MOSES IN NEW YORK INTERVIEW

Hey Moses. Congrats on coming 15th in the Red Bull Manny Mania Finals in New York.
(Laughs) Thanks man. It was an amazing experience.

What did you enjoy most about New York?
The city itself. Everyone there’s really cool and chilled. They just skate. I saw a couple famous spots. Also, just skating with the pro’s and talking to the pro’s like Brandon Biebel, David Gonzales, Joey Brezinski, Steve Berra… There were a lot of famous pro’s there, just skating and stuff. We stayed at this hotel, number 9 Crosby Street or something. It was this really fancy hotel, and in the hotel there was a strip club. They gave us all gift cards, our own rooms… I shared a room with this one guy from England. The bed was really nice (laughs).

Was there anything about New York that you didn’t enjoy?
Yeah, the cops are a bit strict. You can’t even stand and look at the spot. If they see a board they chase you away.

Who were some of your favorite skaters from the event?
Well I watched the Pro Finals, and Joey Brezinski won. And that guy who came second in the Pro Finals was the same guy who won the Am one. He’s good man. Yeah, I chilled with him… David Gonzales was also skating the comp, and he came third. He was skating really good too. We went to an after-party after that, where there was an open bar and everyone got smashed (laughs). Everyone made this big circle, and everyone was dancing and just having fun. I got to drive in a Cadillac, with big rims and everything… like 50 Cent (laughs). It was crazy.

How did the competition work?
Well, we went to the Red Bull park on the Friday to train, then went back to the hotel, skated and took photos. They split us all up into groups of 2s or 3s, and we went through about eight rounds of skating. The next day, the comp started at 12. We had warm-ups for about 6 minutes, and then a run for 8 minutes, then it went to the next skater.

How was the level of competition there? Did you find it easy, or was it really tough?
The level there, compared to here, is unbelievable. It’s too good. They’re all so good, even the little kids.

The invited skaters did a street mission around the streets of New York. What was it like skating with all those guys from different countries?
It was cool. We just cruised around and I started getting to know them and we started becoming friends you know… Skating around New York, just having fun and stuff like that. Going to bars, looking at hot chicks (laughs)… Yeah, but it was good man. We just went to go check out all the spots in the city, walked around, went to Subway. Then we went back to the hotel, showered, then went out again. I had an awesome time.

What are your plans from here? Are you hoping to go back?
Yeah, they want me to go back. They want me to shoot a video now, and send them the edit. The main guy from Volcom was there, and said I must make a video and send it to them. They want me to come down again soon and tour with the pro’s and stuff.

We heard that David Gonzales was hyped on your skating. What did he say?
Yeah, we were skating and just chilling there, and he said to me, “You’ve got some mad pop.” (laughs). He’s quite short actually, shorter than me. I always thought he was bigger than me, but he’s not. He’s a really cool guy. A rad guy to skate and chill with. I took some photo’s with him. I also took a photo with Brandon Biebel, and he told me I looked familiar. I was like “What!?”.

It must have been crazy to experience all that in such a short period of time, and then come back to South Africa?
Yeah it was crazy man.

Is there anything else you want to say?
I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported me getting out there, and to everyone who helped me, even though I got 15th place. I had a fun time, and I hope that I can go back soon, and stay longer.

Cool, thanks for the interview.
Aweh, shot man.