Most people know Ryan Lay for being that ripping dude on Welcome and Etnies who does weird boardslides. While his Fetish part is amazing – holy shit how brave do you have to be to boardslide a rail made of bent down, but still very spiky, metal fence rods? – there’s also a lot more to Ryan Lay than just being a pro skater. Ryan runs Skate After School, a skate charity that provides free skate classes to underserved kids, and is very active as an ambassador for SkatePal. His work with skate charities, plus his skate career, has brought him all over the world, making him into one of modern skateboarding’s most well-traveled pros. Recent trips include Cuba and Tunisia, and despite being the proud papa of a very smart new skate podcast, Vent City, his travel plans haven’t gotten any less ambitious. We caught up with him to talk about what gave him the travel bug, where he’s been, and why you should really get out, get on your board, and go see the world.
INTERVIEW BY TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAM MACGUIRE & RYAN LAY
Travel holds a sort of special place in the world of skateboarding, both because going on tour used to be the only way to market your company, but also because of the neverending quest for new spots. However, you’ve taken a somewhat different approach to travel than most pros traditionally do, tagging along with skate charities and groups like The Skate Witches. And going places with them that are pretty far off the beaten path. What do you see as the role of travel in your career as a pro?
Yeah I think a good reason I started doing these trips and doing charity work in general was to escape some of the frustrations I have with marketing. I’m not delusional – I’m fully aware marketing is fuel for the skate industry and moreover my career, but it definitely has a cheapening effect overtime. I’m definitely entering a new stage in my career, call it a twilight stage, where I’m much less concerned with pushing myself physically and way more interested in building solidarity with skaters and skate orgs globally. A lot of this is self-serving – I want to feel inspired and also get some joy from inspiring others. I want to learn, get out of my comfort zone, and hopefully build relationships with skaters and scenes who might need a little motivation. I learned from others over the years you can have a much bigger impact on a burgeoning skate scene as a pro; it just means so much more if you visit places off the beaten path that aren’t in the kind of global skate distribution network.
“There is a girl named Malak who is 15 or 16
and is literally out skating
on a weekly basis on the streets of Ramallah,
sometimes even by herself.
It’s the most inspiring shit ever.”
Do you think that this more esoteric style of travel is becoming a trend for Western pros? I feel like we’ve seen a ton of videos from places like Myanmar, Tibet, and other countries not typically associated with skateboarding. And while Kenny Reed used to be the token travel pro, more and more big pros from the U.S. and Europe are making their way out to these places.
It’s hard to say if it’s a trend, there have always been people doing it and certainly now there are more skate organizations globally to work with, which is incredible. I think a lot of people in general are more interested in connecting with a local scene or maybe doing service work/political tourism and it’s great that we’re building the infrastructure to connect all these skaters.
You’ve been involved in pro skateboarding for a long time now. Have you done all the more traditional travel? Barcelona, Tampa, Euro tours, being driven from spot to spot in a van in China, and all that? Did you like it?
I have, and like all traveling, it’s as fun as the people you’re with. Rural Arizona is fun if I’m with the right people. I never was on the contest circuit (wasn’t good enough) [laughs], but I was fortunate enough to do a handful of Euro and China tours which was a great catalyst for getting out of my comfort zone. I don’t think most of my friends in Europe understand how much of a mental barrier there is for your average American to leave the country for the first time. The only downside to those traditional skate trips is you tend to stay in isolated bubbles – at best there is a distributor or local guide you can connect with, but doing a full immersion with local scenes can be much more enriching. I also just have trouble skating every single day, so there’s that too.
How has your work with Skate After School affected your choices of destinations? Has it made you more inclined to link up with organizations like SkatePal, in that the work they do is similar to what you’re already doing back in the U.S.?
Our work with Skate After School introduced me to the refugee community in Phoenix, which snowballed into an interest in larger geopolitical issues and eventually led to a better understanding of the role of U.S. empire. I became fascinated with countries and places with a history of liberatory struggles and especially places that have managed to stave off or combat U.S. empire. It forced me to face some really tough realities as an American (our tax money funds forever war) and is consistently an ongoing educational process for me. It’s no surprise that many skate orgs have come to these places for many of the same reasons.
