The Five W’s with Craig Benabu SUAS Interview

Read the full interview on ShutUpAndSk8. “Craig Benabu’s 5W’s is a great read and I hope that it lights a fire under NYC’s collective asses. I sent over my questions and he provided me with thorough answers making this my favorite 5W’s thus far. Thank you Craig for being honest and telling it like it is” – SUAS.

With all of the new amazing talent that is brewing in every borough WHO do you see as the young leaders of the future of NYC blading?

No doubt there is a ton of talent in NYC, but as for leaders? Unfortunately, I really don’t see anyone stepping up to the plate and trying to do something more for our scene than just trying to make a name for themselves and the small group of friends they skate with. A leader to me is someone who is trying to expose our local scene and talent as a whole. A leader is someone who shows love to everyone, not just a select few. Our scene lacks unity. There was a short period of time where most, if not all, of the rollerblading media heads were working together or at least working under the same umbrella, and honestly that was when NYC was blowing up again within the blade media. I’d say this was around 2009 up until late 2010, where most decided that they would be better off on their own focusing on stamping their name on everything and only working within their own website or crew.

Now look where NYC is at. There’s no coverage on our scene on any non local blade media site, or in any magazines or videos, and the people that branched out are barely putting out any new media. We’re back to being one of the biggest but least exposed scenes within this small community and honestly it’s our fault. Everyone’s too concerned with just building their name up instead of building up NYC as a whole.

After all these years HOW do you keep up with providing new content daily to I ROLL NY?

Well this year I’ve made some changes. I stopped mindlessly posting content and media from anyone and everyone. After about five years of showing love to just about anyone, I started to ask myself who were the people that were showing love back? Who were the people that I helped come up in this industry that still continue to help the site out? And unfortunately the list was and still is very small. With mostly everyone only looking out for themselves these days, I decided that it’s not fair to our scene as a whole to share content from people who’s only focus was to build their name up. As I said before, I recently updated my equipment so now I have the chance to create content that brings the site’s focus back on the NYC scene as a whole myself. Full Interview.

Source: http://shutupandsk8.wordpress.com/

Malik Ashby SUAS Interview

“Malik Ashby is a progressive blader. I say that because every time you skate with him he laces something new each time. He starts off each session shaking hands and smiling but shortly after once the iPod play button is pressed he quietly goes through the motions of his expanding and stylish trick vocabulary. Malik spreads the word about USD everywhere he goes as well which is necessary while representing one of the biggest companies in rollerblading. Even though it seems he is constantly being criticized he keeps a level head and keeps on blading as part of the future of the growing NYC scene” – SUAS. Read the full interview on ShutUpAndSkate.

SUAS: You just dropped a fresh new edit right in time for the holiday season and you have clips in pretty much every edit coming out of NYC. What are you building towards with all the work that you are putting in with the blades?
MA: I started roll’n for fun and I’m still just doing this to have fun basically.

SUAS: How do you feel about the current resurgence of the NYC blading scene?
MA: I just love that there is mad f#^&ing new bladers because every park you roll in NYC there’s always someone to teach or learn from.

SUAS: Where do you see rollerblading 10 years from now?
MA: With all the advance technology Powerslide is creating, I see rollerbooting becoming more of an everyday lifestyle for people who don’t even roll now.

The Five W’s with Jordan Baez via SUAS

Jordan Baez – Fishbrain. Photo: Ryan Loewy

“Jordan Baez is a talented young blader who is quickly establishing a name for himself. He is part of the foundation for a solid future in the NYC blading scene. Not only does he kill everything he blades, Jordan also puts together competitions to help grow the NY/NJ scene. In this 5W’s profile he gives us a sneak peek of what he’s about” – SUAS. Read the entire interview on shutupandskate.

I look at you as one of the young up & coming talents that is the future of the NYC blading scene. WHO were some of your earliest influences when you first decided to strap on the blades?
JB: My earliest influences were my boy Suki Davilla and Matt. One of my main influences was and still is dave lang! As for Pros, it was Murda, Julian Bah & Billy O’ Neill.

