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K-Rod's hair says "Hockey," but his trick selection still says "Oh Yeah Oh Yeah Oh Yeah."
Damn, spot on. Gnar’d.
He fucked up.
Funny because Polar doesn’t need him. It’s not like anyone was disappointed by “We Blew It” due to his absence, but also think of how much better that video could have been with him in it, which is crazy because it’s already incredible.
He’s also done next to nil since the move to Hockey, which is a huge bummer.
I hope we see more footy of him soon.
I hope I'm wrong but I wouldn't be too surprised if he goes the Kevin Terpening way... He was never a productive skater, and he probably peaked in terms of wallrides possibilities.
I don't know that he fucked up. In that interview from around the time he switched teams it sounded like he didn't really want the pressure of being on Pontus's program anymore. So, he might be doing exactly what he wants to be doing. It's a disappointment to me, because I thought his parts in the Polar videos and that B/W Cons spot and a bunch of the Blobys videos were cool. For me, once Supreme really came into the picture something shifted and his skating wasn't quite as exciting (maybe that's just an aesthetics thing, as I do tend to get more stoked on Polar stuff than I do Supreme). I hope that changes, cause I'm sure he can do more and I'd like to see it.
I feel like Pontus's reputation as a Euro/bizarro Jamie Thomas is well known at this point. I can absolutely see how someone would grow weary of that and want off. Also, hasn't K-Rod been hurt?
I dont know how accurate that is. Thomas wanted a lot of control over a skater's image. He had the ams living and working at the skatepark/warehouse, and took on a military persona.
From what I've read Pontus really pushes that his skaters have a consistent Instagram presence which I feel is reasonable. With K-rod's situation I also remember reading that he needed a little more coaching because his skating was a bit rough around the edges. Not wanting to post on Insta all the time seemed to be the driving force of his departure.
Of course this is all stuff I'm reading in articles, the real story could be quite different.
Maybe we're not specifically talking "image," but Pontus is similar to Jamie in that he's a somewhat aggressive personality who has expectations of his brand and team, and that attitude towards skateboarding can turn some people off. Speaking beyond K-Rod's situation now, I know he's pushed skateboarders to "retire" when their careers are far from over.
that interview, IMO, made K Rod look super bad.
He basically complained that Pontus wanting him to actually film and shoot ads, and to show people that he was skating. Which to me felt super fair. You're a pro skater, and your boss lets you know that you need to act like one.
Are you talking about this interview?
https://www.soloskatemag.com/kevin-rodrigues-interview-1In one of the first questions, he says he's dealt with two serious injuries in 2017/2018 (around the time of his switch), but he also says he was totally willing to not be a "pro" anymore and take a back seat because of his attitude, which Pontus rejected, so he called his bluff and left. He said something similar in his Jenkem book interview, as well. I get the whole "you're pro, act like it" argument, but if he's expressed that he's dissatisfied with his current arrangement and okay with the consequences from that, and someone else is willing to work with him in that sense, why should K-Rod stick around?