Interview with Jonathan \u201cJono\u201d Schwan<\/p>\n
Interview by Tony Gazzana from Coffee Exchange in Colorado Springs, CO.<\/p>\n
August 7, 2012 at Woodward Skate Camp in Pennsylvania<\/p>\n
Whats up, Jono? How are things at Woodward so far?<\/strong> Man, that sucks!<\/strong> I just want to thank you for doing this interview at such short notice and over the phone.<\/strong> Where are you from?<\/strong> When did you start skating?<\/strong> What got you into it?<\/strong> That\u2019s rad, I’m not laughing, man. That has to be the most unique reason for someone to start skating, especially someone who rips like you! Was your family supportive of you from the start? Are they still behind what you do?<\/strong> I have met your mom and dad and they seem way cool. It\u2019s good to see the support they give you and all the skaters in our community! What got you into skating vert ramps?<\/strong> Do you street skate at all, and if so, which do you like more, street or ramps and bowls?<\/strong> Okay, now I\u2019m laughing. Your bad street skating is like a good day for me! You started a non-profit organization called SK8 STRONG. What prompted that?<\/strong> I know you guys have done a lot for our community in the short time you have been here, and I, for one, thank you. You not only talked Woodward, Denver, into donating their 13 \u00bd ft ramp along with their mini ramps, but you had the Army drive the ramps to Colorado Springs, and then got the city to donate another huge piece of real estate and concrete to put the ramps on. How did the city react when you approached them for more room at our already huge 40,000 square foot park?<\/strong> We do have a pretty cool skate scene here. What do you think of Colorado Springs and the scene?<\/strong> Do you think the City of Colorado Springs and others support skateboarding?<\/strong> What would you tell someone who is getting into skating and thinking of skating a vert ramp for the first time?<\/strong> Not lame. I think a lot of us forget that. Where do you see yourself and SK8 STRONG in the future?<\/strong> When did you start competing?<\/strong> Damn, that\u2019s cool. You’ve gotta give Goofy credit, for sure! There are a lot of great skaters out there, so who do you look up to or have as a role model?<\/strong> OK, so, being only a few years your senior, growing up we didn\u2019t have parks, so we built ramps and skated loading docks, but it wasn\u2019t anything like the big parks we have today. There was a lot of camaraderie being all crammed together on the deck of a ramp or in a parking lot. Do you think that skateparks take away from that or do you see them drawing people together?<\/strong> You have been in several X Games and other contests and placed very well. This year you did the Big Air and Mega Ramp for the first time. Last year in vert at the X Games you place 3rd. How was that for you? Do you see yourself doing more of the Mega Ramp?<\/strong>
\nWell, they lost my luggage, so I am watching everyone else skate and hanging by the go-karts. My boards are in Washington!<\/p>\n
\nYeah, but it\u2019s cool.<\/p>\n
\nThank you for asking me. This will be great.<\/p>\n
\nEverywhere. I lived in Africa, Ireland and before I moved to Colorado Springs, I was living in Australia.<\/p>\n
\nI started skating four years ago, when I was 11.<\/p>\n
\nDude, don\u2019t laugh, but I was watching \u201cA Goofy Movie\u201d by Disney and they were skating in it, and I just thought, \u201cI want to do that.\u201d And I did.<\/p>\n
\nTotally! My family has traveled the world with me for competitions. My dad just went with me to Rome for a competition and we had a great time!<\/p>\n
\nWhen I was living in Australia, there was a mini ramp next to the 13-foot vert ramp. While I was learning to skate, I would watch the people on the bigger ramp and know that’s what I wanted to do.<\/p>\n
\nI can eat crap street skating! I can do it, but I would much rather skate\u00a0 the bowl or the skate park or the ramps.<\/p>\n
\nWhen I moved here to Colorado Springs, I didn\u2019t see the same community in skateboarding that I did in the other countries I lived in. We started SK8 Strong with a vision of bringing people together with the same goals and causes; keeping skateboarding fun, safe and enjoyable for anyone interested in the sport.<\/p>\n
\nWe just asked if we could put the ramps up. Originally, we were going to raise the money to do it. We went to a few city meetings and the city saw the need for more fun stuff and better use of the land they already had set aside. We had more people using skateparks and they saw a need that had to be filled. They actually looked past the money and saw a community coming together to get this done.<\/p>\n
\nIt rocks! There is a lot of support and a great community of not only skaters but people that support what we do. The people here are great and the skaters are awesome!<\/p>\n
\nDefinitely. They have been so cool to us and what we’re doing. Look at our park!<\/p>\n
\nI know this sounds lame but, you only live once. Try everything! For real! You don\u2019t know when your last day is gonna come, so do it all!<\/p>\n
\nProgressing and growing. I want to grow Sk8 Strong from a national organization to international, so we can reach all kinds of people interested in the sport.<\/p>\n
\nI started competing four years ago, when I was 11, right after I started to skate.<\/p>\n
\nI really like Bucky and PLG a lot! They look out for the younger skaters and the ones who are coming up in the ranks. They see the future of skateboarding in the new vert skaters and really try and nurture that. It means a lot to me.<\/p>\n
\nI like them all. Ramps, bowls, parks, whatever, I skate them all. It’s good to skate everything. There are so many parks in Colorado, and traveling to them all and being able to skate anywhere is so much fun. I think they’re both great.<\/p>\n
\nIt was AWESOME! It was fun and I totally loved the opportunity to skate the big ramps while I had the chance. I really want to do more of it and want to progress more while the opportunity is there.<\/p>\n