How Do You Sk8!
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How Do You Sk8!
Behind the Moves The Rise of Honor Roll Skaters
Discover the exhilarating world of competitive roller skating with the Honor Roll Skate Crew, champions of Roller Jam. Experience the journey of Jordan McQuiston as he shares his transition from skateboarding to roller skating, leading to his rise with Break Skate on America's Best Dance Crew. Join us as Darian Reyes recounts his affordable switch to skating inspired by thrilling rink stunts, while Steve Cantrell shares his jam skating beginnings influenced by his friend Jason Baker. Their diverse paths highlight the camaraderie and shared passion that propelled them to victory.
Explore the evolution of jam skating from VHS demo tapes to social media spectacles. Our conversation reveals the surprising opportunities that skating has opened, from music videos to films like "Roll Bounce." Hear anecdotes about working with celebrities, including Tony's memorable summer as a stunt double, and the nostalgic memories of skating at local rinks. The stories of resilience and recovery following the highs of international tours offer candid reflections on overcoming personal challenges and finding new success and fulfillment.
Finally, learn about the delicate balance between creative pursuits and financial stability, crucial in the entertainment industry. The Honor Roll Skate Crew emphasizes the importance of financial and mental stability while pursuing passions. Gain insights into balancing family life and career, managing finances wisely, and nurturing relationships. As we share the excitement of live performances and the camaraderie within Roller Jam, we invite listeners to join us on a rink tour, offering a chance to bring the Honor Roll experience to your community.
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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 all right, welcome to.
Speaker 2:How do you skate? I'm your, sean Egan, and my guest this week is actually the winners of Roller Jam, the Honor Roll Skate Boys. Honor Roll Skate Crew sorry, but, do you guys want to go around and introduce yourself, because we got quite a few and then, as the others join, we'll have them introduce themselves.
Speaker 3:Yeah, cool, I'll start off. My name is Jordan McQuiston. Oh, we want an. Went to intro intro. Huh well, I was like, I was like I was waiting. I was like I thought we were just gonna say the names. Yeah, all right, I'm jordan mcquiston. Um, I've been skating for about 25 years. Uh, I've been with honor rules since the beginning. Um, other than that, we just won roller jams season one and I can't be happier thank you, I'll go next.
Speaker 4:Uh, what's up y'all? Darian reyes here. I've been skating for about 15 years, born and raised in phoenix, arizona. Um, done a lot of cool stuff nothing as cool as winning a competition with my brothers, though. So definitely thrilled to be here and it's an honor man, that was so good that was I was like dang. Somebody woke up on the right side of it how many been practicing how to talk since the show?
Speaker 5:tell you that you got it down pat. Now, brother, that was. That was amazing. From a guy that's done 5,000 DJ drops, that was great. My name is Steve Cantrell, pka Cantrell. Born and raised in well, from a small city called Albany, by way of Atlanta, I have been skating for about 21 years. I've been on honor roll for well. I've been hanging out on a roll for about 10 years now. You know what I'm saying. Officially. A part of the crew, who knows since when? I don't know, you know. But what I do know is we just won America's first televised skate competition and I did it with my bros. You know what I'm saying, so can't complain I wouldn't complain either.
Speaker 2:So now, where did, how old were you and when did each of your journeys start, and how did they start for skating?
Speaker 3:um, so for me, I was uh, I say I was I think I was 14 first time I actually got in skating. I went from skateboarding to roller skating and I ran into Shannon, anthony and Jesse Nice in Indiana, kokomo, indiana, and through a couple, I would say a year or so later we started break skate I'm not sure if you're familiar with that and then we just started traveling around doing shows and then later on we ended up on America's Best Dance Crew. We just started traveling around doing shows and then later on we ended up on America's best dance crew. So that kind of got me prepped and ready to go for any other skating competition shows that we ever would do later, when you're 39 years old. You know, you know, better late than never, baby. We got the win and got the WN, you know. So we're here now. So, yeah, that's my pretty much my story, nice, nice pretty much my story.
Speaker 4:It's nice, yes, um, I have a similar story in terms of like the, the catalyst of when I transitioned. I was a skateboarder as well when I was a little little kid. Um, and then that that activity hurts you a lot more than just falling on the ground with skates on, in my opinion. So I had to have a more realistic hobby that would be less expensive for my family. Um, uh, speaking of less expensive, that's why we, that's why we settled with roller skating, because it was the cheapest alternative. My mom could just give me 10, 20 bucks here and there and drop me off. So, uh, yeah, roller skating was my babysitter. I saw some kids do some back flips in the rink and I was like I want to try to do something like that and fast forward here.
Speaker 5:I am nice oh man, um, how old was I? I was probably 13 when I started jam skating. I've been skating since I was nine, just growing up in a real rink rat, amongst other things that you get into in a small city. And I met one of my best friends named Jason Baker. He came from Kentucky. His family was visiting all being to see if they wanted to move down during the spring break. And I'm looking out with my cousin, lester Knight these names are important. I'm going to keep it quick.
Speaker 5:We look out into the floor and there's the blue spotlight coming down in the middle of the floor, but it's dark around the blue spotlight and there's this dude on the ground doing stuff and me and Lester we're just toe jamming, we're going around in the ring. You know we're doing like real southern atl type style stuff. Um, and he changed the game. We looking in the middle, it's this blue light shining out on this, on this kid, and he's on the ground doing what we know. Now it's called hex up and we like yo, what is that and who is that? And I'm like yo, go talk to him, go figure out, figure out who he is. He like yo, go talk to him, go figure out who he is. He's like no, you go talk to him. I'm like no, you go talk to him.
Speaker 5:And he introduced us to jamskating, me and my cousin, and we created a crew called Benny Boys. It's been 20-something years, two decades long in the crew, one of me and my crew partners. We just won red bull. Know your role? Yeah, man. So I think I, I the benny boys, and jason baker is my introduction to what it is. You see me and my bros from honor road doing today. Um, yeah, man, that's. That's my inception story. That's my, uh, that's the beginning of my villain arc every story needs a heel but no, really seriously, that's um.
Speaker 5:Jason baker introduced me to essentially dancing on skates, man and um, and we're just trying to keep it alive, you know nice.
Speaker 2:And then, when was honor roll created? What was the first year of honor roll, cause I think it's gone through several uh crew members, I guess over the years.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Um.
Speaker 4:I'd say, I'd say what was the year it was. It was a really crazy year. That I can say what was the year. It was a really crazy year, that I can say for sure. There's a lot of just drama in the community that year and with our previous skate sponsor and you know there's a lot going on on the scenes and I want to say it was like 2015, 16, 17-ish, somewhere around there. Hold on, guys. Yeah, the one that should answer that question is gone and I'm just like I can guess.
Speaker 5:Hold on one second I was going to try to help you out a little bit. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:So now I was seeing somewhere, I forget, because I was like I went through internet looking for stuff on you guys and is it true that you guys auditioned for America's Got Talent?
Speaker 3:We were on.
Speaker 2:America's Got Talent. Sweet, what season was that? Because I think well.
Speaker 3:I was, we were me, tony and Diamond were on I want to say season eight, 8 as Break Skate. Then we were on there as Season 10 for Honor Roll Skate Crew. Let me get these. I can't get these down. You know what Does my audio feel? Okay when I'm talking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, your audio is good.
Speaker 4:I don't even need these there you go, take them off, get them away, take it off.
Speaker 3:All right, yeah, so we were on America's Best Dance Crew. It was a break skate in 2008 with the Jabba Walkies. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that, so that was me.
Speaker 2:My girlfriend's favorite dance crew.
Speaker 3:Yeah, every girlfriend's favorite dance crew it's my favorite dance crew yeah.
Speaker 4:Every girlfriend's favorite dance crew.
Speaker 3:It's my favorite dance crew. Yeah, so we did that. We got fourth place on America's Best Dance Crew. We only missed one episode, and that was me, Tony and Diamond. Diamond wasn't on the show with us, but he's been a part of our role in Break Skate since the beginning. And then we did America's Got Talent. Oh, I just Sorry.
Speaker 3:Well, you can come, go ahead and do whatever you want. But yeah, so what was I saying? Sorry, okay, lost, I checked. Oh. So then we did America's Got Talent as a break skate, I think on season eight I think Don't quote me all the way on that, but it's somewhere around there and then we made it to the top 40 on that one. But then we got kicked off and then we did it again as honor roll later. I can't remember, I think maybe season 10. And I think we also made it close as Honor Roll later. I can't remember, I think maybe season 10. And I think we also made it close to the top 40, and then we didn't make it much further.
