{"id":70295,"date":"2017-07-15T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-15T16:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/?p=70295"},"modified":"2019-01-22T03:53:02","modified_gmt":"2019-01-22T11:53:02","slug":"robert-trujillo-surf-skate-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/robert-trujillo-surf-skate-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Robert Trujillo Surf Skate Style"},"content":{"rendered":"
SURF SKATE STYLE WITH ROBERT TRUJILLO<\/a>.<\/strong>\nINTERVIEW BY JEFF HO<\/a>.<\/strong>\nPHOTO BY TOSTEE.<\/strong><\/pre>\n
When did you hear of SurfSkate style?<\/strong><\/p>\n
The first time it really started to register was in the \u201880s when I used to see shots of Davey Miller in Breakout  <\/span>Magazine, launching airs. Also there was Jay Adams. When I used to surf the Venice Breakwater as a grom, I\u2019d see Jay Adams out there in a camouflage wetsuit. I knew of him as a skater, but I was impressed that he was such a great surfer too. Where we grew up on the Westside, pretty much every skater surfed, and surfed well. In the \u201890s, I became really good friends with Christian Fletcher, and he took it to a whole other level. Surfskate style has always been around me and my friends and where I grew up and the lifestyle of skate and surf.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s so cool. I was just talking to somebody about Davey Miller and I only have really good things to say about him. He\u2019s one of the guys that was underrated as a surfer, and his surfskate style was unbelievable.<\/strong><\/p>\n
He was so progressive and you never hear his name. I remember, as a teenager, seeing those great photos of him and I thought he was really cutting edge. He was a bit of a mystery too. I remember him as the one that was launching big airs, right up there with Christian Fletcher.<\/p>\n
What does SurfSkate style mean to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n
It\u2019s just like anything. When I play bass, people say there\u2019s a certain style to the way I play and my body language, which I believe is equated to skating and surfing and even snowboarding. About 20 years ago, I was addicted to snowboarding for about 10 years, right up until I joined Metallica, and then it all had to sort of chill because I needed to keep my limbs together. In anything that you do, there\u2019s got to be style, whether it\u2019s with the music you create, and your style as a performer and what you do. It\u2019s a natural thing that happens. I believe, with skating, there\u2019s a certain flow and presence that really matters. My son is a skater and he skates in Venice at the skatepark all the time. He\u2019s one of the locals there, and it\u2019s a blessing to me because it\u2019s where I grew up and to see him get in the mix and be one of the locals is really beautiful. The thing that gets him over the best is his style. He\u2019s so damn stylish and there\u2019s something to be said for that. It really does matter. Maybe the reason that I connect with it too is because of how I perform and what that means to me. I see some guys playing bass and they look stupid. Style is important. You can take a band like the Clash, and Paul Simonon has style in the way that he plays his bass. The bass lines are simple, but they\u2019re effective, important and historic. You know why? It\u2019s because he\u2019s got a signature to him and to his presence and his style. People may not know his name, but they know his bass lines and, when they see that photo of him on London Calling, they know what\u2019s up. It\u2019s attitude.<\/p>\n
Yeah. It\u2019s an attitude. You really do have a very distinctive style playing the bass and when you\u2019re performing. I\u2019ve seen it and I\u2019m really impressed by it.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Cool. Thank you. Well, it\u2019s natural. There\u2019s a natural flow that goes with what you do and what you love. When you see guys out there skating and surfing, with really good style, I think it says a lot for how they feel and their lifestyle, and the true passion that they\u2019re bringing to the art.<\/p>\n
There you go. It\u2019s style, baby! Okay, check this one out. Who has good SurfSkate style, in your opinion?<\/strong><\/p>\n
