Going for Gold: A Conversation with Team USA’s Olympic Skaters

Simone Ladeci Shakri Lebron. They ain't got nothing on Tom Gavin and Tate Ocome everybody to this very special edition of Amy and TJ Robes. We have spent so much time watching Olympics coverage, but we've been getting into a lot of sports that we don't normally get to watch bad Medden, table tennis, canoeing, fencing, surfing, judo, and a lot of that is us asking questions like what are the rules here? What are you doing?

We don't even I mean, I've watched sports that I didn't even know existed FORFO. So I've been doing a lot of Google searches, learning a lot about sports and just being in general awe of the athleticism in so many arenas and areas that I didn't even know was US sports.

And so one of them we got and I shouldn't say stuck, but we got caught up in and watched every moment was skateboarding, and it was the women in particular. We didn't understand single rule like wait, she fell, she gets to go again, so they get one scratch it. So we were trying to figure it out.

Yeah, it was street skateboarding, and we were in awe because what they were doing was crazy and watching them fall and just bounce back up and dust themselves off with a big old smile and try it again.

So that was street skate, yes, but there's also park skate that we're about to get an education on in the next couple of days. But we're going to get it right now. From one of our stuts. Tom Sharp joins us from Paris. Okay, you have to forgive us here, Tom, you're gonna have to help get everybody caught up a little bit. So let's start with that park skateboarding. What exactly are we talking about here.

I've had to try and explain it to a lot of people over the past couple of days, and it's kind of hard to explain. I guess the best way to put it would be, it's like an empty backyard pool on steroids, pretty much.

Okay, that's pretty good.

All right, that's very cool, And like I'm sure many of your counterparts, you got started very very early. When I was googling you, one of the words that came up in association with your name was prodigy. When did you start skateboarding?

Oh god, my older brother skated and that's how I got into it, And I think I really started when I was like four or five. So I've been skating for twenty years now, which is pretty crazy to say.

Wow, twenty four years old, been skating since you were four, You're at the Olympics. Tell me how you're feeling right now.

It's pretty crazy.

If you would have told me this is where I would be when I started skating, I would not have believed you.

Absolutely not.

When did it become, I guess, a job or a mission or something more, Because I'm sure when you first picked up a skateboard you were just having fun, and I'm sure you still have fun doing it, But when did it kind of become serious and a craft and you had a mission of being competitive?

Yeah, I mean, you're exactly right. Started skating just because I loved it. It's the funnest thing ever, and it still is for me. But I guess as I kind of like progressed and got better, it started kind of showing I was doing more contests and doing better in them, and I just kind of started taking it more seriously. I don't really remember how old I was, maybe when I was like fifteen or sixteen or something and then yeah, I just tried to kind of really work on it a bunch and it's it's paid off.

I made its bears, so I'm really happy.

Yeah, I would say so. I would say, so, tell us what we're going to see when the best of the best you included, of course, skate that basically unfilled pool area in Paris. Tell us what we're going to see at home.

So you get forty five seconds to do the best run that you can in that time, and you get three tries, and yeah, it's pretty much just be as creative as you want with your forty five seconds and

So how much of that is as you all just winging it? Do you know exactly what routine you're going for? Or you just go out there and kind of fill it and let the chips fall what you may.

Yeah, I mean to an extent. When we first started, it's kind of winging it. We have four days of practice, so you have enough time to kind of try and figure out the whole park, and by the end of it, Yeah, everyone usually has a pretty good run in their head that they know they want to do.

That's crazy. You make up your run when you get to Paris and you see the course and you just figure it out. That would be so freaky to me. Everyone else coming in, or at least I would believe that most people going in to the Olympics have a routine that they've been practicing, specifically four years. Even someone knows what fault exactly, so you're just like figuring it out on the fly. That is remarkable. Do you have

I don't personally have a coach. We have the Team USA coach Andrew Nicholas, and he's been great helping us all out. But I mean, you can kind of know what features will be in the park, it's kind of similar every time, so you can kind of practice those specific things, but you never know if everything's going to line up the way you want it to. So that's why we get our four days practice try and really kind of dial everything in and make.