“That’s the essence
of street skating right?
To seek out the unknown.”
I love the photos of you with the kid in Palestine. What was it like to skate with them? Are they quick learners?
Yeah those kids fucking rule. Absolutely fearless. You simply cannot overstate how powerful skateboarding is as a tool to escape reality for kids living in those rural villages in the Occupied West Bank. Massive shoutout to all the people who got that up and running and to all of the volunteers and locals there – true heroes.
I also noticed the photos of the women skaters there. Is it normal for women to participate in a sport like skateboarding?
No, it’s not especially normal, but there’s really just not that many skaters in general. There is a girl named Malak who is 15 or 16 and is literally out skating on a weekly basis on the streets of Ramallah, sometimes even by herself. It’s the most inspiring shit ever. She told me she’s trying to “invite my friends to come and skate ‘cause we have to make the skateboarding community bigger and better if we can!” Legit made me start tearing up when I read that.
Speaking of photography, how does that play into travel for you? Do you take photos to remember your trips, or do you have more serious goals in mind for them?
I don’t really have a bigger vision, other than to amplify the scene. I’m a pretty average amateur photographer and am still fleshing out how I want to document these trips. I really want to tell the stories in more detail, but I just am too busy and trying to figure out the right platform for it – Vent City will likely be that outlet in the immediate future. My ideal project would be to build out a sort of historical account of skaters/scenes and place them in a broader geopolitical context. Like I was just in Tunis as I’m writing this and those guys who were showing me around lived through a full blown revolution as teenagers and young skaters. I’d love to help them get resources to tell their stories through the lens of skateboarding. It’d be a lot of work but that could be a really interesting project.
What about your role as, if you don’t mind us gassing you up a bit, the biggest male ally in pro skateboarding? You were the only active pro to publicly denounce Jason Jessee, after the recent revelations surrounding his neo-Nazi past, and you’ve been an extremely vocal supporter of women and LGBTQ skaters. Has your advocacy changed who you travel with (i.e. going to Cuba with the Witches)?
Ugh, there’s a lot to unpack here and I definitely don’t want to hold that title. I’ll just say that I, like a lot of skaters in the U.S., grew up in a white suburban enclave with your standard American structural racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. and lived my life in near complete ignorance. It makes me cringe to think about the shit I said and did until well into adulthood, and I know I’m not alone in that. I also know I’m not done fucking up – it’s going to keep happening and hopefully I have a diverse enough group of friends to be patient with me and check me when I need it. I went through a big political and personal transformation in part from doing Skate After School and then seemingly by accident, in my late 20s, became a pro skateboarder.
As an older pro, I was already thinking about what I wanted my impact to be on skating and how I could build out a space for a more inclusive skateboard world (and hopefully encourage kids to think about these issues at a much younger age than I ever did). A lot of other people have done so much of that groundwork and I’m really just tagging along. It only feels different because I have my name on a board. I have a small but not insignificant platform and I want to be considerate with how I use it. I think a lot about what kind of message I want to broadcast. But yeah, it’s definitely motivated me to travel with different folks – mostly because I want to highlight all the incredible work everybody is doing and glean whatever knowledge I can from them. Definitely feels like we’re at an exciting time for skating right now.
What’s up with skateboarding in Cuba? Are the cars there really all vintage because of the sanctions?
Skateboarding in Cuba is pretty recent as far as I know and really taking off. There’s been a lot of great work done to promote the scene and the locals are some of the raddest people I’ve ever met. I traveled across the island with a few of them the second time I went and that was a super great experience. There is a mix of vintage U.S. cars and some soviet ones as well – it’s definitely pretty interesting. It can feel a little gross as a tourist because you find the decay fascinating as a little two-week jaunt but the reality can be quite grim for the locals.
How do your sponsors feel about your choices? Do you get pressure to do normal trips and tours with the team, or is it all good as long as you come back with footage?
