Speaker 1: 0:09

Hey there, welcome to how Do you Skate, the ultimate destination for all skating enthusiasts. We cater to everyone, from beginners to pros. Whether you love inline and ice skating or prefer quads and skateboarding, we have it all covered, and we bring you exclusive interviews with professionals, talented amateurs and influencers in the industry. So sit back, relax and get ready for an exciting journey into the world of skating welcome to how do you skate?

Speaker 2: 0:44

I am your host, seangan, and my guest today is Ernie Ibarra, and he's got probably one of the most amazing stories that you guys are going to hear, and he's an amazing skater if you have not seen any of his skateboard or if you have not seen any of his videos yet. So welcome to the show.

Speaker 3: 1:06

What's up man, how are you?

Speaker 2: 1:07

doing Thanks. Thanks for having me. So now, when did you start skating? How old were you?

Speaker 3: 1:12

um, just like I'm at like my first skateboard, um, from, like I want to say, my orthopedic doctor, I'm like three years old, okay, a little plastic skateboard. Um, I didn't like for, say, being in my wheelchair. Um, so that was like another way for me to get around. For, say, uh, because when I first started crawling, I was pulling on my hand but I was dragging a lot of my lower half right. I wasn't lifting it up the way I do now for, say, as a grown-up. Yeah, um, so they didn't like me dragging my lower half right, so I was scraping up my legs and just messing everything up. So, like, well, since he's, you know, moving like this, why don't we just get him on a skateboard and see how he likes it, you know? And so I moved around an escape, or forever. And then, about like age nine, I seen tony hawk doing a 900 right and I'm just I was there, man that's yeah.

Speaker 3: 1:56

And I was like that's badass. You know, like holy crap, that's. I want to do something like that. You know, I told my mom was like I want to do that. She's like you know. I told my mom I was like I want to do that. She's like you're crazy. And I was like no, no, I'm serious, like I want to learn how to skate like that. And she was like yeah, yeah, yeah, right. So then, like my 10th birthday came around that year and she bought me my first pro deck. It was a Tony Hawk skateboard deck. It was like a blue pterodact, like I'm trying to find it again so I can rebuy it. But, um, but I, from that day, like I started skating right and like she would take me to skate parks and oh man, I just had a blast doing it. And then I'd pick it up like I'd skate, and then let it go skate, and then let it go.

Speaker 3: 2:37

Um, age 14, I had a major reconstruction surgery. Um, they told me not to ski, don in warm. They were like you know, you're done, you can't skate. And I was like why not? And they're like if your skipper was to hit you in your stomach area has a chance of popping your bladder. And then you know you're done, you're pretty much out, and I was like damn. So I gave up skateboarding for like four years. And then I, like 18, I was like dude, you only live once. Like I love it way too much to not do it, you know. So, yeah, I bought a skateboard again and I started skating like here and there, not really nothing too serious. And then, um, I was picking up sponsors, right, like I started skating hard and I was picking up sponsors. I was getting really. I got into like a video here from arizona. Um, a couple, uh, was like Pickle I think it was like Bread and Butter, the video was called, but the dude's names are like Pickle Sweet Pickle, I think that is. And so, like they put me like in their video or whatever. So, like I started skating again, right, but then same thing, like I had to pick it up and let it go, you know.

Speaker 3: 3:39

And then 2018 came around. My mom passed away. At this point I'm pretty sad, right, I'm just like man, what do I do? And then I was like I'm just going to start skating in her honor. I'm just going to get back into it. And 2019 came around.

Speaker 3: 3:56

I found adaptive skateboarding and I was like, oh, because I've always skated in just normal competitions here in Arizona, right, I grew up just skating in normal competitions, never really winning, just like I think the best place that I got was like a seventh place, um, and I was like, oh, man, you know, it was fun, don't get me wrong, right. And. But then I found adaptive skateboarding. I was like, oh, this is handicapped people that skate just like me, right, like now I can go meet people that have similar disabilities and just, you know, get, get to skate around then and, um, I was stoked, so I got invited out.

Speaker 3: 4:27

2019 february. I got invited out to go to saint pete, florida, did my first competition there for adaptive skateboarding, ended up winning first place for the first time. Uh, was so stoked. And then throughout the year of 2019, I was just doing competitions here and there, you know, winning first, second and third and anywhere between those placings. Um, I was placing in and getting 2020 came, went back to florida, same thing, won first place, still kept doing some competitions, and then covid came and kind of wiped everything out, you know, yeah, and then. So it was like now I'm trying to.

Speaker 2: 5:05

Everything all started all over again yeah, so now that's the one thing that probably everybody's confused about is the disability. So what is it that you have? Because I know they're listening to your story and they're like what?

Speaker 3: 5:19

yeah, I got this.

