DANNY
How old were you when you started skating?
I was 15 when I started skating.
What got you into skating?
I was always in the world of skating from being at the library. The Branch manager Matt, showed me my first ever skateboard movie, Lords of Dogtown as well gave me my very first Thrasher. My cousin and brother gave me an intro to the skate world, but what officially got me into skating was my friend Chris.
What’s your best trick?
Front shuv or pop shuv
What trick are you working on?
Kickflip
What keeps you interested in skating?
The culture and community that comes with the sport. From the place you skate and the memories you make to the people you meet, skating is its own world.
Fave band to skate to:
Suicide boys
How has Grindtime helped?
Grindtime has shown me a world of possibilities. Starting Grindtime has made me meet new people and actually overcome having borderline personality disorder. BPD took a toll on my life by stopping me from making friends and being in the real world. Grindtime has given me a chance to express myself on a whole other level.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
Grindtime is a safe space for anyone who walks through those doors. Grindtime provides skate knowledge and skate products not only for the Rockaway community but also for those in need in neighboring communities.
Cool fact:
I opened Grindtime when I was 19
My ride:
Zero 8.0 deck
Thunder trucks
52mm Spitfire tablet wheels 101
Red bearings
Ernie
How old were you when you started skating?
11 years old
What got you into skating?
My sister had friends who skated and this one book I got, “Skateboarding is Not a Crime” from local shop at the time. Since then I stole my sister board and rest history.
What’s your best trick?
The best trick? How about my favorite! My finger flip planty thingy l've been doin.
What trick are you working on?
Switch in general
What keeps you interested in skating?
The creativity and individuality that's keep on coming. Nothing ever the same.
Fave band to skate to:
Trash talk, Counterparts, Mac Miller to name a few but pretty much anything loud, heavy or with rhythm or steady tempo I can cruise to or thrash to.
How has Grindtime helped?
GT gave me the opportunity to take part in the creating and founding of something that was way over due. Our shop. A skate shop.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
GT is important to the community because it's more of a community hub with for likeminded individuals. A place for skaters and goofballs by skaters and goofballs.
Cool fact:
My ride:
Goof skater
8.0 boards
Thunder hollow kingpins
Reds
53mm wheels
Sam
How old were you when you started skating?
I was 17 when I started skating
What got you into skating?
My friends Danny and Ernie would skate everywhere and I would be walking 10 blocks behind them, lol
What’s your best trick?
I have landed one (1) shuv it
What trick are you working on?
Ollie
What keeps you interested in skating?
Grindtime baybee!
Fave band to skate to?
Suicide Boys
How has Grindtime helped you?
Grindtime has changed my life in more ways than I can say. It gave me a sense of responsibility, passion, family, safety, and community.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
No matter who you are, if you come in we will give you our 100%
Cool fact:
My favorite color is Green
My ride:
Duster 60mm 83A Wheels
Thunder trucks
Foundation deck
Reds bearings
WEST
How old were you when you started skating?
I started skating when I was 7 after I moved to NYC.
What got you into skating?
My brother got me into it, he was in middle school at the time and I would go out with him and his friends after school.
What’s your best trick?
I think the best trick I can do is a switch Washoe.
What trick are you working on?
I’ve been trying to get Smiths better on transition.
What keeps you interested in skating?
What keeps me interested in skating is everything that comes with it. skateboarding like a tree with infinite branches and you’ll never know where it’s gonna take you.
Fave band to skate to?
Spazz always gets me movinnn.
How has Grindtime helped you?
Grindtime has changed my life forever! It gave me a second home when I didn’t realize I needed one. Grindtime is an ever-growing family that looks out for each other and gives countless people a space to be safe and express themselves in whatever way they want.
It’s taught me how to believe in myself and others around me. To take action and not sit around and let things happen. To stand our ground and to get shit done, eventually.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
Grindtimes is huge for the community in many ways. From messing with the groms to all the dancing and running and dodging it might not appear to you as a place thats for the community. That’s until you walk in and you see the people behind it all. These are people that have grown up on the boulevard and that have been there through it all. Most importantly they care, we all do so very much.
