Ryan Zimmerman is a good skater and a good guy too. I remember one day I was moping around the skatepark and plopped down on the top box, and he came up to me and said, “What’s wrong Bud, is it a girl?” Unfortunately at the time it was, so he sympathized, and then he skated off. Later, he was one of the first to congratulate me on getting engaged, and I even randomly got to party with him more recently at a harvest festival.
The point is, he is as nice on the board as he is off it, and luckily that goes for his answers to this questionnaire as well. Very few skaters wrote with as much ferocity as he did, and what he said is golden.
A few years ago I came up with a set of questions about skateboarding. These were Zimmerman’s answers.
What do you hate about skateboarding?
-I hate every single thing about skateboarding besides the actual act of skateboarding. I hate the people, the hype, I don’t know. Skateboarding makes me mad.
Name: Ryan Zimmerman
Age: 17
Type of Job/Schooling: Highschool
Years Skateboarding: 3 1/2
What’s your first skateboarding memory?
-Watching my friend Ryan’s skate video, and him boardslidinig a 16 rail. As soon as I saw that I picked up my brothers board.
What’s your favorite skateboarding memory?
-Meeting Charlie Whetzel and inspiring each other to skate every weekend together.
Ever quit? Want to, or say you’ll quit?
-Um, I’ve never been one to say I would go pro or want to, so I don’t know if I will quit. A skater’s mentality will never leave me though.
Where did you start? Did that influence you?
-Prescott Valley, Arizona. In my driveway or down the street at the parks basket ball court flatground. Not an influence.
How would you describe the feeling of skateboarding?
-It’s cool knowing that your balance is so much sharper than most people. Just knowing what you can do is the best feeling.
Why do you keep skating?
-I made friends through skateboarding and they keep me in it. When I moved away for six months I quit because I didn’t like the skaters.
Do you care about the history of skateboarding?
-…Yes. I think it’s awesome that its such a new sport. I wish I met the guy who invented it. And I’d like to show him the tricks that he probably never imagined.
Do you care about the current skate media?
-Haha. I stay away from everything in the media. I can honestly say there isn’t one company I 100% like. There is a lot of B.S. out there.
What else is like skateboarding to you?
-Biking… Any other sport. Anything that consumes your mind. It’s like a religion.
What isn’t like skating?
-A policeman, security guard. I don’t know, skateboarding is like nothing but contradictions and B.S. – A cop kicks us out of a spot, we get pissed, but a biker gets in our way and we try to kick ’em out, they get pissed. I wish it would start over.
What was the first hard “trick” you worked for?
-Switch flip.
Why work so hard for a trick?
-For yourself. To know you can do a trick. If you are a skater, might as well know you are alright and well rounded. I can go a whole day without doing a flip trick and be happy.
What isn’t like skating?
-A policeman, security guard. I don’t know, skateboarding is like nothing but contradictions and B.S. – A cop kicks us out of a spot, we get pissed, but a biker gets in our way and we try to kick ’em out, they get pissed. I wish it would start over.
What’s your favorite thing to do on a skateboard and why?
-Skate a flatbar. My favorite by far. I can skate a little rail all day.
Is there a trick you don’t think you’ll ever be able to do?
-Varial Heelflip.
Is there any maneuver you would purposefully not do?
-Nope. Any trick is cool if you make it fun. I can make fun of early grabs all day but have fun making them look stupid. I love doing early grabs.
What’s the trick you can do every time that surprises you?
-Front feeb on the launch rail.
What’s your dream “tricks”?
-Any switch ledge trick.
What’s your favorite terrain and why?
-Couldn’t answer that. Variety is what keeps me skating.
What do you hate about skateboarding?
-I hate every single thing about skateboarding besides the actual act of skateboarding. I hate the people, the hype, I don’t know. Skateboarding makes me mad.
Best (worst) injury? Healing time?
-Broken foot. Like a month. I took my cast off and skated.
How do you overcome fear?
-Don’t switch frontside flip anymore. No actually after I broke it I was less scared because I got my first break outta the way.
Do you remember the details of your first setup?
-Blank board, I don’t remember.
Did you start with friends or alone?
-Alone but made friends quick.
Was it hard or easy at first?
-Easy.
Was there anyone or anything that especially inspired you to start or keep skating?
-My friend showed me his skate video. Ryan Richards youtube.com/whothrowshammers weird style but watch him.
Do your parents ever have a problem with skateboarding?
-Yeah definitely. It got in the way of baseball but I quit baseball haha.
When did you realize you were a skater?
-Sophmore year. It was all I did.
How do you feel about skateboarding now compared to when you started?
-It’s not what I expected. Once you get to a certain skill level, improving is so hard.
What is most important about skateboarding to you?
Not losing tricks.
What else is like skateboarding to you?
-Biking… Any other sport. Anything that consumes your mind. It’s like a religion.
So What is Skateboarding? 
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