Speaker 3: 5:21

So I got a rare disability called Caudill-Regressin syndrome. I don't know much about it, but I'm going to tell you what I do know. I'm going to tell you what I know about me. My mom kept me in the dark for a lot of my you know, for a lot of my stuff per se. She's not here any longer, so she can't guide me anymore, so I'm going to give you what I do know about me. You know guide me anymore, so I'm going to I'm going to give you what I do know about me. Um, what I know about me is I was born with one kidney the one kidney that I do have. Um had a reflux in it 2001. I'd had the major surgery, uh, which took away the reflux. Um, I have my.

Speaker 3: 6:02

My lower limbs are different than normal, right, they're not. They're smaller than normal limbs per se and they're webbed from my bottom of my buttocks to like my ankle, so I don't have the ability to stretch them out straight. So they're always it's like I'm always sitting on my knees, that's how I am Right. So I don't have the ability to put them in front of me for, say, um, what else? I don't have most of my back. Um, I have half of my back, so from T12 down I do not have, Okay, um, that's pretty much a chronic back pain is another thing that I have because of, because of my upper body weight and I don't have my full back. I have chronic back pain because a lot of body weight, right, is just all this pressure on my lower back where I don't have something to support it per se. So I always have chronic back pain.

Speaker 3: 7:00

Pretty much everything I know about my disability other than, like, like I said, it's very rare and there's different forms of it, right, not everybody's the same. Yeah, I know a kid per se that has quadriagal syndrome in his legs. They're not normal, but they're more normal size compared to mine, right, if you were to check out some of my videos, you can see, you know that. Or say, like normal legs, they're not long, right, they're very short. This kid kind of got for, say, semi-normal legs and he's able to stand on them, right, they're not webbed like mine. Um, so there's different, you know, different varieties of it.

Speaker 3: 7:38

Um, some parents don't like to have, don't like to keep the legs, you know, so some of them tend to take them off or get them amputated. Um, that was one of the options my mom gave me when I was like 12 years old and I was like, no, I like my legs, like let me keep them instead, you know, but that's pretty much all I know about me. Oh, and I have my foot. They call it club foot, but to me it doesn't look like a club foot. Club foot is more like inward Mine's, just more like skinny, and I'll have to show it someday on TikTok.

Speaker 2: 8:12

So now, when you first started skating, you started at three with just kind of pushing yourself around on the skateboard. When was it that you started doing tricks and you face different challenges than most people that skateboard? What were some of the major challenges, other than having to use your hands, that you had to overcome, and just especially mentally, because that had to be frustrating?

Speaker 3: 8:37

So so, like a lot of, in the beginning, all I had was normal grip tape, so that was. That was kind of harsh, right, yeah, especially on the hands right in the beginning when I first started skating, um, I just wrote it as is right. So my hands would get really messed up here, scarred up, uh, same with my finger here, because the way that I grip my board, right, um, I learned to kind of start cutting out where I grab my board so I wouldn't mess it up here, yeah, um, and then I came across some other grip tape that's more rubber, um, called dkl grip, and that's been amazing ever since. Right, I don't have to worry about it messing in my leg, my hands, I mean. But growing up, some of the hardest things was like I didn't learn how to flip my board until 2019. You know, and I've been skating for how long now you know what I mean. So like I don't know how to flip my board until 2019. You know, and I've been skating for how long now you know what I mean. So like I don't know how to flip my board until 2019 and then, before then, like even all in right, I a lot of the skaters who skate on their hands, like me.

Speaker 3: 9:35

A lot of them are amputee. Most of them, I want to say. I want to say like 50 and higher, are amputees, right, so they kind of have a little bit of their leg limbs to get them a little bit higher, right, I'm all upper chest and arm, right, it's just as high as I can lift my arms and that's it right. So that's another challenge, right, because I can only jump, I can only ollie so high for safe. Um, I can ollie off anything, right, but ollie onto something is a little bit harder because I can only get so high. Um, flip tricks were hard to learn because I'm still learning. Like I said, I'm barely getting back into, like getting good at them again because, like I said, I let them go and like now I'm picking them back up. So now I got my kick foot back, I got my varial back, I got my heel flip every now and then, um, but yeah, some of the most challenging things was just learning, uh, trying to watch normies skate and trying to learn off of that, you know, and it's that's so difficult because, like, I'm using my hands and you're using your legs, so how do I put that into my, how do I adapt that into my situation? Right, and it wasn't the easiest, right, like I didn't.

Speaker 3: 10:45

Like I said, I couldn't figure it out for the longest time and it wasn't until I saw an adaptive skateboarder from brazil named italo romano um, and I watched his documentary on him on youtube and I just watched the dude get up and just flip his board and I was like like this, I was like this close to my you know my phone, because I was like whoa, that's like it's possible, like people like me can flip. You know what I mean, because I have been trying for who knows how long and it always just end up on, you know, upside down, you know. And I was like maybe I'm not trying hard enough, you know, like, so I just kept. I watched his video over and over and over, like how did he do it? How did he do it and their way of doing it, his way of doing it, and a couple of his other skate skaters um, they grab from the outside, grab from the outside, flip.

