A real skateboard movie. Sick.
Skateboarders are adept negotiators of the urban environment. Encounter a pothole? Ollie it. A handrail? Grind it. It’s the Tao of the Deck, and for multitalented entrepreneur and skateboarder Rob Dyrdek, writing, producing and starring in his first feature film was simply another obstacle to conquer.
The 34-year-old Dyrdek is already a household name for skate fiends -- he has broken 21 world records and holds sponsorships from DC and Alien Workshop -- but his vision extends far beyond the board. He co-owns clothing company Rogue Status with former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, cooks up crazy stunts for MTV reality show "Fantasy Factory" and even replicates his likeness in a line of toys.
For his first feature film, "Street Dreams," (the trailer is after the jump), inspiration welled from an unusual source: Stephen Baldwin’s Christian skate video, "Livin' It."
"One of my good friends told me that one of the Baldwin brothers had just sold a movie about skateboarding,” Dyrdek says. "I'm like, 'This is ridiculous. How can someone make a movie about skateboarding who knows nothing about it?'"
Dyrdek set out to write and produce "Street Dreams," which follows a Midwestern skater on his journey to go pro, despite clashes with parents, teachers and cops. His ticket to stardom? The elusive 360 flip crooked grind down a handrail.
No stranger to landing "the golden trick," Dyrdek started shredding his Ohio hometown at 12 years old. At 16, he became pro. Yet, in “Street Dreams,” Dyrdek doesn’t relive his rapid ascent. Instead, Paul Rodriguez, Jr., pro skater and son of comedian Paul Rodriguez, takes that honor while Dyrdek plays the villain.
"The way that I wrote this, there was only one person who could do it: Paul Rodriguez Jr.," Dyrdek says. "With the level of skating and acting that needed to be done, I didn't intend to do it. And I liked the idea of playing the mean character."
In the half-century that skateboarding has been part of the urban landscape, Dyrdek says, few films have captured the skating culture without being “corny and cheesy.”
"Hollywood mainstream has a fixation of what they think skating is," Dyrdek says, "but... this is for my culture. This is for us."
-- Drew Tewksbury
Photo: Berkela Motion Pictures
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