Entrevista a Tim Adams
Via: Be-mag
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I recently realized that, despite now riding flow for USD, Tim has never had a major profile done and that the great photos of his skating on his Facebook haven’t been published…. So it seemed time to do something about that.
I’ve known Tim since the late 90′s. My first time meeting him he was a little grommet who was already better than most anyone else. He and a few other Rochester guys you might have heard of (including Mike Torres and Steve Bruning) were all too young to drive and lived off in a little town so they basically did nothing but skate. Fast forward a decade and Tim is turning heads and riding flow for USD.
This is the guy who won Be-Mag’s “No Grinderblading” edit comp last year and he’s as down-to-earth and unassuming an individual as he is an incredibly creative skater. Enjoy the interview! -B
Photos Courtesy of Tim Adams; by: Demarchi, Wallace
Tim Adams, Huge 360, Arizona / Stretch Tour
(One of the only other people to ever own this spot is Dustin Latimer; enough said?)
NAME, AGE, LOCATION, YEARS SKATING, SPONSORS?
My name is Tim Adams, and I’m 24 years old. I’m from Rochester, NY, been rollerblading for about 16 years now, and my sponsors are USD and BHC.
WHAT GOT YOU STARTED IN SKATING? WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN ROCHESTER?
I got my first pair of rollerblades for my seventh birthday. I’d been on quad skates pretty regularly since I was 2 or 3, so I picked it up pretty easily… But I was high-strung back then and was always jumping around on my blades. I started to see “aggressive” skating on TV (NISS, ISS, or a commercial or something) and I was hooked.
Around 1994 I bought some Grizzly Gear grindplates (yeah, the bulletproof ones!) and Hyper Midgets (52/88, anti-rockers) from Dick’s Sporting Goods, forced myself to learn step-on frontsides on my front step, and built a ramp out of a piece of plywood and two cinder blocks. I skated in circles by myself for hours in my driveway doing frontsides and crazy grabs off my ramp. That went on for about a year.
When I was 10, I moved down the street from Steve (Bruning). He was in my class at school, and we’d always hang out and skate his grind rails and launch ramps. Then when I was 12, I met Mike (Torres), and he and I would go to his dad’s house for the weekend (in the city). That was my first exposure to street skating in an urban setting. We’d skate through the worst neighborhoods and find random spots. It was so fun back then.
Tim Adams, Rocket Air, Arizona / Stretch Tour
HOW’S THE ROC SCENE?
The rollerblading scene in Rochester is pretty tight; it’s definitely matured over the years. And we’ve always got some hairbrained scheme going on; whether it’s stooping it up at the Bittercold Showdown trade show or buying a cheap limousine to drive across the country (Stretch Tour). But it’s pretty laid back… for the most part – talented bladers, good friends, great spots – and we have friendly neighbors in Buffalo, always down to skate and chill out. And the younger generation is really strong in WNY, so I think there’s some longevity here.
Also www.roccityskate.com (RIP?) was a good way to keep the scene together and show the world what we were up to. It’s been on hiatus for a while now, but I’ve received word of a new, better-than-ever Rochester-based website being launched in the near future. As well as another full-length DVD soon to be released. Details are coming, stay tuned!
Tim Adams, Pole Ride, Arizona / Stretch Tour
SO, YOU’VE BEEN PICKED UP BY USD NOW – THAT’S A PRETTY BIG FREAKIN’ DEAL! HOW’D THAT COME ABOUT? ARE THEY PRETTY SUPPORTIVE?
Well, I’ve been skating nothing but USD since the release of the first Shima Psirus. I remember when I got my first pair of thrones with the “juice” system and something just clicked; I don’t think it was the skates per se, but I was finally comfortable really committing to tricks, jumping gaps, and generally building up confidence in my skating. I made it out to the first Bitter Cold Showdown (and every BCSD since!). We started filming and putting out Rochester edits, contributing footage to the old Nature skate videos, and eventually Mike (Torres) and Mike (Dispenza) started making their own videos.
Anyway, throughout all of this, I was on USD’s. People talk all this shit nowadays about “for life” and brand loyalty, and I think there’s a lot of legitimacy to that when you actually do it because the skates you ride definitely affect your skating style, and if a skate is working well, why change it up? For me, I guess it paid off.
It’s actually pretty funny how it happened; a thread was started on the Be-Mag Messageboard demanding that somebody hook me up, and it generated a lot of support. Mike put together an edit with some really flattering interviews at the beginning – my friends talking about me and my skating – and Mark Vanderboegh contacted me shortly after about flowing me through Integrated Distribution. Since he no longer carries USD, it’s now up to The Conference to hook it up. They’ve been really supportive so far, and I hope I can continue to return that support.
