Louie Barletta

Louie Barletta

Before I talk about the man, I feel it important to take a moment to look in awe at his head of hair. His glorious bowl cut that flops around with such care-free grace.

 Louie is probably the most inspirational skater in my life. I watched ‘Subject to Change’ by Osiris back in 2003 when it was given away free with the, since bust, Document Skateboard Magazine (R.I.P.). He featured in the final part along with his friend and fellow compadray Jerry Hsu. That part blew my young mind, in fact, the whole video was incredible. Nine years it is still my ‘go to’ skate vid. It’s a classic and it has had a massive influence on me.

Not only do I thank Louie for introducing me to a fun and original side of skateboarding.. he also introduced me to Rod Stewart. Rod is God. This was released later by Enjoi, I think it won best skate video of the year. Enjoi released adverts saying simply ‘Smoking makes you cool’ in large white letters against orange A4 background. It took up a whole page of your skate mag. It was obviously a joke, but the company had balls and a rebellious attitude. When I was young, and still now, I fucking loved that.

Finally I was also influenced by his rad motor. I couldn’t afford a Vespa with hyper space switch, so I bought the next best thing, a Honda cub. Here is Louie’s ride.

Its hard to talk about professional skateboarders on motorbikes without mentioning Ali Boulala and the fatal accident he played a major part in. I can’t remember exactly when it happened. .. it must be at least five years ago. Boulala was driving with a passenger, fellow volcom new comer Shane Cross, when he lost control of his bike and crashed. Shane Cross died. Boulala was sentenced to four years in prison. To me, at the time, it was a reminder that even these pros, who to me were Gods, were still human. I don’t know where I’m going with this. All I knew at the time.. was I wanted one day to have a bike and live that same irresponsible life. So in fact the death of Shane Cross taught me nothing at all. Enjoi.