because they were afraid of all the influ-
ences toward me as an impressionable
young kid. Eventually I went to a friend's
house who had a skateboard, so I'd just ride
his. My parents knew, so they ended up buy-
ing me and my brother skateboards. There i
was this huge ramp that we used to ride our
bikes on, and Brent Fellows showed up there
one day and launched over it and did inverts
and all kinds of cool stuff, and that's when I
knew that skateboarding was way better than
bikes or anything else. From then on out. I
just wanted to be able to do those tricks.
Do you think that the reasons why you started
skateboarding are still with you today?
Yeah. It's easy to become jaded and numb
to the fact that I get paid to skate, but I defi
nitely still skate for the same reasons. In fact,
the other day I was reflecting on how
when I was in junior high and high
school, I didn't care about anything
but skating. I'd go to school with
my skateboard, I'd think about it
Sequence:
Nanda Zipp, find a
need and fill it. Self-
explanatory sequence.
The Dick Fosbury of
skateboarding clears a
all day in class, and all I wanted
to do was skate. And here I am
now, twenty years old, and all I
have to do is skateboard. I don't
have any other obligations. I'm real
lucky that I get to do what I've always
wanted to do and am appreciative of
everything that's been given to me. I skate
because it's fun, that's the bottom line
big one at the Tony
Roma's gap.
What was it like growing up in Visalia and why did
you move?
Growing up there was cool. I moved there when
1 was eleven, and since it was in the country, that
helped me to stay away from a lot of the negative
aspects of today's youth. Skating was excellent. Right
when I started skating. Tom Knox became number
one, and Karma Tsocheff, and there was the YMCA
skate ramp. I used to just skate vert because I loved
it and the ramp was there. All the spots were within
a mile of each other, you could go street skating
around, skate the ramps, there were always sessions
going on, people to skate with, so, as far as skate-
boarding goes, Visalia was a really encouraging place
to be. The reason I moved out was because I was a )
year ahead of Amy
in school, so I graduated and went
to the junior college while she
was a senior. Then, when she
graduated high school and was
going to go to school, we
looked on a map to try and
find a place where we both
wouldn't mind living, and
it was narrowed down
to Santa Rosa. We had
never been to Santa Rosa.
We never even knew what it looked
like or anything, we just knew that it was
near San Francisco, so it had to be decent.
Then, when I moved here, it turned out great.
How long have you been in Santa Rosa and
what's your take on it?
What does it mean to you to be a professional in a field where there are pros who some feel
aren't considered true professionals? How do you see yourself among those people and what
do you think a true professional is or should be?
Anybody that wants to be a professional skateboarder should go for it. I'm not any
body to say that so and so shouldn't be a pro skater. because we live in a capitalistic
society where if you have the drive and the desire to do something you have the oppor-
tunity to do it. As far as myself being a professional skateboarder, it just boils down
to attitude and your overall admiration for skateboarding. If you're going to be a pro-
fessional skateboarder, that should be something that gives you enjoyment and you should
be doing what you want to do. There are so many different styles of skateboarding out there
and so many different lifestyles that I can't say that one is the way to be because they're all just
as incredible. Skateboarding is such a vast thing that a professional skateboarder can't be nar-
rowed down to certain guidelines.
Who are a few people you look up to in skateboarding?
I look up to a lot of people for different reasons: Chris Senn for his speed and intensity, and he's just an awe-
some guy on top of it all. Jeremy Wray's talent is amazing Neal Hendrix on vert, he's so powerful. All the vert
guys are really inspiring to watch. Frank Hirata has a lot of unique energy that he puts into his skateboarding
and he's done a lot as far as innovation goes. And there are people I've left out, but everybody out there that 1
see skateboard I look up to, because I know that they're doing what they
I've lived here now for almost two-and-a-half
years, and it's really been a wonderful experience.
From friends to location, it's just really great. You
can go to the ocean in twenty-five minutes, you can
go to the mountains in fifteen minutes, there's a lot
of open-mindedness, and I've really enjoyed my 4
time here. Skateboarding is good, the skatepark is
the best cement park in California, and San
Francisco's not far. It's accessible to so many dif
ferent things and that's why I like it.
Is it your ideal place to live and skate or is there
another place out there that you think might be?
Well, as far as skateboarding goes. I'm sure
there are more ideal places. One thing Santa Rosa
doesn't have is a spot, besides the skatepark.
where people can go and just session, whereas
Visalia, I can get dropped off by my parents down-
town anytime and find someone skating, find
some spot that gets sessioned. In Santa Rosa.
you've got to call your friends, line up a session,
and then go out skating. So, as far as skating. 1
don't think it would be the ideal spot, but, as far
as living, it's very high on the list of the best
places to live. There's such good energy here.
want to do, and they're doing it well.
Why did you choose to be a vegetarian and lead such a healthy life?
I was fortunate enough to grow up vegetarian due to the influ
ence of my parents. It's easy for me to see how cruel the whole meat
industry is. If you look at it from any kind of humane standpoint, every-1
thing that is involved with the process of eating meat is really grotesque.
I don't like to wear leather shoes anymore either because it was hypo-
critical: I believe in not eating meat, but I wear the skin? It's the same
thing It comes from the same animal and you have to kill it to get it. As
far as health goes, your body is like a fine automobile. You have to
change the oil, you can't put sugar in the engine, you have to make sure
to take care of it. You've got to make sure it's in good shape, because
your body really does affect the way your mind works. If you keep your
body attuned, then your mind can become clearer.
Who is that special person in your life?
Well, Amrta has been with me since before I was spon-
sored, when I was getting boards from Tom. She's been with me
through everything. I went to Vancouver when we were
supposed to go to her senior prom, and she forgave me
for that, so she's put up with a lot. Pretty much every
direction that I've gone has been with her. She's
my best friend, and we're engaged to be mar
ried June 7, 1997
What are your plans for after you're married?
We're both in school working toward our
goals. She's going to either be a Psychology or
Biology major and I'm going to continue on
with school. We're moving to San Francisco in
January, we're getting married in June, then
after that we're just going to continue school
until we're both through and then maybe set-
tle down here in Santa Rosa or the surround-
ing communities somewhere. We don't want
to live in just one spot, we'd like to travel.
live in different communities just to gain
some experience. But, for now, we're just
going to take each day as it comes
What do you study in school?
For the last three years, I've been going to the
junior college, and I didn't really know what I
wanted to do. I'm at the point now where I've
finished my general education and I'm ready
to work on my last two years. In the last year..
I've become really interested and involved with
graphic design and advertising layout. I've been
doing some ads for Physics and Sonic and
designs for Sonic, so I decided to study adver
tising design. That should take me about three
years from this winter, if I can get through it as
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