The Brothers Godette with Paul and Jango Godette

Kwame: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode. It says episode 14. Episode 14. So we're keeping our promise. We've done one a month so far of the We Serve Podcast. I am one of your hosts, Kwame Lab Bassier. And with me as always, [00:01:00] I am Nigel Lewis, your second host. Thank you very much. Dual host, second host.

I don't, I I don't like co-host. I don't like second host. 'cause I put that means there's a first, second host episode here. So, so let's say that's okay. Dual or covid. I understand there's an age difference. We gotta make sure. Ouch. Already outta the gate already.

Nigel: No, no, no. It's something we have, it's, it's a running joke.

It's a running joke. It's a running joke. You think I'll say stuff and he thinks that, that I'm like talking about is age, but, but I, I, I think we're probably about. He's probably younger than me. I'm actually younger

Kwame: than

Nigel: Nigel. How old do you, Kwame

Jengo: And Nigel, you just turned the big one, right? Yeah, yeah. Oh, okay. Okay.

Kwame: Alright. So yeah. So let's get back on. Yeah. So this is how this one is gonna go, uh, again. So we are here with our guest from Rockaway, the Godette brothers, Paul and Django. How are you guys doing?

Jengo: Yes, sir. What's going on? Way, thanks

Kwame: for having us.

Yes, yes. Pleasure. Pleasure. Um, so we have had Paul on [00:02:00] the show prior. I think that was our third or fourth episode. Yeah, yeah. Um, with Quest. Um, but this time around we wanted to bring Paul back because I know he is been doing You've been doing a lot. Yeah. Since we last spoke to you and Jango, you have actually been carving out your own.

Legacy, I guess it would be in, in Rockaway as well. So figured, you know, why not get the brothers together and, and, um, have this conversation. And actually the idea popped into my head from our last conversation with, um, Greg. Rochelle. Nigel, yeah. Yeah. Because when he was talking about the guys that he surfed with, he said, oh no, you know, I bring these brothers out here and these brothers are coming with me and these brothers.

I'm like, we actually do know up here, brothers of, so let's, of course, let's, let's bring them out. So again, thank you guys so much for, for showing up and for coming out

Jengo: there. There's actually a, a couple more of us too. Like, this is, I'm the oldest, this is Paul, and there's like two more and, and a sister.

And a sister. And a sister,

Kwame: yeah. Okay. So how many, and so two of you, how many go debts? Sorry? How many go debts? Yeah. Okay. So [00:03:00] there are five of you? It's five of us

Nigel: all together. I'm the oldest. And

Kwame: you're the oldest? I am the oldest.

Nigel: So, so there's probably a good way to kind of kick this off then. You guys born and raised in Rockaway or, or, uh, and there's a little bit of family history from the islands or from Central America, like what's the deal there?

Jengo: Uh, definitely born and raised in Rockaway. Okay. My dad was, grew up in a different Rockaway, so he has like a different, he grew up

Paul: old school.

Jengo: Old school Rockaway, like, like any of the old heads that used to play ball, like they know him. His name was like fork. Okay. But like, he was in like the basketball community.

So then, you know, we grew up out here too.

Kwame: Got it. That's actually a good claim because I know you play basketball as well, at least from your Instagram. We, we all play ball. We both do. Playing basketball

Jengo: was like, was mandatory.

Kwame: Yeah. Mandatory. Everybody know how to play ball. Yeah. So if everyone had to play ball, everyone knows how to play ball.

Then let's start off with the, let's start off with the skateboarding then, because I know one transitioned into the other. So how did [00:04:00] that take off then? 'cause I know both of you skate. Mm-hmm. But Django, you, you are like that. That's, that's your, that's your thing. Mm-hmm.

Jengo: Well, I, I did start skating first.

Mm-hmm. Um. I picked it up because, uh, like my dad was heavy into basketball, kind of like a rebellious thing. I wanted to do something on my own. Mm. So, uh, I found skateboarding in, in high school, and I thought skating was cool. Like I thought it would, you know, I thought it was cool. And so I picked it up and then, um, Paul picked it up after me, kind of like, I think our mom bought us.

Mm-hmm. We got skateboards on black Walmart board Black Friday or something like that. Yeah. So then we both had boards and then we would just like skate together. And then Kevin mm-hmm. Is the third brother. He got into it, um, maybe like a couple years later. Mm-hmm. And then Brian said, everybody's skateboarding, I don't want to skate at all.

Right. So,

Kwame: and your sister, does she skate?

Paul: She, she's, she, she can skate. She, she doesn't, she doesn't, she's not into doing tricks and stuff. Mm-hmm. But she can push and cruise around. She doesn't really, she won't go skating on her own. Okay. But if we're all there and we have boards, she'll, she'll do [00:05:00] it. But we actually found, learned about skateboarding through media, so through like the Tony Hog video games and, and things like that.

Before. Before we even. Picked up a skateboard to try it. At least that's what I remember. Mm-hmm. Right. Like we had, we had games like Tony Hall Pro Skater before. Yeah.

Jengo: I think that was it. Because like, I think, I think we, we were playing the games and then I probably like found somebody in school. I remember his name.

His name was Ashanti. He gave me a board to just try and I was like, all right. He gave, he just gave me a board and I brought it home. But before that it was definitely like cultured through like the games.

Paul: Yeah. And then, and then I wanted to be cool like him and have fun. So, you know, I had a ribstick, I had a ribstick before a skateboarding.

It was, it's the one where you like wiggle and try. And then the next year for Black Friday, my mom got me a skateboard, and then the rest is history. We just

Nigel: cryonics.

Paul: Yeah, right. I remember that board.

Nigel: That's like the, that's like the Target or Kmart special. Yeah. On this platform, what we do is try to showcase what I call [00:06:00] like lack excellence, surfing, skating, you know, just something that, that, that we're both a part of.

And I wanted to, before you guys kind of get in your story, just kind of, uh, touch base a little bit about, like, just let our audience know why, uh, these gentlemen are on the show. Um, I think I first met you guys, um, I was a partner in a, a surf shop in, uh, Rockaway, not Station. It was, it's called Breakwater.

Um, and I remember seeing these guys. Come to break water. Um, and at the time we were, um, doing uh, some skate events and I remember seeing you guys at the skate park, right? And, um, there was obviously a few people that were more talented than others at the skate park, but then you guys started coming around.

I think Paul, you first Django was probably later, and then also Tommy and another few guys. And then you guys started to want to learn to surf.

Kwame: Mm-hmm.

Nigel: And I remember it was like, can I borrow a wetsuit? Like can I get a board? And you guys had a genuine interest in learning to surf. And because of what I've always stood for, which is like we gotta share this love of, of, [00:07:00] of the stuff that we do.

Um, I have watched, um, you and Tommy and that crew take off at surfing. I've watched Django dabble and have a good time with it. But more importantly than that, the reason why I think it's important that the audience understands is that Rockwood community has been around for a very long time. And there's a lot going on there, but, um.

There's a need to see guys that look like this, um, leading the charge right in of skating and uh, in surfing. Outside of being friends. Like, I want to know, you know, I want, I want to understand that like Paul is doing some amazing things outright on his own that we're gonna discuss Django, uh, on the content creation side, on the skate side, on the community involvement side is well, is some really important things.

So, um, I just think it's important that we kinda give you your flowers a little bit before we kind of dive into the weeds of, of what we're gonna talk. Um, because I have a large amount of respect for, for both of you guys and have seen, um, that, that the growth there. One minute rant.

Jengo: Wait, wait. You deserve your flowers too, Nigel.

'cause you're [00:08:00] like, you're literally like the cornerstone, uh, you know, for, appreciate that for our journeys and not even just our journey. A lot of people's journeys. A lot of people's journey. Yeah. Just for having like, you know, station and even when you was at Breakwater, um, I. I remember you helped us out.

We uh, we did like a video for breakwater. I dunno if you remember. Yeah. But like, because we was, we was all trying to get sponsored and you knew Doze and Yeah. Through doze we knew you. Right. And then it was kind of like, yo, we gotta get this man some footage. We're gonna get on breakwater, yada, yada yada.

So it was like a whole thing. This was, I

Nigel: didn't think that we spon like, like I sponsored, I did a lot of things that, that, that, that crew wasn't happy about. But I think I, you guys were on breakwater. 'cause I remember there was a contest that Jimmy Dowd put together, um, and you guys skated that, I forgot what it was, but in breakwater shirts or something like that, that

Paul: might have, I think it was a while ago.

Old Dom, maybe Jason.

