Tucked away in the middle of Florida is Gainesville. It’s the town that helped me reluctantly find a love for journalism and the town that Billy Rohan, friend of the mag and early 2000s New York fixture, grew up skating around.
When I first met Billy I was unaware of the long history he had in skateboarding and the mental health challenges that ushered both his return to Florida and retirement from pro skating. However, I was promptly educated on the lore, like the nollie hardflip at courthouse, strong friendship with Harold Hunter and unfortunate arrests (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch Billy’s Epicly Later’d).
While a markedly novel dude, through my eyes he has always been a community oriented, kind and important facet of skateboarding in my college town, so on a free day back home I drove up to kick it with Billy and check out his skateshop Samurai.
While there, we skated at a Buddhist temple, got dangerously close to alligators and took in the joys of a free day in Florida. Perhaps said by Billy best “From Tompkins to Swampkins. Wu-tang.”
Related Posts
-
WATCH “WASTEMAN”, AN INTOXICATED SKATE JOURNEY ACROSS THE GLOBE
"We spent a whole week and a half in Paris off a Tinder date."
-
DRUNKEN POETRY WITH LIZARD KING
"I hope we all get fucking hurt all the time...and I fucking hate my life and I love my fucking life."
-
A LOOK BEHIND “THE SKATEBOARD HERO WHO FOUGHT A TERRORIST”
A quick chat with the director of skateboarding's newest documentary.
-
MAKING ANYTHING INTO A SKATEBOARD WITH SKATE SHAPEZ
Any shape, any graphic. Come on, those rusty wheels in your brain have to be turning...
-
SKATING THE WRECKAGE OF HURRICANE MILTON
A Florida crew keeps a smile as they skate the aftermath of a brutal hurricane season.
-
PREMIERE: FIDEL GONZALEZ IN “TASTEFUL”
Watch this creative part by Fidel, a skateboarder who also works as a union stunt double.
-
G-FILES 001
Take a peek into the Genesis world as they fly around the country, laugh their asses off, and stack impressive clips for your viewing pleasure.
-
PREMIERE: BRAZIL’S “STREET SURVIVORS VOL. 3”
Now that you're more familiar with the CPTMAFIA gang, peep their newest edit with friends & fam.
Comments
Popular
-
EVAN SMITH STILL BELIEVES IN SKATEBOARDING
"Not getting paid like I used to is fueling my skating because it’s taking the pressure off. I can truly just enjoy the feeling."
-
RANKING 10 OF THE BEST SKATE SHOP VIDEOS EVER MADE
As always, this is a scientific, peer reviewed essay and is absolutely the be-all-end-all list of worthwhile shop videos.
-
GEORGIA MARTIN IS USHERING IN A NEW ERA OF TOY MACHINE
"I always used to think that turning pro was when you made it, but I haven't made it yet."
-
ANGELA WHITE IS BRINGING SKATING’S MOST ICONIC CAMERA BACK INTO PORN
Her 2000s, gonzo-inspired tour de force was filmed completely on the sleek, sexy, grainy VX2000.
-
THE SEARCH FOR SKATEBOARDING’S MOST FAMOUS CAR
We tried to find the crashed car at the end of the iconic skate video, "Video Days" released in 1991 by Blind Skateboards.
March 13, 2024 8:59 pm
I always thought Billy Rohan was a great skater.
Didn’t he have a part in EST 3? Ender was a gap to noseslide in the crowd at MSG. So sick.
March 14, 2024 1:53 pm
Whence came you?