Articles

Questions and lifestyle photo by Scoffman
Action shot by Sheyla V.

So before we get started are there any shout-outs you want to give?

Definitely!!! All of my sponsors!! Jason at SCOFF skateboarding hell yea indestructible laces man!!!Mike G. at ) nice skate shoes, STRUGGLE skateboards, Lisa at Destructo & Speed Metal, Jason at Gripgum, Eric at OGIO, John at Thiesnuts hardware, Lisa at Peter Grimm, Dylan at olliepop, Scotty at Taildevil and  Isaac at Cali Boardwear. I would also like to thank my beautiful lady Sheyla in which I adore and love. She supports me 100%. And my family of course no doubt!!!

So how did you come about to be on the Scoff team? 

Well I think it was an email I received from you back in the day. I believe I am one of the original riders. The concept was so rad and I had never seen anything like it. You truly have to get a pair of laces to see what I mean. It takes forever to tear through. It’s as if there’s some magic powers embodied within the laces.

How long have you been skateboarding for?

About 7 years give or take.

What first got you into it?

My cousin JC and some dude in high school that I used to watch skate.

Who did you look up to when you were first getting started?

Some local skateboarder they called “Q” that dude was so tech and was ollieing like 7 boards back in the day it was amazing to watch when I was younger.

What kinds of trouble do you and your buddies get into while skating? Have you ever been arrested before?

Aww man hell yea. The Struggle guys and I have been through a lot. We are always running from the cops. Also way back in the day I remember getting tackled by an officer because we were running from him in a spot. Guess the guy thought we stole something. They ended up taking me and three other guys to jail; we sat in there the whole day until my friends mom bailed us out. They put us in one of those rooms where you can’t see through the mirror but they can see you, it was a trip. They put us in handcuffs and everything, threw us in the cop car.

What’s your favorite skatespot?

Aww man, the black box park is buttery, I like skating downtown and the manual pads at Torrey pines. I still haven’t found a spot that I truly love though or I could consider my favorite because I really am into skating new stuff all the time. I get tired of spots fast I guess. 

What is it that you love most about skateboarding?

The feeling you get cruising the streets. And how it takes your mind off of everything else shi*tty going on in the world.

You told me before that your sort skipping from place to place right now and living out of your car sometimes. How’s that going for you, found a permanent place to stay yet? Yea actually I am back in my hometown right now been here for a little while now about a week or two id say. Things were hectic the last 4 months of my life though. Pretty much you could say I lived out of my car and at fast food for 120 days. Or cup of noodle if I got lucky and found a microwave. It was harsh I also got in two huge car wrecks during all this man I went through so much crap. My car caught on fire and I had to jump out the window when I was involved in an insane car wreck while driving on the 5 coming from . I had no car after that and resorted to public transportation in order to get to and from my job. Which meant major couch crashing and an even unhealthier diet? But you know what I learned more and got a real taste of the street life through those tough times man. And I had my skateboard the whole way through.

If you’d never pick up a skateboard, what would you be doing today? Dude I would be up to no good. Maybe I wouldn’t even be alive. I thank god for skateboarding. Because of skateboarding I kept my head straight, I even met my girlfriend through it. Through all my hard times it kept me alright. It kept me sane in an insane world. I can thank it for so much good in my life. It has taken me a lot of places and I never want to put it down. Skate for life man. SKATE FOR LIFE.

To view video of Ruben check out his team page on www.StruggleSkateboards.com

Background info? Where you from, where you living and what are you up to?

I guess after close to a decade I can say I grew up in Whistler and the surrounding area.  These days I am posted up in trying to survive making skateboard movies.

What made you decide you were going to put together a skate video?

I used to be part owner of GNARCOREvideoplay with some really interesting guys in Whistler and we made a bunch of snowboard movies.  The weren't the average run of the mill boring type, they were out there for sure.  The guys are still up there doing there thing making movies but I kind of stepped away moved to the city and started Don't Sleep Productions with Dave Ehrenreight and Freddy Fredrickson.  We decided to put out a skate video because there was a need for one to be made in this year and nobody was really into it.  We started in February and stopped filming in September and it worked out great.  This was the first project that I have worked on that I had to ask the filmers to stop shooting because we had enough.  That’s the type of problem I like dealing with.

What is “Bigger and Better things” mean to you?

Bigger and Better Things is supposed to be a thought as a play on words.  I started this project and Don't Sleep in dreams of bigger and better things to happen to us all.  It is also directed to the skaters themselves.  We hope that after the video bigger and better opportunities arise for them.

What was it like putting together this film?

The process went unbelievably smooth.  From a proposal, writing on a napkin to the finishing post production touch ups, it was fun.  I would do it again in a minute, in fact, we have already begun shooting our next release.

Who are the skaters you are working with?

We got to work with some great guys.  has some serious talent.  Our line up not including the 2 stacked friends sections include:

Alien
Sascha Daley
Stash
Cory Wilson
Nate Lacoste
Scott Reid
Randy Monchalin
Stacy Gabriel

Who should we expect a banger part from?

I don't want to give up to much but I will say don't sleep on Stacy Gabriel; you will remember who Cory Wilson is and Alien's only skate at night.

