The Fundamentals of Skimming RUN DROP SLIDE- The Steve Pullara Interview
Professional skimboarder Steve Pullara is a key figure in the development of the Florida skimboarding scene and beyond. He is someone that captures every aspect of the sport, the athletic talent, friendships, the business and the thrill. Pullara is legendary with a soul-inspiring skimboarding lifestyle. 100% skimmer.... charging waves and promoting the sport.
by Angelica Clemmer
Name: Steve Pullara
Nickname: Stevo
Age: 45
Weight: 167
Stance: Regular
Home Town: Vilano Beach (born Tampa), Fl
Home Break: Vilano Beach, Fl
Board: Zap Pro (My Legends Model)
When did you get into skimboarding? Before most people had color TV's in their house (laughs). I remember skimming with my brother and cousins when I was real young
What was it like growing up in FL? I come from a really large family with a very long Tampa Fl lineage, my family has been in Tampa since the late 1800's, only a few of us have ever moved away. Florida is the best state to grow up in, we're almost an Island. So many beaches and so many fun amusement parks. I grew up across the street from Busch Gardens, I would come home from school, do my homework, and then head across the street to ride the Python and Flume rides until they closed ( I had a season pass), then sometimes we would jump the fence to Adventure Island and play on the water rides. They would kick me and my buddy out of the water park every time for standing up and surfing down one of the slides, kinda dangerous now that I think about it, but it was too fun not to go for it. Every time I grabbed a sled, the lifeguard would tell me not to do it again, and I promised I wouldn't…I couldn't help it, then out I went with an escort…good times !!
When did skimboarding become a major passion in your life? Shortly after I graduated from High School, I was slated to have a nice Baseball career with some nice scholarship offers, but that was around when Schlitz Brewery was closed down and my dad was out a job. My scholarship offers weren't full rides, so I opted to leave it behind and go to work managing restaurants. Skimming became my sport from then on. I don't regret letting go of baseball, it was just the right thing to do. Some of the guys I grew up playing with went on to be great Pro's ( Dwight Gooden, Tino Martinez, Gary Sheffield, Lance McCullers to name a few ) I might have had that chance too perhaps, but it's o.k. I became a Pro Skimboarder and they didn't…
I’ve heard some good stories from Skip Marcotte about the Spectrum days....Wow, that was a long time ago, Skip and I would compete against each other in high school, then I met Craig Bobbett who owns Spectrum, and for a while Harry was having those guys make Sand Blasters, so once Harry added me to his team, I started spending time at the factory every trip I took to Indialantic (every week), I could make some good boards before long. Fun times crashing on Skip's floor, hanging with Cary Catri, skimming, making boards…more good times !!
What is the history of skimboarding viewed by you. The scene and equipment development etc. I'm glad you asked that, because we do have our own roots and history. Every beach has their own opinions of the sports origin from the Hawaiians to Laguna to Florida to Dewey. All I know is the scene really hasn't changed that much, just the faces and names. We all still stick together, like I'm certain they did in the beginning before I was apart of it. Skimmers are a different breed, we are some of the most talented athletes that walk the planet, and we are loyal to our friendships. For me where I learned to skim was flat beach, me and a few friends also skated and we started incorporating skate tricks into skimboarding, Shuv-its, Ollie's back into the waves, Ollie-oops, . I know I stuck a 3 shuv before anyone else, cause they all freaked when I finally landed it, I damn near broke my ankle trying to do it again. We also would do these crazy running acid drops over rows of people much like skaters and roller skaters would do over barrels, were talking very early 80's here, it seemed like every contest I would make it to the finals with Keith and mid way through the heat we would start jumping people, we would start with 3, then 4, then 5, the crowds loved it, one contest we got to 9 guys and both made it, but when we wanted to add another victim, the organizers said we barely cleared the 9th guy and they didn't want to get anyone hurt ( I still have a lot of this footage) . Then one day I was at Mandalay Surf shop (who was my sponsor) and Bill called me over to watch a video sent to him from Tex…woooh what the fuk, these guys were riding waves, the days of jumping people and breaking ankles were over, this looked way more fun…the rest is HISTORY. As for the development of our boards, wow is all I can say, if it wasn't for the fact that Tex Haines, Bob Smetts, Adrian Prince continually strived to innovate designs through the 90's, we would all be riding wood still and the newer manufacturers would not of stepped up to the plate (baseball again) to be a solid influence on the future like Aaron Peluso has accomplished. I know that they all are competitive towards each other in business, but it is handled in a gentleman's fashion, which means we all win.
How much skim time in DE do you have under your belt? The first time I went to DE was the '85 contest, though that year was slated as East meets West, it was more a Triangle situation, Cali vs De vs Fl. The first ever Skimboard Magizine came out earlier that summer and it talked about how badass the Laguna boys were and then The Delaware boys and then Me and my friends from Fl. The hype was to the max, this was serious shit..lol.
It was super fun, my friend that talked the most shit went down fast, I lasted a little longer, at least I was riding waves. Nick Hernandez won it, I think Dave Crowley got second. It definitely set me apart from my Fl peers and helped me get noticed, after that event there was some type of picture of me in almost every issue of Skimboard Magazine…pretty cool.
