Robert Brink - Writer

Peter Ramondetta

August 26, 2007 | Skip To The Comments (1)

Peter Ramondetta
Words Rob Brink
The Skateboard Mag September 2007

"Peter is a totally normal guy who'll stand next to you, talk quietly about whatever, laugh at a few jokes, kick around the park with you and you feel like, 'Hey he's human. He's like me when we skate.'

Then you see him bust and it's like, 'Holy shit where did that come from?' And not in a totally aggro 'Look at how big I'm going' way. It's subtle and natural. It's clean and almost out of nowhere. And even though death is inches away, Peter looks like he could do it all day.

I really don't know anyone else who has what Peter has and carries themselves in such a solid, straight-up, 'regular guy' way. When some guys are going fucking huge you see them get all amped up and something changes in their eyes. But Pete is even—just cool as fuck. He's got the 'I'm going to backlip this kinked fucking rail or I'm going to eat fucking shit—either way what will be, will be, so fuck it'-type eyes.

It's subtle and huge. Like a freight train coming out of the fog and heading right at you."

—Jim Thiebaud

I know this is played to death, but everyone says how you're a super quiet, nice guy, but you look like you're a crazy madman.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't look at myself and think I look crazy. I kinda just do what I do. I'm always real nice to people—real mellow. I never really do anything crazy. I guess most of the people that start that rumor don't really know me. I don't lose any sleep over it. I think I got that rep living with Frank [Gerwer], 'cuz Frank's kind of a crazy guy, so maybe they associate me with him.

So does living at Newell ever stress you out?

Yeah, there's the occasion when you wake up and you just want to have a quiet day and hang out, but there's music blasting and everyone's already drinking beer. It never really bothered me that much. Usually just kind of dealt with it or went skating or something.
It was real stressful when I used to sleep on the floor in the living room because I didn't have my own area. I had to wait 'til everyone went to sleep before I could pass out. If I wanted to go to sleep early and go skate the next day or something, it was hard to get a good night's sleep.

Do you guys have an initiation to get in?

Not really. I guess you just can't be a kook.

Has anyone ever been kicked out or banned? I'd imagine it takes a lot.

Yeah, there was this guy who used to live there named Errol. He's pretty much banned for life. He's a psycho, though—a crazy alcoholic guy. He's just a maniac. When you see him, you can see it in his eyes.

What's the gnarliest thing you've ever seen?

I see a bunch of weird people in the Tenderloin in San Francisco. You're just walking down the street and you see trannie hookers doing a handjob on some guy right there on the sidewalk.

Do they ever see you and stop?

They don't really look over. They just try and get it done and keep moving. But if you peek in the alleyways, walking around, it's pretty entertaining. I've seen some trannies beat up a guy before.

That's a really odd situation.

A lot of them are actually pretty big. If they weren't trannies, they'd still be pretty big guys. Just cuz they have tits… they can still punch you, you know?

I wonder what he did to get beat up?

He looked like some drunk guy from the bar and he was probably talking a bunch of shit. Maybe they were having a bad night and just didn't want to put up with it.

Maybe he tried to shoplift a handjob.

Yeah, maybe he tried that too.

What's the craziest thing you've ever seen done on a skateboard?

I was there when Reynolds backside flipped on Wallenberg. That was pretty gnarly.

But I'd probably say when Frank bombed Taylor Street. That's his last trick in Cash Money Vagrant. We waited at the bottom of the hill and it's gnarly. It's no joke, and once you start doing it, you can't stop. Just hope cars don't come out and hit you. It's really, really steep, and it's like five hills and then it flattens out on the intersection and right back into a steep hill. If you're standing at the top of it, you're just like, "Holy shit." It's like a mountain you're standing on.

What it's like having an epileptic seizure?

I pretty much black out and don't remember 20 minutes before it happened when I wake up. I feel super fried and don't know where I'm at. I usually have them after heavy partying when I'm hungover. I kind of know the feeling if I'm vulnerable to have one, so I usually just try and stay at home and sit on the couch or whatever. I'm starting to get a little better with controlling it—just watching how much I drink, and taking it easy.

Is it directly related to diet or sleeping too?

Yeah, if I don't get a good night's sleep, that can cause it. I think it's just when I push my body to the limit. That's just how my body reacts when all the vitamins are sucked out of it.

Are you ever hanging out with everybody and doing your thing and have a seizure? Do people know how to handle it or do they have to call an ambulance?

You've just gotta wait it out. It usually lasts like 15 seconds or whatever, and then you kind of pass out for another minute and then you start coming to. At first, all my friends freaked out and called the ambulance. And the ambulance will take you to the hospital and you'll sit in the emergency room for a couple of hours, then they tell you to go home and drink water and rest up. But there's not really much anyone can do.

In your everyday life, who are the people that inspire you?

Umm… Rambo. I always get pretty psyched watching Rambo movies.

That's awesome. There's a new one being made.

Yeah, that's what I heard. Might as well. Stallone did the new Rocky, might as well go for the new Rambo too.

Which of the Rambo movies is your favorite?

Probably the second one, First Blood: Part 2. It's pretty good. A lot more action in that one than the other two.

Was that the one where he was head-to-head with the helicopter at the end?

I think it was. He was in Vietnam, trying to save some POWs.

I remember that scene where he was in some torture chamber with leeches all over him.

Yeah, that was a good one. And then the exploding bow and arrows. You can't go wrong with that.

They had the screw-on explosive tips. I remember being so psyched on weapons as a kid.

Yeah, that was groundbreaking stuff at the time.

Do you read a lot?

Every once in a while, but I don't really read too much, I've only read probably five or six books in my whole life. I have this book on, it's about the world's most evil men and women. It's pretty interesting.

A lot serial killers and whatnot?

Yeah, like the guy that they based Dracula off of, Vlad Dracula the Impaler. Just really, really fucked up people that did really fucked up things.

This one woman was the wife of a guy who ran a death camp during the Holocaust—a concentration camp. I forgot her name, but she was just psychotic. She would line all the people up and get them naked and have them gassed. And then she'd cut their skin off and make it into a painting and put it in her living room. Most of her curtains were made of human skin.

Whenever they were bringing new people into the camp, she'd stand there topless and anyone that'd look up at her, she'd just shoot right then. She just had fun torturing and killing people.

That's pretty brutal.

Yeah, it was crazy. They had a photo of her with a full-on family. A kid, a dog—looked like a normal girl, you know? There was something wrong with her. Her husband was probably doing it 'cuz it was his job. She was just doing it cuz she liked doing it.

What's a quality in people that you admire?

Just being real honest and up-front with people.

Has there ever been a contest or an event you had to do that just really sucked, or you were like, "This isn't what I think skateboarding is to me"?

Yeah, I really hate going down to Blingfest. Every time I go I just do slappies on the red curb in the parking lot. I don't know why, it's a bad vibe for me.

What's your favorite word?

I never really thought about a favorite word before. I like "wicked."

What has skateboarding taught you over the years?

I guess it gave me self-confidence and something that I was good at.

Are there any tricks that you can't get or want to learn?

Probably inverts. I just haven't really tried them enough. It's a cool-looking trick and I've never been able to do it. I didn't grow up skating transition, so it's all kinda newer to me. It feels awkward, but I'm getting more comfortable, Maybe I could get an invert in the next year or something.

What's the most special thing about skateboarding for you?

You can do it anywhere, at any time. All you need is concrete and your board and you can just have a good time, wherever you're at.

What's the best advice anyone's ever given you?

My dad said "Always stay true to yourself. Don't let anyone change you."