Balance #2

Presented by

vol. 1

2

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Iain McLeod Chynna Weierstall Mike Koliner Matt Lorch

In this issue...

Iain McLeod...................................... pages 3 - 10 Chynna Weierstall......................... pages 11 - 20 Mike Koliner.................................... pages 21 - 26 Matt Lorch....................................... pages 28 - 31 Contributing photographers...

Ozzie SandovalOrange County, CA 13 years involved with skating 3 years involved with photography

Al DolegaDetroit, MI 13 years involved with skating 2.5 years involved with photography

Workaholics...

Editor & Art Director Vincent Morretino

This Issue’s Writers Dave DiNuzzo

Dave DiNuzzoPittsburgh, PA 9 years involved with skating 3 years involved with photography

Vincent MorretinoIndianapolis, IN 12.5 years involved with skating 11 years involved with photography

Al Dolega Vincent Morretino

Additional Photographers Cameron Card Megan Peterson Dustin Thompson

Interview & Layout: Vincent Morretino Photos: Ozzie Sandoval (unless otherwise noted)

Iain McLeod. Not Iain McLoed, Ian McLoud or any of the other misspellings that have been so common over the years. Iain has been skating for over a decade, and has sacrificed more than you know to entertain and inspire us. It is with great pleasure that I can present you with some insight into what goes on in the mind of Iain McLeod.

Who did you grow up skating with, and how did they influence you?

I grew up skating with a lot of different people over the years. Whoever wanted to blade with me, I guess. The main ones were my brother Colin, Tom Prendergast, Jeff Stockwell, Connor O’Brien, Vince Morretino, Danny Bedola, George Lucas, Carl Sturgess, Scotty Nelson and Scott Ledinski. Then I met the San Diego heads through Brian Bell, Mike Leif, Kevin Smith, Chris Haffey, Lyle Shivak...I’m sure many, many others I’m forgetting.

All of them had a major influence on me.

Who was the most instrumental person in keeping you interested in skating?

Lot’s of people, there’s not just one person. I think it’s more of a competition with myself to not falloff just because I’m getting older. Music inspires me a lot as well.

Where did you used to get your skating gear as a kid?

Team Paradise in Huntington Beach and San Clemente Sports in San Clemente. I got a lot of gear from the one in San Clemente, like Majestic 12s and VG 4 on my birthday.

Who were some of your favorite skaters growing up?

Pretty much all of the Future Prospects (FP) guys.

I really respect how they portrayed rollerblading.

riders saying they were no longer going to be selling Deshi skates, USD, Kizer or anything else in the US. My paychecks after that were less and less. So I decided I might as well just try to skate whatever I wanted and just have fun. Having a real full time job would be paying me more than breaking myself for something that wasn’t going to support me. It was time for a change. I always wanted to try out Remz after trying Connor’s skates one day. I called up Kato, and he’s been hooking me up ever since.

Can you describe how you, Colin and your mother came to live with your grandparents?

Well when I was in middle school my mom broke her hip and was unable to work for a while. My mom is a single parent, so my brother and I ended up moving from Mission Viejo to my grandparent’s house in San Clemente.

They moved to San Clemente over 30 years ago from Minnesota, and owned a huge house. My grandfather was a city planner. They pretty much ended up helping raise me in addition to my mom. Their house was notorious for having friends from all over staying all the time. A few years ago they sold their house to retire to Utah. I see them all of the time. In fact they’re out here visiting right now!

What was your best experience traveling overseas?

Was it weird when you first realized that you have fans outside of America?

So many good experiences, it’s hard to narrow it down.

I think when I got to visit Stonehenge, that was pretty crazy. Poland, Spain and Sweden were also really fun.

It was a great feeling knowing there were other skaters outside of America that liked my skating. I remember one time at the Playstation skate park in the U.K., I signed shirts for a line of people for 30 minutes or more before I could skate, then signing a bunch of girl’s underwear and tits at the next spots. That’s about the time I thought to myself, this rollerblading life is not so bad, haha. I wasn’t nervous traveling outside the county because I had already traveled all over the United States, and had friends in England so it was cool.

What was it like the first time you moved away from home, and did you struggle with the meager salary of a professional rollerblader?

It definitely taught me about life. After high school, I moved to San Diego into a 2 bedroom house with Mike Leif. His family owned the property, so the rent we paid was only $300 a month! After that I ended up moving to Irvine/Santa Ana with Rachard Johnson and his girlfriend. I was getting paid well by Deshi at that point, but I ended up moving out because the parking situation was terrible, my car got broken into twice and towed twice.

What’s your secret for smooth talking the ladies?

I just asked my girlfriend this question, and she replied What exactly happened with Deshi? Are you still upset “I don’t think you have a secret.” Haha, she’s sassy. with how that went down, or was it a blessing in disguise?

Basically I got an email one day addressed to all the (Continued on page 5) !

What’s the average day look like for Iain McLeod?

Well, I wake up, play on my computer, feed my goldfish and watch them swim, I go get a morning breakfast with a morning brew of iced coffee. Then I go to work, come home and then I lie in bed and watch T.V. until my girlfriend and I fall asleep. Thursday nights, sometimes before and after work I skate, and weekends I’m always skating.

Who or what motivates you to keep skating?

Lot’s of things. I’ve put so many years into it I don’t think I will be stopping anytime soon. People that are around my age or older, even if they might have a full time job like Connor who is still killing rails and doing hammers all the time. Brian Aragon inspires me a lot. Makes me feel like I still am young and have many years left in skating. I want to see skating grow. I want to be remembered for doing some crazy shit, and pushing skating to the next level. I think this is what I was born to do.

