Here’s a statement that sounds mean, but is actually really nice. Real Skateboards is the cockroach of our industry. That sounds worse than I thought, but let me explain.

Take a peek, and then come back here to check out our pocket sized interview with Andres Garcia, the co-filmer and editor. Peace!

Q/A WITH FILMMAKER ANDRES GARCIA

Is this your first full length for a brand?
Yeah, I’ve never done anything else like this before. The idea got brought up when I first started at Deluxe, but it was always just a, “It would be sick…” sort of thing. Then about a year ago Tim [Fulton], Real’s Team Manager, was like, “Yo, we’re doing it. But we only have a year.” It was pretty much me filming, and then Tim filming when I couldn’t.

With Tim helping film, did he also have a hand in editing, or was that more your job?
Tim and I edited together. I would tell him where to put stuff, or where to cut things, and then he and I would work together to make sure the songs fit the skating, and that every beat was on point to someone landing something or something happening. For music, I pretty much was able to curate the whole soundtrack. The only ones I didn’t were Kyle [Walker’s] song, Zion [Wright’s] first song, and then Mason [Silva] picked the Built to Spill song he skates to.

What music to skating pairing do you think worked especially well?
Toby [Ryan’s] and Patrick [Praman’s] songs have been getting the best reaction at the premieres. I used that Cure song for Toby, which is cool because I was originally going to use that song for the first part we made together, the one where he does the nollie backside flip at Wallenberg, but we couldn’t get the rights for it, and it never worked out. Since this one is just for YouTube, we can use it this time. It works so well with his skating, so that one has got to be my favorite pairing. Pat’s song also went well, it’s an REO Speedwagon song, such a classic.

Who chose REO, that’s such an 80s deep cut?
That was me. I made sure that the music wasn’t just one genre in this video. And I didn’t want to use any screamo, or emo music, because it doesn’t fit anybody on the team. It all just depends on their style and personality. And I have this huge playlist of different music that I think would work for skating, so then as I’m filming people a song will come to mind. Over time, I’ll start to imagine them skating to that song.

Who’s the most particular in terms of how their part is edited?
Ishod [Wair] is hard to choose a song for. We definitely made quite a few drafts for him, but he let us do what we wanted with the editing though. Mason is probably the most hands on overall. He came over and edited the part with us, from beginning to end. He was there to tell us where to start clips and when to cut things, because everything has to look a certain way for him. It’s sick getting everything perfect.

Were there any real goals with this project, like specific vibe you were trying to capture or certain angle you were trying to push?
Just trying to show how different the team is now, and that how we go about making videos is changing. It’s not trying to be a revamp of the brand, but a subtle change up. My style is different from previous Real filmers, and we’re trying to be creative with different angles, more panning, and getting closer with the fisheye. Also, we didn’t use much b-roll. If you look back at old Real videos, there’s a lot of b-roll scattered throughout. We just kept it straightforward and let the skating show the personalities of the team.

So you went Misled Youth style?
Exactly.

Do you think brands still need to film full lengths in 2025?
Every brand should make a full length. It’s such a big part of skate culture, why would we let that die off? We need people hyped on teams, and I think full lengths show that brands are still making an effort. It has to help with sales too, like when Baker makes a video, people get stoked and buy Baker boards. People want to represent the brands that are making cool things, and why not let that be a video? If you have the resources, do it.

Have you ever been in the situation as a filmer where you’re scared the skater is going to get hurt?
I’ve definitely been in that situation, and it’s scary. But I’ve learned you should never say anything negative while someone is trying a trick, like the last thing you want to do is put them off or kill their confidence. I try to just trust them and their ability to do something, even though sometimes in my head I’m not sure.

I’ve filmed people getting so smoked before. One time I filmed my homie snap his arm in half, with his bone out. It was fucked. But yeah, I think skaters want their filmer to be 100% confident in them, and if I were to go up to someone and be like, “Yo, I don’t think you got this,” that would suck.

Have you ever missed any tricks?
I wouldn’t say I missed them, but I’ve definitely deleted some on accident, which is basically the worst feeling ever. It’s what I imagine being stabbed through the chest feels like [laughs]. I know we’re human and we make mistakes, but that one is pretty bad. And when I think about the times that has happened, I’m still not over it.

Who’s an up and coming filmer right now?
My friend Jacob Palumbo. He’s from Virginia, and I think he’s one of the best filmers currently out there right now. He’s done stuff with Asics, especially their last video. He also filmed most of that video red, white and blue with Dylan [Jaeb] and Eetu [Toropainen]. He’s maybe not the most well-known filmer yet, but I think he’s one of the most skilled. He’s so smooth, and makes stuff look good, and I think anyone can appreciate the way he films.

Who’s the greatest skate video maker of all time?
Jeez, that’s pretty hard. It’s between Greg Hunt and Benny Magliano for me. They’re both super steezy at what they do.

Interview by: Ian Michna
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