Sure how many runs do you all get to do in front of the judges?

We get three?

He gets three? So combined score, you dropped one. How's that work?

Just your best run counts.

Whatever one they thought was the best is the score they get, and then they take the top eight from the semi finals to the finals and then it's the same thing again in three runs forty five seconds.

Wow, I mean that's a lot of pressure, Tom. How nervous do you get? Do you get nervous?

Yeah?

I definitely still get nervous. It's even though I've been doing contests for I don't know how long, fifteen years now, probably I still just get as nervous as I did with my first one.

So what do you do before you go to quell your nerves to get focus to get in the zone.

I mean, honestly, I just kind of try and remind myself how lucky I am to be in this position just doing this so I just kind of try and look at it as like a big picture instead of just dwelling on if I can do my run. Just kind of remind myself that I'm just here to kind of show the world what skateboarding is supposed to be.

We hear so much about how athletes, elead athletes prepare. I mean you hear about the nutrition and the sleeping habits and the all of this that the tracksors might do or the gymnast might do. But for a skateboarder, how do you prepare? Is there a special meal, do you have to use a certain diet or do you are you drinking mountain dew? That's the stuff we have in our head. I mean, just tell us what is your regiment or your your physical regimen.

I do a good amount of training outside of skateboarding, just to try and stay healthy and strong the best I can. But food wise, I mean just trying to eat healthy and nothing too crazy. I mean, the chocolate muffins in the village are pretty good.

So I be I was going to ask you a lot's been made of Olympic Village food that it's not been up to part. What has your experience been like? So far an Olympic village.

The food is it's all right, it's not that bad. The best is more where I'm struggling, But I mean, it's it's all in all, it's it's all right, it's all right.

What's the Olympic experience like for a skateboarder? You'll, I mean there's a bunch of big name athletes, very recognized the bull and you all probably not necessarily among that group of most recognizable guys. So what's it like for a skateboarder to hang out Olympic village? Which is just what's the Olympic experience been?

Like?

It's cool.

I get mixed kind of feelings from people. We were going around asking random people what sport they thought we did, and a couple of people just said nothing. But then there were other people that we told we did skateboarding, like, oh, that's so cool.

I want to check it out. So it kind of depends who you would ask. I feel like, that's funny.

Have you had that oh my god, Olympic moment yet? Just walking around? Have you met anyone that Wow? Do you have you just had that I can't believe I'm here moment?

Yeah?

Absolutely, doing the opening ceremony, meeting the whole basketball team. I see someone in our building like almost every day. It's it's pretty insane.

That's it's so that's so cool and casual. It's always great to hear those stories. Are Are you able to have family there to experience this with you?

Yeah, my mom and my dad, my brother are all out here. But honestly, I think they're enjoying it more than I am. They've gone to like every event so far, and they're just they're having a good time.

Have you say, have you been able to watch any of the events. Have you been able to watch any of the Olympics or you just focused on your event?

Uh?

Yeah, I've been here for like ten days now. Practice just started, so I had like a week of three times just kind of hang out. And we went and saw ping pong which are sorry table, which is by far my favorite one.

Uh.

We got judo and three v three and uh three v three basketball and a bunch of other stuff.

It was It's very cool.

How competitive we're going to be. Talking to your teammates as well and your friends of course, Gavin and Tate, what questions would you want an interviewer to ask your two friends to put them on the spot. What should we ask them?

I think just asking them more about the village. They'll probably have some better insight than out.

Oh okay, all right, that's always that's always good information. And this it really is a brotherhood. When we see you all competing, A lot of you all are all from southern California. You've been skating together for your talk a little bit about Obviously you're competing against one another, but what is it like to be with the guys who are really a part of your family and you're competing.