Speaker 3: 11:31

I can't, for some reason, that's a little bit harder for me to do. I don't know if my legs get in the way, so I don't have, I don't have control of my legs, right? I can't. If I want to pick up my legs, I have to move them with my hand, right, I can't just lift them up the way they can, right they, if they're amputated, they can just right. They can just move them up like this and they don't have to worry about hitting them.

Speaker 3: 11:51

That's my biggest issue is, when I flip, they tend to hit my legs a lot of the time, right. So I learned I grabbing it from where I ollie, and if I just jump as high as I can and I just flick, this way I can get the board to come up, do the flip and then, if I look down and stomp at the right time, then I land my, it can get it to work right. So that was one of the most difficult ones because, like I said, I was after a while of trying it right, my, not only is my wrist get tired, but my hands get tired. I'm tired of jumping over and over, you know, and I'm just like my arms are like noodles and I'm like, how much longer can I try this, you know? Yeah, but yeah, it wasn't until like 2019 is when I first landed my first kickflip and I was like, I was so stoked like I couldn't believe it. I was like dude.

Speaker 2: 12:35

I did that like and it's just become easier since then, right?

Speaker 3: 12:39

so much easier, so much easier. I mean, like it's. I like I said I was doing really good and then I let my skateboarding go again. I got like, um, I got into this mode where, like I was like man, I'm just gonna give it up, right. And then I got invited to this event and I was like I'm getting back into it, right. And since then I've been going hard in it. I mean, I've been to paris twice this year for events for, you know, skating. So it's been a good year so far for skating. It's been a. It's been a wonderful year for me. You know, I was supposed to be in brazil the last weekend but fortunately I wasn't able to make it. Um, I was gonna skate against like 35 adaptive skaters. It was one of the biggest competitions. Nice, yeah, it would have been nice it would have been nice for sure.

Speaker 2: 13:22

Now, what was the next trip after you finally landed the flip? What's? What was the next step in the progression of your skating career?

Speaker 1: 13:33

Learn more flips.

Speaker 3: 13:34

Yeah, it was like after I got the, after I got kickflip down, I was like, all right, now, what's now, what's next? I was like, very all right, let's try. Very old. And then that was like that was another hard one, right. Because that's like, okay, now let's figure out how to grab this board, because now we need it to spin. All right, we need it to spin, and not not only do we need it to flip, but we need it to spin as well. So that wasn't the challenge. And but I just learned, you know, one hand here, one hand on the back, and just flick with this hand and spin with this hand, and just right, and it, just it works.

Speaker 3: 14:04

You know, um, hill flips are the little bit of the harder one, because I can't be going as fast and my hands are in the back, right in the back of the board here, and I'm leaning forward to keep my balance from falling either backward or that way. And then I gotta like, just, you know, got to flick it. It's a little harder because I only got thumbs to flick, right, I don't do this. And when I kickflip I have all this to kind of give me a little bit more flick, right, that's thumbs. It's a little bit harder, so I make it work sometimes, for the most part, but my favorite stuff is just grinding. I love grinding a ledge or like a nice rail I've thing those videos.

Speaker 2: 14:46

You're pretty good at it. Yeah, I love it.

Speaker 3: 14:48

I love it.

Speaker 2: 14:49

It's just hearing that you know like such a beautiful sound yeah, now, before you got invited to that competition, when you were ready just to give it up, like what was your reasoning for giving it up?

Speaker 3: 15:00

like what was behind that so much um for starters, right 2019. Like I said, I came around, I got into adaptive skateboarding 2020, everything went down 2020 and when so when covid went away, things started coming back up for adaptive skateboarding, right um, we got invited to do um due to our next games some of them not, I'm not gonna say we, because I didn't get invited right um. So I was a little bit of, I was a little bit upset because I didn't get invited, because I had been skating prior to this and I was winning and also, like the, the worst place that I placed was third place, right. So I was like, well, I have all these in my mind, I have all these points to make it to these competitions. So why wasn't I invited? Right? So I had reached out to the guy. Guy told me well, you're not showing up to these certain events. And I was like that's all I got to do is show up to these certain events. And he was like, yeah, so, long story short, I never got invited to x game, a due tour, which really tore me down, because in my head, I thought I put in the work, right, I thought I put in the work and I was out here giving it 110. You know what I mean skating my butt off for these for to try to prove who I was right and what I can do. And then I didn't get invited to you know, x games or due tour and like it put me in this like kind of like a depression mode and like a sad mode to where, like I was like I'm not good enough, right, I'm not good enough, like I'm honestly not, you know, because I'm not getting invited to these events, so like why am I continuing to skate, right? And then, on top of that, like my, I was married at the time and you know I was having issues with marriage. So it was like two just things on top of each other, right.

Speaker 3: 16:49

And then, like I said, it was like I want to say in like this October. October came around that year 2023. And I had got that invite and I looked at the invite and it was like a 20K purse and I was like 20K purse, like at the time I needed the money. It was like a 20k purse and I was like 20k purse, like at the time I needed the money, I was struggling. Uh, we had just recently lost that apartment that we were in, so it was like 20k, like I could. If I go out there and I try my butt off, I could definitely try to win some, some type of money right, which would definitely help me get into an apartment, right. So that was my mindset. My mindset it really wasn't about getting into skateboarding again, it was like I need this money to go get an apartment. Let me just go for it, right.

