Brandon Negrete Interview - 05/10/19

Remember when you were a kid? Before skating, before cars, before girls, before you even had a life. When you used to sit at home playing Mortal Kombat on Sega Genisus... A, B, C, up, down, left, right, that was fun to you. You'd sit in front of the Tv all afternoon pounding at that control. Wasting all your continues, and eating up your patience. But its cool cause you beat Kano , you beat Raiden, you beat Scorpion, you beat Jax, fuck you beat em all except that fucking boner Goro. Yeah, that asshole. Well he's all you have left then you've beat the game, and that basically means you're THE dude if you win. But you don't win. Goro is like Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction that is to say he's a BAD Motherfucker... Brandon Negrete's like that too. He's the shit. You just can't beat that guy, he's always two steps ahead of the crowd. This time he's taking them in the wrong direction. Brandon has quit making skate videos. GAME OVER right? Well lets all hope for a Continue to mysteriously start flashing...

Dan Leifeld: So Brandon , is it true you retired from making skate videos? What attributed to this halt in rolling entertainment?

Brandon Negrete: I like to think of it as giving up.

Are you giving up on your friends or the rolling community in general?

Well I stopped and thought about it a couple days ago. I realized that I'm losing thousands of dollars every time I try to make a video, and the harder I try to make videos the harder they flop. The thing is I used to never really care, because how much fun it was. But when I realized that I‘m broke, everything I own is broken, and I'm living on my friends couch with no source of income maybe its time to let it go.

What's next for Brandon Negrete? I mean when you've built your entire line of contacts and lifestyle around such a warm pussy, its hard to just premature ejaculate and pull out .

I pretty much kicked myself out of the rollerblading community when I made Forever Now. So I don't think I will really be missed. I would never forget about my friends, because thats pretty much all I have left. Friends and memories, but memories don't pay the rent.

What will pay the rent?

I really have no idea what's next. Maybe go to school, get a job, who knows... Just live life.

"Good Times" - The Animals

Exactly man. That song sums up my life

But how are you going to pay for it? How much money would you say you spent/lost on the production of RTN?

Dude it's not hard to get jobs. I've had many over the past few years and it wont be hard to get a new one. Shit I could make one wedding video a month and make more than I do in rollerblading. It won't be nearly as fun, but at least I could put some gas in my ride, ya know?

I couldn't really say how much I spent... So far I've made nothing on it and I started working on it over a year ago. you start adding up things like plane tickets, gas, food, smokes, tapes, generator, lights, time, and effort put into something over a year span. You do the math.

Is it just the money, or is it rollerblading? Do you find yourself feeling under appreciated from your films?

I think that's what it is the most. Especially with Road to Nowhere everyone involved put so much time and heart into the video. From the people with profiles to the filmers to the girlfriends and parents who helped. Even down to the homies who took me in when we couldn't afford hotels or things like that.

Its like you didn't even get respect in return? you just got shit.

We all tried really hard to make something fresh and interesting and fun and then when it drops, it gets labeled as "THE rocker video" or something and we sell 500 copies which is barely enough to make back duplication costs.

Do you think timing has anything to do with it? It did drop the same time as Killer Boots, which appeals more to the regular rollerblader... that is if there is such a thing anymore...

I guess being a regular rollerblader would be the new punk rock .

Well I think the timing is was perfect because like you said, Killer Boots was more of a mainstream video. You have the best kids in the world doing cool stuff.. It's a sure thing of course. But at the same time I know there's people out there who aren't into that. They want to see something else. I'm stoked for Carl, because I think he is one of the only other video makers out there that takes a lot of pride in his work. Even if they are into that, it's not like you have to take sides. Videos get old, I'm not saying mines the best, but I think it showcases a lot of the outsiders of rollerblading, and it does it in a good way. You can't compare Brian Shima to a 15 year old girl from Montreal, but that doesnt mean she sucks cause shes not as good as Shima.