Speaker 3:And then after that we kind of used the publicity from all of that stuff to kind of travel around and do different shows. We've been to China multiple times and then just obviously doing we do a lot of uh, corporate events and theater stuff, music videos, things of that nature. It's kind of been a wild ride. You never know what you're going to get called for, you know, yeah, and then roller skating kind of goes in like these different ways. So it's like you know, some years you're just like you can't. You know can't sit down because you're just so busy like I feel. Feel like since the pandemic it's just been roller skating, it's just been like back in the limelight.
Speaker 2:It has blown up since the pandemic because nobody could do anything. So everybody was ordering skates. When I ordered my new skates, it took like four months to get them, just because they were out of stock. And I ordered them, I think, in May and I didn't even get them until October. Yeah, but now I know what did you get. I got K2. Boa 100s because I do inline and I do speed skating.
Speaker 3:We used to have K2 Backyard Bobs back when I used to inline.
Speaker 2:Okay. And then I got Bunt Boots for speed skating and now I'm getting short track and long track ice speed skates, too speed skating and now I'm getting short track and long track ice speed skates too, so I'm expanding my uh horizons in skating. Due to certain people on the show.
Speaker 2:That coach, but I know Terrell kind of went over the audition process for um, for whatchamacallit Roller Jam, where you guys send in tapes but with and we were kind of discussing how, like America's Got Talent and those kind of do the auditions and stuff and how was it when you auditioned for America's Got Talent and because I know the pressure had to be a lot different than it was sending in a tape of your work or a highlight With us?
Speaker 3:we didn't send in any tapes for roller jam. They contacted us through what we have out there. Yeah, so the audition process for roller jam was was nothing compared to what we had to go through for the other stuff. The other shows, obviously, you know those were where well past the first season. So it's obviously a much more dialed in process and architecture on how things go and, I think, just anticipation of knowing what you're going into.
Speaker 3:And also, it's like you know, one of them is a variety show, the other one's a dance show. So it's like you know, on both of those we're kind of the odd man out, so it's like you're going in there and you're like trying to show this one. I think we were mostly excited about the fact that, uh, you know that it's actually something that's up our alley. You know this is the first time that roller skating has ever been put on a platform of this nature, so that that really excited us, because all the other things we've been a part of it's like you know we're trying to prove that roller skating needs to be on this platform. Right here we finally have the platform. So it's one of those things where we're just like, okay, like this we might actually have a chance to win this one. Maybe I think the first thought was you know the other ones, we weren't really going in there like oh, we're going to win.
Speaker 3:It was like let's just go get some publicity and let's get skating out there. Where this one. We were like you know, we were having some discussions. I was like I think there's a really good chance, you know, because we've been doing this for years, so I feel like we're very seasoned when it comes to roller skating entertainment. So nice.
Speaker 2:Now have you guys done other competitions and like, what kind of shows were you doing beforehand?
Speaker 3:hey y'all, what's good, say that one more time actually, let's have him introduce himself.
Speaker 6:Yeah, hey, sorry, crazy schedule over here. Hey, I'm Tony Zane Been roller skating my entire life, I feel like, but jam skating since I was 14 years old, originally from Chicago, illinois. And yeah, hello, hi guys.
Speaker 2:So, now that you're on, now that we got what we, got in here four of us.
Speaker 6:OK, let's go. So we're all like radically everywhere.
Speaker 3:I try to get all of us on here. But you know we got everybody's got different things going on. We're in different parts of the country right now, so it's been difficult, but we got four of us here.
Speaker 2:That works. I mean, four champions is better than none, right yeah?
Speaker 3:sure I like that.
Speaker 2:I like that. So what I was asking was have you guys done other competitions before Roller Jam came up, or has it just been like different kinds of shows? And when you do shows, do you guys have to audition audition for shows also or is it just you get called and booked?
Speaker 3:um I think someone want to take the competition.
Speaker 5:Yeah I think um. So in in the jam skating community in our world we have we come up competing in a sense like we had competition circuits like ujsta wsa, things of that nature. Um, even now competitions still happen, like summer jam and heartbreak, where we kind of are always used to competing, and so the the way in which we do it, I think, is what helps us with that competitive spirit. Uh, do what we do at the level that we do it at when it comes to the entertainment side of of skating, but, yeah, we've always been competing since we we came into it. You know what I mean. Um, that's almost like out of our barrier of entry.
Speaker 5:I believe, like um, jordan was there for like the inception of the competition circuit itself in jam skating, and then we all kind of come in that way, you know um, so I think we've always been competing. Um, I think it's it's never it's not really been televised like that until now. You know what I mean. I mean that's why they call it the first. You know I'm saying skate competition show in for america, right, but um, I just think it adds a little bit of of texture and professionalism, um, and experience, when we do have an opportunity like this to compete with other skate crews and just try to bring something that other people may not have, which is that experience.
Speaker 3:I think the competition aspect of it was naturally the first to come and then when you kind of start looking around, you're like, well, this could be a show. People are stopping and watching us. People come to watch us at competitions and don't even skate. This could be a show. You know, I was like people are stopping and watching us. You know, people come to watch us at competitions. They don't even skate. So that's kind of, I think, where the entertainment side came from. And as far as like the shows go, uh, it's not really auditioning. Um, I mean, back in the break skate days it was we would make it.
Speaker 3:We made demo tapes and when I said tapes like vhs, so I remember those days yeah, so we would make a vhs tape and then we would label them and box them up and we would send them out to different places. Uh, back then the big thing we were aiming for was, uh, that's amazing nba halftime shows with, like, the athletic directors, so we would get a list of all the athletic directors throughout the united states and then we would send off this blue cased vhs tape. That was entirely too long because we had no idea what we're doing. We, we made a movie rather than like, hey, here's a little demo. So it was like a full-on production.
Speaker 3:We learned, you know, we shannon had learned some editing skills and he really wanted to showcase that. So I had like a full-on intro, like at the beginning of a dramatic movie. But that's kind of what got us started on that. But now it's like you know the internet, youtube, social media and things of that nature. It's, uh, you got a lot of ways to market yourself and put it out there, and so that's basically what we do now is, uh, we just try to put ourselves out there and you know we're we're kind of open to anything we do. You know music videos, commercials to, you know guest starring and you know movies, or stunt doubling for a movie, or you know, showing up at a. You know I've, we've done a sweet 16 for a very wealthy family. So, uh, there's, we're. Skating is taking us to a lot of different places, for sure.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Now I want to know more about the stunt doubling, since you pointed at Tony, yeah.
Speaker 6:Back in I believe it was 2005,. I was actually a junior in high school. It was one of my first jobs. I got the opportunity to be a stunt double in the motion picture Roll Bounce Okay, starring Bow Wow and Nick Cannon. Jobs uh, I got the opportunity to be a stump double in the motion picture roll bounce okay, on bow wow and nick cannon. Uh, yeah, I got called in for an audition to skate and there was an asian actor that neat, that wasn't like up to par on his skating skills. So you know they needed a stunt double to come in. They dyed my hair black, my eyebrows black, and it was one of the best summers of my life. Man, it was so much fun, the experience. I got on set every day and it actually took place at my home rink that I grew up in, which is pretty cool Linwood Roller Rink that they now call Sweetwater Roller Rink.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 6:Yeah, it was a really cool experience, you know, just hanging out out with celebrities that. You know, I was 17 years old at the time. I didn't know what I was doing, I was just. I was just there and getting paid for it the whole time.
Speaker 3:The biggest thing I was mostly envious of him for is he was around megan good. Oh, I was in love with her back in the day.
Speaker 6:Her role in it was very simple, but I just when I was like you're around making good yeah, no, it was a great experience, it was cool and it also was putting uh roller skating on the map too. So yeah anything that does that I'm a fan of. Um few few few scenes you could tell it's me and not him, which is pretty funny always like.
Speaker 3:You can see it like this for me.
Speaker 2:Now I'm going to have to go back and watch it. We'll have to have a roll bounce watch party.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:You can totally tell it's me Nice. So what about Steve and Darian? What other endeavors have led for you guys from doing this, from skating?
Speaker 5:Yeah, I can't follow you up, you right.
Speaker 6:No we you know, yeah, we've all done our individual Not at all why I meant that.
Speaker 4:I'm currently coexisting.
Speaker 6:I know.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Moments where I can talk yeah, I got you, I got you. No, I just I just wanted to, you know, big up, man. Yeah, y'all are great, you know what I'm saying, so especially you. So I just want to big up for the people, let people know that that boy, darian, does his thing, his thug Dizzle. You know what I'm saying. I want to say, as far as skating goes itself, this was like my first big thing to be a part of Outside of that.