Nigel: Oh no, Jason definitely was there. Yeah. Jason. Oh yeah, yeah. Probably not you, but that the crew was, yeah. Yeah. Okay. And, and I think Jason or Jason's brother De may have won it. Um, [00:09:00] yeah. But yeah. Anyway. Yeah, yeah. That was, but

Jengo: yeah, no, for sure. But definitely. And then we did our first board collab with station and yeah.

Definitely been instrumental part in, you know,

Paul: yeah, Rockaway. But you, you definitely put a lot of people onto to skating for sure. Surfing, snowboarding, like the action, like if, if you wanted to know something about the action sports world, you go to the shop, you know? Yeah, right, right. I think around that time, that might have been like 2000 tens, like that, that I feel like that era was like the last era where, you know, people were going to shops for, for information.

Right. You know, you wanna know about sponsorships, you wanna know about brands and stuff like that. Right. It wasn't. I dunno, maybe that was like the transition between social media to the social media era, I guess you would say. But, you know, shops were, were still the cornerstone of like Right, right. You know, action sports and stuff like that.

Jengo: Yeah. But even, even Nigel himself, like you, you're, you're always so nice. Like you gave us board and just, just for the love. And we was like, oh, we're sponsored. I remember we did [00:10:00]the video and you gave Paul a board. And I was like, yo, we made it.

Paul: Right. That's what

Kwame: I'm talking about. I remember that vividly.

Okay. Is this video v Is this video, because we're talking about this video, is this video available for us to watch? Well, I, because you have to remember, we have people who want to see it on YouTube. It's still YouTube. It's possible. Okay. I mean,

Nigel: hopefully we get into, you know, like just, just talking about videos.

I mean, I think Django's putting stuff out like he put out, and I don't even remember the name of it. I think to me, one of the most amazing, uh, Rockaway esque, uh, skate videos out there with the clip mode crew. I mean, like I, I've seen that video. Um, and that's a solid skate video. And to me that that's. You know, knowing that you just were like, this is something that I wanna do with me and my boys and put together.

I mean, we can get into the whole clip mode thing, but, um, there's a lot of good content that Django's created out there for sure's. Well, let's get into it. Yeah. Yeah. Jengo

Kwame: clip mode. Clip mode crew. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I remember the first time I actually saw or heard about it, it was on, I think it was on Instagram.

And I think I might have just [00:11:00] breezed past this. I was flipping, I was flipping and I saw it, and I'm like, and I went back because for me, being as old as I'm, and I hear, and I saw clip mode, but one thing that stuck in my mind, because I was through there, I have dyslexia, so I thought I saw flip mode. So I what popped into my head, I was like, oh, Busta Rhymes is back.

So I went back and was like, oh no. It's like, oh, I know this dude. So, so tell us a little bit about that. What, what, what inspired you to do it and, and who are you guys?

Jengo: Well, it's not, it's not a me thing. Okay. It's more like a, um, like a community thing, like mm-hmm. Like, like Nigel said, the crew. Right, right.

That's, we all used to skate together. We was making videos together. And then, um, we was also doing trips, like we was going to Tampa,

Paul: Tampa, California. Yeah. Like, like skate trips, you know, flying across the country just to skate.

Jengo: Yeah. Yeah. So that, that's kind of how it started. It was just like a, a crew thing.

Mm-hmm. And, um, we would just post videos. And then I already had like a, you know, I was already making videos. I'm not as good as a lot of people, [00:12:00] so I was, so there was a point where I was still trying to get very good at skateboarding, but my learning process was not as fast. Yeah. So I became the dedicated filmer.

Mm. Like jangle, can you film this at the sesh used to irritate me.

Paul: J did become a dedicated filmer. Yes. It

Jengo: used to irritate me because. We would go to spots, everybody else would get a clip, and I be wanting a clip, but nobody would wanna film me because I would take longer and I just didn't have it. But Paul and Kev, my little brothers, they they have it.

Kwame: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Paul: Now, Jen Go's a very advanced skater, like Yeah, yeah. He's better than 99% of the world. Right. So don't let him, him, I've seen you skate, but Paul, part of the one Paul

Jengo: is

Paul: part of the 1%. 1%. Yeah. That, that is what you're saying. No, I'm saying like, you're not giving yourself enough credit shot.

You got nolie big heels on the pyramid. You got backside flips. Like I, I, I can a big

Nigel: dude too, Django. I mean, like, I see a lot of skater, I mean, big dude, like, you're muscular, you know what [00:13:00] I mean? Like I see a lot of skaters and they're Yeah. Short and wiry and they're just like flipping, you know? But it's tough to see dudes that, that when you land like it's consequential, right?

I mean, I guess so. So yeah, you, I mean, because I've, I get that. Yeah. '

Kwame: cause I've seen your, I've seen your videos, I've seen your posts and I've seen them all. And, and the stories. And when you land, like Nigel said, you know, you land with purpose. Some of the things like when you land, it's like, okay, is he gonna stick?

Oh yeah. He stuck it. Yeah. I'll, so I'll freely say, and I'll say that. Yes. You know, nine, I, I agree with Paul on that one 99% because Oh, for sure. I see, I see these things that you do online and folks go check it out and don't listen to what he's saying. Yeah. He, he's being modest. Wow. He's being modest. He's being modest, but he's telling the truth on this one.

Jengo is being modest. Obviously a little,

Jengo: a little bit about my brother Paul. He's good at everything he tries, so, so it's, it's really hard keeping up with him. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. He started snowboarding. He's already doing back threes, front three. Oh yeah. Look, I could do this. And I'm like, bro, how did you even do that?

He started surfing and he's already good. Yeah. And, and [00:14:00] skateboarding. He was like always good to me. So, can I ask what's the age difference?

Kwame: Between the two of you? Two were two years apart. Two years, okay. Oh, that explains,

Jengo: that. Explains it. And then, and then, and then Kevin is just like really good at skateboarding.

Yeah. Kevin was

Paul: like the, the freak talent that like came up outta nowhere. You know, he and Kevin, he actually moved to California. He growing up had all of us skating around him, so he always had someone to look up to, to like Right, right, right. You know, progress. He had the whole crew and him being the youngest, he was like kind of fearless.

So he would just try the hardest tricks he ended up being Yeah. The best skater, to be honest. Yeah.

Nigel: You know, what's, what's interesting about that skating? I'm not a great skater. Just some things like, I just couldn't land. I, I hated falling like hard, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Um, but I will say, I, I feel you, Django because, um, like snowboarding, I, I progressed really quickly in snowboarding probably faster than I did.

In surfing, and it was something about snowboarding mm-hmm. That I could [00:15:00] envision everything I was gonna do before I did it. Mm. And I think because of that, it maybe came naturally surfing's a little bit, you know, I can see it a little bit, but the wave could change its mind and be like, Nope, I'm gonna turn this way.

But, um, so, so I think in sports like skating and snowboarding, there just some people that their brain is wired. Yeah. That they just see a couple steps ahead. So they're, they're not thinking about, oh, I gotta clear this. They're going, well, I'm going to clear it, and now I'm, I gonna land switch it. You know, like it just a thought.

And I feel like, like sometimes we all think we could all be good at things, and that's true, but their people are just their brain. And I, I just knew, for me, in snowboarding, I would look at a trick and I wanted to, like, I'm landing it already. Like I, I'm not thinking, oh, how am I gonna grab the tail while I'm spinning?

I'm like, okay, head is gonna turn, I'm gonna grab the tail, but I gotta bend my knees when I land. You know, like, like, that's just how my brain works. So I, I, I saw the trick and I feel like maybe that's kind of what Paul and, and Kevin, and for me, and for me, it's actually the opposite.

Kwame: So in order of difficulty.

Decreasing surfing came the easiest for me. Oh, really? Yeah. Surfing was [00:16:00] completely the easiest thing that I, I've done skateboarding next and snowboarding, uh, no. I might as well have three left feet. Wow. When it comes to snowboarding, something about my feet being locked in place. I see. And I just cannot get my body mechanics to do what I wanted to do when I'm going down that hill.

And I think it's probably because with surfing, I learned very quickly to just not think about it, just do it. Mm-hmm. So whenever, even yesterday when I was surfing yesterday and on Saturday, and I. Remember thinking about something and I just fell off the board. Yeah. I just came up like, oh, stop thinking about it.

Mm-hmm. But with snowboarding, my brain is constantly moving, constantly working. It's, I'm going down this hill, why is it so cold? Mm-hmm. Okay. I'm supposed to do it. I can't move my foot. I can't. And then I just, it just doesn't work for me. Mm-hmm. So, yeah, you're right. It, it depends on different people. Yeah.

