Who are your sponsors, who do you support now?
Right now? Shima Manufacturing, Create Original, and The Taz. That’s it for now.

What is the relationship like with Create Orginial? You guys know each other, right?
Hakim? He used to be my competition, my rival! He used to go real hard back in the day. NISS tour, he would always go head to head with me. I’ve know him since I came onto the circuit and started competing, skating vert together, and everything. To be quite honest, being two black guys in the industry, we were good friends quickly. So that’s it, he was a monster back in the day, going big and hard.

You competed in the X-games when you were really young. What does it mean to be Canadian when you came out to these contests?
It meant a lot for me. I did it for Canada. To me, I always repped Canada, not only Montreal. Knowing that Jon B was there the year before me repping Canada hard, I felt like I had to do my part, too.

I had no clue there was that type of nationalism at those contests.
It always was, I mean there were the Europeans, and the guys from Montreal/Canada, and everyone in the States would say our styles were very different. We had big park styles; we were doing bigger spins and skating high obstacles, able to reach things that other skaters had difficulty skating. I mean, there were different skating styles. Americans were very tech on rails but couldn’t drop in to a quarter.

You were able to see how the rollerblading communities have been changing over last decade or so. What are the main changes you can spot when you skate a contest now? (Bittercold, Montreal Classic, Brampton Comp, etc.)
Well, if you compare it to the Gravity Games, X-Games, or ASA Finals, it’s a huge step down… I definitely feel that those contests were bigger, with more heads and more financial sponsors. We weren’t holding after parties at little bars, we were renting out hotel halls in Vegas and giving out awards for people who had the biggest balls or to the grumpiest skater. Stuff like that, things we are not seeing these days, or anywhere in the industry right now. There were $10,000 best trick contests. I don’t see that now.

How have you’ve evolved with these changes? We talk a lot about what you would like to see from rollerblading. We talk about the companies that support you, and the word “core” comes up.
I just think it’s cool that guys like Shima are starting companies and not letting mainstream companies influence their image/decisions. It’s not about dressing clean and having to walk in a straight line. For sure, I think it was cool for me to see something like the first D-structure, what it brought into the scene, whether it came in and fell off or not.

I see how you interact with kids and adults at the skate park. You definitely take time to talk with people. You tell them where they can get the skates, or give them a history lesson about the X-games…
I know what you are saying. I think part of the reason why I’ve been so successful with these little camps, among other things, is because I have been working with the Taz. I mean, I’m not there just teaching, I’m there educating kids about the history, future, and the in betweens.

Things like, not to take everything so competitively. Teaching kids that it’s not just a contest, it’s a way of life. You wake up and love to skate. You’re not there looking to get the big prize. As long as you’re rolling with friends looking to have a good time, that’s what we live for, right? I talk to kids the whole time about what I am doing. Whether I’m giving away shirts, free wheels, stuff like that. It’s not just that aspect I’m working on, it’s about kicking it on the quarter pipe with the kids. You know what I mean?

Interview and Edit by Immony Men