Speaker 5:I just had the honor and opportunity to do my part to highlight skating in other ways, the honor and opportunity to do my part to highlight skating in other ways.
Speaker 5:So, like when I was signed to Nas as a music artist, my second single Out the Gate, we shot it at my home rink that's now torn down, stardust 2 Skate Center and just trying to introduce people as much as I could to my world, which is not just rap but also skating, because in hip-hop they go hand in hand. So I have a different approach with skating. Um, it's from a hip-hop background and how, like the, the traditional venues wouldn't book rappers to to perform, so they would get the community together and perform it at rinks and especially being African-American skaters, like certain places weren't open to us so they would get together in gymnasiums and things of that nature to skate. You know what I mean. So, um, I have a different perspective on it and it's um trying to honor that the best I can makes getting this first big look, and with people that I call family, makes it even sweeter for me. But this is like my first big big look as far as just skating.
Speaker 3:He was traveling around, doing touring. You should go check him out, cantrell, on all platforms. It's. It's pretty crazy, like I'm always like, that's my friend.
Speaker 2:I will definitely do that and I always say it's funny because um too short support skating. And I actually bought my first too short cassette from too short out of the trunk of his car at one of his shows, that's awesome.
Speaker 5:Same Do you still got it?
Speaker 2:I wish.
Speaker 3:I had an ex-wife.
Speaker 2:I had an ex-wife that decided to dump a bunch of stuff while I was at work.
Speaker 6:Alimony, all that coming.
Speaker 2:Alimony is crazy All that, coming Between that and cheating on me with my best friend. I have no love for the woman whatsoever. Yeah, we can go and give her the boot. Luckily my kids are old enough where I don't have to see her or talk to her or do anything. That's the ticket.
Speaker 4:My man, that's where you want to get to. You know what I'm saying Exactly Great payoff. All right, I can go Solo stuff, huh, sorry, let me get a big stretch for the camera, all right, all right. So my individual skate career kind of started from well. If you want to circle all the way back to kind of how I even know these guys in the first place, we have a member of our crew named Brandon Perea, and the skate sponsor we all used to represent used to do this thing called $10,000 challenges, and so it basically be like the whole rink got to go up against this one dude. Whoever can beat him, you get $10,000. Right. And so they used to come into my rink all the time. And then that's how I know Brandon got introduced to Honorable. Just didn't cover that earlier. I've been sitting on it and I was like dang it. I should have said that Um, all right.
Speaker 4:So my individual skate career it really kind of like exploded right in the peak of the pandemic. I took a trip out to Venice beach and I recorded a song, like I recorded a skate set to this Usher song and it ended up going crazy, crazy, super viral. And then, um, that same trip, like while I was still in Los Angeles, I get a phone call from his choreographer and it's basically like hey, do you want to come into the studio? Would you like to show him some moves? Blah, blah, blah. And that I didn't know. That was basically my audition for his residency in Vegas. So that was the first one. And then during the Vegas residency with Usher the very last show I think it was New Year's Eve Dua Lipa's choreographer was in the stands and saw me and my skate partner, bobby and was like oh, I need that, you guys are coming with me. And then went straight from a residency to a full year-long world tour with Dua Lipa. It was crazy, man, nice.
Speaker 5:That is insane. The original right On the original Usher Vegas.
Speaker 4:The original Usher Vegas. Like the first time Usher ever skated on stage was with me, I was with him.
Speaker 6:I can say that Because my name is not on that ticket.
Speaker 4:But yeah, man, that's kind of how it all sparked.
Speaker 4:And then, right after Dua Lipa, I kind of had a brief moment where my mental health kind of took a hit and I was kind of like really lost and confused, kind of going through like an identity crisis, because my years were this high and I was just going for that long and then all of a sudden I had nothing, and so I really leaned in on these guys a lot through that process, like just to not let me give up on myself or just still show me that there's more to come. You know what I mean. I'm really happy I held out, because look at what we were able to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So now, now that you brought that up, I always get to a time where where people have had hard times, just you have that moment and I know, tony, on the show you said, if it wasn't for Roller Jam, like you weren't physically, mentally, and that kind of stuff, and that kind of touched me because a lot of the people that I interview for the show all go through this, and I don't think it's as much with my podcast about just the skating aspect and what you guys have been through, but it's also when you touch upon the stuff that you your trials and tribulations.
Speaker 2:I think that helps people out a lot too with what we see with skating and trying to move forward, that, hey, we all go through rough times and some of them are more serious than others, and that we can move forward. But you have to sometimes go through those hard times and I actually I'm like one of those people that I was so excited that you guys won, because if I was a betting man you probably would have lost. But like UFC fights, honor Roll or Roller Jam, I had you guys pick from the very first episode and usually I do really well with UFC fighters. But I know if I started laying down bets, I would lose, so that's why I don't bet.
Speaker 4:Guys owe me for, not for winning.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I appreciate that when you said that on the show, I actually wanted to know more of what you went through and like your mindset and everything. If you don't mind sharing, yeah, no problem.
Speaker 6:Um, well, yeah, like, I started off at a young age, like I said, at 14, and then 15, came around, 16, was already sponsored and my first was the first roller skater in history, I believe, to have his own pro model boot, did movies, did tours, did all that. Went on tour with a band right before the show called Recycle Percussion. That went on tour with a band right before the show called Recycle Percussion, won three Emmys, like, was on top of the world for a long time in my head. And then I had the roughest year of my life. Um, I got into an abusive relationship, um, very manipulative stuff like that.
Speaker 6:Um, and you know, my, my mental health went down because of that. I lost myself, I wasn't skating anymore. I gained a lot of weight, you know, and I just wasn't as active as I was in my life. I had no drive to do anything. I told the guys I wasn't even going to do it because I was looking for a nine to five. You know, I was doing something that my partner thought I should do, that I didn't really want to do, to make someone else happy and not myself, to be honest with you and I just took the chance of going on the show with the guys and it turned out for the best, obviously. I mean, yeah, I was really lost at that time, I don't I. It's hard to explain, it's hard, it's hard to go back to those moments in my head because I'm so far past that now, after the show, I'm in vegas. I booked a vegas residency at a new show called disco show, where I skate every night, two nights a show. Uh, two shows. Two shows a night.
Speaker 6:I mean, it's definitely hotel. Sorry, I'm coming off two shows of last night. I, you know, I don't get home till 1 am. Every morning I wake up and I do it again. You know, hit the gym, go there.
Speaker 3:So my, I'm very blessed, I'm very humbled to be where I'm at right now and, uh, it did really start with roller jam I think, uh, I think for a lot of us I mean the pandemic and stuff like we all were going through different things, like it was just a crazy time in life. And then, like you know, when things are taken away from you and it's not really in your control especially like as Darian was saying earlier and Tony like you're on this high, and then when that is just like gone, it's like you don't really know there's no, the fall is real far. It's like you don't really know there's no, the fall is real far. And so when you fall, then you really fall.
Speaker 3:I actually, right before I totaled my Harley-Davidson, right like three months before, so I missed the Super Bowl audition, so I was bummed out about that. I still ended up being in the Ushers Uber Eats commercial, but I was injured the whole time and I was out of shape and I was like there's no way I can do it and uh, but I'm so happy that I did because it's like, just like tony said, like it, you know, saved me, because I didn't realize how much I missed just being, even just being around the guys again, like since we're all in different places, I think really helped us, but being able to compete at that level and focus in on something, to be creative together. Like you know, obviously it comes with its trials and tribulations, of you know, like it's really high pressure, but it was.
Speaker 6:It was an amazing moment and and remembering that bond was, I think, my the best thing that I liked about the whole part of the show was just being with my yeah, getting back to what you know, like I think I said it on the show, like it made my life make sense again um, being around my brothers and, you know, having skates on my feet, because once you're going down that hole, you just get on a path of destruction and you obviously start caring less and less about what's going on. And that's where I was mentally. I didn't see any light at the end of the tunnel. So, yeah, I was just on a path of destruction and it was not healthy at all for me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's probably why we paired up so damn much yeah.
Speaker 6:That's why I mean mean we all had everyone in this crew had their own story, their own life, that they were going through, and I think we all related in that way and we all knew how much we needed this um, just to be around each other, just to get a break from the life that we were living in the moment. Even if we didn't win, I think it would have been a positive force for all of us just to go on there and do it together regardless, um, but yeah that I, if you check it out, we're pretty emotional every episode during the judging and all that because we knew how much we kind of just we wanted this and needed it.
Speaker 3:It's actually a crazy dynamic that me and tony were talking about it not longer because we were obviously together on these other shows prior to this. When we're younger, you know, and it's like to see like the vulnerability that we have now that we got older, it's like you can definitely tell that we've been through some life. Yeah, that's what makes us wiser yeah, back in the day it was like you couldn't, we didn't want to show that on TV and you didn't want to show it to anybody. Yeah.
