The first full length video that I saw beginning to end was an H Street video. My friend’s older cousin used to skate and he was like, “Man, let me sit you guys down and show you about skateboarding”. I had no idea what tricks were back then, but I remember The Donger went off a launch ramp over a big ass chain link fence, and right then and there, he became my first favorite skater.

The next video I saw was Mouse which came out the same year I started skating. At first it was too advanced for me to even understand what I was watching, but over time the videos of that era grew on me and I became obsessed with them. I studied all of Tom Penny and Andrew Reynolds’ video parts, and watched Rodney VS Daewon on loop, analyzing JB Gillet’s flip tricks in slo-mo over and over again trying to figure out how he was doing it. Videos have always been the blueprint for skateboarding, they are the time stamp that defines where skating is at that moment in time, videos have and always will represent the next step in the evolution of skateboarding.

This year marks my 20th year as a pro skater and I’m still here, about to be in full length video with a group of skaters I’m lucky enough to call my friends who I think make up some of the very best skaters that the world has to offer. Over the course of my career, I’ve also been lucky enough to work with some of the best filmers and photographers in the game. These guys are the realist, they’re the ones who go through the trenches with you, sitting there for as long as you are willing to try, I’m convinced they like this kind of torture. If getting the tricks documented wasn’t hard enough, coordinating a full length video when everyone has different sponsors, commitments and responsibilities can be really tough, but for all the trouble it takes to get a full length over the line, nothing in our world beats a full length.

With the release of DEFINE, we’re planting a step on that evolutionary path for the next generation to pick up and take on to the next level, and I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped make this full length offering to skateboarding’s video legacy.
P-Rod