Ace: Sick, dude. So it's kind of like an all-terrain vehicle, kind of fully functional. That's awesome, man. Do you have any memories of your first serious hill bomb? Anything that sticks out to you?

Tony: Oh, for sure. My first serious hill bomb. I had just learned how to like slide left and right barely. The guy who taught me how to skate was sponsored by this company called Wholesome, that I now ride for. He brought me out to a photo shoot. So I was just hanging out with all the best downhill skaters from this company, and they just sent me down this hill, and I was honestly like, shitting my pants. I was pretty scared, but I just had so much hype around it, because all the dudes were hanging there, cheering me on. So I ended up bombing this hill, and doing slides into corners that I didn't think was possible. I think that's my first memory from a serious downhill hill bomb, other than skating down the hills in my neighborhood.

Ace: Sweet dude. Yeah, that sounds like a good one.

So downhill can obviously be very dangerous, very sketchy. Do you have any techniques on preparation, like physically and mentally, or do you just kind of go for it?

Tony: I think I used to have a lot of mental preparation and physical preparation for just going out and downhill skating. But as the years have progressed, and I've gotten a lot more comfortable with it, now it's like second nature, so I can go out and just bomb a hill. Whenever I'm around the hill, it used to be a lot of working out and figuring that stuff out. Now it's just hanging out and having a good time, enjoying the time with your friends, out in the mountains.

Ace: Oh yeah, dude, it looks fun. I need to hop on one of these sessions with you guys. I actually have gloves. I got a pair of Triple 8 gloves.

Tony: Oh, sick. We'll get you out there.

Ace: Let's do it, dude, do you have a notable sketchiest moment on a hill?

Tony: I would say sketchiest moment is one of my crashes up in Malibu. I'd say it's about three years ago now. I was filming a video, and we're skating in Malibu at one of the gnarliest roads in America, and I ended up putting myself into a guardrail at like, 60 miles an hour. Oh, and that was pretty early. I remember looking at that guardrail being like, ‘Oh no, this is not going to be good’. But I hit the guardrail and stood up, and I was fine. No brakes. I like, fractured my feet and I split my leg, like, wide open, but I was still walking, which is really good. I actually ended up running, and I think that fractured my feet even more. Finally, I got back to the car and lifted up my pant leg and saw my shin, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I got to go to the hospital right now. I got to get this stitched up’.

Ace: Wow, dude, that's a scary one. Man, yeah, you guys are gnarly.

On a positive note, do you have any of your most memorable events that you can name off?

Tony: Yeah, for sure. Actually, one of them was maybe a month ago. I was just on tour in Europe for almost two months, just racing the European circuit and the World Championship Circuit. At the last race of the season, me and two of my buddies all got first, second, third, and there's a photo of us when we were about 11 years old, on the on a podium as well, first second, third. So it's like, wow. You know, 10 or 11, years later, we're all on podium again, but at a world championship instead of just a local race. We all grew up together, and now we're just across the seas, hanging out together on a podium. This was the dream when we were kids. We were like, ‘one day we'll go on tour’. And we all kind of didn't believe it, but it happened.

Ace: Dude, that's insane. Yeah, that sounds like a very special full circle moment.

Do you have a dream hill or spot that you want to ride in the US or globally?

Tony: Man, definitely globally. There's like the Swiss Alps. I was going to go this summer, but I ended up just not making it there. I would like to go explore that, just for the scenery. Then US based, honestly, I don't know if there's one that I would say I am dreaming about skating. I've skated quite a bit here, so I don't know. There's always just good roads that I love going back to.

Ace: Yeah, of course. Sweet dude. Are there any other riders who have influenced you? Is there anyone you look up to?

Tony: Yeah, there's definitely some older riders that don't really do it as much anymore. We got Chance Gaul out of Laguna. He was a huge inspiration on my skating growing up. Always wanted to relate to his style. Great downhill surf and street skater kid. He had it all. So I just wanted to be kind of like him.

And then, other than that, Jimmy Riha from San Diego. He used to ride for Arbor as well. He was another dude who I was super stoked on. And I get to see him all the time. I actually wear his race helmet now. I got it from him few months back, and that's what I wear when I go out.

Ace: What's the downhill community like in the US and or globally?

Tony: Both globally and in the US, they're pretty strong. We're still trying to get more and more people into it. Obviously, I think that goes for all of skateboarding. But we're all super close. We all know each other, even if it's just through social media. Quite a few of us talk to each other. We have group chats with people from all over the world. We just shoot the shit and make jokes all day long.

So, when we see each other in person, it's super cool. We're all just buddies at this point, and it's just like hanging out with your friends. Then obviously, when it comes to competition, you're pretty strict with each other. But other than that, it's a tight community. We all just like to go down hills and have fun and just enjoy where we're at in life.