Would you consider your part in the ONE video to be your comeback section? Not that you left, I know that you were focusing on some important stuff for a while.

No. I would think my 2 parts in Teach Them Well were sort of my comeback section, because I hadn’t had a section before that in a while since Hot 102.R. I feel I did a good job for that video, and pushed myself, it was more complete. I like the ONE video, but my section was definitely rushed. Mostly due to the fact that my whole part was filmed by Connor and we both work full time and he was busy filming other people as well. I only had a couple of weekends to film that part.

What are some things that you are horrible at?

Making up my mind, and saving money.

What are some things that distract you when you are trying to lace a particularly difficult trick? Do you think about getting hurt when you skate, or do you just deal with it when it happens?

I listen to music when I skate so that distracts me from other people. I think about doing the trick and nothing else. If I’m trying something big, I usually wait until the end of the day. Like the Costco gap. I tried it three times and couldn’t skate for a week after because my body hurt so much. I’m not afraid to fall, sometimes I like it.

It helps to get a little angry to get motivated to fully commit to something. "

Besides Remz, what other rollerblading companies or shops are keeping you up-to-date on fresh gear?

Intuition helped me out growing up. Right now, I’m not officially riding for any skate shop. SDSF hooks me up from time to time, though.

Have you noticed that today’s skate videos are not really filled with personalities and dialog that are quotable, but mostly just focus on skating? For instance, take the opening to Brian Bell’s Wanted or Louie Zamora’s section from VG 14. Why do you think this is?

Well, I do think there is a lack of character like there was in old school videos. New videos do seem to have a lot of “Joe Somebody” doing all the tricks, but lacking the personality of someone like Josh Petty. There still personalities in rollerblading, I just think it’s not the same as how it was growing up. There can never be another Champion Baumstimler, Josh Petty, or Jeff Frederick.

But there’s always new faces coming out. Maybe that’s something videos should concentrate on more, showing some interesting people to highlight the skating.

What are some things that sponsors can do to take better care of their riders? Like Adam Johnson starting up a donation section on the Vibralux website, where you can donate cash to any of their riders of your choice.

They can start by paying their riders. AJ is doing it right, I think he’s one of the only people to pay skaters for being part of a clothing company and for filming for a video.

What is the nicest thing you have ever done for someone else?

This made me think of something that happened to me the other day. I was on my way home, and had just picked up some food with my girlfriend. I was stopped at a red light, making a right hand turn. There was a car stopped in front of me, so I cut right into a gas station to shortcut around it, and we see this girl crying, saying that she was stranded because of some bullshit. She was hitchhiking. After some convincing from my girl we ended up driving her 45 minutes to her house. Not to mention the time it took to drive back. My food was ice cold when I got home but I earned extra man points with my girlfriend.

(Continued on page 9)

Soul grind on the rail for speed, rolled the flat, then 180 safety bush gap, Mission Viejo, CA

Topsoul, Mission Viejo, CA

sense to me. I try to think about landing a trick solid with no slops.

Did you ever keep any of your signature skating products from your sponsors over the years?

I have my 2nd Regime wheels hanging up in my room.

I also have a Deshi poster of myself 180ing a double set that I brought home with me from Sweden. Other than that, I don’t have anything else. I think my parents or grandparents have lots of things in storage. They’re pretty sentimental. I’m looking forward to checking it out later in my life sometime.

If someone handed you a check for $1 million, what would you do with it?

I’m not sure. $1 million in today’s world can buy me a normal house in Orange County, since this area is so damn expensive. I’d probably just use the money to finance the things I want to be doing with my life.

Owning some sort of skating company would be nice though.

Tru-Fish, Laguna Niguel, CA Photo by Megan Peterson

Do you know how happy you have made some people by going back to sweatpants?

Haha. Yes. I still wear jeans too, and basketball shorts are my favorite thing to skate in.

What rollerblading websites do you visit? Ever go onto the Be-Mag messageboard?

I look at Rollernews and Be-Mag, mostly. I go to the messageboard, but apparently I registered my email a long time ago to post on there and I forgot my password so I don’t really post anything, haha. I just lurk and creep. I’m a creepo.

When discussing stylistic influences in rollerblading on messageboards, your name comes up a lot as an example of consistent and fluid technique. Does that make you blush?

Haha, I don’t know really. That’s cool if people think that.

Some days I feel I like how I did something, sometimes I hate my own skating. I think I remember Dominic Sagona saying once that if you do a trick and it felt good, chances are it looked good. That’s something that makes #

Any words of advice about what to expect after an injury that prevents you from skating for awhile?

Give it time. Look at Billy O’Niel.

Where is your favorite place to go and relax? What’s so special about it?

The Ladera Ranch Lampost, and Starbucks. My RK lady friends work there, we get the hook up. I call it “home base” because we always start our day there and meet up in-between spots.

Is there anyone that you would like to say thank you to, or acknowledge for influencing your life in a positive way?

Thank you Vince for being a hommie, Remz, Scribe, Vicious, RK, my girl Megan, my friends, my family, God. Anyone who reads this, THANKS! Iain busted his shin while shooting for this interview.

He got stitched up at the emergency room, and should be out skating again in no time. Thanks for being a trooper, Iain. Get well soon.

Bloody shin bash, Mission Viejo, CA

Interview & Photos: Al Dolega Layout: Vincent Morretino

This ledge has claimed more than its fair share of ankles and ribs, but Chynna didn’t want to play it safe. AO Topsoul, Midland, MI

It seems like nowadays, just being a rollerblader at the skatepark will get you a few stares. Add being a girl with bright red hair, however, and you’re bumped up to “curiosity” status.