Speaker 3: 17:36

And I got there and this is where I met Italo, right, italo's, one dude that I had seen kickflip. So I had been watching this dude forever, you know. And so now here's, here's italo at this competition. Here's another skater that has the same exact disability as me and he's from south africa. His name is robert and, uh, younger than me, younger dude, but me and him always talked about meeting up one day, right. And now they're here in the states and I got both of these dudes here and I'm just like, oh my gosh.

Speaker 3: 18:04

So I just had a blast you know what I mean? Like, not only I was very scared because I hadn't skated in about a year, so, like a lot of the things that I would normally try I didn't do because I was scared mentally, right, I was like I'm not confident in that, I'm not gonna do that. Like there was this gap, I could have easily done now, right, easily, take me to that gap now and I'm jumping it for sure, right, trying to 180 it, trying to flip it. When I went back then I didn't have the confidence and I was like, no, no, no, I'm going to hurt myself. Dude, like, just chill, right, just enjoy your time with these dudes.

Speaker 3: 18:33

I didn't end up winning but and I think skating with Italo and Robert changed my whole mindset of skateboarding again. You know what I mean. It made me realize how much fun I'm having. Right, it wasn't about, for say, winning or trying to get any money at the moment. It was, oh, dude, here I am skating with dudes that have similar disabilities to me that I don't ever get to skate with. Right, I don't ever get to stay with people like that.

Speaker 3: 18:57

When I skate with adaptive, it's usually lately it's been like amputees, um, and you know people with other disabilities, right, I'm usually one of the only dudes on their hand lately, um, me, and there's another old dude named an older guy, named jesse. He skates on his hands. He's a veteran. I haven't skated with him in a long time. But, like I said, so lately, the competitions, it's you know like I I said it's only been me on my hands. So when I got to skate with dudes on their hands, like I love that, like that's some of my favorite things, that's why I love Jesse. Right, I got to meet Jesse. When I met him in 2019 in Florida, we connected because he was one of the only hand skaters as well out there Right, and I skaters as well out there right and I don't get, like I said, I don't get to skate with many hand skaters.

Speaker 2: 19:47

So when I do, I enjoy it so much, like it's a blast. I get to learn from them, they get to learn from me, you know. So that was the moment when you got to hang out with them. That was what flipped the switch from just trying to get money and it just flipped it.

Speaker 3: 19:54

It was like oh dude, like, forget about money, let's just have fun. Like, let's just skate this and have fun. And that's what it was. From then on, it was just like let's just have fun.

Speaker 2: 20:03

And now you've become extremely passionate about it.

Speaker 3: 20:05

So so much Like, so, so much Like. I mean they see me. So then I did that. December that year went to a world championship, ended up winning second place. That's when I got an email from the french federation. They wanted me to go out and do a demo for sls, and so I did a demo for sls. What's sls? Uh, what's this street league? God, it's when I and them all skate.

Speaker 3: 20:36

Okay, yeah nice so I mean we got we got invited to go do a demo for them and then they loved it so much that they re-invited it to go do a demo for the olympics.

Speaker 2: 20:48

So that was the reason why I was able to go out two times to paris this year nice and then tell us that whole experience about doing a demo at the olympics, because that's not a whole lot of people get to compete or even do a demo for the Olympics, so that's a huge thing.

Speaker 3: 21:04

So it was. It was a huge thing If I would have got to do it. Let me tell you the backstory on that. Backstory on that we get to Paris. Um, right, we're there for a couple of days early or events on a wednesday, we're supposed to be there early in the morning. We get there in the morning, get our credentials, they let us skate for a little bit. But the whole course was wet, like it had rained the night before. So we squeegeed it all off, um, and so we got to skate for a little bit. Right, they said come back later. So then, after like about an hour or so, they like come back later. Uh, we're gonna get it all dried up and then, at five o'clock, come back. You guys will skate, do your practice from five to seven, seven thirty show. We'll start like okay, cool, we all leave, we all come back.

Speaker 3: 21:50

Like five o'clock I get on the course, I start practicing because I'm just like well, it's my practice time, I'm gonna get out there. Right, let me start practicing. See what I can hear, what I can't hear. You gotta remember a lot of this stuff is for pros, so a lot of this stuff is really high, right, like, yeah, like I said I can only jump so high so I needed to practice to see what was possible for me. Um, so I get out there, we start skating. 20 minutes into skating they tell us get off the course. They're like rushing everybody off the course and I didn't hear it at the time. So I'm like getting ready to set up to go for another trick and my boy, eddie, was like what are you doing? And I was like getting ready to skate, what do you mean? I'm like what are you doing in the sidelines? Get on the course. My boy, like we're supposed to be practicing. Like they told me to get off and I'm like what down, get off the course. I said okay. Five minutes later they put us in a huddle and they tell us that there's a severe thunderstorm coming in, so they have to cancel the event and they're going to reschedule it for tomorrow.