You make me wish that I could grow my hair back so I can have hair like yours. WHAT kind of shampoo and conditioner do you use to keep your fro so light and fluffy?
JB: Haha, to keep my fro so fluffy I wash my hair with Dove shampoo.

Putting together a rollerblading contest is a lot of work, WHEN did you decide that you wanted to wet your feet in the blading industry by running your own competition series?
JB: It wasn’t me by myself. My cousin Jason Rivera and I wanted to help out the NY/NJ scene by doing little comps to get new kids into blading and into other areas besides the same ones kids blade nowadays. The last turn out was pretty good, I got interviewed by a New Jersey mag and alot of people came and showed love!

An American Hero: Jon Morciglio via SUAS

“Several years ago in the NYC blading scene there was an individual with an unforgettable last name who kept on popping up all over the place in contest rankings, sessions and dvd’s such as “Slideshow” & “Hyphy’s 1,2 & 3″ and even a page in the bible of blading ”The Daily Bread. His name is Jon Morciglio. By the time he became a recognizable and pronounceable name in NYC he abruptly moved to California and became known on an even more mainstream level. At the peak of his fame he suddenly disappeared only resurfacing in a few clips here and there in various Vinny Minton online edits

I am proud to let all of you know that our little brother Jon Morciglio has grown into a man that I have tremendous respect for. He is a currently a member of the U.S. Army! Jon is also happily married and in a very secure place for his financial future. I wish him nothing but the best, and when he comes around for a visit I can’t wait to see him blade one more time. We miss you Jon and THANK YOU for defending our freedom!” – Shut Up and Skate

Source: http://shutupandsk8.wordpress.com/

Shardy Nieves In Front Of The Lens SUAS Interview

“Shardy Nieves has made a name for himself in the NYC photography scene within a years time. And now that he has hit his groove by putting his own personal style on what he captures, he is on his way to create a living with his newfound passion. Often experimenting with new cutting-edge shooting techniques, he is already separating himself from the sea of just anybody with a camera” – SUAS. Read the full interview on Shutupandsk8.

SUAS: You seem to have exploded onto the NYC photography scene out of nowhere, how long have you’ve been sitting on this photographic talent?
Shardy Nieves: Well, February 2011 made 1 year that I have been shooting photography. Before that, I never had an interest in it to be honest.

SUAS: What is your current goal for “Your Daily Juice” blog?
Shardy Nieves: My goal for the blog is to educate the masses, whether it be photography, rollerblading or just everyday things we all deal with. It’s a reflection of myself in the purest form, through my words and my photography. Once I invest in a good HD camera I’ll start doing V-logs too (Video Blogs).

Hyper Mike RESPECT Article on SUAS

“On the 21st day of March in the year of 1982 in New York City, Hyper Mike was born. He grew up in Spanish Harlem, NYC where many legendary skaters were born. Rollers such as Rawlinson Rivera, Ryan Jacklone, Ron Hunter, Ray Mendez, Calvin Sayles, Danny Ortiz, and his good friend Joel Hinds lived and rolled to their fame. These professional skaters ain’t nothing to mess with in our aggressive skating history…sort of like the rap game back then so he definitely had a lot to live up to if he wanted to make an impact in the NYC blading world. Mike started out as a little grom in our sport by learning the basics of street skating at the age of 9 in the mean streets of Spanish Harlem. Skating came naturally to him since he pretty much taught himself how to skate street by jumping off of 2 steps to then learning how to go down the huge park slides in the Jefferson Projects” – SUAS. Read the full article on http://shutupandsk8.wordpress.com.

SUAS Company Spotlight: Psyko Clothing

SUAS: Where was the idea for the creation of PYSKO CLOTHING born from?
JD: The idea for Psyko came when I was home trying to figure out what I can do with my all of my drawings and digital images. It seems that the name Psyko fitted well after every person I would show my drawings to apparently thought they were a bit too psychotic. So, I just rolled with it and this was the summer of 2006. I also have always been a big fan of Jeremy Beightol artwork and his look of things so without any hesitation I immediately approached him via Myspace.

