TYLER BONNER INTERVIEW

Tyler Bonner. You know the name, you know his videos, you know his tricks. He is one of the top 5 best riders in the sport today. Tyler is one of the few riders that when you look back upon his oldest videos, its near impossible to find one where you can say “he sucked back then”. From the time he started riding scooters, until now, he just kept getting better and better, and he did it fast.

Tyler was born and raised in Nova Scotia and at the age of 9 in 2002 moved to Seattle Washington, and from there he later moved to Bothell. It wouldn't be until two years later that Tyler would start showing an interest in scooters. It was spring break 2004 and Tyler was playing basketball at an elementary school when he happened to see his friend on a scooter jumping some small stair sets, and doing some stalls on some rails. Thinking it looked like fun, he soon got one himself and started to mess around on it a little bit. He started going to Woodinville Skatepark, and on his 5^th trip there he happened to see KC Corning. Tyler saw KC doing quad whips, and his infamous barspin boardslides, and he began to see scootering differently. KC later took Tyler's New A Model, and put a B model folding system on it, and thats basically how Tyler Bonner got into the sport.

Its now 2009 5 years later, and Tyler has solidified himself as one of the sports best. He is one of the few riders in the sport that constantly progresses at an extremely fast rate. His consistency when he rides is second to none. He can flow a skatepark and throw down a countless amount of tricks while making each look as effortless as the last. Some of his favorite tricks to do when he goes out and rides are; Hang 5's, Nose blunts on quarters, and overall despite the huge tricks you see in his videos, he really likes to go out and just “Dan Barret” it up as he so well put it, with lots of tech stuff. From 2004 to 2009 Tyler looked up to a couple certain riders, who he feel has really helped him get to where he is today. Those two riders are KC Corning and Jesse Macaluso. KC was the reason that Tyler started riding, and he is the one who helped Tyler learn the basics, Tyler was once even called “Mini KC Corning”. Jesse on the other hand was someone Tyler saw in videos and was always amazed by. They started talking a lot, and Tyler would watch how Jesse rode and did tricks so easily, and that kept him riding and pushing himself to get better and better.

2009 is going to be as big of a year for Tyler as it is for everyone in the sport. Tylers got big plans so far. Hes thinking about possibly picking up a new sponsor. That can help him out with parts, so hes not riding such a janky scooter, and of course he looks forward to making it out to as many competitions as he can. Hes got the Hyphy Jam in San Francisco, CA coming up in May and the XW Competition and the Brooklyn Banks Jam in July. Not to mention this past April 11^th where he took first place at the Cooter Con Competition, and pocketed over 1,000 dollars. Ive known Tyler pretty much since he started riding scooters, and over the past 5 years after seeing all that he's done in the sport. It really has led me to believe that big things, definitely come in small packages.

-Steven Tongson

Interview done by Jordan Jasa.

Name: tyler bonner


Location: bothell WA,aka the nw


Years Riding: 5, since spring break of 5th grade


You're fresh off landing your first (and the world's first) 1080s, releasing a few ridiculous videos, and winning Cooter Con 7. How are you feeling after all that?

well ive been wanting that 1080 for years now, and after i landed that 990 at woodinville ,and had people saying oh it doesnt count, that just bugged me and i wanted to do the actual thing just to prove that i can. as for winning cooter con 7, i was pretty stoked on it, because this was definitely the biggest comp SBW has ever thrown, and i got tons of parts that ive needed for awhile. im not really all that stoked on my new videos, because i have stuff in mind for my next " big" video, and none of that have been in my last few videos because those have just been day vids, but like im happy with them.

You're on Razor and RAD right now, right? Or have you picked up any new sponsors recently?

yea, right now im riding for RAD, and razor, and right after the comp i picked up a sponsorship by eaglesport, which im pretty stoked about because now i dont have to worry about breaking or buying wheels, which is pretty legit.

Did you ever think you would be having the success you are experiencing right now?

actually wierd to say but, i actually did, even years ago when i was just starting out, i just knew id come this far with the sport, and thats probably what pushed me to where i am now.

How do you think you've gotten to where you are today? Does riding come natural to you or have you had to work to get to the level of riding you're at?

well id say it comes naturally. i think i just got way TOO comfortable with scooters

You've ridden with some of the best riders theres ever been in this sport. How has riding with people like KC Corning, Cary Mosbrucker, and Stan Smirnoff effected your riding?

i dont really know how to answer that question because its been spread out over 5 years, but kc got me into it, cary started exactly the same time i did, so he was kind of my competition. and stan... riding with him kinda opened my eyes to gaps and transfers most people wouldnt even notice.

Is there a specific rider in our sport, or even skating or bmx, that you try to emulate in your riding? Who gives you inspiration to ride?

id say jesse macaluso is who i tried to emulate during my riding, because it seemed whenever i watched his videos, he could just do whatever he wanted, whenever. and ii just wanted to get to that point in riding.

When did you get on Razor? What opportunities has being with them given you?

i got on razor right before summer of 8th grade, so about 2 years ago?while being on the team, ive been given chances to travel around to most of the comps in the US, and have met sooo many people.

One of the earliest videos of you I can remember is you riding at ThrillZone with Cary Mosbrucker. When did you first start riding with Cary and RAD Skoot Co., and how did you get involved with being on the "official" crew?

well, me and cary started riding at the same time, but we didnt know eachother. id see them all at the skatepark quite a bit but didnt really know them at all. and one night at woody probably 6th grade, me and a friend were playin scoot, he got alll mad at me and was like" well atleast my last names not boner!" and then cary, cory and david were like NOOO WAY DUDE YOUR NAMES BONER! and yea thats how i met them and heard about RAD, and i got on the old site and emailed them just sayin hey dude its boner from the skatepark, any chance i could get on the team. and yea.

It seems like you can do anything you want on your scoot, but has your small size ever prevented you from doing certain tricks? Or are there any tricks that you can't seem to do?

well like i said earlier, i saw how jesse could do that, and i wanted to be able to do the same. so i pushed myself to that point. and i cant say that being short has ever given me a disadvantage, id think itd be much harder if i were tall. this will sound 100% cocky but i can pretty much just do whatever. anyone whos seen me ride in person will assure you the same thing.

What are your favorite obstacles to ride?

well im sure everyone knows i LOVE to ride the biggest flybox you can find me. also i love seshing pyramids and havin tech seshs. and i guess flyout hips, and mini ramps.

You're most known for your park riding, but recently you've had some huge street bangers in a couple vids. When do we get to see a full length street edit?

ugh, well i guess now im kinda tied to makin one.
give me a weekend and ill put one out. the toughest part is getting shane to chill and film. ill try for.... maybe this coming, or the next?

You first tried 1080's back in 2006 and got one footed, and finally landed them this spring. What were you thinking right after you landed your first, and then the one at Cooter Con?

well over all the years, the only thing id REALLY been trying and not been able to land was the 1080, so when i landed that one at woodinville, it was mostly self accomplishment. then at cooter con, when i landed that it was kinda like, ya --- all of you who werent counting that last one.

Ever thought about trying a 900 in a quarter?

naw, not tryin to snap my leg, sorry.

Whats next for you? Do you have any big plans for the future?

not really, just hopin to get out to some comps, chill and ride with friends, and...yea