Speaker 3: 22:48

There was 12 of us that showed up for the event. More than half of us had to leave, that had to leave the next morning. Right, we all had flights to leave for the next morning. So they're like well, how many of you can stay, how many you're gonna leave? Or like, well, what time can you do the event. If you can do the event early morning the next morning we can stay, we can stay, do the event, catch our flights and go home. Right, they're like, oh no, we can't, we're gonna. We're trying to do it like at 8 pm at night. We're like I'll be long gone, I to catch my flight by nine. Like I got to be there by nine o'clock, you know. And so a lot of us left. Only five out of the 12 ended up doing the demo, and it was a good demo, don't get me wrong, but it would have been so much better with all of us there.

Speaker 2: 23:33

Yeah, and then you went back after that for another, or was?

Speaker 3: 23:41

That was before. Sls was first, first and then that's.

Speaker 3: 23:42

We went back in july for the olympics okay, and that's when they had the thunderstorm yeah and so, but then was crazy part is so they, they like got us all out no thunderstorm, not one drop of rain. So you know, when it rained the next morning, when they wanted to throw the event is when it rained I was like, no bro, you just we were so, we were salty, we were very upset. There was a lot of us that are very upset, um, because not only did we some of us spend a lot of our own money right, we were out there already we're spending our own money ubering back and forth, you know, eating stuff, and so, like I said, you know we were upset because here we are thinking we're gonna have this once in a lifetime thing to happen and it gets taken right off from underneath us. You know, we're just like, damn, we were, we were this close. You know, we were so close.

Speaker 2: 24:28

Now. Is adaptive skating in the Paralympics now, or is it still not yet?

Speaker 3: 24:34

Still not yet. So we're hoping by 2028 to get it in there. Okay, it's not a confirmed for say it. Okay, it's not confirmed yet it's in the air. Right, they're saying no, from what I've heard. No, we're hoping 2032. But if anything, I'm thinking there might be a demo because they did some type of commercial for it in Venice. Thinking there might be a demo because they did some type of commercial for it. And venice, uh, talking about, you know, skateboarding and they had like skateboarding in the in the commercial and I was just like there's not even skateboarding the paralympics. So that kind of gave me like a hint, like maybe they're gonna try to do a demo to see how it goes yeah um, but I, I don't, I don't not.

Speaker 3: 25:15

like I said, I'm not 100 positive because I wasn't invited to the demo. I just seen it on Instagram, so I don't know exactly what was said, what was not said. I'm just hoping for the best.

Speaker 2: 25:27

But you're training every day like you're going to the Olympics, right, oh?

Speaker 3: 25:29

yeah, oh yeah, If I'm not, if I'm not. So I was supposed to skate tonight. I totally forgot about I have was going to do your podcast, Right, and I had already planned to like go skate at eight and I was going to skate from like eight to 10 and I was like all right, but then I was like and then you hit me up and reminded me and I was like oh, I cannot skate tonight.

Speaker 3: 25:45

I was like I got, let me do this podcast. So tomorrow will usually be a better day, cause it's Friday. I don't have to work the following day, so I can go out at eight and just shred whenever I get tired, right?

Speaker 2: 25:57

Now, how many hours a day do you usually skate?

Speaker 3: 26:00

I tried, so minimum. I try to do two to three at least. Um max I go for us between seven, eight hours. Okay, if I, if I'm on a good day, right, if I'm on a good day and I got friends with me, I can do seven to eight. If I'm by myself, two to three is like most, I'm just like, all right, I get bored, right. If I have friends with me, then we can kind of challenge each other. You know, skate the same thing, skate, you know, or skate the same ledge, or just my thing is is when I like to see normies do things and then I like to copy that in adaptive you know what I mean, throw it in my way and watch them like oh, they're like dude, that was bad, you know, that was cool.

Speaker 2: 26:33

Like you just copied my trick, pretty much like yeah, I wanted to show you how, how I do it, you know the nice thing that I've noticed about the skate community it doesn't matter what kind of skating you do is that they're very supportive of each other. Now, do you find that when you're hitting the skate parks with, as you call them, normies?

Speaker 3: 26:50

Oh so much, so much. I mean, I get so much love and so much props. They come up to me all the time and just say, or you know, say hey, that was badass, you know. Or keep it up. You know, I always get positive feedback. I haven't really got any negative feedback while I'm at the skate park that I can recall, right, I don't. I don't. I've never had somebody come up to me like, dude, you suck quick. You know, like, even even even like the newbies, right, when they see me. You know, it gives, it, inspires them to go even harder, try even harder, you know. So I love it, I don't mind it, I love it. It's, it's, um, definitely a blessing. You know what I mean, because I'd rather have somebody come tell me you know props than trying to shut me down, you know exactly now?

