Pat Leal – SHOCK from Pa+ Leal on Vimeo.

Yo, I’m down to do the interview. We should just do it ichat conversation stylee and just talk about shit. Maybe one conversation or a few over time. Just freestyle the shit outta it…

are there any points in your mind that you would just like to discuss? I know that sometimes when I do interviews I wish people would ask me questions about certain things because I’ve had shit on my mind. Lemme know dewey!

haha, freestylin it all the way sounds funny, the ichat thing is clever…well I’d just like people to know first off, that rollerblading is the most under-rated “action-sport” (or whatever label you want to put on it) out there. I think our industry could definitely use more corporate sponser involvement like it did back in the day when I was able to buy “Senate” shirts at “Bicycle World” in my hometown Harlingen, TX. I hate seeing how skateboarding is so popular only because it means less money for more professionals like yourself to make a sweet sustainable living. I think our industry needs to have the vibes we had back in the 90s, when all bladers were a lot more chill and fun… I don’t believe that competition formats are the only way to get your name out there or be labeled a “pro”… I respect you Rob G because of the creative way you choose to skate and because it motivates me to have more fun with it although I’m always an advocate of people who drop raw hammers… with that being said, jumping off roofs and stunts like this definitely takes more of a toll on your body through the years so take care of yourself while you can… find your niche and maximize your own “potential” so to speak. What else? I like how the rollerblading media is getting better and better at visually capturing the things we do… If we could really show the reasons why our “art-form” shreds with no comparison from the proper media outlets better, I believe our sport would be running around with 100s of posers like skateboarding today, for the better or worse. there also needs to be a return to how the US mainstream would jock “aggressive inline” like it did back when the XGames first came out… One of the reasons I still put on my rollerblades today is to spread the word about how damn crazy, eclectic, and fun rollerblading can still be even at the age of 26. Let it be known, that I’m more down with anyone that has a pair of skates compared to a skateboard, although I’ll respect any1 if they are worthy…

Like I said…we are freestyling this completely so just react to anything that moves you, or don’t react to anything or any of it. You are free to respond in anyway you like to whatever you like. This is what I’m doing with what you have written to me. Have a good time with it. Enjoy it. It’s going to be rad!

Hahahah, wait like a real freestyle? That may be hard… I might as well write a song and have it recorded on cam… LOL, but here are the answer to your questions… I tend to write a lot because my mind flutters like a hummingbird searching for nectaR. Let me know what you think. I’m not the best word editor or grammar slinger. This is fun…

If say, Rollerblading Blew up again like it did back in the day, do you think it would flop at the same speed as it did as well? Do you think its popularity would last longer? Shorter? Do you really believe that Skateboarding is keeping us down, or do you think Rollerbladers are keeping Rollerblading down?

I don’t think it would flop at the same speed as before just as long as ”Rollerblading” can maintain an image that we deserve to be in the spotlight for our own unique ways of shredding at life. I think our popularity will last longer just as long as we can influence the right people at the top who control what’s being shown on television. Every rollerblader that puts on skates or has put on skates in the past contributes to this argument, so it’s important to be aware of the effect we can have on people. I do believe skateboarding is keeping us down. Every-time I tell an outsider I “skate” they automatically think I skateboard. I’d rather have it to where people would then ask me, “skateboarding or rollerblading?” The other day I told a girl in my film appreciation class I had a good friend of mine who rollerblades. At that moment in time, she didn’t know that I inline skated too. She then goes on to say, “Well, that’s kind of werd isn’t it?” with a funny look on her face. I then had to go through the process of saying “No, it’s actually what I do” and that I’ve been “aggressive inline skating” since around junior high school. I encouraged her to check out my videos for herself on youtube. She then got out a pad and pen and wrote my link down. The following week, I asked her if she had seen my videos. She goes “No, I actually forgot…” I then pulled out my cell phone and pulled up the link to my last Eulogy edit. I realize this is kind of narcissist, but I just wanted to back up “our image” as a whole because what we do is crazy, badass and not werd by any means, maybe just people are. After she saw the edit with no sound, she saids “Man, that was pretty cool… Have you broken any bones? etc…” Right then and there, I could tell I changed her mind frame about Rollerblading. I get the most satisfaction out of little things like this. As for rollerbladers keeping Rollerblading down… Yea, some of that exists but it’s mainly just grommet talk and I don’t care much about that bs… The bigger picture is what I’m looking at it.

