Alain Goikoetxea

September 17, 2008 @ 2:43 PM

Nollie by Sem- Alai video part half way down there.

K –How did skateboarding become part of your life?
A – I got a Sancheski (cheap skateboard of the 80s in Spain), as a present for my Holy Communion when I was 9. Before that I used to borrow my cousin’s orange fibreglass skateboard, going up and down the corridor at home. Dunno why but it grabbed my attention, but as you can see since then we’ve been inseparable.

K- When La Cantera (Algorta’s skate park by the beach with the famous pool) was born you were already ripping, what do you remember of those days?
A – Before la Cantera I also skated the ramp you guys built in la ‘Borobia’. I was the typical reserved kid who stared at the big guys. I watched you, Mikel and Gorka ‘Güantez’. I discovered the world of transitions, saw my first ramp and thought ‘what the hell is that for?’ When I realised it was to go up and down, a new world opened in front of my eyes. I remember watching Unai ‘Barraka’ Rodríguez trying something similar to frontside inverts.
Then La Cantera was built up and I evolved with the crew. ‘Cause back then there was not just one evolving, we were all evolving. And without realising or introductions we became a crew, simply due to the fact that we all skated.

K – I’m thinking of Koldo Serra and his videos and now look at him filming a movie with Gary Oldman; to the guys from Asturias, from Cataluña, Algorta was the epicentre of Spain. Who was around then? Explain a little bit of what was going on back then.
A – We all knew Koldo would one day reach that level. Well, Koldo’s house and his mum Lourdes were good times, it was the meeting point for everybody and Lourdes was like a mum to all of us. She would take care of us ‘cause she was a nurse. The ambience we created reached other places and people from Barcelona and Asturias started coming down here to skate and film, skaters like Cortina, Patrick (Deleudere), Sebas, Roura (José Manuel), El Moco (Angle from Manual wheels), El Guiños, Josepa, Santi, the Guardado Family (Marciano, Sergio, David), Emilio (Arnanz)… really good times, a high level of skating. We were all a bunch of kids skating hard, but none of us would see it in a serious way, I think Koldo was the most professional of us, he already had his video projects. I remember him telling me ‘We are going to film your part of the video’ and I would think ‘What’s a part?’ and he would continue ‘Where do you want it to be filmed? What do you want to do?’ I think he was way ahead of us and he was planning things we didn’t even dream of.

K – How old were you back then?
A – Around 14. We’ve got a piece of history, documented and recorded in 5 videos, few crews can say that. And thanks to Koldo who already had that passion for filming and cinema, I believe he did an incredible job. And all the editing was with two videos a cable and record/pause. Hand made, no Mac digital editing, amigo.

K – Don’t you think that there was an exaggerated level for that time but due to the breakdown of skateboarding the talent of guys like Unai ‘Barraka’ Rodríguez, Sergio ‘Nano’ Bernabeu or Gaizko Rodríguez never reached the international level?
A - Thats true. But even so, Unai, Gaizko and Sergio had brief success at the peak of their skating.Unai who skated for BBC (Better Board Company: Jeff Phillips, Monty Nolder, Resse Simpson- Ed) and did demos with Death Box (now Flip), Jeremie Fox was really interested in him – Gaizko was part of the international team of Santa Cruz after placing 6th in Münster and ‘Nano’ finished 2nd in the European Championship in 1990 in Yverdon, Switzerland; but just after that skateboarding started going downhill, no breaks, it was a real pity. But they are still out there skating, we still go out once in a while, and its still incredible to watch them skate. But it’s a pity ‘cause I really admire them and even today when I go filming and I’m doing a trick I’ll say ‘Gaizko used to do years ago’. I’m inspired by them- a lot.

K – How did you ride out the breakdown of skateboarding?
A – I’ve always been an independent person, and didn’t need people to go skating with. I would just go down La Cantera or go to Plaza San Nicolás with my Walkman; I didn’t need more motivation than that. We were alone, Albin (David Ramos) and I, Borjita ( Koldo Serra’s brother) was also around. It was obvious that there was no skating around, actually there were no skate stuff, there were no shops whatsoever or mags…but thanks to Luis Matesanz, I could keep that thin thread with sponsors. I remember we also started a band, we were open to new things, but in the end the environment can get you down, you would go to the skate park and there was no one around. But thanks to the fact I had a sponsor I could handle it a bit better and I’ve got the best memories of the contest and demos during those days, going to Portugal with Alex Castañeda and Hufnagel. We clutched at straws.