Different brains, wire, different ways. So if anybody wants to give me a free snowboarding lesson. Oh, I, I'm done. I'm happy to give you a

Nigel: free snowboarding lesson. We, we should [00:17:00] all go. We, we went up, sorry. We're completely drifting off our question topic here, but we went up, we did, uh, while ago and, and it was fun.

Like, I mean, I felt like super rusty, which forced me to go a second time after that felt a bit better, but. We should not go out for a snowboard session.

Jengo: You know what's funny? You, I expected those tail grabs and back flips when we won. I was like, not. You've been talking about snowboard for a long time. I know, I know.

I, I was, I'm gonna say something today.

Kwame: Let's backtrack to this. Uh, we were talking about skateboards. Let's backtrack that a little bit. Go back to that for a hot second. Um, Jengo you also put on or with other people on an event at In Rockaway called Battle at the Beach, correct? Yeah. Okay. So how many have there been so far?

Jengo: Well, we're doing our seventh one this year. Wow. Yeah.

Kwame: Yeah. Seven, the perfect number.

Jengo: Okay.

Kwame: So yeah. So now you to, again, this is the platform for you to tell people, tell people what it's about, how it came about, and you know, the past, the present, and what you, what you envision in it for the future. Because it's become a pretty big deal [00:18:00] in Rockaway.

And I know people actually tend to look forward to it, not just people in Rockaway, but I've heard people outside of, um, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, talking about it. So, like I said, past, present, future. Tell us about it.

Jengo: Um, well, yeah, it's not, it's like, it's not a meat thing either. Yeah. It's a, that's a, uh, ball beach is like a community thing.

'cause like, uh, I don't do it by myself. Mm-hmm. It's a, it's a bunch of people who wanted it to happen that put it together. So how did,

Kwame: how did it start? You were just sitting around and saying, Hey, let's, let's put this on. Or

Jengo: I would, I would say Steve Rodriguez was probably like the, the pulling force behind it.

Mm-hmm. Because like, once he got involved, like all the other pieces just kind of like came together. Okay. You. Because, uh, he has, he's like, yeah, yeah. So,

Nigel: so the, the, the real backstory of this is that when I was at Breakwater mm-hmm. We did an event called the Rockaway Beach. M and I pulled Steve in and it was a good event.

It was great. I, I think, I'm not sure if you guys skated [00:19:00] it, but we did I still, I still have the T-shirt, right? Was that, was that the iPath one?

Jengo: No, no,

Nigel: no, no, no, no. Oh, this was the very first one. It was called the first Annual Rockaway Beat Skate Amp. And my thought was it was gonna be one every year and so on like that.

And then, um, I mentioned it to Steve and Steve was like, I love to be involved with it. Um, and the first event went down, well, I, Frankie Spears, right. So he was, I, I remember him being there, the first one. It, it's kinda like someone that Steve brought in. Um, and he skated. I actually still have footage from the first one.

Mm-hmm. And then we had brought you in because you and your crew were already there. Um, and I think then the UNC started running with it and, and, and I just started to kind of like, okay, you know, let me, um, just facilitate it because I knew like some of the sponsors and, and, and stuff like that. But we should probably, that's someone else that we should get on the show actually.

Is is Steve Rodriguez most definitely official Yeah. Skateboarding there of New York. Well, because he also

Paul: surfs in Rockwood, he also, he surfs. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. He's part of,

Nigel: um, and, and, and then what, what you, you guys just took it to like level 10? I mean, like, [00:20:00] I'm always impressed by the, by the level of skateboarding that, um, I see at that event and New York are committed like more

Kwame: than anyone that I know to making sure that it's like always, this is how usually I can tell if an event is not an event is going on.

But if an event is popular in Rockaway, if you cannot find parking at six o'clock, seven o'clock in the morning, you know there's an event going on. Mm-hmm. But if it takes you. 15 to 20 minutes to drive that one block while the event is happening. You know, it's gonna be a good event. And whenever battle at the beach is happening and I'm driving back, I'm driving back that way Beach, I just, I'm just like, all, you know what?

I'm just gonna park the car and just go and, and hang out because it's always this huge event. I remember one year, I don't remember, which maybe it might have been, it was definitely wasn't last year, might have been the year before or the year before that there was this kid DJing. If I remember, if I remember, oh yeah.

DJ Mark. Yeah. Oh, oh, DJ Mark. And I just remember it was just like, everyone was just like, oh, why God's 'cause, I mean, how old was he at [00:21:00] the

Paul: time? He was, he was 12, 12, 12. He had a 12-year-old dj,

Kwame: 12-year-old dj. I mean, and he was just like, the crowd was just so hyped with this cat and like music was pumping.

And from what, you know, it's, it's, it's a good time. You know, it's like a good family event. There's skateboarders, there's, um, events. He's also local to Rockaway.

Paul: If I, if I mention it, he lives right up the block. So there you go. You know, community event, like talent, talent everywhere.

Kwame: Community event, you know, so yeah.

It's, it's, um, so what are some of the things, so if someone were to come to, I mean, I know it's still early in the year, so you may not be able to say exactly for this year, but let's say someone was to come to one, um, last year. What, what would they see?

Jengo: Well, I mean, uh, what we try to do is try to include, uh, a lot of people in our community.

Mm-hmm. So like, if we know somebody has talent, like the, like the DJ we just talking about, like he, he lives up the block, you know? And what had happened was our DJ had canceled. The day of, right? Yeah. And so we needed somebody, uh, asap and he was like, I'll do it. And we were [00:22:00] just like, yeah, Yolo. And he, he had all the equipment and so like, um, you know, we brung him out.

And so, like, uh, even with like the vendors, even with like, you know, the people filming, doing photos, everybody working, it's like somebody from the community that mm-hmm. That, you know, that wants it to happen. Mm-hmm. So what you would see when you go in there is kind of like community vibe. That's why people like it, because it's like, yeah, these are the same people you seen, you know, in the store.

Like Nigel's there, he got his tent there, the grind time is there. They got their tent there. We

Paul: had a fingerboard event led by Dayday last year. Yeah, I saw that Fingerboard event.

Jengo: Right. And so like, it's, it's just, it's like a, it's like a. I didn't see our crew, our original crew that, that Nigel was talking about.

Everybody came, I will never see 'em no more. Wow. Yeah. Dom's Dom came, Dom lives in, I don't know where he lives. Zell came Pennsylvania or something like that. Yeah. Zell lives in Texas. They were at the last one. Yeah. That's the only one I've missed so far. Right. And it's, it's, it's like a place for like, you know, it's like, it's a community get together [00:23:00] basically.

And skateboarding just happens to be the main event, but main event outside of that, like, it's, it's all vibes.

Kwame: Okay. I'm putting you on the spot now. Do you have any idea of when the next one will be?

Jengo: Yeah.

Kwame: Okay.

Jengo: What, what date? So, uh, last year we ran into a lot of technical difficulties. The rain who, what?

The rain with the planning, with the money. So this year I was like, you know what, I'm not gonna wait to plan it. I'm gonna start now. Okay. So, um, we've already been like sending out emails, you know, gathering sponsorship dollars, you know, bringing the team together. So for this year it's already in motion and, you know, we're trying to, we, we always try to outdo ourselves a little bit.

So it's going same, same time in September right after. Damn ma'am. And um, yeah, we just hope it's for it to be like a great event.

Kwame: Yeah. Excellent. All right, so if you are in the New York, why do I keep saying if you are, you know you're gonna be here. So come down, pull up, check it out, pull up. It's just like they say, you know, it's community.

Great vibes. Wait, I, I definitely [00:24:00] concur with that. 'cause every single time I stop by, it's, it's people

Jengo: and you can also win money. So like, yeah. We got like, there's a thousand dollars first place for men and women's, I think. Mm-hmm. Uh, is one of the, the largest pots in the city. Yeah. So like we try to keep that integrity by just, you know, making sure everybody go home with something nice.

Even if it's a thousand dollars, which is more than I made. Even if it's a thousand.

Kwame: I love that. Even if it's a thousand dollars. Yeah. Love that. Love that. Thank you Nigel.

Nigel: Um. So Ball of the Beach. Absolutely Amazing. Um, and then I know there's this, your skate side, absolutely amazing. But I've been noticing, and, and we spoke about this on a road trip, uh, that you're getting a lot more into just content creation.