Speaker 6:That's what we learned. You know, like you said, you guys, I heard you talking about America's Got Talent, america's Best Dance Crew. We've done all these shows, so we're kind of seasoned. But even when we were on there we weren't opening up as much, we didn't have a story really, and we're always like, oh, we need a story to win. It's not just our talent, you know that makes you feel a certain way, but people want to know. You know who's on those skates at the end of the day, and I feel like we represented ourselves well in doing that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it was authentic this time and I feel like sometimes on the other ones we had a false bravado, yeah, where it's like we had an idea of what we thought we wanted to be perceived at. And so I think when that, when that seeps in your head on the other shows, it's like that kind of gets in the way of who you really are. And I think this time I think we were, we had been through so much. I think we showed up and I was just I'm just happy to be here and I just love everybody. I showed up and we're like we just I'm just happy to be here and like I just love everybody. I'm just gonna try my best, you know.
Speaker 2:I mean it's like it's like you were just beat down you know okay well, those other times didn't work, so here's the real us yeah, and as a skater and a fan for me, um, I also love pro wrestling, but that's a whole nother story. Uh, one of the main things that they try to do in pro wrestling is get you emotionally involved, and you guys got us emotionally involved in the show. The only problem is is I wanted to know more. It's like you.
Speaker 2:You just like kind of crack the ice, but then it's kind of like tell me more. And that's why I was excited to have you on, because I wanted to know more about what you said and about it being uh, rejuvenating you and that kind of stuff. That was all you had. So I appreciate you guys telling the stories. And Steve, what about you?
Speaker 5:I missed it. I was uh handling my daughter. What happened? What was the question?
Speaker 2:oh uh. We all go through rough times with mental health and all that kind of stuff physical. So was there any time during your journey, even between rap? Because I know when I did pro wrestling, they're like, if you're here to make money, go find something else to do, Because most independent wrestlers don't make money. But what was like over your years? Did you have any of those points where you were just ready to throw it all away and just done?
Speaker 5:Yeah for sure, um, more so, I think. So the safe haven I feel like I get in skating is when music is as low as it's been, um, for me in my journey lately. Um, whether I'm making money from skating or not, just being able to put on on my skates and get lost in the music does it for me Right. So it's like my, it's not an escape, it's a way back in to myself. You know what I mean and so, yeah, I mean having a daughter, you know, and trying to raise her to the best of my ability, and trying to raise her to the best of my ability and other avenues, just not doing what it used to do, just because I mean it's the ebbs and flows, the hills and valleys of entertainment, I think more so financially. For me, more than anything, the win is what helps, because you get the opportunity to position yourself and reposition yourself, to have structure and more, and try to create more financial stability, which is an important thing. You know like it's a lot of people, especially with the popularity of skating, the popularity that skating has right now, it's a lot of people that's going to shoot their shot, and I feel like this is the best time to shoot your shot if you want to do anything with skating Right and entertainment in general. But what they need to know is that the conversations we don't want to have, because financial instability can help take a toll on your mental health too, because financial instability can help take a toll on your mental health too. So if you're not handling your business, or if something isn't impeding you from handling your business, that helps take a toll on your mental. You know what I mean. So I think just the act of skating is what I try to hold on to and that's like I said, it's not an escape for me. It helps me come back into myself, it's a way in, not a way out, and that's what I've been most thankful for, more than anything. But yeah, I would say man just trying to look out for my daughter, you know, and not even just financially as a provider, but what do you tell her? You know what I mean. Like I'm an artist at heart.
Speaker 5:Uh, when we were in china, I was sitting around with, uh, phoenix, um, they're like a crew that they do so many different things, but at that show they were like doing fire stuff and we were sitting around, talking around, um, you know, and one of them said he was like yo, I, I I tried the cubicle thing, but I'd rather die being a creative than do anything that I don't deem good for my soul. And that's different for everybody. For some people the cubicle is what. That is right, but it's just identifying with something you would rather die to not do, and I was like that's it.
Speaker 5:I tell my daughter when you find something you'd rather die to not do, and I was like that's it. I tell my daughter, when you find something you'd rather die to not do, you lean in on that. You know, so it's. I get so many different things that are rich that I can pass on to her. But that's my main thing is spiritual stability, financial stability, mental stability and being able to pass it, because if you don't have it, you can't give it. So doing this with them and winning, and just the whole synopsis of everything that came with Honor Roll doing Roller Jam helps me have or continue to create those three things for her and that's the main thing for me is her.
Speaker 2:Very cool. Yeah, I have kids. Kids are like sponges and they absorb. They know when you're going through hard times and they know when you're going through good times and they absorb that.
Speaker 5:So and that's the other thing. I just trying to make sure it's not, that's not happening, because I know she's going to absorb it. So it's like getting my mind right and my soul right and my spirit right before I even deal with her in the morning, you know, and praying to god, be like yo, give me the patience, not just that she needs but that she deserves. That's a literal prayer that I part of my prayer every morning. Um, because they can't, you know, if it's taking a toll on you, it's going to rub off on people around you, you know, um. So just trying to keep all of that on the straight and narrow is the most important thing. Family right now is where I'm at, like my family here at home, and and making sure that we all good and hoping and that trickles down into your extended family like auto roll, um, and being able to handle those relationships properly to and steward these spaces and responsibilities, well, yeah.
Speaker 2:Very cool. Do you want to add any more, darian?
Speaker 4:dog. I think he just gave you a little ted talk like that.
Speaker 6:That was just magnificent bro yeah, we have nothing else to add yeah, you, you nailed it on the head right there because, like I said, we're we all go. We're going through what we were going through uh financially, mental health, all that, it all coincides um, and it's never done either.
Speaker 3:It's always a process. That's the one thing it's like. You know, I think the big thing that I'm trying to learn is that to remain balanced in the highs, because it's like I think the falls can be a lot worse if it's like if you let yourself kind of stay up in the clouds a little too long, yeah, and now it's like and as you know, the steve was saying, you know, it's like, uh, I'm getting better at prepping for the future rather than. You know. You know, the first time I went on tour, you know I left with one suitcase and came back with three, and so I look back at it now and I'm like, well, damn, it'd been nice to save some of that money and put a little bit of that money back. But you know it was cool, I got to. You know, go around and keep up with the Joneses is what I was doing when I was on tour getting out of a tour bus and stuff. You know you're 21 years old. That kind of goes to your head a little bit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, especially getting a lot of money, it tends to go out as quick as it comes in.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, you don't think it's ever going to end.
Speaker 2:It don't. It don't.
Speaker 3:It don't.
Speaker 6:I think right now, for me personally too, I get so much joy and happiness out of being the best me I could be for the people that have to be around me. Yeah, because for a little bit there I don't feel like I was that, and now I mean it's what drives me, you know, so it's cool yeah, we're gonna come see me.
Speaker 2:The girlfriend are gonna come see your show when we make it to vegas. Hey, come through. I got two tickets for you waiting, man, it's an amazing show man, it's like that's awesome.
Speaker 3:I got to see it like three times and it's like it's it's immersive, so it's really cool to be a part of, because it's like you're not sitting down, like you're dancing in it.
Speaker 6:Yeah, also um aaron aaron tellius. He was on um disco oasis. He's actually in the show with me, which is pretty cool. So oh, very yeah with the afro 70s face.
Speaker 2:Now I wasn't able to confirm because Terrell didn't know, but if they do a season two of Roller Jam, he has said nothing about it and so I don't know if there's going to be a season two. But if you get invited to come back as guest judges, are you guys going?
Speaker 6:Yeah, I wanted to be a judge on season one thank you a step further.
Speaker 4:You honestly felt like we were already. If they want us to help choreograph, do lighting, do wardrobe, do like literally. We have, we have so many people with so many different talents, including people, people you know.
Speaker 6:You know what I mean Like people that are good at talking people that aren't so good at talking.
Speaker 4:We can contribute a lot to the behind the scenes of that show, and I would be honored to be asked, just speaking for my own personal self.
Speaker 3:We would definitely be in any way possible that they would want to, if they decide to go with the season two, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:Nice, and this is something that me and terrell discussed yesterday. Uh, because we're much older than you, but how was it being on there with maureen mccormick? Everybody had a crush on her when we were growing up, so I just want to know how it was with marshall brady, I mean okay, I mean it was short-lived, I don't know.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I mean, and plus she put us in the bottom. I don't know.
Speaker 3:I didn't go last. I was left saying Marsha, marsha, marsha.