K – You’ve toured with lots of pros, first it was with G&S, then Real, now Volcom… who surprised you most?
A – Hufnagel did impress me a lot when he first came with Real, I really like the way he skates. Dennis Busenitz is another guy that impressed me, how he lives skateboarding and how he skates. I also have unreal memories of the demo Tom Knox, Alan Petersen and Eric Dressed gave in Deusto skate park, it was great to skate with them back then, although Güantez hit me with the tail of hisboard and bust my lip. The first vert demo I saw also had a big impact on me- watching Florian Bohm and Nicky Guerrero do stalled inverts and back to back airs was incredible.

K- If you had to choose a skate trip which one would it be?
A – I should say it was the trip we did in 91 or 92 to Copenhagen European Championships with Txufo (Jon Ander Ariño part of the Bones Brigade in those days), Manuel Palacios, Francisco (Jose Burgos, skater and biggest skateboard supplier in Spain), Solana (Alfredo skateboarding distributor), the Ordoñez Brothers, Patrick Deleudere, Barraka, Rodrigo Rodriguez, Marce (Marcelino Castro)… It was so gnarly and I was so young-13- it was incredible.

K – You started so young, at the beginning you were 11 years old, now its more common to see young kids ripping… but not then.
A – Yes now its more common, but I would like to see 11 year olds in la Cantera with the control of the board that we had in those days…

K – …David Ramos was doing backside noseblunt backside revert at 12 years old…
A – …And we didn’t have mags, or videos to watch and learn, we didn’t have boards or shoes, nothing. I still want to see a kid around here with a bit of flow, there are in other countries and places around, but not in Algorta.

K – You’ve the finals of all the Marseille events, 3rd and 4th and a ‘Best Trick’ in the last two, and you have just placed 2nd in the final of the European Bowlbash 2005. What motivates you to skate another contest when you’ve got nothing to prove by now?
A – There has to be a good vibe, I don’t like competitions, I have a bad time doing them, I don’t like them at all. I think we’ve always gone to comps driven by the desire of travelling and because it was kind of a cultural thing in skateboarding, like a big gathering. You competed and there was a result, but it has never been an ambition or an objective. I still see it a bit like that. I go to events depending in the people attending or the people I’m going with. If that’s no good, you probably won’t see me over there. Of course if there’s a comp with 12,000€ first place, then I would think ‘Well as I’ve been all my life in this, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to grab some money for once’ but it hardly ever happens, there are few events where you can win big money.

K – What do you like to do when you are up in your board?
A – What I like most to do when I’m in my board, above everything, is try to go fast, I’m not talking about doing tricks fast, I’m talking about feeling you are going ballistic in your board, flow on your skateboard, that’s always been what hooked me, the speed, the tricks came later. There are days I can hardly skate, but I jump on my board and do some carves…

K – …Moving without moving…
A – That’s it! Keep speed, flow, that’s what attracts me most about skateboarding, moving without moving.

K – Are you into other sports?
A – Snowboarding, I’ve always done as much snowboarding as possible. I love going down mountains, nothing to do with snow parks, big jumps or all that shit. Speed and find your own way, a bit like Carlos Sainz going down a mountain. I also love to surf, which is just a bit similar, adapting to moving water, to the wave. I also like to ride horses and play Frontón (Basque sport were you use a kind of bat and ball and two walls-Ed). I also like the motor world, speed and power… that’s what drives me.

K – Who’d have thought that your friends Carlos Rodriguez and David Ramos would be your bosses, how is Alai doing?
A – Incredible, incredible. Thanks to the effort they’ve made building a skateboard company I’ve had a second youth, totally. I feel really involved in the company, I feel like I’m valued. We’ve always been looking to the USA in terms of pro skating and suddenly you’ve got it in your hometown and it’s you and your friends doing it. I love it because all the experience I have is now paying off and we are learning so much and learning is always good. I feel useful. I’m really motivated.

K – For the record, what does Alai mean in (the Basque language) Euskera?
A – Happy, joyful.

