Nanda
Interview and photos
by Sean Dolinsky
Zipp
78 THE
Thunder
It's funny how it always
seems more difficult to
write about some-
thing or someone you
know about than it is
to bullshit about any
old thing. I guess it just
soes to show you that
"bullshitting" is a big time
preference of human nature.
Anyway, I would like to take
a second of your time to try.
and say a few real things.
about a friend of mine. His name
is Nanda Zipp and he rides a
skateboard. Since I first met him
almost two years ago, I have
come to know Nanda as a gen.
uinely good person as well as an
amazing skateboarder. So, I was
wondering to myself the other
day, "If I had to try and describe
Nanda to someone who didn't
know him using just one word,
what would that word be?" After
only a few moments of thought, I
came up with the word "dedica-
tion. Now, before you say any
thing (I know that there are many
dedicated skateboarders out
there), let me just say that the
dedication I'm talking about in
regards to Nanda's personality
doesn't just have to do with
skateboarding, but also has to do
with things like keeping an open
mind, respecting people's opin
ions and views, and living his life
with a positive outlook.
I know it seems like I'm painting
a picture of some sort of saint
for all of you to point and laugh
at, but let me just say that if you
ever happen to run into Nanda at
a contest, demo, or even out there
on the waves, try to talk to him
not just about skateboarding, but
about life as well, and maybe
you'll understand what I mean.
Where does your name originate from?
It's Hindu. My full name is GauraPremaNanda
Gaura is a name for God, Prema is Love, and
Nanda is The Bliss, so my full name together
means The Bliss of Loving God.
What's your religious background?
I was born in a temple that my parents lived in
during the Hari Krishna movement in the seven-
ties, and we lived there for about five or six
years, so I guess my religion would be Vaisnava
and it's basically Worship of Lord Krishna.
What does that give your life?
It gives me peace of mind and it puts me in
perspective. If you look at how vast the universe
and whole creationism is, you realize how small
and infinite you are and what a power God is. It
helps me to understand the universe and myself
and the people around me. It helps me put things
into perspective so that I can try to control my
senses, because life is so up and down, there's so
much good and bad out there that I have to try to
remember to just stay in the middle and realize
that everything is temporary, nothing is perma
nent, it's all just an illusion.
How does that transfer to your skating?
The industry side of skateboarding, it fluctu-
ates so much from feeling the complete plea-
sure and total stimulus to times of being dull and
boring, so it helps me keep centered that way. In
actually doing the skateboard activities, it helps
me because I can really try and gain strength
from there. I can do activities and know why.
I'm doing them. I mean, it's more deep than that.
but I'm not doing them to show off, I'm not doing
them to be selfish in any way. I'm doing them
because I'm doing them
When and where did you first start skating?
I started in Visalia, California. Before I moved
there, I lived in a town called Badger, it was in
the country, population 100, real small town,
and there was nowhere to skate.
Skateboarding was something that
wasn't done there. I always wanted
to order rollerskates out of Sears
catalogs and nail them on 2x45.
just make my own, but my parents
would never let me because of the
danger of it. They always said.
"There's nowhere to do it. If we
ever move to town," and Visalia was
the nearest town, "then you could buy
one. So, we finally moved to town and
ASSESSOR RECORDER
The Visalia
transplant was
kind enough to share
both of these skate slices
from Santa Rosa. Sequence:
Zipp zaps a frontside 180"
flip in the confines of the
park. Right: Nanda 180"
nosegrinds Joel Price's
favorite ledge.
sure enough they didn't let me buy one