Um, um, what do you, what's, what's your thing outside of skating ball to the beach? Like, you know, like what, what do you, what, what, what's the professional more, more, more professional button side of Django?

Jengo: Well, since, since, since I wasn't as good at skating in the crew, [00:25:00] I had to pick up a camera. So I always say skateboarding made me pick up a camera.

So from that, like I was, I, I'm in like the whole film side, so I've been, like, if you look in our YouTube, I've been creating content since I was in high school. Like when the park first opened that first day. Mm-hmm. Uh, there's a video on YouTube and I, I signaled that as the first day I started filming skateboarding.

But, um, like now I'm. I'm like, I'm deep into it. Like I'm film commercials, like I'm on film sets. Uh, like it's, that's kind of like my whole thing. Music videos. Music videos. And like, that's kind of my whole thing. It's, it's a cool skill to have as a business owner because it's like the content side would always be good.

You know, some people have the business and no content. I have the content and Okay. Business, everything is happening. You know, at least we'll have content, you know, for sure. Um, but yeah, that, that's, that's kind of like where I've, where I've always been at though, like, um, like content side of it. Like I'm looking at the studio right now.

I'm like, okay, cool. I need, I need these aperture 300 likes.

Kwame: Yeah. One of these, couple of these. The [00:26:00] these. Yeah, for sure. And I know that you also, because I've, again, I've seen like it out there, so like when, um, when we have, when we get swell or whatever, you know, surfers or even skateboarders or whoever can reach out to you guys and say, you know, can you record or can you come out and record us?

And for sure. And you, you know, create the clips for them and you know, it may sound. Easy to people who are just listening to it. But I know that is, that is not an easy thing to do because you actually have to know the person and know the sport that they're doing to try to figure out like, okay, this person just took off at the peak.

They're gonna go down the line. The wave looks like it's about to pitch, so they're probably gonna try to do this. So let me set up to take this picture right here at that point. And I've seen some of the shots that you guys have taken, um, for it. And actually, you know what, I'm gonna throw something at you Jango.

Speaking of how come you didn't enter our photo contest last year? What photo contest? There you go. That answered that. That answered that. [00:27:00] Um, we, we threw a photo, uh, a um, what was it called again? Was it Laura Bay? No, no, no, no, no, no. What was it called? What do we call it again? Um, writers of the Storm. So a photo contest started from, uh, August until October where people can go out and take photos of surfers and first prize was $500.

Second prize was two 50 and third ply prize I think was a hundred.

Paul: I saw that. I saw that. Yeah. Are you saying that? Yeah. I'm advertising again for it now, so, yeah, exactly.

Kwame: Yeah. Next this, which we're gonna put it on again this year, so I would love to see as many, um, submissions as possible, including from as many people, if you can help share the love with that one.

Sure, yeah, I'll do that. Um, great. So we did a, we spoke a little bit about the, we spoke about, uh, skateboarding and, um, what you've been doing with the content creation and battle at the beach. So I'd like to, um, if we can like to move on to Paul, you and, uh, with the surfing. Mm-hmm. Now, I know you spoke a [00:28:00] little bit about surf.

Oh, you spoke about a lot about, in our last episode that we did with you about surfing and how you started surfing and skateboarding. Go back and listen to that episode, but I wanna talk a little bit more about what you've been doing since then. Right? Because it really seems like grass is not growing under your foot.

And for those of you who are not from the islands, what I mean is he travels a lot.

Paul: So

Kwame: you have been traveling a lot, my man. Where have you recently? You just came back from Barbados?

Paul: Yes.

Kwame: Where you were there for how long?

Paul: I was in Barbados for one month.

Kwame: For a month. And they, you know, we saw if you were, if you were paying attention, if you follow Paul on Instagram, you saw, you know, he was surfing, board repair.

Um, and then what, what was it you were fixing?

Paul: It was like this big, um, we were fiberglass in a pool, so yeah. So tell

Kwame: us about your Barbados trip then a

Jengo: little bit. Sure. First of all, I'm just, wait, before you went to Barbados, he went to Japan. Oh, I forgot about Japan. [00:29:00] Say

Kwame: I forgot about Japan. I'm sorry. I completely forgot about that.

We're

Nigel: working backwards. Yeah. I'm sorry.

Jengo: I completely forgot about Japan. That was all this year.

Paul: Yeah. Yeah. So I'm thankful to be starting off 2025 on the right foot. We're still in April.

Kwame: Okay. So we're still four months into it.

Paul: Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I consider traveling like. The best education, right? Mm-hmm.

And I'm, I'm, I'm one who likes to learn. I like to seek new information, you know, even if it's hard to accept sometimes. So traveling is that thing where it's gonna open your mind and allow you to learn through experience, you know? So a lot of, a lot of my early travel days, you know, we're inspired by just sitting in station watching surf videos.

You know, one, I've just been feeling to go like Costa Rica or somewhere, just, I want to go surf, you know? So I do, I, I intend to continue traveling for the rest of my life. Mm-hmm. Because I want to continue to educate myself. Mm-hmm. You know? So, yeah. Thankful. This year I got to go to Japan for, uh, about a week and a half where I feel [00:30:00] like, I feel like I fell in love with snowboarding on that trip.

Yeah. Yeah. Because I got to snowboard, like win what they call powder. Right. So. And also got to go to Barbados, which was a trip I've been wanting to do for years. Mm-hmm. So that was, that was an amazing trip for sure. So

Nigel: Barbados being my home, we're gonna lean into that and see, um, what, how was your trip like, I know you went down there, you were chilling with Adrian for a little bit.

Mm-hmm. Um, but I have perceptions of what I think Barbados is, but what, um, what do you think about the island? Right, right. Don't answer.

Kwame: Don't, don't answer him yet. Don't answer him yet. Say it with a Asian accent.

Nigel: What do you think about my island? That's not even, you went down to bar. You know, it's funny, when went down, you gotta go back.

You gotta go back long. You been going

Paul: too long.

Nigel: What you think about Bim when you went down here? When you went down bi? Think about bi down. It was great.

Paul: It was great. I, I, I didn't pick up the accent, you know, I'm too much of a New Yorker, but I, I love Barbados, right? [00:31:00] Like. First of all, the, the whole reason I learned about what Barbados was is 'cause yeah.

Nigel's from Barbados, uh, he would always talk about it with, with the highest of like true, you know what I'm saying? With the highest of like explanations while in the shop. Like, yo, the surf is this good, the vibe, the culture, the people, you know, and, and it, it lived up to its expectations and then some like, it, it, it completely exceeded my expectations for what an amazing place it is.

Right. Culturally, um, for surf the food, the people mostly. And yeah. Super thankful to have had Adrian. Yeah. As my host for the trip. And Adrian, as for anyone who doesn't know, he was, he is, he, he does surfboard repair in Barbados. He's the third guy. He's the best guy on the island, you know, and he also does other fiberglass work as well.

But we met through at station, Adrian came to station to do work and I was working retail in the shop, so. You know, we got to bump shoulders [00:32:00] and, and I was learning from him. I initially learned from Nigel how to do repairs, and then I was learning from Adrian. So we, we already had a working experience, you know, and him going back and forth, we, we would chat and, you know, he eventually offered me to come and crash with him in Barbados, you know, with his family.

And that experience was, was fantastic. You know, I got to spend time with the people, you know, I wasn't like a tourist, I was like hanging out, you know, with Adrian, wherever he goes in his day to day, you know, with his family, with his mother, and. It was great. There's a lot I could go into. I, I don't even know where to, where to start.

So

Nigel: we, we spoke briefly 'cause I think I called you, you know, to talk about some stuff. Um, and so my question for you is, of all the things that you enjoyed, you mentioned something, and this is not what you have to say now, but, but what is one thing on the surfing side of things that stood out to you, um, when you were there?

I mean, I know the waves are good, you know, and, and I think you surf pretty much [00:33:00] all the coast, right? Yeah. I think you surf east coast, west coast, every coast, every

Paul: coast. East, west, south.

Nigel: So, so, so simple. Favorite coast you surfed?

Paul: Mm-hmm.

Nigel: And then what, what was the surfing like in Barbados for you?

Paul: Yeah.

Wow. It's hard to pick a favorite. We trying to get the man in trouble for that. It's hard to pick a favorite. He needs to go back to Mars at some point in I gotta go back. I have to go back. I, I, I love the West coast. Of our bas Like the wave is, the waves are perfect. Yes. It's hard to explain how perfect it is.

