1.) Out of all the pros in the 80s, you had the most aggressive style. Does this reflect your life outside of skating or was this style developed for skateboarding?
Thanks, I did not try to develop that style, it was just from doing the tricks so many times that they could be done much faster and by adding a grunt to the end, made it even more 'manly' so maybe people saw that combination and thought.......dude's aggressive, stay back! Outside of skating, I am mellow. Kind of like a Panda bear chugging along working on projects. I like to modify things, always cutting and putting things back together, Iguana cages, dj systems, boats, bikes It requires thought, so if you were to see me you might think I was sleeping or doing the mannequin challenge.
2.) Your 'Primoslide' model on Sk8kings has an usually pointy nose. Please walk us through the design of this shape.
The shape is from a template off the first Primo model from Madrid skateboard, early 80’s. I stretched it out and made it fatter. The skinny nose makes doing rail flip easier and faster. Spits it out like a banana!
3). One of my favorite gems in my skateboard collection has to be your complete skateboard you traded me for a set of Independent 101 trucks. The deck has a massive crack in the middle; reinforced by a metal plate with 10 different types screws drilled through it, skids that resemble a missing unidentified lego piece that a dog stole, 2 different models of Tracker trucks from the 80s, wheels ( I think Rocco wheels ) that are probably ground down to 45mm and bearings that spun like they were just dug up from the Titanic wreckage. I LOVE IT !!!!!! One question, why haven’t you upgraded your setup after all those years?
After the Death of Freestyle, I did not practice at all. Only rode to do shows or demo. Other than that my board just sat. I would make it last as long as I could. Hand cutting board from street deck was a drag and skid plates from rails was no fun either. I did a handstand on that deck we traded for and cracked it nearly in half. I took some sheet metal and ran it from one truck to the other just to keep it together and it worked great so I just kept it that way. The metal would rattle as the screw go loser so it sounded really rad!
4). In the 80s, tricks were copied left and right. Especially Rodney's tricks. Why do you think it took so long for the 'Primoslide' to be duplicated?
Because I cut a rail into the side of the board and anytime I would see one of my competitors, I would hide my board so they could not see my little secret. Pierre Andre must of got wind of it because I saw him at Huntington beach with a rail on the side of his board. it was not cut into it. It was screwed into the side of the board! So when he would try them the board would be at a slight angle and I believe that is how he learned the coconut wheelie. The Primoslide blew up when Rodney was seen landing to them in his video also when the Tony Hawk game came out and people could do Primogrinds.
5).Random question. How did you and Diane meet and did she skate before meeting you?
Diane and I met at Huntington Beach. I was skateboarding and she was on Roller Skates. We had a mutual friend so she knew I was from the same area, She asked If I could give her a ride home and I said sure if you go out with me, she took off and an hour later she came back and said. OK. I was like, where do you live and she said Euclid and Westminster which was 14 miles away and I was like I live one block from there, and our eyes lit up! So I gave her a ride home and after that we started Dating.