Who is working with you on documenting and editing the video?

My partner for this project is Dave Ehrenreicht.  He is a great videographer and has had some good experience working on other productions.  Dave handled the bulk of the shooting and I lost myself in front of the computers way too many times.  Don't Sleep Productions is Dave, Freddy Fredrickson and myself. Freddy was tits deep in another project all summer but he did help out with the post production and DVD authoring. 

Are there any plans for a film next year?

Already started.  There will be a bunch of returning guys from this movie (because were all friends) and we got our eyes on some new blood that deserve a shot as well.  Don't Sleep just got here and were not going anywhere.

What are the plans for premieres?

Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto, Kamloops, Whistler and Abbotsford.  Good times are coming very soon.  The first one will be mid November in

Shoutouts?Last Words?

Dave Ehrenreight is the man, Freddy Fredrickson, the photographers with patience, all the skaters and the companies that are supporting us.  

TO ALL THE COMPANIES OUT THERE. SUPPORT THE SKATERS THAT REPRESENT YOUR BRANDS!!!! YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE IF IT WASN'T FOR THEM. 

Kitsch Skateboards

What prompted you to start your own Skateboard Company?

I started kitsch because I love skateboarding and I want to be involved in it forever. After many years of being a recognized skater in and being a sales rep in the skate industry here too, riding for skater owned Satori wheels and setting up countless tours etc,  being sponsored by an American board company was starting to not make sense to me. Here is where I want to live and skate and where I have created a name for myself you know?  It was a recent road trip to Argentina that really made me realize I wanted to start a board company, meeting the skaters down there who had to start their own brands after the economy crashed, versus representing American brands through distributors, the way these guys lived and being friends with people like PD from Skullskates all showed me that this is possible, and this is what I want to do.

What does Kitsch stand for?

Kitsch actually is an art form,  that is considered tacky by most but ironically appreciated by some,  it is basically Russ Morland {the artist} and my own view of how skating is looked at by the masses.

It is meant to be not too serious, we are trying to focus on the fun in skating, not the jock mentality or the politics, making light of the situation you could say. After taking my own skating and being a skater really serious for a long time, trying to change peoples minds so they accept and maybe even appreciate what we do and why we do it, or explaining to older people why I skate. I realized you can not change people’s minds. 99 percent of people do not understand skating and they never will, we are just kids that didn’t grow up or criminals in their eyes, but for the few that do understand skating, they really love it.  After reading the definition of kitsch and some of the essays that are on the internet about what it means, we realized this had to be what we called the company.

Where do you want to take Kitsch?

I want to take kitsch to where, by constantly filming videos, organizing demo tours, and producing the best products, a young skater will be stoked on supporting it. Either because we just did a demo in his town, he saw one of us in the latest sbc or color or he just saw our latest video, where we are having fun, doing innovative tricks and skating new spots.

Who do you have on the team and why did you choose those riders?

For the Team we have Jessie Booi, Brad Sheppard and I. Out of all the skaters I’ve been on tours with over the years no one interacted with the kids and had as much fun as Jess, he is hilarious as can be, and I am looking forward to traveling more with him.  He is not afraid of big rails and gaps either and skates them with power and style. Brad is one of my favorite skaters hands down. The guy is a not only a trick inventor, he also reminds me of Mark Gonzales, he has a very original style and looks like he is having a lot fun when he skates, he also has good knowledge of how the industry works too after being part owner of the Board Kennel skate shop and being sponsored at the same time, he's seen the inside of the industry here in Canada and is down to try and help change it a little.

How can people get their hands on Kitsch gear?

Now Kitsch is at DNA in , Antisocial and Underwolrd in Van, Board Kennel in White Rock.

Shout outs?

Shout outs to Russ Morland in for creating the image and graphics for Kitsch, and everyone who loves skateboarding period, hope to see you out shredding soon!

State your name, where you are from and where you are living now?

Originally, livin in Surrey BC rite now.

Sponsors?

DGK, Gold, Venture, Osiris, Krew, Spy, Underworld.

Where did you travel this year?

Over the last year did Cali for a month basically Tiajuana and back, Calgary and Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, van island, interior of BC…Seattle, Portland, and Denver….something else in there im sure…pretty busy year.

Of all the contests you entered this year which one did you enjoy the most?

Probly west 49 open in Toronto…always have fun there…usually have a good course etc…slam city jam I was pretty sick…so that didn’t work out…am getting paid was good as well…Denver dew tour open was a crazy competition experience…super crazy field of athletes in there…

How was your experience traveling across premiering the Yesterday’s Future film?

It was basically the excuse to party after everything was all said and done for the filming part on my end…it was super cool hearing the response of all the people watching it for the first time…always feels good to get a good response on things. Makes it feel worth all the time, effort and money spent on the project.

I heard you got in a car accident, what happened there?

Yeah, in after we did our premier there I met up with an old friend that I used to skate with a lot back in the day, he moved out there bout 5 years ago. His gf and a friend of theirs picked us up..not even 10 mins down the road some guy runs a red light and hammered us super hard. Got lucky, thought I broke ribs, got the wind knocked outta me, back, and ribs have been a mess since it sucks.

