etniesskateboarding.com

Man down at GvR '07!

So, you and I were skating the ledge at GvR last October and you were trying frontside flip tailslides, when all of a sudden I saw you crawling off the course... what happened?

Ha ha, just a minor miscalculation I suppose. I'm not really sure. I’d been trying frontside flip tailslide to 360 out for a while. The lame thing about it is that I was in a zone and felt really confident that I had it that try. When I think back to all the times I've gotten hurt, there’s been a sense of overconfidence I think. I can usually spot or sense it and take a couple steps back, slow down and start over. Weird!

You know the reason Goofy lost this year is because you didn’t skate, right? You fucker. I lost 100$ too.

What? No way. I would have tried my best that’s for sure. But to say that we lost cause I didn't skate is just not right.

BSTS kickflip outage...

So then, what was the exact injury you sustained?

Well, I forget all the technical talk that the doctor told me. I took two sets of X-rays a couple weeks apart that came back negative on breaks or cracks. The M.R.I report was a bit different and the sports doctor said it showed bruising of the bone. I basically bruised the inside moving parts of my ankle. I thought I twisted it just like all the other times.

How long were/are you out of commish for?

It's been too long. GvR was in October and now were at the beginning of Feb. I wouldn't say I’m 100 percent, but it's close.

Have you been skating much yet?

I skate a bit every day. My control level is good… not good enough to start filming and shooting photos, but I'm going to wait a bit longer and make sure the aches that scare me are out of there.

"Can you sign my poster?"

What's it feel like when you try tricks now? Are you 100 percent? 50 percent? Any tricks you can or can't do?

I can skate and do all the flatground tricks that I had before. I think my regular hardflip is flipping better now. Just the flip. I haven't actually been stomping them. I have a bit more power back for nollie stuff, so I'm getting that stuff back slowly.

But there's a pain when I land hard or bend down too low. The problem I was having is that when I bend down and my knee goes in front of my foot. Ouch! I’m almost there. I'd say two more weeks and I'll have my feel and confidence back.

When do you expect to be skating 100% again?

I'll be out there March 1st. Let's do this.

BSTS biggerspin out?!

What were you doing while you were hurt to help the injury and what were you doing when you weren't skating to kill time?

I've been paying a fortune in physical therapy. I don't need to go in anymore but I wanted to refresh my memory on what to do. I wake up, stretch out my muscles, get warmed up and do some strength training stuff. It's really boring. Other than that, just been building some off-road toys for the sand dunes.

I saw a little teaser for the new Blind video, how is filming going and when can we expect to see it?

I have some footage already. About two-and-a-half minutes, but I want to phase some out with better stuff. As for when the video drops. Hmm. I'll have to find out. The video is going to be pretty good, especially with the riders and the tricks being done.

Tell us a little about your new etnies pro model, the Creager. I had a pair on my feet and they were comfy as all hell. The tongue and padding feel great.

The shoe is pretty comfortable and breaks in pretty quick. Not as quick as the Faction but definitely holds up way better and offers more support and technical features, while still looking pretty clean and basic.

In Leeper's face...

Tell us about the insole art as well. Where'd that inspiration come from?

Inspiration? Skateboarding of course!

How's the golf game coming along these days?

I haven't been playing golf. My time has been spent taking care of my foot and building toys. I’ve been playing video games too.
You moving to the OC yet? You've been telling me you're gonna for over a year now. I need someone to go skate with. Plus our new indoor etnies TF is being built as we speak!

What? Did I just hear the secret word? “Indoor TF.” Where's my key? I'm in OC all the time!

Borrowed board switch hardflip...

What else is new and exciting in the world of Ronnie Creager?

Hmm. I'm pretty much just excited to be back on my board and shredding.

How you feeling about the new dudes coming on board? Malto and Mikey Taylor and stuff?

I'm stoked. It's going to be hard to do a demo with those guys, that’s for sure. I think it says a lot about the brand. etnies must be doing something right. I'm for sure going to be getting some autographs when I see them. Ha, ha. That's lame but I don't care. I'm a fan.

Busted ankle? It's all good...