Joey Aria Summer 2010 Video + Interview

The following video and article contains material and discussion of beliefs relating to religion and God. I expect everyone who reads this and decides to comment, to do so with respect to Joey and many others beliefs. Comments that show any kind of disrespect will not be posted.


Joey Aria is an underrated rider from Virginia. He recently finished up his 2010 Summer video, and I got the chance to ask Joey a few questions. You can see the video and the interview below.






1. Name, Age, and Location.

Joey Aria, 18 (Aug), Warrenton, VA. I'm about an hour from Washington DC, and an hour and a half from Richmond, VA. My hometown is Citrus Heights, CA. That's in Sacramento County. It's about 20 minutes from Sac City.


2. How did you get into Scootering?

When I was little I liked to ride toy scooters designed for small children. You know, the kind of scooter made of plastic with 3 wheels. But I did not own one of my own. I remember how I would pick one up at a neighbor's house, daycare, Sunday school, wherever, whenever I had the opportunity. I just loved the feeling of riding around, stopping, turning, learning how to balance in ways that were challenging for me. Then I would one day get a scooter of my own.

The first time I was introduced to the Razor scooter was when they came out in year 2000 and the “buy now” commercial aired on TV. At that time I had witnessed my first trick on a scooter, the flat ground Tailwhip. I asked my dad if he would buy me the Razor scooter. He considered the price, $100 I believe it was at the time, and gave me a maybe as his answer. 3 years later I convinced him to take me out to buy a scooter for my birthday. He took me to Toy's-R-Us, but we arrived to discover that they did not carry Razor scooters. Disappointed, I had to settle with a scooter from an off brand company called Pacific Blittz. But really, I was just happy to own a scooter of my own. After that point I rode my scooter every day and started making up my own tricks, not knowing that many of them had already been done and named. I didn't know about Team Razor and the various scooter teams, forums, and videos. I did not start using computers yet by that time and I wasn’t able to go to skateparks yet. I stayed close to home like a good little boy. Later I got an electric Razor scooter for Christmas and with it came a copy of Razor Video Magazine 1 (RVM1). I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that video. At this point in time scootering became really important to me. I started skateboarding somewhere around the 2nd or 3rd grade, but by the 6th grade I chose scootering to be my primary and full time sport. I didn't want my experience to be divided into 2 sports; I wanted to fully invest in one. Since then there have been a few times where I’ve had to stop scootering for a long period of time because of problems at home. But I've never abandoned the sport.


3. So I gotta ask, because in your videos it looks like you can do both...Do you whip frontside or backside?

First, I learned to Heelwhip. That took me awhile. At the time I didn't know the difference. Back in the day I don't think anybody really noticed. Either way you did the trick it was recognized as a Tailwhip, only sometimes a Front Side Tailwhip when referring to a Heelwhip. Then, I learned to Tailwhip. That took me even longer. I learned to whip both ways because I push myself to learn opposite tricks. As far as which whip is easier for me to do, it really depends on what kind of trick I'm doing. Some tricks are easier to do with a Tailwhip, others Heelwhip. I prefer Heelwhips because I find them more stylish.


4. You do a lot of tech lip tricks, do those come natural to you?

My favorite genre of tricks I like to do are stall and grind combinations. I just love the feel of transition and learning opposite tricks. My style is influenced by 80’s bowl style skateboarding. I can ride a simple bowl all day long. I can cheer somebody on for doing a stall or grind opposite. I can be the only scooter rider riding with a group of old school bowl shredders and gain their respect. I like the “think fast” feel of bowl riding. It has no dead ends and does not require any pushing.. You’re constantly faced with new challenges. I don't have a bowl to ride at my local park. We don’t even have a lot of ramps at all. But we do have a simple 4 foot half pipe. I try to pretend it’s a bowl lol. I make the best of it and I try to take advantage of bowls when I have the opportunity to ride them. One thing I really like about professional skateboarder, Bob Burnquist, is that he can be so creative on something as simple as coping. When I used to skate back in the day I was amazed by his One Footed Back Smith grinds to Revert out at the famous Tampa skatepark in Tampa, FL. Who can do that? And which one of those people can do them consistently? I really think that played a role in discovering my style of riding.


5. So I know you're trying to get sponsored currently, what's pushed you to try getting sponsored now?

Any scooter rider would like to be supported in what they love to do, but I really started seeking sponsorship when I came to the point where I could not afford the parts I need to scooter. I'm 18 years old, on my own, without a car, and I’m trying to go to college. Its hard work meng. But sponsorship is not just about getting stuff for free. In reality you don't get anything for free because what you get is your payment for doing real promotional business. Sponsorship is marketing and marketing is to increase sales. I think that I quality for sponsorship because I have the skills, experience, and dedication every company needs. But God is my provider. Lord, if you provide me with a sponsorship I'm cool with that! If not, I won't front!


6. Are there any companys that you got your eye on in particular?

I'd like to partner with a shop or company that will support me as an athlete in return for my hard work for the company. Many companies have shown interest in sponsoring me but none of them have stepped up to do it. But that’s okay; I’m not interested in any companies that don’t value what I have to offer.


7. You seem to have a strong belief in God, care to elaborate on your reasons for adding the select scriptures at the end of your video?

I think what matters most is not my interest in God, but God’s interest in me! It’s not about me, but it’s all about Him. Through His Son Jesus, I am reconciled to God because my sin is paid for and forgiven. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” God’s desire is not for man to use religion as an attempt to please Him. His desire is to have an authentic and life-changing relationship with Him. Forget religion, I have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ! On my 18th birthday I had to make the hard transition of moving away from my family to live on my own while not having a job, car, or college education. I am lead to include Matthew 11:28, Jeremiah 29:11, and Psalm 84:12 in my video because they are comforting to me in such a season of struggle.


8. Thanks for taking the time to do this quick interview with IS, anything else you want to add Joey?

I’d like to inform the industry about my new Facebook Athlete page. Here you can learn more about my work, receive the latest updates, and keep in touch with me. If you don’t have a Facebook account, don’t worry, you can access this page.

Joey's Facebook

I want to thank Inside Scooters for this interview. I’m glad somebody followed through on such a great idea. I’m happy to be part of IS and I hope to see more follow-ups on my work here!