chrome ball interview #159: chico brenes

chops and cheeks for closer #2

Introduction by Aaron Meza

Chico Brenes. A heavy from a very heavy local scene that influenced the entire skateboarding world (Embarcadero). Sponsored and turned pro by the most sought-after skateboard company of its day (World Industries). Was the impetus for one of the coolest and perhaps most ethnically diverse teams of the early 90s (Chocolate Skateboards). Featured in the better videos of that instrumental early-to-mid 90s period (Love Child, New World Order, Paco and Mouse). Over a decade later, he had a whole other video named after him (Give Me My Money Chico). He’s had shoes, boards, clothing sponsors and all that comes with an impressive run in skateboarding, but perhaps most impressive of all is what Chico is doing now—well into his 40s. Up before the sun, Morning Radness, then a surf, all before the rest of us have rolled out of bed. Then some skating. Lots of skating. And we’re lucky enough that he’s decided to share it. A reminder of just how long you can do the things you love, if you continue to love doing it.

=O =O =O 

 
How do you react to those who say you’ve gone through a “renaissance” in recent years? Do you personally feel that way? 
 
Honestly, I’m having the time of my life right now. I think I’m having more fun skateboarding than I ever did, all these years later. It’s been so much fun riding all these different types of boards, allowing myself to try different things.
 
Looking back, I feel like I took everything for granted for so long. I definitely took skateboarding for granted during the first part of my career, like it would never go way. Back when Chocolate was on top, being part of all that, you start to feel like you’re untouchable.
 
Nah, man… you can be touched. All of a sudden, those opportunities just aren’t there anymore. Everything starts disappearing. You can get humbled real quick.

 

But it’s almost like it took your leaving Chocolate for all this to happen. You only now seem to be hitting the prime of your career, 30 years later. 
 
I appreciate that, man. 
 
It’s weird, because all I’m doing is riding my skateboard and having fun, just more people seem to be noticing now. I’m in such a different place with everything these days. I haven’t been this sparked on skating in a long time, which probably comes across, too. 
 
A big reason is that I don’t feel so much pressure anymore. It’s all on my own terms now. I’m out there, pushing myself in a way that feels good to me. Doing the things I want to do. 
 
How did your “Morning Radness” Instagram stories come about?
 
I just woke up one morning, feeling like I had to give some props to the guys who personally inspire me. I posted a couple photos and liked how it felt, so I started doing it every day. It’s just a good way to get going in the morning. 

photo: mecky creus

 
I love it, man. So, what set off your evolution with skating shapes? 
 
It all stems from getting hurting, back in 2014. I was filming for the last LRG video, 1947, when I messed my knee up on a backside flip. I blew out my ACL, my meniscus and my MCL. And at 39 years old, I thought it was a wrap, man. No way I’m coming back from this one. It was heavy. 
 
…Even though I still lied to Chocolate about it. (laughs)
 
 “Yeah, I kinda hurt my knee but I think I’ll be good in a month or so.” 

 
“I just stubbed my toe a little, I’m good.” 
 
(laughs) Right? Just a little scratch. Meanwhile, I’m totally panicking. Because in 2000, I did my ACL and it was rough, but that was only one thing! This time, it’s my ACL plus all this other stuff! There’s no way I’m coming back from all this!
 
I wasn’t even planning on getting the surgery for a while there. Because what was the point? I was so sure that my career was over. If anything, I got the surgery for my daughter. Because she’s growing up, I didn’t want to have any problems running after her. Stuff like that. Skateboarding wasn’t even a factor in all this. 
 
So, I start looking around for the best doctors I could find… like, give me the 49ers doctor or something! I need this to be right! And luckily, I was able to find this amazing doctor at UCSF. We did the surgery and I started doing PT. But even then, I’m still thinking that I’ll never be able to skate how I used to. And looking back, there were definitely some low points to deal with, but our bodies are such amazing machines. You can overcome things like this. People do it all the time. 
 
The whole shapes thing started with that. Because when I started getting a little better, I hit up Sam Smyth to send me any retro shapes they might’ve had lying around. Just to cruise around on and work on getting my strength back. He sends me this big ol’ Brian Anderson board. I guess they had, like, a thousand of these things sitting around the warehouse. They just couldn’t move them back then, dude! (laughs)
 
I set this thing up with some soft wheels and started going over to Potrero Park. Just to pump around, you know. After a while, I switch it over to regular wheels and start skating a little. Getting stronger every day. And for some reason, completely out of the blue, I try a nollie heel one day. It went perfectly! 
 
I was like, “What the hell!?!?!”
 
That shit blew my mind, man! Because at the time, I thought this thing was gigantic. Every trick felt completely different but fun, and I just fell in love with it after that. Skating it more and more. And because it was this big weird board, it kinda took all the pressure away, too. I could just have fun on it. 
 
The craziest part was how I could just whip this big board around with no problem, even after the injury. I learned that it was all in the wheelbase. Because before my injury, I tried skating an 8.5” and I could barely get my 360 flips around. It sucked, man. I remember thinking to myself, “Why do people even skate boards this big?”
 
I wouldn’t ride a board bigger than 8.25” back then. That was my limit. (laughs)
 
It’s the wheelbase, dude! And honestly, once I figured this out, I got pretty nerdy about this dimension stuff, man. All of a sudden, my wheelbase had to be 14” or 14.25”. Anything bigger than that and I felt like my flip tricks didn’t go around as smooth. I started drilling into shit, drilling my trucks back. Because I had to! I had to get that wheelbase! 
 
The stuff with the old-school boards started when Vern Laird sent me an old Tommy Guerrero reissue. I was just gonna get it signed and hang it on my wall. I just happened to get a Caballero reissue as well, which I was originally thinking about skating. But with living back in SF and Tommy being one of my favorite skaters ever, if I was gonna skate one of these old-school boards, it had to be the TG. No question. 
 