Against Yeah, exactly. I mean we all grew up skating together. I've known everyone in this contest since I was eleven twelve years old, so it's really just like a big family. And we all get to do these other contests outside of the Olympics, so we're always hanging out pretty much all year round.

It's really special.

Well, I wonder we're gonna let you go here, man, And I wonder because you sound so chill your voice, so I expect you to be much more intense once you get into that pool on steroids in Paris. To congrats to you, young fellow, Really, man, are I assure you no matter what time you all are on, we will be up and watching it live.

I think it might be another three am for you guys, but thank you.

Yeah, and you don't say break a leg to a skateboarder, right, what do you just saying about?

Probably not, but it works.

Thank you, Tom, Thank you.

All right, everybody, we have Tom's good friend Gavin Bodker here with us, current world champion. And Gavin, did I get this right? You're just seventeen years old?

Yeah, I'm seventeen.

Wow, seventeen, current world champion and you are in Paris at the Olympics. Let me ask you how you're feeling right now.

It's insane. I'm still like it hasn't really settled and I've made it.

I don't know, it's crazy.

That makes a lot of sense.

You got other friends who are sixteen, seventeen years old back in California. I assume what are they doing right now?

Probably just skating, I mean vacation.

But so, Kevin, how did how did you get into the sport? I mean, we're probably we're hearing before the age of six or seven, y'all were already skating and doing your thing.

Yeah, I mean, I started skating when I was five years old in South Lake, Tahoe, and it was just, I don't know, it's kind of random. We just went to a park and like I brought like a scooter by kind of skateboard, and I just was like kind of trying it all, and I don't know, I just stuck with the skateboard and pretty much from skating every day that I can since then.

Now Tom Tom was telling us that you all start, of course, always for fun. Everybody picks up a skateboard just wants to go out and have fun. I'm sure you still have fun in what you're doing. But when did it become a thing. Where are some folks like you just naturally blessed skateboarders or this is something you just got to put in the time and the results will come.

I think there's a little bit of there's definitely I'm blessed, Like I'm definitely blessed, But yeah, I put in a lot of time into this, So yeah, it didn't just come out of nowhere.

Were you always a goofy footed skater skater?

Yes, I was goofy footed, But when I first started snowboarding, my first whole season. I snowboarded the whole season regular, and then on the last day I switched to goofy.

And now you to explain to everyone doesn't know what goofy. I've already googled it, but explained to everyone who's listening what it means to be a goofy footed skater.

So when you're a goofy footed skater, if you're standing on the board, your right foot is in front, but when you're regular, your left foot is in front.

Simple as that. Have you been giving a lot of folks in education and skateboarding there in Paris?

Kind of not as much as I expected.

Actually, perhaps when you've all actually start competing. On the day you compete, people will be wowed and asking a lot of questions afterwards. What has your experience been like so far at the Olympics? What have you done? Who have you seen? How do you feel?

I feel good. I mean it's been crazy. I've seen like a lot of people that like it's like whoa like? I don't know, it's like shocking starstroke, I guess, but uh yeah, I've just been trying to keep skating the whole time.

Okay, let's go back. Who's got your starstruck.

Pretty much like any of the basketball players. That's aw Lebron and I felt like the smallest person ever next to him.

But it was gooz, do you fool fanboy out and get the selfies or you try to play it cool from southern California. You're cool kid now.

I try to play it cool. But yeah, I asked for it selfie you.

Yeah, very casually asked for a selfie any game.

Actually not from Lebron because he was photoed out the day that I asked him.

It was on the opening ceremony days.

So oh, you can always try again, right, always try again. Have you seen any events while you're there or are you just focused on skateboarding.

I've seen I've seen the other skateboard events and so I've been I haven't seen them in person. I've been watching them on TV. I just haven't had the time to like get into those events.

Yeah, just like us, we've been watching them on TV too.

I have to.

