Richie Interview Part 1 of How Many He Chooses To Do

When I first had the idea of interviewing Richie Eisler I really did not know how to approach him about wanting to do an interview. I assumed he was a really busy person and probably did not have time to put toward an interview. Well I couldn’t have been more wrong, not only was Richie easy to approach but also had a great attitude toward the whole interviewing process. I think that really sums up Richie though a person with a great attitude, good outlook on life who is genuinely a nice person, and lets not forget he can also roll with the best of them. So when he agreed to do the interview I was damn happy, when Devon Hanofski also contributed that got me even more excited about this interview. So I hope everyone enjoys.

Richie Eisler: Holler back! Dick Richie here with Devon Hanofski, reporting live from Regina where the water flows like wine… sparkling wine to be exact. The time is 16:47 – December 31, 2006 – New. Years. EVE! We are currently wetting our lips with a delicious beverage known as Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut MAGNUM. (No joke, I swear. It’s “very dry, fruity and finely balanced… a consistent monde selection gold medal winner…”)… AKA “The Bubbly.” Life is good right now. Really good. In fact: it has been the best year of my life, yet again. Probably the 10th consecutive year in a row as the best year of my life. What did I do to deserve this? I Hope everyone else had a great year too! …and that the coming year will bring great things…

Alright let’s get into the interview…

Canadian Roll: You’ve gone through some major injuries, first your head and now your ankle. Do you want to explain what happened, how it happened and how it is affecting your life right now. Did it give you any different perspectives? Different out looks on skating?”

Dick Richie: The day before I was supposed to go to Europe for 6 weeks I went for a little skate. I was supposed to leave for Hungary the next day and decided I was sick of packing and it was a really nice day so I went to roll around the outdoor park. Next thing I knew – I was laying in a hospital bed worried about being late for my flight. Turns out I slipped back somehow on an air over the hip and landed on my shoulder/head on the flat bottom (from about 7 feet up). I was dizzy so I called my dad for a ride and he took me to the hospital because I was rambling and incoherent. It’s ironic – for the few weeks leading up to the trip I was being careful to not push my limits while skating to make sure I didn’t get hurt. So much for that. To be honest, it hasn’t really affected my life as much as it probably could have. I was pretty lucky to get off with no permanent problems and the only real set back was missing the Europe trip. I have been living each day to the fullest for as long as I can remember so it’s not like I really changed my attitude in that sense (like lots of people do after scary accidents). I’m a bit more careful about my skating right now but I’ve always been careful to stay within my limits so no real significant change there, either.

Coach Devon: The bubbly is still flowing!

Canadian Roll: If you ask just about anyone they will say “Richie Eisler has amazing style.” What do you think makes for good style? How did you get yours to the points where it is now?

Dick Richie: I’m definitely flattered that people say that, but it’s kinda funny to me because over the years people would say anything BUT that about my skating. First, during the old CAT tours when I was winning all the contests, people talked shit that I was good at park but couldn’t skate street. Then a year or two later when I had some video sections out – people said I was good at street but couldn’t do stunts, wasn’t good at skatepark and had bad style. Maybe it’s just a T4 thing but there were so many haters. I just find it kinda funny that at one point or another in my time skating – people have criticized me for every little thing they can think of. I think style is the most important part of skating so that’s the nicest compliment I think I could receive. I think good style comes from experience skating and just making things flow and look easy. It’s not something you can really force so I’d say I just got mine to the point it is by skating for more than half my life and having so much fun doing it.

D Cups: I’d like to interject here with a few samples of video evidence. No street skills in the good old days? Try:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVCY7fnUZac
No skatepark skills? Tell that to the 35 THOUSAND viewers and 100 love letter comments found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NRZh9qlu74
No stunts? No style? Happy New Year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZrV_9unF0w

Canadian Roll: How hard do you work on learning things switch, and what made you learn them? It seems like you have every trick down both natural and switch.

Dick Richie: I really like this question because I don’t really see switch as even being real. Unless you have a wooden leg you should be able to do any trick either way if you just learn it. Exceptions would be one-footed grinds with your unnatural leg or topsides on square stuff with a stiff unnatural ankle. But really, switch tricks are just new tricks that you maybe didn’t learn the first time around. For example: a “switch royale” happens to look like a natural royale but it’s really just a different trick with your feet in different positions. Why should it be considered unnatural? A “natural” royale isn’t really so natural when you first try to learn it, so why should switch be considered some magical thing? I really started to take an interest in switch grinds because learning new things was the most exciting part of skating to me, and it was getting to the point where I really had to do something intense for it to be 100% new. I started learning all the switch tricks and skating felt like it did in the beginning – really fun and full of new accomplishments every single time. Switch spins were tough to learn but the benefit has been huge. Now that I can spin comfortably in both directions – the amount of tricks that open up as possibilities increases quite a bit. This is especially fitting right now because my right (more natural) ankle is still stiff and weak from tearing ligaments so I’ve solely been doing switch tricks while I work it back to strength.

Devonairre: Lately I’ve been making a point to learn switch spins and it makes skating more fun when you’re learning new things. Living in Regina with Richie and Dan Varin (one of the original switch masters) – it’s pretty hard to avoid getting into the whole switch thing. Again, let us dive deep into the archives and bring some evidence to the table:

http://zine.d-structure.com/inline/whatyouknow.mpg

Canadian Roll: If anyone has watched Black Market, they have heard the constant call for professionalism in rollerblading. The lack of professionalism was seen as one of our downfalls in the mid to late nineties, what role do you think it plays in rollerblading today?

