Writer: Michael Eaton| Photography: Peter Dawson
This is not your typical train wreck west side story where an ex-superstar had it all only to lose it later in life. This story turned out to be a little more literal. My partner Scott Hancock and I were on our way to interview 20-year phenom Paul Rodriguez Jr. the X Games Sk8 gold medalist and son of comedian Paul Rodriguez. On the long stretch of concrete we call I-5, Scott and I realized something was wrong in the distance. As we got closer to the exit we noticed five or six helicopters above us. This can’t be for us, we thought; we’re just stopping to use the restroom. Three roadblocks and one detour later, we found ourselves at a dead end. Fifty yards down the tracks were large hunks of metal posing as a modern art installation by a sick and twisted Andy Warhol. The heaps of metal were two Amtrak trains that had collided after a kid from Compton CA tried to commit suicide by parking his Jeep on the tracks. At the last minute, the confused boy came to his senses and fled his car, in the process killing 11 commuters and sending hundreds to the hospital. As we were being escorted out by unmarked cop cars and FBI men in suits, I began to think about the butterfly effect. What made a 23-year-old kid snap? How does one lose it? How does one kid want to kill himself when others like Paul Rodriguez are so full of life? Is the gap really that big? Or think, if a few things happened differently in our lives, would we all be close to loosing it?
    The half an hour it took to get to Chatsworth CA where Paul lives seemed to be a blur fogged by the deep sadness that covered the muted blue sky that day. When we arrived we were invited into Paul’s luxury townhome by his manager, who introduced us to Paul’s roommate Nigel, an upcoming sk8er from Washington and brother to Paul’s girlfriend, Rainbow. The two Native American Colville tribe members showed us around the house and let us know that Paul was running a little late. In the corner by the DVDs I noticed a little dog named Uma, which is Japanese for horse. While I was petting the baby horse, I began to wonder what a young champion sk8er, whose fame has landed his autograph tattooed on kids legs, watches late at night after a long day of rails and gaps. Some that stood out were: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Last Samurai and Hero. This kid is into the triumph of war. The list goes on: Star Wars, endless Tupac and Bruce Lee documentaries, The Passion of the Christ, 8 Mile, Boyz ‘n the Hood and of course the sk8 film that took over the world, PJ Ladd’s Wonderful, Horrible Life.
    I put down the Bible DVD series when I heard the sound of bass thumping from outside. I walk out to see if it was Paul, and sure enough here he comes in his new black G500 Mercedes suv bumping G-unit’s newest recruit’s first single Westside Story. P- Rod jumps out of his urban assault vehicle in fresh new kicks from Nike, an ice chain revealing salvation from the Almighty, and an attitude that screams his faith shouldn’t be taken lightly. The next track coming from Paul’s suv is the anthem “How We Do” and like 50 Cent and The Game, this is how we do. This is Risen. This is P-Rod. This is a Westside Story.

Risen Magazine: How does your skating reflect your personality?
Paul Rodriguez: Um, I’m kind of a mellow person, slow and quiet, you know. You can tell if some guy is pushing real fast, real hard, real amped up. But for me, I’m pretty much the same posture, so I’m calm and mellow.

RM: Where does that calmness come from?
PR: I don’t know. I’ve always been pretty quiet. My dad’s the opposite of that.

RM: How was your relationship with your father?
PR: We have a great relationship; I’ve just never had that sort of personality, I guess. It’s just never developed.

RM: What does it mean to have soul?
PR: Heart, love, and care for something you’re doing through blood, sweat, and tears.

RM: What makes you bleed, sweat and cry?
PR: Skating, the art of skating, you know. I’ve definitely bled; I’ve definitely sweated, definitely cried. But everything it took to get me where I’m at is worth it.

RM: What does love mean to you?
PR: God.

RM: I see you have Jesus’ face tattooed on your arm. What is it about Jesus that made you want his face on your body for the rest of your life?
PR: He’s the greatest man that ever lived. He showed you what love is, you know? He explained what love is... He died for me.

RM: When did you come to that realization?
PR: Probably when I was 11 and my grand-father died. It just hit me and I started thinking deeply about what happens when you die. I felt that I needed to see God. I started really getting into it when I was 12 or something, so it wasn’t like I just started, like I’m soul searching or something. I knew about God. I just wanted to take it more serious.

RM: You ended up not finishing high school, is that correct?
PR: Yes.

RM: Is there a difference between knowledge and wisdom?
PR: Wisdom is just knowing. It’s not knowing that one plus one equals two, or two plus two equals four. It’s knowing how to get along with other people, how to live life, how to live in this world in the simplest and happiest way possible. Happiness and love; it’s not about I know the square root of this and that. [Laughs] I don’t know none of that, you know? Bill Gates is a genius, but I’m sure he still has a hard time understanding how to get along with his wife or his kids. Some things you can’t learn in a book.

RM: What do you look for in any type of relationship?
PR: Honor… Someone that’s gonna be real to me and I’m gonna be real to them.

RM: What makes you smile?
PR: A lot of things…everything! In my life there is nothing I should be frowning about. If I’m frowning then I’m dumb, because my life is too good to be true. There are so many kids that live the normal life… Yeah, everything.

RM: What do you feel your destiny is?
PR: I don’t know…hopefully it’s to be a good friend, a good man. Skate to the best of my ability, take it as far as I can. Just be happy. Maybe it’s something bigger, maybe it’s nothing.

RM: Would it matter if it were nothing? What if everything shut down right now?
PR: Of course I would be upset, because I’m living my dream. If things shut down right now, I’m still only 20 years old. I would still have plenty of time to make something happen, but maybe it’s not my calling. The way I believe, it’s God’s will whether it’s good or bad.

RM: Can skating be spiritual? I mean you are rolling around a piece of wood that was once a living and life giving tree that was cut down for you to be able to give you life.
PR: Wow, that’s good right there. I’ve never thought of that. I suppose that it could be spiritual. For each person it’s different. It’s whatever you want it to be. I