Next thing I know, I’m drilling the holes back on that board… because you know I had to get that 14” wheelbase. I take it out and started skating around. And after a minute, I got that shit nollie flipping. Tre flips. Everything! 
 
That’s when I started thinking about maybe coming out with a new part.  

How much does the “pro” inform your “pro model" selection? Because a lot of this is homage, right?
 
I’m more sparked on seeing what all is possible on these old boards. Doing tricks that maybe weren’t even invented yet when these boards were out. 
 
But yeah, whose board it is definitely plays a part in it. Because you don’t want to ride somebody’s board you’re not psyched on, you know? If you look at most of the older boards I’ve ridden, it’s always the guys I look up to. “Style” guys like TG and J. Lee. Jovontae and Brian Lotti. Guys that no matter what they do, it always looks good. It’s always timeless somehow. 
 
For example, I just happened to be in LA when I was riding the dodo board, so I went over to those brick banks and started thinking about all of the tricks Jason did there back in the early 90s. Like the backlip revert and that nosepick? That shit is still hard now, man! Holy smokes. I started trying that stuff and couldn’t believe it. Those things are still super harsh, and he was doing all that back then? That’s what I’m talking about.
 
But how do the wheels fit into all this? Because 39s at Embarcadero is never a good idea.
 
That was nuts. 
 
I had that World reissue of my orange vendor graphic. They sent me three of them, so I wanted to set one up exactly how I rode it back in the day but I couldn’t find any smaller wheels than 40s...which, oh my god, man. I went to Embarcadero and tried to skate that thing. It was impossible at first! Like, “How did we even do this!?!”
 
So many extra pushes. And with those tiny wheels, you felt every little thing you rolled over. It was crazy. But you know what? After the third or fourth day, it became normal somehow. It wasn’t so bad after that. 
 
Honestly, I feel like you can do pretty much any trick on any board, for the most part. You just have to put the time in and figure it out. 

photos: mecky creus

 
Where’d the idea to skate a 2x4 come from? 
 
That came from people commenting on my posts. Like, “Yo Chico, you can skate anything! You can probably skate a 2x4!”
 
I started thinking about it and ended up going to Home Depot with my daughter one day. Found a 2x4 I liked, came home, cut it down and drilled some holes. Went over to Potrero and started messing around with it… Shit, this actually works! 
 
And that’s what led to my Chico Stix logo, just this crazy idea. 
 
It was a little more challenging at first. It would whip around 720 sometimes when I was only trying a tre flip. You just had to stay light on your feet and keep the right flick. That’s really all it comes down to. 
 
I just like seeing what all is possible on these things. It brings me joy. If I can still do my nollie heels… Because that’s always the first trick I attempt on any board, no matter what. That’s my test trick. 
 
But how you can do nollie heels on boards with no noses? 
 
You know how you do nollie heels out of nose wheelies? It’s kinda like that. And that took me years to figure out. Because I was always trying to pop it out of the manual, you know? It always went flying forward, dude! I didn’t know that you had to wait until you were almost entirely done with the nose wheelie to kick. Don’t pop it, just kick out and it automatically goes. Same thing when you’re doing nollie heels without a nose. It’s like a weird pressure kinda thing. 

You’re journey from Nicaragua is legendary but I’ve always wondered what your family thinks of skateboarding? 
 
In the beginning, it was kinda weird, for sure. Because when I first started going down there to see my family in the early 90s, I couldn’t find a single person who skated there. Nobody. So yeah, it was a little hard to explain to people. 
 
It’s funny, because I started going back every year after that and I slowly got to watch it grow. Because the next year, I came back and there were two people who skated. Then three people. Next thing I know, they had a skatepark going and I’m bringing people down for demos. And not too long after that, I started my own little shop there, Central. 
 
Now, my Mom has clients that know who I am. They follow me on Instagram. It’s crazy, she just hit me up the other day about a client of hers that wants one of my boards and can I sign it?
 
“Yeah, Mom. For sure.”
 
That’s awesome, because I wasn’t sure how well “pro skateboarder” translated back in the day. I imagine it getting pretty awkward. 
 
Oh, don’t get me wrong, it still gets awkward! They definitely still trip on me, especially as I’ve gotten older. 
 
“You’re still playing with that piece of wood? You haven’t given that thing up yet?”
 
I can’t get mad at them, though, I can’t even believe that my career has lasted this long. Back in the EMB days, I was just hoping to make enough money to buy a car and maybe put myself through school. That’s all I was really trying to get out of this. Because when I looked at guys like Carroll and Jovontae, they were so much more advanced than me. I would’ve never imagined I’d still be here.

1995 vs 2023.
photos: dawes & mecky creus

 
But there was a pretty harsh age limit for pros back then, too. 
 
Oh man, I remember us giving all the older pros so much shit when they used to roll through Embarcadero back in the day. Like, “Look at this old man!” 
 
They were probably barely in their twenties! 
 
Even J. Lee. I was talking to him recently and he goes, “Chico, I have to ask you. Every time I went to Embarcadero, I always felt like you guys were vibing me. Is that really how it was?”
 
And I just remember thinking to myself, “Fuuuuckk…” Because it was true! Don’t get me wrong, we all loved Jason, but Embarcadero was our entire world back then. It was our arena. And if you decided to step into our arena, we didn’t give a fuck who you were. It didn’t mean we didn’t respect you. We loved J. Lee and his style, for sure. I remember always watching his part at Carroll’s house before going skating, just to get psyched. But once we got to Embarcadero, unless you got down with us in the arena, we didn’t care. A lot of the older pros never skated with us at Embarcadero when we skated, so they might’ve felt like they got vibed. 
 