Same, the water's perfect, the it, the reef, like everything, the wave shape. I, I was thankful to have been there when a, a good swell came down to actually hit that side and, and it, it, it, it lived up to all the expectations. The south coast also really fun. The east coast is a place where you can surf any day because there's always swell.

So I like the consistency of the east coast, but for quality, the west coast, west coast. Got it. For sure. For sure. And I think, uh, well two things actually I, that really stuck out to me [00:34:00] about surf culture in Barbados. It was that the amount of black people, people that look like us, that are surfing, right.

And, and the fact that there's a lot of older people. I think maybe here in the US there's a lot of young black people that surf. But to see like six 50, 60-year-old guys in the lineup. Surfing and they had been doing it their whole lives. It was just like, whoa, this, it's different. You know? It was a very, like, that, that plus the, the, the energy of the surfers.

Right. Um, I feel like it's hard to explain unless you go there, but the, the, the normal aggression that, that I, I have experienced since, you know, have heard and have seen in the water at other places in the world, you could say Costa Rica. Mm-hmm. You could say Mexico, you know, people are very territorial about their spots.

You know, the locals are like, tough, you know, and Barbados, everyone's chill. It's cool. Like, and what I mean by that is like, you're, you're just, you're not gonna get aggression off the bat. [00:35:00]Right, right, right. You know, you would get a hello before it's like, oh, who are you, what are you doing? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know what I'm saying? And, and that, that alone is like, just shows how much respect, um, bes barbadians have for people, for human beings. And that, and that is just something, you know, you don't get that everywhere, you know? So to see that was amazing. To experience that within surf culture was amazing.

So

Kwame: my brother will be happy to hear that. You know, my brother's be right. I know. I think I knew that. My brother's be, my brother's be, I'm Dominic, my younger sister's Granadian. My older sister is British, so all of us. You say you're do

Jengo: Dominican,

Kwame: Dominic, what's

Jengo: that

Kwame: from? From Dominic. From Dominic. Dominic.

Not Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic. Oh, okay, okay. So small island between Martinique and Guadalupe. That's where I was born. Okay. But we grew up, I grew up all over the place. Okay. Which is why the, the story is always weird when people say, oh, you know, did you learn to surf in the islands? I'm like, no.

I [00:36:00] learned to surf on Rockaway Beach when I moved to New York. Exactly. So, so it's, it's, it's, it's strange. I completely forgot. You went to, you went to Japan. Yes. How was, how was that?

Paul: That was, that was amazing. So that was, that was an awesome trip. I went with my girl, Naomi. Mm-hmm. Well, she was there already.

She, she does world traveling for skating and she teaches skateboarding as part of a, a big collective. So I just, I just took the opportunity to go out there while she was there, and it was amazing. We went, we went snowboarding. I think culturally is a very eye-opening experience. Got to, um, people say Japan is like the most, uh, not, not, not dev.

Yeah. They sometimes, some of 'em, some people say that Japan is the most developed or something like that, or I, I, I forget the word, but it's a culturally definitely eye-opening experience. Like, um, people move in a different way. Like the streets are really clean. Like everything. People are really respectful, you know?

It's, uh, [00:37:00] yeah, it's, it's definitely very different and I'm glad to have experienced that for sure,

Kwame: because I'm listening to the both of you speak and even like when we were talking about the skateboard and then you said that, you know, you guys would just fly out somewhere to just just go skateboard. And now listening to Paul talk about, you know, traveling different places.

I think the one thing we should take away from this is people get your passports ready. Yeah. People hop on a plane or drive your car. There's more to this world than there is in the five boroughs.

Paul: Definitely. You know,

Kwame: and, you know, put yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone, you know, just because you, you, you never know just how far it stretches.

I

Paul: would say put yourself way outside your comfort zone.

Kwame: Well, I'm not trying, I'm trying not to have people go way out. 'cause I've seen people do some stuff. Alright. I got, you know, like, oh, there, I can go, I can go skydiving without a parachute. Like, really? Okay, let's, let's, I'm only bounced three times.

Come on.

Jengo: Wait, I, I got a question for you, Paul. How do you, how do you, how are you able to afford traveling? Like that, because a lot of people, because I say like you're [00:38:00] saying, just do it, but people is like, a lot of people are like, I gotta pay for something. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So how, how are you able to just travel like that?

Paul: Well, to, to travel. Well, it depends, right? Because I, I consider traveling education. So, so I'm going to travel, you know, no matter how much, no matter how much I got in the bank. Mm-hmm. Like that school. All right. Yeah. So, so, um, I say when I first started doing surf trips, I would, I would work at the surf shop all summer, save up, and then the wintertime.

In order to, in order to make the travel affordable, you, you have to do it in a way where you're not, you have to, you have to become a traveler and not a tourist, right? Because if you're a tourist, you're gonna be paying top dollar for hotels, gonna be paying the crazy prices. You, you gotta like, turn it into a backpacker pretty much, you know.

So when, when I was doing the stop playing with 'EM trips, we would try to stay places for, um, 1, 2, 3 months at a time because. You can save money if you learn to live below your means, in a cer in in other [00:39:00] places, you know? So we would try to like, you know, instead of going to a hotel, we would either go to a hostel, talk to locals, try to find a, a cheap spot.

You know, we were New Yorkers, so we, we were, we were hustling, you know what I'm saying? So nowadays I, uh, I have a friend I started surfing with Romani. He, he works for the airlines, so he's been helping me get flight discounts. So that's been great. But even without those flight discounts, I would be traveling.

Yeah, I just wanna say that. 'cause I would, you know, I would save up. Barbados was the trip that I was going to do no matter what, you know what I'm saying? But,

Kwame: so, so really quick, uh, just put Roman's phone number in that

Nigel: No, I mean, I feel you. I think I hear that too. And it all comes down to what's important to you, right.

And perspective. Yeah. Mm-hmm. For me, um, I love to travel. I have life responsibilities, but, and I can make 50 excuses why, like, I can't do it. But the truth is. I can, it just may take a little bit longer. Mm-hmm. And a little bit more planning. But I think we can all, we [00:40:00] can all figure it out, you know what I mean?

Mm-hmm. Um, will I hate not having a paycheck that comes in next week? 'cause I missed the week of work. Yes. But that paycheck, you won't remember it two weeks from now. Right. You will remember experience the mangoes you ate, the people you spoke to. And I feel like sometimes we have to prioritize a thing that brings us like joy in life.

Because the truth is it sucks not having money. I completely get it. But that stuff when you're dead, doesn't matter. I mean, I just feel like, like I agree with Paul. I think like when someone's important to you, you, you make the effort to make it happen. And you can, you know, you can travel maybe on a budget and you don't have to stay at the fancy spots.

You gotta be okay with, with kind of sometimes sleeping on the floor. You'll be surprised at what you can,

Kwame: what you can find and what you can get away with. Like, I mean, I have this box at home and every time I go away I, and whenever I bring back something, and it could be anything, it could be the pa, it could be this, um, the airline flight stop.

Just that I'll put it in the box. Yeah. And then if I'm ever [00:41:00] just like in a funk or just like, oh God, I'll open up the box and just start flipping through 'em, and it's like, oh yeah, I do remember this trip. And Oh, yeah. It was like a little band that somebody that some lady on the beach gave to me and like, oh, you know, you pick up a shell here or a leaf from a tree.

Yeah. And just start thinking about like, oh yeah, I do remember this. And, you know, just putting myself in a, in a, in a better mood when it comes to that, when it comes to that. I can see that. Yep.

Nigel: Um, Paul, I don't want us to, um, and without talking about your ding repair prowess mm-hmm. Um, because I mean, I, yes, I, I, I definitely think help kind of get you started, but I am so impressed by what I'm seeing, like, especially like the paint work and you know, like the attention to detail, the stuff that you're taking on.

Um, that I, you know, like, how's that been going for you? I mean, you have a spot in Rockaway now that, that's your own, because, you know, the shop is closed, so, um, people are going to you directly, but how is, how's the thing repair journey going for you? So,

Paul: so that's, that's, that's been an amazing experience.

Right. You know, it's [00:42:00] all been, um, having fun education. It's like, I, I just, I've been wanting to learn. I remember the first time I needed a ding repair, I came to Nigel. I was like, bro, my fin box is out. What do I do? And, and he was busy, so he told me to come back and I came back and then we, we started fixing it.

And, you know, I I, I wasn't trying to become a thing repair person. That, that kind of, I don't, if I try to explain how that happened, it was like, so if

Kwame: you all didn't hear that, Django said,

Paul: Hmm. Right. It wasn't, it wasn't the goal at first. I was, I was working as station, as a, as a retail employee. Um, because it was, it was covid and I didn't have, I didn't have employment.

