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Editor In Chief Louie Alfaro Editor at Large Pricilla Duran Contributing Photographer Ruben Palomares Contributing Photographer Lori George
Jim Greco
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Editorial
hate to break it to you but if you don’t get this simple fact, you’re probably not going to get it. I’ve been obsessed with skateboarding for a quite a long time and I just love all of the pictures and videos posted on Facebook and Instagram. If you love skateboarding, you skate whenever you can, you skate with friends, and push yourself because it’s the best feeling ever! Maybe you’ll be one of the greats, design skateboards and/or open a chain of skate shops. However, if you are like most of us, you will not be a pro, you will still get skateboarding and skateboarding, I think is enough. Skate On! 2
Eli Alfaro
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Diego Alvarado
Featured 8 Pakitu Skate Comp 26 Go Skate Day, Brooklyn, NY 44 Arron Gilliam 54 Mikayla Whitener 72 SUPRA
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Richie Mo
Photo by Louie Alfaro 7
1st. Annual Pakitu Skate Comp It was a typical day in the Southwest. The temperatures were close to 100 degrees. However, that did not stop the skaters from giving it their best! The competition was fierce but in the end, Tim Navarrate took the gold. Yes, on this day, Tim was the best!
This picture was taken at the 2014 SKATE Championship. We should have bought one of these decks. They were only $25.00! Cool Artwork!
This was the first competition held at the new Pakitu Skatepark. It is an excellent skatepark. It was designed by pro skateboarder Quim Cardona. It is located at 601 Tiwa Blvd, El Paso, Tx. Based We were at on theconversations with the Tribal this will not be the last comp at Barrioleaders, Skate shop whenthis we skatepark. took this Skate photo. It’s aOn! small world. We are all here to represent!
El Chuco Skate Mom making the rounds at Barrio Sk8 Shop.
Photos by Louie Alfaro 8
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Tim Navarrette
Frontside Indy Grab
Photo by Jezreel Lasala 9
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Nose Grab 17
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Jessie Ollie 20
The Blowmind Image
Peter Indy Grab 21
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Rocky (Sosa Grip) 50-50 24
Liby (Southwest Skateboarding) Caveman 25
Go Skate Day 2015 Brooklyn New York Photos by Lori George
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Gabriel Vasquez Birthday: March 8, 1996 Birthplace: El Paso, Texas Skate Stance: Goofy Skate Type: Vert Can be Seen at: Carolina Favorite Pros Past & Present: John Cardiel & Omar Hassan Bio: When Gabriel was 12, his brother skated frequently. He took up the sport and loved it. Even after his brother quit. His first board was a Speed Demon from Zumiez. The first trick he accomplished was the kick flip. The craziest thing he ever tried was a Miller Flip frontside 360 handflip. Amazingly, he landed it, but at the last second, lost the board. Once, he broke his collar bone by trying to ollie up the box. He didn't know how to get off, froze up and fell flat. Gabriel is friendly to all and is encouraged and supported by everyone that meets him. He is a great skater with a great attitude.
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Trey Flip Eli Alfaro 40
Eli Madrid 41
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Sam Almanza— Tre Flip
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In the world skateboarding there are none better than Aaron Gilliam. I’ve seen this skater ollie over barrels with ease and hit the bowls like a pro. This is his first mag interview.
Interview How long have you been skating? About 6 years Have you been to many competitions Yes, sometimes I win and sometimes I come in last. What is your favorite Park in El Paso, TX? Magoffin Skate Park located off Diana. Are you vert or street? I’m vert What do you think about the skate scene in El Paso? It’s a lot better. Today, I see a lot more skaters at the parks. When you started, did someone help you or did you just go for it. I just went for it! [Laughs] My older brother helped me a little bit. So you have an older brother? Yes. He showed me some street skating. However, when I saw Diego Alvarado and Gabriel Vasquez skate vert, I decided to give it a try. It looked very cool!
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Are you on a team? Yes. I ride for the Crooks Team (Crooks Skateshop in El Paso, Tx) Does they sponsor you? He sets me up with decks. That’s pretty cool! I see that you like Indy Trucks? Yes, I love Indy’s. What size boards do you ride? I use 8.5 and up. What type of wheel do you like? Bones. Where do you get your gear? My friend Scott sends me wheels for free, I buy trucks and Crooks hooks me up with the boards. How long do your trucks last? They last about a year. How often do you skate? I’m trying to skate more now that Cross Country is over. I know that you won District in Cross Country. Yes. That’s very cool! What are you plans after High School? I’ll continue skating and hopefully, get a track scholarship to a University. I want to go to Oregon or UCLA. What advise do you give beginners? Just have fun.
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What ad Just have
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http://elephantbrandskateboards.com Elephant Skateboards, 1751 Placenta Ave., Costa Mesa, Ca 92627, Ph: 949-515-6209, Fx: 949-515-6290 53
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INTERVIEW What got you interested in Longboarding? I started off skateboarding but I had some friends that got me interested in longboarding. We used to go down some hills to get home and longboarding turned out to be faster. It was a lot fun. How long have you been longboarding? I’ve been longboarding for about 4 years. How often do you longboard? I try to skate 2 to 3 times a week.
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Where do you longboard? We hang around the Westside and Northeast. Anything that is close to the mountains. That’s where the good hills are located. Have you competed? No, there is really nothing close where we can compete. There are some real comps in Albuquerque but that's kind of far.
Have you ever thought of putting a long board comp together? Before I started longboarding, there used to be an event called the Spring Slasher. It was around for about 2 to 3 years but they no longer have it. Also, since you need to reserve a street, it’s hard to put a comp together. I think that if you talk to the right people, you can put one together. If you need help, give me a call. Occasionally, we’ll do the Scenic Sunday Run. The City will block off the streets and we’ll have locals come down and skate. We used to have events where we would charge a dollar to watch and 2 dollars to compete. The money would be split with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. That was always a lot of fun. At this point, we need a big event to attract new skaters.