Dick Richie: I think it should play a huge role but I’m going to have to admit that rollerblading is one of the biggest clown show circus industries imaginable. People call themselves professionals? Haha. There are so many positive things about rollerblading and the people in it, but professionalism is not one of them. I’m happy to say that I’ve noticed this is beginning to change for the better, but we’re still a long way from where we should be. I would like to point out that people like Jon Julio, Erik Bailey, Jochen Smuda, Oli Benet, Chris Haffey and several others are taking things in the right direction with their skating and professional attitudes. I think we need leaders in this area and these guys (and many others – these guys just come to mind first) are taking things in the right direction. I’d also like to say that professionalism in this sense doesn’t always mean boring business style shit – it is also a lot about making skating look good and bringing a positive attitude. Being a good role model or a positive leader. SOL videos are an example of something that I think is very professional but may not come across that way. Obviously the videos are full of fun and energy, and their portrayal of their characters and personalities may not seem professional at first glance – but it is the whole idea of showing the fun side of skating and life that is professional. The production is obviously professional but I think professionalism in this sense is also just showing how fun skating really is. The amount of people that love those guys and love skating after watching their videos is evidence of how professional they really are. It ‘s about how you present yourself and your sport or culture or whatever it is.

Professional Brut Magnum consumer, Devon H: Basically, I think rollerblading needs more Jon Julios and Richie Eislers because they really are the definition of professionals. Take a look at how they are promoting it and you will understand. Stop making t-shirts and do it up right.

Richie: P.S. I want to clarify something as well… I obviously have some opinions about a lot of topics relating to skating and in an interview like this we are discussing all these things in depth, but at the same time I also really view skating, in a very simple way: It’s a fun activity that captures my imagination and makes me smile. Nothing more, really. There’s two sides, I guess. But, in the end it is just something I love to do, never mind anything else.

Devon: I concur. At the end of the day all the crap doesn’t really matter – you are just doing something that you still enjoy as much as you did the day you first got into it.

Richie: It’s kinda funny that I’ve been enjoying life so much but two of my favourite things, music and skating, are basically forms of escape!

Canadian Roll: You, like many pro rollers today, are no longer a teenager with a carefree life to solely devote to skating. How do you balance school, friends and your busy life while still finding time to skate at such a high level.

Dick Eisler III: I’m not really sure how I balance everything! I just kinda do what I think is right and things work out. Skating has really just been a fun activity for me and it just so happens that all sorts of amazing opportunities and experiences have come with it. Friends are just a normal part of life and I have met almost all of my best friends through skating in one way or another. I think it’s easy for me to balance school because I really enjoy learning so it’s not really much of a burden. Obviously my parents have been amazing in letting me live here and putting up with my crap. If I were living on my own right now it wouldn’t be so easy to take off to Australia (or wherever) all the time. So yeah I don’t really know. Time flies. I fell in love with rolling around on wheelie boots and acting like a stunt man, and the years of AMAZING memories/trips/friends have just kinda flown by. I’ll be done school in May and then I’m planning to move somewhere warmer or travel a bit so I guess I’ll have to see how it all works out.

Canadian Roll: Your life seems to have been packed with many experiences that not a lot of people can say they have gone through. Do any stand out in your mind that may or may not be skating related? What do you think allowed you to be in the position to live life in such a manner?

Dick Richie: Life is what you make it, right? You only live once and it may not last any longer than this exact moment. That is something that always on my mind. I am pretty much constantly seeking out new experiences and adventures. Obviously, like I said: the support of my parents has enabled a lot of the traveling and stuff to happen and there have been a lot of friends and family that have been involved as well, but at the end of the day I think a person’s own attitude and motivations shape the way their life unfolds. This is something we could talk about forever (as your attitude and perspective are shaped by so many influences), but I don’t know, I think you just have to make yourself happy. There are so many experiences standing out in my mind right now that we’d need to write an entire book just to scratch the surface…

Devon: It’s the Regina attitude! Given’er. Haha. Living to the fullest!

Canadian Roll: Over the summer you went to Australia, which is how they got the cover shot of Be-Mag’s 21st issue (congratulations). You have also traveled to many more destinations because of skating. As roller and just a person who is living life, do you think this travel has effected your mind set, if so how?

Dick: The Australia trip was so amazing. I’ll never forget the people I met and the adventures we had. Thanks, I was also really excited to find out I was on the cover of Be-Mag! I had a night shot (roof grind) in my profile in issue 6 that they were considering for the cover but it was too dark – kinda ironic that I ended up getting a cover 15 issues later – with a night shot! Haha. I think travel is one of the best things you can do with your time. It is like a drug, an education, an adventure and a party all in one! Seriously, the amount you learn through traveling… meeting so many different people and just opening your mind outside the little world you usually live in – so valuable. The countless road trips with friends over the years have provided some of the best memories of my life. And skating is such a perfect activity to team up with travel – wandering through the world, searching for new adventures, creating playgrounds from boring courtyards and obstacles that nobody else even notices or cares about – and just seeing things from a different perspective…. Again, I could go on forever about all this stuff… This interview is going to end up at 20 pages if we don’t stop now! Haha

Happy New Year everyone!

Well there you have it an Interview with Richie Eisler AKA Dick Eisler and Devon Hanofski. I want to personally thank both for taking time out of their schedule for providing such quality answers. Also taking time out of your New Years Eve celebration is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone enjoys the interview, and if you kids are good and follow through with your New Years Resolutions we just might have a follow up. Richie you’re the man, Devon your funny as hell and to all that read this keep rolling.

N.D

What is one more picture..or two

**Pictures taken off Be-Mag I take no credit for them. Also If you want to support Richie and his shop hit up D-Structure and buy some stuff**