RJ Barbaro Interview

Interview: RJ Barbaro

by Josh Feggans



Vital stats first up to get them out of the way. Age, who hooks you up, where you from.

I�m 25, from Fremantle W.A and I�m currently hooked up through Lush with Creature and Indy, Vans flow, Odyssey 20/20 sunnies, King of Nothing clothing and I get Bones direct through Rob (cheers mate).

So I�ve known you for about 5 years now and I�ve seen you develop from an eager to impress, at times socially awkward young bloke into someone who is grounded and focused. There has been a distinct shift in your attitude. How has your journey over the last few years changed things for you?

Well, when I first moved over to the East Coast I had no real idea about skating and politics and all the crap that goes with it. Skating was only ever fun and I never had to deal with anything that went along with it apart from the pain. So when I made it over, I was soooo stoked on everyone�s skating and being part of it, I think my reactions may have been taken the wrong way. Instead of, �oh, he�s new and stoked�, it was, �look at this show off c***!!�. But, after a while I realised what was happening, so I just took a few steps back and let my skating do the talking.



You are undisputedly world class as far as gnar concrete goes, where would you like things to go from here?

I�m planning on heading back over to Cali next year for the Pro Tec Pool Party and I�m going to follow the bowl circuit, possibly try to jump in on the Vert as well. I just want to be able to skate to my full potential with the right companies, at the moment, it�s real difficult. When you�re a tranny skater who gets no/very little coverage, it�s hard to justify getting product, even if you do place in the World Cup circuit.

You were a crowd favourite last year at Bondi, especially for those sporting a vagina. How was that after the bullshit the year before?

Haha, now this is where you get me in trouble mate. The whole police thing got thrown out of proportion, by the police mainly. Again, this was another thing that people told me, �you�re just trying to make a name for yourself�. Yeh, that�s awesome, I�m paying $10k in legal fees, just to make a name for myself, possibly ruining any chance I have of international travel?!?! I was stoked to place in the finals the year after that happened; I really couldn�t do any better than that. It made me realise what was needed and expected of me if I wanted to do this seriously.



Apart from wheelyboard skills there is a pretty obvious effect on the ladies. It is like watching a lion stalk a herd of antelope, but the antelope want to be eaten. Is there any advice for the younger lads reading that you could divulge?

Mmmmm, well, no kiss and tell. I have an amazing lady at the moment, she is the most stunning creature I�ve ever laid eyes (or hands on) in my life to this day. So, I guess you just do your thing, keep your shirt on coz that�s unmarketable..... and some lady will dig your style and then, well snatch it up�

Can you tell the story of the Oregon incident?

Damn. I was skating Tigard, this is the park with the dinosaur and the spinning volcano top, everyone has seen this on footage, rad park. This was leading up to the Tri-fecta and I wanted some practice before the comp. I was doing a melon fakie over the hip in the bowl section and the tranny mellows out towards the flat. For some reason, maybe the Pabst or Tecates I was consuming like candy, I shot out right on the bottom of the tranny and landed on my butt cheek. I had compressed my pelvis before at a Prahran Vert comp and almost lost the use of my wang, but that�s another story. I thought I might have done some damage to this area, it hurt like hell. After laying down for a good 5 minutes, I got up to walk away but was experiencing some sensation I�d never felt before. I realised after a few steps that I had crapped myself. I had to walk slowly to the men�s, clean myself up then I left pretty fast after that. Luckily there were only about 4 people there.



So the concrete literally slapped the shit out of you? Harsh. Will heads be seeing you on the upcoming Creature tour? Have those blokes seen you roll yet?

You bet mate! I�m making my own way through the tour to follow the boys, I wanna be apart of this shit so bad. I met Navs at the Combi Bowl in Orange, it was pretty brief. When the boys came to Bowlarama, for some strange reasons unbeknown to me we never got to hang out. I was drinking pretty hard with Reeves, Yerman and Evans though, so much Tequilla and Rum.

I have never seen you chill on a session. You are always fangin� it. What gets you amped when you skate?

Skating! And more of it. I love sessions going down. Gets me hyped. I hate it when someone turns up that�s pretty good, and everyone sits down, fuck that!! I love skating with people who kill it, makes me go harder. Crowds get me going, it�s pretty rare that I won�t skate, I have to be real pissed.



Any words for the haters?

For sure - I got this far because of you. My haters are my biggest motivators. You know, I think the reason that people hate each other is a simple miscommunication. I�m sure if we all sat down, we�d get along. But, it takes big men to do that.

That�s about it really. I am sure you are happy to let the shots speak for themselves. Lots of crew are wishing you luck for the year ahead. Any thoughts to leave on?

Of course I wanna big up my sponsors. So thanks Nik for getting the ball rolling for me with Creature and Indy, Terry back in Freo, Rob over at Bones, Jimmy in Bondi, Richard and Gus at Four down.

Also, cheers for the crew that didn�t hate me when they didn�t know me, and the guys who came around after a while. The vert boys down Prahran, fuckin� legends. Vaughan and the boys too. Thanks everyone who ever helped me out, be it with proddy or helpful words of wisdom. Friends who I�ve had for years, and ones who I don�t get enough time with.

PEACE!