ALPHONZO RAWLS

8/14/2013

ALPHONZO RAWLS

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Ok, disclaimer first. I was the writer of the 'Most Handsome Skateboarders' and whilst it was obviously a tongue in cheek article, I stand by my opinions. Even as a fully straight male, I can acknowledge a good looking man. Now, why am I mentioning this? Well, even though Alf did a get a mention in the summary, I feel I did him you an injustice by not giving him a score, this was based purely on wanting to include mainly current skaters, but looking back this oversight was a travesty and a terrible mistake on my part - Alf, you come in at a clean 8.5 my friend, so sleep easy (or maybe uneasy, haha) tonight knowing that you should have made the list. It seems you are always underground, even in skate hunks lists! Anyway, now that is out the way, I guess we should talk about some skateboarding.
Alf has been fucking sick since the H-Street days, to Expedition and beyond. A pioneer of so many mini ramp and vert tricks and then add to that, fucking sick on street as well, sometimes I wonder why Alphonzo isn't a millionaire in the limelight like some of his peers, maybe he is. We {virtually} sat down with him to find out more.

Ok mate, let's start at the start. Can you tell us how you got into skating, what age you started and who inspired you when you first stepped on a board?
I started skateboarding when I was 10 years old, it was the summer going into the 6th grade. I was playing basketball with some friends at the elementary school I attended in Oceanside, CA. named Libby Elementary, when a group of 3 skateboarders entered the campus, one by the name of Adrian Demain (Bones Brigade vert am). I was fascinated at what they were able to do and like thousands of skaters before me I was intrigued and hooked after I saw an ollie for the first time… It was like magic!

You always seemed to be skating everything - bouncing from the vert ramp, to annihilating mini ramps to fucking up street. Was it always important to you to be an all rounder? Or were you just doing what came naturally?
Most of the kids I skated with growing up never defined themselves as vert or street skaters. We were just skateboarders who loved skateboarding and the endless possibilities of it. The variety of terrain offered more possibilities, so we did it all.

So to that note, it’s very rare that anyone can have a successful vert and street career - was that something you consciously did? or was it just out of necessity (as vert died etc)
I’ve always loved to do both but as vert died down in the mid 90’s and ramps became scarce, street skating offered more accessibility.

I can think of a few other examples (Way, McKay, Koston, Berra etc) who else do you think pulled it off?
Those guys are some of my favorites to this day, some of the other skaters that inspired me were Mark Gonzales, Jason Lee, John Cardiel, Wade Speyer, Phil Shao, Jason Rogers… To name a few...

Is there anyone that used to be part of your crew that was sick, but never went anywhere for whatever reason?
One of my best friends growing up by the name of Cornel Jordan would’ve have definitely been “that guy" he started to get flowed by H-Street then shortly after lost interest in skateboarding and began gang banging. A couple years as a crip landed him a life sentence… So sad :(

I guess we should mention people that hooked you up. Who were your first sponsors? Any before H-Street?
I was fortunate to live close to Adrian Demain, who was amateur for Powell Peralta skateboards, who used to sell me boards from his package for $20.

The first time I saw you was in some of those classic H-Street vids. Fuck, I just watched Next Generation again, your section is amazing. Without sucking you off too much (after that intro people will start to wonder) - you were doing some pretty fresh shit in there. Do you ever think you didn't get quite the shine that Koston etc. got?
No, I’m not delusional about where I stood in the skateboarding especially because I lived with Koston in those days and saw first hand, daily, what he was able to do and it far exceeded my skill or patience level. As a testament to Eric's ability, he is still innovative 20+ years later.

Talking of that, who did you skate with most in those H-Street days? Eric was taking care of business on vert then too. I know you two were tight and were you guys were mad all rounders.
I skated with Danny Way a lot, he got me on H-Street. after the parks closed I was living with Koston so we skated together along with Kris Markovich, Dave Simmerson (mine & Eric’s roommate)...

Did Hensley and those super street guys (Steve Ortega etc) ever get down on vert?
Yes, little do people know, Hensley has vert skills, I think he might have originally gotten sponsored by Vision Skateboards as a vert guy.

What sort of paychecks were you getting in those days? I can't imagine H-Street was paying that well?
My first royalty check was $3500, which was my highest board royalty month from H-Street, from there it averaged $2500 per month… In addition to that I had wheel, truck, shoes, and apparel checks which added another grand or so, but by early 90’s skate rat standards “I was Diddy” #lol

You stuck with H-Street for ages, was Plan B ever an option?
In the early stages of the conversation it was discussed, but never happened. I don't think I would of had anything to offer Plan B above and beyond what they already had.

