I had met Roberto at Mystic Cup 2007, but we got to know each other more on his birthday party, which we prepared for him about half year later. He is incredibly modest, jolly and friendly man and I am happy that we are friends. This interview was done in the Štvanice club just before the premiere of the Lakai video Fully Flared. It was after a few snifters of peppermint liqueur, which Roberto came to love.

Roberto, you are quite often in the Czech republic recently. What are you doing here now?
Actually I came to see my girlfriend Karolína, who I met in the summer (this relationship is over now). She has come to Spain twice, so now I told myself I would go see her in her country.

How did you like your birthday party yesterday?
Yeah, it was super, because I did not have any clue about that. Karolína told me that we were going to have a drink somewhere in the center. She kept telling me that we needed to be there at nine o'clock. I thought it was weird, that we had to be there exactly at nine. But then we went to some pub in Prague and all the Don't Do It and Consolidated group were waiting for us! It was funny, because everybody knew about it except for me. I even told Leticia from Consolidated in the USA and she said to me:  "I already knew about it!"

Have you remembered your best birthday party?
It was great last year. We visited the Paez brothers in Visalia. We went skating the whole day and in the night we went to some crazy party. It was great. I got two bottles of whiskey as a gift, so you can imagine how we ended up.

Do you think that you will ride on the skateboard and celebrate your birthday after ten years in the same way as you do now?
I hope that I will still ride on the board as I ride today. I am 29, so after ten years I will be 39, which is a good age. If I kill myself too much on the street, I will ride in the pools. I would like to ride as long as it will be possible.

Are you originally from Spain?
Yes, I am a Spaniard. I tell everyone that I am from Alicante but I was born in a small village called Elche. It is not far from Alicante, which is a beautiful southern Spanish town.

You are originally a Spaniard but you have spent a great part of your life in the USA. Is it true?
I am trying it to be half and half. I've always gone to the USA for three months and then, I want a change, so I go back to Spain for three months or to Europe and I travel around there. I need a change every three months, three months is optimal for me. I like it like that.

Did you learn English only through skateboarding?
At first, when I went to the USA I didn't know one English word. Then I started to travel with Americans, who took me under their wings and taught me English a lot. I am grateful for Leticia’s help from Consolidated, who helped me with English very much. I took many dictionaries and books on my tours and when I had nothing to do, I would try to improve my pronunciation to make me better in my speaking with people.

What about your family in Spain? Have you seen them often?
Every time when I go from USA to Europe, every third month, I first visit my family in Alicante. I still have my bedroom there. I stay there for couple days and I tell them all my stories from my travels.

Where is your present home? In the USA or in Spain?
If I think about it I don't really have any home. I have a flat in San Francisco, so every time, when I am in the USA I have all my stuff when I am back there. And also I have my bedroom at my parent's in Alicante. So, I have two homes, but none of them is really my own home.

Who do you live with in San Francisco?
I live there with four friends- there is Terry, who works in an SF skateshop, then there is Freddy, who works at Think, then Barker Barret, old pro, who was great in miniramp, and Robert, who is a chef in a restaurant. We've cooked together at home. He's cooked American food and I cook Spanish specialities, so sometimes we have some big meals!

Who is your American family? These guys, with whom you have the flat?
I moved there recently, so I haven’t been there for a long time. I lived in Santa Cruz before. But my American family is certainly the Consolidated family. They've taken care of me and always do. Leticia and Birdo. They are like a sister and brother. They are an important part of my life and I love them so much.

I know that you travelled around Europe this summer with Spot Production. Have you got any stories from your travels?
I really don't know which one to choose!
Maybe when David Gravette ate magic mushrooms. He hadn't had them before and we were in Amsterdam. He said that he would try it. After he tried it he started to be crazy, he was scared by everything and it was real funny. He was in the bathroom, when I was sleeping, and when he heard me snor, he started to get mad and he ran out of the room, took the bike and rode to the centerof the town looking for some help. When he woke up the next day, he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote on it everything that he  remembered. It was so funny.

It sounds great, I think that you had a lot of fun.
Yeah, I will never forget it.

Which part of your tour was the most interesting for you?
My favourite European contest has always been Prague, but Berlin is great too. So, for sure, Prague and Berlin.

How many times have you been to Prague?
This is my fifth visit I think, yeah the fifth and I still have fun here. It is great here.

What is the story about Dirty Bird? Where did you get it?
It is a long story. We were in Roskilde, which is a huge festival in Denmark. Thomas from Copenhagen and Brian from Tampa went for raincoats and boots, which were needed for this festival, because it was raining really hard and there was a ton of mud. When they were buying all this stuff, they saw this stuffed stork and they bought it. Just for fun. Thomas then bet with Brian, that if they take that bird back to Tampa, after a month and half of touring all through Europe, he would pay him a holiday wherever he wanted and vice versa.

It is a good bet. How did this happen? Did Dirty Bird get back to Tampa?
Yes, it did! So Thomas had to pay a holiday. Brian chose P-Stone for this holiday as a gift. He is the cameraman of  Thrasher. It was just crazy. Thomas even hired a group of thieves to steal the bird. They could have stolen our bird, but they stole only the legs. So, we lost the bird's legs only for one night because the second day we got them back. Ufff.

What do you like the best on the Consolidated brand?
The thing I like best is that they are still doing everything with their own style and they aren't influenced by anything or what is around them. I have known them for ten years and they are still same. They have same thinking, same ideas and same brand. I have learned a lot from them and I am grateful for being in their team.

What do you think about Consolidated campaign?
I think it is undoubtedly good and right. Big corporations are trying to get into skateboarding just only for money. As soon as they get this money, they will go somewhere else. They aren't interested in riders as much as themselves, they are interested in their money only. This is awful and we need to do something about it.

What do you think about present skateboarding?
Present skateboarding is really crazy. Young kids kill it in videos. I don't understand it. They are pros at seventeen and they totally earned it. For example David Gonzales, he is one of the biggest talents that I have ever seen. He looks like he was born on the board. He has such natural talent and everything is so easy for him that he doesn’t need to really try.

Who is your favourite member of Consolidated team?
For sure Karma Tsocheff, then Sean Gutierrez, our new team rider, who really kills it.

Who do you look up to on the Consolidated team? Who do you respect?
Alan Petersen. He has always been one of my favourites, but I have to say that it is also Karma. I’ve liked him since I met him in Spain in 1996 with all the Hell Ride group. They were on a tour. They lived in my house and it was one of the best tours ever.

What do you like to do besides skateboarding?
I like reading a lot. I love books and I have read a lot of them. I also love Flamenco, chilling on the beach and many other things.

How many days of the week do you spend skateboarding?
Right now my ankle is fucked up and hurts, so I don't go overboard with skateboarding because I am trying to rest it. But when I am healthy I skate a lot, maybe every day.

Which part of the day do you like the best?
My favourite part of the day is the morning - breakfast in our house in Spain, it is something incredible. I have my coffee, I pick fresh fruit and I have breakfast with my family at the sea. We have breakfast for an hour or hour and half, just hanging out and talking. It is great.

Have you got any word for the end?
I would like to thank to all of my sponsors, mainly to Consolidated for getting me into the skateboarding world, and for giving me the chance to show what is inside me. They are my family and they will be forever be my family. Thanks to Volcom, Spitfire, Independent and Fallen. Thanks to all my friends in Prague, especially to my new friend Tráva, whose picture I have in my wallet. To my family, to you for the interview and to all my friends. Let's party!


Download the Roberto Interview (PDF - Czech)

Interview from Free Magazine