Grindtime isn’t there so that we could be millionaires in a couple of years, chances are we’ll have less than we do now but we do it because we see the love and we feel the love from all the artists and skaters and anyone who’s felt like they didn’t have somewhere or someone to go to. Grindtime is and always will be there for that and to help in any way we can as much as we can.
It’s especially important because we’re a new generation coming up on some fucked up times and I think we have to make sure we’re showing everyone that even though everything is changing and it feels like we’re powerless to most things that come with living in this country, we do have the power to change and to grow with every day that we wake up. We have to pave to road for those after us and make sure no one’s left out.
Cool fact:
I skate and bike around sometimes. I like to read magazines, draw, listen to music, all that good stuff. Most people don’t know this but I can growl 11 times in 1 breath (A4D)
My ride:
8.5 Shakejunt
Grindtime Mob grip
Formula 4s
Shakejunt bearings
Venture hangers
Thunder baseplates
BRANDON
How old were you when you started skating?
I was 14
What got you into skating?
Skate Three
What’s your best trick?
Half cap/ Fakie Ollie
What trick are you working on?
Fakie Kickflip
What keeps you interested in skating?
I skate to clear my mind
Fave band to skate to?
Zero
How has Grindtime helped you?
Grindtime has taught us good wisdom
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
Grindtime loves helping children who want to learn how to skate.
Cool fact:
I like to make short stories, paint, and stream
My ride:
Alien workshop deck
MO
How old were you when you started skating?
I was 15 about to be 16
What got you into skating?
There was a homie in the neighborhood whose scooter I used to ride around while he would skate a board. We switched one time and I realized skating is for me.
What’s your best trick?
My best trick is probably being able to board slide a handrail.
What trick are you working on?
As of now, I’m trying to get my backside 360’s consistent, it’s so on and off, very irritating process.
What keeps you interested in skating?
It’s the community of people around me. Some have built their whole lives around skateboarding which motivates me to keep pushing.
Fave band to skate to?
Not gonna lie I don’t really listen to much music when I skate, it kinda distracts me and doesn’t allow me to pay attention to my surroundings.
How has Grindtime helped you?
GT has given me a second home basically, they’re also always doing their best to do right by people and as I’m growing older seeing how they interact with people gives me a great example of how I should be in the future.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
GT gives people in the Rockaway Beach community an opportunity to be a part of a family and a place where people can just be themselves and grow.
Cool fact:
I am studying to become a carpenter with West! The long-run goal is to make ramps for indoor or outdoor skateparks or to become contractors to build skateparks in general.
My ride:
Right now I’m rocking
DC board with some Bones wheels I forgot which ones
Redz bearings
Krux trucks which are not really for me I’d prefer Independents but gotta make due I guess.
Mob griptape
Grindtime hardware.
Aaron
How old were you when you started skating?
I was 18 when I really got into skating but always had my eye on the sport. Since I was young, my grandmother would take me to the Brooklyn Banks and I would watch the skaters do shit that I never thought I would ever do. I got my first board at 8 and didn’t start skating till 10 years later if you believe that.
What got you into skating?
Since I was young as previously mentioned I would see skaters all around my area. I grew up in Manhattan for a while and lived right across the street from The Brooklyn Banks. I had a mini start skating after my first board at Rockaway’s Park before Hurricane Sandy but didn’t get back into skating until I was 18.
What’s your best trick?
My best trick is a rock to fakie, generally, anything in a mini ramp is my go-to. I’m really good with fakie shuvs as well. But if it comes down to mini ramp seshes. I’m your guy.
What trick are you working on?
Right now I’m working on Kickflips, it was something I started a while back and I could land with one foot but I would go off and on with skating and so it’d take me a while to get back to that comfortability but I’m so close to landing them.
What keeps you interested in skating?