Speaker 2:But if you would have done the Brady Bunch dance, you guys probably would have been in the top.
Speaker 4:You got to read the room better, I guess.
Speaker 5:Yeah, we didn't really get any actual time you know outside of being on stage with him and you don't even know who's the judge until you roll out there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, oh. So then you're like and the thing is, you know, they change a little bit, so you're like oh, who is it? I?
Speaker 4:don't know who that is.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, she actually still looks pretty decent at her age. So I know she's a little older than me, but and then one of the things that Terrell and I were discussing is that he comes from the basketball background where competition and he said he was so amazed at how you guys supported each like all the crews came together and there was like no negativity, no bickering, that you guys just all supported each other, which is very cool to see as a skate family yeah, I mean it was a stressful situation.
Speaker 3:I mean, uh, it was obviously. You know, they were trying to stay within budget and so I would say, judging from the other shows that we've been on, they just it was very crunched. Uh, there wasn't a lot of time between each episode, so there wasn't a lot of time for rehearsals. So, on top of something that's already kind of already pressurized and stressful, I would say that this one, out of all of them that I did, this one was by far the hardest as far as on the body and mental state. Oh yeah, because it was just so packed and jammed in, and so I think in that it kind of gives you a sense of sympathy for everybody that's included in on this journey. So I think it was. And also, at the same time, we didn't also get to see what everybody else was doing either. So I think it kind of felt like well, you know, we can just go out there and do our best, so it's that was a big one.
Speaker 6:Yeah, for sure. Other cruise routines was a huge thing, because every other show you're in the green room watching a TV of their performances. You're like, oh, I got to go next. I actually think it would be pretty cool to see other people and put that pressure on, but I like how it came out, you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah for sure To go beyond that. I like how it came out.
Speaker 3:You know, yeah for sure To go beyond that Competitiveness like when we're in the rooms, since I didn't just watch you do something and you didn't just scare me or-.
Speaker 6:You see their energy, though, and you're like, oh, they must've killed it, or oh they?
Speaker 3:didn't say it, but you know how did they do so?
Speaker 6:yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3:More friendly rather than like cut off. Like friendly rather than like cut, like you know. Now, when it came to like the limitscape, you know like we wasn't friends then.
Speaker 4:Uh, to go like to add on to that, at least from like my perspective of the whole thing, um, we were the like the veteran crew as well, and so, you know, like it was this unspoken like acknowledgement that we've been here before and that, like some of some of our other competitors, like this was their first time ever being on a television lot or or anything anything to do with entertainment to begin with. So you know, it kind of felt big brother-ish, if I'm gonna be honest. It kind of felt like we were getting asked like per diem questions and like, hey, did you get reimbursed for this yet? And hey, could you fly me this skate part in, like on the fly?
Speaker 4:you know, like there was just a lot of a lot of those situations where it felt like we were being looked up to and respected for, like the role that we I, I guess partook, you know.
Speaker 6:Yeah, it was crazy With the bloom of so many new skaters too. With COVID, like walking into that show and seeing people that already knew me or knew us, and like Darren was like, oh, that's Zemo. I'm like, oh, he's like Zemo. He's so good. And I'm like, uh-oh, who are these people? I'm like here we go it's on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm like here we go, it's on. I will say it was a little stressful not being able to see what they're doing, because you know people just come back in after they just performed, they're all hyped and you're just like well, it looked like they did good from the sound of it, we were just going off of their wardrobe.
Speaker 4:Sometimes yeah, for real they were about to kill it.
Speaker 6:I was like man we didn't get one of those I was like alright, guys, put on your jeans and let's do this sometimes simple is better, though yeah, it's definitely cheaper. The show did work with us and they hooked it up with the wardrobe, so shout out to Roller Jam for doing that.
Speaker 3:Their whole hair makeup wardrobe department killed it for us, honestly for it being such a crunched show and the first time doing it. Like the crew man I would have to applaud them Like dealing with that and getting the producers getting that to go through, just dealing with all the crews wrangling them up, bringing them there at 8am.
Speaker 6:You know, like our schedule personally for our crew. We got lucky and we found a rehearsal space that we could rehearse at overnight, so we'd get on set at 8am, get off set at 6pm yeah, get something to eat real quick at the hotel and and then meet back up around 7 or 8 pm, take an uber to our rehearsal space and not leave our rehearsal space till 4 am and do it all over again it was actually.
Speaker 3:It was actually a old family dollar that had been shut down but it had been converted into like, uh, like almost like a salvation army type to help for homeless soup kitchen, yeah, human resources basically yeah, and so, uh, we were looking up a guy, he, uh, he charged us a small fee and he would just tell us the code. We get the key. We'd go there after dark. Um, it was in a dangerous part of New Orleans, it was in the ninth ward being there until two in the morning.
Speaker 3:We're like well you know. That really lets you know how the sacrifices and the dedication you have, because it's like you're not, you get about three, four hours of sleep a night and you're kind of risking your life. In a new part of town that's never been.
Speaker 4:Having every Uber cancel on us because it's 3. In the ninth board and we're just like, well, we can't walk, so what we got? We gonna rehearse more like what are we gonna do today, y'all ah, that's crazy man yeah, I will say every crew, we, we all talk.
Speaker 5:Still all the crews, we all still talk. Just to put a pin in the the, the note that terrell gave you, we all still chat. We got a gave you, we all still chat. We got a big group chat. We all still hang out on the side, especially ones that are close to each other, and if we don't hang out when we do see each other, it's a party. You know what I mean.
Speaker 6:You check my social. I think I made more videos since the show with other crew members than I have my own crew, definitely have. But it's all love. We love doing it, but we need a reunion.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the thing about the skate community is like we support ourselves, like we support each other, no matter what, no matter if you're inline, roller ice or even skateboarding. And the one thing I've noticed with a lot of the jam skaters out here actually not even a lot of them, there's like one or two that kind of have that ego that think they're better than everybody else, and then their attitude kind of shows when they're at the rink. But 98% of everybody I've met in the skating community is very cool and doesn't have that attitude. But you just every once in a while just get those bad apples. But I think that's just like from everything, like hey, that's my girl, don't talk to her. And I'm like you showed up with 10. What do you? Which one are you?
Speaker 5:talking about. You know what I mean. And that's something, yeah, like that's something I want to send out to my community man, like that's something that we got to do better at. I don't know what it is, maybe they need spankings or something. But the kids that are jam skating, bro, the attitude, not just what you just described, but the attitude towards this, like get it, you're not, you're not even doing what you think you're doing. You know what I mean, and that's most of them, like the two kids you're probably talking about. God bless their souls and their, their efforts, their, their, their ego is not up there with the execution, I can guarantee. Yeah, that's something that has to be, you know that's why it's there.
Speaker 3:They got to live behind the false bravado because they're having insecurities. I think the big thing is keep that mentality. If you want to have that mentality in a battle circle or something like that, that's fine. But as soon as that shit's over, it goes back to the private aspect.
Speaker 5:There's a place for everything. Yep, yep, yep, let's play. I just wanted to send that out because I mean, it's one thing to be able to be around your community and the kids and the youth and teach them, but for the ones that we haven't been able to reach yet coming soon, right, the ones we haven't been able to reach yet, if you're watching this and listening to this man like, yeah, man, what they just said, like 20 seconds, what Jordan and Darren just said, do that, look at it that way. You know what I mean. You got to get your attitude in check and get your skills in check, because there's a place and time for everything. Time and place for everything.
Speaker 3:One thing I always learned about working in the entertainment industry is it doesn't matter how talented you are, people don't want to work with you and don't like you. Exactly, you ain't going to work.
Speaker 4:Your phone is going to get real silent. It's the same thing. I've seen it happen to the best of them, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the same thing with pro wrestling, like if you go in with a bad attitude, promoters aren't going to book you. And the skating world is a lot like the pro wrestling that right now we're such like a small community that if word gets out you're basically blacklisted. Yeah, and you know it's ruined people's. Actually I won't say it's ruined people's careers. People have ruined their careers by having their attitude, their own career. Yeah, it's nobody's fault, but their own, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So, but when you were standing there at the end and I even saw it on Tony's face when it was coming down to like the last two, like his face was, it was coming down to like the last two, like his face was like, please, god, just let us win what was? What was going through your guys' heads when you were down to the last two? And you're both standing there and they're getting ready to announce the winner? I would love to answer this one.
Speaker 4:I was falling apart up there, boy, oh, my goodness. Okay. So let me give you a little backstory of why my performance was the way it was in the finale. I skate on wheels that are made out of rocks, like they're literally made out of asbestos and like clay, um, and so you know, I was like. You know, this is the finale. I want to do my best, I want to make sure I don't do nothing wrong. Let me clean my wheels right before the most important routine of this competition.