Did you realize at the time that Embarcadero was going to have this lasting influence on skateboarding?  
 
Not at the time. People like to talk about how we were part of this historic thing? We didn’t know, man. We were just punks, and Embarcadero happened to be our favorite place to skate. It’s where we liked to hang out and talk shit. Watch our friends do amazing things. We didn’t recognize its importance until people started showing up from all over the world, just to sit down and watch us skate. Suddenly, you started seeing hundreds of kids there, sitting on those three little stairs. It was like a demo every day, but it wasn’t even a demo. People just wanted to be part of it. 
 
Embarcadero was like our proving ground growing up. We learned a lot down there, man. Because you really had to be thick-skinned or you got eaten alive by the wolves. You had to know how to take shit and learn how to dish out. And if it came down to scrapping with dudes, you had to throw down. That place really shaped me for the rest of the world. Because if you survived Embarcadero, you could pretty much make it anywhere. 
 
Your real name is “Rolando”, right? 
 
Rolando Antonio Brenes Centeno. Can you imagine that on a skateboard? My career wouldn’t have lasted a year, bro!
 
Rick Howard used to call me “Rollie Berns” back in the day. He still does, actually. 

photo: yelland

(laughs) How’d “Chico” come about? And what about “Mental Mex”? 
 
Oh, man! Mental Mex! (laughs)
 
Well, Chico came from middle school. I remember playing basketball in the yard with all the kids one day. There was this black dude on my team named “Chekoh”, but I just couldn’t say it. My English was really bad back then. I kept yelling at him, “Chico! Chico! Pass the ball! Chico! Pass the ball! Chico! Chico!”
 
I just kept screaming it until he finally stopped the game, like, “My name is not Chico! It’s Chekoh!”
 
“Ohhhhhh…. Okay.”
 
Somehow, it bounced back on me and my nickname has been “Chico” ever since. And thank God for that. 
 
“Mental Mex” came from Jake Vogel, back when everybody was getting nicknames at Embarcadero. All of a sudden, you had “Wing Ding” and “Jack Off Dennis”…
 
“Nerd”. 
 
Jake tried to give me “Mental Mex”, but it got shut down pretty quick.  
 
“I’m Nicaraguan, stupid!”
 
He just looked at me, all confused. 
 
“What? You’re not all Mexicans?”
 
“Nah, fool.”
 
But where’d the “Mental” come from?
 
I used to do weird things. Like… I don’t know. Weird shit you do when you’re young. Teenager shit.
 
Okay, do you remember at the end of Love Child when I’m running around the pool, all weird and shit? Jumping around? 
 
(laughs) Oh yeah! 
 
I don’t even know what I’m doing there, but I used to do that kinda shit all the time. That’s how it went. Mental Mex. 
 
I found your sponsor-me tape online with the backside three down the 7.
 
That was for Small Room, because I really liked what they were doing back then with the little black-and-white ads. So I made them a tape and I sent it in, trying to get on the team. About a month later, I got a rejection letter from Russ Pope. I still have it. He signed it and everything. 
 
I didn’t put it together until recently that it was the same Russ Pope who’s still out there, doing stuff. I posted it up and somebody tagged him on it. I was like, “Oh shit! No hard feelings, man.”
 
It’s funny how things work out. 

Did you send it anywhere else? Just Small Room? 
 
Nowhere else! Everything was happening so fast back then. Because Sal gave me one of his H-Street boards, I was super hyped on that. Then I started getting boards from Thiebaud. I was actually supposed to go on tour with Real at one point until Jovontae hit me up at Embarcadero one day. 
 
“Yo blood, I’m gonna get you on World, blood. I got you.”
 
“Yeah… Whatever, Tae.”
 
But he hooked it up, man. I watched him run across the street and call Rodney on the payphone. Right then and there. Next thing I know, I’m getting boxes delivered to my house. I couldn’t believe it. 
 
Just like that? You’re on the team?
 
Just like that. All of a sudden, I’m flying down to LA to skate with Guy and Gavin. That’s when I met all those dudes. I remember Guy doing noseslide-nosegrinds, which was the first time I’d ever seen that. Nobody was doing that at the time. It blew me away! I remember going back to Embarcadero when I got home, like, “Yo, Guy’s doing this shit, man! We’re so behind! Come on, guys!”
 
But yeah, that’s all it took. One call from Jovontae on the payphone… which, that payphone was crazy, too. People used to call that thing from all over the world. All the time! I don’t know how they even got the number, but it was like our Instagram back then. 
 
“Yo, what tricks are people doing today?”
 
“Well, Henry Sanchez just switch flipped the 7.”
 
That’s really how it was. 

photo: yelland

 
How’d your Questionable line come about in Carroll’s part? The switch heel and the half-cab flip?
 
Just being in the mix. With Jake Rosenberg filming Mike at the time, the camera was always around. We got a session going on the little three, Jake started filming and I got a clip. Next thing I know, I’m in Carroll’s part somehow. 
 
I had no idea it was going to be in there, either. I’m just watching the video and all of a sudden… woah! I was super hyped!
 
Steppenwolf in Love Child wasn’t your choice, was it? 
 
Not at all, and I was kinda bummed on that at first. Because here I’d finished filming and gone to Nicaragua, I come back and that’s the song these fools chose for me? I still remember Soc and Daewon sitting in the editing room when I first saw it, like “What the hell is this?”
 
But I feel like everyone was bummed on their music, except for Daewon. He probably got to choose his music while the rest of us got stuck with whatever. 
 
Did you even know what you were doing there, with regard to filming a part? Half your part is at the Powell Skate Zone!
 
(laughs) That’s how it was back then. You’re just out there skating and whatever happens, happens. Just film whatever, man. We didn’t know. Skateparks? Pressure flips? Anything. 
 
Rolling away with both my feet dragging? “You get that? Cool. Let’s move on.”
 