“I think our industry needs to have the vibes we had back in the 90s, when all bladers were a lot more chill and fun… I don’t believe that competition formats are the only way to get your name out there or be labeled a “pro”"

I really like this quote above. Can you describe in as much detail as possible what a typical 90’s mentality/session/drive to blade was like?

Oh man, I miss the 90’s! Let’s go back in time on my time machinE… A typical 90’s drive to blade for me was like this. First off, I lived in a very small town, Harlingen, TX. However, when I first started rollerblading there were about 25 rollerbladers and 25 skateboarders in my town. Can you believe that? We had equal amounts of respect and hate for each other which basically means everything was awesome! I felt like a badass going to high-school and telling my friends I bladed. I felt hella respect because I also played in all the regular team sports myself. A typical day for me when I first started skating was popping in old-school classics like “Nickel & Dime,” “Mr. Mooseknuckle” and “Hoax 3″ to watch before and after skate sessions. Each one of these videos was so memorable to me because they accurately portrayed the vibe/culture of how cool rollerblading was in various places. I remember when it got below 50 degrees (trust me, this is cold in TX) my friends and I would wake up around 9 o’clock in the morning, skate about a mile to the gas station, purchase some hot cocoa and then skate around the corner to the nearest skate spot and all huddle around in the corner trying to get warm. Everyone was so juiced up and down for each other. Damn, I forgot it was all about Jinkos for a good minute too! One of my friends even put duct-tape around his jeans where the knees were to hold his bigass knee pads in place. He looked like the total fruit-bag, but he had on skates and we never really hated on that… we just joked, shared laughs, skated and had a good time. It was all in good fun without even trying.

“jumping off roofs and stunts like this definitely takes more of a toll on ur body through the years so take care of yourself while you can… find your niche and maximize your own “potential” so to speak.”

I really like this quote as well. I have also seen clips of you in that Eulogy edit (which I thoroughly enjoyed) where you were throwing hammers. Are you still throwing them, and if so do you do anything to stay fit or injury free? Diet? Stretching? working out? etc.

Let’s just say you only live once. I’ve seen many of my good friends mess up their knees due to bad falls and etc. I’m fortunate to say I’m even still able to skate right now. With this being said, I still feel the greatest rush after landing a hammer, so yes, I still throw them. It’s like a rollercoaster ride, sometime it’s scary, but at the end it’s a self-gratifying experience that makes you wanna do it all over again like an OCD wizard. Nowadays, I’ve been trying to watch what I eat, but I occasionally slip into bad habits and go for the occasional fast food. It’s funny though, if I really wanted to I could be in a lot better shape physically than I am now. It’s all about good habits. When I first moved to Denton, TX I would ride a stationary bike for about 15 minutes a day or longer. Before I knew it, within a month I had lost hella weight. I’m planning to keep up this regime because it feels good both mentally and physically when you are in shape. Stretching is a must, but don’t over-stretch. I also take a few anti-inflammatory medications like Tylenol if I’m still sore from the days before just to give me the extra juice to get started off.

Pat Leal – Eulogy 09 edit from Josh Castillo on Vimeo.

there also needs to be a return to how the US mainstream would jock “aggressive inline” like it did back when the XGames first came out…”

If or when Rollerblading blows up again, how do you think Mainstream america will react? I ask because when you said that, it made me think of how rollerblading (compared to other “extreme sports” Lifestyles) is easier to begin then skate boarding or biking and I think contains an entire different rolling experience for expressing ones self. Do you think Mainstream America will have a reaction like skateboarding, or something entirely different?

I think Mainstream America will have a similar reaction to what we do like skateboarding, but not the same. What we do is really not comparable to other sports… it’s a totally different thing. It would be like someone trying to say “bird-watching” is more cool then watching fish in a pond. It really doesn’t make sense and it’s an invalid argument. I also think that all this hate and negativity that skateboarding has given off to our sport is going to backfire at them someday, so no need to worry about that. Maybe more professional rollerbladers should have actual “talent agents” to get them and indirectly US out there more. Anyone can promote Rollerblading, so just go out shred and do your best. We’ll see how it goes from there.

Shot outs?

Thanks to family, friends, TX, RB, Eulogy, SYF, LST & everyone else who skates and is down for the cause.

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