Dan Lu Week Begins with Part 1 of Exclusive Interview
Posted Feb. 6, 2012, 1:44 p.m. /
Back on December 6th, 2011 we officially announced Elijah Berle and Daniel Lutheran as our newest full-on ams after them putting in serious time and miles of shredding (we’ve got another pretty major announcement to make about Elijah in the upcoming weeks…). It only made sense to introduce our newest web features using one of our newest guys, Daniel Lutheran aka Dan Lu aka Albuquerque Dan.
Starting this week we are introducing Rider’s Week with 5 days of all new, exclusive web content focusing on one specific dude each month. What will it consist of? We have no idea. Whatever we want really. What we do know is that you can expect exclusive interviews videos and photos and behind the scenes images from the filming of the Vans video and some of ace photographer Anthony Acosta’s favorite gems. It’s pretty wide open beyond that. We might scan in someone’s childhood class pictures, we might see what’s inside Hosoi’s garage, maybe it’s naughty cell phone photos, maybe it’s skate art from a guy who can’t draw. It’s skateboarding, there’s no rules, no parameters….
So let’s set this off with the first part of our conversation with Dan Lu on how he got into skating in Albuquerque.
It’s a new year and you and Elijah are the 2 new ams for Vans. How did that feel when they told you you were fully on?
Dude, it was epic because it was a long time coming. Getting on Toy was huge and then Vans is the same pedestal, mind blowing total dream.
Were you flow trash for both companies, Vans and Toy back in Albuquerque?
I got on Vans flow when I moved to Long Beach to stay with Johnny. I have a really old message from Jamie Hart [Vans Team Manager], but he’s like something about Johnny and Geoff mentioned that I was from the southwest and they were down to flow me. I went on a trip and got on flow. I always wanted Vans. I always skated slip ons and then I was like full on. I was on flow I want to say like 2 and half years just trying to get on trips and get in there.
For kids trying to come up, what’s the secret? What’s the way to play it to not kook it?
Yeah, don’t kook it. I think it’s all about windows of opportunity. They’ll present themselves so you can kinda see it. You gotta take risks as cheesy as that sounds, but I straight moved out of New Mexico, left solo. And you gotta rip and you gotta rip in a manner where you don’t do it to rip, you do it because you’re down. If you enjoy it, it shines through. I think its crucial to just be you and just work hard for it.
How did you get into skating?
My oldest brother, his name is Christopher; he’s the shit. Him and his friends would do it and my second oldest brother skated as well, but I vividly remember one day me and Andrew my youngest brother — so, alright there’s Christopher, Ryan, my name’s Daniel, and then Andrew; we’re all in that order -- Chris comes home, him and his bros had a board and I remember him cruising around and one of his nice friends gave me and Andrew a hand me down. It was a Girl board with neon wheels. I think we just got infatuated at that point. Just like, “We want to roll! We want to ollie this crack!” So just idolizing my older brothers I think got me into it.
They didn’t stick with it but you and your little brother are skate bros. How rad is that to have?
Dude, it’s a dream come true. It's great, man. He’s my best friend and he’s great at skating and he’s great at living. He’s a great dude. Neither of us are dead weight. He’s nailing it, I respect him a lot.
What tricks does he have on you?
Oh, heel flip anything, dude. We play skate and he’ll do a fakie big heel first try and I’ll never. He knows it, I know it. It’s funny because he cant switch flip; he’s got that little mobbie thing. But he’s got back smiths good; I have trouble with those. Tailslide big spins and just any heel flip for sure he’s got.
You got the backyard setup back in Albuquerque, right? What do you got?
A little mini ramp, multiple flat bars, your average tabletop flat thing, hubbas, flat ledge on top. My dad is a perfectionist and he’s so rad, so supportive, so he built it super good.
What’s the specs on the mini ramp?
I couldn’t even tell you at this point. It’s only 8-feet wide. I want to say 3 ½ up, so just a real small, cool thing. I told my dad, “I want to build this ramp, what’s up?” And I called it a mini ramp and he still tells me this, he’s like, “Mini? Mini ramp? That sounds like its doable.” I brought home from school this drawing of a mini ramp and it’s huge. We started at 5 feet tall and all these other dimensions by now and we’ve just cut it down and cut it down. But they’ve always supported it, man. It’s so epic.
Well it is a new year, 2012, what do you got lined up for this year, what are your goals, what are your plans?
My goals are keep expanding in all positive ways, for sure, try and do well. See a lot. I want to travel to new places. The whole Vans thing is a big blessing so I think they have some trips planned; I’m psyched for that. They mentioned China and South America so those are going to go down which I'm excited about. I haven’t gotten out of the country yet. I wouldn’t be bummed if I find a sweetheart. There’s a Toy Machine video coming out in at holiday called Reinvention. So I’ll be filming for that and nail it for that. Vans video is maybe 2 years away, down the line a little bit, but everyone is in the mode now so it’s on, I’m excited. That I’m giving 110% to for sure. So just work hard, travel a lot, see good things, and be with the people I care about.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of Daniel Lutheran’s interview where he discusses life in Albuquerque, his mom’s famous green chili stew and some wild adventures with his dad, Chuck.