But your crooked grind-fakie nosegrind ender was sick. You still pull that one out to this day. 
 
Yeah, I still can… I think. I mostly go with the noseslide-nosegrind these days. It’s been a few months since the crooked one. We’ll have to see how that goes next time. 
 
I really liked the C-Block at Embarcadero because it was so round. You could just whip that trick around. It’s hard to find ledges like that, you know? And for me, I don’t like going that fast anymore. I like going at my own speed. 
 
You gotta be comfortable out there! 
 
(laughs) Exactly. And I don’t like all the wax now, either. Kids love wax nowadays. It’s out of control. You hit a ledge and it’s like ice, man! So scary!
 

I couldn’t agree more. So, how’d your orange vendor graphic come about? 
 
That came from one of my first trips down to LA. Heading over to World, we’d get off the exit and there’d always be those dudes selling oranges on the side of the freeway. I don’t know what it was about those guys, but it just stuck with me. I ended up telling Marc McKee about it, because this was back when you had more say in your graphics. He came up with that whole scene for me.
 
I always tell people that was my first pro graphic, even though it wasn’t. Because my first board was actually this scene from a nudist colony… I couldn’t show that to my Mom, man!

(laughs) Yeah, wasn’t it a bunch of old people playing volleyball?
 
Exactly. There’s no way I’m showing that to my Mom! So, it became this funny thing where I was pro but I had to hide my pro model. 
 
“Hey Mom, I’m pro!”
 
“That’s great! Where’s your board?”
 
“I don’t know… Somewhere!”
 
(laughs) So good.  
 
Daewon, Shiloh and I all went pro at the same time. We’d just gone on a U.S. Tour together for, like, three months. Not even knowing anything, just a bunch of little kids having fun. We get back and Rodney’s like, “Hey Chico, we want to turn you pro.” 
 
“No, no, no. I’m not ready, man.”
 
Because like I said, pros to me were guys like Jason Lee and Brian Lotti. I never compared to those dudes. So, I actually remember pleading with Rodney not to do it. No way. 
 
“Alright.”
 
A month later, I walk into FTC and Kent says, “Hey Chico, we got your board in!” 
 
“Well, I guess I’m pro now.” 

 
Any good World Park stories from back then? Were you one to help yourself to extra boards? 
 
Oh yeah, we did all that. Breaking into the little room at the park as well as the warehouse. I’m pretty sure I’m the one who found the side door into the warehouse that was never locked. That’s where the good stuff was, man. 
 
I’d always sneak in there and take maybe 25 boards or so. A lot but not too much, you know? But then I told Jovontae about it and he just went crazy. He’d go in there and take, like, a hundred boards! And he kept on doing it, man! Repeatedly! Dude was out of control.
 
“Hey Tae, the point is for them not to find out we’re doing this!”
 
He didn’t care.
 
(laughs)
 
I remember Guy brushing his teeth with Ben-Gay one morning. Because I had it folded up all weird in the bathroom, you couldn’t see what it was. He comes walking back into the room where all the bunkbeds were, like, “Yo, that shit tastes weird! What kind of toothpaste is that, Chico?”
 
“That’s Ben-Gay.”
 
I was dying, man. 

photo: yelland

 
For the record, what are you screaming in your New World Order intro? 
 
You see? Weird things like that. Straight Mental Mex-style. Yelling at girls on the beach.
 
Let me see… well, there’s “Punani”.
 
(laughs) I got that part.
 
Yeah, “That’s how I be getting the girls, that Nicaraguan style!” 
 
Just kids being dumb at the curbs.  
 
I didn’t realize how many Beryl clips you had in there, especially for a non-LA resident at the time. You actually made it look easy. 
 
Nah, that thing wasn’t easy at all. Beryl was super hard to skate. That switch frontside heel was a battle, man. I remember trying that one for a while. I actually went back there a few years later for that nollie backheel in the LRG video, going around the bench. And that place was still hard to skate. It definitely didn’t get any easier over the years. 
 
I think something that helped a lot with Beryl back then was skating the World Park so much. We were skating a lot of tranny at the time, which probably made that spot a little easier. 
 
I was down in LA a lot back then, too. Gavin was living with Chris Pastras in a little one bedroom apartment and I would stay over there for months. Chris had the bedroom and Tim would sleep in the kitchen area… I remember always breaking into Dune’s room with a butter knife to watch TV.
 
“Was someone in my room?”
 
“Nah, man.”
 
I was always hanging out with Gavin and Matt Schnurr down there. Two of the funniest guys in the world, bro. I thought we were nuts up in San Francisco, these Arizona guys are crazy! Gavin playing “Hide-A-Dook” at parties? And Schnurrball with the shitballs in the pool? It didn’t matter who was around, they were getting the Orca! (laughs)
 
What’s an Orca?
 
The Orca, dude! In the pool, Schnurr would bend his ass just over top of the water and shoot little shitballs out on command! It was the most amazing thing ever! You really had to see it. He was a real talent, man. (laughs)

 
(laughs) How’d you first hear about Girl? Because we’ve all heard the story where there wasn’t enough room for you in the van, does that mean you were supposed to be an OG on Girl?
 
No, I wasn’t. I just wanted to go with them, even though I was still on World at the time.
 
The first time I heard about Girl was at the Courthouse. Gavin started telling me about this new company everyone was starting. I remember him going down the list of all the guys who were gonna be on this thing. Guy, Rudy, Koston, Sheffey, Jovontae and so on. It was crazy, right? So, I’m sitting there, waiting for my name to be called… And it never came. I was crushed. 
 
I still played it off like I was psyched for them, but deep down inside, I was dying, bro!
 
“Yo Gav, that company’s gonna be sick! You guys are gonna kill it!”
 