Joyful frontside pivot to fakie. Ph: Deeli

K – …and it has nothing to do with your name…
A – That’s right. It means happy in Euskera, and it’s not my company!

K – Of all the places you’ve skated which is your favourite spot and favourite park?
A – Even if it sounds like home pride, I have to say the Plaza San Nicolás in Algorta. It has hills, ups and downs, gaps, hubbas, a bit of everything and it’s not flat so you need to know how to control your speed. Algorta in general is like that and I love it. My favourite skate park is probably Marseille, its incredible. I also like the bowl in Eindoven and the backyard pools in the USA. It’s pretty similar to street skating, you’ve got to adapt to a place that wasn’t built for skating. The only difference is while in street you listen to Hip-Hop in backyard pools you listen to Motorhead.

K – How’s the last year been?
A – Everything has gone fine, except for a couple of sprains in my ankles, which is not a rare thing for me. A pair of good ones, those kind of sprains that leave your head worried for 4 or 5 months, and I had to film my part for the Alai video, but I can’t complain. I’ve travelled a lot through Spain, south of Spain, Madrid, Barcelona to film the Alai video, also to Canarias. Later I’ve been in Holland, Prague and Russia… you travel so much from one place to another that you end up not thinking of it as travel, just a way of living. Russia with Volcom and the trips to film with Edu (Muñoz, filmer and skater for Alai), the guys from the team and Maku (skater, friend and filmer) were my favourites- good trips with no pressure and great results.

K – Ever dared to play S-K-A-T-E with Javier Sarmiento?
A – Of course, and thanks to it I’ve learned lots of tricks that seemed impossible for me. Javi teaches me little tricks like ‘Place your foot here or there, flex like this…’. Sometimes he wins, others… with Javi, everything’s easy, perhaps there’s a trick you’ve been trying all your life and there’s no way you can land that bastard, I’ll tell Javi and he will go ‘look how I place my knee’ you do it his way and Abracadabra you’ve landed it. For example, switch hardflips, when we were in Australia I was trying those and there was no way I landed one, he gave me a couple of advices and there you go first switch hardflip of my life. You learn a lot of things thanks to him, he’s so clean that it’s easy to see what you are doing wrong.

K – What do you like in a person?
A – I think sincerity and respect for people and themselves. I don’t look for special characteristics in a person, just a bit of sincerity the rest of the things can be solved, there can be problems along the way, sure, but you can solve them. If you are a humble and simple person and respect what surrounds you everything will go fine.

K – How many skateboards you think you’ve set up in your life? Any kind of trick to it, or mania when doing it or choosing colours?
A – It’s kind of stupid but graphics used to send me a bit crazy, I like plain colours, don’t like saturated graphics, just a stupid mania. And I don’t change the trucks until they literally fall apart.

K – You only put three bolts to each truck, no?
A – Yes, imagine how many time and effort I’ve saved for doing it. Its like the ad of the airplane company about saving so much money by getting the olive out of every salad in their menus.

K – How many boards do you skate a month?
A – I’m the kind of skater that likes to destroy his board, until the end, you can easy see me with the same board for three weeks, as long as the pop is there and the grip tape is clean, its fine with me. I also think I come from a time or I’ve been educated to value things and it’s not I don’t wanna change it, is just I look at it and think ‘Why should I change it when its going great!’ Actually I cleaned the grip tape of my board a few months ago, just like in the old times.

K – Since some time ago you’ve been living on your own, how’s that? How do you manage the cleaning?
A – I have a dynamic of storing up rubbish and then cleaning it. I kind of accumulate the housework, but I’m aware of it. I try not to get overwhelmed with the housework but I like to be a bit tidy.

K –Final questions: last meal?
A – Buuf! That’s a hard one, you know I love to eat. I would start with some seafood from Galicia: razor clams, goose barnacles… Norway lobsters, spider crabs… Alvarillo (Nice white wine) to drink, a huge T-bone from our ox in the Basque country… and a bit of Champagne ice cream for dessert.

K – A book, a film and an LP
A – Book: Voices in the Desert – Nélida Piñon. Film: Sin City.  Music: Metallica… all of them.

Alain skates for Volcom clothing, Alai Skateboards, Adio shoes and Nixon watches.

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