And if you’re also better than most of the guy rollerbladers there, your name can only be Chynna Weierstall, and you might as well be in a circus sideshow, as far as the gawking masses are concerned. They can barely keep themselves from running into each other from staring so hard; you’re too busy learning five new tricks that day to notice or care. Your sister Savannah, friend/mentor Diana Ward and I also had to practically steal your skates to get you to sit still long enough to interview you.

Al - Let’s get the basics out of the way Chynna, the boring stuff. How old are you, where are you from, how did you start skating, all that simple stuff.

Chynna - I’m 17 years old, from Roseville, Michigan, and…I forgot the rest of what you said. (laughter) Al - This is going to be…problematic, I think. (laughter) Al - OK. How did you start skating?

Chynna - I always used to roll around the neighborhood in recreational skates, then I saw the movie Brink on the Disney Channel, and thought it looked really cool and wanted to try it, so my dad bought me some aggressive skates.

Al - How old were you? Didn’t you skate for a little while, then you quit, then you started again?

Chynna - I started when I was nine, but then I quit until about 12, and I haven’t quit since then.

Al - So about five or six years. Tell us who your sponsors are and how you got them.

Chynna - My sponsors are Eulogy Wheels, Razors skates, Landslide Skate Park and Modern Skate Park. I got Eulogy from an online edit I made and…uh…how did I get Eulogy?

Al - I tipped Isaac off about your skating. I get all the credit! (laughter) Al - What about Razors, and skating for two skateparks at once?

How’s that work?

Chynna - I dunno…

Diana - There was conflict at first but then…

Chynna - …I mean, do they know?

Diana - Yeah, they both know.

Al - The razors thing is a flow position, and it goes through Modern, right?

Chynna - No, it doesn’t go through either, it goes right through Mac. Al - That’s awesome, because he told me years ago that Razors had a “No Girls” policy. So apparently you’ve broken that wall down.

Anyways, so you skate for Landslide and Modern, competing parks, and they’re both cool with it?

Diana - James from Modern knows and is cool with it, and wants you on the team. Landslide, I’m pretty sure knows?

Al - We think they know. They’re about to find out. (laughter) What about injuries? What’s happened so far there?

Chynna - Well, I hit my head a lot (laughs). The first time I got two black eyes and a giant bump on my forehead…second time I got one black eye and a bump.

Diana - And your broken finger…her finger was bent 90 degrees.

Skating your practice rail…

Chynna - Yeah, my 2 inch high p-rail.

Al - And your shin…

Chynna - Oh, yeah! We went to this big down rail and Al was

trying to make me do it. I jumped, got scared, and busted my shin open on the rail and got eighteen stitches.

Savannah - She never has any skin on her elbows. And her knees are twice the size of normal knees. And her shins are lumpy.

Al - That’s normal rollerblader stuff though.

Savannah - But her brain has swelled. That was scary.

Al - That’s weird that you hit your head both times wearing a helmet.

Chynna - Yeah.

Savannah - That’s what you get for street skating in the snow.

Diana - I wanted to touch on her being drug-free, alcohol-free, stuff like that. I think that’s important, it keeps her focused on skating itself, and not dropping into to party side of things, which for me personally, is so easy to do. “Let’s skate a little and then go out drinking!” She’s never had a drink, non-smoker, doesn’t do drugs… it helps her keep her focus, and a lot of guys should take note of that.

Savannah - She’s in skating for skating, not for this whole party scene.

Al - And that’s perfectly fine for some people, whatever, but Chynna not being like that shouldn’t be an issue.

Diana - I definitely respect the fact that she is, for lack of a better term, “above the influence”…so much more than a person like me, and a lot of people that I still hang out with, that do that…go to the comp, are entertained by the comp, and then just wanna get wasted.

Al - Chynna, where’s the motivation or the reason for not doing it come from? Is it just purely a performance thing? You don’t want to potentially mess up skating the next day?

Chynna - I dunno, I just don’t see the point to it. I don’t see the point to getting myself messed up. I like being who I am and going off my own energy. No matter what I did [skating or not] I probably still wouldn’t do it.

Al - You’ve got plenty of it, you don’t need any additional energy.

Savannah- Peer pressure doesn’t really work on her.

Al - OK, so what notable achievements have you had so far. Contests, video sections…what’s stuck out to you so far?

Chynna - Well I got first place at SuperChick 2008, and then first place at the 2008 SuperGirl Rail Jam in Huntington Beach, Ca. I’m working on a section right now for 2 Much Flavor.

Al - The SuperGirl thing, that was pretty sweet, it was a new thing, kind of like an all-girls’ X-Games…you got invited out to that because of skating in the AIL, right? Who hooked that up?

Chynna - It was Pam Velasquez, she knew me from skating at Woodward, and SuperChick…ASA asked her who should go and she suggested me.

Al - It was a rail jam format, which is something I’ve never really seen before in a televised thing like that. You skated well, and the edit that was on TV was pretty sweet, and you won a bunch of money for that, right?

Chynna - Yeah…I won $2,500.

Diana - You know guys are pissed reading that right now! Get pissed! Get pissed…

Al - How do you feel about skating with or against the guys? Do you feel that women’s’ skating should compete on the same levels, or the same divisions as the guys?

Chynna - That’s a hard one. I think we should skate with guys because it makes us better, like you feel better when you can place higher than guys… you don’t have to win first, you can just be able to keep up with them. I love skating with the guys. It’s fun to keep up sometimes.

(Continued on page 16)

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I couldn’t decide between a joke referencing “YMCA,” or a rap song, so make up your own. Front farv, Detroit, MI

Chynna and I traveled long and hard to skate this ledge; about 100 feet from my front door. AO Christ Fishbrain/Crucifish, downtown Detroit, MI

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Diana - I think it’s important for her to skate with the guys, and other females who can, should. It sets the bar higher, and It makes females’ skating look better as a whole.

