Mar 12, 2013 Imprint Long Beach: Justin Reynolds on his life as a skateboarder in Long Beach and the Imprint skateboarding panel
Justin Reynolds is an OG Long Beach skateboarder who rode for Acme, G&S, Formula One, Lethol, Grind King, Origin, Furnace, and Stüssy. Today, the 508 skate crew member proudly helms Riviera Skateboards––which specializes in downhill, ditch skating, cruisers, and pool boards. As a guy who is firmy rooted in Long Beach skate history with a hand in its future, I knew he’d be the perfect moderator for the April Imprint event’s skateboard panel featuring pro skater Chad Tim Tim, skate cinematographer Ricki Bedenbaugh, and skate shoe designer Paul Kwon.
What does your 508 tattoo mean to you?
The 508 crew is just a group of friends who skated together and looked out for each other. Long Beach native Mark Nisbet started the 508 skate crew in the early ’90s. He was the first guy I heard of making videos of local skaters. It wasn’t until the mid ’90s that I started skating with them and really became a part of the family. It was a family for most of us, and my tattoo is just another page in the book of my life.
Can you briefly describe your pro career?
In short, my skateboarding career would have never existed without the love and support of my friends. It was never about how good I was; it was more about the people that took care of me and blessed me with unique opportunities. Eventually, I stepped away from my professional responsibilities to focus on building a family and a future beyond my own personal satisfaction.
How did you wind up on the business side of skating and what excites you about Riviera?
I wasn’t blessed with a natural ability to skate on the highest level, so I developed an early understanding of what would become of my life after skateboarding if I didn’t look for opportunity within the industry. Riviera as a brand represents all of the things that I fell in love with in skateboarding. I’m blessed to be able to offer skateboarding to people who may not skate their local park but enjoy cruising the streets or hills without the pressures of having to learn tricks. Riviera is about finding your freedom, and what keeps me working hard is sharing that with people.
You know all the guys on the panel: Chad, Ricki, Paul. Can you say a little bit about each of them?
Chad Tim Tim and Ricki Bedenbaugh represent a generation of Long Beach skaters that really helped put our city on the skate map and eventually created a global skate destination. Paul is living proof of what guys like Chad and Ricki created. He moved to Long Beach from Detroit, MI, and carved out a career for himself while living and skating here.
As the moderator, what is your hope for the Imprint talk?
I hope that I can extract enough Long Beach skateboard history, current skate affairs, and future plans of our local culture from the panel to expose how important the art of skateboarding has been to the city. I hope to reveal how skateboarding has affected our city’s timeline and youth culture, and ultimately shaped a few generations of kids’ lives that would have otherwise ended up in trouble.
The Imprint event will take place on April 26 at the historic Edison Theatre in Downtown Long Beach. Keep an eye on this site for the latest information on the panels, guests, and ticketing.