We could talk about that list forever, but Tommy Curren is the ultimate style master. Christian Fletcher is either celebrated or criticized for his style, but I think that Christian\u2019s style is awesome. It\u2019s edgy and the passion is in the edge and the physicality of what he\u2019s doing and trying to do to push the limit. I equate that to skating directly. Christian Fletcher is my other favorite style master. Those are two guys that are in my generation. If you want to go before that, then you\u2019re getting into Buttons, who was the ultimate. I was fortunate to meet him a few times and that was a highlight of my life. Buttons was the ultimate style master.<\/p>\n
Buttons had the style. Here\u2019s another question. How do you think that surfing influenced skateboarding and how has skateboarding influenced surfing?<\/strong><\/p>\n
Surfing influenced skateboarding in how you turn and how you position your body and your body language on your board. There was a surfer who was giving me some pointers about six years ago. He\u2019s an Australian guy, Dan Ross. Dan was on the circuit for many years and he battled Kelly Slater at Ocean Beach, and then Kelly won the title, but then it got revoked because apparently Kelly didn\u2019t have enough points, so Kelly had to do another heat. Dan Ross was the surfer that barely lost to him and then everyone celebrated Kelly winning the 11th title. That was Dan Ross that surfed against him in the 11th title heat. That was his  <\/span>shining moment because he nearly defeated Kelly. Dan is a good friend of mine. He actually lives on the Westside a lot of the time. We were talking about hand positioning and low center of gravity. About six years ago, Dan and I got on skateboards and we were watching some footage of me at Bells Beach in Australia and it was overhead and it was really fun. I was backside on a wave and it was a very special wave. It was probably one of the best waves I\u2019ve caught and managed to get on film and documented. It was in the newspaper in Australia and I was stoked. They had a photo of me doing this nice big turn on the inside section at Bells, but the ironic thing was my style. This guy, Dan, was complimenting me all across the board. We were watching a few other waves and then he said, \u201cLet\u2019s go outside and get on a skateboard.\u201d I remember doing turns, but staying low to the ground, and arm positioning had a lot to do with it. It was about where your arm was placed on the turn and how you utilize your arms for momentum. It was more like the Dane Kealoha style, and we were doing it on skateboards. I feel that the same exact technique, which he was presenting to me on a skateboard, obviously had everything to do with what you were supposed to do on a surfboard, and how you get the maximum potential and flow out of your turns. That was all done on a skateboard. We were going back to the basics on a skateboard, but it was all generated around surfing. Now with surfing, you get aerials into it, and that\u2019s all directly correlated to skating. I remember Danny Way doing kickflips on his surfboard 20 years ago. He wasn\u2019t even a pro surfer. He was a pro skater, but he was doing kickflips on his surfboard, and he landed some and he was missing a few, but I was really impressed. I was like, \u201cThis dude is doing kickflips and it doesn\u2019t even matter to the rest of the world because it was just him and me there right then. He was so humble. He was like, \u201cI\u2019m going to try this kickflip. Who cares if anyone notices?\u201d He was doing it and that was a long time ago, but I will always remember that day surfing with him in Cardiff. As a surfer, he was pushing the limits and applying that skate maneuver to surfing.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s crazy. Okay, here\u2019s another question. Is SurfSkate style important today and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n
I think it\u2019s all important. I think, in the modern era of surf and skate, most surfers have mad respect for skaters. It\u2019s insane. Some of them that aren\u2019t even that great at skating, maybe they just cruise. I cruise. I\u2019m not in the bowls launching like my son. I love to cruise. One of the highlights of my life happened four or five years ago when my son was seven. My wife dropped us off at Bay Street and we got on our skateboards and rode down to the Venice Skatepark. That was the first time we rode skateboards together like that. We were on the street and we were dodging and weaving around people, just me and my son. That was one of the highlights of my life, and it\u2019s funny because it totally revolved around skating. That\u2019s a tangent I had to throw in there. I just wanted to share that.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s cool. What is your son\u2019s name? I haven\u2019t seen him since he was a little guy!<\/strong><\/p>\n
