Riding Solo
Riding Solo
By Rob Brink
EXPN.com August 2003
Unfortunately, my ESPN magazine story with Rodil Jr. had to be cut down for space in the mag, so EXPN.com decided to run the full-length interview. When it finally hit stands and the web, Dragon contacted me for the original transcripts of the interview because evidently Rodil claimed I left out his sponsors, when, in reality, he was denying having any sponsors at all. The proof is in the first answer below. the result: Rodil got his ass booted from Dragon. Good move buddy. Thanks for trying to throw me under the bus 'cuz your ass is bitter.
Years before droves of super-talented Brazilian skateboarders flooded the American skate scene, Rodil De Araujo Jr. was virtually unheard of, but winning contests worldwide and earning himself a reputation as one of the "guys to beat" in any major event.
But why is one of the most successful contest skaters in the sport's history having such a tough time keeping a sponsor and gaining acceptance in the cutthroat, underground street-skating scene?
Rob Brink: Who are your sponsors?
Rodil: I ride for nobody but myself.
What happened to all your sponsors?
Ask them. They all said that since I don't get any photos—no magazine or video coverage, they were dropping me. That is why I was fired. I now have something to prove. The sponsors I had in Tampa were flow product only. I was desperate, but after some thought, I asked why am I just getting flow? I was the top-ranked skater last year in World Cup rankings. I won three gold medals last year at the X Games. I won every event I entered, so why should I promote companies who pay some other guy with zero results? That is just not fair.
From my heart, I love skateboarding. If no one is going to trust my talent, that's fine. I'll skate anyway. Yes, I would like to have paid sponsors, but I won't promote anyone for free. I'll skate from now on in a white T-shirt, jeans and white shoes—OG style.
Do you live in Brazil or the USA?
Mostly Brazil.
Couldn't you get more film roles and coverage if you were in the U.S.?
But who will I film with? Of course I would like to stay in the States. But it's really hard to skate by yourself and get photos with good photographers. It's hard to film by myself. I need friends to skate and film with. The only kid I skate with is Pat Chanita, but he travels a lot doing demos. Most of the time I'm by myself, which isn't a lot of fun and makes it hard to get any filming done.
Does Brazil have labs where they genetically create talented skateboarders?
It's all about love. We just really love skateboarding. We grow up skating with poor products, without sponsors, without enough money to buy a soda when we're skating. So when we have a chance to come to America, we try no to lose the chance we have in our hands. We think our dreams come true when we do well here.
Do American skaters take things for granted?
No, it's just easier for them to be noticed.
You're known as a "contest skater." Why?
I don't know, it just happened this way. I can skate anywhere, anytime. Everyone calls me a contest skater, no doubt. But my goal is to get a magazine or video spotlight. I will prove that I can skate anywhere.
Would you ever stop entering contests to get rid of that image?
No, man, I'll never stop doing contests. This is how I live, how I make money. No doubt everyone looks at me as a contest skater. But if some magazine or video calls me for a photo or video shoot, I will die for this opportunity.
Have any of the other skaters said anything to you directly?
What's funny is that to everyone is cool with me. But then my agent tells me that nobody in skateboarding has any love for me. So I wonder what is going wrong. People smile to my face and then talk bad behind my back.
Maybe people view you as a sellout because you enter so many contests. Don't a lot of skaters look down on park skating and contests because it's a controlled environment and easy to get the course dialed?
I don't look at it this way. I proved I can skate on a non-park course when I won the Street contest at the X Games in Philadelphia last year. I competed on real street obstacles, with real street skaters. But nothing changed. If people are saying I can't skate street, take my ass to any handrail or gap—anything. I can skate anything on the street better than any park course.
Could it be that people like you as a person, but have problems with your image?
Maybe, but skating should not be just about image, it should be about skating and having fun.
What do you do when you aren't skating?
I'm riding my dirt bikes, doing motocross and training Jiu-Jitsu. I do it for fun. I'm not married yet, but I have a girlfriend, Claudia. When I'm in the USA, I skate with my friend Pat Channita.
What's the worst thing about contests?
Taxes! (Laughter).
With the growth of skateboarding, do you see two skateboard worlds now—the core underground and the corporate-sponsored world?
I don't see two different worlds. What I do see are two types of skaters: the kind nobody knows in the USA and the kind everybody knows. The ones everyone knows get help from each other, and that's why I don't have any sponsors. For Americans Andy Mac and Tony Hawk, it's totally different than it is for me. They are more established, have been skating a lot longer, make way more money and, with being more established comes more respect.
What is underground? Being a ghetto child, dressing like a homie or punk rock guy? I respect everyone else's style from punk rock to rap style. Any skater from Tony Hawk to Mark Gonzales, from Hosoi to Chad Muska, from Kareem Campbell to Caine Gayle. But I'm just me. I'm not a rapper, I'm not a punk rocker. I'm just me—a skateboarder.
Do you think they should have a contest where everyone has to do the same routine, then they could judge it on who looks the best doing certain tricks, or speed or style?
That would be boring.
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