Vincent Alvarez

Longevity in skating can be a rare thing. As a new pro how far into the future do you see yourself riding with the same enthusiasm?
I would like to stay as happy as I can for a long as I can. I understand there’s going to be some hard times here and there but being mad is sort of a bad habit and that’s one I wouldn’t want to pick up.

Artificial leather or suede?
I’d prefer suede over artificial leather any day

Keeping memories from travels can be a hard thing to manage while you’re out there. Do you do anything to remember where you’ve been?
Sure I do. Whether it’s writing down a song that I’m listening to while I’m there or looking at a cut after it being healed up that I got from my travels.

Always have these five things with you when you travel:
ID, money, skateboard, cooking experience, no fear

Is going fast something you made yourself do early on, or is it just what came natural when you got comfortable on the board?
I’ve always enjoyed going fast even as a kid bombing driveways and getting broke. Just the idea of being able to go faster without pushing is really interesting to me. Taking six pushes for two tricks can look cool sometimes, but I’d rather watch someone do six tricks with two pushes.

Laws can help guide society, but as skaters we break non-violent laws every time we skate down the street. Do you think we have too many rules to follow?
I don’t think we have enough rules to follow. Everybody on a skateboard nowadays is doing whatever they feel like not knowing what’s good for ‘em. Not necessarily that there are rules you need to go by, but at least some some education to do what’s right in this culture.

If you could bring back a shoe from Lakai’s vault, which one would you pick?
I know there not that deep into the vault but the Coda Select midtop!

Marc Johnson seems to be filming at full speed for the next video. What has been your most memorable experience with him from this project so far?
I got food poisoning for the first time from an on-flight BBQ turkey sandwich (don’t know what I was thinking). The same night Marc gave me some sort of oregano capsules that he said would clear that shit out of my stomach. I thought it was gonna last for a few days but the next day I felt so great I did not mind one bit skating in 110 degree temperature. I need to find these resources. Thanks Marc!

Inconsistency doesn’t seem to be a problem for you. How do you stay on your board so much going as fast as you do?
I think part of it is having loose trucks and going out and skating the city while growing up instead of a skatepark where you need to step off your board every couple feet. I like to do circles around the light pole while I wait for the crosswalk signal to turn green.

Technical footwork with the ability to skate anything is one of your hallmarks. How and where did you learn to skate transition so well?
I know I got the feel of transition in the projects in East LA somewhere when I tried to drop in on a quarter with rollerblades (ate shit!!). Then in Georgia when the street skating scene wasn’t as big as it is now over there. Little town, indoor park, and being around older men who hated flip tricks.

Education is sometimes sacrificed due to the skateboarding situation. Did you manage to finish high school before you dove all the way in?
Thanks to my parents, I did manage to graduate. Although it is really hard, as I’m sure it is for anyone who loves skating, I feel like I wanna be able to learn about other things that we are offered and can relate to in our worlds.

Decks graphics are infinite but we always remember certain ones. Are there any in particular that stick out in your mind?
A terminator board, Koston pot leaf board, and Mariano Virgin Mary.