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If you plan it right, I think that people would come to see the event. Also, I’m sure that there would be some local skate shops that could help. I’ve talked to some of the skateboarders and they are also willing to help us. You could call it the 1st Annual El Paso Longboard Competition. Since this is your senior year, this could be something you could do before you leave El Paso. Today, I see a lot of skaters. How long have you known these guys? I’ve been skating with them since 2011. I’ve known a lot of them since we were little kids. We all grew up together. When I started skateboarding at 8yrs old, the guys would say “That girl doesn’t skate”. Now, we skate together and have a good time. [Laughs]
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They all seem like pretty cool guys. Believe it or not, a lot of us secretly skateboard. Do you skate the parks? Yes. I’ve been trying to get back into skateboarding. I ride for a team. They are into technical skateboarding, freeride and longboarding. What is the name of your team? I ride for Big H Skate Co. It’s an international sponsor. They are located in the Philippines.
Do they send you gear? They send me decks, completes, shirts and wheels. They make smaller longboards. They are a great sponsor. Is the shirt that you are wearing from Big H Skate Co? No, it’s from Guttabutta. The company is located in Waco, Tx. How did you meet them? I talked to them and I learned that they do a lot of rad things for skaters and longboarders. So, now, I wear their shirt. What other types of skating do you do? I do what is called “Long Distance Pushing”. You get on your deck and push. How far do you go? The longest I’ve ever pushed has been 50 miles and that was at Apache Summit.
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Where is that? It’s in New Mexico near Ruidoso. It’s a 25 mile uphill and 25 miles downhill race. The downhill portion of the race is fast. It took 5 hours to go uphill and 1 hour to get down. I would like to compete in a race called The Chief Ladega to Silver Comet. It is a 199 mile competition. The course is completed in three days. That’s a long ride! What type of board do you use for that type of skating? I‘ll use a long board but there are different boards for different terrains. For this type of skating, you’ll need something that is low to the ground with big wheels. What type of board do you use? I use a bombing board with a kick. It’s a lot of fun to skate. However, they make boards for freeride that are simple 180 slides. You could use this type of board for long distance pushing. If you put sliding wheels on this type of board, you can do beginner entry level freeride. What kind of trucks do you use? These are Caliber Trucks. They are very basic trucks that are made out of cast iron. They are not pro trucks. Is this your ideal setup? Yes, this is my idea setup. I usually go for something more symmetrical but, for bombing, I like an asymmetrical deck. This deck has a tail for bunt slides and it’s got wheel wells so that you don’t get wheel bite. It’s got an excellent concave. I’ve done a lot to my current board. Including, repainting it. I bought it used for $75.00. This is my 17 th board; I can’t be buying new ones all the time. [Laughs]
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What keeps you motivated? It’s just a lot of fun to skate! It’s a passion of mine. I don’t want my school work and job to define me. I want my passion to be a part of who I am.
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How much would a basic longboard cost? A basic setup cost $50 trucks, $50 wheels and about $200 for a deck. It can get expensive. Have you ever snapped a deck? Yes, I snapped my first deck. I had it for about 6 weeks. That was not worth $300 dollars. Since I did not have a board, my friends would lend me their decks when they were not using them. Finally, one of my friends bought me a used deck for my birthday. That board kept me going for a long time. It wasn’t until my brother, sister and dad got into it that I got another one. Now, we have too many boards. [Laughs] We had to make racks just to hang them up. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go to college.
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What keeps you motivated? It’s just a lot of fun to skate! It’s a passion of mine. I don’t want my school work and job to define me. I want my passion to be a part of who I am. Also, since I surf and I kayak, I try to keep up with all of them but the board sports are what I do well. You say that you play guitar? Yes, I play guitar. It’s interesting that most skaters are into playing some kind of instrument. I think that it is all tied together. I agree.
Art and skateboarding do go hand and hand. That’s what I like about the Sandbox. They play live music and everyone skates. I think that’s kind of cool. I admire what they do for skaters. Who supports your skating? My parents support all of my passions. What are your future plans? I want to study Biological Science and get a PhD in holistic Medicine. I know exactly what you are talking about. When I was a kid, we had a curandera living in our neighbored. When got hurt, we would go to her house and not the hospital. Yes, at home, they call me the Curandera. That is what I want to do. Well, you are definitely moving in the right direction. Thank You. 61
The Northeast Park. El Paso, Tx
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Photos by Louie Alfaro
Laser Flip 65
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Aaron Gilliam PhotoBoneless by T. Naser 68
Anthony Boardslide Front Slide Flip 69
la e r a V l e u Mig
Frontside Indy Grab
Daniel Photo by Jezreel Lasala Indy Grab 70
Felix 50-50 71
Supra Visits El Paso, Tx
This year, Zumiez brought Supra to El Paso, Tx. We had the privilege to meet the Lizard King, Jim Greco, Boo Johnson and Keelan Dadd. Supra was established in 2006. The brand was founded by Angel Cabada. The company has established partnerships with Chad Muska and Erik Ellington. The brand has released many signature model shoes for team riders like Muska, Ellington, Jim Greco, Tom Penny, The Lizard and Steve Williams. We hope to see these guys next year. Thank You Zumiez!
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Photo by Louie Alfaro 77
Rocky (Sosa Grip) 78
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Miguel Indy Grab 81
Dillan Boneless 82
King
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Anthony Silva Variel Kickflip 84
Leslie Ollie 85
Eli Alfaro Town of Anthony, Tx Skatepark
Photo by T. Naser
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Boardslide
Photo by Louie Alfaro 87
Allison 88