was sick. ATL is probably one of my favorite US cities. Tons of cool people. There’s that southern hospitality, that’s awesome. And just real, like super fun to party there.
EC: So Boards for Bro. Great charity right? When you were younger how were you affording your boards?
JR: Shit, I wasn’t. Fortunately San Jose had a huge skate scene–lots of famous people came out of there so when I was younger I would go to all the spots to be at, my dad would drop me off, and I would just mingle with all the dudes as a little kid and I would just ask them for boards and they’d hook me up. That’s pretty much how it went down, ‘til I got a job.
EC: At what age did you go pro?
JR: I went pro pretty late. I was 24 I think.
EC: What made you keep persevering?
JR: Well I came a long way with it. I was traveling the world and I thought why not try to actually be pro–try to get a board, try to get a shoe. You know, just pretty much setting goals for myself. Just a long series of goals.
EC: What are you listening to these days? Or what should everyone be listening to?
JR: That’s a tough one. I don’t know, Beyonce? I’m going to her show in a couple of months, I’m excited.
EC: Beyonce huh? Do you dance in front of the mirror and imitate her moves? I do.
JR: Haha, no I don’t do all that. I just like to look at her.
–> AFTER THE INTERVIEW<–
JR: (Walking through the SPoT store) This song playing, this is what everyone should be listening to. Grizzly Bear.
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EDDIE CASTILLO: Where do you live?
TYLER BLEDSOE: Well I go back and forth between Portland [Oregon] and LA. I have a place there for the winter time.
EC:What is a boring day in your life?
TB: Oh, I don’t know.
EC: This right here is pretty boring?
TB: No, no, haha it gets a lot more boring than this. Flying is the worst.
EC: You guys flew last night [from Atlanta] right?
TB: Yeah, I don’t…uh, I have anxiety. I’d rather drive.
EC: What do you do about it?
TB: I have to drink. I ust go straight to the bar \] and get a drink. Get plastered. I get so nervous, claustrophobic feeling. I feel like I’m trapped. But once I get a couple drinks I’m like ‘alright just get on the plane.’
EC: Once you get up in the air you get more drunk.
TB: Yep, that happens.
EC: I didn’t realize that until it happened to me. I was sitting in my seat drunk, cracking up to myself over some movie.
TB: Like ‘yep, I’m hammered.’ haha.
EC: Haha. Alright. So what’s the best place you’ve traveled to?
TB: Australia or Barcelona.
EC: Barcelona is fun.
TB: Barcelona is the best.
EC: How long were you there?
TB: I’ve been there twice. Second time we were only there a couple of days but the first time we were there for like 3 weeks. So I got the full experience.
EC: The skate scene is big there.
TB: Yeah, huge. So many skaters there.
EC: What kind of music are you into?
TB: A lot of stuff. And of course rap.
EC: What should everyone be listening to?
TB: I’ve always liked Gucci Mane.
EC: Remind me of a verse? haha.
TB: Ha, nah.
EC: How did you buy your boards when you were younger?
TB: Mom. But she didn’t want to buy them all the time, so I’d have to make them last.
EC: What if they broke?
TB: I was so small back then I couldn’t break them if I tried.
EC: What was your last severe injury?
TB: I’m actually still getting over one. I was hurt for like seven months, wasn’t skating. I had to get surgery on my ankle.
EC: Ow. Glad you’re back. So I know you skate for fun but do you ever give yourself a set amount of time to skate, like an assignment?
TB: Yes sometimes. Like when I’m filming I try to keep a schedule. Otherwise its just how I feel.
EC: Finally, what made you persevere to get to where you’re at?
TB: Just dedication. I can’t help it, its in my blood. I can’t stop thinking about it.
EC: What’s your advice to others trying to achieve the same?
TB: Just to be natural and not think about trying to get sponsored or anything, don’t tie your mind up.