I lost my other job, you know, I got laid off like many others, and I loved surfing. I had the opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder with Nigel, and when Adrian would come in, I had the opportunity to work with them. So I was learning that process just by being there, you know? So I would practice on rental boards.

Yeah. [00:43:00] Practice on my friends' boards, just, just to learn a skill that, I don't know. It wasn't, I wasn't like thinking ahead in that sense, but once I started doing it for customers and actually making a little bit of income from it, I just, I just kind of kept doing it right. And became known as somebody that could also provide that service.

And then once the shop closed, unfortunately, uh, I had to find a space that was, that I felt like could, could. Could work for that, for that craft. So I went and got a shipping container down at Marina 59. So if anyone needs a ding repair, yeah, you can hit me up

Kwame: and we'll put all of that in the, in the show notes.

All that is definitely gonna go in the show notes as well. But I think one the, I think again, just like Django was being Paul, you're being modest as well, because when I think of a ding, I think of like a ding a little imperfection in the board. I have seen you put two halves of a board back together.

That's not a ding. That's not a ding. Alright. No, a ding is like a dent. Or if you know somebody like poked [00:44:00] something through it or a fin went through it or it got some coral inside it, that's a ding. Right? I have seen you put two boards, two, two pieces of the same board back together again. Right. Make it, make it work and then put some, um, put some art on top of that so it makes it look like it was always there.

Right. Right. So, and on top of that, you've also taken on apprentices.

Paul: Well, at the moment. Yeah, actually, so we got Ronald coming in from Rab Bay. He's one of the Rab Bay, uh, mentees. So he's been coming through every once in a while and, and been learning the process. He's, he's stoked to show up and actually learn.

So, so it's dope to pass that on, you know what I'm saying? Like Yeah, yeah. Like to, to have Nigel and Adrian had passed on knowledge to me to be able to pass it to a kid that's like, that's what it's all about. Yes. Yep. Yeah. So, so that's dope. And, and what I think should be said is that it's, you know, while it's a surfing thing, it's really a trade you can use.

Of course, working with fiberglass is very expansive. You know, people have been telling me like, yo, you know, you can go work on [00:45:00] aircraft, you know, you could work on boats, you know, you could work on cars like you propellers, like, uh, they do the, um, uh, what's the thing that the wind turbines? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know what I'm saying? And, and people make full salaries off of that. Yeah. So, like, you know, to start at surfboards and learn about fiberglass work is like. It's expansive, you know, and I, I actually took it to, to doing, uh, waterproofing work for a little bit when I needed money to cover the, to the rent for the first few months that I was doing it.

I, I went and did waterproofing work, learned about that. So it's, it's expansive, you know, it's, it's a trade and, and you can use that knowledge for actually many other things.

Jengo: Yeah, for sure. And, and Paul's gone viral plenty of times. He gets millions of views on his, uh, surf repair content.

Kwame: Yeah. I really want to, um, basically for, and this is part of the reason why I wanted both of you to come on to the, I would like, wanted both of you to come onto the show because I know I.

Paul, but I mean, I don't like calling it ding repair, let's call it board. Rejuvenation. [00:46:00]Rejuvenation. I know you're doing, uh, the surf board, rejuvenation and, um, Django, I know you're working, especially, particularly with the, with the content creation and the content management. 'cause a lot of times, you know, especially when we have swell coming through in the northeast, you know, you always see somebody, somebody will post something and say, Hey, you know, is anybody gonna record me?

Is anybody going, is anybody gonna be out there with photos or photographs? And that's the reason why we did the photo contest last year. Mm. Because, you know, especially if it's a day where there is like really, really, really good swell, like let's say Saturday that just passed, it was cold. Mm-hmm. And you're gonna have somebody out there taking pictures in the cold, in the rain, taking pictures of you, and at the end of it, you're gonna go, oh yeah, thank you so much.

Lemme get my photo and just walk away. You know? No, this person is using their skill, using their trade, using their knowledge to actually, to make you look as good [00:47:00] as they can possibly do. And they, they deserve to use the word that we used earlier. They deserve their flowers as well. Yeah, that's true. They deserve their accolades.

Yeah. So I really want to push, uh, the stuff that you Django are doing with, um, and the entire clip mode squad to definitely wanna push that, that content, um, forward. So, um, for all you surfers, skateboarders, snowboarders, these are the, these are the men to, to hit up because you, recco you, um, re you brought back a snowboarder as well, didn't you?

At one point?

Paul: Yeah. Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. I, I fixed jingo snowboard. I'm learning how to fix snowboards too. That's why I would love to do like. An all action sports, four sports kind of repair thing, that would be great.

Jengo: Yeah, for

Nigel: sure.

Jengo: Well, um,

Nigel: oh, you go ahead. Yeah. No, no. Well, I mean, I'm gonna get into surf talk like I do all the time to figure out.

Okay. Um, but this time we'll do like skate and surf. So I'll start with you. I know that you guys drop, um, clip mode decks all the time. Is there a deck out now and what are you skating? What's your setup? What's [00:48:00] your. Well,

Jengo: honestly, Nigel, I feel like I'm becoming an og. I feel like I hit OG status. Like I'm not like og Still skate those.

OG skate. I'm not, I'm not on the streets no more. My air. Are they, are they calling you uncle yet? Yeah. Think big. I got it. No, unc all the time. So J Jingo

Paul: is actually on the streets though. Yeah. You still, you still hit the streets. Um, you went out last week with Adrian, y'all were filming clips. Yeah. It's

Jengo: because we're, I mean, we're still working on stuff.

Got you. Formo, but like, as far as like, like I'm, I hit my thirties, you know, so I'm like, oh, you're so old. I'm up there.

Kwame: Okay. But the te the test is, and we're not gonna what the test is. The test is, and we're not gonna do this on camera, but the test is what, after this is done, when you get up, everyone be quiet.

And if we hear your knees pop as you get up, then yeah. You, you, you hit onk status. Yeah.

Jengo: I don't know if my knees,

Nigel: but are there, um, um, you guys have like, like new deck dropping soon or what's [00:49:00]the, what's the clip mode? Uh.

Jengo: Yeah, so, so me and me and Paul, we, we talked about this like, uh, for a lot, like we're all like, like skateboarding is like, kind of like our foundation, like clip mode is really like, it's becoming like a family business now.

Like Paul, uh, we just got a grant to start an art class this summer, so Oh, nice. Paul's gonna be doing a whole, um, art class, and, and Paul's been doing his art class already, but Yeah. Yeah.

Paul: Monday night Art

Jengo: Order,

Paul: vision Studios,

Jengo: Monday Night Art Order Vision studios. So like, so now Cl Mo, we have a non-profit side and a for-profit side.

Oh, I didn't know this. So it's, it's really, so, so cl mo's really becoming a, like a business and my little brother Brian, he's also, he got a grant to, to run his volleyball tournament.

Nigel: Oh, nice.

Jengo: And so my mother, she loves like, um, the business side of it, like doing the taxes, putting together the LLCs and making sure like 5 0 1

Paul: c threes, all that.

Yeah. Making

Jengo: sure everything is, is dialed in. And so, um, like as we were doing Bow the Beach, the first couple of years we were just doing it, it was just. It was just there, but like [00:50:00] now there's like, there's structure behind it now there's, there's a, there's structure behind it. Nice. And, um, and I like how everybody's like just doing their, their own thing now.

And so like now, like we can get like grant money and money from companies and it'd be like, you know, uh, tax, whatever the tax thing is. Yeah. So I forgot what your question was. No,

Nigel: no, no, no,

Jengo: no. That's what it was really more like

Nigel: whatcha skating, but I'm glad we Oh, skating

Jengo: a clip mode board. What? Skating

Nigel: No, we learned.

We

Kwame: learned Now that is

Nigel: actually really interesting. Really, really interesting. Didn't know that. That's really good. That's really good. Um, and then Paul, on the surf side of things, I know I think last time, and I haven't surfed with you for a minute. Um, hopefully that'll change soon because I'll be back in the water.

Um, but what are you on now? Like, I know you were doing like a little bit of a mid, a mid lamp, like twin pin kind of a Yeah, I got, I

Paul: got like,

Nigel: what's your favorite, uh, boards that you're on [00:51:00] now?

Paul: Um, I got 3, 2, 2 boards. I really like that. I wrote a lot in Barbados. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I got like a six, six twin pin egg shape and a smaller five nine shortboard.