Speaker 2: 27:30

do you, do they like, try to work on new tricks with you at all, or kind of help you develop new tricks for yourself, or so.

Speaker 3: 27:38

So they'll tell me to try certain things, right, like you should try this instead, and I'm just like, but that's like, so, like, that's so good. That's one thing why I like skating with somebody because they can see what I can, right, I can only see so much of my body. So if I'm trying to, for say, get a 50, 50 kick, flip out, right, you can see. You can actually see what's going on if you're watching me, right, yeah, I'm jumping a lot of the times. By the time I'm getting ready to flip out, I'm not even looking at my board, I'm looking at my landing. You know what I mean. Yeah, if I flick and it hits my legs, I'm just like what happened there. You know, did I not jump high enough? Did I not flick high enough? Well, how was the flick?

Speaker 3: 28:17

So that's the beauty about having somebody is they can tell me, you know, like, what I did wrong or what, how I can improve it. Or you know what I mean. Yeah, but same with like, same with normies, right, like, if I see something they're doing wrong, like my boy, you know, I see him leaning too far forward, or he's leaning too far back, or he's not committing, you know, and I'm just like, bro, commit, like you know, like don't, don't be scared, commit to it, right, or hey, bro, you're leaning too far, you're leaning too far back, you know.

Speaker 2: 28:43

Just any input I can give right yeah, so now how long before we see you do the 900?

Speaker 3: 28:51

I barely got the 360 down again, man I just got my 360 down again, so that might take a while. That might be a while.

Speaker 2: 28:58

I expect to see you do it, just for the record.

Speaker 3: 29:00

Sometime, hopefully Before I turn 40, that's for sure.

Speaker 2: 29:05

I'm way past that, so you'll never see me do it. But so now you said like there's competitions, like is there, like what are the competitions consistent? Do they have like vert ramps and all that for adaptive too.

Speaker 3: 29:20

So you can either choose, right, you can do bowl or you can do street. I skate street. So, like I said, I like ledges, I like rails, I like jumping off of stuff. I don't mind skating bowl, I can skate bowl, but it's not my preferred thing to skate, right, I can't keep my momentum in the bowl. The pumping is like by the time I get to the side I'm like done, like off, this is too much pushing, I'm over it. Right, yeah, streets a little bit easier. If I can land a trick, keep flowing, then I'm kind of good. You know, I don't have to constantly be pushing really fast. Right, you can hit stuff, some stuff going semi-fast, semi-slow, just depending on what it is yeah, how many competitions do you compete in a year?

Speaker 3: 30:03

This year has been the most competition in events I've ever hit, to be honest, because usually funding is a big issue for me. Right Before I got a skate manager, everything was kind of per se, on my own and trying to find little sponsors here and there, local sponsors. So when I was married and I was trying to do it on my own, it was find little sponsors here and their local sponsors. Um, so when I was married and I was trying to do it on my own, it was kind of harder right, because I didn't have, for, say, much support. Um, the support that I did have, they would try to get me out and I was getting out like the ones I meant to florida yeah 2019, I had really good support.

Speaker 3: 30:32

2020, I was having really good support, um, but lately everybody's kind of having a little bit of struggle, so I haven't. I didn't make it to my last two events. I had one october 4th and then the one on the 18th. I was supposed to be in brazil. One was in california and one was in brazil, and so I missed both of those due to funding because, you know, my sponsor didn't have it to, for, say, to fly me out, right, um, so that's, for, say, one of the things that we got to overcome lately. Uh, I need to overcome.

Speaker 3: 31:01

I got my next competition is out in, uh, birmingham, alabama. Okay, that'll be for worlds, they'll be. So it's world wcmx slash, adaptive skate. So they'll do wheelchair and adaptive skate and then they'll be definitely for the championship. And when is that? Uh, december 7th. Okay, yeah, I'll try to go live. So if you guys give me a follow on tiktok, you usually, you'll usually see it. I follow you on tiktok, you'll, you'll see it. Then, if you see it, you'll see me live. And it's december 7th, it's because the competition's going down.

Speaker 2: 31:36

so where is one of your most favorite places that you've skated?

Speaker 3: 31:39

or cities or countries, or Um, one of my favorite spots ever has to be Des Moines. Uh, we stayed at this Airbnb and there was Airbnb and there was just underneath the freeway was like this dope bank. And there was this bank in a railing and I seen my friend, andy Hernandez's, on my skate. Who's on the skate team is that I'm on before? We weren't on the skate team back then, but this was like 2019, 2020, and he was like up there and like acid dropped from in there to the bank, right.

Speaker 3: 32:10

And I was like I gotta try that, like that looks so much fun, like, and so I was like let me get up here. So I got up there and I'm standing like on the railing and I'm like you gotta remember, it's a round, round rail, right. So I'm trying to balance and I'm just like this and I'm just like wobbling and wobbling and then I don't even have the board yet, right. So then I finally get the board and I stomp and I'm holding it there. I'm like, oh, this is impossible, this is impossible. And the dude that was recording that thing was like anything's possible. I heard that and I just like put my hand on it and just acid dropped right into the bank. It was like bam, I landed and it was like, but it was one of my favorite banks, like not only to acid drop in but to kick flip on. That's where I learned, like that's why I was just practicing my flips on on that bank right there. It was such. It was like all the way up and then a nice bank right.

