Jaime Reyes has blessed us with a playlist that without a doubt will make you wanna go for a cruise to the nearest empty parking lot.If there’s anything Jaime Reyes has taught me it’s gotta be that style and originality is everything. I used to watch videos of Jaime doing sw back tails being completely blown away. I was so stoked. But it wasn’t just the fine execution of this terribly difficult trick that made me stoked, it was the feeling of seeing myself represented. It was a powerful experience. This was back when representation of womxn in skateboarding was even more scarce than it is now and I really wanted a pair of Gallaz shoes but baby pink just wasn’t my colour. Jaime Reyes truly paved the way for so many of us who took up skateboarding in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Yet if you’re still not sure who Jaime Reyes is, here’s your chance to get to know her.
Interview by Maria Lima
Hi Jaime! What have you been up to lately?
Being quarantined, skating a shit ton at my house, learning and relearning some tricks cause I did quit skateboarding for 7 years- ish. Those were some dark times for me, glad I’m out of those dark years and skating again!!! These are some scary times right now and I am glad I have skateboarding in my life. Skateboarding is my therapy.
You’ve been called an ‘East Coast pioneer’ but you actually grew up in Hawaii surfing waves way before you got into skateboarding, right?
I started skateboarding in Hawaii. I guess I blew up in Hawaii… through skateboarding I got to travel a lot and ended up in NYC and never left.
Which would you say is the hardest to master: surfboarding or skateboarding? I always eat a tremendous amount of shit whenever I step on a surfboard.
I wanna say they are equally hard to master. Just different muscles being used. Upper body strength and strong lungs for surfing. With skateboarding lower body strength. And with snowboarding all kinds of different muscles as well. That’s how it was for me.
So, you made us a playlist! Was there a specific vibe or theme you were going for?
Um, I kinda just listen to all types of music.
Do you have an all-time favourite skate video soundtrack?
Off the top of head right now 20 Shot Sequence and FTC penal code 100A. There’s more but my mind just went blank.
Those sw back tails of yours… swoon material. Probably one of the hardest things you can do on a ledge. Do you remember learning those? Any memorable sw back tail stories you feel like sharing with us?
Vis dette opslag på Instagram
Repost from @nbd_archive and thank you for the kind words 📹 @antclaravall
Yes, I remembered when I learned switch back 5-0 on this red curb in Hawaii, at this spot called underground’s. I told/made myself learn switch back tail. In my mind the feeling of back tails felt so fucking good, that a switch back tail would feel just as good or even better!!! When I got the switch back tail I was beyond stoked, that I learned how to switch back tail shuv it out. There is footy of the switch back tail shuv it out. Trying to get the homie go through the 8mm tapes…
What’s something that is happening in skateboarding right now that you’re stoked on?
That more people are open-minded. What the community of skateboarding has done, like Pushing Boarders, Skate Pal, Skate Like a Girl, The NYC Skate Project, CSEF for example. I could go on but it’s a long list.
Got any plans for the future that you’re feeling excited about?
To keep skateboarding and hopefully more travelling for skateboarding.
Feature photo by Giovanni Reda shot in NYC, 2019