To that note, did you ever get any offers to ride for any of the World companies? I know he essentially killed off vert, but I always thought you'd do something with Rocco.
Very few people knew this but when Girl Skateboards broke off, Sal Rocco (Steve’s brother) started a retaliation brand called Bitch Skateboards. Opportunities for me were far and few so when I was approached with the opportunity to skate and draw graphics for Sal's brand, I had to accept. I never had anything against those guys, it was either that or hang up the skateboard and go get a real job (a scary thought for anyone who's ever had the privilege of skateboarding professionally) or turn a lemon into lemonade… so I chose to drink up.

Ok, so then Expedition after that, how did that come about?
Chris Lambert and I started Expedition, we recruited Chany, Richard, Stephane and I brought my friend in to run the business.

Good times on Expedition?
Great times.

Shit seemed to be going pretty well for you on there, and that team is still fucking tight - did you decide to pull out of being pro or did someone/something else make the decision for you?
I began designing footwear in 1997 when I had pro shoe for Kastel and was fortunate to be able to transition from skateboarding to designing shoes full-time. I sprained my ankle in 2000 and by the time I heeled a few months later I was already busy with my design career.

So from memory, your last pro model was in the early 2000s. What have you been up to since then? Design shoes - how's that all going?
I’ve been designing and developing footwear for the past 16 years and have created over 100 manufactured designs for over a dozen brands (DC, Osiris, Vox, Globe, Fallen… to name a few).

Kastel was pretty tight team, how did that all go down? Did you make some good money with those guys?
Kastel was awesome, I had a great time traveling with Chris Lambert and Ronnie Bertino, the opportunity that Kastel gave me helped to shape my adult life and i've been blessed for the past 16 years because of it.

Looks like you've been hitting the gym quite a bit too. Is health important to you, or do you just enjoy getting buff?
I started training when I got on H-Street and have done it ever since. I enjoy the health benefits

How much do you follow modern skating?
Quite a bit. I have my main sites I follow like The Berrics, Hellaclips, Thrasher, The Skateboard Mag.

Any particular stand outs for you these days?
I’ll go with that “new guy” Bob Burnquist!!! Have you seen the new Bob footy yet?!?! I’ve been in the game for a minute so to impress me you’re gonna have to do some “Bob type shit”!

What is your take on those 6 year old kids that can spin a million times out of a massive vert ramp but presumably have never crooked a bench?
My take on that is the same as the pro street skater who cant do a 50-50 on a mini ramp: Live a little! (ha)

Thinking about it, and going back to one of the first questions a bit, there is some stuff you were doing over 20 years ago that isn't even really getting much play these days. Obviously some of the more niche nose bumpy type shit and some other things just didn't stand the test of time, but ollie 540s (one footed), 180 nose blunts on vert surely should still be getting some love?
I still love’m, just not sure I can still do them.

I always liked that frontside pivot fakie and the frontside half cab to front blunt (I have been trying them ever since I saw it and still can't do them), this is not really a question, more an observation. The spine shit and platform manuals were ridiculous too.
Thank you

How much are you currently skating?
I try to get it in at least a couple times a month, I skated with Vinny Ponte the other day, that’s always fun!

I know you're still in the industry, so must at least get the homie hook up with product I assume? I always wondered what it would feel like for some ex pros to go from getting mad boxes to walking into a skate shop and buying a board.
Yes. I have several friends in the industry and am fortunate to be able to get the hookup on gear when I need it.

What is your take on Street League and the X Games and all that stuff?
It’s competitive :)

They throw out some pretty big prize money these days, what was your biggest ever check from a contest?
I never really did that good in contests… and if I did, contests didn’t pay much back in the day anyway.

Ever get kind of gutted that you popped off before all this big time money shit? Or are you just hyped that you skated in the best era anyway?
I’m hyped to have skated in my era because everything was still new and unexplored, it was rad to see tricks done for the first time. To make big paper is nice too, but the life experiences and the friends I've met along the way is what I appreciate, the expression it allowed me and as it became a career I wanted to make the most of that opportunity as well because it would allow me extend “the fairytale” that is professional skateboarding.

Lastly, your take on the mega ramp? You skated it all? Do you wish it was around when you were coming up?
I had the chance to skate a mega ramp in 2000 in its infancy stage at an X Games in Arizona. Not much went down from me but it was fun.

Alright Alf, as you might be able to tell, we are massive fans, thanks so much for doing this. Keep up the good work.
Thanks to you and all who cared to read this for your interest in my career.
- @alphonzorawlsdesigns