Really just like a thrust of shortboard. It's wide, but it's short enough for me to also do turns and stuff. I love shortboarding, so I would like to keep on doing that, but you need the right wave. You need like a powerful wave to do it. So Rockaway doesn't get like that that often, or you could ride a shortboard, so Yeah.

Yeah.

Jengo: I mean, I, I still ride longboards, which is all right. There's nothing wrong with

Paul: that. Oh, yeah. For skating, I, I just, I ride a eight five i independent trucks very standard set up. Oh, so clip more decade. Yeah. But, but I'm, I'm waiting until it gets warm to really start skating again. I've been, I've been inside,

Jengo: I've been telling Paul he needs to like, create a part before he like fully goes.

I mean, he has you actually, I have, I have a part. You have a lot. I'm good. Paul has a, the most skating actually. Oh, really? You actually are good.

Paul: I was in the [00:52:00] clip mode

Kwame: video, so

Jengo: Yeah.

Kwame: Yeah. I, yeah. I'm gonna be grabbing you guys for a lot of these videos 'cause we're talking about them and at least on the, on the YouTube piece.

I wanna put them up. Yeah, for sure. So we can, so we can have them so people can see like little clips from them. Okay. As we're talking about 'em. So the

Paul: main clip, my video called, it's called Forever Far Rock. Yeah, that's, and we had a whole premier, it was, that's one I was talking about was at the brewery.

I remember that. Yeah. Django set up the whole thing thanks to Rockaway Brewing folks. I, I'm not sure. I think they're closed now. Yeah, they are closed. But, but that was a great event. Everyone came out. It was like an hour long film. So shout out to Django for editing an hour long film. I don't think anyone knows how hard that is, but we had decks and, uh, so that's, that's the name of that film.

And then. What did you wanna link before? What else was it?

Kwame: You wanna

Paul: link

Kwame: that one? The first one? The first, um, the first Oh, the breakwater video. Breakwater video, yeah. You guys were in and you know, just in general because I mean, I'm gonna be, I mean, I always do it anyway, if anything that we, we put up, but I'm always like browsing through [00:53:00] the Instagram stories and, and post and see what we can get.

Because I mean, you guys have some amazing clips, um, between the, between the two of you and, you know, Paul, I know like you were in Bali with Farm Autumn, quest, Miah and that crew. Mm-hmm. And you know, from, you know, clips from Japan and do you have any plans to go or are you. Staying homebound for? Yeah. No, no, no.

Traveling. I'm, I'm traveling for the rest of my life,

Jengo: so even he's leaving on Saturday. Y'all.

Paul: Another trip? One more trip. One more trip before the summertime. Um, can you tell us now where you're heading to? Nicaragua? Oh, N nice. Nice. Yeah. Yeah. So, FA Phase Surf, one of the other local shops in Rockaway.

They're, they're doing, uh, kind of surf retreat thing. Mm-hmm. So, um, I'm going along with them. Okay. And I'm gonna be helping out, uh, like they're just extra hands, you know, helping teach and stuff like that, because they're doing a surf retreat. Mm-hmm. So they are doing, they, they do have some structure and, and I'm kind of just going, hoping to catch some waves and That's good.

Yeah. Hang out with that crew for a little bit.

Kwame: Nice. And [00:54:00] Django, apart from Battle on the Beach and working with Clipboard, do you have anything planned? Any, anything big coming up that you want let them know about?

Jengo: Uh, yeah. I mean, we're always, we're always working on things. Mm-hmm. I like, like, like my whole thing is like with the content.

So what, what I'm really big on. Uh, recently is, you know, just making, it's getting better at my craft, really. Like, uh, um, there's a lot I can say about that, but really just, you know, making sure like I want to make the best videos. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And so like, I work with like clients and magazines and I work with a lot of celebrity clients as well.

Excellent.

Paul: You're also at the point where we're like gathering support for battle at the beach, you know, 'cause granted that summertime is right in our steps. You know, we've been, we've been gathering sponsors coming up with ideas for things to do. So the news for that is gonna be coming out pretty soon also.

Kwame: Yeah. So look out, look out for that because it is definitely something you don't wanna miss because if, even if skateboarding is not necessarily your thing Yeah, yeah. There is something [00:55:00] there, there's there for you because it is just a very friendly, happy, you know, like I said, I was teaching the past few times that it's going on.

I was teaching down on Beach 69 driving back uptown. Stop, stop traffic. I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna stop here. Got out of the car and just hung out for like about a couple hours and then yeah, when it was done then went home. But, so it was definitely fun.

Jengo: Might get the old head division, get you and Nigel back to back.

You have the

Kwame: ambulance like I was just gonna say that, I was just gonna just make sure you just make sure you got a lot of bang game around here.

Jengo: We get the 50 and over crew. Just make sure you got the Bang game, what they call

Paul: legends division. So like

Nigel: legend. Legend. Oh, I love, it's 50 and over. That's not me.

I got you. Um, so just because I know we're probably gonna wrap up soon, but um, if you guys were gonna give, uh. Just some advice, you know, could I wanna say it to like, the young black kids that kind of see you and [00:56:00] you know, they're looking at you and thinking, wow, this is like guys that are doing things that maybe I'm interested in, but I don't want to, you know, pigeonhole it to that.

But just advice like, um, what would you say to your much younger self when you're a teenager, knowing what you know now?

Jengo: Well, I, I think it's, I think it's actually crazy 'cause none of my siblings have jobs. We're all like, we're all like very much entrepreneurship. Me, Paul, Kevin, maybe Angela has a job.

Nigel: You mean structured

Jengo: regular nine to five.

Like, like a structured job. Even my little brother Brian has found a way to create money on the internet. And so I really have to kudos my parents because like, whatever they did, you know, they like, and people admire our family for it. It's like, um, you know, the entrepreneurship spirit. Like every, each one of us has found a way to like.

Dive into our purpose and like, you know, make money from it. And I'm just amazed at Paul and [00:57:00] Kevin and Brian and myself too. I'd be like, I'm, be I, I haven't had a job in six years. So what I would say to my younger self, I would just start a lot earlier, honestly. And then it is really not about like the, um, like the skill or the talent.

It's more about like believing in yourself and like, you know, ignoring the noise. Like you just really have to, and there's a lot of other soft skills, you know, but, um, like I'm still learning myself and I don't know, I just, I just really have to kudo with my parents because I realized that the other day and I was just like, you know, it's definitely them.

Uh, whatever they did. Yeah. You know, you may not have a job in, you may not have had a job in six years, not a job. But you've,

Kwame: you've, you've given yourself a career. Yeah.

Jengo: Right. For sure. Right. And so I, I, I, I'm, I'd be amazed too, 'cause like I'll be surviving Rent paid somehow.

You somehow get paid. How about you,

Nigel: Paul?

Paul: I guess I could piggyback off [00:58:00] that and say, yeah. I would also tell, you know, someone way younger than me that, yes, developing skills is really important. Um, I would say getting in touch with the land. Right. I would say also keeping an open mind. So what I mean by that is no matter where you're at in your life, you gotta look at your surroundings and realize that the, the limits that you're putting on it, that, that they don't really exist.

And what I mean by that is like, you could be in New York City. Walking down a block, you can't see the offices above because you're on the street. You know what I'm saying? Sometimes you gotta just peek in the door real quick to see who's operating, be behind those walls, behind these ideas of boundaries that we put in our head.

Right? These like the ideas of boundaries. So what I mean by that is like, if you keep an open mind, you, you want to be able to learn from everything around you. You know, we gotta, you just have to make sure not to close yourself off to that. That's why traveling is such a good experience is because, I mean, traveling is like [00:59:00] a good educator.

It's because by bringing yourself physically into new spaces, you're going to learn, uh, you're forcing yourself to learn, essentially. So if you can apply that to your daily life, especially, you know, as a young person, I don't know, you might be going to school every day, just like going about your day to day.

I, I, I don't know exactly. I don't know exactly how you would do that, but it could be as simple as like. You know, you're walking home, you know, you maybe instead of, instead of just passing by the basketball court, you just go and say, what's up? You know, it could be as simple as that, but it means just tapping into something nearby to you.

Mm. For the sake of just like, I not closing yourself off in a way. Yeah. You know, I, I, I don't know if that's, if that's coming through, but I feel like that that's how I gained most of my opportunities and, and just like how I've ended up all over the world. You know, it, it started at home. It started by just, you know, talking to Nigel at the surf shop, you know, or [01:00:00] talking to Adrian who was at the surf shop.

