Skateboarding: Soon an Olympic event?
Jeff Gonzales: “I try to help grow the sport in the Philippines and show it’s possible to make it in skateboarding as a Filipino.”
Whether you want to believe it or not, extreme sports are now a part of the mainstream, and they are starting to supplant some of the more conventional activities that people have been used to doing.
Just look at the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo in 2020 where sport climbing will now be included, together with the extremely popular BMX event. This is the direction that skateboarding is hoping to go.
All over the world, skateboarding has various competitions, and many feel that it’s just a matter of time that the sport is included in the main calendar of major sporting events.
Converse has been a staunch supporter of this sport — from just a leisure activity, Converse is now helping take it to the next level, backing talented enthusiasts, such as this Filipino trailblazer Jeff Gonzales, who started at the age of 14 and has never looked back.
PHILIPPINE STAR: How did you start in skateboarding?
JEFF GONZALES: I grew up in Houston. One day, I was walking home with some friends and I saw someone skateboarding in a parking lot. I went up to him and asked if I could try it on because I had never seen a real skateboard before. I rolled around for a little bit and loved it right away. This person ended up giving me his skateboard that day. I just never quit after that. Big thanks to that stranger. He definitely changed my life.
Where do you guys compete?
I compete wherever there’s a competition. Anywhere in the Philippines but also abroad. I’ve competed in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Amsterdam, and Brazil before. Also in the USA when I was a kid.
Do you have enough venues to use to improve?
Two years ago, there was none in the Philippines. It’s getting better now. There are more good skate parks being built.
Skating seemed to be getting popular before, but it looks like it’s slowed down. Is that true or just a perception? How can you help grow the sport?
It’s definitely a perception. In my opinion, skateboarding is getting bigger every year. Every time I go to the local skate park or to a skateboard event, I see new faces. Maybe you can’t really see that if you’re not into skateboarding yourself. I try to help grow the sport in the Philippines by being a good example to younger skaters, putting myself out there as much as I can, and showing it’s possible to make it in skateboarding as a Filipino. Skateboarding also needs more public support to be able to grow. Cities should build more skate parks and realize that skateboarding is a healthy activity for the youth. It keeps them busy and out of trouble. It gives them a sense of belonging to a movement and a culture. More brands investing in supporting skateboarding like Converse does would help, too!
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