| AGGRO SK8ERS | |||||||||||||||||
| RYAN JACKLONE |
Ryan Jacklone is one of the world's most highly recognized aggressive skaters. In 1995, he took first place overall in the Aggressive Skater's Association Pro Tour, first in the Miami round of the National In-Line Skate Series, ninth in the NISS finals, and third in the Extreme Games. Ryan rides K2 Fatties with Scribe bearings and grind plates. He wears Smith knee gaskets and one Bullet-Proof shin guard on his sole foot. His wheels are by FR: 61 mm, 88A Kindbuds anti-rockered with 46 mm, 101A Cock Rings. Ryan is sponsored by FR, K2, Scribe, and Rise Above Clothing. He is 17 years old and lives in New York City. How did you first get into skating as a professional? I'd been away for like two months at snowboard camp and I got back with all my friends, and they said that they were going to have a contest in Union Square. They were going to pick the four best skaters and sponsor them. So I showed up and it turned out this dude who was doing it wasn't for real but Nick Hartman [from FR wheels] was watching. He had heard about it from someone else. He gave me his phone number and two days later he called me up. What is your relationship with FR now? My deal with FR? They're my brothers, you know what I mean? I talk to the owner of the company cause he's the only one there. It's like my family. Everyone who skates for the team, we all chill out together, you know? There's no corporate thing about it. It's a family thing. It's not like you meet someone and you think, "He's cool I think I'll be friends with him." It's just like we all like skating and we all have the same feelings about skating. So we all just group together and that's the strongest part of FR. There's never been a fight and no one ever says, "I'm going to quit the team." Is that a big part of it, that you're in New York? One of the biggest, 'cause like New York is small compared to California, but it's still far to walk. So like on blades, New York is small but big. It might take 15 seconds to walk past a block but on blades it's like two seconds to roll past it. How did it feel to compete? I was really nervous. ESPN cameras are not the easiest thing to skate in front of. The day before I had like weird gas problems. After that it got easier. I won the fifth contest in the Series. I had been taking ninth like every weekend and then I jumped to first so I got really cocky and I ended up ninth overall. What makes you good? The fact that I can spin. I have good air awareness. I can fall good too. Maybe I just made myself good. Balance is like one with me. Anything moving I'm good with. Is style important? Style is everything. You have to do all your tricks with style. If you do an alley oop soul--which is a really hard trick on the rail--and you're all straight and no style you're not going to be credited for doing that� trick. But if you do it and you make it look good then somebody goes, "Look what he did." When I spin people recognize my style. I get really tucked. I get sideways. You put down your own distinctive flavor. Skating is kind of easy. A lot of people do 720's but they're just straight and they don't do anything. You got to put some effort into it. It's not like skateboards cause the things are strapped to your feet. Skateboarding's way harder--60 to a 100 times harder. A trick on the board, it goes over there and then you're supposed to land on it. It's like skateboarders have like magnets on their feet. I'm not saying in-line skating is easy but it is easier to do the tricks. That's why style is everything. If you lack style you lack it all. You won't even be talked to in skating. If it's going to get more money and more professional than how can you keep acting like you do? You guys stole a golf cart at the Extreme Games. Do you really think the sport can get taken seriously if you do this kind of stuff? We don't do a mainstream sport like basketball--you don't, like, practice. It's not a nice sport. Like rock climbers, you know that they'll want to go to bed early so they can get up in the morning. But you'll notice with skaters, they'll want to drink all night and smoke and just be like "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" and party. Then they'll get up and do their contest. That's the soul of it. California seems to have a stronghold on the sport. Do you wish you were there? No. I wish it was here. I wish people could see the difference. I believe� If you're from New York City you're a better skater than anybody else in my heart 100 percent that the skaters in New York are no doubt better. and that's just because of where you're from. New York skaters don't give a [crap]. There's kids [in other cities] who go out and skate and because they're getting kicked out of a spot, they'll leave. We don't give a [crap]. I'll curse the guard out personally in his face, and if he comes up I'll move away from him but they'll never catch us. We'll continue to skate while he's shouting stop and we'll be on the rail and he's feeling like [crap] and we're feeling great and we're skating and people are trying to hold us back, so we'll hold them back. So skating is an anti-authority thing? Skating is an aggressive sport. You grind; you jump; you be a man about things. That's why I don't understand girls in the sport. Girls are all nice. I like to see a girl if the girl comes with style. I've seen pictures of [a particular professional female skater] on a rail at the Extreme Games and I know she didn't do that. She busted her ass. I watched a guy stand there ready to grab this girl. She jumped on and then fell and she slid just long enough to get a picture. That's a fake aspect of our sport. I already get kids who come to the contests and they say "Why are you falling? Because I see you in the video and you don't fall in the video. You're not that great. That's not what I saw in the video." I want to slap them cause I fall just as much as them. I have to. Think realistically. That's the truth. So why do these girls feed a false attitude to skaters? How do you prepare for a competition? Skating is one big game for me. It's my fun center. I don't skate the day before so I'm not sore. I have the personal know-how and know that I'm competent on any street course just 'cause I'm at that level right now and I know that I can do that. It might not last forever but it's here for now so I might as well take advantage of that. The only thing I really like to do is get in touch with myself like I take a bath and stretch and be one with myself and think it out and start going over what skaters I'll have to worry about. But that's the night before. As soon as I wake up the next morning, it's like I've done this a hundred times. Let's do it. I skate and I have the greatest time doing it. So how do you develop new tricks? It comes to mind. You don't develop