What do you do to keep your mind on track when you are injured?

Try and do anything I can from going insane. When I broke my leg, I realized this stuff is gonna happen and actually forced me to sit out my injury and let it heal properly where I never did before. At least right now being hurt from the accident, I got work to keep me busy, couldn’t even do that on the leg, so at least I got some loot coming in anyways.

Where is your favorite place to skate?

Hhmmm, usually anywhere new. I get kinda bored with spots, parks etc, always find myself being repetitive with tricks and stuff so I like going to the new cities skating there spots and branching out your tricks I guess you could say…everywhere’s got something different to skate…I love my variety,  I guess…no where specific

Top 3 favorite skaters?

Josh Kalis
Stevie Williams
Chris Haslam

Favorite Skate Video?

Hhmm, all time favorite vid would have to be shorty’s fulfill the dreams.

You and Dickson seem pretty tight, how did you guys meet?

We met doing this independent feature film/movie in a couple years ago…we been boys ever since…fools like the brother I never had haha

What are your plans for next year, focus more on contests or filming?

Hhmm, probly just skate..no plans this second winters comin in, just wanna get through that, I wanna get back down to san diego…maybe tampa am contest who knows…I go with it when it comes up like Denver I found out about it week and a half later I was there haha so see wut comes up

Any words of advice for the skaters out there?

Just keep it fun, don’t stress it just ruins why you kept doing it all this time.

Shout outs?

All my sponsors and team managers etc, family, my girlfriend for stickin through with my dumbass haha, big t shirts, fitted hats, and fun times ;)

To view pictures and a sample of Dustin's video part in Yesterday's Future check out SkateboardVillage.com online magazine.

Questions by Lenny R,

Answers by Dustin Montie

Caffeen Wheels represents independent skateboarding and who's main objective is to supply quality wheels, with full color graphics for less price.  The name actually came from my obsession with caffeinated products. I had a list of names that I potentially wanted, and I was drinking a coffee at the time.  The name Caffeen popped in my head, I played around with it and it stuck.  Probably the stupidest meaning behind a company name haha.

What is new in the World of Dustin and Caffeen Wheels?

As for myself I am currently putting footage together for the Change Skateboards video.  As for Caffeen we are currently working on our next two graphics, as well as two new hoodies, T-shirt, and posters.  You can expect the hoodies, new T's and posters for February.  We are also building our website that will also be up February.

How and why did you start Caffeen wheels?

The reason behind starting Caffeen was just noticing how plain and boring wheels were now.  It seems like there is no thought process to wheels now a days.  The shapes are all the same, and graphics are boring and dull.  The cost of these wheels I found to be outrageous for the lack of thought going into them.  I wanted to make a company that had great quality wheels, with full color, good looking graphics, for a reasonable price.  This way skateboarders all over can get great wheels for cheap.   I started Caffeen about 3 months ago.  I had just arrived in for the Am Getting Paid contest.  I was thinking the whole time that I needed to do something for skateboarding.  Give back to the one thing that has made me happy my whole life.  It was when I got home from there that I started to really look at wheels, and how boring they have all became.

What is it like being based out of , what do you do to keep skateboarding going through out the winter?

It is a lot better I find to be based out of , and it helps with getting our product into the The skate scene is great down here and we keep it through out the winter.  We have a local indoor park called Ian's Old Skate Shop where we all reside in the winter time.  If you want to check it out go to myspace.com/iansoldskateshop.

Who do you guys have on your team?

Right now we have 4 riders.  Corey Shuker, Mike Teeves, Kyle Campbell and myself.  I am more of a rep though haha.  We also have a flow team with riders from California, Florida, British Columbia and England.

Where would you like to see Caffeen Wheels in 5 years from now?

In shops through-out North America and in With full lines of wheels, a large warehouse with all our own machines to create wheels, as well as sponsoring larger events such as: Tampa Am/Pro, Slam City Jam, and other large contests.

What sets you guys apart from other wheel companies out there?

100% custom wheels, with full color graphics, and high grade Urethane. Professional quality wheels that cost less.

Caffeen Wheels Goals for 2007

1. 4 New wheel designs and sizes
2. Be in more shops in
3. Sponsoring more events

What are you guys doing to get Caffeen's presence known? Is there a video coming out or are you guys holding or sponsoring certain events? 

We are promoting all the time be it via internet, flyering, or word of mouth.  We are doing a promotional mini-tour in the summer to help get the word out.  We are starting the filming of the video which will be out either late 2007 or very early 2008.  We just sponsored the 3rd Annual Windsor Am Jam that was held at Ian's Old Skate Shop November 26th.  We had wheels and T-shirts for prizes and giveaways.   We are looking into sponsoring a few events next year, as well as holding a Caffeen Demo at Ian's Old Skate Shop in February.

How can I get my hands on Caffeen Wheels?

Retailers can e-mail: caffeenwheels@hotmail.com for a price list and stock list of all our products.  Or you can call us @ 519-903-1400 with your contact info.  When the website is up there will be a full color online catalogue of all products.