Speaker 4:But when you put water on clay and asbestos, it makes them very slippery, and so I was just all over the place. I thought I lost it for the rest of the team. What I'm basically trying to say? Like I was convinced I was telling everyone up there, so I was standing at the back because I was just pulling on their little sleeves and I was like like guys, I messed it up. I was like I don't think we did it. I was just falling apart that whole five minutes that they had us standing there. I was just like, please, man, please.
Speaker 3:One slip in that type of environment, you think it's huge, like it feels like, especially with us. I think we're so synchronized a lot of the time and we're such perfectionists and it was already hard, you know we're only having, like you know, maybe a total of eight hours to work on this routine that we're performing, and so it's like, when something doesn't go as planned, like you're like oh, that's it.
Speaker 6:Yes, you're like I'm never putting skates up again I was like this is it hell of a career, go out and go out in second place and call it a day I don't think that that last routine felt as executed perfectly as the other ones did, but I felt the vibe that we gave off in that building that night and that that spoke a lot to me. I I figured, oh, I didn't actually I didn't know.
Speaker 6:I didn't know I was hoping, and you know we talked obviously we had a little time before the judging came. So like we kind of knew, like oh, I did this here, he did this here, I was like bad boys could have just murdered it, which they did. Um, yeah, it's hand sweating nonstop. And then you sit there for 10 minutes in silence while they get the cameras ready. I think I was nervous. Don't take me back.
Speaker 3:Until I heard, when they said the points, they said one of you got the 10 on the challenge, on the challenge, yeah. And when I heard them say that I, I was like, like this like moment came over my body. I was like Because the first one was a nine, I was like. I was like, I was like we got the challenge.
Speaker 6:I was like all right, I know that I was like if there's one thing I can be sure of.
Speaker 3:I thing was, everyone was on their head. So like what are you doing that? Yeah. So I was like I was like I was like we won. I was like I think we won, I think we won. So then when it hit, I was like holy shit, we really won. I don't know what it means.
Speaker 6:I don't think I was like yeah yeah, there's a moment where they said that 10. I think they showed my face and I looked down and I just like started bawling. Yeah I was like I think that's us, I'm pretty sure that's. I mean, that challenge was made for us. I felt like it's crazy, Like yeah, Very proud of my crew.
Speaker 2:And I'm like Gus from Psych, I'm a sympathetic crier. So when you guys got emotional, I got emotional.
Speaker 4:So every week.
Speaker 3:Every time we watched, I still get teared up on the first episode. When the screen hits, I said damn it, it's happening again.
Speaker 6:Yeah, definitely it's back in that moment. We just watched it the other night and it was the first time I watched it personally. It's been like a couple weeks or something, so I was watching it every day. It was on replay or on mute while I'm doing other stuff. I watched it.
Speaker 6:We watched it the other day and like, yeah, there's a moment, and just in our first episode interview, like they show a picture of Hunter and then his kid and then Steve with his kid, and I'm like losing it already, like just to know where we were in that moment and then now, now where we're at and have won it, it just means so much felt like it was going to be such a long process but it went by so quick so it was just like it's like a flash in your life, like uh, one of those things I think, and I think things like that happen as I get gotten older.
Speaker 3:It's like stuff seems to fly by a lot quicker than it used to. Like I felt like you know, there's moments in our past you know career like that, when I was like I felt like I was there forever, but like now, it's like things are like gone and out. I'm like I'm like, well, I gotta really live in these moments and and really, you know, appreciate these moments and not let them just pass me by and be just a memory and the older you get, the faster it goes.
Speaker 4:I'm just telling you, I'm 52, so just be forewarned, yeah well, I'll say that, like since, since roller jam, like that's definitely the ship that's happened internally with our crew. For sure is that, like I think, I think we all know that we were given another really good opportunity to do something, um, to to keep evolving as a business and as friends and as a crew. So, um, it was definitely just a shift, like in every aspect, ever since. I just feel like we're all individually pushing ourselves, pushing each other and and I'm really excited to see what the future of honor roll is going to look like in this next, even just in the next, fiscal year. You know what I mean. I'm like can't wait to see it.
Speaker 3:Man, it works, baby, it works. We got a tour coming up in 2025. We're going to be doing 50 rinks in the United States. It's kind of a victory lap. It's kind of what it is.
Speaker 2:So be on the lookout, make sure you uh if we get, I'm sure we'll be in colorado for sure. So yeah, let me know, because I will be there with camera and everything. So steve what was going through your mind when you were standing up there before they announced the winner man?
Speaker 5:um, that I can share. Um, because I had some I, I had some thoughts going on and I was like you know let's, you know let's, let's keep those where they at right now. Um, I will say, um, I think I was just trying to stay composed, man, you know I, I was preparing my heart for any surprises. You know, like, usually when I hear what happened on a challenge, like we did, we usually kind of know right, but I was prepared for any curveballs, like we've been saying, you don't get to see what other crews have done, right, and when it comes down to it, those last four crews, all the crews, right, but those last four crews, they were the last four for a reason and you just don't know what's going to happen. So you don't know who's where.
Speaker 5:So I was really just preparing my mind and my heart for any surprises, because I wanted to be a good sport too, sport too, you know, um, I didn't want to be so caught up in my own emotions of disappointment or my own high that I wasn't paying respects to, um, the crew, the amazing crew and humans beside us. So, if you like, when you see the confetti coming out, I'm like fixing my gloves and I'm kind of waiting because I'm like I'm looking for the opportunity to acknowledge them and what I know they probably put on the floor which we couldn't see their routines. But I knew they put their heart and soul on the floor. So I was mainly trying to stay composed, trying to stay clear, trying to stay ready for any surprises.
Speaker 5:Yeah, right, you know yeah, man, and being able to show. I just wanted to show love and respect. We tried to show love and respect to each and every crew, Like you can. When House of Skaters skating off, you could see us showing them love. You know, when Skate Gravity skates off, you could see us showing them love. So I was just trying to be in a good headspace to be able to keep showing some love.
Speaker 3:Even though it was so stressful, yeah, man.
Speaker 5:It was because, like Tony said, you got we sent up there probably like what 10 minutes for cameras to get ready to find out what's going on and then they're taking so much time to say who crew is what. So, tony's like, come on, come on, come on, like, just say the name you know. So you got all that time, man, it's a lot, and we learned how, how, how it was affecting us anxiousness wise too. So I just was trying to stay as center as I could. Yeah, in that moment, because it was man, the pressure was I had not felt anything like a long time waiting for those names.
Speaker 4:It was the, it was the, it was the, and the winner of roller Jam is also going to be donating to, and an hour later. Right, just be happy they didn't have commercials and we'll tell you right after this commercial break, we'll be right back.
Speaker 5:Would have passed out would have passed out.
Speaker 2:So now, when, uh, now that you've all gotten to go back and watch the show, is there any times that you guys have come out ahead where you've looked at another crew and they and you think they did better than you, or nope, no, no, I uh, I actually don't think we should have been in the bottom when we were, but that's just my opinion personally and I'll say that out loud to anybody.
Speaker 6:but everyone did very good and very well. I dropped my hat.
Speaker 4:I'm sorry.
Speaker 3:Drop my hat.
Speaker 4:Let it go. I don't, I don't think there's ever.
Speaker 3:I haven't watched any of them in, like we shouldn't have won where we were at in those. But I mean, obviously everybody makes mistakes. There's parts. I'll pick it apart. If you let me, I'll go through them like ah, look what I did there, look what I did there.
Speaker 7:Well, we also do that with other crews.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but we do that with everybody Like we're just, you know, you're just when you're in this it's like you know. And the thing is, honestly, I'm just truly proud of every crew on there, because we really did not have a lot of time to put this together and even with us being seasoned as we are, I remember, I mean, there's time I was sitting in rehearsal and I said, oh shit.
Speaker 7:Yeah, Sometimes it's like I know this is going to happen.
Speaker 6:Yeah, sometimes we'd like injuries man that people had yeah, I mean, I was coming off a knee injury, he's neat, he's hurting. Uh, sometimes like we'd be in rehearsal hey a shoulder. Yeah, we got, we need like so we wouldn't pressure like sometimes you know two of us, three of us, maybe one guy's out there making up the routine, like we give each other time and do that, but then to know the other crews had to go through the same thing. Um, man, it's it sometimes. I just don't know how we all did it.
Speaker 3:There was times that my body would not. Physically, I was like y'all just go ahead and make it up, and then you let me know nice yeah now every crew put.