Meanwhile, I’m thinking to myself, “Fuck! He never said my name!”
 
But they’re still my boys. So yeah, I’m on World, getting paid by World, but I started riding Girl boards from then on. That was a big no-no, man. There’s even footage of me on World riding a Girl board. I didn’t give a fuck. 
 
The nollie back heel into the fountain?
 
Yeah, I’m still on World there. I just didn’t care. 
 
It was Gavin who actually gave me that board. Like, “Here, ride this!”
 
He got that whole thing going, because I was staying with him at the time. And it was his idea to try getting me on that tour! 
 
“Dude, just get in the van. Come on this tour with us.”
 
“I feel weird, Gav! I’m not even on the team!”
 
But he talked me into it! I show up with all my bags at the warehouse. And I remember all these little labels on the seats with everybody’s name. So, when everybody sits down and all the bags are packed in, there’s no room for Chico. 
 
I just got left standing there, man. It sucked so bad. 

But wasn’t it super gnarly at World after all those guys left? Like, Kareem and Shiloh focusing Girl boards on sight? 
 
Yeah, they were. But how that went, Kareem was actually supposed to be on Chocolate. He was supposed to be one of the original guys but didn’t end up coming along because he wanted to put Shiloh on, too. Not everybody wanted Shiloh on the team. So, because of that, Kareem decided to stay at World and Rocco let him start his own thing. That’s why you had Menace. 
 
But Kareem was down in the beginning, man. He said “yes”. Imagine how crazy that would’ve been to have Kareem on Chocolate back then!?!?
 
Wasn’t Henry in the mix, too? 
 
He was supposed to be on Girl in the beginning, but again, it just didn’t work out. 
 
It was gnarly, though, because those guys were pissed. Like “Sister”, that was supposed to be the original name for Chocolate but Rocco found out somehow and trademarked real fast. He got it first, basically blocking Girl from using it… which, it’s kinda like having “Rolando” on a board, I could never see it being “Sister”, either. It just feels weird, you know?

 
I love that the Girl exodus went right into the FTC video, but how seriously did you take Finally at the time? 
 
Oh, I didn’t take it seriously at all. I don’t think anybody did. If I would’ve known the impact it was gonna have, I would’ve gone all out. I don’t even think Meza realized it at the time. He was just trying to make it work, like, “Hey, let’s work on this thing together. Here’s a little bit of money, make something happen.”

 
That Sade song served you up perfectly. 
 
Oh my god, I owe so much to that song, man. It’s really helped my career over the years. Because to this day, people still associate my skating with that song. It worked perfectly. 
 
I’m so lucky he chose that song for me instead whatever crazy shit I was wanting at the time, because I was only listening to gangster rap back then, I wasn’t trying to hear no Sade, I wanted some Ice Cube or Paris in there! 
 
“Dude, do not use “Smooth Operator” for my part! What are you doing!?!”
 
I should’ve known, too. Because when we were working on that part, Aaron would pick me up at my house and he’d always be listening to De La Soul in the car. Tribe Called Quest or Dinosaur Jr.
 
“What is this? Put some gangster stuff on! This is garbage!”
 
Meza’s good like that. 

When did you realize the importance of style and looking good on your board? Versus trying to learn every trick in the world?
 
Probably watching that Blind video with Jason Lee. How he executed everything and made every trick look so good. But beyond that, I think how you dress also plays a part in it, too. I loved the way Jovontae used to match his Enigmas with everything back then. It was just so fresh, man. That’s the type of skater I love to watch, the complete package. 
 
What’s a trick you wish you had better? 
 
Switch tre flips. That’s my kryptonite, guaranteed to get a letter. I’ll take the S. 
  
You’re one of the few skaters out there who actually has a good kickflip varial, which is something a lot of people don’t care for. 
 
Right? I’ve gotten some heat for that one over the years! People hate that trick!
 
Why do you think that is? 
 
Maybe because they think it’s easier than a tre flip? I actually think it’s harder. 
 
Really?
 
For sure, because you have to make it stop. A lot of people are used to just whipping it all the way around 360. They don’t know how to kick a little softer and stop it. I’ve got letters on a lot of people with that trick.
 
My favorite one I ever did was that manny kickflip varial at USC. 
 
In Yeah Right?
 
Yeah, that one felt good. I wish I could still do that one. I should give that a try next time I’m out. 

photo: blabac

Describe your role on Chocolate over the years. Because it felt like you were the unofficial captain for a while there, right? 
 
I mean… I thought so. But then again, not really. Because when I wanted to put a few dudes on the team, they never got on. I guess that was more towards the end. There were a few dudes I wanted on that didn’t really work out.
 
Like who?
 
Carlos Ribeiro. He was on flow for a year or so but never got bumped up. 
 
Even Elijah… nothing against Elijah, I love that dude and his skateboarding is insane, but I always thought he was a better fit on Girl. 
 
For me, I was always trying to keep Chocolate along the same lines of that OG team. They made Chocolate in a certain way and I always tried to keep that essence going. Rick finally had to break it down to me one day, that Chocolate is about style and the way you skate, not about looking a certain way. 
 
What was the process of getting people on Chocolate? Did everybody have to approve? 
 
I think so… and not just Chocolate. Everybody. Girl and the whole thing. That’s probably why it was so hard to get people on the team. You really had to mesh with everybody in the mix. Because there were a lot of people stuck on flow for a very long time. Poor Jesus was on flow for ten years before finally getting on the team! I don’t know why they made it so hard, man! 

 
But why did Chocolate always have these crazy premises in all the videos? Is that what the team wanted? 
 
That’s just how it always seemed to work out. 
 
Did you like acting in all that stuff?
 
