Chaz Ortiz can frontside flip in the streets, too—far from the mega contest ramps.
I have to start by saying, if you were to interview the average 15-year-old, the whole conversation would probably be a lot of nervous mumbling and swearing in an attempt to sound cooler. I mean, if you interviewed me at 15 that's what I would have sounded like, which is why I understand the whole mainstream interest in Chaz Ortiz. He sounds nothing like that. But, he's really just a skate rat more than anything. He admittedly doesn't watch too many skate videos, but he makes up for that by actually skateboarding
(probably another explanation of why he's so good). His first full-length skate part is set to come out in Nigel K. Alexander's Proof, a follow-up to Forecast. It's a prologue to his even bigger video parts in the DC Am Video as well as Zoo York's State of Mind and all three may mark the beginning for Chaz to show his skating to skaters and peers who have only really seen him emerge in contests. For a 15-year-old who loves skating and has his head together, good things will most likely keep coming.—Josh Brooks
Chaz, what's up? What's up man?
So you're down in Atlanta now? What's the deal? You're doing...what's the thing called? The Journey Tour
? Yeah, it's the
Journey's Barbeque thing (see video from the even here. But, we're just doing some demos.
You're just doing demos? It's not like a competition or anything? Naw.
Cool. I know Proof's out now [Ed's note: out on iTunes June 15th if that's how you want it]. When did you officially get involved with the Proof video? It was about...at least three years ago. I was out at GvR and one of Paul's [Paul Rodriguez] friends—his name's Brandon—he seen me skating. They were looking for young kids coming up to be in the video and he seen me skating and told Paul about me. Then I got to know Paul and he saw me skating in that contest and stuff and he was like, "You want a part?" and I said, "Sure." So, I was filming with Nigel and it came out.
Forecast came out about five years ago and you were—what? 10-years-old then? Ahhh, I think so.
Wow. So, besides skateboarding, tell me something you were into when you were 10, so I can get an idea of what your life was like at the time. I was skatin', but, I don't know...at the park, just shreddin' it.
So, nothing else outside of skateboarding? Naw, that was about it.
So, skating's been the number one thing. You haven't had anything else you were doing outside skating since you were a kid? I don't know. I'd play basketball and stuff, but usually I just skate.
Okay. When you were 10, did you imagine that all of this was going to happen, like being in videos with P-Rod, Torey and Darrell...did you imagine that five years ago? No, not at all man. I didn't even know what was going to happen. I was...I didn't really look at what was gonna happen, I just skated and had fun, you know?
You kind of blew up as a contest skater, so are there any times skating at contests when you're up there with other pros and you kind of fan out on skaters you've known for years? Ummmmmm, you know, in the beginning I did, because dudes like Paul were there and Ryan was there—all those dudes were there—but, you know, I got used to it and now they're all my homies and I know them all, so it's not like that any more. I still look up to them, though.
You've amounted a wealth of sponsors now, too. DC
and Zoo York
—you've been with for a while, but then you just got hooked up with the more mainstream sponsor Gatorade
. So, where do you see yourself fitting in skating? I don't know. It's a little bit of both for me. It's gonna be good after the video part drops, though.
Not that there's anything wrong with this, but you got known as a contest skater and now you have Proof coming out and then the Zoo video. How important are these video parts to you? Yeah. I focused on it way more, because it's street and that's what people want to see. I worked real hard, so hopefully people like it.
Out of the really established dudes in Proof—like P-Rod, Darrell or Torey—do you have a video part of theirs that you watched growing up? Um, I don't know. I don't really watch too many skate videos. But, Torey's part in the Proof video is going to be insane. It's out of this world.
He's pretty amazing. His Dudes, Dudes, Dudes
video part was pretty insane. Yeah, he's real gnarly.
For people who might see you normally in contests or on TV, could you explain what an average day of skating and filming is like for you—who comes along, where you might go, etc.? Ah, well, usually out in Cali, I try to hook up with Paul or go out with Torey or Schulte...or just me and Nigel go out on a mish. But, I mean, when I'm with the Zoo guys, the whole crew is with us and we're all getting tricks and just chillin', havin' fun.
Do you have any funny stories from filming for this video? Or, for State of Mind, too? Yeah. On the Zoo York trips, I get a lot of sh*t. The last time we were in Atlanta, they actually threw me in the dumpster and took my money, so that was pretty funny.
Who was it? Just everyone on the team? Yeah, they were just messin' with me. It's pretty funny, though.
So, even with Gatorade and all the contest notoriety, you're still just the young guy on the team? Yep. "Pick up the trash in the van," you know?
I guess that's pretty good. It keeps you humble. Everyone who goes through that sort of hazing ends up better off. Ah yeah, I know what's up.
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Contributors
Josh Brooks
Josh is a skater and a scientist. He's written for Thrasher, lurks in Long Beach, has a mean tré bomb and isn't afraid to call your favorite pro to get perspective on the latest news.
Adam Salo
Adam is one of the biggest skate nerds you'll ever encounter. It can be a little frightening. He also really likes pushing fast in traffic and wallrides.
Mike Sinclair
Mike Sinclair is a man of many talents and skills. He's particularly good as a Skater, Dog Owner, Team Manager, Eater, Baller, Comedian, Writer and Friend.
Chris Nieratko
Chris owns three skate shops (NJSkateshop.com), writes for numerous skate magazines, has a column for Vice and is pretty great at making things funny, or awkward, or both.
Noah Johnson
Noah lives, writes and skateboards everyday in Brooklyn, New York. His favorite things are clean grip, extra crispy bacon and sweatshirt weather.
