Thrasher Magazine

Photo: Robles

Louie and I share the same name. And despite the annoyance of constantly confusing people at every session, he still hung out with me when we were younger. Hell, he'd even drive half an hour to pick me up 'cause I didn't have a car back then. Not only that, but he'd buy me dinner when I was too broke to eat. That's just the kinda guy were'd dealing with here. All heart, that Louie. Watching him grow from the long-haired, brace-faced child he once was into the short-bodied, long-legged stylish devil he is today makes me nothing short of proud. Louie is all grown up and he's here to fuck shit up. –Lui Elliot

Lou! How are you doing today? Congrats on winning Tampa Pro! How do you feel?
Thank you! I mean, I knew it was going to happen.

What? You knew it was gonna happen?
Nah, dude. I’m just kidding, man. It was Crazy! I always do really bad at the Tampa contests. So when I won, I was, like, “Oh shit. I won?” I did not think I was gonna do that.

So you didn’t get juiced and shit after landing the first trick, like ,“Let’s go. I’m about to do this!”?
Y’know, it’s crazy. I felt this electric feeling that was, like, “This is it.”

Oh, word?
Nah, I’m just fucking with you.

Wow, at least you have a sense of humor, unlike most people. Honestly, I thought when I called you would be on the toilet.
Really?

Yeah, 'cause you’re always pooping. Where does your frequent desire to poop come from? Seems like every time we get to the first spot, you disappear to drop the kids off at the pool.
Well, it’s simple. It comes down to timing. When you usually go skate, it's around 10 or 11am and that’s right after breakfast. You get up, go get breakfast and go skate. So when do you take a deuce? When you’re at the first spot! But if you get up early and eat breakfast when you’re at home, you can take a dump there. But ain’t nobody got time for that! I’m not going to wait around at home for that to happen. I’m just gonna go skate and hopefully there’s a bathroom at that first spot. It doesn’t always work out that way though.

So it hasn’t worked out before? Did you have to sacrifice a sock?
Yes, I have had to ditch a sock.

Get that first deuce outta the way and then drop some real heavy shit! Ollie up and over, to the street     Photo: Broach

When was the last time?
Probably, when we used to go to Mammoth on those Volcom camping trips. There aren’t any toilets out there, so it was normal to take a shit in the wild. It was actually fun. we looked forward to doing it. “The Nature Deuce.”


How do you take one of these, “Nature Deuces”?
You grab a tree, lean back and just take a dump and hope it doesn’t land in your boxers.

Did you guys pack extra socks just in case?
Nah, nah, nah. It’s not that bad. C’mon, man.

Give me you’re A/S/L and relationship status.
My What?

Your age, sex and where you live.
Oh, I’m 22 years old, my sex is to be determined, I live in Hawthorne, CA, and I’m single—wait, I mean in a relationship.

What’s going on sponsor-wise? Who’s hooking you up?
I ride for Flip, Converse, Volcom, Rockstar, Spitfire, Independent, Hard Luck bearings, Hardies hardware, Mob Grip and Loud headphones. I think that’s about it.

So you’re laced the fuck up.
Laced up, bro. I don’t have as many sponsor as Lutzka, though. We were at Tampa this year and I checked his sponsor list and he has 20 of them. That is laced the fuck up. He’s got everything.

How did the whole getting on Spitfire thing come along?
Well, I’ve always liked Spitfire, especially as a kid. It’s funny 'cause when I was younger, someone asked my dad, I don’t know who it was, if I wanted to ride for Spitfire. My dad said he called them back but nothing ever came of it. As for how I got on, it was kind of just a mutual thing. I would always come into Deluxe when I was in town with friends and they were always super nice and let me grab whatever I wanted. One of the times I was there, they just kind of threw it out there, like, “If you ever want to ride for Spitfire, we’re down to make it happen.” Not like pressuring me or anything. Finally the time was right and I was ready to make that move and they’ve been taking care of me since.

His sex has yet to be determined but this crooked grind is definitely switch. 180 to reverse Peterka grind     Photo: Robles

Who did you film this whole project with and how long did it take?
I went out mostly with my friend Ryan Lee and it was over the span of about three or four months. I mean, I was kind of sitting on some of the footage because I just go out filming and figure out what to do with the footage later.

Run me through the day of going out filming your Spitfire part.
There’s not much to it. But something I do, which I’m sure a lot of people do, is when I wake up I just lie in bed and use my phone for an hour before I get up. Just to get up. Text the bros, see who’s skating, get breakfast and then meet up. Then go skating. Nothing too crazy.