This is just my experience. Mm-hmm. But like that connected me to people who were international. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Station was an amazing place because you had international people walking through the door every day. Yeah. A lot of people that, a lot of my closest friends now I met at the store.

Kwame: Yeah.

Paul: And it was just about being in a place where I'm around. People of different backgrounds and different cultures, you know, that could be said about the whole of New York, which is why, you know, but yeah, just like, that's what I would say to like a younger person, keep an open mind and, and stay open to different perspectives.

Jengo: Sure. And, and always do your best at everything. Like, you know, sometimes you feel like this project is not, that, not that important, or this is not that big. It's like, always do your best, even where you're at. Like, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

Nigel: I, that, that one. I, I, I feel, and, and, and maybe that's a good one to kind of start wrapping up on, no matter how small the job is, like show up and kind of show [01:01:00] out.

Mm-hmm. You know, it, it, it, it's a weird thing and sometimes I struggle with it because you get frustrated, you're like, Ugh, I'm wasting my time. But the thing is that maybe to you, but the person who is receiving that to them, it could be the world. Right. True. Um. And that's, I just realized we didn't get political at all in this particular one, but maybe I'll do it quite here.

But, uh, you know, like there's, um, I, I think it was in a movie. It might have come from like a seeing, but, um, basically this guy's walking the beach and there's a bunch of starfish on the beach and he's like picking him up and throwing him back in. And someone was like, dude, there's like thousands, right?

Yeah. I always,

Kwame: well, yeah, like,

Nigel: how are you expect to get 'em all in? Like, how are you gonna make a stupid, how are you gonna make a difference? A difference, right? Mm. And then he basically was like, well, to that starfish, it's a difference. Right? That's, and, and, and that's really kind of what it is. Like, like sometimes I think we, we get caught up in, in our thing, and it's important, I'm not saying that we're not important, but we don't realize the impact that we're having on people.

That, to them, that's like the biggest thing in the world. And, and it's those small [01:02:00] things. So I, I, I, I feel you and I encourage everyone to. Um, just do their best. You know, like, like, like always give a hundred. Mm-hmm. Even when it seems like you don't need to, um, or if you can just get by easier because it's a reflection of

Kwame: who you are, you know?

Mm-hmm. Anyway, on davo. Okay. Oh, some deep sayings here. Alright. Um, you wanna do the questions? No, no, we're done with the question. We're done. Done, we're done with the questions.

Nigel: It's it conversation We're done with. Done.

Kwame: I could, any question I come with after that I'm like, no, now we're just talking for the sake of talking.

Alright. Right, for sure. No. So, um, we did get a couple of questions written to us. Oh, those questions? Oh, that's fun. Oh, I thought you thought you meant to you guys. Oh. Oh,

Nigel: okay.

Kwame: No, no, no, no. Nigel and I got a couple questions and they were like, was, please that we're getting people listen to us as fans. So thank you guys, you guys, I appreciate that of them.

Yeah, please. Thank you so much. People are paying attention. Keep 'em coming. We love that. Um, one question was, uh. [01:03:00] Who would you like to be your dream guest on the podcast and why? Well, is is that for me? Or what is it? That was a question they asked us. Like, what do you want? I mean,

Nigel: maybe we should ask

Kwame: it to y'all.

Yeah, you can ask it. I mean, I, I already know who mine is.

Nigel: Oh, okay. So who's your start?

Kwame: I mean, who else would it be? Jerry Lopez. Jerry Lopez. Ah, I mean, that's, I think we gotta get Jerry Lopez. That is Jerry. It, it, it is that Jerry Lopez. Jerry Lopez. Hundred percent. You know, to make Jerry Lopez, I mean, I. I mean, not just, not just the fact that the man back when he used to surf pipeline and even now still is just a surfer with so much style and he does it, he really seems like he is truly connected with the ocean when he surfs.

Yeah. But then also the, his outlook on life as well. Um, em and, and embracing, uh, yoga and you know, how he takes that and applies that to not just surfing, but his life as well. And a lot of that is what I try to build into my, into my life. And, you know, a lot of [01:04:00] people tell me, oh, you know, it seems like you never get upset or you never get angry.

I'm like, that's not true. I do get angry a lot, but the difference is I recognize what my triggers are and I know, okay, I need to calm myself and sit down and just try to get that outta me in a constructive, in a constructive manner. You know, a destructive manner is not gonna help anybody. Yeah. Not even, and especially not myself.

So that's why Jerry Lopez, man, Chu.

Nigel: Yeah. Um, I don't know. I mean. On the surfing side of things. It sounds weird to say it because he is so popular, but I, but I would love to have like Kelly on the show. Kelly Slater. Yeah. Oh, wow. Just because I think that I'm at that point where, you know, where probably similar in age, like, like he's a little bit older than I am, but he's been through it.

Right. And there's something to be said about he. Just understanding, just like his journey through it, you know, like, I wanna know like what waves he hates. Like what's something [01:05:00] that he, that happened to him in surfing all the time that was annoying when he was learning, like mm-hmm. You know, like, just stuff that, that, because you see these, these athletes, sometimes he seem super human.

Mm-hmm. But my question isn't, my questions for him wouldn't even be about like, how did it feel to win the world title? I mean, I'll never feel that, but I wanna know how it feels like when you're soar in the morning trying to get up and like your knees are hurting and like, like what do you do? Like, like how do you keep your body healthy to ke, you know?

Mm-hmm. Um, and, um, I've always admired his surfing. I mean, there, there are people that I, I like a lot now, like, it's not that it's, he's the, you know, but I've always admired his surfing. So, so that's on the surfing side. And, and I think just on a, a human side, I mean, I would love to sit down with, uh, Barack Obama.

Mm-hmm. Wow. And, and really kind of like he surfs. Does he surf? He's, I guess he's from Hawaii, probably passed. He from Hawaii. There was a picture out there

Kwame: of him.

Nigel: Was he on

Kwame: the surfboard body working with body soccer? I think so.

Nigel: Just to, um, just to. Hear what he really thinks. You know what I mean? Like, like he's just such an intelligent person and his [01:06:00] point of views on certain things.

I, I, I, I, I, I think are interesting and I just kind of want to hear his take on what being, uh, a black person in a system that really wasn't set up for us. In that way, how that was like, I just can't imagine the, the backstories. I mean if he's allowed to say he probably wouldn't be allowed to, but mm-hmm.

You know,

Kwame: maybe off camera.

Nigel: Off camera.

Kwame: Exactly. You and then all of a sudden Nigel disappears. He's in some room under a bunker somewhere. I

Jengo: know, I

Kwame: know.

Jengo: We do. Ex-presidents still get secret service. Yeah. Yeah, they do.

Kwame: I believe it's, yeah, they do. They do. Yeah. But, okay. I'm not gonna go through the other questions there.

There're too many of 'em, but we can ask them another time. But please keep your questions coming. We really appreciate it and I think we're gonna wrap up here. Gentlemen, thank you so much for thanks. Thank you. Thanks for having us coming on. And Paul, safe travels.

Paul: Thank you. You likewise. Safe travels. You too.

Yeah, I'm heading,

Kwame: I'm heading out. I'll be going for a week. Um, and then, so I'll next guest. You [01:07:00]know, we're not gonna say who it is, but it'll not be somebody from Rockaway because we try to alternate back and forth between the two. Mm-hmm. Um, but yes, we know who it is. I know you're thinking, oh, he doesn't know who it is, but no, we know who the guest is.

Uh, so we do have, we will be, uh, having our next guest, but until then, want to thank you guys again for coming out with us. Sure. Wanna thank our viewers for, and our listeners for continuing to support us. You know, it is really, you know, seeing those numbers climb actually really makes me feel, oh, people are actually interested in what we're doing and what, and what we have to say and what other people have to say.

So thank you so much. Uh, the whole YouTube thing, do your part, leave a heart, uh, like click, subscribe, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Um, also want to thank, um, Tyler from Swell, swell season Surf Radio for all the distribution. And again, sticking with us even when we're like, we don't know when we're gonna get this out, Tyler.

So thank you so much for Oh, Tyler, helping us out with it. Um, I forget anybody, um. No, [01:08:00]I think, I think we got it right also. I forgot one person. Tiana our Yes. Thank you so much. Our engineer, Tiana, for working with us today and WTF studios as always for letting us have your space. So until then, be be safe wherever you are and hope to see you out in the water.

Nigel: Yep,

Paul: yep.

Kwame: Thank you guys.

Paul: Appreciate it.