Al - What do you think the ideal format would be? Have the girls skate with the guys but be judged separately? How should it work?

Chynna - That’s a good idea…you can go both ways though, have some comps together and some not...I dunno. It’d be hard to choose which comps to do it with.

Al - Like at Bittercold this year, you and Fallon (Heffernan) really represented, and skated not just amongst the guys, but against them.

Diana - Fallon placed, what, top ten or twelve? So that was definitely a female who legitimately got to the top of one of the hardest competitions that we have, at this time, and she got there legitimately, from her skating, and skating well.

Al - I think that’s testimony that even if there is a physical barrier between most guys and most girls, as far as build and muscle and all that stuff, you can pretty much overcome it. Maybe to offset that barrier, the girls could just have something like a handicap, like with golf? You automatically get ten more points if you own a vagina…

Diana - That’d be so wack. I think we do have physical limitations but it just makes it that much sweeter when we do step above the larger percent of the guys. And by we, I mean, not me.

Al - Haha, yeah, I don’t think that would work very well. I was being facetious, really. I think that many girls tend to overplay that physical… handicap, or whatever.

Diana - I think the girl’s level of skating is rising to the point where they’re starting to match up with the guys. As long as everyone’s still being judged on style, and the skater as a whole and consistency and all of that, there’s no reason why they can’t skate with the men in the big contests. But I also think it’s appropriate at times to have female comps where we’re just skating with each other, because that’s fun for us too.

Al - So you need both.

Diana - I think if we could get more females interested in the sport, and more females actually skating, you’d see a lot of skill level rising.

Al - Well, there’d be more competition between the girls, too.

There’d be more of them. A lot of the girls out there only see another girl skater like once a year, when they go to an event, or whatever…

Savannah- Yeah we’re lucky to have so many girl skaters in the Detroit area. We have...

Al - Eight, I think. Who at least skate once in a while. Even if they aren’t all full-time skaters, that’s still four or five times as many girls as most other scenes have. So that’s unusual. Chynna, what have you done with that money from SuperGirl? You still have it?

Chynna - Umm, I’ve used it for random skate trips, and to go out to California with Diana for a week.

Al - That just happened, how was that?

Diana - It was fun. We skated with Aarin Gates, and it was really cool to see Chynna and Aarin skate together, because they both skate street really well, so…it was epic.

Al - So, San Diego with Aarin, then L.A.?

Diana - Then we went to L.A. and it slowed down a bit, it was during the week so I think everyone had to go to work.

Al - It seems like girls have more of a presence in skating nowadays, just from you, Fallon, Fabiola still…Jenna Downing…

Diana - Aarin Gates! Fuck yeah, Aarin Gates. She deserves a lot

more attention than she’s seen.

Al - Chynna, do you ever feel that any of the attention you receive is unwarranted? Just because you’re a girl?

Chynna - I think I do, sometimes…like, I’ll do a soul grind, my first trick, when no one’s ever seen me before, they’ll think it’s like, amazing. Once I start skating with people, and they’re used to me, it’s as if I’m just like one of them. They won’t really notice the girl thing anymore.

Al - I guess I meant at competitions, or with sponsorship, or whatever. Reactions from people who’ve never seen you before or still haven’t, online or whatever.

Diana - She doesn’t really hang on messageboards and stuff like that, so she’s not experiencing that. When she’s skating she’s very focused, and introverted, so she’s not really out there bs-ing it up, like I do.

Al - Chynna, what are you excited for most in the next coming year?

You’re going to SuperGirl again, in a week or two, right?

Chynna - Yeah…if it happens.

Al - What’s up with that?

Savannah- It’s not very exciting, with all the drama…because they get paid less than everyone else.

Diana - Well last year the pot was $2,500, and now this year it’s half that… $1,250. So even on this side of things [girls’ skating], rollerblading is still shrinking, still seeing less money all the time.

Savannah - And the girl skaters just want to boycott it. And if they (Continued on next page)

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do that, it’ll just be taken out completely, it’s stupid. They should just be thankful.

Al - Yeah, we kinda gotta take what we can get. Or what you can get.

Rollerblading overall has to take what any rollerblader can get for it.

Diana - I mean [the girls] can boycott it, but they’ll just give the pot to someone else. It’s not helping their ratings to have these girls skate on TV...in our sport anyway.

Al - It has to be helping their ratings somewhat, they had it on the show last year.

Diana - But it seemed like it was just there. Just a fill-in between skateboarding, snowboarding, whatever. If that was the part that didn’t get good ratings, then we see less money this year.

Chynna - We had one of the biggest crowds though, out of everyone.

There was a ton of people watching us. I guess the WB doesn’t want it… doesn’t want to sponsor inline now.

Al - Really? Wow. Where’d you hear that?

Chynna - My dad talked to the ASA people.

Diana - Even the reaction on Be-Mag was intensely negative, to see a female rise up and do well.

Al - Yeah, I remember they were negative about the event as a whole, too. It wasn’t really…

Diana - Extreme jealousy.

Al - ...yeah, it wasn’t really about Chynna or Fallon or whoever individually, they just didn’t like the idea that…

Diana - They needed to be reminded that it was an all-girls event.

Girls from all of the “extreme” sports.

Chynna - Didn’t they say something like, why do girls get on TV but not the guys?

Al - Yeah, exactly. That’s funny because at this point in rollerblading, who cares?

Chynna - Someone’s on TV. Al - Yeah, rollerblading is on TV. Publicity. That’s what we need.

