Hairspray and Hammers: Meet Vincent Nava The LA Skater From The Wild Pig Wheels Part

5/28/2020

Hellraiser hair, flaming-skull griptape and posting up on cop cars, Vincent Nava first struck me as some futuristic hype beast with a costume crisis, but once I hit play on his new Pig part, I was blown away. The LA native crushes more handrails than hairspray bottles—which is no small task. See how he locks down his look, wreaks havoc with his hectic 10C41 crew and deals with other kinds of pigs. —Ted Schmitz

Know who you're dealing with by watching the full part first

Photos by Kid Bronze

The new part was sick! Let’s start it off easy, how old are you and where are you from?
I'm 21 years old and I'm from Los Angeles, California.

And that's where the rest of your crew is from?
Yeah, we're all from out here.
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You've got two things going for you that really make you stand out, both of which take an unreal level of confidence. You're a heavy handrail jumper who also has full-blown liberty spikes. How did you start with that hair choice?
Yeah, the hair, of course. It was a suggestion from my homie Kid Bronze. We would all dye our hair and stuff. One day he said my hair was long enough and that I should just do the spikes. So we just did it, and then I learned to do it myself when I got comfortable with it. So now, before I go skate, I got to do the spikes.

How long does that take?
The longest my hair took me is an hour and 30 minutes. That one was special, because I ended up doing the Smith which was the last trick in the Pig part. So the hour and 30 was worth it.

Do you sleep with them in? I imagine after you're done skating, you get sweaty and they get messed up, right?
There are some days when I wash it off, but some days I just sleep with it in and kind of touch it up in the morning.

Nava hairspray 2

How much hairspray does that take?
It takes a lot. I had two bottles around the time I was filming, and I went through one super fast.

What does Sinclair think of your hair?
I think he fucks with it—I hope he does.

Before we talk about the Pig part, I want to know about your video before this called TRAILBLAZER. How did that start?
TRAILBLAZER just started off with me and my friends getting a couple clips and then we just eventually wanted to do a full video.

If you thrive on chaos, TRAILBLAZER is a must watch. Absurd bangers and petty crime, 10C41 brings the ruckus

What's up with the beer run scene?
Oh yeah, the beer run was my homie Gangaskon. The whole point of the little scenes and stuff was to show some of our lifestyle, like, just how we are.

That's the kind of shit you guys do when you're not filming?
Yeah, just fun stuff—little missions.

So the guy working in the convenience store, he was an actual dude, right?
Yeah, that's a real liquor store and everything.

Beer Run 10C41 2

No acting, just raw mischief. Vincent's homie Gangaskon rolls out with some Rolling Rock

Let's talk about some of your homies ‘cause the whole crew’s got a look as well, with flashy kits and hair. I saw a clip of Kid Bronze skating with one Nike and one Vans on.
He's the main one. He's the man with the plan. He's the evil genius behind it all.

He crafts the image for the whole crew?
Yeah, he gets down skating, he gets down dyeing people's hair. He edits our stuff too.

And he’s different than 22k?
22k is the filmer. He's the one with the cheetah hair.

Alright, now I’m starting to put the whole world together.
We all kind of look similar to each other, but eventually everyone will know who's who separately.

Yeah, that's right. Just like with Atlantic Drift or GX, if you pay attention long enough, you can start to figure out the different skaters and fit them into the project. So, I'm looking at a picture of you guys sitting on a cop car in LA with a Kobe Bryant billboard in the back. Do you guys fuck with sports? You like Kobe Bryant?
Yeah, basketball is a big thing.

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Big things in LA

What do you think of cops?
Honestly, a lot of cops like to fuck with us and stuff—they're pretty much assholes. There's been occasions where we do meet cool cops where they understand, but especially by the way we look, they usually judge us right away and they come off really strong. So there's been a lot of bad run-ins and stuff.

Yeah, I think a lot of skaters have found themselves in that conflict. But you guys aren't exactly trying to stay sneaky by going around in black hoodies. You guys stick out of the landscape.
Yeah, there is a point where we have to choose our battles wisely and let spots cool down. There are actually some security guards who are cool with us, but then some of them were like super extra.

That's the skate struggle. What do you think of slogans like Fuck12 and ACAB? Do you guys run with that?
I know there's good cops out there, like a few really cool cops. But from the looks of it right now, it's pretty bad.

What do you think about our president?
Honestly, fuck Trump. Fuck Trump all the way.

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Fuzz magnets

What's the most expensive pair of shoes you skated in? You got some serious Nikes on that I’m sure some sneakerheads wouldn’t believe you’re skating in.
Sometimes I don't even know how much they cost, I just be skating them. The shoes we skate resell pretty expensive. I be buying shoes, also getting some for free and trading some. I get lucky on OfferUp though.

Hell yeah, dude. Let's get into the part. First thing we see, you’re hopping out of the sewer. What were you doing down there?
Oh, the sewer’s right there by the Santa Monica 14. My board actually rolled down there when I was trying the overcrook. It was just open and a crew was working on it. I just went in there to grab it. That shit looked sick, so we just filmed it and put it in. It seemed pretty scary to be in there. It got all cold and echoey. I was like, Fuck this, I'm trying to get out.