new tricks. You just try a new form. You just try what comes to mind. Like front-side is a regular front-side but shifty is just with more style--it's still front-side. Makes you look cool, makes you feel cool. You style out while you're going down the rail. You try new things and then you're like "Wow, I landed that. How are humans supposed to do this?" Then, what do you do to stay on top? Nothing. Then you won't be on top of it someday. No and it doesn't make me mad. It's the natural way. I'm going to be this good for this long then I'm going to get older and I'm going to fall. I see it happening to Arlo and Brook. They used to be the best and it was only last year that they used to be the best. Now it's our turn, like, out of nowhere so it could be somebody else's turn next year. The more you stress over that factor then that's when you lose it. That makes me wonder about you're not going to school 'cause what will you do when skating comes to end? Skating will never come to an end for me. Even if I break my leg. There's a bro factor in skating which a lot of people don't understand. I can have a job anywhere in skating for the rest of my life whether it's with Groove Productions or with FR or design work for K2. I have so many things to fall back on. I don't even worry about school right now. I'm going to go back some day. There's no way you can survive as an adult without a high school education just because of the way people look at you. As a child you can. So right now I'm just doing this. Maybe when I stop skating I'll do that and stimulate my mind or something. Right now, school, I wouldn't do the work. I'd be, like, I wish I was out skating. Later in life when I'm bored with myself I'll just go do it. What do you think of Arlo and Chris Edwards and all those guys? What they did was inspirational. No other skaters, no other nothing, just doing it themselves. Making us do it, which is what I like. But they have rock-star syndrome. They get their fat checks every month. They get their new skates whenever they need them. They make their money off Senate or whatever. They get their pictures everywhere and push other people's out. They're rock stars. They make all the money and all the glamour. Sure little kids come up to us too but they want to be like them, just like every basketball player wants to be Michael Jordan. It's weird. We're the ones struggling. We're supposed to be the best right now. But we're still making no money. In-Line Skating asked Ryan for some tips for new skaters Ryan's Tips for Beginners Ryan says nobody should attempt to grind a rail until they are absolutely confident on curbs. "I've seen video people encouraging beginners to try rails just so they could record the fall and it's ill, dude, believe me." The front-side grind is the first trick to master, according to Ryan. You choose a small, curved, flat-edged curb and wax it. "You only need a light coat. Some kids are putting on rad amounts." Ryan says: "Approach the curb at an angle, with feet pointing towards it. Land with the edge between the second and third wheel, and when you feel yourself lock on, kick your hip out in the direction you're going to give yourself some extra momentum. Once, you have this mastered, you can go for the backside grind. Make the approach in the same way, but as you jump up, let your body turn so that you are facing backwards towards the curb." Ryan's Signature Trick--The Houston Twist The Houston Twist is a backwards 360 with a rocket grab in the middle and a late 360. "The late 360 is for the chicks," Ryan says. "I call it the Houston Twist after the Houston Rockets." Ryan explains the trick: "You find a launch ramp and take it full speed skating backwards. As you go up the ramp you cork your arms and body in the direction opposite to the one you want to turn. When you're in the air you throw your arms around and untwist your body to give yourself the spin. About halfway through the first 360, you bring your knees up to your chest. At 360 you straighten your knees so your skates are above your head and you make the grab. Then you let go and make the last 360 turn, landing backwards." There's also the 360 with the late 180 rewind which Ryan has only accomplished once. He approaches the launch ramp forwards, does a 360, and then stops and spins back in the opposite direction to land backwards | ||||||||||||||||
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There are 6 foot positions- frontside, backside, royale, soul, and demon, and farside/topside. If you are unsure of what they are, then check the terms page for a definition. There are obviously some missing, especially with the demon grind, but that is likely because I have not heard an "official" term for them yet. Left foot Right foot Name ----------------------------------------------------------------- Frontside Frontside * Frontside Backside * Backside Backside Soul Soul * X Royale Royale * Cowboy Royale * Royale Unity (legs crossed) Frontside Soul * Alley oop Soul Frontside Farside Soul * Farside Miszou Frontside Royale * Negative Royale Frontside Backside Royale *Tabernacle Backside * Soul Alley-oop Miszou Backside * Farside Soul Farside Soul Backside * Royale Backside Neighborhood Backside * Backside Royale Backside Royale Royale * Farside Soul Farside Acid Soul Royale Farside Soul * Meow Royale Frontside * Royale Royale Backside Royale *Darkside Royale Toe of soul * AWOL Back Royale Soul * Alley-oop Acid Soul Back Royale Frontside * Neighborhood Back Royale Back Royale * Backside Unity (legs crossed) Soul * Backside Miszou Soul * Royale Porn Star Soul * Backside Royale Backside Meow Soul Royale * Alley-oop Soyale Soul Backside Royale* Acid Soul Soul Frontside * Soul Soul Demon * Snub Soul Soul Back wheel * Wheelbarrow Soul Farside Soul * Royale Farside Alley-oop Acid Soul Farside Soul * Backside Royale Farside Soyale Farside Soul * Backside Farside Alley-oop Soul Farside Soul Frontside * Diana/Kind (Alley-oop Farside Miszou) Farside Demon Frontside * Demon One footed Grinds Left foot Right foot Name ----------------------------------------------------------------- Soul Makio Soul Han Solo Farside Soul Farside Alley-oop Makio Farside Soul Farside Makio Royale Backslide Royale Heel on L. Boot Christ Royale Backside Suislide Backside Backside Fastslide Frontside Fastslide Backside Royale Suislide Backside Royale Backside Backslide Variations: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Shifty Unnatural Spins into and out of the grinds Shift Kick Look-Back Spin Cycle Blindside Switch-Stance Twain-Stance | a little trick list | ||||||||||||||||
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| 1998 XGAMES |
are you sk8ers getting ready for the xgames?i am,watch espn and espn2 for the xtrails. check ya later | ||||||||||||||||
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