Lean and Green
Dec 07 2006 / Los Angeles, CA
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There’s more to Bob Burnquist than just top notch skateboarding
Burnquist is best known in skateboarding for being able to pull off the unexpected. He’s the king of riding entire vert runs switch, he recently pulled off one of the all time greatest skateboard stunts when he slid a massive rail, then BASE jumped into the Grand Canyon, and then there is the fact that he would never say no to a kid asking for an autograph. There’s no rockstar in Burnquist. Completely down to earth and almost always sporting a toothy smile, he’s definitely not the kind of skater you’ll find racing a Porsche through Hollywood. Instead it’s more likely you can find him puttering around at about 10 miles an hour in his 4x4 electric Ogio golf cart around his property to see what’s new on the farm.
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Life as a farmer started in 2001 when Burnquist and his family opened a small Brazilian restaurant called Melodia in Encinitas, CA. The intention was to feed the community organic fish and vegetarian dishes. Around the same time there was a piece of land next to the house he and his partner pro skateboarder Jen O’Brien had recently purchased, so when the neighbor offered it to them, he jumped. “I couldn’t justify owning this land without having a reason,” he says explaining the garden’s beginnings. With help from his Dad and a neighbor who had 20 years of organic farming under his belt, they came up with idea to grow food for the restaurant, their families and neighbors. Now Burnquist says the experience has altered his whole perception of the world and sustainable living. “I think if everyone did a little bit of gardening we would have a much different world.”
The following is an exclusive Lat34 interview with Burnquist just after completing the latest Dew Tour stop in San Jose.
Lat34: How is saving the world going? What’s new?
BB: Life is beautiful and filled with challenges. Everything is exactly as it should be and I'm making my decisions and doing as much as I can and trying to improve everyday. There's a lot going on for me lately. I've been doing a lot of skateboarding and competing quite a lot as well. Working on some projects and trying to stay on the creative side of things.
Lat34: What’s new with the garden?
BB: I've scaled back the garden this past year but I'm gearing up to get it going again, under a different approach.
Lat34: Have you and your garden been on MTV cribs?
BB: Yes, I've been on MTV cribs. They even showed my organic garden when it was in full effect. It was awesome.
Lat34:Do you drive a bio-diesel, hybrid car or regular car?
BB:I drive a Hybrid Highlander and a Prius from Toyota. I'm looking into a Bio-Diesel vehicle.
Lat34: What other things do you do on a daily basis to make a difference in your world?
BB: I spend my money as wisely as I can and I make my purchase decisions with care. It's more powerful than voting in a capitalist world.
Lat34: Tell me about Julia Butterfly. What are you involved in with her? What’s the name of the organization? How did you get involved? [Ed note: Julia Butterfly is an environmental activist who sat in an old growth tree for over a year in Northern California in an attempt to save it from being cut down.]
BB: Julia is a beaming light to the whole World. A powerful female energy that is very serious about making a difference. And what a difference does she make! She joined us at A.S.E.C. the Action Sports Environmental Coalition. We are co-founders of the organization and there are some amazing people involved. Frank Scura is the Executive Director and a very strong voice in making all this happen. A.S.E.C. Has been amazing.
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Lat34: What is your philosophy on environmentalism and acting locally…these two things seem to be very tied together for you?
BB: We have to try and be communicative with our neighbors. If something happens, you always have each other and you can build a strong community if there's communication. Also, if we all act locally then our World becomes a much better place! I'm all over the place, but I have a strong and tight community around me.
Lat34: How do you encourage others to practice what you preach on a daily basis?
BB: I really try not to preach with words. I do my thing and hopefully by example I can influence choices. I've learned that it is much more powerful to walk the thought than just to talk the talk.
Lat34: How does skateboarding fit into all of this?
BB: It is what I do. And it is what a lot of people are doing. It's freedom and it's creative and dynamic. It's my way of life. We all walk differently on this planet. And if we all do it for the greater good, it's OK to do whatever it is that your into. I'm into skateboarding.
Lat34: How can skateboarders be more responsible for their world?
BB: Skateboarders are going to be skateboarders. If we can influence our industry to come up with more sustainable practices then we have done our part as skateboarders. We might even influence other industries to change. The youth is the future.
Lat34: Tell us how you feel your campaign to help kids is going. Have you had any experiences with kids that really stand out where you feel like you have made a difference with them?
BB: It's amazing but they are catching on and there are a lot of kids and big kids seeing the light. It's all about knowledge and if you can learn to ask the right questions and demand answers from your parents, you get to change your family. At least get their horizon to broaden a little. I have one example that comes to mind on this kind of influence taking place. At one of the major competitions that I participate in I had a 12 year old kid come up to me and hand me a recipe for an Organic strawberry pie that his Grandmother makes. He said I would love it. At that moment, I realized that the message is being received. He thought about it and found me personally amid all those people and fans, to give me this Organic Recipe!
Lat34: What’s new in your garden?
BB: Things are moving towards some Organic fruit trees. I have some new banana trees that I'm pretty excited about. I just can’t wait to get the backyard booming with more and more organic trees.
Lat34: Regarding events and life…how is your amazing backyard skate ramp doing? Has it grown a lot in the last year or two and what have you added to it?
BB: The backyard ramp complex has been expanding every year. It seems like I'm always thinking something new to build back there. The recent addition has been a huge jump and quarter pipe design that we call a Mega ramp. It's what the X Games call Big-Air and it's been the latest hype in vertical skateboarding.
Lat34: Tell me about the Dew tour and how that has gone for you?
BB: The Dew Tour is an Action Sports Pro tour. It is a series of 5 events and it has it's own ranking system. It's a good step forward in maintaining a constant audience for what we do. There is a lot to progress over there, but it is an NBC series and the exposure is great. Last year I finished 4th on the overall, and this year I'm in 3rd overall so far with one more event to go. I've improved, and I've gotten a new stoke for the competition and I feel strong about next year as well. Let's see how it goes.
Lat34: What are you working on in skateboarding right now?
BB: New tricks every time I skate. I'm always filming and working on different projects. The main thing is to make sure progression is flowing when you're a professional skateboarder.
Lat34: Where else will we see you this year competing and otherwise?
BB: The last stop on the Dew tour is coming up in Orlando October 12th-15th. I just go with the flow. But this one is one that I might be at.
Lat34: Here are two websites connected to you, what else should kids look up?
Well they can also check out Bobburnquist.com and Myspace.com/bobburnquist1. There are all the other sponsor websites as well. Like Sambazon.com, Hurley.com, Hurley.com.br, Nixonnow.com, Oakley.com, Stonyfieldfarm.com so on and so forth. A search with Bob Burnquist pulls out a lot of different websties as well. Both English and Portuguese.
