Chad Tim Tim: "The Pino Nation"

Thrasher Magazine, Feb, 2005

Pound for pound, who do you think is the most powerful Filipino skater on the circuit?

On the circuit? I don't know. Who's Filipino?

Well, Willy. Dan "The Hammer" Rogers. The Gutierrez brothers from Virginia Beach.

Oh yeah. Richard Mulder's Filipino, Justin Reynolds. Who else is there?

I smell a new company.

Yeah, huh? The Pino Nation.

So who's the most powerful, pound for pound?

Probably Willy. He's been around days and he's still moving.

Oh, you bet. Did you grow up steeped in Filipino culture?

No. I grew up in Orange County, the Orange County curtain. Basically I grew up surfing more than skating. Basically that's like the biggest influence out there. Before I got into skating I was surfing everyday. But I just got too impatient waiting out there, and I needed to control my ADD so I started skating.

Right. When the waves are down you surf the sidewalks.

Yeah, exactly.

When did you first realize there were skateboard tricks?

Probably from my brother. He was all into skating back in the mid-'80s. That's when I first saw skating. But I never really skated. I just kind of played tag on my knees with it. My brother was there doing judos and airwalks off of launch ramps. It blew me away. He was the one that got me started in skating.

So you grew up already knowing there were tricks and all that stuff?

Yeah.

How many hundreds of tricks have you had in 411?

Oh, 100? One hundred.

You've had a very strong presence in the 411 over the years, huh?

Yeah.

You're like the Filipino Evan Shiefelbine.

Yeah, I guess so. Chris Ortiz hooks it up, man. He looks out for me.

You were pretty much born into the Orange County skate scene. How do you think your life would have been different if you were born in Kansas or something?

Probably not much, since I still respected everybody I saw growing up. I wasn't too greedy and talking too much. I was always standoffish and saw what they did. I think I'd be the same anywhere I grew up; it's just my background. I just was always nervous in front of any other pros. I still am.

When you were on World Industries did you ride the Wet Willy or the Flameboy?

Damn, you gotta bring that up? I probably rode both. I probably rode all of them.

But which were you drawn more to?

I always thought Flameboy was more the evil side, so I was always the Wet Willy type of guy.

Right, I like it. What are your thoughts on Terry

Kennedy's million-dollar shoe deal?

He got a million dollars?

That's the rumor.

Wow, that's good for him, man. More power to him. If you can make money doing something you might as well do it.

When you think of Terry's million bucks, do you think that Long Beach Larry was born at the wrong time?

Oh, man. Yeah, definitely. I just saw him a couple days ago, actually. He's got a kid now. He still skates every once and a while. I think he could have been what Terry is if he kept skating.

Can you think of any other Long Beach skaters that might be deserving of a million-dollar shoe deal?

That'd be cool to see Ron Chatman or Jason Rothmeyer get a million-dollar shoe deal.

I'd be stoked to see Rothmeyer with a million bucks.

Exactly.

Describe Long Beach as a skate town.

It's definitely growing. There's a lot of new heads moving in and there's a good vibe there, man. It's pretty close. It's not like Orange County or San Diego or anything like that. It's definitely its own city, but it's got a good feel to it, which a lot of places lack.

Not that it's a bad thing, but why is there so much hugging among the Long Beach skaters? It's like hugs not thugs.

I think 'cause everybody grew up with the thugs so everybody's ready for the hugs.

If the Long Beach skate scene was the Mafia, who would be the Godfather?

Probably Ron Chatman. And then Rob G would be the one coming up.

Yeah, who would the captains be?

It's got to be Rob, Jimbo--he's an undercover ripper--and Rich Colwell.

If the Long Beach scene was Twisted Sister, who would be Dee Snider?

Probably 'Toya, because he's still out there.

Do you ever get the feeling that Barn's parents aren't really as outraged and surprised as they appear?

Uh, what do you mean?

When watching the program do you think that maybe the shock has worn off?

Yeah. Definitely some of them seem like they're kind of planned out. Barn needs to come up with something new.

Skateboarding is headed for the Olympics, Chad. If you were in charge how would you set up the event?

I'd do a 100-meter hurdle for skateboarding.

Where you had to ollie or high jump?

You'd have to hippie jump, ollie, and then hippie jump.

Who do you think would win a gold medal in manuals?

Joey Brezinski.

What about the flatground gold? PJ Ladd, for sure.

Who's the most underrated skater of all time?

There's a lot, man. Nate Sherwood comes to mind. Matt Beach. A lot come to mind but I can't name them.

Describe a time you should have died.

Oh, man. I was looking for a song in my iPod yesterday and there was a four-way stop. I ended up going right through it and everybody ended up skidding out trying to avoid me. I didn't realize what was going on until I passed the intersection and everybody was honking and flipping me off.