Is there anything outside of skating that can throw your whole day off?
The only thing that bothers me is if I’m not feeling my pants or my shirt. It can kind of bother me the whole day. Sometimes it’ll take me three or four shirts to get the right one. I like to leave the house feeling good.


What trick was particularly difficult? I know your ender wasn’t because Mason Silva told me it was only four or five tries.
Honestly, anything at night. I have a harder time skating at night 'cause I get tired really fast, so that half Cab feeble, big spin out line was the hardest. It was really late into the night and some dude tried to hit me with his cane! There was this bum that was just lying there yelling shit, like, “I’m going to kill you guys! I’m gonna break your necks!” At first we thought it was someone in the house at the spot, but it ended up being that homeless man and he popped out the cut with a cane and went after us. After the altercation, we told him to chill out and he ended up being cool. His excuse was that he had had a bad day and shit. Apparently he used to be a part of Dogtown.

You’re pretty narcoleptic. Anytime I drive you instantly pass out in the car.
I really like skating at night and I like how the footage looks, so sometimes I just force myself to stay up.

What size and style wheels do you ride?
I ride the conical slim shape in size 52mm. I always ride the normal, urethane colored wheels. The colors are a little too crazy for me.

What do you like about Spitfires?
Spitfire has a classic wheel. They don't look too white or plastic. They’re just solid-looking wheels and all the graphics are dope. The classic spitfire head logo is the shit.

How often do you put on new wheels?
I try to make them last a while. Pretty much until I flatspot or somethin'. I'd say once every few months.

Photo: Robles

Back to you—you’re a big boy now, 22 years old. Do you drink and party?
Yes, I do drink.

Really? How long has that been a thing?
C’mon now. You gonna tell on me to my parents or something?

Yeah I’m totally going to call them up after this and snitch on you.
Ha. Y’know, its been a couple years on the sauce.

Speaking of partying, what happened on your 18th birthday? I hear shit got kind of wild.
Hold on. I’m getting out the car. I can’t talk about this one with my lady in the car.

Wait, for real?
Nah, I’m just playing. It was a good one. My dad got strippers and all that shit at the house. They were in the living room and it started to get really crazy. Everyone was taking photos and I guess the strippers were school teachers or some shit and they said, “If one more person takes a photo we’re leaving,” and sure enough someone took a photo. They didn’t leave but they took me to my room to give me a private dance.


They do any of that crazy candle shit to you?
Dude, they did! They put candles on their vaginas and the held them there 'til the wax melted on my body.

That was during your private dance?
Nah, man, that was in the living room in front of everybody.

That happened in front of your whole family?!
Obviously not. My mom and some people had to leave. It was a dude thing, in front of my dad, cousins and bunch of my homies. It was actually pretty awkward. My dad planned the whole thing.

Dude, your dad is a fucking G.
That’s for damn sure.

Dead end? Nah, bright future, fool. Louie stretches a 360 flip with a little help from a bump buddy     Photo: Robles

Who’s usually on a session?
My posse is Ryan Lee, Mason Silva, Jared Cleland. They’re always different people working on different projects so it’s different day to day, but it’s usually Ryan, Mason and Jared.

How about at the session? Anything bother you when you're skating a spot? Like homies skating in front of the rollaway right when you're about to try your trick?
The one thing that bugs me is random passerby trying to watch. For the most part they want to watch a slam. They want to be entertained; the want to be amazed. That shit is really annoying.

So with sponsors like Rockstar, do they give you any cool shit? I know they tend to give their riders some cool, non skate-related stuff.
Yeah, they gave us jamboxes and shit. They would send me a few so I could give them to the homies. In fact, you forced me to give you one

I didn’t even force you. That was sick, though. I asked you for the smaller one and you gave me the big one. Do you think Rockstar would ever give you a dirt bike?
I mean, I’ve asked but I don’t think so. I’m sure if I made it big deal it could happen, but it's for sure not easy to get those things.

It would be so sick if you got a little 80cc like Dane Burman.
That would be pretty sick. But actually I do have a dirt bike. It’s some little 90 Yamaha. I’ve had it for a long time and it probably doesn’t run, but I do have one. We got quads too. My dad has one and my cousin has one. Oh my God! I just curb checked trying to turn too early!

Damn, you got a new car and you’re trying to slappy that thing already?
Yeah, I just hit the fuck out that curb.

Along with your car, you also got new house right? How is that shit going?
The spot is chill. I went very far. I went across the street from my parents, so that’s cool.