Speaker 5:That's one thing to highlight. That they're saying is every crew put it down. I'm so proud of all 10 crews. Man put it down and represented. I'm not supposed to. I'm a rapper for one. I played D1 football, so I've been playing sports all my life. I'm not supposed to think someone else did better, right, but every crew did amazing. I just think. I just don't think anybody did any better than we did, including when we got put in the bottom.
Speaker 5:You know, I don't think we should have been down there either, but that's also us knowing the context of our routine. That's also us knowing how context of our routine. That's also us knowing how many times we hit every challenge. We hit every challenge minimum six times in 60 seconds minimum. So when they miss it, I'm like you have. I have the luxury of knowing, so I'm not supposed to feel like they did better. We hit. You know we're hitting challenges the way we're hitting them. What is going on with that? What just happened? I?
Speaker 5:turned out a blank face for a minute but, um, yeah, I mean, you know, we just know how much we put into it. And then when I see our execution, I'm like man, we executed that to perfection. And then just knowing entertainment like um, knowing how, how every crew put it down, but also seeing the difference in in certain things. You know that. But that comes with the experience and that didn't always work out in our favor. You know, like the time we went into the bottom, our experience said do this, do this, do this? Oh, this is a battle bet, do this, do that? And we didn't necessarily get rewarded for our experience, our experience at all times, you know. So, um, I, um, I just will hang my hat on. There was no routine, any on any um episode that was better than ours, as good as the other ones were. That's just. That's just the. I'm a competitor, that's just that tall.
Speaker 3:I mean, I mean, there's no shade on nobody else, but you know, baby, I'll spend what we put out there.
Speaker 6:So I don't know. Yeah, so tricky, tricky, I was worried about how it was going to look because obviously Hunter got hurt and all that. I didn't know how it was going to end up. And I'm, I watch it and I'm like oh, oh, we killed that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'll be honest though.
Speaker 6:I messed up. Oh, oh, we killed that yeah.
Speaker 3:I'll be honest, though, I messed up Like there's a whole about two, eight counts at the end of the routine. It's little stuff because at the same time Dylan's out there doing halos in front of me, so it's like you're not looking at me anyways. But if you watch it back anybody listening to this there's a moment when we do the little moonwalk thing turn around and we come and dylan goes out the front to do it. If you watch me, I just freeze, my mind is going and I'm just sitting there and you can literally see me say I'm like thankfully, thankfully he was dead center so it still looks symmetrical in the choreography.
Speaker 4:I wasn't mad, but we definitely gave him shit yeah later on.
Speaker 3:I'm sitting there, I I'm like, yeah, guys just totally didn't even do the last part of the routine, and then like so then I'm thinking the whole time how bad it's going to look, but we don't get to see it. So I'm like there's no way. I was like, well, look, don't say nothing.
Speaker 5:If they ain't going to say nothing, I ain't going to say shit, but I I think it speaks to you know the season part, right, like we know one thing that I saw that was different for us than other cruises. We knew how to highlight things.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 5:There are certain moments where we knew just how to put a spotlight on certain individuals, and another crew that did that extremely well was Skate Gravity right. So they know how to create diversion while they're setting up those amazing tricks, and then they do it with great skating disco. Aces did it very well too. You know, it's just certain things that happen, that you just learn how to highlight things. So who knows how many other people messed up right.
Speaker 5:But if you don't highlight what you're trying to highlight. Well, they're probably going to see it and I just think that's just a nod to how us and all the other crews prepared those highlights. Yeah, you can't. You're gonna catch every missup also we were.
Speaker 6:We were so big on not repeating. Um, that was our main thing, like when it came down to footwork or a power move or groundwork or moving a certain way or using the rink floor in a certain way. We drilled ourselves on not repeating any week, no matter what it was, and I think that kind of gave us the upper hand as well. Um, the, the way we came in well-rounded like that and the way we could pull that off really helped yeah, and speaking of hunter, he just joined us oh, the little picture of a guy right there.
Speaker 2:The one without the video.
Speaker 3:You there, hunter, I think he just oh yeah, there he is driving around.
Speaker 4:Man answered with the driver's license, smile.
Speaker 7:You know, can you guys hear me or no? Yes cool. Uh, yeah, sorry, I'm like a regular dude. These guys are all like famous, but I work a real job and when it gets crazy at work, I just don't have the opportunity to jump off things like this so are you driving for work now? Yeah, I'm driving from one store to another to pick up parts, so I saw that the zoom meeting was still going. I was like man, let me jump in here so when did you start?
Speaker 2:how old were you when you started skating? Since you've jumped on now, so let's get your background on skating um, well, me personally.
Speaker 7:I was, uh, my mom's sonogram. I was rolling around in there, so I think from birth it's just training within my dna. Uh, my mom's actually a roller skater, which is who got me into it, so I was learning to skate before I even. I don't remember walking, but I do remember skating, so my whole entire life I've been, uh, I've been on wheels.
Speaker 2:Nice and we were talking about your injury Like what. What was the full extent of your injury on the show?
Speaker 7:Oh man, it hurts right now. Um, as far as, like what the doctor said, I had had um a pinched nerve and two slipped discs. It was supposed to be like six to eight weeks of uh therapy before it's like healed. But uh yeah, funny thing about those contracts when you read into those. Some of the some of them injuries are on you.
Speaker 2:It's just like the roller rinks. They have you sign the waiver before you go in.
Speaker 6:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 7:You try and do a rink. Though you got a good shot, you go after HBO, you're lost.
Speaker 2:They got a lot more money than us.
Speaker 6:Yeah, they didn't give us money. Hunter's in here, guys. Hunter's in here.
Speaker 2:So now, what kind of this is? One of my favorite questions is what is your setup Like? What kind of boot wheels besides clay and asbestos and bearings do you guys use?
Speaker 6:Oh, nice, nice. Well, me personally, uh, I'm actually on a high top right now for the first time in my life because I'm in disco show. Obviously, back in the 70s that's what they skated on um dominantly, so that's what I'm on, but usually I'm on and it is a ride l I love it um. But you know, jamwise, I always was on a vanilla jam skate.
Speaker 3:I got a Powertrack and a black vanilla freestyle. That's kind of like the all-purpose. You know what I mean yeah.
Speaker 4:I'm the sacrilegious one. I'm on a Rydell 336 for the Arius plate and asbestos wheels, as we've mentioned. Still make it work. Still put my hands on the ground, somehow Figure it out.
Speaker 7:My preference on skate setup is for sale. Any company watching that wants me to skate on skate. I'm pretty much willing. Hunter's in here, guys. Hunter's in here, baby.
Speaker 3:I'm not gonna lie, like I was sitting there, I was like I don't know if I want to talk about this right now, like wait for some of these sponsorships to go through.
Speaker 7:I'll skate on the highest better. Yeah, I'll strike them off.
Speaker 6:I mean, my dream skate would be a Nike. So I mean, I'm just, saying or Adidas, or Adidas.
Speaker 3:What's that? You know? One of those two.
Speaker 5:For personal preference.
Speaker 7:I'm skating on a Diamond Skates boot right now, which is super comfortable. It's kind of like a mixture between the high top, low top. It's soft in some spots that you'd usually find hard on other boots, so it's a good crossover boot. That's what I'm skating on. As far as plate, I'm weird. I skate on plastic plates. I don't skate on anything fancy. You throw a sunlight on there. I'm happy.
Speaker 3:I love a good probe man, a good probe.
Speaker 7:Yeah, man.
Speaker 3:Give me a probe on a clear and what about the blade.
Speaker 5:I actually skated on a probe on Rower Jam it was a black freestyle with a probe the whole time we were on the show. Oh, that's crazy. In honor of my brother, Dylan Morton, I'm actually borrowing his skates because my skate situation when we were in China I beat my skates to the white meat. I'm actually borrowing Dylan Morton's skate right now. Shout out to my bro, Dylan.
Speaker 6:Hey man, I got these 910s Steve.
Speaker 3:Put the price in the chat, baby.
Speaker 6:We can work something out.
Speaker 2:We can work something out I actually have a friend at the rink that actually found a pair of Nikes and turned them into skates. So he's got the Nike skates now.
Speaker 6:There it is. Yeah, it's crazy Nowadays, like people are just throwing on rentals. Now I think you know the skill level that's up here now you just throw some of those on, you're good they're not that easy.
Speaker 2:I played rink hockey and rentals because I don't have quads yet, but it's. I can actually skate backwards better in quads than I can on my inlines, but my inlines have 100 millimeter wheels. So yeah, yeah, yeah, it's gonna be gone. Now who is your biggest influence that got you into skating or dancing or, as steve's situation, even rapping?
