ASD Exclusive – Q&A with Skateboarder Sean Malto

Sean Malto is all smiles at the Dew Tour VIP Media reception.

The Dew Tour is going down in Long Beach this weekend. We had the chance to catch up with skateboarder Sean Malto at the VIP Media Event on Thursday, July 21, 2016 and he gave us his two cents on the weekend ahead.

 

We’re here at Dew Tour Long Beach 2016. What are your thoughts on this event, the set up, and the Dew Tour franchise continuing?
Yeah, when I saw the setup to do the Dew Tour I was blown away. My first day was Wednesday. I did a course preview, and skating around, and this format, these courses … everything is so amazing. It’s nothing like I’ve skated before. I’ve never had four different courses to skate for a contest, so it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be fun.

It is interesting the way they have this thing setup with this tower in the middle and then all four skate courses configured in a square surrounding the scaffolding.
Definitely, and then you have bleachers around so people can follow the action.

The course layout at Dew Tour Long Beach 2016.

How are you feeling about the competition?
For one, I’m extremely honored to be a part of this event, and I do feel good. I feel healthy, and this is my first full summer of contests since I’ve been back from injury, so I’m really excited. I feel good, and I feel ready to actually be a contender.

Sean Malto at Dew Tour Long Beach 2016 practice session. Photo courtesy: Facebook.com/SeanMalto

How was that process, recovering from a pretty savage ankle injury. Mentally it must be as tough as the physical challenge, yes?
Skateboarding requires a lot of mental stability and even when I was healthy I had mental spurts where I kind of freaked out, had to figure it out. Having an ankle injury on top of that, it’s tough, but it’s challenging and it’s good. I feel like I’ve gotten stronger in skating. I’ve understood skateboarding a little more, what it’s meant to me, what it’s supposed to feel like, and I’m just excited to be able to come out and represent.

What do you think about the state of skateboarding? There are more kids than ever putting out videos than ever. There’s more content than ever. People seem stoked on skating as much as they’ve ever been.
Social media is rapid fire progressing skating. There used to be videos once every few years and now that would push the bar of skateboarding. Now you have Instagram and YouTube, and Snapchat. It’s just content, content, all day, every day. Kids are pushing the bar of skating every couple of hours, and it’s crazy to see the progression just ramp up as much as it has. Overall it’s exciting, and it’s a little scary. Being a pro skater you just see the talent a lot more than you used to, but I think it’s great. For anything to grow skating, and for people to see skating and to learn about skating, that’s a amazing thing in my book.

Speaking of social media, what’s your take on these social media/Youtube skate stars?
Yeah, I’ve crossed paths with some of those kids and I’ve seen them around. It’s great. We live in a world where you can promote yourself, and it’s just … We’ll see how it all works out. I think it’s awesome for people to be able to express their feelings, or what they’re doing in skating. That’s amazing. Yeah, I don’t know. We’ll see. It’s a whole new thing for skating. It’s a whole new thing for the world.

So how are things with you and your program?
I feel very blessed. My program is, I feel, as strong as it’s ever been. Nike takes care of me, and to obviously have a sponsor like Mountain Dew is incredible. These guys push the bar of skating in a whole new level. Look at this place. The production, the quality of the contest of this caliber is something skating’s not used to seeing, so it’s great.

RE: this weekend’s contest – is there a particular feature, or on a particular course that you got your eye on?
I love flat bars, so the rail section does appeal to me. It just looks fun to me. They have this bump. It’s a kind of long flat bar that goes across and down. That’s the one I had the most fun on the day I did skate it, but tomorrow’s a full practice day, so I’ll skate around and see what works, what doesn’t work, and try to get my bearings for everything.

All right, Sean. Best of luck to you.
Thank you. Have a good day.