So essentially you've lived in the same spot your whole life. Where were you born?
Actually, I was born in Guatemala and I lived there 'til I was about and nine and I—just kidding. I’ve lived in the same place my whole life, in Hawthorne, California.

Photo: Robles

Dude, fuck you. I actually believed you. What is your ethnicity then?
My mom’s Mexican and my dad’s Guatemalan.

Why does Dane always call you Puerto Rican then?
Dane just talks a lot of shit. He likes to fuck around like that.

I think it’s funny 'cause in my opinion thick skin makes a humble man. Although I think you should start calling him a sheep fucker, which is a derogative term for a New Zealander.
Yeah, you can also just call him a bitch and it works too.

What other races have you gotten before?
I’ve gotten Hawaiian, Samoan, and Filipino. Something along the lines of a Pacific Islander

Okay, so I’ve always wondered, how did you end up getting on Flip? Did they scout around for the next new fetus and got you?
I used to skate around all these parks, y’know, just being a little kid around LA. But Lance Mountain use to be at all these skateparks and we just got to know each other. At the time he had the board company The Firm and he originally wanted me on that, but it was around the time the company was about to go out. So when he ended up going to Flip, he put in the good word. One day I was at the Vans' indoor park and there was this creepy old dude following me around everywhere. I was, like, “Who’s this old dude eyeing me up?” but it ended up being Jeremy Fox, the owner of Flip. He just wanted to watch me skate and to ask me to ride for Flip.

How old were you when all of this was happening?
I think I was around 11 or 12.

What was it like filming under the Flip dynasty during the Extremely Sorry days?
It was pretty damn sick, especially being super young and it was my introduction to being in a huge, first real video. I got to go out skating with Geoff Rowley and the all the Flip guys I looked up to. Going spot to spot was absolutely unreal.

Did you know you were going to have a full part?
I kind of knew I had a part in the video, but I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t think I was going to have a full-on part with an introduction and everything. It was an awesome surprise at the premiere.

I heard that your dad is the one who sang the song your video part?
Yeah, my dad is the one talking Spanish on the track. For Extremely Sorry, they came up with an original soundtrack. They hit my dad up and asked if he could read some stuff for them and he was into it. So they came to my house with a recorder and my dad sang and read the lyrics. When I first heard the song in my part, I was, like, "Damn, this is a pretty cool song; completely ignorant to the fact that my dad is the one talking." It wasn’t 'til later on I found out that was the song my dad recorded at the house.

So your dad made the song to your first video part.
Kind of. That was my first real video part but I had a part in a friend’s video before that.

What video did you have a part in before that?
It was this video called Skatebreak. It’s a half-skating, half-breakdancing video. At the time, I didn’t know anyone that filmed but I met this guy Amerit and this other guy Willpower that were super cool and they told me to come out skating with them. We ended up filming a part for their video. I remember a trick in there that I did; it was this double-footed boneless!

It ain't a double-footed boneless but it's still pretty dope. Nosegrind for the breakers     Photo: Robles

Holy shit I remember you showing me that. It’s one of the best tricks I’ve ever seen.
Our Friend Julian Heller has a good one. People still don’t do that trick. I need to bring it back. It’s hot shit.

Imagine just breaking that one out during a crazy-ass bowl contest, over coping.
Just do one to flat. A big ol’ two-footed boneless. It would be so good.

You go on a lot of trips; those Converse ones specifically look amazing. Do those even feel like skate trips or is it like a vacation?
Those ones are super cool. Everyone is pretty young and down to have some fun. It’s always kind of a big crew and everyone gets along so it’s always good vibes

Who’s your go-to roomie on trips?
My most consistent roommate is Ben Raemers, but it’s pretty random most of the time.

What’s the last place you went with them?
To San Francisco in February. It was actually the first trip for this video we’re working on. It’s a full-length Converse video in conjunction with Thrasher that will be out next year.

Is there a name for it yet? Will it be montage or traditional style?
Not yet. It's still pretty rough. We barely just did the first trip for it. As for the video, I think whoever has the most footage will have parts and the guys who have less will probably be in a montage or sharing a part.

Who’s making the video?
Ben Chadourne and Richard Quintero, so it should be a good one.

You have any cool memories from that SF trip?
Corey Duffel was coming and showing us around a lot, that was fucking cool. Corey’s the shit; he’s a good hype man.

Is he getting on the team?
I’m not too sure, but everyone is down for him. That would be pretty cool.

Did he take you to his crazy-ass spots?
Nah, he didn’t take us to Duffel Land but he definitely showed us some gems in the city. The GX guys were showing us around a bunch too. We hit a lot of cool hill and cutty spots.