Rollerblading, period, on the screen.

Diana - Sometimes people do think that girls’ skating is interesting, so maybe it did deserve its own avenue at that time.

Al - Plus it’s not like it was a bunch of guys’ sports, and then they put girls’ rollerblading, saying, rollerblading is lesser, or whatever. It was all girls’ sports- skateboarding, snowboarding, biking, everything. Hopefully it still happens and you do well again.

Diana - I remember when [that Be-Mag thread] happened, we were on a road trip and we were reading it on your phone… so much hate.

Al - Yeah. Jealousy…You’re making the playa-hatas hate, Chynna.

This basically brings us to my next subject- the interactions between the 99% of rollerbladers who are guys, and then the 1% that are girls. Two things: what’s the coolest or nicest thing a guy has said or done, and contrasting that, what’s the weirdest, or creepiest?

Savannah - One time a skateboarder snaked me, and got so pissed, he tried to throw his skateboard at me, and then I went to do a trick and he started screaming at me.

Diana - I’ve got all kinds of incidents really, and I bitch about them on Be-Mag constantly, so look for that there.

Al - Nothing pops out to you Chynna? You don’t have to name who they are, so don’t be embarrassed.

Chynna - Some stop skating when I come around…like, I’m skating, and I’ll start doing some tricks, and some guys will just sit down and stop skating.

Al - Do you catch any kind of attitude with that? Are they sitting

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down just watching, what’s the vibe you get from them?

Chynna - Umm…kinda pissed, and…intimidated? I dunno.

Al - So you intimidate them.

Chynna - Maybe… (Laughter) Savannah - Remember when that little kid asked you to sign his skate? Little kids have asked Chynna to sign their skates.

Chynna - That was cool.

Al - What about at events and stuff? When you’re around the “industry” or “famous” skaters? What kind of reaction have you gotten?

Chynna- They’re cool. It’s been good.

Al - Do you think you get treated differently than the guys? Better, worse or just differently?

Chynna - I think I get more props sometimes. Just because I’m a girl and I can do stuff…I dunno.

Al - They’re noticing it more.

Chynna - Yeah.

Savannah - [Out street skating] homeless people always notice it more. And our friend Ivan is always screaming “Is that a girl?!”, just to get people to notice.

Al - So you’ve also got a section coming in 2 much flavor, we’ve gotta wrap up filming for that in the next couple of months…what else is coming up in the next year?

Chynna - Umm, I can’t wait to get outta high school.

Al - Why? Chynna - It’s boring. (laughter) Diana - Tell them about when people find out about your skating.

Al - Yeah, you changed schools this year right? So the people there don’t know that you’re Little Miss Famous Skater-Girl, but at your last school didn’t they know?

Chynna - No one knew. It was like five people who knew.

Al - I thought you got some coolest hobby award, or were on the announcements or something.

Chynna - Oh, that was in the school paper. No one reads that!

Savannah - Yeah, it was for having a weird hobby. But Chynna’s first day at her new school, she had a black eye from hitting her head.

Chynna - Yeah, everyone looked at me like I was the craziest person in the world. They just wouldn’t say anything.

Al - What kind of reaction do you get from “normal” girls? Not just about skating but getting banged up?

Chynna - They don’t understand what I do.

Savannah - Yeah, a lot of people think I’m in a roller rink, or fighting other girls in roller derby or something.

Al - So do you prefer it like that? Where you can go to school and be anonymous? Or do you think it’d be cool for people to recognize what you do? Because you’ve put pretty much your entire life into skating. Or do you just not really care either way?

Chynna - I think it’d be kinda cool if people knew, but it’s not really a big deal to me if they don’t.

Al - Yeah. It’d probably just be a lot of hassle. I mean, you’d have the people, you’re walking down the hall and they say “Ohhh, skater girl!”, or whatever, and it gets old after a while. That’s the only thing they know about you, so that defines you in their eyes.

Chynna - Some kid used to call me that. Every time I saw him.

Al - We asked about the reaction from “normal” girls, what about “normal” guys? The dudes at school?

Savannah - She doesn’t really socialize with people at school. She’s just the quiet girl.

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At what point exactly does a royale become a shuffle? You can’t really lock onto this ledge, but you’re not quite surfing it like a shuffle, either. Front Royale/Shuffle off the end, from the first block, downtown Detroit, MI

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Al - So what are your plans after high school?

Chynna - Not really sure yet, I’m definitely going to go to college though. Community college, around here.

Al - That’s good, you can save your money…your twenty-five hundred.

Chynna - Ballin’!

Al - Your dad is super supportive, but not “coachey”. Did he ever want you to play normal sports, or do anything else, or has always just been supportive but let you do your own thing? Do you think he ever wishes you could actually earn a living rollerblading?

Chynna - My dad just likes seeing me do what makes me happy, no matter if I’m making money or getting anywhere with it. He likes being around and watching me skate, it makes him happy to see me do good.

Savannah - He’s actually tried to skate twice, once at Woodward and once at Skate Plaza on a curb. He thinks rollerblading is really fascinating, he’ll watch skate videos with us…he does wish rollerblading was big so Chynna could be seen, but he doesn’t ever regret her starting rollerblading.

Diana - I asked him once, “Do you ever get tired of all the big road trips and driving around, all the hassle associated with getting places and being there on time, the money and everything?” He said, “Well, if I had a little boy that played sports, hockey or whatever, I’d be doing the same thing.”

Chynna - He’s always down for road trips, no matter where we go.

Savannah- Traveling’s the best part for him, I think. He’s a fun dad.

