After interviewing Arizona native Ryan Lay about all things skate, I am inspired and reminded about what is really ‘cool.’ First, I love his dedication to the one thing he enjoys most. Second, I am amazed at his perseverance to keep improving his performance (even with a broken foot during this past month) and lastly, I am happy to see his effortless, casual cardigan meets black-rimmed glasses, ensemble. His outfit during the interview was fantastic, if I do say so myself.
Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to talk to Lay and ask him questions about how he balances a very un-routine schedule (much like a nocturnal creature) to skating for internationally recognized brands. In addition, I was able to find out how it was that he got where he is today, what it took to get there and what he looks forward to for this upcoming year.
In regard to starting in the sport, Lay mentioned that in junior high he began watching his brother and got into the sport full-time as it was both fun and a way that he didn’t have to participate in traditional team athletics.
“You know it was like I wanted to do what my older brother was doing,” Lay said. “Skateboarding was all about like, independent, and you could just do it on your own and not follow any rules.”
As a current member of the Rasa Libre team and a past skater for brands including Nike, Stussy and Planet Earth, its no wonder that Lay is one guy worth watching. In regard to which companies have been his favorites to work for, Lay summed it up by stating that the smaller ones are ultimately the most satisfying.
“I realize now that its worth sacrificing riding for like really cool companies to ride for the ones your friends are a part of and if you get to travel the world with your friends, there’s nothing really better than that,” he said.
When comparing the Phoenix skate scene to that of other locations, Lay said Phoenix really is competitive because people are able to meet one another despite the geographic size.
“It’s a big city with a lot of skate boarders but its small enough to where everyone knows each other and everyone gets along,” he said. “The only other place I’ve experienced that is New York.”
Lay continues to practice in whatever city he visits and he constantly works on strengthening his skill because, as he puts it, people will forget about skaters quickly if practice and performance come to a halt.
“In this fast growing and rapid industry if you stop for a second everyone’s going to forget about you.” he said. “If your not constantly pumping out footage and photos then people will forget about you. You really got to stay motivated.”
Lay also added that because of meeting people and traveling to different places during his career he has been able to harbor more success. He mentioned that the more people you know, the more things will happen for you.
Lastly, Lay mentioned that his number one goal for the upcoming year is to keep skating.
(I can’t help but add that if I were capable of jumping off several feet of cement slabs of street and was able to be sponsored for it, I’d keep skating too.)
I just might have more than a broken foot.
You can check a skate clip of Ryan Lay here.
