Q&A: Hosoi Ready to Hit the Combi

(Photo: Joe Krolick)

Pool crusader Christian Hosoi has been in and out of the spotlight for well over two decades and has no plans of slowing down. This weekend he'll be dropping in to the masters division of the Pro-Tec Pool Party with his signature style. FUEL.TV got the rundown on the world of Hosoi and how the Combi differs from other pools.—Tal Roberts

FUEL.TV: I hear you’ve been traveling a lot lately. What have you been up to?
CHRISTIAN HOSOI: I’ve been out doing a lot of preaching, we’re doing this reality show called The Uprising. It’s me, Brian Sumner, and Pastor Jay from our church. We’re going to the Cayman Islands coming up here in three weeks to go do a big outreach, go speak to the prisons, juvenile halls, and the schools districts. Just reach out to the community in the Cayman Islands.   

FUEL.TV: How do you compare the Pro-Tec Pool Party to the other bowl contests out there?
HOSOI: The energy and the anticipation of it being an annual contest, and the exclusiveness of the pool itself. Being a historical landmark in skateparks, and being a replica of the original Upland Pipeline pool from back in the day, which was one of the headliner pools that contests would go to, to see who’s the best in the world. Stuff like that I think really captivates the people that come from all around the world to watch this event. They come to see the energy, to see it live, and to experience the vibes that go down with the crowd, with the people who are there. I think having a masters division as well really brings back the memories of so many people who have grown up, back in the 80’s as kids, now get to come and watch the guys they grew up seeing in the magazines skate all over again. And it gives us older guys, the guys who were skating in the 80’s, an opportunity to still have a career in skateboarding, you know, to where we can still be a part of the whole industry, and really to just have fun. Cause that’s what it’s about, having fun. There’s a lot of competition, there’s a lot of energy, but really it’s all about fun. It’s kind of like a big family reunion for everybody to come out. Then obviously, watching all of the new young gun guys battle it out and to see what they can do in the pool as well, there’s just something about it that’s different than every other event, since the 80’s.   

(Photo: Rhino)

FUEL.TV: How does the replica at Vans compare to the original at Upland Pipeline?
HOSOI: The texture of the walls and the trannys are different. The original was a little more porous, it was a little rougher. It had quick transitions, I think it was like 8’, like 2 ½ -3 feet of vert, something like that. So it was super tight, super deep, and the coping was just poured it wasn’t, you know, coping blocks. It had a whole different feel to it. It was a little bit drawn out and the round bowl was positioned differently. But overall, it’s basically the same, all in all it’s still a killer pool, and it’s just all about challenging the skaters, and it is a challenge to ride. That’s what makes it so unique, outside of a perfect vert ramp or a perfect pool, there are a lot of obstacles in the Combi, weather it be the coping, the corners, the hips, the transitions or how it’s made. I think it’s kind of like a novelty at this point to where people just want to come and check it out because they’ve heard about the past contest that they’ve had. You know, having the battle between Omar and Rune Glifberg, and hearing about it and wanting to see it live. Or, Having Chris Miller come back out of basically becoming a business man and a family man, to come out and skate and just dominate the master’s class almost with ease. He could do great against the young guys. So, to me those are all the things that make the Pro-Tec Pool Party so anticipated.

FUEL.TV: The bowl contests seem to be dominated by the same guys who have been on top for years now. Do you have any picks of who the next wave of pool shredders will be?
HOSOI: You really don’t know, because it really takes a lot of passion to go to that next level. There’s a ton of guys that rip pools, but the ones that are gonna stick out and go above, we’re still waiting for those guys to come out and really dominate the pools and vert. I think that you have to have all those elements together and you have to have a skater that can really adapt to every terrain. There’s a lot of guys not wearing pads, but when you’re going for it and you’re trying to push your limits, you get taken out. And it only takes one time and your set back for a long time. So now you have a rad generation coming up of kids that are actually going to that next level.

(Photo: Joe Krolick)

FUEL.TV: The Combi Bowl is so big, with so many options, how do you pick your line?
HOSOI: That’s all an expression of your imagination. That’s why skateboarding’s so creative and almost artistic is that everyone has a different look when they approach the pool. There’s so many different corners, and trannys, and shallow ends, and deep ends that you get to have your own personality come out when you’re skating. That’s what’s so cool about this pool is that you can see who is being creative and who is just following what other people are doing. I think that’s what separates those that can have an innovative and creative approach to the pool and those that just almost follow the lines and do pretty much what they’ve seen. So that’s gonna be one of the high points and, I guess, judged factors in pool events is, who’s gonna utilize the pool or obstacles in ways that other people aren’t. I think that’s what separates the good guys from the good guys, you know what I mean? They can take it and adapt and create something that’s so out of the box, so people go, "Wow, I could never have thought of that”.

FUEL.TV: You’ve been skating gnarly terrain forever, over the years has your approach changed at all?
HOSOI: When I approach skateboarding, I approach it to have fun, and to really just push my limits of what I can do and what’s possible. When I look at it I go, “What’s possible here?” Ok, you could fly from here to there, you could go super fast through this thing, and it’ll connect from here to there. I’m not really trying to think of what tricks I can do, because really you need to just connect all the dots and the tricks will be able to fit in. It’s a real big analyzing approach to seeing what’s possible in the bowl. My approach has always been, I wanna have fun, and I also wanna be able to fly as high as I can go, and what kind of lines can I do that would be different than the average back and forth or conservative line.  How can I work this thing differently? With that approach you’re always having fun for yourself, it’s not so much always being the best all the time, it’s more about getting enjoyment out of it. I just wanna have fun skating with my friends. Just laughing and having a good time, that’s the part of skateboarding I love the most.

(Photo: Joe Krolick)

FUEL.TV: From any skaters of any era, what would be your dream session at the Combi Bowl?
HOSOI: That’s a good question. A dream session? You know there’s too many to list. For me the dream session is always whoever I’m there with. It’s all about living your dream, not just dreaming about it, and that’s what I’m doing, just living my dream and having a good time. Whenever I’m there it’s always the best session. Everyone that I’ve ever skated with knows my approach and knows how much I love hanging out with my friends, so whoever I’m there with, I’m always having a great time. That’s one of the things that shouldn’t get lost when skateboarding is your career. Because once it becomes a career and you lose that passion and that fun and that joy to go skateboarding with your friends, that’s when it becomes a job. For me skateboarding has never been a job it’s just who I am and my lifestyle and my passion and love. So, I always said back in the day, that If I can skateboard for a living I’ll never have to work a day in my life. And pretty much never worked a day in my life. I can still tell you today that my love of skateboarding has never changed. I still have the same amount of passion for it as when I first saw a skateboarder, when I first got on one, or when I first got my picture in a magazine. It’s just as fresh today as it ever was.