Al - He’s not that dad that’s all “coachey” and wants their kid to crush the competition and be the next Chris Haffey. But there’s also a lot of kids who have parents that don’t give a shit that they skate, or even actually actively discourage it. Your dad has the best mix of attitudes I think- he’s supportive without being intrusive. He lets your skating be what it is, what you want to make of it, he supports you doing it but doesn’t try to change what it is. You’re really lucky to have that family support.

Diana - And your mom still can’t watch it. She seems terrified to see her daughter get hurt.

Al - Well, you are coming home with black eyes and stuff! (laughter) Chynna - Yeah, if I have clips or anything, I won’t show her the falls. I’ll skip through them and show her the other clips. I mean she doesn’t come around and watch me skate, but she’s always there for me when I’m getting hurt, to take care of me…just to be my mom.

She takes care of me more with the rest of the stuff, other than skating.

Savannah - So Chynna, how would life be different if I didn’t skate?

Are you glad that I skate too?

Chynna - Of course I am. How would it be different, I dunno…

Diana - It’d be hard to get around. And you wouldn’t always have someone to skate with. I’m sure that’s been helpful on a lot of levels.

Al - That reminds me, you’re getting your license soon. How do you think that will change your skating dynamic?

Chynna - Well, not having a license really sucks. I gotta wait for people, or get picked up or dropped off somewhere. Once I have it I’ll probably skate way more, and I’ll be able to skate more of what I want to skate.

Al - But the downside of that is that you gotta pay for it, so how are you gonna do that? Just win more contests?

Chynna- Maybe. Get a job probably.

Diana - When you get your license you better not stop coming around. You gotta come pick me up once in a while, OK? Savannah - You gotta drive me everywhere. And I’ll give you no gas

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money, like you always do to me.

Chynna - That’s how I do.

Al - It’s payback time bitch! - How do you think it would change everything if Savannah never started skating?

Chynna - Well, for sure skating has made us a lot closer. Before, we just hung out once in a while, now we’re together all the time. We watch videos together, hang out, we can go skate and just have fun.

Savannah - Yeah, we’re definitely a lot closer.

Al - Chynna was skating for a few years before you started, what was the spark that got you interested?

Savannah - I’d never really seen pros skate, I’d never really watched Chynna, I just knew she rollerbladed, I didn’t really know what it was. I went to Bittercold to watch her compete for the first time, and I was blown away. I told my dad I wanted to rollerblade and he didn’t believe me, so then Chynna let me wear her skates and we made a mini-edit of me learning to grind on a little p-rail. We showed my dad and the next day he bought me skates from Landslide.

Chynna - Having Savannah around, she just makes me laugh, and I have more fun skating. Because I can get really shy, and Savannah comes around and starts dancing, or saying stupid things, and I’ll mellow out and have fun.

Al - That’s good, it helps keep it from being high-pressure all the time, because I know you push yourself pretty hard. You have a lot more motivation than a lot of guys do so I’m sure it’s good to have someone there to help relieve the tension once in a while.

Savannah - Yea, she can skate alone for hours.

Al - Where’s that come from?

Chynna - I dunno, I just have fun doing it, and I guess it kinda just gets things off my mind. It’s just something I’m good at, I don’t know.

Diana - It gets everything off your mind, and the only thing you’re thinking of is skating, and a few hours later you kinda drop back into the real world, and think, wow, I was really there, for a long time..

Al - Off in rollerblading space.

Diana - Yeah, you totally escape real life.

Chynna- If I’m angry, or sad or something, I can’t skate. I try to skate and I just get frustrated and I’ll stop.

Al - I think a lot of people are the same way.

Savannah - She’ll get frustrated so we’ll just go for a walk and hang out. Calm down and get coffee.

Al - That’s another good thing about you being sisters… I think a lot of rollerbladers have friends that they pretty much just rollerblade with, and they might hang out with them once in a while, but they’re not gonna go do something like that. They don’t have the flexibility to decide not to skate and then go hang out and do something else.

Chynna - If it wasn’t for my sister and my dad, I probably would just be skating my box in my back yard all the time.

Al - Making YouTube edits with eight zillion views. I always love all the super creepy comments on YouTube and Rollernews that you get.

There’s always some funny ones, like “damn girl, you so fine” and “move that thang”...

Savannah - “Gettin’ that wet-wet”… (laughter) Chynna - Too far, Savannah. Too far. (laughter) Al - The dude from Rollernews loves you, anything you put online he puts on Rollernews.

Diana - He knows quality.

Al - That’s how word about you spread initially though, your YouTube p-rail edits and stuff. You were making them when you were like 13, and they were getting tons of views.

Anyone who’s been to the Skate Plaza knows how slippery it is when any amount of water touches it. It was starting to sprinkle as Chynna laced this inspin back royale (aka fakie 270 back royale), and I barely had my gear packed up when it started pouring. Kettering, OH Savannah - Yeah, and she actually makes her own p-rails.

Chynna - When I was out in California some guy recognized me from one of my box edits from about three years ago.

Diana - When you skated the desk. He was so juiced, it inspired him.

So your influence is wide-reaching.

Chynna - When I was at the airport, the lady that took my boarding pass saw my name, and said she just saw a girl on TV skateboarding, and I was like, “was it rollerblading? That was me!”

Al - Was she excited?

Savannah- She was all smiley.

Al - OK, time for shout-outs.

Chynna - Of course, my sponsors. Landslide has always been so supportive. The owner at Modern, George, lets me skate his amazing park for free. And then Razors, I’ve gone through like a million pairs of skates and frames and without them I’d probably be broke.

Eulogy has supported me the longest. Isaac’s been the biggest help.

