Thrasher Magazine

If you didn't know already, Brian Delatorre is out there. Not in the "we out there" sort of way, but more like the "I'll try anything once—going for it—not over thinking it" sort of way, and his skating is a perfect reflection of that. He's awesome to hang with and just as awesome, if not more, to watch on a board. Sporadic, raw and unadulterated are just a few of the adjectives that come to mind when I think of Brian's skating, and I'm sure his part in Search The Horizon is exactly that. I caught up with him a few days before the release of the Habitat video. —Dan Zaslavsky

How was the Ayahuasca retreat?
It was amazing. It wasn't like I expected. It cleared my head a lot. It made me realize a lot of things and gave me a perspective on life like never before. I'm going again this month.

What are you doing for Christmas?
I'm gonna stay in NYC. It's already cold as hell right now and I'm sure it will only get worse. There's no indoor spots. I gotta get out.

Are you done filming for the video?
I just need my ender. I'm gonna go to the over rail into the hill—the one Andrew Allen switch ollied.

I got news for you: it just got kickflipped.
Fuck it. I'll try to nollie it! I think I could do that. That rail is low. You just gotta hold on for that hill bomb.  


Perfectly poised and fully engaged, gap to backside noseblunt

So you've been working hard right up until the deadline?
Yeah, I'm just not satisfied. I've been sober and all I wanna do is just skate. I've been skating hard for the last couple months—on the solo mission.

Did you like how your Thrasher interview came out?
I liked the photos but I feel like I was overly influenced by the direction of the video. I sorta feel like working on a video part isn't always what you want to see yourself doing. A lot of it is influenced by the filmer and often times it will come out rad, but I'm particular about the things I want to do and they don't often line up with the direction of the video. Not only did I not do some of the things I wanted for this video part, I was also injured so I didn't get the chance to skate the things I wanted to even when I had the opportunity.

Have you been changing that in these last few weeks?
Yeah, this last month and a half has been a complete 180. I've been skating alone—very focused.

Kudos. That takes a lot of work.
Yeah, it's not that I'm not psyched. It's just that it's a lot work and naturally I'm gotta work for the things I want to do. I did procrastinate and it sorta reminded me about what I wanna do which is just skate from here on out. I wanna keep filming the things I want to do after this video is done, too. I need to go to SF.

How long have you been sober?
Over six weeks. I feel amazing. Never felt as clearheaded in my life. I'm not saying I'm done drinking forever. I did have have a glass of wine with dinner once, but that was it in the last six weeks.


Paying homage to an old Kerry Getz spot, locked and loaded long frontside feeble in Jersey

Did you take a break from drinking to focus on finishing your video part?
Nah, it was derived from something else completely. It had nothing to do with video parts or skating. I needed a change and hit the reset button. I was going back and forth about a lot of things. All these things that I thought I needed and wanted to do were just putting a monkey wrench into what I really should be doing. I wasn't listening to myself. I was listening to a bunch of others. I was sick of listening and sick of talking. I found out that less is more and I'm finally practicing and applying that method to my life. It's made life a lot more mellow and happy. My knee doesn't hurt anymore. My ankle hurts less. My body really appreciates it. I'm not struggling to wake up everyday. Being sober is kinda tight.

"Being sober is kinda tight."

I hope you continue to feel this way into the new year.
Yeah, exactly. This is what I'm getting at. This year all I wanna do is fuckin' skate and film more. I just wanna go back to my roots and film some cutty shit. Trick up the curb, cross the street, hit something else and keep going. I find a lot of joy from that. It's simple, fun and honest. It's not contrived. It's more free flowing and being in SF let's me skate that way. And that's what I've been trying to do in NYC this last bit instead of trying some gnarly shit and then not skating for another week or two 'cause I'm recovering. That's what I was doing. Then during the down time I would drink and get fucked up.

Does skating in SF help 'cause it's full of hills where you don't have to push as much which allows you to think less about which direction to go?
Exactly. I'm realizing that places like SF are just more ideal for my kind of skating. I'll move back out there soon enough. But right now I'm just gonna live in the now and live in this moment.

What do you think about Ishod winning Skater of the Year?
Well deserved! He's amazing!


Dela ollies in downtown NYC before winter hits

Who was your pick?
I don't know. I didn't even know what was going on. I just went on Instagram one day and there it was—Ishod SOTY. I don't know who else was even up for it? Westgate, right?

Yeah, and Nyjah, Tommy and Burman. What about Suciu?
They are all amazing! Everyone is ripping. But out of all the options you just gave me, of course it should be Ishod. He's the skater's skater. Pure fun. Pure love. He's not skating to win some prize or money or recognition. He just goes out and free flows. It's obvious he's doing it for the love. I know we all skate for the love, but I wish I could do half the shit that he does. He's effortless. His skating shows no force. Mark has a bright future ahead of him, too. He could get it next year or the year after.

What’s next for you?
Just keep skating and keep it fun and easy going. I’m not trying to look too far ahead.