Speaker 4:I'm uh, I'm thankful enough to say that some of my biggest inspirations are in this call right now. Um, I looked up to the vanilla skate team growing up and when it, like before, this was an in-reach thing that I thought that I'd be doing my life, like when I just was trying to get girls in the middle of the floor, like that, these are the guys that I used to look up to the posters on the wall the, the pro model, skates. Like this is it. This is where it topped out for me yeah actually for me, mine was uh.
Speaker 3:There was, there was two major influences in my life. It was, uh, shannon anthony and eugene eugene is I don't know his last name, but he was on jamscape from florida and obviously shannon anthony, he uh was uh part co-founder of uh break skate with jesse nice and, um, I seen him in the rink one day. I went there for a girl I was a skateboarder at the time and I was like you ain't never gonna catch me roller skating. I walked in and seen this girl and then I seen the guys and he was out in the middle of doing stuff and he was getting a lot of attention and I was like I want to do that. Whatever that is, I want to do that.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I think, speaking of what Dan said, like Jason Baker introduced me to it, like I will always mention Jason Baker and I think from there I'm learning from people in this chat, like it's no lie, you know what I mean. I got the tapes Like my mom would record not just my part of the competition, she would record every skater because if I, you know, I'm new to it and the traveling so I would fall asleep a lot. So she's catching everything and she's she'll run back her favorites. So she'll be like yo, you gotta watch this dude, it was jordan. She's like yo, he got so much swag right. Then she's like yo, you gotta watch this dude, he's doing a whole bunch of stuff. I learned my windmills from slowing down tony's aims. Um, uh, tony's, which year was it? It was in florence, kentucky. Yeah, music, it was music. Don't stop with the navy 2003, yeah yeah.
Speaker 5:So I'm slowing that down to learn how to windmill. You know what I mean. So I'm texting, see, I'm texting darren in instagram like yo, this b-boy right here, there's a certain thing he has. Uh, what is it? You know I mean because I know darren has it. So it's not just that he understands breaking, I knew darren has it. And I'm looking at hunter in a way he puts combination combinations together. I'm looking at dealing, how we're around. It is like we learn from each other. Even now. I feel so it really is the people in this chat. It's Jason Baker and the people in this chat.
Speaker 5:Like no lie, we're not even saying that just because I know exactly what I get back then and now from each person on our team Diamond his power and his longevity right His creativity. Brandon Perea is insane in that aspect. He's like your prototypical skater now. You know what I mean, but that's because of guys in this chat. He probably grew up too much and too so it's not even a lot. I look at everybody on our team and I get something from them.
Speaker 6:I pull something from them yeah, I remember downloading a two minute video for three days on 56k dial up of jordan and I would just have that thing on replay, just trying to imitate it, you know, and and that goes along. Once I started meeting these guys, I'd watch all their videos and nowadays, to be honest, nowadays, for me personally, it's less skating, it's more just. It could be fashion, it could be music, it could be LeBron James, nyjah Houston, that skateboards. I watch them and what they're doing as athletes and their longevity, like he said, diamond has, and that's what I want for myself in skating. So that's where I'm picking and choosing, where my inspiration comes from. You know, it's everyday life around me now hunter anybody besides your mother I think he's.
Speaker 7:Uh, he's in the other shop now I'm listening but yeah, I am in the other shop, um, inspirations for me. I didn't hear what everybody said, but, uh, I'm sure somebody said people in this chat, because really everybody that is on honor roll is a part of a different generation of people that really broke down barriers. Like I thought, roller skating the best thing you could do with it was really go to the rink on the weekend to skate in a circle and I was happy with that. Um, but then you see jordan and tony and diamond on tv every thursday night and you're like whoa wait a minute.
Speaker 7:This is. This is crazy. Like then, you see, like years later now I'm a part of the same group. I saw and was able to do the same thing, but in an even bigger way, and now there's, you know, new kids that are in the same position. I was at that time watching us. I think it's the coolest thing ever. I love seeing the loop or the cycle of inspiration come and go, and what Tony was saying, or touching on the way he's learned to pick and choose where he finds his inspiration, has been more of something. I'm targeting trying to find something and everything, rather than everything from something.
Speaker 2:Nice. So the next question you got to think long and hard about this one is what advice do you have for this next generation coming up that wants to be like you or compete on Roller Jam or do what you guys do?
Speaker 6:Stay dedicated and practice your ass off. All of us here has made it our life at one point. That's all we did. That's all we've done, whether it was practicing on carpet in your house, in your front room, to taking it into the rink or even outdoors. Just stay on the grind. Stay humble, because that can make or break you too, like Steve said.
Speaker 3:I think the thing I would pass on is that, um, you find a crew man, get together. I think the the most special thing about everything that I do is getting it to share it with my brothers. And um, you know, obviously there's going to be different levels and different times, that people shine more than others, but, like, you're only as good as your crew and it's no fun to do anything alone. You know what I'm saying. Like, behind any anybody that's ever been successful in life, there's, there's always a big team and it's like. I think that that's what makes it. Your community is everything. So, stay involved with the community, all different types of styles, because you can learn so much from different things and don't cut yourself off just because you think that you know your ego is getting away, as the two guys from colorado um, I'd say, biggest word of advice that I wish I could have told myself, um, take advantage of the advancements of sports medicine.
Speaker 4:Your body is literally your, your golden ticket in this game, um, and if you don't preserve that, like, like, a lot of us on honor roll have not like, we're just super injury ridden, you know, and that's not fun. So stretch and take care of your body is one number two is that, uh, if, if you want to be a dance skater or a jam skater or whatever we want to call it, definitely take some dance class. It helps a lot, whether you, whether you learn from diamond walker tutorials or a once a week dance skate class, or you know whatever platform that these new age skaters are going to be using to learn, um, it's only going to be easier if you know how to count music and if you know how to be directed in movement. So that that's my biggest piece of advice.
Speaker 5:Brazil.
Speaker 2:Hunter.
Speaker 7:One thing, one thing I would tell the next generation, especially since technology and social media has changed so many things, is go outside your box and find ways to challenge yourself.
Speaker 7:So if you're getting 100,000 views on your videos. It might make you feel like you've already reached some sort of level. There's like that serotonin boost and like you're feeling like you're on top of the world. But I challenge that person to go skate a style that they've never skated, or compete at a high level in different forms of skating, to really challenge themselves, because the best I've ever been able to be has been under those pressure situations and it's it's harder and harder to find those. Not everybody gets invited to red bull.
Speaker 7:Know your role you know what I mean so if you have an opportunity to be in that or something like that, don't say, oh, you know, I don't want to damage my brand or I don't need that because I already have these views or something. It's like really get in the trenches and test your abilities against others and I encourage you to lose, because it will, uh, shape you and help you way more than the wind will 100.
Speaker 5:um, I don't even know what to say. That ain't been what ain't been said. You know? Um, I would say whatever it looks like for you, try to maintain the love for this, because, one, it's going to help you professionally, if that's your goal, and two, it's going to help you when things don't look as great. It's going to help you maintain something. Whatever that something is for you, it's going to help you maintain it if you just try to preserve the love for this. However you got to do it, try to maintain the love for what it is. We all do on these eights, no matter what your goal is. If you do want to shoot for the stars, now is the time and play back everything they just said. Nice yeah.
Speaker 2:Now, how can my listeners follow you guys and find you on social media?
Speaker 3:On all platforms. You can check us out at RollWithHonor. You can also check us out at RollWithHonorcom. Pick up some merch. We got these new skater t-shirts designed by your team right here we got merch we got merch also make sure you follow us and get ready. Like I said, for 2025, we got the victory lap tour coming on, so we're going to be hitting 50 rinks, so it's going to be a fun next year are we dropping the title yeah, a little victory lap.
Speaker 3:Are we dropping the title? Yeah, a little victory lap Are we dropping the title this is an exclusive Hold on.
Speaker 5:You just gave him an exclusive.
Speaker 3:We're not supposed to drop it, yet that's an exclusive right there we won't tell you who it's presented by yet, until we drop that.
Speaker 5:Look at that, Sean. Look at that, Sean. You got an exclusive for Honor Roll Skate Crew.
Speaker 6:At this point, I'd just be dropped by us.
Speaker 7:If you want to be proactive and you're listening to this and you want to have us or have you know have an honor roll experience. Please feel free to go to your local rink. Have them reach out to us, as we are filling in the final spot for our rink tour. So if you create the demand then we'll be there.
Speaker 2:Nice. Well, I definitely want to thank you guys for coming on today. Thanks for having us man nice.
Speaker 4:well, I definitely want to thank you guys for coming on today. Thanks so much you, thank you, thank you.