And yeah, it’s kind of a big deal for me, because I always looked up to the USD team since way back in my grom days. From JP, Julio, and Champion to Walt Austin, Sagona, and DL (and so many others), the team has always taken blading to a new level. It’s cool to carry on that kind of legacy, or to at least try…
Tim Adams, Huge 180, Rochester, NY
WHAT USD MODEL ARE YOU SKATING NOW? HOW ARE THEY?
Right now I’m on some Albert Hooi UFS thrones with three-piece souls and BHC wheels. Everything about the skate is perfect, in my opinion. Solid enough to take a beating, narrow/flat soul plates, perfect backslide groove, durable wheels… you can’t beat it!
Tim Adams, Alley-Oop Soul to Full Cab Wallride Out, Arizona / Stretch Tour
YOU SKATE EVERYTHING FROM PARK TO COMPS TO STREET – WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE AND WHY?
Most people who know me or have seen my skating can probably guess my favorite is street skating. But I’m not gonna lie… I can be pretty particular about the spots I skate. If I’m brought to a standard ledge or stair rail or handicap and I’m not feeling it, I’ll probably sit it out unless it’s in a line or there’s a gap or a bank or something otherwise interesting about the spot. I guess that’s not completely true, ’cause I’ll skate anything, but my favorite kind of skating is where you find random shit behind department stores, interesting gaps, wallrides, loading dock lines… spots that require you to think and skate fast. I hardly consider basic handrail spots to be “street skating,” but to each his/her own… it’s just not my thing.
Also, because I reside in Western New York, we’re confined to the indoors for 3-4 months of the year. But we have a really cool park in Buffalo, and we make a weekly excursion out there, so I don’t mind it so much. And the anticipation to get back outside makes street skating in the spring that much better.
Tim Adams (left), Gaza Solidarity Sit-In, University of Rochester
BESIDES SKATING, YOU’RE PRETTY OUTSPOKEN AND ACTIVE ON SOCIAL ISSUES – WHAT ARE YOU INVOLVED WITH? AND WHAT SHOULD FOLKS BE AWARE OF?
Man, I could speak on this question for days.!I’d probably respond differently if you were to ask me tomorrow, or the next day, or in a few hours. But I’ll give it a shot…
For those who don’t know me, about 75% of my waking hours are spent on various grassroots community organizing efforts. I head up the “youth empowerment” committee of a local anti-racist organization, Activists Against Racism Movement. I’m also a member of Rochester Indymedia and Rochester Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). In broad terms, I believe that capitalism is a tool of the ruling class to control and coerce working people; and its resulting social hierarchies and oppressive class structures make up most of what’s wrong in this world… the prison industrial complex, police, failing schools, poverty, imperialism, racism, sexism (the list goes on and on). This economic system reinforces and upholds all of these.
But my actual work in the community varies… from writing and putting out newsletters, to attending board meetings and discussion groups; from knocking on doors and talking to people, to engaging in direct action and various demonstrations. Overall just generally doing my part in building a legitimate people’s movement. One strong enough to take on powerful institutions – to seize that power and to then know what to do with it. And it’s a lot of hard work. And it doesn’t pay. And it’s not always fun or comfortable or rewarding. But that’s why we call it a struggle. And I believe it’s necessary.
And there’s so much folks should be aware of. People really need to turn off their televisions and go for a walk or something. Talk to your neighbors. Read some books. Unlearn all that white supremacist bullshit you’ve had beaten into your skull. In fact, here are two things people reading this can do: read the Autobiography of Malcolm X, and listen to Dead Prez. They and so many of their ancestors/influences had it right – that this system is fucked and it needs to be turned on its head. The sooner that happens, the better. But power concedes nothing without a demand, and reading books ain’t gonna do shit unless it inspires us to put our collective thought into collective action.
Tim Adams, Curb Cut to Alley-Oop Fish, Rochester, NY
ANY FINAL WORDS? THANK-YOU’S?
First, thank you Ben and Be-Mag.com for giving me this opportunity.
Thanks to my mom for being the most selfless and loving person I know, and to Mike Torres for putting up with my inconsistent ass when filming. Big ups to Nate Hall, BC, Steve B, my roommate Grant, and the rest of the Rochester crew. To Dan B, Malik, Ricky, Steve G, and the rest of the Buffalo crew, and to Nick DeMarchi for shooting great photos. Shout-outs to those crazy fucks in NYC: Justin Brasco, Big Neil, Billy O (for lacing switch 540s), Paz, the Kelsos and the rest of the USD team, and the rest of the Truth crew for keeping street skating alive! Huge thanks to USD and BHC for helping me out with skates and wheels and allowing me to be associated with such proper blading. Thanks to the Be-Maggers who compliment my blading and put up with my cynicism. And a HUGE thanks to my fellow northeast anarchists, my elders, comrades, and friends in the black liberation struggle, and all the SDSers continuing to bring the ruckus.
Oh, and NO 2010 OLYMPICS ON STOLEN NATIVE LAND!
Peace.
Tim Adams, Stale Japan at the dam, Rochester, NY
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