Robert Brink - Writer

Kyle Leeper Interview

February 18, 2006 | Skip To The Comments (0)

Kyle at ASR with a broken foot.

Did this quick Kyle Leeper interview not too long ago for his etnies.com team page.

Southern California native Kyle Leeper has kept himself plenty busy skating and traveling with the etnies team for the last couple months. Tours, demos, shooting photos, filming—you name it. The simple fact is, Kyle is a skate machine. Anytime, anywhere, anyhow—he gets the job done.

One glimpse at Kyle's part in TransWorld's Subtleties video or his recent cover of TransWorld Skateboarding's Photo Annual and you'll know that Kyle's ability to skate obstacles in a completely unique way is what truly sets him apart from the crowd. He'll skate the same ledge, gap, pole jam, wallride or tranny as everybody else, but he'll skate it in the way everyone else hasn't. Regardless of the terrain, he kills it. On top of all that, Kyle is a nice guy with a mellow attitude—which is always comforting to come across in the world of skateboarding.

With Black Label's new video about to drop, expect to be impressed with Kyle's part. We at etnies are excited to see what our future with Kyle holds. Rest assured, what you have seen thus far is just the beginning for Kyle Leeper.

Stats

Date of birth: 8-14-1978

Favorite skaters: Omar Salazar, Richard Angelides, Stefan Janoski, Brandon Biebel.

Career highlights: Traveling the world.

Hobbies: Playing piano, playing Frisbee with my dog, riding bikes and surfing.

Hometown: Leucadia CA.

Current Residence: Oceanside CA.

Stance: Double sometimes.

Sponsors: etnies, Black Label, Quiksilver, FKD bearings, Nixon, Venture.

Likes:

Homies
Tropical islands
Dogs
Music
Traveling
Family

Dislikes:

Contests
People telling me what to do
This interview. Just kidding, I should put this on the Likes section.
Everything
Long layovers

Where are you originally from?
I was born in Torrance that's in Los Angeles, CA. I lived there until I was five then moved to San Diego.

How and when did you start skating?
I've pretty much had a skateboard for as long as I can remember. I think my mom's friend's kids had them. They would come over and ride them down the driveway. We would sit on our ass. I was maybe three or four years old I think they gave one of their old ones. Thanks guys!

Do you remember what your first setup was?
It was an old seventies-style board. Flat, no nose or tail. I think it had roller-skate trucks on it. “Pro Classic” was carved on the grip tape. It was given to me. It was good.

Who were you skating with back then?
Anyone who was down. Mostly neighbor kids.

Were there any early influences on your skating?
We really dint have any. We were pretty much sitting on them—we didn't really do any tricks.

Do you enjoy skating in contests or is it more of a necessary evil—or do you not skate in em at all?
I dont really like them but I don't consider them evil. It's never really been my thing. I don't do well in pressure situations like that I'd rather skate flat ground with a couple people.

How could they be improved?
Get rid of them completely! No, I don't know. I guess they're fine the way they are. Either you like them or you don't. I mean some people feed off that shit—a big crowd gets them psyched.

What do you like about being a pro?
The freedom to do pretty much what ever I want—not having to use an alarm clock to wake up. You get to make your own schedule most of the time.

Is anything bad about being a pro?
Sometimes kids expect so much from you. If you miss a trick, they trip out. They sometimes think of you like you're from another planet and forget you're just a normal person. They think you should make every trick all the time. It's ok to miss a couple here and there.

What do you think of skate videos these days?
I don't know—depends who's in it or who made it. Some are good and others suck. It's all personal preference really. Standards are really and high it's hard to impress everybody. It has to be filmed a certain way and the tricks have to be done a certain way. It takes lots of hard work to make a good video. It's difficult as a skateboarder sometimes—as soon as you finish one you have to start on another. Always filming.

What are you watching Right now?
NBA league pass.

What are your all-time favorites?
Plan B, H Street and Natural Koncepts videos. Sight Unseen. I like most videos. I like seeing what other people are doing. I like seeing all videos at least once and if I don't like it I won't watch it again.

