What did your parents think of your skat-, ive, but now they know that I can support
ing when you first started?
Both my mom and dad wanted me to go to
school. I could do whatever I wanted as long as
I did all the stuff I had to do, which wasn't always
the case. I'd say I was going to school and I'd
really be going to the park. Then I would come
back around the time school ended, get lunch,
and go back to the park. I did that a bunch. But
as a kid you do that all the time. After a while I
started skating a whole lot, and wasn't really
looking at school. My dad got kind of worried
and started giving me days and times when I
myself. They still want me to look towards the
future because this is something that you only
use your body with. One day, of course, you'll
have to think of something else. I'll find some-
thing. I'll live.
Did skating give you focus and keep
you away from a lot of crap that most
people get into?
Now that I'm doing it professionally, I realize I
need make money and get food. I have to take
care of myself, yes. But before, like in Brazil, I
was a 12-year-old kid hanging out with 17 and
When did you first hook up with the
Hellride crew?
That was when Jake, Julien, John, Joey,
and the whole crew went down to Brazil in
'94. I guess they knew Bruno, and he took
them around down there. That's when I first
met Jake, in São Paulo. I followed them
around wherever they went because I spoke
the language, and I skated, and I wanted to
show them and tell them what's up. I just
wanted to be with them. Julien and John
Cardiel being down there-I just wanted to
be wherever they were.
When did you first come out to
San Francisco?
That was in July of 1994. I met Joey and
all those dudes around March of '94 I got
Joey's address and telephone number, and
kept calling him saying I wanted to go. I
finally talked my dad into getting me a tick-
et and flying me out here with Alex. So I
just came out and started staying at Joey's
house on Linda Street, which was pretty
gnarly. Looking back, I was really thinking
that that was America. It was cool because
we were skating a lot. The thing about
could skate, but I didn't believe in that so I just
went skating everyday. Then one day they took
my board away from me, So I went to the park
and skated on my friend's board. You just can't
stay away. Now they realize that it's working for
me. After they started checking out mags, and
seeing me on the cover of Thrasher, they became
more supportive. They've always been support-
18-year-olds who knew about other stuff like
weed and drinking a lot, but I was young. You
grow out of it. You learn your lesson and
one day you'll figure that you need to take
care of yourself.
So you ended up hanging out with those
dudes for a couple of weeks?
I actually lived in São Paulo. They
were travelling around to all the parks,
but I had school and stuff to do. What
And there's a lot of people out there who I'd do is find out where they were by
don't figure it out.
And that's where they lose it.
calling Bruno, and then take the bus
there and skate with them,
Above: Bob bounces from roof to roof at the Centro Empresarial Morumbi in São Paulo.
having your board with you 24-7 is you
can skate to the store, grab something to
drink, come back, and go skate downtown.
Always skating, and always having my
board was never a part of me because in
Brazil the streets are jacked. You took your
board to skate the park. Basically driving to
the park and skating, or driving to the street
Sequence: Backside tailslide over the
channel at the Guará Bowl.
52 THRASHER