SUAS: Jeremy is an amazing artists so it’s safe to say that we will be seeing some of his designs in your upcoming line?
JD: Yes, Jeremy Beightol has been a big part of the brand look and esthetic. Me and Jeremy will pitch ideas back forth every week. He has been on board since 2009 and has been pumping out his work such as the Hunted tee, No Love tee, Luna tee and the brands logo. So, you will def see more his amazing drawings and compositions in the future.

SUAS: On the topic of your art and Mr. Beightol¹s designs what is the thought process behind the unique designs that your clothing displays?
JD: This is one of the toughest things that we do here. What we do is we pick two themes of things we like to discuss. We talk about them for few days to research ideas for inspiration and then we draw things out. After about 7 drawings we pick out the 4 best that fit in to the themes. Everything is made in-house from drawings to printing. I do most of the printing in my shop and package everything so it is a true hands-on skater owned company.

See the full interview on SUAS.

“JetSetting” with Sam Williams via SUAS

SUAS: What’s up Sam and what’s going on in your Life right now? Tell me something good my brother!
Well my man it seems like positivity and perseverance. A lot of good things seem to be going on and I’m surrounding myself with some great individuals.

SUAS: Positivity is definitely the key to breeding excellence…Recently, you seem to be all over the place! Every time I see contest edits you always seem to be in the mix somewhere. How in the world are you able to travel so much and can I have some of your frequent flyer miles?
Well, I get some help from my sponsors and them. I also work at this club called “Marquee”, some of you guys have been my guests there and boom, there u have it jetsetting. I love to travel, there is no greater feeling then to wake up and be somewhere different. I love it and I also love to see all the homies at the comps skate and chill!

SUAS: I didn’t forget about those frequent flyer miles so I’ll take those from you in person. Lately, I have been seeing a new fire inside of you and I am loving it. Who or what is inspiring you at the moment to progress even further with your skating?
The new fire you see LB is the fire of loving what I do and being scared I’m not gonna have enough time to do it, so I try to do my best cuz u never know when ur not gonna be able to. A lot of us wake up and instantly we are adults with bills and responsibilities. We all just need to learn how to slow down and make the best out of any situation like when we were kids.

Read the full interview on Shut Up And Skate.

Jon Ortiz 5W’s Interview on SUAS

“Jon Ortiz is the true definition of a legend. He has left lasting impressions in the rollerblading scene with his trademark style that has influenced pretty much everybody out there who have seen him skate. Jon Ortiz was one of my influences when I was coming up in the rollerblade scene back in the mid-90′s so it is an absolute honor to have him take the time out to answer the 5W’s. His in-depth and truthful answers make this a classic in my book. Enjoy kiddies!” – Lord Brian.

You have been a major factor in the beginning roots of the NYC skating scene while influencing pretty much every skater when it comes down to style. WHO were some of your rollerblading inspirations while you were coming up?

“Well, I started so long ago that I was amazed by every skater I met and tried to learn as much as I could from anyone I would come across. But, I was truly inspired by the original innovators such as Chris Edwards, Tom Fry, Arlo, Manuel Billiris…you know the people that made up mostly all of our vocabulary of tricks. But, the one person I REALLY looked up to and wanted to skate like was T.J. Webber, he is still my favorite skater of all time. That boy dripped style while just being himself without trying. Nowadays, I look up to and encourage anyone that has a passion for skating like the way I do” – Jon Ortiz. Read the rest of the interview on Shutupandskate.

Up & Coming All-Star: James Perez

Click to view the interview

“I remember James Perez around the time when he first started skating 5 years ago…Fast forward to around 2008-2009 when I still lived in Long Beach, California. I kept in contact with my NYC Rollerblading Family and everytime I asked about the outcome of a big session or a Last Man Standing Comp the name James Perez kept popping up. I was so glad to hear that my bro James kept on going with his skating while rapidly becoming one of NYC’s hottest Rollerblading prospects. And now with my recent return to NYC I have seen for myself just how much James Perez has grown into the amazing Rollerblader that he is today” – Lord Brian. Read the rest of the interview and see James Perez’s recent edits on SUAS.

Source: http://shutupandsk8.wordpress.com