What is wrong with rollerbladers being so Anti- accepting, I mean we all do fucking unity's but nobody believes in it... Do you believe there is a stigma these days, where kids can't buy both RTN and the B Unique video?

Yeah I do and I think its fucking retarded. People think that just because I choose to make videos showcasing certain things that I have a hate to everyone else. I totally respect those B-unique guys. They make good products that get kids stoked out. Its not stuff that I would personally wear but that doesn't mean its gay or wack or whatever. I never cared what Josh Petty wore or was listening too, I just liked watching him skate cause he was a bad ass. People are way too caught up with labels nowadays. I was hanging out with Mike (Murda) the other day and he told me he was getting tons of messages from kids who said they loved him in "that punk rock video," but he doesn't even have a trick. He is just being Mike, which is a funny ass dude. I put him in the video cause he is my friend, and he was hanging out with us at the time...

Would you agree with the statement "rollerblading is like a hard drug, it fucks people up. ”

Not really. That sounds like a pretty boner statement. Rollerblading is cool, people just fuck themselves up and need an excuse. It's like anything... if you get too wrapped up in it you are gonna get burned out.

Well how about the side of it, where its almost addicting, like that's all these fucking boners can think about is rollerblading, it fucks with their finanaces, and their futures .

Well yeah. I think the whole thing has just turned into high school. And I feel really bad for some people, because its all they know. Companies used to just throw money at 16 year old kids and hype them up and then if skate sales are down they drop em without a second thought. Now Crazy Jimmy is 21 with bad knees and has to start applying at Taco Bell. When last year he was in Amsterdam spending per diem on chicks and weed. It's a hard pill to swallow I bet.

Brandon , why didn't you put a directors commentary in RTN? Did you make one and scrap it or just said no way jose to the project?

Well we made one. At the time I was just trying to finish the video and I wasn't too happy with it and I was just over it at that time. I had to finish it in like a week before I went to Lake Owen for the summer. So I just decided not to put it on there. A lot of the things that happened during the filming of the video were probably too raw to just throw in there anyway.

In skateboarding you hardly ever know who's making the video, and even more so you hardly ever see them. Yet in rollerblading the filmers themselves are as much as a star as the pro skater. Like in rollerblading it seems like kids think, Geewiz, If only I could film with Negrete/Sturgess/AJ I'd have it made... Do you think that perpetuates the celebrity behind it? What are your feelings towards this direction?

It still weirds me out when I meet people and they are like "Oh your Negrete" like they know me and shit, but its cool. Especially when kids tell me that they were stoked on the videos and things like that. It makes you feel good to be appreciated, but at the same time there our people out there who hate me. Seriously hate me when I've never met them. They are like “Oh that's that guy, blah blah he's a fag” and I'm like "Whoa, its just a video man, you don't even know me."

... For instance, I've heard that I pissed some people off in Florida when I was filming Mike and Sean. They thought I was hating on them by not filming them. But to me, I felt like I was out there to film Mike and Sean, not to break the whole Florida scene or whatever. It's weird to have that kinda pressure on you.

IS that why not put yourself in the video at all? A lot of film makers get off on it (cough cough AJ), or atleast they put clips of themselves skating like Carl Sturgess and Chris Majette. Yet in Forever Now and RTN you have NO skating clips, and next to no face shots. Only the experienced eye can see your face putting the lense cap on during Mike Lilly's intro, and you perched while filming on Wastelands fence. If your not in it for the "celebrity" of it, what are you making these things for?

The one good thing about the "celebrity" thing is that it cuts down on poachers. I hate when I set up a session or bring people to a spot and then out of nowhere 7 kids bust out there GL2s and start filming. You gotta have etiquette kids. As far as skating clips go I don't skate. I realized a long time ago that I really suck and that's when I got into filming, because I loved being out there with my friends filming, making little sections, and things like that. I don't put myself in cause I don't really think its necessary. I make videos to showcase my friends and skating that I think looks cool to music that I think sounds good.