Speaker 2: 32:56

It wasn't nothing too serious, it was just nice yeah, now you talk about like the community of adaptive skating. Like how big is that community? Because I've only seen personally going through tiktok and until trips sent, sent me the video of you I haven't seen a whole lot, but I mean I've seen a blind guy that skates and hits the ollie just kind of and even grinds too and it's just it's amazing that what people can do and it really makes me look at if I actually have limitations.

Speaker 3: 33:30

So here in the States we have a pretty good amount right, brazil has a good amount, but we have a pretty decent size here. When we go to competitions here in the states, there's about anywhere between seven to ten of us that show up per se um. So there's, like I said, it's a pretty not the biggest community, but we're trying to build it right. We try every time to get add no more people right. The more people we see skating, like we try to invite them or like hey, have you ever heard about adaptive skating? Do you want to get into it? You know, like we have this group chat where we're in on um on instagram and it's just there's a bunch of us in there. I mean, I don't even know how many of us are in there, but there's a bunch of us in that group chat and we just all tell about, all tell shows about adaptive competitions, whether in their states or whatever states they're in. Or we'll link and be like hey, are you guys going to show up here? You guys going to show up there?

Speaker 2: 34:23

have you had any parents that have kids that have disabilities come up to you and ask you to teach their kids to skate?

Speaker 3: 34:32

so that's funny that you asked that. I have a mini here in arizona. Um, his name is oliver and when he was like two years old, I met his mom and Oliver and his dad and his grandparents and I got him a skateboard. Like I bought him a skateboard, built it, put it together for him, made sure it had DKL grip so it wouldn't hurt him. And in the beginning so it was him a little girl named Quinn same disability and another little boy named Oliver. So we had two Olivers and Quinn, and what I used to do is I used to put them on my skateboard and hold them and take them on for rides around the parks with me, you know.

Speaker 1: 35:11

Okay.

Speaker 3: 35:11

And that's how I met them, and so I'm trying to get him to be my protege. Hopefully one day he'll step up and, you know, start killing it in the adaptive scene.

Speaker 2: 35:21

How old hopefully one day he'll step up and, you know, start killing it in the adaptive scene. How old is he now?

Speaker 3: 35:25

he's like five or six okay, and he's, yeah, he's been working with you. Um, yeah, like every other every year, we try to meet up at least once or twice, right? Um, so we're supposed to meet up. I want to say this weekend I'm supposed to meet up with him. I want to say either sunday or saturday, I'm supposed to link up with them and skate with him. I haven't seen him in a while.

Speaker 2: 35:43

And how's he doing the last time you saw him, because I mean there's all sorts of stuff I want to know.

Speaker 3: 35:48

Oh, just loving his skateboard, bro. I mean he got on his skateboard and like he was pushing himself around and he's like wanted to race me. You know what I mean. I'm like, come on on racing. Of course I let him win, right, I'm I'm not gonna be the jerk and just outrace him, right? So I let him win and but he loves it, he loves. That's why I'm saying I want to get him into like doing some learning, some tricks, you know, because if he loves just riding around, man, you're gonna love the, you're gonna love. When you land something, man, and you know what I mean, then you've been trying it and trying and you finally land, it's gonna. I don't know, to me it's such a great feeling, you know, and I keep eating shit and I'm just like oh, oh, oh. And then I finally like come out with it and I'm just like, yes, love that. You know. Like such a great feeling, like one of the best feelings probably.

Speaker 2: 36:29

Yeah and now. So you said it's like one of the best feelings now. Is that something you might pursue in the future is actually teaching kids on how to skate?

Speaker 3: 36:43

future is actually teaching kids on how to skate. Oh so I'm gonna let you in a little on one of my, one of my dreams that I'm hoping I can actually accomplish here, uh, someday. So I got tiktok going right and I'm trying to hopefully get that going so I can become this viral sensation, right? Um, and then my goal is to I want to buy a big warehouse where I can then build an indoor skate park and an outdoor skate park and make it adaptive friendly. Right, there's not very many adaptive friendly skate parks. If I'm able to make this adaptive friendly, then I can kind of for say, and I can host my own events. Not only could I host my own events, but I could host sessions where I can have these kids come out and I could give them skateboards right, and skate with them and teach them how to skate.

Speaker 3: 37:28

Dude, that's one of my biggest goals. Like makes me so happy. You know what I mean. Because the smile on their faces, bro, like just when they're riding right, not so much learning how to do tricks, but just to see them riding like they're. They have freedom. You know what I mean. They're not in their wheelchair, strapped to something, right there, they're on a skateboard and they're enjoying it. They got the face, their face, you know winning their face and they're just they're doing something they don't usually get to do you know, yeah, and don't get me wrong, it's not the most safest sport.

