Shoot to Thrill: Interview Sessions with Ryan Decenzo

By Jay Revelle

With experience participating in last year's Shoot to Thrill event, Ryan Decenzo might have had substantial experience to draw from. However, with the expansion of this year's contest to include ONLY 16mm film, as well as being on a team aiming for a new level of creative endeavor, care of his director, Benny Stoddart, Decenzo quite possibly had a whole new beast to face. Regardless, that didn't stop him from showcasing his usual skateboard wizardry and unearthing some Decenzo acting flair, and the rest is now history--his team rolled to victory. Congratulations Ryan! Here's the lowdown from Decenzo himself, as he reminisced a few days after the very successful event and looked back at a job well done.

Red Bull: So what were you doing when you realized, "Hey, this is fun!"?
Ryan Decenzo: I was bombing a hill for the start of the "race" that we were in and i was hauling behind Machnau and just loving the adrenalin rush.

RB: Were things like time constraints, weather, and the use of 16mm difficult for you? What was your biggest difficulty?
RD: Sometimes it was hard to try and land a trick with the pressure of the 16mm film. Or, it was hard because sometimes tricks take an hour and you have think like, "OK, how long is this trick gonna take and when should I ask for these guys to use the 16mm?" There was pressure for sure. I think it only sprinkled for a minute during the miniramp session, so we got lucky weather-wise.

RB: You guys did something story-based; how was that for you? Were you acting?
RD: We had a story for sure. It was awesome. The acting was minimal and funny, plus the story is sort of comical so it doesn't matter if we sucked at acting. Or, I hope not at least. Skateboarders aren't usually actors, you know?

RB: Benny said you are addicted to skateboarding? Why, and how will that come across from your parts in Benny's film?
RD: I am addicted to skating! If I'm somewhere where I have some free space and my board I'm definitely gonna be rolling around jumping on and off stuff or kickflippin' all over the place. I'm not sure how that will come across in the film.

Red Bull: Being involved with Paul Machnau on this, what was the best thing about being on a team with him?
RD: MOTIVATION--Paul is a motivational skateboarder.  Dave and Benny were hyped and motivating us too.

RB: How did this compare to last year's?
It had more organization, and included 16mm instead of super 8.
RD: We traveled in cars to spots all over the lower mainland, where last year we took Montréal's public transportation system.

RB: What other teams out there do you think is a force to be reckoned with and why?
RD: All the teams; I was watching the Am category videos and they were killing it!

RB: Do you approach skateboarding in any certain way?
RD: It's my life--all I do is skate, eat, sleep, and travel. I always try to approach it as a fun healthy exercise.

RB: Did you approach Shoot to Thrill with a certain goal and strategy going in? I mean, you must have been expecting a challenge.
RD: I was just planning on skating a bunch of spots that we had lined up and getting done what Benny wanted us to do for the story part of the film.

RB: What sort of role did the guest skaters play and what were the highlights of working with them? What was cool about having them come out?
RD: It was cool having John come out because he's always down to shred hard and get some good tricks. He directed us smoothly around Surrey and he's got a positive mellow attitude that keeps the stress levels down.

RB: What initially attracted you to skateboarding way back in the first place
RD: The fact that how crazy skateboarding looked to me when I first saw it, how it looks like the board is defying gravity as it pops, floats, and flips. It looked cool, and Bart Simpson and the ninja turtles were already down. So, I was into it instantly.

RB: (Laughs) Where are from or where did you grow up?
RD: I'm from Delta B.C., and I grew up there pretty much all my life.
Who do you look up to in skateboarding and why?
I look up to a lot of skateboarders. I look up to Machnau, Haslam, Appleyard, Hastie, Hayes, Desarmo, and Momolu--all solid Canadian shredders.

RB: If there was one thing you could change about how you performed in Shoot to Thrill, what would it be? What would you like to change about your skateboarding?
RD: It would have helped to not roll my ankle on a 540 shuvit within the first 15 minutes of the Friday!

Thanks to Jay and Ryan for the interview.