What Would Richie Do?

Richie Eisler is doing it right; on and off the skates. We recently had a quick skate at the Base skatepark in Bognor (see video) where I found myself posing the question; What Would Richie Do?...

Interview / Photos: Jake Eley.

Other than skating what DOES Richie you do?
Travel. Read a lot. Explore cities. Take photos and video. Stretch. Eat healthily.

You’re an older pro. How do you combat general physical deterioration?
34! Eat healthily. Lots of water. Lots of fresh air and sunshine. Foam roller. Frequent stretching and yoga. No falling!

What set-up does Richie skate?
USD Carbon Frees. Xsjado plates. Kizer Fluid 4. UC wheels and Go Project bearings. Swap the antirocker setup back and forth for Kizer Level 3 with my UC 72mm pro wheels. Oh and recently, I'm also testing and loving Aeons in 60mm and 72mm.

You’re going skating, it’s Barcelona, you’re with 3 of the boys but no-one has a camera. You don’t know what spot you are going to yet (you’re just exploring). What set-up do you take?
Usually, in a situation like this, I will go for the biggest wheels I have at the time. So currently, that is 72mm. Probably Aeons right now.

What about if someone had a camera and you were trying to film? Same set-up or different?
I would prefer to roll on and have my 72mm+ skating captured on tape properly but usually end up with anti-rocker clips.

You’re at Heathrow airport, you have to be at the gate in 45 minutes. You’ve ordered a Full English at a restaurant, it costs £13 and it turns up swimming in mushroom juice, there’s a skin on the baked beans and all other items are baked but luke-warm. The waiter comes over and asks if everything is ok with your meal. How polite is Richie?
Hahaha, what a question! I would probably eat it anyways! I'm usually very polite with the service staff, but also gotta be honest and tell them it's no good.

You’ve just learned a new trick, it's called a ‘Wakio’. What do you do next?…
Try to learn it switch. (and probably come up with another way to call it)

I knew the answer to that question already... I was just testing you.

There’s a new T-shirt company on the scene. The designs aren’t to your taste. The prints are all Comic Sans slogans in with bright colors. They want you as a team rider though and offer to cover the cost of your rent every month for a basic apartment anywhere in the world. You have to wear the T-shirts in all footage and all contests though. What would Richie do?
My first thought is "no, I don't want to be a walking ad for something I don't believe in", but what if I design my own t-shirts? {JE: that's cheating}. When you think about it, most people wear a goofy company shirt and logo to work everyday anyway.

You’re at the airport (again). You’ve got your skates in one hand and €1000 in the other. Where does Richie go?
If it has been a while, I'd probably visit my family at home. Otherwise, somewhere I haven't been to before!

…you can take one person with you by the way. Absolutely anyone. Who comes?
Would be really cool to take my nephew or brother on a trip with me and introduce them to all my friends around the world.

One day you wake up and you’ve lost the ability to skate well, you can just about pull together a soul grind (let alone a Wakio!) You try every day for the next two weeks to get back your special powers but they are gone and you have to accept that your blading career is over. What do you do next?
[It's] never been much of a 'career' so I guess [I'd go] back to 'hobby' again. I'd settle somewhere warm with some land, start a business, teach at a local college, develop other creative outlets and hobbies, swim, surf, start a family, don't worry, be happy...

You meet a girl, she’s an author and she’s hot. You learn that her latest novel is about a woman who ties up her lover and stabs him with an ice-pick after sex. You go back to her place for the first time since dating and you see a silk scarf on the bed and an ice pick on the side. What would Richie do?
Haha, I would probably crack a joke about going too far on the first date and then just keep my eye on it. Maybe pour a couple drinks for us? I'm not afraid of hot girls!

Smooth. I'm picturing a short drink in a tumbler, the sound of ice crackling...

Your skating seems very selective trick-wise, do you have a process for deciding what you want to do/film at a certain spot? Can you try and break down what it is that makes you decide why one trick will be a better choice than the next? Any theories?
It used to be more about finding the right spot for a trick I wanted to do. But now I try to imagine which trick I would most love to see at a spot that I've already found. Sometimes, I can do it, sometimes I settle for less or call on a friend to do it. I'm always trying to learn something new, so a lot of times it will be some combination or variation of whatever I've been learning recently. Sometimes friends just call things out. Or I look to do tricks that might catch the attention of 'outsiders' but still please the hardcore bladers out there.

Rollerblading is on the cusp of a boom and Cosmopolitan magazine want to run an article on you/blading. The money is good and you are eager to talk about blading on such a popular platform. The editor insists that she wants a photo of you topless with your skates slung over your shoulder for the cover shot, if you don’t do it they will give your slot to Tony Hawk instead. Whadda you do?
Do it!

You recently went without eating for 7 days. What DID you do? (and why?)
Yes, I fasted for seven days. Nothing but water! I have done shorter fasts before and will do longer next time...  I'd need pages and pages to explain it all, so If this is something you want to learn more about, there is a great deal of information out there.

You’re quite the vagabond. Of all the places you’ve traveled and stayed where is the one place that Richie would settle and why?
I love all the places I've traveled and lived in. Maybe in Australia? Thailand? Canada? It's so hard to choose just one to settle, so maybe I'll end up with a few homes around the world...

That's the second question where you've been indecisive about where in the world you'd like to be. I think it's fair to say that there's a consistency with your ACTUAL life there!

Final question. You're a deep character, so... The red pill or the blue pill?
Red