Starting this week we are introducing Rider’s Week with 5 days of all new, exclusive web content focusing on one specific dude each month. What will it consist of? We have no idea. Whatever we want really. What we do know is that you can expect exclusive interviews videos and photos and behind the scenes images from the filming of the Vans video and some of ace photographer Anthony Acosta’s favorite gems. It’s pretty wide open beyond that. We might scan in someone’s childhood class pictures, we might see what’s inside Hosoi’s garage, maybe it’s naughty cell phone photos, maybe it’s skate art from a guy who can’t draw. It’s skateboarding, there’s no rules, no parameters….
So let’s set this off with the first part of our conversation with Dan Lu on how he got into skating in Albuquerque.
DANIEL LUTHERAN INTERVIEW PART 1
It’s a new year and you and Elijah are the 2 new ams for Vans. How did that feel when they told you you were fully on?
Dude, it was epic because it was a long time coming. Getting on Toy was huge and then Vans is the same pedestal, mind blowing total dream.
Were you flow trash for both companies, Vans and Toy back in Albuquerque?
I got on Vans flow when I moved to Long Beach to stay with Johnny. I have a really old message from Jamie Hart [Vans Team Manager], but he’s like something about Johnny and Geoff mentioned that I was from the southwest and they were down to flow me. I went on a trip and got on flow. I always wanted Vans. I always skated slip ons and then I was like full on. I was on flow I want to say like 2 and half years just trying to get on trips and get in there.
For kids trying to come up, what’s the secret? What’s the way to play it to not kook it?
Yeah, don’t kook it. I think it’s all about windows of opportunity. They’ll present themselves so you can kinda see it. You gotta take risks as cheesy as that sounds, but I straight moved out of New Mexico, left solo. And you gotta rip and you gotta rip in a manner where you don’t do it to rip, you do it because you’re down. If you enjoy it, it shines through. I think its crucial to just be you and just work hard for it.
How did you get into skating?
My oldest brother, his name is Christopher; he’s the shit. Him and his friends would do it and my second oldest brother skated as well, but I vividly remember one day me and Andrew my youngest brother — so, alright there’s Christopher, Ryan, my name’s Daniel, and then Andrew; we’re all in that order -- Chris comes home, him and his bros had a board and I remember him cruising around and one of his nice friends gave me and Andrew a hand me down. It was a Girl board with neon wheels. I think we just got infatuated at that point. Just like, “We want to roll! We want to ollie this crack!” So just idolizing my older brothers I think got me into it.
They didn’t stick with it but you and your little brother are skate bros. How rad is that to have?
Dude, it’s a dream come true. It's great, man. He’s my best friend and he’s great at skating and he’s great at living. He’s a great dude. Neither of us are dead weight. He’s nailing it, I respect him a lot.
What tricks does he have on you?
Oh, heel flip anything, dude. We play skate and he’ll do a fakie big heel first try and I’ll never. He knows it, I know it. It’s funny because he cant switch flip; he’s got that little mobbie thing. But he’s got back smiths good; I have trouble with those. Tailslide big spins and just any heel flip for sure he’s got.
You got the backyard setup back in Albuquerque, right? What do you got?
A little mini ramp, multiple flat bars, your average tabletop flat thing, hubbas, flat ledge on top. My dad is a perfectionist and he’s so rad, so supportive, so he built it super good.
What’s the specs on the mini ramp?
I couldn’t even tell you at this point. It’s only 8-feet wide. I want to say 3 ½ up, so just a real small, cool thing. I told my dad, “I want to build this ramp, what’s up?” And I called it a mini ramp and he still tells me this, he’s like, “Mini? Mini ramp? That sounds like its doable.” I brought home from school this drawing of a mini ramp and it’s huge. We started at 5 feet tall and all these other dimensions by now and we’ve just cut it down and cut it down. But they’ve always supported it, man. It’s so epic.
Well it is a new year, 2012, what do you got lined up for this year, what are your goals, what are your plans?
My goals are keep expanding in all positive ways, for sure, try and do well. See a lot. I want to travel to new places. The whole Vans thing is a big blessing so I think they have some trips planned; I’m psyched for that. They mentioned China and South America so those are going to go down which I'm excited about. I haven’t gotten out of the country yet. I wouldn’t be bummed if I find a sweetheart. There’s a Toy Machine video coming out in at holiday called Reinvention. So I’ll be filming for that and nail it for that. Vans video is maybe 2 years away, down the line a little bit, but everyone is in the mode now so it’s on, I’m excited. That I’m giving 110% to for sure. So just work hard, travel a lot, see good things, and be with the people I care about.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of Daniel Lutheran’s interview where he discusses life in Albuquerque, his mom’s famous green chili stew and some wild adventures with his dad, Chuck.
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