Since you mention Mike and Sean. Answer this There certainly has been a cast of characters in your past videos, as in everyone has such a strong presence when around them. Do you look for personalities that can transpire the silver screen? Its like Would you rather hang around and film a section of some Super stunt dude or some dirtball awesome dude... you know its obvious? Fun before fantasy.

Yeah, that's why I pick the people I do. Of course skating is important, but the best thing is just getting to know these people and then becoming friends and having good times. I think that comes across well. It seems like everybody is good at rollerblading nowadays, but hardly anyone stands out. I look for the people that I think stand out.

You've mentioned before that you used to log footage for Dave Paine as well as spend a lot of time at his house. In addition you worked with Matt Andrews on the first Second Regime dvd. Do you think working with such "big timers" early on affected your choice to make more dvds?

Yeah totally. I learned a lot from seeing Dave work, how he would have people stay with him at his house and work on the part together with the skater instead of just getting random homie-cam footage and trying to make parts from that. I learned a lot about programs and stuff like that from Matt because he is amazing at that stuff so normally it was just sitting in with those guys and taking it all in.

Did that perpetuate the feeling of like "man i can really do this shit" instead of watching Spizer do some Roadhouse moves?

Watching those guys kinda helped me develop my own formula for making sections and things like that.

What is that formula?

Well its flexible but it normally goes like this...

1.Find someone I'm interested in and see if they are into it.

2.Fly out to there hometown and film at there home spots.

3.Have them fly out to stay with me, film more and start putting the part together.

4.repeat.

Then towards the end if they have some last minute stuff they filmed with there friends or whatever we throw those clips in there. I try to film as much as I can myself cause I don't really trust other camera people. To me I like the experience more than just a finished product. I'm sure I could just tell someone to film a bunch of stuff and send me the footage, but that would just feel cheap. I like the random skate missions and getting into trouble. Really becoming friends with these kids more that just getting a section done.

You put a lot of trust into Alex Broskow during this film as he filmed a majority of Michael and Brentons part... how did that come about?

Well Alex and I have been friends for a long time and he was down with the idea from day one. He knew how much I wanted Brenton to have a part so he offered to help. Then I enlisted Michael. Alex was still into it and the more he filmed the better he got and it just worked out great. He went above and beyond what I expected filming wise and still banged out a fresh section himself and I cant thank him enough for that... Every time I was getting burned out on filming or things were kinda dying down he would come out and bring CDs full of clips of everyone or send me a package in the mail. It would get my inspired all over again. He definitely kept me going. Next question while I burn one.

It's obvious that your not in it for the money, after literally making a SECRET section of ALEX BROSKOW, who is one of the most popular rollerbladers in the world. Why did you keep his section a secret, and not promote it as "starring Alex broskow!"

I was kinda torn on that, because I definitely wanted it to be a surprise. At first we were gonna put it in the bonus, because we thought it would be funny to have a good ass part in the bonus. It ended up working out better just in the actual video. AJ was pushing me to promote it around Alex, but I thought that would be disrespectful to the other people in the video who put so much into it. I also thought it would be a treat for kids who just bought the video and out of nowhere there's a full Broskow part. Looking back it probably would have sold a lot more copies off the bat if we just put Alex on the cover doing a big ass gap or something. But that's not what the video is about. It's about a bunch of random no name kids coming together to make something special. I didn't want anyone to be overshadowed.

Micah Yeager has the closing section. It's obvious to me why, but for everyone else will you explain?

Well I don't think the video would have been possible without Micah. I think he's one of the most influential people in rollerblading and his influence can be seen in everybody's part from Michael to Alex. He has never gotten the respect he deserves from the industry and probably never will. The obvious choice would have been Mike or Alex, but RTN isn't a normal video. I think he ends the video perfectly. He's always been a trendsetter even though nobody wants to admit it. Just look at how kids are dressing nowadays and listen to the song in his part. I think it fits perfectly. I had some doubts but I'm glad he made me stick to my guns, because im definitely happy he has last part.

