Cristobal lands on the Sun
A few weeks ago we received a photo post on our facebook wall of an awesome Front Shuv to Fakie on a very colorful transition wall.
After some detective work, we found out the dish on who is Cristobal Robinson, A Multicultural shredder who goes hard from Toronto to Trinidad. An excellent Adrenaline Sun feature candidate!
Who the heck is Cristobal Robinson, and why was he in the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian newspaper?
Well my real name is actually Christopher Robinson, but my mother is fluent in Spanish so over the years I have picked up some of the language so one day I decided to change my name on fb to that. I’m originally from Trinidad and Tobago although I have spent a good few years in Canada. As to being in the newspaper well we happened to be skating downtown on the Brian Lara Prominade when one of the photographers from the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian just happened to show up randomly and began snapping his camera. I wasn’t even aware that I was in the paper until a few days later haha. It was a cool lil surprise.
How long have you been into skating and how did you get started?
I’ve been skating for roughly 5 or 6 years. I wasn’t always fond of skating but one of my close friends had a board and when he’d come around id se him doing these weird flips under him with the board. I thought it was kind of funky but never really tried. I grew up playing cricket in the street, racing paper boats in the drain when it rained and pitching marbles so to tell you the truth before starting I actually thought skateboarding was lame as it wasn’t part of the culture I grew up in and around. One day my friend made a bet with me and I lost which meant I had to take his board and land an Ollie. At that exact moment I knew it was love. I’ve been skating ever since.
Where’s your home skatebase in Trinidad?
Here in Trinidad we have this old abandoned wharehouse out in Chaguaramas that we’ve sort of turned into a lil skate area. It’s definitely a fun place to go especially when it rains because it’s pretty well sheltered by an overhang kinda roof thing. SO if it’s not like really storming out we can still have a decent skate sesh if other spots are too wet to skate. Shout out to Nigel Stokes, and James for getting the spot started. It’s definitely helped out all the skaters. At one point our grind rail had broken and wasn’t skateable I remember boardsliding it and it falling off its 2 mount poles behind me a few times. A BIGGGGGGG shout out to Frank Burns for being one of the chilliest dudes on the scene and actually going out of his way to get a new rail welded and put in place of the old one for the skaters to use. That man really has a love for skating deeply rooted in his heart.
How does skating in Trinidad stack up against other places you’ve skated?
Skating in Trinidad is definitely more challenging than skating anywhere else I’ve been because the structure of towns and neighbourhoods doesn’t allow for as easy and manoeuvravble riding as in most big countries. We are a small nation with so many different things going competing for the same space. I have lived in Canada for about 10 years and the last 6 of those I’ve been skating. I say it’s more challenging here because without a skatepark we are forced to come up with alternatives which is also a blessing in disguise as this usually has the potential to spark creativity which I believe is important to the growth of skateboarding. On another note skateboarding is only now getting recognized here as opposed to larger countries where the sport has been embraced and been part of their culture for decades and decades so were just trying to raise awareness to the sport among the upcoming youth.
If you had to do one switch trick to save the world what could we count on you to stomp out?
If I had to do one switch trick to save the world I would definitely have to bang out a switch front shuv. I just really like the feel of it under my shoes ya digg?
What are the three songs you bump in your head when you are getting pumped to skate?
Three songs that bump in my head and get me super stoked to skate are Mr. Fete – Machel Montano, Do Something – Wiz Khalifa, & Diamonds are Forever – Kanye West
You just hit the skate spot, dropped your deck, push and your first trick is?
First trick for me is always a fakie f/s 360. Once I land that I know I’m ready to face anything on my board. It’s kinda become my go to trick. I could probably do ‘em blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back ha ha ha.
Our Pick Vs Your Pick: Adrenaline sun sends Marc Johnson to Trinidad , what skate spot would you recommend for that tech beast!
If Marc Johnson was coming to Trinidad, I would definitely want to bring him to Chaguaramas to warm up and then downtown Port of Spain as there are a heap of sick spots all within a couple minutes skate away from each other including ledges, rails and stairs.
When a long skate session is done and the after sesh hunger kicks in, what are you looking to eat?
When the skate sesh is done and hunger strikes I’m looking for some K-Fry aka KFC and it’s got to be 2 spicy side breasts with fries and a biscuit.
What plans do you have for your skating now and in the future?
Well currently I’m working full time to earn some cash and just having fun with my skateboarding, but I’m always looking to step up my skills on the board and take it to the next level. I’ll go wherever my board takes me, and do my best wherever that destination may be. In the future I’d like to work in the skate industry since it’s an environment I’m already familiar with. Other than that I’m going skate till my legs give out from under me. I really love teaching children to skate and bring new joy to them so I was also thinking about actually holding free skate camps or lessons to help beginners develop their the talent they have for their newfound sport of choice.
Any final words?
In conclusion I’d have to say don’t ever quit or give up. No matter who tell you can’t or should not do it. If your heart tells you to skate and you know it’s what you want to do chase your dream. Like anything it takes time and practice to improve and if you put in the work you will rise above. I’d love to see the sport blossom in the Caribbean into a full and fruitful activity. At the moment a lot of people don’t even really know that skaters exist in the Caribbean because when the thought of an island comes to mind most abroad think of surfing and beach resorts. I’d like to see skating in the Caribbean rise up to meet the world at its front door step you feel me? Also I want to give a quick shout out and thanks to Alonso for filming for me, hes a really good friend and always fun to skate and film with.