Are you scared to die?
I mean, I don't want to die. If you kind of think about it, it really is scary. But a lot of shit happens from one day to another and you just gotta live life. You can't live life being scared, ‘cause you can never be too safe. Someone can do something stupid and fuck it all up, even when you're being safe. You just got to be aware, but still have fun.
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Speaking of being safe, you did the back noseblunt down that huge rail with the mask and gloves on. Walk me through that.
Alright, so quarantine happened, right? The first week of quarantine, I was skating every day and I had my mom tell me, “What's the point of having quarantine if you're just going out while we're just inside?” And I was like, Fuck, I gotta respect that. But after a while I was like, “Mom, can I go skate? I’ll wear masks and gloves. It’ll just be me and the filmer. We’ll go to the spot and come back.” She was down with that. So I had to do the noseblunt in the face mask. One try was sketchy—probably two tries before I did it. As soon as I popped, the mask shifted to my eyes and I just guessed it. I almost landed that one, too. I had to make sure it was secure after that.

Back noseblunt GIF

Vincent has fun while staying safe in thequarantine kit. Although back noseblunting a 14 might not be THAT safe

I know you guys normally gang up on spots. How has the pandemic affected your crew?
At first, it was kind of like solo missions, but now since it's kind of late into it, we all go ganged up to spots again. Honestly, it sucks that there's a virus out. I know a lot of people that believe in it and a lot of people who don't believe in it, but people are passing and that's the part that sucks. But with the whole not working thing, I'm just taking advantage of it—just skating.

How do you make money?
I work in an after-school program. I teach kids how to skate. So that's why I'm not working right now, ‘cause kids aren't going to school.

Oh, that's sick! What's the program called?
It's called Woodcraft Rangers. It's only at schools in LAUSD. It's pretty sick ‘cause I used to be in that program when I was in elementary. They got sports and all types of clubs and skating is one of them now. You can practice with the kids, so it's sick. All the equipment is good too—they get Deluxe and OC Ramps.

How did you get good at skating rails?
The skatepark that I live by has a couple rails. Before I lived by a skatepark, I grew up just skating flatground at the skateshop. They had one flatbar, so I was really comfortable just boardsliding it and I learned feebles. I think it started off with that, and then just seeing Nyjah skate was pretty sick. So I got pretty comfortable at rails and got precise with 50s and some basic shit. And then once I met my friends, they were already good at rails, so I just started picking it up from them.

Nosegrind GIF

After catching up to his homies, Vincent steps his rail game up with an extended frontside nosegrind

What's your music taste like?
You know, I just like music that hypes me up—just high energy. I like to listen to lots of ZillaKami.

Do you guys get shit from other skaters for how you look?
They've never said anything, not anything to our face or anything. I'll see comments online, yeah, but in person, nah. A lot of people just say they fuck with it.

Do you know what a juggalo is?
A juggalo?

You ever heard of The Gathering? Where it’s people who listen to ICP and they have a big music festival? The first time I saw bondage pants, that was kind of the scene that I associated it with.
Fuck, I don't even know. I'd have to see it to know what you're talkin' about.

You guys got any girls in your crew?
Like girl skaters?

Yeah, or maybe girls who don't skate?
Nah, not really.

Are there any skaters who are women that you do fuck with? Do you like Nora or Alexis Sablone or anyone?
Nora’s the adidas girl, right? She's sick. Lizzie is sick as fuck.

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Not just another background actor

You got a favorite vert skater?
I fuck with the guy who dropped that crazy part where he hopped out of his own helicopter.

Bob Burnquist?
Yeah, Bob Burnquist! That's the only part that I've watched like that.

Did you ever see Mid-90s?
Yeah, I was in the background with my homies in the scene at the Santa Monica Courthouse, when the cops pull up. Filming that shit was fun.

No way! What did you think of the movie?
The movie was cool. I only watched it once.

So you got your own custom grip, what's with the skull and flames?
Oh yeah, the flame head grip, Kid Bronze came up with that.

Another 10C41 signature

That's like your guys’ own graphic? Is there a grip brand?
No, everything we do is through 10C41.com. That’s basically us.

So that's like the brand that offers a bunch of stuff—like the clothes, boards and everything?
Yeah, 10C41 is just how we started off and then Vyzer is the board brand that we came up with—it's a 10C41 brand.

How do you guys come up with all these crazy handles like 10C41 and Vyzer?
If you look at 10C41, it just says local. It started as a hashtag on Instagram and from there we just took advantage of it. It's really just us now. You think of 10C41, you think of us with crazy hair and all that shit.

Oh, that's sick. What do you think of Shake Junt grip?
Shake Junt is cool.

Nava Back overcrook

Camera-ready spikes spark the backside overcrook. It's only crazy if it doesn't work

Back to the part, how did you decide to put it out through Pig, as opposed to some other method like on your own IGTV or something else?
Sinclair hit me up and asked if I wanted to do a Pig part. I was really hyped to do that ‘cause I already had a few clips. It made me want to do more and do it super quick. I don't really like to sit on footage. It gets old and you just want it to be out already before somebody else does it.

