When you're a skater living in Canada during the cruel winter, sometimes you just have to stop what you're doing, drop into a plane ticket (or a serious road trip south), just to get some outdoor "roll" on. Whether it's Tampa, Phoenix, Cali, or overseas to the Mecca of Barcelona, the list is truly endless when it comes to skate trip potential.
There is a 60 degree Celsius temperature difference today between Toronto and where TJ Rogers has escaped for a few weeks of skating: Huntington Beach, California. Think he's happy to be there?
First, a few vital statistics:
Name: TJ Rogers
Age: 17
Hometown: Whitby, ON
Sponsors: C1rca, Blind, Bones, Diamond, Force, Nixon, Scotties skate shop
Music: Rap, hip-hop
Number of New Era's: 60+
Favourite Food: Chinese
And now the dialogue:
Where you at? What's going on?
Right now I'm stayin' in Huntington Beach with my team manager from Bones, Jared Lucas, right down the street from the beach.
Who are you skating with?
I'm skating with Steven Reeves, Johnny Turgesen, Kevin Romar, the Decenzo brothers... Everyone from Powell and Bones, basically.
Get to fan out on any pros yet?
Yeah, I was skating with Fabrizio Santos actually a couple days ago. Sickest dude ever! So chill in every way...
K grind on an iconic Toronto barrier. Shane Hutton sequence.
Have you made your mark on any well known spots?
I got a couple things on some spots that are well known at Santa Monica High School, but other than that it's all been spots that haven't really been blown out ‘cause you can't think of a trick that hasn't been done.
How do the skate spots compare to the ones in Toronto?
Toronto spots are amazing, but such a bust now. Cali? [laughs] Everything is so perfect in every way possible. No cracks, no rough ground, everything is just so smooth and easy to skate.
How do the girls in Cali compare to the ones in Toronto?
Every girl here is blonde and smoking! I haven't seen one ugly girl my age, unless they are crackheads in Westminster... [laughs]
What other spots have you been to this winter?
I went to Tampa in December for Tampa Am. Other then that I've been just sitting in my room playing N64 when I'm home... you can't skate outdoors.
What's your trick to stacking so much footy?
Get as much footy as you can in one day. Just go on a rampage and don't have video parts all the time.
You're still in school, right? How do you miss so much class time and get away with it?
Yeah. I'm still in school. My principal loves me, so she let's me miss as much school as I need to. As long as I'm good in classes when I'm there, there's no work to do when I'm gone. Just skate, skate, skate.
What's been going on other than skating?
Nothing, really! I've just been skating as much as I can, going on as many trips as I can, and stacking that footy. [laughs]
Inside Out: Day In The Life with TJ Rogers:
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Related:
Motion Capture: WAM at The Forks (video)
Motion Capture: Damn Am at Metro Park (video)
Inside Out: Toronto Hot Spots 3 (video)