Rick Ibaseta was brought up skating on the steep slopes of San Francisco and hasn't slowed down since. From Safeway to EMB, Rick has been
there and done it. More recently he has taken up residence in New York City, where he hopes to eventually enroll in art school. Before he left, old
pal Coco Santiago caught up with him on Haight Street and discussed life in general while watching the freaks.
Why are you so pissed off about your taxes?
Cause it's last minute.
Well, you know how taxes work, especially
with pro skateboarders, because the compa
ny usually doesn't pull out taxes.
They don't take money out of your paycheck.
They should be doing that. They're making it hard
for everyone.
What's up with these wheels? You live in SF
where there are hills and those wheels are so
small that they'd get devoured away.
I don't know, man. I guess I put together a
new set of wheels every four days or so. Maybe
two days, three days. It sucks.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
In the same position, skating I don't even want
to talk about that right now. Let's just wait till
that day comes.
Agreed. Rick, did you know that there is an
arch rivalry between EMB, you know, short
for Embarcadero, and another crew called
SFY, short for Safeway. Can you say anything
about that? Kind of like a slash dog and a
tech dog type of thing.
I guess I'm caught in between, I don't know.
They're all my friends
What's up with those trucks right there?
I ground the axles with a grinder at my house
so the nuts don't strip when you take 'em out and
they don't get all fucked up.
That's really smart, a lot of the tips on axles
tend to get chewed away due to missing the
curb.
Yep. I like hookin' up my board.
RICK
IBASETA
INTERVIEW
BY
Sweet. Do you do anything else special to
your skateboard components?
Sometimes I change the shape. I got a sander
at my house. I shave down wheels, too. Not as
much as I did before because the wheels come
tiny now.
It would be pretty cool if there were small,
soft wheels like a 39. Wouldn't you say?
I think they'd wear even and they'd go a lot
faster, especially here in SF. It would have an even
wear rather than riding really hard wheels on the
street that slide out all the time. I guess we just
have to deal with what we got.
I've been trying to find you for the past three
days, what the fuck have you been doing?
Walking. I can't skate, I fucked up my tailbone.
Who's an upcoming rider that you'd like to
give shout outs to?
I'd like to say what's up to Peter Huynh in New
York City, Harold Hunter and Ivan Perez.
COCO
SANTIAGO
Do you like the waxed curb over at DMV?
I guess it makes it slide. It's just that it gets too
slick. It's not fun. The aggression is out of it. It's
not all together there 'cause I think skating's all
about aggression.
So, Rick, do you got a girlfriend?
I'm hanging out with this girl. She's just a
chick. I don't want to talk about that right now.
So, what's up with hanging on Haight Street?
Freaks are, fuckin', interesting, man.
Can you relate?
I don't know if I can relate, man. Everyone's just
trying to out-pierce everyone and out-tattoo
everyone. I guess it's like watching TV. You just
sit around, have a drink and watch what's going
on 'cause there's always something going on.
Like vagrants fighting.
Lots of fights. Lots of drug dealing, lots of
girls. I like watching the girls walk by. There are
definitely a lot of girls.
Hey, it's my man Tom Guerrero. Would you like to say anything
about Rick Ibaseta?
TG: Oh man. He is one of the most awesome skaters, ever. I love
natural talent, smooth, fluid, lemon cake-ish. Rick is fuckin'
awesome.
Agreed. Yeah, Micke Reyes.
MR: Yes, uh, Rick lbaseta. Uh, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah.
I like his t-shirt, One-O-One. I'm gonna move into a house that's the
address of 101. So, uh, I like his shirt, that's about it.
(To some chick): This is my friend, Rick Ibaseta. I was curious if
you thought if he was cute?
Chick: Is this seventh grade or something? I'm thirty years old,
so I don't play these games, sorry.
Ri: You're not supposed to ask questions like that to a dyke, you
know.
Well, in this city, you really can't tell. Joseph Tershay, what are
your feelings on Rick Ibaseta?
JT. He's alright
(To some other chick): Excuse me, could you say my friend
here is cute?
Chick #2: He's a nice looking person. Not ugly.
Okay. What's your name?
Chick #2: Lee. What's your name?
Seth.
Chick #2: And your name?
RI: Greg
Chick #2: Okay. You know what? Nobody loves you unless you!
enrich yourself. And, if you enrich yourself, then you're going to
be enriched to everybody else. But you know what? See, you're
living so you're beautiful. You are here for a reason that I don't know.
You've got to figure it out.
Thank you. Have a good day.
Chick #2: You too.
So, is there anything you'd like to express?
Just be yourself, man. Don't be an idiot. Don't kiss ass just to be
someone's friend because that really sucks. I know a lot of people
who do that.
34 T