My son\u2019s name is Tye and he rips on bass. He\u2019s way better than I ever was. He\u2019s ripping on a skateboard and he\u2019s learning to surf now. We were at Topanga yesterday and I\u2019m trying to teach him how to surf. Going back to surfing and skating style and how it\u2019s important now, I think, nowadays, as a competitive surfer, for the most part, you have to be able to launch airs and push the limits on small waves and rip \u2018em. At the same time, you have to be able to hold your own in big surf. With big surf, there\u2019s style that has everything to do with that, and being judged on your style at Pipeline or even at a place like Teahupoo, it starts to get into that. It\u2019s important to where people like Kelly Slater, every time you see him pushing a wave, he\u2019s trying some kind of crazy 360 air or 720 somewhere on the planet. He\u2019s pushing the limits and doing stuff he does as a progressive surfer, applying that element of skateboarding to what he already does so well on bigger waves. He\u2019s getting more and more progressive at his age and that\u2019s important.<\/p>\n
Kelly is just insane. That rodeo air that he did, he didn\u2019t even move out of his heat because they underscored him on that. I thought, \u201cOh my god, what is the world coming to?\u201d That was one of the most fantastic moves I\u2019d ever seen.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Yeah. It\u2019s incredible. He does that in Australia and then he\u2019ll do that in New York too. Who does that? He\u2019s doing it on a wave outside Manhattan and launching an air that is celebrated and historic.<\/p>\n
\"\"
Robert Trujillo surf skate stylin\u2019 in Durban, South Africa. Photo \u00a9 Tostee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
JUICE MAGAZINE SURF SKATE STYLE STORY:<\/b><\/p>\n
The influence of surfing on skateboarding has been discussed since the beginning of both, yet we have now entered a new era, where skateboarding has returned the favor with its own unique influence on the surfing world. In order to get to the core of this cross over and to try to define the origins and current state and status of surf skate style, we\u2019ve interviewed some of the most innovative skateboarders, surfers, artists, documentarians, photographers, filmmakers and musicians on the planet. In honor of the great, Shogo Kubo, who once said, \u201cTo me, style is everything…\u201d welcome to our exploration of Surf Skate Style featuring interviews with Aaron Murray, Aaron Astorga, Abraham Paskowitz, Art Brewer, Bennett Harada, Brad Bowman, Brandon Cruz, Brian Brannon, Carter Slade, Chris Miller, Chris Strople, Christian Fletcher, Christian Hosoi, Craig Stecyk III, Darren Ho, Dave Tourje, David Hackett, Dennis Martinez, Dibi Fletcher, Don Redondo, Eric Britton, Garrett McNamara, Gerry Lopez, Glen E. Friedman, Greg Falk, Greg Galbraith, Greyson Fletcher, Herbie Fletcher, James O\u2019Mahoney, Jef Hartsel, Jeff Ament, Jeff Divine, Jeff Ho, Jim Fitzpatrick, Jim Gray, John Van Hamersveld, Jonathan Paskowitz, Josh \u201cBagel\u201d Klassman, Kalani David, Keith Morris, Kirra Kehoe, Larry Bertlemann, Laura Thornhill, Lizzie Armanto, Marc Emond, Michael Denicola, Michael Early, Nano Nobrega, Nathan Fletcher, Nathan Florence, Neil Stratton, Norton Wisdom, Pat Bareis, Randy Katen, Ray Flores, Rob Nelson, Robert Trujillo, Scott Oster, Shane Allen, Shaun Tomson, Shota Kubo, Solo Scott, Stacy Peralta, Steve Alba, Steve Olson, Takuji Masuda, Terry Nails, Tim Curran, Tim Hendricks, Tim Kerr, Tom Groholski, Tony Alva, Wes Humpston and Zach Miller.<\/p>\n
FOR THE REST OF THE STORY, ORDER ISSUE #75 AT THE JUICE SHOP\u2026<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SURF SKATE STYLE WITH ROBERT TRUJILLO. INTERVIEW BY JEFF HO. PHOTO BY TOSTEE. When did you hear of SurfSkate style? The first time it really started to register was in the \u201880s when I used to see shots of Davey Miller in Breakout  Magazine, launching airs. Also there was Jay Adams. When I used to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4027,4028,4042],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-interviews","category-surf-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/68-RobertTRUJILLO-durban-southafrica-2006-TOSTEE.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70295"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70694,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70295\/revisions\/70694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juicemagazine.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}