Dude, double-digit back noseblunts almost never get old. How long did the part take?
I feel like I filmed it through quarantine.

What?!
I mean, I was sitting on six or seven clips before quarantine and then I would go out and look at my camera roll to see what I had, then I just started making it happen. Shout out to the Knob Buster, he kind of helped me by unknbobbing all those spots. He put in the work.

How much time do you spend on Instagram?
With the quarantine shit, I'm reloading the page a lot. Like, there isn't shit to do—I hate it. When I'm out skating and shit, though, I'm not on Instagram. Honestly, it's just when I'm at home or have some free time.
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Pig has a little bit of a history with kind of alternative or punk-inspired skaters. To me, the first one that comes to mind is Corey Duffel. What do you think of that comparison—if people see your part and think “Oh yeah, that kind of reminds me of him”?
I like it, because after Corey Duffel there's not really a lot of punk rock skaters. So it's cool. I got to meet him while I was filming. I saw him at a spot and he said he fucks with how me and the homies looked. He even took a picture of us and posted on his story, saying we were a cool crew. And he didn't know who I was then. But after the Pig part, he does ‘cause he reached out. I was really hyped to be able to talk to him.

Have you seen Baker 2G?
Yeah, I've seen it a couple times.

Do the Piss Drunx or Jim Greco have any influence on you?
Honestly, the style didn't really come from skating.

What do you think of Burberry.erry? Do you know that guy?
No, I don't know him. I see him on Instagram. He’s got some cool tricks. I'd like to see a part from him—I think everybody would like to see a street part.

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Nothin' beats the streets. Front lip through a famous kink

How do you feel about putting stuff out on Instagram versus having a full three-minute part, with all the work that goes into that?
I feel like the Instagram post can die out and the part can live forever.

Yeah, and it's hard to go back and find the posts sometimes.
Yeah, like I'll remember a post of somebody and I'll try to go back but then it's like not there anymore. It's just cool to see what you can do in the streets. I think it's all about balance, you know? You could kill a skatepark or you can kill the streets. It's cool to just do it all.

I don't really know the best way to describe your guys’ brand aesthetic, but it's got kind of like a streetwear vibe.
Yeah, it's like streetwear with something futuristic.

What do you think of Palace, Supreme and companies like that?
Palace is sick, Bronze is sick and Supreme’s cool. I like watching Strobeck videos—they get you pumped up. He has a really good eye and music selection and all that. You can never go wrong with those.

Yeah, and the skating's next level. Just starting out with Dylan and and everyone in Cherry and then they got KB and the rest.
Yeah, Kevin Bradley and Na-Kel, they're fucking beast. Their skating’s doing the talking.

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Kid Bronze and Vincent, ride or dyes since day one

What's your favorite shit in skating?
Rails, drops, spots like that. Skaters like Ishod are pretty sick. Seeing someone who can skate everything like him and Louie Lopez. That's the stuff you always want to see—it's ideal. They could be Skater Of The Year every year.

Yeah, that's how I feel about Louie. Dude’s the skate-rat king. What do you think's the wackest shit? What don't you fuck with?
I fuck with everything in skating—skating is skating. You can't hate on one thing ‘cause I feel like if you don't fuck with something, it's probably ‘cause you can't do it. Like, I wish I could do everything. I wish I could skate a pool all sick. I still don't understand how they skate Mega Ramps.

That stuff's fuckin’ spooky.
That's like not even skating. That's just extreme! It’s crazy how Heath Kirchart even did that shit with the back three. Just rolling down one of those would be insane.

Yeah, that was fuckin’ sick. Do you get hurt when you're jumping down big shit? I mean, it must be hard to film a whole part like this without getting smoked at least once or getting some crazy heel bruises.
Honestly, no. The worst thing that's happened to me is I broke my front tooth back in high school. I've probably gotten blessed a couple times.

I noticed you got cross chain so when you're skating. Do you believe in God?
Yeah, I believe in God.
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So are you guys trying to set up a whole empire outside of the skate industry? Or do you see yourselves trying to work more within it? Would you like to ride for Nike?
Shit, we're trying to ride for Jordan! It's just a dynasty. A little bit skating brand, a little non-skating brand.

What's next? Are 10C41 and Vyzer going to take over? Is it going to be the biggest shit?
Hope so, maybe it could be. Vyzer’s the skate brand and 10C41 is the empire, dynasty. We're just getting started.

Awesome, man. Well, it's been a pleasure to talk to you. The part’s really gnarly and it’s sick you've got the look and a whole world around you. We need people like you who can cut through the noise. We got enough people in hoodies and black work pants. Any people you want to shout out?
Thank you, man. It's a pleasure to talk to you. I'm thankful to have the opportunity. Shoutout 10C41, Mike Sinclair, rest in peace to the king Nick Cubas—our fallen soldier and 10C41 legend, my family, Babylon, RevengexStorm and Thrasher!

Vincent Nava Frontside Smith