Now Hear This, Listen Skateboards.
August 08, 2007 @ 2:54 PM
Smells Like Team Spirit. This is how we do: skateboarding belongs to the people who cherish it most. Not the dudes with the graphs, or the washed up guys trying to get paid retrospectively by starting an uber- company that will bring the craven magazines begging at the table of ad bucks. Listen are a real, organic, from the heart outfit. Every bugger involved in it skates. We sat down with Rob Gonzalez and Danny Montoya to get schooled on how to buck the odds with passion.
No money changed hands in the making of this article.
What comes first: the team or the idea? By which I mean, did you decide to start a team, then come up with a name, or did you decide to start Listen then look around for riders?
D: The team came first, we had the crew in mind since the beginning and then and then the name came shortly after to the team. Everything came together at the right place and the right time, internally with the people involved and the whole team. It was all timing…
R: Like Danny says, everything kind of happened in a natural progression- nothing was forced. All the elements were there in front of us and it was up to us to take advantage of the opportunity and put the pieces together. If anything the name was one of the last things to fall into place.
Who discovered Rodrigo Petersen?
D: Well, at the time Rodrigo Petersen was riding for Aesthestics which went under and he was always around the LA area, so we connected through the area along with Vern Laird (Team Manager) and Shimrit Swartzon (co- owner of Listen and a swell dame- shalom, Dearest- Ed) who worked with him there prior to it going under. We were all friends and it fit proper.
R: Shimrit and Vern built a bridge with him through that (Aesthetics). Me and Danny had known about Rodrigo for a while, just seeing him around LA.
Going the independent route in this day and age is hard work- what are the problems and advantages of doing everything yourself?
D:Damn straight!!!! It is the labor of love. I would say problems can come into play when one person plays many rolls in the company. I can find myself always s working overtime- which is normal for a new company. One advantage is that you get to see things getting done the way you want them and you know the accountability is on you. In my own case, I like things done a certain way, and I know they will get handled in that manner.
R: The biggest disadvantage is the lack of funding from a major distribution house. In any business it takes money to make product, advertise, pay riders and employees, etc… that means we have to make smart moves and work twice as hard as all these other companies that are backed by surf money or other financial means. All the hard work pays off, though, when you have the power to push skateboarding in a direction you want to see it go. Having the freedom to say whatever we want and to put out products we like and want to ride.
A lot of skaters think that the team handles everything and that’s it: can you explain what the behind- the- scenes people like Vern and Shimrit do?
R: There are so many different aspects to running a skateboard company. Being on the skateboarding side of things for the majority of my career, I never realized how a company was run. Pros and the act of skateboarding itself is only like 50% of what makes a skateboard company happen. The other half is all internal. Running the business, setting budgets, sales, dealing with the team, setting up tours, etc… that’s where Shimrit,Vern and our sales team come into play. Without them, there would be no Listen.
D: Well Vern handles the team manager spot and deals with the team with flow riders, etc. He also shoots video and film for Listen video projects. And the in the office he works with Shimrit assisting her with everyday business detail which includes warehouse work, etc. Shimrit handles business!
Along with day to day motivation detail of running a business she takes care of all administrative and financing for Listen. You name it she is the one you want to handle it. Always a hundred percent. Somehow she is like a Wonder Woman- that drinks more coffee than (photographer) Gio Reda.
What are your worst experiences of riding for big companies? Is that why Danny sat out of the boards game for so long?
R: Well, all I’m saying is- the business side of skateboarding will break your heart. Dealing with big companies and their bottom lines and budget cuts is pretty depressing. The lack of loyalty is the worst part. They use you and your name and when they can’t get anything else out of you, then you get cut. We try to create a family- type enviornment for our riders. Help them out with things in their personal lives and other matters that go beyond skateboarding. We don’t make moves unless our heart is in it. That is one reason why ‘Toya stayed sponsorless for so long.
D: The worst experiences in riding for a big company is that not everybody is on the same page with things going on, due to lack of communication- and the sense of a “family” feel is not really there aswell. I guess it just depends on how the company is ran and who is a part of it. I always like to keep the crew tight, where we are all basically on the same page. For me I went out without a board sponser for the fact that I was never happy with what came my way. It never really fealt “right” until Listen came along. The people, the feeling, what we are doing...its all relevant to what I’m into- and believe.
How does someone get ‘on’ at Listen?
D: You have to be able to skate, everybody has to be feeling you, and everybody has to be backing who you are as a person. You also need to be motivated to push Listen to the next level with heart and good energy.
R: (butting in) Skate or Die!!
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