He helped me get out to SuperGirl, and I always have more than enough wheels and bearings. Brandi Goulet for sure, for helping me with Woodward and stuff…my dad, because he’s so supportive… and Savannah…you and Diana, for always skating with me and telling me tricks to try and stuff…

Al - You’re my real-life tony hawk game. I can’t do the tricks I think of

so I just have you do them for me. Anyone else?

Chynna - Ivan, K2Alex (Alex Hancook), Bryan, and Nick…we skate all the time. Especially Ivan, he always just like screams and hits me and gets me juiced.

Savannah - Ivan always gets background props at every comp. His line is always “Can I get a hell yeah?!”, and everyone responds.

Diana - He’s getting background props in this interview.

Chynna - Yeah, you always hear him screaming my name out of nowhere.

Al - He’s like your own personal hype-man.

Chynna - Savannah of course, and Diana especially…when I first started skating, I was so intimidated and she pulled me out and made me skate with the guys.

Al - Yeah, you’re a pretty shy person so if she hadn’t done that, you’d probably still be skating by yourself.

Chynna - I’d still be off by myself, skating the vert ramp.

Chynna, Diana and I would like to dedicate this article to Savannah, who less than 24 hours after we recorded this interview, broke her jaw in three places, and several teeth while skating. May your road to recovery be short and easy!

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Front Savannah Photo by Dave DiNuzzo

Interview: Dave DiNuzzo Photos: Dave DiNuzzo, Cameron Card, Dustin Thompson Layout: Vincent Morretino

I first met Mike about 5 years ago at Camp Woodward. His insane amount of talent and steel balls were in full effect, even back then as he earned his nickname “Deathwish” amongst all of the bladers at camp. He has since refined his style without losing the ability to throw down hammers on almost every type of terrain. His skating abilities are rivaled only by his talents in the world of art. Whether he is flowing lines around a park, painting self portraits or sessioning a handrail, Mike never fails to impress his peers and anyone else who happens to witness his talents. No matter where the road of life happens to take him one thing is for sure: Mike Koliner will be a major player in the future of rollerblading.

What made you start skating and who were some of your influences early on?

My neighbor was a rollerblader. I thought it looked like fun so I asked for rollerblades on my 11th birthday. I haven’t stopped skating since. At the beginning of my skating career, I looked up to a group of skaters from my home town. They called themselves the KKC or the Kount Kulture Crew. After the KKC fell apart, I met Ryan Parker, Brant Pickup, Andrew DiPaolo, Mike Dephilips and Mike Sharps. These guys were amazing and trying to keep up with them has definitely molded me into the skater I am now.

Outside of that, skaters like Brain Shima, Aaron Feinberg, Colin Kelso and Chris Farmer.

In an age of computers, digital media and 3-D animation, what made you decide to stick with traditional art such as painting and sculpting?

Well, after my first year of art school I am not sure where my art is moving. Who knows, maybe in the next few years I will be doing my work on the computer. Other than that, the reason I have stuck with it is because it is more fun than sitting in front of a computer and pushing buttons.

How do you feel being an artist has impacted your style and approach to skating?

Now I have a greater appreciation for the architecture that I destroy when skating, but not much has changed in my approach. I guess my style has changed over the years, but I don’t think that can be directly tied to art.

Let’s flip it around, how has rollerblading influenced your style and approach to art?

Rollerblading and Art are two separate parts of my life. Not to say that they are exclusive from each other.

Photo by Dave DiNuzzo

I don’t think about skating when working on art and vice-versa. Perhaps subconsciously the two influence each other.

Do you feel your skating has changed or been affected by moving from your home scene in Pittsburgh to go to school in Baltimore?

Yeah. People in Baltimore are gnarly. It’s been pretty tough to keep up with their level of skating.

What type of experiences have you had trying to balance a full time college schedule while still skating at the level you do?

I have had to work through injuries on my fingers and wrists in order to finish pieces. I don’t have time to get hurt during the school year, but that doesn’t stop me from skating. I feel that art and skating are two necessary parts of my life, so it’s not hard to find time for both.

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AO Soul Photo by Dustin Thompson

Do you regret not making the move out to California like many other rollerblades who grew up in Pittsburgh?

Not at all. I love California, but I definitely like the east coast more.

You are known for your unique style and knack for laying hammers. How do you motivate yourself to do big stunts despite knowing the potential consequences?

I don’t second guess myself while skating, and if I do then I don’t try the trick. )ince your appearance on MTV’s Scarred do you ever get recognized by people on the street while you are skating? Any good stories come from these encounters?

Yeah, every now and then people recognize me. It’s usually little pre-teen girls that don’t have boobs, nothing to brag about.

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You have filmed for several videos over the years, is there any one project that stands out from the others?

Shot From Dark. I traveled to L.A. to film for it, which was really cool because before then I hadn’t traveled for skating other than going to Philadelphia and Ohio. California was an overwhelming change of pace. There were so many amazing spots and tons of good skaters. Thanks go out to Ryan Kofman and Dustin Thompson.

Describe your experiences working with rollerblading legend Chris Edwards on a regular basis.

Has this relationship had any influence on you as a skater?

Working with Chris at Mr. Smalls is cool. He has tons of wild ideas like: building ridiculously large sub-boxes and throwing a Mexican fiesta/skate contest. There is never a dull moment working there. He has also helped me out financially and by giving me a studio at the skatepark. In terms of skating, Chris pushes me to skate park with more confidence.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years both as a skater, an artist and in life?

I’ll just make a list of things I would like to have done.

1. Graduate college 2. Become a professional rollerblader 3. Travel the world 4. Have my own home 5. Keep making art 6. Gallery Show (if my work is good by then) Any final thoughts, shout outs or words of wisdom?

Be yourself. Skate. Have fun.