Have you passed on the skim stoke to your son? I think Makai was ready to skim before he was even born, He took some of his first steps on Vilano. His name means toward the sea, and he loves it. As a competing Pro, I would take him with me to almost every event, he grew up on the circuit. We were just watching some footage of Joey Vavala, Jeff Shuppard, Me and Makai skimming Southside before he was 4, I would load the truck up with whoever could go ,Blair, Jason, Joey, Conner, Cory, Malik, Jamie, Jeff and we would head to the inlet, Makai would yell "Southside Potty". Now's he's going into High School, wrapping Vilano waves and is a linebacker for the St. Augustine Yellow-jackets J.V. team and A/B honor roll. I'm really proud of him and all he's has overcome.
When did you start RDS (run drop slide) and how much has it grown since you started it? The idea of a clothing line came to me in 98-99, I was tired of trying to get support from the "other" industry to sponsor my contest and any other event for the matter. So, we all used to say Run Drop Slide, so I decided to print it on a shirt, first I did it on my computer with iron-on paper, then in Sept 2000 we incorporated and went full force, some of the original designs were from my graphic program and even today I design some of them, like the new RDS Grom's line and the Brazil shirt. It has grown amazingly in the last 10+years. We are so deep with product development and utilization of the world for our products, for instance our embroidery is done in the same factory that creates our military patches and also major companies like Harley Davidson. We have a brand new state of the art screen printing factory starting up in time to print the 2010 Fl Pro/Am official contest T-shirt. We will be able to print any skimboarding events t-shirt for less then anyone else, and better quality. The one complement that over the years is always nice to hear comes from Greg (Skim City) "I know it's quality if your making it", that's nice to hear. Although we don't have an amazing amount of accounts, we still operate as if we had a thousand accounts, we help market the accounts and donate thousands of dollars annually to events and riders to help.
What type of clothing does RDS make ? Run Drop Slide, Inc. has 3 different lines, RDS, RDS Girls, and the 'new' RDS Grom's. We make everything from t-shirts, to bordshorts, hats, and everything in between.
Do you sponsor riders? We sponsor a small army of Riders, both Pro's and top Am's. I think close to 30 from around the world. Some of the riders have been with us for almost the entire life of the company like Jed and Russell, Monster Dave, the Smetts, Boomhower, Blair, Billy, even Mo still supports us in some way.
Your contest is coming up,whats the vibe of the contest, who comes to it? The vibe is always good. I have the best time holding this event, what a cool job. I never sought out for this event to become so revered by my peers and for the Fl Pro/Am to set some standards for our sport, but it's growing to cult like status. I doubt we are going to get a hurricane swell timed so perfectly as last year, but there should be something to fun to play on. Vilano beach is a great playground and loving community that opens its arms to the skimming world. The saddest moment for me is when it's over Sunday night, watching all the kids get their trophies after 3 days of competing is so awesome, I don't like it to end, that's why years ago I added the Crossover events plus the 3rd day of skimming and a different format so all the contestants get more then one chance to advance, just to make it last longer. If I got my wish this event would last for a week. There are more Pro's that attend this event then any other event on our side of the Mississippi. This year there is a family flying in from St. Thomas V.I.
How many years now? The first event I held on Vilano beach was in 1990, I started it back up in 1995, so 15 straight, but the 16th one.
Who are some of the people that have influenced you to make your dreams and goals come true? God, Makai , my family, my friends and the man I see in the mirror. If what I have tried to make happen for kids involved with skimboarding weren't for the right reasons, then I wouldn't be able to look that man in the mirror straight in the eye and have him smile and wink.
Your best skim session? Gosh, that's hard. Prob any session with Makai. My one good barrel in Cabo in 2000, too many Vilano sessions, Eleuthera crystal clear overhead in the early 90's, Southside potties. I caught 10th street once really big.
Your biggest wipeout? I think that just happened the other night, ask Monster, but it didn't even hurt. Prob the worst was when I fractured my heal and ruptured my Achilles tendon, 2 surgeries in one year kinda sucked, I was told by the doctors that I would never run again and walk with a limp…hahaha whatever.
How much skimming do you do? I'm out as often as I can, if the tide is timed with my schedule, I'm out every day. I'm 45, but I can stay out just as long as everyone else, it's just fun.
What type of wave is Vilano Beach? Vilano is pretty unique. Very deep water right off the beach, with shifting shoals help make this place work for our sport. A-frames pop up all over the place. The shifting shoals are so loose that you can start skimming at one spot and 2 hours later when the tide backs out you could be 60 yards down the beach. It's very unique.
Huge tidal difference also from low to high
When are you visiting DE again? you know the skim community misses you...Awwww, that's really nice. A part of me grew up in Dewey, I'm still a LOCAL. Makai and I were talking about heading up for the 30th year of Harry's event. Just hope almost 30 yrs of Dewey memories don't re-happen in one weekend, waking up in Jason's fort, eating Donna's coconut cake and cooking conch and jerk chicken for everyone then end up getting kicked out of the Starboard for peeing in a trashcan, mowing down on some "wings to go" when no one else would serve me and end up with me and Blair handcuffed to the bench and then Harry trying to bail us out. Awe, what the hell, it would be just like old times.
Anything you would like to say to the skimmers in DE? Is Joey Vavala Mayor yet ???
Thanks Steve for the interview and all you have done for the sport. Check out RDS online at www.rudropslide.com and www.angelfire.com/fl4/rund
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