Do you enjoy filming video parts yourself?
Sometimes. It depends what I'm doing and who is filming. I try and have fun with it but it can be very stressful. I try and go out filming as much as possible.

How did the Subtleties video help your career, if at all?
It helped a lot. I only had one video part before that and I don't think that many people saw it. Subtleties was good because it was a TransWorld video and I think they get a lot of respect because of their past and they are made by some of the best people in the business—they're filmed really well and put together well. So lots of people saw it and seemed to like it. I received lots of phone calls after that. People were psyched and wanted to hook me up.

Do you skate small stuff like curbs and bumps much?
Everyday if I'm not filming. I'm usually skating flat ground and curbs. I prefer those the most.

You're kinda known as an all-terrain dude, you skate vert or pools at all?
I try to I enjoy it but I'm not so good at it.

A lot of time I see you hitting spots a lot differently than most skaters, do you look for a different way to hit stuff, or does that just come naturally…you seeing things kinda uniquely?
I don't really no were I live there aren't many spots so I think you have to look a lot harder. I'm always on the lookout for new stuff. I've never been much for jumping stuff or handrails so I just tried to find other shit. I like skating fun stuff and that other stuff isn't fun for me.

How does it feel to be part of the etnies team? Is there anyone in particular you are stoked to be on the team with?
It's fantastic! Totally radical, you know what I mean? Everybody is sick. Arto and Ronnie are good too. Nearly everyone rode a pair of etnies at one time or another while they were young.

Do you remember your first pair of etnies?
I don't remember my first ones but I remember I rode Sal's shoe a couple of times—those were pretty cool.

You just went on your first tour with the team, how did it go?
It was good. Almost everybody was there. We went to Arizona and everybody was cool. Good vibes all around. We stayed at Ronnie's house. Ronnie is also so good at skating—probably the best you'll ever see.

What's your favorite etnies shoe to skate?
The Faction. Very simple, they break in nice. I highly recommend them for you to try. Also, Arto has a nice shoe—check it out. Sometimes I skate to the store barefoot—that's also good sometimes.

Who do you skate with now?
Who ever is around usually—Richard Angelides, Ryan Gallant and Ronson
Lambert, Chany Jeanguenin, Stefan Janoski, Omar Salazar and these kids that hang out at Moonlight Beach that skate flatground—all day everyday.

Who are your favorite skaters of all time?
Mike Carroll. I don't know—anybody who does something cool.

Rumor has it you surf…how long you been doing that?
Hell yeah I kill that shit! Pretty much forever. It's always been fun. Its relaxing being in the ocean.

Does it help your skating at all?
I dont really know. Sometimes when I skate, people tell me that I have a surf style. I don't no what that means—if that's a good thing or bad. It is what it is.

So far, what have been the highlights of your skateboarding career?
Traveling with friends, tuning pro, meeting new people. Once I had the cover of TransWorld's photo issue. That was pretty cool. Thank you Ollie and Skin.

What do you enjoy besides skating?
I like to watch basketball games actually. I like to watch most sporting events. Bikes are fun and sometimes I do other stuff.

What are you working on currently? Any filming or anything?
I have been trying to film a part for the Black Label video but I keep getting hurt so we will see how that turns out. Hopefully I can pull it off.

If you could tell the skateboard kids across the world one bit of advice, what would it be?
Quit while you're ahead and start playing golf! No, I don't know, just have fun and skate every day. Don't worry about filming or sponsors. Do your own thing. Make up new tricks—do what feels best. Don't worry what the others are doing. Don't think about all that stuff. If you rip, eventually people will recognize and hook you up. It doesn't happen overnight. You gotta want it. Skate hard everyday with your friends or by yourself. Have fun with it.

What are your future goals in skating and once skating is over as a career?
I just try and skate every day and have fun. I don't really think about it.

Anything else?
This was a lot of fun. I think I'm done. Have a nice day. Now go rip it.