GX-approved heelflip in The City. It's all about that roll away     Photo: Robles

Dude, Ryan Garshell is the shit. Straight up. I wouldn’t have been able to move here if it wasn’t for him.
Yeah, remember that one night that you, Ryan and I were up in the club?


Oh yeah. What was happening on the dance floor that night?
I had to piss super bad and the bathrooms were crowded and they were on the other side of the club and the dance floor was packed. There was a trashcan in the perfect spot in the corner but the only problem was that there was a big-ass mirrored wall projecting what was going on in the club. However, it was packed enough on the dance floor where you could block me and I pissed in the trashcan.

At first I thought you were joking and then I turned around and you were actually doing it. You were getting it too while taking that piss.
Yeah, man, you have to play it off and act like nothing is going on.

Is that your go-to move at functions? You seemed way too good at playing it off.
Nah, I’ve never really done that before.

Have you ever been at a party and pulled pranks? Like upper decker someone’s toilet?
No, what is that? Clog the toilet?

Nah, it’s when you take a dump in the top shelf of the toilet, where the water feeds into the bowl. So every time you flush it comes out as shit water.
Oh, man. No I haven’t. That sounds pretty savage. Not going to lie Lui, that’s kind of a dick move, man.

I mean, it’s better than the alternative I’ve heard from my Australian friends. They do this thing where they piss in a teakettle and boil it. I’ve never witnessed it but apparently it makes the whole house smell insane!
Whoa, that’s gnarly. I recently heard this story of someone at a party pissing into the ice-cube box and putting it back in the fridge.

Dude, that’s fucked.
Yeah. Fuck that. I would be so bummed if that happened at my crib.

I’ve got a couple random quick fire questions for you. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve heard people say, “I never gave a shit about Louie, but now he’s my favorite skater.” On the same spectrum, who’s your favorite skater that’s out right now?
Before I go out skating, I’ll put on some Grant Taylor, Skankie, Ishod and Jake Johnson. I don’t know, there’s a bunch of different aspects I like about specific people, so it’s hard just to name one dude.

What kind of music do you listen to? Don’t give me the cliché bullshit answers that everyone likes to give to be safe. What does the real Louie-Lo listen to?
It just depends on my mood, but my go-to is rap. Like, Future, Young Thug. But other than that, I’ve been popping on some Sade to feel kind smooth and get a good rhythm going.

In the cheesiest way possible, does it get you juiced to try a trick? Like try certain things to match a beat in your head?
Well, a lot of times I’ll play music on my phone in my pocket and just get a nice vibe going. It’s not super loud but you can kinda zone out to the song.

Who’s your least favorite skater?
Lui Elliott.

Wallride nollie out to wallride on the bricks, almost as sick as erotic candle foreplay in front of your family     Photo: Robles

Fuck, should’ve seen that one coming. What’s the worst trend in skateboarding?
Body varials, for sure. There’s a certain thing about that trick. There’s people like Alex Olson or Van Wastell who make it look sick. But then you get everyone else who take it to the next level. Body varial this, body varial that. I saw this funny video on Chico Brenes’ Instagram of people doing that trick mashed along with rollerbladers doing their weird ledge-dancing tricks. The crazy part is that it didn’t even look different. But I mean, it’s skateboarding. Do whatever you want. The whole point is that it’s expression of how you feel.

How much is enough to sellout?
To what aspect?

How much money would it take a wack-ass company, like Walmart or something, to sponsor you? Like you have to wear all the shirts and shit branding yourself. How much a month?
Probably like 500k a month and that still wouldn’t be enough. Nah, fuck that. I would never do that. It would have to be some outlandish number.

Are we only friends because we share the same name?
Duh, that’s exactly the reason why we’re friends, except your name is spelled stupid.

Fuck you, man. Your name isn’t even really Louie. It’s Louis, you phony.
Yeah, it’s Louis Mathew Lopez. Better recognize.

Funny story: I was with Louie Barletta recently and I told him a super harsh joke where there’s only one good Louie in skateboarding and it’s you. Which is totally untrue.
Are you joking? He’s the good Louie. You’re tripping.

I was just joking with him, however, I have no tact for jokes. Truth be told, you’re both the good ones and I’m just the RC Cola brand of the Louie name. Anyways, I just thought it would be a funny story to tell you. Any last words?
Live fast, die young. Just kidding, just kidding. Be happy, be you. Ha!

Thanks for giving me your time and answering my fried-ass questions. Get SOTY this year so we can go on a cool-ass trip. I’ll tell Mike and Tony to rig it for you.