{"id":50354,"date":"2015-09-27T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2015-09-27T16:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/?p=50354"},"modified":"2017-05-11T12:58:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-11T19:58:00","slug":"zoltan-torkos-first-kickflip-on-a-surfboard-interview-by-seven-adams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/zoltan-torkos-first-kickflip-on-a-surfboard-interview-by-seven-adams\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoltan Torkos First Kickflip on a Surfboard – Interview by Seven Adams"},"content":{"rendered":"

ZOLTAN TORKOS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

INTERVIEW BY SEVEN ADAMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY\u00a0ELIJAH CROWELL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The kickflip master, a revolutionist for surfing, bringing surfing far into the future introducing flip tricks and making what we all thought was impossible possible.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s up, dude? How\u2019s it going?<\/b><\/p>\n

Really good. I\u2019m just chillin\u2019.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s jump into this thing. I just saw a video of you doing two kickflips on one wave. What\u2019s up with that? Where do you come up with the idea to do a kickflip on a surfboard?<\/b><\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s kind of a gnarly story. Prior to 2011, I was surfing with my good friend, Carl Reimer and he told me, joking around, \u201cYou need to pull that trick and do the kickflip and do it all the time.\u201d I was like, \u201cOh, whatever. I don\u2019t even care.\u201d Then he left my house and got shot to death and that was the last thing he ever told me. After that I was really determined to do it. I didn\u2019t care if I broke myself. I broke like 50 boards on my face. I\u2019m chewed up right now and I have ten stitches in my arm and I\u2019ve been stabbed in the eye by my surfboard and I couldn\u2019t see for like three days. I wanted to make it my goal to make it like, \u201cHey, this is the Reimer kickflip.\u201d I wanted to help kids to pull tricks, not triggers, you know?<\/p>\n

Wow. <\/b><\/p>\n

I had a life changing experience that led me on this thing to want to do a kickflip on a surfboard and do revolutionary surfing.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s sick, dude. When did you stomp your first one?<\/b><\/p>\n

In 2011, on March 4th, I did the first one.<\/p>\n

There you go. There was that $10,000 Volcom kickflip challenge. <\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah. They gave me the money for that. They said, \u201cOh, okay, you didn\u2019t do it the way you wanted, but we\u2019re going to give you money.\u201d Everyone around the world spoke up for me and said, \u201cThis kid stuck it.\u201d So then they made the $20,000 contest and every month I sent in three kickflips that I pulled, and then I got this really good one and I posted it. Of all people, your dad commented, \u201cYou guys are high if you think this is not above the lip.\u201d Volcom called me and said I didn\u2019t come enough off the lip or something weird like that and then they told me that they ended the contest. I was determined though so I kept sending them in. They sent me three emails back saying, \u201cZoltan, we told you the contest is over.\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cWell, you\u2019ve got to tell everyone.\u201d They never really told anyone, so I just kept sending them clips of my kickflips, and I\u2019m still sending them in. They said that I was the only one to enter the contest for two years, so they ended the contest because of me. Online it says, it will go on until there is a winner. It was one of those things where I just had to deal with it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s still sick that you busted one out, especially for the homie. <\/b><\/p>\n

Definitely.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s interesting. I knew there was more to it. Do you skate at all?<\/b><\/p>\n

I skate all the time. I do a lot of surf skating too. I actually skated for SMA Skateboards for Skip Engblom. He\u2019s one of my big time early supporters and one of my dear friends that kept me going as a kid and believed in me when I was younger when I was doing the air shows and everything.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s super sick. Can you do a kickflip on a skateboard?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah. In fact, just yesterday, I helped out Rick teaching a surf lesson and then, afterwards, he made me try a kickflip on a Doyle in front of everyone and I almost got it and then I came in and landed one on my skateboard in front of the whole class, and I skated up to them after I landed it and said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like a wave.\u201d They were all pumped.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s rad. I figured you had to do them on skateboards if you can do them on a surfboard, which is much harder. Is it similar at all? Does it feel the same?<\/b><\/p>\n

It is similar definitely. It\u2019s the same body mechanics. I really enjoy when people think that I can\u2019t do a kickflip on a skateboard and I enjoy when people think that I\u2019m just a skater that never surfed. I just let their imagination run wild. They think I can\u2019t do one on a skateboard, for some weird reason, and other people think that I didn\u2019t grow up surfing and I\u2019m just some skater that jumped on a surfboard. I grew up right here surfing in Santa Cruz and skating with everyone.<\/p>\n

I know you\u2019re a surfer. I remember that day we were out at the Point and you did that shove-it darkslide thing. That was sick.<\/b><\/p>\n

You know what? That was an\u00a0inspirational day. Some barney laughed at me like, \u201cOh, you\u2019re going to surf and film?\u201d Then you came out and did 20 straight ups through the white water. You were just making it look way too sick. I got a kickflip and then that guy was looking at me like, \u201cOh, maybe I\u2019m just a kook.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Laughs] That was a good day.<\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah. That was awesome.<\/p>\n

