P-Rod

It’s a beautiful day in Encino, CA, and P-Rod is hyped for his DUB photo shoot even though it’s his third time gracing the pages of the magazine. First at his new store Primitive, then later at his private skate warehouse 15 minutes away. However, he’s not alone—he’s brought along his fiancé, up-and-coming fashion designer Rainbow Alexander, and his newest family addition, Heaven Love Rodriquez.

A lot has changed for the professional skateboarder since he emerged on the skate scene back in 2002. First off, he’s become one of the biggest and most respected names in the skate industry, something he never originally expected when he received his first skateboard as a gift from his comedic actor father, Paul Rodriguez. Then there’s Primitive, a skateboarding boutique he co-owns with a couple of friends, another plan he never expected to materialize. Finally, the birth of his daughter in December of 2008 has totally changed his outlook on life, as he focuses on not only expanding his already successful career, but also his family.

In-between shots, he’s feeding his daughter, rocking her to sleep and being an all-around attentive father. “Now I can’t just be selfish and do what I want to do all the time,” he says. “I have a responsibility for this life; I can’t be careless as I was before. It’s time to buckle down and have responsibilities.” It’s hard to imagine P-Rod being careless though. He’s never had any “incidents” that appeared on the cover of gossip magazines, and has appropriately filled his role as being an influential role model for next-gen skateboarders, which is what makes him so appealing to many.

However, being the modest man he is, P-Rod doesn’t exactly brag about his accomplishments. At 24, he has won numerous skate contests, secured various sponsorship deals and is currently starring in Rob Dyrdek’s, Street Dreams, “a movie made by skateboarders, for skateboarders,” as the main character. He also has a second film, Vicious Circle, coming out this summer, which is a coming-of-age drama set in modern day Venice Beach, CA. In the movie, P-Rod plays rocker teenager RJ, who’s an artist and chess master, on a mission to find out what happened to his dead girlfriend.

“You know, at this point, I don’t really think about what else is left to achieve,” he replies. “I’ve been blessed to have achieved a lot, and I think I was able to do that by not focusing on what I wanted to achieve and just focusing on how much I loved skating. Everything has naturally progressed from that love.” And when P-Rod says love, he literally means it. For him, skateboarding is far from merely being a means to an end—it’s life.

“I never really grow bored of skateboarding itself,” he says about having his love turn into a day job. “But to tell you the truth, I grow bored of the industry a lot. I don’t really pay attention to videos or magazines. Me, I just focus on my personal relationship with the skateboard.” The relationship with his board is a very tight one since there’s never a day that he doesn’t skate. Unlike other sports, there’s no offseason from skating, as he constantly perfects his skate abilities 365 days a year. “Contest season or not, I’m always practicing, so that when I do have a contest, I’m ready for it,” he says.

In between skate practices and family life, P-Rod is busy perfecting his line of Nike SBs. The young Nike SB line launched in early 2002 and is an extended line of footwear and apparel made for the skateboard community. In the beginning they had some great skaters as spokesmen, but when it came time to making a signature shoe for the line, Nike SB turned to the young P-Rod as a front-runner and signed him in 2004. In 2005, the Nike P-Rod SBs were released and were an instant favorite among skaters, fans and sneaker heads. Every new release translates to long lines for streatwear and skate aficionados, hours before his shoes drop at skate shops across the country. He’s actually the fifth athlete (and currently the only Latino) to have a Nike shoe named after them, which is a massive honor!