I mean, breaking the bottle over York’s head was crazy. That was probably my favorite. I remember we only had two of those candy bottles, so I got two tries to get it right, 
 
We always had fun filming that stuff. Like Paco, it’s crazy to think we even did all that, you know? Just going out to the middle of the desert and filming a movie like that? No permits or nothing. Spike was gangster like that, man. He’d just think of stuff and make it happen. 
 
I’ll never forget Tony Fergusson dressed up like the cop in Chocolate Tour. He looked so real, he actually pulled somebody over! Somebody we didn’t even know! It was nuts! He was just messing around, but still! He was just so into the part. 

 
But Chocolate did get montage’d a lot over the years. That must’ve been frustrating, right? Like, wasn’t Pretty Sweet supposed to be a full Chocolate video at first? 
 
Yeah, it was. 
 
I feel like that had a lot to do with our faults back then. Not having enough footage and the Girl guys having a lot more, it became something else. 
 
Honestly, I never felt like I delivered to my full potential on any of my Chocolate parts. Maybe I was too busy wylin’ out and partying at the time? I always ended up having to share my parts with other people. 
 
I wish I could get that time back. Because I don’t drink anymore, it’s been six years. Imagine how many parts I could’ve had or tricks I could’ve landed if I was clear-headed? If I’m skating at the level I am now, at this age, I have to wonder what all I could’ve done in my mid-twenties. I would’ve probably landed a few of those tricks that got away back then. 

 
But your Give Me My Money, Chico part is easily one of your best. What all went into the making of that? 
 
That was Anthony Claravall, man. We also did that 411 “Chico Issue”, too. Two of my favorite parts, for sure. Yeah, we filmed a while for that LRG part. Going to China and everywhere else on that one. 
 
I still remember them bringing it up that they wanted to call the video “Give Me My Money, Chico”. I was totally against it. Thinking about the rest of the guys on the team… come on, man. They’re gonna be bummed. But Anthony already had the idea of how he was gonna make it work, with the song and everything. Because that was all real. 

Yeah, where’d all that come from?
 
That just came from me being at the spot, trying to psyche people up. Because I feel like people will often have a trick, they’re just not committing. So I started giving them a little extra incentive. Making little bets, like, “I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you land this right now.”
 
And they’d usually make it… or at least, stick it. Sometimes you just need that extra bit of motivation. That’s how the title came about. 
 
I remember being in China with Kelly Hart and he’s trying to tre flip this thing. He totally had it. Catching it perfect, but he kept throwing it away. 
 
“Dude, a hundred bucks if you make it right now.”
 
And he didn’t make it… so he had to pay me, actually. (laughs)
 
So it’s win-win for you either way? 
 
Yeah, because I also wanted to move on to the next spot. I’m not trying to skate this crazy gap, dude! We’ve been here for two hours and you had it from the get-go. Come on! Just put it away! 
 
…or I’m gonna call the cops and have them kick us out. 

 
(laughs) Talk about your frontside big heel over the SF Library gap? That had to be a battle. 
 
Crazy as it sounds, it wasn’t. Because I had a baseball game to go to. The Giants were playing at noon. (laughs)
 
I told Claravall the night before to meet me there at 9. We’re gonna try this for an hour. Because with security and everything, we knew we had to get there early before the library opened. 
 
So, I’m going for it and going for it. And I remember thinking to myself, “Man, I really gotta stick this. I’ve got a Giants game to go to!” 
 
I was riding an 8.25 still at this point, so it was definitely flipping a little easier. Next thing I know, I’m rolling away. Heading to the Giants game, super hyped. 
 
Speaking of sports, what’s going on in that video of you punching Brad Staba at the 49ers game?
 
(laughs) Brad was just on some white boy shit. “Punch me, dude! Punch me!”
 
“Nah, dude. Relax. Get away from me.”
 
“No, dude. Punch me!”
 
And Biebel’s like, “Just punch him, Chico!”
 
“No!”
 
But then Brad started touching my face. That’s when I had to put my beer to the other side, man. Because that’s the one thing you don’t do to me. Okay, fuck it. Wind up… BAM! 
 
He took it pretty good, too. He could take that one, but what about this other left, right and left, you know? I’m kidding. (laughs)
 
He started messing with my face, man. I can’t stand that shit. Even back in the day, hanging out with Gavin and those dudes, that was always my thing: do not touch the face. Just being young and going through puberty, I had a lot of zits, so I was always trying to keep my face clean. It became a thing. You can play with Chico, but don’t touch his face or he’ll fuck you up. 
 
Brad touched my face. 

What led you back to SF? Because I feel like that’s played a huge role in all this over the last few years.
 
It’s funny, the only reason we moved back is because my wife got accepted to Nursing School here at State, which thank God she did. Because we were living in LA prior to that, when my daughter was born. That was pretty hard on us, actually. Both our families are from here, so we couldn’t really get any help from anyone. We couldn’t even go on dates. So yeah, that all got much easier after we moved back. 

photo: whiteley

 
Talk about the resurgence of Pier 7 and Embarcadero. Because San Francisco seemed pretty quiet for a while there.
 
Yeah, that was a big reason why I moved to LA. Everything seemed to be getting shut down. Obviously, Embarcadero was gone. We moved over to Pier 7 and that became a crazy bust. It just got harder and harder to skate anywhere. Alright, I guess I’m gonna move to LA. Not only can I skate a little easier, I’ll be closer to all of the companies I was riding for at the time, too. 
 
But I’m glad to be back in the City. It feels good, man. The skate scene here has definitely changed but there’s no place like home. 
 
Pier 7 is pretty much the same as it always was. It’s just crazy to think about everything Henry, Markus and Welsh did there back in the day. Because you’ll see something like that new Kevin Braun part, it was filmed entirely at the spot and it’s incredible, but you can also connect the dots with what he’s doing back to the OGs. It’s that same type of flavor. 
 