The community and the people keep me interested in skating. If it wasn’t for them I don’t think I’d be skating as much as I do.
Fave band to skate to?
xxxtentacion is one of my favorite people to skate to.
How has Grindtime helped you?
Grindtime has done so much for me and I couldn’t be more grateful. If not for them I can confidently say I would not be skating today. I could say I probably wouldn’t be working today. And I could also say without them I really wouldn’t have friends today. A lot of the people I knew from high school left after high school and I haven’t heard from them since. So without GT I wouldn’t have anyone by my side right now.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
GT wasn’t a skate shop, it was always a family. It was a safe space for anyone who felt like an outcast or felt like they didn’t fit in somewhere. GT provided the comfort needed to feel like you belonged because you finally did. You finally found a home to call your own and people you could depend on.
Cool fact:
I’m very creative, I have a knack for video games and I’m a God at Mortal Kombat. No one and I mean no one in Grindtime can beat me at all.
My ride:
OJ wheels 54mm 99a
Tensor Trucks
Primitive deck
Cortina Bearing
Eli
How old were you when you started skating?
I was 14 years old
What got you into skating?
My friend in the 8th grade skated and I thought it was cool so I started too.
What’s your best trick?
Tre flip
What trick are you working on?
Nollie big heelflip
What keeps you interested in skating?
It's just a fun thing to do with friends
Fave band to skate to?
Kanye.
How has Grindtime helped you?
Gt has introduced me to amazing people and a great community.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
Gt is important to me because I care about the people who work here and they support there skate community.
Cool fact:
I can cook
My ride:
Indie trucks
Spitfire wheels
Grindtimexmobgrip
Random Deck
DEV
How old were you when you started skating?
I was about 8 years old when I got my first board and started to learn the basics of “skateboarding”. It was a creature deck my uncle had in the garage of his house at the time.
What got you into skating?
I started to see everything that could be done with a deck and wheels. I wanted to be like all the nice skaters in the park, so I started to make skating a habit.
What’s your best trick?
My Best trick right now is a 5-0 down a handrail, so stoked on it!
What trick are you working on?
Tricks I’m working on are consistent Treflip and 5-0’s down a handrail
What keeps you interested in skating?
What always keeps me interested in skating is the fact that you can never really “Complete” skateboarding. There’s always something bigger and more significant you can do, so it never had me bored, I always had something to do.
Fave band to skate to?
My favorite band to skate to right now has to be Bad Brains or Suicidal Tendencies.
How has Grindtime helped you?
Grindtime has done so much for me, and I mean a lot! They raised me basically since I was a kid. They taught me how to be street smart, while I was getting my school knowledge. I would also learn how to build skateboards, communicate with customers, learn about retail, and much more. I’m so thankful for Grindtime, they’ve made me feel so welcomed, and I’m glad to be a part of the “GT FAMILY”.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
Grindtime is important to the community because there are not many “Real “ skaters out in Rockaway. Our goal has been to reach out to more youth skaters, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, you name it. We just want to show the community that there are people like them out in Rockaway! We’re a small town.
Cool fact:
One cool fact about me is I love to play the electric guitar and make art!
My ride:
8.25 Altimers deck
Orbitz trucks
Geelad
How old were you when you started skating?
I was 10 years old when I started skating.
What got you into skating?
My friend Harry got me into skating.
What’s your best trick?
Backside 180 over a traffic drum.
What trick are you working on?
I am working on varial flips.
What keeps you interested in skating?
The thing that keeps me interested is how much I learn from skating.
Fave band to skate to?
Eminem.
How has Grindtime helped you?
GT has supported me from the beginning of my skateboarding journey to the present always helping out and supporting.
Why Gindtime is important to the community?
GT is important to the community because it is the only skate shop in rockaway.
Cool fact:
I ski in the winter.
My ride:
It is an 8.25 by 32
But usually I just ride 8.0
Indy 139
Bones Chris Jolson Hollow 52’s
Red bearings