I mean, just you see the unbelievable attempts that your fellow skateboarders make and then sometimes they crash and burn. Talk a little bit about what it takes to get up the nerve to do the tricks you do, and how much risk are you actually putting your body in when you do some of these moves.

I mean you're putting a lot.

You're putting your body at risks like insane, but you have It's basically you just have to know that you can get out of it if something goes wrong, like when you're in there, you kick your board away and tuck your shoulder or something, or make sure you get to your feet, and that's all it is. If you can, if you know you can get out of it. I feel super comfortable.

Are you going into this fully? Pretty healthy right now?

No major elements, pretty healthy. I tweaked my neck yes or two days ago. I don't know what happened. I just got out of the bowl and my neck just like kind of locked up on me. So yesterday I didn't really get to skate all of practice, and I've been battling it all morning.

And that gets in your head. I would imagine Kevin also being the current world champion, A lot of pressure. You're seventeen. How do you handle the mental part of this and the nerves you I am sure will have going into competition.

I feel like For the mental part, I just try and just remember its skateboarding and it's not that serious. We're just here to have fun and it's like this is super new for skateboarding, so it's I'm just stoked to be here.

Are Do you feel like an ambassador of the sport right now? Again a lot of people about to watch skateboarding who only watch it once every four years.

Yeah, not really, but maybe after this time. Do you have.

Pressure on yourself? Do you say I'm going to come home with the gold or I want to meddle? Like what what have you told yourself you want to walk away from the Olympics with.

I just want to walk away knowing that I tried my best and I feel like that's all I can hope for is just to skate as good as I can and see what happens, not think about the results as much.

Yeah, the last couple of things here give us a better idea of the experience at Olympic village. What's that been like for you? Your room, the food, the people, the friends you make, and the whole atmosphere. Are you're enjoying it? Just get folks that people are so fascinated back here about Olympic village. So what's your experience been for a skater?

I feel like it's a little bit different, just because you're walking around and like baggy cut off jeans and like you're skating around and people are kind of looking at you. Like I definitely feel I've fell out of place a couple of times, just because like there's these huge ripped like dude girls, I'm like a little guy walking around with my skateboard and so yeah, I definitely get some some I catch people just like kind of looking at me.

A little weird, but like why are you here?

Yeah?

Yeah, I like, whoa what does he do? Or something like I don't know.

You know, it's funny too. You make a good point. You've got these athletes who and you put in the time, but it's a little bit more formal. They have coaches.

You don't.

You didn't have a coach getting into this. This is just you rewheeling it, doing what you love and doing it at a very very high level.

Yeah, basically.

But food has been it's been all right, nothing nothing too bad yet, but it's definitely not my favorite.

Okay, nothing too. I have nothing to write home about. But do you have family and friends there and enjoy the experience with you.

Yeah, a lot of my family is here. I have my dad, my mom, my brother, cousins and aunts and grandpa and grandpa.

Oh, that's awesome. And Kevin, wait, are you about to be a senior in high school?

I'm actually taking the taking a break from high school right now, just to we'll focus on this and that makes sense.

So I was just wondering what it would be like to go back to school with it.

I mean, I haven't actually been to school and quite a while I've been doing homeschool.

All right, Well, I mean with what you do, that makes a lot of sense.

Y doing this at this level, there's no way I can go to actual school and continue to escape.

I don't know, good, I don't know if you made the right call, man, to skip school and have to go to Paris and possibly get a gold mill. I don't know, man, it don't worry out. But whatever, it's yours, it's your life. You do your thing, man, Please, please please tell your tell your your your teammate Tate. We were hoping to talk to him today as well, but we were told he had to go write to practice. We're gonna miss him, that's okay. But man, I cannot tell you the amount of joy all of you all

Man.

Really, good luck to you there in Paris. Brother God pulling for you.

Thank you, thank you so much. Congratulations Kevin, thank you. This is awesome. Se