It just goes to show that these spots still hold up. Embarcadero’s a little different because it’s not entirely the same layout anymore, but you still have some things. And honestly, it just feels good to be down there skating again. Just rolling around on the bricks… if those bricks could talk, man. 

You’ve spoken about a “communication breakdown” at Chocolate. Was there talk of taking your board away? 
 
I did feel like that at one point. Because my checks started coming in super late, which went on for a really long time. Nobody ever said anything about it, either. I still don’t know why that was. And it’s not like I’m some new guy on the team. We’re supposed to be a family. If there’s something going on, let me know and we can figure it out. 
 
There were times when I wanted to call and tell them not to pay me now, just to pay me in December for the whole year. I honestly had to stop myself from calling, because why would I do that? I don’t own the company, they do. Why should I have to sacrifice? 
 
When it first started happening, I started wondering if this was a sign that I was getting kicked off. Is the company going out of business? What’s going on? I started waking up in the middle of the night, tripping. Then I found out that it wasn’t just me, because I got a call from another rider asking if I’d gotten my check, too. That’s when I realized this was happening across the board. 
 
Alright, let’s set up a meeting and make sure everything’s cool. Because you don’t want people leaving over something like this. So, we had a meeting and addressed everything, but it kept happening. 

And the thing is, people were leaving. There have been a lot of departures since Pretty Sweet. 
 
The communication wasn’t there. Because they could’ve called me, anybody could’ve called me to explain things. I just wanted to know what was going on. That’s all I needed to hear and I’d probably still be on Chocolate, but nobody ever did. I just got sick and tired of it, man. Because I could see myself still going through this same thing years later. 
 
“They’re not doing anything for me that I couldn’t do for myself”. What did you mean by that? 
 
Towards the end, I felt like they weren’t really doing anything for me at all. Even when it came to trips, I wouldn’t find out until later that they’re planning a filming trip to Spain. Like, “What? I was never told about this.”
 
I’d call up the TM. “Yo, you guys are going to Spain?”
 
“Yeah, this energy drink is paying for it and we only have so much budget.”
 
I would’ve had to scramble out of my own pocket to go on this trip, and that’s not right. I don’t know if they thought maybe I didn’t have anything left to offer? That I was basically being put on “legend status”? I don’t know. 
 
But you were going through all those injuries, too 
 
Yeah, but this was before my injury in 2014.
 
After 20+ years, this must’ve all been very difficult.   
 
Yeah, it was tough. And shit almost went sour, too. Because, again, the communication. There were a couple crazy text messages. At one point, I was about to air some shit out, you know?... which I’m so glad I didn’t. We’ve been through too much together for that. 
 
We’re all good now. We talked about things. I’ve reconnected with Rick again through surfing. I just got back from a trip to Mexico with him, actually. We’re good. I’ve been through so much with those dudes, with people passing away and everything. You just gotta let stuff go and move on. And I’m in a much better, happier place now.
 

So was 7x7 basically do-or-die for you? 
 
Not “do or die”, but there was a lot riding on it. Because I had that interview with Tommy where I might’ve worded some things wrong. I saw something on Instagram where people thought I was retiring, which wasn’t the case. 
 
How’d that part even come about? 
 
It was just an idea I had. I went in and talked to Tony Vitello about it and he was totally behind it. Just trying to show off a different side to things, you know? Skating all of the different boards I was riding at the time, filming it all in SF. That project was so much fun because I felt like I could do whatever I wanted to with it. And I’m super happy with how it came out. 
 
How long did you film? 
 
That was about two years of filming with my friend Mecky Creus. What’s funny is at one point, I wanted to scratch almost half my footage. I was working with Brendan Bill towards the end and we’re going through all my footage. I started wanting to cut all this stuff out. Finally, he just had to say something. 
 
“Dude, what are you talking about? That’s not what this part is about. Just chill and put it out.”
 
Thank God he spoke up, because I was ready to cut some things that I was personally very proud of. I just wasn’t sure about the reaction, you know? The level of skateboarding is so ridiculous nowadays. You just gotta do you. 
 
I realize now that people just want to see me skate and have fun. And nollie heel. 

 
(laughs) What about the Ft. Miley laser on that Tommy board with the soft wheels? Insane.
 
It was just one of those things, like, let’s see if this works. You try one and it flips halfway. Alright, let me try another one. Oh, that went more! Next thing you know, you’re rolling away. 
 
I set that Tommy board up with some Bones G-Slides, which are soft but you can still powerslide. I need that. If I go any softer, I’ll try to powerslide, come to a complete stop, and just go flying. 

 
That fakie 540 flip down the little three was incredible, too. 
 
Yeah, the Krooked Zogger. That’s a big one, almost 11 inches wide or something. 
 
Was that just a mule kick?
 
Nah, the Zogger actually whipped around pretty good. I was doing laser flips on that thing, too. Nose wheelie-nollie heels. So I felt pretty confident on it. Maybe I can make a fakie bigger spin happen down some stairs? Let’s go down to Embarcadero and give it a shot. That was one of the last things we filmed. 
 
It was challenging, though. There are some pretty crazy outtakes of me landing and my foot not being in the right place. I lift my foot up, barely hanging on. I actually did that, like, 5 times in a row until I finally got one clean. I remember Elissa Steamer being there, she was like, “Dude, I would’ve kept the first one!” (laughs)
 
Nah, I can’t settle for that.
 
Are you one to battle tricks for hours?
 
No, not at all. And that’s one reason why I’ve been injury-free for so long. Whenever I’m trying something really hard, I give myself ten tries. That’s it. Because I’d rather skate to see another day. 
 
You gotta pay attention to the signs, man. Like when I hurt myself in 2014, I’d just set up a new board. And in getting used to that board, I tried five nollie heels and didn’t land any of them. That’s a sign right there! No wonder I got hurt! Take this board apart right now. This is not gonna work out for me. 
 