Photo by Dave DiNuzzo

Tru-Topsoul Photo by Dave DiNuzzo

Tru-Fishbrain Photo by Cameron Card

Interview, Photos and Layout: Vincent Morretino Lofty zero spin parallel, Indianapolis, IN

Matt Lorch is the quintessential OG skater in the Indianapolis, Indiana area. He has been skating since almost the beginning of the aggressive inline movement, and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. With a common sense approach to self-preservation and longevity, he has maintained a happy and healthy “skate life” with few interruptions. Matt also has a huge heart and is lucky enough to have experienced some things that most Americans will only see through documentaries on the Discovery Channel and in foreign films.

What’s your name, and how old are you?

My name is Matt Lorch, and I am 32; almost 33.

How long have you been skating, and what was your first skate setup?

I’ve been skating since the spring of 1994, and my first aggressive skates were the Lightning TRS skates with a flat setup of Kryptonics 55mm wheels and steel wraparound grind plates. That was before grooved grind plates were common. I got them at a local Indianapolis skate shop. I also got the first Hoax video. It was my first real skate video. My friends and I constantly watched it during the summer of 1994.

Did you ever find competing to be fun, or did you just strap on your skates and not care what anybody thought?

Competing was fun. Skating was so new, and it was fun to travel and meet new people to skate with. But I have only competed in 3 competitions back in the day.

I competed in the Am Jam Series. It was put on by Ben Kelly from Ohio. The first one was in 1995. I skated in the second one in 1996 in Kettering, Ohio, the Chicago N.I.S.S. that same summer, and then the third Am Jam event in 1997 in Owensboro, Kentucky. I stopped skating street a while back, and just focus on skating park.

So, by eliminating the street aspect of rollerblading, you would be prolonging your “skate life”?

Kind of. I mean, I don’t skate big handrails or do huge gaps, which are a big part of street skating. I also quit street skating because I didn’t want to deal with security guards and police officers. As an older skater, the antiauthority element of street skating just doesn’t appeal to me anymore. I prefer not to be kicked out of spots, and with skating a skate park, to me, it’s just more efficient.

You don’t waste energy going from spot to spot, no one will kick you out, the park is designed especially for what you are there for. I realize that it can lack the camaraderie that street skating can bring when in groups,

but for someone like myself who is older and has limited amount of time, both literally and figuratively, it’s more fun; especially now. Back in the 90s, if you wanted variety, you really had to travel for it.

What’s your secret for being able to skate for so long?

Ever since I came back from Africa, really, my focus has been on stretching. First, I skate around and warm-up, I stretch while my muscles are warm. It really helps with flexibility. I cross-train by running a few times per week.

Plus, I am a firm believer of wearing a helmet, knee pads and shin guards, keeping my skates nice and tight and learning the proper technique for grinds.

That’s right, you spent some time in Africa with the Peace Corps. Please describe where you served, and what you did with your time in a developing country.

In June of 2003, I became a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Benin, in western Africa. It’s a small country, comparable in size to Kentucky. It’s located between Nigeria to the east, Togo to the west and the countries that border it on the north are Niger and Burkina Faso.

I taught English as a Foreign Language in what would be the equivalent of 7th grade and 10th grade levels.

What kind of credentials did you need to be able to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Benin?

My first degree was in English, which I got in 2002, and I also had some volunteer ESL (English as a Second Language) work here in Indianapolis before I left.

My first 3 months in the country was actually all training, and one of the training elements was a month of learning the teaching styles, classroom management techniques and lesson preparation techniques. The groups of people that I was with weren’t just a mix of English majors. They were people that were journalism majors, French majors, romance language majors and even a business major.

Have you been back to Africa since your time as a volunteer was over?

Since I came back in the fall of 2004, I have not been back to Africa.

Do you plan on going back someday?

One day I’m sure I’ll make it back to Benin. I look forward to having a career in Africa in non-government organization, and I plan on going after I get my Master’s.

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in the city; especially for a non-profit organization. So, I started volunteering and working part-time for the African Center of Indianapolis. I have been with them ever since.

OK, back to skating. Who influenced your skating, either local skaters or professionals? You never know who may be reading this.

I loved watching Jon Julio skate, Dustin Latimer, even back in the day T.J. Webber. Well, my friend Roman and my friend Gavin Fridlund influenced me a lot, but as for pros, I have been attracted to people with creative styles and can making skating look good. I love Alex Broskow’s skating. I like how Jeff Stockwell can flow really well and put together lines. Other creative skaters like Mathieu Ledoux, who is bringing elements of Parkour into the sport. Creativity is a big thing, especially now that I am getting older. I am constantly looking for things in our local skate park that get overlooked.

It makes a skate park that has been around for over 10 years seem almost new.

I know that you are now fluent in French. Did you choose to go to Benin because its national language is French?

Well, at the time, I only had a basic knowledge of French, like what you’d get in high school, and only one year of French in college. But on my application, the Peace Corps saw that and thought I might fit well in a French speaking country.

How many languages do you speak?

I speak just two, English and French.

Aren’t you studying Arabic this semester?

Yes, I just started.

That will be a nice addition to your language collection. How did what you learned as a volunteer with the Peace Corps help you get into the field you are in today?

In 2006, I had started studies at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), for graduate studies in non-profit management, and I still wanted to be involved with working in African affairs here (#

Any thank-yous?

Just the people that have skated with me in the past and influenced me, and the people that skate with me and influence me now.

Backslide, Carmel, IN

Quarter pipe to mini-ramp mute 180 transfer, Columbus, IN

450 mute hip transfer, Carmel, IN

Topside Pornstar over the small ledge, Carmel, IN

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