By Ralph Lloyd-Davis
When Crossfire was asked to premiere the Emerica video “This Is Skateboarding” Ralph LD managed to get some time with Andrew Reynolds in between band soundchecks whilst the rest of the Emerica Team all fell asleep exhausted by their World Tour.
What were the first and last tricks filmed for this video?
The last? See, I wouldn’t know the first because I had some stuff laying around and though I could use it for my Emerica part. The last was a line filmed at a school, probably a couple of months ago. I knew that that was the last because I have new clothes. (laughs)
Do you know how many countries were visited whilst filming for the video because it seems like travelling is pretty important in the making of videos nowadays?
We went to Barcelona, Australia, France. I don’t know, I don’t really keep track of where we go. We’ve probably been to five or six places, maybe a lot. Sometimes nobody got anything done at one place.
Is that a disappointment, to go somewhere and not manage to get any footage?
No. I just try and let it happen. I don’t get disappointed if I don’t get things.
Did you have a favourite spot you visited?
Umm. I don’t know. I just like everywhere. I like places that I’ve never been before. Those are my favourite places and they’re all over the place. It’s hard to say because I like everywhere.
Isn’t it more of a hassle, trying to skate in the States nowadays?
No, we skate lots of places. We just set up lights, skate schools on the weekend. With some spots you only get the chance to skate at night, so it’s like ‘Fuck it!’, let’s get it done, put the lights up and it’s the same as during the day.
Did you find it hard to distinguish between footage for ‘This is Skateboarding’, and ‘Baker 3G’?
There’s no Baker video right now, so everything I had went towards ‘This is Skateboarding’. I’ll start right now the clean slate for’Baker 3G’. You see, I thought about holding back on footage but then I guessed I didn’t want to look like a chump. (laughs)
Do you have a trick in your part that you are most proud of, or was the most difficult to do?
Maybe it’s not the most difficult, but to me what looks the best is this one line where I do a switch backside shifty down a set of stairs, and it’s my favourite. To other people it may look like nothing, but to me, I like it. It wasn’t much effort, it was easy, but it looks like something I’d like to see. Then there’s other stuff I hear people cheer about and I’m like ‘why don’t people like this?’, I don’t know.
With the title being ‘This is Skateboarding’, what would you say ‘is Skateboarding’ for you?
Just going out in the streets and finding spots, being with your friends, filming and making video parts. Doing all that stuff.
Do you have a dream session?
I don’t really have a dream session. I skated a mini ramp the other day with some kids from my team, Spanky, Bryan Herman and Brayden, the team manager of Emerica, Justin Reagan. That was like the funnest session I can think of.
If you were sent to a desert island and you were only allowed to take one book, one CD and one object, what would you take?
Well, it’s got to be a double CD! (laughs) I’d bring the ‘Big’ book, Hanoi Rocks ‘Decadent and Dangerous’ double CD, and an object? I’d bring my board!
In ‘On video’ there was an article on the Emerica mansion. Was that whole idea beneficial towards the making of this video?
Yeah because we got to be in a house with Jon Miner and work on our parts together, just the whole team could get together and talk about how we wanted it to look- Just being around one another when it was all coming together. Some people were settled down elsewhere in the State (of California), but the majority of us got together. You could wake up, knock on Miner’s door and then go film. It was pretty easy.
What’s your favourite of all the videos you’ve seen?
Baker 2G.
And which video are you anticipating?
Baker 3. I just think everyone on the Baker team, besides myself because I don’t really care what I do, but everybody else on the team are my favourite skaters, so that’s the one I really want to see.
Do you know why all the Emerica adverts are green? Is there a subversive message in the choice of colour?
Maybe. I think it’s because when you see an old New Deal ad, it’s all yellow, so you associate that colour with that company. I don’t know.
When the Emerica DVD comes out, is it likely to have a lot of bonus footage?
Oh yeah! A whole bunch of stuff! I’m sure the DVD will have footage people didn’t want to use, and there will probably be a little section about this whole tour, the premieres. Hopefully, a bunch of cool stuff.