You've made US, Noir, The Salomon Promotional video, Forever Now, and now ROAD TO NOWHERE. What have you taken from each experience? How have you put them into this video?

I've learned that I'm never gonna make a good living off of rollerblading videos. Also, big corporate companies can't be trusted, because they have no idea what the fuck is going on. The Salomon Promo video was shit, but I did it so I would have the chance to make the team video and then that never happened. Now Salomon isn't happening so fuck em.Noir was a good time in my life cause I had a real job so money wasn't too much of a problem and Big Dan distributed it well but for the next one I didn't want to just make Noir2 and settle. I wanted to make something with people and music that I was into at the time. So I did that, had a great time, traveled the world and then it dropped and tanked incredibly hard. I knew it wasn't gonna be popular for everyone, but I really lost my ass on that one. I could blame the horrible distribution but for whatever reason, it wasn't widely accepted. However, the people who did get, really got it, and it was kinda like a cult favorite. I really liked that. After Forever Now I was kinda pegged as "the rocker video guy" or whatever and I didn't like that so with RTN I just wanted to come out with something nobody was expecting. I also wanted to appeal to as many people as possible. It's like oh you liked forever now? Well we got Micah and Chase. You want more of that kinda stuff? Mike Lilly and Sean Santamaria. You kinda left skating for awhile but you wanna come back? Brenton Wheeler. I even have a 14 year old half black kid that's been skating for 2 years and a freaking girl from Montreal . Everyone is just shredding together, having a good time, you know?

Let everyone know how you found out about Sean Santamaria and Mike Lilly.

I just remember getting a phone call from Haffey. He told me he was on some tour in Florida and he saw this kid that landed really cool and I should check him out. At that time Sean had just met Micah as well and they had partied together so this kid sounded perfect. I got his number and called him up and he was into it so I got someone to buy me a ticket out there. I hopped on a plane to Tallahassee . I had also heard about some dude named Mike Lilly who was a total asshole, but a really cool dude so I asked Sean if he knew him and they had been best friends for years. That's how Mike got signed up. Originally I had just thought about maybe filming a couple things of Mike, but once I was out there I realized how rad he was so he immediately got bumped up to full section status.

Song list?

I put a song list on that one rollingvideos.com

The only thing they put wrong was the title sequence song. It is “Wheels” by The Shaggs.

How did you pick the title?

I was watching Reality Bites and I heard that Talking Heads song and thought it sounded cool.

How about Forever NOW?

I was at Jeremy Beightol's house and he was showing me records and that was one of them. I can't remember what the band is now, but the cover art looked really cool. I really liked that title. There's something about it. It just represented a lot of angst and that's what I was feeling at the time.

How do you feel about the state of rollerblading?

I honestly feel like rollerblading is dead and that's not a bad thing. Everyone who still believes in skating and still loves it isn't gonna go anywhere. You can always skate your curb in front of your house, you can always shred your local park. Don't let the people in this "industry" tell you what to think. Keep doing what your doing and what you feel. The vampires that are in charge have already sucked the money out of skating. The day that they leave is the day that the people who actually love skating can resurrect it. I support Rat-Tail dist.,Trendkiller, StraightJackit, Kaspa, Roces, and all the skater-owned shops out there who are trying to stay afloat and anyone else who still loves skating and doesn't take advantage of the little guy.

Is there anything you want to say to the kids out there?

Bootleg Forever Now, and BUY ROAD TO NOWHERE , and live your dreams

Any last words?

Wait till I'm dead then see what all the fuss was about.

LAST question...

Hit me

How old are you?

23 years old.

Interview and Intro by Dan Leifeld

Harass your local skate shop until they carry ROAD TO NOWHERE , the LAST Brandon Negrete attempt...

Contact StraightJackit Distribution today to reserve your copy . StraightJackit can be contacted at ph: 785.331.6153 or kfckillsshit@hotmail.com