Have you been messing around with any other flip tricks?<\/b><\/p>\n

I am actually. I have been trying to get some finger flips. I\u2019ve also done a finger flip board transfer. I jumped off a cliff and finger flipped a few times. I\u2019m working on my kickflip to switch. I have a couple of tricks right now and I\u2019m working on some other ones like the back foot switch foot kickflip. I almost got that a few times in front of my buddy, Elijah.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s super sick. I\u2019m really excited to see that.<\/b><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the next thing.<\/p>\n

I just feel like you busting out the kickflip on a surfboard is bringing surfing to a whole new level. I think there is going to start to be a lot of flip tricks in the future and it\u2019s rad that you started it. <\/b><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t believe it. I keep thinking I\u2019m going to wake up, like it\u2019s a dream or something because I\u2019ve been wanting to do a kickflip since I was a little kid. People always laughed at me when I\u2019d say that I wanted to do a pop shove-it and all these skateboard tricks. Even now if I said that I want to do varial tricks, people would laugh at me, but I just want to do it. I\u2019m going to do it, but I just keep it quiet. It\u2019s like saying that you are going to see the Loch Ness monster. People are like, \u201cBullshit, dude.\u201d You just have to keep going.<\/p>\n

Have you had any help or support through all of this? Are people flowing you boards or what? I know you go through a lot of boards if you\u2019re doing kickflips on a surfboard. <\/b><\/p>\n

You know I\u2019m really lucky that I\u2019ve got Vernor Surfboards flowing me boards. I did the first kickflip wake surfing my fourth time wake surfing and I felt like a leprechaun, I was so lucky that day. I don\u2019t know how I pulled that. It was so heavy. The driver was named Carlton and I started screaming \u201cCarl!\u201d and I\u2019d only met him for an hour. I was tripping out and crying and I was telling all my friends. They were like, \u201cThis is so heavy.\u201d They didn\u2019t realize that they were part of something that was maybe bigger than they realized when they met me, you know? Now I\u2019m involved with Evercarve wakesurf boards and I\u2019ve got my own model coming out for wake surfing and I\u2019m working with MB boats. I\u2019ve got support from those guys and I have really good support from Elijah Crowell, who filmed all those clips of the kickflips. Elijah and I have been friends since we were three and two years old, trying to stand up on our boogie boards. He surfs Mavericks and stuff like that too, so he\u2019s rad.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s super rad, dude. That\u2019s good that you have a support system.<\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah. It\u2019s the original team from playing in the sandbox, you know? It\u2019s super cool.<\/p>\n

Do you have anything else you want to say about the kickflips?<\/b><\/p>\n

I just want to inspire people to believe that anything is possible if you work hard and put your mind to it. Pull tricks, not triggers. Put it out there in a positive way instead of a negative way. We all have that warrior spirit in us. It\u2019s how we use that craziness that makes the difference.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s badass. I\u2019m all about that. We\u2019ve got to get the kids stoked. <\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah. Me and you are really lucky that we were exposed to surfing. A lot of kids aren\u2019t. They\u2019re all super amped out and they don\u2019t know what to do and they do something dumb just because they\u2019re trying to be cool and do something fun and exciting. There are positive ways to do it through music, surfing and skating and art and it goes on and on.<\/p>\n

Exactly. That\u2019s what\u2019s up. Thank you.<\/b><\/p>\n

Thank you, bro. It\u2019s a huge honor.<\/p>\n

One last question. What\u2019s the best board to try doing kickflips on? What\u2019s your favorite equipment and what are you riding when you pull these?<\/b><\/p>\n

I just like to ride real surfboards, pretty much a normal standard 5\u201910\u201d Vernor Surfboard. People always trip out like, \u201cWhy doesn\u2019t he ride this weird double skateboard-type surfboard?\u201d What people don\u2019t realize is that we are actually surfing and you need to have a surfboard to surf. I\u2019ve tried all these weird boards and they don\u2019t surf. You need to be able to surf and go fast and boost airs and do floaters and get the lip to barrel to do the kickflip. It\u2019s a functional move, so you need a functional surfboard. I\u2019d say you could do it on whatever surfboard the ASP surfers are riding. You just need a good surfboard, like a 5\u201910\u201d or 5\u20197\u201d. I live in Santa Cruz, so it\u2019s different. You just need a standard short board with a squash tail and a nice rail. You know what we like.<\/p>\n

Exactly. I like that you\u2019re doing them like that because it brings it more into a functional maneuver where you can do a kickflip and then you could do a turn and go down the line instead of just doing the kickflip.<\/b><\/p>\n

You have to make real sections up here and you need to be able to go fast. You can\u2019t be riding some little chintzy board and thinking you\u2019re going to be able to do some trick. It just doesn\u2019t work like that.<\/p>\n

Thank you, dude. When I\u2019m in Santa Cruz, let\u2019s go surf. <\/b><\/p>\n

Yeah. Elijah will go shoot us. He will be stoked. He\u2019s been going out doing all the XXL stuff too. It will be fun.<\/p>\n

I need to come up there and get some surf. Thank you.<\/b><\/p>\n

Thank you, buddy. Thanks for your time. I\u2019m super stoked.<\/p>\n

First Surfing Kickflip:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/EpWZ_-hNKKs<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n