Speaker 3: 38:07

You know what I mean. But what? What sport isn't safe. You know what I mean. So synchronized swimming it's fun, though you know like it's. It's so much fun. Skateboarding is just so much fun, right?

Speaker 3: 38:17

yeah even just riding is fun. So that's hopefully one of my goals. I can accomplish someday that we're wishing to do. Like I said, I just got to keep on grinding, man. Hopefully I can do the skateboarding stuff, make it work. But yeah, I mean, we'll see. We'll see what happens. If not, I can just hopefully just get it. You know, on the side here in arizona where I can find a skate park and start something small, you know for now, yeah but's.

Speaker 3: 38:41

That's what I do with the little kids here, right Like the Oliver Quinn. Try to meet up with them once a year at least, escape.

Speaker 2: 38:47

Nice, yeah, any big goals for 2025, after this being such a good year for you.

Speaker 3: 38:54

I'm hoping 2025 is going to be the best year. I'm hoping 2025, like, we can hit every competition I get invited to and just not. I'm not really care about winning, I just want to show up. I want to be able to show up and just skate, um, meet as many people as possible and just skate with, just have a, you know, skate as many as much as I can because, like I said, I love going out here to skating with new people, right? So some of the times I skate with people I never met before. So, yeah, it's cool to skate with new people and it's here to skating with new people, right? So some of the times I skate with people I never met before. So it's cool to skate with new people and it's cool to skate with, like I said, my old homies that I'm on either on skate team with now, my friend Oscar, my boy Andy, we're on a one legacy skateboards, which is like the first and only adaptive skateboard team that's out right now.

Speaker 2: 39:36

Okay, so now who was? Or?

Speaker 3: 39:44

is your biggest influence for skating Ever. Yeah, rodney Mullen. Okay, I love the way he just can move that board. The reason why I learned how to do 50-50 handstand was because of watching him. You know all his back in the day stuff. When he's doing these handstand flips out and I'm just like bro, like I can do something like that in my own way right now. How do we maneuver that into something Like? Right now? I'm really trying to learn 50-50 handstand flip out. That's what I'm trying to learn right now and it's all because of him. Like I've seen him do it, I was like dude, I know it's possible. I know it's possible.

Speaker 2: 40:22

Nice. And now the other question that I ask everybody is what is your setup? Wheels, trucks, bearings board what do you prefer?

Speaker 3: 40:35

I prefer Indies for trucks. Okay, wheels really doesn't matter to me. As long as they're 52s, I'm okay. Um bearings, I have to have swiss. I have to have bone swiss, they. For some reason they just ride smoother. For me I'm able to get the speed that I need. Um, I've tried other ones like reds and not a fan, but bone swiss definitely, definitely. Um hardware, independent grip, dkl, dkl, skateboarding grip and then my deck one legacy nice.

Speaker 2: 41:09

Now the dkl, that's that rubber grip you were talking about, which makes it easier.

Speaker 3: 41:13

Oh, yeah, awesome so much more easier. Don't mess up my hands even. I mean even falling, right, because when I fall like, I tend to fall on my and before I like rub my hand like this across my board, right. So imagine, you know like, oh bro, it was horrible.

Speaker 2: 41:29

Nothing like sandpaper going across your arm.

Speaker 3: 41:31

Love it. You know what I mean. So I don't have to worry about it no more, because I got DKL just support me. You know what I mean. They just love me and they just love me. So they just they're constantly sending me grip. I have so much of it, it's not even funny.

Speaker 2: 41:41

Nice, and what is advice that you want to pass on or give to upcoming skaters that, whether adaptive or, as you call them, normies, what's just some advice that you can give them?

Speaker 3: 41:57

I'm going to give you one. I'm going to give you one thing. I'm going to tell you one thing right, and put this and brain this in your head, embed this in your head. Okay, because if you keep this in your head, you're going to get very far in life. Is how I feel. Right?

Speaker 2: 42:09

Yeah, you only quit, the only time you fail is when you quit trying. That's so true. I've I've had a lot of failures, so that tells you anything.

Speaker 3: 42:25

So don't quit trying. Get that, get your, get back up and get back on that board. Even if it's not on the board, whatever it is, you can you quit. You keep on trying. One day You'll get it eventually.

Speaker 2: 42:36

Hopefully Exactly so now, how can my my followers my listeners follow you.

Speaker 3: 42:44

Where can they find you and follow you? You can find me on tiktok. Um. Tiktok is going to be ernie ibarra underscore the skater. Uh. My instagram is going to be uh, ernie ibarra the skater okay, so well.

Speaker 2: 42:57

I appreciate you coming on the show and telling your story. I appreciate, appreciate you having me. It's an amazing story and hopefully we'll have you back on after you win the world championship.

Speaker 3: 43:07

Hopefully, hopefully, wish me luck, hopefully, all right, thank you, I appreciate you, brother. Thank you, thank you, thank you.