[ JAPANESE / ENGLISH ]

Photos_Waguri
Special thanks_RVCA Japan

VHSMAG (V)：　How did you start skating for a RVCA?

Shota Kubo (S)：　It was definitely through Mark Oblow. He always supported me and helped me out with hooking me up with stuff.

V：　So you guys go way back.

S：　It's pretty much through Jef Hartsel. They're very good friends and Jef is like my second dad. Whenever I have problems with my own dad, I just vented on Jef (laughs). I've known Mark since the Gravis and Analog days. He brought the whole team to Hawaii and introduced me to people. My first clothing sponsor was called Poetree which was Jef's brand and Mark started flowing me Gravis shoes.

V：　You had Shota's Food Experience at the RVCA event. How did your love for cooking start?

S：　I've been cooking for a while now, like 15 years. My first actual cooking job was a French restaurant right behind Wallows. During that time I was living in that neighborhood in Hawaii, Kai. I was 20 or 21 and I tried to live in LA by myself, couch surfing for six months. Went back to Hawaii and started working at the French restaurant. At first I thought I was gonna quit right away because my boss was the craziest dude ever. Throwing plates everywhere. But I have so much gratitude for him because he taught me a lot. I worked my way up to second in command. After the seventh year, I tried to move to LA again and then from there I worked at a more restaurant actually through my dad's connection. My dad had a OG Venice friend who was a sponsored surfer, and now he's a Michelin star chef. He had fine dining. And that's the one I did in Hawaii too, it was fine dining. He also had a family style Michelin restaurant, and I was like, "I'll work at the family restaurant." From there, I kept working in the kitchen trying to find my schedule, balance with skating. And now I'm a kitchen manager at a hotel in Calabasas.

V：　So cooking is your profession. You were serving an acai bowl at the event.

S：　Since it's summertime, I wanted to cook something cold. During the planning, I realized blueberries are super expensive and strawberries are very limited in the summer. But RVCA helped me find the sources and all that. I wanted to do a Hawaii Japan collab. So I used strawberry, banana and matcha warabi mochi. Mochi is an important Japanese food and I wanted to make it the Rasta color for Hawaii (laugh). You know, red, gold and green. I'm really stoked and grateful that Kento (Takahashi) brought this idea and made it through.

V：　How was the skate session at Miyashita Park?

S：　It was my first time skating there so I had to get used to it. It was super hot (laughs). But, you know, it was fun. Good vibes. I got to DJ off my phone. I got to pick my music so I could hype myself up.

V：　What were some of the memorable moments from your stay in Tokyo with RVCA?

S：　Just being able to travel with Mark and see Kento again. It's just like a dejavu almost, like, it's really happening. I'm so grateful.

V：　You went pro for Dogtown. Skating for Dogtown must be something special for you since your dad used to skate for Dogtown.

S：　I feel very humbled and grateful. Thanks to my dad too. Even if he's not around, I still feel like I get support through his friends. I've been pro for two years now, but eight month later, I was injured for like a whole year. During that whole year I was like, "Oh my God, what am I gonna do?" But it's always good to have something you're into off the board. Mark is a good example. He could do anything. He has so much experience with so many different types of stuff. Art, audio visual, management... I wanna be like that.

V：　Do you think you care more about where you came from as you get older? You've been posting your dad's photos on your Instagram.

S：　Yeah, he came into my life the second half of me growing up. My parents were not separated but he had to do his own thing. This was when I knew nothing about skating. I just saw one photo of him skating on the fridge, but I cared less. And then he came around when I was in the sixth or seventh grade, that's when the Dogtown documentary came out. And that's when I was like, "Huh, this is so weird. He's a professional skateboarder and he's in a movie? What the hell?" Thanks to Instagram, like all the old archives that come around, I get to know him more now over time, even though he's not around. It's really cool.

V：　What about your Hawaiian roots?

S：　My parents got married and out of all places, they picked Hawaii and raised me there. I'm really grateful for that. I guess in the seventies, all the guys from Venice and Santa Monica, their retirement plan was to live in Hawaii. I think my dad persuaded my mom to come to Hawaii. Because even to this day, she's a full on Japanese mom living in Hawaii, not too much English. She still thinks she's in Japan (laughs). I talk to my mom in Japanese and dad in English. That's how I was raised. I live in LA now but you know, you never know what you got till it's gone, right? Hawaii is a special place to me.

V：　You know both the Japanese and American scenes, what do you think about the Japanese scene?

S：　I think it's awesome. I love the people here. The vibes are so good, you know? I get so stoked every time I get to spend time with my friends in Japan and eat good food. I love skating here a lot. Hopefully I can get a Japanese sponsor (laughs). I wanna work my way up, you know, I'm working on a part right now so hopefully that will happen.

V：　Oh, you're filming a part?

S：　Yeah. I just want to stack footage because I've been hurt for that whole one year, so I want to come back strong.

V：　Nice. Anything you want to do with RVCA in the future?

S：　I'm always flexible and open to new ideas. I love the RVCA Japan staff. They're so awesome. Great people. I'm always open to share ideas and hear their feedback. We'll see how it goes, we'll go where the wind takes us (laughs).

Shota Kubo
@kuboshota

Born in 1988 in Hawaii. Shota Kubo is the son of legendary skater Shogo Kubo and a pro rider for Dogtown. Currently part of RVCA, he's pursuing a career as a chef. His new video part is in the works.