And that’s what I do with every board I set up now. I put it together and try a nollie heel. If it doesn’t work, I take it apart and set up a different one. 
 
I love this. 
 
Right? Because if I don’t make it, it ain’t me. On a nollie heel? Believe me. It’s the board.
 
My last big injury before that was 2000, so that’s a long time. Almost 15 years, injury-free. Want to know why? 10 tries, man. I’m not gonna sit there for three hours like a young kid, trying something over and over again. It’s like Vegas chances. You’re gonna lose at some point. 
 
Same goes with photographers. “Hey, can you do that trick again for me?”
 
“You didn’t get it when I landed it the first time? Hell no, I’m outta here!” (laughs)
 
I’ll leave ‘em there, hanging with all their shit set up. No, I landed my shit. I did my part. You didn’t get the picture? Fuck that. 

I know the name comes from an old Chocolate graphic, but how’d you end up starting Chico Stix? 
 
After Chocolate, I didn’t really know what was going to happen, so I just kept skating and putting out footage. And the response was all really positive. I started getting hit up by people… I got the guest board thing a lot. But at the time, I just didn’t want that. I was trying to find a home, man! And it couldn’t just be any board sponsor, either. It had to feel right. Coming from one of the best companies ever, I couldn’t just go anywhere. It had to make sense. 
 
There were only two companies I would’ve ridden for at the time: Palace and Krooked. That’s what I was really hoping for, but nothing really happened. And I’m not the type of dude to hit people up constantly about that sorta thing, either. Like, “Yo! Put me on the team!”
 
Nah, you see what I’m doing. If you want to fuck with me, let’s do this. If not, get out of the way and let me do my thing. But I’m happy with how it all worked out. It got me out of that cycle and forced me into making things happen for myself. 
 
I actually tried to do something like this before, back when I was making Central boards. It just always felt like I was cheating on it, with one foot on Central and the other on Chocolate. I never made a full commitment. I was too scared. 
 
It’s a big leap. 
 
What I really wanted to do was build Central up as a brand and then bring that over to Chocolate. Just to show that I could do all this on my own. And then I was gonna make the transition over to Central. That was the plan, anyway. Central through Chocolate. Because we were already doing the art and we can get the riders, I just needed help with the distribution. We could take care of everything else. 
 
I talked to Mike about it, because he was the guy I was closest to, but nothing happened. 
 
But yeah, this was something I’ve always wanted to do. And after skating all these different shapes, I felt like I could modify the ones I really liked to make them even better and put ‘em out myself. Obviously, starting out with the Big Boy, which is my staple shape for the brand, and then putting out different shapes from there. You never know, you might see a Chico Stix 2x4 out there! Just to keep it fun. 
 
I never thought it would get this kind of buzz, though. That’s why I only made 100 boards for the first batch, because that meant I only had to sell 30 of them to make all my money back. And if I couldn’t sell them all here, I was just gonna go down to Nicaragua and sell the rest there for super cheap. That was the original plan, more of a one-off kinda thing. But that first round ended up selling out in a day, then I put out another batch a few months later and those sold out really quick, too.
 
Oh shit, I might have something here! 

photo: seu

So is it just you doing all this?
 
Well, I like to think that Chico skates and Rolando packs all the boxes. He’s also talks to all the shops and distributors, too.
 
(laughs)
 
And the homie George Winn does the graphics. He’s amazing. But yeah, the rest is all me. Sometimes my daughter helps out as well. It’s a lot of work but it’s fun. And It feels great making all this stuff, interacting with people. 
 
How’d those Guy clips come about on the mini-board? That frontside flip was insane!
 
That was unbelievable, man! I can’t even skate that board after that! Because I sent him a mini-board a while back and didn’t hear anything, I believe he was on tour. So I put those mini-boards out on the site and two days later, he sends me these clips. The first thing I see is that no comply, which I was stoked on that. But then the next clip comes over and it’s that frontside flip? That shit blew my mind! Because I’ve skated that spot on a regular board before and even that was hard. To see him do that on a little board? Of course, he did! He’s the best!
 
Would you ever bring on another pro? 
 
Definitely, but it would to have the same vibe, you know? Just having fun, that type of thing. But I would love to.
 
I do have some guest boards coming with some of my favorite pros. Guys that I’ve looked up to for years and still do. 
 
Can’t wait to see it, man. So, what’s next for you, Chico? 
 
Just gonna keep on having fun and working on the brand, man. And skating, of course. 
 
I’m working on a documentary, too. It’s with this artist Residente, he’s a big Latin music artist who I’ve known for a while. He knows my story and brought up doing a documentary about my life, going super deep on everything. All the way back to my beginnings in Nicaragua and my Mom. I’m really excited about that one.

 
As we wrap this up, having gone through the last 30 years of your skateboarding career, what’s been your proudest accomplishment in all of this? And your biggest regret? 
 
I’m proud that I’ve been able to do this for so long that my kids now understand what I do. That’s always been my dream. Because I’ve always thought that my career was going to end at any moment. 
 
Yeah, I remember seeing little dude in the credits of videos. 
 
He’s 26 now. 
 
Holy shit! 
 
(laughs) Right? And I remember back when he was barely walking, thinking how dope it would be to still be skating when he was old enough to understand. I’m past that now. Then my daughter came along, she’s 12. Her teachers know who I am. I just dropped off a board for her teacher today as a gift. 
 
That’s rad, man. 
 
As far as regrets go, probably not treating my skateboarding career like a business. As hard as that sounds, it’s true. I know it’s fun and everything, but I should’ve been a little smarter about things, especially if you plan on doing this into your later years. To all the kids out there, always make sure your contracts are straight. It sucks to say that about something we love, but you need to get things in writing. You really do.