Where you’re from influences who you are. Growing up skating with Jamie Palmore, then being mentored by Willy Santos, and for most of your adult life absorbing the other-worldly talent and laid back vibes of Wes Kremer, Tyler Surrey and Marius Syvanen, it’s no surprise Jimmy Cao blossomed into a versatile powerhouse on four wheels. He’s beyond past due for this—his first magazine interview. Find out why Vietnam will be the next big skate destination, how Finesse Skateboards and Hubba Wheels’ ads factored into his career path, how he avoided Scandinavian boat jail and more. Get ‘em Chippy.
So what’s happening with Jimmy Cao as we close out 2016?
A lot of skating, about to have a baby. Life hammer right there [laughs].
Do you have a name picked out?
We’re thinking Mason Parker.
Nice work. What ethnicity is Cao?
I’m 100-percent Vietnamese.
Have you been to Vietnam?
I used to go a lot when I was younger, I first went when I was five years old, then I would go every three years after that. I would always go with my family, but recently I got to go on a skate trip, my first time bringing my board, and dude, there are some spots out there. I feel like it’s going to be the next China.
Were you born in Vietnam or here?
I was actually born in San Jose. My parents drove down when I was three months old to San Diego and I’ve been here ever since.
Who are the big Vietnamese pros out there?
Nuge [Don Nguyen], Jon Nguyen, Danny Nguyen too, Dank Tank.
All Nguyens!
All Nguyens! Gotta throw a Cao in there somewhere.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Mira Mesa.
Was Willy Santos an influence on you being from there?
Definitely, first of all he’s Asian, I was like, “Sick! Asian pro skater!” I got hyped on that and then his skating in general was always awesome, always technical and smooth.
Do you remember the first photos or footage you saw of him?
One of the first videos I saw was actually The End, so…
Did you skate for Willy’s Workshop?
Yeah I did, I sent in a sponsor-me video, to Willy. Got sponsored.
Was that your first sponsor?
This story is from the December 2016 edition of TransWorld Skateboarding.
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This story is from the December 2016 edition of TransWorld Skateboarding.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Bones Europe
Waking up to a text from Jaime Owens about going to Europe with the Bones Wheels team was not a bad way to start my day; especially considering it would be my first time going overseas. And what a better time to go than during the Copenhagen Open? Two weeks later the squad and I met at LAX and prepared to get on the ten-hour flight we were all dreading. But with help from a little bit of booze, a few movies, and occasional sleep it wasn’t too bad. I even heard someone singing. To my surprise, I looked over and it was Dakota [Servold] singing in his sleep!
Mason Silva
Life is good for Mason. Since being lured into the useless wooden toy game by his brother Dayton, and the weird European videos he would watch in the basement, Silva stopped surfing long enough to win a skate contest he didn’t even plan to attend, got sponsored by Element as a result, then had Eric Koston walk up to him unannounced at the Berrics to offer him free shoes from Nike. Some people just have it that way.
waiting for hurricanes
ben gore’s first experiences on a skateboard all occurred during hurricane warnings on the southeast coast of florida.
alex lawton
the hand of god.
Torey Pudwill Flatbar Frenzy
Basing an entire video project around only skating flatbars might sound like a shot in the dark. How many flatbar spots do you even know of? Surprisingly, there are a lot more of them out there in the wild than we could’ve imagined—in all shapes and sizes—and lucky for us, our boy Torey Pudwill took it upon himself to hunt them down. From coast-to-coast and country-to-country, welcome to Torey’s Flatbar Frenzy. This ain’t your average front yard flatbar sesh! —BRIAN BLAKELY
Weedmaps
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Chima
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Jimmy Cao
Where you’re from influences who you are. Growing up skating with Jamie Palmore, then being mentored by Willy Santos, and for most of your adult life absorbing the other-worldly talent and laid back vibes of Wes Kremer, Tyler Surrey and Marius Syvanen, it’s no surprise Jimmy Cao blossomed into a versatile powerhouse on four wheels. He’s beyond past due for this—his first magazine interview. Find out why Vietnam will be the next big skate destination, how Finesse Skateboards and Hubba Wheels’ ads factored into his career path, how he avoided Scandinavian boat jail and more. Get ‘em Chippy.
Riddles in Mathematics
Our 29th full-length, 21 years since Uno (TWS Video 1, 1996) will have premiered in downtown LA by the time you read this. Once again wrapped in the skilled supernatural vision of Christopher Thiessen—Riddles in Mathematics marks the second video in our catalogue, after last year’s Substance—under his signature VX-centric “in the trenches” style. Starring Yaje Popson, Ben Gore, Leo Valls, and Bobby De Keyzer Riddles also co-stars Stevie Perez and Bobby Worrest. Shot worldwide in Paris, Bordeaux, New York, San Francisco, Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Barcelona, we pulled Chris from his intensive editing binge on the eve of judgment day for a quick Q & A covering his latest masterpiece. —MACKENZIE EISENHOUR
Josh Pall
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