Interview by Sean Bendon.
180 nosegrind p- Dave Gutierrez
You’re from Florida right?
Yeah, I was born in Miami and lived in the Florida Keys for like 20 years.
How was it growing up and skating there?
Just like any other small town, not much to skate. But after a couple years, I started going to Miami a lot. The homie I filmed with, Mikey Bueso, and I started to travel when we got older. And then we just started going to Baltimore for some reason.
Why Baltimore?
Our homie Alex Reyes was going to MICA out there and he skated, but he was so busy with school that he didn’t have time to meet people. He said there wasn’t even a skate scene. But sure enough, we went to visit and met Zach Lyons, Zach Dykes, Chris Teta, Sam Shuman, Willy Stackus, Jason Spivey, Brian Powderly, and that’s how I became friends with all those guys. So then years later I said fuck it and moved to Baltimore for two years.
ollie p- Alex Reyes
Did moving there give you a newfound flame for skating?
Oh for sure man. You come from Florida and everything’s so bland and then you go to the northeast and you see this old cellar door, crusty shit that’s been there for years. It gets you so much more psyched. I think it molded my skating to be a little better, more versatile. Being able to skate shitty stuff or whatever the case may be. And riding for Scumco, Pittsburgh ain’t any easier.
What’s up with this nightmare trim I heard about? Brought some out for the Scumco trip?
Not gonna say who, but I got a homie who goes out all the time to trim and he’ll come back with, not really sticks and seeds, it’s shake. It’s pretty much grinded up weed. But he hooks me up for a pretty chill price and I was so broke flying out here that I was like, “Shit man maybe if I just bring a bunch of this I can survive somehow.”So I put a pound in my carry on and said fuck it.
Why did you get banned from Lucky Foods in SF?
Nah I didn’t get banned, I’m just definitely on the watch list. When I got to SF I had no job and the only money I had was for rent. And I remember one day I was in there and I saw this senior citizen on one of those electric carts and he just pulled up in there and just started putting shit in his backpack and yelling and they were kicking him out but he still had all the shit. This dude that’s going two miles an hour is racking all this shit basically being escorted out of the store. So I was fuck this, if I need a fucking t-bone steak and a six pack I’m gonna go get it. So for three months you had to catch me. I would get everything and look like I was gonna pay for it. I’d go to the produce, take my sweet ass time, get the beer, then I’d be at the meat chilling. Just waiting for the electric door to open. Then I’d grab the steak, throw down from the middle of the aisle and skate out. Straight from the sesh. When I first moved there they had no security. Now they have four security guards on deck, a secret shopper, and cameras.
bs flip p- Joe Madrigal
I heard you’re a pretty decent cook. What are you whippin up for the homies?
Most of the time it’s just whatever the homies want. I like BBQing a lot because I don’t make a mess in the kitchen. I’ll make Shepherd’s pie, Philly Cheese steaks, shit like that. I used to work in a kitchen in Baltimore making random hot plate shit. It was this skate pizza bar called Johnny Rad’s. I’m not the best, my sister is way sicker than I am with it. She went to culinary school for four years.
Your sister is also a super awesome skater. What’s it like having a sister that can back tail longer than you?
Long story short she’s the best. I was 16 or 17 when she started skating. My dad was on some macho, chauvinistic shit. We’re Cuban. He got in her ear super tough one day and she ended up going to school for four years. Then she went straight from school into the Michelin chef industry, but she had a shitty experience and quit to clean houses with my mom. She lived in a sailboat for a year and then went to an all girl contest in Seattle and ended up moving in with Vanessa Torres in LA. She’s ripping now. It’s what it should have been. I bought a pair of Adidas on her account the other day. The boy ain’t hurtin no more.
What happened with the Gofundme for your teeth?
I bashed my teeth so hard it looked like I had broken glass in my mouth. I was skating this stupid ass spot. I ran over this puddle and it’s perfect marble ground. I tried to do a fakie back nosegrind and as soon as my wheels hit the ground after the ledge I just shot out onto my tummy and just hit the ground. My shit was jacked. They had to sew my gums closed. Believe it or not I got $1,500 from the Gofundme. Luckily I was on unemployment cause I had to drop another $1,500. What I have done on my mouth doesn’t look like shit, but it cost $3,000. They said if I wanted a grill it would have been another $4,000.
nosegrind p- Alex Reyes
Mind sharing some of your favorite Abair memories? Nose goes?
If you were with the homies and you saw him skating flat and starting to get serious, everyone would be like nose goes. Cause next thing you know you’re sitting around for an hour or two chasing this dude around with a cellphone just to get him that instagram clip. He loved that shit so much. He knew it would drive us insane. He would buy us beers, and I would be like no man I don’t need a beer, I know how much you want this shit. And he would still take me to the liquor store after and buy me a beer and be like “go get another one, you’re gonna need it.” So many memories with that maniac. When I moved to SF was when I got close to him. It was like a whole different Abair. PRetty responsible. Sick ass dude. Always on his shit. Super down for his family and friends. I was struggling when Covid first hit and I wasn’t getting unemployment and he even came up to me and told me he had mad money if I needed a few thousand bucks. I was like bro chill out, I can’t be in that much debt to my friend, I still owe Ty $40.
Thanks for sharing that with me. Got any shoutouts/thank yous?
SCUMCO, BOHTZ, LOOPHOLE, 35 HEMWAY, DAVE ABAIR FOREVER!
360 flip p- Joe Madrigal