Not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but most of my sponsors don’t really do big trips anymore and I’m feeling less and less tied to that side of the industry. I’m making less and less money from skating each year, which honestly I’m okay with. But yeah, fortunately, social media gives us all the space to tell our own stories and share so much more than a video part can. I try to get footage when I’m on trips, but honestly it’s just so much easier traveling with a phone and putting it out that way.
What’s been your favorite trip so far and why?
Without a doubt, my trip to Palestine last year was the most life-changing. Everyone who has been there says that; it’s a cliche. I had read so much about Palestine in the years leading up to it and was going through a really rough patch in my life when Maen (local coordinator for Skatepal and friend) told me I should just wing it and come out. I spent two weeks with Aram and Adham, two of the first skaters there, and we just travelled around the whole West Bank. We skated a ton, ate incredible food, checked out the holy sites and different elements of the occupation. Most importantly though, they were gracious enough to give me a look into their lives growing up there and share some pretty intimate details. I learned a lot about myself, my own complicity in the occupation as well as our own settler-colonial project at home, and in all sincerity it changed the way I think about the work I want to do.
Least favorite?
Brutal question! Most of my bad trips have involved being sick. When I was in China last year I was terribly ill; I even remember sleeping underneath a quarterpipe during a demo I was so sick. It’s never fun when you’re feeling like garbage, out of your comfort zone and unable to skate with people who are there to see you. A lot goes into planning a big trip with a distributor so it can be pretty demoralizing when you feel like you’re totally dropping the ball and it’s out of your control.
“Be gracious and understanding of other cultures –
try to get out of your comfort zone.”
How do you link up with the locals, when you go somewhere where skateboarding isn’t super popular? Do you depend on organizations like SkatePal, or do you just start Googling and hope some local vids pop up?
I almost always have a contact in the country I’m visiting. Sometimes that’s through a skate org or someone I’ve just met on Instagram (usually this happens from talking politics/social issues, strangely enough). That being said, skaters, especially abroad, are almost always gracious and welcoming even if they don’t have much to offer.
On the theme of pride, is there a sense of pride that comes with being more well-traveled? Do you feel more confident in your ability to get around in foreign countries?
Mostly, I feel the shame of being connected with Trump when I’m traveling these days. But yeah, I do feel more capable of connecting with local skaters and try to do as much background information as possible so I have a little bit of a handle on what I’m getting myself into. And honestly, I try to do my best to stay in touch with people through Instagram and continue those relationships and bounce ideas off people.
Do you consider travel to be an essential element of skateboarding? What do you see as the benefits of travel to your average skateboarder?
I do; I mean that’s the essence of street skating right? To seek out the unknown. Again, traveling is about as useful as you make it. A lot of skate tours are pretty insulated so I think you can manage to travel pretty extensively and not get a whole lot out of it if you have blinders on. Traveling, at its best, can be humbling and educational and allow you to feel more connected to other humans. The more you interact with other cultures the less fear you have of an “other.” We can take those experiences home with us and educate our loved ones.
What advice would you give to someone who is less experienced with travel about how to get the most out of it? What are some dos and dont’s for you?
Be gracious and understanding of other cultures – try to get out of your comfort zone. This is nearly impossible as a Westerner, but don’t be exploitative. Understand that your travel is self-serving, educational and, if you’re like me, comes from a place of tremendous privilege. At best, it will inspire local skaters and make you an ambassador for the places you visit when you’re back home. If you have a platform, amplify the voices and scenes of the skaters you’re with. If your sole purpose is helping people, send them money or send it to an aid organization and work with your local community at home. With that being said, getting involved with some of the many incredible skate NGOs can be a life-changing experience, both helping others and helping yourself.
Where to next?
I’m going to the Pushing Boarders conference in Malmö in August and am really stoked on that. Heading back to Palestine for the Ramallah skatepark build in October and hopefully Ethiopia/South Sudan with my friend Jany Deng in November. It’s looking to be a pretty good year!
IG: @ryan_lay
