When we hear Olympics rumors and gossip at Jenkem HQ, we usually crack a couple of jokes about it and go about our day creating oddball skateboard content. Yeah, 2020 is coming up soon and we’ve even heard that Shane O’Neill has been given a $20,000 (AUD) “medal incentive bonus” from Australia, but most of this stuff doesn’t really seem to affect our daily Jenky lives as much as some people think.
It wasn’t until here in our own backyard, we caught word that Luis Tolentino, SHUT Skateboards pro and Queens’ hometown skate hero, is in the preparation process himself. In a classic 21st century move, Luis was contacted by the Dominican Republic Olympic Committee via an Instagram DM and was asked if he would be interested in representing the DR in the Tokyo games. Now, with some cash in his pocket coming straight from the government, Luis’s life has been flipped as he quit his 9-5 job and skates and trains on the daily.
Curious to know more about his life and to check in on his skating, we visited him in Forest Hills, Queens to get a look inside the mind of one of East Coast’s favorite brothers.
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October 13, 2017 2:09 pm
good for him. i think it’s awesome that a dude like him who obviously wasn’t able to support himself on solely skateboarding is now able to live comfortably and represent his country which he seems to be pretty stoked about
October 13, 2017 3:46 pm
Luis is the man, and he’s fucking sick. psyched for him.
October 13, 2017 5:29 pm
I remember this dude from a few years ago, dude has gnarly pop, but I’m an Aussie so go shane!
October 13, 2017 6:33 pm
Luis is a sweety